Stolen Holidays
(Les Petites vacances)
Olivier Peyon, France, 2006, 90 min., French
Saturday, Nov. 15, 4:45 p.m., Frontenac
Sunday, Nov. 16, 1:30 p.m., Frontenac

Each school holiday, Danièle (New Wave vet Bernadette Lafont) accompanies her grandchildren on the train that takes them to the south of France, where her daughter’s ex-husband lives. This time, however, the father’s absence on their arrival at the station allows Danièle to enjoy the children’s company a little longer. But within the model, dynamic and watchful grandmother there lurks a troubled woman. Fed up with her day-to-day routine and the people in it, Danièle now only finds a meaning to life through her grandchildren. When she impulsively takes them on a “stolen holiday,” the resultant journey begins to seem more like a kidnapping.

Strangers
(Zarim)
Guy Nattiv & Erez Tadmor, Israel, 2007, 85 min., Hebrew
Thursday, Nov. 20, 7 p.m., Frontenac

A 2008 Sundance selection, “Strangers” chronicles six days in the lives of Eyal, an Israeli living in a kibbutz, and Rana, a Palestinian living in Paris, who accidentally meet in the Berlin subway during the World Cup finals. Eyal, who came to meet his girlfriend, and Rana, who came to cheer the French team, are forced to share an apartment and, as the final match approaches, they fall in love – a relationship seriously complicated when war breaks out between Israel and Lebanon. Variety writes that although “gem-hard in its political realism, ‘Strangers’ is generous enough to suggest love may actually triumph – and as such will win a lot of hearts.”

Streetballers
Matt Krentz, U.S., 2008, 110 min.
Saturday, Nov. 15, 2:30 p.m., Tivoli 3

In this urban drama about street basketball, two junior-college students find release and therapy while playing on one of the most competitive street courts in the U.S. Written and directed by local hero Krentz, who also co-stars, “Streetballers” reveals unexpected aspects of St. Louis. The RFT, which recently named Krentz a “MasterMind” at the paper’s inaugural arts awards, notes: “More enthralling than the movie’s story line, perhaps, is the cinematography and onsite filming of many of St. Louis’ unsung landmarks. The movie opens with a time-elapsed shot of O’Fallon Park in north St. Louis…. Other sites and events featured prominently in the film include LeGrand’s Market, Forest Park Community College and the St. Patrick’s Day parade through Dogtown.” With director Krentz.
Sponsored by St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission

Strength and Honour
Mark Mahon, Ireland, 2008, 90 min.
Friday, Nov. 21, 9:30 p.m., Frontenac
Sunday, Nov. 23, 5:30 p.m., Frontenac

“Strength and Honour” tells the story of an Irish boxer, Sean Kelleher (Michael Madsen), who accidentally kills his friend in the ring and promises his wife that he will never box again. Years later, however, when he discovers that his only son is dying of the same hereditary heart disorder that has taken his wife, he is forced to break his promise so he can raise the funds needed for a life-saving surgery. Now past his prime, he is forced to turn to the underground world of bare-knuckle fighting. “Strength and Honour” features a knockout cast that includes Vinnie Jones, Richard Chamberlain and Patrick Bergin. With director Mahon.

The Thacker Case
Brian Jun, U.S., 2008, 95 min.
Friday, Nov. 21, 7:15 p.m., Tivoli 1

SLIFF welcomes home former Metro East resident Jun, who won the fest’s 2006 New Filmmakers Forum Award for the Alton-shot “Steel City,” which premiered at Sundance. “The Thacker Case,” which also shot briefly in the Alton area, features Eliza Dushku, star of the highly anticipated Joss Whedon TV show “Dollhouse.” Based on a true story, the film examines a controversial case of wrongful death in small-town Iowa. Kevin Thacker’s body was found in the alley outside the Marshalltown Police Department after the young man was arrested for drunk driving. The arresting officer’s story is highly suspicious, and everyone involved, from the investigating detective to the FBI, appears to be aiding in covering up what actually happened that fateful night. With director Jun and producer Lorena David.
Sponsored by Jeffrey T. Fort

The Tiger’s Tail
John Boorman, Ireland, 2006, 107 min.
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m., Frontenac
Thursday, Nov. 20, 4:30 p.m., Frontenac

Written and directed by storied director Boorman (“Point Blank,” “Deliverance”), this comedic black thriller, set in contemporary boom-time Ireland, follows a successful businessman as his life begins to unravel. Liam O’Leary (Brendan Gleeson of Boorman’s “The General”), an Irish property developer of humble origins, has made it big and fast. His hubris has led to a scheme to build a national stadium, but a rival developer is about to thwart his plans. Wildly overextended, Liam finds himself struggling in a receding market, and now, on the verge of a mental breakdown, he begins seeing his own double. Kim Cattrall of “Sex and the City” plays O’Leary’s neglected wife, and Ciaran Hinds, Sinead Cusack and Sean McGinley co-star.

Timecrimes
(Los Cronocrímenes)
Nacho Vigalondo, Spain, 2007, 88 min., Spanish
Friday, Nov. 21, 9:15 p.m., Frontenac

One evening, while looking through his binoculars, Hector sees a naked girl in the woods. When he investigates, a man with a bandaged face suddenly stabs him in the arm with a pair of scissors. A chase ensues, leading Hector to a mysterious machine that transports him back in time to just before the incident. Mind-bending complications ensue when Hector discovers that he now shares the world with his “real time” self. Variety writes: “‘Timecrimes’ welds a B-movie plotline to precision-engineered writing and a down-to-earth style; add an engagingly sloppy, nonplussed hero, who remains unfazed by the time-bending scrape in which he finds himself, and the result is memorably offbeat.” The thriller is slated for a Hollywood remake by David Cronenberg.

Times and Winds
(Bes vakit)
Reha Erdem, Turkey, 2006, 107 min., Turkish
Saturday, Nov. 15, 2:30 p.m., Frontenac

The intensely lyrical “Times and Winds” depicts the bumpy emotional lives of three preteen friends – Omer, Yakup and Yaldiz – and the ways their families curb their dreams and desires. Omer, the imam’s son, harbors fantasies about killing his father, who favors his younger brother. Yakup turns against his own father when he discovers his dad has been spying on the beautiful schoolteacher with whom he’s infatuated. And Yaldiz is troubled by a budding sexuality after she witnesses her parents making love. This magical film – which Britain’s Telegraph says “deserves consideration for entry into the pantheon of great films about rural communities” – reveals the tensions that lie beneath the seemingly placid surface of a remote, beautiful and rugged mountain village untouched by the modern world.

The Trap
(Klopka)
Srdan Golubovic, Serbia, 2007, 96 min., Serbo-Croatian
Saturday, Nov. 22, 1:15 p.m., Tivoli 3
Saturday, Nov. 22, 8 p.m., Tivoli 3

In this gripping modern film noir, an ordinary man is forced to choose between the life and death of his own child. Faced with a costly operation to save his critically ill son, Mladen agrees to assassinate a wealthy man for cash after he’s assured the target deserves his fate. “The Trap,” which the Hollywood Reporter calls “a crackerjack thriller with tension that never abates,” explores post-Milosevic Serbia, a transitional world in which war is replaced by a moral desert, in which human life is worth little and a normal existence seems unreachable.

Under the Bombs
(Sous les bombes)
Philippe Aractingi, Lebanon/France, 2007, 98 min., Arabic, English & French
Saturday, Nov. 15, 12:15 p.m., Frontenac
Sunday, Nov. 16, 4 p.m., Frontenac

During a ceasefire in the Lebanon-Israel conflict, a Christian taxi driver transports a Shiite woman from Beirut to the heart of the conflict to find her son. While scouring the rubble of local towns, they discover a common bond despite their very different backgrounds. “Under the Bombs,” which played the Venice and Sundance festivals, takes a neorealist approach: It was shot entirely on location during the summer of 2006, in the middle of the ruins of war-torn Lebanon, and primarily uses non-actors – refugees, journalists, soldiers – to play themselves. Describing the film as “a wry, tragic road movie,” the Observer’s Philip French concludes: “Revealing, occasionally darkly comic, ‘Under the Bombs’ is raw, painfully vivid, full of sharp detail and extremely moving.”