Dead Man's Shoes (UK)
Revenge is a dish that couldn’t be served much colder than it is in this disturbing, gut-wrenchingly effective film. Paddy Considine (In America) stars as Richard, a disaffected soldier who returns to his hometown intent on avenging a terrible deed that befell his retarded brother some years ago. Those responsible are a bunch of petty drug dealers, big fish in a small pond. Richard haunts them, appearing in their houses with uncanny ease, and gradually getting his retribution in several shocking ways.
Fri 5/8 8.50pm

Arakimentari (USA)
Is it pornography or art? Judge for yourself. The groundbreaking work of Japanese photographer Araki Nobuyoshi causes controversy but, as this richly satisfying portrait demonstrates, his work covers a broad territory. From bondage to Bjork, to the breathtaking Hiroshima series, to the intimate portrait of his marriage, his work has made him notorious in the art world. This bouyant documentary provides intimate insights into Araki at work and play, as well as perspectives from his fans and his detractors.
Sun 7/8 6.00pm

Shin Sung-il Is Lost (South Korea)
A remarkably original film, a satirical fantasy set in an orphanage where the children are discouraged from eating to save money. In the Angel House orphanage, the children are taught that eating is the ultimate sin. Consumption should be followed by vomiting: the sight of someone else eating is disgusting. When the kids discover that the adults are eating their fill, a kind of rebellion erupts. Shin Sung-Il runs away into town—and finds the pornographic reality of restaurants and communal eating.
Mon 1/8 2:00pm and Tues 2/8 6:15pm

Inside Deep Throat (USA)
It was filmed in six days for 25 thousand dollars and was banned in 23 states in the US. It made it okay for couples to watch porn. And it is the most profitable film in motion picture history. Narrated by Dennis Hopper, and full of bristling moustaches and big medallions, the story of the making-of the world’s most (in)famous skin-flick is a slick and startling adventure with an all-star cast of interview subjects including John Waters, Erica Jong, and Norman Mailer.
Wed 3/8 9:40pm

Paradise Now (France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands)
It's an ordinary afternoon when Khaled and Said, two young Palestinean men, are told they have been chosen to carry out a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, retaliation for the killing of two Arabs. They have just one day to say their farewells to friends and family, without ever letting on their mission. Shortly after they slip over the border, things start to go wrong and they get separated. Each is forced to test the courage of his convictions alone.
Fri 29/07 7:10pm

Peacock (China)
Arguably China’s finest cinematographer, with credits including Farewell My Concubine, Red Sorghum, and Ju Dou, Gu Changwei makes the transition to the director’s chair with aplomb, winning the Silver Bear at Berlin with this bittersweet study of the trials of an ordinary life. The film follows a working class family in a small town and the efforts of the three children, an idealist, a realist, and a pessimist. From this simple plot, Gu has crafted a memorable portrait of bruised humanity.
Fri 29/7 2:30pm and Sat 30/7 6:10pm

Peep "TV" Show (Japan)
An eye-popping, slightly alarming portrait of a privileged but rootless generation, heirs to a new world order where everyone is surreptitiously looking at everyone else. Hasegawa prowls the mean streets of Tokyo, secretly filming women so he can broadcast their images on his website, Peep TV Show. The lost souls of Tokyo, more comfortable connecting through technology than in real life, are drawn to his site. Moe, a suicidal gothic Lolita, helps him to collect images for his site.
Sun 31/7 7:00pm and Wed 3/8 10:30pm

Whisky (Uruguay)
When Jacobo Køller learns his brother will come back from Brazil for the laying of their mother’s headstone, he asks his faithful assistant Marta to pose as his wife for a few days. But when Herman, the brother who has everything, arrives he also seems to click with Marta. This subtle portrait of a relationship between two brothers—the one who took care of the family, and the one who seized life and its opportunities, reverberates long after the curtains close.
Thu 28/7 1:50pm and Mon 1/8 5:00pm

36 Quai des Orfevres (France)
One of the great French box-office hits of 2004, 36 Quai des Orfèvres pits Daniel Auteuil against Gérard Depardieu in a taut, atmospheric thriller set in the shadowy world of a Parisian police section fighting organised crime. When their superior tells them that the selection of who will succeed him will be based on who can bring down a gang currently causing havoc, he sets off a brutal competition between two division heads, Vrinks (Auteuil) and Klein (Depardieu). Each has their connections into the gang world, and doesn’t hesitate to use them against the other. There will be a winner, but who can say when the competition is really over? Beautifully photographed in rich, dark tones with slivers of silvery light, this is both a homage to, and an updating of France’s own great tradition of crime films, with a great supporting cast featuring Valeria Golino..
Thu 4/8 7:00pm

Hostage (Greece/Turkey)
The real-life story of a bus hijacking in 1999 inspired this chilling, bleakly comic drama. Racial tensions are high in Greece following a massive wave of immigration. When Albanian Elion Senia takes the Thessaloniki bus hostage, the animosity is palpable. He claims he has been set up by the Greek police: all he wants is his honour but as the bus races for the border, chased by police cars and television crews, the real story will be revealed.
Tue 2/8 5:00pm and Fri 5/8 2:00pm

I am a Sex Addict (USA)
Unabashedly honest filmmaker Caveh Zahedi takes us on a very personal and fraught journey to recovery as an acknowledged sex addict. Zahedi plays himself in scenes from his life; the story of a man in his twenties who becomes addicted to sex with prostitutes and who is unable to supress his own addiction, not even when it costs him two marriages. Zahedi is Woody Allen at his most neuro-pathetic and you’ll laugh and cry at his hopeless attempts to cure himself.
Thu 28/7 6:40pm and Sat 30/7 7:10pm

Angel's Fall (Greece/Turkey)
Zeynep spends her days as a hotel chambermaid and her nights at home with her violent, morose father. The high point of her life is giving a hard time to Mustafa, a colleague who fancies her. Meanwhile, across town, sound technician Selcuk is slowly going to pieces without his wife. By chance, his wife’s clothes end up in Zeynep’s hands, a twist of fate that will change her destiny. A disturbing drama of high tension, with an oblique narrative style and stunning naturalistic cinematography.
Mon 1/8 9:10pm and Wed 3/8 12:20pm