UH film screenings hope to foster connections

Advertiser Staff

Samir Khader, Al Jazeera senior producer, appears in "Control Room," scheduled to screen in November. Magnolia Pictures

"Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege" will be the premiere feature for the UHM/Bank of Hawaii Cinema Series with a reception for Big Island filmmakers Puhipau and Joan Lander, and Q & A planned after the 6 p.m. screening today.

The series hopes to provide a forum for faculty and students to socialize on Fridays, and to make the campus more accessible to the public on Sundays. Parking for the general public is free Sundays in the parking lot next to the Architecture Building on University Avenue.

Programmer Don Brown, former manager of the Art House at Restaurant Row, is designing the program to make people more aware of the scope of the university's academic programs and faculty. He will work with various university departments to promote discussions after the film, and when possible will have the filmmakers themselves on hand.

Films screening during the first semester (with synopses provided by organizers):

"Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege" (with filmmakers Joan Lander and Puhipau in attendance)
6 and 8:15 p.m. today (reception at 5 p.m.); 5 p.m. Sunday (Kealoha Pisciotta will answer questions after the screening). $5

Mauna Kea is the focus of a smoldering dispute between the international astronomy community, which values the summit as the best place in the world for observing the stars, and Native Hawaiians, who view the peak as their temple. This documentary explores commonalities among indigenous people everywhere regarding cultural landscapes, particularly "star mountains" and sky "islands."

"Pororoca: Surfing the Amazon"
6 p.m. Oct. 1 at Spalding Auditorium; 5 p.m. Oct. 3. $5

This film tells the story of an astonishing expedition by two world-class surfers, Ross Clarke-Jones and Carlos Burle. They penetrate deep into the delta of the Amazon to experience the exceptional natural spectacle of a 20-foot tidal wave, born hundreds of miles away in the mid-Atlantic.

With: "Wind and Water"

The history of windsurfing is explored in this film by San Francisco filmmaker Bill Weir.

"Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train"
6 and 8:15 p.m. Oct. 8; 5 p.m. Oct. 10. $5

The life and times of the Boston historian, activist and author of the best-selling classic "A People's History of the United States." Featuring rare archival materials, interviews with Zinn as well as his colleagues and friends (including Noam Chomsky, Marian Wright Edelman, Daniel Ellsberg, Tom Hayden and Alice Walker).

"The Future of Food"
6 and 8:15 p.m. Oct. 15; 5 p.m. Oct. 17. $3

An engaging and lucid presentation of not only the science of genetic engineering of food, but of the people and the politics behind what looks to be a pitched battle to control the global food supply.

"Rivers and Tides: Working with Time"
6 p.m. Oct. 22; 5 p.m. Oct. 24. $3

A zen-like meditation on the creative process of sculptor and environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy.

"Control Room"
6 and 8:15 p.m. Nov. 5; 5 p.m. Nov. 7. $5

A window into the international perception of the Iraq war, courtesy of Al Jazeera, the Arab world's most popular news outlet.

"Whale Rider" (in conjunction with the UH English Department's Distinguished Lectures Program, New Zealand Maori author Witi Tame Ihimaera will speak at 6 p.m.)
6 p.m. Nov. 12. $3

In a New Zealand coastal village, a young Maori girl dreams of claiming her birthright as her people's next chief, but her tradition-bound grandfather, who is the current chief, stands in the way.

"Lagos/Koolhaas" (panel discussion on the film's relevance to Honolulu follows )
5 p.m. Nov. 14. $5

Rem Koolhaas — winner of architecture's Nobel, the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2003 — is a professor of architecture and urban design at Harvard. For the past four years Koolhaas and students from The Harvard Project on the City have come to Lagos, Nigeria, to research the type of urban environment that is produced by explosive population growth.

"Broadway: The Golden Age"
6 p.m. Nov. 19; 5 p.m. Nov. 21. $5

Award-winning filmmaker Rick McKay's journey over four continents and five years to find out whether there had been a golden age of theater and why it had never been documented. He soon learned that great films can be restored, fine literature can be kept in print, but historic Broadway performances of the past are the most endangered.

"Learning to Sea"
6 and 8:15 p.m. Dec. 3; 5 p.m. Dec. 5. $5

Underwater photographer Ziggy Livnat divides his time between the shores of the Red Sea and the Big Island. He took a video camera under water to show us this amazing world, illustrating the fascinating variety of undersea life.

"Festival Express"
6 and 8:15 p.m. Dec. 10; 5 p.m. Dec. 12. $3

Documents the cross-Canada tour by train by some of the biggest names in rock of the late '60s: The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin and The Full Tilt Boogie Band, The Band, Buddy Guy, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, The Flying Burrito Bros, Sha Na Na, Buddy Guy Blues Band, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and more.