OneNightCinema presents 'Owl and the Sparrow'

Vietnamese film Owl and the Sparrow is the first in a series of foreign and independent films to make its Arizona debut at Pollack Tempe Cinemas this weekend.

Each film screens at 7:30 p.m. Fridays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays and 7 p.m. Mondays.

Ahwatukee Foothills resident Randy Montgomery founded the series, and said he hopes to create the same following that Mad Stone theater on Ray and Kyrene roads used to have.

"When they closed it really left a void in the East Valley," Montgomery said.

Owl and the Sparrow follows a 10-year-old orphan girl, Thuy, who runs away from her uncle, who considers her useless.

Taking a job selling roses on the street, Thuy befriends a Lan, flight attendant who always travels alone, and Hai, a zoo keeper whose fiancée had just left him. It isn't long before Thuy begins to play matchmaker between the two lonely love birds.

The film is immersive and genuine, making you feel like you really are there on the streets of Saigon. The actors give low-key, realistic performances and its powerful message of love and family makes you not help but smile.

Director Stephane Gauger will introduce the film and will hold a Q&A after the movie is over, and the theater's neighbor Yupha's Thai Kitchen will provide snacks and soft drinks to celebrate opening night.

Other movies in the Foreign and Independent Film Series include:

• Sixty-Six (UK), opens Sept. 19.

• Tuya's Marriage (People's Republic of China), opens Sept. 26.

• The Singing Revolution (Estonia/USA), opens Oct. 10.

• The Order of Myths (USA), opens Oct. 17.

Tickets are $7.50 for a series pass holder or $9.50 (cash only) at the door. Pollack Tempe Cinemas is located at 1825 E. Elliot Road in Tempe.

For more information, visit www.OneNightCinema.com, call the box office at (480) 897-0677 or e-mail onenightcinema@hotmail.com.