FACETS CINÉMATHÈQUE

May 2008

The Facets Cinémathèque is located at 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. in Chicago. For more information on films playing in the Cinémathèque, please call 773-281-4114. To order advance tickets online, visit the TicketWeb website by clicking here.

The 6th Annual
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH FILM FESTIVAL

May 23-29

Human Rights Watch is widely recognized for their in-depth investigations, informed policy recommendations, and ability to generate intense pressure to confront human rights abusers and defend basic freedoms. Through vigilant monitoring and advocacy in over seventy countries, we are dedicated to advancing the protection and promotion of human rights for all. Since its inception, The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival has embodied the power of film to make a difference. Courageous and committed filmmakers produce impressive documentary and feature films, which stimulate passionate conversations about human rights and inspire new generations of human rights activists. In collaboration with The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, The Facets Cinémathèque is very proud to present The 6th Annual Human Rights Watch Traveling Film Festival, which showcases the heroic stories of activists and survivors from all over the world. The works featured help to put a human face on threats to individual freedom and dignity, and celebrate the power of the human spirit and intellect to prevail. We seek to empower everyone with the knowledge that personal commitment can make a very real difference.

Chicago Premiere Opening Night Film!

CARLA'S LIST

"Admirable... A worthy addition to human rights fests"
-Variety

Filmmaker Marcel Schüpbach was given unprecedented access behind the scenes of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. In an atmosphere of high tension, where everything plays out like a poker game, prosecutor Carla Del Ponte and her team relentlessly pursue notorious perpetrators of crimes against humanity, such as Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, still at large. Both Serbia and Croatia -- as well as the International Community -- pledge total cooperation in helping locate the suspects, but this does not seem to produce any concrete results. And time is running out: in September 2007, Del Ponte's appointment as prosecutor ends. Moving between The Hague, New York, Zagreb, and Washington, Carla's List vividly brings to life Del Ponte's dogged race against the clock in pursuit of justice.

Directed by Marcel Schüpbach, Switzerland, 2006, BetaSP, 100 mins. In French and English with English subtitles.

YouTube trailer Variety

Showtime:
Fri., May 23 at 7 pm

WE'LL NEVER MEET CHILDHOOD AGAIN

We'll Never Meet Childhood Again tells the remarkable, uplifting story of a courageous group of Romanian foster parents who adopted the children referred to as "Ceaucescu's babies"— infants infected with HIV in Romanian hospitals and orphanages during the late 1980s, then left there to die. Health Aid Romania a nongovernmental organization established family homes to care for these children, unaware that over time the caregivers would become parents to those children who survived this turbulent period. The film charts these makeshift families' extraordinary experiences over almost 17 years—through striking oral testimony, candid home video, and revealing observational sequences. We'll Never Meet Childhood Again beautifully illuminates notions of family, parenthood, death and love, and reveals the societal hurdles and concerns of the children -- now adolescents -- as they arrive at the time when every child must mature, form their own identity and sexuality, outgrow their family, and aspire to create their own life and, possibly, their own family.

Directed by Sam Lawlor and Lindsay Pollock, Romania/UK, 2007, BetaSP, 75 mins. In Romanian and English with English subtitles.

Directors' site Lawlor interview

Showtimes:
Fri., May 23 at 9 pm
Thurs., May 29 at 7 pm

Chicago Premiere

LUMO

"This film is so provocative and so brave and such an important film. It lets us understand what a powerful tool film is for social change... [It has] so moved me."
-Barbara Kopple (Harlan County USA)

"The camera work is of highest standard as is the film... those close-ups I can't forget, nor do I want to."
-Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens)

"Lumo handles its ostensibly dreary subject matter with astonishing serenity...This colorful, deftly structured documentary defies expectations."
-Variety

The agonies of war-torn Africa are deeply etched in the bodies of women. In eastern Congo, vying militias, armies, and bandits use rape as a weapon of terror. Recently engaged to a young man from her village, 20-year-old Lumo Sinai can't wait to have children and start a family. But when she crosses paths with marauding soldiers who brutally attack her, she is left with a fistula -- a condition that renders her incontinent and threatens her ability to give birth. Rejected by her fiancé and cast aside by her family, Lumo finds her way to the one place that may save her, a hospital for rape survivors. Buoyed by the love of the hospital staff, including a formidable team of wise women known to all as "the Mamas," Lumo and her friends keep alive the hope of one day resuming their former lives, thanks to an operation that can restore them fully to health. A feisty young woman with a red comb perpetually jutting from her hair, Lumo faces the challenge of recovery with remarkable courage. As she and her friends recover from surgery, they pass the days by gossiping and sharing their dreams of one day finding love. But when it looks like her operation may have failed, Lumo's faith is thrown entirely into question. On this uncertain road to recovery, Lumo proves that the solidarity of women can bind even the most irreparable of wounds.

Directed by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt and Nelson Walker III and co-directed by Louis Abelman and Lynn True, Democratic Republic of Congo/U.S.A, 2007, BetaSP, 72 mins. In Swahili, French and English with English subtitles.

Official site PBS Variety New York Times

Showtimes:
Sat., May 24 at 5 pm
Sun., May 25 at 5 pm
Tues., May 27 at 9 pm

Chicago Premiere

EVERYTHING'S COOL

NOMINATED
Grand Jury Prize
Sundance Film
Fest

"Instead of the grand overview of global warming offered by Al Gore in An Inconvenient Truth it leans toward the Michael Moore school of activist filmmaking while avoiding Mr. Moore's rabble-rousing stunts."
-New York Times

"Irreverent but not flippant, and [the directors'] evident conviction that individual activism isn't futile is a refreshing alternative to the oppressive gloom of most documentaries on the subject"
-TimeOut NY

Recommended!
-Chicago Reader

In their signature comedically insightful style, veteran filmmakers Daniel Gold and Judith Helfand (Blue Vinyl) weave an absorbing, character-driven, behind-the-scenes tale about the world's "big problem": global warming. In this new self-described "toxic comedy," Everything's Cool chronicles the struggle between two groups of global warming messengers: the "good guys" -- which include a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who repeatedly tries to retire but can't; the Weather Channel's first climatologist with a "global-warming beat" who must pack her Ph.D. into 30-second sound bites -- and the "bad guys," mostly industry-sponsored hacks who have until now derailed media and public attention and paralyzed the nation with their manufactured doubt. As much about messaging as it is about the messengers, as much about human nature as it is about humans' impact on nature, filmmakers Gold and Helfand explore what it will take to move the US from laggard nation to world leader on global warming.

Directed by Daniel B. Gold and Judith Helfand, U.S.A., 2006, BetaSP, 100 mins. In English.

Official site Trailer PBS interview New York Times TimeOut NY

Showtimes:
Sat., May 24 at 7 pm
Mon., May 26 at 9 pm

Chicago Premiere

COCALERO

NOMINATED
Grand Jury Prize
Sundance Film
Fest

"[Landes'] handheld camera has a way of honing in on the most piercing and hilarious moments on the trail."
-Village Voice

"Essential...A must-have for any serious Latin American or doc-themed fest"
-Variety

Cocalero is a film about controversial Bolivian president Evo Morales and his rise to prominence. The story follows the presidential campaign of Morales as he moves from union meetings in the Andes and Amazon to formal fundraising dinners and mass rallies in cities. The political rise of Morales, an outspoken critic of the United States whose political power base is in the coca-growing areas of central Bolivia, is historically related to his work with farmers who resisted a coca eradication drive supported by the American war on drugs doctrine. In 2005, Morales, of Aymara Indian heritage, was elected as Bolivia's first-ever indigenous president, winning the election by the largest majority in the country's history.

Directed by Alejandro Landes, Argentina, 2007, BetaSP, 94 mins. In Spanish and Quechua with English subtitles.

YouTube trailer Village Voice Variety

Showtimes:
Sat., May 24 at 9 pm
Sun., May 25 at 6:30 pm
Wed., May 28 at 7 pm

Chicago Premiere

WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN:
The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

NOMINATED
Grand Jury Prize
Sundance Film
Fest

½ "Intelligent, often poignant, and valuable for offering an oral history by those who witnessed the most traumatic events of the 20th century"
-Film Threat

"An important document...Film's sobering impact lets the images and witnesses' words speak for themselves"
-Variety

"Powerful"
-New York Times

As global tensions rise, the unthinkable now seems possible. The threat that nuclear "weapons of mass destruction" will be used is more real and more frightening than at any time since the height of the Cold War, perhaps since 1945. White Light/Black Rain, an extraordinary new film by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki, puts a human face on what we're really talking about. Even after 60 years, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki continue to inspire argument, denial, and myth. Surprisingly, most people know very little about what happened on August 6 and 9, 1945 -- two days that changed the world. Featuring unforgettable interviews with fourteen atomic bomb survivors, many of whom have never spoken publicly before, and four Americans intimately involved in the bombings, the film reveals both unimaginable suffering and extraordinary human resilience. These indelible accounts are illustrated with survivor paintings and drawings, and historical footage and photographs, including newly uncovered material. White Light/Black Rain stands as a powerful warning to today's world -- which harbors nuclear weapons with the firepower of 400,000 Hiroshimas -- that we cannot afford to forget what happened on those two days in 1945.

Directed by Steven Okazaki, U.S.A, 2007, BetaSP, 86 mins. In English, Japanese and Korean with English subtitles.

Official site Director interview Film Threat Variety New York Times

Showtimes:
Sun., May 25 at 3 pm
Wed., May 28 at 9 pm

Chicago Premiere

HOT HOUSE

WINNER
Special Jury Prize
Sundance Film
Fest

"Chilling...insightful...a disquieting portrait of a community that, despite or even because of its shackles, remains fervently committed to its cause."
-Variety

"Absorbing...full of remarkable interviews"
-New York Times

About nine thousand Palestinians are imprisoned in Israeli jails on "security" charges. For most Israelis they are assassins and criminals. For most Palestinians they are heroes and freedom fighters. Shot inside the Ber Sheba, Ashkelon, Hadarim, and Megiddo prisons, Hot House is a unique, probing documentary-feature that explores the emergence of a Palestinian national leadership within Israeli prisons. The film offers a rare look at the experiences, motivations, and mindsets of a number of key inmates, men and women, from Fatah and Hamas, serving multiple life sentences and the remarkable degree to which they influence the political process in the outside world. Hot House provides a unique opportunity to observe events of historic proportions at their nascent beginnings while shattering the two-dimensional stereotypes and the often polarizing commentary presented by the mainstream media on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Directed by Shimon Dotan, Israel, 2006, BetaSP, 89 mins. In Hebrew, English and Arabic with English subtitles.

Official site Variety New York Times

Showtimes:
Sat., May 24 at 3 pm
Mon., May 26 at 7 pm

DOUBLE FEATURE:

ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS

WINNER
Special Jury Prize
Sundance Film
Fest

WINNER
Nestor Almendros Prize
Human Rights Watch
Intl Film Fest

"A political documentary with a difference…quietly celebrates its heroine's fierce determination to reform her country's attitude toward women."
-Variety

"Carries the magic uplift of classic Hollywood and the considerable bonus of authenticity."
-Village Voice

"Enthralling"
-New York Times

Enemies of Happiness is a film about personal courage and conviction. It centers on Malalai Joya, who became one of Afghanistan's most famous and infamous women in 2003 when she challenged the power of warlords in the country's new government. Two years later, the 28-year-old ran in her country's first democratic parliamentary election in over 30 years. A survivor of repeated assassination attempts, she campaigned surrounded by armed guards. How do you introduce democracy in a country where a majority of the people are illiterate, votes are for sale, and warlords use threats and bribes to control the ballots, and many women cannot leave their children to vote? As the film eloquently illustrates, it takes more than Western soldiers and diplomats. Joya is a controversial voice for a nation ruined by war, still ruled by fear, but desperate for a change for the better.

Directed by Eva Mulvad and Anja Al-Erhayem, Denmark, 2006, BetaSP, 58 mins. In English, Farsi and Pashto with English subtitles.

Official site PBS: director interview New York Times

with

A LESSON OF BELARUSIAN

A Lesson of Belarusian is about young activists who never give up believing that Belarus will one day be free. Franek Viacorka studies at an elite school established by his father to promote the Belarusian language. However, the school has been banned and operating underground since 2003, a victim of the anti-democratic rule of President Alexander Lukashenko. Franek and his classmates are both passionate and thoughtful, expressing their critical attitude to the government by issuing an underground newspaper, recording music with activist lyrics, and organizing an opposition concert. Despite the imprisonment of Franek's father and the constant threat of their own arrest, they are undeterred. In the March 2006 presidential election, they supported the democratic opposition candidate in a mass demonstration in Minsk's main square. While the candidate is powerless to combat Lukashenko's corruption and use of riot police, Franek and his classmates realize that fearlessness is a victory in itself.

Directed by Miroslaw Dembinski, Poland/Belarus, 2006, BetaSP, 51mins. In Polish and Belarusian with English subtitles.

Showtimes:
Tues., May 27 at 7 pm
Thurs., May 29 at 9 pm

Chicago Premiere CLOSING NIGHT FILM & BENEFIT!

THE CITY OF PHOTOGRAPHERS

Recommended! "This elegiac 2006 documentary...reveals the photojournalists to be as eloquent verbally as they were visually"
-Chicago Reader

The Human Rights Watch Chicago Network - The Human Rights Watch Young Professionals Committee - invites you to a benefit and screening of The City of Photographers.

During Pinochet's long regime, a motley crew of photojournalists shot and framed Chile's people and turmoil from many points of view. In the streets, in the middle of bloody riots and protests, these fearless photographers learned their craft and created many of the now legendary images which helped focus world attention on the Pinochet regime's repressive tactics. For them, taking pictures was a form of involvement, even resistance, a way of being more than mere spectators but vital actors. Pinochet had the power and the guns, but these photographers had the camera -- the people's weapon. They lived dangerously and they lived to tell. This is their story.

Directed by Sebastián Moreno Mardones, Chile, 2006, BetaSP, 80 mins. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Strictly Film School

Showtime:
Thurs., May 29 at 7 pm

Reception: 6 pm
Screening: 7 pm
Discussion and Q&A: 8:30 pm
--Led by Susan Gzesh, Director of the Human Rights Program at the University of Chicago

Location:
Sonotheque
1444 West Chicago Ave
Chicago

Tickets:

$9 general admission
FREE for Facets Members!

For all Cinémathèque inquiries, contact Charles Coleman at 773.281.9075 or charles@facets.org