The Cortez Public Library will feature independent films once a month on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. These films are from the Film Movement Series and have been selected by a panel of film experts. Each film has won at least one award. Check out our lineup! The summaries are provided by Film Movement.
Tuesday, Sept. 6 If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle, directed by Florin Serban. Romanian. Summary Silviu has only two weeks left before his release from a hostile juvenile detention center. But when his mother, who abandoned him long ago, returns to take his younger brother away a brother Silviu raised like a son those two weeks become an eternity. While his outcries for help fall on deaf ears, he finds himself mercilessly taunted and harassed by the other inmates. And just as Silvius frustration evolves into full-throttled aggression, he is introduced to a beautiful social worker whom he can only dream of being close to. Faced with a slew of conflicting emotions and wild desperation, Silviu is driven to a surprising act of defiance as he makes a last grasp for freedom.
Tuesday, Oct. 4 A Screaming Man, directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun. Chad/France. Summary Adam, a former swimming champion in his 60s, is a pool attendant at a hotel in Chad. When the hotel gets taken over by new Chinese owners, he is forced to give up his job to his son, Abdel, leaving Adam humiliated and resentful. Meanwhile the country is in the throes of a civil war. Rebel forces are attacking the government and the authorities demand the people contribute to the war effort with money or volunteers old enough to fight. Adam is constantly harassed for his contribution, but he is penniless. In a moment of weakness, Adam makes a decision he will forever regret.
Tuesday, Nov. 8 The Colors of the Mountain, directed by San Sebastian. Columbia. Summary Young Manuel lives with his hard-working farmer parents in the remote, mountainous region in the Colombian countryside. While the adults in their lives try to avoid both the armed military and the guerrilla rebels fighting each other in the area, Manuel and his friend Julian are obsessed with playing soccer any chance they get. Shortly after his birthday, the new ball Manuel received as a gift gets kicked off to a minefield, and he, Julian and their albino friend Poca Luz will do everything in their power to recover their prized belonging an essential part of their everyday lives and dreams.
Tuesday, Dec. 6 The Human Resources Manager, by Eran Riklis. Israel. Summary The human resources manager of Jerusalems largest bakery is in trouble. He is separated from his wife, distanced from his daughter and stuck in a job he hates. When one of his employees, a foreign worker, is killed in a suicide bombing, the bakery is accused of indifference, and the HR manager is sent to the victims hometown in Romania to make amends. Far from home, on a mission to honor a woman he didnt even know but has somehow grown to admire, the HR manager fights to regain his companys reputation and possibly his own humanity.
I hope these sound intriguing to you. After the screening each film will be available for checkout at the library. These films are for adults and will have adult themes. There will be no childcare available at the library. Film viewers are welcome to bring their own movie snacks. Come and enjoy!
Joanie Howland is director of the Cortez Public Library, 202 N. Park St. She can be reached at 565-8117.