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Academy Award-winner 'Life of Pi' highlights Oakton International Film Fest

Travel the globe without leaving your seat during Oakton Community College's 27th Modern Language Film Fest, March 31-April 3. Enjoy 12 fascinating, highly rated films, including the Academy Award-winning Life of Pi. The movies, presented in their original languages with English subtitles, showcase the 13 languages offered by the college. All screenings are free and open to the public.

This year's selections include:

• "Life of Pi" (Hindu and Urdu, 2012): Winner of four Oscars, this film directed by Ang Lee is an adaptation of Yann Martel's novel that chronicles the 227-day odyssey of a teenager adrift on the Pacific with a Bengal tiger. As the months go by, boy and beast must find a way to adapt and accept each other as they battle the elements and fight for survival.

• "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" (German, 2005): Filmmaker Marc Rothemund reconstructs the final days in the life of renowned German anti-Nazi activist Sophie Scholl in an Academy Award-nominated motion picture. After being arrested by the Gestapo and charged with treason, Scholl refuses to implicate other anti-Nazi activists and champions freedom.

• "Where Do We Go Now?" (Arabic, 2011): Follow the story of Muslims and Christians who have long coexisted in a remote Lebanese village avoiding the interfaith strife and violence rampant in other parts of the country. However, as the village's isolation erodes, conflict escalates - and it's up to the women to keep their blowhard men from starting a religious war.

• "As One" (Korean, 2012): Trace the true story of the first post-war united Korean sports team. When North and South Korea hastily create a unified table tennis team to diffuse tension created by the 1987 North Korean bombing of a Korean air flight, athletes from both countries form an uneasy alliance to compete at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships.

Other scheduled films include: "Coco Before Chanel" (French, 2009); "Even the Rain" (Spanish, 2011); "Shower" (Chinese, 1999); "The Human Resources Manager" (Hebrew, 2010); "The First Beautiful Thing" (Italian, 2011); "Always Sunset on Third Street-3" (Japanese, 2012); "Entanglement" (Polish, 2011); and "The Island "(Russian, 2007).

Most of the showcased films aren't rated by the Motion Picture Association of America and may be suitable for mature audiences only. The 27th Modern Language Film Fest is sponsored by the college's Office of Access, Equity, and Diversity, and the Department of Modern Languages.

For more details, including show times, visit www.oakton.edu/films or contact Oakton's Modern Languages chairman Marguerite Solari, Ph.D., at (847) 376-7012 or solari@oakton.edu.

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