When We Leave (Die Fremde)

The 83rd Academy Awards® 2011 Official German entry for the Best Foreign Language Film is a complex and gripping portrait of a family in crisis.

Hoping to start a new life, Umay (Sibel Kekilli) flees, along with her five years old son Cem (Nizam Schiller), from her oppressive marriage in Istanbul, Turkey, to her native Berlin, Germany. Instead, her path for self determination leads to intense conflicts with her family who love her but are bound by culture and traditions.

The superb cast includes Turkish stars Settar Tanriögen as Kader, Umay's father, and Derya Alabora as Halime, Umay’s mother. However, it is Sibel Kekilli's remarkable screen presence and expression of inner turmoil that steals the show.

The feature's most exceptional shots are also the most heartbreaking and violent. Included are many non-verbal, yet extremely powerful, expressive, and moving scenes.

The cast conveys a realistic empathetic portrayal of the transcultural and sociocultural conflicts impacting all of the family members. The skillful narrative by Feo Aladag, in her debut as writer, director and co-producer with Züli Aladag, portrays the dreadful predicaments of honor killing on all the characters, including the men, showing them not simply as culprits but also as victims of a structural, traditional dynamics.


Film opens in the United States, January 28, 2011. Find additional information at www.WhenWeLeave.com

Tangled

Generating a uniquely different artistic expression is Disney's 50^th animated feature, a fluidic hybrid of the versatile and realistic texture of 3D-2D CGI with the natural and esthetic beauty of the hand-drawn medium.

In what is considered the most ambitious 3D effort to date, Disney brought together an amazing technical team and an impressive use of technology.

Among entertainment industry's top talent, directors Byron Howard and Nathan Greno, along with executive director John Lasseter, and the legendary Glen Keane's technical team, give the feature a fresh contemporary spin, creating some of the most complex and intricate effects ever seen in CG: Rapunzel's glowing hair, 46,000 candle lit lanterns, 23 million gallons of virtual CG raging waters and large crowds of spectators. Making extensive use of the innovative Multi Rigging technique, the 3D images provide a continuous landscape of depth. Visual effects supervisor Steve Goldber, CG supervisor Jesus Canal, technical supervisor Mark Hammel and a technical team of hair experts headed by Xinmin Zhao and Kelly Ward, developed the Dynamic Wires software to perfect the natural hair movement.

Tangled features new songs and a score by composer/ songwriter Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater. 'When Will My Life Begin?', 'I Have a Dream', and 'I See the Light', help relate to Rapunzel's character, while Mother Gothel's big number 'Mother Knows Best' relate to the over-protectiveness of the character.

Charming and with appealing characters is this Disney's rendition of the beautiful classic fairy tale Princess Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore) whose 70 feet long golden hair possesses magical powers. Kidnapped as a baby by the villain Mother Gothel (voiced by Donna Murphy) Rapunzel is raised alone in a hidden forest tower.

Seeking refuge from the Stabbington Brothers (voiced by Ron Perlman), two muscular and menacing beefy brutes, is the witty dashing bandit, Flynn Rider (voiced by Zachary Levi), who breaks into Rapunzel's tower. Curious about the outside world and about the glowing lantern lights appearing in the sky every year on her birthday, the feisty Rapunzel makes a deal with Flynn. A breathtaking visual and adventurous journey of self discovery begins leading to horse chases, sword fights, prison breaks, floods, action, humor and romance.

Fun to watch is Pascal, a small chameleon, Rapunzel's confidante and cheerleader. However, stealing the show is the hilarious Maximus, the fearless horse on a relentless pursuit to capture Flynn.

Adding to the feature's enjoyment are the thugs: the ineffective Captain of the Guard (M.C. Gainey), the hopeless romantic Big Nose Thug (Jeffrey Tambor), the ferocious looking Vladamir (Richard Kiel), loving cupcakes is Attila, the tough thug with a green thumb is Tor, a tailor at heart is Killer, dreaming of becoming a concert pianist is Hookhand (voiced by Brad Garrett), and always liking to have the last word is Shorty (Paul F. Tompkins).

This dazzling and heartwarming family movie immerses the audience in this imaginary place that feels real. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Following nine years and seven pictures, Harry Potter's record breaking film series is coming to and end.

Marked by a dark and serious tone is the first installment of JK Rowling's seventh and final Harry Potter's book adaptation. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) embark on a dangerous mission to stop the takeover of the forces of evil. Obliterating ties with their families and, far from the safety of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the three try to destroy the Horcruxes, the artifacts that give immortality to their sinister archnemesis Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), and to find the Deathly Hallows: an invincible Elder Wand, a Resurrecting Stone, and an Invisibility Cloak.

Compared to previous installments, this is the scariest of the series, featuring among others Lord Voldemort's most loyal and pure evil Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter), and vivid closeup images of the enormous snake Nagini. However, the feature is also interspersed with occasional levity such as when Hermione and Harry dance inside their protective tent. The relationship among the three main characters takes center stage, bringing into focus its young stars' evolution into mature actors.

Through the expert direction of David Yates, with Eduardo Serra's striking cinematography, Alexandre Desplat's score, as well as the great special effects and visually impressive sets, the feature leads to the most anticipated, final chapter of this enchanting and entertaining world: the final battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort, set for release Summer 2011.

Autumn Gold (Herbstgold)

This inspiring and refreshing new look at today's elderly is the brainchild of German documentarian Jan Tenhaven. He follows five senior veteran athletes, between the ages of 82 to 100, as they train for the 2009 track and field World Masters Athletic Championships in Lahti, Finland.

These extraordinary athletes know of no obstacles and are determined to live life to the fullest. Too young to sit in a rocking chair is the amazing 100 years old Alfred Proksch, a discus thrower from Vienna as well as an avid nude painter. Proksch undergoes knee surgery six month before the finals in Finland. Set on winning the gold medal is the 93 years old sprinter Herbert Liedtke from Stockholm, training for the 100 meter dash. Palpable is the fierce competitive spirit he displays towards the Italian 90 year old challenger, the jaw dropper Ugo Sansonetti. Trying to break the world record is Ilse Pleuger, the 85 years old shot putter from Kiel, Germany. Likewise is the 82 years old high jumper from the Czech Republic Jiří Soukup who aims to reach the one meter mark. Keeping her age a secret is the glamorous Gabre Gabric, a discus thrower from Italy who hopes to break 13 meters.

Tenhaven's candid, well balanced, and somewhat humorous interviews reveal the profiled athletes' personal challenges, determination, and positive outlook on life. Recognizing that they compete in a race against time, these athletes are proof that with age come new opportunities and that it is never too late to live one's dreams.

100 Voices: A Journey Home

Whether it is to rediscover one's roots, honor one's parents, or visit one's ancestral home, or the birthplace of cantorial music, 72 opera trained cantors of Polish heritage from all over the world reunite in this remarkable historic trip to Poland in 2009 and revive the cantorial tradition sixty some years after its obliteration by the Nazi holocaust.

Joined by local choruses, the cantors performed to sold out audiences at the Krakow Philharmonic Hall, and at the Warsaw Opera House, the largest theater of its kind in Europe. Moving was the very first Jewish service conducted at the Auschwitz and at the Birkenau concentration camps.

Arising from a project initiated by Cantor Nate Lam of Steven S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles, the documentary features some of the world's most celebrated cantors. Cantor Alberto Mizrahi also known as the 'Jewish Pavarotti', Cantors Ivor and Joel Lichterman praying at Noygck Synagogue, the only Synagogue in Poland that was not destroyed in WWII and where their father was the synagogue's last Cantor, as well as Cantor Simon Spiro whose father was a famous member of the Yiddish theater and whose hilarious mime sketch is performed in the documentary by Simon. Among the female Cantors featured are Arianne Brown and Faith Steinsnyder.

Intrigued by the integrated similarities between the Polish and Jewish cultures, is Janusz Makuch, a non-Jew and founder of the Jewish Cultural Festival in Krakow 20 years ago. The festival attracts 25,000 people a year who come to listen to the ancient Jewish Polish music tradition.

Accompanying the cantors was Oscar nominated and Emmy and Grammy winning composer, Charles Fox (Killing Me Softly), who made the emotional trip to his father’s village. Fox's original 'Lament and Prayer' composition is performed at the end of the documentary and includes the prayer of forgiveness that Polish-born Pope John Paul II placed at Jerusalem 's Western Wall in the year 2000.

In this inspirational documentary, directors Matthew Asner & Danny Gold maintain an original feel to the story by blending amazing archival footage collected from the US Memorial Holocaust Museum and The National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis University. Included are early twentieth’s century cantorial golden age era music and Yiddish theater footage.

100 Voices: A Journey Home, states Cantor Lam, is “about having a connection to the past through music.” 

127 Hours

Following Slumdog Millionaire's Oscar success, director Danny Boyle returns with his winning team in an edge of the seat suspense drama based on Aron Ralston's book Between a Rock and a Hard Place.
In this remarkable true story, James Franco is in the role of the independent canyoneer Aron Ralston who, in a desolate area of Blue John Canyon in Utah, falls into a crevasse 40 feet below the surface of the earth, remaining trapped and alone for 5 days with his arm pinned against a rock mountain by a boulder.

Mostly a one man show marked by little dialogue and minimal movement, this survival story gradually heightens in intensity with some not for the squeamish disturbing images.

Franco delivers a riveting performance as he moves his carefree character into an increasingly more introspective one, seeking liberation not only from his physical demise but also from the emotional barriers affecting his relationships.

Good technical skills mark this feature. The brilliant direction by Boyle is accompanied by Anthony Dod Mantle’s cinematography capturing spectacular canyon images, and A. R. Rahman’s upbeat score that so well represents Ralston's adventurous spirit.