| Past Film Series - Fall 2004
Curated by Esther Figueroa.
All films are free and open to the public.
Shown Fridays at 12pm (Noon)
Burns Hall - East-West Center Room 3121/3125.
Download a printable version of this schedule here.
See films from the Spring 2004 Festival here.
 SEPT 24 Three Films by Sima Urale
Sima Urale in Person
O Tamaiti: The Children (15 mins.) 1996
O TAMAITI portrays the impressions of a young boy in an adult dominated world. Seen through the eyes of 11-year-old Tino, the eldest of five children of a Samoan family, the film opens with the birth of yet another baby, and Tino must cope with the added
pressure and responsibilities expected of him as the eldest. With Mother and Father figures who are heard but not seen, Tino must carry the weight of responsibilities, tending to the needs of his younger siblings and newborn baby with adult maturity.
Still Life (11 mins.) 2003
"True love never dies." Still Life explores how love overcomes physical pain. An elderly couple, who decide to throw away life to re-unite in death, find that great love defies all.
Velvet Dreams (45 mins.) 2000
A documentary about the kitschy velvet renderings of Polynesian women told through the eyes of a man who becomes obsessed with a woman featured in a painting. More a mocumentary than a traditional documentary, Velvet Dreams includes an interview with the
velveteer Eric Cridland, and Jacqueline Cadousteau, the main model for the father of contemporary black velvet painting, Edgar Leeteg.
OCT 1 Daughters of the Dust (113mins.) Julie Dash; 1991
Daughters of the Dust chronicles two very pivotal days in 1902 in the life of the Peazant family, descendants of enslaved Africans who reside on the Gullah speaking islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. Against the wishes of the family
matriarch, Nana, the younger Peazants are planning to leave the island for mainland. Viola Peazant, who has turned her back on the African folk-ways still practiced by Nana, is thrilled at her family's decision to assimilate and has brought a photographer to capture the event for posterity.
In the end not everyone "crosses over."
Daughters of the Dust is a break through film in African-American cinema because of its African Diasporic story telling and lush cinematography using consciously developed techniques for filming Black rather than White bodies.
OCT 8 Rabbit Proof
Fence (94 mins.) Phillip Noyce; 2002
In 1931, Molly and her younger cousins, Gracie and Daisy, were three half-caste children from Western Australia who were taken from their parents under government edict and sent to an institution, were taught to forget their families, their culture, and re-invent themselves as members of "white" Australian society. The three girls begin an epic journey back to Western Australia, travelling 1,500 miles on foot with no food or water, and navigating by following the fence that has been build across the nation to stem an over-population of rabbits.
OCT 15 Dancehall Queen (96 mins.) Carolyn Pfeiffer, Carl Bradshaw, Don Letts; 1997
Dancehall Queen is a modern-day Cinderella story, with no Prince Charming, but one very strong woman. In the gritty world of the Kingston ghetto, there are few ways out. Marcia, a street vendor struggling to survive as a single mother, discovers the
world of the dancehall. By day, she toils on the hot Kingston streets and by night she becomes "the mystery lady", the new star of the dancehall. If Marcia can win the dancehall contest, the prize money and, more importantly, her own sense of worth, she will finally be free.
Featuring music by Chevelle Franklin, The Marley Girls, Grace Jones, and more!
OCT 22 Tanim (51 mins.) Written and directed by James Frankham; 2003
Produced by Faraway Pictures in association with SBS TV Australia.
In English, Enga and Tok Pisin, with English subtitles.
The Apulin is a tribe divided. They face a leadership conflict and a decision between traditional values and modern development. From Papua New Guinea comes a story of mystery, corruption, warfare, celebration and magic.
The Apulin live in a remote valley surrounded by jungle-clad mountains in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. For thousands of years, Big Men have controlled the wealth, the land and its people. But since independence, politicians have emerged as the new generation of Big Men, governing according to the old rules of their tribal heritage with the vast resources of the state in their pockets.
In the frantic race to Election Day candidates display wealth and power in extravagant celebrations. Supporters don traditional dress and travel great distances for massive political confrontations. Money is spent and hundreds of pigs are slaughtered for a single feast.
Ileksen Taim in Enga Province is a showdown of giants.
Voting is just months away. The Apulin must decide.
 OCT 29 Since the Company Came (52 mins.) Russell Hawkins; 2000
A documentary about a community's struggle to come to terms with the social, cultural and ecological disruption that threatens to fragment the Solomon Islands. Set on the remote island of Rendova, the film focuses on dispute and division caused by the Haporai
tribe's latest development activity: a logging operation.
NOV 5 Films About Derek Walcott ("Moving Islands" Writers Festival feature)
Derek Walcott of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, Nobel Laureate for poetry 1992, is one of the world's greatest poets and playwrights.
A World of Ideas: Derek Walcott (29 mins); 1988
Bill Moyers interviews Derek Walcott who discusses the language of poetry, the language of politics, and the story of Robinson Crusoe as metaphor.
Derek Walcott : Pantomime (26 mins.) Paul Kafno; 1980
This short play by Derek Walcott, performed in 1980, is a metaphorical exploration of relations between black and white in the postcolonial world. The plot concerns a retired white actor and his black factotum; presumably they will perform a pantomime version of Robinson Crusoe, but roles
become reversed, much to the white mans bewilderment and discomfort.
NOV 12 Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree (90 mins.) Martyn Sanderson, Grahame McLean; 1989 ("Moving Islands" Writers Festival Feature)
Albert Wendt in Person
Adapted from the novel by Albert Wendt.
Pepe is the son of a successful Samoan businessman, who rejects his father's world and his Christianity. He becomes rebellious, anti-social and is expelled from school. However, when he gets his girlfriend pregnant, he takes on the responsibilities of a family. Through his close associate
with the character Tagata, he enters the supernatural realm of his traditional ways and begins to find some peace and meaning to his life.
NOV 19 An Island Invaded (50 mins.) Esther Figueroa, Jim Bannan; 2004
Esther Figueroa in Person
A documentary about the island of Guam during World War II as told through personal narratives of Guam residents who were children, teenagers and young adults at the time of the war. These compelling stories, combined with WWII archival footage, tell
tales of brutality, survival, resistance, and resilience. 
DEC 3 Aku Ingin Menciummu Sekali Saja - Birdman Tale (90 mins.) Garin Nugroho; 2001
Garin Nugroho is closely involved in questions of politics and freedom and in his films he often tackles the complex relationship between the various ethnic groups in Indonesia and the central government in Jakarta. The poetic Birdman Tale focuses on the
quest for the identity of the Papuans, their desire for freedom, their customs and idiosyncrasies. The mysterious and fairytale Birdman from the title is Bertold, a teacher of traditional dance and supporter of Theys Eluay, the advocate of independence for West Papua who tried in a
non-violent way to find a solution and who was killed in 2000.
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