Fall 2015
Wednesday, September 9
Cry Freedom
Presented by: Clive Mentzel, Director of the Office of Active Citizenship and Service, and Frank Dobson, Assistant Dean and Director of the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center.
United Kingdom (1987) Dir: Richard Attenborough.
South African Journalist Donald Woods is forced to flee the country after attempting to investigate the death of his friend and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko. Denzel Washington does a remarkable job of transforming himself into the mesmerizing black
nationalist leader, whose refusal to keep silent led to his death in police custody and a subsequent coverup. English. Rated PG. 157 minutes. DVD. Partial funding provided by the Office of Active Citizenship & Service and the Black Cultural Center.
Wednesday, September 16
The Green Prince
Presented by: Orit Yeret, Senior Lecturer, Program in Jewish Studies.
Set against the chaotic backdrop of recent events in the Middle East, Schirman retraces the
details of a highly unprecedented partnership that developed between sworn enemies. In the style of a tense psychological thriller, this extraordinary documentary recounts the true story of the son of a Hamas leader who emerged as one of Israel’s prized informants, and the Shin Bet agent who risked his career to protect him. English and Hebrew with English subtitles. Rated PG-13. 101 minutes. Blu-ray. Funding provided by the Program in Jewish Studies
Wednesday, September 23
Guten Tag, Ramon
Presented by: Center for Latin American Studies and the Max Kade Center for European and German Studies.
Mexico/Germany (2013) Dir: Jorge Ramirez Suarez. The heartwarming story of a young man from a small Mexican town who travels to Germany to find work to support his family and becomes stranded without shelter or money. He struggles to survive on the streets until he meets Ruth, a lonely senior citizen with whom he develops an astonishing and touching friendship that transcends borders and prejudices. German and Spanish with English subtitles. Rated PG-13. 120 minutes. DVD.
Tuesday, September 29
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Presented by: Laura Carpenter, Associate Professor of Sociology.
USA (2014) Dir: Ana Lily Amirpour.
In an Iranian ghost-town, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware that they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire. The first Iranian Vampire Western ever made, Ana Lily Amirpour’s debut basks in the sheer pleasure of pulp. A joyful mashup of genre, archetype, and iconography, its prolific influences span spaghetti westerns, graphic novels, horror films, and the Iranian New Wave. Persian with English subtitles. Unrated. 101 minutes. Blu-ray. Partial Funding provided by the Department of Women & Gender Studies.
Wednesday, September 30
The Intruder
Presented by: Jennifer Fay, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Arts and English; and Thomas McGrath, class of 2016.
Wednesday, October 7
A Tale of Two Sisters
Presented by: Haerin Shin, Assistant Professor of
English.
South Korea (2003) Dir: Jee-Woon Kim. Loosely based on a Korean folktale, a family is haunted by tragedies of deaths within the family. The atmosphere of mounting dread is matched by just-right performances, design and camerawork. There’s a reason why Hollywood has been so busy in recent years remaking Asian horror movies. Scare for scare, they’re generally better. Korean with English subtitles. Korean with English subtitles. Rated R. 115 minutes. DVD. Funding provided by Cinema & Media Arts and the Department of English
Monday, October 12
108
Presented by: Chris Purcell, Director of the Office of LGBTQI Life and Jamie Lee Marks, Outreach Coordinator for the Center for Latin American Studies.
Paraguay (2010) Dir: Renate Costa. This documentary tells the story of the life and death of the director’s uncle, Rodolfo. He was the one who never married, who lived alone, who wanted to be a dancer rather than a laborer, and who wore clothes his brothers thought were inappropriate. Rodolfo was included in one of 108 lists of homosexuals, arrested and tortured in 1980s Paraguay. Cuchillo de Palo (aka 108) takes its name from a derogatory name for gays still used in Paraguay, and tells the story of her uncle’s life and death while also examining how little circumstances have improved for Paraguay’s gay community in the 21st Century. Spanish with English subtitles. Unrated. 93 minutes. DVD. Funding provided by the Office of LGBTQI Life and the Center for Latin American Studies.
Monday, October 19
Tears of the Black Tiger
Presented by: Ben Tran, Assistant Professor of Asian Studies and English.
Thailand (2000) Dir: Wisit Sasanatieng. A boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girlagain story. This Thai cult film is a parody and homage to the classic American Western and romantic tearjerker. One of the most elaborate productions ever mounted in Thailand – a candy-colored Western made in the high-energy style that characterizes much of contemporary Thai cinema. Thai with English subtitles. Unrated. 110 minutes. 35mm. Partial funding provided by the program in Asian Studies.
Wednesday, October 21
Ida
Presented by: Holocaust Lecture Series.
Poland/Denmark/France/UK (2013) Dir: Pawel Pawlikowski.
Anna, a young novitiate nun in 1960s Poland, is on the verge of taking her vows when she discovers a dark family secret dating back to the years of the Nazi occupation. The weight of history is everywhere, but the scale falls within the scope of a young woman learning about the secrets of her own past. This intersection of the personal with momentous historic events makes for a powerful and affecting film. Polish, Latin, and French with English subtitles. Rated PG-13. 82 minutes. Blu-ray. Funding provided by The Holocaust Lecture Series.
Monday, October 26
The Witches
Presented by: Andrea Mirabile, Associate Professor of Italian and Cinema & Media Arts.
Italy/France (1967) Dir: Mauro Bolognini, Vittorio De Sica, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Franco Rossi, Luchino Visconti. Five short stories loosely dealing with the roles of women in society. A superstar actress travels to a mountain resort, only to evoke jealousy from women and lust from men. A woman offers to take an injured man to the hospital. A widowed father and his son seek a new wife and mother. A man seeks revenge for a woman’s honor. A bored housewife tries to explain to her husband that he’s not as romantic as he used to be. Italian with English subtitles. Unrated. 105 minutes. DVD. Partial funding provided by the Department of French & Italian.
Wednesday, October 28
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
Presented by: Lutz Koepnick, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of German and Cinema and Media Arts and Leslie Reed, Ph.D. candidate in German.
Germany (1974) Dir: Rainer Werner Fassbinder. An almost accidental romance is kindled between a lonely German cleaning woman in her mid-sixties and an equally lonely Moroccan mechanic around twenty-five years younger. They abruptly decide to marry, appalling everyone around them. Fassbinder directed, produced, scripted the film, and designed the sets. It won the international critic’s prize at the Cannes Film Festival. German and Arabic with English subtitles. Unrated. 94 minutes. Blu-ray. Partial Funding provided the Department of German & Slavic Languages.
Wednesday, November 4
The Edge of Heaven
Presented by: Lutz Koepnick, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of German and Cinema and Media Arts and Sophia Clark, Ph.D. Candidate in German.
Germany/Turkey/Italy (2007) Dir: Fatih Akin.
This multi-layered drama follows the stories of six people — four Turks and two Germans — as they realize the meaning of love while facing the harsh realities of the world we live in. It is a beautiful, unexpectedly enrapturing story about a world in transition and both the closeness and unbridgeable divide between generations and cultures. German,Turkish, and English with English subtitles. Unrated. 116 minutes. 35mm. Partial funding provided by the Department of German & Slavic Languages.
Tuesday, November 10
Viola
Presented by: Jennifer Fay, Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Arts and English; Nick Kline, Class of 2016.
Argentina/USA (2012) Dir: Matias Pineiro. A mystery of romantic entanglements and intrigues among a troupe of young actors performing Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” in a small theater in Buenos Aires. Directed by Matías Piñeiro, one of Argentinian cinema’s most sensuous and daring new voices. Spanish with English subtitles. Unrated. 65 minutes. Blu-ray. Funding provided by Cinema & Media Arts.
POSTPONED TILL SPRING 2016
Pandora’s Promise
Presented by: Bethany Burkhardt, Civil & Environmental Engineering.
United States / United Kingdom (2013) Dir: Robert Stone.
From Chernobyl to Fukushima, Pandora’s Promise provides a modern perspective on issues associated with nuclear power. The film explores the journey of former antinuclear activists and weaves in illuminating footage from all over the world. Interviews with prominent scientists provide a view of the potential of nuclear power. English. Rated PG. 87 minutes. DVD.
Monday, November 16
Elena
Presented by: Jason Strudler, Mellon Assistant Professor of Russian.
Russia (2011) Dir: Andrey Zvyagintsev. Sixty-ish spouses Vladimir and Elena uneasily share a palatial Moscow apartment. He is a virile, wealthy businessman; she is his dowdy former nurse who has clearly “married up.” Estranged from his own wild-child daughter, Vladimir openly despises his wife’s freeloading son and family. When a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten the dutiful housewife’s potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan. Masterfully crafted cinema which features evocative, Hitchcockian music by Philip Glass. Elena is a subtly stylish exploration of crime, punishment and human nature. Russian with English subtitles. Unrated. 109 minutes. DVD. Partial funding provided by the Department of German & Slavic Languages.
Wednesday, December 2
Yesterday
Presented by: Kristin Michelitch, Assistant Professor of Political Science.
South Africa (2004) Dir: Darrell Roodt.
After falling ill, Yesterday learns that she is HIV positive. With her husband in denial and young daughter to tend to, Yesterday’s one goal is to live long enough to see her child go to school. This film communicates critical reasons to viewers why it is not simple to live with and combat HIV in rural Africa. Set in the Zulu culture of Sub-Saharan South Africa. Zulu with English subtitles. Rated R. 96 minutes. DVD. Partially funded by the Department of Political Science.