International Film Series
All screenings will take place in Marting Hall, Room 114. Parking is available in the nearby Berea public lot and on Seminary Street.
Friday, November 14
Vingt Dieux (Holy Cow) - 5 P.M.
French | 90 min.
After the tragic death of his father, 18-year-old Totone is thrust into the unexpected and very adult role of looking after his younger sister and their failing family farm in the Jura section of France. He assumes even more responsibility when he enters a cash competition for the best Comte cheese made in this western part of the French Alps.
A 'verité' look at the hardscrabble life of French agriculture, it is simultaneously a coming-of-age story and above all an ode to the love of cheese.
Reception
Join us in Marting Hall's Treuhaft Lounge for light refreshments.
Anatomie d'une chute (Anatomy of a Fall) - 7:30 P.M.
French | 152 min.
When Samuel is found dead, the police question if he was murdered or if he committed suicide, and his wife, Sandra, becomes the main suspect. The investigation leads to an unsettling journey into the depths of their conflicted relationship.
Friday, November 21
Solo - 5 P.M.
French | 101 min.
Simon (Théodore Pellerin) is a rising star in Montreal's drag scene, performing lively disco pop numbers weekly at his local club. Friendly with his fellow drag queens and supported by his sister, who delights in designing increasingly elaborate and beautiful costumes for his act, Simon vibrates with the passion of his adopted artistic community.
When he meets Oliver (Félix Maritaud), the alluring new recruit at the club, their irresistible chemistry sparks an electric romance and a fulfilling creative collaboration. Their dynamic is mesmerizing and tender until Oliver's dominant instincts and destructive behavior jeopardize Simon's space in the spotlight. Simon has plenty of experience with tempestuous personalities – his mother, a bona fide opera diva, is back in his life after years on the road – but can he get out from under the shadow of their influence?
Beautifully charting the highs and lows of falling in love and finding oneself in one's art, writer and director Sophie Dupuis's "Solo" is a passionate feat of character-driven storytelling and visual extravagance, celebrating the drag world in all its splendor and heartache.
RECEPTION
Join us in Marting Hall's Treuhaft Lounge for light refreshments.
All We Imagine as Light - 7:30 P.M.
Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi | 115 min.
The light, the lives, and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated by writer/director Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival for her revelatory fiction feature debut.
Centering on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital — head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha) — plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), Kapadia's film alights on moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment.
Prabha, her husband from an arranged marriage living in faraway Germany, is courted by a doctor at her hospital. Anu carries on a romance with a Muslim man, which she must keep a secret from her strict Hindu family. Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction from her apartment.
Kapadia captures the bustle of the metropolis and the open-air tranquility of a seaside village with equal radiance, articulated by her superb actresses and by the camera with a lyrical naturalism that occasionally drifts into dreamlike incandescence.
"All We Imagine as Light" is a soulful study of the transformative power of friendship and sisterhood, in all its complexities and richness.
Saturday, November 22
Totem - 5 P.M.
Spanish | 95 min.
In a bustling Mexican household, seven-year-old Sol is swept up in a whirlwind of preparations for the birthday party for her father, Tona, led by her mother, aunts and other relatives. As the day goes on, building to an event both anticipated and dreaded, Sol begins to understand the gravity of the celebration this year and watches as her family does the same.
This poignant and emotionally expansive film from Lila Aviles (The Chambermaid) cements her skill at directing dynamic, ensemble performances in her stunning sophomore effort.
Reception
Join us in Marting Hall's Treuhaft Lounge for light refreshments.
From Ground Zero - 7:30 P.M.
Arabic | 113 min.
From Executive Producer Michael Moore and Palestine's Official Submission for the 2025 Academy Awards, "From Ground Zero," is a collection of revealing stories from 22 Palestinian filmmakers living through war, who capture their lives in Gaza amidst war.
Using a blend of animation, documentary and fiction, they create a powerful testament to the steadfastness of the human spirit. This film serves as a remarkable reflection of how art can thrive even in the darkest times, showcasing the enduring spirit and creativity that emerge amid ongoing devastation.
Sunday, November 23
Flow - 1 P.M.
Latvian (no dialogue) | 85 min.
A wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical, "Flow" follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood.
Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet.
From the boundless imagination of the award-winning filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis (Away) comes a thrilling animated spectacle as well as a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of friendship and community. Steeped in the soaring possibilities of visual storytelling, "Flow" is a feast for the senses and a treasure for the heart.
Trailer
Reception
Join us in Marting Hall's Treuhaft Lounge for light refreshments.
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat - 3 P.M.
English, French, Dutch, Russian | 150 min.
2025 Oscar® nominee for Best Documentary Feature
United Nations, 1960: The Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup.
Director Johan Grimonprez captures the moment when African politics and American jazz collided in this magnificent essay film, a riveting historical rollercoaster that illuminates the political machinations behind the 1961 assassination of Congo's leader Patrice Lumumba.
Richly illustrated by eyewitness accounts, official government memos, testimonies from mercenaries and CIA operatives, speeches from Lumumba himself, and a veritable canon of jazz icons, "Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat" interrogates colonial history to tell an urgent and timely story of precedent that resonates more than ever in today's geopolitical climate.
Trailer