From Chicago’s Southwest side to Hollywood’s A-list, the undeniably loveable John C. Reilly joins us for a talk about his life and work. The Oscar® and Tony® nominated actor best known for a range of character types in films like Magnolia, Gangs of New York, The Thin Red Line and, now, in Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin (p. 41), began his acting career on stage with Chicago’s renowned Steppenwolf Theater Company and the Organic Theater. Help us welcome home one of the rising stars of the big screen.

60 min

In this Indonesian-styled Priscilla Queen of the Desert, our transsexual superhero goes up against Mr. Storm, The National Morality Front, and his deadly burqa-clad wives. A dark wit pervades this daring, camp-filled first feature from director Lucky Kuswandi.

Indonesian with subtitles 100 min

The irrepressible, enigmatic outlaw of the Nouvelle Vague, Claude Lelouche, takes the viewer on an intimate cinematic tour of his prolific career. Turning the camera on himself, the director of A Man and A Woman bares his soul as he frankly confronts the lessons of failure and the spoils of success.

French with subtitles 104 min

Jacky is a cattle farmer tied into the livestock underworld that uses illegal growth hormones to enhance their meat. Following the assassination of a local police officer investigating this illegal trade, a series of events force Jacky to deal with a brutal incident from his past. What begins as a crime thriller slowly unravels into an intense character-driven film that holds no punches.

Dutch, French with subtitles 129 min

What do those who make people laugh for a living think is funny? Benjamin, a clown traveling with the Circus Esperanza, tackles this question and more when he decides to leave the circus he grew up in and pursue his own dreams. With only a copy of his birth certificate in hand, Benjamin looks for answers, and for his identity, away from the bright lights of the big top.

Portugese with subtitles 88 min

On remote Whidbey Island, Joslyn is in charge of caring for an old man in a vegetative state while his family is on vacation. Totally isolated from the world - no Internet, no cell phone signal - her fragile mental state slowly begins to crumble. In a chilling and nuanced debut, Joslyn Jensen delivers an outstanding performance as a young woman struggling with her sexuality, loneliness, and frail mind in this haunting film.

87 min

Noir infused characters, with plenty to be paranoid about, are thrown together in a desperate situation when recent parolee Nick Burke (Mark Pellegrino) comes to the aid of Michelle (Alicia Witt), an exotic dancer living in a mysterious self-imposed exile in downstate Illinois. When they’re forced to team up and go on the lam, the two wonder whether they can even trust each other.

88 min

The devastating consequences of civil war are set against breathtaking vistas of Sri Lanka as three separate stories are explored: a father and daughter’s relationship is tested after an encounter with a soldier leaves her pregnant, an impoverished family must find a way to manage their debt to the rebels, and a young boy discovers his widowed mother’s sexual affair.

Sinhala, Tamil with subtitles 125 min

Lisbeth and Angelique Raeven are twin sisters who comprise the somewhat notorious video and performance duo L.A. Raeven. Their complex and strained relationship unfolds in front of Lisa Boerstra’s intimate camera while they work and live through the creation of two new performance pieces. Inter-cutting scenes from earlier work and home videos from their childhood, viewers are privy to the daily routines and conversations at the home and studio they share.

Dutch with subtitles 74 min

Literature has the power to change the world, or so university students Bernward Vesper and Gudrun Ensslin believe. Gudrun soon discovers that words are not enough and, seduced by one of Andreas Baader’s more direct and violent approaches to change, joins forces with him as co-founder of the Red Faction Army. This stirring political drama takes audiences back to a tumultuous time in history when ideologies clashed, love was made, bombs were exploded and bullets fired.

German with subtitles 124 min

After working for two years at a failed clothing enterprise, migrant worker Cao Li returns to Shanghai to try her hand again. Reconnecting with hometown friends Guo and Jiuzi, she gets drawn into a scheme, illegally chartering a bus to take fellow Fuyang natives home for the New Year holiday. Cao Li, unsure herself of whether or not she herself will return home, has her own misgivings about their scam, in this intimate, rarely seen portrait of a migrant culture.

Mandarin with subtitles 88 min

Three Egyptian women from different social backgrounds join forces to fight against their country’s tolerance toward sexual harassment. Nelly files the first sexual harassment lawsuit in the history of the country, Seba, a victim of a gang rape, teaches self-defense, and Fayza takes these self-defense lessons a step too far. An expertly crafted combination of character study, social critique, and vigilante action, Cairo 678 is one of those rare films that resonates with audiences of both genders and across cultural divides.

Arabic with subtitles 100 min

Joe just doesn’t get it. He has been enjoying the slacker life - until he finds out that his girlfriend is pregnant. He is finally ready to settle down, but can a leopard ever change his spots? Enlisting the help of his best friend, Joe sets out to make amends for past misdemeanors in this Woody Allen-esque comedy.

80 min

Not everyone is pleased when wild Bill Hayward rolls into town after serving eight years in jail on drug charges. His two sons, Dean and Jimmy, have been living alone ever since their mother abandoned them, and his old cohorts want Bill back in the “saddle” again. Bill and his sons begin to bond, but trouble strikes when Jimmy gets mixed up with his father’s old crew, causing Bill to realize that the town ain’t big enough for the both of them in this contemporary Western influenced gangster vehicle set in London’s East End.

96 min

What is happiness? How do we grasp it? Six characters fumble desperately as their lives intersect over the course of one day and night in Brussels’ luxurious Hotel Swooni. A couple must face the truth about their marriage, while a mother and daughter seek to repair their fractured relationship and a young African boy urgently searches for his missing father. Emotions run high in this hotel in which no one checks out quite the same as they checked in.

Dutch, French with subtitles 90 min

In the early summer of 1956, 23-year-old Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) worked as a lowly assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl. The film famously united Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) and Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams), who was also on honeymoon with her new husband, the playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott). When Miller leaves England, the coast is clear for Colin to introduce Marilyn to some of the pleasures of British life.

100 min

It’s one thing to talk, or even sing, about revolution. It’s another to take one up. Ray and Ramona are not blind to the corruption and injustice that engulf the less fortunate in their country. Ramona finds an outlet in her music, but Ray struggles to find a cause

Spanish with subtitles 85 min

An unconventional coming-of-age tale wrapped in a tender love story, this debut feature presents a portrait of compassionate devotion and an unflinching look at aging. When Hannes retires at age 67, it seems that life "well, meaningful life" has come to an end. Estranged from family and friends, Hannes' most intimate relationship is with his boat, until a series of drastic events causes him to take stock of his life.

Icelandic with subtitles 99 min

Broken into four episodes, this sweeping historical epic follows the lives of three patriotic, fervent youth who devote their lives to the cause of Italy’s unification in the 19th century. Youthful idealism soon leads to disappointment, as the machinations of competing political factions come into play. With 2011 marking the 150th anniversary of Italy’s Risorgimento, this breathtaking tour de force traces the journey of sacrifice and tragedy taken to make Italy the country it is today.

Italian with subtitles 170 min

The ambiguous suicide of local beauty, weathergirl, cheese model, and Marilyn Monroe look-a-like finds an eager sleuth in David Rousseau, best-selling crime novelist. When Rousseau visits a remote Alps village for the reading of his friend’s will he unwittingly, but irresistibly, gets caught in the tangled web of murder and small town politics in this off-beat mystery.

French with subtitles 102 min

From the man who created the celebrated “O-Ren Ishii” animated sequence in Kill Bill, Vol. 1 comes this stylish and outrageous but brutal film that makes Tarantino’s work look like family fare. In serious debt to local gangsters, Kinuta is coerced into taking a job as a smuggler of dead bodies for the Japanese underworld, only to find himself caught in the middle of a bloody gang war. Based on the popular eponymous manga, Smuggler has all the makings of a midnight classic.

Japanese with subtitles 115 min

Seventeen-year-old Ilmari has spent most of his young life looking after his mother, Leila, a renowned actress who loves to be the center of attention, and his younger brother. After a recent scandal, Leila takes all three of them to a distant island for a quiet weekend but soon grows bored and invites all of her friends over for a party. There, she falls for scriptwriter Aimo, and soon Ilmari’s resentment explodes in this tragic portrait of a dysfunctional family.

Finnish with subtitles 87 min

Legendary Hong Kong filmmaker Johnny To (Triad Election) returns to the world of comedy with this achingly sweet tale. Charming Zixin finds herself in a love triangle with two men that are as handsome as they are different. To tells a heartfelt whimsical tale where neither time nor space can hold back love’s grand gestures, while revealing an amusing touch that might not be familiar to the fans of his action-packed films.

Cantonese, Mandarin with subtitles 115 min

Based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft, The Whisperer in Darkness is an eerily deft recreation of classic 1930’s studio horror fare. Professor Albert Wilmarth, a smug skeptic, is forced to question his views by a series of increasingly bizarre encounters with the supernatural. Genuinely terrifying and highly entertaining, Whisperer is a fitting homage for Lovecraft aficionados and, for newcomers, a perfect introduction to one of the great horror masterminds of the 20th century.

103 min