APR 30 FRI 7 PM
MAY 19 WED 11 AM & 7 PM
GUILD THEATRE
ANGEL ON THE RIGHT
TAJIKISTAN 2002
DIRECTOR: DJAMSHED USMONOV In this lyrical parable from Tajikistan, an unrepentant, small-time thug returns to his small village and dying mother after a long sojourn in Moscow. Planning to sell her house for much-needed cash, Hamro soon discovers that his mother and villagers have pulled a fast one on him. Confronted with old, unpaid debts, his mother’s pretty young nurse and the 10-year-old son he didn’t know he had, Hamro comes to wish he had listened more closely to the angel on his right shoulder. Writer-director Djamshed Usmonov captures the harsh beauty of a land ravaged by upheaval and civil war, and leavens this fable of good and evil with deadpan humor. In Tajik with English subtitles. (91 mins.)

APR 30 FRI 7 PM WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
MAY 5 WED 11 AM & 7 PM GUILD THEATRE
TICKET TO JERUSALEM
PALESTINIAN 2002
DIRECTOR: RASHID MASHARAWI Jaber lives with wife Sana in the Palestinian refugee camp near Ramallah, north of Jerusalem. A kind, gentle man, he ekes out a living as a traveling projectionist, and is serious in his efforts to bring movies and burdensome equipment to his audiences of refugee children and adults. Everyday obstacles, such as checkpoints and permits, have put his perseverance to the test. However, when a female schoolteacher asks him to organize a screening in Jerusalem’s old city, Jaber’s determination to follow-through begins to erode Sana’s patience. In Arabic with English subtitles. (85 mins.)

MAY 2 SUN 7 PM GUILD THEATRE
MAY 14 FRI 7 PM WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
MANGO YELLOW
BRAZIL 2002
DIRECTOR: CLÁUDIO ASSIS Assis’ debut film offers a walk on the wild side, with its steamy mosaic of lowlifes and working stiffs in a circle of poverty and sexual intrigue around the coastal town of Recife. A macho butcher who’s cheating on his born-again wife, a sexy but lonely barmaid, a flamboyantly gay hotel manager and a sinister sadist all cross paths in what VARIETY calls "a film as sloppy, sluttish, scruffy and vital as they are." Strikingly photographed by Walter Carvalho (CENTRAL STATION), this "wildcat of a film" is consistently entertaining while shocking and provocative. In Portuguese with English subtitles. (100 mins.)
Adult audiences.

MAY 7 FRI 7 PM GUILD THEATRE
MAY 12 WED 11 AM & 7 PM WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
WOMEN’S PRISON
IRAN 2002
DIRECTOR: MANIJEH HEKMAT Banned for over a year by Iranian authorities, the directorial debut of veteran producer Manijeh Hekmat vividly dramatizes turbulent times in Iranian history through the eyes of female prison inmates. Beginning her tale in 1984 with the arrival of tough new warden Tahereh, Hekmat continues in 1992 and 2001, tracing the warden’s charged relationship with Mitra, who is serving a life sentence for killing her violent stepfather. Touching on such taboo topics as political activism, corruption, prostitution, drug use and homosexuality, this fascinating film also casts Pegah Ahangarani in multiple roles representing the changing situation of Iranian youth through the years. In Farsi with English subtitles. (106 mins.)

MAY 8 SAT 7 PM
MAY 16 SUN 7 PM GUILD THEATRE
NOTHING
CUBA 2001
DIRECTOR: JUAN CARLOS CREMATA MALBERTI This Cuban first feature is a comical look at bureaucracy and red tape in Havana. Carla, a bored postal clerk who frequently thinks about her parents in Miami, takes to stealing mail and rewriting letters to brighten the lives of their addressees. This Amélie-wannabe sets out to fix lovers’ quarrels and family feuds. With all its whimsy and style, the film poignantly explores issues of migration and separation that are specifically Cuban: the desire to lead a better life elsewhere, countered by a yearning to solve problems at home. In Spanish with English subtitles. (93 min.)

MAY 8 SAT 9:15 PM
MAY 23 SUN 7 PM GUILD THEATRE
WRETCHED LIVES
PHILIPPINES 2002
DIRECTOR: JOEL LAMANGAN This intense, action-packed melodrama depicts a family’s struggle to survive in the midst of poverty, abuse and social unrest. Set in the early ‘90s, during the short-lived, ill-fated reign of president Joseph Estrada, it focuses on Vanessa, a cosmetics consultant forced to care for her mentally challenged sister after the sudden death of their mother. Leaving her hustler boyfriend for an ostensibly caring substitute, Vanessa soon learns about political corruption and how the poor are manipulated and then abandoned. In Filipino with English subtitles. (102 mins.) Adult audiences.

MAY 9 SUN 7 PM
MAY 22 SAT 9:15PM GUILD THEATRE
SHADOW KILL
INDIA 2002
DIRECTOR: ADOOR GOPALAKRISHNAN Set in the pre-independence India of the 1940s, this handsomely photographed morality tale from writer-director Adoor Gopalakrishnan is the story of Kaliyappan, an aging hangman who has come to the conclusion his assignments have had more to do with politics than the dispensing of justice. Realizing he has been made to hang innocent men, he turns to the bottle when his guilt is too much to bear. While his son makes a Gandhian protest against the death penalty, the superstitious villagers covet the healing power of the hangman’s rope. And then Kaliyappan receives a new assignment. . . “a mesmerizing, complex tapestry of Gandhi-esque references to nonviolence, shamanism, and a story-within-a-story allegory. . .[that] eschews easy ambiguities in this utterly unique film”—FILM COMMENT. In Malayalam with English subtitles. (92 mins.)

MAY 14 FRI 9:15 PM WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
MAY 22 SAT 7 PM GUILD THEATRE
KHORMA
TUNISIA 2002
DIRECTOR: JILANI SAADI With his bright red hair, pale skin and childlike ways, KhormA is hard to miss in his provincial Tunisian town. One day he takes over a job from his guardian, the official announcer of births, deaths and marriages. Newly-empowered Khorma surprises his unsuspecting neighbors and goes a bit too far in his entrepreneurial zeal. An eccentric comedy of errors, Jilani Saadi’s film is strikingly photographed with eye-catching color by cinematographer Gilles Porte. In French with English subtitles. (100 mins.)

MAY 15 SAT 9 PM WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
MAY 21 FRI 7 PM GUILD THEATRE
RACHIDA
ALGERIA 2002
DIRECTOR: YAMINA BACHIR-CHOUIKH RACHIDA, a beautiful and vivacious young schoolteacher in Algiers, survives a cold-blooded shooting by terrorist youths. She retreats with her mother to the countryside, but they soon discover that there are no safe havens in Algeria. The first feature written and directed by film editor Yamina Bachir-Chouikh, RACHIDA is a moving story about a community—particularly its women—under the threat of terror, as well as a courageous film about the possible price of speaking out against injustice. In Arabic and French with English subtitles. (100 mins.)

MAY 15 SAT 7 PM WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
MAY 26 WED 11 AM & 7 PM GUILD THEATRE
MARGARETTE’S FEAST
BRAZIL 2002
DIRECTOR: RENATO FALCãO A "silent" movie with a social conscience reminiscent of Chaplin, this satirical comedy looks at the contradictions of modern Brazil through its own version of the Little Tramp, an "everyman" played by Hique Gómez (who also composed the film’s exhilarating soundtrack music). Our hero loses his job and remains determined to throw a fantastic birthday party for his wife Margarette, but economic reality becomes fantasy with a magical suitcase that never runs out of cash. By turns whimsical and dark in its humor, this musical treat remains energetic and buoyant, while never leaving the harsh realities of contemporary Brazil far behind. No dialogue. (80 mins.)