College of DuPage plans 'Global Flicks' festival

"Global Flicks," a festival of seven award-winning international films, will be presented Wednesdays, Feb. 6 to March 20, in the Playhouse Theatre of the McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., in Glen Ellyn.

The films will be shown at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Films are shown in their original language with English subtitles, and each screening concludes with a moderated discussion of the film and its subject matter.

Now in its 23rd year, "Global Flicks" is co-sponsored by COD's Field and Experiential Learning/Study Abroad program and the McAninch Arts Center.

For more information, call the MAC Ticket Office at (630) 942-4000 or visit www.atthemac.org/shows-events/global-flicks/.

Here's a look at the schedule:

• Feb. 6: The Norwegian film "The Wave," directed by Roar Uthaug. Although anticipated, no one is prepared when the mountain pass above the Norwegian fjord Geiranger collapses and creates an 85-meter high violent tsunami. A geologist and his family are caught in the middle of it and have 10 minutes to get to high ground before the tsunami hits.

• Feb. 13: Italian film "Theater of Life," directed by Peter Svatek. What if food waste could feed the hungry? Massimo Bottura, one of the world's greatest chefs, runs a soup kitchen like no other during Milan's 2015 World's Fair. This documentary tells the deeply moving story of the soul kitchen, its chefs and the refugees and homeless it fed.

• Feb. 20: "African Doctor," a French/Congolese production directed by Julien Rambaldi. Balancing comedy and social drama, this film is based on the true story of Seyolo Zantoko, a Congolese doctor who uproots his family and moves it to a rural French village. Overcoming the initial culture shock, Dr. Zantoko becomes one of the most respected doctors in the area.

• Feb. 27: Dominican film "Woodpeckers," directed by Jose Maria Cabral. Love can spring up in the most unlikely places - prison. Dominican-Haitian Julián begins a jail sentence for petty theft inside the notorious Najayo prison, just outside of Santo Domingo, and while navigating the corruption and violence he becomes immersed in the system of "woodpecking," the unique sign language male prisoners use to communicate with women in the adjacent penitentiary.

• March 6: Korean film "Okja," directed by Joon-ho Bongouth. Mija, a young girl caught in the crossfire between animal activism, corporate greed and scientific ethics, risks everything to prevent a powerful, multinational company from kidnapping her best friend, a remarkable pig named Okja.

• March 13: Thai movie "Bad Genius," directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya. Genius high school student Lynn finds her path out of poverty by making money helping others cheat on tests in this epic tale inspired by the real-world cheating epidemic. Traveling to Australia to take advantage of the time zone difference, Lynn is caught up in a cheating scandal of immense proportions while sitting for the STIC (SAT) exam.

• March 20: Lebanese film "The Insult," directed by Ziad Doueiri. An argument between a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian refugee turns violent and escalates to a court case. The feud dredges up past issues from Lebanon's civil war, which threatens to erupt all over again.