ABDO & SANEYA
SHOWTIME
Other movies
RAVENS
Director: Mark Gill
Acclaimed Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase, who died in 2012, was best known in his lifetime for his photographic book The Solitude of Ravens (1976-82), with its bleak images of distant birds evoking themes of isolation and tragedy. That work was his response to his divorce from his second wife of 13 years, Yoko Wanibe, which left him devastated. During their tumultuous years together, he photographed her constantly; she was a model, collaborator and object of his obsession. Tadanobu Asano, who was Emmy-nominated for Shogun, plays Fukase in this intense portrait of a passionate man caught in a love triangle between his wife and his art, incarnated here as a talking raven – a humorous touch to this profound exploration of love and loss.
SUPERBOYS OF MALEGAON
Director: Reema Kagti
This entertaining romp is based on the life of Nasir Shaikh, an amateur film-maker from the poor Indian town of Malegaon who was inspired by his love of silent slapstick to make a film of his own, featuring local characters and put together by a crew of friends. As the locals favoured Bollywood escapism, he adapted some of their favourites with the tales transported to Malegaon. People loved it, but their success threatened to split the group, one of whom turned out to have bigger ambitions: a few hurdles had to be jumped before everyone realised what really mattered to them. It is a poignant and at times funny take on film-making, friendship and what happens when those worlds collide.
THE LAST RONIN
Director: Maksim Shishkin
Haunted by the ghosts of the past, lone traveller Ronin wanders the post-apocalyptic wastelands in search of his father's killer. The devastation caused by climate change led to a global nuclear war, destroying civilisation as we know it: lands are scorched and cities destroyed. Electrical equipment no longer works and gasoline has long lost the properties that made it the world's greatest resource. The main currency in this new world is AK47 cartridges. Everywhere Ronin goes, he encounters blood-thirsty headhunters and rogue gangs all fighting for scraps in this dangerous new world. Then, one day, Ronin meets a wayward teenage girl who offers him a precious bounty for escorting her to her birthplace, a journey that will require all his fighting skills.
EEPHUS
Director: Carson Lund
New England, an amateur baseball game is being played in front of empty stands, from morning until nightfall. It’s the team's last match: tomorrow, the demolition of the arena will begin. Eephus refers to a particular pitch – a slow curveball that is difficult to hit – but one doesn't need to know the rules of baseball to grasp the ways of this world: a certain American, rural and masculinist culture. Awkward, aging and out of shape, the men are as enthusiastic about the drinks they bring to the game as they are about bats and balls. The bonds forged by the game are deep, however - and, by extension, so is their love of baseball itself in this touching and funny analogy of America.