The School of Cinematic Arts invites you to an exciting free screening series hosted in Norris Cinema Theatre, SCA 108 and 110, featuring a dynamic selection of studio blockbusters, festival-winning indies, docs and foreign films, as well as new feature films by SCA alumni, from June 1 through August 5, 2009. All screenings and events will be free of charge and open to the public, although we do ask for an electronic reservation for each screening.

Film descriptions and reservation links are listed separately for each screening. To access more information about the films and guest bios, please click on the movie titles.

06/02 -- Séraphine (France) 7:00 P.M. in SCA 110.
The tragic story of French naïve painter Séraphine Louis aka Séraphine de Senlis (1864-1942), a humble servant who becomes a gifted self-taught painter. Winner of Seven Césars (French Academy Awards), including Best Film.

06/04 -- The Hangover (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
From the director of Old School comes a comedy about a bachelor party gone very, very wrong. Followed by a Q&A with director/producer Todd Phillips.



06/05 -- The Narrows (USA) 7:30 P.M. in SCA 108.
Mike Manadoro will do almost anything to get out of his neighborhood to study photography at a Manhattan university, but it order to afford it, he is forced to take a high paying job with a local mob boss. Followed by a Q&A with writer/producer Tatiana Blackington and actors Sophia Bush and Kevin Zegers.

06/07 -- Food, Inc. (USA) 5:00 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
Filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies.



06/07 -- Dead Snow (Norway) 7:00 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
The group of friends had all they would need for a successful vaction: cabin, skis, copious amounts of beer and a fertile mix of the sexes. None of them had anticipated not returning home alive... until they ran into a Nazi-zombie battalion haunting the mountains of Oksfjord!



06/08 -- Fear Me Not (Denmark) 7:00 P.M. in SCA 112.
From Danish director Kristian Levring (The King is Alive) comes this intensely chilling psychological thriller about a middle-aged alcoholic who undergoes an experimental clinical trial that goes horribly wrong. Starring Ulrich Thomsen (The Celebration).



06/12 -- Grace (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
When an accident leaves a young mother with an unborn fetus dead inside her, she insists on carrying the baby's corpse to term. Weeks later, when she delivers, the baby miraculously returns to life... with a horrifying appetite. Followed by a Q&A with writer/director Paul Solet and composer Austin Wintory.



06/14 -- Whatever Works (USA) 5:00 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
An eccentric New Yorker (played by Larry David) abandons his upper class life to lead a more bohemian existence. He meets a young girl from the south and her family and no two people seem to get along in the entanglements that follow.



06/16 -- $9.99 (Australia/Israel) 7:00PM in SCA 110.
Have you ever wondered 'What's the meaning of life? Why do we exist?' The answer to this vexing question is now within your reach! You'll find it in a small yet amazing booklet, which will explain, in easy-to-follow, simple terms your reason for being! The booklet, printed on the finest paper, could be yours for a mere $9.99.


06/19 -- Sun Dogs (USA) 8:00 P.M. in SCA 112.
Down in post-Katrina New Orleans, a drunkard plasma donor who mentors a teenage troublemaker begins romancing a reckless art school dropout he meets while singing karaoke..Followed by a Q&A with the writer/director.



06/18 -- The Stoning of Soraya M. (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
In a world of secrecy, corruption and injustice, a single courageous voice can tell a true story that changes everything. Based on a true story, this powerful tale of a village's persecution of an innocent woman becomes both a daring act of witness and a compelling parable about mob rule.


06/21 -- Parasomnia (USA) 5:00 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
Danny Sloan is looking for something solid in his life. After his girlfriend leaves him, he realizes that something is missing. Once he goes to visit a friend in rehab, he happens upon a beautiful girl, Laura Baxter, who is literally sleeping her life away, suffering from a sleep disorder called Parasomnia. Followed by a Q&A with cast and crew.


06/21 -- Surveillance (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
From Magnet Releasing comes a suspense thriller about two FBI officers (Bill Pullman and Julia Ormond) interrogating the witnesses of a string of gruesome highway murders and the labyrinthine story they weave together. Followed by a Q&A with co-writer/director Jennifer Lynch.



06/25 -- The Cove (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
The 2009 Sundance Audience Award-winner (documentary) tells the amazing true story of an elite team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate a hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and deadly secret. Followed by a Q&A with director Louie Psihoyos and dolphin activist Richard O'Barry.


06/28 -- Break (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
There's no clean break in love or death. Featuring David Carradine, in one of his final and most outrageous film appearances. Followed by a Q&A with writer/director Marc Clebanoff and members of the cast.




06/30 -- Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love
(Senegal/France/Egypt/USA) 7:00 P.M. in SCA 110.
An uplifting, music-driven journey into the power of one man's voice to inspire global change. The film unfolds an extraordinary moment in the life of Youssou N'dour -- the best-selling and most influential African pop artist of all time.


07/01 -- The Road to Empire (USA) 7:00 P.M. in SCA 108.
Charlie runs a successful aviation company, but some of his success has come from turning a blind eye to cargo that may not have been legal. When a regular client offers him a deal – no questions asked – Charlie thinks it will be his biggest score yet. He will soon learn this deal will have consequences that go beyond anything he could have imagined.


07/02 -- Popatopolis (USA) in SCA 112.
Jim cuts the shooting schedule, has the actors cook their own food, and reduces his electric package to just two lights so he can concentrate on his filmmaking philosophy, "A Big Chase and A Big Chest." Watch and laugh as Jim prepares to "Pop some tops." A Documentary about Jim Wynorski, followed by a Q&A with cast & crew.


07/06 -- Welcome to Academia (USA) 7:00 P.M. in SCA 108.
In this dark comedy that takes place at fictional Victorian University, faculty and administrators jockey for power in the classroom, the boardroom, and the bedroom. Amidst all their petty intrigues, a young graduate student is forced to experience a life lesson not offered on the regular curriculum.



07/09 -- TiMER (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
What if a clock could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate? A revolutionary new device called the TiMER now fulfills this fantasy. For a reasonable installation fee and moderate monthly charges, a TiMER implanted in the wrist will accurately display the numbers of days, hours, minutes and seconds until the wearer's date with destiny.


07/11 & 07/12 -- A Tribute to Paul Mazursky in Norris Theatre.
A two-day retrospective of four films by Paul Mazursky, including a Q&A with the five-time Academy Award nominated writer, director, producer, actor on Sunday evening. Screenings will include Harry and Tonto, An Unmarried Woman, Moon Over Parador and Next Stop, Greenwich Village.



07/14 -- Megan is Missing (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
When 14-year-old Megan Stewart disappears after arranging to meet an Internet date in person, best friend Amy launches a concentrated effort to find her friend, but instead finds a truth more terrifying than she could have ever imagined. Followed by a Q&A with cast and crew.



07/15 -- Not Forgotten (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
Jack Bishop lives the life of every man's dream with a beautiful wife and a happy, healthy daughter. But it is no coincidence that Jack's life seems perfect. When his daughter goes missing, Jack knows that the only way he can find her is to use the powers of his long forgotten faith, La Santa Muerte, protectors of the sinner, the worshipers of the dead.


07/16 -- Humpday (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
Late into the night at a wild party, old friends Andrew and Ben find themselves locked in a mutual dare: to enter an amateur porn contest together. But what kind of boundary-breaking, envelope pushing porn can two straight dudes make? Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Followed by a Q&A with Mark Duplass.


07/17 -- Brüno (USA) 7:00 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
Borat trickster Sacha Baron Cohen returns to the big screen to offer yet another stinging dose of socio-political satire in this comedy that finds him assuming the persona of gay fashion-monger Brüno, the self-proclaimed "voice of Austrian youth TV."



07/19 -- Faire: An American Renaissance 2:30 P.M. in SCA 112.
A new documentary about the incredible and insightful journey of a quirky group of people that defined a uniquely American movement, the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, a class project created by history teacher Phyllis Patterson that took a weekend event and turned it into a worldwide phenomenon.



07/19 -- Afghan Star (UK/Afghanistan) 5:00 P.M. in SCA 112.
In Afghanistan, you risk your life to sing. After 30 years of war and Taliban rule, pop culture has returned to the country—and since 2005, millions are tuning in to Tolo TV's wildly popular American Idol-style series Afghan Star. Winner of the Directing and Audience Awards in Sundance's 2009 World Documentary competition.


07/19 -- In the Loop (UK) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
A bumbling British government minister (Tom Hollander) makes a verbal snafu during a TV interview, inadvertently backing a U.S. war in the Middle East. A blistering new satire from the team behind the award-winning BBC series The Thick of It. Official selection at the Sundance Film Festival 2009.



07/23 -- Lorna's Silence (Belgium/France/Italy/Germany) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
The destiny of a woman caught between love and the law of the underworld. Winner of the Best Screenplay Award at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Directed by acclaimed Belgiam filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.


07/24 -- (500) Days of Summer (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
This is a story of boy meets girl, begins the wry, probing narrator of (500) Days of Summer and with that the film takes off at breakneck speed into a funny, true-to-life and unique dissection of the unruly and unpredictable year-and-a-half of one young man's love affair.


07/26 -- Strictly Background (USA) 2:30 P.M. in SCA 112.
Have you ever wondered how movies get all those people to perform in a crowd scene? And how do all those actors know to scream, fight or dance in unison? A new documentary by filmmaker Jason Connell exposes the behind-the-scenes lives of ten working background actors, "extras."



07/26 -- Dear Lemon Lima, (USA) 5:00 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
As sweet and colorful as a snow cone, this delightful happy-sad confection follows an awkward Alaskan teen as she discovers her Yup'ik heritage while rallying her fellow misfits to compete in her school's Snowstorm Survivor competition. Followed by a Q&A with cast and crew.



07/26 -- Flame & Citron (Denmark) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
Copenhagen 1944. Denmark is occupied by Nazi Germany. While the Danish population hopes for a swift end to the war, freedom fighters Bent Faurschou-Hviid, alias Flame, and Jørgen Haagen Schmith, alias Citron, secretly put their lives at stake fighting for the Resistance.



07/28 -- It Might Get Loud (USA) 7:30 P.M. in SCA 112.
The personal stories, in their own words, of three generations of electric guitar virtuosos – The Edge (U2), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), and Jack White (The White Stripes). The film reveals how each developed his unique sound and style of playing favorite instruments, guitars both found and invented.



07/30 -- Paper Heart (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
Charlyne Yi does not believe in love. Or so she says. Well, she doesn't believe in fairy-tale love or the Hollywood mythology of love, and her own experiences have turned her into another modern-day skeptic. Join Charlyne as she embarks on a quest across America to make a documentary about the one subject she doesn't fully understand.






08/02 -- Taxidermia (Hungary) 8:00 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
Three stories. Three ages. Three men. Grandfather, father, son. One is an orderly, one is a leading sportsman, and one is a master taxidermist. One desires love, the other success, and the third immortality. Official Selection -- Un Certain Regard, Cannes Film Festival.



08/05 -- Inglourious Basterds (USA) 7:30 P.M. in Norris Theatre.
Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish American soldiers to perform swift, shocking acts of retribution. Later known to their enemy as "the basterds," Raine's squad embarks on a mission to take down the leaders of the Third Reich. Followed by a Q&A with Eli Roth.