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San Ramon Arts Foundation’s 2025 Friday Foreign Film Series is set for its first screening Friday night.
This year’s four-part series — which focuses on foreign cinema directed by women — is set to kick off with the 2015 Japanese drama “Sweet Bean,” directed by Naomi Kawase and a winner and candidate for numerous international accolades, including a screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
“Sweet Bean” explores themes of freedom, joy, and the value of sensory experiences – specifically sweet bean paste, and a recipe from one of the film’s main characters that is central to its plot.Â
The upcoming screening is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday (Feb. 7) in the Front Row Theater at 17011 Bollinger Canyon Road in San Ramon, with subsequent films in the series set for the same showtime and place.
The series continues on Feb. 21 with the 2001 Indian romantic comedy “Monsoon Wedding” directed by Mira Nair.
The film has seen wide success in the decades since its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, going on to gross $30 million in international box office sales and a Golden Globe award, as well as inspiring a Broadway musical by the same name that debuted in 2014.
The next film in the series showcases a darker and more serious tone, with the Kosovian drama “Hive” based on the true story of Fahrije Hoti and her contention with misogynistic forces in the wake of the Kosovo war from 1998 to 1999 by establishing her own agricultural business – including selling her own honey – and recruiting other women to the business as she sought to rebuild her life in the wake of the war and her husband’s disappearance in its throes.
The 2021 film is Albanian writer Blerta Basholli’s directorial debut, premiering that year at the Sundance Film Festival and being the first film in history to win all three of the festival’s main awards in its World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
The series concludes on March 7 with the 2019 Chinese dramatic comedy “The Farewell” directed by Chinese-born American filmmaker Lulu Wang, based on a story she originally told and narrated on “This American Life” in 2016.
“The Farewell” – Wang’s second feature film – began taking shape later that year, seeking to bring to life the tale based on Wang’s own experience as an artist in the United States visiting her dying grandmother during a family reunion in China.
Although the film is in Mandarin with English subtitles, it saw greater success with its nationwide release in the United States than it did in China, grossing $357,115,007 in box office sales its opening weekend and garnering significantly less attention in China.
Lead actress Awkwafina earned a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her work in the film in 2020, with the film garnering an Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature the following month.
More information and tickets for the film screenings – available individually or for the whole series – are available here.
