March 02, 2012
You don't need to go to Sundance to see the best independent films of the year.
CMU's International Film Festival is bringing two of the famed festival's 2012 winners, along with an array of other acclaimed films, to Pittsburgh.
Running March 22 trough April 15 at various locations throughout the city, "Faces of Others" will use a record 20 films to explore the concept of the other — or anything that is not us.
"We searched the world to select unique, independent films that seek to understand what the other is," said Jolanta Lion, director of the film festival. "Many are top films at the Amsterdam, Cannes, Berlin and Sundance festivals, and some are still in the festival circuit, vying for recognition."
"Putin's Kiss," winner of Sundance 2012's World Cinema Cinematography Award: Documentary, is a Danish and Russian film about a 19-year-old who starts to recognize flaws in a strongly nationalistic Russian youth movement that aims to protect the country from its enemies. It will be shown twice: 7 p.m., Saturday, March 24 at Melwood Screening Room and at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 29 in CMU's McConomy Auditorium.
The 2012 Sundance winner for World Cinema Directing: Documentary, "5 Broken Cameras," will screen at CMU's McConomy Auditorium at 7 p.m., on Thursday, April 12. Directors Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi offer a first-hand look at five years of West Bank protests, effectively pairing political history with personal life.
Another highlight of the festival is the American and Dutch film "Girl with Black Balloons," from director Corinne van der Borch at 7:15 p.m., on Thursday, March 29 at the Harris Theater. Van der Borch, who will attend her film's screening, is attracted to documentary filmmaking because it allows her to keep reinventing stories.
"The most important aspect of my filmmaking is that I believe a relationship can be seen and felt on the screen," she said. "For me, filmmaking is about telling stories from surprising angles, whether they are fictional or documentary-based. A documentary can be as entertaining and compelling as any scripted film."
"Girl with Black Balloons" is about Bettina, a woman said to be the most beautiful woman to have ever lived in the legendary Chelsea Hotel in New York City. She also is said to have hid herself away in her studio for the past 40 years. Sleeping on a lawn chair, Bettina is surrounded by boxes stacked from the floor to ceiling, all filled with a stunning body of artwork that has never seen the light of day.
"Sacrifice, obsession and devotion are the words that floated around in my head when I first learned more about Bettina," van der Borch said. "Her life as a reclusive guardian over her creativity and artwork inspires us to think about the world we have each chosen for ourselves, how we are captive of it or freed by it."
As in past festivals, each film screening will be paired with an interactive element - from appearances and Q&A sessions with the film director to local experts weighing in on the film's topics.
"Faces of Others" is sponsored by CMU's Humanities Center, The Pittsburgh Foundation, The Fine Foundation, The American Hellenic Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, PNC Bank, The Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York, The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York, The Consulate General of Federal Republic of Germany in New York and the generous support of the University of Pittsburgh, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, The Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Carlow University, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and media sponsor WYEP.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.cmu.edu/faces.
"Faces of Others" Schedule
March 22-April 15
Week One
Thursday, March 22
"El Sicario, Room 164" (France/USA, 2011)
7:15 p.m. at Melwood Screening Room,
477 Melwood Ave.
Opening Night Reception
Friday, March 23
"Suicide Room" (Poland, 2011)
7:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium,
University Center (UC)
Reception
Saturday, March 24
"The Fourth Portrait" (Taiwan/China, 2011)
6:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Reception
"Putin's Kiss" (Denmark/Russia, 2011)
7 p.m. at Melwood Screening Room,
477 Melwood Ave.
Sunday, March 25
"Battle of Warsaw 1920" (Poland, 2011)
3D screening
3 p.m. at AMC Loews Waterfront 22,
300 Waterfront Drive W
University of Pittsburgh's Polish Studies
endowment drive kick-off
"Whores' Glory" (Austria/Germany, 2011)
5 p.m. at Regent Square Theater,
1035 S Braddock Ave.
Short Film Competition
5:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Reception
Week Two
Thursday, March 29
"Putin's Kiss" (Denmark/Russia, 2011)
7 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Reception
"Girl with Black Balloons" (USA/Netherlands, 2011)
7:15 p.m. at The Harris Theater,
809 Liberty Ave.
Director Corinne van der Borch is scheduled to appear.
Distinctively Dutch Film Festival
opening reception
Friday, March 30
"Joschka and Sir Fischer"
(Switzerland/Germany, 2011)
6:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Director Pepe Danquart is scheduled to
appear.
Reception
Saturday, March 31
"Position Among the Stars" (Netherlands, 2010)
2 p.m. at The Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Ave.
Conversation with Director Leonard Retel Helmrich.
"Alps" (Greece, 2011)
5:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Greek Reception
"El Sicario, Room 164" (France/USA, 2011)
7:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Special Guest
Sunday, April 1
"Mum" (Netherlands, 2009)
6:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Director Adelheid Roosen is scheduled to appear.
Free and open to the public.
Week Three
Thursday, April 12
"5 Broken Cameras" (Netherlands/France/Israel/Palestine, 2011)
7 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Reception
Friday, April 13
"Mourning" (Iran, 2011)
7:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Reception
Saturday, April 14
"Best Intentions" (Romania/Hungary, 2011)
2 p.m. at The Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Ave.
"Essential Killing" (Poland/Hungary/Ireland/Norway, 2010)
7 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Sunday, April 15
"Black Butterflies" (Netherlands/Germany/South Africa, 2011)
6:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Closing Night Reception
Ticket Prices:
Opening Night (March 22) with
Reception:
$10 Seniors and Students* | $15 Others
Regular Admission:
$4 Seniors and Students* | $8 Others
3D Screening:
$10 Seniors and Students* | $20 Others
Full Access Festival Pass:
$25 Seniors and Students* | $50 Others
*A valid student (Osher) ID must be presented when picking up tickets for student pricing.
International Film Festival
Two Sundance Winners Coming to Pittsburgh
By Shilo Rea
CMU's International Film Festival is bringing two of the famed festival's 2012 winners, along with an array of other acclaimed films, to Pittsburgh.
Running March 22 trough April 15 at various locations throughout the city, "Faces of Others" will use a record 20 films to explore the concept of the other — or anything that is not us.
"We searched the world to select unique, independent films that seek to understand what the other is," said Jolanta Lion, director of the film festival. "Many are top films at the Amsterdam, Cannes, Berlin and Sundance festivals, and some are still in the festival circuit, vying for recognition."
"Putin's Kiss," winner of Sundance 2012's World Cinema Cinematography Award: Documentary, is a Danish and Russian film about a 19-year-old who starts to recognize flaws in a strongly nationalistic Russian youth movement that aims to protect the country from its enemies. It will be shown twice: 7 p.m., Saturday, March 24 at Melwood Screening Room and at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 29 in CMU's McConomy Auditorium.
The 2012 Sundance winner for World Cinema Directing: Documentary, "5 Broken Cameras," will screen at CMU's McConomy Auditorium at 7 p.m., on Thursday, April 12. Directors Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi offer a first-hand look at five years of West Bank protests, effectively pairing political history with personal life.
Another highlight of the festival is the American and Dutch film "Girl with Black Balloons," from director Corinne van der Borch at 7:15 p.m., on Thursday, March 29 at the Harris Theater. Van der Borch, who will attend her film's screening, is attracted to documentary filmmaking because it allows her to keep reinventing stories.
"The most important aspect of my filmmaking is that I believe a relationship can be seen and felt on the screen," she said. "For me, filmmaking is about telling stories from surprising angles, whether they are fictional or documentary-based. A documentary can be as entertaining and compelling as any scripted film."
"Girl with Black Balloons" is about Bettina, a woman said to be the most beautiful woman to have ever lived in the legendary Chelsea Hotel in New York City. She also is said to have hid herself away in her studio for the past 40 years. Sleeping on a lawn chair, Bettina is surrounded by boxes stacked from the floor to ceiling, all filled with a stunning body of artwork that has never seen the light of day.
"Sacrifice, obsession and devotion are the words that floated around in my head when I first learned more about Bettina," van der Borch said. "Her life as a reclusive guardian over her creativity and artwork inspires us to think about the world we have each chosen for ourselves, how we are captive of it or freed by it."
As in past festivals, each film screening will be paired with an interactive element - from appearances and Q&A sessions with the film director to local experts weighing in on the film's topics.
"Faces of Others" is sponsored by CMU's Humanities Center, The Pittsburgh Foundation, The Fine Foundation, The American Hellenic Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, PNC Bank, The Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York, The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York, The Consulate General of Federal Republic of Germany in New York and the generous support of the University of Pittsburgh, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, The Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Carlow University, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and media sponsor WYEP.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.cmu.edu/faces.
"Faces of Others" Schedule
March 22-April 15
Week One
Thursday, March 22
"El Sicario, Room 164" (France/USA, 2011)
7:15 p.m. at Melwood Screening Room,
477 Melwood Ave.
Opening Night Reception
Friday, March 23
"Suicide Room" (Poland, 2011)
7:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium,
University Center (UC)
Reception
Saturday, March 24
"The Fourth Portrait" (Taiwan/China, 2011)
6:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Reception
"Putin's Kiss" (Denmark/Russia, 2011)
7 p.m. at Melwood Screening Room,
477 Melwood Ave.
Sunday, March 25
"Battle of Warsaw 1920" (Poland, 2011)
3D screening
3 p.m. at AMC Loews Waterfront 22,
300 Waterfront Drive W
University of Pittsburgh's Polish Studies
endowment drive kick-off
"Whores' Glory" (Austria/Germany, 2011)
5 p.m. at Regent Square Theater,
1035 S Braddock Ave.
Short Film Competition
5:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Reception
Week Two
Thursday, March 29
"Putin's Kiss" (Denmark/Russia, 2011)
7 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Reception
"Girl with Black Balloons" (USA/Netherlands, 2011)
7:15 p.m. at The Harris Theater,
809 Liberty Ave.
Director Corinne van der Borch is scheduled to appear.
Distinctively Dutch Film Festival
opening reception
Friday, March 30
"Joschka and Sir Fischer"
(Switzerland/Germany, 2011)
6:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Director Pepe Danquart is scheduled to
appear.
Reception
Saturday, March 31
"Position Among the Stars" (Netherlands, 2010)
2 p.m. at The Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Ave.
Conversation with Director Leonard Retel Helmrich.
"Alps" (Greece, 2011)
5:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Greek Reception
"El Sicario, Room 164" (France/USA, 2011)
7:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Special Guest
Sunday, April 1
"Mum" (Netherlands, 2009)
6:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Director Adelheid Roosen is scheduled to appear.
Free and open to the public.
Week Three
Thursday, April 12
"5 Broken Cameras" (Netherlands/France/Israel/Palestine, 2011)
7 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Reception
Friday, April 13
"Mourning" (Iran, 2011)
7:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Reception
Saturday, April 14
"Best Intentions" (Romania/Hungary, 2011)
2 p.m. at The Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Ave.
"Essential Killing" (Poland/Hungary/Ireland/Norway, 2010)
7 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Sunday, April 15
"Black Butterflies" (Netherlands/Germany/South Africa, 2011)
6:30 p.m. at McConomy Auditorium, UC
Closing Night Reception
Ticket Prices:
Opening Night (March 22) with
Reception:
$10 Seniors and Students* | $15 Others
Regular Admission:
$4 Seniors and Students* | $8 Others
3D Screening:
$10 Seniors and Students* | $20 Others
Full Access Festival Pass:
$25 Seniors and Students* | $50 Others
*A valid student (Osher) ID must be presented when picking up tickets for student pricing.