Films with: Abkarian, Simon

Armée du crime Army of crime /

In Paris, 1941, Armenian poet Missak Manouchian leads a motley crew of foreign-born resistance fighters in clandestine battle against the Nazi occupation. An initially reluctant Manouchian and his team must resort to guerilla tactics and radical measures in the name of liberty. News of their daring attacks, including the assassination of an SS general, eventually reaches Berlin.

DVD 8638

Casino Royale

With two professional assassinations in quick succession, James Bond is quickly elevated to '00' status. Bond's first 007 mission takes him to Uganda where he is to spy on a terrorist, Mollaka. Not everything goes to plan and Bond decides to investigate, independently of MI6, in order to track down the rest of the terrorist cell. Following a lead to the Bahamas, he encounters Dimitrios and his girlfriend, Solange. He learns that Dimitrios is involved with Le Chiffre, banker to the world's terrorist organizations. Intelligence reveals that Le Chiffre is planning to raise money in a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro at Le Casino Royale. MI6 assigns 007 to play against him, knowing that if Le Chiffre loses, it will destroy his organization. 'M' places Bond under the watchful eye of the beguiling Vesper Lynd. At first skeptical of what value Vesper can provide, Bond's interest in her deepens as they brave danger together and even torture at the hands of Le Chiffre. The marathon game proceeds with dirty tricks and violence, raising the stakes beyond blood money and reaching a terrifying climax.

DVD 6036

Cut

It follows the journey of one father's search through the Ottoman Empire for his two daughters after they are separated during the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Forced from his home in Mardin, Nazareth gets word that his daughters may still be alive and he travels the globe in search for them. Over the years, his odyssey takes him from the Mesopotamian deserts to Havana and finally to the barren prairies of North Dakota.

DVD 11825

Gett the trial of Viviane Amsalem /

"In Israel there is neither civil marriage nor civil divorce. Only rabbis can legitimate a marriage or its dissolution. But this dissolution is only possible with full consent from the husband, who in the end has more power than the judges. Viviane Amsalem has been applying for divorce for three years. But her husband Elisha will not agree. His cold intransigence, Viviane's determination to fight for her freedom, and the ambiguous role of the judges shape a procedure in which tragedy vies with absurdity, and everything is brought out for judgment, apart from the initial request"--Director's Fortnight.

DVD 11115

Monde presque paisible Almost peaceful /

"Set during the largely unexplored period immediately following World War II, the film follows a group of mostly Jewish Parisians who attempt to restart their lives and rekindle their capacity for happiness in the shadow of unspeakable horrors"--Container.

DVD 895

Persepolis

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family. Their long dream is realized when the hated Shah is defeated in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, Marji grows up to witness first hand how the new Iran has become a repressive tyranny on its own. With Marji dangerously refusing to remain silent at this injustice, her parents send her abroad to Vienna to study. This change proves an equally difficult trial for Marji and finds herself in a different culture loaded with abrasive characters and profound disappointments that deeply trouble her. Even when she returns home, Marji finds that both she and her homeland have changed too much and the young woman and her loving family must decide where she truly belongs.

DVD 5317

Yes

Feeling trapped in her marriage to a politician, an American scientist begins an affair with a Lebanese surgeon living in exile in London. As the affair goes on the couple finds it difficult to put aside their very different beliefs.

DVD 6699