Persepolis

2007. France. Dir: Marjane Satrapi. With Vincent Paronnaud. Animated. 96 min.
An imaginative, outspoken Iranian girl comes of age during the Islamic Revolution and reckons her identity amidst freedoms and limitations, humor and tragedy. Satrapi remains faithful to the charming (and striking) visual simplicity of her renowned autobiographical graphic novels while embracing the dynamic, grand scale of cinema. Presented as part of The Tournées Festival.

Eyes Wide Open

2009. Israel/France/Germany. Dir: Haim Tabakman. With With Ron Danker, Zohar Strauss. 91 min.
Against the traditions and taboos of Orthodox Judaism, a father of four falls for a young male student. This BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN of the cloth explores the intersection of God, love, family, and universal societal confines – an intense, critically-lauded slice of international cinema. Speaker: Haim Tabakman, the film’s director and Jewish and Israel Visiting Scholar in Residence.

Buried

2010. USA/Spain. Dir: Dir: Rodrigo Cortes. With Ryan Reynolds. 95 min.
A man wakes up to find himself buried alive in a box with nothing but a lighter, a flashlight, and a slowly dying cell phone. Reynolds – yep, that guy – remarkably redeems himself in this claustrophobic one-man race against time. Is this the career turnaround we’ve been Waiting for? Definitely, Maybe.

The Last Temptation of Christ

1988. USA. Dir: Martin Scorsese. With With Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel. 164 min.
Well before Mel's PASSION-ate snuff film, Marty hit the Mean Streets of Jerusalem with bold cinematic spiritualism. A haunting exploration of Christ’s interior struggle between divinity and the weakness of his flesh, this controversial religious work stands as a visual testament to the beauty, the challenge, and the ultimate triumph of the transcendent.