Alright.
Lets have a look at the movies of July the 19 th. The day starts with *Simshar* which
is a 2014 Maltese drama film directed by Rebecca Cremona. It was selected as the
Maltese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but
was not nominated. It was the first time that Malta submitted a film for the Best
Foreign Language Oscar. The film tells the story of the Simshar tragedy.
*Plot:*
Young Theo is sent on his first trip with his Maltese sea faring family, but things go
terribly wrong when the 'Simshar' sinks, leaving the crew stranded in the
Mediterranean... Simultaneously, Alex - a medic reluctantly dispatched onto a
Turkish Merchant vessel which has rescued a group of stranded African boat people
between Malta and Italy - gets stuck on the boat as the countries wage a
bureaucratic war over who should take in the migrants... The stories unravel in
parallel and culminate tragically when the fishermen are tracked down, but by that
time there's only one survivor.
*IMDB Rating:*
7.1 /10 (by 150+ viewers)
*Trailer:*
[Link]
Second movie of the day is an Italian Drama *My Name Is Maya*. They had
screened this 95 minutes movie directed by Tommaso Agnese at PIFF 2016.
*Plot:*
In this emotional coming-of-age story, Niki and her sister Alice lose their mother in a car accident. Faced with separate foster care situations
that will put them in different countries, the girls run away pursued by a caring social worker named Cecilia. Niki adopts the name Maya as
the two siblings encounter a colourful cross-section of Roman citizens, including a handsome fire-eater named Marc and a dissolute tattoo
artist who gives Maya a Mohawk.
Through this name change, Niki/Maya is hoping to shed her skin and circumstances, but the film delicately presents how this young woman
can bring her two distinct identities into a harmonious whole. Director Tommaso Agnese, who has made several documentaries, draws a
vibrant portrait of urban street life and adolescent angst brought to life with memorable performances and characters. Matilda Lutz brings a
memorable volatility to the lead role while Valeria Solarino (so memorable in Sea Purple) gives Cecilia an anxious solicitude that conveys her
feelings over the two girls situation.
*IMDB Rating:*
7.2 /10 (by 35 viewers)
*Trailer:*
[Link]
First movie of July the 20th is Slovakian *RytmusA Dream from the Block*. The
premiere of this film had been presented in India on 31 May 2016 by the Slovak
Embassy in Delhi, with the presence of director Miro Drobny himself who had been
awarded an open applause at the end of screening by the audience.
*Plot:*
The film is neither a memorial to the musician nor a flashback over his musical
career. Viewers are introduced to complicated relations within the family: A family
that has been facing racism for 38 years while searching for love in its core. After
eight years passed in making this documentary, the Gypsy raised by Whites
became a self-made icon among youth and a musical celebrity. Despite all that, he
has not yet fulfilled his dream the dream of understanding his own roots,
accepting his father and conciliating with his closest relatives. Searching for his
roots bring him even to India...
*IMDB Rating:*
No mention on IMDB
*Trailer:*
Not yet available online.
The 2013s Greek Drama *Wild Duck* will be an attraction on 20 th July @7.00pm.
Yannis Sakaridis' debut film Wild duck was world premiered in Toronto IFF 2013 and
was official selection in Busan, Chicago, Sao Paulo, Beijing, Thessaloniki and many
others. A veteran film editor has worked in London for 18 years before he moved to
Athens where he founded the Athens Filmmakers' Coop. He studied film at the
London College of Printing and at the University of Westminster.
*Plot:*
In the movie, the main character is Dimitris, a telecommunications engineer who is
forced to close his business after developing considerable debt with a local loan
shark. To save his future and life, Dimitris immerses himself impetuously into a
scandal that involves his morals and greed in ethical and economic dilemmas.
Portraying the current situation for many people in Greece, Wild Duck was filmed in
only 23 days and with a limited crew. However, this art-house project excels in
technique and realism to provide a genuine and gritty glimpse into the bleak side of
Greek life. Inspired by the Athens wiretapping scandal of 2005, where the mobile
phones of Greek parliament members, ministers and high-ranking officials were
under surveillance, Wild Duck is valiant proof of the best of European cinema.
*IMDB Rating:*
6.4 /10 (by 66 viewers)
*Trailer:*
[Link]
*21th July (Thursday): NFAI auditorium: 5.00pm*
Movie: *Jack* (2015)
Country: *Austria*
Language: *German*
*Plot:*
Though the true-crime character study Jack has the nerve to call notorious
Austrian killer-turned-literary-sensation Jack Unterweger by his first name, writerdirector Elisabeth Scharang never lets audiences get close enough to feel such
familiarly. Unterweger was and remains an enigma, elevated to celebrity status and
acclaimed for his underworld-plunging poetry and fiction before being charged with
the murders of 11 prostitutes in Austria and abroad. Did he commit the crimes, or
was the reformed criminal unfairly typecast for earlier transgressions? No one could
reasonably answer such questions of the basis of Scharangs impressionistic
portrait, a poisonous psycho-thriller guilty of distorting the facts for artistic effect
without creating any semblance of a relatable human being in the process.
It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the 2015 Toronto
International Film Festival.
*Review:*
[Link]
*IMDB Rating:*
5.9 /10 (by 59 viewers)
*Trailer:*
[Link]
*21th July (Thursday): NFAI auditorium: 7.00pm*
Movie: *Scouting for Zebras* (2014)
Country: *Belgium*
Genre: *Comedy, Drama*
Language: French
Run Time: 80 Minutes
*Plot:*
Jos is a football agent. His specialty is scouting out promising African players.
When he discovers Yaya, he takes him to Belgium to make a champion out of him.
He thinks he hit the jackpot, but nothing goes as planned...
*Awards & nominations:*
a) Golden Whistle Award @ NY K+ S festival, b) "Whistle Bell" for Best Actor Benoit
Poelvoorde, c) Namur FIFF 2014, Focus on Belgian Cinema, d) Magritte award for
Best supporting actor
*Screenings in festivals:* Pitchfest Montral, Francophonies de Vienne,
Francophones de Moscou, PIFF (2015)
*Review:*
[Link]
*IMDB Rating:*
5.8 /10 (by 314 viewers)
*Trailer:*
[Link]
*22nd July (Friday): NFAI auditorium: 5.00pm*
Movie: *The Garden of Eden* (2015)
Country: *Lithuania*
Genre: * Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi *
Run Time: 93 Minutes
*Plot:*
A fictional tongie-in-cheek look at Lithuania in the near future filled with rich
immigrants and nostalgic residents. Rich Lithuanians that were scattered
throughout the world return to Lithuania to spend their golden years in luxurious
nursing homes. The laws that govern life and death provide a feeling of security...
The residents of the Garden of Eden look upon this "global theatre of life" with
tearful smiles and great wisdom.
*Awards & nominations:*
N/A
*Screenings in festivals:* N/A
*Review:*
[Link]
*IMDB Rating:*
5.3 /10 (by 682 viewers)
*Trailer:*
[Link]
*22nd July (Friday): NFAI auditorium: 7.00pm*
Movie: *Afterlife* (2014)
Country: *Hungary*
Genre: * Comedy, Drama, Family *
Run Time: 90 Minutes
*Plot:*
A heavily neurotic young man starts to see his father's ghost, and while he helps the
spirit cross to the otherworld, something happens that they could never achieve in
their common life: they finally understand each other.
*Awards & nominations:* Received the MEDIA European Talent Prize at the 2011
Cannes Film Festival.
*Screenings in festivals:* Cannes Film Festival (2011), Karlovy Vary International
Film Festival (2014)
*Review:*
[Link]
*IMDB Rating:*
7.3 /10 (by 472 viewers)
*Trailer:*
[Link]
*24th July (Sunday): 5.00pm*
Venue: *British Council, 917/1, Fergusson College Road, Shivaji Nagar*
Movie: *Coriolanus* (2011)
Language: *English*
Country: *United Kingdom*
Genre: *Action, Adventure, Biography*
Run Time: 123 Minutes
*Plot:*
A banished hero of Rome allies with a sworn enemy to take his revenge on the city.
Coriolanus, the hero of Rome, a great soldier and a man of inflexible self-belief
despises the people. His extreme views ignite a mass riot. Manipulated and outmaneuvered by politicians and even his own mother Volumnia, Coriolanus is
banished from Rome. He offers his life or his services to his sworn enemy Tullus
Aufidius.
*Awards & nominations:* N/A
*Screenings in festivals:* 61st Berlin International Film Festival (2011), Belgrade
International Film Festival (2011),
*Review:*
[Link]
*IMDB Rating:*
6.2 /10 (by 26871 viewers)
*Trailer:*
[Link]