Bob Roberts - part of Strange Brew: Cult Films at Schlafly Bottleworks.
November 5 at 8 pm
(Tim Robbins, 1992, USA, 81 min.)

Just in time for the post-election wind down, Tim Robbins’ directorial debut offers a cynical, funny documentary-style look at the fictional Senatorial campaign of Bob Roberts, an archconservative folk singer turned politician. This political satire includes several original songs co-written and performed by writer/director/star Robbins, and cameo appearances by the Hollywood Liberal Elite (i.e. John Cusack, Susan Sarandon, Jack Black, Helen Hunt, etc.) Look for Gore Vidal as Senator Brickley Paiste.

Presented in the lively atmosphere of Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Avenue, Maplewood Mo. There is ample parking and great beer on tap!

Special Admission $4.00

French Diaspora: French Films From Around the World

Bamako
November 8 at 7 pm
(Abderrahmane Sissako, 2006, France/Mali/USA, 115 min.)

Over the course of a few days, a trial pitting African civil society against such international financial institutions as the World Bank and the IMF has set a stage in the courtyard of a home in Bamako, Mali. As numerous trial witnesses (schoolteachers, farmers, writers, etc…) air bracing indictments against the multinational economic machinery that haunts them, life in the courtyard presses forward. Chaka, an unemployed married father, is preoccupied with the imminent breakup of his marriage to Melé, a popular Bamako lounge singer. He is being harassed by a detective who accuses him of stealing a gun. In the midst of the powerful testimonies being made at the trial, the juxtaposition of Chake and Melé’s story, as well as those of their neighbours, give a voice to Africa’s silent majority and further fortifies Africa’s case against the World Bank. Filled with warm colors and inspirational music, Bamako voices Africa’s grievances in an original and profoundly moving way. In French & Bambara with English subtitles.

The Untouchable (L'Intouchable)
November 9 at 7 pm
(Benoît Jacquot, 2006, France, 82 min.)

A young actress, Jeanne, learns from her mother that her father is Indian, a Hindu she met while traveling, an “Untouchable.” Intending to find her father, Jeanne wants to leave for India immediately but she needs money. She drops out of the rehearsals for “Saint Joan of the Stockyards,” staged by her lover and asks her agent to get her a part that she had initially turned down, in a film. She performs the part as though it’s an ordeal she’s inflicting on herself and leaves as soon as she can. Jeanne sets out on her own for the vastness of India with little more than a name as a clue. In the hope that she will reach what she is looking for, she immerses herself into the jumble and life of a continent that is totally foreign to her. In French with English subtitles.

Persepolis
November 11 at 7 pm
(Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud, 2007, France, 95 min.)

The poignant story of a young girl coming of age in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The film is told through the eyes of Marjane, a precocious nine- year-old. Clever and fearless, she outsmarts the “social guardians” and discovers punk, ABBA and Iron Maiden. Yet when her uncle is executed and bombs fall around Tehran, during the Iraq/Iran war, the daily fear that permeates life in Tehran is palpable. As she gets older, her parents worry for her safety and decide to send her to school in Vienna. Vulnerable and alone in a strange land, Marjane endures the typical ordeals of a teenager. She also has to combat being equated with the religious fundamentalism she is trying to escape. In French with English subtitles.

Daratt
November 12 at 7 pm
(Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, 2006, France/Chad/Belgium/Austria, 96 min.)

When the long and devastating civil war in Chad ends, survivors are hoping that justice will be served against those who were involved in the genocide. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, however, chooses not to condemn them. Young Atim, whose father was murdered before his birth, is given a gun by his blind grandfather and ordered to avenge his family. Determined to take revenge, Atim looks for Nassara, his father’s torturer, but instead of finding a cold-blooded murderer, Atim meets a charitable baker and a soon-to-be father who seeks redemption through religion. Creating a strange and complex relationship. Nassara initiates Atim into his work and offers to share his house with him and his young wife Aïcha. Little by little, Nassara plays the role of the father to this young orphan. In Arabic and French with English subtitles.

Delwende (Delwende: Leve Toi Et Marchie)
November 13 at 7 pm
(S. Pierre Yameogo, 2005, Burkina Faso/ France / Switzerland, 69 min.)

Based on a true story, Delwende examines some traditional customs in Africa and the role women play in exposing the injustices perpetrated against them. When a small village in Burkino Faso is devastated by the sudden death of many of its children, Diarrha, fearing the worst, sends his daughter Pougbila to get married in another village despite the objections of his wife Napoko. When she learns that their daughter has been raped (possibly by her own husband) she accepts the arranged marriage despite her own reservations. Following a village tradition, the elders conduct a witch-hunt to find the person responsible for all the deaths. The blame falls on Napoko and she is chased out of the village. Upon learning of her mother’s fate, Pougbila embarks on a journey to find her. In Moore & French with English subtitles.

Selections from the 17th Annual St Louis International Film Festival
November 14–23

Once again WFS is pleased to host our friends at Cinema St Louis as they present this year’s installment of fantastic cinematic fare.

Individual tickets are $10 each or $8 for Cinema St. Louis members and students with current and valid ID. Advance tickets for programs at Webster U. are for sale at the Tivoli box office beginning Oct. 20. Box-office hours are 5-10 p.m. Monday-Friday and 2-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. No phone or online sales. Sorry, no Webster Film Series passes accepted.

The Juche Idea
Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 pm
(Jim Finn, 2008, USA, 62 min.)

A provocatively strange double-bill by native St. Louisan Jim Finn. “The Juche Idea,” partially inspired by the true story of a South Korean filmmaker kidnapped by the movie-obsessed Kim Jung Il in the 1970s, is a deadpan comedy that follows the efforts of a South Korean video artist to revitalize North Korean cinema.

with

Interkosmos
(Jim Finn, 2006, USA, 71 min.)

A brilliantly conceived faux-documentary, Finn chronicles a failed German space-colonization mission, telling the story through narration, dialogue, letters and period songs.

Q&A with director Finn

St. Benedict’s Rule
Saturday, Nov. 15 at 5 pm
(Jay Kanzler, 2008, USA, 84 min.)

Founded in 1881, Conception Abbey in northwest Missouri is an apparent refuge from modern life, serving as home to Benedictine monks, providing religious instruction at its seminary college, and hosting retreats at its guest center. But not even this timeless sanctuary is immune to contemporary ills: On June 2002, a gunman walked into Conception Abbey, killing two monks and seriously wounding two others. St. Benedict’s Rule offers insight into the monastic life, exploring the abbey’s many facets and speaking with the priests and brothers about their life of prayer and contemplation. It also explores how the monks coped with the shocking outbreak of violence that took place within the abbey’s walls. Q&A with director Kanzler.

My Mother’s Garden
Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 pm
(Cynthia Lester, 2008, USA, 70 min.)

My Mother’s Garden follows the tortured path of 61-year-old Eugenia Lester, whose hoarding disorder has entered a dangerous and life-threatening stage. Although she lives on a quiet tree-lined street in Granada Hills, Calif., the only access to the house is through a window covered in ivy and cobwebs. Inside, every inch of the floor is covered by stacks of newspapers, piles of debris, clothing, and toys – a living, rotting mass of waste that has literally pushed Lester out of the house and into her garden. Directed by her daughter, this moving personal documentary shows Lester’s children coming together – with a mix of humor, anger and skepticism – to cope with their mother’s disorder and to rebuild a lost sense of family. Q&A with director Lester.

with

Severing the Soul
(Barbara Klutinis, 2008, USA, 18 min.),

A disquieting film that examines frontal lobotomies, focusing on the case involving Rosemary Kennedy, sister of JFK.

Throw Down Your Heart
Sunday, Nov. 16 at 7 pm
(Sascha Paladino, 2008, USA, 97 min.)

The winner of Silverdocs’ Music Documentary Award follows virtuoso musician Béla Fleck as he takes his banjo on a journey to Africa to explore the little-known roots of his instrument and to record an album. His boundary-breaking musical adventure takes him to Mali, Gambia, Uganda and Tanzania on a journey that celebrates the beauty and complexity of Africa and its diverse music. In Bambara, English, French, Jola & Swahili with English subtitles.

with

Pickin’ & Trimmin’
(Matt Morris, 2007, USA, 22 min.)

A visit to The Barbershop in Drexel, N.C., where the atmosphere is laidback and the bluegrass music is a cut above the rest.

Beautiful Son
Friday, Nov. 21 at 7 pm
(Don King & Julianne Yamamoto King, 2007, USA, 63 min.)

In 2003, the filmmakers realized that something was wrong with their 3-year-old son: Beau was losing his coordination and ability to speak and becoming disconnected from the outside world. They brought him to the best doctors and took along a camera. A couple of months later, Beau was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Beautiful Son movingly documents one family’s struggle to save their son, but it also provides a revealing look at an illness reaching epidemic proportion.

with

Movement
(Alex O’Flinn & Mikiko Sasaki, 2007, USA, 21 min.)

Filmmaker O’Flinn confronts his benign myoclonus, a rare movement disorder that causes an uncontrollable twitch.

1000 Journals
Friday, Nov. 21 at 9 pm
(Andrea Kreuzhage, 2007, USA, 88 min.)

The story of a San Francisco artist, known only as Someguy, as he distributes 1,000 blank journals, leaving them on park benches, in shopping carts and any other place an unsuspecting person might discover one. Someguy hoped to have each journal filled out by people from all walks of life in any way they saw fit, with each journal to be mailed back to him once completed. As the journals pass from hand to hand, they are filled with art and writings from all 50 states and 35 countries, creating a cultural conversation between strangers that proves to be variously difficult, cathartic and inspiring.

with

Push Button House
(Ryan Silbert, 2008, USA, 11 min.)

A portrait of the pioneering Adam Kalkin, whose work attempts to strike a delicate balance between art and architecture.

and

Questions of Art
(Zach Jankovic, 2008, USA, 12 min.)

A look at three sculptors that examines the artists’ differing thought processes and methods of creation.

Filmmakers Workshop with Tom Donahue & Paul H-O

November 22 at 1 pm

Acclaimed directors Tom Donahue & Paul H-O will present a free afternoon workshop on filmmaking. Their collaboration, Guest of Cindy Sherman (which screens as part of SLIFF at The Tivoli November 22 at 9 pm) has received rave reviews on the festival circuit. Through discussion and presentation of clips from their films, Donahue & H-O will explore all aspects of documentary making, including distribution and navigating the festival circuit. They will also discuss their experience working in television.

The workshop will be held in Room 123 of the Sverdrup Business & Technology Complex, 8300 Big Bend, Blvd. Admission is FREE.

Space is limited for the workshop. Please RSVP to Doug Whyte – doug@kdhx.org. This event is co-sponsored by The Webster Film Series, KDHX, The Missouri Arts Council and Cinema St Louis.

The Empire State Building Murders
Saturday, Nov. 22 at 4 pm
(William Karel, 2008, France/USA, 73 min.)

Co-written by crime novelist and film obsessive Jerome Charyn (Movieland, Gangsters and Gold Diggers), this clever pastiche of old movie clips and new “documentary” footage recaptures a fascinating place and time: the Empire State Building in New York during the ’30s and ’40s. With a dizzying plot and a voice-over narration worthy of the best noir, The Empire State Building Murders deftly combines scenes from dozens of classic Hollywood films – featuring such actors as James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Ben Gazzara, Kirk Douglas, Mickey Rooney and Lauren Bacall – to construct a fresh story that’s intercut with contemporary in-character interviews with many of the same actors. With co-star Marsha Hunt.

The Prowler
Saturday, Nov. 22 at 6:30 pm
(Joseph Losey, 1951, USA, 92 min.)

FREE

As part of a special two-part program on the Hollywood blacklist, SLIFF presents a newly restored print of The Prowler, one of the last films director Losey made in the U.S. before fleeing McCarthy-fueled hysteria and relocating to England. In this classic film noir, disgruntled cop Webb Garwood (Van Heflin) is called to investigate a peeping-tom case involving Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes), the wife of a popular late-night radio personality. The cop woos the initially reluctant Susan, and when he learns of an insurance policy on the husband, Garwood plots to get both the money and the girl by scapegoating a phantom “prowler” in the murder.

with

The Grand Inquisitor
(Eddie Muller, 2008, USA, 20 min.)

A young woman (Leah Dashe) interviews a lonely recluse (legendary blacklisted actress Marsha Hunt), who may or may not be the widow of the Zodiac killer. With director Muller and actress Hunt.

Dark Days: The Hollywood Blacklist and Film Noir
Saturday, Nov. 22 at 8:30 pm

FREE

Immediately following The Prowler screening, a panel will discuss the Hollywood blacklist and its influence on film noir. The blacklist cast a long shadow over the entertainment industry in the 1940s and ’50s, with the studios cooperating with the House Committee on Un-American Activities to ban suspected Communists or sympathizers from working in film and television. Panelists include actress Marsha Hunt, a victim of the blacklist and star of Raw Deal and None Shall Escape; noir expert Eddie Muller, author of “Dark City: The Lost World of Noir,” “Dark City Dames: The Wicked Women of Film Noir” and “The Art of Noir”; Francis M. Nevins, Saint Louis University law professor, mystery novelist and biographer/literary executor of classic noir writer Cornell Woolrich; and moderator Scott Phillips, author of the contemporary noir novels “The Ice Harvest” and “The Walkaway.”

Yesterday Was a Lie
Saturday, Nov. 22, 9:30 pm
(James Kerwin, 2008, USA, 89 min.)

In this groundbreaking new noir shot in luminous black-and-white, Kipleigh Brown stars as Hoyle, a girl with a sharp mind and a weakness for bourbon who finds herself on the trail of a reclusive genius (John Newton). With a sexy lounge singer (Chase Masterson) and a loyal partner (Mik Scriba) as her only allies, Hoyle is plunged into a dark world of intrigue and earth-shattering cosmological secrets. Haunted by an ominous, ever-present shadow (Peter Mayhew), Hoyle discovers that the most powerful force in the universe — the power to bend reality, the power to know the truth — lies within the depths of the human heart. With director Kerwin, a native St. Louisan.

Indie-Fest Winners
Sunday, Nov. 23 at 6 pm

FREE

In partnership with IndieFlix – the premier source for independent films on the Web – SLIFF premieres its first indie-fest, an exclusive online competition. Ten short films and five narrative features will be available online in a secure streaming environment from Oct. 27-Nov. 12 at midnight. Viewers can access the films for free at www.indie-fest.com. Online audience voting will determine the short and feature winners. The winning films will be announced on SLIFF opening night and on the indie-fest and Cinema St. Louis Web sites. The winning films will also receive a distribution deal through IndieFlix. 

City Of Lost Children (La Cité des enfants perdus) - part of Strange Brew: Cult Films at Schlafly Bottleworks.
December 3 at 8 pm
(Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1995, France, 112 min.)

Caro & Jeunet’s follow-up to the darkly weird Delicatessen (1991) is a distopian fairly tale…just in time for the holidays! Krank (Daniel Emilfork), who cannot dream, kidnaps young children to steal their dreams. One (Ron Perlman), a former whale hunter who is as strong as a horse, sets forth to search for Denree, his little brother who was kidnapped by Krank's men. Helped by young Miette (Judith Vittet), he soon arrives in La Cité des Enfants Perdus. In French with English subtitles.

Presented in the lively atmosphere of Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Avenue, Maplewood Mo. There is ample parking and great beer on tap!

Special Admission $4.00

Selections from the Ann Arbor Film Festival
December 7 at 7 pm

A collection of the finest cutting-edge, independent and artistically-inspired short films from the 46th Ann Arbor Film Festival across all genres: experimental, documentary, animation and narrative. To see the eclectic sampling of this year’s line-up, visit www.aafilmfest.org/tour/program/

Christmas on Mars: A Fantastical Film Freakout Featuring The Flaming Lips
December 12 & 13 at 9 pm
December 14 at 7 pm
(Wayne Coyne, Bradley Beesley, George Salisbury, 2008, USA, 82 min.)

Seven years in the making, Christmas on Mars is the feature film debut of visionary frontman Wayne Coyne (the leader of the psychedelic rock band The Flaming Lips) Featuring original music by the Lips ("The greatest U.S. band today" - The Guardian), with acting performances by all band members, and Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live) and actor Adam Goldberg (Dazed and Confused, Two Days in Paris), the film has been called “A thrift-shop Solaris... realized through homegrown special effects that would please fans of Eraserhead-era David Lynch." It's Christmastime, and the colonization of Mars is underway. However, when an oxygen generator and a gravity control pod malfunction, Major Syrtis (the Lips' Steven Drozd) and his team (including the Lips' Michael Ivins) fear the worst. Syrtis also hallucinates about the birth of a baby, and many other strange things. Meanwhile, a compassionate alien superbeing (Coyne) arrives, inspiring and helping the isolated astronauts. Presented in a glorious 35mm print!

Dhamma Brothers
December 16 at 7 pm
(Andrew Kukura, Jenny Phillips & Anne Marie Stein, 2008, USA, 76 min.)

FREE

East meets West in the Deep South. An overcrowded maximum-security prison—the end of the line in Alabama’s correctional system—is forever changed by the influence of an ancient meditation program. Behind high security towers and a double row of barbed wire and electrical fence dwells a host of convicts who will never see the light of day. But for some of these men, a spark is ignited when it becomes the first maximum-security prison in North America to hold an extended Vipassana retreat, an emotionally and physically demanding course of silent meditation lasting ten days. This film, with the power to dismantle stereotypes about men behind prison bars also, in the words of Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking), “gives you hope for the human race."

Sponsored by Alternatives with Education.

Newman’s Own: An Appreciation of Paul Newman
December 18–21

The Hustler
December 18 & 20 at 7 pm
(Robert Rossen, 1961, USA, 134 min.)

In one of Paul Newman’s star-making performances, he portrays "Fast" Eddie Felson, a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary "Minnesota Fats" (Jackie Gleason) to a high-stakes match, but he loses in a heartbreaking marathon. Now broke and without his long-time manager, Felson faces an uphill battle to regain his confidence and his game. It isn't until he hits rock bottom that he agrees to join up with ruthless and cutthroat manager Bert Gordon (George C. Scott). Gordon agrees to take him on the road to learn the ropes. But Felson soon realizes that making it to the top could cost him his soul, and perhaps his girlfriend (Piper Laurie). Will he decide that this is too steep a price to pay in time to save himself? Presented in a brand new 35mm print!

Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
December 19 & 21 at 7 pm

(George Roy Hill, 1969, USA, 110 min.)

Butch and Sundance (Paul Newman & Robert Redford) are the two leaders of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Butch is all ideas; Sundance is all action and skill. The west is becoming “civilized” and when Butch and Sundance rob a train once too often; a special posse begins trailing them no matter where they run. Over rock, through towns, across rivers, the group is always just behind them. When they finally escape through sheer luck, Butch has another idea, "Let's go to Bolivia." Based on the exploits of the historical characters. Presented in a Brand New 35mm print!

Slap Shot - part of Strange Brew: Cult Films at Schlafly Bottleworks.
January 7 at 8 pm
(George Roy Hill, 1977, USA, 123 min.)

Paul Newman reunites with his Butch Cassidy director in this sleeper comedy about an over-the-hill hockey player/coach (Newman) who gets results when he teaches his lousy players to get dirty. More hilarious and profane than you might expect out of Hollywood, it’s the kind of film that seems to make its own rules as it goes along. Newman reinvents himself as the washed up forward, and director Hill captures the violence of this world with an eye for comedy. Great support from Strother Martin, Paul Dooley, and the rest.

Presented in the lively atmosphere of Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Avenue, Maplewood Mo. There is ample parking and great beer on tap!

Special Admission $4.00

Secrecy
January 9, 10 & 11 at 7 pm
Peter Galison and Robb Moss, 2008, USA, 87 min.)

In a single recent year the U.S. classified about five times the number of pages added to the Library of Congress. We live in a world where the production of secret knowledge dwarfs the production of open knowledge. Depending on whom you ask, government secrecy is either the key to victory in our struggle against terrorism, or our Achilles heel. But is so much secrecy a bad thing? This film is about the vast, invisible world of government secrecy. By focusing on classified secrets, the government's ability to put information out of sight if it would harm national security, Secrecy explores the tensions between our safety as a nation, and our ability to function as a democracy.

Easy Rider
January 16–18 at 7 pm

(Dennis Hopper, 1969, USA, 95 min.)

Produced by Indie Legend Roger Corman, and co written by Peter Fonda and Terry Southern, Dennis Hopper’s directorial debut carried the tagline A man went looking for America and couldn't find it anywhere. Released in the wake of the tumultuous events of 1968 (RFK, MLK, the riot at the DNC), the film’s he wandering outlaws portrayed by Hopper and Fonda, as well as their drifting passenger Jack Nicholson, seem, even today, like men without a country. As a touchstone for the generation, there is no better example of pop culture through the cinematic lens, but beyond the more superficial trappings of the era (the hip cachet of biker flicks, the trippy acid scenes, the psychedelic rock score) the film captures the optimism and longing of the day, burnt at the edges by a devastating cynicism. Special 40th anniversary screening featuring a brand new 35mm print.

Forgiveness
January 30, 31 & February 1

(Udi Aloni, 2007, Israel/USA, 97 min.)

A daring hybrid of realism and fantasy, Forgiveness is a psychological thriller that explores the tragedies of the Middle East. David, a young American-Israeli, returns to Israel to join the army, only to find himself in a catatonic state after accidentally shooting a Palestinian girl while on patrol. He returns to New York under his father's care, believing that his horrific past is behind him…until his love for a Palestinian woman reopens the gates of his trauma zone.