Spotlight shines on ‘Rice’

Next month's films at the Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Academy of Arts begins with a "Rice & Buddhism" Film Series, running March 31 through April 10. The films coincide with the academy's "Art of Rice and Eternal Presence" exhibit. All films have received awards and celebrate the birth of Buddha.

Here are the descriptions:

» "Travellers and Magicians" (2004): In the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, in the Himalayas, two men seek to escape their mundane lives. Subtitled. Not rated. Preceded by "Humble Beginnings," a student docu- mentary by Nelson Quan, about local basketball hero Derrick Low. At 1 p.m. Thursday; 1 and 7:30 p.m. April 5-8; 7:30 p.m. April 4; and 4 p.m. April 8.

» "Chicken Rice War (Jiyuan Qiaoha)" (2000): Romantic comedy revolves around two lovers caught between two feuding families. Subtitled. Not rated. At 1 p.m. April 9 and 10.

» "Baytong" (2003): A Buddhist monk leaves his monastery for the first time to take care of his orphaned niece. Subtitled. Not rated. At 4 and 7:30 p.m. April 9.

>> "Wheel of Time" (2003): Documentary about the largest Buddhist ritual to promote peace and tolerance, held by the Dalai Lama. Subtitled. Not rated. At 4 and 7:30 p.m. April 10.

» "Up and Down (Horem Padem)" (2004): A Czechoslovakian comedy. Subtitled. Not rated. Preceded by the student film "Le Combat." Director Justin Zagri combines physical comedy with combat in this piece. At 7:30 p.m. April 11; 1 and 7:30 p.m. April 12-15; and 4 p.m. April 15.

» "Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids" (2004): Documentary about children living in Calcutta's red-light district and a photographer who teaches them how to capture their world in photos. Subtitled. Rated R. Preceded by James Sereno's "Silent Years." This film tells the story of child abuse, adapted from two poems by Hawaii author/playwright Lois-Ann Yamanaka. At 1 p.m. April 16; 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. April 17, 22 and 23; 1 and 7:30 p.m. April 19-21; and 7:30 p.m. April 18.

» "The Other World (L'Autre Mondo)" (2001): A young French-Algerian goes to Algeria in search of her fiancŽe. Subtitled. Not rated. Preceded by "i scream, floats and Sundays" by Leah Kihara. This unique combination of three short pieces won an award at the 2002 Hawai'i International Film Festival. It gives a visual meditation on the pressures facing contemporary Hawaiian women in a westernized Hawaiian society. At 1 and 7:30 p.m. April 24, 26, 27, 28; and 4 p.m. April 24.

» "The Boys from County Clare": Directed by British filmmaker John Irvan. This musical comedy drama set in the late 1960s involves a pair of rival brothers reuniting for the All-Ireland Traditional Music Competition in County Clare, Ireland. Not rated. At 1, 4 and 7:30 p.m. April 29 and 30.