Annual Foreign Film Festival In Shrewsbury Kicks Off With 'Fred And Ginger'

SHREWSBURY, MA — The Friends of the Shrewsbury Library announced its 8th Annual February Foreign Film Festival, featuring four films to be shown at the Shrewsbury Public Library.

All films show at 2 p.m., and admission is free. Popcorn is provided, but bring your own beverage.

Sunday, Feb. 5 ~ Fred and Ginger PG-13 – Italy – 1986. Legendary Fellini, Oscar-nominated for such films as "La Dolce Vita", skewers society in general and TV. A winner of a Golden Globe as Best Foreign Language Film, it stars Giulietta Masina (Mrs. Fellini) and Marcello Mastroianni who portray two retired performers, Amelia and Pippo, who once wowed crowds with their dance recreations of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and are now reuniting for a nationwide TV special. The movie is a complex and coherent indictment of the shallowness of commercial television. In Italian with English subtitles 125 min

Sunday, Feb 12~ The Taste of Others R– France – 1999. Romantic comedy set in France's rustic Provence. An unpolished and ultra-pragmatic industrialist reluctantly attends a play in order to see his niece play a bit part. He is taken with the play's strangely familiar-looking leading lady. He remembers that he once hired and then promptly fired the actress as an English language tutor. He immediately goes out and signs up for language lessons. In French with English subtitles. 113 min

Sunday, Feb 19~ Before the Rain - Not Rated– Macedonia – 1994. Set against the background of political turbulence in Macedonia and contemporary London, three love stories intertwine to create a powerful portrait of modern Europe. 1995 Academy Award nomination as Best Foreign Language Film; Venice Film Festival 1994; Golden Lion for Best Film. In Macedonian, English and Albanian with English subtitles. 112 min

Sunday, Feb 26~ Three Seasons PG13 – American/ Vietnam– 1999. Poetic narrative about the "new" Vietnam: the first American independent film to be shot on location in that country. The film weaves three separate stories about four characters in Saigon and how their paths cross. Winner of the Grand Jury, Audience and Cinematography awards at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. In Vietnamese with English subtitles. 113 min

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