BY RACHELLE COOPER
Uof G is hosting its second annual international film series, “Beyond Hollywood,” with the first of six films to be shown Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. in Room 384 of the McLaughlin Library. All screenings are free and open to the public.
“Following the success of last year's event, the series will retain a commitment to showing some of the most exciting examples of contemporary world cinema,” says film series programmer Prof. Paul Salmon, English and Theatre Studies. “The series provides viewers with a chance to see films that often have not enjoyed wide distribution, despite their high quality.”
In This World, directed by Britain's Michael Winterbottom (Butterfly Kiss, Welcome to Sarajevo), opens the series Oct. 3. Winner of the Best Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, In This World tackles the subject of the human cost of war.
Prof. Michael Keefer, English and Theatre Studies, will introduce the film at 6:45 p.m. Keefer has written and spoken widely on current political affairs, including the war in Iraq.
“I am particularly pleased to have Michael help us launch the series,” said Salmon. “He is such an eloquent analyst of exactly the kind of issues with which our first film deals.”
The Other Side of the Bed by Spanish director Emilio Martinez-Lazaro runs Oct. 24. This romantic comedy focuses on the tribulations of Pedro, who's trying to save his relationship with his girlfriend, Paula. The film has won several awards and was one of Spain's top box office hits of 2002.
On Nov. 7, Spanish director Carlos Saura's film Flamenco will be screened. Shot in a converted train station and using hundreds of singers, dancers and musicians, Flamenco is a tribute to one of Spain's most intricate forms of expression.
The series will conclude in 2005 with The Son of the Bride Jan. 30, Kadosh Feb. 13 and Chunhyang March 6.
Doors will open each evening at 6:30 p.m. A guest speaker will give a brief introduction to the film at 6:45 p.m., followed by the screening at 7 p.m. Free snacks will be provided, and viewers are invited to stay after the film for informal discussion.
