Cinema launches International Film Fest today

A scene from the movie "Travellers and Magicians." Courtesy of Cornell Cinema

Cornell Cinema presents an International Film Festival -- 17 feature films, most of them Ithaca premieres -- throughout April and early May. While Cornell Cinema regularly premieres new films from around the world, this spring is particularly rich in international cinema. In addition to work from Armenia, Bhutan, Bolivia, China, France, Iran, Senegal, South Africa, South Korea and Spain, an entire series is devoted to recent films from Argentina. The International Students Programming Board (ISPB) is co-sponsoring the festival by subsidizing the undergraduate ticket price of five screenings -- for details, visit http://www.rso.cornell.edu/ispb/p.html. The series, "A Renaissance in Argentine Cinema," is co-sponsored with the Argentine Students at Cornell, the Latin American Studies Program, the Einaudi Center for International Studies and CUSLAR.

The festival begins with master Senegalese director Ousmane Sembéne's "Moolaadé" (March 31, April 1-3), a stinging critique of the practice of female circumcision and one of the best reviewed films of 2004. According to New Yorker Films: "Though the subject matter might seem weighty, this buoyant film is anything but -- Sembéne places the action amid a colorful, vibrant tapestry of village life and expands the narrative well beyond the bounds of straightforward, socially conscious realism employing an imaginative array of emblematic metaphors, mythic overtones and musical numbers." Its presentation is co-sponsored with Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies and the Program for Gender and Global Change.

Another highlight of the festival is Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang's "Springtime in a Small Town" (April 8 & 10), what Variety called an "exquisitely made love story" about a desperate housewife in 1946 who is re-invigorated when her secret old flame returns to town and moves into her home. According to the Village Voice, "Tian's movie seems to be among the finest expressions of the Chinese new wave."

A scene from the movie "Deserted Station." Courtesy of Cornell Cinema

The off-beat Armenian comedy "Vodka Lemon" (April 14-16), by Iraqi-Kurdish director Hiner Saleem, is set in a remote snow-covered mountain village filled with quirky characters who are trying to adjust to post-Soviet life. Whimsical images, a rich musical score and dialogue in four languages (Armenian, Kurdish, Russian and French) make this film a truly unique experience for viewers. Its presentation is co-sponsored with the Armenian Student Organization and the Institute for European Studies.

From the director of "The Cup," Khyentse Norbu, comes "Travellers and Magicians" (April 22, 23 and 27), a highly entertaining and gorgeous fish-out-of-water tale set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Himalayan country of Bhutan.

The Iranian Students Organization is cosponsoring the screenings of "Deserted Station" (April 30, May 1 and 4), another simple and eloquent gem from Iran, based on a story by Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami.

"Fear and Trembling" (May 4, 7 and 10) is based on an autobiographical novel of the same name by Amélie Nothomb, a young Belgian woman who found herself in culture shock when she went to work for a Tokyo corporation. This "quietly odd and hilarious tale," said The Washington Post, has been compared to a cross between the film "Lost in Translation" and the British television hit "The Office."

"Crane World" (April 6) was the first film to achieve international success in what has come to be called the New Argentine Cinema. It tells the story of an unemployed crane operator trying to get by in present-day Buenos Aires. The Italian neo-realist-inspired film is anchored by a strong central performance and a shrewd understanding of modern-day economics, including the growing movement of workers' solidarity. Other Argentine titles include Lucrecia Martel's debut film, "La Cienaga" (The Swamp) (April 12), a family drama set in Martel's native Salta that reveals the decadence of Argentina's working class. The last film in the series is "Lost Embrace" (May 12-14), an Argentinean comedy about a young Jewish slacker who wants out of his dead-end job working at his mother's lingerie store. The fanciful plot and subtly inventive time structure make the film something more: a witty, funny, gentle fable about Jewish identity and urban life as lived in South America.

For a complete listing of films screening as part of the International Film Festival and in the new Argentine Cinema series, call 255-3522 or visit http://cinema.cornell.edu.