Global Lens 2011 The Global Lens film series was launched in 2003 to support the distribution of unique and critically acclaimed cinematic works from around the world. Since its founding, the series has provided a platform for exceptional storytelling. Now in its eighth year, Global Lens continues to attract dynamic audiences and discover extraordinary new films, building upon the unique perspectives that have come to define the Global Film Initiative's library of films. The Global Lens film series is a program of the Global Film Initiative, which was founded with the mission of promoting cross-cultural understanding through cinema. The education program presents screenings of Global Lens films for students in locations where the touring series is shown and also publishes free, innovative discussion guides and learning resources that explore the social, cultural and historical themes introduced by films. In the Washington, DC, area, the Global Lens series screenings take place at AFI Silver and the Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler Galleries.

BELVEDERE
Presented by the Global Film Initiative

The widow Ruveyda is like most residents of the Belvedere refugee camp: she yearns to forget the tragedy of war, 15 years after the ethnic cleansing of Bosnia and Herzegovina. But unlike those around her, she spends most of her days in a bittersweet routine of caring for her extended family, and searching for the remains of her husband and son — these activities offer a precarious hope that is tested when her nephew is selected to participate in a reality show in a former enemy enclave. An emotionally rich portrait of war's troubled aftermath, director Ahmed Imamović's film paints an uncommon image of patience, faith, love and, above all, forgiveness.

DIR/SCR Ahmed Imamović; SCR Aida Pilav, Abdulah Sidran; PROD Samir Smaji. Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2010, color, 90 min. In Bosnian with English subtitles. NOT RATED

STREET DAYS [Quchis Dgeebi]
Presented by the Global Film Initiative

A middle-aged, unemployed heroin addict, Checkie, loiters on the Tbilisi street outside his son's school, where he himself was once a promising student. His wife struggles to pay the tuition and understand her husband's lack of interest in the family's survival — even as the bank repossesses their furniture. But when a group of policemen blackmails Checkie into entrapping the son of his wealthy friend, husband and wife are unified by their deepening moral dilemma, in Levan Koguashvili's lightly humorous yet realistic drama about the fate of a generation left behind in Georgia's post-Soviet era. Georgia's official submission to the 2010 Academy Awards.

DIR/SCR Levan Koguashvili; SCR Boris Frumin, Nikoloz Marri; PROD Gia Bazgadze, Archil Gelovani, Levan Korinteli. Georgia, 2010, color, 89 min. In Georgian with English subtitles. NOT RATED

THE INVISIBLE EYE [La Mirada Invisible]
Presented by the Global Film Initiative

Set against the backdrop of Argentina's military regime of the 1980s, Diego Lerman's engrossing and beautifully acted exploration of the totalitarian urge opens with a portrait of a lonely, repressed assistant teacher at an elite Buenos Aires private school. Obedient and willing, she accepts unquestioningly the school's rigid code of conduct and proud identification with the nation state. But her boss's words about the "cancer of subversion" and need for total surveillance soon feed an unhealthy obsession with one of her students, leading to an ensuing spiral of degradation and breakdown in discipline that parallels a popular rebellion beyond the school's ivy-covered walls. (Courtesy of Global Film Initiative)

DIR/SCR Diego Lerman; SCR Maria Meira, based on a novel by Martín Kohan; PROD Nicolás Avruj. Argentina, 2010, color, 97 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Fri, Sep 30, 5:30; Sun, Oct 2, 12:40; Wed, Oct 5, 6:30 (Montgomery College Show)

Also part of the AFI Latin American Film Festival

A USEFUL LIFE [La Vida Útil]
Presented by the Global Film Initiative

In his beloved art-house cinema in Montevideo, Jorge (Uruguayan film critic Jorge Jellinek) takes the utmost pride in his work, programming series, chatting with patrons and repairing projectors with the same vigor as when he began his career 25 years ago. But as the theater falls on hard times, he's forced to discover the world outside. In his follow-up to ACNÉ (2008 AFI Fest, Grand Jury Prize, International Feature; 2009 AFI Latin American Film Festival), filmmaker Federico Veiroj creates a nostalgic love letter to cinema. Uruguay's Official Submission to the 2011 Academy Awards; Official Selection, 2010 Toronto, 2011 Miami and San Francisco Film Festivals.

DIR/SCR/PROD Federico Veiroj; SCR Inés Bortagaray, Gonzalo Delgado, Arauco Hernández Holz. Uruguay, 2010, b&w, 67 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. RATED PG

Fri, Sep 30, 7:40; Wed, Oct 5, 7:20

Also part of the AFI Latin American Film Festival

THE TENANTS [Os Inquilinos]
Presented by the Global Film Initiative

Valter lives a quiet life in working-class São Paulo with his wife and two kids, laboring by day and attending poetry classes by night. But the perfectly normal life he worked so hard to achieve begins to crumble when three delinquents move in next door. Increasingly gripped by paranoia, Valter begins to fear for his family and suspect his neighbors are guilty of every crime announced on the news. This spellbinding thriller depicts the psychological toll of urban violence and explores how far one man will go to protect his community.

DIR/SCR/PROD Sérgio Bianchi; SCR Beatriz Bracher. Brazil, 2009, color, 103 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles. NOT RATED

Sun, Oct 2, 9:20; Tue, Oct 4, 9:20

Also part of the AFI Latin American Film Festival