Witnessing the World: The
Robert Flaherty Film Seminar at MoMA
June 21–22, 2003
Each
year the renowned Robert Flaherty Film Seminar holds a weeklong
symposium at Vassar College on the art and craft of the moving image,
and MoMA then presents a selection of the films that were discussed.
This forty-ninth seminar focuses on how contemporary filmmakers
grapple with the idea of cinema as a tool for social responsibility
and political struggle. Directors Tran Van Thuy (Vietnam), Tsuchimoto
Noriaki (Japan), and Avi Mograbi (Israel) compassionately reveal
harsh truths about their countries. Franny Armstrong (Great Britain)
takes a broader journalistic look at the impact of global corporate
power on everyday people. This year’s programmer, John Gianvito,
observes, “This is cinema in search of new forms to better
address and humanize the problems of the world.” Directors
Tran, Mograbi, and Tsuchimoto will present their work.
Organized by Sally Berger, Assistant Curator, Department of Film
and Media.
. 2002. USA/Great Britain. Directed
by Franny Armstrong. With temperatures in Alaska rising
much faster than in the rest of the world, the delicate
balance of Arctic life is at stake, yet President Bush wants to
open up a wildlife refuge for oil drilling. 26 min.
. 1997. Great Britain. Directed by Franny
Armstrong. In Great Britain, two unlikely defendants—a
single father and a part-time bartender—are
thrust into a lengthy and costly suit defending the rights of free
speech over the silencing demands of the multinational corporation, McDonald’s.
53 min.
. 1987. Vietnam. Directed by Tran Van Thuy.
A dying filmmaker left his friends with these words: “You
should do something together that is inspired by human love or
something about human suffering.” This resulting
film was initially banned in Vietnam and became a
cornerstone of the country’s glasnost
after its release. In Vietnamese with English subtitles. 43 min.
. 1998. Vietnam. Directed by Tran
Van Thuy. Tran returns to the site of the My Lai massacre
and documents the return of two courageous U.S. pilots
who resisted the slaughter and saved lives, and an
American civilian who commemorated a peace park in the area. 32
min. Director present.
Program approx. 105 min.
. 1996. Vietnam.
Directed by Tran Van Thuy. A Vietnamese photographer
and his wife raise their two children, who were born
with deformities resulting from the toxic chemicals used on Vietnamese soldiers
during the Vietnam War. In Vietnamese with English subtitles. Director present.
45 min.
Program approx. 75 min.
. 1971.
Japan. Directed by Tsuchimoto Noriaki. A remarkable
look at the long-term effects on fishermen and their families
of mercury poisoning through industrial waste. In Japanese with
English subtitles. 120 min.
. 1999. Israel. Directed by Avi Mograbi.
A highly charged conflict between Israeli soldiers
and Palestinian demonstrators reflects the larger tensions between the nations. Installation loop, 5 min.
. 2002. Israel. Directed by
Avi Mograbi. The director, his wife, and a colleague all have discordant views of
what the month of August represents. Together, the
three characters, all played by Mograbi, expose the violence and
emotional upheaval found in the daily life of Israelis. Director
present. 72 min.
Program approx. 105 min.
top
|
