Geoffrey Bateman

Manderlay -- The disturbing story of the Manderlay plantation, where people live as if slavery had not been abolished seventy years earlier. This drama stars Bryce Dallas Howard and was directed by Lars von Trier.

Leon: The Professional -- After her parents are brutally murdered, Natalie Portman vows vengeance and becomes the prot?g? of professional assassin Jean Reno.

In the vein of the Academy-Award nominee Jesus Camp, this disturbing film goes inside the surreal and shocking world of the controversial cult leader Reverend Fred Phelps and his hate group. With the recitation of three provocative words--"God hates fags"--Reverend Fred Phelps ignited a firestorm of controversy in sleepy Topeka, Kansas, a maelstrom that has continued with his aggressively polarizing rhetoric on such heated issues as homosexuality and the war in Iraq. The penetrating and thought-provoking documentary Fall From Grace follows Phelps' transformation from an award-winning civil rights attorney to an incendiary preacher whose extreme interpretations of Bible scriptures have reached millions around the globe. Rev. Phelps issued his first sermon 50 years ago at Westboro Baptist Church, where his congregation was--and still is--largely comprised of his own family. Since then, the group has staged over 22,000 picket demonstrations at locations ranging from college campuses to funerals for American soldiers, enraging many with slogans such as "Thank God for 9/11" and "You're going to hell." Replete with shocking interviews and rare Phelps footage, Fall From Grace paints a powerful portrait of hatred in America, one that forces viewers to reexamine the quintessentially American right of free speech.

Traveling across America with her father (Willem Dafoe), Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) comes to discover the isolated plantation of Manderlay - a place whose inhabitants do not know that slavery has been abolished. Outraged to discover that the plantation's owner, Mam (Lauren Bacall), not only employs slaves but also refuses to open their eyes to the truth, Grace fights against all odds to free the slaves of Manderlay, who include Wilhelm (Danny Glover), the old house servant and the two-faced, rebellious Timothy (Isaach De Bankole). This Cannes Golden Palm nominated drama is from the innovative Danish director and screenwriter, Lars von Trier and also features Chloe Sevigny and John Hurt.