Belmont World Film's 19th Annual International Film Series, Family Ties, features films from around the world—many of which premiered and won awards at major international film festivals—that focus on family relations.

The series runs March 15-April 13, at the Studio Cinema in Belmont (376 Trapelo Road) and April 20-May 3, at the West Newton Cinema (1296 Washington Street). Both the opening night and closing night films take place on Sundays (March 15 and May 3, respectively) while all other films will be shown on Mondays. All screenings begin at 7:30 PM and are followed by thought-provoking discussions led by expert speakers about the cultures portrayed in the films.

Of the eight films, two were their countries’ Oscar submissions for Best International Feature Film (formerly Best Foreign Language Film), and more than a third are directed by women. The series also includes a “Francophone Film Celebration,” featuring four films from three different continents that reflect the richness and diversity of filmmakers from French speaking countries: Gloria Mundi from France, Antigone from Canada, A Son from Tunisia, and The Dazzled from France.

Opening night on Sunday, March 15, at the Studio Cinema features the New England premiere of Agosto, about a Cuban teenager, who cares for his beloved grandmother and develops his first crush during the summer of 1994, when the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing shortage of food, supplies, and electricity compels people to make the perilous journey to the US by boat. The screening is preceded by an optional ticketed dinner reception at the theater from 6:00-7:00 PM featuring Cuban cuisine.

Additional films at the Studio Cinema

Monday, March 23: To Live to Sing directed by Johnny Ma (China) New England premiere. With interest in the artform waning and the theatre's building facing demolition to make room for skyscraping apartment buildings, the manager of a Sichuan opera troupe struggles to keep the company alive by pinning her hopes on her niece, who has dreams of her own. An engaging drama about the damage being inflicted on traditional artists and the working poor in China –and perhaps around the world.

Monday, March 30: Out Stealing Horses directed by Hans Petter Moland (Norway, Sweden) New England premiere. A grieving widower (Stellan Skarsgård, Mamma Mia) moves from Sweden to the Norwegian countryside, where he spent a summer as a 15 year-old harvesting timber with his father. A chance encounter with his childhood neighbor rekindles memories of that pivotal summer in this sweeping film adaptation of the novel by the same name. Norway’s submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar.

Monday, April 6: Gloria Mundi directed by Robert Guédiguian (France) New England premiere. Guédiguian (Snows of Kilimanjaro, BWF 2012) reunites his regular cast of actors in this family drama about surviving in today's gig economy. Set in Marseille, the story centers around the birth of baby Gloria. Despite the family's joy, some family members have fallen on hard times. The family pins their hopes on the baby's uncle when he opens a successful business.

Monday, April 13: Antigone directed by Sophie Deraspe (Canada) New England premiere. The lives of an Algerian immigrant family in present-day Montreal are turned upside down in this riveting twist on Sophocles’s classical Greek tragedy. According to the director, it’s a “universal story about family, love, dignity and resistance,” so you don’t have to know the play in order to appreciate the film! Canada’s submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar.

Films at the West Newton Cinema

Monday, April 20: A Son directed by Mehdi Barsaoui (Tunisia) East Coast premiere. In the summer of 2011, in the immediate aftermath of Tunisia's "Jasmine Revolution," an upper middle class family's weekend in southern Tunisia turns into a nightmare when a bullet shot by armed terrorists penetrates their 10 year-old son's liver. A surprising story unfolds, resulting in an examination of the family's liberal and modern lifestyle, as well as how religious traditions impact established medical practices.

Monday, April 27: The Dazzled directed by Sarah Suco (France) East Coast premiere. A 12 year-old girl’s parents join a controlling religious commune in southwestern France, making her on outcast at school and dashing her dreams of becoming a circus acrobat. Based largely on the director's experience growing up in a community that espoused sharing and solidarity, this feature debut portrays the damaging effects such cults can have on family members, effectively brainwashing them into giving up their true selves for what appears to be a greater spiritual calling.

Sunday, May 3: The Taste of Pho directed by Mariko Bobrik (Poland) North American premiere. A Warsaw, Poland-based cook originally from Vietnam struggles to fit into the European culture, which his ten-year-old bi-racial daughter has already embraced as her own. A story about love, misunderstanding and food made by a Japanese native now living in Poland! Immediately followed by a free closing night reception.