Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - From February 12-21st, the Costa Banderas Chapter of Democrats Abroad and the International Friendship Club will present "Academy Award Week," featuring five of 2014's best films - all of which have been nominated for Oscars.

The venue for the screenings will be the International Friendship Club. Doors open one hour before each show, and refreshments (popcorn and drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) will be available for purchase.

Boyhood - Thursday, February 12 & Wednesday, February 18th at 7:00 pm

Boyhood is a 2014 American coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Richard Linklater and starring Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, and Ethan Hawke. The film was shot intermittently over the course of a 12-year period, from 2002 to 2013, and depicts the adolescence of a young boy in Texas growing up with divorced parents. Boyhood premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically on July 11, 2014. It was declared a landmark film by many notable critics, who praised its direction, acting, and scope. The film was nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, winning for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress for Arquette. It also received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and acting nominations for Arquette and Hawke.

The Grand Budapest Hotel - Friday, February 13 & Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7:00 pm

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a 2014 comedy film written and directed by Wes Anderson and inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig. It stars Ralph Fiennes as a concierge who teams up with one of his employees (Tony Revolori) to prove his innocence after he is framed for murder. The film is a British-German co-production that was financed by German financial companies and film-funding organisations. It was filmed in Germany. The Grand Budapest Hotel was released to general acclaim from film critics, and many included it in year-end top 10 lists. The film led the BAFTA nominations, with 11 nominations, more than any other film, with awards including; Best Film, Best Director for Anderson and Best Actor for Fiennes. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - and garnered three more Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Director for Anderson. It also garnered nine Academy Award nominations, the joint most for the ceremony, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Birdman - Saturday, February 14 at 1:00 pm & Sunday, February 15 at 7:00 pm

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is a 2014 American dark comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. It stars Michael Keaton with Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts. Keaton plays a faded Hollywood actor famous for his superhero role struggling to mount a Broadway adaptation of a Raymond Carver story. Birdman was the opening film of the 71st Venice International Film Festival, where it premiered on August 27, 2014 in competition for the Golden Lion. The movie received critical acclaim, and was named one of the best films of 2014 by organizations including the AFI and the National Board of Review. It was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Director, Best Score and won for Best Screenplay. Keaton won Best Actor, while Norton and Stone were nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively at both the 72nd Golden Globe Awards and the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards, where the cast won for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture. At the 87th Academy Awards, Birdman received nine nominations, joint most for the ceremony (with The Grand Budapest Hotel,) including Best Picture, Best Director, and acting nominations for Keaton, Norton and Stone.

Still Alice - Saturday, February 14, 4:00 pm & Tuesday, February 17 at 7:00 pm

Still Alice is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland and based on Lisa Genova's 2007 bestselling novel of the same name. The film stars Julianne Moore in the role of Alice, a renowned linguistics professor at Columbia University. When words begin to escape her and she starts becoming lost on her daily jogs, Alice must come face-to-face with a devastating diagnosis: early-onset Alzheimer's disease. As the once-vibrant woman struggles to hang on to her sense of self for as long as possible, Alice's three grown children must watch helplessly as their mother disappears more and more with each passing day. Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, and Hunter Parrish play her children. Alec Baldwin plays her husband John. The movie had its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2014. Moore's performance has earned universal acclaim including wins for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama, a Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, with pending nominations for a BAFTA Award and an Academy Award, among other nominations and accolades.

Selma - Sunday, February 15, 4:00 pm & Saturday, February 21 at 4:00 pm

Selma is a 2014 American historical drama film directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb and Ava DuVernay. The unforgettable true story chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery, led by James Bevel, Hosea Williams, and Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis culminated in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. The film stars British actors David Oyelowo as King, Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon Johnson, Tim Roth as George Wallace, Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King, and American rapper and actor Common as Bevel. Selma premiered at the American Film Institute Festival on November 11, 2014, began a limited U.S. release on December 25, and expanded into wide theatrical release on January 9, 2015, just two months before the 50th anniversary of the march. Selma received four Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, and Best Actor, and won for Best Original Song. It is also nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards.

Whiplash - Friday, February 20 & Saturday, February 21 at 7:00 pm

Whiplash is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. The film stars Miles Teller as a young and talented drummer attending a prestigious music academy. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher, (played by J. K. Simmons) an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man's life. Andrew's passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability-and his sanity. The film, which also stars Paul Reiser and Melissa Benoist, premiered in-competition in the US Dramatic Category at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 2014, as the festival's opening film. Whiplash is nominated for five awards at the 87th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Simmons, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Tickets for all movies are available for a donation of $75 pesos in advance or $100 pesos at the door. If you plan to see multiple shows, or to bring a group of friends, you can get 10 tickets in any combination for a donation of just $600 pesos.

Seating is limited, so it is strongly advised to purchase your tickets in advance at the International Friendship Club Monday-Friday from 9 am to 2 pm. IFC is located above the HSBC bank just north of the Rio Cuale in doentown Puerto Vallarta, where the streets Insurgentes, Libertad, and Miramar all come together at the curve. Come up the stairs, and the Clubhouse is on your right.

For further information, please contact Tobe Jensen at tjensen1942(at)hotmail.com; or David Kamp at snowkamp1(at)yahoo.com.