 |
2003 Spring
Monday Movies |
|
2003 Spring
Monday Movies |
Postcolonial Film Series
OPEN AND FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Films are shown at 7:30 pm in University
at Albany Uptown Campus Humanities B39 (Basement level theater)
| NEW
DATE!!! |
 |
March 17 |  |
| February 10 |  |
March 31 |  |
| February 24 |  |
April 14 |  |
| March 10 |  |
April 28 M. Butterfly |
 |
Overseas (France)
Host: Prof. Jean François Brière
French Studies, LLC
1992 - Brigitte Rouan. The story of three sisters in French Colonial Algeria during the 1950s and how their lives of ease and privilege are irrevocably changed by the onset of the Franco-Algerian War. The eldest sister's domestic world is shattered when her beloved husband, a French naval officer, is reported missing in action, leaving her alone with their several children. The middle sister takes over the running of the family vineyard and becomes a target of the terrorist attacks sweeping the region. The youngest sister, a nurse, falls in love with an Arab freedom fighter. The film is presented in the form of a triptych -- the same story told three times from the point of view of each of the sisters -- with each successive unfolding revealing both new perspectives and new information.
The Battle of Algiers (Italy/Algeria)
Host: Prof. Jean François Brière
French Studies, LLC
1965 - Gillo Pontecorvo. Shot on location, and starring actual FLN rebels, Battle of Algiers is one of the most viciously realistic films of all time. Initially banned by the French government, it quickly won wide acclaim: and Academy Award® nomination for Best Foreign Film and garnishing 11 international awards. Struggling to rid their country of French colonialism, Ali L Pointed and his terrorist group painting the streets of Casbah red with the blood of their enemies. Children shoot soldiers at point blank range. Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon the entire Arab population builds to a mad fervor. French Colonel Phillipe Mathieu, a highly decorated officer, is called upon to quash the uprising. But Algiers is on fire and the battle has just begun.
Wedding in Galilee (Palestine/Belgium)
Host: Prof. Lotfi Sayahi
Hispanic Studies, LLC
1987 - Michel Khleifi. This is the first feature film made by a Palestinian
director on location. It is a lyrical, passionate tale of a Palestinian
wedding that takes place in an occupied village, and the contemporary tensions,
contradictions and hostilities that surround it.
Black Robe (Canada)
Host: Prof. Eloise Brière
French Studies, LLC
1991 - Bruce Beresford. It tells the story of the first contacts between
the Huron Indians of Quebec and the Jesuit missionaries from France who
came to convert them to Catholicism, and ended up delivering them into
the hands of their enemies.
Earth (Pakistan)
Host: Prof. Bret Benjamin
1999 - Deepa Mehta. "Earth" is the second of an announced trilogy. The
subject matter of "Earth" is the partition of India in 1947. At least 11
million people-Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and others-caught on the wrong side
of the dividing lines were driven out of their homes.
The Last Supper (Cuba)
Host: Prof. James Wessman
Latin American and Caribbean Studies/LLC
1976 - Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. The film is based on a true incident from 18th-century Cuban history, a pious slave owner decides to improve his soul by introducing his slaves to Christianity by inviting 12 slaves to participate in a reenactment of the Last Supper. He cannot foresee the consequences of his act.
The Great White of Lambarene (Camberoon)
Host: Prof. Gilbert Doho
1995 - Bassek Ba Kobhio. In Le Grand Blanc de Lambarene, Bassek Ba Kobhio
presents the Noble Prize winner Albert Schweitzer with a new perspective.
Shot on the site of Schweitzer's hospital in Gabon, the film does not show
the famous doctor as a saint of the colonial era, but as a self-absorbed
man who refused to see the people around him and their culture. He spoke
many European languages but never bothered to learn the native tongue of
the people he treated. He had a great interest in European music but never
tried to learn about African music. In brief, Schweitzer, his life and
his hospital are shown as a sadly missed opportunity for European and African
cultures to meet and to grow.
M. Butterfly (U.K.)
Host: Prof. Vivien Ng
Womens's Studies
1993 - David Cronenberg. Beijing, 1964. French Embassy accountant Ren
Gallimard becomes infatuated with Beijing opera singer Song Liling after
watching her perform arias from Puccini's "Madama Butterfly." Gallimard
attends the Chinese Opera just to see Liling again, this time, he initiates
an affair which will last 18 years. As soon as Gallimard is promoted to
vice consul, becoming privy to top-secret intelligence, Liling takes the
opportunity to spy for the Communist regime. But what Gallimard doesn't
realize is that there's a secret Liling is keeping from him.
________________________________________________________________________
Sponsored by: Department of Latin
American Studies
and the Postcolonial Study Group
More info: Silvia Nagy-Zekmi (518)
442-4890