Mountain Shadow’s film selection for May, 2025: Based on Bill Bennett’s best selling Camino memoir, “The Way, My Way” is the charming and captivating true story of an Australian who decides to walk the 800 kilometre-long Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route through Spain. He doesn’t know why he’s doing it, but one step at a time it will change him and his outlook on life forever. To read a brief Mountain Shadow commentary and review of the film click on the image above.

Our April’2025 film was a pre-theatrical release comedy/drama from Italy. A grade-school teacher from Rome moves to a remote village in the Abruzzo National Park and discover a different world that faces many of the challenges as the world “out there.” Click on the image above to read a brief Mountain Shadow review.

When a widow in Paris hears on the radio that an NGO is putting in touch homeless migrant refugees with people who are willing to welcome them -- she decides to welcome Reza who is a young Afghan broken by war and exile. Our March selection was a pre-theatrical release from France. Click on the image above to read a Mountain Shadow review of this film most appropriate for the times in which we find ourselves.

In advance of the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 2nd, our show in February presented a variety of the Animated, Documentary and Live-Action shorts that have been nominated for an Oscar, for our own audiences to judge. For the complete list click on the image above.

In January, Mountain Shadow kicked off our 2025 Season with this wonderful pre-theatrical "literary" Irish drama, “That They May Face the Rising Sun,” based on the great Irish novelist, John McGahern’s book by the same title. Click on the image above to read a film review by Mountain Shadow’s director, John Bennison.

Our pre-theatrical release of the Italian film, “Gloria!” concluded our 11th Season with a delightful musical drama for December, 2024. You can read the Mountain Shadow director’s brief review by clicking on the image above.

In the wake of the U.S. elections, Mountain Shadow’s November, 2024 film selection was a pre-theatrical release from Italy that offers a redemptive and hope-filled conclusion; with a reminder there’s still a tomorrow. Click on the image above to read a brief film review.

Straight from the Toronto International Film Festival, Mountain Shadow’s October selection was an uplifting docu-drama, along with Toronto filmmaker Q&A via Zoom. BORN HUNGRY is a gritty, life-affirming human drama about a young boy in India, abandoned on the streets, then adopted by a compassionate Canadian couple; only to become a renowned 5-star chef. Click on the image above to read a brief commentary on this film.

Mountain Shadow's 10th Annual Short Film Competition brought eleven Finalists out of 344 submissions -- selected by our volunteer member jurors -- to Walnut Creek on Sept. 14th; to present their animated, live-action and documentary short films in person for audience choice awards. Click on the image to read more about this terrific show.

"Daaaaali!" was Mountain Shadow's zany bio-pic selection for August, 2024. To read a brief review and filmmaker's statement about the surrealist artist, click on the image above.

The bio/drama of the life of literary genius, Samuel Becket, was Mountain Shadow’s pre-theatrical release film selection for July, 2024; based on his life’s maxim, “Dance first, think later.” Click on the image above to read a brief Mountain Shadow review.

Mountain Shaodw’s selection for June was the premiere of “THE GRAB,” a documentary global thriller combining hard-hitting journalism from The Center for Investigative Reporting with the compelling character-driven storytelling; taking you around the globe from Arizona to Zambia, to reveal one of the world’s biggest and least known threats. Click on the image above to read a review and a link to a post-screening Q&A with the main reporter.

Margreth Olin’s film, “Songs of Earth,” is far more than a nature documentary, or family biography about her aging parents. It’s a meditation walk, shot with breathtaking cinematography and set against the backdrop of life-altering environmental changes. This was Mountain Shadow’s selection for May 2024. To read a brief review, click on the image above.

Set against the backdrop of the filmmaker’s quixotic quest to build an ark in a field in Maine, the film heads far afield – to pursue an answer to the question: What in this world, if anything, is worth saving or will endure? To read a Mountain Shadow review of our selection for April, 2024, click on the image above.

An annual Mountain Shadow tradition: The "Best" of the Oscar Shorts. From 15 nominees (5 animated, 5 live-action and 5 documentary), Mountain Shadow selected six wonderfully-creative short films for our March show, 2024. Click on the image above to read a bit about each one.

For our February show, Mountain Shadow snagged this pre-theatrical release from famed British filmmaker, Ken Loach. In a British town that’s fallen on hard times, the local pub becomes contested territory after the arrival of Syrian refugees who are placed in the village. Can they get along? Click on the image above to read a Mountain Shadow review of this moving film.

“Inshallah a Boy,” was Jordan’s Oscar submission for “Best International Feature Film,” and was Mountain Shadow’s film to launch our 11th Season in January, 2024. Nawal, a widow, struggles to provide a stable life for her daughter; resorting to deception and challenging long-standing cultural mores. A “Critics Pick” by the NY times, and overwhelming well-received by our audiences, you can read a brief review and filmmaker statement by clicking on the image above.

The farce is a type of comedy that exaggerates the improbable; sometimes to the point of silly absurdity. However, such comedy is often employed to lay bare and critique the kinds of serious social norms that may need to be brought to light for more than mere amusement. Such is the case with François Ozon’s new film, “The Crime is Mine.” To read a brief review of Mountain Shadow’s selection for December, 2023, click on the picture above.

Mountain Shadow snagged this pre-theatrical release for our November, 2023 film. Sara Nodjoumi’s documentary film and personal memoir, “A Revolution on Canvas,” could not be more timely.Her father, An Iranian artist, flees Iran decades ago; due to an exhibition of his paintings in Tehran that are deemed politically subversive to the regime at the time. A brief review and recorded Q&A with the filmmaker can be found by clicking on the image above.

In “Fremont,” a female Afghan translator for the U.S. immigrates to America, and settles in Fremont, California. There she ends up working in a Chinese fortune cookie factory. You might say you can’t make this stuff up. But then again, the human tale about displacement and longing of the heart for a home – this time filmed in black and white to perhaps suggest its timeless quality -- is a universal plot line that bears repeating and remembering. To read a brief review of Mountain Shadow’s selection for October,2023, click on the image above.