Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening May 29-June 4, 2014

The Legend of King Naresuan Part V

Seven years after it first made its bow, director MC Chatrichalerm Yukol's lavishly mounted Naresuan epic rumbles to a close with The Legend of King Naresuan Part V: The Great Elephant Battle (ตำนานสมเด็จนเรศวรมหาราช ๕: ยุทธหัตถี, Tamnan Somdej Phra Naresuan Maharaj Ha: Yuthahatthi). It culminates in the 1593 Great Battle of Yuthahatthi, one of the last major battles to use war elephants.

Wanchana Sawasdee, a lieutenant colonel and cavalryman in the Royal Thai Army, stars as Prince Naresuan. Crowned king of Ayutthaya, the former Black Prince faces a challenge from his childhood friend, the wickedly sneering Burmese viceroy prince Phra Maha Upparacha (Napassakorn Mit-em).

Other stars include "Peter" Nopachai Jayanama as Naresuan's long-time friend Lord Ratchamanu, Inthira Charoenpura as a Karen warrior princess and "Aff" Taksaorn Techanarong as Narusuan's long-time sweetheart Maneechan.

There's also Colonel Winthai "Seh Tod" Suwaree of the Royal Thai Army. He was recently the only thing on Thai TV when the military took over, and served long hours as the spokesman, appearing at odd hours to read a new order from the junta. He plays Ekathotsarot, younger brother of Naresuan and eventual successor to the throne.

Coming three years after Naresuan 3 and Naresuan 4, part five faced production delays when a fire destroyed that very footage the whole franchise had been working up to – the elephant battle – forcing the veteran director to remake it. Funding to shoot that elephant battle had initially come from the Culture Ministry's Strong Thailand fund back in 2010 – originally meant to be 100 million baht – half the film-funding initiative's budget – but cut to around 46 million baht after other filmmakers protested.

It's rated G

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Also opening

The Raid 2: Berandal – Indonesia's martial-arts action franchise barrels on, sending rookie policeman Ram (Iko Uwais) on an undercover assignment in prison, where he's tasked with infiltrating a Jakarta crime syndicate. Director Gareth Evans sequelizes the sequel, adding car chases, more fights and more sinister characters – look out for assassins Hammer Girl and Baseball Bat Man. It was a huge hit at Sundance and critical reception  is mostly positive. Action fans have been practically hyperventilating over it. It's at Major Cineplex only, and looks like it's Thai-dubbed with English subtitles. Rated 18+

Le Week-End – Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan star as a long-married English couple who revisit Paris for the first time since their honeymoon in hopes of rekindling romance. Jeff Goldblum also stars, playing an egotistical American professor living in Paris. Roger Michell (Hyde Park on Hudson, Notting Hill) directs. A nominee for five British Independent Film Awards, and winner of the best actress prize for Duncan, critical reception is mostly positive – perhaps a pleasant diversion for gentle souls seeking something other than a Thai historical battle epic or an Indonesian martial-arts film. It's Apex Siam Square, House, Paragon and CentralWorld. Rated 13+

Island of Lemurs: Madagascar
– Morgan Freeman narrates this short live-action documentary. Nothing to do with the DreamWorks animated series, this chronicles the efforts of a scientist as she works to protect the unique and highly evolved primate species that only lives on the island off Africa. Running just under 40 minutes, it's in 3D at IMAX. Rated G

Heropanti – It's star-crossed romance for two young lovers – a girl named Dimpy who has a strict and stern father, and a guy named Bablu who fights for her love. Kriti Sanon and Tiger Shroff star, making their film debut. It's in Hindi with English and Thai subtitles at Major Cineplex Sukhumvit, Rama III and Pattaya. Opens Friday.

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Also showing

Movies on Design – The film program of the Bangkok Design Festival wraps up today with two entries, Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present, about the artist who staged an "interactive performance" in 2010 at New York's Museum of Modern Art at 4.15pm and From Nothing, Something: A Documentary on the Creative Process at 6.30pm, followed by a talk. Tickets are 180 baht. More details at the fest's Facebook page.

European Union Film Festival – Evening shows for the fest at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld were shifted to around a half hour earlier in keeping with the old 10am-5am curfew. Hopefully they won't change the times again now that curfew isn't until midnight. Here's the remaining line-up through June 5:

• Russian Dolls – The second of French director Cedric Klapisch's trilogy of breezy romantic comedies that started with The Spanish Apartment, Russian Dolls catches up with Xavier (Romain Duris) and his old cohorts from Barcelona five years later. Lucy Gordon, Kelly Reilly, Audrey Tautou and Cécile De France also star. 6.30 tonight.
• Chinese Puzzle – The newest and final entry in Cedric Klapisch's rom-com trilogy follows Frenchman Xavier (Romain Duris) to New York where he's still trying to figure things out as he visits old friends. Take note: This will get a limited commercial release in Bangkok on June 19. 6.30pm tomorrow.
• A Royal Affair –  Alicia Vikander and Mads Mikkelsen star in this costume-drama account of the relationship between Princess Caroline Matilda and the royal physician to Denmark's mentally ill King Christian VII. 4pm on Saturday.
• Jose and Pilar – Portuguese Nobel Prize-winning author Jose Saramago and his resolute wife Pilar del Rio are profiled in this 2010 documentary. 6.30pm on Saturday.
• The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) – Italian auteur Paolo Sorrentino directs his leading man Toni Servillo through this Fellini-like escapade, following an ageing socialite as he walks through the streets and ruins of Rome following celebrations for his 65th birthday. One of the top films of 2013 of many critics, it won the foreign-language prizes at the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs. 4pm on Sunday.
• A Hijacking – The takeover of a cargo vessel by Somali pirates is experienced by crewmembers while back at the ship owner's offices in Copenhagen, a stand-off unfolds as the ransom is negotiated. 6.45pm on Sunday.
• The Symmetry of the Butterfly – From Luxembourg, this multi-layered comedy has a writer living in a retirement home who uses the people around him as inspirations for his stories. 6.30pm on Monday.
• The Gang of Oss – Authorities try to break the influence of criminal gangs on a Netherlands' industrial town in the 1930s. 6.30pm on Tuesday.
• Walking Too Fast – Set in 1982, this Cold War thriller is about a secret police lieutenant who starts to have doubts about his line of work. 6.30pm on Wednesday.
• Finsterworld – Various quirky characters come together in this drama, the first by documentarian Frauke Finsterwalder, that aims to explore the German psyche. 6.30pm next Thursday.

Tickets are handed out 30 minutes before showtime, but the queues start forming before that. Enjoy. All films will be screened in their original languages with English subtitles. Some films will also have Thai subtitles. Check the schedule at SFCinemaCity.com or see www.Facebook.com/EuinThailand.

The Friese-Greene Club – Tonight's final boarding-school story for May is Yuang Zhang's Little Red Flowers, about the struggles of a little boy in regimented post-revolutionary China. Tomorrow night's big-screen feast is Sergio Leone's spaghetti western masterwork, Once Upon a Time in the West. And May closes out on Saturday with the troubled-youth tale Melissa P. It's an erotic drama based on a Sicilian teenager's diary. The club will be hold a private event on Sunday, so keep out. The June schedule kicks off on Wednesday with Red Sorghum, the debut by Chinese film great Zhang Yimou. Other highlights in June include films on democracy (or lack thereof), censorship (or lack thereof), notable films celebrating anniversaries and the club's own first-year anniversary party on June 28, with an encore screening of the first film shown, Blade Runner. Shows are back to 8pm (7 during the old curfew). The FGC is down an alley next to the Queen's Park Imperial Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22. With just nine seats, the screening room fills up fast, so reservations aren't a bad idea. For details, check the website and Facebook page.

Bangkok Open Air Cinema Club – A new movie series, set for the last Saturday each month, makes its debut this week at The Hive Rooftop Bar with Star Wars. This is the original 1977 film that started it all. The show's at 7.30pm. Tickets are 300 baht and include a pair of complimentary drinks, beer or prosecco, and unlimited popcorn. Check the website for details on making reservations. The venue is a newly opened five-floor members-only "co-working" space at 46/9 Sukhumvit Soi 49.

Kafka Festival in Bangkok – The embassies of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic and the Goethe-Institut Thailand are hosting a three-day festival to remember writer Franz Kafka on the 90th anniversary of his death. Events will include lectures, performances and films. The screenings are Michael Haneke's 1997 adaptation of Kafka's Das Schloß (The Castle) at 6pm on June 4 and the 1965 Czech short Postava k podpírání (Joseph Kilian) and the 2006 documentary Who Was Kafka? It's all at the Goethe-Institut off Sathorn Soi 1. Check the website for details.

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Take note

Just hours after last week's update went online here, the Thai military, led by General Prayuth Chan-ocha, upgraded its declaration of martial law (and not a coup) to a full-scale seizure of the government.

A curfew was imposed, running from 10pm to 5am, but that was relaxed starting yesterday, so now we're under lockdown from only midnight to 4am.

Though Taylor Swift has canceled her sold-out concert here – uselessly announced on the very day the curfew was relaxed – most film events, including the EU Film Fest, have soldiered on with only a few minor changes in their schedules.

However, one exception was the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand's planned screening of Michael Winterbottom's Trishna last Monday. It will be rescheduled.

Free film screenings aren't happening in June at the Alliance Française, but that doesn't have anything to do with the curfew or the government situation – it's because there's the annual French cultural fest La Fête, from June 4 to July 6 at various venues.

Meanwhile, there's yet another film festival coming up, the weirdly named Bangkok International Digital Content and Movie Festival, or BIC.Mov.Fest for short, from July 3 to 6 at Siam Paragon. Backed by the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand, the Culture Ministry, the Commerce Ministry, the Tourism and Sport Ministry and other concerned agencies, it is being positioned as a successor to the long-defunct and scandal-plagued Bangkok International Film Festival. It will offer workshops, seminars and other events to highlight not just the film industry, but also television, video games, animation, character licensing, software and apps. Expect a red carpet to be rolled out at some point. The film selection will likely include a fixture of the old BKKIFF, the "Thai Panorama" of notable and mainstream Thai films of the past year or so.

Just remember, there's the 12th World Film Festival of Bangkok – a real, honest-to-goodness film festival that keeps the focus on films. It's set for October 17 to 26.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening May 22-28, 2014

X-Men: Days of Future Past

The comic-book onslaught continues as Fox's X-Men franchises converge in X-Men: Days of Future Past, with the stars of the original 2000-2006 film trilogy sharing the screen with the mutant superheroes of the 2011 reboot X-Men: First Class.

Rivalling Disney's Marvel Studios' own juggernaut The Avengers for sheer star power, it's a cast stuffed with Shakespearian-trained talent – Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan as friends-turned-enemies Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto, played in their younger days by a pair of other figures from the stage and arthouse screen – James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender.

Also returning is Hugh Jackman as Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine – he had a hilarious cameo in First Class. Here, with just raw bones for claws now, he's front and center, tasked by Professor X (Stewart) with going back in time to the 1970s to stop a chain of events that led to the creation of the Sentinels – unstoppable killer robots.

For help, Logan has to work with the younger Xavier, a powerful telepath who is a broken man following the events of First Class, in which his lifelong friend, the blue-skinned shape-shifting Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) left him and his other good friend Magneto betrayed him. But they need metal-bending Magneto, who is held in a super-max prison inside the Pentagon.

Others taking part include Halle Berry as Storm, Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde, Anna Paquin as Rogue, Nicholas Hoult as the Beast and Fan Bingbing as the teleporting mutant Blink. Original trilogy stars Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden and Famke Jansen also turn up. New to the franchise is Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage, portraying Dr. Bolivar Trask, the scientist who created the Sentinels.

Back in the director's chair is Bryan Singer, who helmed 2000's X-Men and the 2003 sequel X2 and has guided the franchise as producer all along. The movie's release comes as he's fighting a scandal in Hollywood.

Writers include Matthew Vaughn, the British producer-director of Kick-Ass and First Class, and Simon Kinberg, whose credits also include the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot and Star Wars: Episode VII.

Critical reception is wildly positive, making Days of Future Past one of the strongest in the X-Men franchise.

As has become the norm with Marvel Comic movies, there's a post-credits scene, so stick around as all the special-effects names roll by.

It's in real 3D in some cinemas, including IMAX and IMAX Digital. Rated G

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Also opening

Rob the Mob – Young husband-and-wife hoodlums plan a caper to take revenge on the New York mob in this fact-based crime-comedy starring Michael Pitt (Boardwalk Empire) and Nina Ariana. Andy Garcia, Ray Romano, Aida Turturro, Frank Whaley and Griffin Dunne also star. Critical reception is mostly positive – a pleasant surprise. Rated 15+

Draft Day – Kevin Costner, enjoying a career resurgence at the moment, is back doing what he does best – sports movies. The star of Field of Dreams, Bull Durham (baseball), Tin Cup (golf) and Waterworld (sailing), turns to the gridiron in this comedy-drama that takes place on one of the biggest days for American professional football – the NFL draft – in which a flurry of deals are made for college players. Costner is the manager of the Cleveland Browns, and has to make difficult personal and professional choices as he ponders what to do with the No. 1 draft pick. Jennifer Garner also stars. Ivan Reitman, better known for his comedies like Ghostbusters, directs. Critical reception is mixed, leaning to positive. Rated 15+

The Quiet Ones – Hammer Films, the British studio that made classic B-movie horrors from the 1950s through the '70s, was revived a few years back, and has brought us such new B-movie thrillers as The Woman in Black and the Let the Right One In remake Let Me In. The Quiet Ones has a former Oxford professor (Jared Harris from Mad Men) conducting experiments on a young woman who is possessed by dark forces. Sam Claflin and Olivia Cooke also star. Critical reception is mixed. Rated 15+

Kochadaiiyaan – India's first motion-capture animated feature tells the historical tale of good and evil, featuring South Indian megastar Rajinikanth performing and voicing three roles. The story involves a warrior who returns to his homeland to avenge the death of his father, who was unjustly put to death by the king. Deepika Padukone also stars, performing her own stunts. With music by Oscar-winning film-score composer A.R. Rahman, it's directed by Rajinikanth's daughter, Soundarya R. Ashwin. It was made using the performance-capture technique that was used for such films as Avatar, Tintin and for certain characters in the Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes, and yes, Godzilla! It's a first for India. It's also getting a huge debut, delayed a week, so that it could be released across the subcontinent and worldwide in nine languages. For Thailand, it's in Hindi with English and Thai subtitles at Paragon and Major Cineplex Sukhumvit (Ekamai), Rama III and Pattaya. And, it'll be in 2D only, so you can leave your 3D glasses at home. Opens Friday.

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Also showing

Movies on Design – Part of the Bangkok Design Festival, Movies on Design actually started on Tuesday at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center, but it seems nobody bothered to say anything about it until Monday. The fest, continuing until next Thursday, features documentaries about architecture, art and design. Here's the lineup:

• Life Architecturally – A profile of Australian architect Robert McBride and his wife, interior designer Debbie Ryan. 2.30 today and 7.45pm on May 28.
• Diller Scofidio + Renfro: Reimagining Lincoln Center and the High Line – Meet the minds behind the expansion of the New York's premiere performing-arts center and the innovative renovation of a derelict Manhattan elevated railway into a landmark new public park. 4.45pm today and 7pm on May 27 with a talk.
• Cartoon College – A look at American comic culture, with visits to comic-book stores, museums and conventions and talks with such cartoonists as Lynda Barry, Charles Burns, Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware. 5pm on May 28 with a talk.
• Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present – A profile of the artist who staged an "interactive performance" in 2010 at New York's Museum of Modern Art. 6 tonight with a talk and 4.15pm on May 29.
• From Nothing, Something: A Documentary on the Creative Process – A series of profiles on creators from different backgrounds, including a novelist, a musician, a designer of movie creatures, chefs, an architect and cancer researchers. 5.15pm on May 27 and 6.30pm on May 29 with a talk.

Tickets are not free! Prices start at 180 baht and they may be purchased at various venues. Check The Nation for details.

European Union Film Festival – Oh joy! It's another of Bangkok's wonderful free film festivals! Get ready to queue up for an hour or more to get those precious little tickets, which they start doling out 30 minutes before showtime. Running from tomorrow until June 5 at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld, here's this week's lineup:

• Come As You Are – Three disabled Belgian men want to go to a high-end Spanish bordello. 7pm tomorrow.
• The Angels' Share – Taking its title from the industry phrase for the booze that evaporates during distilling, Ken Loach's 2012 Cannes Jury Prize winner is about four young Scottish lawbreakers doing community service who turn their lives around when they discover a high-end brand of whiskey. 2.45pm on Saturday.
• Heavy Girls – Two German men – a young man who lives with his dementia-suffering mother and her caretaker – develop an unexpected queer bond. 4.30pm on Saturday.
• The Exam – In 1950s Budapest, a young intelligence officer is put through his paces by a mentor. 7pm on Saturday.
• Lilet Never Happened – In Manila, a Dutch social worker tries in vain to improve the life of a maladjusted Filipina child prostitute. 2.30pm on Sunday.
• Revival – Smoke, a 1960s band that was known as the "Czech Beatles", reunites for a comeback tour. 4.30pm on Sunday.
• Walesa: Man of Hope – Veteran Polish helmer Andrzej Wajda directs this biopic about a shipyard electrician who founded a dissident labour movement that brought a peaceful end to communism in Poland. 7pm on Sunday.
• The Pelayos (Winning Streak) – An oddball collection of Spaniards think they've figured out how to beat the roulette wheel at a casino run by a figure known as the Beast. 7pm on Monday.
• Palme – The life and times of slain Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme is recalled in this documentary. 7pm on Tuesday.
• The Spanish Apartment (L’auberge Espagnole) – A young Frenchmen (Romain Duris) moves into a Barcelona flat with group of colorful roomies from all over. Kelly Reilly, Audrey Tautou and Cecile de France also star. Directed by Cedric Klapisch, this is the first of a rom-com trilogy that was followed by Russian Dolls and Chinese Puzzle, each screening on consecutive nights next week, starting at 7 on Wednesday.

All films will be screened in their original languages with English subtitles. Some films will also have Thai subtitles. Hit the following link to download the schedule or check it at SFCinemaCity.com. For more information, see www.Facebook.com/EuinThailand.

The Friese-Greene Club – Last Saturday's "troubled youth" show ended up being SubUrbia, a 1996 dark comedy by Slackers director Richard Linklater, and not the 1983 gutterpunk drama Suburbia by Penelope Spheeris, as advertised. Linkater's is also a "troubled youth" movie, more in the spirit of Dazed and Confused, and is flat-out hilarious. I'd never seen it before. So no harm, no foul. Keep an eye out for Spheeris' film to be rescheduled. Tonight's show is Flirting, a 1991 Australian boarding-school drama starring Noah Taylor as a boy who enters into a star-crossed romance with Thandie Newton. Nicole Kidman also stars as a sexually repressed student. Tomorrow's big-screen spectacle is Spielberg's sci-fi freak-out Close Encounters of the Third Kind. On Saturday, stay gold with the "troubled youth" selection – Francis Ford Coppola's teen drama The Outsiders, starring the bratpack of Tom Cruise, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon, C. Thomas Howell and Ralph Macchio. Sunday is Billy Wilder's original Sabrina, a romantic comedy starring Humphrey Bogart, William Holden and Audrey Hepburn. Next Wednesday, all you need is this paddle game ... the ashtray, the paddle game, and the remote control, and that's all you need ... and these matches ... and this chair ... it's Steve Martin in the great American comedy The Jerk. Shows start at 8. The FGC is down an alley next to the Queen's Park Imperial Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22. With just nine seats, the screening room fills up fast, so reservations are a good idea. There are sometimes additions and changes in the schedule, so please check the website and Facebook page for updates.

Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand – For his 2011 drama Trishna, stylish director Michael Winterbottom adapts the classic novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles, and ports the setting of the star-crossed romance to Rajasthan, India, where the scion of a wealthy British-Indian family falls for a shy local lass who works in the family's hotel. Riz Ahmed and Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) star. Supported by the British Council, the screening will feature Fullers London Pride beer, fish, chips and British Ambassador Mark Kent. The show is at 7pm – not 8pm as they have been in the past – on Monday, May 26 at the FCCT. Admission is 150 baht for non-members plus 100 baht more for the brew and snacks.

Alliance Française – The relationship between pioneering 19th-century neurologist Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot and his star teenage patient is examined Augustine, a 2012 historical drama by Alice Winocour. Vincent Lindon and Soko star. It's in French with English subtitles at 7pm on Wednesday, May 28.

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Take note

Now comes the news from Moveedoo: The House website is back!

And those were the cheers of everyone who dislikes Facebook, which was where House's showtimes were listed for the past while, and sometimes hard to access. But somehow the new website design looks familiar. Navigate it by immediately hauling your mouse/finger down, and there is everything in all its heavenly glory.

Bangkok residents awoke to news early Tuesday morning that martial law had been declared by the Thai military. Revealing a little-known codicil in the constitution that gives the army power to preserve order in time of emergency, they aren't calling it a coup, and the "caretaker" government, left toothless by Constitutional Court rulings, is supposedly still in place.

On the surface, the move by the Army is aimed at containing protests by both the Thaksin-leaning red-shirts and the anti-Thaksin folk led by Suthep Thaugsuban.

There is no curfew for now. The military have a presence in certain areas, which includes media outlets. Folks are complaining about traffic. In other words, just another week in Bangkok.

There's an upcoming event to mention, the Kafka-Festival at the Goethe-Institut, screening three Kafka-related films there from June 3 to 5, 1997's The Castle by Michael Haneke, a 1960 Czech film Joseph Kilian by Pavel Jurácěk and Jan Schmidt and 2006's Who was Kafka? by Richard Dindo.

Also, Thai Aurora at the Horizon, in which a collection of new politically themed and somehow-still-relevant short films by young Thai directors will be screened on Sunday, June 15, at TK Park at CentralWorld. The show starts at 2pm.

Bangkok Cinema Scene special: European Union Film Festival, May 23-June 5, 2014

An Oscar-winning drama and more award-winners are lined up for this year's edition of the European Union Film Festival. With 20 films from 14 countries, highlights include Italy’s The Great Beauty, which swept the foreign-language categories at this year’s Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the Baftas.

In Bangkok, the fest runs from May 23 to June 5 at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. The festival then moves to Chiang Mai and later Khon Kaen.

The opener is Come As You Are (Hasta La Vista!), a 2011 Belgian comedy about three disabled young men who want to lose their virginity. They set out to visit a luxury bordello in Spain that caters to special-needs clients. Directed by Geoffrey Enthoven, it won the grand prize at the Montreal World Film Festival.

Ken Loach directs the Scottish comedy The Angels’ Share, starring Paul Brannigan as a young Glaswegian hoodlum who narrowly avoids jail. Sentenced to community service, he undertakes a new direction in life after visiting a whiskey distillery. It won a jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012.

A young man who lives with his dementia-addled mother develops an unexpected bond with her caretaker in the 2012 German romantic comedy Heavy Girls (Dicke Madchen). It won awards at Slamdance and the Hamburg Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

From Hungary, the Cold War-era spy thriller The Exam follows a young defence officer in 1950s Budapest as his mentor tests his loyalty. The second feature by Peter Bergendy, it won the Gold Hugo in the New Directors Competition at the 2012 Chicago film fest.

The Cold War era is also revisited in the 2009 Czech drama Walking Too Fast (Pouta). Set in 1982, the slow-burn political thriller is about a lieutenant of the secret police who begins having second thoughts about his line of work. It won five Czech Lions, including best film, best actor for Ondrej Maly and best director for Radim Spacek.

The “Czech Beatles” reunite in the 2013 comedy Revival. Written and directed by Alice Nellis, it follows the ageing musicians from the 1960s rock band Smoke as they attempt a comeback tour. It was nominated for seven Czech Lions and won the audience award at last year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

Manila is the setting for a Netherlands entry, Lilet Never Happened, about a maladjusted Filipina child prostitute. A Dutch social worker tries to turn the girl’s life around. Garnering positive reviews, Lilet has won awards at various children’s film festivals.

Also from the Netherlands is The Gang of Oss. Set in the 1930s, the crime drama has authorities seeking to end criminal gangs’ stranglehold on the southern Netherlands’ industrial town of Oss.

Veteran Polish helmer Andrzej Wajda directs Walesa: Man of Hope, a biographical drama charting Nobel Prize laureate Lech Walesa’s rise from shipyard electrician to the founding of Solidarity, the dissident political movement that brought about a peaceful revolution against communism. The film won awards at festivals in Chicago, Palm Springs and Venice, including best actor for Robert Wieckiewicz and best actress for Maria Rosaria Omaggio, who portrays Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci.

A Swedish national figure is the subject of the documentary Palme, on the life and times of prime minister Olof Palme, whose assassination on the streets of Stockholm in 1986 changed the country forever.

Denmark offers the lavish historical drama A Royal Affair, set in the 18th-century court of the mentally ill King Christian VII, whose wife Princess Caroline Matilda had an affair with royal physician Johann Friedrich Struensee. Alicia Vikander and Mads Mikkelsen star. It was a foreign-language nominee for both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes this year.

Portugal has a look at Nobel Prize-winning author Jose Saramago in the 2010 documentary Jose and Pilar, following his last years and his relationship with his resolute wife, Pilar del Rio.

From France comes a trilogy of hit comedies by director Cedric Klapisch – 2002’s The Spanish Apartment (L’auberge Espagnole), the 2004 sequel Russian Dolls and this year’s third chapter, Chinese Puzzle. In Spanish Apartment, a strait-laced French student (Romain Duris) moves into a Barcelona apartment with six other roomies from all over Europe. Russian Dolls fast-forwards to five years later, and Chinese Puzzle, which will have a limited theatrical release in Bangkok on June 29, has them in New York City, still trying to figure out their lives. Kelly Reilly, Audrey Tautou and Cecile de France also star.

Spaniards try to beat a casino run by a figure called “the Beast” in The Pelayos (Winning Streak
This year’s winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza), the latest opus from celebrated director Paolo Sorrentino. Starring Sorrentino’s usual leading man Toni Servillo, it follows an ageing socialite as he walks through the ruins and city streets of Rome following a party for his 65th birthday, reflecting on his life and his first love. Also the winner of the Golden Globe and British Film Academy Award for foreign features, The Great Beauty was on many critics’ top 10 lists of 2013’s best films.

Before last year’s high-seas drama Captain Phillips, there was the 2012 Danish thriller A Hijacking, in which Somali pirates raid a cargo ship and hold the crew for ransom. Meanwhile back in Copenhagen, the shipping company’s CEO enters into tense negotiations.

Luxembourg chips in with D’Symmetrie vum Paiperlek (The Butterfly’s Symmetry), a multi-layered comedy in which a writer living in a retirement home uses the people around him as inspirations for his stories. Among them is the tale of a misogynistic chess master who wants revenge after a young woman beats him in a match.

The Bangkok edition of the fest closes with Finsterworld, the fiction debut by German documentary director Frauke Finsterwalder. Exploring the German psyche, it has a dozen characters in gradually interconnected storylines. They include a pedicurist, three generations of a family, a documentary maker and her policeman boyfriend who is secretly likes to dress up in animal costumes.

The European Union Film Festival runs from May 23 to June 5 at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld, Bangkok, June 13 to 22 at SFX Maya, Chiang Mai and June 27 to 29 at SF Cinema City, CentralPlaza Khon Kaen.

Tickets are free and will be available 30 minutes before the show – first come first serve, maximum two tickets per person per screening. This is a very popular festival, especially among thrifty retirees and bargain-hunting young film enthusiasts, so if you want to ensure you have a decent seat, be prepared to queue up – the lines often start forming an hour or two beforehand.

All films will be screened in their original languages with English subtitles. Some films will also have Thai subtitles.

Hit the following link to download the schedule or check it at SFCinemaCity.com. For more information, see www.Facebook.com/EuinThailand.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening May 23-29, 2013

Fast and Furious 6

The Fast and Furious circus jets over to London for another mindlessly fun hot-rod ride.

According to producers, Fast and Furious 6 is the first of the franchise entries to not feature underground road racing as a major plot point. They felt they'd reached a "ceiling" in audience appeal, thinking that tuned Suburus and scantily clad race girls dancing to hip-hop weren't enough.

But there's still plenty of thrills as gravel-voiced Vin Diesel and his gang drive their musclecars on the wrong side of the road in England.

Franchise regular Paul Walker also returns, as do Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Sung Kang. And, surprise, Michelle Rodriguez is back. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson reprises his role from Fast Five. Joining the cast this time around is Welsh actor Luke Evans as the chief villain, plus MMA fighter Gina Carano from Haywire. And stick around for a post-credits scene to see the star of another car-chase franchise.

Director Justin Lin, who's steered The Fast and the Furious series since the third entry Tokyo Drift, is back in the drivers's seat one more time. He's moving aside to concentrate on other projects as Saw director James Wan takes over on the already-in-production Fast and Furious 7.

Following their big caper in Rio de Janeiro, Dominic Toretto (Diesel) and his crew of street-racing high-stakes thieves have retired but remain wanted fugitives. Diplomatic Security Service agent Hobbs (Johnson) gives them a chance for a clean slate when he asks for Dom's help in bringing down a British ex-special forces soldier (Evans) who is leading a team of mercenaries in daring highway heists across Europe. Among the team of criminals is Dom's supposedly dead girlfriend Letty.

Critical reception is mostly positive, so far. Rated 15+.

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Also opening

Epic – A teenage girl is shrunken down and discovers an incredible secret realm right in her own backyard. While trying to figure out a way to contact her nutty professor father and return to her normal size, she is caught up in a battle between the Leaf Men and their mortal enemies the Boggans. This animated feature is from Blue Sky Studios and is directed by Chris Wedge, the helmer of Ice Age and Robots. It is based on William Joyce's children's book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs. The voice cast is headed by Amanda Seyfried, along with Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Chris O'Dowd, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Steven Tyler and Beyoncé Knowles. Critical reception, so far, is generally positive. In 3D. Rated G.

Crush – A shy lonely high-school girl (Crystal Reed) turns into a psycho when she experiences her first feelings of love, making life a living hell for a hunky sports star (Lucas Till from X-Men: First Class). Sarah Bolger also stars. This went direct-to-DVD in the States and critical reception somewhat mixed. Rated 15+.

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Also showing

European Union Film Festival – Wrapping up this weekend, tonight's feature is the Spanish drama Don't Be Afraid. Tomorrow, there are three movies: the Danish World War II drama This Life, the Polish black comedy Wonderful Summer and Julien Temple's documentary London – The Modern Babylon. Saturday's offerings are Stars Above from Finland, Goethe! from (where else?) Germany and Portugal's The Death of Carlos Gardel. And the fest closes on Sunday with Sweden's Beyond, starring Noomi Rapace, Cool Kids Don't Cry from the Netherlands and the Luxembourgish crime thriller Blind Spot. It's all at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. As always, tickets are free but you have to queue up to get them 30 minutes before showtime. This is a very popular festival, especially with the culture-starved expats, so be prepared for long lines. Check the festival website for the schedule.

Baara (Work) – The Alliance Française screens free movies with English subtitles at 7.30pm every Wednesday. Next week's offering is this 1978 African workplace comedy-drama by Souleymane Cissé. It's set in a factory in Bamako, Mali, where the harsh conditions and corruption of the bosses cause the workers to revolt.

Bangkok Cinema Scene special: European Union Film Festival, May 16-26, 2013

The long-running European Union Film Festival joins hands with SF cinemas this year to bring 18 acclaimed and popular recent movies from 15 countries for free screenings Bangkok.

The fest will also be held at the new SF multiplex in Chiang Mai, and for the first time, a mini-program of five English- and Thai-subtitled films in Khon Kaen.

In Bangkok, it will be held from May 16 to 26 at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. The move to SFW CentralWorld is a welcome change from the past several years, when the EU Film Festival was held at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre – an inadequate venue for films, in my opinion.

As always, the tickets are free, which means you'll have to queue up. Tickets start being handed out 30 minutes before showtime, but in reality you'll want to get in line much earlier in order to ensure you get a decent seat. If you wait too late, you might end up straining your neck in the front row. This is always a popular festival, especially with the balloon-chasers who only turn up for free events, so brace yourself for long lines.

One thing I am uncertain of at this time is what format the movies are screening in – hopefully not DVD.

Five of them will have Thai subtitles in addition to English subs and will be shown in Khon Kaen. They are Tomboy from France (which has screened her before in a run at House), Cool Kids Don’t Cry from the Netherlands, The Death of Carlos Gardel from Portugal, Medal of Honour from Romania and the World War II drama Frozen Silence from Spain.

Here’s the line-up:

Protector (Protektor), Czech Republic, 2009 – A Czech journalist joins a Prague radio station that broadcasts Nazi propaganda in order to protect his Jewish wife. It was a winner of several Czech Lions awards, including best actress and best director.

A Funny Man (Dirch), Denmark, 2011 – This biographical drama chronicles the life of the prolific Danish actor and comedian Dirch Passer. It won several awards at home.

This Life (Hvidsten Gruppen), Denmark, 2012 – A popular entry at the Danish box office, this fact-based drama recalls the fighting spirit of the Fiils, a family of innkeepers who led the resistance against the Nazis. It won four awards.

Stars Above (Tähtitaivas talon yllä), Finland, 2012 – The stories of three women from the same family in the same country house are followed across three decades from the wartorn 1940s to the colourful 1970s and finally the present day.

Tomboy, France, 2011 – A 10-year-old girl is mistaken for a boy when she moves to a new neighborhood and embraces her new identity has she makes new friends. It won many awards, including the Teddy at the Berlin fest and prizes at several gay and lesbian fests.

Goethe!, Germany, 2010 – A starry-eyed young Goethe flunks his oral exams at law school and is sent by his angry father to the Imperial High Court in Wetzlar. There, he falls in love with a woman who is promised to another man. The sorrowful experience inspires him to write a novel that makes him an overnight success. It won a German Film Award for best makeup and was nominated for many more.

3 (Drei), Germany, 2010 – Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, Cloud Atlas) directs this drama about the romantic triangle that forms when a long-married couple bring a man into their bed. A nominee for the Golden Lion in Venice, 3 won three German Film Awards, including best director and best actress.

The Last Rhapsody (Utolsó Rapszódia), Hungary, 2011 – The final days of composer Franz Liszt’s life are recalled, including his friendship with German composer Richard Wagner.

The Entrepreneur (L’Industriale), Italy, 2011 – A 40-year-old factory owner faces a crisis on two fronts when his factory is closing, leaving him with just one certainty in his life – his marriage. It won several awards at home, including the Italian Golden Globe for best film

Blind Spot (Doudege Wénkel), Luxembourg, 2012 – A senior police inspector takes one last case before retirement – the death of a fellow cop. He gets the help from a young loose-cannon officer, who just happens to be the brother of the departed policeman. This crime thriller has attracted a lot of buzz, and besides, how many times have you watched a movie in Luxembourgish?

Cool Kids Don’t Cry (Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet), Netherlands, 2012 – A spirited young girl loves football even though her closest friend thinks it’s not for girls. And even after she is diagnosed with leukemia, she remains optimistic. Eventually, it’s up to her friend to come up with something special. It swept the Netherlands' Golden Film prize, among several other accolades.

A Wonderful Summer (Cudowne lato), Poland, 2011 – This black comedy is mostly set in a funeral parlor. Kitka, 18, has a unique gift – she can communicate with the spirit of her dead mother, whose soul will not rest until she finds a suitable mate for her daughter.

The Death of Carlos Gardel, Portugal, 2011 – As a young drug addict nears death in a hospital, visits by family members evoke a web of memories. The father refuses to accept his son’s death, and channels his passion for tango and the Argentine singer Carlos Gardel.

Medal of Honor (Medalia de Onoare), Romania, 2009 – A 75-year-old Romanian man finds a new sense of self-respect after he accidentally receives a medal for his supposedly heroic actions during World War II, which he hardly remembers. It's won many awards, including several honors at the Thessaloniki Film Festival.

Don’t Be Afraid (No Tengas Miedo), Spain, 2011 – A young woman marked by a dark childhood decides to start over and face the people and emotions that keep her bound to the past. Stars Michelle Jenner, who won or was nominated for best new actress honors.

Frozen Silence (Silencio en la Nieve), Spain, 2011 – At the Russian front in the winter of 1943, members of Spain’s Blue Division encounter a dead man in the ice with his throat slit and a message carved into his chest, "Watch out, God is watching you." It was nominated for a couple of awards back home.

Beyond (Svinalängorna), Sweden, 2010 Noomi Rapace (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) stars in this drama about a woman who confronts her abusive childhood when she receives news that her mother is dying. Pernilla August (Darth vader's mother from Star Wars Episode I and Episode II) directs and Ola Rapace (Skyfall) also stars. It won the International Critic’s Week Award at the 67th Venice Film Festival plus prizes at many other festivals.

London – The Modern Babylon, UK, 2012 – Julien Temple directs this time-travelling voyage to the heart of his hometown, featuring musicians, writers, artists, dangerous thinkers, political radicals and above all ordinary people.

For the schedule, visit the festival website.

Bangkok Cinema Scene: Movies opening November 1-7, 2012

Skyfall

The James Bond movie franchise marks 50 years this year with the release of Skyfall, the 23th picture officially authorized by the rightsholder, EON Productions and the Broccoli family.

Daniel Craig returns for this third outing as 007. He's a grittier and grumpier Bond than the old smoothies who've played him previously, and he's been credited for rescuing the franchise from decades of creaky self-parody. Most pundits are now ranking Craig as probably the second-best Bond since Sean Connery, above Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, George Lazenby and Roger Moore.

Here, Bond's latest assignment has gone horribly wrong and the covers are blown for secret agents around the world.

MI6 has been attacked, forcing the spy agency's chief, M, again portrayed by Judi Dench, to go underground. Meanwhile, she finds her authority being challenged by Lord Voldemort himself – Ralph Fiennes, portraying the new chairman of the intelligence and security committee.

So M is left with just one person she can trust – Bond, an agent who was thought to be dead. Aided by the plucky Miss Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), now a field agent instead of a secretary, Bond follows a trail around the world that leads him to another great cinematic villain, Anton Chighur – Javier Bardem, with another weird hairdo as the mysterious Raoul Silva, a former MI6 agent turned cyberterrorist.

Sam Mendes directs, with French actress Bérénice Marlohe joining the ranks of the "Bond girls" and Ben Whishaw as Bond's geeky new young gadgets guy Q.

Critical reception, so far, is mostly positive. It's in 2D only in regular cinemas as well as IMAX and IMAX Digital. Rated 13+.

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Also opening

The Taste of Money – Im Sang-soo follows up his 2010 remake of The Housemaid with another erotic tale of family dysfunction. Here, he centers on a family owned conglomerate and a young man (Kim Kang-woo) who works as a private secretary to the company president (Baek Yoon-sik). He becomes entangled in an affair with the president's wife (Yoon Yeo-jeong) after she discovers her husband having an affair with a Filipina housemaid (Maui Taylor). Further complications arise when he develops feelings for his employer's divorced daughter (Kim Hyo-jin). The Taste of Money premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival, and reception has been mixed. It's In Korean with English and Thai subtitles at House and SFW CentralWorld. Rated 20-.

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Also showing

Russian Film Week – In collaboration with the Russian Embassy, SF World Cinema at Central World will screen five recent mainstream Russian films from November 1 to 9. Show times are at 8 nightly. The line-up is as follows:

• Lucky Trouble is a romantic comedy starring Ukrainian-born Hollywood starlet Milla Jovovich. She's the love interest for a small-town schoolteacher (Russia's most prominent actor Konstantin Khabenskiy from Night Watch). Complications ensue as they prepare to get married, even though she's already engaged to another man.
• Mamy (Mothers) is a compilation of segments by eight directors as a tribute to mothers in honor of the March 8 International Women's Day.
• Moscow , I Love You! is another omnibus film, similar to Paris, I Love You and New York, I Love You. It consists of 18 segments about life and love in the Russian capital.
• My Boyfriend-Angel is a romantic comedy about an angel who falls in love with a skeptical young woman.
• The Brest Fortress, a.k.a. Fortress of War recounts the 1941 German invasion and a Soviet fortress that's besieged taken by surprise.

Tickets for Russian Film Week are free, and will be handed out 30 minutes before show time. The movies are screening on Blu-ray with English and Thai subtitles. For the schedule, please check the SF Cinema website.

Sita Sings the Blues – Animator and cartoonist Nina Paley chronicles the break-up with her boyfriend in this fanciful retelling of a story from the Ramayana, which is explained by a hilarious "Greek chorus" trio of shadow puppets. Singer Annette Hanshaw provides the "voice" of the broken-hearted Sita, through her 1920s recordings of jazz and blues. Sita was a labor of love for the animator, who put it together using many styles of animation almost single-handedly on her computer at home. It won numerous awards but its release was hampered by Paley's not obtaining a rights clearance from the publisher of the Hanshaw songs. She eventually did reach a settlement, taking out a personal loan to cover the copyright fee. Then, in a bid to make her film a test case for free sharing under the use of the Creative Commons license, she has made it available for downloads and streaming. It's showing at 8 tonight at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Admission for non-members is 150 baht.

Dutch Film Festival in Thailand – A dozen or so Dutch features, documentaries and shorts from the past 10 years will be screened during the monthlong Dutch Film Festival. It's being held at various venues, at the Goethe Institut from November 5 to 8, at the Esplanade Cineplex Ratchada as part of the 10th World Film Festival of Bangkok from November 16 to 25 (see below for more details) and at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center from November 21 to 23. Highlights include Meet the Fokkens, a documentary on the elderly heavyset twin sisters who have worked for decades as prostitutes in Amsterdam, and Win/Win, a drama about a low-level investment-bank employee who becomes a successful trader overnight. Download the festival schedule (PDF) for more details.

Mindfulness and Murder – Ananda, a former policeman who's left behind crimefighting to become a Buddhist monk, is back on the beat when a boy is founded murdered at a Bangkok Buddhist temple. The police aren't keen to pursue the case, so the temple's abbot asks Ananda to solve the crime. Methodically, he tracks down clues and uncovers a conspiracy within the temple itself. The debut feature by veteran producer Tom Waller, Mindfulness and Murder was nominated for several awards by the National Federation of Film Associations of Thailand, including best screenplay and best director, and actor Wannasuk Sirilar won the best supporting actor prize. It's based on one of the "Father Ananda" mystery novels by expat writer Nick Wilgus. Vithaya Pansringarm stars as Ananda. He and director Tom Waller will be present for the November 6 screening at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. The show time is 8pm. Admission for non-members is 150 baht and 100 baht for anyone wanting to drink the wine.

Puisque nous sommes nés – A month of documentary films begins at the Alliance Française Bangkok with Jean-Pierre Duret and Andréa Santana's 2009 look at homeless drifter children in Brazil. It's in French with English subtitles at 7.30pm on Wednesday, November 7 at the Alliance Française.

Student of the Year – Karan Johar directs this Bollywood drama about high-school students from different ends of the social spectrum in competition to win the Student of the Year trophy. Abhimanyu Singh (Sidharth Malhotra), who comes from a middle-class family, hopes to win the trophy to rise up in prosperity while Rohan Nanda (Varun Dhawan), the son of a business tycoon, hopes to finally prove himself to his father. It's in Hindi with English and Thai subtitles at Major Cineplex Sukhumvit and Central Rama III.

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Take note

The 10th World Film Festival of Bangkok opens on November 16 with Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Mekong Hotel. Other highlights include Holy Motors, which was one of the most buzzworthy titles at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The film's director, Leos Carax, will be present to receive this year's Lotus Award for lifetime achievement, and the festival will screen a couple other of his films, The Lovers on the Bridge and Mauvais Sang. Also worth mentioning is Aki Kaurismaki's Le Havre, which was an award-winner at last year's Cannes fest and was the French submission to the Oscars. This year's festival also joins hands with the Dutch Film Festival (see above), which brings in a line-up of recent acclaimed documentaries and dramas. The fest runs until November 25 at the Esplanade Cineplex Ratchada. Keep an eye on festival website for more details about the schedule.

Bangkok Cinema Scene special: European Union Film Festival in Thailand 2011

The European Union Film Festival marks 20 years in Thailand this year, with a line-up of 22 movies from 16 countries.

There are children's films, thrillers, fact-based historical dramas, romance, comedies and even a documentary.

Highlights include the U.K. documentary Exit through the Giftshop, about the shadowy grafitti artist Banksy. There's also The Escape, a Danish thriller about a journalist's life in peril in Afghanistan, the award-winning Finnish coming-of-age drama Forbidden Fruit, two much-acclaimed Spanish dramas, Camino and Cell 211, and several fact-based historical dramas, including the Dutch ice-skating drama, The Hell of '63. Children's films are Poland's award-winning The Tree of Life and the Czech teddy-bear tale Kooky

The fest runs from July 7 to 17, and just like last year's event, it will be held at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in the first-floor auditorium. All screenings are on DVD in their original soundtracks with English subtitles. Showtimes start in the afternoons daily except Mondays, when the BACC is closed. Admission is free.

In celebration of the EU Film Festival's 20 years in Thailand, there will be musical performances on the closing weekend of July 16 and 17. The fest moves to Chiang Mai's Vista Kad Suan Kaew from July 22 to 31.

Find out more details on the festival's Facebook page.

Here's the line-up:

Bánk Bán (Hungary, 2002) – In 13th century Hungary, the king is fighting abroad while his German-born queen plays host to courtly feasts. Meanwhile, the king's deputy tours the poverty-ridden country while the queen's brother tries to seduce the deputy's wife. A group of nobles, anxious for the fate of their homeland and the honour of deputy's wife, plot a conspiracy against the queen. Thursday, July 7, 1pm and Sunday, July 10, 5.05pm.

Erratum (Poland, 2010) – A young man who years ago left his hometown, has built up a comfortable life for himself in the big city. When work takes him back to his hometown, he hopes to avoid seeing any of his old acquaintences, but a car wrekc thwarts those plans. And investigation ensues, and he must confront the choices he's made. Thursday, July 7, 3.10pm and Thursday, July 14, 5.45pm.

Camino (Spain, 2008) – An 11-year-old girl must simultaneously face two completely new events in her life – falling in love and dying. This fact-based drama is a winner of nominee of multiple awards, including Best Actress, Best Director and Best Film at the "Spanish Oscars", the Goya Awards. Thursday, July 7, 4.55pm and Saturday, July 9, 6.10pm

The Escape (Flugten, Denmark, 2009) – A journalist is taken hostage in Afghanistan, but she manages to escape. Back home in Denmark, her career takes flight. Then her one of her former captors makes his escape and comes to Denmark seeking her help. Thursday, July 7, 7.20pm and Sunday, July 10, 1.10pm.

With Friends Like These (Dagen zonder lief , Belgium, 2007) – A young woman returns to her Belgian hometown after some years away in New York City and is dismayed to find her friends have changed. Friday, July 8, 2pm and Sunday, July 10, 3.15pm.

Above The Street, Below The Water (Over gaden under vandet, Denmark, 2009) – A Copenhagen couple's seemingly happy marriage is put to the test when the husband decides he wants to take a break. Friday, July 8, 3.50pm and Wednesday, July 13, 7.10pm.

The Last Pulcinella (L'ultimo Pulcinella, Italy, 2009) – An unemployed actor is forced to leave Naples with his son after he witnesses a mafia killing. In Paris, he meets an actress who owns a theatre. Together they try to stage a play about the traditional Neapolitan character of Pulcinella. Friday, July 8, 5.40pm and Friday, July 15, 2pm.

When We Leave (Die Fremde, Germany, 2010) – A young woman of Turkish descent, fighting for an independent and self-determined life against the resistance of her family, finds herself in a life-threatening situation. Friday, July 8, 7.20pm and Sunday, July 17, 2.45pm.

Kooky (Kuky se vrací, Czech Republic, 2010) – An ailing six-year-old boy is forced to part with his mouldering pink teddy bear. The discarded stuffed animal then makes his way into a mysterious forest for an adventure against evil forces. Saturday, July 9, 11.30am and Sunday, July 17, 11am.

Weekend With My Mother (Weekend cu mama, Romania, 2009) – A woman who 15 years before left Romania for a fresh start in Spain, leaving behind her 3-year-old daughter, is dismayed to learn the now-teenage girl is a drug addict with a 2-year-old daughter in an orphanage. Overwhelmed by guilt, the woman attempts to save her daughter and redeem the mistakes of her youth. Saturday, July 9, 1.15pm and Friday, July 15, 7.30pm.

Assault on the Santa Maria (Assalto ao Santa Maria, Portugal, 2010) – This fact-based historical drama about Operation Dulcinea is set during 1960, when a young emigrant joins a group of opposition movement members in the seizure of the South America-bound Santa Maria cruise ship in a bid to bring attention to the fascist regimes in Portugal and Spain. Saturday, July 9, 2.55pm.

The Hell of '63 (De hel van '63, Netherlands, 2010) – This fact-based sports drama is about the Elfstedentocht, the world's largest and longest speed skating competition that is held irregularly in Friesland in the northern Netherlands. In 1963, thousands of skaters competed in the 200-kilometer race, but only a few crossed the finish line. Saturday, July 9, 4.10pm and Tuesday, July 12, 4.45pm.

The Magic Tree (Magiczne drzewo, Poland, 2009) – A red chair, made out of wood from a magical oak tree, leads children on a fantastic adventure. Winner of several film-festival awards, including the Chicago International Children's Film Festival and the BAMkids Film Festival, New York. Sunday, July 10, 11.30am and
Saturday, July 16, 11am.

The 1,000 Euros Generation (Generazione mille euro, Italy, 2009) – A young man working in the marketing department of a company learns his firm is being "reorganised". The arrivals of a new female colleague and a female housemate lead to an comical series of trials and tribulations. Sunday, July 10, 7.10pm and Wednesday, July 13, 2pm.

The Paper Will Be Blue (Hîrtia va fi albastrã, Romania, 2006) – This fact-based historical drama is set during the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and focuses on a young militiaman who escapes from his unit in hopes of joining the rebels. An officer assembles a patrol to hunt down the deserter, while nervous citizens watch history unfolding on their television sets. Tuesday, July 12, 3pm and Friday, July 15, 3.40pm.

Run If You Can (Renn, wenn Du kannst, Germany, 2009) – A wheelchair-bound young man and his caretaker fall for the same woman, a cellist who is working to finish her music degree. Tuesday, July 12, 6.45pm and Saturday, July 16, 4.15pm.

Cell 211 (Celda 211, Spain, 2009) – A rookie prison guard finds himself in the midst of a riot after an unforeseen turn of events. With the inmates around him unaware of his position, he must pretend to be a prisoner to survive. A winner of multiple awards, including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Film at the "Spanish Oscars", the Goya Awards. Wednesday, July 13, 3.40pm and Friday, July 15, 5.25pm.

An Ordinary Execution (Une exécution ordinaire , France, 2010) – A young urologist practicing in a Moscow hospital in the 1950s desperately tries to get pregnant from her husband, a disillusioned physician. Meanwhile, the doctor, to her horror, is assigned to treat Stalin. Wednesday, July 13, 5.15 and Saturday, July 16, 2.20pm.

The Wedding Photographer (Bröllopsfotografen, Sweden, 2009) – When the factory in his hometown shuts down, a young man decides to try his luck in Stockholm as a wedding photographer. Thursday, July 14, 2pm and Sunday, July 17, 12.45pm.

Exit through the Giftshop (United Kingdom, 2010) – Eccentric French-born Los Angeles thrift-shop owner Thierry Guetta attempts to capture one of the world's most elusive graffiti artists and pranksters – Banksy – with wildly unexpected results. Critical reception is wildly positive. Thursday, July 14, 7.30pm and Saturday, July 16, 7.25pm.

Dust (Luxembourg, 2009) – Teenage twin siblings survive in a post-apocalyptic world in a secluded mansion left by their parents. They lead a quiet and simple life, growing their own food, swimming in a nearby lake, reading and playing chess. With the unexpected arrival of a young man throws their harmonic life into disarray. Thursday, July 14, 4pm and Saturday, July 16, 12.40pm.

Forbidden Fruit (Kielletty hedelmä, Finland, 2009) – A pair of 18-year-old girls from a restrictive Christian order are on their summer break and go to Helsinki for the first time. One of the girls wants to cut loose and experience life before getting married while the other only wants to make sure they return safe. By the end of the summer, one of them will be changed for good. An award-winner and nominee at several film festivals. Sunday, July 17, 5.30pm.