Dana Auditorium (Sunderland Language Center)

An introverted young man, Jongsu, finds romantic interest in a young woman from his past, Haemi. One day she returns from a trip with Ben, a wealthy and sophisticated young man. When Haemi disappears, Jongsu becomes suspicious of Ben and his mysterious hobby. Winner of the FIPRESCI prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. In Korean and English with English subtitles. (148 minutes). A Hirschfield International Film Series event. Free.

An introverted young man, Jongsu, finds romantic interest in a young woman from his past, Haemi. One day she returns from a trip with Ben, a wealthy and sophisticated young man. When Haemi disappears, Jongsu becomes suspicious of Ben and his mysterious hobby. Winner of the FIPRESCI prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. In Korean and English with English subtitles. (148 minutes). A Hirschfield International Film Series event. Free.

Along the Atlantic coast, a soon-to-be-inaugurated futuristic tower looms over a suburb of Dakar. Ada, 17, is in love with Souleiman, a young construction worker. But she has been promised to another man. One night, Souleiman and his co-workers leave the country by sea, in hope of a better future. Several days later, a fire ruins Ada’s wedding and a mysterious fever starts to spread. Little does Ada know that Souleiman has returned. (106 minutes). A Hirschfield International Film Series event. Free.

A passionate coming-of-age tale set amidst the conservative confines of modern Tbilisi, the film follows Merab, a competitive dancer who is thrown off balance by the arrival of Irakli, a fellow male dancer with a rebellious streak. Presented in the Spotlight section of Sundance 2020. (113 minutes). A Hirschfield International Film Series event. Free

Along the Atlantic coast, a soon-to-be-inaugurated futuristic tower looms over a suburb of Dakar. Ada, 17, is in love with Souleiman, a young construction worker. But she has been promised to another man. One night, Souleiman and his co-workers leave the country by sea, in hope of a better future. Several days later, a fire ruins Ada’s wedding and a mysterious fever starts to spread. Little does Ada know that Souleiman has returned. (106 minutes). A Hirschfield International Film Series event. Free.

A passionate coming-of-age tale set amidst the conservative confines of modern Tbilisi, the film follows Merab, a competitive dancer who is thrown off balance by the arrival of Irakli, a fellow male dancer with a rebellious streak. Presented in the Spotlight section of Sundance 2020. (113 minutes). A Hirschfield International Film Series event. Free

While protecting his friend from a bully, WEI Bu pushes the tormentor down a staircase. WEI’s neighbor, WANG Jin, is estranged from his family and, with nothing to lose, decides to join him. Later the pair is joined by HUANG Ling, WEI’s classmate. She is bedeviled by a destructive affair with a married school official. Together, this desperate trio, decide their only hope is to flee. So, they board a bus towards Manchuria, where it is rumored that a circus elephant is said to be sitting still, seemingly oblivious to pain and tribulations of the world at large. (3h 50min) Free.

The story links together the lives of a number of protagonists, narrating the course of one single, tension-filled day from dawn to dusk, and along the way, painting a portrait of a society marked by selfishness. Berlin International Film Festival Winner: FIPRESCI Prize, Best First Feature Award Special Mention.

During the summer of 1990 in Chile, a small group of families lives in an isolated community below the Andes, building a new world away from urban excesses, with the emerging freedom that followed the recent end of the dictatorship. In this time of change and reckoning, 16-year-old Sofía and Lucas, and 10-year-old Clara, neighbours in this dry land, struggle with parents, first loves, and fears, as they prepare a big party for New Year’s Eve. They may live far from the dangers of the city, but not from those of nature. In Spanish with English subtitles. (1h 50min). Free.

The final film from the late, beloved Agnès Varda is a characteristically playful, profound, and personal summation of the director’s own brilliant career.  This wonderfully idiosyncratic work of imaginative autobiography is a warmly human, touchingly bittersweet parting gift from one of cinema’s most luminous talents.