Wednesday, January 18
Portugal, Spain, France, Brazil (2008) Dir: Manoel de Oliveira. A well-to-do family hires a young photogra- pher to take the last photograph of their deceased daughter. Upon seeing her, he falls deeply in love and soon finds her returning to life in his camera lens. Portuguese with English subtitles. Not rated. 97 mins. Funding provided by Nashville Premieres.

Wednesday, January 25
Presented by: Office of LGBTQI Life
Israel, USA (2009) Dir: Yun Suh. In the heart of Jerusalem stands an unusual symbol of unity that defies generations of segregation, violence, and prejudice: a gay bar called Shushan. This documentary follows the lives of five Israeli and Palestinian patrons as they navigate the minefield of politics, religion, and discrimination in order to live and love openly in a world of conflict. English, Hebrew, and Arabic. Not rated. 66 mins. DVD. Funding provided by the Office of LG- BTQI Life.

Saturday, January 28 Note: screened at 10 p.m. in The Commons Center MPR
Presented by: Dr. Gregory Barz, Associate Professor of Musicology and Faculty Head of House, North House at The Commons
UK, Rwanda (2001) Dir: Nick Hughes. Shot at the site of the Rwandan genocide, this drama explores the tragedy of the conflict between Hutu and Tutsi. It follows the story of a young Tutsi girl as she struggles to survive the killing by taking refuge in a local church, where a Hutu Catholic priest betrays her and her family. English. Not rated. 100 mins. DVD. Funding provided in part by Global Perspectives and The Commons North House.

Tuesday, January 31
Presented by: Shay Malone, Assistant Director, Office of Leadership, Development, and Intercultural Affairs
USA (2011) Dir: Lee Mun Wah. Over a weekend in Ukiah, California, a group of eleven students from around the country gathered to talk about the state of diversity on their college campuses. The students’ stories are starkly emotional, and highlight the complex issues that underlie the demographics of higher education. English. Not rated. DVD. This film will be followed by a diversity training session and is completely funded by the Office of Leadership, Development, and Intercultural Affairs.

Thursday, February 2
Presented by: Dr. Ling-Hon Lam, Assistant Professor of Asian Studies
China (2009) Dir: Hi Guan. At the onset of WWII, a dim-witted peasant is given a loyal Dutch cow who produces milk with alleged healing powers. This absurd duo becomes the un- likely hero and the last line of defense when the Japanese enter their town. A surrealistic, dark comedy with the gritty atmosphere of war, unravels as man and beast survive the elements of a hard-scrabbled existence. Mandarin with Eng- lish subtitles. Not rated. 105 mins. Digibeta.

Tuesday, February 7
Presented by: Peter Guralnick, Writer-in-Residence, English Department and Screenwriter Feel Like Going Home
USA (2003) Dir: Martin Scorsese. This homage to the Delta Blues travels through Mississippi and on to West Africa, ex- ploring the roots of the music. It includes vivid original per- formances by Willie King, Otha Turner, and Ali Farka Toure among others and rare archival footage of Son House, Muddy Waters, Johnny Shines, and John Lee Hooker. Eng- lish. Not rated. 83 mins.

Friday, February 10 Note: screened at 4 p.m.
Presented by: Dr. Frank Dobson, Director, Bishop Johnson Black Cultural Center
USA (2009) Dir: Kobina Aidoo. This documentary discusses the idea of being black in America in light of the influx of black immigrants from the Caribbean and Africa. English. 64 mins. DVD. This film is part of the Black Migration Symposium which will take place at Vanderbilt University February 10 and 11, 2012. The director of this film will lead a discussion after the screening.

Thursday, February 16
Presented by: Michelle Park, President, Vanderbilt Chapter of Liberty in North Korea (LiNK)
China, USA, North Korea (2011) Dir: Ryan Downer. This short adventure documentary highlights the work of LiNK, a grass-roots organization that helps North Korean refugees escape and pursue new and free lives. The film follows a group of North Korean refugees living in hiding in China today, shining a light on their struggle to survive. Chinese, English, and Korean with English subtitles. Not rated. 39 mins. DVD.

Tuesday, February 21
Presented by: Robert Watson, PhD Candidate in French
Morocco, Canada (2007) Dir: Hassan Benjelloun. Set in the hamlet of Bejjad, the town’s only bar has a problem. Faced with a law prohibiting Muslims from drinking al- cohol and the imminent departure of Jewish residents (who are secretly leaving for Israel in the wake of Mo- rocco’s independence from France), he’ll soon be out of business. But if he can keep just one Jew in town, he will be able to keep his bar. Arabic and French with English subtitles. Not rated. 90 mins. Funding provided by the Program in Jewish Studies.

Thursday, February 23
Presented by: Dr. Jennifer Gunderman, Senior Lecturer, Blair School of Music
Canada, France, UK, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, USA (2010) Dirs: Tony Coleman and Margaret Meagher. A documentary about the global resurgence of the ukulele in the 21st century. Discover why so many people of different nations, cultures, ages and musical tastes are turning to the ukulele to express themselves. English. Not rated. 76 mins. DVD. The Ukedelics, Nashville’s own ukulele band, will perform a thirty-minute set following the documentary.

Saturday, February 25 Note: screened at 10 p.m. in The Commons Center MPR
Italy, France (1975) Dir: Pier Paolo Pasolini. Pasolini’s final and perhaps most controversial masterpiece. His transposition of the Marquis de Sade’s 18th-century opus of torture and degra- dation to 1944 Fascist Italy remains one of the most passion- ately debated films of all time. Italian, French, and German with English subtitles. Not rated. 116 mins. DVD. Funding provided in part by Global Perspectives.

Sunday, February 26
This competitive festival, sponsored by the Film Studies Program and the Office of the Dean of Students, showcas- es the best student media works in all genres (experimen- tal, nonfiction, fiction) by Vanderbilt students. For information on submission deadlines and the schedule of film screenings, visit Film Studies at http://www.vanderbilt.edu/filmstudies.

Website: http://www.wix.com/vsff2012/home

Tuesday, February 28
Presented by: The Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center
Liberia, USA (2008) Dir: Gini Reticker. The extraordinary story of a small band of Liberian women who came together in the midst of a bloody civil war, took on the violent warlords and corrupt Charles Taylor regime, and won a long-awaited peace for their shattered country in 2003. English. Not rated. 72 mins. DVD. Funding pro- vided by The Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center.

Wednesday, February 29
Presented by: Vanderbilt Korean Student and Scholars Association
South Korea (2008) Dir: Na Hong-jin. A crooked ex-detective turned pimp is in financial trouble when several of his girls dis- appear without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he discovers that the same client called all the girls. He ends up on a pursuit that can only end in violence. Korean with English subtitles. Not rated. 125 mins. Funding provided by Vanderbilt Korean Student and Scholar Association.

Wednesday, March 14
Presented by: Dr. Jennifer Fay, Associate Professor of Film Studies and English
UK (2008) Dir: Terence Davies. British director and writer Terrence Davies recalls his life growing up in Liverpool in the 1950s and 1960s, using newsreel and documentary footage supplemented by his own commentary voiceover and contemporaneous and classical music sound tracks. English. Not rated. 74 mins. Funding provided by Nashville Premieres.

Thursday, March 15
Presented by: Dr. Sandra Barnes, Professor of Sociology of Religion and Human and Organizational Development
USA (2009) Dir: Derek Koen. This documentary promotes solutions to one of America’s critical problems in education: the con- sistently low performance of African American boys in the public school system. The film follows two boys as they struggle to stay on track in the Newark, New Jersey school system. English. Not rated. 31 mins. DVD.

Wednesday, March 21
Presented by: Dr. David Miguel Gray, Mellon Assistant Professor of Philosophy
USA (1995) Dir: Terry Gilliam. A stunning adaptation of Chris Marker’s La Jetée, this sci-fi mystery thriller is set in the year 2035, where a lethal virus has wiped out most of the population. A criminal volunteers to go back in time to 1995 to gather information about the origin of the virus and is mistakenly sent back six years earlier than expected. English. Rated R. 129 mins.

Thursday, March 22
Presented by: Vanderbilt Turkish Student Association
Turkey (2005) Dir: Mert Baykal. Based on a true event, the tragicomic story of three friends who end up in prison when they are mistaken as members of a terrorist organization. In prison, they remember the families and lovers they left behind. Turkish with English subtitles. Not rated. DVD.

Saturday, March 24 Note: screened at 10 p.m. in The Commons Center MPR
Presented by: Global Perspectives and VANIME
Japan (2006) Dir: Mamoru Hosoda. A teenage girl finds that she has the ability to leap through time. She tries to use her new found superpower to her advantage, but soon finds that tam- pering with time can lead to some rather discomforting results. Japanese with English subtitles. 98 mins. Rated PG-13. DVD.

Tuesday, March 27
Presented by: Dr. Virginia Scott, Professor of French
France, Italy (2009) Dir: Mona Acache. Inspired by The New York Times best seller, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery. The timely story of Paloma, a young girl bent on ending it all on her upcoming twelfth birthday. Using her father’s old camcorder to chronicle the hypocrisy she sees in adults, her unlikely friendship with a grumpy concierge helps her to come of age in a different light. French with English subtitles. Not rated. 100 mins.

Wednesday, March 28
Presented by: Jonathan Rattner, Assistant Professor, Film Studies Program
USA, Italy, Portugal (2000) Dir: Jon Jost. Six short sketches investigate the boundaries of filmmaking. Jost looks with his digital painter’s eye at: the Bernini columns on St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, two swimming Roman girls who dream of California, the light on two children in school uniforms in Lisbon, the arrival of a mediocre archi- tect in Venice during some incredible mist, the Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, among other subjects. English, Portuguese with English subtitles. Not rated. 68 mins. DVD. Partial funding provided by the Film Studies Program. Jon Jost will be present to lead the post-screening discussion.

Thursday, March 29
International Lens film. Introduction and post-screening discussion led by Sherif Barsoum, director of International Student and Scholar Services
Months after Hosni Mubarak stepped down, Egyptians country-wide seem determined to maintain the insurgency until their demands are met. Tahrir 2011 is a laudable attempt to steer away from media reports and reflect on what historians will index as the first chapter of the uprising. Structured in three chapters, the film playfully debunks misconceptions and stereotypes. Arabic with English subtitles. Not rated. 90 minutes.

 

Saturday, March 31
starts at 7pm
Presented by: Dr. Michael Kreyling, Professor of English
USA (1975) Dir: Robert Altman. Spins together plot strands involving two-dozen musicians and hangers-on over the course of one particularly busy weekend in Music City, USA. Over the course of a few hectic days, numerous interrelated individuals prepare for a political rally as secrets surface and lies are revealed. English. Rated R. 159 mins. Fund- ing provided by the Department of English.

Tuesday, April 10
Presented by: Shaiya Baer, Assistant Director, Office of Active Citizenship and Service
France, Italy, Israel, India, USA (2010) Dir: Julian Schnabel. From director Julian Schnabel (Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Before Night Falls) and novelist Rula Jebreal comes this drama centered on an orphaned Palestinian girl growing up in the wake of Arab-Israeli war who finds herself drawn into the conflict. English. Rated R. 112 mins.