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“COMPARTMENT NO. 6 evokes a powerful nostalgia for a type of loneliness we don’t really have any more, and for the type of love that was its cure.” The Finnish Oscar contender opens next week.

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We love a movie set on a train and are excited to open an excellent new addition to the genre, the acclaimed new Finnish movie COMPARTMENT NO. 6. (We may be hosting the filmmaker for a Q&A; check our website for news.) The film follows a young woman who escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the Arctic port of Murmansk. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a larger than life Russian miner, the unexpected encounter leads the occupants of compartment no. 6 to face major truths about human connection. In addition to the Royal engagement starting Wednesday, January 26, we’ll expand the film to Encino and Pasadena on February 4. The Academy has short-listed the film for its Best International Feature Oscar and prompted some glowing reviews:

“An engrossingly offbeat rail movie…the two leads…walk us through the human condition with the nuances of a big Russian novel.” ~ Deborah Young, The Film Verdict

“It makes for a take on the love story as fresh, resonant and honest… as you’ll find in a contemporary film.” ~ Robert Abele, L.A. Times

“As bleak as the settings may be, it has a delicious black comic streak and shares the buzz of personal re-awakening without ever feeling obvious or cheap. It turns out to be a beacon of warmth amid a frozen wasteland.” ~ Dave Calhoun, TimeOut

“COMPARTMENT NO. 6 evokes a powerful nostalgia for a type of loneliness we don’t really have any more, and for the type of love that was its cure.” ~ Jessica Kiang, Variety

“Seida Haarla gives a winning, intelligent performance as a naturally very clever person made to feel small and helpless in a strange land. But Yuriy Borisov pops from the first moments you see him.” ~ Mark Asch, Little White Lies

Juho Kuosmanen

Director/co-screenwriter Juho Kuosmanen penned the following about his film:

“COMPARTMENT NO. 6 is an Arctic road movie, perhaps it could be seen as a clumsy attempt to find harmony and peace of mind in a world of chaos and anxiety. The core of the story lies in the notion of acceptance. It’s a hard duty to accept that you are part of this chaotic world, and that you exist as you do. Our hero, Finnish student Laura, takes a long train ride to visit some ancient petroglyphs. She quotes a man she met: “To know yourself, you need to know your past.” She would like to be an archaeologist who gets fulfilment out of these kind of things, petroglyphs and such. But is she really that person? Or is this just a stolen dream from a person she would like to be?

“On the train she meets Ljoha, an annoying Russian miner who follows her like a shadow. She wanted to know her past, and Ljoha is the embodiment of it. It’s unpleasant and banal, but it is what it is.

“Road movies are often about freedom. In a car you can go where you want, every crossroad is a possibility. But I tend to think that freedom isn’t an endless number of options but rather, the ability to accept your limitations. A train ride is more like destiny. You can’t decide where to go, you just have to take what it gives you.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itL_GpBalA4

LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM, the first film from the Kingdom of Bhutan to make the shortlist for the Best International Feature Oscar, opens January 21.

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Ugyen, a young teacher in modern Bhutan, shirks his duties while planning to go to Australia to become a singer. As a reprimand, his superiors send him to the most remote school in the world, in a village called Lunana, to complete his service. He finds himself exiled from his Westernized comforts after an arduous eight-day trek just to get there, where he finds no electricity, no textbooks, not even a blackboard. Though poor, the villagers extend a warm welcome to their new teacher, but he faces the daunting task of teaching the village children without any supplies. He wants to quit and go home, but he learns of the hardship in the lives of the beautiful children he teaches, and begins to be transformed by the villagers’ amazing spiritual strength.

We open LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM Friday, January 21 at the Playhouse, Royal and Town Center.

From the writer-director, Pawo Choyning Dorji:

“Pursuit of Happiness: Being the nation of ‘Gross National Happiness,’ Bhutan is supposedly the world’s happiest country. But what does it really entail to be happy? For that matter are the Bhutanese really that happy? Ironically many Bhutanese leave Bhutan, the land of happiness, to seek their own version of ‘happiness’ in the modern glittering cities of the west. With LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM I wanted to tell a story where Ugyen, the young protagonist of the story also wishes to go in search of his happiness. However, he is sent on another journey… he reluctantly goes into a world that is unlike the modern world in every aspect. Along this journey he realizes what we so desperately seek in the outer material world, actually always exists within us, and that happiness is not really a destination but the journey.

Filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji with an actor.

“The Dark valley: The film was shot on-location at the world’s most remote school, in the village of Lunana. The village is a settlement that’s sits along the glaciers of the Himalayas, only accessible through an eight-day trek over some of the highest mountains of the world. There are only 56 people in the village, most of whom had never seen the world outside their village. The word ‘Lunana’ literally means the dark valley; a valley so far and distant that the light doesn’t even reach it. So isolated is the village that even to this day, there are no electricity and cellular network connections. Due to the lack of facilities, the production of the film was totally dependent on solar-charged batteries.

“Though extremely challenging, I specifically wanted to shoot the movie in Lunana, inspired by the purity of the lands and the people. I also wanted everyone involved in the production to experience this life changing journey, so that the authenticity of experience could translate on to the film.

“The major themes of the story are ‘the search for happiness and a sense of belonging’, and these are universal themes that everyone can relate to irrespective of one’s culture and background. However I wanted to present those themes through a medium like Lunana, a world and a people that are so different from not only the rest of the world, but from also Bhutan itself. I wanted to show that even if in such a unique world, the hopes and dreams that connect humanity are the same.”

Asghar Farhadi on his award-winning film A HERO: “People can take years to find within themselves the reasons for their actions, deeply buried within their past.”

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Winner of the Grand Prix and François Chalais Award and a nominee for the Palme d’Or at the last Cannes Film Festival, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s new film A Hero follows Rahim, on a two-day leave from debtor’s prison. While out, he tries to convince his creditor to withdraw his complaint. But things don’t go as planned. We open the film Friday at the Royal, Playhouse and Town Center and at our Claremont, Glendale and Newhall theaters on January 21.

“In Mr. Farhadi’s hands it’s a deliciously ironic, exquisitely complex and mysteriously stirring tale of a man, his son and family, and the staining of multiple reputations by what seems, at the outset, to be a fairly minor lie.” ~ Joe Morgenstern Wall St. Journal

“A superb morality play that immerses us deeply in a society’s values and rituals and keeps us guessing right to its powerful final shot.” ~ Dave Calhoun, Time Out

“As it takes more and more twists, the story veers on the edge of Shakespearean tragicomedy, with darkly funny results. But the dominant tone is dramatic, and occasionally tense and painful, as we watch our hero make dubious choices.” ~ Anna Smith, Deadline Hollywood Daily

Interview with Asghar Farhadi:

Q: How did the idea for A Hero come about?

A: I had been reading stories like this in the press for some time. Those of ordinary individuals, who briefly made newspaper headlines because of an altruistic act. These stories often had common peculiarities. A Hero was not inspired by a specific news item, but while writing it, I had these stories in mind that I read in the press.

Asghar Farhadi

Q: Why locate this story in Shiraz?

A: The answer to this question is given by the film’s theme. There are many historical remains in Shiraz, important and glorious traces of the Iranian identity. The main reason for choosing this city is the specificity of the plot and the characters. But the secondary reason was my wish to distance myself from the tumult of Tehran.

Amir Jadidi

Q: How did the writing process go?

A: At the beginning, I had a vague idea from these true stories. Over the years, the idea grew. I always work the same way. The spark can come from an image, a feeling, a succinct plot which will develop thereafter. Sometimes all of this can stay in a corner of my mind, without my suspecting that it will one day lead to a screenplay. Time is an important ally. Some of these seeds disappear on their own, others persist, grow and stay in you in a state of unfinished process, waiting for you to dedicate yourself to them. It is at this stage, through scattered notes, that an idea begins to emerge. Then comes the research and the first sketches which themselves dictate the path to take. Almost all of my stories have developed in my mind in this progressive way. I do not remember ever having been able to conceive of a complete story with a beginning, a middle and an end from the outset.

Sahar Goldust.

Q: Do you know the full biography of your characters?

A: The scattered notes I mentioned are largely part of the exploration of the characters’ past. This step, which always takes a long time, mostly concerns the main characters. For months, I note all the ideas related to the story I am developing on colored notecards. I choose one color for the ideas I am sure I will somehow incorporate into the script, another for those of which I am less sure. Many of these cards will not be used directly in the writing phase. They do not provide clear information for the script, however they help me to better understand my characters. During this preparatory phase, many aspects of the characters’ backgrounds are developed and leave more or less visible traces in the film.

Asghar Farhadi

Q: There is a great ambiguity in the character of Rahim. For example, the smile that hardly ever leaves him.

A: It seems to me that the realistic approach of the film required this complexity in the characters. As in real life, people are made of multiple dimensions, and in each situation, one dimension takes over and becomes more visible. One could say that these characters are “gray” – they are not stereotypical or one-dimensional. Like any real person in everyday life, they are made of contrasts, antagonistic tendencies or conflict at the time of their decision-making. Rahim’s smile is part of a set of traits that appeared gradually over months of rehearsals; while seeking to define the nature of the actor who embodied it, the role was inscribed in everyday life so as to give Rahim this quality of a “gray” character.

Amir Jadidi

Q: What is your method for your group scenes to be so natural, especially the family scenes?

A: This results mainly from the writing. It is an unconscious process. When one takes special care to make every detail of the scene plausible and authentic, the whole team, especially the actors, want to bring the script to life. With the characters’ behaviors and their dialogues being realistic and not built on clichés, the actors in their interpretation strive not to fall into the trap of artifice. There is certainly a risk that the search for naturalness itself constitutes an artifice. The line is fine and subtle and you have to be very vigilant not to cross it. Daily life can be repetitive and boring. As a director, one has to take care that the search for a realistic impression of the scene, almost like a documentary, does not induce the slow and uneventful pace of real life.

Q: Siavash lives with his uncle and aunt, and Farkhondeh stays with her brother. There is real solidarity in these extended families, which sometimes becomes a burden. Is this something very common in Iran?

A: Like in many other countries, I guess this is less observed in the capital or in large cities. But elsewhere, the pace of life is less hectic, families have lost less of their identity, their traditional ways of life and therefore these extended families are more frequent. Affective and family relationships are more developed, so if a family member is in trouble, everyone feels concerned. I grew up in this type of socio-cultural environment. Twenty years ago, the sentence “This is not my problem” did not exist in the Iranian language. However, this sentence has now been imported and characterizes a new relational mode in our society.

Q: Bahram’s character, the man to whom Rahim owes money, is also very ambiguous…

A: Classically, because of the obstacles he creates for the main character, he should have been unsympathetic and the villain in the movie. But as I mentioned before, due to the treatment of the characters, he has also his own reasons for acting the way he does. When he finally expresses them, they seem to us quite justified and his behavior understandable. It is perhaps this aspect, which goes against the stereotypical figure of the villain that allows us to feel closer to him.

Q: As in A Separation, the eyes of the children are important.

A: Once more, in this movie too, the children are the witnesses. They observe adults’ difficulties and their conflicts. They are unable to grasp the complexity of these difficulties. This is why, as in the previous movies, the children are dazed witnesses of the events. Their perception of the crisis experienced by the adults is purely emotional. Yet in this movie Nazanin, Bahram’s daughter, who is older than the other children, commits an act that creates an even more complex situation.

Q: Most of the characters communicate through social media. Is this a new and powerful phenomenon in Iran?

A: Like everywhere in the world, social networks in Iran occupy an important place in the lives of individuals. This phenomenon is quite recent, but its impact is such that it has become difficult to remember what life was like before its appearance. My personal experience makes me think that the omnipresence of social networks in everyday life is even more obvious in Iranian society than elsewhere. This can be explained by the country’s current socio-political situation.

Q: At the end of each of your films, the viewer does not have all the answers to the questions raised by the plot. Are you a filmmaker of the undecidable?

A: As I already said, this specific characteristic common to the films I have made is not intentional. This ambiguity, even this part of mystery, sometimes sets in during the writing and I have to say that I like it. This aspect makes the relationship between the film and the viewer more lasting beyond the screening. It gives the viewer the opportunity to think more about the film and to dig further into what you call the undecidable. I always take great pleasure in seeing Rashōmon again, precisely because of this mysterious dimension. To combine this ambiguity with an everyday story was an interesting challenge.

Q: Do you know this famous quote from Jean Renoir: “In this world, the truly terrible thing is that everybody has their reasons.” It seems to fit most of the characters of A Hero…

A: I totally agree. Everyone has their reasons for acting the way they do, even if they are not necessarily aware of these reasons. If asked to list them, they would be unable to do so. Sometimes they are not clear or easy to summarize. They are a mass of contradictions. In reality people can take years to find within themselves the reasons for their actions, deeply buried within their past. Furthermore, I must specify that for me, this sentence does not mean that all actions are justified. It is not a question of legitimacy, but understanding. Understanding does not mean to legitimize. By taking note of the reasons that prompted an individual to act, we can understand it, without necessarily agreeing with it.

THE VELVET QUEEN co-director on filming in the Tibetan highlands: “Your whole being soaks everything up. All of your senses are brought into play. It’s as if you resonate with the space around you and the living elements in it. Your emotions are literally heightened, and your animal element can finally express itself.”

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On December 22 we’ll open the acclaimed French wildlife documentary The Velvet Queen at the Royal in West L.A., with possible expansions to our Pasadena, Encino, Claremont, Newhall and Glendale theaters on January 7. In Variety, film critic Guy Lodge wrote “Two French adventurers travel the Tibetan Highlands in search of the elusive snow leopard, but Marie Amiguet’s quietly spellbinding doc is more about the chase than the quarry.” In Moveable Fest, Steven Saito wrote that co-director Marie “Amiguet get[s] at something even scarcer and more exquisite than what the two men are chasing.”

The Velvet Queen co-director and photographer Vincent Munier was interviewed about his experience:

Q: Why has the snow leopard been the main focus of your thoughts and your journeys over the past few years?

A: I’m still a big kid who lives off his dreams and images of mythical animals. I discovered this leopard in the adventure stories of American biologist George B. Schaller. He had filmed it in Chitral, in Pakistan, in the 1970s. But when I went to Tibet for the first time, in 2011, I wasn’t very convinced I would have a chance of seeing it. On the other hand, I knew I would see other species that were equally enigmatic. And to start with, I spent a month without seeing it — just some tracks — but it was fascinating to know that it was there. I was first attracted to these high plateaus by the wild yack, a totem animal from another era, which was probably around at the same time as woolly rhinos or mammoths. Like the musk ox in the Arctic. Deep down, the leopard was a pretext. An extravagant pretext, but a pretext all the same.

Q: What made you come back on its tracks so often?

A: As with the Arctic, I like to return to the same places… I like to discover them at my own pace, over time, and often alone. It’s a great satisfaction to slowly learn to uncover the secrets that surround wild animals, by imagining them, tracking them, and observing them! I’ve effectively always preferred to spend several years focussing on one subject, rather than flitting from one to another: fleeing orders and following my instinct. With regards to Tibet, I must have been there eight times, at first to shoot photos and then for a book. Then, I got this desire to film, with a small team of two to three people at most, to avoid disturbing the wildlife and to be able to remain adaptable and flexible in this complex high-altitude environment. Léo-Pol Jacquot has been working with me for eight years, mainly in the office. I was delighted to get him away from his screens a bit and take him up there! He has practically no on-terrain experience and I was astonished by his ability to adapt. Marie Amiguet brought a fresh look at the place, a particular sensitivity… and I appreciated her leopard-like discretion. Her mission was to follow us whilst remaining invisible, to film us without anything being staged, so that we could be as close to reality as possible. That method brings its share of awkwardness and technical shortcomings, but also a certain amount of sincerity in the moments captured. The aim was to precisely capture the emotions we were feeling.

Q: Why is it that the last two times you decided to travel with a writer?

A: To get a broader vision. It’s no longer sufficient for me to take my fill of the beauty I encounter and these living dreams. I want to share these experiences, to draw attention to the urgency of putting aside our intense anthropocentrism, to end the devastating hegemony of the human species over all others. I am deeply scarred by the destiny that awaits all these animals that are pushed into ever-decreasing areas because of us! And it’s difficult to portray that dimension using only images, particularly when you’ve chosen to show beauty rather than devastation. To emphasize the wonder that I want to portray with my photographs, I felt that a well-composed, engaged written presentation was necessary.

Q: What made you choose Sylvain Tesson?

A: Sylvain and I had already bumped into each other several times and he’d mentioned he’d like to accompany me on my observations. I knew his adventure tales but I was particularly taken with his book Sur les Chemins Noirs. You could feel an ecological thread running through it. So, I naturally invited him to bring my adventures to a close with a book using his texts and this film. As is often the case, I strive to build bridges: to convey wonder, follow nature’s slow pace that you become completely steeped in as the hours and observations pass. So the aim was to film our exchanges around a common dream by using the wildlife images brought together during my preceding adventures up there. At the same time, came the idea of proposing a beautiful object related to that, an album whose photos would have captions composed by the writer. That’s my artistic side. I like to follow every stage at my own pace, so I can be as close as possible to what I really want to share, with no constraints and no pressure.

Q: Vincent, you who are often used to doing your wildlife-watching alone, this time you had more people than ever before with you: guides, a writer, a director, and an assistant director following in your steps. How did that change the way you work?

A: I got myself into a different mindset. And we were rarely all together at the same time. One or two Tibetan friends stayed on the base camp (in the bottom of a valley, by a river), that we travelled out from for several days, into a landscape that I already knew a little thanks to the time I’d spent there previously. After that, we’d split up to work in more discreet pairs.

Q: Was your encounter with this beauty guaranteed?

A: The highpoint of this project was that it was like a planetary alignment, everything just fell into place. To begin with, there was no foregone conclusion that this combination would work out. And there was absolutely no guarantee that Sylvain would effectively end up seeing this leopard. And then, during the very last days, she was there! When I got out from beneath my duvet in the cave, and I saw her eating her prey that she’d killed the day before, it was just an incredible moment! That’s something you can’t stage in advance, of course.

Q: Talking of lucky planetary alignments, it would seem that also brought you a great surprise for the film’s music.

A: It was stunning! We were incredibly lucky to work with Warren Ellis, an extraordinary artist, whose minimalist and enchanting music I adore. It really echoed the vast wild landscapes and magical apparitions of the animals I encountered in Tibet. I had dreamed of being able to work with him one day on one of my films. I thought he was totally inaccessible, but, in spite of his massively busy schedule, he accepted to compose an original score for our leopard! And our exchanges during that work were extremely interesting and meaningful. I discovered him to be a sensitive and kind man. In spite of the fact that we work in very different environments, we found that we shared a lot of our influences. Even though he was supposed to go to Brighton to record his poetry album with Marianne Faithfull, he managed to make time to compose this score. And he brought in his former partner Nick Cave. Nick sings Sylvain’s words! Finishing the film on their voice and music was something I’d never dared hope for!

Q: On a more down to earth matter: You’ve already tested the comforts of Chinese jails in the past when you were out looking for leopards. Did you travel less hazardous administrative routes this time?

A: Astonishingly, yes. Yet, in these regions, the police are on the lookout. They are all over the place and carry out constant checks. You’re not allowed to photograph the poverty of the nomads, Chinese installations, and so on. The police force is probably the Chinese State’s largest employer in Tibet. And effectively, during one of my previous trips, when I had discovered the perfect place to watch out for the leopard, I was arrested by the police who accused me of poaching. It was totally absurd and very violent. In fact, I thought I’d been blacklisted and wouldn’t be allowed back. The exceptional presence of Europeans can create a veritable climate of paranoia in certain sectors. Luckily, we didn’t have any problems the last two times.

As a side story, the pictures of the leopard during the film’s closing credits, when we hear Nick Cave’s moving voice, were taken thanks to an automatically triggered camera. I’d placed it on the prey it had recently killed and, in between times, I’d been taken in by the police who kept me several days for a brutal interrogation. I got my first pictures of the animal without seeing it!

Q: Tell us about your first encounter with the snow leopard.

A: What a moment that was! But first and foremost, it was tracking it that was fascinating. Looking for its tracks, reading the clues, spending whole days with my binoculars glued to my eyes. Tracking it down is so exciting! Deep down, it has this slightly devilish side to it, constantly watching us without us being able to see it. It obliges us to behave a little like it does. We have to hide, camouflage, and above all, not be intrusive… that’s what it brings to us. The first time, there was this slow crescendo. First, there were old tracks, then fresh tracks, a crow calling out (which meant there may be a predator around), a change in weather (which often leads animals to change location)… and as I was spending hours and hours looking through the binoculars, it suddenly appeared in my field of vision. It went past without seeing me! It was like a perfect appearance on screen in a wildlife film. I was even more satisfied as I hadn’t disturbed its movements.

Q: The last trip you made also provided you with a new encounter: the Tibetan bear. Yet you didn’t seem to believe it would happen.

A: Effectively, that was another crazy story. The Tibetans are a little scared of this bear. I’d heard about quite a few fights up there between nomads and bears. But it seemed very improbable that I’d get a chance to observe it. It’s so cold up there. What could they possibly find to eat? They are mainly herbivores, after all! That’s what’s so wonderful about this passion. Nothing is planned, you go from surprise to surprise.

Q: Over the years, with your work, you’ve accumulated a wealth of in-depth knowledge about nature and its inhabitants. But does your instinct also play a role in your decisions with regards to where to go, where to lie in wait, or whether to press on?

A Yes. A huge role. I really believe in the notion of instinct. It’s difficult to describe the role your body plays at those moments in the way you react and the choices you make. Your whole being soaks everything up. All of your senses are brought into play. It’s as if you resonate with the space around you and the living elements in it. Your emotions are literally heightened, and your animal element can finally express itself. Yet, there are regular failures — and that’s a good thing! Failure allows us to understand how vulnerable we are out there.

Q: You say yourself in the film: “I don’t work like a photojournalist, showing what’s wrong with nature.” But isn’t showing only its beauty tantamount to drawing up an inventory of what will soon disappear?

A: That’s sadly true! And I’m not equipped to place my cameras where things are harsh or dark, or where horror has prevailed. In fact, I take my hat off to those who are capable of dealing with that. Naturally, I tend to live off poetry and beauty, even when it’s extremely vulnerable, and it would be really hard for me to only be the witness of ecological catastrophes.

Q: You have often had to deal with very harsh weather conditions. That’s probably not by pure chance.

A: The Arctic, the Antarctic, and Tibet are the three zones that attract me for a number of reasons. I have always liked cold lighting and the animals that live in these hostile conditions. On top of that, because of that extreme harshness, man is less present and the link to wildlife is much clearer. In Tibet, there’s also a very tense geopolitical dimension. There are very few visitors to the sites and its wildlife such as the Tibetan fox, the Tibetan antelope, and the manul remain largely unknown.

Q: For a few years, you’ve been making more films than you have taken photographs. Why is that?

A: When the filming option was put on our cameras about ten years ago, I simply started to use it more and more often. It got to the point where, in Asturias, where I recently made a film on bears, I hadn’t taken any photos at all. I feel that moving images are a better way to portray emotions. It’s exciting being able to integrate sound, too, which echoes the landscape, its ambiences, and its resonances. But a film is also much longer and much harder to make.

Q: After having crossed the leopard’s path several times, do you still dream of it, today? What does it represent for you?

A: The first encounter is inevitably unforgettable. Like all the major first times: with the Eurasian lynx at home in France, that I waited for, for fifteen years, after setting up camp a number of times… I would hear it yowling, but never see it! And finally, the day it appears, you’re finally within reach of something supreme, that’s haunted you for a long time. In the same way, I feel haunted by the memory of the ghostly presence of the first pack of white wolves I observed in the Canadian High Arctic. You’re so obsessed with these visions that you end up wondering if they are fantasies or reality. And there’s not just the image! There are the smells, the noises. All of that permeates you, permanently. Something outside us lodges inside of us, setting us in motion. Like the very first roe deer that I photographed when I was twelve years old, and that changed my life, dramatically. That’s the effect that the snow leopard still has on me, today.

About Vincent Munier: Since 2011, Munier has spent several months in Tibet to bring back precious images of this world that is poised between land and sky. A lover of wild open spaces and of extreme travel, he chose photography as a tool to convey his dreams, his emotions, and his encounters. Today, his pictures are exhibited in galleries in France and abroad. Vincent Munier founded the Kobalann publishing company and today, he is the author of a dozen books, including Arctique (2015) and Tibet, Minéral Animal (2018). In 2019, with Laurent Joffrion, he co-directed the film Ours, Simplement Sauvage (Kobalann Productions / France TV Studio).

PRESIDENT, Camilla Nielsson‘s Sundance 2021 Award-Winning and Critically-Acclaimed Documentary on the Fight for Democracy in Zimbabwe, Opens Dec. 17 at the Monica Film Center.

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When dictator Robert Mugabe was removed from power in a military coup, the generals promised they would not seize control for themselves but would ensure democracy in a national election. Against a backdrop of economic crisis, food shortages, and political violence, the stakes could not be higher.

Working to defeat the ruling party, which has controlled Zimbabwe since independence, is the young and charismatic Nelson Chamisa, who draws comparisons to a young Nelson Mandela in expressing the country’s utmost desire to be “governed” and not “ruled.” After decades of a corrupt elite clinging to power using any tool available—legal or not—can a free, fair, and credible election be truly possible?

As the follow-up to her widely acclaimed 2014 documentary DEMOCRATS, Camilla Nielsson brings viewers into the heart of the struggle for power with stunningly close access and unhesitating courage, in a nation closely monitored by the entire world. PRESIDENT is a riveting and epic reminder that, while individuals and their specific ideals may differ, the fight for democracy is never-ending and of profound significance everywhere.

“The way this film confronts the fragility of democracy and the ever-looming possibility of violence hit home for this American viewer in a way that was both harrowing and humbling.” ~ A.O. Scott, New York Times

“Riveting. Nielsson’s galvanizing, epic-scale docu-thriller…rather like Frederick Wiseman, Nielsson has a knack for excavating savage drama from administrative process and politesse…filmed with astonishing in-the-moment access.” ~ Guy Lodge, Variety

“A thrilling, enraging film, and its intimate access…is extraordinary.” ~ Alissa Wilkinson, Vox

DIRECTOR’S NOTES: It was not in the cards for me to make the film PRESIDENT. My previous film DEMOCRATS (2014) had been banned by Zimbabwe’s Censorship Board with the curt assessment ‘Banned and prohibited in Zimbabwe. Not suitable for showing to the public.’ Ironically, the ban was in direct contravention with the country’s new democratic constitution, which DEMOCRATS had followed the making of for more than three years.

Filmmaker Camilla Nielsson

In the process of filming DEMOCRATS, I had met some of Zimbabwe’s finest lawyers. They suggested that the ban should be challenged on the basis that it violated the constitutionally protected freedom of expression, and the public’s right to information. Together we began the legal challenge to have the ban lifted, and without knowing, this process became the starting point for this new film PRESIDENT.

In February 2018, following a three-year legal battle in the Zimbabwean courts, a High Court judge finally ruled that the ban be lifted, and people were free to watch the film in the country where it matters most. It was during a dinner in Harare in celebration of the court ruling that one of the protagonists from the first film suggested to me to make the sequel. President Mugabe had fallen in a military coup just months before, and the democratic space seemed to have opened, and there was a new sense of freedom in the country. With the fall of dictator Robert Mugabe, a new constitutional democracy was on the horizon, and it seemed that now was the time for the people of Zimbabwe to make a push for democracy that would overcome the tragic and unhappy events that were portrayed in the first film.

I won’t spoil the plot here, but I hope that PRESIDENT will make the audiences think about the universal importance of having independent democratic institutions, and proper checks and balances on presidential powers. It is a film about the dire consequences that happens if these democratic principles are not observed and not in place. – Camilla Nielsson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPO9FAlYSaE

“I hope people are moved by seeing what great moral courage looks like.” The filmmakers on THE RESCUE, opening October 15 at the Monica Film Center, Newhall, Playhouse, and Town Center.

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In the summer of 2018, a short outing after soccer practice became a two-week saga of survival and a story that soon captured the world’s attention. Monsoon rains had trapped twelve boys and their coach in a labyrinthian cave in Northern Thailand, and within days thousands of people had descended on the area to try to help. But were the boys even still alive? Anticipation and anguish hung in the air until they were found, trapped in a pitch-black chamber two kilometers deep into the cave. The next question—immediate, obvious, and confounding—was how to get them out.

THE RESCUE, the latest feature documentary from Academy Award-winning directors and producers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, brings alive one of the most perilous and extraordinary rescues in modern times. With exclusive interviews and a wealth of never-before-seen material, the film takes us into the infamous cave, highlights the efforts of the Royal Thai Navy SEALs and US Special Forces, and details the expert cave divers’ audacious venture to dive the boys to safety.

Credit: National Geographic

THE RESCUE keeps viewers on the edge of their seats as it shines a light on the high-risk world of cave diving, the astounding courage and compassion of the rescuers, and the shared humanity of the international community that united to save the boys. In the tradition of their earlier films FREE SOLO and MERU, Vasarhelyi and Chin document a profoundly daring physical feat, laying bare the details of the seemingly impossible rescue.

Reviews have been rapturous:

“THE RESCUE keeps you on the edge of your seat for every minute, even if you already know the outcome.” ~ Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

“A stunning documentary of bone-deep moral resonance and cinematic mastery that deserves to be experienced on the big screen.” ~ Tomris Laffly, Variety

THE RESCUE “unfolds with stunning precision, letting the people who were there tell the story, and never softening their unique personalities.” ~ Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT

“Our films attempt to examine questions that transcend their subject matter. Our film MERU is about climbing, but really, it’s about friendship and mentorship. Our film FREE SOLO is about free soloing a mountain, but really, it’s about making intentional decisions about what we want to achieve in life and the sacrifices we make. THE RESCUE is about an impossible rescue, but really, it’s about moral responsibility. When we have the skill set to rescue someone, do we bear the burden to do so even if we put ourselves at risk? It’s also a story about the common humanity that brings us together rather than what divides us.

Credit: National Geographic

“All these stories are about overcoming insurmountable odds. They feature unexpected heroes. And they invite the audience into specific worlds in a deep and authentic way. In THE RESCUE, that’s the world of cave diving. Cave diving is very dangerous and very difficult. So why do the cave divers do it? What’s their motivation, experience, inspiration? As a climber, Jimmy knows how vital it is that every last detail be right. Our films are defined by that level of exactitude.

Credit: National Geographic

“We wanted to make this movie for many of the same reasons that the story of the Thai children trapped in the cave captivated the hearts and minds of the world in 2018. It was an against-all-odds story that gave you hope. It brought out the best in people who united from many different nations to help these kids. There’s a line in the film that says, “Generosity is the beginning of everything,” and that’s ultimately what the film is about.

Credit: National Geographic

“But creating THE RESCUE was very challenging. It has all the ingredients of a film you shouldn’t or can’t make: Everything’s pitch black in the cave. It’s underwater and muddy. The main event is over; you can’t shoot footage of it, and the archival sources are scattered all over the world. And, of course, the pandemic hit. We were scheduled to go to Thailand in spring 2020, but as the shoot neared, it became clear that it was too risky to travel internationally. We did interviews by Zoom and focused on building trust and rapport remotely. We were dealing with different cultures, different languages, different time zones; and there were numerous constraints, but ultimately the story is still moving. The children, the cave divers, the Thai Navy SEALs, the US Special Forces and an entire community all showed us what great courage looks like.

Credit: National Geographic

“The story of the rescue is filled with numerous coincidences that could be seen as more than coincidence. There’s a fairy-tale quality to the story. We couldn’t help but be struck by the fact that just as the boys were trapped in place in 2018, the whole world was trapped in place while we were making this movie. And yet, in 2018 the world came together to help the boys. THE RESCUE reminds us that amazing things are possible when people have integrity and a sense of responsibility for each other.”

Credit: National Geographic

Asked in an interview, “What would you like the audience to take from the film?” they replied:

Jimmy Chin: I hope people are inspired by the humanity of the global community of rescuers, the courage of the divers and Thai Navy Seals and the bravery of the kids. I want people to come out of the theater asking themselves “Could I ever do that? Would I have made the same choices?” I think the divers really exemplified great moral courage. They didn’t have to go back in. I hope people are moved by seeing what great moral courage looks like and how people are able to achieve great things and overcome seemingly insurmountable odds through perseverance and determination.

Credit: National Geographic

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi: I think it’s the absolute morality of Rick. He felt an absolute obligation to figure out how to save the kids. If only we all did what’s fundamentally decent and responsible… that’s interesting. It’s about the common thread we all share — about finding your place in the world. We see the divers evolve emotionally. We see their attention to detail and methodology. We cherish that, love it, want to honor and respect it. Truth is so much stronger than fiction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Kw5kAPSbk

Exclusive clip from GOLDEN VOICES, “an original, unusual, and quite disarming film about the immigrant experience,” opening October 8.

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The Israeli romantic dramedy GOLDEN VOICES, which we open on October 8 at our Encino, West L.A. and Pasadena theaters, follows Raya and Victor who built a shared career as the Soviet Union’s most beloved film dubbers. For decades they worked translating the films of auteurs like Federico Fellini and Stanley Kubrick into Russian. Upon the collapse of the USSR in 1990, the Jewish couple must immigrate to Israel and reinvent their talents to find employment.

Vladimir Friedman and Mariya Belkina.

As they strive to acclimate to their adopted home, opportunities for first-rate vocal performances are few and far between. Raya answers a help wanted ad searching for women with “pleasant voices” and finds herself catering to a lonely Russian community as a phone-sex operator, while Victor falls in with a band of black market film pirates from the VHS underground. A charming comedy about disrupting dynamics, starting anew, and rediscovering yourself in the most unexpected places, GOLDEN VOICES is also a stirring tribute to the redemptive power of cinema.

Here’s an exclusive clip:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy0LZyfSVOA

Tablet Magazine described GOLDEN VOICES as “a sensitive and heartwarming film about immigration, growing old, love, and new beginnings” and The Australian called “an original, unusual, and quite disarming film about the immigrant experience.”

Director/co-writer Evgeny Ruman says of GOLDEN VOICES, “I came to Israel in 1990 when I was a kid with my family. Going to the cinema was too expensive, so the films I had seen in my first years in Israel were from illegal video libraries for Russian speakers. This is when my love of cinema was born – watching bleak pirate copies that were shot directly from cinema screens and amateurishly dubbed. I was a kid in a strange country and the world of films was the best escape from the harsh reality. Nowadays, being a part of Israeli society and the film industry, I like to look back at the past from a different perspective and turn it into a movie. This film was born from a love of cinema, but while developing the project I discovered it expresses something much bigger than that – the story of grown people that had to reinvent themselves completely in order to start a new life in Israel. The story of my parents.

Evgeny Ruman.

“I see this film as a sad comedy. I believe this story has very touching human moments, as well as very funny and entertaining ones. I want the viewers to experience both fully while watching the film. I certainly would prefer to get the audience to laugh out loud rather than just smile during the most absurd and funniest moments in the film, just as I want them to be deeply engaged in the dramatic storylines and maybe even shed a tear. The story is told in a simple, clean way. Shot in cinemascope wide lenses, the images are rich in details, telling the story visually. In addition to the dialogue and music, we use the point of view of the protagonists – so the audience can have the same experience as Victor and Raya.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oJDT7_osCc

Ninety of His Former Dancers Finally Open Up about the Magic IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM.

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IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM, which we’ll open September 24 at the Playhouse, Royal, and Town Center, takes us back to the glory years of Balanchine’s New York City Ballet through the remembrances of his former dancers and their quest to fulfill the vision of a genius. Opening the door to his studio, Balanchine’s private laboratory, they reveal new facets of the groundbreaking choreographer: taskmaster, mad scientist, and spiritual teacher. Today, as his former dancers teach a new generation, questions arise: what was the secret of his teaching? Can it be replicated?

Filled with never before seen archival footage of Balanchine at work during rehearsals, classes, and in preparation for his most seminal works, along with interviews with many of his adored and adoring dancers and those who try to carry on his legacy today, this is Balanchine as you have never seen him, and a film for anyone who loves ballet and the creative process.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT by Connie Hochman:

IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM grew out of my lifelong interest in the work of the groundbreaking choreographer George Balanchine. As a child in the 1960s, I trained at his School of American Ballet and danced alongside the New York City Ballet, with Balanchine at the helm. During these years, I witnessed a profound bond between Balanchine and his dancer-disciples, which continued to inspire and fascinate me.

In the 1970s, as a dancer with Pennsylvania Ballet, I experienced the thrill and exhilaration of dancing many of Balanchine’s greatest ballets. Still, I wanted to know more about Balanchine, the teacher. I remembered that friends of mine who joined New York City Ballet had the opportunity each morning to take company class with him. But whenever I asked about it, they froze. No one would discuss Balanchine’s classroom.

Something told me that what transpired in that room – off limits to anyone outside New York City Ballet – was important. My curiosity only grew. Why did Balanchine teach and not just choreograph? How did his class relate to his ballets? What was it that he sought from his already proficient dancers? Why wouldn’t they talk about it?

Decades later, my childhood memories of Balanchine, fueled by my desire to solve the mystery of his classroom, impelled me to seek answers. I proposed a series of interviews with former Balanchine dancers. To my delight, many said yes – 90 in all. One by one, they opened up about the phenomenon of Balanchine’s teaching. His unorthodox methods. The extremes. The charged atmosphere. His unrelenting presence.

As each dancer travels back in time to the creative whirlwind of the Balanchine era, they relive the lessons he teaches about dance and beyond: those “a-ha” moments when resistance gives way to surrender and a super-intelligence takes over. Balanchine’s class is more than just a metaphor for life. It is Life itself – short, fleeting, intense, with rewards in proportion to one’s engagement and dedication. The dancers’ words, at last, began to quench my thirst for understanding and IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM was conceived.

In addition to the dancer testimonials, which form the basis for the film, I launched an extensive search for visuals to bring the story to life. In the process, I discovered a trove of never-before-seen archival footage of Balanchine in America. With special permission from The George Balanchine Trust, I traveled across the country and to Europe to film Balanchine’s former dancers staging his ballets, teaching classes, and faithfully passing on their unique knowledge to the next generation. As I witnessed this painstaking process of transference, new questions arose which ultimately drive the final film: What happens when a master is gone? What was the secret of his teaching? Can it be replicated?

My fervent wish is to share with others the story of this extraordinary teacher and his extraordinary disciples. It is, in essence, the artist’s journey, a subject rarely tackled in film. The magic of Balanchine’s classroom was like nothing on earth. By opening the door, I invite you in to see for yourself.

DIRECTOR’S BIOGRAPHY: Connie Hochman was a professional ballet dancer with Pennsylvania Ballet where she performed many Balanchine masterworks. In 2007, Connie began a series of interviews with former Balanchine dancers – ninety in all – to explore the phenomenon of Balanchine’s classroom. Why did he teach and not just choreograph? What did he teach? How did he teach? How did his daily class relate to his ballets? Their remembrances of his unorthodox methods and transformative teaching form the basis of IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM.

Filmmaker Connie Hochman.

In addition to the oral histories, Connie launched an extensive and painstaking search for visuals that would bring the story to life. Over years, she discovered a trove of never- before-seen archival footage of Balanchine in America. With approval from The George Balanchine Trust, Connie traveled around the country and to Europe to film Balanchine’s former dancers staging his ballets, teaching class, and passing on their knowledge to today’s generation.

As a first-time filmmaker, Connie consulted with Louis Psihoyos (The Cove, Chasing Extinction), and Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine (Ballets Russes, The Galapagos Affair), each of whom offered guidance and helped her form the creative team behind IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpiLckkMYCU