• THE MILL AND THE CROSS
• Friday, January 27 at 7:00 and Sunday, January 29 at 4:00
• Trailer

What would it be like to step inside a great work of art, have it come alive around you, and even observe the artist as he sketches the very reality you are experiencing? Lech Majewski brings to life Pieter Bruegel's masterpiece The Way to Calvary, the story of the crucifixion, setting it in 16th century Flanders under brutal Spanish occupation. Rutger Hauer plays the artist, Michael York his patron, and Charlotte Rampling the Virgin Mary. As epic events unfold, bawdy country living continues unabated: couples entwine, musicians play wind instruments, soldiers torment their enemies mercilessly, and children scurry about. Using sophisticated computer technology, the filmmaker creates a brilliantly complex and fascinating multi-layered dreamscape that melds iconic moments in art, history, and religion with the quotidian lives of ordinary people. (2010, 91 min., in English) http://www.themillandthecross.com/

• AMIGO
• Friday, February 3 at 7:00 and Sunday, February 5 at 4:00
• Trailer

"I am always interested in how people behave in extreme, sometimes impossible situations. It is the essence of drama, and I've explored this kind of crisis before in movies such as MATEWAN, LONE STAR, and MEN WITH GUNS. The Philippine-American War has been ignored or forgotten by both sides of the conflict, it is history that needs to be recaptured in the public imagination. AMIGO deals with one of the most common but least-examined aspects of human experience- the story of the people caught in between." - John Sayles

The 17th feature film from long-time SFI favorite writer-director John Sayles examines the forgotten history of the Philippine-American War. When Rafael Dacanay's (Joel Torre) rural village in the Philippines is occupied by American troops hunting for Filipino guerillas, he comes under pressure to collaborate from both the blood-and-guts Colonel Hardacre (Chris Cooper) and the head of the local guerillas, his brother Simón (Ronnie Lazaro). Rafael must carefully make the near-impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by civilians in an occupied country. (2011, 128 min) http://www3.amigomovie.com/

• THE LIGHT THIEF
• Friday, February 10 at 7:00 and Sunday, February 12 at 4:00
• Trailer

"On the steppe in Kyrgyzstan, a simple electrician affectionately known as Mr. Light (director/cowriter Aktan Arym Kubat) finds himself caught in a difficult position when an ambitious politician embraces his dream of generating wind energy for his tiny impoverished town. Mr. Light is modest and altruistic through and through, but his unlikely partner seems motivated more by greed than hopes of community development. In the meantime, Mr. Light helps out the best he can, tampering with the meters of those too poor to pay for electricity, which raises the ire of the authorities. He also strains to keep his wife-a tough, smart woman frustrated by her husband's naïveté-happy. The Light Thief elegantly dramatizes the complex challenges of a developing economy with its heartfelt story about the unglamorous yet very real struggles of life in post-Soviet Central Asia. Some of the villagers here have already given up, leaving to seek out easier lives in Russia and Italy. Those who remain must also look to the outside world to raise capital, as evidenced by a group of Chinese investors who are considering funding the wind farm. Director Kubat sets his narrative against the backdrop of the 2005 Tulip Revolution, when a disputed election led to a popular revolt against the government. Although the brief glimpses of political unrest in capital Bishkek seem a world away from Mr. Light's sleepy town, Kubat slyly illustrates the same governmental failings on a local level, as his humble protagonist faces the greatest social issues, plugging away against injustice and tyranny."-Jesse Dubus, SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (2010, 80 min., in Kyrgyz with English subtitles)

THE LIGHT THIEF is co-presented by the Global Film Initiative and is part of the Global Lens Collection. For more information, visit www.globalfilm.org.

• BURY THE HATCHET
• Friday, February 17 at 7:00 and Sunday, February 19 at 4:00
• Trailer

"Aaron Walker's new film takes you deep into the heart of New Orleans to discover a celebration hidden from mainstream Mardi Gras. Each year, members of a predominantly African-American neighborhood dress up as Indians to honor the Native American communities that harbored blacks escaping from slavery. A Mardi Gras tradition that dates back to the mid-19th century, the 'Indians' have created a highly intricate structure, with over 40 'tribes' featuring hierarchical roles such as chief, medicine man and flag boy. Through Walker's portrayal, audiences experience the rich history and struggles this community has faced. Enduring street violence, police harassment and Hurricane Katrina's devastation, the Mardi Gras 'Indians' find the strength to carry on their traditions. Bury the Hatchet also presents a soundtrack of rare music passed down through generations, many of the songs having never been written down or recorded before the 1970s." - Heather Haynes, HOT DOCS (2010, 86 min.) http://www.burythehatchetfilm.com/home.html

• BIGGER THAN LIFE
• Friday, February 24 at 7:00
• Trailer

One of the great American films of the 1950's, Nicholas Ray's color and CinemaScope BIGGER THAN LIFE. James Mason (who also produced) in one of his finest performances, portrays a small-town schoolteacher who secretly moonlights at a cab company to supplement his salary. When he begins taking cortisone for a rare form of arthritis, the side effects begin to drive him mad: his sense of failure as a breadwinner plays off against delusions of grandeur. Ray's perceptive insides into the tensions of middle-class existence were all the more remarkable considering the political climate of the time. "One of Ray's most frightening and affecting pictures, perhaps one of the most disturbing of the 1950s. Every 'Scope composition becomes an arena for the most primal emotions, leading to a truly shocking climax. A key movie, one of the films that's meant the most to me over the years." - Martin Scorsese With Barbara Rush and Walter Matthau. (95 min.)

• LE BONHEUR ("Happiness")
• Friday, March 2 at 7:00 and Sunday, March 4 at 4:00
• Trailer

Agnès Varda's third feature is a cheerful, sunny, colorful film, a vibrant and ambiguous fable about love, fidelity and the search for happiness, all of it scored with the richly emotional music of Mozart. "I imagined a summer peach with its perfect colors, and inside, there is a worm," said Varda. Though happily married, a young husband and father falls into an affair with a postal worker. "For him it is not a question of loving one or the other; he loves both, and wants them to share a life together. In his pursuit of happiness, he doesn't look beyond his own needs and desires, and never imagines that there may be a cost for living for the moment. Without moralizing or providing psychological explanation, Varda's depiction raises the essentially philosophical question, Is this happiness?" - PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE (1964, 82 min., in French with English subtitles)

• CRAZY WISDOM: The Life and Times of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
• Friday, March 9 at 7:00 and Sunday, March 11 at 4:00
• Ram Dass introducing film, Maui Film Festival

CRAZY WISDOM is a film about Chogyam Trungpa, the influential spiritual leader who fled the invasion of Tibet as a young monk, studied at Oxford, and then established, in America, a network of learning centers dedicated to the teaching of Tibetan Buddhism. Widely regarded as a pivotal figure in bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the West, Trungpa defied all preconceived notions of enlightened behavior. Johanna Demetrakas' documentary presents a direct experience of Trungpa, and stories from his wife and students, including best-selling author Pema Chodron and poet Allen Ginsberg, as well as colleagues and critics like American guru Ram Dass and scholar Robert Thurman. (2010, 89 min.) http://www.crazywisdomthemovie.com

• THE LOVE WE MAKE
• Friday, March 16 at 7:00 and Sunday, March 18 at 4:00
• Trailer

Directed by cinema veritè master Albert Maysles (GIMME SHELTER, GREY GARDENS) and Bradley Kaplan, THE LOVE WE MAKE follows Paul McCartney through the streets of New York City in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks as he organizes an all-star benefit concert.?? On the morning of September 11, 2001 McCartney was in a plane on the tarmac, about to leave NYC when the attacks occurred. Grounded, he returned to the city and witnessed first-hand the shock and devastation that overtook New York. Shooting in beautiful black-and-white (as the Maysles brothers did when they filmed the Beatles in 1964 for WHAT'S HAPPENING! THE BEATLES IN THE USA, their seminal portrait of the group's first American tour) directors Maysles and Kaplan capture McCartney rehearsing with his band for the concert, connecting with New Yorkers on the streets, and behind-the-scenes at interviews with Dan Rather, Howard Stern and others. The film features performances from the concert itself, with unparalleled access backstage to McCartney and such luminaries as David Bowie, Steve Buscemi, Eric Clapton, President Bill Clinton, Sheryl Crow, Leonardo DiCaprio, Harrison Ford, Mick Jagger, Jay Z, Billy Joel, Elton John, Stella McCartney, Governor George Pataki, Keith Richards, James Taylor, Pete Townshend, and many more. (2011, 91 min.)

• RAPT
• Friday, March 23 at 7:00 and Sunday, March 25 at 4:00
• Trailer

Nominated for four Cesar Awards (including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor), Lucas Belvaux's edge-of-your-seat thriller - inspired by the 1978 kidnapping of French industrialist Edouard-Jean Empain - features a career-defining performance by Yvan Attal as a millionaire playboy who is abducted and held for ransom for 60 days. "Arriving at a moment when the recession and scandals involving the wealthy and powerful in business and politics have cast a moral pall over the upper class, RAPT starring Yvan Attal, plays shrewdly into the growing public disgust with entitled elites. The story culminates with two grotesque twists of karmic justice. that feel just right for these cynical, paranoid times."- Stephen Holden, THE NEW YORK TIMES (2009, 126 min., in French with English subtitles)

• OM SHANTI OM
• Friday, April 20 at 7:00 and Sunday, May 6 at 4:00
• Trailer

Hugely successful and immensely enjoyable romantic reincarnation epic that satirizes the Indian film industry of the 1970's and 2000's. OM SHANTI OM tells the story of Om [Shah Rukh Khan] and Shanti [Deepika Padukone]. Om is a junior artist in the 70s. Shanti is the reigning superstar. He is her biggest fan. He is in love with her. Om dreams of being a superstar, but something happens that changes everything. A dazzling Bollywood musical by one of the most successful choreographers and directors in the industry, Farah Khan. (2007, 162 min.) The film will be introduced on Friday night only by SSU Hutchins School Professor, Dr. Ajay Gehlawat.

• LOVE CRIME
• Friday, April 27 at 7:00 and Sunday, April 29 at 4:00
• Trailer

Two formidable actresses square off against each other in the late Alain Corneau's clever corporate twist on All About Eve. Drawing on her work with Claude Chabrol and François Ozon, actress Ludivine Sagnier plays dedicated executive Isabelle, who reports to powerful president Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas). Together, their chemistry teeters between sexual and convivial. Sometimes they even seem like mother and daughter (Christine offers the younger woman fashion tips). At the office, the mousy Isa comes up with ideas for which her superior takes credit, saying to her in private, You have real talent, but Isa tells her assistant, Daniel (Guillaume Marquet), that she doesn't mind. Then, on a trip to Cairo, Isabelle has a fling with Christine's lover, Philippe (Patrick Mille). When they return to Paris, Christine threatens to go public with his firm's creative bookkeeping, while Daniel encourages her to collaborate with him on a secret project. When Isa finally garners the recognition she deserves, all hell breaks loose. A caustic tale of office politics, Love Crime is a remorseless clash of competing egos. - SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (2010, 106 min., in French with English subtitles)