The highly anticipated film Hitchcock opens at a theater near you Nov 23. The film centers on the relationship between director Alfred Hitchcock and his wife/collaborator Alma Reville during the making of Psycho, touching on the horror of Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein, the real-life inspiration for the character of Norman Bates; to the release of the groundbreaking film in 1960. Anthony Hopkins plays Hitchcock with Helen Mirren as his wife and Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh.
If you’re a fan of sweeping epics with lavish period costumes, don’t miss Anna Karenina opening in theaters Nov 16. Set in late 19th-century Russian high society, Tolstoy’s timeless story powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart amid imperial St. Petersburg. Vibrant and beautiful, Anna Karenina (Keira Knightley) has what any of her contemporaries would aspire to: she is the wife of a high-ranking government official (Jude Law) and her social standing could scarcely be higher. But her decision to have an affair with Count Vronsky (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) will pierce the veneer of an image-obsessed culture, reverberating with romantic and tragic consequences that dramatically change her and the lives of all around her.
Don’t miss the 2012 Margaret Mead Film Festival, playing at the American Museum of Natural History Nov 29-Dec 2. The preeminent showcase for contemporary cultural storytelling, the festival encompasses a broad spectrum of work, from indigenous community media to experimental nonfiction. The outstanding selection of titles tackles diverse and challenging subjects, further explored in the forums with filmmakers, invited speakers and film protagonists. Highlights of this year’s festival include Children of Srikandi, the first movie created by and about queer women in Indonesia; The Other Half of Tomorrow, a vivid portrait of the lives of a diverse set of Pakistani women working to change their country; and Sweet Dreams, about a remarkable group of Rwandan women defying the devastation of genocide to form the country’s first all-female drumming troupe and open its first-ever ice cream shop.
