Ragtag Cinema’s upcoming series spans the globe from Sweden to Argentina, and it includes the first film to hit the United States from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 25 years. The sixth annual Passport Series begins Wednesday, Sept. 7.
“The Passport Series was created to showcase foreign language films from outside of our borders,” series founder Paul Sturtz says. “We wanted to see how we could expand, what was possible to exhibit at our theater in a fun, accessible, unpretentious way and to help make Columbia more of an internationally-minded city.”
Narrowing down the year’s top foreign language films is not an easy task. Passport VI organizer Chris Boeckmann says he’s been working on picking the films throughout the past year.
“I keep an eye on the New York releases, and I also pay attention to a lot of the major film festivals,” Boeckmann says. “I ended up watching about 30 films over the course of the process before trimming it down to about eight films.”
Opening with the Swedish film “Sound of Noise,” Passport Series VI will continue for seven weeks showing films from a various genres.
“I wasn’t going to attempt to put together an entire series full of crowd pleasers,” Boeckmann says. “I would rather put together a group of movies that people would care about in the next five years, as opposed to ones they’ll forget the next day.”
**The Films:**
“Sound of Noise,” Sept. 7 and 8 — The movie tagline calls it “the first musical cop movie.” “Sound of Noise” should be big crowd pleaser. Based on the short film, “Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers,” this Swedish film combines violence and music into what Boeckmann says is “like ‘STOMP’ only better.”
“The Robber,” Sept. 14 and 15 — A thriller from Germany and Austria, “The Robber” is based around Johann Kastenberg, a marathon-runner-turned-bank-robber in the 1980s. With masked robberies and chase scenes, this film is sure to thrill any closet gangster.
“Viva Riva!,” Sept. 21 and 22 — “Viva Riva!” is the first film out of the DRC in 25 years. Allison Willmore from The AV Club calls it “frenetic, sleazy, and entertaining as all hell.” This African thriller is sure to have some memorable performances.
“Our Beloved Month of August,” Sept. 28 and 29 — Ragtag is proud to present the last showing of this film before it is shipped back to Portugal to print. Boeckmann says this movie is one of the highlights of the series.
“I’m really excited to bring ‘Our Beloved Month of August,’” Boeckmann says. “I saw it over a year ago and totally fell in love with it. I think this movie is one of the best films I’ve seen in the last decade.”
“Tuesday, After Christmas,” Oct. 5 and 6 — This film portrays typical story of adultery between a man, his wife and his lover — only in a new light. This Romanian film is one of the few to make it to the U.S. and it brings over an award-winning ensemble cast.
“Northless,” Oct. 12 and 13 — A Mexican film that deals with border lines but not politics? Sounds like an oxymoron. Relationships formed at Tijuana are a central part of this film. “Northless” will also be shown with the Mexican short film, “Interview with the Earth.”
“The Lips,” Oct. 19 and 20 — It’s probably the lowest-profile film in the series and possibly the lowest-budget film in Passport’s history. Made with just $3,000, this film follows three social workers as they travel around the Argentina countryside helping villages.
“The White Meadows,” Oct. 26 and 27 — This film has an interesting backstory along with a beautiful plot. The two Iranian directors were imprisoned last year for “propaganda against the state,” but were still able to submit a film into Cannes Film Festival. With help from the Global Film Initiative, Ragtag is able to share this rare piece of filmmaking.
This year Ragtag will be giving out “passports” to moviegoers. If viewers see at least six of the eight films, their names will be entered to win passes to the St. Louis International Film Festival. Uprise Bakery bar will also provide an international mood, serving a signature drink from the country of each film.
Showings will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday nights, starting Sept. 7 and running through Oct. 27. Admission is $5 for Ragtag members and $8 for non-members.
