The East Lansing Film Festival - ELFF

Synopsis: This exquisite film earned the highest ranking by Metacritic.com ( a 91 out of 100) for an independent film. This simple story is told with visual poetry. A widowed conductor lives with his daughter in a Paris suburb. As a neighbor begins to show interest in her, he realizes that he may lose her. Claire Denis presents a narrative framework filled with quiet, long passages of everyday events but in truth examines the human condition with insight and illumination.

Synopsis: This wonderful, bittersweet documentary explores a complicated and tragic consequence of Hurricane Katrina – the fate of pets who were either abandoned or forced to remain when their owners were rescued. Immediately after the disaster, animal rescuers scoured the devastation and rescued thousands of animals left behind. Overwhelmed by the sheer numbers, most of the animals were shipped throughout the country to other shelters. Mine tells the story of the previous owner search for their pets and the battle with the new guardians for ownership of a beloved pet. If you love animals, you will appreciate this insightful documentary that raises questions and spurs on discussions.

Synopsis: Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda directed two previous triumphsAfter Life (1998) and Nobody Knows (2004) and Still Walking can be added to the list. Kore-eda films the familiar but always makes it come across as fresh. A family reunites for a day at the elderly parents’ home to commemorate the death of the eldest sibling who drowned saving a boy. Unmet expectations, simmering resentments and deep sadness are just below the surface as the day goes by.

Synopsis: Voted the Best Foreign Language Film of 2009 by critics, this meaningful film tells the divergent paths of 3 forty-something siblings who collide when their mother, heiress to her uncle's exceptional 19th century art collection, dies suddenly. Left to come to terms with themselves and their differences, Adrienne, a successful New York designer, Frederic, an economist and university professor in Paris, and Jeremie, a dynamic businessman in China, confront the end of childhood, their shared memories, background and unique vision of the future.

Synopsis: This feature length documentary chronicles the history, ideology and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal - a musical subculture infamous as much for a series of murders and church arsons as it is for its unique musical and visual aesthetics. The movie gets inside the minds and hearts of black metal's musicians and consequently their fans. Featuring: Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell, Varg Vikernes, Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg, Kjetil "Frost" Haraldstad, Ivar Bjornson, Abbath and Demonaz Doom Occulta, Kris "Garm" Rygg, Bjarne Melgaard, Harmony Korine, and more.

Synopsis: This fascinating documentary profiles Gertrude Berg, the most famous woman no one knew. Berg was the first woman to win an Emmy, wrote and acted in over 12,000 radio and television shows, and is credited for creating the sitcom. Through the story of this incredibly prolific, talented and pioneering woman, we learn about the early years of television, feminism and Jewish life in America. Sponsored by the MSU Jewish Studies, MSU Department of Telecommunications, Informational Studies and Media, the Lansing Chapter of Hadassah and the Greater Lansing Jewish Welfare Federation. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FILM IS BEING SHOWN ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. THERE IS NO THURSDAY SCREENING.