SLIFF 2012 Narrative Features

In the waning years of China’s Cultural Revolution, 11-year-old Wang Han and his family live in a tiny riverfront village in Guizhou province. Forced to relocate by the government, his father, a former actor, yearns for their old life in Beijing and works to instill a sense of art and culture in his son. Conscious of the anxious whispering of adults, who tell stories about warring gangs and police clashes, Wang and his friends still spend their days in carefree play. But when Wang has a strange encounter near the river and discovers a teenager hiding in the woods who is wanted for crimes against the state, he and his friends decide to keep the fugitive’s presence a secret. Brimming with youthful energy and featuring lovingly detailed evocations of time and place, “11 Flowers” combines mainland China’s complex cultural history with a stirring evocation of childhood.

In the alternative world of “Alter Egos,” superheroes are a dime a dozen, and the underappreciated heroes have recently lost government funding and public support. As if those troubles weren’t enough, nerdy Fridge (Kris Lemche) jeopardizes an important mission with he discovers his girlfriend (Christine Evangelista) is cheating on him with his own alter ego. And now, in addition to coping with the fact that the love of his life prefers his superhero identity over his unmasked self, Fridge must reluctantly face his nemesis – the man who killed his mom and dad. The film – which features a soundtrack by Sean Lennon – is an ode to the shy, nerdy superhero in all of us. Variety writes: “Superpowered with silliness, ‘Alter Egos’ is a comedy about second-string heroes, but has a first-rate sense of humor thanks to a wry script. … This is a solid showcase for the talents involved.”

Jennifer Jason Leigh (“Margot at the Wedding”) and Alan Cumming (“The Good Wife”) write, direct, and star in a seriocomic riff on the barbed husband-wife verbal sparring of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” A fractious Hollywood couple, they’ve recently reconciled and hold an anniversary party attended by an array of film “friends,” played by such A-list actors as real-life couple Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. Reilly, Parker Posey, and Jennifer Beals. Inspired by the Dogme aesthetic, “The Anniversary Party” was one of the first digitally shot films released by a studio. Editor Carol Littleton (“E.T.”) and cinematographer John Bailey (“Mishima”) – themselves a husband-and-wife Hollywood couple – introduce the program and discuss the film and their careers in this special free program. Littleton and Bailey also present a free master class in editing and cinematography on Nov. 10 at Webster U. (see Special Events).

In mid-15th century Japan, flood, drought, and famine transformed the landscape of the capital of Kyoto into a barren wasteland. More than 80,000 perished in the three years between 1459 and 1461. This desolate state served as the backdrop to the beginning of the country’s greatest civil war, and the victims of this dark period in Japan’s history were too great in number to include in the pages of history. This stunningly gorgeous animated film is set during this troubled era, and its eponymous hero grows up a savage, enraged orphan. Asura does whatever it takes to survive in the wild, but when he crosses paths with civilization, he must learn to tame the beast within. Although a film of unrelenting and violent horror, “Asura” also features a deeply religious core.