2001-2010

n a street called Blue in a very poor neighborhood in Paris, Monsieur Ibrahim (Omar Shariff) is an old Muslin Turkish owner of a small market. He becomes friend of the teenager Jewish Moises, tenderly nicknamed Momo (Pierre Boulanger), who lives with his father in a small apartment on the other side of the street. Monsieur Ibrahim gives paternal love and teaches the knowledge of the Koran to the boy, receiving in return love and respect.

Golden Globe Nominations (2003):
Best Foreign-Language Film
Other Awards:
César Awards—Best Actor: Omar Sharif
Venice Film Festival—Best Actor: Omar SharifRead More »

A witty and controversial documentary from Zentropa, which won the SUNDANCE World Cinema Jury Prize in 2010.

Quote:
A journalist with no scruples and two Danish/Korean comedians—one a self-proclaimed “spastic”—travel to North Korea under the guise of a cultural exchange. On the pretext of being a small Danish theatre group, named The Red Chapel, they are allowed into the country, but unbeknownst to the North Koreans, cultural exchange is not really what they have in mind. Mads Brügger, the journalist; Simon, the straight man; and Jacob, the spastic, use humor to challenge one of the world’s most notorious regimes. The troupe rehearse under the watchful eye of government officials brought in to “collaborate” on their performance and make it more palatable for the Korean regime. They are shown the important historical sights by a female government employee, who smothers poor Jacob with motherly affection.Read More »

In 1962, a U.S. soldier sent to guard the peace in South Korea deserted his unit, walked across the most heavily fortified area on earth and defected to the Cold War enemy, the communist state of North Korea. He then simply disappeared from the face of the known world. He became a coveted star of the North Korean propaganda machine, and found fame acting in films, typecast as an evil American. He uses Korean as his daily language. He has three sons from two wives. He has now lived in North Korea twice as long as he has in America. At one time, there were four Americans living in North Korea. Today, just one remains. Now, after 45 years, the story of Comrade Joe, the last American defector in North Korea, is told.Read More »

“A riveting BBC documentary that illuminates the character of that nation.” — Jeff Shannon, SEATTLE TIMES

“Striking footage from North Korea, the country with the world’s fewest visitors.” — Harvey S. Karten, COMPUSERVE

“Priceless footage inside the secret church-state of North Korea and the beautiful Mass Games, this documentary sheds little light on the people themselves.”  — Ron Wilkinson, MONSTERS AND CRITICS

“Gordon gives an intimate, balanced account of how political power, famine, power shortages and a hatred of America have shaped their young lives.”  — Paul Malcolm, L.A. WEEKLY

“The biggest value of the movie is the depiction of Pyongyang life, the elaborate Mass Games choreography, a wondrous road trip to the revered Mount Paektu, and the ideological mind-set of typical North Korean citizens.”  — G. Allen Johnson, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLERead More »

Quote:
With its riveting footage of a secretive ‘underground railroad,’ SEOUL TRAIN is the gripping documentary expose into the life and death of North Koreans as they try to escape their homeland and China.

SEOUL TRAIN also delves into the complex geopolitics behind this growing and potentially explosive humanitarian crisis. By combining verite footage, personal stories and interviews with experts and government officials, SEOUL TRAIN depicts the flouting of international laws by major countries, the inaction and bureaucracy of the United Nations, and the heroics of activists that put themselves in harm’s way to save the refugees.Read More »

“Peter Hutton is a still photographer that puts pictures into motion or it might be more apt to say that Peter Hutton is a motion picture maker that makes them still. His films are images, presented like slides, no inherent story, no specific connection other than local proximity. His camera remains locked down, his gaze intensely fixated on a particular setting as he allows time to unwind before the lens. The moments he captures are ones of small change, but profound beauty.Read More »

Quote:
In the heart of Jaffa, Reuven’s garage is a family business. His daughter Mali and his son Meir, as well as Toufik, a young Palestinian, work there. No one suspects that Mali and Toufik have been in love for years. As the two lovers are secretly making their wedding arrangements, tension builds between Meir and Toufik…Read More »

Quote:
Set in the same place and about the same war, “No Man’s Land” is like the grown-up version of “Behind Enemy Lines.” It’s a bleakly funny parable that could be titled “Between Enemy Lines.” In Bosnia in 1993, Serbs and Croats find themselves trapped in the same trench. Anyone who sticks his head up gets shot. And when will that land mine explode? The setup seems artificial until you reflect that things like this probably do happen in the confusion of war. As the film opens, a few Croatian fighters are lost in a battlefield fog, and decide to wait until dawn to go further. When the sun burns away the mist, they find themselves staring directly at Serbian troops. Some are killed. Ciki (Branko Djuric) falls into a trench and is spared.Read More »

A story set in the former Yugoslavia and centered on a guy who returns to Herzegovina from Germany with plenty of cash and hopes for a good new life. (IMDb)Read More »