From March 3–18, the Walker Art Center presents
Women with Vision 2006: Confronting Silence
. This year’s festival celebrates women in film who courageously confront silence, from actors and writers blacklisted in McCarthy-era Hollywood to directors today in India, Iran, Chile, Tibet, Kenya, Cameroon, Europe, and the United States who are boldly giving voice to their visions. The Walker is nurturing a new generation of film artists ages 10–18 who are finding their voice through the Girls in the Director’s Chair program, and is excited to screen Deepa Mehta’s entire India Trilogy, based on the elements fire, earth, and water. Mehta will make an appearance at the Walker to introduce her latest film Water on Saturday, March 18, at 8 pm.
In the 1950s, a number of Hollywood visionaries and talents found themselves literally silenced. After the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) named people such as screenwriter Norma Barzman and Minnesota-born actress Gale Sondergaard as suspected communists, their careers were forever altered. Some went into exile abroad, others had to use assumed names, and still others couldn’t find work in the industry until decades later. Anchoring the festival is the Blacklisted series of films, which includes a special appearance by Barzman, who signs copies of her memoir The Red and the Blacklist and introduces a 1946 film she wrote but was never credited for.
To provide more information and stimulate dialogue, the Walker has added new features to the festival this year: podcasts by filmmakers will be available through Art on Call, a cell phone–based audio guide that can also be accessed online (filmvideo.walkerart.org/wwv); and the Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab has been converted into a dialogue lounge where people can gather for refreshments and post-screening discussions, whether informal or scheduled.
Except where noted, all screenings will be in the Walker Cinema and tickets are$8 ($6 Walker members) for each program. Tickets are available at walkerart.org/tickets or by calling 612.375.7600.
Festival pass $40 ($30). Opening-night programs ticketed separately. Pass does not guarantee admittance; early arrival is recommended.
WOMEN WITH VISION 2006: CONFRONTING SILENCE
The 13th annual film festival
March 3–18
OPENING NIGHT
FRIDAY, MARCH 3
Play (Playx), 7 pm
$12 ($8 Walker members), includes film, performance, and reception
In-person appearance:
Introduced by writer/director Alicia Scherson
In this hip urban drama, nurse Cristina and architect Tristan are strangers in search of love. Play, whose title is taken from its pin¬ball style of bouncing from one story to the next, places these lonely hearts in Santiago de Chile one hot and polluted summer. Writer/director Alicia Scherson’s offbeat first feature won Best New Narrative Filmmaker Award at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival and is representing Chile for Oscar consideration. 2005, Chile/Argentina, color, 35mm, in Spanish with English subtitles, 100 minutes.
Born in Santiago, Chile, Alicia Scherson received a Fulbright scholarship to study fine arts at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1999. In 2002, she returned to Chile to work as a film teacher. Her short works have received numerous awards at international film festivals.
Performance: Vladmaster
Opening reception, 9–11 pm
Cargill Lounge/Lecture Room
Vladimir pays nostalgic homage to View-Masters, the unique 3-D stereoscopes popular since the 1940s, while at the same time repurposing the device to create a kind of click-by-click short film experience. Her Vladmaster performances feature original narratives and literary adaptations, dioramas she built and photographed, and sound tracks she created to accompany the viewing experience.
An artist from Portland, Oregon, Vladimir has held Vladmaster performances at several film festivals in the Northwest since 2003. She also makes and shows Super-8 films with the Portland collective Tiny Picture Club, occasionally mass-produces form letters, and has created her own line of scratch-it Vladland lottery tickets.
SATURDAY, MARCH 4
Gilaneh, 7 pm
Directed by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and Moshen Abdolvahab
In this film, Iran’s most prominent woman director delivers a timely condemnation of the horrors of war. Iraqi bombs rain down on Tehran in 1988 as Iranians celebrate the new year. The widowed Gilaneh and her pregnant daughter, in search of her husband who has deserted his military post, make the perilous journey into the capital city even as its inhabitants flee. Fifteen years later, the United States attacks Baghdad during another New Year’s celebration. Scenes of the new war—in which Iraq is now the invaded—flash insistently across the television while Gilaneh tries to rebuild hopes and dreams shattered by violence. 2005, Iran, color, 35mm, in Farsi with English subtitles, 84 minutes.
Born in Tehran, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad began her career as a documentary filmmaker for Iranian television before directing her first feature in 1987. Her films include Nargess (1992), Rusari Abi (1995), The May Lady (Banoo-Ye Ordibehesht) (1998), and Our Times (Ruz-egar-e ma) (2002).
Half-Price (Demi-Tarif), 9 pm
Written and directed by Isild Le Besco
Three children on their own in Paris—a brother and two sisters ages seven, eight, and nine—wander the city shoplifting, scam¬ming fast food, sneaking into movies, and doing what they please. Chris Marker has called this feature from 22-year-old actress Isild Le Besco “the greatest debut since Godard’s Breathless (À bout de soufflé).” 2004, France, color, 35mm, in French with English subtitles, 63 minutes.
Despite her youth, the director has become a cult actress in France and around the world. Her feature credits include roles in Sade (2000), Girls Can’t Swim (Les Filles ne sarant pas nager) (2000), Adolphe (2002), Right Now (Ë tout de suite) (2004), and Backstage (2005). In 2000 she directed the short film T’es ou.
THURSDAY, MARCH 9
Sisters in Law, 7 pm FREE
Directed by Florence Ayisi and Kim Longinotto
Post-screening discussion led by Nyango Melissa Naubangi, Executive Director, Minnesota African Women’s Association, www.mawanet.org
In the little town of Kumba, Cameroon, there had been no convictions in spousal abuse trials for 17 years. Thanks to tough-minded state prosecutor Vera Ngassa and court president Beatrice Ntuba, however, things are starting to change. They are determined to help women in their Muslim village find the courage to fight difficult cases, despite pressures from family and their community to remain silent. Moreover, these two feisty and progressive officials challenge prevailing attitudes about the status of women and children village-wide. Winner of the Prix Art et Essai at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. 2005, Cameroon/UK, color, 35mm, in Pidgin English/Hausa/English with English subtitles,
104 minutes.
Kim Longinotto is one of the preeminent documentary filmmakers working today, renowned for creating extraordinary human por¬traits and tackling controversial topics with sensitivity and compassion. Her films, which have won international acclaim and dozens of premier awards at festivals worldwide, include Shinyuku Boys (1995), Gaea Girls (2000), Runaway (2001), and The Day I Will Never Forget (2002).
Florence Ayisi teaches practice-based research at the International Film School Wales, University of Wales, Newport. She also directed the documentary Reflections (2003) and the short film My Mother: Isange (2005).
Take a free gallery tour before the screening: Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980–2005, 6 pm.
FRIDAY, MARCH 10
Guernsey, 7 pm
Directed by Nanouk Leopold
Traveling frequently between her family in Holland and her job in Egypt, international aid worker Anna begins to question her happiness when she discovers that a seemingly content coworker has committed suicide. Anna returns to Holland and secretly examines her husband’s familiar glances and gestures, wondering if anything in their apparently happy household could be other than it seems. Elegant images rather than words build the story and place the audience in the position of watching for clues along with the protagonist. Representing the Netherlands for Oscar consideration as Best Foreign Language Film, Guernsey was screened in Director’s Fortnight in the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. 2005, Netherlands/Belgium, color, 35mm, in Dutch with English subtitles, 90 minutes.
Nanouk Leopold studied directing at the Dutch Film and Television Academy and mixed-media and monumental arts at the Rotterdam Academy of Visual Arts. Her debut feature, Iles Flottantes (2001), was selected for the Rotterdam Tiger Award Competition in 2001 and was screened at many international film festivals. Guernsey is her second feature.
Take a gallery tour before the screening: Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980–2005, 3:30 pm, free with ticket.
It’s Easier for a Camel (Il est plus facile pour un chameau), 9 pm
Written and directed by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi
This comedy follows Federica, a wealthy young woman living alone in Paris, who is overwhelmed by the responsibilities her inheritance will place upon her. Her love life is in chaos, and her family is beginning to disintegrate. She escapes the pressure by daydreaming. It’s Easier for a Camel marks the directorial debut of one of France’s most admired actresses, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, who drew on her own memories of growing up in a privileged family in France in the 1970s. 2003, France, color, 35mm, in French and Italian with English subtitles, 110 minutes.
One of Europe’s most prominent actors, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi was born in Turin, Italy, and educated in Nanterre, France at the Théâtre des Amandiers. Since the mid-1980s, she has appeared in more than 50 films, including Hôtel de France (1987), Forget Me (Oublie-moi) (1995), More (Encore) (1996), Empty Days (Rien à faire) (1999), The Color of Lies (Au coeur du mensonge) (1999), and 5 x 2 (2004).
SATURDAY, MARCH 11
Dialogue Lounge, 1:30 pm
Making/Understanding Documentaries
A discussion with documentary filmmaker Kathleen Laughlin, whose work was featured in previous Women with Vision festivals, and Joanna Kohler, whose film Moving in a Mirror is part of today’s shorts program at 3 pm.
Reflections of Place: A Series of Short Films, 3 pm
Moving in a Mirror
In-person appearance:
Introduced by director Joanna Kohler
Filmed over the course of four years, this documentary follows a young activist in Jerusalem through times of euphoria and frustration. 2005, U.S., color, video, 35 minutes.
Director Joanna Kohler has made work that deals with exploitative youth services in Minneapolis, activist work in Israel-Palestine, and female amateur boxing. Her films include Witness: When Politics Becomes More Important Than Liberation (1999) and BOXERS (2006).
Devotion
In-person appearance:
Introduced by director Cynthia Madansky
In this sparing travelogue about Istanbul, a foreigner meditates on the unraveling of a relationship while moving from one hotel room another. 2004, U.S., color, 16mm, 34 minutes.
New York–based artist Cynthia Madansky works in film, drawing, and painting. She has presented her films at the Museum of Modern Art and at international art spaces and festivals. Her films include We at Her (1995), Past Perfect (2002), and Still Life (2004).
Sky Burial
Directed by Ellen Bruno
In Tibet’s most common death ritual, the sky burial, respect for nature and an understanding of life are both demonstrated as bodies of the dead are offered to vultures as a final act of kindness. 2005, U.S., color, video, 12 minutes.
Filmmaker and international relief worker Ellen Bruno has spent much of the past 20 years in southeast Asia. She was awarded Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellowships. Her films include Samsara (1990), Slavegirls (1998), Sacrifice (1999), and Leper (2004).
One Night (Yek Shab), 6 pm
Directed by Niki Karimi
Post-screening discussion led by Jila Nikpay, photographer/filmmaker/educator, www.jilanikpay.com
Furious that her mother wants her to once again spend the night at a friend’s house so she can entertain her boyfriend, a young woman wanders all night in Tehran and encounters three different men. Selected for the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard competition, One Night is the directorial debut for this 34-year-old Iranian actor. 2005, Iran, color, 35mm, in Farsi with English subtitles, 78 minutes.
Born in Tehran, Niki Karimi started acting at the age of 17 and has become one of the country’s most famous cinema stars. Winner of countless awards, she is best known internationally for her roles in Two Women (Do zan) (1999), The Hidden Half (Nimeh-ye penhan) (2001), and The Fifth Reaction (Vakonesh panjom) (2003).
Towards Mathilde (Vers Mathilde)
, 7 pm
Directed by Claire Denis
Towards Mathilde follows the creation of a choreographic work-in-progress by Mathilde Monnier, a kinetic investigator par excellence and stage director at the Choreography Centre in Montpellier, France. Claire Denis, known for offering contemplative examinations of moments and body-sensitive images neglected in typical storytelling, transcends mere documentary in a film that explores the birth, formulation, and performance of a radical new dance piece. “She suggested I come to one of her projects and film it,” recalls Denis. “But I didn’t want that, and I answered that if she wanted to work with me, she’d have to hire me as a dancer. She laughed.” 2005, France, color, 35mm, in French with English subtitles, 84 minutes.
Claire Denis is one of French cinema’s most provocative and distinctive filmmakers. Her films include Jacques Rivette, le veilleur (1990), I Can’t Sleep (J’ai pas sommeil) (1994), Nenette et Boni (1996), Good Work (Beau travail) (1999), Trouble Every Day (2001), Friday Night (Vendredi soir) (2002), and The Intruder (L’Intrus) (2004).
Preceded by Legal Errorist
Directed by Mara Mattuschka
Mattuschka transposes Chris Haring’s choreography for a solo part into a pas de deux with the camera. 2005, Austria, BW, video, in English, 15 minutes.
Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, Mara Mattuschka is a Vienna-based artist who makes experimental films and performances. Her films include Kugelkopf (1985), Les Miserables (1987), S.O.S. Extraterrestria (1993), and Unternehmen Arschmaschine (1997).
and
Wingspan 5’2”
In-person appearance:
Introduced by director Emily Johnson
A stark dance is repeated in various landscapes and presented in changing assemblies of split screens. 2005, U.S., color, video, 10 minutes.
Minneapolis-based choreographer/curator Emily Johnson’s company Catalyst, dances by emily johnson, has performed throughout the United States. Her recent dance-theater work Heat and Life (2004) was commissioned by the Walker.
THURSDAY, MARCH 16
The Boys of Baraka, 7 pm FREE
Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
In-person appearance:
Introduced by codirector Rachel Grady
This unique coming-of-age documentary tracks a group of 12-year-old boys from the most violent neighborhood in Baltimore to an experimental boarding school in rural Kenya. An emotionally explosive journey shot over three years, the film zeroes in on kids society has labeled “throwaways” who are willing to chase this opportunity for a better future across an ocean. 2005, U.S., color, video, 84 minutes.
Heidi Ewing graduated from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service before she started making documentaries. Rachel Grady worked as a private investigator before she became a documentary filmmaker. Together as well as separately they have produced and directed several documentaries for American and European television channels focusing on global issues. In 2001 they founded the New York–based production company Loki Films. Their credits include Inside Scientology (1998; Ewing/Grady), Rites of Passage (2000; Ewing), Dissident: Oswaldo Paya and the Varela Project (2002; Ewing), and Mad Justice (2003; Grady).
Take a gallery tour before the screening: Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980–2005, 6 pm, free with ticket.
FRIDAY, MARCH 17
Experiments: A Series of Short Films, 7 pm
Waiting for Jenny
In-person appearance:
Introduced by director Emily Haddad
A policeman tries to help an old woman find her sister. 2005, U.S., color, video, 10 minutes.
Emily Haddad is a filmmaker from Stillwater, Minnesota. Her films include Be the Peace (2003), Traffic Jam—A Citizen’s Journey (2004), and Tara’s Party (2005).
Second Memory
Directed by Bea de Visser
In 1994, Bea de Visser exhibited paintings based on old photographs of an anonymous model to whom she was introduced years later. Second Memory uses artwork and footage from their visit to examine the relationship between past and present. 2004, Czechoslovakia/Germany, color, 35mm, in Czech and German with English subtitles, 12 minutes.
Bea de Visser is a performing artist, painter, and filmmaker from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Her films include A Breath Hush (1996), Another Another (1999), The Barren Land (2001), and Just a Minute Yoko (2004).
The Future Is Behind You
In-person appearance:
Introduced by director Abigail Child
This fictional story is based on an anonymous family’s archive from 1930s Europe, reconstructed to emphasize gender acculturation in two sisters who grow up together under the shadow of oncoming history. 2004, U.S., BW, 16mm, 20 minutes.
Three
In-person appearance:
Introduced by director Cheryl Wilgren Clyne
An exploration into learning and repetition, this experimental film reflects on the importance of making mistakes. 2005, U.S., video, color,
3 minutes.
Three That Were You
Directed by Cheryl Wilgren Clyne
This animation ambiguously reflects the director’s past. 2005, U.S., color, video, 2 minutes.
Cheryl Wilgren Clyne is an artist and filmmaker from St. Paul. Her films also include factory (2005) and blixa and bargeld (2005).
City Paradise
Directed by Gaelle Denis
Arriving in London to learn English, Tomoko discovers a mysterious, secret underground world inhabited by friendly little aliens and beautiful blos¬soms. 2004, U.K., color, 35mm, 6 minutes.
French-born Gaelle Denis lives in London. City Paradise won many awards at international film festivals. Her other films include Fish Never Sleep (2002).
E=NYC2
Directed by Kimi Takesue
Structured in a series of vignettes, this visually driven piece features New Yorkers moving through self-contained yet interconnected worlds as they pursue their lives and dreams. U.S., 2005, color, video, 5 minutes.
New York–based Kimi Takesue has made several award-winning shorts and is now preparing her first feature-length production. Her films include Rosewater (2001), Heaven’s Crossroad (2002), and Summer of the Serpent (2003).
Fisticuffs
Directed by Miranda Pennell
The ritual of the Western bar brawl is relocated to a London workingman’s pub. The “staged” approach to choreography, editing, and framing disrupts the illusion of reality. 2004, U.K., color, video, 8 minutes.
London-based Miranda Pennell often makes work that explores the choreography found in everyday life. Her films include Tattoo (2001), Human Radio (2002), and Magnetic North (2004).
SPECIAL FESTIVAL SECTIONS
Blacklisted
Shortly after World War II, several hundred people in Hollywood labeled communists by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) found themselves ostracized without the possibility of defense. This film series honors a handful of women whose careers were interrupted or destroyed by that witch hunt. Also featured are films made prior to the HUAC hearings that foreshadow the paranoia caused by rumor and suspicion.
Wednesday, March 8
Our Daily Bread, 7 pm
Directed by King Vidor
Starring Karen Morley
One of the few films to portray the impact of the Great Depression on working-class Americans, Our Daily Bread chronicles an urban couple’s quest to transform a modest plot of farmland into a thriving agricultural collective. The film’s impressive portrayal of communal physical labor earned it second prize at an annual film exhibition in Moscow and a League of Nations award “for its contribution to humanity.” 1934, U.S., BW, 35mm, 80 minutes.
Karen Morley was an active unionist in Hollywood as well as in North Carolina, where she helped to organize a strike by tobacco workers. She was blacklisted in 1952 after being named a communist and invoking the fifth amendment at the HUAC hearings. She never returned to the screen again. Her films include Flesh (1932), Scarface (1932), Gabriel Over the White House (1933), Black Fury (1935), and The Unknown (1946).
Friday, March 10
These Three, 5 pm
Directed by William Wyler
Written by Lillian Hellman, based on her play The Children’s Hour
An all-girls boarding school is closed down by rumors of a love triangle involving two of the teachers. This exemplary story examines prejudice and denunciation and foreshadows the anticommunist witch hunts of the late 1940s and ’50s. However, censorship triumphed before production began: Hellman was forced to remove any traces of the lesbian subtext from the story and adapt it to fit the production code of the time. 1936, U.S., BW, 35mm, 93 minutes.
Playwright and screenwriter Lillian Hellman wrote such classics as The Little Foxes (1941), Watch on the Rhine (1943), and Chase (1966). She also published Scoundrel Time, a memoir focusing on the blacklist era. Hellman was subpoenaed by the HUAC in 1952 and refused to name others. Her Hollywood career was suspended for more than a decade.
Take a gallery tour before the screening: Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980–2005, 3:30 pm, free with ticket.
Saturday, March 11
Mary Ryan, Detective, 9 pm
Directed by Abby Berlin
Starring Marsha Hunt
This B film noir features the rare lead role of a female detective. Mary Ryan takes a course in shoplifting in order to work undercover and bust a notorious fence. She poses as a prison inmate to gain the confidence of a con man’s accomplices and after her release from jail, joins his gang and participates in the robbery of a fur warehouse. 1949, U.S., BW, 35mm, 68 minutes.
A fashion model before becoming a rising actress in Hollywood, Marsha Hunt was gray-listed for her participation in a famous protest in Washington, D.C. of the HUAC’s treatment of the Hollywood Ten. After 1952 she was only offered a handful of minor parts. Her films include Raw Deal (1948), Take One False Step (1949), and The Happy Time (1952).
Wednesday, March 15
Escape, 7 pm
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Written by Marguerite Roberts
Defying his country’s neutrality, U.S. citizen Mark Preysing ventures into Nazi Germany to rescue his mother from a concentration camp. He befriends a countess (a general’s mistress) who assists in the rescue. Escape was one of the first American anti-films, and it became the target of an investigation by the Senate due to claims that Hollywood and the Roosevelt administration were using such films to promote the United States’ entry into World War II. 1940, U.S., BW, 16mm, 102 minutes.
Marguerite Roberts was one of the highest-paid screenwriters of her time, but MGM canceled her contract after she refused to name people in front of the HUAC. After the release of Ivanhoe (1952), from which her credit was cut, she could not sell a story in Hollywood until 1962. After her passport was denied, she was unable to travel or work abroad. Her stories and screenplays were used for Ziegfield Girl (1941), Dragon Seed (1944), The Sea of Grass (1947), and True Grit (1969).
Friday, March 17
The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler, 9 pm
Directed by James Hogan
Starring Gale Sondergaard
This curious piece of wartime wish-fulfillment follows Franz Huber, a famed Austrian actor known for his impersonations of celebrities. Captured by the Gestapo, he is ordered to undergo plastic sur¬gery to become a stand-in for Adolf Hitler. It is all part of a plot to poison the troublesome Führer and put the ostensibly more pliable Huber in his place. The anti-Nazi Huber is able to foil the Gestapo and strike a blow for democracy, but his wife (Gale Sondergaard), also a oppositionist, has no way of knowing that he isn’t Hitler. 1943, U.S., BW, 16mm, 72 minutes.
Gale Sondergaard was born in Litchfield, Minnesota. She was a successful stage actress before she joined her husband, Herbert Biberman, in Hollywood. Winner of the first Oscar awarded for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Anthony Adverse (1936), she was nominated again for her role in Anna and the King of Siam in 1947. After she and Biberman were blacklisted in the late 1940s, she didn’t appear on the screen again until 1969.
Saturday, March 18
The Locket, 3 pm
Directed by John Brahm
In-person appearance:
Introduced by cowriter Norma Barzman (uncredited)
In this film noir, the classic femme-fatale character (Laraine Day) unravels as her past returns to haunt and overtake her on her wedding day. Innovatively using a series of nesting flashbacks, the film unfolds like a labyrinth, presenting an intense and complex psychological portrait of a troubled woman. 1946, U.S., BW, 35mm, 85 minutes. A book-signing follows.
Norma Barzman was the first woman reporter at the Los Angeles Examiner before she became a screenwriter in Hollywood. In the fearful atmosphere of the first wave of HUAC hearings, she and her husband, screenwriter Ben Barzman, left the United States for France in 1949. Two years later they were blacklisted and from that point were only able to work under assumed names. After almost 30 years in exile, Barzman returned to the U.S. in 1976. She has published the first part of her memoirs, The Red and the Blacklist (2003). The second part, The End of Romance, is due out in spring 2006. Her film stories and screenplays also include Never Say Goodbye (1946), Young Man with Ideas (1952), and Luxury Girls (1952).
Transportation for Barzman provided in part by the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Minnesota.
Films Directed by Abigail Child
New York–based filmmaker Abigail Child’s award-winning art has been included in many prestigious international film festivals. A recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim, Fulbright, Jerome, and other foundations, Child is currently chair of the film area at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her films include Mother Movie (1973), Mayhem (1987), B/Side (1996), and Surface Noise (2000). Her work is featured in the Walker’s Lecture Room throughout the month of March.
Related screenings:
Films Directed by Abigail Child
Screenings from the Collection
March 1–31 FREE
Lecture Room
These films run continuously during gallery hours.
Cake and Steak
This film is the first in a series of digital projections that excavate “girl training” in postwar American suburban culture. Working with found footage, Cake and Steak rereads the American dream. 2002–2004, U.S., color and BW, video, 20 minutes.
Dark Dark
“Dark Dark is a ghost dance of narrative gesture melding four found story fragments: noir, western, romance, and chase,” writes Child. “The music of Ennio Morricone provocatively interacts with the images, tantalizing the audience with webs of memory, meaning, and elusive folly.” 2001, U.S., BW, video, 16:20 minutes.
Films run continuously during gallery hours. This changing program features works from the Walker’s Edmond R. Ruben Film and Video Study Collection.
Elemental Films: Deepha Mehta’s India Trilogy
Reviled by many in India for her first two controversial films, Fire and Earth, Deepa Mehta again aroused the ire of the Indian government and religious fundamentalists when she attempted to shoot Water first in the holy city of Varanasi and then at other locations. For trying to expose the plight of Indian widows, who are forced to enter “widow houses” and left to survive any way they can, Mehta received death threats, was burned in effigy in cities across the country, and had her set burned by a mob and thrown into the River Ganges. Though it took roughly five years to finish the project, she was able to complete the film in Sri Lanka under an assumed name.
For 15 years, Deepa Mehta has earned an enviable international reputation through her films Sam and Me (1991), Camilla (1994), Bollywood/Hollywood (2002), and The Republic of Love (2003). Born in Amritsar, India, she studied philosophy at the University of New Delhi before emigrating to Canada.
Sunday, March 5
Fire, 2 pm
Directed by Deepa Mehta
The first in the trilogy, Fire is Mehta’s tender, passionate, and controversial story of two women torn between their devotion to duty and their desire for love and companionship. Radha has been a consummate wife for 15 years, but her husband is seeking spiri¬tual enlightenment through celibacy. Her sister-in-law, Sita, is similarly frustrated by her new spouse, who spends his nights with his mistress. Deprived of their husbands’ affections, the women draw closer in ways neither ever imagined. 1996, India/Canada, color, 35mm, in Hindi/Urdu/Gujarati/Punjabi with English subtitles, 101 minutes.
Sunday, March 12
Earth, 2 pm
Directed by Deepa Mehta
The second film in Deepa Mehta’s trilogy, Earth is set in 1947 when India was on the brink of emancipation from Great Britain. At the center of this richly dramatic tale is Lenny, an eight-year-old Parsee girl growing up in a wealthy, nonpartisan family. She is cared for by an entourage of friends and relatives, most notably her charming nanny Shanta (Nandita Das of Fire), but these relationships crumble as political rifts and violence between Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus tear the country apart. 1999, India/Canada, color, 35mm, in Hindi/Urdu/Gujarati/Punjabi with English subtitles, 101 minutes.
Take a gallery tour before the screening: Kiki Smith: A Gathering, 1980–2005, 12:30 pm, free with ticket.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Saturday, March 18
Water, 8 pm
In-person appearance:
Introduced by director Deepa Mehta
In the third and most complex film in Deepa Mehta’s India Trilogy, the River Ganges serves as the backdrop for this epic tale. Chuyia, an eight-year-old bride whose husband passes away soon after their marriage, is taken to an ashram. According to custom, her head is shaved and she is expected to atone for the sins of her past that resulted in the death of her spouse. It is a virtual exile, with no hope of escape. With other Hindu widows, old and young, she is left to navigate this world and learn its lessons. 2005, Canada, in Hindi with English subtitles, color, 35mm,
114 minutes.
Girls in the Director’s Chair
Saturday, March 4
Be a part of the scene as girls break the mold and move into the spotlight. Girls in the Director’s Chair is a showcase of the best films and videos created by young Minnesota filmmakers ages 8–18, that ranges from claymation to social commentary. Sponsored by Allianz.
Animal Crackers, 10:30 am
For all ages
Variety is the spice of life! This screening of sassy, sarcastic superheroes and groovy claymation is for anyone who loves getting their funny bone tickled and wishes to venture into unknown worlds.
Evill by Kelly Law, Annaleah Magnuson, Marie Michl, and Anna Schmid
My Enemy, My Friend by Casey Haarstad
El Sol by Jen Peters
Your Own Medicine by Elizabeth McNaughton
Finding Paris by Anna Rouse
A New Day—In a New Life by Nicole Auginash
Save Energy by Colette Bersie and Laura Finn
The Adventures of Lily and Gen by Genevieve Gleich
Face by Kari Jo Skogquist
Change by Hannah Nemer
Tram Von Zwei by Yoko Okumura
Zest by Kirsten Slungaard
Free Your Mind, 11:30 am
For all ages
With the world moving faster and faster, people tend to forget to experience life calmly. These shorts give you the opportunity to sit back, relax, and unwind.
Vinegar, Braille, and Shoulder by Emma Burghardt
Down the Hall by Emma Burghardt
Woodrow by Gretta Mosser
Cultivate by Yoko Okumura
Ananke by Kirsten Slungaard
The Facility by Ellie Bryan and Alana Erickson
Concepts and Definitions by Bridget Collins and Molly Erickson
The Spirit within Us by La Shae Brooks
By Your Side by Lilly Ball
Discord Daydream by Nia Freshman
Eleven Eleven by Ellie Bryan and Alana Erickson
Spirit Island: Our Sacred Home by Felicia Mason
Animation by Laura Lentz
In the Know, 2 pm
For ages 13 and older due to mature content
These videos tackle the big issues. Find out more about your community and yourself as you confront problems young people deal with everyday. Due to mature content, this screening is recommended for ages 13 and older.
Plastic Surgery by Hannah Pietrick
District 202 by Tiara Franklin
Smart Girlfriend by Carryn Christianson and Nick Guttormson
Women’s Basketball by Ashley Eskelson, Beth Miller, and Patrick Anderson
Anti-Smoking by Jen Peters
Searching for a Change: The 30s by Joal Reeves
To Be Perfect by Hayleigh Thompson
PSA: Drive Now, Talk Later by Emma Burghardt
Mix It Up by Kaliya Warren
Voices Heard, 3:30 pm
For ages 13 and older due to mature content
This collection of films opens up a dialogue regarding gay marriage, racial profiling, and alcoholism. Due to mature content, this screening is recommended for ages 13 and older.
Speak Out by Brandy Hyatt
Gay Marriage Put into the Hands of God by Nicole Davis
PSA by Laura Lentz
Racial Profiling by Ebony Black
PSA: Child Abuse by Lilly Ball
Crisis by Desiree Dunbar
FAS/PSA by Yoko Okumura
Homophobia by Patty Duffy, Justine Fair, Patrice Lee, and Bekka Mueller
Maji-izhiwebizi jibwaa mino-izhiwebizi by by Kelsi Brown, Sabrina McGregor, Joe Schoenborn, Zach Stately, and Desirae Stillday
Free First Saturdays are made possible by Coldwell Banker Burnet, Medtronic Foundation, and WCCO-TV. Teen Programs are made possible by generous support from the Surdna Foundation and Best Buy Children’s Foundation.
