CHRISTIAN MONKS living in a Muslim land and an American teenager struggling to look after her family are the backdrop to two upcoming screenings by The Galway Film Society.
The Galway Film Society will screen two films in the Town Hall Theatre over the next week - Winters Bone this Sunday and Of Gods and Men next Wednesday.
US film Winters Bone (2010 ) is set in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, and centres on teenager Ree, who looks after her mother and her younger brother and sister.
Her father is absent, and thought to be engaged in criminal activity. However when the sheriff informs Ree her dad has posted the family home as bail, Ree must find him and in doing so, she starts to dig up some very dangerous secrets.
Winters Bone won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.
French film Of Gods and Men is set in a Cistercian monastery in North Africa in the 1990s, and is based on a true story. It was also awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes.
In the monastery eight French monks live in harmony with the local population. The abbot, Brother Christian, is as much versed in the Qur’an as in the Bible, giving him a special insight into, and respect for, the nation he works in.
However the country is increasingly in the grip of fundamentalist violence, and the brothers must soon decide whether to stay or leave. Of Gods and Men is a compassionate plea for understanding between cultures.
Both films start at 8.15pm. Tickets are €8/6 for each screening. Season tickets are also available from the Town Hall on 091 - 569777 and www.tht.ie
