
FIREWALL follows Ani, an Iranian-American girl in Texas longing for her father, lost and unreachable due to an internet firewall in politically turbulent Iran. Ani finds comfort in playing the cello and a beloved pop-up book of the Shahnameh, Iran's longest epic poem. Her mother's frustration over Iranian protests heightens the tension at home, but Ani becomes immersed in a vivid retelling of the Persian legend of Zahhak, the Serpent King. One night, when her father mysteriously returns, ancient Persian mythology intertwines with her reality, forcing her to confront the physical and mental demons that have kept her from finding peace.
5.9In this adaptation of the critically acclaimed debut novel by Iranian American author Dalia Sofer, a secular Jewish family is caught up in the maelstrom of the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
7.7Iranian female judokas Leila and her coach Maryam, travel to the Judo World Championship, intent on bringing home Iran’s first gold medal. Midway through the Judo World Championships, they receive an ultimatum from the Islamic Republic ordering Leila to fake an injury and lose, or she will be branded a traitor of the state. With her own and her family’s freedom at stake, Leila is faced with an impossible choice: comply with the Iranian regime as her coach Maryam implores her to do, or fight on, for the gold.
6.7An American woman, trapped in Islamic Iran by her brutish husband, must find a way to escape with her daughter as well.
6.9Epic account of the thief Barabbas, who was pardoned for his crimes and spared crucifixion when Pilate offered the Israelites a choice to pardon Barabbas or Jesus. Struggling with his spirituality, Barabbas goes through many ordeals leading him to the gladiatorial arena, where he tries to win his freedom and confront his inner demons, ultimately becoming a follower of the man who was crucified in his place.
7.7In 1986 Iran, Sahebjam, whose car breaks down in a remote village, enters into a conversation with Zahra, who relays to him the story about her niece, Soraya, whose arranged marriage to an abusive tyrant ended in tragedy.
5.8A young Western woman is recruited by the Mossad to go undercover in Tehran where she becomes entangled in a complex triangle with her handler and her subject.
7.0The sailor of legend is framed by the goddess Eris for the theft of the Book of Peace, and must travel to her realm at the end of the world to retrieve it and save the life of his childhood friend Prince Proteus.
7.4It's not easy being a teen like Duncan. His mom wants him to pay more attention to his homework, while his dad - a 120-foot-tall monster known as a Kaiju - wants him to become the next King of All Monsters. When these worlds collide, Duncan must use his human wits and his Kaiju powers - including super strength, agility and the ability to breathe fire - to protect his family and friends from a giant monster rampage.
6.7During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
6.6A wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's newfound conservatism.
6.0Under the watch of his unkind realtives, lonely Bosse's luck is changed when he is sent to the land where his real father is the King. In that country, he sets out on a quest, together with his new friend, to destroy the evil Knight Kato.
6.7The story of Prince Hal who sets out to avenge his dead father against the city's rivals, the Zeriths, little knowing it was his wicked uncle Nezo who is the real killer, with his own designs on the throne.
5.9An evil caliph offers his daughter’s hand in marriage to a prince if he can complete a perilous quest for a magical rose. Helped by a young boy and a magic carpet, Prince Hasan has to overcome genies, fire-breathing monsters, and treacherous swamps to reach his prize and claim the hand of the Princess Zuleira.
6.2Elaine "Ellie" Harrison has just moved from Minnesota to Annapolis, Maryland while her parents take a year-long sabbatical to continue their medieval studies in nearby Washington D.C. Her new high school, Avalon High, seems like a typical high school with the stereotypical students: Lance the jock, Jennifer the cheerleader, Marco, the bad boy/desperado, and Will, the senior class president, quarterback, and all around good guy. But not everyone at Avalon High is who they appear to be, not even Ellie herself. Eventually, it becomes apparent that Avalon High is a situation where the ancient Arthurian legend is repeating itself.
8.2In Ayodhya, the royal palace of Kosala Kingdom in Ancient India, four princes were born to three queens, each of whom grew to great stature. Banished for 14 years due to court intrigue, Prince Rama retreated to the forest with his beautiful wife Sita. When Rama vanquishes the demons of the forest, he invites the wrath of the demon king Ravana, who kidnaps Sita. Based on the Indian epic the Ramayana.
7.2As Islamic morality squads stage arbitrary raids in Tehran and as fundamentalists seize hold of the universities, Azar Nafisi, an inspired teacher, secretly gathers six of her most committed female students to read forbidden western classics. Unaccustomed to being asked to speak their minds, they soon removed their veils, their stories intertwining with the novels they read: just like the heroines of Nabokov, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry James or Jane Austen, the women in Nafisi’s living room dare to dream, hope and love as we experience the complexity of the lives of individuals facing political, moral and personal siege.
6.3Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
6.7Hailey Freeman and her family are the last descendants of African American farmers who settled in rural Canada after the Civil War. In a famine-decimated near future, they now struggle to safeguard their farm, as they make one last stand against a vicious militia hell-bent on taking their 40 Acres.
8.5Vincent, an artist with unresolved inner demons, meets a mysterious girl who helps him come to terms with his creative legacy… and eventual death.
7.2In 1980, a teenage boy escapes the unrest in Iran only to face more hostility in America, due to the hostage crisis. Determined to fit in, he joins the school's floundering wrestling team.
7.4The little nomad girl, Nansal, finds a baby dog in the Mongolian veld, who becomes her best friend - against all rejections of her parents. A story about a Mongolian family of nomads - their traditional way of life and the rising call of the City.
7.0The young teacher Marelle goes in search of her husband who mysteriously disappeared while attending the funeral of a childhood friend.
6.9Kingdom of Jamkard, ancient Persia. After defeating the armies of Ahriman, embodiment of evil, King Jamshid, bearer of the light of Divine Power, abandons his people blinded by pride, determined to conquer new lands. Thus, by chance, Zahhaak becomes regent and undertakes the reconstruction of the devastated capital. But then Ahriman, who dwells in the heart of every human being, begins to poison his tormented soul.
7.5A director of a television series on the history of cinema, who has been grappling with the screenplay of his first feature film, receives an assignment to oversee the installation of a television relay station in a remote region of Zahedan province. He has already hired Turkmen tribespeople for his film and selected his filming location. Meanwhile his wife, who is working on her Ph.D. dissertation about the Mongol invasion of Iran, attempts to dissuade him from accepting the assignment. One night, while working on his history of the cinema series, the director fantasizes a diegetic world that consists of clever juxtapositions of his different worlds: the history of cinema, the history of the mongol invasion, his own film idea and his imminent assignment to the desert.
THE BRIGHT DAY weaves a story that has its roots in the complexity of Iran’s draconian laws governing capital punishment. A kindergarten teacher hopes to aid the father of one of her young students, a man accused of manslaughter, by convincing each of seven reluctant witnesses to come forward. No one lacks a hidden agenda in this drama in which shades of truth collide with self-interest and the specter of payback. (Gene Siskel Film Center)
7.6A famous poet in postwar Paris, scorned by the Left Bank youth, is in love with both his wife Eurydice and a mysterious princess. Seeking inspiration, the poet becomes obsessed and follows the princess from the world of the living to the land of the dead.
5.6The blood-soaked tale of a Norse warrior's battle against the great and murderous troll, Grendel. Heads will roll. Out of allegiance to the King Hrothgar, the much respected Lord of the Danes, Beowulf leads a troop of warriors across the sea to rid a village of the marauding monster.
6.5Siegfried of Xanten snatches the Nibelung treasure from the king of the underworld and slays the dragon Fafnir, whose blood makes him invulnerable. Siegfried falls in love with Kriemhild, the sister of the Burgundian king. But only if Siegfried helps Gunther marry Brunhild will he be allowed to marry Kriemhild. He fulfills this condition, but the two women bring ruin upon Xanten and Burgundy...
7.7In 1986 Iran, Sahebjam, whose car breaks down in a remote village, enters into a conversation with Zahra, who relays to him the story about her niece, Soraya, whose arranged marriage to an abusive tyrant ended in tragedy.
6.1Scandinavia, 1,000 AD. For years, One Eye, a mute warrior of supernatural strength, has been held prisoner by the Norse chieftain Barde. Aided by Are, a boy slave, One Eye slays his captor and together he and Are escape, beginning a journey into the heart of darkness. On their flight, One Eye and Are board a Viking vessel, but the ship is soon engulfed by an endless fog that clears only as the crew sights an unknown land. As the new world reveals its secrets and the Vikings confront their terrible and bloody fate, One Eye discovers his true self.
6.0Theseus is a mortal man chosen by Zeus to lead the fight against the ruthless King Hyperion, who is on a rampage across Greece to obtain a weapon that can destroy humanity.
7.9An 8-year-old boy must return his friend's notebook he took by mistake, lest his friend be punished by expulsion from school.
7.9A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
6.3Against the tumultuous backdrop of Iran's 1953 CIA-backed coup d'état, the destinies of four women converge in a beautiful orchard garden, where they find independence, solace and companionship.
9.0An epic musical drama depicting the preface to Seetha and Rama's wedding.
0.0As Zohreh returns from a party, she becomes entangled in her friend's complicated situation, leading to a major decision.
5.8A superstitious servant girl - who has foreboding nightmares about a naked man on horseback - comes to live with a solitary female artist at her country chateau. As the artist takes the girl under her wing, a sensuous relationship develops between them.
7.5The mysterious disappearance of a kindergarten teacher during a picnic in the north of Iran is followed by a series of misadventures for her fellow travelers.
