AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center

AFI thanks the cultural counselors of the EU member states and the European Commission Delegation in Washington, DC, for their invaluable assistance, and expresses its deep gratitude to Ambassador Vimont and Roland Celette of the Embassy of France, and to Ambassador Bruton and Sandi Auman of the European Union Delegation of the European Commission for their support.

A NOTE TO AUDIENCES:
All films in the AFI European Union Film Showcase are NOT RATED unless otherwise noted. Because most films have not been submitted to the MPAA rating system in the US, AFI has made its best effort to inform audiences about any film content that could earn a restricted rating if released in the US.

FRANCE:
OPENING NIGHT:
I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG
[Il y a longtemps que je t'aime]
Thursday, November 6, 7:00

Winner, Ecumenical Jury Prize, 2008 Berlin Film Festival
Winner, Berliner Morgenpost Reader Jury Prize, 2008 Berlin Film Festival
Official Selection, 2008 Toronto Film Festival

Author-turned-director Philippe Claudel's profoundly moving film examines the role of family and forgiveness in an utterly fresh new way, in a story marked equally by intelligence, kindheartedness and grace, and sparked by outstanding performances from Oscar-winner Kristin Scott Thomas and rising talent Elsa Zylberstein.

DIR/SCR Philippe Claudel; PROD Yves Marmion. France, 2008, color, 115 min. In French and English with English subtitles. RATED PG-13

SOLD OUT!
Stand-by line will begin at 6:30; admission will begin at 6:55 ; admission is not guaranteed for guests in stand-by line.

Thursday, November 6, 7:00

BELGIUM:
CLOSING NIGHT:
ELDORADO
Saturday, November 22, 8:00

Belgium's Official Oscar Submission for Best Foreign Language Film

Belgium's official Oscar submission for Best Foreign Language Film. When a vintage car dealer interrupts a young junkie in the process of robbing his house, an unlikely deal is struck between them. The two set off in a '79 Cadillac, and a darkly rich journey unfolds.

DIR/SCR Bouli Lanners; PROD Jaques-Henri Bronckart. Belgium/France, 2008, color, 80 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Closing Night tickets $15/$10 AFI Members. No passes accepted.

CLOSING NIGHT SCREENING: Saturday, November 22, 8:00

ENCORE SCREENING: Tuesday, November 25, 8:00; standard ticket prices apply; AFI Member Passes and EU Showcase Passports accepted.

CENTERPIECE SCREENING:

FRANCE:
A CHRISTMAS TALE
[Un conte de Noël]
Saturday, November 8, 4:30

Nominated for the Golden Palm, 2008 Cannes Film Festival

The latest film from Arnaud Desplechin plays family dysfunction against quirky individualism with sensitivity and comic brio, much like his celebrated 2004 film, KINGS AND QUEEN, and like that film, has some of France's most beloved actors lighting up the screen, including Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Amalric, Chiara Mastroianni and Emmanuelle Devos.

DIR/SCR Arnaud Desplechin; SCR Emmanuel Bourdieu; PROD Pascal Caucheteux. France, 2008, color, 150 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Tickets $12/$10 AFI Members. No passes accepted; EU Showcase Passports accepted.

CENTERPIECE SCREENING:

GERMANY/FRANCE/CZECH REPUBLIC:
THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX
[Der Baader Meinhof Komplex]
Friday, November 21, 7:00

In Person: Journalist and author Stefan Aust
Stefan Aust, former editor-in-chief of Der Spiegel, Germany's most influential political magazine, is the author of The Baader Meinhof Complex, the definitive account of the group on which the film is based.

Germany's Official Oscar Submission for Best Foreign Language Film

The latest film from writer-producer Bernd Eichinger (PERFUME, DOWNFALL) gives epic treatment to the eponymous group of 1960s radicals who formed the Red Army Faction (RAF) and terrorized the German establishment throughout the 1970s. Featuring German stars Moritz Bleibtreu (RUN LOLA RUN, MUNICH) as charismatic hothead Andreas Baader, Martina Gedeck (THE LIVES OF OTHERS)

DIR Uli Edel; SCR Bernd Eichinger, based on the book by Stefan Aust; PROD Bernd Eichinger. Germany/France/Czech Republic, 2008, color, 150 min. In German, English, French and Swedish with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Tickets $12/$10 AFI Members. No passes accepted; EU Showcase Passports accepted.

ENCORE SCREENING: Sunday, November 23, 3:05; standard ticket prices apply; AFI Member Passes and EU Showcase Passports accepted.

CENTERPIECE SCREENING:

ITALY:
GOMORRAH
[Gomorra]
Saturday, November 15, 7:00

Italy's Official Oscar Submission for Best Foreign Language Film
Grand Prix, 2008 Cannes Film Festival

Director Matteo Garrone brings cause célèbre author Roberto Saviano's exposé of the Neapolitan mafia (the Camorra) to the screen, and the result is a fresh take on a story we only think we know. Set mainly in two squalid suburbs of housing projects dominated by the Camorra, the film weaves separate narrative strands into a vision of a world where the Camorra's influence and the everyday social fabric are indistinguishable.

DIR Matteo Garrone; SCR Maurizio Braucci; PROD Domenico Procacci. Italy, 2008, color, 137 min. In Italian, Cantonese and French with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Tickets $12/$10 AFI Members. No passes accepted; EU Showcase Passports accepted.

Filmmakers and Special Guests Attending:

Writer/director Philippe Claudel with I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG
Thursday, Nov. 6, 7:00

Writer/director Arnaud Desplechin with A CHRISTMAS TALE
Saturday, Nov. 8, 4:30

Director Declan Recks with EDEN
Saturday, Nov. 15, 5:00
Sunday, Nov. 16, 5:15

Writer/director Aigars Grauba with DEFENDERS OF RIGA
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 7:00

Author and journalist Stefan Aust with THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX
Friday, Nov. 21, 7:00

Director Juraj Jakubisko and actress/producer Deana Horvathova with BATHORY
Saturday, Nov. 22, 9:45
Sunday, Nov. 23, 6:00

Official Oscar Selections:
The road to the Oscars starts at AFI Silver; see these films before they win!