Eighth Film Festival - Theatre on Film

Films are listed in order of screening dates and times.

Doubt (2009) Screening Date: Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 Writer/Director: John Patrick Shanley Playwright: John Patrick Shanley Rating: PG Awards: Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 28 nominations

In 1964, St. Nicholas school has just accepted its first black student. When the principal, Sister Aloysius, suspects that Father Flynn is paying too much personal attention to the new student, she sets off on a personal crusade to unearth the truth and to expunge Flynn from the school. Without a shard of proof besides her moral certainty, Sister Aloysius locks into a battle of wills with Father Flynn which threatens to tear apart the community with irrevocable consequence.

Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) Screening Date: Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 Writer/Director: Yimou Zhang Playwright: Yu Cao Rating: R Awards: Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 18 nominations

This film follows a Chinese Emperor and his Empress, and the tragic disintegration of their royal family, whose problems go far beyond the merely dysfunctional. The ailing Empress has long been having an affair with her stepson, the Prince Wan. Unbeknownst to her, Wan has been seeing the Imperial Doctor's daughter, and plans to escape the palace with her. Meanwhile, the Emperor himself has just returned from a long trip, and while relations with his wife are obviously icy, it becomes clear that his plans for her are far more ominous than she could ever imagine.

Tape (2001) Screening Date: Thursday, October 1st, 2009 Director: Richard Linklater Writer/Playwright: Stephen Belber Rating: 14+ Awards: 1 win & 1 nomination

Based on a three-character, one-act play, Tape is set entirely in Room 19 of a seedy motel in Lansing, Michigan rented by Vince, a ill-tempered, outgoing party animal/drug dealer who's visited by his old high school friend Jon, a documentary filmmaker, where they pass the time reminiscing about the good old times. Their conversation takes a turn when Vince, recording the conversation, hears Jon admit to a possible date-rape of Vince's old girlfriend Amy, who later shows up and opens up a new wave of talk and arguments about whose story is fact or fiction.

Closer (2004) Screening Date: Friday, October 2nd, 2009 Director: Mike Nichols Writer/Playwright: Patrick Marber Rating: R Awards: Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 20 nominations

Struggling writer Dan Woolf takes Alice Ayres, a shady young woman and part-time stripper, to the hospital when she's hit by a car, and they fall in love. A year later, Dan meets photographer Anna Cameron and tries to pick her up, but she rebuffs him. In anger, Dan sets Anna up for an embarrassing encounter with sex-addicted dermatologist Larry Gray, but the two end up seeing each other. Another year later, Dan and Anna begin an affair of their own, and relationships between the four collapse. Will any of them be strong enough to put this destructive sequence of events to a stop?

Stage Beauty (2004) Screening Date: Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 Director: Richard Eyre Writer/Playwright: Jeffrey Hatcher Rating: R Awards: 3 wins & 1 nomination

Ned Kynaston is a noted star with a specialty in female roles, aided by his faithful dresser, Maria Hughes. When Kynaston is beaten by a gang, Hughes sees an opportunity and stages an underground version of the play, casting herself as Desdemona. The daring of her appearance on-stage creates a sensation, and King Charles II is so taken with Hughes that he declares women should play women from now on. As Hughes' star rises, Kynaston's quickly falls. But as Hughes' failings as a thespian become obvious, she turns to Kynaston, hoping he can teach her to act as well as he did.

This event is part of the Impact Festival 2009, and is sponsored by:

• City of Kitchener
• Social Planning Council of Kitchener-Waterloo
• Waterloo Regional Arts Council
• Generation X Alternative Video and Media