Czech

 A Walk Worthwhile
(Dobre placená procházka)
Directed by Milos Forman and Petr Forman
(Czech Republic, 2009, 85 min.)
Uli and Vanilka are getting a divorce, but when they receive word from Liverpool that Vanilka’s rich aunt has bequeathed to their future child a small fortune, the couple and their friends concoct wily amorous capers to secure the money for themselves.
The Avalon Theatre
Wed., Sept. 14, 8 p.m. 

Dari

War and Love in Kabul
Directed by Helga Reidemeister
(Germany, 2009, 87 min.)
Hossein and Shaima have loved each other since childhood. Going against their families’ hard rules and societal taboos, they see each other as much as possible and dream of living together in peace.
The Goethe-Institut
Mon., Sept. 26, 6:30 p.m.

English

5 Days of War
Directed by Renny Harlin
(U.S., 2011, 113 min.)
A renegade American journalist, his cameraman and a young Georgian schoolteacher are caught in the combat zone during the first Russian airstrikes against Georgia during their five-day war in 2008.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Adam and Paul
Directed by Lenny Abrahamson
(Ireland, 2004, 83 min.)
Two homeless junkies wander the streets of contemporary Dublin, forever hanging on to the sad hope of finding some help from their friends.
National Gallery of Art
Sat., Sept. 24, 4 p.m.

Amigo
Directed by John Sayles
(U.S., 2010, 124 min.)
Legendary Filipino actor Joel Torre stars as a village mayor caught in the murderous crossfire of the Philippine-American War.
Theater TBA
Opens Fri., Sept. 2

Apollo 18
Directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego
(U.S., 2011)
Decades-old footage from NASA’s abandoned Apollo 18 mission, where two American astronauts were sent on a secret expedition, reveals the reason the United States has never returned to the moon.
Theater TBA
Opens Fri., Sept. 2

The Ballroom of Romance
Directed by Pat O’Connor
(Ireland, 1982, 65 min.)
The frustrations and few joys of rural life in 1950s Ireland are depicted through the provincial dances at local halls that offered a momentary escape from bleak isolation.
National Gallery of Art
Sat., Sept. 17, 2 p.m.

Bellflower
Directed by Evan Glodell
(U.S., 2011, 106 min.)
Two best friends spend their free time building “Mad Max”-inspired flamethrowers and muscle cars in preparation for an apocalypse, anticipating the day their imaginary gang will reign supreme, until one of the boys falls in love.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Opens Fri., Sept. 9

A Boatload of Wild Irishmen
Directed by Mac Dara Ó Curraidhín
(Ireland, 2011, 84 min.)
This documentary examines the work of American Robert Flaherty (1884–1951), hailed as father of the feature documentary who filmed everyday lives and then using that material to create entertaining narratives.
National Gallery of Art
Sat., Sept. 24, 2 p.m.

Boom!
Directed by Joseph Losey
(U.K., 1968, 113 min.)
Wealthy writer Elizabeth Taylor, a six-time widow, learns she is terminally ill and resolves to write her memoirs at her island home, while Richard Burton, part poet, part gigolo, braves the sea and Taylor’s guard dogs to come calling in this camp classic.
AFI Silver Theatre
Fri., Sept. 2, 9:30 p.m.,
Wed., Sept. 7, 7 p.m.

Brighton Rock
Directed by Rowan Joffe
(U.K., 2010, 111 min.)
Pinkie, a desperate youth who is hell bent on clawing his way up through the ranks of organized crime in 1960s Britain, seduces an innocent young waitress after she stumbles on evidence linking him to a revenge killing.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

The Burning Wall
Directed by Hava Kohav Beller
(U.S., 2002)
This documentary employs previously unseen historic footage and interviews with well-known dissidents to examine what leads individuals – initially alone and later on in large numbers – to stand up for freedom and civil rights. (English, Czech and German)
The Goethe-Institut
Thu., Sept. 29, 6 p.m.

The Butcher Boy
Directed by Neil Jordan
(U.S., 1997, 110 min.)
This disquieting and darkly humorous depiction follows a boy’s descent into delinquency and apparent madness.
National Gallery of Art
Sun., Sept. 18, 4:30 p.m.

Chasing Madoff
Directed by Jeff Prosserman
(U.S./Canada, 2011, 91 min.)
Harry Markopolos and his team of investigators embark on a 10-year struggle to expose the harrowing truth behind the infamous Bernie Madoff scandal. (English and Spanish)
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Colombiana
Directed by Olivier Megaton
(U.S./France, 2011, 108 min.)
A young woman, after witnessing her parents’ murder as a child in Bogota, grows up to be a stone-cold assassin. (English and Spanish)
Various area theaters

Contagion
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
(U.S./UAE, 2011, 102 min.)
This action-thriller centers around the threat posed by a deadly disease and an international team of doctors contracted by the CDC to deal with the outbreak.
Theater TBA
Opens Fri., Sept. 9

The Dead
Directed by John Huston
(U.K./Ireland/U.S., 1987, 83 min.)
|James Joyce’s desire to portray what he saw as the spiritual “deadness” of Dublin are seen through the reflections of Gabriel Conroy and his wife as they attend a Christmas dinner at the home of his spinster aunts. (Preceded by “John Huston’s Dublin” (1980, 50 min.))|
National Gallery of Art
Sat., Sept. 17, 4 p.m.

The Debt
Directed by John Madden
(U.S., 2010, 100 min.)
Three former Mossad agents are famous for the 1965 death of war criminal Max Rainer but 35 years later, a local European paper publishes an article that the criminal is alive and the agents, now in their late 60s, decide to complete the assignment they never did. (English, German and Hebrew)
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

The Double
Directed by Michael Brandt
(U.S., 2011)
A retired CIA operative is paired with a young FBI agent to unravel the mystery of a senator’s murder, with all signs pointing to a Soviet assassin.
Theater TBA
Opens Fri., Sept. 30

Down the Corner
Directed by Joe Comerford
(Ireland, 1977, 60 min.)
In this half documentary, half fictional narrative, five teenage boys in a working-class suburban development of Dublin struggle against crime, family life and school.
National Gallery of Art
Sun., Sept. 11, 2 p.m.

Griff the Invisible
Directed by Leon Ford
(Australia, 2010, 93 min.)
Griff is an awkward office worker who escapes from his ordinary life by assuming the identity of a fantastic superhero at night, but his secret is jeopardized when he meets an unconventional daydreamer who becomes fascinated by his idiosyncrasies, which are equal only to her own.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Opens Fri., Sept. 2

The Guard
Directed by John Michael McDonagh
(Ireland, 2011, 96 min.)
An unorthodox Irish policeman with a confrontational personality is teamed up with an uptight FBI agent to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring.
AFI Silver Theatre

Hunger
Directed by Steve McQueen
(U.K./Ireland, 2008, 96 min.)
Set in 1981 within the walls of Belfast’s infamous Maze Prison, “Hunger” details the horrifying physical and psychological brutality faced by IRA prisoners in the days before and during a hunger strike initiated by the charismatic Bobby Sands.
Freer Gallery of Art
Fri., Sept. 9, 7 p.m.

The Interrupters
Directed by Steve James
(U.S., 2011, 125 min.)
This documentary explores violence in America through the story of three “violence interrupters” in Chicago who, with bravado, humility and even humor, try to protect their communities from the violence they once employed.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Opens Fri., Sept. 16

Machine Gun Preacher
Directed by Marc Forster
(U.S., 2011, 123 min.)
Sam Childers is a former drug-dealing biker tough guy who find God and becomes a crusader for hundreds of Sudanese children who’ve been forced to become soldiers.
Theater TBA
Opens Fri., Sept. 30

Mr. Nice
Directed by Bernard Rose
(U.K., 2010, 121 min.)
Howard Marks, the biggest dope smuggler on the planet, has 43 aliases, four children, 25 companies worldwide, and hobbies ranging from nuclear physicist, writer and schoolteacher to spy, travel agent and rock promoter.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Opens Fri., Sept. 9

One Day
Directed by Lone Scherfig
(U.S., 2011, 107 min.)
After one day together on their college graduation in 1988, Emma and Dexter are shown each year on the same date to see where they are in their lives and how their friendship has evolved.
Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

The Other Eden
Directed by Muriel Box
(Ireland, 1959, 80 min.)
The wealthy son of an English colonel identifies romantically with the Irish people, decides to settle down in Ireland, falls for a native Irish beauty, but in the end still manages to provoke his new neighbors when they try to set up a memorial for a celebrated rebel martyr.
National Gallery of Art
Sun., Sept. 4, 2 p.m.

The Quiet Man
Directed by John Ford
(U.S., 1952, 129 min.)
Retired American boxer John Wayne returns to the village where he was born in Ireland, falling in love with Maureen O’Hara. [Screens with “A Lad from Old Ireland” (1910, 10 min.)]
National Gallery of Art
Sat., Sept. 3, 1 p.m.

Restless
Directed by Gus Van Sant
(U.S., 2011, 91 min.)
A terminally ill teenage girl falls for a boy who likes to attend funerals as both encounter the ghost of a Japanese kamikaze pilot from WWII.
Theater TBA
Opens Fri., Sept. 23

Rocky Road to Dublin
Directed by Peter Lennon
(Ireland, 1968, 70 min.)
In late 1960s Dublin, émigré journalist Peter Lennon returns to Ireland to “reconstruct the plight of a community which, having survived 700 years of English occupation, nearly sank under the weight of its own heroes and clergy.” (Preceded by “The Making of Rocky Road to Dublin” (2004, 30 min.))
National Gallery of Art
Fri., Sept. 2, 2:30 p.m.

The Secret of Roan Inish
Directed by John Sayles
(Ireland/U.S., 1994, 103 min.)
In 1940s, coastal Ireland, a young girl loses her mother and brother and is exiled to the ancestral home, where she begins to unearth bizarre family legends.
National Gallery of Art
Sat., Sept. 10, 2 p.m.

Senna
Directed by Asif Kapadia
(U.K., 2010, 104 min.)
This documentary chronicles Brazilian Formula One racing legend Ayrton Senna’s remarkable story, charting his physical and spiritual achievements on the track and off. (English and Portuguese)
Landmark’s E Street Cinema

X, Y and Zee
Directed by Brian G. Hutton
(U.K., 1972, 110 min.)
Irritated by architect husband Michael Caine’s latest affair with gamine Susannah York, scorned woman Elizabeth Taylor unleashes hellacious fury and occasional charm to scheme, wheedle and seduce her husband back into the fold.
AFI Silver Theatre
Mon., Sept. 5, 4:45 p.m.,
Tue., Sept. 6, 9:05 p.m.

Farsi

Circumstance
Directed by Maryam Keshavarz
(France/U.S./Iran, 2011, 106 min.)
A wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager’s growing sexual rebellion and her brother’s dangerous obsession.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Opens Fri., Sept. 9

French

The Hedgehog
(Le hérisson)
Directed by Mona Achache
(France/Italy, 2009, 100 min.)
Paloma, a young girl bent on ending it all on her upcoming 12th birthday, befriends a gruff matron who reads Tolstoy to her cat and a grumpy concierge who change her pessimistic view of life. (French and Japanese)
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Opens Fri., Sept. 2

The Names of Love
(Le nom des gens)
Directed by Michel Leclerc
(France, 2010, 102 min.)
A young, extroverted left-wing activist who sleeps with her political opponents to convert them to her cause is successful meets her match in a Jewish middle-age, middle-of-the road scientist. (French, English, Greek and Arabic)
Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
 

German

By Comparison
(Zum Vergleich)
Directed by Harun Farocki
(Germany/Austria, 2009, 61 min.)
A brick, its manufacture and its use, allow Harun Farocki to compare labor in a traditional society with work in a highly developed society, merely providing the spectator with material for making the comparison.
The Goethe-Institut
Mon., Sept. 19, 6:30 p.m.

Pianomania
Directed by Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis
(Austria/Germany, 2009, 93 min.)
As Steinway & Sons’ chief technician and master tuner in Vienna, Stefan Knüpfer is dedicated to the unusual task of pairing world-class instruments with world-famous pianists. (German and English)
Landmark’s E Street Cinema
 

Hebrew

Seven Minutes in Heaven
(Sheva dakot be gan eden)
Directed by Omri Givon
(Israel, 2008, 94 min.)
Galia, a young woman from Jerusalem, and her boyfriend Oren board a local bus that explodes, killing Oren and leaving Galia with memory loss as she attempts to stitch together the shattered fragments of her life and soul.
The Avalon Theatre
Tue., Sept. 27, 8 p.m.

Hindi

Soul of Sand
(Pairon Talle)
Directed by Sidharth Srinivasan
(India, 2010, 98 min.)
A watchman and his wife living at an abandoned mine are trapped in their tyrannical landlord’s schemes in this thriller set on the outskirts of Delhi.
Freer Gallery of Art
Sun., Sept. 11, 2 p.m.

Korean

Poetry
(Shi)
Directed by Chang-dong Lee
(South Korea, 2010, 139 min.)
A 60-something woman, faced with the discovery of a heinous family crime and in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, finds strength and purpose when she enrolls in a poetry class.
Cinema Art Bethesda at
Landmark’s Bethesda Row
Sun., Sept. 25, 10 a.m.

Kyrgyz

The Light Thief
(Svet-Ake)
Directed by Aktan Arym Kubat
(Kyrgyzstan, 2010, 80 min.)
In this colorful modern-day parable of good and evil, a humble electrician devotes himself to helping his destitute neighbors in a windswept valley of Kyrgyzstan.
Freer Gallery of Art
Fri., Sept. 16, 7 p.m.

Mandarin

The Empress Dowager
(Qing guo qing cheng)
Directed by Li Hanxiang
(Hong Kong, 1975, 107 min.)
This film by Li Hanxiang, the first of five he directed on the Empress Dowager, shaped popular perception of the woman who outlived three emperors and whose reign marked the end of imperial rule in China.
Freer Gallery of Art
Fri., Sept. 30, 7 p.m.

Polish

Barrier
(Bariera)
Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
(Poland, 1966, 77 min.)
A one-time medical student tries to diagnosis his own odd indifference to his world.
National Gallery of Art
Sat., Sept. 10, 4:30 p.m.

Hands Up!
(Rece do gory)
Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
(Poland, 1968-81, 76 min.)
The final film in the Andrzej cycle, “Hands Up!” —whose official ban precipitated Jerzy Skolimowski’s exodus — was not screened in Poland until the 1980s, and this 1981 re-edited version of the visually surreal original is the only one now available.
National Gallery of Art
Sun., Sept. 11, 4:30 p.m.

Identification Marks: None
(Rysopis)
Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
(Poland, 1964, 75 min.)
An attractive young Jerzy Skolimowski cast himself as Andrzej, a callow student hero to find his niche in life while awaiting military service.
National Gallery of Art
Sat., Sept. 3, 4 p.m.

Walkover
(Walkower)
Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
(Poland, 1965, 77 min.)
Jerzy Skolimowski’s second feature is again focused on the life of young protagonist Andrzej who, finished now with military duty, embarks on an amateur boxing career until he meets a government engineer with whom he runs off and regrettably evades an important match.
National Gallery of Art
Sun., Sept. 4, 4:30 p.m.

Portuguese

Mysteries of Lisbon
(Mistérios de Lisboa)
Directed by Raoul Ruiz
(Portugal, 2010, 272 min.)
A jealous countess, wealthy businessman and a young orphaned boy connect with a variety of mysterious individuals across Portugal, France, Italy and Brazil. (Portuguese, French and English)
AFI Silver Theatre
Sept. 23 to 29

Spanish

The Mexican Suitcase
(La Maleta Mexicana)
Directed by Trisha Ziff
(Mexico/Spain, 2011, 86 min.)
This documentary tracks three lost boxes, found in a closet in Mexico City in 2007, that contained 4,500 photo negatives by three young exiles from Hungary, Poland and Germany who traveled to Spain together to fight fascism with their cameras.
AFI Silver Theatre
Thu., Sept. 22

Turkish

Three Monkeys
(Üç maymun)
Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylon
(Turkey, 2008, 109 min.)
When a politician kills a pedestrian in a traffic accident, he convinces his driver to take the rap, with the promise of a big payoff when he gets out of prison. But that’s too long a wait for his wife and grown son, who hatch schemes to get the money early.
Freer Gallery of Art
Sun., Sept. 18, 2 p.m.