2022 Virtual Summer Film Festival Lineup
Join us from the comfort of your home as we watch films from around the world that focus on the theme “Common Worlds, Limitless Realities: Futurism and Fantasy in Global Cinema.”
The annual SGS summer film festival kicks off on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, and will run most Wednesdays until September 21, 2022.
Watch the film from home at a time that works for your schedule, then join us on Zoom for a post-screening discussion on the dates listed below. Viewing options and Zoom links will be sent with RSVP. Some movies may require a fee to view.
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July 13
Black Crab
Directed by Adam Berg (Sweden, 2022)
Q&A with Christophe Crombez, Stanford University
Black Crab is a Swedish action thriller set during an apocalyptic war. It chronicles a dangerous journey that six soldiers take to transport a top-secret package across a frozen archipelago that might end the war. View the trailer.
Sponsored by The Europe Center
July 27
Cargo
Directed by Arati Kadav (India, 2019)
Q&A with Charu Singh, Stanford University
Cargo is an Indian Hindi-language philosophical science fiction film. The story is set on a spaceship where a scientist works for the Post Death Transition services, where dead people are recycled for rebirth. When the scientist is joined by an enthusiastic young assistant, his life takes an unexpected turn. View the trailer.
Sponsored by the Center for South Asia
August 10
Travellers
Directed by Bahram Beyzaie (Iran, 1992)
Q&A with Abbas Milani, Stanford University
Mahtab Maarefi travels to Tehran for her sister’s wedding and brings an auspicious mirror to the ceremony. She and her family are killed in a road accident. The wedding becomes a funeral, but the grandmother does not believe in the death of the travellers.
Sponsored by the Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies
August 17
Dune
Directed by Denis Villeneuve (Canada, US, 2021)
A noble family becomes embroiled in a war for control over the galaxy's most valuable asset while its heir becomes troubled by visions of a dark future. View the trailer.
Sponsored by the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies
August 24
The Congress
Directed by Ari Folman (France, Israel, Belgium, Poland, Luxembourg, Germany, 2013)
Q&A with Bill Johnston, Indiana University and Alexa Hazel, Stanford University
An aging actress agrees to preserve her digital likeness for a studio to use in any future films it likes. View the trailer.
Link to view the film (for Stanford affiliates) Others can find the film via popular streaming services.
Sponsored by the Taube Center for Jewish Studies
September 14
Solaris
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky (Russia, 1972)
Q&A with Sierra Nota, Stanford University
A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor and the mental problems of cosmonauts on the station. He soon discovers that the water on the planet is a type of brain which brings out repressed memories and obsessions. View the trailer.
Sponsored by the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
September 21
499
Directed by Rodrigo Reyes (Mexico, US, 2020)
Q&A with director Rodrigo Reyes
On the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish conquest, a 16th-century conquistador journeys through modern Mexico. He visits the relatives of murdered activists, explores haunting strip clubs, and traverses the landscape. View the trailer.
Sponsored by the Center for Latin American Studies