Explore cinematic diversity with CLC’s international film series

College of Lake County (CLC) has foreign film fans covered with the spring international film series. The series consists of four movies, all from different countries.

"I'm excited as always to share international films with the public, and I think we have a particularly strong lineup this season,” said Communication Instructor Chris Cooling. “All the screenings engage strongly with exciting genres.”

The upcoming films include:

• “The Innocent” (France, 2022), Friday, Feb. 2. Abel, grieving his late wife, is blindsided when his mother announces she’s engaged to an ex-con awaiting release. Soon, the son is spying on the future stepfather, in search of evidence to call off the wedding. The thrill of surveillance and subterfuge awakens something in him that just might forge new family bonds. After all, who’s going to notice a missing truckload of Iranian caviar? And what is romantic seduction if not a form of con job performance?
• “Godland” (Iceland/Denmark, 2022), Friday, March 1. When a headstrong Danish priest is tasked with erecting a church in a tiny Icelandic settlement, he chooses an arduous route, rather than sailing to his destination directly. His plan is to bring a camera and document his experience of encountering the otherworldly landscape. (The film is shot in a square aspect ratio, to evoke 19th century photography). But the terrain is unyielding, and the locals who await him have their own approaches to life.
• “Decision to Leave” (South Korea, 2022), Friday, April 5. A man’s corpse is found in hiking gear at the bottom of a mountain. His expensive watch has been smashed in the fall. His beautiful, foreign wife doesn’t seem surprised to hear of his death, or particularly broken up about it, and the unhappily married detective on the case may be falling for her. Stylish and moving, “Decision to Leave” is at once an ingenious puzzle box and an anguished love story.
• “Les Saignantes/The ‘Bloodettes’” (Cameroon, 2005), Friday, May 3. When a well-connected client dies during a session, two sex workers in a near-future Cameroon draw upon their connections to “Mevoungou,” a supernatural feminist cult, to help them hide the body from a corrupt, patriarchal government. But which side contains the true vampires, and which is the prey? Winner of Best Actress and the Silver Stallion prize at Africa’s FESPACO awards, “Les Saignantes” is a heady brew of science-fiction, erotic thriller, New Wave political satire and cult-film fight choreography.

All screenings are at 7 p.m. at the Grayslake Campus in room C105. The screening of Les Saignantes/The ‘Bloodlettes’ will be followed by an interview with the director, Jean-Pierre Bekolo.

Films have adult content and are not suitable for children. Films are subtitled when necessary. For more information, contact Chris Cooling at ccooling@clcillinois.edu or (847) 543-2623.