DARK HARBOR: Shot off the coast of Maine, there's plenty of buzz about this tense, elegant thriller. Evoking Hitchcock at his best, DARK HARBOR stars Alan Rickman, Polly Walker and Norman Reedus. New England premiere! 7/9-7:00-OH, repeats 7/10-1:00-OH

RR1=Railroad Square Cinema screening room #1

RR2=Railroad Square Cinema screening room #2

OH=Waterville Opera House

THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED: A retelling of "The Thousand and One Arabian Nights," this enchanting 1926 film is the first feature-length animated movie ever made! San Francisco composer Shawn Garmon conducts and leads an ensemble of musicians to accompany this unbelievably beautiful, newly restored film. 7/18-7:30-OH 
 

MIFF is honored to bestow its first lifetime achievement award on one of the greatest, most distinctive directors in contemporary film. Jos Stelling's 25-year career has produced dazzling, imaginative films, which have earned numerous awards and European acclaim. Stelling himself will be present to introduce this, the first US retrospective of his work! 

THE POINTSMAN & THE WAITING ROOM: Considered Stelling's masterpiece, THE POINTSMAN makes the Railroad Square Cinema staff's top five of all time list. THE WAITING ROOM is a truly hilarious (yet sensitive) excursion into the logical consequences of lust. 7/10-7:00-OH, 
7/11-1:00-OH 

THE ILLUSIONIST: Winner of the Dutch 0scar equivalent, THE ILLUSIONIST uses no words to tell a wild, dreamlike story of two brothers who live in a windmill. 7/12-5:15-RR2 

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN: The most expensive Dutch film ever made, this lavish epic of a young man's quest for treasure—and the father he's never met—is shown in its US premiere! 7/13-7:00-RR1 

MARIKEN: Stelling's first feature, a modern version of a medieval miracle play. 7/11-5:30-RR1 

TRIBUTE TO ILDIKO ENYEDI

Winner of the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival (for MY 20th CENTURY), Ildiko Enyedi is one of the most important voices in international film—and one of the most playful. MIFF is thrilled to honor her, and to have her visiting us from her native Hungary. 

MAGIC HUNTER: An amazing fable spanning the middle ages and the present day, the story of a policeman 
who inadvertently makes a pact with the devil. 7/17-1:00-RR1 

ENYEDI SURPRISE: We can't reveal details, but we'll be screening the American premiere of an Enyedi work as yet unseen outside Hungary! 7/16-7:00-OH 

MY 20TH CENTURY: Enyedi's critically-acclaimed debut follows twin sisters separated in early childhood as they reunite on the cusp of the twentieth century. 7/18-3:00-RR1 

TAMAS AND JULI: Part of the 2000 Seen By... series, TAMAS AND JULI is the story of a young miner and the woman he loves, separated from one another on the last day of the century. 7/17-7:00-RR1 

2000 SEEN BY . . .

Seven remarkable independent filmmakers from around the world have each created a prophetic tale of what will happen when we enter the next millennium. 

THE BOOK OF LIFE: From ultra-hip director Hal Hartley comes this offbeat take on Doomsday, which seems to kick off at JFK airport. Featuring P.J. Harvey. 7/10-9:30-RR1, 7/11-9:15-RR1 

THE FIRST NIGHT OF MY LIFE: A young Spanish couple find their New Year's plans turned upside-down by a series of misunderstandings, lost cars, and a baby who can't wait to be born. 7/17-9:00-RR1 

THE HOLE: At once subtle, moving, and funny, this apocalyptic film from acclaimed Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-Liang explores the impossibility of communication between urban dwellers. 7/13-9:15-RR2 

LIFE ON EARTH (shown with RIVER OF SAND): In Mali, the millennium is overheard on the radio: another event in a world that seems to have passed the country by. A superb film. 7/11-3:15-RR1, 7/12-7:00-RR1 

THE SANGUINAIRES: Francois is determined to escape millennial hysteria by retreating to a tiny island but soon he realizes that distancing himself from the world (and the woman he loves) is harder than he expected. 7/15-9:15-RR1 

THE WALL: Alain Berliner (MA VIE EN ROSE) directed this story of cultural and linguistic conflict—and the humble shopkeeper caught in the middle. 7/15-9:15-RR1 

ALL THE LITTLE ANIMALS: Starring famed British actors John Hurt and Christian Bale, this is the story of a man who makes it his mission to honor and bury animals who have been killed by cars—and of his new apprentice. 7/12-7:15-RR2, 7/13-4:45-RR2, 7/17-1:15-OH 

ALMA: The twisted life of a woman named Alma Thorpe—a heady Southern Gothic cocktail, part Faulkner, part Tennessee Williams, part John Waters, and 100% real. 7/10-5:15-RR2, 7/12-9:15-RR2 

BEST LAID PLANS: US premiere! A dazzling contemporary thriller with as many twists and turns as THE USUAL SUSPECTS, BEST LAID PLANS stars Reese Witherspoon and Josh Brolin. 7/13-7:00-OH, 7/14-5:00-RR2, 7/15-7:15-RR2 

BEST OF FEST: Three repeat screenings of audience favorites! Titles available on Friday, 7/16! 
7/18-1:00, 3:15, 5:15-RR2 

BLACK TEARS: The Old Troubadors (aka 'the Grandfathers of Salsa') are five Cuban musicians with over 400 years of experience between them. This documentary captures their dynamic world tour. 7/16-7:00-RR2, 7/17-5:15-RR1 

THE BOYS: A gripping drama from Australia, where it won several Aussie Oscars, THE BOYS features a flawiess ensemble, including David Wenham and Toni Collette. 7/10-7:15-RR2, 7/12-5:00-RR1 

LES BOYS II: Sequel to last year's smash hit LES BOYS—the most successful Quebecois film ever, and the story of the funniest, toughest garage league hockey team ever. 7/15-7:00-OH, 7/16-9:15-RR1, 7/18-12:45-RR1 

DANCEMAKER: Academy Award-nominated documentary about choreographer Paul Taylor, focusing on his life, his work, and the behind-the-scenes world of professional dance. 7/11-1:15-RR1, 7/14-9:15-RR2, 7/17-5:15-RR2

THE DINNER GAME: Bring the stupidest person you can find to dinner and you win: a sparkling comedy about yuppies and social manipulation from French director Francis Veber (LA CAGE AUX FOLLES). 7/11-7:00-RR2, 7/17-3:15-RR1 

DREAMING OF JOSEPH LEES: Starring Rupert Graves and Samantha Morton, this is the story of an English housewife whose obsessions with a local celebrity spin several lives out of control. 7/10-1:15-RR1, 7/14-5:15-RR1 

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT: The Beatles! 35th anniversary re-release, newly restored with never-before-seen footage! 7/14-7:00-OH, 7/16-11:30-RR1, 7/17-11:30-RR1 

HEART OF LIGHT: Set against the breathtaking splendor of Greenland's icy landscapes, HEART OF LIGHT is the story of one man's perilous odyssey to his roots. 7/9-7:30-RR1, 7/11-5:15-RR2 

HELEN NEARING: CONSCIOUS LIVING/ CONSCIOUS DYING: Filmmaker Polly Bennell will present a work-in-progress screening of this biography of Maine author/homesteader Helen Nearing. Audience input and discussion welcomed. 7/17-7:00-OH 

INTIMATE LIGHTING: Acclaimed Czech director Ivan Passer's gentle, quietly comic film about a Prague cellist and his sophisticated girifriend visiting friends in a bucolic village. Restored by Bangor's National Film Museum. World restoration premiere! 7/10-1:00-RR2, 7/17-3:30-RR2 

JEANNE AND THE PERFECT GUY: In the tradition of Jacques Demy (THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG), this contemporary French musical explodes with color, song, and emotion. A freespirited woman finds her soulmate...who happens to be HIV positive. 7/13-9:30-RR1, 7/14-7:00-RR2 

LA CIUDAD: Overwhelmingly acclaimed, gorgeous and moving four-part drama (shot in black and white) about illegal Latino immigrants in New York. A revelation. 7/10-3:15-RR1, 7/11-7:15-RR1 

LAST DAYS OF MAY: Director George Spyros presents his award-winning, quirky film about a young woman breaking ties with her mother. 7/15-5:00-RR1, 7/17-9:15-RR2 

LEILA: Many critics think the best films in the world today are being made in Iran, and Iran's long time leading director is Dariush Mehrjui. The expertly-acted LEILA, about a marriage that founders around extended family issues, is perhaps his finest work to date. 7/10-3:00-RR2, 7/11-1:00-RR2 

A LITTLE BIT OF SOUL: Part screwball comedy, part mad-scientist flick, A LITTLE BIT OF SOUL stars Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush (SHINE). 7/16-7:00-RR1, 7/18-1:00-OH 

THE LOVERS ON THE BRIDGE (LES AMANTS DE PONT-NEUF): Academy Award winner Juliette Binoche plays a homeless artist who finds life and love in the streets of Paris in a legendary film finally shown in the US after a 7 year wait. 7/11-9:15-RR2, 7/18-5:00, RR1 

LUCIE AUBRAC: The director of JEAN DE FLORETTE and MANON OF THE SPRING tells a suspenseful and moving tale of love, courage and a daring Wartime rescue, based on Resistance heroine Lucie Aubrac's autobiographical novel. 7/10-9:15-RR2 

MENDING WAYS: Steve Schecter, WlNDHORSE's cinematographer, returns to the festival with the world premiere of his fascinating documentary about the marital and sexual practices of a Brazilian native tribe. 7/15-5:15-RR2, 7/17-1:15-RR2 

THE MONKEY KID: Xiao-Yen Wang's extraordinary autobiographical film about a spirited 9-year-old girl growing up during China's Cultural Revolution. 7/16-9:30-RR2 

MY MOTHER'S EARLY LOVERS: Vermont filmmaker Nora Jacobson will present her film, a drama based on a real diary kept by writer Sybil Smith's mother. 7/15-7:00-RR1

PENNYWEIGHT: A guaranteed-entertaining evening with young Portland filmmakers Kyle Rankin and Efram Potelle, including the spoof THE MAKING OF PENNYWEIGHT. 7/14-7:15-RR1 

PRIVATE DICKS: MEN EXPOSED: Searsmont-raised filmmaker Meema Spadola (BREASTS) returns to MIFF with her latest documentary in which men discuss their sexual organs with honesty, humor and poignancy. 7/10-3:15-OH, 7/11-7:00-OH 

PROPHECY: The most unintentionally hilarious film ever set in Maine! Stars Talia Shire and the hideous monster "Ka-tah-din." 7/9-11:15-RR1, 7/10-11:15-RR1 

THE RACE TO SAVE 100 YEARS: Karan Sheldon of Northeast Historic Films hosts an evening of wonders from our past, including a look at the art of film preservation. Live music accompaniment to priceless silent film treasures— several shot in Maine. 7/10-7:15-RR1 

RIVER OF SAND (shown with LIFE ON EARTH): Robert Lang's film follows the great Canadian singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn on a journey to the edge of the Sahara and a meeting with legendary African guitarist Ali Farka Toure. 7/11-3:15-RR1, 7/12-7:00-RR1 

SHE WALKS ON AIR: Work-in-progress screening of excerpts from Dana Rae Warren's film about the University of Maine women's basketball team. 7/10-5:00-OH 

Sl JE COMPRENDS BIEN/A LA PROCHAIN FOIS: Work-in-progress screening with Maine filmmaker Ben Levine, who examines the threatened state of French language and culture in our state and in Quebec. 7/16-4:45-RR2 

SONATINE: Red-hot Japanese director Takeshi Kitano's cool, minimalist film about a Japanese yakuza gangster on assignment in Okinawa. 7/9-9:30-RR2, 7/15-9:15-RR2 

SOUVENIR: An extraordinary stream-of-consciousness film about the persistence of memory, featuring Kristin Scott Thomas, the voice of Christina Ricci, and computer graphics by legendary French director Chris Marker (LA JETEE). 7/16-5:15-RR1, 7/17-7:15-RR2 

SUPER CHIEF: Part of an evening of The Best from the New England Film and Video Festival, SUPER CHIEF takes us to a bitter Minnesota native American tribal election. Shown with fabulous animated shorts ROOST and HAIRY MAN. 7/13-7:00-RR2 

THOSE WHO LOVE ME CAN TAKE THE TRAIN: Winner of the 1999 French Oscar for Best Director. A group of relatives, friends and lovers of a famous painter—whose life and work respected no conventional cultural or sexual boundaries—travel across France for his funeral. 7/12-9:15-RR1, 7/14-9:00-RR2 

A TIME TO DANCE: Dance movement therapy pioneer Norma Canner, one of the liveliest human beings on this planet, along with director Webb Wilcoxen, will present this new film on her life and work, the inspiring story of a remarkable woman. 7/12-7:00-OH, 7/13-5:15-RR1 

THE UNDERGROUND ORCHESTRA: This glorious, moving documentary profiles international musicians who play on the sidewalks of Paris and in the Metro. 7/9-7:15-RR2, 7/10-5:00-RR1 

THE WRIGHT BROTHERS: Perhaps one of the most innovative biographies you'll ever see: the timeless telling of a story of high hopes and dreams, a fiction film about real life figures Wilbur and Orville, full of conscious anachronisms. 7/9-9:15-RR1, 7/11-3:15-RR2