you must watch Film 1

HUNGER
d. Steve McQueen, UK/Ireland 2008 PF
25 Suncoast A 22h30; 29 Nouveau 20h30
Hunger, the first film from internationally acclaimed artist Steve McQueen, tells the story of a 1981 IRA hunger strike which took place in a bid to earn recognition as political prisoners. Told without deference to ideology and almost devoid of reference to Irish politics or history, McQueen focuses almost exclusively on the inhumane prison conditions and the experience of hunger striker Bobby Sands. With strangely beautiful and technically consummate cinematography, Hunger is both alienating and deeply compelling. Off ering neither judgement nor conclusion in its brilliantly acted screenplay, the film announces McQueen as a major cinematic talent. English, 35mm, 96 min.



FILM 2

LAILA’S BIRTHDAY
d. Rashid Masharawi, Palestine/Tunisia/The Netherlands 2008 PF
24 Suncoast A 18h00; 26 Suncoast A 12h00; 02 Suncoast B 14h00
Set in Ramallah, Laila’s Birthday is a day in the life of Abu, a former judge, now reduced to driving a taxi. On this particular day, his daughter is turning seven, and he has to be home early and pick up a cake on the way. As the film follows him around, we meet a diverse selection of passengers who provide a cross-section of life in the besieged city. A portrait of a soul determined to remain steadfast in the face of overwhelming chaos, Laila’s Birthday is a wry and ultimately devastating comment on the Palestinian confl ict. Arabic with English subtitles, 35mm, 70 min.



FILM 3

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (LÅT DEN RÄTTE KOMMA IN)
d. Tomas Alfredson, Sweden 2008 PF
24 Musgrave 22h15; 25 Suncoast A 14h00; 01 Musgrave 22h30
Oskar is an alienated 12-year-old Swedish kid who gets picked on by bullies. When a strange young girl named Elimoves in next door, the two children strike up a close friendship. But Elionly seems to be a young girl. In reality, she’s a vampire who is thousands of years old. She does all she can to keep her secret from her new boyfriend, but the closer they get, the stickier things become. Let the Right One In is both an exceptionally good horror film, and an intensely personal drama. Destined to be a cult classic. Swedish with English subtitles, 35mm, 115 min.



FILM 4

LONDON RIVER
d. Rachid Bouchareb, UK/France/Algeria 2009 CF
24 Sneddon 20h15; 31 Nouveau 20h30;02 Musgrave 20h00
When a woman (Brenda Blethyn) who manages a small farm in the country hears about the 2005 London bomb attacks, she starts to worry about her daughter and heads for the city. At the same time, a Senegalese forest worker (SotiguiKouyate) in France is concerned about his estranged son and leaves for England. London River is an intimate account of two very diff erent people who come to understand their sameness in the search for their children. For his extraordinary performance, Kouyate won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. English, French and Arabic with English subtitles, 35mm, 90 min.



FILM 5

HELEN
d. Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor, UK/Ireland 2008 CF
24 Musgrave 20h30; 26 Nouveau 18h00; 02 Musgrave 12h00
Helen is based on a haunting premise. When Joy, a local teenager, goes missing and is presumed murdered, a young girl from the same college named Helen agrees to play her in a police reconstruction for television. As Helen, whose mother has abandoned her, fills in for Joy, she starts to become obsessed with the dead girl, wearing her clothes, bonding with her parents and even losing her virginity to her former boyfriend. With superb visuals and an intriguing central performance from Annie Townsend, Helen is a daring psychological thriller that will linger long after the last frame. Filmmaker in attendance. English, 35mm, 79 min.




- Suprajaa