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Critically acclaimed and important films

The International Cinema Series presents critically acclaimed and important films from around the world (including independent and artistic American films) almost every week. We show restorations of honored classics as well as contemporary films that have captured the attention of critics at recent film festivals.

Eckerd College is committed to creating inclusive and accessible events. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact the program coordinator at peterscg@eckerd.edu. Requests must be made at least 48 hours ahead of the screening. We will attempt to implement late requests, but cannot guarantee they will be met.

Follow us on Facebook for updates to screening regulations.

All screenings will be held in the Dan and Mary Miller Auditorium.
7 p.m.

Spring 2024 Film Schedule

This series features women’s stories and storytelling from around the world from the United Kingdom to Tunisia, from the silent era to today.

Friday, February 9, 2024, 7 p.m.

Aftersun – UK & US

Written and directed by Charlotte Wells (English, 101 minutes, 2022)

In this gentle but haunting coming-of-age tale about memory and mental health, eleven-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) goes on holiday in Turkey with her fun-loving and attentive father (Paul Mescal, nominee for the 2023 Best Actor Academy Award) on the eve of his 31st birthday. Named as one of the best of 2022 by the National Board of Review and the top film of 2022 by Sight and Sound, Aftersun marks Scottish writer and director Charlotte Wells’ debut feature film.

Friday, February 16, 2024, 7 p.m.

The Persian Version – US

Written and directed by Maryam Keshavarz (English and Persian with English subtitles, 107 minutes, 2023)

A comedy that intertwines the immigrant and first generation American female experience, The Persian Version explores the interconnections between a young Iranian American filmmaker who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant and her own mother’s journey to accept the things in her life that she cannot control. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, The Persian Version is the latest feature from Maryam Keshavarz (The Color of Love, Circumstance), an American filmmaker of Iranian descent.

Friday, February 23, 2024, 7 p.m.

The Animal Kingdom – France & Belgium

Written and directed by Thomas Cailley (French with English subtitles, 130 minutes, 2023)

What does it mean to be human in a world where people have begun taking on animal characteristics? The Animal Kingdom explores issues of empathy, prejudice, and tolerance through a science fiction lens that asks audiences to rethink the relationship between humans and their animal nature.

This film is presented in conjunction with the Visions/Voices of Nature Environmental Film Festival and will feature a discussion after the film with festival co-directors Nathan Andersen and Christina Petersen.

Friday, March 1, 2024, 7 p.m.

King Coal – US

Produced and directed by Elaine Shelden (English, 80 minutes, 2023)

A lyrical tapestry of a place and people, King Coal meditates on the complex history and future of the coal industry, the communities it has shaped, and the myths it has created. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon reshapes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking in a spectacularly beautiful and deeply moving immersion into Central Appalachia where coal is not just a resource, but a way of life.

While deeply situated in the communities under the reign of King Coal, where McMillion Sheldon has lived and worked her entire life, the film transcends time and place, emphasizing the ways in which all are connected through an immersive mosaic of belonging, ritual, and imagination. Emerging from the long shadows of the coal mines, King Coal untangles the pain from the beauty, and illuminates the innately human capacity for change.

This film is presented in conjunction with the Visions/Voices of Nature Environmental Film Festival and the film’s director, Elaine Sheldon, will be with us virtually to introduce the film and discuss it with the audience after the screening.

Friday, March 8, 2024, 7 p.m.

Anatomy of a Fall – France

Co-written and directed by Justine Triet (French, English, and German with English subtitles, 152 minutes, 2023)

When the husband of a famous novelist takes a nasty fall, the investigation and ensuing trial crack open not only the case but also the inner workings of a marriage and family built on jealousy, distrust, and doubt. Writer and director Justine Triet became just the third female director to win the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival for this film.

Friday, March 29, 2024, 7 p.m.

The Teachers’ Lounge – Germany

Co-written and directed by Îlker Çatak (German with English subtitles, 98 minutes, 2023)

After a young teacher (Leonie Benesch) decides to intervene in a series of thefts at her school, she is faced with the consequences of her judgement in a community that has no tolerance for missteps. A complex thriller that employs the school as a microcosm for society, The Teachers’ Lounge was selected as the German entry to the 96th Academy Awards.

Friday, April 5, 2024, 7 p.m.

Tótem – Mexico, Denmark & France

Written and directed by Lila Avilés (Spanish with English subtitles, 95 minutes, 2023)

This second feature from Mexican writer and director Lila Avilés (The Chambermaid) follows a day in the life of seven-year-old Sol (Naíma Sentíes) as her family prepares a special birthday party for her father who is dying of cancer. Intercutting between the mundane and the existential, Tótem explores grief as a wasting of both the sick and the well and the unexpected joy in acknowledging connection in the face of impending loss.

Friday, April 12, 2024, 7 p.m.

Four Daughters – France, Germany, Tunisia, & Saudi Arabia

Written and directed by Kaouther Ben Hania (Arabic and French with English subtitles, 107 minutes, 2023)

The first feature documentary from writer-director Kaouther Ben Hania, Four Daughters tells the true story of the radicalization of two of Tunisian mother Olfa Hamrouni’s four daughters that led to their imprisonment in Libya. A mix of documentary and fiction, the film employs actors and the real Olfa and her two younger daughters to reenact scenes from their lives that probe the relationship between trauma, gender identity, and power in contemporary Tunisia.

Woman wearing hat and tie holds a gun at a cowboy lying on the ground

Friday, April 19, 2024, 7 p.m.

Cinema’s First Nasty Women: Queens of Destruction – UK, US, France

In this set of rarely-seen silent films about feminist protest, slapstick rebellion, and suggestive gender play, women organize labor strikes, bake (and weaponize) inedible desserts, explode out of chimneys, electrocute the police force, and assume a range of identities that gleefully dismantle traditional gender norms and sexual constraints. This screening includes new scores for silent films performed live by Eckerd College student musicians and an introduction and discussion afterward with Cinema’s First Nasty Women DVD set programmer Laura Horak (Associate Professor of Film Studies at Carleton University). Co-sponsored by the Eckerd College Film Studies and Music disciplines.

Friday, April 26, 2024, 7 p.m.

Fallen Leaves – Finland

Written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki (Finnish with English subtitles, 81 minutes, 2023)

The latest film from Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismäki (La Havre, The Other Side of Hope) employs his signature gentle deadpan humor to explore the lives and budding connection between two working-class Finns alienated by contemporary society. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Fallen Leaves was voted Best Film of the Year by the International Film Critics Federation.

Friday, May 3, 2024, 7 p.m.

A Still Small Voice – US

Directed, shot, edited and co-produced by Luke Lorentzen (English, 93 minutes, 2023)

This vérité-style documentary immerses the audience in the everyday world of hospital chaplains at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai hospital during the later days of COVID. As the film follows Mati, a chaplain-in-training and her mentor, the audience is asked to consider who comforts those who comfort others and the power of grief to exhaust but also to uplift. A Still Small Voice won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and was named one of the top five documentaries of 2023 by the National Board of Review.

Meet the Coordinator

Christina Petersen
Christian Nielsen Professor of Film Studies

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