1. University lecture
Thursday, December 7th 4:30pm - McConomy Auditorium, University Center
Comics: A Medium in Transition
Scott McCloud
Author of "Understanding Comics/Reinventing Comics"
American comics are changing fast. Bolstered by the literary ambitions of the "graphic novel" movement, a flood of international influences and the growing importance of new technologies, the comics landscape shifts regularly in surprising and increasingly unpredictable directions. Author and comics artist, Scott McCloud, puts all these trends into perspective in a fast-moving visual presentation.
There will be a booksigning after the lecture ends in McConomy Auditorium. Copies of Making Comics, Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics will be available at a cost of $20/each plus sales tax.
Additional information can be found at this link: http://www.scottmccloud.com/makingcomics/tour.html
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2. Faces of Democracy Film Festival
December 7-10: South Side Works Cinema
December 10: Closing Night Reception at Regent Square Theatre.
Thursday, December 7, 7:30 pm: Your Name is Justine (Poland-Germany- Luxembourg, 2005) + Short film. Introduction with director Franco de Pena.
Friday, December 8, 6:30 pm: Stolen Eyes (Bulgaria, 2005) + Short film.
Friday, December 8, 8:30 pm: Faces of Change (USA, 2005) + Short film.
Introduction with director Michele Stephenson.
Saturday, December 9, 3:00 pm: American premiere of I Love You (Croatia, 2006) + Short film. Introduction with director Dalibor Matanic.
Saturday, December 9, 5.30 pm: Foundation (Poland, 2006) + Short film. Introduction with director Filip Bajon.
Saturday, December 9, 8:00 pm: Czech Dream (Czech Republic, 2004) + Short film.
Sunday, December 10, 3:00 pm: I Love You (Croatia, 2006) + Short film.
Introduction with director, Dalibor Matanic.
Sunday, December 10, 6:00 pm: Black Gold (UK, 2005) + Short film.
Closing reception with special screening and guest.
Film descriptions:
Your Name is JustineYour (Masz Na Imie Justyna) Directed by Franco de Peña Poland-Germany-Luxembourg, 2005; 97 min *Luxembourg's Official Submission for the Academy Awards '06
in a Foreign Language Film category
Mariola dreams of a better life far from her provincial town. Her boyfriend Artur invites her for a short vacation to Germany, to meet his parents, but his real motive is to sell Mariola into prostitution. Two million people are sold worldwide everyday. Two hundred thousand of them are women sold to work in brothels. Fifteen thousand of them are Polish women. The film is a story about one of them. *Pittsburgh Premiere*. Thursday, December 7, 7:30pm.
Czech Dream (Ceský sen)
Directed by Filip Remunda and Vit Klusak Czech Republic, 2004; 90 min *Best Non-Fiction Film Award at Michael Moore's Traverse City
Film Festival 2005 (US)
Two film students test the bounds of propaganda and advertising by creating a full-fledged campaign for a non-existent hypermarket. Despite ads like "Don't come. Don't spend," a crowd still forms on opening day. In a humorous and disconcerting way, the documentary reveals the Czech obsession with consumerism. Faces of Democracy urges that you don't see this film, don't enjoy it, and don't learn from it, but it is okay to sing the catchy jingles! *Pittsburgh Premiere* Saturday, December 9, 8:00pm.
Stolen Eyes (Otkradnati ochi)
Directed by Radoslav Spassov
Bulgaria, 2005; 110 min
*2005 Moscow International Film Festival Nomination: Golden
St. George Award for Director Radoslav Spassov
The line forms here for a new name, here for a new birth certificate and here for a new address. Just like that an old identity is erased, and a new identity is forged. Even something as basic as a name is a freedom not to be taken for granted. For if a name is replaced, what is next? A style of dress? A religion? A language? A homeland? Against this back drop of ethnic cleansing, a contradictory love story emerges between a Muslim-Turk woman struggling to maintain her identity and the non-Muslim Bulgarian man commissioned to regenerate her. However, her identity is the one he is unable to erase from his mind. *Pittsburgh Premiere* Friday, December 8, 6:30 pm.
I Love You (Volim Te)
Directed by Dalibor Matanic
Croatia, 2006; 83 min
*53rd Pula Film Festival: Kodak Award for best photography,
Golden Arena Award for best photography to Branko Linta
Ana and Kreso are separated by two ultra-white iBooksTM that replace their former intimacy. Ana complains about Kreso's adultery, his boredom and his drinking until Kreso silences her with his news: he has AIDS. Kreso clings to debaucheries to avoid being whited-out by the society that obsesses over face-lifts and materialism.As Kreso says, "We became aware that we are fucking suburbs of everything, so distant from anything important, so we started to swallow as much as we could. **American Premiere** (SS) Saturday, December 9, 3:00 pm. (SS) Sunday, December 10, 3:00 pm.
Faces of Change
Directed by Michele Stephenson
United States, 2005; 80min
*2005 African Diaspora Film Festival Winner: Best Film directed
by a Woman of Color- Locarno Film Festival
"Oppression is the same everywhere." A black, single mother draws from her own experience to counsel teen mothers in Brazil. A boisterous New Orleans resident fights her medical maladies and environmental racism, after learning that her low-income, housing community was built on a toxic-waste dump. An abolitionist in Mauritania fights the slavery that his leaders deny. An Indian man explores the stigma of the Dalit lower caste into which he was born. A Bulgarian Roma doctor-turned-lawyer struggles against his country's marginalization of the Roma ("gypsy") people. *Pittsburgh Premiere* Friday, December 8, 8:30 pm
Black Gold
Directed by Marc Francis and Nick Francis United Kingdom, 2005; 78min
*2006 Sundance Film Festival Nomination: Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema-Documentary for Directors Marc and Nick Francis
A hot caramel macchiato would effectively combat the chilly weather. Meeting a friend would feel best over two white-chocolate mochas. The last minute, pre-class energy kick comes in the form of an espresso. No matter where one turns, there tends to be a coffee-based beverage, but from where do those magical little beans come? Ensuring that your next coffee beverage will never be the same, Black Gold reaffirms the ever-growing need for fair trade in the face of globalization. *Pittsburgh Premiere* (RS) Sunday, December 10, 6:00 pm
Foundation (Fundacja)
Directed by Filip Bajon
Poland, 2006; 110 min
Founded on true events, Foundation tells of a con man who managed to trick the entire law enforcement. His creativity, finesse and exceptional charm gained considerable media attention, and his crime became only more impressive considering that he managed the entire scheme from prison. *Pittsburgh Premiere* (SS) Saturday, December 9, 5.30 pm.
For general information, please contact the festival Director Jolanta Lion at: jola@andrew.cmu.edu or phone: (412) 445-6292
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