ODU FILM FESTIVAL CONTINUES THURSDAY WITH SCREENING AND DISCUSSION OF "THE NEW GREAT WONDERFUL"
The 2006 Old Dominion University Film Festival, "The Last Days of Cinema? The Love of Film in the Age of Digital Media," continues Thursday, April 6, with a focus on independent cinema. Matt Tauber, producer of "The Great New Wonderful," will host a discussion and screening of the film tonight at 8 p.m. at the Naro Expanded Cinema. The theme of the festival, which runs through Saturday, April 8, reflects on the role of the cinema today as it raises new questions and offers answers to the query that has been around since the 1960s: "Are these the last days of cinema as we know it?"
More than 30 films in all will be screened during the festival, which will also include panel discussions, speakers and receptions.
All events take place on the Old Dominion campus, except where noted. They are free and open to the pubic, with the exception of screenings at the Naro Expanded Cinema, where normal admission charges apply. For more information about the festival call 683-3973.
The remaining schedule of events is below.
Thursday, April 6
Focus on Independent cinema
9 a.m. The Truman Show (1998) (Hampton/Newport News Room, webb University Center, ODU).
Peter Weir's widely acclaimed satire on the omnipresence of television. With Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich and Ed Harris. (103 minutes)
Introduction and comments by David Earnest, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies, Old Dominion University.
11 a.m. Good Night and Good Luck (2005) (Constant Hall, 1005, ODU)
George Clooney's film chronicles the real-life conflict between television newsman Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph R. McCarthy and the Permanent Sub-committee on Investigations (Government Operations Committee) which took place during the early days of broadcast journalism in 1950's America. Cinematographer Robert Elswit miraculously recreates the black-and-white look of that era.
Introduction and presentation by Gary Edgerton, Chair of Department of Communications and Theater Arts, Old Dominion University.
1 p.m. Once Upon a Time Cinema (2003; 90 minutes) (Hampton/Newport News Room, Webb University Center, ODU)
Mohsen Makhmalbaf's tenth feature and first comedy is set during the Qajar dynasty. It tells the story of a cinematographer who introduces the magic of the movies to the Persian court. The Shah is initially opposed to the medium, but after a screening he falls desperately in love with the film's heroine. In Persian with English subtitles.
Introduction and comments by Fran Hassencahl, Assistant Professor of Communications and Theater Arts, Old Dominion University.
3 p.m. Circe (1963) (Mills Godwin Building, 102, ODU)
This Argentine classic, an adaptation of a short story by Julio Cortázar by director Manuel Antin, is a dark and foreboding vision of love and death, realized using revolutionary cinematic techniques. (In Spanish with English subtitles, 90 min)
Introduction and comments by Angelica Huizar, Assistant Professor of Spanish, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Old Dominion University.
5-6 p.m. "Independent Cinema in Hampton Roads": Panel on Independent Cinema Owners at Speakers: Tench (co-owner of the Naro Expanded Cinema, Tim Cooper (owner of Naro Expanded Video) and Fred Schoenfeld (owner of the Commodore Theater in Portsmouth).
Moderated by Kyle Nicholas, Assistant Professor, Department of Communications and Theater Arts, Old Dominion University. (Mills Godwin Building, 102, ODU)
6:30 p.m. Reception at Cora's Restaurant, 723 West 21st (Ghent) with filmmaker Matt Tauber
8 p.m. Featured Filmmaker: Presentation by director Matt Tauber, producer of The Great New Wonderful, a post-9-11 film (see below). (at Naro Expanded Cinema)
The Great New Wonderful (2005) (87 minutes) weaves five stories against the backdrop of an anxious and uncertain post-9-11 New York City. Beautifully woven, complex and subtle, this film captures an essence of NYC after 9/11. A great script, some stunning photography, an excellent score that helps tie it all together, and a great ensemble cast make this small film seem quite large. The emotions that bubble under the surface, only sometimes breaking through, give this film its strength and its power. Different stories of different people all struggling with day to day life sharing the common experience of being New Yorkers post 9/11. The references to what happened are almost all unspoken, evoked through the images displayed or the background sounds, yet there is no doubt that what happened is a force in the lives of all of these people. Intelligent film-making at its best. Danny Leiner developed the Sam Catlin script with producing partner Matt Tauber for their new Sly Dog Films. The cast includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, Edie Falco, Tony Shalhoub, Olympia Dukakis, Tom McCarthy and Naseeruddin Shah.
Friday, April 7
Focus on European Cinema
9 a.m. Master Class with Matt Tauber for filmmakers and actors
10 a.m. The Man Without a Past (2002) (Hampton/Newport News Room, Webb University Center, ODU)
Finnish writer/director Aki Kaurismaki paints a compassionate portrait of life on the margins of society in this gently amusing, Oscar-nominated fable. After suffering from a severe robbery/beating, a man awakens in a hospital with no memory. In Finnish with English subtitles.
Introduction and comments by Thomas Allen, Associate Professor and Director of Geography, Dept. of Political Science & Geography, Old Dominion University.
10 a.m. My Wife is an Actress (2001) (Constant Hall, 1042, ODU)
Charlotte Gainsbourg plays the wife and actress who stirs jealousy within her husband (writer-director Yvan Attal) when she is cast opposite Terence Stamp, playing an actor infamous for his womanizing. This sexy, romantic comedy benefits greatly from the chemistry between real-life partners Gainsbourg and Attal and a typically charismatic turn by Stamp. In French with English subtitles.
Introduction and comments by Christelle Redden, Instructor in French, Department of Foreign Languages, Old Dominion University.
Noon Fitzcarraldo (1982)(Hampton/Newport News Room, Webb University Center, ODU)
Introduction and comments by Kurt Taylor Gaubatz, Associate Professor in the Graduate Program in International Studies, Old Dominion University.
1 p.m. The Twilight Samurai (2002, 129 minutes)
Seibei Iguchi, a low-ranking samurai, leads a life without glory as a bureaucrat in the mid-XIX century Japan. New prospects seem to open up when Tomoe, his long-time love, divorces a brutal husband. However, even as the Japanese feudal system is unraveling, Seibei remains bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. In Japanese with English subtitles.
Introduction and comments by Mieko Ishibashi, Senior Lecturer in Japanese, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Old Dominion University.
2-3:30 p.m. Panel Discussion: "European Cinema Today," held at Port City Java: 4416 Monarch Way (behind Constant Center), with refreshments and coffee; with paner members Imke Meyer, Bryn Mawr College; Dana Heller, Old Dominion University; Nicole Yancey, Honorary Consul of France.
Moderated by Frederick A. Lubich, Chair and Professor of German, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Old Dominion University. (Sponsored by the Office of International Programs)
4 p.m. Enlightenment Guaranteed (2001; 105 minutes) (Mills Godwin Building, 102, ODU)
The director of Men and Nobody Loves Me returns with a witty and humane comedy about two brothers traveling to Japan to visit a Buddhist monastery. When one brother's marriage falls apart, he calls upon the other to join him on a hastily arranged spiritual quest. Shot entirely in digital. In German and Japanese with English subtitles.
Introduction and comments by Susan Wansink, Professor of German, Virginia Wesleyan College.
6:30 p.m. Ten Souls Rising (2005), original short film by director/writer Emily Rosdeitcher (Mills Godwin Building, 102, ODU)
Ten Souls Rising is the story of eight New Yorkers and two French tourists who get stuck in an elevator in a Manhattan skyscraper. Chaos ensues as the passengers have trouble dealing with each other and with their own anxieties.
7 p.m. Cinema Paradiso (1989; 123 minutes) (Mills Godwin Building, 102, ODU)
This crowd-pleasing, Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner is an affectionate salute to the magic of the movies and the individuals who spend their lives in the projection booth. Philippe Noiret stars as Alfredo, the projectionist for a small Sicilian village movie palace, who opens up new worlds for one very inquisitive child. In Italian with English subtitles.
Introduction and comments by Lane Dare, Producer/Announcer 90.3 WHRO.
9:30 p.m. Day for Night (1973; 116 minutes) (Mills Godwin Building, 102, ODU)
The French director Truffaut's love poem to the movies and movie-making features Truffaut playing a director who struggles to complete a film while at the same time handling the emotional problems of staff and crew. Funny and bittersweet, Day for Night provides insights into the movie-making process. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Picture. In French with English subtitles.
Introduction and comments by Konrad Winters, Department of Communications and Theater Arts, Old Dominion University.
Saturday, April 8
10:30 a.m. The Beautiful Country (Mills Godwin Building, 102, ODU)(125 minutes)
This is the story of Binh, who was the love child of a GI and and a Vietnamese woman conceived during the Vietnam War. The film details Binh's voyage as he is forced from his village at 17, goes to Saigon to find his mother, and then tries to escape to America with his much younger half brother, Tam.
Introduction and comments by Tram Tran, Vietnamese Student Group, Old Dominion University.
1 p.m. "The Making of Jerry Night Live" Presentation by Lawrence Zoeller, ODU alumnus. Hosted by David Pagano, Lecturer of English, ODU. (Mills Godwin Building, 102, ODU)
2 p.m. Student Films hosted by Konrad Winters, Department of Communications and Theater Arts, Old Dominion University (Mills Godwin Building, 102, ODU)
6-8 p.m. Closing Event: "Ecliptic Projection: A Video Installation." Conceptual artist Peter Eudenbach uses sculpture, installation, video, and multiples to explore the history of ideas while playing with our expectations of the commonplace. (Pretlow Planetarian, Old Dominion University)
Light refreshments will be served.