Opening Night

DIRECTOR MANOEL DE OLIVEIRA IN PERSON WITHCHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, THE ENIGMA [Cristóvão Colombo - O Enigma]

Thursday, November 1, 8:15; Sunday, November 4, 12:30Portugal’s living cinematic legend Manoel de Oliveira dramatizes scholar Manuel Luciano da Silva’s quest to prove that Christopher Columbus had a hidden identity - the famous Italian born in a small Portugusese town. Offi cial Selection, 2007 Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. DIR Manoel de Oliveira. Portugal/ France, 2007, 70 min.

AUSTRIA:

IMPORT/EXPORTFriday, November 9, 7:00;Tuesday, November 13, 6:45Work drives people to demoralizing lengths: a Ukrainian nurse moonlights with Internet porn before traveling to Austria to work as a nanny and maid, while an Austrain lay-about ducks his mounting debts with itinerant work in Ukraine. DIR/SCR/PROD Ulrich Seidl. Austria, 2006, 135 min.

BELGIUM:

EX-DRUMMERSaturday, November 3, 11:00;Sunday, November 4, 9:45In this gruesomely comic fi lm, a skinhead singer, a paralyzed bass-player, and a deaf guitarist form a misfi t rock band. Seeking inspiration for a book, popular - and manipulative - author Dries agrees to play drums. DIR/SCR/PROD Koen Mortier, based in the novel by Herman Brusselmans. Belgium, 2007, 104 min.

BULGARIA:

Offi cial Oscar Submission, Best Foreign Language Film

MONKEYS IN WINTER [Maimuni prez zimata]Sunday, November 11, 12:45;Tuesday, November 13, 9:30Three stories explore the lives of three women: a Gypsy single mother in the 1960s; a pregnant woman in the 1970s; and the present-day wife of an infertile businessman. DIR/SCR Milena Andonova. Bulgaria/Germany, 2006, 111 min.

CHRISTMAS TREE UPSIDE DOWN [Obarnata elha]Friday, November 16, 4:30;Monday, November 19, 6:30A massive Christmas tree hauled through the gorgeous Bulgarian landscape links six wise and mesmerizing stories, including a hillside dance, a devout Deep Purple fan looking for happiness, and the last days of Socrates. DIR /SCR Andrey Paounov. Bulgaria, 2007, 100 min.

CYPRUS:

AKAMAS Monday, November 19, 9:00;Tuesday, November 20, 9:00Omeris, a Turkish Cypriot boy, grows up in the innocent years of his homeland. When he falls in love with a Greek-Cypriot girl, he realizes that the world is not as he imagined it to be. Best Film, 2007 Los Angeles Greek Film Festival; 2006 Venice Film Festival. DIR/SCR/PROD Panikos Chrissan-thou. Cyprus/Greece/Turkey/Hungary, 2006, 124 min.

CZECH REPUBLIC:

Offi cial Oscar Submission, Best Foreign Language Film

Jirí Menzel In Person withI SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND [Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále]Monday, Nov. 12, 7:00; 9:45 In 1966, Jirí Menzel directed the defi nitive fi lm of the Czech New Wave, the Oscar-winning CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS; 40 years later, he has realized a lifelong dream project, adapting another of Bohumil Hrabal’s subversively comic novels for the screen. DIR/SCR Jirí Menzel, based on the novel by Bohu-mil Hrabal. Czech Republic/Slovakia, 2006, 120 min.

DENMARK:

Offi cial Oscar Submission, Best Foreign Language Film

THE ART OF CRYING[Kunsten at graede i kor]Saturday, November 3, 5:15;Sunday, November 4, 4:3011-year old Allan worships his father, the local milkman, despite his abusive hysterics and suicidal threats. Incapable of understand-ing what’s going on and heavily infl uenced by his father, Allen commits appalling acts unaware of their import. DIR Peter Shonau Fog. Denmark, 2006, 106 min.

ESTONIA:

AUTUMN BALL [Sügisball]Saturday, November 10, 1:00;Sunday, November 11, 8:15The fi rst Estonian fi lm to screen in competition and win a top prize at the prestigious Venice fi lm Festival, AUTUMN BALL features moments from the lives of six alienated people living in a huge sprawling conurbation of tower blocks. DIR/SCR Veiko Õun-puu. Estonia, 2007, 123 min.

FINLAND:

Offi cial Oscar Submission, Best Foreign Language Film

A MAN’S JOB [Miehen työ]Friday, November 2, 7:00;Sunday, November 4, 2:15After months of looking for work, stoneworker Juha turns to prostitution when he realizes there’s more demand for his body than for his skills. DIR/SCR Aleksi Salmenperä. Finland/Scandanavia, 2006, 97 min.

FRANCE:

Offi cial Oscar Submission, Best Foreign Language Film

PERSEPOLISSaturday, November 10, 8:00Catherine Deneuve lends her voice to this adaption of the bestselling graphic novel about life before and after Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Jury Prize winner, 2007 Cannes Film Festival; Offi cial Selection, Toronto Film Festival; Closing Night Film, New York Film Festival. DIR/SCR Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi, based on her novel. France/US, 2007, 95 min.

Closing Night

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY [Le Scaphandre et le papillon]Sunday, November 18, 7:30Julian Schnabel movingly adapts French magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby’s memoirs, dictated in a painstaking eye-blink code after Bauby was paralyzed by a debilitating stroke. Best Director, 2007 Cannes Film Festival; Offi cial Selection, Toronto and New York Film Festivals. DIR Julian Schnabel. France/US, 2007, 112 min. RATED PG-13

GERMANY:

YELLA Saturday, November 3, 7:30;Tuesday, November 6, 7:00Nina Hoss leaves the former East and an abusive ex-husband to make it in the cutthroat business world of the West. As she succeeds professionally and romantically in her new life, events become increasingly surreal and disorienting in this metaphysical thriller from Christian Petzold (THE STATE I AM IN). DIR/SCR Christian Petzold. Germany, 2007, 89 min.

SUMMER ‘O4 [Sommer ‘04]Saturday, November 10, 2:45;Sunday, November 11, 3:00Martina Gedeck (THE LIVES OF OTHERS; MOSTLY MARTHA) gives an outstanding performance in this slyly crafted bourgeois drama that plays like a thriller - or is it vice versa? - equal parts Rohmer and Chabrol in its infl uences. Offi cial Selection, 2006 Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals. DIR Stefan Krohmer. Germany, 2007, 97 min.

GREECE:

SUGARTOWN: THE BRIDE-GROOMS [Sugartown: I gambri]Friday, November 2, 5:15;Saturday, November 3, 1:00;Monday, November 5, 6:45;The remote village of Zaharo (in Greek, “Sugar Town”) has lost its female population to the big city. In desperation, the mayor organizes an expedition to Russia in search of prospective brides. A charming crowd pleaser. DIR/SCR/PROD Kimon Tsakiris. Greece, 2007, 81 min.

Offi cial Oscar Submission, Best Foreign Language Film

THE JOURNEY: THE GREEK-AMERICAN DREAMThursday, November 8, 7:00;Friday, November 16, 7:00;Drawing on a wealth of previously unseen archival photographic and fi lm footage, fi lmmaker Maria Iliou tells the fascinating history of Greek immigrants to the United States. DIR/SCR/PROD Maria Iliou. Greece, 2007, 87 min.

HUNGARY:

Offi cial Oscar Submission, Best Foreign Language Film

TAXIDERMIAThursday, November 9, 9:45;Friday, November 10, 10:00This feast for the senses centers around three generations of vulgar men: a sex-starved soldier, his son Kalman the champion speed-eater, and Kalman’s diminutive son, a taxidermist who transforms himself into a human art object. DIR/SCR György Pálfi. Hungary/Austria/France, 2006, 91 min.

THE MAN FROM LONDON[A Londoni férfi ]Wednesday, November 14, 7:00;Thursday, November 15, 7:00A French worker observes a furtive dockside exchange of a suitcase—followed by an attack on its recipient. Retrieving the suitcase, he discovers it’s full of British pounds. Could this be a solution to his miseries? Or just the beginning? DIR/SCR Béla Tarr. Hungary, France, Germany, 2007, 132 min.

IRELAND:

Offi cial Oscar Submission, Best Foreign Language Film

KINGS Saturday, November 3, 12:45;Sunday, November 4, 12:45The fi rst Irish-language fi lm ever entered in the Academy Awards, KINGS tells of six ambitious Irishmen who dreamed of making their fortunes in construction in 1970s London. Thirty years later, fi ve of them reunite for a far bleaker purpose. DIR/SCR/PROD Tom Collins, based on the play by Jimmy Murphy. Ireland/UK, 2007, 88 min.

ITALY:

THE CAIMAN [Il Caimano]Friday, November 2, 9:15;Saturday, November 3, 9:40Nanni Moretti’s wicked satire won six David de Donatello awards, including Best Picture, Director, and Actor for Silvio Orlando. Hack movie producer Orlando realizes the run-of-the-mill thriller he’s shooting is a thinly veiled critique of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.2006 Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals. DIR/SCR Nanni Moretti. Italy/France, 2006, 112 min.

MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD [Mio fratello è fi glio unico]Friday, November 16, 9:45;Saturday, November 17, 9:45The contrasting lives of two brothers – one fascist, one communist, but in love with the same girl – provide narrative fuel for this fi nely honed portrait of Italian society in the turbulent sixties and seventies. DIR/SCR Daniele Luchetti. Italy/France, 2007, 100 min.

LATVIA:

VOGELFREIWednesday, November 14, 9:40;Thursday, November 15, 9:40Four directors try to capture simple, yet quintessential experiences of a single individual in different periods of his life - childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. The four loosely related segments form a single interwoven narrative. DIR/SCR Anna Viduleja, Gatis Smits, Janis Kalejs, Janis Putnins. Latvia, 2007, 95 min.

LITHUANIA:

YOU AM ISaturday, November 3, 2:45;Monday, November 5, 7:00Burnt-out architect Baron gets away from it all by building the treehouse of his dreams in a forest outside Vilnius, but in the woods he encounters mysterious characters who may or may not be real. DIR/SCR Kristijonas Vildziunas. Germany/Lithuania, 2006, 90 min.

LUXEMBOURG:

Offi cial Oscar Submission for Best Foreign Language Film

LITTLE SECRETS[Perl Oder Pica] Friday, November 9, 5:10;Sunday, November 11, 1:00Small-town Luxembourg, 1962; 12-year-old Norbi’s parents are pious, proper citizens who want what’s best for their son. But he is developing a curiosity about parts of the adult world his parents are at pains to explain: everything from the birds and the bees to the town’s painful WWII history. DIR Pol Crutchen. Luxembourg, 2006, 87 min.

NETHERLANDS:

WOLFSBERGEN Tuesday, November 6, 9:00;Wednesday, November 7, 9:45When octogenarian Konraad decides its time to die, it sets of a chain reaction of self-refl ection among several generations of his family. Sensitive performances and elegant direction allow moments of cool and quirky humor into the dramatic turbulence. DIR/SCR Nanouk Leopold. Netherlands/Belgium, 2007, 93 min.

POLAND:

HOPE Saturday, November 17, 4:45;Sunday, November 18, 3:45A young man taunts a powerful art dealer with videotaped evidence of the man’s looting of an invaluable panel from a church. A morality tale laced with deadpan comedy scripted by Kieslowski’s great writing partner, Krzysztof Piesiewicz (THE DECALOGUE; the THREE COLORS TRILOGY; and THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE). DIR Stanislaw Mucha. Po-land/Germany, 2007. 101 min.

ROMANIA

Winner of the Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival 2007

Offi cial Oscar Submission, Best Foreign Language Film

4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS [4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile]Wednesday, November 7, 7:00;Thursday, November 8, 9:30This gripping fi lm narrates the controversial story of two women negotiating for an illegal abortion in Romania during the fi nal days of the communist regime. DIR/SCR/PROD Christian Mungiu. Romania, 2007, 113 min.

Offi cial Oscar Submission, Best Foreign Language Film

THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD [Cum mi-am petrecut sfarsitul lumii]

Saturday, November 10, 5:20;Sunday, November 11, 5:30In Bucharest, during the last year of Ceausescu’s dictatorship, 17-year-old Eva breaks a bust of Ceausescu at school and is expelled. When she fl ees Romania, her 7-year-old brother blames the dictator and devises a plan to kill him. DIR/SCR Catalin Mitulescu. Romania/France, 2006, 106 min.

SLOVENIA:

Offi cial Oscar Submission, Best Foreign Language Film

GRAVEHOPPING [Odgrobadogroba]Saturday, November 17, 2:30;Tuesday, November 20, 6:45Fun-loving Pero, renowned as his village’s best funeral orator, embellishes his eulogies to the dead with his own personal confessions and editorializing. Best New Director, 2005 San Sebastian Film Festival. DIR/SCR Jan Cvitkovic. Slovenia/Croatia, 2005, 103 min.

SPAIN

Offi cial Oscar Submission, Best Foreign Language Film

THE ORPHANAGE [El Orfanato]Sunday, November 4, 7:00;Monday, November 5, 9:15Guillermo del Toro served as executive producer on this chill-ing feature. At the abandoned orphanage of her youth, Laura’s son becomes involved in eerie games that draw him and his mother into the orphanage’s dangerous history. DIR Juan An-tonio Bayona. Spain/ Mexico, 2007, 100 min. RATED R

SWEDEN:

TO LOVE SOMEONE[Den man älskar]Saturday, November 10, 12:45;Monday, November 12, 6:30Sophia Ledarp gives a power-ful performance as a battered woman who, despite knowing better, can’t stay away from her abusive ex, with inexorably tragic results in this tense melodrama written by the prolifi c Kim Fupz Aakeson (ACCUSED; AFTER-MATH; SOAP). Best Actress, Best Screenplay, 2007 Copenhagen Film Festival. DIR Ake Sand-gren. Sweden, 2007, 92 min.

UNITED KINGDOM:

CONTROL

Thursday, November 1, 9:30Acclaimed photographer and music video director Anton Corbijn sensitively chronicles the life of the uniquely talented and troubled Ian Curtis, the singer for postpunk’s greatest band, Joy Division. DIR/PROD Anton Cor-bijn. UK/US, 2007, 121 min.

AFI presents it’s 20th annual European Union Film Showcase, a fi rst-class selection of fi lms from EU member states including US premieres, fi lm festival award win-ners and box-offi ce hits.

AFI thanks the cultural counselors of the EU member states and the European Commission Delegation in Washington, DC, for their invaluable assistance and expresses it’s deep gratitude to João de Vallera, Portu-guese Ambassador to the United States, Manuel Silva Pereira, Press Counselor, and to the Embassy of Portugal, Washington, DC.

Special thanks to the following for their invaluable help: Sandi Auman and Anthony Small-wood, European Commission Delegation. Thank you also to 2007 EU sponsors.

EUSHOWCASE November 1 - November 20 • www.AFI.com/Silver EUSHOWCASE November 1 - November 20 • For tickets & information, visit For tickets & information, visit www.AFI.com/Silver

2007 EUROPEAN UNION FILM SHOWCASE

THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD

All � lms unrated and with English subtitles unless otherwise noted.

MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD

PERSEPOLIS

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS THE ENIGMA Offi cial Selection,

26 countries 33 filmsInternational Filmmaker Guests Attending

13 Official Selections for Best Foreign Language Film OscarFestival Award Winners from Cannes, Berlin, and Toronto