The Sunrise Theater will present a five-day run of the award-winning movie, "The Boy in Striped Pajamas" Jan. 22-26. The film stars Vera Farmiga, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Cara Horgan, and Asa Butterfield. The Miramax production is directed by Mark Herman and based on a novel by Irish author John Boyne.

"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" depicts a fictional friendship set during World War II. Bruno, the 8-year-old son of a newly-promoted Nazi officer, moves with his family from a comfortable life in Berlin to a lonely existence in the countryside. An adventurous boy with nothing to do, Bruno ignores his mother's instructions not to explore the back garden and takes off for a "farm" he has seen from his bedroom window. As he approaches a barbed wire fence, Bruno sees Shmuel, the boy in the striped pajamas, on the other side, and an unlikely and life-changing friendship develops.

The movie explores important real-life themes, such as experiences that gradually end an innocent perspective, the essence of friendship, acts of humanity even under horrific circumstances, the uses and abuses of obedience and conformity, and the development of prejudice and its destructive consequences.

The film won the 2008 Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award and is approved for children age 12 and over by the Dove Foundation. Jeanne Wolf of Parade Magazine says, "This is one you can't miss. It's about the power of the human spirit." And critic James Christopher calls it "one of the most moving and remarkable films I've ever seen: a remarkable piece of cinema."

The historical Sunrise Theater is located at 250 NW Broad Street in Southern Pines. Tickets for the evening shows are $7 for adults, $6 for matinees. The film is rated PG-13 and runs for 93 minutes. This showing runs Thursday through Monday, with matinees at 2:30 on Saturday and Sunday and each evening at 7:30. Refreshments, including beer and wine, are available. All Sunrise Theater movies are commercial-free.

For more information, contact the theater at (910) 692-3611 or visit www.sunrisetheater.com.