| SPRING 2009 CUBA ON FILM |
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 5:00 pm 80 min (Documentary)
lanco Y Negro: Bebo & Cigala En Vivo is a live concert filmed in Mallorca, Spain in June of 2003 by Fernando Trueba as a complement to the unexpected sensation of the album Lagrimas Negras by exiled Cuban pianist Bebo Valdes and the flamenco voice of Diego "El Cigala" Salazar.
USA/Spain, 2004 - Director: Fernando Trueba
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009 - 6:30 pm 80 min (Drama)
Viva Cuba: In a tale akin to Romeo and Juliet, the friendship between two children, Malú and Jorgito, is threatened by their parents' differences. When the children learn that Malú's mother is planning to leave Cuba, they decide to travel to the other side of the island to find Malú's father and persuade him against signing the forms that would allow it. This film explores emigration and the effects it can have on children who have to leave friends and extended families behind.
Cuba, 2005 - Director: Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti
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Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 1:00 pm 127 min (Drama)
Cecilia takes place in 1830s Havana, amidst the Cuban independence movement. A rich slave owner’s son falls for a proud and beautiful mulatto girl (Daisy Granados) but his brutal father tries to force him to marry a woman of his own class.
Cuba, 1981 - Director: Humberto Solás
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Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 3:20 pm 85 min (Drama)
To The Other Side (Al Otro Lado) features three stories about the bonds between children and absent parents: a Cuban boy who lives in poverty with his mother longs to visit his father in the United States, a Moroccan girl attempts to reunite with her father, and in Mexico a boy disobeys his father to visit a strange lagoon. The film addresses the resiliency as well as the ingenuity of children, but it also suggests that these qualities cannot protect them from all harm. These related vignettes showcase the powerful hold that parents have upon their children, which often remains strong despite their absence.
Cuba, 2005 - Director: Gustavo Loza
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Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 5:00 pm 106 min (Drama)
Life Is To Whistle is a story about three characters in present-day Havana who must choose between clinging to their self-restricting beliefs or getting rid of them to live more freely.
"The look of the film is a pleasure: Perez's camera shows us the beauty of Havana's crumbling buildings, the bright colors and ever-present lovers on its streets, the wistful poetry in a taxi's exhaust fumes. "Life Is to Whistle" is primarily a passionate fairy tale, set to the swinging, brassy music of legendary Cuban bandleader Benny More. Politics aside, it's a treat."
- Review by Moira Macdonald (Click here for full review)
Cuba, 1998 - Director:Fernando Pérez |
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Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 7:00 pm 110 min (Drama)
I am Cuba (Soy Cuba): Four vignettes in Batista's Cuba dramatize the need for revolution: A Havana prostitute struggling to make ends meet, a humble farmer whose livelihood is destroyed by landowners, students fighting against the repressive police, and finally, people joining up with the revolutionary army. It is a whirling, feverish dance through the sensuous decadence of Battista's Havana and the grinding poverty and oppression of the Cuban people.
Cuba, 2005 - Director: Mikhail Kalatazov |
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009 - 5:00 pm 78 min (Documentary)
La Cuba Mia offers live concert footage and recorded music performances of a variety of Cuban musicians and acts including Celia Cruz, Miliki, Dokato Poveda, and Perez Prado.
Cuba, 2002 - Director: Oscar Gomez
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009 - 6:30 pm 110 min (Drama)
The Last Supper:
A pious plantation owner attempts to teach Christianity to 12 of his slaves by inviting them to participate in a reenactment of the Last Supper.
Cuba, 1976 - Director: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - 6:30 pm 106 min (Drama)
Barrio Cuba weaves the stories of three multi generational families in a tale of hope and uncertainty among residents of a Havana barrio. Vivian yearns to have a child, a quest that puts a strain on her relationship; elderly Ignacio holds out hope for a last chance at romance; and Willy has finally come to terms with his homosexuality and wishes that his father could as well.
Cuba, 2005 - Director: Humberto Solás |
SPRING 2009 ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL
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Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - 6:30 pm 55 min (Documentary)
Silent Spring/Rachel Carson: This production from PBS's "The American Experience" offers a presentation of marine biologist/zoologist Rachel Carson's poetic and seminal work "Silent Spring" which decried the use of DDT and later became the keystone of the ecological and environmental movements.
USA, 1993 - Director: Neil Goodwin/PBS
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Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - 6:30 pm 85 min (Documentary)
A Crude Awakening: This film tells the story of how our civilization’s addiction to oil puts it on a collision course with geology. Compelling, intelligent, and highly entertaining, the film visits with the world’s top experts and comes to a startling, but logical conclusion – our industrial society, built on cheap and readily available oil, must be completely re-imagined and overhauled.
USA, 2006 - Directors: Basil Gelpke/Ray McCormack |
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - 6:30 pm 93 min (Documentary)
Who Killed the Electric Car: In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust and ran without gasoline.....Ten years later, these cars were destroyed.
This film is a documentary that investigates the birth and death of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in the future.
USA, 2006 - Director: Chris Paine |
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Wednesday, April 22, 2009 - 6:30 pm 27 min (Documentary)
Gimme Green: Gimme Green is a humorous look at the American obsession with the residential lawn and the effects it has on our environment, our wallets and our outlook on life.
USA, 2006 - Directors: Issac Brown/Eric Flagg
This movie will be followed by selections from the 2008 EarthDance Environmental Film Festival (USA, 2008) |
ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL WEEKEND
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Saturday, April 25, 2009 - 1:00 pm 78 min (Documentary)
The End of Suburbia explores peak oil and its implications for the suburban lifestyle as the planet approaches a critical era and the global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply.
Canada, 2004 - Director:Gregory Greene
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Saturday, April 25, 2009 - 3:00 pm 60 min (Documentary)
Thirst: Over a billion people lack access to safe drinking water. Each year, millions of children die of diseases caused by unsafe water. The numbers are increasing. Thirst travels throughout the United States, Bolivia, and India to question whether water is a human right or a commodity to be bought, sold, and traded within the global marketplace.
USA, 2004 - Directors: Alan Snitow /Deborah Kaufman
http://thirstthemovie.org/
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Saturday, April 25, 2009 - 4:00 pm 53 min (Documentary)
The Waterfront: In 1917 Henry Ford built a landmark water plant for the city of Highland Park, Michigan to support his expanding auto empire. Ninety years later, residents of this post-industrial city, located by the largest body of fresh water in the world, are without access to affordable water. The Water Front is not only about water. This documentary touches on the very essence of our democratic system and is an unnerving indication of what is in store for residents around the world facing their own water struggles.
USA, 2007 - Director: Liz Miller
http://www.waterfrontmovie.com |
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Saturday, April 25, 2009 - 5:00 pm (Documentary)
Highlights from the 2008 EarthDance Environmental Film Festival
Various, 2008 |
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Saturday, April 25, 2009 - 6:00 pm 63 min (Documentary)
Dia de Luz (Day of light): In what can only be described as a post-apocalyptic war zone, six cinematographers freely brought their HD cameras and production equipment to capture the surreal experience known as the Day of Light. They endured the elements in hostile conditions, to bring us a day in the life of the residents of a city trash dump in Managua, Nicaragua. Walk alongside musician Braddigan from sunrise to sunset as he is joined by hundreds of students, artists, athletes, and musicians as they break down emotional, physical, and cultural barriers, while reawakening the dreams, imagination, and hope for the people who live there.
USA, 2008 - Director: Matt Katsolis |
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7:00 pm: Festival Closing Reception and Special Performance by Braddigan. Click here for more information about Braddigan. |
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