McCook Auditorium & Cinestudio
Wednesdays @ 7 PM
Free and open to all* ~ English Subtitles ~ Guest Speakers
February 6* [Cinestudio @ 7:30, Not McCook]
El amor en los tiempos del cólera (Love in the Time of Cholera)
Dir. Mike Newell, UK, 2007, 138 min.
A single glimpse of a girl sets into motion an entire lifetime of longing and discovery, in the much loved novel by Columbian Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel García Márquez. Javier Bardem (The Sea Inside) plays the lovestruck Florentino Ariza, who embarks on a lifetime of erotic adventures while dreaming of Fermina Daza (Giovanna Mezzogiorno), even as she marries the unromantic Dr. Urbino. As the luxurious fable takes us back and forth in time from youth to old age, García Márquez’ entrancing storytelling brings the magic realism of Latin American culture alive.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484740/
Speakers: Radost Rangelova, Leonardo Palacios
Gen. Admission $8, Students/Seniors $7
February 13
Na Cidade Vazia (Hollow City)
Dir. Maria Joao Ganga, Angola/Portugal 2004, 90 min.
The director’s motivation for making In the Empty City was to provide a picture of an African city without awakening feelings of a patronizing sympathy or associations with the sensationalism of war. A group of children fleeing the war in Angola is taken to Luanda accompanied by a nun. When they reach the airplane, 12-year-old N'Dala decides to leave the group and to reconnoitre the city.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397557/
Speaker: Jason Azevedo
February 20
Ônibus 174 (Bus 174)
Dir. José Padilha and Felipe Lacerda, Brazil, 2002, 150 min.
On June 12th, 2000, a bus full of passengers was kidnapped in Rio de Janeiro in broad daylight. The episode was broadcast live, causing revolt among the population. The documentary is about the incident, with interviews, focusing on the kidnapper, Sandro do Nascimento, his childhood, and how unavoidably he was doomed to become a bandit. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0340468/
Speaker: Prof. María Silvina Persino
February 27
My American Girls: A Dominican Story
Dir. Aaron Matthews, USA, 2001, 62 min.
In vivid verité detail, MY AMERICAN GIRLS captures the joys and struggles over a year in the lives of the Ortiz family, first generation immigrants from the Dominican Republic. From hard-working parents, who imagine retiring to their rural homeland, to fast-tracking American-born daughters, caught between their parent's values and their own, the film encompasses the contradictions of contemporary immigrant life.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0933347/
Speaker: Elena Pedraza-González
March 5
Desamores (Lost Loves)
Dir. Edmundo Rodríguez, Puerto Rico, 2004, 107 min.
This detective thriller begins with a massacre in a highly successful travel agency. The owners, a married couple, have been slaughtered along with their employees. While the police are investigating, a private eye, Isabelo, is hired. The investigation takes place in an underworld of frayed relationships and unforeseen secrets, offering an innovative portrait and a powerful indictment of the Puerto Rican elite.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430011/
Speaker: Prof. Luis Figueroa
March 12
La fonda azul (The Blue Diner)
Dir. Jan Egleson, 2001, USA, 100 min.
On her 26th birthday, Elena suffers an anomaly: she loses her ability to speak Spanish. What explains the loss of her native tongue? Does it matter within the larger challenges of finding her father, choosing between men, and reconciling with her mother? Some answers may come at the Blue Diner, where Papo, the Cuban proprietor, serves up brains and a special pepper.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0241254/
Speaker: Prof. Pablo Delano
March 26
Jogo Subterrâneo (Underground Game)
Dir. Roberto Gervitz, Brazil, 2005, 109 min.
In São Paulo, the weird and romantic piano player Martin believes in serendipity and invents a game to find the woman of his dreams. He previously selects a route in the subway, and in the wagon, he chases a woman to see if her destiny is the same as his. Based on the short story by Julio Cortázar.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0431169/
Speaker: Prof. Anne Lambright
April 2
En construcción (Under Construction)
Dir. José Luis Guerín, Spain, 2001, 125 min.
From a very specific premise (a documentary on the construction of a new building in Barcelona's "barrio chino") Guerin has produced a film that is surprisingly comprehensive and universal. Shot in static shots (except for the marvellous and hopeful final tracking shot) and edited from 120 hours of footage with Guerin's characteristic precision, rhythm and visual poetry.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290591/
Speaker: Prof. Thomas Harrington
April 9
Voces inocentes (Innocent Voices)
Dir. Luis Mandoki, Mexico/USA/Puerto Rico, 2004, 120 min.
A young boy, in an effort to have a normal childhood in 1980's El Salvador, is caught up in a dramatic fight for his life as he desperately tries to avoid the war which is raging all around him.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387914/
Speaker: Prof. Anne Gebelein
April 16
Port-au-Prince is Mine
Dir. Rigoberto López , Haiti, 2000, 57 min.
This documentary about Port-au-Prince, the capital city of the Republic of Haiti, depicts a portrait of a beleaguered city which has been the victim of overpopulation, environmental degradation, and lack of urban infrastructure. http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/africana/Haiti-on-Screen.pdf
Speaker: Prof. Leslie Desmangles
