The latest from the brother duo, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, The Kid With a Bike, vividly depicts the struggles of growing up a lower class Belgian from the vantage point of the young protagonist, Cyril. Cyril (Thomas Doret) is a hostile and unruly 11-year-old orphan determined to set off on a mission to find both his deadbeat dad and his bicycle. Along his journey, Cyril meets an empathetic hairdresser, Samantha (Cécile De France) who decides to care after him.

Last night PFS presented a sneak preview of the much talked about documentary Bully. Some PFS members may recall this documentary by filmmaker Lee Hirsch was screened last October during the 20th Philadelphia Film Festival when it was titled The Bully Project. I think the shortened title really gives it the impact the film deserves.

I just got back from SXSW, one of the most enjoyable festivals on the circuit, in no small part due to its location in Austin, Texas (one of my favorite cities in the world).

Last week Philadelphia welcomed Academy Award winning actress Eva Marie Saint to the Prince Music Theater where she accompanied a special presentation of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic NORTH BY NORTHWEST.

Part of TCM’s “Road to Hollywood” series, 400+ movie lovers, including numerous PFS members, packed the Prince for the free event (200 patrons were turned away from the first-come, first-served screening).

TCM host Ben Mankiewicz facilitated the pre-screening Q&A with Ms.