"Of Gods and Men" (Algeria/Frence, 2010)

Of Gods and Men is a 2010 French drama film directed by Xavier Beauvois, starring Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale. Its original French title is Des hommes et des dieux, which means "Of Men and of Gods" and refers to a motto from the Bible shown at the beginning of the film. It centers on the monastery of Tibhirine, where nine Trappist monks lived in harmony with the largely Muslim population of Algeria, until seven of them were kidnapped and assassinated in 1996 during the Algerian Civil War.

Largely a tale of a peaceful situation between local Christians and Muslims before becoming a lethal one due to external forces, the screenplay focuses on the preceding chain of events in decay of government, expansion of terrorism and the monks' confrontation with both the terrorists and the government authorities that led up to their deaths. Principal photography took place at an abandoned monastery in Morocco, with careful attention to authenticity.

The film premiered at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Grand Prix, the festival's second most prestigious award. It became a big critical and commercial success in its domestic market. It won both the Lumière Award and César Award for Best Film.

For more information about the film click here.

Director: Xavier Beauvois

Writers: Xavier Beauvois (adaptation) (dialogue), Etienne Comar (scenario)
Stars:Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale and Olivier Rabourdin
This film is suggested and will be hosted by Nicola.

7th of July "Tampopo" (Japan, 1985)

In this humorous paean to the joys of food, the main story is about trucker Goro who rides into town like a modern Shane to help Tampopo set up the perfect fast-food noodle restaurant. Woven into this main story are a number of smaller stories about the importance of food, ranging from a gangster who mixes hot sex with food to an old lady terrorizing a shopkeeper by compulsive squeezing of his wares.

Director: 

Jûzô Itami

Writer: 

Jûzô Itami

Stars:

 Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki and Nobuko Miyamoto

This film will be hosted by Atsuko Betchaku from  Japanese Institute of Scotland.

Find more about this film here. 

30th of June "DIRTY OIL" (2010)

"Dirty Oil" (running time 73 minutes) is one of the trilogy on toxic fuels presented by The Co-operative and powerfully illustrates the devastating impact that Albertan tar sands developments are having on the environment and local First Nation communities. This film is directed by Leslie Iwerks and narrated by Neve Campbell.
"H2Oil" and "Petropolis" are the two other episodes in these series.

‘There is no such thing as dirty oil’

Mel Knight, Alberta Energy Minister

‘Tar sands constitute one of our planet’s greatest threats’
Jim Hansen, Climate Scientist, NASA

For more information visit www.toxicfuels.com

Edinburgh Active Citizenship Group will be hosting this film for the Welcoming Cinema Club.

23rd of June "Dirty Pretty Things" (UK, 2002)

Celebrating the Refugee Week in Britain, we are proud of having an especial event on 23rd of June. 

This week in our cinema club besides our regular screening we will have a small party with food and drinks from 6:15 to 10:30.

"Dirty Pretty Things" with a relevant topic has been chosen for this night. It is about an illegal Nigerian immigrant who discovers the unpleasant side of London life. Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a Nigerian man who drives a cab in London during the day and works at the front desk of a hotel at night — chewing khat (a stimulant) to keep awake. Okwe was formerly a doctor in Nigeria. In London he is pressed into giving medical treatment to other poor immigrants. Everything is normal until he meets Juliette a prostitute in the hotel ...

Director: Stephen Frears

Writer: Steven Knight
Stars:Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou and Sophie Okonedo

16th of June "No man’s Land" (Serbia, 2001)

"No Man's Land" happens in Bosnia and Herzegovina during 1993 at the time of the heaviest fighting between the two warring sides. Two soldiers from opposing sides in the conflict, Nino and Ciki, become trapped in no man's land, whilst a third soldier becomes a living booby trap.

Director: Danis Tanovic
Writer: Danis Tanovic
Stars:Branko Djuric, Rene Bitorajac and Filip Sovagovic

No Man's Land won Prix du scénario at the Cannes Film Festival, followed by numerous awards, including the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2001, while in competition with French Amélie and the Indian blockbuster Lagaan. Tanović was presented the Oscar by John Travolta and Sharon Stone. Briefly after, Tanović thanked everyone who worked with him on the film and supported its creation. He ended his acceptance speech by saying, "This is for my country".



9th of June "Hamoun" (Iran, 1990)

Hamoun is a 1990 psychological drama movie directed by Dariush Mehrjui. The movie tells the story of a middle-class Iranian – Hamid Hamoun, played by Khosro Shakibai – and his struggle after his wife demands a divorce from him. 

Due to its dream like sequences and the treatment, Hamoun has often been described as having a Fellini touch. 

It is believed that Mehrjui was under influence of "Fear and Trembling" by Søren Kierkegaard and his argument on "Love", "Feith" and "Anxiety" specially in the story of "Abraham"  and sacrificing his son, Issac.

The movie was received very well in Iran by critics and young generation at the time and still it is in the list of the best ten films in the history of Iranian cinema.

Director: 

Dariush Mehrjui

Writer: 

Dariush Mehrjui

Stars:

 Ezzatolah Entezami, Bita Farahi and Sedigheh Kianfar

2nd of June "The Secret in Their Eyes" (Argantin/Spain, 2009)

"The secret in their eyes" is a story of Benjamin Espósito a retired Argentinian federal justice agent who is writing a novel. The novel is based on a real case involved the brutal rape and murder of Liliana Coloto. In addition to seeing the extreme grief of the victim's husband Ricardo Morales, Benjamín, his assistant Pablo Sandoval, and newly hired department chief Irene Menéndez-Hastings were personally affected by the case as Benjamín and Pablo tracked the killer, hence the reason why the unsatisfactory ending to the case has always bothered him. Despite the department already having two other suspects, Benjamín and Pablo ultimately were certain that a man named Isidoro Gómez is the real killer. Although he is aware that historical accuracy is not paramount for the novel, the process of revisiting the case is more an issue of closure for him. He tries to speak to the key players in the case, most specifically Irene. For more information click here.

Director: Juan José Campanella
Writers: Eduardo Sacheri, Juan José Campanella
Stars: Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil and Pablo Rago

26th of May "Three Colours: White" (France/Poland, 1994)

Synopsis: The second feature in filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Three Colors" trilogy, the black comedy White features Zbigniew Zamachowski as Karol Karol, an expatriate Polish hairdresser whose French wife (the breathtaking Julie Delpy) divorces him after just six months of marriage because of his impotency. Penniless and devoid of his passport, Karol must journey back to Poland by hiding in a trunk. Upon his return, he slowly begins amassing a considerable fortune, ultimately hatching a perverse plot for revenge. Often unjustly dismissed as the weak link in the trilogy, White grows in strength upon repeated viewings. An allegory about equality, the film is mordantly witty, a cynical look at power, marriage and capitalism.

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writers: Krzysztof Kieslowski (scenario), Krzysztof Piesiewicz (scenario)
Stars:Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy and Janusz Gajos
For more information check here.

19th of May "The Dancer Upstairs" (Spain, 2002)

This week cinema club will be hosted by Nicaraguan group with a film from Spain.

The Dancer Upstairs is the story of a detective Agustín Rejas (Bardem) who is tracking the self-styled President Ezequiel (Abel Folk), a Marxist-influenced guerrilla waging a brutal terrorist campaign against the corrupt-yet-democratic government of an unnamed Latin American country. Contrasting with the violence and death in his professional life, Rejas begins to fall for Yolanda (Laura Morante) - his daughter's beautiful ballet teacher. But she may not be all she appears, and his growing attraction to her brings him in direct conflict with his prey.

Director: John Malkovich

Writers: Nicholas Shakespeare (novel), Nicholas Shakespeare (screenplay)

Stars:Javier Bardem, Laura Morante and Juan Diego Botto

You can find more here.

12th of May "Machuca" (2004, Chile)

This week we will watch Machuca which is part of The Smallest Latin American Festival and taken place in May all over the world. 
Plot: Santiago, Chile, 1973: Pedro Machuca (Ariel Mateluna) is a poor boy of tribal descent, brought into an upper class private school during Chile’s brief socialist era. Gonzalo (Matias Quer), the well-to-do boy seated a row ahead, befriends Pedro against the bullying will of his classmates. In so doing, he discovers a raw, thrilling but wildly complicated world outside his own previously sheltered homelife. Pedro’s fierce, attractive young neighbor Silvana (Manuela Martelli) by turns mocks Gonzalo’s pampered background, only to fondly lead both boys in a number of kissing games. All around them, Chile drifts toward civil war. Protest marches fill the Santiago streets with zealots of the right and left. At school, their humane headmaster Father McEnroe (Ernesto Malbran) comes under an hysteria-driven attack by parents for his charity toward poor students.
...

Director: 

Andrés Wood

Writers: 

Mamoun Hassan, Andrés Wood

Stars:

 Matías Quer, Ariel Mateluna and Manuela Martelli

Read more about Machuca here.