Films that explore the price of freedom and the search for hope in challenging times

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AN ACT OF DEFIANCE

This riveting historical drama focuses on the life of Bram Fischer (exceptionally played by Peter Paul Muller), the courageous South African lawyer who risked his career to defend Nelson Mandela and his inner circle of Black and Jewish supporters during the incendiary times of apartheid. In English and Afrikaans with English subtitles. Netherlands 2017, 123 min Director Jean van de Velde
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

Friday, Oct. 6   2:30 pm  |  Smith Rafael Film Center
Saturday, Oct. 7   6:30 pm  |  Smith Rafael Film Center

AFTER THE WAR

With suspense and emotional acuity, After the War depicts the interpersonal aftermath of political turmoil with sensitivity and balance. Facing extradition to Italy after crimes he committed 20 years prior, former militant Marco removes his 16-year-old daughter Viola from school and they go into hiding, a circumstance that is initially exciting but then devastating for the teenager. In Italian and French with English subtitles. Italy 2017, 92 min Director Annarita Zambrano
US PREMIERE

Friday, Oct. 13   9:30 pm  |  CinéArts Sequoia
Saturday, Oct. 14   6:15 pm  |  Larkspur

I STILL HIDE TO SMOKE  (À mon âge je me cache encore pour fumer)

This tight, tense, and riveting drama, stars award-winning actress Hiam Abbass (The Lemon Tree, MVFF 2008) as head masseuse at an Algerian women’s hammam (bathhouse) that serves as both warm sanctuary and steamy political crucible for a group of culturally and religiously diverse women over the course of one momentous day. In Arabic and French with English subtitles. France/Greece/Algeria 2016, 90 min Director Rayhana Obermeyer
US PREMIERE

Sunday, Oct. 8   12:00 pm  |  Smith Rafael Film Center
Monday, Oct. 9   6:45 pm  |  Larkspur

IN SYRIA (Insyriated)

A woman holds her family together, assuring them they will survive the siege, as they remain trapped inside their apartment in war-torn Damascus. Then intruders bang on the door and war’s horror comes inside. Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass is unforgettable among a superb ensemble cast in this gripping drama. In Arabic with English subtitles. Belgium/France/Lebanon 2017, 86 min Director Philippe Van Leeuw

Friday, Oct. 6   9:00 pm  | CinéArts Sequoia
Monday, Oct. 9   1:30 pm  |  Smith Rafael Film Center

THE INVISIBLES

In June 1943, Germany infamously declared Berlin “free of Jews.” But in fact there were still 7,000 Jews hiding in the Nazi capital, protected by courageous Berliners. The Invisibles tells the stories of four of these survivors, interweaving their testimony with highly accomplished dramatizations, an unusual hybrid approach that brings edge-of-the- seat suspense to their years spent underground. In German with English subtitles. Germany 2017, 110 min. Director Claus Räfle

Thursday, Oct. 12   12:00 pm  |  Smith Rafael Film Center
Saturday, Oct. 14   12:45 pm  |  Larkspur
Sunday, Oct. 15   11:15 am  | Smith Rafael Film Center

*CFI Education screening open to school groups and general public.

THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE  (Toivon tuolla puolen)

Khaled (Sherwan Haji) is a Syrian refugee seeking asylum in Finland. Wikström (Sakari Kuosmanen) is a restaurateur who gives the immigrant a job—and a community determined to keep him safe. Finnish cinema maestro Aki Kaurismäki returns with a deader-than-deadpan comedy nestled around a torn-from-today’s headlines story of compassion. In Finnish, English, Swedish, and Arabic with English subtitles. Finland 2017, 100 min. Director Aki Kaurismäki

Saturday, Oct. 13   8:45 pm  |  Smith Rafael Film Center
Monday, Oct. 14   9:00 pm  |  CinéArts Sequoia

YEVA

A doctor who is a single mother arrives in a small Armenian village with her daughter, seeking protection from vengeful in-laws, in this compelling dramatic portrait of a border town struggling with personal secrets and the aftereffects of war. In Farsi with English subtitles. Armenia/Iran 2017, 94 min. Director Anahid Abad

Monday, Oct. 9   6:15 pm  |  Larkspur
Sunday, Oct. 10   9:00 pm  | Smith Rafael Film Center