Giuseppe Tornatore's beautiful 1988 film about a little boy's love affair with the movies deservedly won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film and a Special Jury Prize at Cannes. Philippe Noiret plays a grizzled old projectionist who takes pride in his presentation of screen dreams for a town still recovering from World War II. When a child (Jacques Perrin) demonstrates fascination not only for movies but also for the process of showing them to an audience, a lifelong friendship is struck. This isn't just one of those films for people who are already in love with the cinema. But if you are one of those folks, the emotional resonance between the action in Tornatore's world and the images on Noiret's screen will seem all the greater--and the finale all the more powerful. --Tom Keogh

February 8 - Nô by Robert Lepage

Nô is a 1998 film by director Robert Lepage.

The title is a pun which reflects the film's dramatic structure, linking the 1980 Quebec referendum (in which the "no" won) to Japanese Noh theatre.
The film is set in 1970 at the height of the FLQ bombings in Montreal, known as the October Crisis. During the Crisis, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau instituted the War Measures Act, which resulted in martial law on the streets of Montréal and over 500 people arrested without warrant for being "FLQ sympathizers". The central character, Sophie (Anne-Marie Cadieux), is an actress working in Japan at Expo '70; her boyfriend Michel (Alexis Martin) is an FLQ member preparing for a bombing.

The film is a comedic farce, and was initially heavily criticised for making comedy out of what most sovereignists consider to be "sacred" and federalists as a serious incident in Canadian history.

The film can be read as an allegory for Québec's relations to significant cultural groups, with Sophie representing Québec and the way in which she interacts with those around her.

February 22 - Burns

In East Berlin in 1984, the secret police organization, Stasi, conducts extensive surveillance operations against any East German citizen suspected of opposing the Communist regime. When Captain Gerd Weisler begins monitoring the daily life of the playwright Georg Dreyman, he finds himself increasingly unwilling to betray his subject's private moments to his superiors.

March 28 - On the Map by Annalee Davis (Barbadian filmmaker)

ON THE MAP airs intimate discussions with undocumented migrants who tell their stories of life between the cracks. This thirty- two minute HD Video-DVD examines current intra-regional migration with a focus on Barbados, Trinidad & Guyana. It explores the views of residents of host countries, exposes institutional abuse and demonstrates gaps between the official stand and the actual experience of unskilled Caribbean migrants.

The video unmasks prejudices and subjugation. It fosters awareness among Caribbean residents and exposes social policy issues which have not been considered despite the lengthy preparation for the CARICOM Single Market & Economy (CSME) . The film asks whether there is space for the dreams and rights of poor and unskilled people in
our 'One Caribbean'.

April 11 - Baghdad Café by Percy Adlon

Driving through the Mojave Desert somewhere between Las Vegas and Disneyland, a middle aged German tourist couple has a spat...and the wife, Jasmine, strikes out on her own. Trudging down the highway pulling along a large suitcase, she is so unlikely a sight that Brenda, the irascible proprietor of the Baghdad Cafe where Jasmine stops, is instantly suspicious. So begins a hilarious and touching account of the relationship that develops between these two women of different cultures. It also offers a renewed, endearingly quirky vision of America as a land with room for self discovery and individuality. Progressing from bleak reality to Utopian fantasy, BAGHDAD CAFE offers the flip side to one other German film directed in America, PARIS TEXAS. But Adlon celebrates the possibilities of a uniquely American sense of community, of harmony between disparate people. Winner of numerous awards and an international box-office success, BAGHDAD CAFE creates, in the middle of desolation, an oasis of friendship.

April 25 - Pavarotti – The Last Tenor by Roberto Alagna

A unique behind-the-scenes film of the great Italian tenor, tracing an eventful year in his life as he travels the world giving his farewell opera performance and reflecting on his extraordinary life and career.

Mauà - O Imperador e o Rei by Sergio Rezende
MAUA, the Brazilian film about the 19th century national hero of the same name is a masterpiece of its genre. Master director Sergio Rezende has been producing a series of historical epics these past few years, and his latest is his best. It is also the best Brazilian film of the 1999/2000 November to April film season, according to many. I agree wholeheartedly. The period details, the superb acting, beautiful sets and historical relevance to today's Brazil, compared to the country's state 110 to 150 years ago all contribute to make this, a film not to be missed. The film maker contrasts the country's economy in two different centuries, in this, the 500th anniversary of "Brazil" as a Western-style country, to great effect. In MAUA, open markets, free trade and other liberal economic policies currently pursued by the Brazilian government get the greatest promotion that issues like these can ever get. They are dramatized, and persuasively pitched to the public through MAUA's life story. He has always been considered the pioneer of Brazil-oriented (as opposed to Portuguese Empire-oriented) business development and distribution of wealth, as well as a champion for the abolition of slavery. This film will cement his image as a semi-god in Brazil's history. The film will also be remembered for a long time, for the fine historical epic and drama that it is.

The Mosquito Coast by Peter Weir
Based on the novel by Paul Theroux, an inventor disillusioned by the growing bureaucracy of America uproots his family to build a utopia in the jungle of Central America. There he finds new threats to his freedom and peace of mind, with tragic results.

Maurice Richard by Charles Binamé
The film depicts an era widely considered as a corner-stone of the NHL's history. It shows the life of The Rocket beginning with his years as a teenager, his ascension to the Canadiens, up to The Richard Riot, showing a full spectrum of Richard's career. It ends the year before Richard brought Montréal to an unrivalled record of five Stanley Cup Championships in a row.

A Brother with Perfect Timing - documentary on musician Abdullah Ibrahim

When he left South Africa in the 1960s, Abdullah Ibrahim took Cape Town with him. The city's mixture of African, Arabic, Oriental and European cultures echoes in the music he writes for his septet, Ekaya; there are spirituals, slow-rolling South African marabi rhythms, American jazz (especially Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington), African traditional melodies, even the samba rhythms that Mr. Ibrahim traces to Africa...The film gives a well-rounded view of a musician for whom exile means both pain and inspiration.

The Red Violin by François Girard

The film tells the story of a perfect violin known as 'The Red Violin' for its rich red colour. At the beginning of the film, the violin is being auctioned in Canada. As the bidding starts, the violin's history is revealed, showing that the violin has been in existence for over 300 years, having been made in 1681. Its history is told in five locations around the world: Cremona in Italy, Vienna, Oxford, Shanghai, and Montreal. To its owner, the violin has caused anger, betrayal, love, and sacrifice. In each setting the dialogue is spoken in the appropriate language.

Special Screening at the Brazilian Ambassador's Residence

Nô by Robert Lepage

Nô is a 1998 film by director Robert Lepage.

The title is a pun which reflects the film's dramatic structure, linking the 1980 Quebec referendum (in which the "no" won) to Japanese Noh theatre.
The film is set in 1970 at the height of the FLQ bombings in Montreal, known as the October Crisis. During the Crisis, Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau instituted the War Measures Act, which resulted in martial law on the streets of Montréal and over 500 people arrested without warrant for being "FLQ sympathizers". The central character, Sophie (Anne-Marie Cadieux), is an actress working in Japan at Expo '70; her boyfriend Michel (Alexis Martin) is an FLQ member preparing for a bombing.

The film is a comedic farce, and was initially heavily criticised for making comedy out of what most sovereignists consider to be "sacred" and federalists as a serious incident in Canadian history.

The film can be read as an allegory for Québec's relations to significant cultural groups, with Sophie representing Québec and the way in which she interacts with those around her.