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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

2010 International Film Series Starts on October 26 - Mark Your Calendars


The ESOL and Foreign Languages Department and the Global Union International Students Association invite students, staff and members of the Rochester community to attend the screening of five foreign language films, as follows:

Tuesday, October 26
“Paris 36” (Faubourg 36) Drama, France, 2008. 120 minutes. Rated PG-13. In French with English subtitles.  This film will be introduced by Professor Steve Farrington.
Paris 36 is gem that transports the viewer to a fantasy world of Paris before Nazis rolled their tanks over French dreams and innocence. The characters spontaneously break into song, and the city looks highly stylized. The locale is a Paris suburb; the film's French name is Faubourg 36, the French word for "suburb," with "36" the year in which it's set. The film's star is the beautiful Douce, a winsome but quietly ambitious young chanteuse. Her fate becomes entwined with that of an old music hall, the Chansonia, which has fallen on hard times and then closed during the Depression of the '30s. But a touching, and hilarious, band of French oddballs join together to reopen the old hall, with the jolie Douce as its main attraction. The cinematographer Tom Stern paints a beautiful world of contrasts. Outside, the world may be all gray cobblestone, but inside the Chansonia, music, and perhaps even love, can bloom.

“The Blue Kite" (Lang feng zhen)  Drama. China, 1993. 120 minutes. Unrated. In Mandarin with English subtitles. This film will be introduced by Professor Jasmine Tang.
A refined, strong-minded political drama, all the more telling for being so quiet. The director, Tian Zhuangzhuang, is just the kind of casual satirist that the Chinese authorities could do without; the movie met fierce official resistance during postproduction, and Tian has now been banned from further filming. Here, he smiles at a country filled with banners and slogans, and makes you realize that opposition comes not from more of the same but from the bemused responses of provincial people too busy with their own lives to be led astray. The story begins, in 1953, with the death of Stalin, and lasts until 1967. In that time, a young boy named Tietou grows up and goes through three fathers, each of them laid low by persecution. Tietou may be a pain to his long-suffering mother, but his misbehavior is just the first stirring of a rebellious spirit.


Wednesday, October 27
“Caterina in the Big City” (Caterina va in città) Comedy/Drama, Italy, 2003. 90 minutes. Unrated. In Italian with English subtitles.
A coming of age story about a 15-year-old provincial girl who moves to Rome and finds that her new private school is a microcosm of the cultural and political divisions of Italian society. When her parents move from a seaside town in Tuscany to an ailing aunt's apartment in the big city, Caterina is ready for something new. Dad, a teacher in a tech school, has undisguised social ambitions and is delighted to see a list of famous last names attending Caterina's new school. Her class is split between revolutionary rebels and rich kids who imitate their parents' conservative ideas. Both sides try to bring the new girl into their sphere of influence. The film lays bare Italy’s great political divide and absence of middle ground, a situation some U.S. viewers may recognize uncomfortably close to home.

“The Lives of Deaf Mexicans: Struggle and Success” Documentary, U.S.A. and Mexico, 2006. 43 minutes. Unrated. In Sign Language with English subtitles.  This film will be introduced by Professor Michael Weingart and will be followed by a question & answer period.
Deaf people in Mexico are part of a rich culture that is fraught with educational setbacks, communication obstacles, and limited employment opportunities. This first-ever videotaped account of Deaf Mexicans and their stories offers a compelling look at the hurdles faced by this group, and the everyday victories won in challenging circumstances. "The Lives of Deaf Mexicans" takes a poignant look at the struggles and successes of Deaf Mexicans, and tells a story that you’re sure to remember.


Thursday, October 28
“Latin Beat: Latino Culture in the United States” Documentary, U.S.A., 2000. 120 minutes. Unrated. Mostly in Spanish with English subtitles.  This film will be introduced by Professor Marisol Galarza-Ruiz.
Drawing on interviews with more than fifty major personalities from a broad cross-section of disciplines, this tour de force both analyzes and celebrates the growing influence of Latino culture in the U.S. Featured guests include artist Andrés Serrano, poet Pedro Pietri, composer Luis Dias, dancer Paloma Herrera, actor Guillermo Díaz, fashion designer Willey Esco, photographer Mariluz Gordillo, radio host Paco de Radio Mega, TV producer Gamelier de Jesus, Newsweek editor Verónica Chambers, and Washington Post journalist Jaime Manrique, who share their personal and professional experiences of being of Latino descent in America today.

All films will be screened at the Warshof Conference Center, Flynn Campus Center (Monroe A and B) on the Brighton Campus. The films will be introduced to the audience at 6:30 p.m. Two films will be shown concurrently on October 26 and 27. One film will be shown on October 28. All films have English subtitles. The event is free and open to the public.

Louis Silvers
ESOL and Foreign Languages
10/12/2010