Let's see...What to do? What to do? What to do? We are so busy this month, we thought you might like some help keeping it all straight. Here's what's coming right up!

Next week, we'll be opening our final film series before the building closes. (New building! New Community Room! January '09!) Our Foreign Film Series begins on Friday, October 10th, and concludes on Friday, November 21st (our last Friday in the building). We'll meet every Friday at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of November 7th (when we will be preparing for our always-anticipated Book Sale). Our schedule of films is really terrific this year; we are very pleased and proud to offer them. Below, is the line-up, followed by more October events at the Library.

Fall Foreign Film Series

October 10  

The Band's Visit

Israel (2007) Rated PG-13

In Arabic, English, and Hebrew with English subtitles

87 minutes

When an Egyptian police orchestra gets lost on its way to a performance in Israel, the band and their stoic leader wind up far from home in an obscure Israeli village. Lightly approaching the political issues that surround the band’s visit, this charming, heartfelt comedy shows how people of all cultures share the trials of friendship and romance.

October 17    

Persepolis

France (2007) Rated PG-13

In French, English, Persian, and German with English subtitles

95 minutes

Persepolis brings to life the poignant story of a young girl in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Based on the stirring graphic novel memoirs of Marjane Satrapi this witty, yet deeply affecting animated masterpiece has captured the imaginations of audiences and critics worldwide. The issues of love, family, and freedom that fill the adolescent life of a young girl are reflected in the revolutionary struggles that surround her in 1970s Iran.

October 24

The Counterfeiters

Austria (2007) Rated R

In German, Russian, English, and Hebrew with English subtitles

98 minutes

Winner of the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, this is the true story of Salomon Sorowitsch, counterfeiter extraordinaire, bohemian, and Russian Jew who was captured by the Nazis in 1944. He agrees to help them in an organized counterfeiting operation set up to finance the war effort. It was the biggest counterfeit-money scam of all time. Over 130 million pounds sterling were printed under conditions that couldn’t have been more tragic or spectacular.

October 31

The Flight of the Red Balloon

France (2007) Not rated

In French with English subtitles

113 minutes

 The details of everyday life are turned to poetry in this tribute to Lamorisse’s 1956 classic short The Red Balloon. Juliette Binoche stars as a single Parisian mother who, overwhelmed by the complications of modern daily life, employs a Taiwanese film student as her son’s babysitter. As the babysitter and the young child explore the streets and cafes of the city, they begin to share an imaginary world where a mysterious red balloon affectionately follows them wherever they go.

November 7

No film tonight

Book sale: November 8 - 12

The Grocer's Son

In French with English subtitles

96 minutes

It is summer, and 30-year-old Antoine is forced to leave the city to return to his family in Provence. His father is sick, so he must assume the lifestyle he thought he had shed—driving the family grocery cart from hamlet to hamlet, delivering supplies to the few remaining inhabitants. Accompanied by Claire, a friend from Paris whom he has a secret crush on, Antoine gradually warms up to his experience in the country and his encounters with the villagers. This surprise French box-office hit is about the coming-of-age of a man rediscovering life and love in the countryside.

In Japanese with English subtitles

120 minutes

 It is 1965 and in Japan, the country has started to shift from coal to oil. One by one, the old mining towns begin their slow decline, but for one small town way up north, its leaders and the local mining company aim to build Japan’s first Hawaiian Village as a way to save the town. Hula Girls is a heartwarming comedy about coal miners’ daughters who took a once-in-a-lifetime chance to escape their monotonous lives, only to become unwitting heroes to their depressed mining town. Based on a true story.

Additional October Events:

Thursday, October 2, 11:00 a.m. -- Proclamation for Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Thursday, October 2, 7 p.m. -- Meet the Author: Lily Koppel (Author of "The Red Leather Diary")

Friday, October 3, 7:30 p.m. -- Special Film Screening: The Color Purple

Sunday, October 5, 2:30 p.m. -- Fall Book Discussion Series with Jordon Pecile: Discussion Book: "America America"

Tuesday, October 7, 3-4 p.m. -- Short Stories for Shorter Days

Tuesday, October 7, 7 p.m. -- Mid-Fairfield Hospice Program: Caring for Aging Adults: Coordinating, Honoring and Reminiscing

Saturday, October 11, 9 a.m.-noon -- Passport Day

Tuesday, October 14, 3-4 p.m. -- Short Stories for Shorter Days

Friday, October 17, 3-5 p.m. -- Knit-a-thon to benefit the shelters run by the Domestic Violence Crisis Center

Sunday, October 19, 5:30 p.m. -- Darien Library Annual Meeting with featured speaker, Philip Van Munching

Tuesday, October 21, 3-4 p.m. -- Short Stories for Shorter Days

Sunday, October 26, 2:30 p.m. -- Fall Book Discussion Series with Jordon Pecile Discussion

Book: "The Garden of Last Days"

Tuesday, October 28, 3-4 p.m. -- Short Stories for Shorter Days

Continuing through October 28, during regular Library hours -- Art on View: Chet Saur