Efi Lubliner by the "Max Manus" poster at the Orinda Theater Photo Sophie Braccini

January 28 will be the beginning of something unique in the Bay Area - the International Film Showcase at the Orinda Theater. Once a month and for an entire week, Efi Lubliner and Jo Alice Canterbury will bring to the theater a foreign movie that has appeared in film festivals, has often won awards, that both Lubliner and Canterbury find exceptional, but that has not found a distribution network in this country. "Those are films that you cannot see anywhere else and that are not available on DVD or Netflix," explains Lubliner, "and every month, Lamorinda residents will have about 20 showings scheduled at the theater to enjoy these gems." The first movie is Max Manus, which won Norway's 2009 best film Award and was an Oscar submission.

When he is not managing his computer company, EDC System, on Golden Gate Way in Lafayette, Lubliner can usually be found in theaters or at festivals. The Israeli-born business man originally came to the U.S. to make movies. Though that dream did not materialize, he continues to have a passion and high expectations for the seventh art.

Lubliner's partner in crime, Jo Alice Canterbury, is no less knowledgeable about movies. A former flight attendant who traveled the world, she was the Program Director of the Orinda Film Festival between 2002 and 2005. She was also captivated by Max Manus, a movie that recounts the true story of Norway's Nazi-fighting war hero. "Efi (Lubliner) and I have very intense discussions about movie choices," she says, "but we had a consensus when we saw Max Manus." They are both volunteers and manage the project as a non-profit, "it's all a work of love," says Lubliner.

Each month, one of the three screens of the Orinda Theater will be made available to the Showcase by the theater's managers, Jim Sheehan and Tom Peterson. "They are the ones who decide which will be our week," says Lubliner, "and we want to thank them for their support of our project."

For more information and tickets go to the web site www.lfef.org or to the International Film Showcase page on Facebook.