MMI

There’s nothing like Paris in the summer. Actually, Madrid, Vienna, Prague, and Athens are nice, too. But what’s really exceptional is enjoying these cultures and vistas while staying in Western Queens.

Panorama Europe 2015 opens on May 29 and runs until June 14. This seventh annual festival will screen 16 new films — from Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Spain — at the Museum of the Moving Image in the Kaufman Arts District and the Bohemian Beer Hall in Manhattan, with a special closing ceremony featuring live music by the Flemish band St. Grandson in the museum’s courtyard. Here’s the schedule.

Gods (Poland), with director Lukasz Palkowski in person, May 29, 7 pm. Gods is a biopic chronicling Zbigniew Religa, the pioneering Polish surgeon who defied the Communist bureaucracy of the 1980s to perform the country’s first heart transplant.

Afterlife (Hungary), May 30, 2 pm (and June 4 at 7 pm at Bohemian National Hall). Afterlife is about a pastor and son who get a shot at reconciling their relationship after the pastor’s unexpected death. It’s part coming-of-age tale, part comic ghost story.

The Tree (Slovenia), May 30, 4 pm. The Tree depicts a mother and her two sons who live as prisoners in their own home due to their fear of the outside world.

I Can Quit Whenever I Want (Italy), May 31, 2 pm. I Can Quit tells the tale of some academics who hope to earn quick cash by entering the drug racket. Their designer drug turns out to be all the rage, but handling success isn’t so easy.

Xenia (Greece), May 31, 4 pm. A gay teenager and his older brother journey across Greece in search of their estranged father.

The World (Albania), with co-director Iris Elezi in person, May 31, 7 pm. The World shows the intersecting lives of three people working at an offbeat café in a small village.

The Way Out (Czech Republic), June 5, 7 pm (and June 2 at 7 pm, at Bohemian National Hall). The Way follows a young Romany woman who perseveres in the face of anti-gypsy racism to find steady employment.

Cowboys (Croatia), June 6, 2 pm. The Wild West and Eastern Europe collide in Cowboys, a comedy in which a prominent theater director mounts a bizarre cowboy musical in a bleak industrial town.

In the Crosswind (Estonia) June 7, 2 pm. Crosswind recounts one woman’s harrowing, true-life tale of survival during Stalin’s ethnic cleansing of the Baltic region.

The Gambler (Lithuania), with actress Oona Mekas in person, June 7, 4 pm. Gambler is a thriller about a paramedic with a gambling addiction who collects big time when he starts taking bets on whether his patients live or die.

In the Basement (Austria), June 7, 7 pm. Basement is a documentary that visits the basements of middle-class Austrians to share the odd, disturbing, and touching findings in these private spaces.

Breathe (France), June 13, 2 pm. Breathe chronicles two teenage girls’ perfect friendship as it turns toxic.

The Unexpected Life (Spain), June 13, 4 pm. An actor and Spanish ex-pat living in Manhattan bonds with his more conventional cousin in this bittersweet comedy.

Magical Girl (Spain), June 14, noon. Magical Girl is a neo-noir tale of a father desperate to fulfill his dying daughter’s last wish: to own an expensive dress from her favorite Japanese anime.

Age of Cannibals (Germany), June 14, 3 pm (and June 9, 7 pm at Bohemian National Hall). A satire of capitalism about two slimy international business consultants who head for a breakdown of epic proportions after not getting promotions.

Violet (Belgium), June 14, 7 pm, preceded by live music by the Flemish band St. Grandson. Violet evokes the disorientation of grief as a troubled teen deals with the emotional fallout of witnessing his friend’s murder.

Details: Panorama Europe 2015, Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35th Avenue, Kaufman Arts District, all screenings $12.

Photo via the Museum of the Moving Image


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