The 48 Hour Film project returns to Des Moines on July 27-29 2012. To celebrate the return of this international film event the Fleur is proud to host a screening of "48 Hour Films From Around the World"  on May 22, at 7pm.  Tickets are  just $8. Come enjoy some of the best entries from  the 2011 event  from cities around the globe, including  the 2011 Des Moines Best of City Winner "Oh Drama" Representatives from the Des Moines 48HFP will be on hand to answer any questions you may have about the 2012 event.  Registration for the 2012  48HFP opens online May 22st.

For more information or to register visit: www.48hourfilm.com/desmoines

From the director of Shakespeare in Love, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel follows a group of British retirees who decide to outsource their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel and bolstered with visions of a life of leisure, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self. Though the new environment is less luxurious than imagined, they are forever transformed by their shared experiences, discovering that life and love can begin again when you let go of the past.

"We suspect that the film will be about their various problems and that the hotel will not be as advertised. What we may not expect is what a charming, funny and heartwarming movie this is, a smoothly crafted entertainment that makes good use of seven superb veterans." Roger Ebert

"Director John Madden and an ensemble of polished actors in their second primes make this a constant amusement and a nice alternative at the movies." -Tampa Bay Times

"A refreshing, mature fairy tale." -USA Today

Winner:  Best Documentary Feature, Dallas International Film Festival

For the young dancers at the Youth America Grand Prix, one of the world's most prestigious ballet competitions, lifelong dreams are at stake. With hundreds competing for a handful of elite scholarships and contracts, practice and discipline are paramount, and nothing short of perfection is expected. Bess Kargman's award-winning documentary, FIRST POSITION, follows six young dancers as they prepare for a chance to enter the world of professional ballet, struggling through bloodied feet, near exhaustion and debilitating injuries all while navigating the drama of adolescence. A showcase of awe-inspiring talent, tenacity and passion, FIRST POSITION paints a thrilling and moving portrait of the most gifted young ballet stars of tomorrow.


“First Position is an unabashedly inspirational portrait of what even very young people can accomplish with discipline and dedication.” Dana Stevens, Slate

Peter and Lorna, a young Silver Lake couple, delve into the underworld of a cult that meets in the San Fernando valley. At the center of the group is an enigmatic young woman named Maggie (Brit Marling) who never leaves her basement chamber. The members follow Maggie blindly-growing her food, obsessively sanitizing the house, giving her their own blood for transfusions. But why? We follow Peter and Lorna as they smuggle hidden cameras into Maggie's basement bent on exposing her as a charlatan and freeing the members from her spell. But when they themselves fall prey to Maggie's mind games all bets are off.

“Sound of My Voice serves up moments of extreme dread and discomfort, but works a winning undercurrent of playful absurdity into the material as well.”
-Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

On a wintry day, Beth saves a bedraggled lost dog from the side of the freeway. Struggling with her distracted, self-involved husband Joseph and an empty nest at home, Beth forms a special bond with the rescued animal. When Joseph loses the dog after a wedding at their vacation home in the Rockies, the distraught Beth enlists the help of the few remaining guests and a mysterious young woman in a frantic search. Each member of the search party is affected by the adventure, which takes them in unexpected directions – comic, harrowing, and sometimes deeply emotional.

It's fun to watch Keaton and Kline together, bickering and (of course) bonding all over again. -Philidelphia Enquierer

You don't have to love dogs to enjoy Darling Companion, but it couldn't hurt. -Miami Herald

I found the movie disarming and quite likable. The cast couldn't be better, and the settings (Utah, substituting for Colorado, although there are some readily identifiable shots taken in Telluride) are beautiful. -Leonard Maltin