SATURDAY
Indigenes (Algeria)
The 2006 Cannes winner for best ensemble male cast tells the forgotten true story of the bravery of four Algerian WW II soldiers fighting the Nazis for the French army, while battling racial discrimination from their fellow comrades. A likely Oscar contender for next year’s best foreign film, the movie became a huge success in France and led the government to finally acknowledge the role of North African soldiers in France s victory.
Stars 14:00 pm
Zuzu Angel (Brazil)
The film recounts the story of acclaimed Brazilian fashion designer Zuzu Angel at the time her son Stuart Angel was captured, tortured, and murdered by the government for his involvement with the student movement against the military dictatorship of the 60s and 70s. Zuzu was assassinated in 1976 because of her investigating her son’s murder. She not only influenced Brazilian fashion for generations to come, but she also had an impact on the country’s political scene.
Stars 17:00 pm
Summer in Berlin (Germany)
Two women, Nike and Katrin, are best friends living in contemporary Berlin. Not particularly ambitious, they like a drink and a good time but mostly take pleasure in each other’s company. Events take a turn for the worse when Nike enters a doomed relationship with a trucker named Ronald and Katrin suffers a psychological breakdown after a thwarted rape. A third character, Katrin’s adolescent son Max, connects them and is a witness to their complex relationship. His relationship with women is one of the narrative’s driving forces, with his failed seduction of a school friend setting in motion a difficult period for both women.
Cairo Opera House, Small Theater8:00 pm
SUNDAY
Mother of Mine (Finland)
This film recounts a momentous event in Finnish history. During World War II, 80,000 children were sent to neighboring Sweden and Denmark for protection. Alienated and unfamiliar with the language, these refugees were forced to live through the war without their parents and with little news from home. Eero, who, as a nine-year-old boy, is sent to rural Sweden by his mother following the death of her husband. As if the abrupt transition was not traumatic enough, Eero’s new family doesn’t welcome him: his surrogate mother Signe, who was hoping for a girl to help her around the house, is infuriated. The kids at his school think he’s weird, and mock him when he hides from a passing plane that reminds him of the bombings back home. Eero begins to act out, which only makes matters much worse.
Nile City1:30 pm
Paris, Je t aime (France)
Paris, I love you is a love letter to the city of love. It’s made up of 18 different short stories from 18 directors of various nationalities, including the French Sylvain Chomet (“Triplets of Belleville ); Americans, Alexander Payne (“Sideways ) and Joel Coen (“Fargo ); Mexicans, Alfonso Cuarón (“Harry Potter 3 ); and German Tom Tykwer (“Run Lola Run ) among others. The impeccable cast features Natalie Portman, Gérard Depardieu, Elijah Wood, Nick Nolte and Juliette Binoche. This is one of the most talked about films of the year and the one movie not to miss in the festival.
Galaxy9:30 pm
Principio Y Fin (Mexico)
Based on the acclaimed novel, “The Beginning and the End, by Nobel-winning author Naguib Mahfouz, a lower-middle-class family collapses after the unexpected death of the father.
Nile City9:30 pm
