The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Film Theater
Fall Showings 2008

Gish Film Theater and Gallery
Located in Hanna Hall, first floor
Bowling Green State University
Park in Lot A, corner of South College Drive
and East Wooster Street.

Thursday Nights: International Film Series

All films begin at 7:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the Gish Film Theater Endowment, the Department of German, Russian & East Asian Languages, and the Department of Theatre and Film.

Films, as a unique form of human communication, have a way of transporting us outside of our comfort zones so that we can experience and better understand other people’s lives and world views. Films connect us to the greater issues in life, such as war, peace-making, and the complicated role the media plays in reporting on conflicts. The first films in the International Film Series are linked to the “Conference on Media, War and Conflict Resolution” which will be held Sept. 17-19, at BGSU’s Bowen Thompson Student Union. For more information contact Ellen Gorsevski at elleng@bgsu.edu.

Thursday, Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m.
No Man’s Land
(2001) Bosnia, 98 minutes
Director: Danis Tanovic

During the 1993 war in Bosnia, a Bosnian and a Serb soldier find themselves trapped in a trench between the lines in heavy fighting. They try to escape this “No Man’s Land.” A U.N. peacekeeper’s offer of help leads to complications that involve the media. This film won the 2002 Oscar for best foreign language film and the 2002 Golden Globe in the same category.

Thursday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m.
Vukovar—Final Cut
(2006) Serbia, 103 minutes
Director: Janko Baljak

From the independent Belgrade production company B92, this documentary draws on archival footage and participant accounts to tell the story of the devastating siege of the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar in 1991. Prepared by a joint Serbian and Croatian team, the film won the 2006 Sarajevo Film Festival’s Human Rights Award.

Thursday, Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m.
Voces inocentes or Casas de cartón (Innocent Voices)
(2007) Mexico, 120 minutes
Director: Luis Mandoki

An 11-year old boy becomes the head of the house when the father leaves at the start of the civil war. He struggles to contend with the surrounding violence as his friends are drafted to fight. The film is based on screenwriter Oscar Torres’ childhood experiences. Tens of thousands died between 1980 and 1992 as guerillas in the countryside fought the Salvadoran army, backed by the U.S. military.

Thursday, Oct. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Lakposhtha parvaz mikonand (Turtles Can Fly)
(2004) Iraq/France/Iran, 95 minutes
Director: Bahman Ghobadi

A 13-year old village boy nicknamed “Satellite” has the technical savvy to rebuild televisions and clear land mines. The Iranian Kurdish director/screenwriter can send viewers into “a kind of emotional freefall” (Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post) with the boy and his comrades’ story. The film is set in the Kurdish mountain region just before the U.S. invasion.

Thursday, Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m.
Neokonchennaia p’esa dlia mekhanicheskogo pianino (An Unfinished Piece for a Player Piano)
(1978) Russia, 103 minutes
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov
A romance is rekindled when family and friends meet at a country house in this adaptation of an Anton Chekhov play by Oscar award-winning (Burnt by the Sun) director Nikita Mikhalkov. Mikhalkov appears in the film along with a number of Russia’s best 20th-century actors.

Tuesday Nights: Films Selected by the Culture Club and the Department of Theatre and Film

All films begin at 7:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the Culture Club through the American Culture Studies Program, the Department of Theatre and Film and the Gish Film Theater Endowment.

Tuesday, Sept. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Kick-Off Celebration

Come out and celebrate the opening night of the “Tuesday Night Film Series.” After a successful run last spring, the series is back for another semester of exciting films, ranging from Hollywood classics to contemporary and cutting-edge independent films. This fall’s series begins with a surprise screening of a recent documentary.

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m.
Broken Blossoms, or The Yellow Man and the Girl
(1919) U.S., 90 minutes
Director: D. W. Griffith

Legendary director D. W. Griffith weaves a tragic tale of three individuals: Cheng Huan (Richard Barthelmess), a Chinese Buddhist missionary who travels to London and becomes an opium addict, and Lucy Burrows (Lillian Gish), a teenage girl living with her abusive father, prizefighter Battling Burrows (Donald Crisp). When Cheng Huan befriends the downtrodden Lucy, the two begin a star-crossed relationship that enrages Lucy’s father and ends in disaster, violence and revenge.

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m.
The Business of Fancydancing
(2002) U.S., 103 minutes
Director: Sherman Alexie

Seymour Polatkin (Evan Adams) is a gay Indian poet who has created a successful life for himself outside of the reservation. However, when one of his childhood friends passes away, Seymour must return to the reservation and confront his past. This film is based on the poetry of acclaimed novelist, poet and screenwriter Sherman Alexie, who is also the director. This screening has been arranged in collaboration with BGSU’s Native American Unity Council.

Tuesday, Sept. 30, 7:30 p.m.
Nerdcore Rising
(2008) U.S., 85 minutes

Nerdcoreis the newest, dorkiest wave of hi-hop, born out of the Internet and made possible by computer-obsessed geeks. Nerdcore Rising follows MC Frontalot, the godfather of the genre, on his first national tour. Along the way, Frontalot fanatics and music industry notables tell the story of this funny, fascinating and unapologetically uncool cultural phenomenon. This regional debut will feature Q&As with director Negin Farsad.

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m.
Ann Arbor Film Festival Tour
(2008) U.S. and International, 120 minutes

This year’s Ann Arbor Film Festival Tour is a collection of awarded films and highlights selected from the 46th Annual Ann Arbor Film Festival held in March. The tour provides wider exposure for independent and experimental films and filmmakers, and offers a representative sampling of the current state of alternative cinema. Notable participants in past tours have included Barbara Hammer, Jules Engel, Emily Hubley, Ross McLaren, Paul Winkler, Sally Cruikshank, Jay Rosenblatt and Gus Van Sant.

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m.
NextFrame Film Festival  
(2008) U.S. and International, 120 minutes

Now in its 15th year, NextFrame, the University Film and Video Association's Touring Festival of International Student Film and Video, is one of the largest organizations of academic and industry professionals in the United States. Recognized as a premiere touring festival for showcasing student work, NextFrame dedicates itself to connecting student filmmakers from all backgrounds and providing them with a chance to share their unique vision to audiences around the world.

Tuesday, Oct. 21, 7:30 p.m.
Shadow of a Doubt
(1943) U.S., 108 minutes
Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Young Charlie (Teresa Wright) is elated when her favorite relative, Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten), drops in on her family’s home for a visit. However, Uncle Charlie’s visit takes a dark turn when Young Charlie begins to suspect that he is actually a serial killer who is on the run from the police. Her search for the truth threatens not only the safety of herself and her family, but also the validity of everything she believes in. Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock often cited this thriller as his favorite of all his movies.      

Tuesday, Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m.
Plan 9 from Outer Space
(1959) U.S., 79 minutes
Director: Edward D. Wood Jr.

Celebrate Halloween with our screening of what many have called “The Worst Movie of All Time!” From the mind of legendary “bad” movie director Ed Wood comes the unbelievable tale of invading aliens who resurrect an army of dead earthlings to aid in their conquest of our planet. With its amateurish acting and cardboard sets, Plan 9 is a film that must be seen to be believed. Come join us for a night of fun as we conclude the fall 2008 Tuesday Night Film Series.

Sunday Matinees

All films are shown at 3 p.m. and are free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the Gish Film Theater Endowment, 419-372-GISH.

Sunday, Sept. 14, 3 p.m.
Metropolis
(1927) Germany, with Brigitte Helm, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, 110 minutes
Director: Fritz Lang

With Fritz Lang you get two directors in one–to start with, an amazing Fritz Lang from his monumental “silent” period where big got only bigger and bigger and his exploration of the future, Metropolis, was the biggest of them all. He ended that part of his career with his (and wife Thea Von Harbou’s) conception of the pioneer rocket launch into space, The Woman in the Moon. Silent films are never totally silent. Incredible as Lang’s fantastic visuals or Von Harbou’s provocative story may be, supported by a hypnotic, invigorating music score from Gottfried Huppertz, Metropolis makes one-of-a-kind movie magic.
Commentary by Dr. Jan Wahl.

Sunday, Sept. 21, 3 p.m.
Mon Oncle (“My Uncle”)
(1958) France, with Jacques Tati and Alain Bécourt, in Eastmancolor, 100 minutes
Director: Jacques Tati

You want funny? You can never go wrong with Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd–each an innovator whose work is ageless, exceptional. To this short list of top comedians, add Jacques Tati, inventor of another unique character: Monsieur Hulot. Like Fritz Lang, Tati is mesmerized by architecture and design...plus no one could squeeze more merriment than Tati out of our mania for gadgets and goofy paraphernalia. Add to the mix a sweet color palette, and Tati serves a soufflé fit for the gods.
Commentary by Dr. Jan Wahl.

Sunday, Sept. 28, 3 p.m.
Scarlet Street
(1945) U.S., with Joan Bennett, Edward G. Robinson, Dan Duryea, 95 minutes
Director: Fritz Lang

It might be said that this was Lang’s most successful American production. He had left Hitler and Goebbels and his pre-Hitler grandiose UFA productions far behind. His interests turned inward, no longer on an epic scale; they were now psychological. Nothing suits the wartime or postwar mood better than Film Noir…in black-and-white, with its uncanny ability to contrast light with shadow, it is the perfect medium for murder and intrigue. Lang particularly saw a darkly disturbing element in the undervalued Joan Bennett, and allowed the great Edward G. Robinson to give the performance of his life

and
Jasper’s Minstrals
(1945) U.S., a Puppetoon by George Pal in Technicolor, 10 minutes
Commentary by Dr. Jan Wahl.


This film is being shown in memory of Lillian Gish’s birthday on Oct. 14, 1893, in Springfield, Ohio.

Sunday, Oct. 12, 3 p.m.
True Heart Susie
(1919), U.S., with Lillian Gish and Robert Harron, 70 minutes
Director: D. W. Griffith

This film, directed by David Wark Griffith, the father of American cinema, pulls together many diverse elements to help create a true art form. And we must be grateful for another of his supreme contributions: the ascendancy to stardom of Lillian Gish. Miss Gish was never better served than in his modest masterpieces Broken Blossoms and True Heart Susie. To some of us, Susie is his most endearing effort.

and
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish
(1916) U.S., with Douglas Fairbanks, Alma Rubens, Bessie Love, 22 minutes
Director: John Emerson

Doug Fairbanks was famous for his athletic prowess and boundless energy, but in his first films he also showed a keen sense for satire. To give you an idea, the name of his character in this outlandish two-reeler is “Coke Ennyday.”
Piano accompaniment for both films by Stuart Oderman.
Commentary by Dr. Jan Wahl.