Sunday films: Eisenstein's October, Viva Cuba, Occupation of the American Mind, Elian, Bobby Sands 66 Days
Loyola Political Film Series Fall 2017
Sundays, 2pm
Loyola University (downtown)
Corboy Law Center, room 301, 25 E. Pearson Street, Chicago
(one block north of Chicago & State Red line L stop)
November 5 October: Ten Days that Shook the World Sergei Eisenstein 1928 104 min
Soviet silent historical film by Sergei Eisenstein It is a celebratory dramatization of the 1917 October Revolution commissioned for the tenth anniversary of the event. The film covers the key events of the Russian revolution from February 1917 to October. Beginning with the crumbling of the Russian monarchy, the production depicts the growing conflicts at Petrograd, with Lenin leading the rebellion that results in the overthrow of the tsar's Winter Palace. In addition to its historically rooted narrative, the film is renowned for its inventive use of striking montage imagery.https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/03/ber4-m10.html
November 13 Viva Cuba Juan Carlos Cremata Malberto 2005 80 min
In a tale akin to Romeo and Juliet, the friendship between two children is threatened by their parents' differences. Malu is from an upper-class family and her single mother does not want her to play with Jorgito, as she thinks his background coarse and commonplace. Jorgito's mother is a poor socialist that is proud of her family's social standing. She places similar restriction on her son, who does not want him playing with the daughter anti-revolutionary family. What neither woman recognizes is the immense strength of the bond between Malu and Jorgito. When the children learn that Malu's mother is planning to leave Cuba, they decide to run away and travel to the other side of the island to find Malu's father and persuade him against signing the forms that would allow it. The story of their escape across the island is a very touching on.
The film became a box office hit and went on to win many awards nationally and internationally as it was displayed at film festivals around the world, including 2005 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix Ecrans Juniors Award, plus awards in countries as diverse as Australia, Italy, Guatemala, Germany, France, and Taiwan. In 2008, it was shown all over Venezuela.
November 19 Ballad of a Soldier 1959 98min
This Soviet film portrays the difficulties and heroism of the Soviet peoples in their struggle against fascism in World War II.While set during World War II, Ballad of a Soldier is not primarily a war film. It recounts, within the context of the turmoil of war, various kinds of love: the romantic love of a young couple, the committed love of a married couple, and a mother's love of her child, as a Red Army soldier tries to make it home during a leave, meeting several civilians on his way and falling in love. Won award at San Francisco International Film Festival 1960, and nominated for Academy Awards in 1962
November 26 Elian 2017 107 min
Elian tells the true story of the Thanksgiving Day rescue of a Cuban boy in 1999 in the waters off Miami and the contentious Cuba-US Cuban family battle that followed, a fight that the world followed for months. Elian Gonzalez, now 23, tells his own story here in-depth, detailing his pride in Cuba and his hopes for reconciliation. Since this is a CNN film, while it is mostly accurate, it omits some key info, such as his Miami relatives never had any prior contact with Elian’s family, that Elian’s father was offered $2 million to stay in the US, and that the US government stalled as long as possible before returning Elian.
December 3 The Occupation of the American Mind: Israel’s Public Relations War in the US 2016 85 min
Israel's ongoing military occupation of Palestine and its repeated invasions of the Gaza strip have triggered a fierce backlash against Israeli policies virtually everywhere in the world — except the United States. This film looks at this critical exception, zeroing in on pro-Israel public relations efforts within the U.S. shape American media coverage of the conflict in Israel's favor. It shows Israel's decades-long battle for the hearts, minds, and tax dollars of the American people — a battle that has only intensified over the past few years in the face of widening international condemnation of Israel's increasingly right-wing policies.
December 10 North Korea: The Propaganda Game 2015 93 min
Filmmaker Álvaro Longoria tours DPRK (North Korea) to contrast his findings to the typical Western depiction of the nation. Free to go anywhere and interview anyone, though with an official escort, Longoria encounters the same rhetoric – that the people are content with their system, indebted to Kim Jong-un and firm believers in Juche. Longoria also examines the West’s depiction of the DPRK and how the outlandish reports and horrific atrocities of Kim’s regime are all too easily circulated and believed.
December 17 Bobby Sands: 66 Days 2016 105 min
In the spring of 1981 Irish Republican hero Bobby Sands' 66-day hunger strike brought the attention of the world to his cause. Sands' non-violent protest to be classified as a political prisoner became a defining moment in 20th century Irish history. Sands' and the other huner strikers’ deaths brought a global spotlight to British colonial rule over Northern Irish, and triggered international efforts to resolve it. 66 Days is a major feature length documentary exploring Sands' remarkable life and death. The spine of the film is comprised of Sands' own words, drawn from his hunger strike diary, a unique insight into the man and his beliefs as he embarked on his final fight for freedom.
Sponsors: Loyola University Department of Sociology, Chicago ALBA Solidarity, [email protected], Stan Smith 773-322-3168
ChicagoALBASolidarity.wordpress.com
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