Movies are scheduled to begin December 9, 2006 at the Festival Theatre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, at 3:00 pm each Saturday through February 24.

Shaw Festival Film Series Schedule

December 9
Little Miss Sunshine
Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris

Winner of the Best Feature - World Cinema Audience Award at the 2006 Sydney Film Festival, this is the story of the Hoovers, a remarkably dysfunctional family from Albuquerque, New Mexico. To fulfill the deepest wish of 7-year-old Olive, the motley six-member family embarks on a journey to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, California. Rating: R

December 16
Catch a Fire
Directed by Phillip Noyce

Based on the real-life story of one of the African National Congress's most respected militants, Patrick Chamusso, this political thriller powerfully tells the story of a South African hero's journey to freedom during the country's turbulent and divided times in the early 1980s. Rating: 14-A

December 23 Joyeux Noel (English subtitles) Directed by Christian Carion Nominated Best Foreign Film of the Year at the 78th Annual Academy Awards, this movie is inspired by actual events that took place on Christmas Eve 1914 during World War 1. On this evening, a momentous event turns the destinies of four lives, and the unimaginable occurs: rifles are left behind and steps are taken towards those on opposite sides to shake hands, exchange a cigarette or a piece of chocolate, and to wish each other a Merry Christmas. Rating: 14A

December 30 Shut up and Sing Directed by Bruce Leddy This powerful documentary follows the Dixie Chicks, from the peak of their popularity as the national-anthem-singing darlings of country music and top-selling female recording artists of all time, through the now infamous anti-Bush comment made by the groupÕs lead singer in 2003. The film traces the lives and careers of the Dixie Chicks over a period of three years and ultimately presents who the Dixie Chicks are as women, public figures, and musicians. Rating: PG

January 6, 2007 Marie Antoinette Directed by Sofia Coppola From her early childhood in the powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire to her grim final hours in a French prison cell, this two-hour portrait of Marie Antoinette paints a vivid portrait of a historical figure that was as tragic as she was courageous. Rating: PG-13

January 13, 2007 Snow Cake Directed by Marc Evans Set in a beautiful snowy landscape on the shores of Lake Superior, this is a story of love and friendship and the unorthodox relationship between a man escaping his past, an autistic mother coping with the loss of her daughter and a passionate woman who keeps love at armÕs length. Rating: 14-A

January 20, 2007 Volver Directed by Pedro Almod—var Awarded Best Screenplay and Best Actress at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, Volver is a generational story of three women who survive the east wind, fire, insanity, superstition and even death by means of goodness, lies and boundless vitality. This accomplished and poignant movie destroys all the clichŽs about "black" Spain and offers a Spain that is as real as it is the opposite; a Spain that is white, spontaneous, funny, intrepid, supportive and fair. Rating: R

Tickets are $10 per person. This year, two film-series packages are also available to purchase in advance for Saturday screenings only: a twelve-film series valid throughout December, January and February for $109 per person, or an eight-film series valid throughout January and February for $69 per person.

To purchase tickets, please visit the Shaw Festival box office in person, or call locally 905-468-2172 or long distance 1-800-511-SHAW (7429).