Thanks to all who participated in last week’s query for input regarding the prospective titles that I might bring to my arthouse theater this Fall. I’m hoping I did not exhaust your patience, because this next list is going to really put you through the gauntlet. I’ll just let ‘em rip, fast and furious, and I’ll keep the blurbs brief. I’ll be picking 30 or more titles, so feel free to vote for all your favorites.

Fados (Carlos Saura, 2007): Saura’s latest stages a “drama steeped in Portugal’s Fado music culture.”

Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action (Velcrow Ripper, 2008): This doc about spiritual activism talks with a ton of people, including Julia Butterfly Hill, Desmond Tutu, Alice Walker, etc. Plus, how could something directed by a guy called “Velcrow Ripper” not be kinda cool?

Food, Inc. (Robert Kenner, 2008): “An unflattering look inside America’s corporate controlled food industry.” Eric Schlosser (author of Fast Food Nation) is – no surprise – in this one.

Forever (Heddy Honigmann, 2006): This film is “about the power and vitality of art and a place where love and death go hand in hand and beauty lives on: the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris.”

Four Eyed Monsters (Susan Buice, Arin Crumley, 2005): A bland of autobiographical documentary style and staged drama, this film has been kicking around various festivals for awhile and is about “Apathy, technology, paranoia, disease and medication.”

The Girlfriend Experience (Steven Soderbergh, 2009): This film about a prostitute and her clients might strike some as a bit too mainstream for an arthouse theater that shows mainly international and independent films. But, hey, we’ve got bills to pay, so (shrug) maybe?

Guest of Cindy Sherman (Tom Donahue, Paul Hasegawa-Overacker, 2008): “A documentary on art-scene commentator Paul Hasegawa-Overacker’s relationship with enigmatic photographer Cindy Sherman.”

The Horse Boy (Michel O. Scott): Originally titled Over the Hills and Far Away, this doc looks at the journey a family takes to Mongolia to treat their autistic child. Played at Sundance.

I Can See You (Graham Reznick, 2008): “A psychedelic campfire tale.” An avant-grade horror film with Larrdy Fessenden? Sign me up!

If… (Lindsay Anderson, 1968): Nope, it’s not circulating on a new or restored 35mm print or anything. But another programmer told me the studio print is still in good shape and worth revisiting.

ll Divo (Paolo Sorrentino, 2008): “The story of Italian Prime Minister Guilio Andreotti.” This one’s gotten incredible reviews.

In a Dream (Jeremiah Zagar, 2008): A doc about “Julia Zagar and her husband Isaiah, a renowned mosaic artist, who for the past 30 years has covered more than 40,000 square feet of Philadelphia top to bottom with tile, mirror, paint, and concrete.”

In the City of Sylvia (Jose Luis Guerin, 2007): A man returns to a city to try to track down a lovely woman he met six years earlier.” This one looks sumptious, erotic, and sure to please those looking for a taste of Spain.

It is Fine. Everything is Fine! (David Brothers, Crispin Glover, 2007): “An autobiographical, psycho-sexual, fantastical retelling of Steven C. Stewart’s life” (credited as writer, who suffered from Cerebral Palsy). Bonus: Crispin Glover wants to come out in-person. (Albeit with a boat-load of contractual stipulations and caveats that appear daunting at first reading, which I need to re-read again to wrap my head around the details.)

Jerichow (Christian Petzold, 2008): A German version of The Postman Always Rings Twice.

Julia (Erick Zonca, 2008): A French thriller about “a woman who tries to extort money, using a young boy as bait.” Tilda Swinton is supposed to be amazing in this one.

Katalin Varga (Peter Strickland, 2009): A rural revenge tragedy set in Hungarian-Romanian Transylvania.

Laila’s Birthday (Rashid Masharawi, 2008): An endearing father/daughter story set in Palestine.

The Lemon Tree (Eran Riklis, 2008): “A drama based on the true story of a Palestinian widow who must defend her lemontree field when a new Israeli Defense Minister moves next to her and threatens to have her lemon grove torn down.”

Les Plages D’Agnes (Agnes Varda, 2008): “Autobiographical documentary about the life of director Agnes Varda.”

Limits of Control (Jim Jarmusch, 2009): “The story of a mysterious loner, a stranger in the process of completing a criminal job.”

Liverpool (Lisandro Alonso, 2008): “A merchant sailor returns to his home in Tierra del Fuego after spending most of his life at sea.”

The Man Who Loved Yngve (Stian Kristiansen, 2008): “A teenage boy loses his footing when he finds himself drawn to the new boy in class.” I’m a sucker for Norwegian films, so this one’s already a leg up.

Medicine for Melancholy (Barry Jenkins, 2008): “A love story of bikes and one-night stands told through two African-American twenty-somethings dealing with the conundrum of being a minority in a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco.”

Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight (Wendy Key, 2009): A doc about the man who designed the ubiquitous “I (heart) NY” logo.

Nollywood Babelon (Ben Addelman, Samir Mallal, 2008): “Nigerias film industry, Nollywood, is the third largest in the world — an unstoppable economic and cultural force that has taken the continent by storm and is now bursting beyond the borders of Africa.”

Otto; Or, Up With Dead People (Bruce LaBruce, 2008): A transgressive “art-porno” German horror-comedy with gay zombies directed by “queercore auteur” and Canadian, LaBruce.

Outrage (Kirby Dick, 2009): “An indictment of closeted politicians who lobby for anti-gay legislation in the U.S.”

Panic in the Streets (Elia Kazan, 1950): “A doctor and a policeman in New Orleans have only 48 hours to locate a killer infected with bubonic plague.” New 35mm print!

The Paranoids (Gabriel Medina, 2008): A “tragicomedy of errors” from Argentina that follows a young slacker and would-be screenwriter.

The Queen and I (Nahid Persson, 2008): “Filmmaker and Iranian exile Nahid Persson Sarvestani talks with the widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran, who was overthrown in 1979.”

Revanche (Gotz Spielman, 2008): This modern, romantic film noir from Austria was nominated for an Oscar. “Ex-con Alex plans to flee to the South with his girl after a robbery. But something terrible happens and revenge seems inevitable.”

Scott Walker: 30th Century Man (Stephen Kijak, 2007): A documentary on the influential musician Scott Walker.” What really caught my eye on this was a description of this as the “next best thing to a powwow between Phil Spector and Werner Herzog.” Gotta love those reclusive genius and musical types that turn into cult figures and huge influences on many top performers today. Executive produced by David Bowie (that tells you something). Sweet.

Shall We Kiss? (Emmanuel Mouret, 2007): A French romantic comedy.

Stingray Sam (Cory McAbee, 2009): Six short films from the creator behind American Astronaut that were meant for “screens of all sizes.” One of my favorite films from the last Sundance Film Festival. Trailer just released! See it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4uwrghMdSo

Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas, 2008): “Two brothers and a sister witness the disappearance of their childhood memories when they must relinquish the family belongings to ensure their deceased mother’s succession.” Assayas is still mainly remembered for Irma Vep and Demonlover, but continues to be productive and has two more films in the works.

Three Monkeys (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2008): The latest film from the Turkish director of Distant, it showed at Cannes – and I have to admit to being mesmerized by his widescreen compositions.

Throw Down Your Heart (Sascha Paladino, 2008): “A film crew follows the well-known banjo player Bela Fleck on his travels to Africa, where he learns about the instrument’s origins.”

Treeless Mountain (So Yong Kim, 2008): “In Seoul, Korea, two sisters must look after one another when their mother leaves them to search for their estranged father.” Jonathan Howell, formerly of New Yorker Pictures but now at Oscilloscope, tells me this is one of his favorites and “most like the film NYer used to rep.”

Tulpan (Sergei Dvortsevoy, 2008): “Kazakhstan’s 2009 Academy Awards official submission to Foreign-Language Film category.” It won Un Certain Regard Award at Cannes. Also played at Telluride and a slew of other film fests.

Unmistaken Child (Nati Baratz, 2008): A doc about the journey taken by Tibetan monks searching for the reincarnation of their master.

We Live in Public (Ondi Timoner, 2009): “A documentary focusing on the life of dot-com entrepreneur Josh Harris, and his exploits over the last decade.” From the director of DiG! Played at Sundance.

Were the World Mine (Tom Gustafson, 2008): Love potions, musical numbers, a witty take-off on A Midsummer Night’s Dream – and a sure hit for fans of Hedwig. Looks like a total hoot. But can I beat dvd release? Maybe…

Wild River (Elia Kazan, 1960): Part of the new 35mm prints being put out by Criterion to honor Kazan. This will look just lovely on the big screen.

The Windmill Movie (Alexander Olch, 2008): This is an “autobiography-by-proxy culled from 200 hours of footage” from Richard P. Rogers (1943-2001), a “Harvard-educated WASP who became a first-rate independent filmmaker.” It is preceded by a 12-minute-long short film, Quarry (Richard P. Rogers, 1970), which is fantastic! The doc itself is never less than engrossing.

Phew! Are you still with me? A wealth of choices – but, as Darwinian as it sounds, the weak must be weeded out. So now it’s my turn to lend you my ear. Vote for the titles you think merit being brought to the big screen and I’ll add those to the suggestions given me last week.