Virtual Cinema and Conversations with the Filmmakers

Over the next month, the Sag Harbor Cinema will transport audiences to new worlds — virtually speaking — in Brazil, India, Italy, Ukraine, Turkey and around the United States through its virtual cinema and weekly “Cinema Live” conversations.

“The Sunday live conversations have been allowing us to connect our viewers more intimately with the films we show in the virtual cinema and to introduce to our community exciting directors from all over the world,” said the cinema’s artistic director, Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan. “Both on part of the filmmakers and on the audience, the response has been great. I really look forward to this upcoming lineup.”

In addition to the new films, which can be accessed at sagharborcinema.org/cinema-live, catch up on previous Cinema Live conversations with Gianfranco Rosi (“Notturno”), Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero (“Identifying Features”), Pietro Marcello (“Martin Eden”), John Powers (“The World of Wong Kar Wai”) and Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelle (“Bacurau” and “Neighboring Sounds”).

Conversation with Graham Leader (producer of “Heartworn Highways”)

Producer Graham Leader joins Sag Harbor Cinema to discuss his newly-restored documentary “Heartworn Highways.” The film includes rarely-captured performances of the outlaw musicians as they perfected their style and changed the course of country music history forever. The film will be available in the SHC virtual cinema on February 26.

Sunday, March 7, 4:30 p.m.

Conversation with Ramin Bahrani (director of “The White Tiger”)

Ramin Bahrani (“Goodbye Solo,” “99 Homes”) talks about his newest film “The White Tiger.” Adapted from Aravin Adiga’s best-selling novel, starring Indian superstar Pryianka Chopra and hailed newcomer Adarsh Gourav, the film follows Balram, an ambitious young driver for a rich Indian family, who uses his wit and cunning to escape poverty. “The White Tiger” is available to watch on Netflix.

Sunday, March 14, 5 p.m.

Conversation with Elizabeth Lo (director of “Stray”)

Award winning director Elizabeth Lo will discuss her new film “Stray.” Seen through the eyes of three stray dogs wandering the streets of Istanbul, the film explores what it means to live as a being without status or security. “Stray” will be available in the SHC virtual cinema on March 5.

Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles

Brazil/France, 2019; 131 mins, in English and Portuguese with English subtitles

Bacurau, a fictional village in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants (among them Brazilian superstar Sônia Braga) notice that the village has literally vanished from online maps and a UFO-shaped drone is seen flying overhead. With a story as stunningly told as it is shot, “Bacurau” is one of the most unique, weird western, political thrillers of all time. It was the recipient of the Jury Prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival and included in dozens of other festivals. Former President Barack Obama included “Bacurau” on his list of favorite films of 2020.

Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho

Brazil, 2012; 131 mins, in Portuguese with English subtitles

On a quiet city block in the coastal city of Recife, ruled by an aging patriarch and his sons, a recent spate of petty crime has rattled the nerves of its well-to-do residents. When a mysterious security firm is brought in to watch over the neighborhood, it sparks the fears and anxieties of a divided society still haunted by its past. The New York Times listed Mendonça’s directorial debut “Neighboring Sounds/O Som ao Redor” as one of the top 10 films of 2012. The film was also Brazil’s submission to the 86th Academy Awards.

Directed by Jim Szalapski

USA, 1976; 92 mins, in English

In the mid-’70s, filmmaker James Szalapski documented a budding country music movement that would become known as “outlaw country.” Inspired in part by newly-long-haired Willie Nelson’s embrace of hippie attitudes and audiences, a younger generation of artists including Townes Van Zandt, David Alan Coe, Steve Earle, and Guy Clark popularized and developed the “outlaw” sound. It borrowed from rock, folk and bluegrass, with an edge that was missing from mainstream Nashville country. This newly-restored documentary includes rarely-captured performances of these musicians as they perfected their style and changed the course of country music history forever.

Directed by Valentyn Vasyanovych

Ukraine, 2019; 106 mins, in Ukrainian with English subtitles

Eastern Ukraine, 2025. A desert unsuitable for human habitation. Water is a dear commodity brought by trucks. A wall is being built-up on the border. Sergiy, a former soldier, is having trouble adapting to his new reality when he meets Katya. Together, they try to return to some sort of normal life in which they are also allowed to fall in love again. A prize-winner at the Venice Film Festival and Ukraine’s official selection for the 2021 Academy Awards, “Atlantis” is a gorgeous and visionary sci-fi drama.

Directed by Elizabeth Lo

USA, 2020; 73 mins, in Turkish

“I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy, and bite scoundrels.” — Diogenes, 363 B.C.

Told through the eyes of three stray dogs wandering the streets of Istanbul, “Stray” follows fiercely independent Zeytin, nurturing and protective Nazar, and shy puppy Kartal. Whether they lead us into bustling streets or decrepit ruins, the dogs act as windows into the overlooked corners of society: women in loveless marriages, protesters without arms, refugees without sanctuary. The film is a critical observation of human civilization and a sensory voyage into new ways of seeing.

Directed by Francine Parker

USA, 1972; 97 mins, in English

Francine Parker’s highly controversial documentary follows theatrical troupe F.T.A. at the height of the Vietnam War as they perform an anti-war comedy show across Southeast Asia. Led by famous activists like actress Jane Fonda, actor Donald Sutherland, comedian Paul Mooney and folk singer Len Chandler, F.T.A.’s protest/comedy show was a huge success among stationed soldiers. Out of circulation and difficult to see for decades, “F.T.A.” has now been fully restored by IndieCollect in 4K.

Directed by Olivier Assayas

France, 2002; 122 mins, in French and Japanese with English subtitles

Olivier Assayas’s hallucinatory, globe-spanning “Demonlover” is a postmodern neo-noir thriller in which nothing is what it appears to be. Diane de Monx (Connie Nielsen) is sent to spy on a rival internet adult animation company, but her romantic interest Hervé (Charles Berling) and office enemy Elise (Chloë Sevigny) seem to know her secret. The film explores the commercialization of extreme underground media as well as eerily predicts the consequences of 21st-century technology. The film features a musical score by Sonic Youth.