Human history is replete with individuals who rise above the lowing herd to distinguish themselves in the public’s eye as extraordinary or exceptional in some special way. This could include a political orator with a gifted tongue, a charismatic preacher with a religious zeal, a scientific genius, or other-worldly mystic. Such is the case for Jan Mikolášek, and the historical drama that was Mountain Shadow’s film selection for July, 2021. Click the image above to read a review of the film.

SUN CHILDREN, short-listed for Best International Film at the 2021 Academy Awards, is the Iranian story of children who must work to support their families. To this date, there are 152 million children in this situation. International organizations are waging a desperate fight to support these young people who are subjected to abuse and deprived of their human right to education. The message of SUN CHILDREN is that we are all responsible to these children, many of whom are extremely talented and all of whom are precious. SUN CatHILDREN was Mountain Shaodow’s selection for June, and an extensive filmmaker statement can be found by clicking the image above.

“Here We Are” is a quiet, perfect, sweet little film. There is nothing grandiose or contrived about it. It takes a moment in time, with characters that give the viewer a glimpse of a kind of real life with which we might readily identify; taking us every bumpy step by step from conflict to resolution. To read the full review of Mountain Shadow’s selection for May, 2021, click on the image above.

Each year, Mountain Shadow typically brings to its audiences the “Best” of the Oscar-nominated Short Films. With the Academy Awards re-scheduled for April in the Era of Covid and screening films virtually online, our film society brought audiences all the nominated shorts. To review the list and see who won, click on the image above.

“Heist of the Century” is billed as a drama and a comedy. But like other so-called foreign comedies that are often dry, wry, subtle, or dark, such is the case with this purely entertaining 2020 film from Argentina. Beginning with its rather austentatious claim in its title, “Heist” is perhaps a cross between “Ocean’s Eleven,” and that classic Peter Seller’s farce, “The Pink Panther.” To read a brief review of Mountain Shadow’s selection for March, 2021, click on the image above.

For our February show, Mountain Shadow snagged the pre-theatrical release of Finland’s Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film for 2021. TOVE is the story of Tove Janssen, the unconventional Finnish novelist, painter and creator/illustrator of the Moomin cartoon characters. To read a short review and reflection of the film, click on the image above.

Mountain Shadow’s film selection for January was more than a fascinating look at the art world, its business and patronage. “My Rembrandt” is a real-life drama, a Shakespearean-like drama,; with the main character finding their own self in a personal quest to prove the authenticity of a master work. To read a brief comment, click on the image above.

“Master Cheng” was Mountain Shadow’s December selection to conclude the 2020 Season of exception films. It’s a film about food, friendship, and love. The plotline is familiar. A strange looking foreigner with a funny accent shows up in this Lapland town. The locals are suspicious, but separate necessities force everyone to set aside provincial prejudices and stereotypes and discover the world-wide human family all over again. To read the full Mountain Shadow review, click on the image above.

“VEINS OF THE WORLD” - Mountain Shadow’s selection for Novemeber, 2020. In a province in the middle of the Mongolian steppe, 11-year old Amra lives a traditional nomad life tending sheep with his family; until their peaceful routine is threatened by the encroachment of international mining companies, digging for gold and devastating the natural habitat. Amra is compelled to carry on a David vs. Goliath fight with his own cleverness and the tools of an 11-year-old boy. To read the full review, click on the image above.

Expressed in many different ways, there is a creative impulse that drives the artist to do what they do. It can even become a compulsion. For Mountain Shadow’s October selection, we chose and offered our audiences two new film releases. One is a contemporary tale of two fictional characters in “The Artist’s Wife;” whose life stories authentically reflect some very common, gripping issues and challenges for the aging couple. The other film is a bio-pic that enlists the filmmaker’s imagination to fill in those spaces left open by missing historical facts of Ludwig von Beethoven’s exceptional life. To read our brief review of these great films, click on the graphic above.

Our 24-member volunteer Jury previewed 465 submissions to select 13 outstanding short films for this year’s annual short film competition! The 2-hour online show included a variety of animated, documentary and live-action narrative films. Each was preceded by the filmmaker’s brief recorded introduction. Following each of the two screenings, audience members engaged the filmmakers with an online Q&A. To read the full wrap-up, click on the image above.

Some say you can’t go home again. Others are drawn to try, in order to find a way to settle something that may be still unresolved after all these years. The Scandinavian film, OUT STEALING HORSES is just such a tale. Based on Per Petterson’s 2007 NYT best-seller by the same title, director/screenwriter Hans Petter Moland has created one of those meditative journeys of self-reflection and remembrance that characterize this type of foreign filmmaking; along with some of the most beautifully extraordinary cinematography you’ll find, depicted in nature. To read a review of Mountain Shadow’s selection for August, 2020, click on the image above.

“Free Trip to Egypt” - A Canadian-born Muslim, who is now a software entrepreneur living in Switzerland, randomly reaches out to some Americans he’s never met, but who fear this stranger. He invites them on an all-expense-paid 10-day trip to Egypt in July, 2017. As a non-judgmental, hopeful idealist, he makes a documentary that ends up being the most extraordinary travelogue you’ll ever see. To read the review of Mountain Shadow’s selection for July, 2020, click on the image above.

In Wolf’s documentary, “Spaceship Earth,” so-called synergists first traipse around the world, gathering all sorts of plants and animals to accompany eight “biospherians” into a massive time capsule they call “Biosphere 2.” It’s their modern version of Noah’s Ark, where they strive to escape the flood of environmental destruction humans have wrought upon this old earth, and undertake a fresh start; armed with a vast amount of accumulated human knowledge, goodwill, and more than a little optimism. What could possibly go wrong? In the midst of a world-wide pandemic, with everyone sheltering in place, this film was Mountain Shadow’s selection for June, 2020. To read the Commentary / Review, click on the image above.

When I first saw Ken Loach’s newest film at the Mill Valley Film Fest last October, litte did I know six months later our world would be turned upside down; with one working-class family’s struggles in this film so powerfully depicting the present socio-economic plight and universal tale we collectively now face world-wide. “Sorry We Missed You,” was Mountain Shadow’s selection for May, 2020. To read the full review, click on the image above.

With a script written by a duo from Chicago and rural Minnesota, and ably directed by Andrew Ahn, “Drivewys” should resonate with plenty of viewers who might reminisce about their own childhood; but recognize this simple, straightforward story as some modern-day version of an American classic. A brief review of Mountain Shadow’s selection for April, 2020, can be read by clicking on the image above.

In the film, Noah Land, a son strives to honor his terminally ill father’s last wish to be buried under a tree the father planted as a child; but clashes with villagers who claim the tree is in fact a holy relic planted by Noah after the legendary flood. This film was Mountain Shadow’s exclusive screening of this film for January, 2020. You can read the Mountain Shadow review by clicking on the image above.

“Cyrano, My Love” - Akin to “Shakespeare in Love,” playwright and filmmaker, Alexis Michalik imagines how Edmond Rostand came to write one of the most well-known plays of the French theater. This lighthearted comic drama was Mountain Shadow’s monthly selection for the 2019 December holidays! To read the Review, click on the image above.

A sad story only becomes a true tragedy when the characters in such a tale fail to grasp the opportunity to somehow redeem the situation. Things may still go very badly. But the larger story can elude becoming deemed as tragic, depending upon the choices one makes; holding fast to what one cherishes most in life. The remarkable full-length animated French film (Mountain Shadows selection for November, 2019), provides such life events that are common, universal and eternal to our human story. To read the full review, click on the image above.

Film director Michael Bully Herbig tells a tale of what is surely the most spectacular escape from East Germany in his gripping movie thriller, BALLOON. And, like the best and most credible thrillers, it is based on a true story of the ordinary lives of two ordinary families who represent, once more, what is indomitable in the human spirit. BALLON was Mountain Shadow’s film selection for October, 2019. You can read the Mountain Shadow’s film review by clicking on the image above.