0653 – Of Gods and Men / Des hommes et des dieux (2010)

spacetime coordinates: 1996, Algeria, Abbey of Our Lady of Atlas

“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.”

Of Gods and Men is a 2010 French drama film directed by Xavier Beauvois, starring Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale. Its original French language title is Des hommes et des dieux, which means “Of Men and of Gods” and refers to a verse from the Bible shown at the beginning of the film. It centers on the monastery of Tibhirine, where nine Trappist monks lived in harmony with the largely Muslim population of Algeria, until seven of them were kidnapped and assassinated in 1996 during the Algerian Civil War.

Largely a tale of a peaceful situation between local Christians and Muslims before becoming a lethal one due to external forces, the screenplay focuses on the preceding chain of events in decay of government, expansion of terrorism, and the monks’ confrontation with both the terrorists and the government authorities that led up to their deaths. Principal photography took place at an abandoned monastery in Azrou, Morocco. (wiki)

imdb

604 – Black Panther (2018)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_(film)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825683/

afrofuturism   495

0591 – Space Station 76 (2014)

Space Station 76 is a 2014 American science fiction film directed by Jack Plotnick, and co-written by Plotnick, Jennifer Elise Cox, Sam Pancake, Kali Rocha, and Michael Stoyanov.

A dark comedy film that deconstructs seemingly idyllic relationships, set against the backdrop of Omega 76, a 1970s retro futuristic space station.

imdb   wiki

0578 – The Alienist (2018 TV series)

spacetime coordinates: 1896 New York City

The Alienist in an American period drama television series based on The Alienist by Caleb Carr. The ten-episode limited series stars Daniel Brühl, Luke Evans, and Dakota Fanning as an ad hoc team assembled in mid-1890s New York City to investigate a serial killer who is murdering street children.

imdb

0531 – The Awakening (2011)

spacetime coordinates: boys’ boarding school in Cumbria 1921

“Maud Hill: There’s no place on earth people understand loneliness better than here.”

The Awakening is a 2011 British  supernatural thriller/ horror film directed and co-written by Nick Murphy, starring Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Isaac Hempstead-Wright and Imelda Staunton.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1687901/

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Down a Dark Hall (2018)

spacetime coordinates: 2010’s  exclusive Blackwood Boarding School

imdb   /   rottentomatoes

0527 – The Conjuring (film series)

spacetime coordinates: farmhouse in Rhode Island in 1971 //  London suburb of Enfield 1977

The Conjuring is an American horror film series distributed by the New Line Cinema division of Warner Bros. Pictures. The films present a dramatized take on the real-life cases of Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent yet controversial cases of haunting. The main series follows their attempts to assist people who find themselves possessed by demonic spirits, while the spin-off films focus on the origins of some of the entities the Warrens have come across.

The franchise currently consists of two films in the main series, The Conjuring (2013) (imdb) and The Conjuring 2 (2016) (imdb), both directed by James Wan, co-produced by Peter Safran and Rob Cowan, and co-written by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes. The installments revolve around two of the many famous paranormal cases the Warrens have been a part of, with the first film depicting the case of the Perron family, who are experiencing disturbing events in their newly acquired house in Rhode Island, and the second entry focusing on the controversial case of the Enfield Poltergeist while briefly referencing the events that inspired The Amityville Horror. A third film in the main series is currently in development.

by rainny_yu_1995

The franchise also includes Annabelle (2014), a prequel directed by The Conjuring cinematographer John R. Leonetti and produced by Safran and Wan, which developed the origins of the doll of the same name before the Warrens came into contact with it at the start of the first film. An Annabelle prequel, Annabelle: Creation (2017), directed by David F. Sandberg, was also produced. A spin-off film, The Nun, is currently in post-production, based on a character introduced in The Conjuring 2. A further spin-off film, The Crooked Man, also based on a character introduced in The Conjuring 2, is in development.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valac

Horror films based on actual events

0522 – City of Ember (2008)

spacetime coordinates:  underground city Ember 241 years after an apocalyptic war

City of Ember is a 2008 American science fiction film based on the 2003 novel The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. It was  directed by Gil Kenan,written by Caroline Thompson, and stars Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Bill Murray, Mackenzie Crook, Martin Landau, Mary Kay Place, Toby Jones, and Tim Robbins.

“City of Ember belongs to one of the best and most enduring genres of children’s films, in which smart kids stand up against the ignorant and aloof adult world and have a big adventure in the process. It also throws in a fantastical city, replete with whiz-bang inventions and secret societies. (…) Ember itself is fascinating, an intricately detailed set that, like Diagon Alley or the Star Wars cantina, you’d like to take a few hours to wander around in.” Katey Rich   //   Irv Slifkin for Video Business wrote, “this lavishly designed adventure saga from director Gil Kenan… plays like Terry Gilliam‘s Brazil — for beginners”.    //    TV Guide  “A fun and moving family film with a subtly dark feel rarely seen in kids’ movies since the ’80s, City of Ember succeeds despite its shortcomings, not only because of its fun and inspiring story, but because most of its flaws are things kids won’t notice anyway… [T]he story spins into a classic fable; the ignorance that seemed so blissful shows it’s just one half of a coin, where the other side holds apathy and hopelessness. The moral might well be lost on kids, but for adults, it’s compelling — all the more so because we like the good people of this dying city”.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970411/