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A joint product of Canada and Yugoslavia, with a screenplay by acclaimed novelist Svetislav Basara, Dragan Marinkovic's Boomerang manages to combine fast-paced action with literate dialogue, dark comedy with political allegory, and chaos with peace. For a group of likeable lowlifes in post-war Serbia, Boomerang isn't just the name of their favorite caf?; it's a way of life. A teenage girl falls in love with a mobster in a movie theatre. He wants to marry her, unaware that his partners are chasing her and their stolen drugs.
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San Jose director Sung H. Kim artfully uses Bay Area locations to take us into the lives of three Asian/Pacific-American childhood friends at a time when they are each struggling with their separate identities and what, if anything, they wish to achieve with their lives. Blue is an Asian-American twenty-something coasting along in life: a bike messenger in San Francisco by day and working the counter at a cafe at night. His roommates and best friends are Michael, a Silicon Valley type yuppie, and Bounce, a professional student who is happy just to be stoned 24 hours a day.
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Following in the inspiring tradition of Norma Rae and Erin Brockovich, Sonia Valent?n's Bitter Sweat gives viewers a vivid look at simple people fighting against overwhelming odds for better working conditions. Set in a Puerto Rican fish-cleaning factory, the film focuses on a group of female workers struggling to hold onto their jobs as massive layoffs and heated protests swirl around them. The volatile atmosphere culminates when their boss is found murdered one morning-quickly turning the story into a clever "whodunit" that Agatha Christie would drool over.
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Maija Di Giorgio was a comedian on the verge of big time success. Then one night in front of executives from HBO, she inexplicably cracked, shouting obscenities at the audience and walking off stage. Thus, her career as a stand-up was finished. So, Maija sets out on a two-year quest to find out what went wrong and to try to resurrect her dreams of making people laugh.
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Bret Packard is an American hero. He's rich, famous, and the best baseball player in the world. But Bret is bored. With nothing left in baseball to conquer, Bret has decided to play a new game in which only he will come out the winner. Bret's best friend on the team is Tod, who fears a young pitcher, Ricky, is being groomed to replace him. Bret offers Tod a deal-if Tod hits more batters than Ricky, Bret will insure that Ricky is traded.
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What does a filmmaker from L.A. do when she's invited to her mother's tenth year memorial service in Athens, Greece? With this question in mind, director Angeliki Giannakopoulos sets out, camera in hand, on a heartfelt, intensely moving quest to discover the history of her family and her homeland of Athens, where her mother's memorial ceremony was to take place.
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In 25 Kids and One Dad, Huang Hong's directorial debut is a warm, touching comedy reminiscent of Zhang Yimou's latest films (Not One Less, Happy Times). It gives the viewer a sharp look at working-class conditions of rural China without sacrificing the delicate balance of comedy.
Huang Hong, Li Lin, Lei Kesheng, Siqin Gaowa, Yu Lan, Huang Zhaohan
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"I heard the news today, oh-boy..." Like recent films Almost Famous and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Noah Stern's 7 Songs is an ode to rock music. Micah (Chris Eigeman-Metropolitan, Barcelona), a gifted songwriter, is at the most pivotal day of his life struggling to finish his record while writer's block, an immoral record label, and crumbling relationships impede the process. Most of all, however, Micah struggles to find an excitement for life and music that he has lost.
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A truly unique coming-of-age film, Young Love, is the heart-warming story of love, youthful dreams, and tolerance of those who may be different. Jukka is a precocious 13-year-old outcast, hiding behind his camera, as he painfully grows up in the suburbs. Spying on neighbors with a telephoto lens, he notices the beautiful Johanna admiring her naked body in a mirror. Astounded by his good fortune, Jukka takes pictures to capture the wondrous sight; however, the entrance of Johanna's abusive stepfather interrupts the fantasy.
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San Francisco director David Schendel's Yank Tanks joins the Buena Vista Social Club as another effervescent commemoration of Cuban culture and life. In 1961, Castro declares Cuba a Communist nation. The U.S. reacts swiftly by cutting diplomatic relations and enforcing an embargo that inadvertently strands 150,000 American cars. Years later, the sleek shapes, vibrant colors, and polished chrome are still a major part of the city's landscape, and the Cuban love affair with old American cars has rendered Havana into a veritable classic car museum. Necessity truly is the mother of invention.