Sundance Institute and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities have announced that FILM FORWARD: Advancing Cultural Dialogue will host free public screenings of eight films for the first time ever in Tacoma. These films are: Town of Runners, the Light in Her Eyes, Chasing Ice, the Loving Story, Bones Brigade, Valley of Saints, Beasts of the Southern Wild, and Under the Same Moon. The film tour will take place Sept. 3 – 7, with moderated discussions following each screening, and filmmakers Julia Meltzer (The Light in Her Eyes) and Jerry Rothwell (Town of Runners) will be present on Sept. 4 and 5.
FILM FORWARD is a partnership of Sundance Institute and four U.S. federal cultural agencies: the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and The Institute of Museum and Library Services. It is a touring program that offers film screenings, workshops and discussions designed to foster dialogue and cross-cultural understanding.
“Truly a community effort, the City of Tacoma’s Arts Program is partnering with the Grand Cinema, Washington State History Museum, Tacoma Public Library, Tacoma Public Schools, Metro Parks, University of Washington-Tacoma, University of Puget Sound and more to present this robust and insightful program,” said Tacoma Arts Administrator Amy McBride. “There is no cost to see any of these screenings and everyone is welcome. In particular, we would love to see those who are new to independent film, students and the local filmmaking community come out and attend.”
“My job as a filmmaker is to tell truthful stories about the world. I am hoping The Light in her Eyes will help audiences gain a greater understanding of women’s roles and rights within conservative Islam, especially now while the Middle East is undergoing great change.” said Meltzer. “I am excited to meet audiences in Washington through the FILM FORWARD program and participate in a dialogue about universal themes that unite and affect us all.”
“Town of Runners is a film about opportunity, which is a theme that connects audiences from Ethiopia to Washington state,” said Rothwell. “From growing up in Kenya, to living in the United Kingdom, to filming around the world, I have come to realize how film can be a powerful medium to discuss global issues. I look forward to using Town of Runners as a catalyst for conversation.”
SCHEDULE
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Chasing Ice
Time: 6 PM
Location: Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Avenue, Mount Tahoma Auditorium
Cost: Free
Post film discussion: Moderated by Dr. Harry Stern, Polar Science Center, University of Washington
La Misma Luna (Under the Same Moon)
Time: 7 PM
Location: STAR Center, 3873 South 66th Street
Cost: Free
Post-film discussion: Pedro Gomez, Director of Washington Latino Voters’ Alliance; moderated by Laura Rodriguez, Metro Parks Tacoma
Wednesday, September 4 , 2013
Valley of Saints
Time: 5 PM
Location: University of Puget Sound, 1500 North Warner Street
Cost: Free
Post film discussion: Moderated by Peter Wimberger, Professor of Biology and Director of the Slater Museum of Natural History at University of Puget Sound
The Light in Her Eyes – special screening with director Julia Meltzer
Time: 7 PM
Location: The Grand Cinema, 606 South Fawcett Avenue
Cost: Free
Post film discussion: Julia Meltzer, director for The Light in Her Eyes; Dr. Therese Saliba, Professor of Middle East Studies and international feminism at Evergreen State College; moderated by Dr. David Coon, Associate Professor at University of Washington Tacoma
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Town of Runners
(in-school screening for students at Truman Middle School)
Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: Tacoma Public Library, 1102 Tacoma Avenue South
Cost: Free
Post film discussion: Ryan Spence, skateboarder and skate park designer; Robert Boyle and Kevin Carlton, Grit City Grindhouse; Ben Warner, Alchemy Skate Center; moderated by Taylor Woodruff, Grit City Grindhouse
Reception
Time: 4:30 PM – 5 PM
Location: Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound, 1500 North Warner Street
Cost: Free
Meet Julia Meltzer, director of The Light in Her Eyes, and enjoy the Muslim Journeys Bookshelf and Book Art Exhibit, “Al-Mutanabi Street.” Light refreshments served.
The Light in Her Eyes – special screening with director Julia Meltzer
Time: 5 PM
Location: Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound, 1500 North Warner Street
Cost: Free
Post film discussion: Julia Meltzer, director for The Light in Her Eyes; moderated by Dr. Turan Kayaoglu, Professor of Middle East Studies at University of Washington Tacoma
Tacoma Runners Thursday Beer Run
Time: 6:30 – 7:15 PM
Tacoma Runners will meet at the Grand Cinema, complete their run and return for refreshments preceding the screening of Town of Runners.
Town of Runners – special screening with director Jerry Rothwell
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: The Grand Cinema, 606 S. Fawcett Avenue
Cost: Free
Post film discussion: Jerry Rothwell, director of Town of Runners; moderated by Dr. Bill Kunz, University of Washington Tacoma
Friday, September 6, 2013
The Loving Story
Time: 6 PM
Location: Jason Lee Middle School, 602 N. Sprague Avenue
Cost: Free
Post film discussion: TBA
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Time: 2 PM
Location: Tacoma Public Library, 1102 Tacoma Avenue South
Cost: Free
Post film discussion: Moderated by Dr. Joanne Clarke Dillman, University of Washington Tacoma
FILMS
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Director: Benh Zeitlin
In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, a six-year-old girl exists on the brink of orphanhood. Buoyed by her childish optimism and extraordinary imagination, she believes that the natural order is in balance with the universe until a fierce storm changes her reality. Desperate to repair the structure of her world in order to save her ailing father and sinking home, this tiny hero must learn to survive unstoppable catastrophes of epic proportions.
Bones Brigade: An Autobiography
Director: Stacy Peralta
A gang of disenfranchised kids reject mainstream culture, channel their controlled desperation into a loser activity and redefine winning in the process. Mentored by a former world champion skateboarder, the “Bones Brigade” became history’s most influential skateboarding team. Their countercultural impact continues to affect change with bestselling video games and books and millions of kids who embrace skateboarding around the world.
Chasing Ice
Director: Jeff Orlowski
Acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog was once a skeptic about climate change. But through his Extreme Ice Survey, he discovers undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Chasing Ice reveals Balog’s hauntingly beautiful, multi-year time-lapse videos of vanishing glaciers across the Arctic, all while delivering fragile hope to our carbon-powered planet.
La Misma Luna (Under the Same Moon)
Director: Patricia Riggen
Even across thousands of miles, the special bond between a mother and son can never be broken. It gives hope to Carlitos, a scrappy nine-year-old boy whose mother, Rosario, has gone to America to build a better life for both of them. While Rosario struggles for a brighter future, fate forces Carlitos’ hand and he embarks on an extraordinary journey to find her.
The Light in Her Eyes
Directors: Julia Meltzer and Laura Nix
Houda al-Habash, a conservative woman preacher in Damascus, Syria, calls girls to the practice of Islam, teaching them that pursuing their ambitions is a way of worshipping God. Shot right before the uprising in Syria erupted, The Light in Her Eyes offers an extraordinary portrait of a leader who challenges the women of her community to live according to Islam, without giving up their dreams.
The Loving Story
Director: Nancy Buirski
A racially-charged criminal trial and a heart-rending love story converge in this documentary about Mildred and Richard Loving, a part-black, part-Indian woman married to a white man in Jim Crow-era Virginia. Thrown into rat-infested jails and exiled from their hometown for 25 years, the Lovings fought back and changed history.
Town of RunnersDirector: Jerry Rothwell
Town of Runners is a feature documentary about young people from the Ethiopian rural town of Bekoji, whose runners have won 10 Olympic Gold medals in the last 20 years. The film tells the story of three teenagers who want to follow in their heroes’ footsteps, as they move from school track to national competition and from childhood to adulthood, trying to run their way to a different life.
Valley of Saints
Director and screenwriter: Musa Syeed
Using Kashmir’s picturesque Dal Lake as its backdrop and underpinned by the political unrest in the region, this moving drama explores the relationship between two best friends and the female researcher studying environmental degradation who threatens to distract them from their dreams of escape.
Tacoma Arts 