Phoenix by Christian Petzold
Nelly Lenz, a concentration camp survivor, has been left severely injured with a disfigured face. Following facial re-construction surgery, she begins the search for her husband Johnny. When she finally does find him, Johnny does not recognise her. Nevertheless he approaches her with a proposal, since she resembles his wife, whom he believes to be dead, he asks her to help him claim his wife’s inheritance. Nelly agrees, and becomes her own doppelganger. She needs to know if Johnny ever loved her, or if he betrayed her.
Screening at Mall of the Emirates, 3pm. Tickets are Dh35 and Dh15 for students. German and English dialogue with English subtitles.
Court by Chaitanya Tamhane
A sewage worker’s body is found inside a manhole in Mumbai. An ageing folk singer is arrested and accused of performing an inflammatory song, which may have incited the worker to commit suicide. The trial unfolds in a lower court, where the hopes and dreams of the city’s ordinary people play out. Forging these fates are the lawyers and judge, who are observed in their personal lives beyond the theatre of the courtroom.
Screening at Mall of the Emirates, 6pm. Tickets are Dh35 and Dh15 for students. Marathi, Hindi, English and Gujarati dialogue with English subtitles.
Home Sweet Home by Nadine Naous
The director Nadine Naous returns to Lebanon, her homeland, when her father, who is the principal of a progressive school in south Beirut, faces financial difficulties. The family home becomes the venue for frequent discussions that are lively and humorous. From these debates, we gather the recent history of the country and the way political change has irreversibly transformed society.
Screening at Mall of the Emirates, 6.30pm. Tickets are Dh35 and Dh15 for students. Arabic dialogue with English subtitles.
