Pat Dowell

Germany's official entry at the 84th Oscars is Pina, a documentary showcasing the groundbreaking work of the late choreographer Pina Bausch. Director Wim Wenders discusses Bausch, representing dance on screen, and working in 3-D.

No One Knows About Persian Cats tells the story of Iranian musicians trying to put together a band in a country where heavy metal, rock and hip-hop are illegal. The film won two prizes at last year's Cannes International Film Festival, and opens in this week in the U.S.

The Boston-based composer is remembered, 100 years after his birth, for a string of three-minute pops-concert classics such as "Sleigh Ride," "The Typewriter" and "The Syncopated Clock."

Filmmaker John Huston -- born 100 years ago Saturday, on Aug. 5, 1906 -- made some of cinema's most enduring classics, among them The Maltese Falcon and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

Volker Schlondorff is an Academy Award-winning German filmmaker who has focused on many aspects of German culture and history, but vowed never to make a movie about concentration camps -- until now. The Ninth Day tells the story of a priest who is torn between what is best for the church and his people.

Productions Peter Pan have reflected changing social attitudes toward children over the years. The result is that until recently, Peter, the boy who wouldn't grow up, was played by a woman. NPR's Pat Dowell explores the history of the character.

Ancient Rome and Greece seem to be the hot topics for major motion pictures once again. Troy, with Brad Pitt as Achilles, opens in theaters next weekend. Alexander, directed by Oliver Stone, opens this summer. Pat Dowell reports on why filmmakers find the ancient venues so appealing.

The Trilogy, the latest project from French actor-director Lucas Belvaux, consists of three films with distinct plots populated by the same cast of characters. The project has already won France's top critics prize. Each film -- a crime drama, a romantic farce and a forlorn love story -- will open sequentially in U.S. theaters over the course of three weeks. Pat Dowell reports.

In 1831, Nat Turner led a slave rebellion in Southampton County, Va., that killed more than 50 white people. An independent film debuting on PBS examines The Confessions of Nat Turner, William Styron's controversial 1967 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Turner's alleged jailhouse statements and other versions of Turner's story. Pat Dowell reports.

The Return of the King, the last film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, leads the Academy Awards race with 11 nominations, including best picture and best director. Master and Commander gets 10 Oscar nods. With her film Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola becomes the first American woman to be nominated for best director. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and reporter Pat Dowell.