Home  Film Series   Festival   Membership   Library   Contact


past series
 

Each series, we select a theme and then screen films that fit the theme. Think of it as an extended conversation, with each film adding a new voice. Quirky, controversial, heart-wrenching, or hilarious, our goal is to entertain and educate. And you can’t beat the price. Admission is free!

 
2006 Spring Film Series
 
Theme: More Than A Game
 
What do 42 pound stones, ping-pong paddles, hoops, horses, Scrabble tiles, and soccer crazy Buddhist monks have in common? These seven films ranging from Australia and Bhutan to our own back yard, show it doesn’t take the Super Bowl for a sport or a game to have a huge impact on a community, a friendship, a family, or a nation.

Men with Brooms
 
Four friends in Long Bay, Ontario, are reunited after the death of their curling coach. To honor their coach's last wish, they try to reunite the team and make a go at the greatest prize in the sport: The Golden Broom. An off-center sports story about little victories, big stones, and beavers on the move.

2002  102 minutes   Director: Paul Gross

Ping Pong
 

The energetic and surreal story of two friends: the cocky Peco and the sulky Smile. Both love ping pong, but while Peco wins by drive and ambition, Smile succeeds through sheer talent. Now in their late teens, they face strong competition from old rivals in the local championships. But the real question is whether Peco and Smile's friendship can survive.
  
2002  114 minutes    Director: Fumihiko Sor
He Got Game
 
Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington) is in prison serving time for killing his wife in a violent family feud. The Governor grants Jake a week’s furlough and offers to commute his sentence, but with one condition - he must persuade his son Jesus (Ray Allen), the best basketball player in the country, to sign with the governor's alma mater, Big State.
 
1998  136 min.  Director: Spike Lee
Phar Lap
 
Phar Lap, the legendary Australian racing horse, is as famous for his mysterious death as for his many trophies. A young stable boy transforms the sickly colt into an unlikely champion. Phar Lap wins 37 races in three years, but dies abruptly in 1932, perhaps the victim of Mob gambling interests.
  

1983  107 minutes    Director:  Simon Wincer
Word Wars / For the Sport of It
 
To some fanatic players, Scrabble is almost a bloodsport. This film profiles a group of these enthusiasts as they converge for a Scrabble convention.
 
2004   80 min.  Director: Eric Chaikin & Julian Petrillo
 
30 years ago, female athletes were labeled “tomboys” and discouraged from competing. This film traces the story of female athletics since the passage of Title IX.
2003 30 minutes Director: Lee Nassau
The Cup
 
Buddhism is their philosophy, but soccer is their religion. Inspired by a true story, two refugee boys are accepted into a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in exile. After sneaking out with a young monk to watch a soccer match, the boys and the whole monastery go crazy for the sport. While temple elders ponder how to deal with this craze, the boys set out to see the World Cup finals, even if it means bringing the match to the monastery.

1999  93 minutes  Director:
 Khyentse Norbu