The Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center (WHBPAC) is presenting the winter run of The Finest in World Cinema program. WHBPAC is presenting a carefully curated program of first run, independent and foreign films for the enjoyment, edification and enrichment of the community. Films run Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 7 p.m., and most Sundays at 4 p.m. Tickets are $13.
WHBPAC is also bringing back its popular film cards. Purchase of the 25th Anniversary Film Card entitles the purchaser to a discount on 20 tickets ($4+ fees each) for WHBPAC presented films in 2023. Want to buy tickets for 19 of your closest friends to come see a film with you? Or would you rather enjoy the film program yourself and use it one screening at a time? With a potential 20 or more different screenings throughout the year, it’s up to you.
For tickets, visit whbpac.org or call 631-288-2350. Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center is at 76 Main Street, Westhampton Beach.
“Close” – March 10 to 12, nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Directed by Lukas Dhont, French, 1 hour 45 minutes, PG-13.
Leo and Remi are two 13-year-old best friends, whose seemingly unbreakable bond is suddenly, tragically torn apart. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Lukas Dhont’s second film is an emotionally transformative and unforgettable portrait of the intersection of friendship and love, identity and independence, and heartbreak and healing.
“The Quiet Girl” – March 17 to 19, nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Directed by Colm Bairéad, Irish Gaelic/English, 1 hour 34 minutes, PG-13.
Rural Ireland. 1981. Nine-year-old Cait is sent away from her overcrowded, dysfunctional family to live with foster parents for the summer. Quietly struggling at school and at home, she has learned to hide in plain sight from those around her. She blossoms in their care, but in this house where there are meant to be no secrets, she discovers one painful truth.
“Chess Story” – April 7 and 8 (no film April 9). Directed by Philipp Stölzl, German, 1 hour 52 minutes, NR.
Vienna, 1938: Austria is occupied by the Nazis. Dr. Josef Bartok (Oliver Masucci) is preparing to flee to America with his wife, Anna, when he is arrested by the Gestapo. As a former notary to the deposed Austrian aristocracy, he is told to help the local Gestapo leader gain access to their private bank accounts in order to fund the Nazi regime. Refusing to cooperate, Bartok is locked in solitary confinement. Just as his mind is beginning to crack, Bartok happens upon a book of famous chess games. To withstand the torture of isolation, Bartok disappears into the world of chess, maintaining his sanity only by memorizing every move. As the action flashes forward to a transatlantic crossing on which he is a passenger, it seems as though Bartok has finally found freedom. But recounting his story to his fellow travelers, it’s clear that his encounters with both the Gestapo and with the royal game itself have not stopped haunting him. Adapted with opulent attention to period detail by filmmaker and opera director Philipp Stölzl, “Chess Story” brings Stefan Zweig’s stirring final novella to life.
“Saint Omer” – April 14 to 16. Directed by Alice Diop, French, 2 hours 2 minutes, PG-13.
Saint-Omer court of law. Young novelist Rama attends the trial of Laurence Coly, a young woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her to the rising tide on a beach in northern France. But as the trial continues, the words of the accused and witness testimonies will shake Rama’s convictions and call into question our own judgment.
“The Lost King” – April 21 and 22 (no film April 23). Directed by Stephen Frears, English, 1 hour 48 minutes, PG-13.
In 2012, having been lost for over 500 years, the remains of King Richard III were discovered beneath a car park in Leicester. The search had been orchestrated by an amateur historian, Philippa Langley, whose unrelenting research had been met with incomprehension by her friends and family and with skepticism by experts and academics. “The Lost King” is the life-affirming true story of a woman who refused to be ignored and who took on the country’s most eminent historians, forcing them to think again about one of the most controversial kings in England’s history.
Staff Writer on Mar 9, 2023