THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS

Directed by Seth Gordon

Premiere date: August 17, 2007
PG-13 for a brief sexual reference.

The King of Kong follows the exploits of the two best Donkey Kong players in America. Billy Mitchell has held the world record for the popular video game for over 20 years. The film covers his rise to prominence, and the circle of associates he keeps in the Twin Galaxies organization, which serves as the official referee and scorekeeper of the electronic gaming world. Within the organization, Mitchell is highly revered for his prowess at a number of games. Eventually Steve Wiebe, with time on his hands now that he finds himself without a job, decides to seriously hunker down and challenge Mitchell's record. Gordon gets close to both men, and shows how the passionate arcade subculture harbors very powerful feelings about both of them.

WAITRESS

Written and directed by Adrienne Shelly

Keri Russell
Nathan Fillion
Cheryl Hines
Jeremy Sisto
Andy Griffith
Adrienne Shelly

Premiere date: January 21, 2007 (Sundance Film Festival)
PG-13 for sexual content, language and thematic elements.

Jenna, a small-town waitress with big dreams, has an uncanny gift for baking out-of-this-world pies. Her secret ambition is to win a $25,000 contest, so she can leave her obnoxious husband, open her own pie shop and transform her life. An unexpected pregnancy and a chance meeting with a handsome newcomer to town just might supply the right ingredients to help Jenna find true happiness.

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY

Based on the book by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
Directed by Julian Schnabel
xxx
Mathieu Amalric
Emmanuelle Seigner
Marie-Josee Croze
Anne Consigny
xxx
Premiere date: May 22, 2007 (Cannes Film Festival)
PG-13 for nudity, sexual content and some language.
xxx
The film tells the remarkable tale of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the world-renowned editor of French ELLE magazine, who suffered a stroke and was paralyzed by the inexplicable "locked in" syndrome at the age of 43. Bauby's only way of communicating with the outside world was by blinking with one eye, and after several dedicated helpers helped him to speak through this seemingly irrelevant gesture, he began to produce the words that would form his memoir. Along the way, as he swam in and out of consciousness, memories from his past swelled into the present, resulting in a cinematic experience that is at once heartbreaking and hopeful.

Cannes Film Festival
Palme d'Or Nominee
Best Director
Technical Grand Prize
xxx
National Board of Review
Best Foreign Language Film
xxx
4 Academy Award Nominations
Best Director
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Film Editing
Best Cinematography

4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS

Written and directed by Cristian Mungiu

Anamaria Marinca
Laura Vasiliu
Vlad Ivanov
Alexandru Potocean

Premiere date: May 17, 2007 (Cannes Film Festival)
R

In a country where abortion is outlawed, a young college student, Gabita, finds herself in big trouble. Unsure what to do, she turns to her roommate, Otilia, for help. On the day on which the film takes place, the pair connects with a black market doctor, Bebe, in order to take care of Gabita’s pregnancy - but, of course, it isn’t that simple. The resulting 24 hours reveals a harrowing descent into a world in which the possibility of tragedy lurks around every corner.

Director Mungiu’s decision to film every scene in a hyper-documentary style, with long, unbroken takes, ratchets up the tension to nearly unbearable proportions. Adding even greater drama is his decision to focus on the friend, not the victim. Marinca’s face, filmed in unflinching close-ups, expresses the impossibly complex flood of emotions that nag her throughout the day.

Cannes Film Festival
Palme d'Or
FIPRESCI Prize
Cinema Prize of the French National Education System

THE ORPHANAGE

Screenplay by Sergio G. Sanchez
Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona

Belen Rueda
Fernando Cayo
Roger Princep
Montserrat Carulla
Geraldine Chaplin

Premiere date: May 20, 2007 (Cannes Film Festival)
R for some disturbing content.

Returning to her childhood home - a mysterious, seaside orphanage - Laura and her family unknowingly unleash a long-forgotten, evil spirit. Now thrust into a chilling nightmare, Laura must confront the memories of her past before the ghosts of the orphanage destroy her...and everything she has ever loved.

PERSEPOLIS

Based on the comic book by Marjane Satrapi
Written and directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

Chiara Mastroianni
Catherine Deneuve
Danielle Darrieux
Simon Abkarian

Premiere date: May 23, 2007 (Cannes Film Festival)
PG-13 for mature thematic material including violent images, sexual references, language and brief drug content.

Marjane is an innocent nine-year-old living in Iran, surrounded by a loving but incredibly protective mother and father. She finds comfort in the carefree spirit of her grandmother, as well as music by artists as diverse as ABBA and Iron Maiden. When Marjane's uncle is killed in the Iran/Iraq war, her parents send her to school in Austria, where she can study in safety. But her Middle Eastern appearance frightens people, giving her a harsh lesson in racial prejudice. Somehow, Marjane's fiery spirit doesn't succumb to any of the negativity. Eventually, she returns home to Iranvto be closer to her family. But even though she settles into married life, the tyrannical pressures of Iranian society force her to abandon her country once again, sending her to France for the start of another journey.

Cannes Film Festival
Jury Prize
xxx
National Board of Review
The Bvlgari Award for Freedom of Expression
xxx
1 Academy Award Nomination
Best Animated Feature