Finest in World Cinema Comes To Westhampton Beach

  With film festivals being so popular in the Hamptons, you can still see a series of great films this winter at the , which has lined up "The Best in World Cinema" during the months of January and February.

"Our summer film series was so successful, that we decided to also do a winter film series, which starts on January 7, with Nora's Will," said Claire Bisceglia, Executive Director of WHBPAC. "We wanted to get a texturally rich offering of films that are current releases, as well as art house, foreign and independent films."

Whereas during the summer months, the performing arts center shows films during the week, in the winter, they will be showing them on the weekends when not so much is going on in the Hamptons.

The "Best in World Cinema" films are from around the globe and in different languages. They will show until April on Friday and Saturday nights, and on Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Bisceglia, who has been in her position for nine years, said the WHBPAC is "such a historic movie house, built in 1932, so it is a perfect place to show these great films."

She said the theater has a "concert equipment, with extraordinary sound, and the projector is one of only a few in the country which is handmade in Denmark, and is the best there is."

All this, in a beautiful venue, makes for a great place to view these specially selected movies.

The first of the "Best in World Cinema" films, Nora's Will, is a Spanish movie directed by Mariana Chenillo, and runs from January 7-9. It is a family story of a Passover feast that leads to an unexpected ending when a mysterious photo is found hidden under the bed.

The second movie, All Good Things, directed by Andrew Jarecki, is an English-speaking love story and murder mystery about the most notorious missing persons case in New York history. It is based on the life of Robert Durst, who was suspected of killing his wife, and stars Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, and Frank Langella. It runs from January 14-16.

The next movie, Inspector Bellamy, is a French film, directed by Claude Chabrol. It is a wry police thriller, starring the famed French actor, Gerard Depardieu. It runs from January 21-23.

Inside Job plays only on January 29, at 7:30 p.m., and is a fascinating expose on the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. It is in English, narrated by actor Matt Damon, and is directed by Charles Ferguson.

For all the foodies, the next film is about the restaurant business, and is appropriately called, Today's Special. Directed by David Kaplan, it tells the story of the rise of an Indian restaurant in New York City, when a gourmet chef and taxi driver takes over in the kitchen. It is in English, and runs the weekend of February 4-6.

An interesting movie about Africa follows, from February 11-13. Called, White Material,  it is a French film directed by Claire Denis, about a couple in an African country who try to sustain a coffee plantation despite the tumultuous military and political climate in this unnamed country.

Four Lions  is a British slapstick comedy, directed by Chris Morris, and is a farce and satire about the war on terror. It runs the weekend of February 18-20.

Tickets to the movies are $10 and $7 for seniors and students. There are Film Society Memberships available. Those with membership pay just $3.00 a viewing. For information on the dates and times, call (631) 288-1500.