Passport to World Cinema

Passport to World Cinema brings a handpicked selection of the best international titles from around the globe to the PFS Roxy Theater for their first and often only opportunity to be seen on the big screen in Philadelphia. To enhance the viewing experience, in-depth discussions led by distinguished film critics and scholars follow the film screenings.

Like most teenagers, 16-year-old Ava is eager to assert her independence, frequently arguing with her parents and testing the limits of what she can get away with. But in the restrictive environment of contemporary Tehran, even Ava’s most minor infractions can lead to serious trouble. In writer/director Sadaf Foroughi’s gripping drama, a chaste encounter with a boy sets in motion a series of increasingly harsh responses from Ava’s overprotective mother, tyrannical school principal, and judgmental classmates. Based partially on events Foroughi’s own experiences of growing up in Iran, Ava creates an unforgettable portrait of a young woman striving desperately to assert herself in a suffocatingly strict society, and provides a blistering critique of female subjugation in the process.

Post-screening discussion with Patricia White, the Eugene Lang Research Professor of Film and Media Studies at Swarthmore College. Patricia is an interdisciplinary scholar, teacher, and advocate for feminist film.

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Known for quiet, heartrending family dramas such as Our Little Sister and After the Storm, Japanese master filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda (winner of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’or for Shoplifters) takes an inspired left turn with legal thriller The Third Murder. After ex-con Misumi (Masaharu Fukuyama) confesses to killing his boss, hotshot defense attorney Shigemori (Kôji Yakusho) is determined only to spare his client from the death penalty. But as he delves deeper into the case, Shigemori uncovers new details that cast serious doubt on Misumi’s version of events. Kore-eda lends his usual gift for probing his characters’ complex inner lives to this courtroom drama, makingThe Third Murder a subtle and perceptive exploration on crime, class, and the nature of truth.

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