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CRISTINA

Find out more about the Romanian-born writer/singer on her website (link below). Cristina has performed at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Florence Gould Hall and the Statue of Liberty Centennial, among others, and released two albums: “My Vie en Rose” (2009) and "One Millennium Before Sunrise" (2006). Her published works include: “Life In Opera” (Amadeus Press 2009); two poetry collections: “The Bliss Delusion Tango” and “Shadows and “Miracles”; translations of Moliere’s comic masterpiece “L’ecole des femmes” (”The School For Wives”) and “L’Europe a la carte.” A graduate of Purchase College, SUNY, Cristina speaks and writes in 6 languages.

SLICE OF LIFE-ISH

AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE (L'AUBERGE)

Cedric Klapisch
Audrey Tautou, Keilly Reilly, Romain Duris

2002. France. Subtitled. 122 mins. (Slice Of Life-ish, Lustful, Comedic) Students come from all over Europe to study in Barcelona on a special one-year program like American universities' Junior Year Abroad. Wild times, aching romances, and characters from all over make this euro-pudding funny, insightful, and very relatable.(film also called "The Spanish Apartment" and "Euro Pudding." Two stupid names from the tasteless sales agents.)

ADVENTUROUS

BLACKBOARDS

Samira Makhmalbaf
Said Mohamadi, Behnaz Jafri

2000. Iran. Subtitled. 85 mins. (Adventurous, Romantic) Set during the Iraq-Iran war, an band of traveling Kurdish teachers who travel from village to village with their blackboards strapped to their backs fall in with a band of teenage boys carrying contraband across the border. Danger is close--soldiers patrol the mountains. A widow with a young son is the lone woman on this pilgrimage to nowhere. Does love have a chance in this stony no man's land? Does learning?

FANTASTICAL

DON'T TEMPT ME

Augustin Diaz Yanes
Penelope Cruz, Victoria Abril

2001. Spain. Subtitled. 112 mins. (Fantastical, Lustful) Two rival angels, one from heaven, one from hell, are sent to earth to fight for the soul of a boxer. They use their brains, their wits, and above all--maximum sex appeal. Augustin Yanes is never less than really interesting, and this is another of his brainy but sensual movies.

SLICE OF LIFE-ISH

FROZEN RIVER

Courtney Hunt
Melissa Leo, Misty Upham

2008. United States. 97 mins. (Slice Of Life-ish, Suspenseful) Two women who live in desolate poverty in the wintery border area between New York State and Canada bond with each other over their need to find money to feed their families. One is American, the other Native American. And in this unforgiving world human smuggling is the one answer to quick cash.

TRAGIC

KATYN

Andrzej Wajda
Maja Ostaszewska, Danuta Stenka, Artur Zmijewski

2007. Poland. Subtitled. 121 mins. (Tragic, Tearful) Poland after the German invasion of World War Two finds itself a country with two masters. The Germans have invaded from the West and the Soviets stand poised on the East. When the Polish army surrenders, hundreds of officers flee to the Soviet lines and are put on trains to a destination unknown. Mothers, father,s wives and children wait for word, assuming their sons and husbands have been taken to Soviet prison camps.. But the Katyn Forest is the ultimate destination, where they are secretly massacred. During the war the Germans blame the Russians. After the war the Russians pressure Ana, wife of Andrzej to say it was the Germans who killed her husband A secret diary tells the truth.

ESCAPIST

LADY VENGEANCE

Chan-wook Park
Yeong-ae Lee, Min-sik Choi

2005. Korea South. Subtitled. 112 mins. (Escapist, Fantastical) First she serves over 13 years in prison. When she gets out she finds a job in a bakery and reunites with her daughter. But nothing stops her from her real mission: finding the real killer of the boy she was convicted of murdering, and seeking redemption and sweet, brutal, tortured vengeance. Only Chan-wook Park's mind can think up a story like this.

SLICE OF LIFE-ISH

MADAME SATA

Karim Ainouz
Lazaro Ramos, Marcelia Cartaxo

2002. Brazil. Subtitled. 105 mins. (Slice Of Life-ish, Fanciful, Tearful) Based on the life of Joao Francisco dos Santos, the famous transvestite performer of Rio de Janeiro who was also a lover, a father, a hero and a convict. But on stage he was the famous singer, Madame Sata.

POLITICAL-ISH

THE EDUKATORS

Hans Weingartner
Daniel Bruhl, Julia Jentsch, Stipe Erceg

2004. Germany. Subtitled. 127 mins. (Political-ish, Adventurous, Passionate) A group of students stalks houses of the upper classes, breaking in while they are away and leaving their precious furniture and fancy clothes stacked in piles--their way of reminding the rich of how hollow their values really are. Then one night the mansion's owner comes home early and finds them at work. There only choice is to kidnap him. The experience of of the three of them and their hostage hiding out in the mountains tuns everything--including love lost and love found.

LUSTFUL

THE ISLE

Kim Ki-duk
Jung Suh, Yoosuk Kim

2000. Korea South. Subtitled. 90 mins. (Lustful) The director Kim Ki-duk (everyone's name in Korea is last name first, so really Ki-duk Kim) is never less than an amazing visual story teller. This simple story of the girl who runs the bait shop at the edge of a remote lake, servicing fishermen in floating cabins with fishing supplies and her own body, and her love affair with an man on the run--sounds easy to watch. But be warned! Kim ki-duk films are never easy, and you are not human if you don't wince and turn your eyes away from moments in this one.

ESCAPIST

VIVA ZAPATO!

Luiz Carlos Lacerda
Marcello Antony, Paula Burlamaqui

2002. Brazil. Subtitled. 94 mins. (Escapist, Lustful, Comedic) A magical pair of shoes—not because of what they do but what secret the hold. The story weaves from Rio to Havana while Dolores can’t stop dancing.

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