DISAPPEARING ACT V--with the new, the special, and the overlooked--fifth annual European film fest hits NYC, April 10-21

Can it really be that five years have passed since the first Disappearing Act made its debut here in New York City? I think so, because I just looked back and found my original post on it here. This festival -- initially dedicated to giving New Yorkers a second chance to see good films from all over eastern and western Europe (and, in later editions, Scandinavia) that may have opened here but then disappeared from view all too quickly -- is still delivering the goods. 

A lot has happened over the past five years so far as movies and the way we watch them have evolved. Almost nobody was streaming Netflix when Irena Kovarova, the woman who puts together this increasingly popular festival, delivered her first in this annual series. Yet by the time her second festival rolled around, the subject of the panel discussion she hosted in 2010 (click here to learn more) was The New World Distribution for Subtitled Films.  

This year's subject of the panel discussion?  Streaming as a Source of European Cinema. Clearly Ms Koravova was -- still is -- on to something. Although we see no dearth of foreign films opening here and in many major U.S. cities (a point TrustMovies actually made aloud during the Q&A of that first year's panel discussion), the fact that these movies make far too fast a disappearance is still, perhaps more than ever, true. What with anywhere from a dozen to as many as 30 new films opening up weekly in New York (19 new ones opened theatrically here in the city this week!), how can not many of these movies get lost in the increasingly enormous shuffle?

All of which makes Disappearing Acts a necessary and important part of the city's film-culture calendar. In addition to movies that have too quickly come and gone, Ms Kovarova includes a few NY, even international, premiers as well, and her little festival is growing nicely with each new year. It now offers three venues (see below) along with quite a expansive list of films to be seen.  TM has seen only four of the films screening this year: the interesting Italian movie Corpo Celeste (shown at top), a lovely French "family" film, Tomboy (two photos above);  the odd but relatively enjoyable Attenberg (shown above, from Greece), and the absolutely terrific Romanian film Tuesday After Christmas (shown below). For the rest, you're on your own, but given Kovorova's taste level and credentials as a film programmer, I'd say you're in good hands. And since almost all of these films are screened free of charge, this is a rare bargain for New Yorkers.

Below is all the information you'll need regarding the films, when and where they will be shown, and  how to get tickets (remember: most of these screenings are FREE, on a first-come, first-served basis!). For information and a description about each of the films, go to www.disappearingact.org and scroll down. 

April 10 & 18
OPENING NIGHT & SPECIAL SCREENING
IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue at West 3rd Street, New York
Subway:  A, C, B, D, E, F & M to West 4th St. station

April 9, 11-17 & 20
PRE-FESTIVAL EVENT & FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street bet. 1st and 2nd Avenues, New York
Subway: 6 to 68th Street Hunter College or 77th Street

April 19-21
FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), 36-01 35th Avenue, Astoria-Queens
Subway: M, R to Steinway Street, N, Q to 36th AvenueTickets to opening night screening of Play and special screening of Dreileben, Parts 1-3 are available for purchase at the IFC Center and online at www.ifccenter.com/series/disappearing-act-v/.
The Opening night screening will be followed by a party for ticket holders at Goethe-Institut Wyoming Building.

Opening night tickets: $15, seniors $12, IFC Center members $10. Tickets to Dreileben at IFC Center are $13.50 for general admission, $9.50 seniors, $8.50 IFC Center members for each individual film; tickets for the entire trilogy are $30 ($20 IFC Center members).  Admission to screenings at Museum of the Moving Image free with museum admission, ($12; seniors and students $9); tickets to Friday night screenings are $12 (seniors and students $9).

ADMISSION FREE TO ALL OTHER SCREENINGS on a first-come, first-served basis
Film descriptions and other info at www.DISAPPEARINGACT.ORGFestival blog: DISAPPEARINGACTBLOG.wordpress.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Disappearing-Act/529045513782246

Twitter: @DisappearingNYC

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
Pre-festival Event:
Tuesday, April 9 Bohemian National Hall
7:00PM Panel Discussion: Streaming as Source of European Cinema 
Panelists: Ira Deutchman, Emerging Pictures; Andrew Mer, Snagfilms; Delphine Selles-Alvarez, Cultural Services of the French Embassy Moderated by Irena Kovarova, Disappearing Act V curator and producer. Discussing: Streaming of films in theaters and for at home viewing and how can European partners boost the efforts of companies providing foreign language films via streaming to the public in the US?

Opening Night:
Wednesday, April 10 IFC Center
7:00PM Play, Sweden-France-Denmark, 2011, directed by Ruben Ostlund
Q&A with director Ruben OstlundFollowed by
Opening Party for ticketholders – music by DJ Sub-Bells and DJ Cosmo

Thursday, April 11 Bohemian National Hall
6:30PM 1395 Days Without Red (1395 dana bez crvene), UK-Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2011, directed by Sejla Kameric and Anri Sala – North American Premiere
8:00PM Kuma, Austria, 2012, directed by Umut Dag – NY Premiere
Q&A with actress Nihal Koldas

Friday,  April 12   Bohemian National Hall
6:30PM  Stars Above (Tahtitaivas talon ylla), Finland-Iceland, 2012, directed by Saara Cantell
8:30PM  Diamond Flash, Spain, 2011, directed by Carlos Vermut – North American Premiere

Saturday, April 13 Bohemian National Hall
3:30PM Small Crime ( Mikro eglima), Cyprus-Germany-Greece, 2008, directed by Christos Georgiou
5:30PM Made in Ash (Az do mesta As), Slovakia-Czech Republic, 2012, directed by Iveta Grofova – NY Premiere
7:15PM Tilva Rosh (Tilva Ros), Serbia, 2010, directed by Nikola Lezaic – NY Premiere
Q&A with director Nikola Lezaic

Sunday, April 14 Bohemian National Hall
3:30PM  Attenberg, Greece, 2010, directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari
5:30PM  The Taste of Creme Brulee (O Sabor do Leite Creme), Portugal, 2012, directed by Hiroatsu Suzuki and Rossana Torres – Intl. Premiere
7:00PM  Tuesday, After Christmas (Marti, dupa Craciun), Romania, 2010, directed by Radu Muntean

Monday, April 15 Bohemian National Hall
7:00PM  The Almost Man (Mer eller mindre mann), Norway, 2012, directed by Martin Lund – NY Premiere
Q&A with director Martin Lund

Tuesday, April 16 Bohemian National Hall
6:30PM  Living Afterwards (De leur vivant), Belgium, 2011, directed by Geraldine Doignon – NY Premiere
8:30PM  Lena, The Netherlands-Belgium, 2011, directed Christophe Van Rompaey – NY Premiere

Wednesday, April 17 Bohemian National Hall
6:30PM  Feed Me With Your Words (Nahrani me z besedami), Slovenia, 2012, directed by Martin Turk – NY Premiere
8:15PM  Flower Buds (Poupata), Czech Republic, 2011, directed by Zdenek Jirasky – NY Premiere
Q&A with director Zdenek Jirasky

Thursday,  April 18 IFC Center
Dreileben, Parts 1-3, Germany, 2011
6:30PM   Beats Being Dead (Etwas Besseres als den Tod), directed by Christian Petzold
8:15PM   Don’t Follow Me Around (Komm mir nicht nach), directed by Dominik Graf
10:00PM One Minute of Darkness (Eine Minute Dunkel), directed by Christoph Hochhaeusler

Friday, April 19 Museum of the Moving Image
7:00PM Rose (Roza), Poland, 2011, directed by Wojciech Smarzowski

Saturday, April 20 Museum of the Moving Image
3:00PM  Corpo Celeste, Italy-Switzerland-France, 2011, directed by Alice Rohrwacher
Bohemian National Hall
6:00PM  Mushrooming (Seenelkaik), Estonia, 2012, directed by Toomas Hussar – NY Premiere
8:00PM  The Boy Who Was a King (Momcheto, koeto beshe tsar), Bulgaria-Germany, 2011, directed by Andrey Paounov
Q&A with director Andrey Paounov

Sunday, April 21 Museum of the Moving Image
2:00PM  Summer Games (Giochi d’estate), Switzerland-Italy, 2011, directed by Rolando Colla – NY Premiere
4:30PM  Tomboy, France, 2011, directed by Celine Sciamma
7:00PM  The Exam (A vizsga), Hungary, 2011, directed by Peter Bergendy – NY Premiere
Q&A with screenwriter Norbert KobliMore information at www.DisappearingAct.org 

Disappearing Act V is presented by the Disappearing Act Festival Board, chaired by the Czech Center New York, in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut New York, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, the Austrian Cultural Forum New York, and the Polish Cultural Institute New York, organized in partnership with the Balassi Institute – Hungarian Cultural Center, the Belgian Tourist Office – French Speaking Belgium – Brussels Wallonia, the Consulate General of Cyprus, the Consulate General of Estonia, the Consulate General of Finland, the Consulate General of the Slovak Republic, the Consulate General of Sweden, the Consulate General of Switzerland, the Embassy of Portugal together with Instituto Camoes, the Embassy of Slovenia, the EYE Film Institute Netherlands, the IFC Center, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Museum of the Moving Image, the Norwegian Consulate General, the Onassis Foundation (USA), together with the Consulate General of Greece, Pragda, and the Romanian Film Initiative, and with support from the +421 Foundation, Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association, the Cyprus Federation of America, the Finnish Film Foundation, the Slovak Film Institute, Slovenian Film Centre, Spain Culture New York, and Wallonie Bruxelles Images. Disappearing Act V is an official project of the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC), sponsored in part by the Trust for Mutual Understanding, and the EU Delegation to the United Nations, additional support from Pilsner Urquell, Hospoda Restaurant, and Becherovka.

Curated and produced by Irena Kovarova. Production assistance by Sven Buehrer.

Special thanks to Alex Zucker, Jaap Verheul, Tomas Mazalek, Radka Ondrackova, and Amber Shields.