Foreign Films Series begins Oct. 5

A scene from Pedro Almodóvar's “Talk to Her.”

4:11 p.m., Sept. 26, 2003--The University of Delaware’s fall International Film Series begins Oct. 5, with screenings at 7:30 p.m., Sundays (unless otherwise noted), in the Trabant University Center Theatre. Foreign language films are shown with subtitles, and all of the 35 mm films are free and open to the public.

Scheduled fall screenings include:

“Talk to Her (Hable con ella),” Oct. 5, a 2002 Spanish film, is Pedro Almodóvar's story of tragic love that follows two men devoted to comatose women.

“Nico and Dani (Krámpack),” Oct 12, a 2000 film from Spain, focuses on the sexual explorations of two best friends spending the summer in a Spanish seaside town. When one of the boys discovers he is gay, what will happen to their friendship?

“The Son (Le Fils),” Oct. 19, is from Belgium, 2002. Olivier Gourmet, who won best actor at Cannes 2002, plays a carpenter whose son was murdered five years earlier. His new apprentice is the boy's killer.

“Mondays in the Sun (Los Lunes al sol),” Oct. 26, is a 2002 Spanish film that won four “Goyas,” the Spanish equivalent of the Oscar. The film takes viewers inside the lives of men who find themselves at loose ends two years after devasting lay-offs hit the town of Vigo.

“Open Hearts (Dogme #28: Elsker dig for evigt),” Nov. 2, a 2002 Danish film that explores the intertwined lives of two couples—an accident victim, the driver who crippled him, and their spouses.

“The Man Without a Past (Mies vailla menneisyyttä),” Nov. 9, a 2002 film from Finland’s master of deadpan comedy, Aki Kaurismaki, is a love story involving an amnesiac and a dour Salvation Army officer.

“Rivers and Tides,” (in English), Nov. 16, presents a 2002 German documentary about Andy Goldsworthy, an Earthworks artists who works outdoors with natural materials. This film documents the painstaking creation and ephemeral life of his sculptures as they are brought to life by the same forces that destroy them—the sun, the wind and the tide.

“Whale Rider,” Monday, Nov. 17, a 2002 film from New Zealand, spins the tale of a modern-day Maori girl who may be destined to lead her tribe, but whose grandfather is obsessed with finding a boy for the job. The film is presented by the Center for International Studies in celebration of International Education Week.

“City of God (Cidade de Deus),” Nov. 23, a 2002 film from Brazil, is a visceral and violent portrait of the gangs that have ruled Rio’s worst slum over the course of three decades.

Series sponsors include the Faculty Senate Committee on Cultural Activities and Public Events, the Office of the Provost, the Office of Latin American Student Affairs, UD’s Center for International Studies and the English department’s film program. The series also is cosponsored by the University Honors Program, the art history department, and the Women's Studies Program.

For more information, call 831-4066 (mailbox 3), or visit [www.english.udel.edu/ifs/]. Article by Jerry Rhodes

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