Co-sponsored by the Darien High School Spanish Department.

Thursday, October 11 at 7 p.m. - LA BESTIA (2011) Documentary feature directed by Pedro Ultreras; Not Rated; 76 minutes; In English and Spanish with English subtitles.

This film screening is co-sponsored by the Darien High School Spanish Department. A discussion with the director will follow the screening. DHS Spanish teachers Tara Allen and Jennifer Degenhardt will facilitate the conversation.

For close to two decades, thousands of Central Americans have lost their dreams, limbs and lives trying to illegally cross Mexico hanging from cargo trains known as "The Beast." Mexico represents a great challenge for those whose only goal is to reach the northern border hoping to cross into the United States.

For Central-American migrants, Mexico has become a cross- less cemetery, an agonizing journey with no way back, a travesty comparable to hell itself. They travel thousands of miles to get to the Mexico-USA border. Exhausted from the journey, hunger and climatic conditions migrants often fall into the wheels of the trains. 'The Beast' as this mode of transportation has become known, is the most viable alternative when crossing a country filled with immigration checkpoints, thieves, Mexican mafia members and authorities who often rob them and kill them.

In order to film this documentary, Pedro Ultreras risked his own life by riding this cargo trains across Mexico with hundreds of Central American migrants for more than two weeks. The Beast is a heartbreaking film that shows the profound suffering of migrant workers attempting to cross Mexico.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

Bob Spitz

Monday, September 10 at 7 p.m.

Bob Spitz, author of Dearie, will be our featured speaker.

It’s rare for someone to emerge in America who can change our attitudes, our beliefs, and our very culture. It’s even rarer when that someone is a middle-aged, six-foot three-inch woman whose first exposure to an unsuspecting public is cooking an omelet on a hot plate on a local TV station. And yet, that’s exactly what Julia Child did. The warble-voiced doyenne of television cookery became an iconic cult figure and joyous rule-breaker as she touched off the food revolution that has gripped America for more than fifty years. Now, in Bob Spitz’s definitive biography, he provides a clear-eyed portrait of one of the most fascinating and influential Americans of our time — a woman known to all, yet known by only a few.

About the Author

Bob Spitz is the award-winning author of The Beatles, a New York Times best seller, as well as seven other nonfiction books and a screenplay. He has represented Bruce Springsteen and Elton John in several capacities. His articles appear regularly in magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times Magazine; The Washington Post; Rolling Stone; and O, The Oprah Magazine, among others.

Books will be available for purchase at this event. Refreshments will be served.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

"Quiet" by Susan Cain will be the first book in our Fall Book Discussion Series.

Character Counts - 2012 Fall Book Discussion Series

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Tuesday, September 18 at 7 p.m.

Did you know that nearly half of Americans are introverts? If you’re not an introvert yourself, you are surely raising, managing, married, or related to one. Cerebral, quiet, perceptive to nuance, and emotionally complex, introverts are often discounted or undervalued. Yet many of the greatest achievers of the twentieth century have been introverts: Eleanor Roosevelt, George Orwell, Rosa Parks, Marcel Proust, Warren Buffett, Larry Page, and Mahatma Gandhi, to name just a few. Without introverts, the world would have missed out on the Apple computer, the theory of relativity, van Gogh’s sunflowers, and The Cat in the Hat.

A self-proclaimed introvert, author Susan Cain, a former Wall Street attorney, challenges what she calls the Extrovert Ideal in Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. Our culture, she argues, overvalues the alpha personality—gregarious and highly verbal—while ignoring the subtler strengths of the introvert, such as reflectiveness, persistence, and sensitivity.

Praise for Quiet

“An intriguing and potentially life-altering examination of the human psyche that is sure to benefit both introverts and extroverts alike.” —Kirkus (starred review)

Library staff members will lead the discussions.

We have copies of the books available for patrons to borrow, but prior reading of the books is not necessary to attend the discussions.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen’s).

Starring Shlomo Bar-Aba

Friday, September 14 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. -- FOOTNOTE (2011) Starring Shlomo Bar-Aba, Lior Ashkenazi, Aliza Rosen, Yuval Scharf, and Alma Zack; Rated PG; 103 minutes; In Hebrew with English subtitles.

This film tells the story of a great rivalry between a father and son, both eccentric professors in the Talmud department of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The son has an addictive dependency on the embrace and accolades that the establishment provides, while his father is a stubborn purist with a fear and profound revulsion for what the establishment stands for, yet beneath his contempt lies a desperate thirst for some kind of recognition. The Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious national award, is the jewel that brings these two to a final, bitter confrontation.

Academy Award Nominee, Best Foreign Film

"Footnote is a film about the nature of truth, about sacrifice, hubris, hypocrisy. It's nothing short of brilliant." -- Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

For more information, please watch the film's trailer. Check out the rest of our Friday Night Features in September.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

Holly Hurd

Thursday, September 20 at 10 a.m.

Learn the five things mom entrepreneurs have in common and hear from moms who are currently running their own ventures. Even if you don't want to start a business, you'll find this panel discussion fun and inspiring. Ideal for anyone who has questions about how to turn a hobby into a business or take a current venture to the next level, topics will include picking the right name, marketing, and using social media to build your brand.

Panelists include Stacey Bewkes of The Quintessence Blog, Jennifer St. Jean of the Itty Bitty Bag Company, Jennifer Covello from Fritabello Baby Journals, and two moms from RT Picture Works, Gwynne Tibbetts and Bambi Riegel.

Audience members who have venture ideas will be chosen to pitch their project and get feedback from the panel.

This panel will be moderated by Holly Hurd, founder of VentureMom.com, a web site devoted to covering moms who have their own businesses. Holly has interviewed hundreds of moms in all areas making her uniquely qualified to speak on entrepreneurship for the small start up. Her web site offers a directory, a free newsletter and the VentureMom Shop which showcases the products of many of the moms she covers.

Featuring an all-star cast!

Friday, September 21 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. -- THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL (2012) Starring Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, and Tom Wilkinson; Rated PG-13; 124 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

For a disparate group of English pensioners, retirement takes an unconventional turn when they abandon their homeland, enticed by advertisements for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a seemingly luxurious sanctuary for “the elderly and beautiful” in Jaipur, India. On arrival, they discover that the hotel falls somewhat short of the romantic idyll promised in the brochure, but they are gradually won over by the ever-optimistic young manager Sonny, and tentatively embark on a new adventure, finding that life can begin again when you let go of the past.

"A refreshing, mature fairy tale with a top-notch ensemble cast." -- Claudia Puig, USA Today

For more information, please watch the film's trailer. Check out the rest of our Friday Night Features in September.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

We'll be showing A SEPARATION on Friday, August 31.

Friday, August 3 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. – Big Miracle (2011) Starring Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, and Ted Danson; Rated PG; 114 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

Set in Cold War-era 1988, Big Miracle tells the true story of a small-town news reporter and a Greenpeace volunteer who enlist the help of rival superpowers to save three majestic gray whales trapped under the ice of the Arctic Circle.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, August 10 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. – Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011) Starring Ewan McGregor, Amr Waked, and Emily Blunt; Rated PG-13; 107 minutes. Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

When Britain’s leading fishing expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheikh’s vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert, he immediately thinks the project is both absurd and unachievable. But when the Prime Minister’s overzealous press secretary latches on to it as a ‘good will’ story, this unlikely team will put it all on the line and embark on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible, possible.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, August 17 at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. – Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2012) Documentary feature; Rated PG; 81 minutes. In Japanese with English subtitles.

This is the story of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious 3 star Michelin review. At the heart of this story is Jiro’s relationship with his eldest son Yoshikazu, the worthy heir to Jiro’s legacy, who is unable to live up to his full potential in his father’s shadow.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, August 24 at 6:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. – The Hunger Games (2012) Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth; Rated PG-13; 142 minutes; Closed captioned for the hearing impaired.

North America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into 12 districts. Each year two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. When 16-year-old Katniss’ young sister, Prim, is selected as her district’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

Friday, August 31 at 6:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. – A Separation (2011) Starring Peyman Moadi, Leila Hatami, and Sareh Bayat; Rated PG-13; 123 minutes; In Persian with English subtitles.

A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.

For more information, please watch the film's trailer.

All films are free and open to the public.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

Friday, August 17 at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. -- JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI (2012) Documentary Feature; Rated PG; 81 minutes. In Japanese with English subtitles.

This is the story of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious 3 star Michelin review. At the heart of this story is Jiro’s relationship with his eldest son Yoshikazu, the worthy heir to Jiro’s legacy, who is unable to live up to his full potential in his father’s shadow.

"Jiro Dreams of Sushi isn't just a film for foodies, or Japanophiles. It's a meditation on work, on finding one's path in life, and then walking it with singular purpose." -- Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

"As a documentary about world-class sushi, this film is definitive. It runs only 81 minutes, but the subject is finite." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

For more information, please watch the film's trailer. Check out the rest of our Friday Night Features in August.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).

Enjoy "Ladybug on a Carousel" and "(Can't Get No) Satisfaction" as performed by the Darien Summer Chamber Orchestra on Friday, July 6, 2012. For more information, please see the original post.

Monica Wood

Thursday, September 6 at 7 p.m.

Monica Wood, author of When We Were the Kennedys, will be our featured speaker.

This is the true story of life in 1963 Mexico, Maine, when Monica Wood had to grow up too soon after the death of her beloved father, and, together with her three sisters and mother, learn about the bonds of family from within their own four walls to the four walls of their neighbors, to those of the white house and beyond.

The strike against the paper mill in Mexico, Maine had a major impact on the town’s economy and the livelihoods of the residents at that time. But the mill isn’t the only character you’re rooting for in When We Were the Kennedys. There’s Father Bob, the priest uncle struggling so desperately with his own demons. Anne, the heroic eldest sister who keeps their mother from falling apart and sees to the details of everyday life. Denise, the best friend, who provides Monica with an immediate escape and a lifetime of friendship. And Betty, the mentally disabled sister with the surprising ability to unify her family and make them laugh again. Rich with details on family, culture, politics, and economics of the time from a creative and gifted writer, this is the memoir to pick up this summer.

Praise for When We Were the Kennedys

"A tender, plaintive memoir...a genuinely compelling depiction of family grief...a bittersweet, end-of-innocence family drama." —Kirkus Reviews

"In this amiable, specific glimpse of small-town life in 1960s-era Maine...a refreshingly functional family learns to accept loss and preserve love." —Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Monica Wood is the author of four works of fiction, most recently the ABA bestseller Any Bitter Thing. Other fiction includes My Only Story, a finalist for the Kate Chopin Award; Ernie's Ark; and Secret Language. Her essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in various publications. Her widely anthologized short stories have won a Pushcart Prize and been featured on public radio, including the NPR program Selected Shorts. She also writes books for writers and teachers, including The Pocket Muse, volumes one and two. She lives in Portland, Maine, where she conducts a writing program for women at the Maine Correctional Center.

Books will be available for purchase at this event. Refreshments will be served.

Additional parking for evening and weekend Library programs available on Thorndal Circle (behind Nielsen's).