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August 27, 2010

Film festival to feature Brazilian titles

By Will Blanchard Globe Staff Writer

JOPLIN, Mo. — Image, at its best, can be a universal language.

This fall, members of the Institute of International Studies and Film Society at Missouri Southern State University will show eight foreign language films as a part of the university’s 49th annual International Film Festival. In following with a tradition of the last seven years to choose a language for each series, a catalogue of Brazilian films will be featured this year.

Although foreign films are not always popular, presenters hope the films they’ve selected will hold power beyond the subtitles.

“There is a reluctance (among students) to go to films that are subtitled,” said Harrison Kash, a retired professor who has volunteered his time to presenting the upcoming series. “Many films are told so well visually that you get the idea without even knowing what the dialogue is. That’s another mark of greatness.”

Kash says that this is the case with every film in this fall’s series, and considers it a great opportunity for students as well as the general public to see “national treasures” restored, uncut and with the original audio track.

“These are some of the things you’ve read about but never had the chance to see,” Kash said. “They usually have something very strong to offer and that’s what we try to get across.”

The university’s film society was founded in 1962 and functions as a public service for film enthusiasts by screening films that are shown in their original uncut format, according to the “original vision of the director.” Furthermore, admission is free.

All screenings will be held on the campus of MSSU at the Cornell Auditorium in Plaster Hall, at 7 p.m., except where otherwise indicated.

Movies to be featured include:

~ “Blindness” (“Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira”): The 2008 film directed by Fernando Meirelles follows a woman who maintains her sight in a society afflicted by a mysterious and sudden blindness. As the blind are quarantined, the woman feigns illness to remain with her husband and help him amidst the chaos and disorder.

This film will screen at 9 p.m. Sept. 7 in the Dormitory Courtyard on the campus of MSSU.

~ “Black Orpheus” (“Orfeu Negro”): This 1958 winner of the Golden Palm at Cannes and Oscar for Best Foreign Film is an adaptation of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice set in Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. It is widely considered a significant contribution to the art of filmmaking, given its tendency towards neorealist technique.

It is directed by Marcel Camus and features a notable soundtrack composed by Luiz Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim (the latter of whom wrote “The Girl from Ipanema”). The film will screen Sept. 21.

n “Entranced Earth” (“Terra em Transe”): A 1966 political drama about a journalist and poet who opposes two corrupt political figures. This was a personal film for director Glauber Rocha and, given its subject matter, was controversial at the time of its release. It will screen Sept. 28.

~ “Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands” (“Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos”): A 1976 comedy directed by Bruno Barreto, about a woman haunted by the ghost of her late husband, whose wild ways she prefers to those of her much more conformed second husband.

Kash considers this a gem in the college’s series. It will screen Oct. 5.

~ “Bye Bye Brazil”: A 1979 drama about a traveling Brazilian caravan. Directed by Carlos Diegues. It will screen Tuesday, October 12th.

~ “Central Station” (“Central do Brasil”): A young orphaned boy in search of his father develops a relationship with an older woman he meets at Rio de Janeiro’s central train station in this 1998 film by Walter Salles. It will screen Nov. 4.

~ “City of God” (“Cidade de Deus”): This relatively recent film, released in 2002, has already become one of the most acclaimed international films in America. Laced with philosophical undertones, the Fernando Meirelles film studies gang warfare in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. It will screen Nov. 9.

~ “Two Sons of Francisco” (“Dos Filhos de Francisco”): The story of the two brothers who, according to their father’s wishes, became a country music duo. It was released in 2005 and directed by Breno Silveira. It will screen Nov. 16 and conclude the Brazilian Film Festival.      

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