Cine club

Wedensday 1 April 2015 at 20:00
CERN Council Chamber

David and Layla

Directed by Jay Jonroy Alany (USA/UK, 2006) 108 minutes

In partnership with FIFOG, le Festival International du Film Oriental de Genève

David, a TV host, becomes smitten with the voluptuous Layla - a mysterious, sensual dancer. Layla turns out to be a Muslim refugee. Teased by his ironic French cameraman, David madly pursues Layla. This sets off a veiling and unveiling of the similarities - and contrasts - of their ancient cultures. David's lust grows into love as he discovers in stunning Layla, a sensitive, intelligent, war survivor with an ancient rich culture that echoes his own culture. But their families are dead set against this unlikely romance. Faced with deportation, Layla must choose: Muslim American Dr. Ahmad or Jewish American David? Will David and Layla follow their hearts to blast through centuries of religious animosity?

Original version English; French subtitles

Wednesday 8 April 2015 at 20:00
CERN Council Chamber

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

(L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo )

Directed by Dario Argento (Italy, 1970) 96 minutes

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is a 1970 Italian giallo film directed by Dario Argento, in his directorial debut. The film is considered a landmark in the Italian giallo genre. This trend-setting thriller put Dario Argento on the international map and began a flood of imitative mystery-horror hybrids which dominated Italian genre output in the early 1970s. Tony Musante, best known for the television series Toma, portrays an American who witnesses the murder of a woman at a trendy Rome art gallery. Before long, Musante finds himself targeted by a mysterious killer. The film is an uncredited adaptation of Fredric Brown's novel The Screaming Mimi, and hints at the flamboyance which would become Argento's trademark. This and Argento's subsequent two films Il Gatto a Nove Code and Quattro Mosche di Velluto Grigio are impressive and haunting psycological thrillers.

Original version Italian; English subtitles

by Ciné club