What comes after "happily ever after"? A New Jersey divorcee joins a rarified group therapy session and discovers she’s asking the same questions as some of her favorite storybook characters. Featuring Alexis Bledel, Laura Kightlinger, Amy Pietz, Sarah Wynter, and Jim Belushi.

AILEEN: LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER USA, 2003, 89 min directed by Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill

Sunday, March 14 1:30 PM at Enzian

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

Twelve years ago Nick Broomfield made Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer. Aileen’s lawyer, her born again Christian mother and the Florida state police had all been involved in trying to sell her story, the story of America’s first female serial killer, to the highest bidder. Aileen herself, who was convicted of murdering seven men, ironically emerged as the most honest person. Aileen and Broomfield kept in touch writing occasionally and then last year he was served with a subpoena to appear at Aileen’s final state appeal before execution. Extracts of the first film were shown in court, depicting her lawyer puffing on a big joint, before giving her legal advice in prison. Then unexpectedly Aileen suddenly announced she had killed the seven men in cold blood, not in self-defense as she had pled previously, and she wanted to die immediately. Governor Jeb Bush, welcomed Aileen’s decision and announced his intention to reunite Aileen with her maker as soon as possible. In an unguarded moment when she thinks the camera is turned off, Aileen admits that she did kill in self-defense but that she can no longer stand being on death row, where she has been for 12 years, and has to die. In her last interview, which Aileen asked Broomfield to do, she said she believed her mind was being controlled by radio waves and that she would be taken away by angels on a space ship. The film provides an insight into the mind of a deeply paranoid yet sympathetic person who lost her mind and killed seven people. It is a powerful statement against the death penalty and raises disturbing questions about executing the mentally insane.

Aileen Wuornos was executed in the state of Florida on October 9th, 2002.  Back to top.

BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS UK, 2003, 105 min directed by Stephen Fry

Saturday, March 13 9:30 PM at Enzian

Sunday, March 14 8:00 PM at Regal

Bright Young Things

Esteemed actor and writer Stephen Fry’s (Wilde, Gosford Park) directorial debut follows the exploits of privileged youth in 1930s England. Caught in the middle is Adam (newcomer Stephen Campbell Moore), an aspiring novelist who attempts to be included in the revelry by intending to marry the popular "It" girl, Nina (Emily Mortimer, Lovely and Amazing, FFF 2002). After her eccentric father Colonel Blount (the immortal Peter O’ Toole) denies them his blessings, the young couple seek out their fortune through outlandish schemes carried out amongst their decadent peers. Adapted from Evelyn Waugh’s novel Vile Bodies, Fry keeps all of its witty cynicism and verbal humor intact as he details the loss of innocence in upper-class society. Featuring an all-star cast that also includes Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent (Best Supporting Actor, Iris) Stockard Channing, and Dan Aykroyd, Bright Young Things is an effervescent and unstoppably clever descent into the manic hedonism of the Jazz Age. Back to top.

CODE 46 UK, 2003, 92 min directed by Michael Winterbottom East Coast Premiere 2nd US Showing

Sunday, March 14 7:00 PM at Enzian

Code 46

A bold and brave vision of the near future, Michael Winterbottom’s (24 Hour Party People) new film is a startlingly original work about two people struggling to survive in the chaos and disorder of a new world. Academy Award nominees Tim Robbins (Mystic River) and Samantha Morton (In America) play star-crossed lovers destined to meet despite being thousands of miles apart. When William (Robbins), a surveillance expert, is called to investigate a company in Shanghai in which an employee is a suspected of selling "papelles" (passport, visa, and travel insurance rolled into one), he becomes consumed by an empathy virus that allows him to read minds. Soon, he meets Maria (Morton) and although he knows intuitively that she is guilty of this crime, he cannot turn her in when the truth is discovered. Depicting a haunting and quasi-Orwellian society in which technology has made it easier to control the masses, Code 46 is a beautiful and chilling look at our potential world. Its dreamlike love story and stirring performances make it science fiction at its most cinematic and provocative. Back to top.

DOGVILLE Denmark/Sweden/UK/ France/Germany 2003, 177 min, Rated R directed by Lars Von Trier

Saturday, March 6 8:00 PM, at Regal

Sunday, March 14 2:00 PM, at Regal

Dogville

Inspired by the works of playwright Bertoldt Brecht, Danish iconoclast Lars Von Trier’s (Dancer in the Dark) groundbreaking first part of his American trilogy is a provocative meditation on human nature and redemption. Seeking refuge from a pack of ruthless gangsters, Grace (Nicole Kidman), finds herself stuck in the remote mining town of Dogville. Looking to escape her brutal past, the runaway earns her place in the community by performing humble chores and is gradually accepted by the apparently virtuous townspeople. However, Grace’s gratitude is soon exploited, and eventually she is forced to reevaluate her debt to the town. With one of the most exciting ensemble casts in recent memory, including James Caan, Patricia Clarkson, Lauren Bacall, Ben Gazzara, Chloe Sevigny, and Stellan Skarsgaard, Dogville is a unique existential treasure that examines the moral code of our society in an astounding and powerful fashion. Back to top.

GOOD BYE, LENIN! Germany, 2003, 118 min, Rated R directed by Wolfgang Becker

Saturday, March 13 1:30 PM, at Enzian Theater

Good Bye, Lenin!

Inspired by Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle, Wolfgang Becker’s inventive satire takes an interesting slant on the effects of reunification in Germany. East Berlin. 1989. Committed party loyalist Christiane (Katrin Sass) has a heart attack and slips into a coma mere days before the crumbling of the Berlin Wall. Eight months later, she regains consciousness and is warned that any sudden shock could be fatal. Her son Alex (Daniel Bruhl), driven by a deep love for her, frantically keeps her shielded from the changes in the outside world, even going to the extremes of staging false newscasts and tracking down her favorite Communist pickles. Through Alex’s attempts to keep his mother oblivious to the social upheaval occurring in the streets below, Good Bye, Lenin! brilliantly comments on the world at large. Already a huge success overseas, the film has won twenty international awards and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film. With its intelligent brand of humor and pathos, this universal story of family love is a remarkable film that makes you laugh and leaves you thinking. Back to top.

HYPNOTIC UK, 2002, 102 min directed by Nick Willing

Saturday, March 13 7:00 PM, at Regal

Sunday, March 14 7:00 PM, Regal

Hypnotic

Hypnotherapist Dr. Michael Strother (Goran Visnjic, ER, The Deep End) has the profound ability to see visions within his patients’ minds. While trying to help Detective Janet Losey (Shirley Henderson, 24 Hour Party People) give up smoking, he sees a vision of a young girl floating in a stream. Having searched for this same girl for months, Janet finds her a few days later, covered with strange markings and mute. After traditional police work fails, Det. Losey enlists Michael’s help in getting the girl to speak, which drives a wedge between him and his pregnant wife Clara (Miranda Otto, The Lord of the Rings). His commitment to this mysterious case becomes a dangerous obsession and as he gets closer to the frightening truth, Michael and his family are placed in grave danger. With stylish direction and brilliant performances from a cast that also includes Paddy Considine (In America), Hypnotic is a spellbinding, genuinely scary supernatural thriller that keeps you guessing. Back to top.

INTERMISSION Ireland, 2003, 106 min Rated R directed by John Crowley Florida Premiere

Saturday, March 6 7:15 PM, at Enzian

Intermission

An urban love story about the varied journeys we all take in our search for happiness, stage director John Crowley’s delightfully witty film debut follows the lives of fifty-four characters within eleven separate stories. Hoping that she will fight his decision and stay with him forever, anti-social hood Lehiff (Colin Farrell) tells his girlfriend Deidre (the sumptuous Kelly Macdonald, Gosford Park) that he wants an "intermission" in their relationship. Unwittingly, this test sets off an unstoppable chain of events that affects everyone around them. With collision upon collision, each person is jarred from their day to day routine, and one by one they all get an outside glimpse to their lives, which elicits change in some and acceptance in others. Having won several prestigious international awards and featuring an impressive cast that includes Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later), Colm Meaney (The Commitments), and Shirley Henderson (Topsy Turvy), Intermission is an audacious and hilarious look at the ties that bind us all. Back to top.

NÒI Iceland/Germany/UK/Denmark, 2003, 88 min directed by Dagur Kári In Icelandic with English Subtitles

Wednesday, March 10 7:30 PM, at Regal

Nòi

In his dazzling feature film debut, celebrated short film director Dagur Kári tells an offbeat story of teenage isolation and wanderlust set against the majestic backdrop of the Icelandic fjord. Seventeen-year-old Nòi (a knockout performance by Tomas Lemarquis) is both outcast and genius, a brilliant misfit who ditches school in order to read in his self-made crawlspace. His only companions are his alcoholic father and ancient grandmother. Too bright, unconventional, and curious to adapt to the mundanity which surrounds him, Nòi busies himself with rigging slot machines to buy beer and wandering down to the local bookstore. When city girl Iris appears working at the local gas station, Nòi suddenly finds a partner with whom he can dream of escape. Subtly blending deadpan comedy and tragedy à la Jim Jarmusch (Ghost Dog) or Aki Kaurismäki (The Man Without a Past), Nòi manages to tell an archetypal story of small-town teen angst with delicacy and without clichés.  Back to top.

REMEMBER ME (RICORDATI DI ME) Italy, 2003, 125 min directed by Gabriele Muccino In Italian with English Subtitles East Coast Premiere 2nd US Showing

Monday, March 8 9:30 PM, at Enzian

Saturday, March 13 7:30 PM, at Regal

Remember Me (Ricordati di me)

Renowned Italian director Gabriele Muccino (The Last Kiss, FFF 2002) returns with a brilliantly conceived new film that portrays the existence of a middle class family interrupted. Carlo and Guilia’s marriage has begun to drift into such a boring routin that they both carelessly stumble in separate searches for self-worth. Carlo, once a writer, now an office lackey, begins an affair with a past flame (the stunning Monica Bellucci, The Matrix Reloaded), while Guilia tries to revive her acting career through a local theater production. While her parents flounder in their attempts at personal success, Valentina sets her sights on becoming a dancer on a popular television show. Her aimless and confused younger brother, Paulo, on the other hand, is dealing with the complexities of young love. Utilizing a relentless visual energy that nicely complements each character’s exuberant desperation to ascribe meaning to their lives, Remember Me is accented with exquisite performances and heartbreaking moments that deftly combine sympathy with social critique. Back to top.

THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL Mongolia/Germany, 2003, 93 min directed by Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni In Mongolian with English subtitles

Sunday, March 7 4:30 PM, at Regal

Monday, March 8 7:00 PM, at Regal

The Story of the Weeping Camel

Observant and moving, this narrative documentary intimately details the daily life of a Mongolian family that earns their livelihood as camel herders. As the nomadic shepherds travel the Gobi Desert, a mother camel painfully gives birth to an extremely rare white colt. However, trouble arises when the mother rejects her newborn and refuses to nurture it. Despite their best efforts, the shepherds resort to an ancient traditional ceremony as their last resort to make the mother camel feed and care for her child. With sparse dialogue and vague explanation as to the significance of the white colt’s survival, the film instead relies on the strength of its memorable imagery to convey this emotionally impacting tale. Accepted by the Academy Awards as the first official entry from Mongolia, The Story of the Weeping Camel features keen cinematography and an evocative aural landscape that captures the poignant resonance of life in the desert. Back to top.

YOUNG ADAM UK, 2003, 93 min directed by David MacKenzie US Premiere

Friday, March 12 7:00 PM, at Regal

Young Adam

Adapted from the classic 1954 Beat novel by Alexander Trocchi, David Mackenzie’s second feature is a moody, controversial, and sexually charged thriller that takes place on the grimy docks of Scotland. Joe (Ewan McGregor, Moulin Rouge) is a rootless drifter who works on a barge with the loveless couple, Ella (Tilda Swinton, The Deep End) and Les (Peter Mullan, The Magdalene Sisters). One day, Les and Joe fish a bruised and naked body out of the canal, which triggers a change in Joe that he is unable to control. He makes crude advances to Ella, who responds in kind, and they brazenly start an affair under Les’s nose. As Joe’s sexual appetite spirals out of control and the police continue to question him about the discovery of the corpse, his amoral nature affects the lives of everyone around him. Nominated for four major British Independent Film Awards including Best Film, and featuring an intriguing score from ex-Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, Young Adam is a dreamy, disquieting study of sexual tension and guilty secrets. Back to top.