Cinephiles! Cinefest is only half over. There is still time to catch more films!
Here are another half dozen titles to consider seeing before the festival ends on April 6.

White Night Wedding
Iceland director Baltasar Kormákur’s erratic comedy-drama features a handful of quirky characters that will either charm or annoy viewers. The story is a reworking of Chekhov’s Ivanov. Jon (Hilmir Snaer Gudnason) is a professor who seeks to marry his former student Thora (Laufey Eliasdottir) as a way of recovering from his doomed marriage to manic-depressive artist Anna (Margaret Vilhjalmsdottir). While Jon’s pal Borkur (Pröstur Leo Gunnarsson), an instigator of debauchery provides a funny, comic presence; Thora’s shrill mother (Olafia Hronn Johnsdottir) obsesses over money to an off-putting degree. The film, which toggles back and forth between Jon’s old life and his impending marriage, never quite finds its rhythm. For every offbeat moment such as one in which a character shoots golf balls with a rifle while sitting on an outdoor piano in the early morning hours, there is an uncomfortable sequence in which a character bicycles semi-nude in romantic desperation that fails to ring true. And as provocative as these scenes are, they fail to have much emotional power. Meanwhile, other comic episodes, involving the town’s frustrated minister, Thora’s opera-singing father, or a guy who creates an outlandish golf course never quite tickle the funny bone. Alas, White Night Wedding gets all dressed up, but it goes nowhere. Thursday, April 2, 7pm, Ritz East; Saturday, April 4, 2:30pm, Ritz East.

Kassim the Dream
An awesome, astounding portrait of the title character, Kassim the Dream chronicles the transformation of Kassim Ouma, a child soldier in Uganda to his career as a championship boxer. Ouma’s remarkable self-assurance comes across in this fabulous documentary as he recounts his horrible childhood where he was surrounded by death. Sports offered him an escape, and his political act—defection—gave him an opportunity to fight in America. Moving in with the Morans, a Bucks County family, Kassim trains and fights, and not always with success; he is still haunted by his past. His trials and tribulations are riveting, especially when he is given a chance, late in the film, to confront some of them. Kassim the Dream never becomes mawkish or overly sentimental as its hero gracefully jabs and punches his way through life. Kassim’s story is simply inspiring. Thursday, April 2, 9:30pm, I-House; Friday, April 3, 4:45pm, Prince.

Zift
A luminous looking black and white Bulgarian caper film, Zift is consistently entertaining, even if it is a wholy mess. Moth (Zachary Baharov) is released from jail only to be captured by Slug (Vladimir Penev) who believes he has a jewel taken from a heist they did with Moth’s wife Ada (Tanya Ilieva). As Moth tries to uncover the truth, he is tortured and poisoned. Fleeing for his life, he encounters a series of oddball characters all of whom tell comic/horrific stories with variations on the title substance. (It’s both a term for gum, and a slang for s—t). While the tone of the film is wildly uneven, director Javor Gardev keeps things nimble with amusing visual jokes and references, such as a memorable, albeit completely gratuitous chase through a ladies bathhouse. While Zift waits until the last reel to get to the point of its needlessly drawn out story, this mostly enjoyable film isn’t about plot as much as it is about creating—and sustaining—a mischievous mood. Thursday, April 2, 9:30pm, Ritz East; Saturday, April 4, 5:30pm, Bridge.

Sita Sings the Blues
Opening with an eye-popping, toe-tapping prologue, this enchanting, award-winning animated musical juxtaposes Indian lore with the filmmaker’s story of heartbreak. Nina, an animator, is living in contemporary San Francisco with her boyfriend Dave and their cat Lexi, when he goes off to work in India for six months. Meanwhile, three shadow puppets recall, through trial and error, the story from the epic Ramayana of Sita, the wife of a banished Lord Rama. After Sita is rescued from being kidnapped, she must repeatedly prove her purity to her husband. The links between the two storylines becomes clear by the film’s end, but what impresses most are the dazzling musical numbers that flesh out the Indian fable. Featuring Annette Hanshaw’s 1920s period songs, monkey musicians, and a dancing crescent moon, among other stylish elements, these hypnotic sequences are the true highlights of this imaginative film. The visuals will be dancing in viewers head long after the credits roll. Friday, April 3, 7pm, Prince; Sunday, April 5, 5pm, Ritz East

Playing Columbine
A biased documentary on a provocative subject, Playing Columbine is filmmaker Danny Ledonne’s answer to his critics for creating the controversial videogame “Super Columbine Massage RPG!” The game sparked immediate debate for its candid treatment of a sensitive topic—it asked gamers to step into the role of real-life killers. But Ledonne’s film concedes, there are games about Darfur, 9/11, and even pedophilic priests. How are these better or different than Grand Theft Auto, and why should one’s creative ability, however insensitive it may seem, be stifled? As Playing Columbine shows, the game earned the dubious title of the second worst videogame ever created by PC World, and was going to be awarded a special jury prize at the Slamdance film festival—had it not been pulled from competition by the festival. Ledonne interviews victims of school shootings, professors and game-industry folks, along with authors, attorneys and radio talk show hosts, among others to defend his game, and declare its importance in our culture. While the film raises important issues—how responsible are videogames for real-life violence? Has the media created a moral panic without cause—these messages are somewhat diluted because Ledonne is in control of the content. The filmmaker seems to be using this film as a soapbox to continue to court controversy, even as he insists this was never his intention. Playing Columbine is worthwhile for its consideration of the arguments it makes, but it’s crudely-made, overlong and a bit repetitive to be totally effective. Saturday, April 4, 4:45pm, Ritz East; Sunday, April 5, 9:30pm, Ritz East

Surveillance
This nifty, grisly, little film, directed by Jennifer Lynch (daughter of David, who produced, and performs the interesting end credit song) opens with a violent, unsettling crime. Two FBI agents (Julia Ormand and Bill Pullman) go to investigate and interrogate the corrupt cop (Kent Harper, who co-wrote and produced) as well as two witnesses—a junkie (Pell James) and an 8 year-old girl (Ryan Simpkins)—who survived a crime scene. As the characters recount the events, which are recreated in a spellbinding fashion, there is a palpable sense of dread. Lynch makes this offbeat crime story edgy and compelling; even the blood splatters have an artful quality to them. Surveillance also boasts a trio of nervy performance from Ormand, James, and Pullman, especially. And while it’s practically a spoiler to say that there’s a big twist, it’s a corker. Saturday, April 4, 9:30pm, The Prince; Sunday, April 5, 2:30pm, Ritz 5