In the lush tradition of the glorious films by Merchant and Ivory Productions comes the true life story of Leonie Gilmour (Emily Mortimer), whose life crossed continents, wars, and cultures, embodied with courage and passion in search of art and freedom. As an independent young woman seeking to overcome the restrictive female roles in turn-of-the-century America, she is retrained by the famous Japanese poet, Yone Noguchi (Shidô Nakamura) as his editor. Their relationship evolves romantically; however, Yone abruptly leaves when she shares with him that she is pregnant. Following him to Japan, she is cast along to raise their son in a society with few opportunities for women.

A tender and inspiring story of a remarkable woman who nurtures the amazing artistic talent of their son who has only one way to succeed and one person to guide him, as he grows in to the world-renowned artist, Isamu Noguchi.

“Lushly photographed and featuring a stellar performance by the luminous Emily Mortimer in the title role, Hisako Matsui’s film is deeply heartfelt.” --The Hollywood Reporter

Directed by Hisako Matsui, 2010
102 minutes
Official Site

Bert Stern, also known for his seminal film Jazz on a Summer’s Day, experienced a meteoric career that began as a mailroom-boy at Look Magazine, where he formed a close relationship with young staff photographer Stanley Kubrick. The launch of Stern’s career and the Golden Age of Advertising would coincide with Stern’s iconic and legendary “Driest of the Dry” campaign for Smirnoff in 1955. Set against the backdrop of the Egyptian pyramids, this ad would sell more vodka than Smirnoff had dreamed, transforming America into a martini-sipping country and launching Stern to star photographer status at the age of 25. Sought after by Madison Avenue, Hollywood, and the international fashion scene, Bert was at the heart of what creative director George Lois called “the creative evolution.” His groundbreaking images of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Marilyn Monroe, coupled with his astonishing success in advertising, minted Stern as a celebrity in his own right.

“The film helps an audience who only knows him by repute to understand and appreciate how his work has helped shape a lot of the advertising since then and our understanding of the world.” –The Huffington Post

Directed by Shannah Laumeister
89 minutes
Official Site

This program is co-presented with SPACE Gallery.

In this inspired, genre-twisting new film, Oscar-nominated writer/director Sarah Polley discovers that the truth depends on who’s telling it. Polley is both filmmaker and detective as she investigates the secrets kept by a family of storytellers. She playfully interviews and interrogates a cast of characters of varying reliability, eliciting refreshingly candid, yet mostly contradictory, answers to the same questions. As each relates their version of the family mythology, present-day recollections shift into nostalgia-tinged glimpses of their mother, who departed too soon, leaving a trail of unanswered questions. Polley unravels the paradoxes to reveal the essence of family: always complicated, warmly messy, and fiercely loving. Stories We Tell explores the elusive nature of truth and memory, but at its core is a deeply personal film about how our narratives shape and define us as individuals and families, all interconnecting to paint a profound, funny, and poignant picture of the larger human story.

“With its ingenious structure, seamless visual conceits and mordant humor, Stories We Tell is a masterful film on technical, and aesthetic values alone.” –The Washington Post

Directed by Sarah Polley, 2013
108 minutes
Official Site

Q&A with the filmmakers Patrick Farrelly and Kate O’Callaghan will follow the screenings on Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23.

In her late 50s Nuala O’Faolain wrote a memoir that sold a million copies and shocked the Irish public with its revelations of her sexual history and the bizarre manner of her upbringing. She was a woman of many, contradictory parts: the enthusiastic heterosexual whose most lasting relationship was with a radical lesbian activist; the feminist who adored a father who openly betrayed her mother and neglected his family. In 2008 she transfixed Ireland again when, ravaged by cancer, she turned to her friend and radio host Marian Finucane to talk frankly about her impending death. Nuala is Finucane’s journey of discovery into her friend’s life as well as a raw and vivid testimony to the enduring power of friendship.

“An intimate and compelling chronicle of a remarkable life. Nuala honors its subject’s passion for the written word no less than her passion for life. It doesn’t sugarcoat the emotional messiness of the unconventional life she created, which makes it all the more affecting as a portrait of exuberant dissent.” –The Hollywood Reporter

Directed by Patrick Farrelly and Kate O’Callaghan, 2012
92 minutes
Official Site

A shrewd young advertising executive gets recruited to help free Chile from the grip of Dictator Augusto Pinochet in this historical drama set during a defining chapter in the nation’s history. The year is 1988. Pinochet has ruled Chile without challenge for nearly two decades, but all of this could soon change as the international community pressures the despot to hold a national election that will decide whether he retains his position for another eight years. Should the citizens vote “Yes,” Pinochet will remain in power; should they vote “No,” the country will elect a new leader. Though the population remains convinced that the election is fixed, the chance to enact change through peaceful means is too powerful to resist. In order to succeed, the opposition recruits bright young ad exec René Saavedra (Gael García Bernal) to create the daily, 15-minute television spots that will help to ensure a “No” vote. But Saavedra knows that if the citizens stay home during the elections the “Yes” vote will certainly win, and focuses as much on getting cynical Chileans to the polls as he does promising them a brighter future. Meanwhile Lucho Guzmán (Alfredo Castro), Saavedra’s intimidating counterpart on the “Yes” campaign, does everything in his power to shut down the “No” vote. With the fate of an entire nation hanging in the balance of the outcome, however, Saavedra braves intimidation and death threats in order to ensure his country will be freed from the grip of tyranny.

“Mr. Larraín’s attention to historical detail—the kind of sweaters worn by people on the left, the slang, the fearful atmosphere, his innovative use of archival footage—is a reason he won the top prize at the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival in May.” –The New York Times

Directed by Pablo Larraín, 2012
118 minutes
Official Site
Spanish with English subtitles

After Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, the silent film era’s “third genius” was Harold Lloyd, who stars in this Horatio Alger-style story of an average country boy trying to make good in the big city. The Boy (Lloyd) leaves his sweetheart, The Girl (Mildred Davis, later the real-life Mrs. Lloyd) in Great Bend while he pursues his fortune in a teeming metropolis. The Boy lands a job as a clerk at a fabric counter of DeVore’s, a huge department store, but he lies in his letters home to his beloved, pretending to be the store’s manager and spending his earnings on lavish gifts. The Boy’s roommate, The Pal (Bill Strother) makes money as a “human fly,” performing attention-getting stunts. Promised $1,000 by DeVore’s real manager if he can devise a publicity gimmick, The Boy convinces his friend to climb the 12-story establishment and split the winnings with him. On the day of the event, however, The Pal is busy dodging The Law (Noah Young), forcing The Boy to make the arduous climb solo. Dodging a variety of obstacles, The Boy climbs higher and higher, eventually dangling from the store’s clock tower, in the film’s most memorable image.

“Needs to be seen on a big screen with a full house … Lloyd was no YouTube comic, but a master of timing who calibrated each shot to the laughter and gasps of a large public, building crescendos as surely as any great composer.” –The New York Times

Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, 1923
67 minutes
Official Site