Documentary on famous writer Marguerite Duras and her paradoxical relation to the seventh art by her former film editor.

1942, in the middle of Northeastern Brazil, two very different men meet along the road: Johan, an aspirin salesman avoiding the German draft, and Ranulpho, a rural Brazilian seeking escape from the drought.

Director Shah Krishna compiled this compelling documentary of Indian cinema after spending two years searching through film archives from all over the world. Included are films from the turn of the 20th century through the 1970s to illustrate various schools of filmmaking and the historical progression of the art form.

At the end of the 20th century, the son of a distinguished family, Sosiko Cholokashvili, became interested in cinematography, a field unknown to the public. Despite his inexperience, financial difficulties, and disappointment, one of the first enthusiasts of Georgian cinema recorded many shots depicting the appearance and existence of old Tbilisi on tape.

A man prepares an old ritual in a temple abandoned by its followers.

Adapted by writer/director Fernando Sariñana from the stories by Juan Madrid, Ciudades Oscuras (Dark Cities) tells a story of interwoven lives in the seedy underbelly of Mexico City. The several different story lines concern hooker Lola (Dolores Heredia); her drug addict son Fede (Diego Luna); her friend Zeze (Zaide Silvia Gutierrez); Zeze's daughter Susana (Jimena Ayala); and junkie Vicente (Roberto Sosa). Also on the scene are two corrupt cops (Alejandro Tommasi and Jesus Ochoa) and one good cop (Odiseo Bichir), while Chicken (Hector Suarez) and Casimiro (Alonso Echanove) each tell their separate stories to the same bartender (Demian Bichir). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Adapted by writer/director Fernando Sariñana from the stories by Juan Madrid, Ciudades Oscuras (Dark Cities) tells a story of interwoven lives in the seedy underbelly of Mexico City. The several different story lines concern hooker Lola (Dolores Heredia); her drug addict son Fede (Diego Luna); her friend Zeze (Zaide Silvia Gutierrez); Zeze's daughter Susana (Jimena Ayala); and junkie Vicente (Roberto Sosa). Also on the scene are two corrupt cops (Alejandro Tommasi and Jesus Ochoa) and one good cop (Odiseo Bichir), while Chicken (Hector Suarez) and Casimiro (Alonso Echanove) each tell their separate stories to the same bartender (Demian Bichir). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Tim Heidecker reviews the latest movies in theaters with a special guest.

An abandoned tumbledown theater in the outback of Paraíba state is the initial setting of a film about cinema, which explores the testimonials of the novelist and playwright Ariano Suassuna and other filmmakers such as Ruy Guerra, Julio Bressane, Ken Loach, Andrzej Wajda, Karim Ainouz, José Padilha, Hector Babenco, Vilmos Zsigmond, Béla Tarr, Gus Van Sant and Jia Zhangke. They all respond to two basic questions: why do they make movies and why do they serve the seventh art. The filmmakers share their thoughts about time, narrative, rhythm, light, movement, the meaning of tragedy, the audience‘s desires and the boundaries with other forms of art.

Re-edited and re-scored footage from public domain films, overdubbed with performances of contemporary actors to tell new, wholly original stories.