TUNKHANNOCK — What could be better for movie lovers than a mid-summer buffet of the best recent foreign and independent films?
This year the Dietrich Theater’s Summer Fest, sponsored by Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company, is adding another week, to give film-goers added opportunities to see 14 acclaimed films. Summer Fest 2016 begins at 6 p.m. Friday July 15 with the Opening Night Gala, featuring two films: “Love and Friendship” and “Dark Horse.” The festival will continue through July 28.
Reservations are required only for the Opening Night Gala, featuring two films with wine, beer, popcorn, crackers, cheese, fruit and strawberry shortcake. Tickets are $25 and can be reserved by calling the theater at 570-996-1500. All other Summer Fest movie tickets are $8.50 each and are available at the ticket booth or online at dietrichtheater.com.
Another special event during Summer Fest will feature area tango dancers Karen and Mike Lucey, of NEPA Tango in the Tent, at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 23. Before the showing of “Our Last Tango,” a documentary that tells the true story of the life and love of Maria Nieves Rego and Juan Carlos Copes, the Luceys will tell moviegoers about their tango lessons with Argentina’s most famous tango dancers and how anyone can learn the tango.
To wind up Summer Fest, all are invited to a Post-Fest Film Discussion at 1 p.m. Friday, July 29 for those who want to talk about the content or significance of some of the movies. At this discussion, everyone can voice opinions about the movies and about Summer Fest 2016.
Films showcased in the Dietrich’s Summer Fest are as follows.
“Love and Friendship”
Show times: Opening Night Gala, July 15; 7 p.m. July 18; 2 p.m. July 21; 7 p.m. July 23 and 4:30 p.m. July 28
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Chloë Sevigny, Xavier Samuel
Director: Whit Stillman
Rating: PG
Run time: 92 min
Language: English
Based on the novel by Jane Austen and critical hit at the latest Sundance Film Festival, “Love and Friendship” is a comedic story that takes place among the lush landscape and lifestyle of 18th century England. The film is about a beautiful young widow who visits the estate of her in-laws to wait out the colorful rumors about her dalliances circulating through polite society. Whilst there, she decides to secure a husband for herself and a future for her eligible but reluctant daughter. In doing, so she attracts the simultaneous attention of three suitors who each come with their set of peculiar circumstances, complicating matters.
“Sing Street”
Show times: 7 p.m. July 17; 7 p.m. July 20; 12 p.m. July 24; 2:15 p.m. July 26 and 7 p.m. July 27
Starring: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Aidan Gillen, Maria Doyle Kennedy
Director: John Carney
Rating: PG-13
Run time: 106 min
Language: English
Inspired by writer and director John Carney’s life and love for music, “Sing Street” depicts a world where music has the power to take listeners away from the turmoil of everyday life and transform them into something greater. The movie takes viewers back to 1980s Dublin, seen through the eyes of a young man who is trying to adjust to his new surroundings. He finds a glimmer of hope in a mysterious girl, and with the aim of winning her heart, he invites her to star in his band’s music videos. There’s only one problem: he’s not part of a band. She agrees, and now he must deliver what he’s promised and create a band that will not only win over the girl but change his life for the better.
“Painting the Modern Garden- From Monet to Matisse”
Show times: 12 p.m. July 16; 12 p.m. July 21 and 2:15 p.m. July 23
Director: Phil Grabsky
Rating: NR
Run time: 93 min
Language: English
Guided by passionate curators, artists and garden enthusiasts, “Painting the Modern Garden- From Monet to Matisse” is a look at the rise of the modern garden in popular culture and the public’s enduring fascination with gardens today. These great artists, along with many other famous names, are featured in an innovative and extensive exhibition from The Royal Academy of Arts, London. The film takes a magical and widely travelled journey to discover how different contemporaries of Monet built and cultivated modern gardens to explore expressive motifs, abstract color, decorative design and Utopian ideas.
“The Meddler”
Show times: 12 p.m. July 17; 12 p.m. July 20; 7 p.m. July 22 and 7 p.m. July 25
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne, J.K. Simmons
Director: Lorene Scafaria
Rating: PG-13
Run time: 100 min
Language: English
“The Meddler” is the story of one of those moms that just won’t quit. After losing her beloved husband, Marnie happily relocates from New Jersey to Los Angeles to be near her daughter, a successful screenwriter, and smother her with motherly love. But when the dozens of texts, unexpected visits, and conversations dominated by unsolicited advice force her daughter to draw strict personal boundaries, she finds ways to channel her eternal optimism and forceful generosity to change the lives of others – as well as her own, and find a new purpose in life.
“Dheepan”
Show times: 12 p.m. July 19 and 9:15 p.m. July 23
Starring: Jesuthasan Antonythasan, Kalieaswari Srinivasan, Claudine Vinasithamby
Director: Jacques Audiard
Rating: R
Run time: 115 min
Language: English, French, Tamil
Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, “Dheepan” is a tale of survival and a depiction of the immigrant experience. On the losing side of a civil war in Sri Lanka, a soldier poses as the husband and father of two other refugees in order to escape their ravaged homeland. Arriving in France, the makeshift “family” sets about establishing a new life – only to find themselves once again embroiled in violence on the mean streets of Paris.
“Francofonia”
Show times: 12 p.m. July 18; 4:30 p.m. July 20 and 4:30 p.m. July 25
Starring: Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Benjamin Utzerath, Vincent Nemeth
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov
Rating: NR
Run time: 88 min
Language: German, English, Russian, French
“Francofonia” gives a tour of the Louvre which serves as a meditation on art. The film also explores how the Louvre avoided being plundered during the Nazi occupation of France, and depicts the ghost of Napoleon wandering among the exhibits. “Francofonia” provides a history of the Louvre during the Nazi occupation and contemplation on the meaning and timelessness of art.
“Hello, My Name is Doris”
Show times: 2:15 p.m. July 16; 4:30 p.m. July 19; 12 p.m. July 22; 12 p.m. July 25 and 5 p.m. July 27
Starring: Sally Field, Max Greenfield
Director: Michael Showalter
Rating: R
Run time: 95 min
Language: English
“Hello, My Name is Doris” is a look at aging, relationships, and recapturing that spark within. When Doris meets an attractive young man, sparks fly – at least for her. She mines the internet for information on her one-and-only, guided by the granddaughter of her best pal. When she begins showing up at his regular haunts, she wins over his friends, but it creates a rift between her and her longtime friends and family, who believe she’s making a fool of herself. Eager for all the experiences she has missed out on, she throws caution to the wind and follows her heart for the very first time.
“Eye in the Sky”
Showtime: 7 p.m. July 16; 4:30 p.m. July 17; 2:15 p.m. July 20; 2:30 p.m. July 24; 12 p.m. July 27 and 7 p.m. July 28
Starring: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman
Director: Gavin Hood
Rating: R
Run time: 102 min
Language: English
With an all-star cast, “Eye in the Sky” is a tense war time thriller about the moral, social, and political aftermath of modern warfare. Through remote surveillance and on-the-ground Intel, a military operation discovers their targets are planning an attack and the mission escalates to lethal actions. But as an American drone pilot is about to engage, a nine-year old girl enters the target zone triggering an international dispute, reaching the highest levels of US and British government.
“Our Last Tango”
Show times: 2:30 p.m. July 19; 4:30 p.m. July 23 and 12 p.m. July 26
Starring: María Nieves Rego, Juan Carlos Copes, Melina Brutman
Director: German Kral
Rating: NR
Run time: 85 min
Language: Spanish
Infused with passion and romance, “Our Last Tango” tells the true story of the life and love of Argentina’s most famous tango dancers, who met as teenagers and danced together for nearly fifty years. Relaying their story to a group of young tango dancers and choreographers from Buenos Aires, their story of love and passion is transformed into unforgettable tango choreographies.
“The Man Who Knew Infinity”
Show times: 2 p.m. July 18; 4:30 p.m. July 21; 7 p.m. July 24 and 7 p.m. July 26
Starring: Dev Patel, Jeremy Irons
Director: Matt Brown
Rating: PG-13
Run time: 108 min
Language: English, Tamil, Sanskrit
“The Man Who Knew Infinity” is the true story of a friendship that forever changed mathematics. In 1913, a self-taught Indian mathematics genius traveled to Trinity College in Cambridge to further his academic pursuits. Over the course of five years he forged a bond with his mentor, the brilliant and eccentric professor, G.H. Hardy, and fought against prejudice to reveal his mathematic genius to the world.
“A Bigger Splash”
Show times: 9:15 p.m. July 16; 7 p.m. July 19; 9:15 p.m. July 22 and 12 p.m. July 28
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Matthias Schoenaerts and Ralph Fiennes
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Rating: R
Run time: 125 min
Language: English, Italian
“A Bigger Splash is a sensuous portrait of desire, jealousy, and rock and roll under the Mediterranean sun. It follows the lives of a rock legend who is recuperating on a sun drenched island with her partner when an old flame unexpectedly arrives with his flirtatious daughter and interrupts their holiday, bringing with him a blast of nostalgia from which there is no coming back from.
“Sweet Bean”
Show times: 4:15 p.m. July 16; 4:30 p.m. July 22 and 2:30 p.m. July 27
Starring: Kirin Kiki, Masatoshi Nagase, Kyara Uchida
Director: Naomi Kawase
Rating: NR
Run time: 113 min
Language: Japanese
“Sweet Bean” is about a Japanese baker who hires an endearing elderly woman to be his new assistant, and soon learns that she has a wonderful recipe for sweet red bean paste, a Japanese delicacy. This small bakery serves pastries filled with her sweet bean paste and the business takes off, until unexpected circumstances disrupt their plans.
“Dark Horse”
Show times: Opening Night Gala, July 15; 4:30 p.m. July 18; 2:15 p.m. July 22; 12 p.m. July 23; 5 p.m. July 24 and 2:30 p.m. July 28
Director: Louise Osmond
Rating: PG
Run time: 85 min
Language: English
Winner of the Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, “Dark Horse” is the inspirational and uplifting true story of a barmaid and her husband in a small town from South Wales who decide to buy and breed a racing horse. They recruit neighbors from a working men’s club and decide to compete in the ‘sport of kings’ and win it all.
“Dough”
Show times: 2:30 p.m. July 17; 7:30 p.m. July 21; 2:15 p.m. July 25 and 4:30 p.m. July 26.
Starring: Jonathan Pryce, Ian Hart, Philip Davis
Director: John Goldschmidt
Rating: NR
Run time: 94 min
Language: English
Tony award-winning actor Jonathan Pryce stars in “Dough” as the curmudgeonly owner of a Kosher bakery shop in London. Understaffed, he enlists the help of a young Muslim teenager, who has a secret side gig selling marijuana to help his immigrant mother make ends meet. When the young boy accidentally drops his stash into the mixing dough, the bread starts flying off the shelves and an unlikely friendship forms between them. Dough is a warmhearted and humorous story about overcoming prejudice and finding redemption in unexpected places.
