Film: Vanaja

New Asia Cinema

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

School of Management Rm. 137   7:00 pm
Free and open to the public.

Director: Rajnesh Domalpalli - India, 2006
Telugu with English subtitles
111 minutes

In Rajnesh Domalpalli's Telugu-language debut feature, Vanaja (Mamatha Bhukya) is a lower-caste teenage girl in Southern India who works as a servant but aspires to be a dancer. Although the narrative takes some tragic turns, Vanaja's natural artistic talent and strength of character shine through.

 

Film: Citizen Dog

New Asia Cinema

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

School of Management Rm. 137   7:00 pm
Free and open to the public.

Director: Wisit Sasanatieng
Thailand, 2005
Thai with English subtitles
100 minutes

The candy-colored absurdist musical romance of country bumpkin Pod and bookworm Jin by inimitable Thai cinemaginator and postmodern folklorist Wisit Sasanatieng is 100 minutes of pure joy of storytelling, song, and visual genius.

 

Film: Flower in the Pocket

New Asia Cinema

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

School of Management Rm. 137   7:00 pm
Free and open to the public.

Director: Liew Seng Tat
Malaysia, 2007
Malay, Mandarin, and Cantonese with English subtitles
97 minutes

In this festival prize-winner, filmmaker Liew Seng Tat makes film poetry from the quirkily endearing simple story of a preoccupied single father in Kuala Lumpur, his two neglected little boys, their tomboy friend, and a stray puppy.

 

Film: 881

New Asia Cinema

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

School of Management Rm. 137   7:00 pm
Free and open to the public.

Director: Royston Tan
Singapore, 2007
Hokkien Chinese dialect with English subtitles
115 minutes

Singapore's enfant terrible filmmaker Royston Tan (Fifteen) delighted Singaporean audiences with this extravaganza: a Hokkien-dialect getai musical/comedy/melodrama chockablock with chicken jokes, tender moments, and spectacular musical numbers.

 

Film: Half-Moon

New Asia Cinema

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

School of Management Rm. 137   7:00 pm
Free and open to the public.

Director: Bahman Ghobadi
Iran, 2006
Kurdish and Farsi with English subtitles
114 minutes

In this ruggedly scenic road movie by the Kurdish cinema laureate Bahman Ghobadi, a veteran musician travels from Iranian Kurdistan to Iraqi Kurdistan with his sons to perform a concert for the first time in thirty-seven years. Mystical, grittily realist, and even whimsical at times, Half Moon is a testament to Kurdish culture through its music.

 

Film: Times and Winds

New Asia Cinema

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

School of Management Rm. 137   7:00 pm
Free and open to the public.

Director: Reha Erdem
Turkey, 2006
Turkish with English subtitles
111 minutes

Following the lyrical pace and natural rhythms which divide the day into prayer times and the year into seasons, Reha Erdem's exquisitely poignant and at times devastating tale of a rural Muslim mountain village childhood and the first inklings of coming-of-age features lush music by Estonian composer Arvo Part.

 

Film: Afghan Star

New Asia Cinema

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

School of Management Rm. 137   7:00 pm
Free and open to the public.

Director: Havana Marking
Afghanistan, 2009
English and Afghan Persian dialogue with subtitles
88 minutes

This new documentary by British filmmaker and journalist Havana Marking explores the phenomenon of the pop idol TV show “Afghan Star" in Kabul, following four of its contestants.

 

Film: Heavenly Kings

New Asia Cinema

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

School of Management Rm. 137   7:00 pm
Free and open to the public.

Director: Daniel Wu
Hong Kong, 2006
Cantonese with English subtitles
83 minutes

Taking its name from the pantheon of the top four Cantopop stars (themselves tagged after Buddhist deities), California-born Hong Kong superstar Daniel Wu's entertaining directorial debut is a mockumentary--or popumentary--about the formation of a boyband called “Alive." Playfully bounding along, the film offers some real insights into the state of contemporary pop music, media industries, and stardom/celebrity.

 

Youth Film Showcase: Cultures of Peace

New Asia Cinema

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Amherst Cinema Arts Center   11:00 am

Please join us at the Amherst Cinema Arts Center for the 3rd Annual Youth Film Showcase: Cultures of Peace with films by local youth up to age 18 celebrating peace, social justice, cultural diversity, and environmental issues!

Download an Entry Form

 

Film: Munyurangabo/Liberation Day

New Asia Cinema

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

School of Management Rm. 137   7:00 pm
Free and open to the public.

Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Rwanda, 2008
Kinwarwanda with English subtitles
97 minutes

Korean-American filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung's extraordinary cross-cultural feature debut was filmed in Rwanda with a cast of nonprofessionals in just eleven days. A postgenocidal story of friendship of two young men from different tribal backgrounds, this is the first film ever made in the language Kinyarwanda and makes strategic use of Rwandan music and recited poetry.

 

Special Event: The Adventures of Prince Achmed

New Asia Cinema

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

School of Management, Room 137   7:00 pm
Free and open to the public.

New Asia Cinema 2009 will conclude with a screening of the silent film The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926), a fantasia of animated silhouettes borrowing its stories from Arabian Nights, with new original score followed by conversation with the composer. Rahul Roy's music draws on Indian, Middle Eastern, Afro-Caribbean, and 20th century Modern music traditions.