Hope College’s Knickerbocker Film Series, focusing on independent and foreign films, will show five films from January through early April at the historic Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.
The series will open on January 13 with “A Miracle in Spanish Harlem” and will continue with “Blood Brother,” “Inuk,” “The Rocket” and “Spinning Plates.” All showings will begin at 7:30 p.m.
“A Miracle in Spanish Harlem” is a romantic drama following the life of Tito Jimenez, a widower and father of two girls. Despite holding down two jobs, Tito has trouble providing for his family and has lost his faith. Now, with a second chance at love, Tito is forced to make a decision that will drag his family down a trail of love, faith and redemption that begins with a lie and ends with a surprisingly true miracle. The cast includes Kate Del Castillo, one of Mexico’s most popular actresses, who was introduced to U.S. audiences in “Under the Same Moon.” In addition, the film features Luis Antonio Ramos, Fatima Ptacek, Adrian Martinez, Priscilla Lopez, Andre Royo and Tony Plana. The film will show Monday-Saturday, Jan. 13-18, and is rated PG-13.
“Blood Brother,” winner of the Sundance 2013 Grand Jury Prize, centers on Rocky Braat, a young man from a fractured family and a troubled past, who went traveling through India without a plan. Then he met a group of HIV-positive children living in an orphanage — a meeting that changed everything for him. “Blood Brother” is a story of friendship. It’s a story of a life, stripped down to its essence. Most of all, it is a story about love, enduring in the face of death. The film will show Monday-Saturday, Jan. 20-25, and is not rated.
“Inuk” follows 16-year-old Inuk, who lives a troubled life in Greenland’s capital with his alcoholic mother and violent step-father. One morning, after pulling the half-frozen boy out of an abandoned car, the social services decide to send Inuk North, to a children’s home on a tiny island in the middle of the arctic sea-ice. “Inuk” is in Greenlandic and Danish, with English subtitles, and is not rated. The film will be shown Monday-Saturday, Feb. 3-8.
“The Rocket” is about a 10-year-old boy, Ahlo, who is believed to bring bad luck and is blamed for a string of disasters. When his family loses its home and is forced to move, Ahlo meets the spirited orphan Kia and her eccentric uncle Purple, who is an ex-soldier with a purple suit, a rice-wine habit and an infatuation with James Brown. “The Rocket” is one of the first feature films for international release set and shot Laos, rarely seen by the outside world since the end of the Vietnam War. The film will be shown Monday-Saturday, March 10-15, and is not rated.
The final film in the series, “Spinning Plates,” is a documentary about three extraordinary restaurants and the incredible people who bring them to life. The unforgettable stories of family, legacy, passion and survival come together to reveal how meaningful food can be, and the power it has to connect people to one another. The film will be shown Monday-Saturday, March 31-April 5, and is not rated.
Tickets for all of the films are $6 for regular admission and $5 for senior citizens, Hope College faculty and children, and are available at the ticket offices in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse (222 Fairbanks Ave.) and the Events and Conferences Office located downtown in the Anderson-Werkman Financial Center (100 E. Eighth St.). Both offices are open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called at (616) 395-7890.
Updated information may be obtained by visiting hope.edu/arts/knick.
The Knickerbocker Theatre is located at 86 E. Eighth St.