Rialto Channel’s celebration of everything Oscars continues this week with a wonderful array of films from Belgium, Germany and Ireland, on subjects as diverse as contemporary dance, animal doping and cross dressing.

Rialto Channel’s celebration of everything Oscars continues this week with a wonderful array of films from Belgium, Germany and Ireland, on subjects as diverse as contemporary dance, animal doping and cross dressing.
My highlights for this week are:

Bullhead
Directed by: Michaël R. Roskam
Staring: Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy
Screening: Tuesday 12 March, 8.30pm
Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year at the Oscars in 2012, Bullhead is a memorable and gritty Belgium film driven by a powerful performance from lead actor Matthias Schoenaerts. It’s the feature film debut of writer/director Michaël R. Roskam, whose previous work has been four well-received short films. An engaging and original crime thriller, Bullhead is set in the world of the Flemish animal hormone mafia, and tells the story of cattle farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille (Schoenaerts), who is enticed into a shady deal with a notorious beef trader. When a cop is killed, and an old friend from Jackie’s past reappears, it turns into a tale of personal revenge and redemption with dramatic consequences.

Pina
Directed by: Wim Wenders
Staring: Pina Bausch and the dancers of the Bausch Tanztheatre Company
Screening: Thursday 14th March, 8.30pm
This stunning, moving documentary brings to life the extraordinary work of one of the most significant choreographers of the 20th Century, Pina Bausch. Pina died suddenly just before filming began in 2009, so director Wim Wenders has created a film that’s a showcase and celebration of Pina’s work - interspersed with thoughts and comments on Pina by those who knew her. Wenders has achieved the almost impossible and successfully captured the physicality, emotional force and dreamlike imagery of Pina’s work. Pina often used the elements - soil, water and rocks, etc. - so Wenders films many of her most well known pieces on the street and in the landscape. The effect is surreal, startling and evocative. Even if you’re not a huge fan of dance this Oscar nominated documentary is worth a look - you may well become a fan.

Albert Nobbs
Directed by: Rodrigo García
Staring: Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Screening: Saturday 16th March, 8.30pm
It took Glenn Close 30 years to bring the story of Albert Nobbs to the big screen, something she’d wanted to do since playing the role of Albert in a New York stage adaptation early on in her career. Close was the producer, co-writer and lead, so it’s fair to say this low budget drama, about a woman who passes herself off as a man to escape a life of poverty in 19th Century Dublin, was a true passion project. No doubt she was pleased with the recognition it received at the Oscars in 2012, with nominations for Best Actress, Best Makeup and Best Supporting Actress. Albert Nobbs is a tender and well acted, if somewhat grim, tale of survival and the search for happiness - Glenn Close does her Albert proud.