Film

Céline Sciamma continues to prove herself as one of the most accomplished and unpredictable contemporary French filmmakers with her follow up to Portrait of a Lady On Fire, the uniquely emotional, Petite Maman. Following the death of her beloved grandmother, 8-year-old Nelly accompanies her parents to her mother’s childhood home to begin the difficult process of cleaning out its contents. As Nelly explores the house and nearby woods, she is immediately drawn to a neighbor her own age building a treehouse. What follows is a tender tale of childhood grief, memory and connection. NPR reported “Petite Maman is the best — and most surreal — family movie you'll see in a while…It's funny, sad, full of enchanting possibilities and over far too soon — sort of like childhood itself.” French with English subtitles. Rated PG. Running time 73 minutes.

Lucien de Rubempré (Benjamin Voisin) is an ambitious and unknown aspiring poet in 19th century France. He leaves his provincial town, arriving in Paris on the arm of his admirer, Louise de Bargeton (Cécile de France). Outmatched in elite circles, Lucien’s naive etiquette prompts Louise to retreat back to her husband, leaving the young poet to forge a new path. Lucien makes a new friend in another young writer, Etienne Lousteau (Vincent Lacoste), who introduces him to the business of journalism where a salon of wordsmiths and wunderkinds make or break the reputations of actors and artists with insouciant impunity. Lucien agrees to write rave reviews for bribes, achieving material success at the expense of his conscience and soon discovers that the written word can be an instrument of both beauty and deceit. Xavier Giannoli’s sumptuous adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s epic novel, Lost Illusions is a ravishing vision of the birth of modern media. New York Times reported, “Lost Illusions, Honoré de Balzac’s novel of Parisian literary life, stands as a stellar example in its period and now, thanks to Xavier Giannoli’s invigorating screen adaptation, in ours as well….Balzac was a prodigious coffee drinker, and the movie, though its characters run on champagne and schadenfreude, is nothing if not caffeinated”. French with English subtitles. Not Rated. Running time 150 minutes.

Bruges, the most well-preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium, is a welcoming destination for travelers from all over the world...but for hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), it could be their final destination; a difficult job has resulted in the pair being ordered right before Christmas by their London boss Harry (two-time Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) to go and cool their heels in the storybook Flemish city for a couple of weeks...but the longer they stay waiting for Harry's call, the more surreal their experience becomes, as they find themselves in weird encounters with locals, tourists, violent medieval art, a dwarf American actor (Jordan Prentice) shooting a European art film, Dutch prostitutes, and a potential romance for Ray in the form of Chloë (Clémence Poésy), who may have some dark secrets of her own...and when the call from Harry does finally come, Ken and Ray's vacation becomes a life-and-death struggle of darkly comic proportions and surprisingly emotional consequences.

"The Blaxploitation era in the 1970s was a mixed bag: opportunities for actors and creators to tell their stories, but often rife with stereotypes and broad storytelling. Young director William Crain got the opportunity to release 'Blacula' in 1972. Instead of featuring a pimp, this film opens with in the 1700s with an African noble (William Marshall) trying to negotiate with Count Dracula to bring an end to the Transatlantic slave trade. When he gets 'turned' instead, the first known Black vampire was born. Now this film is a time capsule hearkening back to an era when producers made films specifically geared toward Black neighborhoods and movie theaters–and 'Blacula’s' images of empowerment and history help it rise above its Blaxploitation label." –Tananarive Due

From writer-producer-director Todd Field ("In the Bedroom", "Little Children"), comes "TÁR", starring Cate Blanchett in an acclaimed performance as Lydia Tár, the groundbreaking conductor of a major German Orchestra. We meet Tár at the height of her career, as she’s preparing both a book launch and much-anticipated live performance of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Over the ensuing weeks her life begins to unravel in a singularly modern way. The result is a searing examination of power, and its impact and durability in today’s society.

Deering Estate Artist in Residence and Emmy-award winning filmmaker Marlon Johnson launches The Retrofit, a new interdisciplinary series inside the Deering Estate theatre. The Retrofit is a five-part multimedia film and live performance series at the intersection of the arts, the natural environment and social justice. The Retrofit is a campaign to reimagine spaces and expressions while celebrating a shared foundation. It is where we set out to reframe a better version of ourselves. Hosted by Miami-Native Carla Hill, and curated by Marlon Johnson, this series champions the transformative power of the arts through storytelling and invites its audience along for the ride. This inaugural event of The Retrofit will include a screening of the short documentary film Sweet Soul (2022), poetry readings by Deering Estate Artist in Residence Dr. Keshia Abraham and a Q&A with the filmmakers and on-camera contributors of the film.

In The Mood For Awkward We all have been in that awkward moment, but can you imagine living in a world where awkwardness is the rule and there is no place for normalcy? This cluster of films is filled with those moments we live, literally or metaphorically. One of them will give you David Lynch vibes, another will bring back teenage memories. You will be witness to a condo meeting with a twist, then join a conversation about feminism that may end up in divorce. Welcome to Awkwardland, the place where awkward moments are a way of life.

South Florida LOCAL FILMMAKERS - This segment showcases an inspired local generation of filmmakers delighting us with an abundance of creativity and technical skills. Witness animation that will take you to an overwhelming reality then meets a movie editor attempting to edit his own life. One of the short films will prove that art not only can survive a pandemic but can also beat it. Of course, Florida can be a perfect holiday destination, but it can also become a nightmare born of your deepest fears. These films prove that Florida is much more than beaches and oranges, it is also Cinema!

With "Masculin Féminin", ruthless stylist and iconoclast Jean-Luc Godard introduces the world to "the children of Marx and Coca-Cola," through a gang of restless youths engaged in hopeless love affairs with music, revolution, and one another. French New Wave icon Jean-Pierre Léaud stars as Paul, an idealistic would-be intellectual struggling to forge a relationship with the adorable pop star Madeleine (real-life yé-yé girl Chantal Goya). Through their tempestuous affair, Godard fashions a candid and wildly funny free-form examination of youth culture in pulsating 1960s Paris, mixing satire and tragedy as only Godard can.

In a dreary Paris suburb, Franz (Sami Frey) and Arthur (Claude Brasseur) don’t have money, jobs, or prospects, but they do have a black convertible and a shared romantic interest in Odile (Anna Karina). When Odile lets slip that a stash of cash is ineptly hidden in the isolated villa where she lives, the men hatch a plan to take it for themselves. Piece of cake, but then... A jeu d’esprit, with Godardian set pieces including the trio line-dancing “Le Madison” (later appropriated by Quentin Tarantino for Pulp Fiction) and then “doing” the Louvre in record time.