GR Movies and Happenings

CHIAROSCURO 2008

For the last two years Chiaroscuro has been pleased to offer, free of charge, one of the most comprehensive film events in West Michigan. Again this season, on six Sunday afternoons, we are pleased to present an extraordinary selection of foreign films under the theme Children of the Screen. We initiate each event by screening a locally produced film followed by the main feature film, which will be later discussed by a group of experts during our 20-minute panel. After the event and thanks to Martha’s Vineyards and One Trick Pony we will serve wine and snacks. Please join us in this, our third season of Chiaroscuro.

• This FREE film series runs from January through April at the UICA Film Theatre (41 Sheldon Boulevard SE • Grand Rapids, MI 49503 • 616-454-7000)

• All screenings are on Sundays at 2:30 PM

• Each international film is preceded by a short film written and produced by local talent

• Expert round-table discussion with a question and answer session follows each film

• Sponsors provide a delicious buffet of foods native to the culture featured in the film

• Visit chiaroscurofilmseries.org for further information

The Films: 

The Italian
Sunday, February 3 at 2:30 PM
It’s a pretty tall order to ask a six-year-old to suddenly take on responsibility for his own life. The questions facing Vanya are really tough: does he want to live a comfortable life as an adopted child of a loving family in Italy? After all, for an abandoned Russian child like Vanya it really doesn’t sound like a bad option.

Year: 2005
Language: Russian (subtitled in English)
Rating: NR
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Starring: Kolya Spiridonov, Denis Moiseenko, Sasha Sirotkin
Directed by: Andrei Kravchuk
Country: Russia

Presented with Rose Colored Glasses, a short film by Andy Fortenbacher
Moderated by Carol Wilson
Panel: Sue Spears, Svetoslav Pavlo



Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
Sunday, February 11 at 2:30 PM
Focusing almost entirely on one character, Riding Alone For Thousands Of Miles is a story of significant depth, powerfully exploring the nature of connectedness and the meaning of family. Takada - played by Ken Takakura is a resolute, determined man, intent on redressing a past breakdown in his relationship with his son. He goes on a physical journey in search of the missing link in his son's life work, but it becomes more a journey of the soul.

Year: 2005
Language: Mandarin / Japanese (subtitled in English)
Rating: NR
Running Time: 107 Minutes.
Starring: Ken Takakura, Shinobu Terajima, Kiichi Nakai, Jiamin Li
Directed by: Yimou Zhang
Country: China

Presented with Story Time, a short film by Bob Hurst
Moderated by Zulema Moret
Panel: BiLan Liao



Machuca
Sunday, March 16 at 2:30 PM
In 1973, in Santiago of Chile, the first socialist president was democratically elected in a Latin-American country, President Salvador Allende. The principal of the Saint Patrick School, Father McEnroe (Ernesto Malbran) makes a trial of integration between students of the upper and lower classes. The bourgeois boy Gonzalo Infante (Matías Quer) and the boy from the slum, Pedro Machuca (Ariel Mateluna), become great friends, while the conflicts on the streets lead Chile to the bloody and repressive military coup of General Augusto Pinochet on 11 September 1973, definitively changing their lives, their relationship and their country.

Year: 2004
Language: Spanish (subtitled in English)
Rating: NR
Running Time: 121 Minutes.
Starring: Matia Quer, Ariel Mateluna, Manuela Martelli
Directed by: Andres Wood
Country: Chile / Spain / UK / France

Presented with Help Wanted, a short film by Jordan Horras
Moderated by Daniel Garcia
Panel: Dr. Farr, Joel Stillerman



The Wooden Camera
Sunday, March 30 at 2:30 PM
A young boy and his best friend learn that a simple choice can alter the entire course of a lifetime in this introspective English-language drama from South African filmmaker Ntshavheni Wa Luruli. When Madiba and Sipho discover the dead body of a man clutching a briefcase that contains a gun and a video camera, Sipho's fate is sealed when he reaches for the gun and the introverted Madiba's artistic aspirations are unlocked when he begins to see a new world through the lens of the video camera. As Sipho descends into a life of crime, the challenges of life in post-apartheid South Africa slowly begin to come into focus for young Madiba.

Year: 2003
Language: English
Rating:NR
Running Time: 92 Minutes.
Starring: Junior Singo, Dana de Agrella, Innocent Msimango
Directed by: Ntshaveni Wa Luruli
Country: France / UK / South Africa

Presented with Waiting for Soli, a short film by John Scmit
Moderated by Margaret Vega
Panel: Ryan Copping, Ann Marsolino