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Coming to students in Eugene, this selection of recent award-winning films offers a diverse, up-to-the-minute look at the great talents at work today. Félix Viscarret will be sharing his experiences and theories about filmmaking with the students in a brown bag lunch session (Tuesday, November 18, noon–2 p.m., Mills International Center (EMU). DO NOT MISS IT!). He will be showing his earlier short films DREAMERS (1998) and WINTER SONGS (2004). Following the shorts, he will participate in a Q&A session after the screening of UNDER THE STARS (2007). All this on November 18th at the University of Oregon campus.
Special support from University of Oregon, Department of Romance Languages and Latin American Studies Program, The Office of International of Affairs and The Oregon Humanities Center. |
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, Eugene |
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UNDER THE STARS Bajo las estrellas | Félix Viscarret | Spain | 107 min. | 2007 | |
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With Alberto San Juan, Emma Suárez, Julián Villagrán, Violeta Rodríguez. After its successful critic and box office success in Spain, Under the Stars is a remarkable debut film, in which Félix Vizcarret, well known by his short films, evokes the claustrophobia and paranoia of small-town life, with everyone getting into everyone else’s business and secrets hard to keep. When Benito Lacunza, a shiftless waiter cum aspiring jazz musician, has to return to his hometown Estella for a few days, he is surprised to learn that his brother Lalo -who makes sculptures out of scrap metal- is about to marry. Benito remembers the bride all too well from his oat-sowing adolescence: she is Nines, a single mom who’s seen her share of hard times. Benito decides to save his brother from such a fate, but unexpectedly finds himself up against a formidable foe in the person of Nine’s daughter, Ainara, an introverted, rebellious, precocious smoker who Benito ends up forging a one-of-a-kind friendship with. San Juan’s excellent performance as Benito won him a 2008 Goya for Best Lead Actor. The fim’s palmares gathers the most important awards in Spain, including those as best director, screenplay at the San Sebastián and Malaga Film Festivals.
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MATAHARIS | Icíar Bollaín | Spain | 95 min. | 2007 | |
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With Najwa Nimri, Nuria González, María Vázquez, Tristán Ulloa, Diego Martín. No other Spanish filmmaker bravely portrays the untouchable issues concerning Spanish comptemporary society better than Icíar Bollaín. Her previous powerful feature Take My Eyes won every major Goya award. This time, Mataharis has been nominated in six categories, including Best Director, Screenplay, Actor and Actress. Bollaín dives into the lives of three private investigators. Ines (Maria Vazquez) is working undercover at a corporation, ostensibly to weed out corruption but actually to report on workers’ efforts to unionize. Eva (Najwa Nimri), recently back at work after maternity leave, struggles to juggle her caseload with family life, when she accidentally discovers a secret her partner has long kept from her. Carmen (Nuria González), investigating a case of adultery, starts reflecting on her own loveless marriage. “Bollaín, a pure storyteller, has made a very complete and alive film. (The film) is an inusual magic trick’: (Jordi Costa: Diario El País)
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SEVEN BILLIARDS TABLES Siete mesas de billar francés | Gracia Querejeta | Spain | 113 min. | 2007 | |
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With Maribel Verdú, Blanca Portillo, Victor Valdivia, Jesús Castejón. Upon receiving the news that her father is ill, Angela (Maribel Verdú), and her son Guille, travel to the capital. She arrives too late, and her father’s long-time girlfriend, Charo (Blanca Portillo), explains that the business is far from good. The business in question is a billiard hall with seven tables. Over theyears, it has has lost it all: style, clients, and money. An idea occurs to Angela: Why not take over the business and try to turn it around? The film display a superb narrative that lead us to a simple, and perfect, ending. Nominated for 10 Goyas (Spanish Cinema Awards) & 9 Spanish Critics Circle Awards, the film is not just a showcase of magnificent performances by Maribel Verdú (Pan’s Labyrinth) and Blanca Portillo (Volver). It is also a proof of Gracia Querejeta’s rich talent, crowning her as one of the most interesting yet solid filmmakers working today.
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IN SYLVIA’S CITY En la ciudad de Silvia | José Luis Guerin | Spain | 90 min. | 2007 | |
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With Xavier Lafitte and Pilar Lopez de Ayala. Described as “A film that audiences would want to see more than once” by Ray Bennet (The Hollywood Reporter), auteur Jose Luis Guerin (Under Construction) bring us a romantic yet intensely expressive dialogue-free story anchored by real substance and full of desire. It’s summer and a young foreigner saunters through the streets of a city of street cars and canals. As he walks through the city – observing, writing and drawing‚ with voyeuristic undertones – the nature of his mysterious intentions slowly becomes clear. Trying to glean an insight into a woman he met years ago and for whom he now has only a memory and a first name: Charlotte.
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BIRDSONG El Cant dels ocells | Albert Serra | Spain | 98 min. | 2008 | |
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With Mark Peranson, Lluis Carbo, Montse Tripla. Have you ever thought of the Three Kings’ relationship to one another while they traversed the world’s deserts in search of Christ? Albert Serra, whose previous film Honor de Cavalleria was named “one of the best 10 films of 2008” by Cahiers du Cinéma, is back with a film even more beautiful and crazy than his debut piece. Displaying freely his own vision about the classic myth of the Nativity, the film is beautifully crafted and contemplative, with impresive views and photograph-like cinematography to satisfy the most demanding eye. This exercise about the essence of cinema holds rank with the films of major importance at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight. Even so, the Three Kings are so human that will make you smile.
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SOLITARY FRAGMENTS La soledad | Jaime Rosales | Spain | 128 min. | 2007 | |
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With Sonia Almarcha, Petra Martinez, Miriam Correa, Nuria Mencia. The beautifully nuanced performances of both Sonia Almarcha as Adela and Petra Martínez as Antonia, as well as Rosales’ keen ability to portray isolation and beauty in the apparently mundane world, makes Solitary Fragments a supreme delicacy not to be missed. Having premiered at the Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard section, the film swept 3 Goyas (Spanish Cinema Awards), including Best Picture and Best Director. Adela lives a quiet life in rural Spain with her son Miguelito. Hoping for more from life, she moves with her son to Madrid, where they share an apartment with a couple, Ines and Carlos. Elder Antonia watches her family tear itself apart in a dispute over money. Stylish yet thoughtful and far from melodrama, the film takes you by the hand towards a shocking ending in a film difficult to forget.
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ME Yo | Rafa Cortés | Spain | 100 min. | 2007 | |
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With Alex Brendemühl, Margalida Grimalt, Rafel Ramis, Aina de Cos. Named “Revelation of the Year” by FIPRESCI, the international association of film critics at Cannes 2007, Me is the story of a man who, suspecting himself accused of something he hasn’t done, sets out to prove an innocence that nobody questions. Every attempt to correct this mistake leads him closer to the real problem: himself. Set in Majorca island, the atmosphere is supported by strange characters, suspicious looks, and a light surrealistic nightmare climate that begins to build in this unsettling and meticulously crafted drama. Rafa Cortés’ burgeoning talent is undeniable, creating a palpable atmosphere with the help of Alex Brendemühl’s (who co-wrote the film) brilliant performance.
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SEPTEMBERS Septiembres | Carles Bosch | Spain | 98 min. | 2007 | |
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For the incarcerated participants of the 2005 Festival of Song, singing love songs is not merely entertainment. It is also a poignant reminder of the people they left behind. Carles Bosch, director of the Oscar®-nominated Balseros, follows four men and four women in prison. Spanning a year—from September to September, between one festival and the next—the film portrays their love stories.
Despite the hostile environment, this film displays extraordinary emotion an it is an inspiration to all who watch it. With major accomplishments already under its Belt (Shortlisted for the Best Feature Documentary IDA Awards-International Documentary Association and nominated as Best Documentary Joris Ivens Competition IDFA. Amsterdam), Bosch’s sympathetic and at times humorous vision delight us with a question to answer: Can a documentary capture the true essence of Love? To view a preview CLICK |
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