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UHM/Bank of Hawaii Cinema Series Spring Schedule - "Searching For Spirit" |
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PRICE: Admission is $5 for the general public and $3 for students, unless otherwise specified. Children under 16 are admitted free when accompanied by a parent.
WHEN? All films are scheduled for 7 pm Friday, Saturdays and at 5 pm on Sunday unless otherwise specified below.
WHERE? The Architecture Auditorium. Follow these (almost) Fool-Proof Steps:
EXIT H1 to University Ave North (or proceed north on University Ave., which is towards the mountains). Cross Dole St. and pass intersection with Metcalf Ave. At the guard shack on your right 100 yards past Metcalf intersection, make a right into parking lot. The architecture building is the large tan structure on your right as you turn into the parking lot. You may park under the building and proceed to second floor, by elevator or stairs at the South (ocean side) end of the building. If you get oost, call 223-0130. Parking is FREE on Sunday, $3 during the week. Good Luck. |
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Through a donation from the Bank of Hawaii, the University of Hawaii will start it's 2nd film series on its Manoa campus every Friday and Sunday in the Architecture Auditorium beginning January 13.
Programmed by Don Brown, former manager of the Art House at Restaurant Row, through the Department of Languages and Literature of Europe and the Americas, the series is aimed at providing a forum for faculty and students to socialize together on Friday evenings, and to make the campus more acccessible to the general public on Sunday afternoons. Parking for the general public is free on Sunday in the parking lot adjacent to the Architecture Building on University Avenue.
Brown believes the film program is one way to make people more aware of the scope of the university's academic programs and professional standing of its faculty. He will be working with various departments relevant to the film offerings to promote discussions after the film, and when possible will make it possible to meet the filmmakers themselves.
"There are so many fascinating people I've met who teach at the university, and none of them seem to know each other," he says. "One of the primary reasons I was interested in pursuing this film program is that I think it's an underappreciated resource in the general community and this is an opportunity to share the expertise of its professional staff and teachers with the general community and on the campus itself. Film is great way to do that."
Incase you missed our film series' 1st Semester >)
Films running during the 2nd semester are:
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Thursday, Feb 13 at 3 pm
Ayurveda - The Art of Being (in Hindi with English subtitles)
Dir: Pan Nalin. Germany/Switzerland, 2001 102 min.
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The logic of Ayurvedic healing delineates some of the significant differences between Ayurveda and the Western approach to diagnosis and treatment in medicine. This documentary on the Indian healing reveals how the revitalized holistic discipline, based on the most ancient of techniques, can be applied in this age of nuclear power, the internet and instant everything. The film travels nearly 15,000 kilometres through landscapes of exceptional beauty and geographical variety in India, Greece and USA. The research team searched out people and places almost all over the world; to do total justice to voice the story of Ayurveda through exceptional Vaidyas (Ayurvedic Doctors), patients and experts. Director Pan Nalin feels that spirituality and natural balances will play a vital role in governing our happiness in near future, and the natural arts of healing will play a significant role as it never has before. |
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Thursday, January 20 at 7 pm (in UH Spalding Auditorium)
The Last Wave (with Richard Chamberlain in person) All seats $5
Dir: Peter Weir. Australia. 1977 96 min.
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Richard Chamberlain stars as Australian lawyer David Burton, who takes on the defense of a group of aborigines accused of killing one of their own. He suspects the victim has been killed for violating a tribal taboo, but the defendants deny any tribal association. Burton, plagued by apocalyptic visions of water, slowly realizes his own involvement with the aborigines and their prophecies. |
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Sunday, January 23 at 5 pm
The Gem Hunter in Afghanistan (with Gary Bowersox in person)
Dir: Paul Reddish. Great Britain 56 min. 2002
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Drawing on more than 32 years experience, Gary Bowersox offers a panoramic view of an Afghanistan that remains a mystery to most Americans. He spent 32 years in Afghanistan to discover precious gems, was personal friends with the late Ahmed Shah Massoud, the Northern Alliance leader Bin Laden had assassinated a few days before the events of September 11, 2001, and hee served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Defense shortly after 9/11. One of the few Americans who knows Afghanistan like the back of his hand, Bowersox also knows who is protecting Bin Laden and why, and why Bin Laden could not have remained "hidden" this long without major support from "friends." While traveling in Afghanistan, Bowersox has met numerous characters from presidents to soldiers to spies to horse traders. In Gem Hunter, he introduces these characters to readers and shares experiences of danger and intrigues of this land of mystery. |
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Third Annual Kirk Cashmere Jewish Film Festival All seats $6 / $25 per 5 film pass
Friday, January 28 - Sunday, January 30 |
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Saturday, Jan. 29 at 5 pm, Sunday, Jan. 30 at noon
Almost Peaceful (in French with English subtitles)
Dir: Michel Deville. 94 min. 2003 (France)
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Set during the period immediately after WWII, this film follows a group of Jewish Parisians who attempt to restart their lives and rekindle their capacity for happiness. |
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Saturday, Jan. 29 at 7:30 pm
Rosenstrasse (in German with English subtitles)
Dir: Margarethe von Trotta. 136 min. 2003 (Germany)
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Just before WWII German Jews were protected from deportation because of marital status. When the Nazis changed this policy, a spontaneous street protest by wives and non-Jewish relatives was born. |
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Sunday, Jan. 30 at 5 pm
The Forward (with Marlene Booth in person)
Dir: Marlene Booth. 58 min. 1989 (USA)
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Special presentation by Marlene Booth of her film about the progressive Jewish daily that was a beacon for newly arriving immigrants for generations. |
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Saturday, Jan. 29 at 2:30 pm
Seeds
Dir: Marjan Safinia, Joseph Boyle. 89 min. 2004 (USA)
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Ten bold teenagers from Israel, Palestine, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan come together for three extraordinary weeks at the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Maine. |
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Friday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 pm
Nina's Tragedies (in Hebrew with English subtitles)
Dir: Savi Gabizon. 110 min. 2004 (Israel)
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Nadav is a shy, nerdy boy obsessed with his histrionic family, and in love with his aunt. An Israeli microcosm, rich with characters and emotive subplots, this film strikes a delicate balance between grief and affectionate humor, tempered by subtle absurd moments. Winner of 11 Israeli Academy Awards. |
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Sunday, Jan 30 at 2:30 pm
Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi (in Hebrew with English subtitles)
Dir: Shemi Zarhin. 94 min. 2003 (Israel)
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This heartening and witty family comedy focuses on the captivating character of one boy blessed with extraordinary cooking talents. When one of his teachers detects the extraordinary gift he never knew he had, he breaks out of his shell and discovers his own potential. |
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Saturday, Jan. 29 at noon, Sunday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 pm
Wondrous Oblivion
Dir: Paul Morrisson. 101 min. 2004 (Great Britain)
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When a Jamaican family moves next door to 11-year old David, and builds a cricket net in the back garden, he's in seventh heaven. But David's Jewish family is caught in the middle bewtween fitting in and standing up for his new friends. |
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Sunday, Feb 20 and 27 at 3 pm in Spalding Auditorium
Indigo (All seats $10)
Dir: Stephen Simon. USA 2005 89 min.
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Join us for the Nationwide premiere of Indigo, to celebrate World Indigo Day. Indigo is about prescient children who can communicate via extra-sensory means and how they are able to work with disbelievers and, in time, win them over. The winner of the Santa Fe Film Festival Audience Choice Award, it explores this phenomenon known as the "indigo child" and what purpose their presence may mean to our future. From the Producer of What Dreams May Come. |
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Thursday, February 3 at 7 pm & Sunday, February 6 at 5 pm
Postmen in the Mountains (in Mandarin with English subtitles)
Dir: Huo Jianqi. China 1998 90 min.
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This deceptively simple film is a magnificently photographed and sensitive story of a man handing over his life's work to his son. In the remote mountains of Hunan, China, the theme of this film is both ancient and contemporary: communication between father and son. On the mountain paths, we meet the various townsfolk and others the postman has served over the years. Their admiration and love for him and the purpose he serves as a postman provides the son with a new and profound understanding of his father.
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Thursday, February 10 at 7 pm & Sunday, February 13 at 5 pm
Shortcut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela (in Hindi with English subtitles)
Dir. Maurizio Benazzo.. U.S. 2003 86 min.
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A beautifully crafted documentary that details the organized chaos and curious piety surrounding the Kumbh Mela, an Indian religious festival held on 12-year intervals for the past two millennia. The most recent festival attracted an estimated 70 million people. The festival is overpopulated with swamis, yogis and gurus who offer opaque words of wisdom designed to help steer the faithful to a more serene life and afterlife. The film benefits from having Swami Krishnanand, a young articulate and photogenic Indian mystic, as its quasi-narrator who helps make sense of what is going on. Western audiences may not understand everything they see in this film, but the film nonetheless makes for absorbing viewing and is highly recommended for anyone in search of a different answer to universal questions of faith and hope. |
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Thursday, February 17 at 7 pm
The Yogis of Tibet
Dir: Phil and Jo Borack. USA 59 min 2003
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This extraordinary film was produced with the cooperation of the monks of the Drikung Kagyu Tradition. In the opening segment, the narrator describes the spiritual dimensions of life in this nation on top of the world. Its first inhabitants were nomads. Due to the harsh elements and the impermanence of life, they turned inward for peace. The Buddhism that developed in Tibet was organized around meditation and other practices and rituals. At one point, there were 6,000 monasteries, and one in every six males was a monk. Life in this country of prayer wheels and prayer flags literally revolved around the practices of the people. This inspiring film allows an even wider audience to appreciate the special spiritual gifts of the yogis of Tibet.
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Satya: A Prayer For the Enemy
Dir: Ellen Bruno. USA 28 min. 1994
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Since the Chinese occupied independent Tibet in 1950 more than a million people have been tortured, executed, or starved to death for their role in the demonstrations against the Chinese occupation. Tibetan Buddhists nuns have taken the lead in this resistance by fearlessly staging courageous demonstrations for independence. This film focuses on the personal testimonies of these Tibetan nuns, providing a rare window into present day Tibet. Their testimonies give specific instances of religious oppression and human rights abuses. The film seeks to understand the basis and inspiration for their non-violent actions, and provides an alternative to violence through the example of the Tibetan nuns who strictly adhere to the principles of nonviolent social change. A remarkable work that captures the essence of the Tibetan struggle. |
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Sunday, February 20 at 5 pm
Scared Sacred
Dir: Velcrow Ripper. Canada 86 min. 2004
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This film examines the connection between us all, good and bad by exploring the relation between suffering and the sacred. Wanting to know if the stories of the survivors of the great tragedies of human history had any message of hope in them, diirector Velcrow Ripper spent five years traveling the globe in search of those stories. What he found were eloquent voices of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances doing their best to light candles against the darkness: In Bhopal, India, in Bosnia, in Afghanistan during the worst people of the Taliban period, in New York City just after the World Trade Center attack. In Israel, members of families from both the Jewish and Palestinian groups who lost children in that continuing carnage. Ripper's theme is a deeply spiritual message-- that dread allows him to see each face as his own. |
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Thursday, February 24 at 7 pm
Doing Time, Doing Vipassana (in Hindi with English subtitles)
Dir: Ayelet Menahemi & Eilona Ariel. 1997 56 min.
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T In the mid-1970s Vipassana was first tried within a prison environment with two 10 day courses being conducted for jail officials and inmates of a prison in Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Despite the success of those courses, no further jail courses were conducted in India for almost 20 years. In 1993 a new Inspector General of Indian prisons, Kiran Bedi, was appointed and in the process of trying to reform the harsh Indian penal system, learned of the earlier Vipassana courses. She requested that additional courses be conducted in the largest prison in India, Tihar Jail outside of New Delhi. The results were dramatically sucessful. Tthe Israeli filmmakers traveled to both Tihar and to the Baroda Jail in the India state of Gujarat, at which Vipassana courses had also been conducted. There they conducted and filmed extensive interviews with jail officials, including Karen Bedei, and inmates from many different countries who participated in the courses. This film describes the way in which Vipassana has been sucessfully used within the Indian prison system to dramatically change the behaviour and attitude of the inmates and jailers who participated in the courses and, thereby, improve the entire atmosphere of the prisons. |
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Sunday, February 27 at 5 pm
Latcho Drom (in Hindi/French/Spanish/Romany with English subtitles)
Dir: Tony Gatlif. France 1993 92 min.
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This film, which tells of the migration of the Gypsies across Europe and Asia, presents its story through song and dance. Through the centuries, few groups of people have been as persecuted as the Gypsies. Hitler went after them as assiduously as he did the Jews. Nicolae Ceausescu terrorized them in Romania. Christians castigated them as pagans. Wherever they have traveled, bigotry and hatred have awaited. Yet it is rare to find documentation of their travails. They have become a forgotten footnote in history books. This film uses Gypsy musicians from seven countries (India, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, France, and Spain) to convey its many-faceted message. With song and dance, they tell of their long journeys, the anger directed towards their people, and their own indomitable will. The carefully-constructed portrait of the Gypsies could not be clearer, and the brushwork is accomplished without spoken words. |
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Thursday, March 3 at 7 pm & Sunday, March 6 at 5 pm
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Dir: Michael Gondry. USA 2004 108 min.
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Jim Carrey plays Joel, who discovers that his long-time girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), has undergone a psychiatrist's experimental procedure in which all of her memory of Joel is removed, after the couple has tried for years to get their relationship working fluidly. Frustrated by the idea of still being in love with a woman who doesn't remember their time together, Joel agrees to undergo the procedure as well, to erase his memories of Clementine. The film, which takes time as each recent memory is replaced, and the procedure then goes on to the previous one, which is likewise seen, and then erased. Once the process starts, however, Joel realizes he doesn't really want to forget Clementine, so he starts smuggling her away into parts of his memory where she doesn't belong... which alters other things about his memories as well. |
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Thursday, February 6 at 5 pm
Proteus
Dir: David Lebrun. U.S. 2004 56 min
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Prepare to be blown away by this trippy, idea-packed exploration of the life of 19th-century physician, biologist, painter and evolutionary scholar, Earnst Haeckel (1834-1919). After reading Darwin's writings, Haeckel gave up his career as a doctor and set out to exotic locales, microscope in hand, to document the intricate beauty and seemingly countless geometric forms of a single-celled undersea organism called the radiolarian. Haeckel would eventually reconcile these dualities, bringing science and art together in a unified, almost mystical vision. His work would profoundly influence biology with his visionary and profound beliefs.
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Pele Meets the Sea (Richard Pyle of the Bihop Museum will Q & A after the screening)
Prod: UH SOEST. 1990 26 min |
When the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island sent lava cascading down to the sea in 1990, a team of divers from UH took a camera to film the phenomenon of underwater lava plumes solidifying instantly into rock, resulting in this fascinating document. |
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Sunday, March 13 at 5 pm
Women of K2 (with Jennifer Jordan in person)
Dir: Jennifer Jordan. U.S. 2004 78 min. |
Jennifer Jordan has spent years researching the dark history of women alpinists, and in particular those on K2, the world's second highest mountain. In this film she chronicles the five female pioneers of K2, how they chose to live at the edge of death, and how they all ultimately perished there. Controversial and compelling, the book and film celebrate these brave adventurers while also raising issues rarely addressed in mountaineering history about women's acceptance in the still very male world of high altitude climbing. The screenings will be followed by a question and answer session and signing of her new book, "Savage Summit: The True Stories of the First Five Women Who Climbed K2, the World's Most Feared Mountain". |
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Thursday, March 17 at 7 pm
Orwell Rolls in His Grave (with a panel discussion after the screening on the state of ethics in journalism)
Dir: Robert Kane Pappas. U.S. 2003 76 min |
A marvel of passionate succinctness, this documentary critically examines the Fourth Estate: the press, once considered the bastion of American democracy. The movie asks, Could a media system system controlled by a few global corporations, with the ability to overwhelm all competing voicesbe able to turn lies into truth? |
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Sunday, March 20 at 5 pm
The Ring of the Buddha (in Tibetan and German with English subtitles)
Dir. Jochen Bretienstein. Germany 2000 92 min. |
Nepal 1950. A mysterious, unexplored country. The Swiss geologist Toni Hagen, was the first European to pass through the "forbidden? kingdom. He doesnÃt discover any mineral resources there. Yet he does uncover the mysteries of life and penetrates towards a more profound truth which lends a new dimension to his life. In the spring of 1999, Hagen returns to Nepal to keep a promise of almost 50 years: At that time a Buddhist monk had presented him with the gift of a valuable and mystical ring. |
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Thursday, March 31 at 7 pm & Sunday, April 3 at 5 pm
Santiago Calatrava's Travels (in Spanish with English subtitles)
Dir: Christoph Schaub. Spain 1999 77 min.
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Widely recognized as the greatest living designer of transportation structures, world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava came to international prominence at an early stage in his career. His popular yet controversial creations can now be found all over the globe, most notabley at the recent Olympics in Greece. Accompanying Calatrava to various work sites we begin to understand the problems someone in his position encounters. Some of the films most powerful moments include his comments on the creative process and visual thought. A specialist at sculptural works, what distinguishes Calatrava from other celebrity architects is his talent and skill as a construction engineer. The forms are extraordinary: dynamic, frozen movements. The result is an encounter with extraordinary shapes and forms that hearken to waves, trees, wind, rock, wings--the natural world. |
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Thursday, April 7 at 7 pm & Sunday, April 10 at 5 pm
Carlos Castaneda: Enigma of a Sorceror
Dir: R. Torjan. USA 87 min. 2003 |
A best-selling author for 30 years, Carlos Castaneda inspired millions to break free from social dogma, fueling controversy over his work'sauthenticity and assertions of perceiving non-ordinary reality. Genius, guru, cult leader or fraud? No one really knows. Over three years in themaking, this expose explores Castaneda's mythic impact, controversial teachings and cult following. Candid interviews coupled with innovative animation and experimental footage, offer an intense visual and intellectual experience. |
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Thursday, April 14 at 7 pm & Sunday, April 17 at 5 pm
Ravi Shankar: Between Two Worlds (in Hindi and French with English subtitles)
Dir: Mark Kidel. France/USA 90 min 2002 |
This enlightening film documents two years in the life of Ravi Shankar as he travels between India and America. Using archival footage from the 1930's to the 1960's, we learn about his collaborations with such Western musicians as George Harrison, John Coltrane and Yehudi Menuhin. |
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Thursday, April 21 at 7 pm
Go Further
Dir: Ron Mann. Canada 95 min. 2003
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Emulating Ken Kesey, hemp activist Woody Harrelson and his buddies board a multi-colored bus and hit the Pacific Coast Highway, spreading the gospel of sustainable organic living. Much fun is had as they make conversions along the way and encounter such eco-minded fellow travelers as Dave Matthews and Anthony Kiedis. |
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Sunday, April 24 at 5 pm
Haleakala: A Sense of Place (with director Jay April in person)
Dir: Jay April. USA. 46 min. 2005 |
This film commissioned by the Air Force to sensitize the scientists working on Haleakala to the concerns of Native Hawaiians, explores the legends associated with the mountain crater. Through stunning images and chant, it explains what the sacred site meant to the ancient Hawaiians, and the integral role it played in their lives.
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The Power of Truth - According to The Dalai Lama (in Tibetan with English subtitles)
Dir: Irene Greve. Denmark. 59 min. 2001 |
"The Tibetan struggle is the competition between the power of truth and the power of gun. The power of truth will always remain. The power of gun, the power of force - in the long run it becomes weaker and weaker." This quote from the Dalai Lama sets the tone for the film which explores his attitudes towards not only war and non-violence but also the need for education, dialogue, respect for others and "a warm heart with human intelligence". The story outline is The Dalai Lama as he travels to give talks and lectures on the three topics, which he considers his main concerns: The promotion of good human values; Understanding between religions; The Tibetan situation. |
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