March 7
THE HISTORY BOYS
Dir. by Nicholas Hytner
Written by Allen Bennett based on his play
UK, 2006, 109 min., rated R for language and sexual content.

The story of an unruly class of bright, funny history students in pursuit of an undergraduate place at a prestigious university, and their stuffy headmaster who is convinced that even the brightest need more polish if they are to make it to the top.

An expert young cast delivers a sharply written film, adapted from the award-winning play. “ferociously engaging” – New York Times

“The movie is brilliant and infectious” New York Magazine

More local focus on Global Warming this month…

Sunday, March 11th
2pm

A slide presentation of
"An Inconvenient Truth"
will be given by Ken Mankoff, a representative of Al Gore's
Climate Project initiative.

A discussion will follow. Tickets are $5. Riverspace Arts in Nyack. www.riverspace.org,
(845) 348-0741

March 14
Pre-Saint Patrick’s Day celebration
THE QUIET MAN
Dir. By John Ford
With John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara
USA, 1952, 129 minutes, color, in English & Gaelic

An Irish-American boxer returns to the Irish village where he was born to recover from a traumatic event in the ring and to buy his family’s cottage. Once there, he falls in love with the prettiest colleen in the county, and subsequently has to contend with the serious resistance of her brother, who sets out to fight the “Yank” for both the land and his sister’s affections. In order to marry his beloved he must come to terms with both his demons and immutable Irish traditions. From the incomparable classic team of John Ford, John Wayne, and Maureen O’Hara. Ford’s besotted tribute to Ireland.

Academy Awards for Direction and Cinematography.

March 21
The Jewish Film Festival Presents
THE KING OF BEGGARS
Dir. By Uri Paster
Israel, 2006, 98 min., in Hebrew with English Subtitles.

Special time: 7:30pm

Israel’s first swashbuckler action film for adults draws on Samurai sword-fighting tradition and Kabala martial arts. Based on the character of Fishke the Lame, the film follows the adventures of Fishke from humble bathhouse attendant in a Russian shtetl to leader of a fighting brigade of
Jewish outcasts. A unique folk tale
breaking historical stereotypes of Jews
as passive victims.

Tickets for from this event ONLY available online at www.jccyofrockland.org
Or by phone: (845) 362-4400

Tickets are $10 or $7 for students/seniors

Rivertown Film subscription discounts will not be accepted

March 28
RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES
Dir. By Yimou Zhang
China, 2005, 107 min., in Mandarin and Japanese with English subtitles.
Rated PG.

An estranged father takes the train from Tokyo to northern Japan to see is ailing son, but his hopes for reunion are rebuffed. In an attempt to mend the relationship, the older man begins an odyssey into the heart of China to record a legendary Chinese folk opera singer that his son is enamored of.

A story of wit and wisdom from the 3-time academy award nominated director of "Hero" (2003), "House of Flying Daggers" (2004), and “Curse of the Golden Flower” (2006).

“One of the most beautiful and touching road movies in recent years… an intimate family and cross-cultural drama by the great Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, starring the great Japanese actor Ken Takakura. A movie for all cultures and all people, for families and especially for those who have lost them.”. – Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune.

“A quietly massive performance.” – Entertainment Weekly

Wednesday, April 4
THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP
Dir: Michel Gondry
With: Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Miou Miou
2006, in Spanish/English/French, 105 min.

Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) returns with a beguiling mix of idiosyncrasy and delight. In a spirit at once rigorous and playfully romantic, it introduces us to Stephane, an eccentric and troubled young fellow. Burrowing deep into his head, we follow him through a dream-like world of loops and curlicues as he navigates a stop-and-go romance with the equally strange Stephanie.
This surreal journey through Stephane's unconscious mind is interrupted occasionally by the "real world", and though we're reminded that it's necessary to "grow up and face responsibility and reality", our lives would be much smaller without those dreams that sometimes provide us with the haven of whimsical escape.

This year's ultimate date movie. - Paper Magazine

A hip, heartfelt love story. - US Magazine

Enormously imaginative ... Visually

Exhilarating - Premier

Wednesday, April 18
LITTLE CHILDREN
Dir. By Todd Field
With Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, Jennifer Connelly
2006, 130 min., Rated R

Lives intersect on the playgrounds, town pools and streets of a small suburban community in surprising and potentially dangerous ways. A leisurely combination of melodrama and black comedy that elicits sympathy for its lost souls. Based on the novel by Tom Perrotta (and co written by he and director Fields).

Best Picture of 2006 – San Francisco Film Critics

"4 stars - Kate Winslet is brilliant. Surprisingly funny, sharply observed and exceptionally well-acted." Leah Rozen, People Magazine

"Superb. Mr. Field proves to be among the most literary of American filmmakers. The result is a movie that is challenging, accessible and hard to stop thinking about." A.O. Scott, The New York Times

"Stunnning. Rare and intelligent from start to finish." Rex Reed, The New York Observer

"Memorable, serious and perceptive. Mr. Field is a filmmaker with an exceptional gift." Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal

Wednesday, April 25
SWEET LAND
Dir. By Ali Selim
With Elizabeth Reaser, Alan Cumming, John Heard, Ned Beatty, Lois Smith
2006, 110 min., Rated PG

A small but powerful tale of immigrants struggling to establish homesteads and new lives in a fearful, war-weary, 1920’s America that is quick to judge and slow to embrace outsiders. Poignant and lyrical, filmed on the exquisite landscape of Minnesota farm country, Sweetland is a celebration of land, love, and the immigrant experience. The American indie sleeper hit of the year.

One of the Ten Best Films of 2006 – Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Times
Audience Award Winner – Hamptons International Film Festival.

“A visually indelible movie that’s a grand dream of the American past. Sweet Land is a movie of extraordinary tenderness.”
–Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Wednesday, May 2
VOLVER
Dir. By Pedro Almodovar
With Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura
2006, 121 minutes, in Spanish with English subtitles, Rated R
Three generations of women survive the east wind, fire, insanity, superstition and even death by means of goodness, lies and boundless vitality. Volver is not a surrealistic comedy although it may seem so at times. It is about way in which the dead continue to be present in their lives, making it impossible for them to ever really disappear, sometimes even more than when they’re alive.

Best Foreign Film – National Board of Review

“It's a mellow melodrama, filled with comedy, compassion and a sense of female community.” “A triumph” – David Ansen, Newsweek

Wednesday, May 9
VENUS
Dir. By Roger Michell
With Peter O‚Toole, Leslie Phillips, Jodie Whittaker
2006, 95 min., United Kingdom, Rated R

Maurice and Ian are septuagenarians, and close friends. Certain that death is around the corner, Ian allows his great-niece to care for him. Jessie is not exactly cut out for this, and just when Ian has reached the end of his tether, Maurice takes Jessie under his roguishly charming wing. Poignant and moving, "Venus" reveals that if we‚re lucky our lives will include the willingness to look like fools in the service of some romantic ideal, however cockeyed.

"... a heartbreaking comedy that is simultaneously funny and sad, raunchy and sweet, funky and elegiac." - David Ansen, Newsweek

"... It is not easy to define that special, paradoxical glamour Mr. O‚Toole wears like a well-worn, perfectly tailored jacket ˜ he is a self-made aristocrat, a genuine pretender, a selfless narcissist ˜ but whatever it is, he still has it." - A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Wednesday, May 16
LAMERICA
Dir. By Gianni Amelio
1994, 115 min., Italian with English subtitles

Two Italian con-artists enter Albania after the fall of the communists in 1991 to create a fake company and glean government subsidies. One must cross the devastated country in pursuit of their connection. Each day sucks him into a downward spiral in which he loses his identity-and merges with thousands of refugees struggling to reach Italy, the land of promise. A deeply moving study of the chaos of a new Europe.

"LAMERICA" is a miracle, a reason to believe. Dramatic, intelligent, insightful and ambitious, this exceptionally moving film is strong enough to rank with the masterworks of Italian cinema..." -- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

In "Lamerica," perhaps the best film in the [New York Film] festival, Gianni Amelio creates a beautiful, elegiac tale of an old man's memories and a young man's search for purpose in the midst of political chaos.ˆ Caryn James, The New York Times

Thanks to all those who made our 5th Anniversary Benefit on May 19th an enjoyable success!
Take a look at a few photographs from the evenings events, and please join us for our World Cinema Series below!

Wednesday, May 23
AVENUE MONTAIGNE
Dir. By Danièle Thompson
Cecile De France, Christopher Thompson, Valerie Lemercier
2006, 100 min., French with English subtitles, Rated PG-13

Arriving in glamorous Paris, Jessica lands a job as a waitress on Avenue Montaigne and becomes entangled in the lives of the café‚s regulars. Anxious to make a mark, she ingratiates herself to a temperamental actress, a famed concert pianist, and an elderly art collector and his estranged son. Her winsome and charmingly naïve aura soon has an effect on all of them. A fable about love and art, about time and time passing,

A film about love and art, about passing time and time passing, "Avenue Montaigne" is a humble pleasure. - Manhola Dargis, The New York Times

Nominated for five Césars, the French version of the Oscars, three of them for its expert cast, ŒAvenue Montaigne‚ is one of those warm and charming farces set in the movie-magical city of Paris that the French have been making for what seems like forever. - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Academy Award for Best Foreign Film of 2006
Wednesday, May 30
THE LIVES OF OTHERS
Dir. By Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
2006, 137 min., German with English Subtitles, Rated R

A sweeping tale of life in East Berlin five years before the Communist downfall in 1989. In a climate of control and surveillance, police captain Gerd Wiesler hopes to advance his career by spying on a playwright and his girlfriend. But this has unforeseen consequences. His immersion in the lives of others makes Wiesler aware of the emptiness of his own life and introduces him to new ideas. But the system, once started, cannot be stopped.

"...a thoroughly compelling political thriller, at once intellectually challenging and profoundly emotional." - A.O. Scott, The New York Times

"... a great story: perfectly structured and powerfully told with unexpected twists and multifaceted characters∑. The Lives of Others reminds us of what filmmaking can be at its finest." - Claudia Puig, USA Today

ROCKLAND INDEPENDENT FILM NETWORK
AND RIVERTOWN FILM PRESENT
Rockland Filmmakers Short Film Festival

June 9th & 10th at the GAGA Arts Festival

55 W. Railroad Avenue,
Garnerville, NY
Films will be presented in Building 3B on Cross Creek Road.
The GAGA Arts Festival will be open both days from 11 AM to 6 PM.

For more inormation on the festival visit their homepage.
Click here for directions.

Download a flyer for a complete listing of films.

Tickets are $5.00. Kids are free.
www.gagaartscenter.org
845-947-7108

On Sunday the student films will be shown continuouslystarting at 3pm. Please join us for an Awards ceremony and reception at 4:30 on Sunday.