FRIDAY, MARCH 12
THE REAL DRAGON EMPEROR This documentary applies recent archaeological research and imaging techniques to the tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, and the terra cotta warriors buried with him. (46 min) Noon, Grosvenor Auditorium, National Geographic Society, 1600 M St NW. Free.
THE LADY WITH THE DOG In this melancholy Chekhov adaptation, a Moscow banker and a young woman click while on holiday in Yalta — but both are contentedly married. (1960, 89 min) Rescheduled from Feb. 6. 2:30 pm, National Gallery of Art East Building auditorium. Free.
BUDDHA A new documentary on the Buddha's life and teachings, narrated by (who else?) Richard Gere. (2009, 112 min) Director David Grubin and Gaetano Kazuo Maida, elective director of the International Buddhist Film Festival, will attend this screening. 7 pm, National Gallery of Art East Building auditorium. Free.
SEX, OKRA & SALTED BUTTER In this comedy, an African family's traditional values take a beating from everyday life (and love) in Paris. (2008, 80 min) 7 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
ADRIFT During a lethargic summer in Hanoi, a neglected young wife gets involved in a love triangle between her best friend and a stranger. (2009) Sponsored by Reel Worldwide Underground Link. 8 pm, Letelier Theater, courtyard, 3251 Prospect St NW. $8.
GLORIOUS EXIT This documentary follows a Swiss-Nigerian actor who returns from L.A. to Africa to assume the first-born's responsibility to arrange his father's funeral — even though his family and the local community don't really accept him. (2008, 75 min) 9 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
THE WHITE STRIPES: UNDER GREAT WHITE NORTHERN LIGHTS This lively documentary follows the duo's 2007 Canadian tour, which featured such characteristic stunts as a show in every province and territory and impromptu performances in unexpected locations. (2009, 93 min) 9:45 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
BLACK DYNAMITE In this playful homage to '70s "blaxploitation" flicks, (Michael Jai White) battles his way to Honky House after The Man assaults The Ghetto with adulterated malt liquor. (2009, 84 min) 11 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW The misbegotten child of Frankenstein and Ziggy Stardust, this is the original midnight movie, hated by theater cleaning crews everywhere. (1975, 100 min) Midnight, Landmark E Street, 11th & E Sts NW. $10.
SATURDAY, MARCH 13
FANTASTIC MR. FOX This over-extended stop-action animation version of Roald Dahl's story is not as indigestible as Where the Wild Things Are, but has a similar arrested-development quality. The Clooney-voiced Fox isn't as a cute as he thinks he is — and neither is director Wes Anderson. 10:30 am, Avalon Theater, 5612 Connecticut Ave NW. $10.50.
EAST SIDE, WEST SIDE Shot all around 1920s Manhattan, this is the tale of a bargeman whose survives his ship's sinking and washes up on Lower East Side, where he's rescued by a Jewish family whose daughter shows an interest in him. (1927, 90 min) With musical accompaniment by Andrew Simpson. 1 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
STATE FAIR An apparent Meet me in St. Louis knockoff, this middling Rodgers and Hammerstein musical is set at Iowa State Fair. (1945, 100 min) 2 pm, Middle C Music, 4530 Wisconsin Ave NW. Free.
BLACK TO OUR ROOTS Local filmmaker Ras Tre Subira follows a 17-year-old girl who leaves an Atlanta housing project and travels to Ghana in hopes of understanding her African heritage. The director will attend this screening. (2006, 52 min) 2:45 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $5.
BRIGHTON ROCK A surprisingly feral Richard Attenborough plays Pinkie, a baby-faced gangster, in this excellent adaptation of Graham Greene's novel, co-scripted by Greene and Terence Rattigan. Leading a youth gang that's beginning to intrude on the turf of older thugs, Pinkie knocks off a rival — and then decides to marry the waitress who knows what happened, so she can't testify against him. Pinkie is too evil to even pretend to be nice for long, but the mordantly ironic kicker preserves his reputation — at least for one person. (1947, 92 min) 3 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert are among the performers in John Ford's first color film, an account of 18th-century settlers on New York state's frontier. (1939, 103 min) 3 pm, National Gallery of Art East Building auditorium. Free.
ADERA An Ethiopian immigrant soon discovers that Johannesburg offers no improvement over her previous life, and becomes a surrogate mother for a wealthy Ethiopian couple whose lives are entwined with that of a scheming middleman. (2009, 107 min) 5 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
THE SHAFT Set in a shabby mining town in western China, this movie tells the interlocking stories of a father, son, and daughter. (2008) Sponsored by Reel Worldwide Underground Link. 5 pm, Letelier Theater, courtyard, 3251 Prospect St NW. $8.
OCEAN OF AN OLD MAN This Indian drama is about an elderly British schoolteacher who searches for missing students on the remote islands of Andaman and Nicobar after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. (2008) Sponsored by Reel Worldwide Underground Link. 7 pm, Letelier Theater, courtyard, 3251 Prospect St NW. $8.
NO TIME TO DIE In this romantic comedy that's also a primer on Ghanaian funeral traditions, a hearse driver falls in love with a dancer who's planning her mother's elaborate tribute. (2006, 95 min) 7:30 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH In this post-apartheid drama, a librarian who stayed in South Africa reckons with the life of his late brother, who became a hero of the struggle while in exile in London. Writer-director John Kani, who plays the lead role, originally produced this script as a play, which was widely acclaimed. (2008, 118 min) 9:30 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
BLACK DYNAMITE See March 12. Midnight, AFI.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW See March 12. Midnight, E Street.
SUNDAY, MARCH 14
LITTLE FUGITIVE A precursor to Truffaut's The 400 Blows, this is the tale of a Brooklyn boy who's convinced he caused the death of his older brother. He runs away to Coney Island and camps under the boardwalk while his family searches for him. (1953, 80 min) 12:45 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
THE KARMA KAGYU TRADITION ON FILM Three short documentaries about the Buddhist tradition associated with the Encampment style of Tibetan painting. Producer Greg Eller and Gaetano Kazuo Maida, executive director of the International Buddhist Film Festival, will attend this screening. 2 pm, Freer/Sackler Galleries, 12th & Independence Ave SW. Free; tickets distributed one hour before screening.
DOWNHILL RACER Robert Redford plays an obsessive member of the U.S. Olympic ski team in Michael Ritchie's debut film, which features Gene Hackman as the skier's coach. (1969, 101 min) 2:30 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
FOOTBALL FABLES This documentary follows an African teenager who has the talent, but perhaps not the luck, to make it in European pro soccer. (2009, 52 min) 2:45 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $5.
OCEAN OF AN OLD MAN See March 13. 3 pm, Letelier.
THE SHAFT See March 13. 5 pm, Letelier.
THE RED SHOES Adapted from a Hans Christian Andersen tale, writer-directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's rhapsodic ballet film (recently sampled in Coppola's Tetro) set the standard for dance flicks. (1948, 133 min) 4:30 pm, National Gallery of Art East Building auditorium. Free.
SEX, OKRA & SALTED BUTTER See March 12. 5 pm, AFI.
GLORIOUS EXIT See March 12. 7:15 pm, AFI.
ADERA See Marc 13. 9:30 pm, AFI.
MONDAY, MARCH 15
THE REAL DRAGON EMPEROR See March 12. Noon, National Geographic.
FOR TOMORROW: THE STORY AND POETRY OF HILDA STERN COHEN This new documentary brings to life the poetry of German-born writer Hilda Stern Cohen, whose verse was composed in the Lodz ghetto during World War II and a displaced persons camp in Austria after the war, and was discovered only after her death in Baltimore in 1997. (2010, 90 min) 6:30 pm,
IN MY GENES This Kenyan documentary is about the plight of sub-Saharan Africans born with albinism. (2009, 77 min) 7 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
FROM A WHISPER Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, this Kenyan documentary explores the post-blast lives of two survivors, an artist and an intelligence officer. (2008, 79 min) 8:45 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
TUESDAY, MARCH 16
GASLAND After receiving an offer to sell his land for Halliburton's new gas-extraction process known as "fracking," filmmaker Josh Fox visited 32 states to meet other rural residents whose land is also coveted by energy companies that hope to tap into the "Saudi Arabia of natural gas." The results include toxic streams, ruined aquifers, dying livestock, mysterious illnesses and home water pipes that burst into flame. (2010, 107 min) Followed by a discussion with Fox. Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 7 pm, Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Institution for Science, 1530 P St NW.
THE GREEN SLIME Returning to a space station from a successful emergency mission, some astronauts inadvertently bring with them a green goo that mutates into hostile one-eyed creatures that feed on electricity. Shot in Japan with a mostly American cast, supplemented by off-duty USAF personnel, this below-B movie was directed by Kinji (Battle Royale) Fukasaku, whose work was later to be among Tarantino's inspirations for Kill Bill. (1968, 90 min) 8 pm, Washington Psychotronic Film Society. The Warehouse, 1021 7th St NW. Free; $2 donation requested.
BRIGHTON ROCK See March 13. 9 pm, AFI.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17
THE REAL DRAGON EMPEROR See March 12. Noon, National Geographic.
WATERLIFE This Canadian documentary explores the Great Lakes, which contain 20 percent of the planet's fresh water — but are being compromised by toxins, sewage, invasive species, and dropping water levels. (2009, 109 min) Followed by a discussion with filmmaker Kevin McMahon. Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 6 pm, Embassy of Canada, 401 Pennsylvania Ave NW. Free; Reservations required: canadianembassywaterlife.eventbrite.com.
DEAR MY LOVE Inspired by a few of the 86,441 missives to Japan's "Love Letters at 60" project, this film looks at three older Tokyo couples as they try to reinvigorate their marriages. (2009, 129 min) 6:30 pm, Japan Information and Culture Center, 1155 21st St NW. Free; reservations required. RSVP to jiccrsvpspring09@embjapan.org.
UN PETIT COIN DE PARADIS A documentary about a cross-generational project to transform an abandoned Swiss ghost town into an eco-village. (2008, 85 min) Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 6:30 pm, Embassy of Switzerland, 2900 Cathedral Ave NW.
CARMEN A film of a La Scala performance of Bizet's opera. 7 pm, Atlas Theater, 1333 H St NE.
THE GREEN HOUSE: DESIGN IT. BUILD IT. LIVE IT. This documentary observes the building of the first carbon-neutral house and the designing of the D.C.'s area's green show house, in McLean. (2010, 90 min.) Followed by a discussion with filmmakers Jason Scadron and Liv Violette, builder Mark Turner, and designers Barry Dixon and Ernesto Santalla. Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 7 pm, Landmark E Street, 11th & E Sts NW.
LITTLE FUGITIVE See March 14. 7 pm, AFI.
UTOPIA This documentary proposes a few possible systems to bring us closer to a utopian world where environmental crises — and social and spiritual ones — are diminished. (2008, 76 min) Followed by a discussion with filmmaker Alex Ruiz. Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 7 pm, GALA Hispanic Theater, 3333 14th Street NW. Free.
YO SOY EL OTRO Activists from Ecuador, South Korea, Italy, Venezuela and the Western Sahara describe their campaigns in this Venezuelan documentary. Topics include farmers' movements, conserving natural resources, and opposition to corporate control and disruptive cultural imports. (2008, 84 min.) Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 7 pm, Embassy of Venezuela, 1099 30th St NW. Free; Reservations required: rsvp@embavenez-us.org.
THE LAST GIANTS A look at the recently charted natural paradise beneath the waters of the Straits of Gibraltar, which is home to more species of whales than anywhere else on Earth. This German film focuses on Katharina Heyer, who is fighting to protect whales, dolphins and other sea creatures in this area, and who struggled with governments on two continents to create a hospital for marine life in Gibraltar. (2009, 90 min.) Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 7:15 pm, Goethe-Institut, 812 Seventh St NW. Free.
FRESH This documentary is about farmers and business people who are attempting to remake American agriculture to address such issues as pollution, resource depletion, food contamination, and sustainability. Followed by a discussion with filmmaker Ana Sofia Jones, Polyface Farms owner Joel Salatin, and Freshfarm Markets co-director Ann Yonkers. Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 7:30 pm, Grosvenor Auditorium, National Geographic Society, 1600 M St NW. $18.
CRAZY DRIVING (PETITES VACANCES A KNOKKE-LE-ZOUTE) After raising her three sons, Micheline decides to learn to drive. Her Francophone Swiss family is not supportive, but Micheline is helped by young autistic neighbor who knows all the road signs by heart. (2009, 86 min) 8 pm, Avalon Theater, 5612 Connecticut Ave NW. $10.50.
BRIGHTON ROCK See March 13. 8:45 pm, AFI.
THURSDAY, MARCH 18
THE BURNING SEASON The annual burning of rainforests in Indonesia decimates areas the size of Denmark to develop palm oil plantations. The destruction eliminates the habitat of orangutans, and endangered species, and significantly increases global carbon emissions. This Australian documentary is about Dorjee Sun, a young entrepreneur who travels the globe to find investors for his carbon-trading scheme to save the forests. (2009, 90 min) Followed by a discussion with filmmaker Cathy Henkel. Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. Noon, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 1300 Pennsylvania Av NW. Free.
THE LAST DAYS OF SHISHMAREF This Dutch documentary is about an Inupiaq Eskimo community in northwest Alaska, on a island just below the Arctic Circle. As the ice beneath the village melts, home fall into the ocean; the entire settlement may disappear in the next 10 years. (2008, 91 min.) Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 6:30 pm, Royal Netherlands Embassy, 4200 Linnean Ave NW. Free; reservations required: DutchFilm@aol.com.
MOVING MIDWAY Click here for a review of this first-person documentary about the relocation of a North Carolina mansion whose environs have been swallowed by sprawl development. (2008, 98 min) Followed by a discussion with filmmaker Godfrey Cheshire. Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 6:30 pm,
National Building Museum, 401 F St NW. $12; reservations recommended.
THE PIGEON GAME A Taiwanese film about a professional pigeon racer who needs a new winning streak to support his family. Shown with THE BUTTERFLY CODE, a documentary about Parantica sita, an East Asian butterfly that may be capable of flying nearly the 1200 km from Taiwan to Japan. Sponsored by the Asia Society. 6:30 pm, GWU Harry Harding Auditorium, 1957 E St NW. $10.
THE PROJECTIONIST A meek film projectionist Chuck McCann imagines a heroic life as fantasized alter ego Captain Flash, all while being abused by his boss (the big-screen debut of Rodney Dangerfield). (1971, 88 min) 7 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
TERRA MADRE Veteran Italian director Ermanno Olmi's latest film travels from the Terra Madre conference, coordinated by the Slow Food movement, to an underground global seed vault in the Arctic, the farm of Indian eco-philosopher Vandana Shiva, and the abandoned home of a Italian hermit whose traditional farming practices were sustainability before that term became a buzzword. (2009, 79 min.) Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 7 pm, Landmark E Street, 11th & E Sts NW.
THE TWO HORSES OF GENGHIS KHAN A folk singer travels through Mongolia to find the missing verses of an ancient song in the new narrative documentary from Byambasuren Davaa (The Story of the Weeping Camel). (2009, 91 min) Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 7 pm, Grosvenor Auditorium, National Geographic Society, 1600 M St NW. $10.
COLONY This Irish documentary focuses on a veteran beekeeper and two brothers new to beekeeping as they contend with the phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder, which has emptied beehives around the world. (2009, 87 min) Sponsored by the Environmental Film Festival. 7:15 pm, American Film Institute Silver Theater, 8633 Colesville Rd. $10.
BRIGHTON ROCK See March 13. 9 pm, AFI.