International Film Festival in St. Paul, Minneapolis Begins

MSPIFF, the largest and longest running film event in the region, began yesterday and will continue until April 19.

MSP International Film Festival annually presents feature length, short form narrative and documentary films from over 60 countries.

Here are trailers from some of the films and the description from the website:

Brave Miss World

Miss Israel Linor Abargil was abducted, stabbed, and raped at age 18. She had to represent her country in the Miss World competition only 6 weeks later. When to her shock she was crowned the winner, she vowed to one day speak out about rape. This verité film follows Linor’’s global travels as she reaches out to other survivors — from American college campuses to the townships of South Africa. But Linor’’s own rape comes back to haunt her when her serial rapist becomes eligible for parole. Brave Miss World follows a remarkable young woman willing to use her own rape as a case study to help others, even while racing against the clock to find her rapist’s’ previous victims who may be able to help her keep him in prison.

Blue Ruin

A beach bum finds his quiet life of collecting plastic bottles upended by some dreadful news that compels him to return home and carry out an act of revenge. Proving to be an inept assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family. Director Jeremy Saulnier’s sophomore feature is a darkly comic downward spiral, underscoring the wicked absurdity of vengeance.

Cycling with Molière

Directed by Philippe Le Guay (The Women on the 6th Floor). Serge Tanneur (Fabrice Luchini, On Guard, Paris, The Women on the 6th Floor, In The House) is at the pinnacle of his acting career when he decides to turn his back on show business and become a hermit living off of France’s Atlantic coast. Three years later, Gauthier Valence (Lambert Wilson, Catwoman, Sahara, Babylon A.D., Of Gods and Men), a beloved TV actor, shows up on the island to offer Serge a role in his directorial debut – a rendition of Molière’s classic play, “The Misanthrope”. Serge refuses at first, but then suggests that they rehearse the first scene and after five days he’ll decide if he wants to do the play or not. What ensues is a battle of brawn and wits and peculiar encounters with a hotel maid who longs to be a porn star and an Italian divorcée.

Half of a Yellow Sun

Based on the book of the same name by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun is a sweeping romantic drama about two twins that is set against the backdrop of the Nigerian Civil War. After receiving an education in England, Olanna, and Kainene return home to a newly-independent Nigeria. Peace, however, is short-lived, and the two women are forced to make some decisions that their privilege did not prepare them for. With elegant performances from Thandie Newton, Anika Noni Rose, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Biyi Bandele’s debut feature is a richly drawn melodrama of epic perportions

A Year in Champagne

With renowned wine importer Martine Saunier as our guide, we get a rare glimpse behind the scenes into the real Champagne through six houses, from small independent makers like Champagne Saint-Chamant, where each and every bottle is still turned by hand in the cellars, to the illustrious houses of Gosset and Bollinger which have been instrumental in shaping the image of Champagne around the world. In Champagne, they don’t sell Appellations, they sell Brands, many of which have been famous for 200 years.

Omar

A tense, gripping thriller about betrayal, suspected and real, in the Occupied Territories. Omar (Adam Bakri) is a Palestinian baker who routinely climbs over the separation wall to meet up with his girl Nadja (Leem Lubany). By night, he’s ready to risk his life to strike at the Israeli military with his childhood friends Tarek (Eyad Hourani) and Amjad (Samer Bisharat). Arrested after the killing of an Israeli soldier and tricked into an admission of guilt by association, he agrees to work as an informant. So begins a dangerous game—is he playing his Israeli handler (Waleed F. Zuaiter) or will he really betray his cause? And who can he trust on either side? Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise Now) has made a dynamic, action-packed drama about the insoluable moral dilemmas and tough choices facing those on the frontlines of a conflict that shows no sign of letting up.

 

These are only a few of the films that will be playing. Check out the website for the full list of films.