Film Movement is an ongoing series of films that have been selected by a panel of film festival curators to expose the work of important emerging international filmmakers. Three of these films will be screened here at American University over the next few weeks. Admission is free and the screenings are open to the public.
Following each film will be a discussion led by film scholar and AU professor Jeffrey Middents.
When: Wednesdays, 6 pm, Oct. 31, Nov. 7, Nov. 14
Where: The Oct. 31 and Nov. 14 screenings will be in Wechsler Theater, Mary Graydon Center – 3rd Floor, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW
The Nov. 7 screening will be in Ward 1, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Films to be screened this fall are:
Oct. 31 – Wechsler Theater
The Great Match (Gerardo Olivares. Spain)
The adventurous story of three soccer fans, none of whom have ever met, but who nevertheless have two things in common: first, they all live in the farthest-flung corners of the planet and, second, they are all determined to watch the TV broadcast of the 2002 World Cup final between Germany and Brazil. The protagonists in this “global” comedy are a family of Mongolian nomads, a camel caravan of Tuareg in the Sahara, and a group of Indios in the Amazon. They all live 300 miles away from the next town—and the next television—making their task a particularly daunting one. Nevertheless, these inventive people possess the resourcefulness and the willpower to achieve their goal.
Official Selection: Berlin International Film Festival; Seattle International Film Festival 2006; Sydney International Film Festival 2006; Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2006
Nov. 7 – Ward 1
Madeinusa (Claudia Llosa. Spain-Peru)
Madeinusa is a girl aged 14 with a sweet Indian face who lives in an isolated village in the Cordillera Blanca Mountain range of Peru. This strange place is characterized by its religious fervor. From Good Friday at three o’clock in the afternoon (the time of day when Christ died on the cross) to Easter Sunday, the whole village can do whatever it feels like. During the two holy days, sin does not exist: God is dead and can’t see what is happening. Everything is accepted and allowed, without remorse. Year after year, Madeinusa, her sister Chale, and her father Don Cayo—the Mayor and local big shot—maintain this tradition without questioning it. However, everything changes with the arrival in the village of Salvador, a young geologist from Lima, who will unknowingly change Madeinusa’s destiny.
Awards: Rotterdam International Film Festival; Mar Del Plata Film Festival 2006; Festival de Cine Español de Malaga 2006; Recontres d’Amerique Latine Toulouse 2006; Cine Ceará, Brasil.
Official Selection: Sundance International Film Festival; Seattle International Film Festival; Tribeca Film Festival
Nov. 14 – Wechsler Theater
Bothersome man (Jens Lien. Norway)
Forty-year-old Andreas arrives in a strange city with no memory of how he got there. He is presented with a job, an apartment—even a wife. But before long, Andreas notices that something is wrong. The people around him seem cut off from any real emotion, and communicate only in superficialities. The ominous “Caretakers,” who make sure the city runs smoothly, keep a close watch over Andreas when they realize he doesn’t fit in. Andreas makes an attempt to escape the city, or his life, but he discovers there’s no way out—not even suicide. Then Andreas meets Hugo, who has the same longings as himself. Hugo has found a crack in the wall in his cellar from which beautiful music streams out. In hopes that the crack leads to “the other side,” Andreas and Hugo hatch a new plan of escape.
Awards: Rotterdam International Film Festival; Hamptons International Film Festival 2006; Festival International de Cinema de Catalunya 2006; Brussels European Film Festival 2006
Official Selection: Cannes International Film Festival 2006; Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2006; Toronto International Film Festival 2006; London International Film Festival 2006; AFI Fest, Los Angeles 2006
Post-film discussion with Jeffrey Middents, Asst. Professor of Literature. Since arriving at AU in 2001, Prof. Middents has taught a wide variety of film courses on cinemas of Latin America, the film musical, the horror film, the movie star, short films, film criticism, and Pedro Almodóvar. He also advises the Cinema Studies minor within the Literature program.
Professor Middents’ current book project is called Hablemos de cine peruano: Film Criticism and Peruvian National Cinema. He is also co-editing a volume of English translations of recent film writing from Latin America.
SPONSORS: Friends of the American University Library, the Center for Social Media and the American University Department of Literature.
INFORMATION:
Contact Chris Lewis, Media Librarian, AU Library, clewis@american.edu