Sundays, 2 PM, Kerr McGee Auditorium in the鈥疢einders School of Business
NW 27th Street and McKinley Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73106
A discussion session follows each film for those who wish to stay
Free Admission, Donations Appreciated
Director: Dr.鈥疕arbour Winn, [email protected]
March 27, 2011, Kerr McGee Auditorium, 2 PM
Lixin Fan鈥檚 Last Train Home, China & Canada (2009), 87 min
Every spring, China鈥檚 cities are plunged into chaos as 130 million migrant workers journey to their home villages for the New Year鈥檚 holiday. This mass exodus is the world鈥檚 largest human migration鈥攁n epic spectacle that reveals a country tragically caught between its rural past and industrial future. The stunning debut from Chinese-Canadian director Lixin Fan, Last Train Home, a film not to be missed, portrays the fractured lives of a migrant family in China. Caught between tradition and the new realities of the globalized economy, the Zhangs abandon their rural home and children to toil in an urban factory, and are only able to return home to their family once a year for the Chinese New Year, along with millions of other migrant workers. Last Train Home鈥檚 intimate observation of one family sheds light on the profound human cost of China鈥檚 ascendancy as an economic superpower, of its economic miracle.
April 10, 2011, Kerr McGee Auditorium, 2 PM
Pamela Yates & Thomas Sigel鈥檚 When the Mountains Tremble, USA (1983), 90 min
The film that shook audiences and critics alike upon its original release, this revolutionary tour-de-force鈥擲undance Jury Prize winner and American Film Festival Blue Ribbon Award winner鈥攃hronicles the war between the heavily armed Guatemalan military and a nearly defenseless Mayan population. As the first film to report this previously unreported conflict, directors Yates and Siegel throw themselves into the center of a storm to capture live combat footage with robust passion and exhilaration. In the tradition of political truth-telling documentaries, the film discusses the role of the US government in providing money, arms, and training to the Guatemalan government and thus has relevance to countless other American interventions in foreign affairs. Commentary provided by the Quiche woman Rigoberta Menchu, the Nobel Peace Prize winner known around the world for her humanitarian efforts.
April 17, 2011, Kerr McGee Auditorium, 2 PM
Gini Reticker鈥檚 Pray The Devil Back to Hell, USA (2008), 72 min
The women of Liberia are living proof that moral courage and non-violent resistance can succeed, even where the best efforts of traditional diplomacy have failed. Their demonstrations culminated in the exile of Charles Taylor and the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first female head of state, and marked the vanguard of a new wave of women taking control of their political destiny around the world. This remarkable chapter of world history was on its way to being lost forever, for the Liberian war and peace movements were largely ignored as the international press focused on Iraq. Pray the Devil Back to Hell reconstructs the moment through interviews, archival footage and striking images of contemporary Liberia. It is compelling testimony to the potential of women worldwide to alter the history of nations.
Admission to the film series is free, but donations help sustain the Institute's mission. Donations can be made at each film or mailed to the鈥厶矣跋馎V Film Institute Endowment at 蜜桃影像AV or the鈥厶矣跋馎V Film Institute鈥檚 Designated Endowment in the Community Foundation of the Kirkpatrick Family Fund. 蜜桃影像AV and the Thatcher Hoffman Smith Endowment Fund for the university鈥檚 Center for Interpersonal Studies through Film and Literature also support the Institute.
