Cinema International
Each semester, Cinema International presents films of every genre by the best and brightest directors from around the world. Admission is free and open to the public, and all shows begin at 7:30 (please see the schedule below for specific dates).
If you have any questions about Cinema International, please contact Dr. Thérèse Saint Paul.
Please consider making donations to Cinema International by contacting Lucy Love llove@murraystate.edu in the Office of Development. You may also make a secure online gift to Cinema International by selecting "Other" as the gift designation and indicating "Cinema International" in the comment section, here: murraystate.edu/givenow
Fall 2020 Screenings
Students, faculty, staff and the community are invited &endash; 7:30 p.m. — Curris Center 3rd Floor Theater / Barkley Room.
The university rules and regulations of social distancing, masks and other safety measures will be implemented.
Topic: Aspects of masculinity/gender representations.
Download Cinema International Fall 2020 schedule as pdf
The Mustang
Date/Location: Thurs., Aug. 27 (Barkley) and Fri. Aug. 28 (Theater)
Country/Year: USA, 2019
Description: Dir. Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre
With Matthias Schoenaerts, Connie Britton, Bruce Dern, Jason Mitchel In English. R,
96 mins.
A violent inmate takes part in a Wild Horse Inmate Program and bonds increasingly with the horses whom he respects for their fierce nature that echoes his. “The Mustang” focuses on the still-unique process of animal therapy treatment for prisoners that the director researched by witnessing a pilot French program up close. Directed by French actress-turned-filmmaker Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre and produced by executive producer Robert Redford, this is an interesting film dealing with the female gaze on a very masculine environment.
The Return
Date/Location: Thurs. Sept. 3 (Theater) and Fri. Sept. 4 (Theater)
Country/Year: Costa Rica, 2012
Description: Dir. Hernán Jiménez
With Hernán Jiménez, Bárbara Jiménez, Andre Boxwill. NR, 95 mins.
El regreso is the story of a delightful and life-changing journey back to Costa Rica after 10 years in NY, for 30 year-old Antonio. Actor and director Hernán Jiménez not only wrote, directed, and starred in this, his second full-length film, but also financed it with the proceeds from his first feature, his stand up comedy act, and the most successful Kickstarter campaign in Latin America to date. Far from the image of Costa Rica promoted by the country’s Department of Tourism, The Return became the highest grossing Costa Rican film ever and the first to earn international recognition.
The Island Inside
Date/Location: Thurs. Sept. 10 (Theater) and Sat. Sept. 12 (Theater)
Country/Year: Spain, 2010
Description: Dir. Dunia Ayaso & Félix Sabroso
With Geraldine Chaplin, Candela Peña, Antonio de la Torre. In Spanish with English
subtitles. NR, 93 mins.
“If you were able to imagine J.Joyce’s The fall of the house of Usher told through a series of paintings by Edward Hopper, the result might resemble the Island Inside.” – EL PAÍS. A dark-hued family drama set in Spain’s Canary Islands, The Island Inside relates the story of three siblings and their mother. The sudden death of their father forces them to leave the inner island that isolates them from their loved ones, from their dreams… and from being themselves. With Pedro Almodovar as their cinematic godfather, the filmmaker duo Dunia Ayaso and Félix Sabroso deliver a superb haunting psychodrama with astounding performances by the best Spanish independent actors working today and a superb Geraldine Chaplin as the mother.
On The Roof
Date/Location: Thurs. Sept. 17 (Barkley) and Sat. Sept. 19 (Theater)
Country/Year: Cuba, 2017
Description: Dir. Patricia Ramos
With Enmanuel Galbán, Andrea Doimeadiós, Jonathan Navarro Elóseguis. In Spanish with
English subtitles. NR, 75 mins.
“Offering a much welcome look at contemporary Cuba” (Manuel Betancourt, Remezcla), On the Roof is a deliciously off-beat romantic comedy that “offers an impeccable balance of colloquial charm and universal appeal”, with highly relatable characters with varying degrees of ambition, ingenuity, and quirk. The rooftop terrace as a place of limited freedom could be a symbol for some of the problems facing contemporary Cuban youth.
The Invisible Hand
Date/Location: Thurs. Sept. 24 (Barkley) and Sat. Sept. 26 (Barkley)
Country/Year: Spain, 2016
Description: Dir. David Macián
With Josean Bengoextea, Bárbara Santa-Cruz, Marta Larralde. In Spanish with English
subtitles. NR, 83 mins.
An industrial warehouse is turned into a stage. Eleven ordinary professionals are hired to do their work in front of an audience with apparent normality. Yet, in the darkness of the auditorium, dozens of visitors observe the show. Work of art, reality show, macabre experiment: they do not know what they’ve got into, nor who is the hand that moves the strings in that wicked theater. With a surprising ending, the adaptation of the novel by Isaac Rosa is an astonishing parable of work in contemporary society.
Don't Call Me Son
Date/Location: Thurs. Oct. 1 (Barkley) and Sat. Oct. 3 (Barkley)
Country/Year: Brazil, 2016
Description: Dir. Anna Muylaert
In Portuguese with English subtitles. NR, 82 min.
Recipient of several awards, Don’t call me son (Mãe só há uma) is a fascinating, empathetic portrait of a 17 years old whose life is abruptly disrupted but who stands up to reassert it. A scathing critique of upper-middle-class complacency and materialism by Brazilian film maker Anna Muylarts. A look at identity on several levels: biological, sexual/ LBGTQ, social, and class-related. Don’t call me son is subversive.” – Stephen Holden, THE NEW YORK TIMES
Tokyo Fiancée
Date/Location: Thurs. Oct. 15 (Barkley) and Sat. Oct. 17 (Theater)
Country/Year: Japan/Belgium, 2014
Description: Dir. Stefan Liberski
With Pauline Étienne, Taichi Inoue, Julie LeBreton.
In French and Japanese with English subtitles. NR, 100 mins.
A Japanophile young Belgian woman in Tokyo falls into a romance with a Francophile Japanese student in this charming and tender tale of young love”, this movie is more than a West meets East cultural discovery. Based on an autobiographical novel Neither Eve nor Adam (Ni d’Eve ni d’Adam) by acclaimed Belgian and Japanese-born novelist Amélie Nothomb, the “story combines whimsy and poignancy”(Toronto Review) as it delves in the emotional ties that the protagonist has with a country she left at age five and rediscovers at age 20. “Soufflé-light yet scalpel-sharp” (Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times), this tale of the pitfalls of language barriers and the pleasures of culture shock is a treat: it highlights the fundamental ties between language and culture, in particular in expressions of love. Selected at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and nominated three times at the 5th Magritte Awards.
Girls of the Sun
Date/Location: Thurs. Oct. 22 (Theater)
Country/Year: France/Kurdistan, 2018
Description: Dir. Eva Husson
With Golshifteh Farahani, Emmanuelle Bercot, Zübeyde Bulut.
In French, Arabic, English, Kurdish with English subtitles. NR, 115 mins.
This is the first war movie made by a woman, about a woman war reporter reporting about women fighters. Somewhere in Kurdistan, Bahar, commander of the “Girls of the Sun” battalion, is preparing to liberate her hometown from the hands of extremists. A French journalist, Mathilde, comes to cover the attack and bear witness to the story of these exceptional warriors fighting for women, life and liberty. Applauded at Cannes, then criticized, this movie is breaking stereotypes and taboos. It is shown with The Cave this weekend.
The Cave
Date/Location: Sat. Oct 24 (Theater)
Country/Year: Syria, 2019
Description: Sponsored by N.O.W (National Organization of Women)
Dir. Feras Fayyad
With Dr. Amani Ballour. Arabic with English subtitles. PG-13, 97 mins.
Winner of the People’s Choice Award for Documentary at the Toronto International Film Festival, THE CAVE is the story of humanitarian Doctor Amani Ballour and how she, and her team, battle sexism and risk their lives every day to provide medical support in an underground hospital, for the residents of a Syrian city. “It’s an active observational grounding of the audience into a truth you have to see to believe (...) A portrait of humankind at both its worst and best”.”(Imdb) Directed by Oscar nominee Feras Fayyad (LAST MEN IN ALEPPO), this is a tremendous film that, Variety notes, has a “defiantly countering sense of hope.” (Picturemotion)
All About Me
Date/Location: Thurs. Oct. 29 (Barkley) and Sat. Oct. 31 (Theater)
Country/Year: Germany, 2018
Description: Dir. Caroline Link
With Julius Weckauf, Luise Heyer, Diana Amft, Sönke Möhring. In German with English
subtitles. NR, 90 mins.
Ruhr Valley, Germany, 1972. Hans-Peter — or Hape Kerkeling, one of Germany’s most beloved comedians and television stars — is a pudgy nine year-old with a troubled family life who uses his natural comedic talents to heal his own wounds, all while making people laugh along with him. Based on Kerkeling’s best-selling autobiography and directed by Caroline Link (Oscar-winning director of Nowhere in Africa), All about Me whose German title translates to “The Boy Needs Some Fresh Air,” is an entertaining, coming-of-age story about the therapeutic potential of laughter.
Tazzeka
Date/Location: Thurs. Nov. 5 (Barkley) and Sat. Nov. 7 (Theater)
Country/Year: France/Morocco, 2018
Description: Dir. Jean-Philippe Gaud
With Mahdi Belemlih, Ouidad Elma. In French, Arabic with English subtitles. NR, 95
mins.
Elias works at a tiny convenience store in the rural Moroccan village of Tazzeka, making couscous for the locals and the occasional tourist, while dreaming of cooking in Paris, the international capital of gastronomy. Making his dream come true is fraught with hardships. Neither sensational nor sugar-coated, Tazzeka accomplishes the rare feat of describing the immigrant experience in a heartwarming but unvarnished manner, achieving a gently comedic, yet deeply felt tone carried by newcomer Madi Belem’s guileless performance as Elias. This movie reminds us that identity and food are embedded in the human psyche.
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- Dr. Thérèse Saint Paul
- Global Languages and Theatre Arts