While the soccer World Cup is being played in France, two young Tibetan refugees arrive at a monastery/boarding school in exile in India. Its atmosphere of serene contemplation is somewhat disrupted by soccer fever, the chief instigator being a young student, the soccer enthusiast Orgyen. Prevented by various circumstances from seeing the Cup finals on television in a nearby village, Orgyen sets out to organize the rental of a TV set for the monastery. The enterprise becomes a test of solidarity, resourcefulness and friendship for the students, while the Lama, head of the monastery, contemplates the challenges of teaching the word of Buddha in a rapidly changing world.

Various women struggle to function in the oppressively sexist society of contemporary Iran.

An upper middle-class French family celebrates a birthday in a restaurant. In one evening and during one meal, family history, tensions, collective and separate grudges, delights, and memories both clash and coalesce.

Two Malian teenagers, Bah and Batrou, from different backgrounds, meet at secondary school. Bah is the descendent of a great tribal chieftain. Batrous father, a provincial military governor, represents the new ruling power. The two teenagers are part of a generation that rejects the established order and challenges the society in which they live.

Hello everyone ! If you're looking for oddities, unique visions and original stories, you're up for a treat !
I've picked our 50 films of Summer, and would love to discuss them with you. My selection was based on countries whose films are still quite rare in our cinemas, but I've also included films from UK, France, USA, etc. I've tried to include every continent and only one film per director.
Some obvious choices (Bergman for Sweden, Truffaut/Godard for France, ...) have been dismissed in favor of more atypical flavours. I really hope you'll enjoy them. Some choices also intend to reveal less obvious aspects of their nationality: for instance, Colombia is represented with an erotic drama. On the other hand, I could not prevent myself from including a wonderful Bollywood film from India, but I'll evoke other possibilities.
Finally, cheers to the wonderful site www.mubi.com where you can watch an unlimited number of foreign flicks with a €7.99/month subscription. Why aren't you signed up yet ?

Writer: Paul Laverty
Director: Ken Loach
Starring: Steve Evets, Eric Cantona

Genre: Comedy
Year: 2009
Languages spoken: English/French
Awards: Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (Cannes)

See it if you like: comedies with a big heart, "Billy Elliot"
Do not miss: the "revenge" sequence
See also: "It's a free world!", "Brassed Off"

Eric, a football fanatic postman whose life is descending into crisis, receives some life coaching from the famously philosophical Eric Cantona.

There's so much heart in this story: a man called Eric is struggling with his family (he's divorced and hasn't seen his daughter in years) and at the very moment he feels desperate and doesn't even count on his friends to help him, another guy named Eric shows up and reminds him of the greatness and courage he had long forgotten. It's not so important that this guardian angel once was a famous football player: he had the passion and belief to achieve the impossible and dream with eyes open, revealing ourselves that we can all achieve great things, whether we're postmen, bartenders, teenagers, ...
Grounded in social reality, but with a fantastic tone (only Eric can see Eric, get it ?), this tale is one of my favourite Ken Loach films and another brilliant screenplay by Paul Laverty. It's a sporty British hymn to friendship, and also a good way to start this summer of films (cheers to Movie Parliament Prime Minister's nationality, and to the upcoming London Olympics).

Director: Barbet Schroeder
Starring: Jacques Vergès, Carlos, Klaus Barbie

Genre: Documentary
Year: 2007
Languages spoken: French/German/Arabic/English/Spanish
Awards: César for Best Documentary, DGA nomination.

See it if you like: intricate plots, "bigger than life" stories, "Fahrenheit 9/11", "Zodiac"
Do not miss: the heart-wrenching tale of Djamila Bouhired
See also: "Man on Wire"

A documentary on Jacques Vergès, the controversial lawyer and former Free French Forces guerrilla who has defending unpopular figures such as Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy.

Are you ready for an incredible film, covering decades of politics and rebellion, spanning serveral continents ? Among the stories "so incredible that it has to be true", here comes Jacques Vergès: a French lawyer famous for having defended many criminals, some of them charged for "crimes against humanity". He's passionate and determinate, and says he would defend any human being. At the beginning of his career, he became famous for supporting Djamila Bouhired, accused of terrorism during the war of Algeria for its independence. This story put a spotlight on the Algerian events, at a time where France didn't want to hear the protests. Vergès became so involved in this fight that he married Bouhired some years later. This fast-paced documentary questions our notions of moral, politics, right/wrong, war,,, It is a true accomplishment from versatile director Barbet Schroeder (Barfly, Reversal of Fortune, Murder by Numbers).