Dìdi at Real Art Ways

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Dìdi
  In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, flirt, and love your mom. —

Dìdi is the debut feature from director and writer Sean Wang. You may remember watching his Oscar-nominated short, Nai Nai & Wài Pó, earlier this year in our cinema. There has been so much buzz around Dìdi all summer, we are thrilled to be screening it after much anticipation.

On Friday, September 6th, 6 PM (for one night only), we are hosting a conversation with Angela Rola (founding Director of the Asian American Cultural Center at the University of Connecticut, Storrs campus), Catherine Shen (host of CT Public’s Where We Live), and Jaspreet Singh (Trumbull High School senior). This presentation is co-hosted by our community partner, Asian Pacific American Coalition of CT (APAC CT). APAC is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 that provides services and education for and about the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in Connecticut.

If you are a member of APAC CT, you will be offered a discounted price of $7 for admission. When ordering tickets online, please select Adult Member for the discounted pricing.

Due to limited seating, securing advance tickets for the September 6 screening and panel is highly recommended.

Link to buy tickets for September 6 here.    ​Angela Rola is the founding Director of the Asian American Cultural Center (AsACC) at the University of Connecticut, Storrs campus. This student-centered space focuses on cultural identity, equity, and inclusion, where students can be part of many programs that develop their leadership skills and sense of belonging. She is an Affiliate Faculty for the UConn Asian & Asian American Studies Institute and developed and taught a course on Asian American mentoring and leadership. She lectures extensively in undergraduate and graduate courses on campus and at local colleges and universities. Most recently, she also served as a co-principal investigator for a $1.9 million grant at the UConn Hartford campus that centers on developing courses and programs focused on the Asian American community. Angela develops and facilitates workshops on issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice, implicit bias, cultural competency, and creating inclusive environments. Within the state of Connecticut, Angela lobbied for the creation of the first Asian American Affairs Commission, which is now part of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity (CWCSEO). In 2006 she co-founded the Asian Pacific American Coalition of CT, a non-profit, non-partisan community group that provides services and education for and about the Asian American community in Connecticut. She presently sits on its Executive Board. Before working in Higher Education, Angela worked in both the corporate and non-profit worlds as a Human Resources specialist in New York, California, and Alaska. ​Pronouns: She/Her/Hers  
Catherine Shen is the Host of Connecticut Public’s morning talk show and podcast, Where We Live. Catherine and the WWL team focus on going beyond the headlines to bring in meaningful conversations that put Connecticut in context. Before her current position, Catherine was Connecticut Public’s education reporter for just over a year. She covered a variety of stories like student mental health, childcare shortages, and teacher burnout. She joined Connecticut Public’s newsroom in 2021. The Los Angeles native came to CT Public after a decade of print and digital reporting across the country. She started her journalism career in the Los Angeles fashion scene. While that was an exciting time, Catherine ultimately needed to get back to her news roots. She was soon traipsing all across California’s Central Coast as a freelance news reporter for several newspapers, where she broke stories about local government, law enforcement, and education. She also covered crime, healthcare, business, as well as arts and culture. After finding herself on the East Coast, she continued reporting in New Jersey, covering a mix of academic news, nonprofit projects, and human feature stories both off and on camera. Then she moved to Connecticut and started reporting for the New Britain Herald, where she won several Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists awards for her coverage on the COVID-19 pandemic, social justice movements, and police accountability. Catherine received an undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism from Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. While an undergraduate student, she was a reporter for the university newspaper and its student-run television station, Cable 8 News. She’s also a proud member of the Asian American Journalism Society. In her downtime, she tries her best to catch up on her reading list but often fails due to a variety of distractions, including reorganizing her bookshelves, scavenging library book sales, and thinking about reading books. Pronouns: She/Her/Hers   Jaspreet Singh is a senior at Trumbull High School, where he’s captain of the cross country track team, VP of Finance for the DECA chapter and a member of FBLA. Outside of school, he enjoys serving his community and is an intern with the Sikh American Legal Defense Education Fund (SALDEF) and Asian Pacific American Coalition of Connecticut. Jaspreet volunteers at his local place of worship (gurdwara) on Sundays and is CFO of a tutoring non-profit called Trumbull Tutors, whose goal is to provide students in underprivileged areas with free access to education. When he’s not in school or volunteering and has some time to himself, he enjoys playing basketball with friends and skiing during the winter. —
“It’s a love letter to the world of Top 8s and status updates, an apology to beleaguered parents everywhere,” Li continues. “And, perhaps for Wang, an embrace of his younger self’s disorientation.” – The Atlantic
“There’s a particular scene in the film that is pure in its heart-on-its-sleeve naked brilliance, one that’s as full of rich emotion as anything you’ll see in any movie this year.” – SF Chronicle
Listen to this They Call Us Bruce podcast episode featuring Sean Wang
 
Borderland I The Line Within
 

We are hosting a one-night event on Thursday, September 12, at 6:30 pm – a documentary screening and Q&A with filmmakers Pamela Yates (Director) and Paco de Onís (Producer) – in our cinema.

Getting advance tickets is highly recommended. 

Logline
There is a war on immigrants. A massive surveillance, militarized, and carceral apparatus has been built to capture, imprison, and deport millions. But in the shadow of this border industrial complex, immigrants are building a rights movement envisioning a future rooted in human connection and the sanctity of life.
Synopsis
The United States border is not just a geographic location. The border is everywhere. It lies within every undocumented immigrant family with the threat that, at any moment, they can be captured, incarcerated, deported; their lives destroyed. BORDERLAND | The Line Within not only exposes the profitable business of immigration and its human cost, but weaves together the stories of immigrant heroines and heroes resisting and showing a way forward, intent on building a movement in the shadow of the border industrial complex, recognizing the human rights of all.  
Director’s Statement (Pamela Yates)
BORDERLAND l The Line Within is a critique of my country’s inhumane treatment of people arriving in the U.S. It’s about the use of immigration as a gateway to fascist ideology and political power. I’ve been making films internationally for the past 20 years but feel it is important to have a critique of my own country now. I searched among Americans finding creative ways to resist the cruelty of our immigration policies, but instead I found a dynamic movement growing among undocumented immigrants to organize, educate themselves, demand their rights and become a force. Weaving the story together by scraping the web and invoking the Freedom of Information Act, I chose a trio of experimental digital humanists artfully exposing the business of immigration, a multibillion-dollar system to stop people from crossing the border, incarcerate them and deport them. Making this film would take five years.   Pamela Yates filming with cinematographer Juan Hernández, AEC, in the Sonoran Desert   Never has my work as a human rights defender and documentary filmmaker come together so closely nor been so demanding. Never had I had to depend so strongly on the collaboration of the protagonists in telling their stories. For example, when Kaxh Mura’l an environmental defender of the Maya-Ixil ancestral lands was threatened with death for his activism, he fled his homeland Guatemala and began the dangerous journey to seek asylum in the U.S. Since he was in my previous film, 500 Years, he contacted me upon leaving so of course I was going to do what I could to help him. He’s a beautiful writer and an important leader. Together we would tell his story. When Kaxh arrived in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, I got him a pro bono lawyer just across the border in El Paso who could travel back and forth and represent him. I acted as a kind of paralegal to the lawyer Carlos Spector, doing research, gathering documentation, creating briefs to argue the case in court, and writing an affidavit for Kaxh as well as his traveling companion Francisco. Together we formed a circle of solidarity made up of Carlos, Giovanni Batz, a PhD in social anthropology, church supporters, and humanitarian aid people working in the El Paso/Juárez corridor. We’d meet weekly to move Kaxh and Francisco’s cases forward and provide for their needs. I knew I had to be completely transparent about my involvement in how the filmmaker helped shape the story. I did it through sparse narration, and Kaxh’s harrowing WhatsApp voice messaging back and forth with me. We laid bare the process of making the film, which is another interesting facet of the film itself. BORDERLAND would be connected to The Resistance Saga, the trilogy of films about Guatemala that I had made over the past 35 years, but it would take place in the U.S. As Mayan immigration increased – there are now thought to be more than 1 million Mayan people in the diaspora here – I thought of BORDERLAND as a kind of continuation of the story and of our work. I was so fortunate to meet Gabriela Castañeda of The Border Network for Human Rights and for her to collaborate with me over the years it took to make this film. Gaby, talented organizer that she has become, showed me what special perseverance it takes to build leadership when people are so afraid. She brought us into places where immigrants felt free to talk to her and to each other about this fear and how it affected their children. Though in danger of being deported for her activism, Gaby’s sharp intelligence always put others first and she knew how to bring out the greatest leadership potential in each person she encountered. Together with Juan Hernández, the cinematographer who lives in northern Mexico and who is best known for his dramatic feature films, we devised a look that made the most of the anamorphic widescreen format 2.39:1 (for a more epic feel) as we wove complicated stories together using only prime lenses. I wanted to capture the majesty and terror of the landscapes, the border wall scar, the excitement of creating power in numbers as immigrants formed networks across the country. I thought about how to visualize an almost subversive environment for the xpMethod digital humanists, a liminal space to expose the cruelty of what our tax dollars are supporting, often without our knowledge. BORDERLAND was filmed to be seen on the big screen, it’s my commitment to the future of cinema. The recorded location sound had to be perfect, always difficult in documentary filmmaking where you have no control over the surroundings. I began my career as a sound recordist, so you can only imagine how demanding I am of sound recordists on my own films. David Fournier Castillo is the prodigy sound recordist from Mexico City who made all the difference in his close attention to recording the soundscape. From the Arizona desert to studio shoots in New York City, he came through to deliver magnificent sound. I had always wanted Sara Curruchich to compose and perform the musical soundtrack on BORDERLAND. I knew she would bring Mayan sensibilities, instrumentation and vocalization to evoke the tragedy of being forced to flee, and the nostalgia for family, land, language, and culture left behind. Our long-time composer Roger C. Miller joined Sara and together they created the extraordinary film music track. The meaning of the title BORDERLAND | The Line Within is at the heart of the film. The border is not geographical line, but rather a vast border industrial complex entrenched in every corner of the U.S. It is inside each and every undocumented person because wherever they may be, the fear of being discovered and deported is looming, yet in the shadow of the border industrial complex, they are quietly creating networks and building power.      
Coup
Synopsis:
A mysterious grifter appears on an isolated seaside estate, claiming to be a wealthy family’s new chef. When a plague descends on the island, the mischievous cook rouses his fellow staff to rebel and take over the mansion. The servant becomes the master in this devious class-war comedy starring Peter Sarsgaard (The Batman, Dopesick) and Billy Magnussen (Road House, No Time to Die).  
Between the Temples
Check out this recent review of the film from NYT. “The remarkable thing about Silver’s work is how many of the traps it avoids, reminding us how this kind of thing can be done well when it feels focused on character and truth instead of theme or message.” – RogerEbert.com
Synopsis:
In BETWEEN THE TEMPLES, Ben (Schwartzman) is a forty-something cantor losing his voice and possibly his faith. Struggling to meet the expectations of his rabbi, congregation, and not one but two Jewish mothers (Aaron and de Leon), Ben finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher re-enters his life as an adult bat mitzvah student. This warm and anxious comedy from prolific writer/director Nathan Silver explores the complexities of belief, connection, and what it means to be a real mensch.  
Longlegs
Check out The NY Times interview with director Oz Perkins (son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins).
Synopsis:
In pursuit of a serial killer, an FBI agent uncovers a series of occult clues that she must solve to end his terrifying killing spree.
My Penguin Friend
Synopsis:
A sweeping family adventure, My Penguin Friend is a triumphant tale of friendship between a lonely father and a little lost penguin who recharges his spirit and heals his family with an unshakable, ocean-crossing loyalty. Humble fisherman João (international star Jean Reno) has turned away from the world in the wake of tragedy. But when he discovers a penguin drifting alone in the ocean, drenched in oil from a spill, his first instinct is to help. To his wife’s (Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza) dismay, he rescues the sea creature and takes the flightless bird under his wing. For the first time in years, João starts to feel joy, even if he cannot fathom just how unbreakable a bond is being formed. When the penguin suddenly disappears back into the immense wilds of the ocean, João believes it is impossible that he will ever see his friend again. But thousands of miles away, the penguin is caught in misadventures of his own, determined to use his unique GPS-like powers to find his way back to the place he now considers home. Based on an emotional true story that riveted the world and filmed on the spectacular coasts of Brazil and Argentina, My Penguin Friend is a tale that traverses the magic of the ocean, the beauty of nature, and the transformative power of love.
Dan Da Dan
Playing exclusively for ONE WEEKEND only. — DAN DA DAN follows Momo, a high school girl from a family of spirit mediums, and her classmate Okarun, an occult freak. The two of them start talking after Momo rescues Okarun from getting bullied. However, an argument ensues between them — Momo believes in ghosts but denies aliens, and Okarun believes in aliens but denies ghosts. To make the mutual deniers believe in each other, Momo goes to an abandoned hospital known for its UFO sightings, and Okarun goes to a tunnel that is said to be haunted. In each place, they encounter overwhelming paranormal activity that transcends comprehension. Amid these predicaments, Momo awakens her hidden power and Okarun gains the power of a curse to challenge the paranormal forces! Their fateful love begins as well!? The story of the occult battle and adolescence starts!
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
“The Adventures of Priscilla” alternates between pit stops in unlikely places (Bernardette does an expert job of startling a crowd of drunks in one small town) and eye-catching musical numbers, which are the film’s real raison d’etre.” – NY Times
Synopsis: When drag queen Anthony (Hugo Weaving) agrees to take his act on the road, he invites fellow cross-dresser Adam (Guy Pearce) and transsexual Bernadette (Terence Stamp) to come along. In their colorful bus, named Priscilla, the three performers travel across the Australian desert performing for enthusiastic crowds and homophobic locals. But when the other two performers learn the truth about why Anthony took the job, it threatens their act and their friendship.
Hundreds of Beavers
“Nearly dialogue-free, “Hundreds of Beavers” is a madcap genre-hopper, mixing silent film performance styles with hand-drawn animation, slapstick comedy, Looney Tunes-like sound effects and stop-motion graphics. Like a Super Mario Brothers video game, its action unfolds in vignettes, with Jean outwitting whimsically disproportionate beavers and responding to fatal interactions with unlimited resurrections.” – NY Times
Synopsis: In this 19th-century supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and defeat hundreds of beavers to become North America’s greatest fur trapper. JEAN KAYAK finds himself stranded in a surreal winter landscape with only his dim wits to guide him. Against a backdrop of ruthless elements and sinister creatures – all played by actors in full-sized mascot costumes – KAYAK develops increasingly complex traps to win the hand of a mischievous lover.
CatVideoFest 2024
“Watching silly cat videos is good for you.” – The Wall Street Journal
The world’s #1 cat video festival is back with screenings in theaters across the USA and around the world starting August 2024! Oscilloscope Laboratories presents Cat Video Fest 2024, a compilation of the latest and best cat videos culled from countless hours of unique submissions and sourced animations, music videos, and classic internet powerhouses. Each year, across the country, local theaters partner with nearby cat-focused charities, animal welfare associations and shelters alike — a portion of ticket proceeds from every show goes to Animal Friends of Connecticut to help our furry friends.
Touch
“Vast in scope, stretching over decades, languages, continents, and cultures, with themes of memory, aging, loss, and love. But its sensibility is as exquisitely tender as the flutter of a butterfly wing.” – RogerEbert.com
Synopsis:
TOUCH follows one widower’s emotional journey to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago, before his time runs out. 93% on Rotten Tomatoes    
Chronicles of a Wandering Saint
“Argentinian divine comedy is a visual miracle” – The Austin Chronicle “Chronicles of a Wandering Saint” refuses to be boxed in — much like the indefatigable Rita herself. If the movie is ultimately a statement on spiritual faith and the existence of an afterlife, then Bustillo leaves no doubt where his beliefs lie, although you don’t have to share them to savor the slightly off-kilter world he has created here.” – Variety 96% on Rotten Tomatoes
Synopsis
In a tiny rural village in Argentina, Rita Lopez, a pious yet insatiably competitive woman, decides that staging a miracle could be her ticket to sainthood.
Dìdi
In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, flirt, and love your mom. —

Dìdi is the debut feature from director and writer Sean Wang. You may remember watching his Oscar-nominated short, Nai Nai & Wài Pó, earlier this year in our cinema. There has been so much buzz around Dìdi all summer, we are thrilled to be screening it after much anticipation.

On Friday, September 6th, 6 PM (for one night only), we are hosting a conversation with Angela Rola (founding Director of the Asian American Cultural Center at the University of Connecticut, Storrs campus), Catherine Shen (host of CT Public’s Where We Live), and Jaspreet Singh (Trumbull High School senior). This presentation is co-hosted by our community partner, Asian Pacific American Coalition of CT (APAC CT). APAC is a non-profit organization founded in 2006 that provides services and education for and about the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in Connecticut.

If you are a member of APAC CT, you will be offered a discounted price of $7 for admission. When ordering tickets online, please select Adult Member for the discounted pricing.

*The September 6 event has passed.*

​Angela Rola is the founding Director of the Asian American Cultural Center (AsACC) at the University of Connecticut, Storrs campus. This student-centered space focuses on cultural identity, equity, and inclusion, where students can be part of many programs that develop their leadership skills and sense of belonging. She is an Affiliate Faculty for the UConn Asian & Asian American Studies Institute and developed and taught a course on Asian American mentoring and leadership. She lectures extensively in undergraduate and graduate courses on campus and at local colleges and universities. Most recently, she also served as a co-principal investigator for a $1.9 million grant at the UConn Hartford campus that centers on developing courses and programs focused on the Asian American community. Angela develops and facilitates workshops on issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice, implicit bias, cultural competency, and creating inclusive environments. Within the state of Connecticut, Angela lobbied for the creation of the first Asian American Affairs Commission, which is now part of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity (CWCSEO). In 2006 she co-founded the Asian Pacific American Coalition of CT, a non-profit, non-partisan community group that provides services and education for and about the Asian American community in Connecticut. She presently sits on its Executive Board. Before working in Higher Education, Angela worked in both the corporate and non-profit worlds as a Human Resources specialist in New York, California, and Alaska. ​Pronouns: She/Her/Hers  
Catherine Shen is the Host of Connecticut Public’s morning talk show and podcast, Where We Live. Catherine and the WWL team focus on going beyond the headlines to bring in meaningful conversations that put Connecticut in context. Before her current position, Catherine was Connecticut Public’s education reporter for just over a year. She covered a variety of stories like student mental health, childcare shortages, and teacher burnout. She joined Connecticut Public’s newsroom in 2021. The Los Angeles native came to CT Public after a decade of print and digital reporting across the country. She started her journalism career in the Los Angeles fashion scene. While that was an exciting time, Catherine ultimately needed to get back to her news roots. She was soon traipsing all across California’s Central Coast as a freelance news reporter for several newspapers, where she broke stories about local government, law enforcement, and education. She also covered crime, healthcare, business, as well as arts and culture. After finding herself on the East Coast, she continued reporting in New Jersey, covering a mix of academic news, nonprofit projects, and human feature stories both off and on camera. Then she moved to Connecticut and started reporting for the New Britain Herald, where she won several Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists awards for her coverage on the COVID-19 pandemic, social justice movements, and police accountability. Catherine received an undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism from Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. While an undergraduate student, she was a reporter for the university newspaper and its student-run television station, Cable 8 News. She’s also a proud member of the Asian American Journalism Society. In her downtime, she tries her best to catch up on her reading list but often fails due to a variety of distractions, including reorganizing her bookshelves, scavenging library book sales, and thinking about reading books. Pronouns: She/Her/Hers   Jaspreet Singh is a senior at Trumbull High School, where he’s captain of the cross country track team, VP of Finance for the DECA chapter and a member of FBLA. Outside of school, he enjoys serving his community and is an intern with the Sikh American Legal Defense Education Fund (SALDEF) and Asian Pacific American Coalition of Connecticut. Jaspreet volunteers at his local place of worship (gurdwara) on Sundays and is CFO of a tutoring non-profit called Trumbull Tutors, whose goal is to provide students in underprivileged areas with free access to education. When he’s not in school or volunteering and has some time to himself, he enjoys playing basketball with friends and skiing during the winter. —
“It’s a love letter to the world of Top 8s and status updates, an apology to beleaguered parents everywhere,” Li continues. “And, perhaps for Wang, an embrace of his younger self’s disorientation.” – The Atlantic
“There’s a particular scene in the film that is pure in its heart-on-its-sleeve naked brilliance, one that’s as full of rich emotion as anything you’ll see in any movie this year.” – SF Chronicle
Listen to this They Call Us Bruce podcast episode featuring Sean Wang
 
Queendom
“Through Jenna’s experiences, Galdanova’s “Queendom” shows how hostile the country remains to the queer community. Jenna is punished for protesting, for her art, and for simply walking around a grocery store or public spaces in costume. Every outdoor scene comes with a hint of danger, but mostly Jenna attracts puzzled stares. In a world where few people like Jenna feel safe enough to walk outside in an audacious costume, a performer like her is something of a novelty. ” – RogerEbert.com
Synopsis:
In defiance of Russia’s anti-LGTBQ laws, a queer, 21-year-old artist risks her life performing in surreal costumes throughout Moscow. Jenna Marvin’s radical public performances blend artistry and activism in this SXSW documentary.
Eye on Video: 2024 Film Showcase
Real Art Way’s youth filmmaking program, Eye on Video, concludes with a free public screening on Tuesday, July 30, at 7pm, featuring the students’ video projects. A short film created by each student will be shown. The showcase films investigate a broad range of contemporary topics that are of personal interest to the young filmmakers. Eye on Video has received generous support from The Common Sense Fund, Stanley Black & Decker, Gawlicki Family Foundation, and The Ellen Jeanne Goldfarb Memorial Charitable Trust. Eye on Video provides teens with the opportunity to learn artistic skills from a Master Teaching Artist (the filmmakers at Hartford Film Company) and career-skills training to prepare them for today’s creative workplace. Each student also receives a weekly stipend, so they don’t have to choose between a quality arts education and a summer job. The Real Art Ways film curriculum includes camera operation, scriptwriting, storytelling, composition, critique skills, and digital video production, which includes editing, sound design, and lighting design. A filmmaker Q&A and reception follows the screenings. All are welcome. For more information about our education programs, contact Miller Opie at 860.232.1006 x129 or mopie@realartways.org.        
Ghostlight
“Beautifully realized. A simple, throwback, redemptive story about the very personal roads of grief we all must travel, Ghostlight connects as authentic and heartfelt, but there’s also a sneaky profundity to match.” – AV Club “‘Ghostlight,’ named for the single bulb often left burning in a theater when all the rest of the lights are shut off, keeping it from total darkness. If that sounds like a metaphor, it is.”- NY Times
Synopsis:
When melancholic construction worker Dan (Keith Kupferer) finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to confront a personal loss.
Janet Planet
“Annie Baker’s debut feature film is a tiny masterpiece — a perfect coming-of-age story for both a misfit tween and her mother.” – NY Times
Synopsis:
In rural Western Massachusetts, 11-year-old Lacy spends the summer of 1991 at home, enthralled by her own imagination and the attention of her mother, Janet. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker captures a child’s experience of time passing, and the ineffability of a daughter falling out of love with her mother, in this singularly sublime film debut.
Midas
“…a fresh and socially relevant take on the classic heist genre.” – The Hollywood Reporter Read the full press release here. Synopsis Ricky Pryce is blessed with good looks and a devious charisma, but they’re wasted on Grubhub Delivery orders and supporting his sick mother as his high school friends graduate college and move on with their lives. When he meets Claire Brent, the daughter of the Midas Health Insurance CEO, his lies are meant to win her over instead of winning him a job at the same company that laid off his mother. Ricky sees an opportunity and hatches a plan to set up fraudulent payouts to help pay for his mother’s upcoming surgery. To pull it off, he enlists the help of his two best friends, who have their own financial woes.  As first-time criminals, the trio is forced to learn on the fly. When an unexpected discovery reveals a dark secret, they’re faced with a choice—take the money and run, or stand up for what they believe? 
Run Lola Run
“Over the past 25 years, Run Lola Run remains one of the most enduring Sony Pictures Classics titles of all time,” SPC said. “It is as timely now as when it first appeared in theaters in 1999. Our nationwide reissue in June is a celebration of this first hi-tech thriller presented as it deserves, to be seen and reseen on the big screen and to continue to dazzle new generations of viewers.” – The Hollywood Reporter 93% Rotten Tomatoes
Synopsis:
In this visually and conceptually impressive film, two-bit Berlin criminal Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) delivers some smuggled loot for his boss, Ronnie (Heino Ferch), but accidentally leaves the 100,000 mark payment in a subway car. Given 20 minutes to come up with the money, he calls his girlfriend, Lola (Franka Potente), who sprints through the streets of the city to try to beg the money out of her bank manager father (Herbert Knaup) and get to Manni before he does something desperate.
Maestra
“…the film is bracing and inspiring, giving some talented conductors much-deserved visibility.” – Hollywood Reporter “…leaves us in awe of everything conductors must do at once, from knowing the intricate pieces intimately before they even step on the stage to connecting with every single musician to get the best possible performance out of them.” – RogerEbert.com “Watching people dear to us not make it can be heartbreaking, but by the end the movie proves a paean to the resilience and hard work of this vibrant collection of brilliant musicians. They all deserve a standing ovation.” – Film Festival Today
Synopsis:
Five incredible women from around the world who are boldly breaking glass ceilings in the male-dominated world of orchestral conducting take center stage in MAESTRA, filmmaker Maggie Contreras’ directorial debut. These women gathered in Paris for ‘La Maestra’, the only competition in the world for female conductors, to show the world the singular talent that unites them and which, for far too long, has been considered the pursuit of only men. Mothers, daughters, rebels, leaders — over four days, each took to the stage to compete: a mother of young twins from Athens, determined to show her kids anything is possible; a Ukrainian doing all she can to focus on her art and the competition in front of her while Russia invades; a Polish student just starting out; a newlywed American grappling with the decision to start a family; and a French immigrant returning to the city that closed its doors to her many years ago. Personal stories of survival, passion and perseverance are woven together with the drama and excitement of this one-of-a-kind event. The struggles and triumphs of the gifted artists in MAESTRA offer a microcosm for the challenges faced by women in every industry and in every walk of life today, while also providing valuable insights into how we may conduct ourselves as we create a new movement for a more equitable future. 100% on Rotten Tomatoes
For the June 15 screening, there will be a post-film discussion with Hartford Symphony Orchestra Music Director Carolyn Kuan starting at 8 PM.