THE POWER
OF NIGHTMARES: THE RISE OF THE POLITICS OF FEAR
DIRECTOR: ADAM CURTIS
BRITAIN 2004
JAN 6 FRI
7 PM
JAN 7 SAT 7 PM
JAN 8 SUN 2 PM
Whitsell Auditorium
 BBC
producer Adam Curtis’ (THE CENTURY OF SELF) controversial
thesis is that fear has come to dominate politics, not only
in America but also throughout the world, and that much of
that fear is based on manufactured illusion. Curtis’
three-part film traces the rise of today’s nightmare
vision of a hidden, organized network of terror and how much
of that threat has been distorted and exaggerated by politicians
in their effort to maintain power and authority. Unable to
fulfill promises of a better future, Curtis argues that politicians
have resorted to offering protection from hidden and organized
webs of evil. Part 1 starts in the 1940s and looks at the
life of Egyptian educator Say Quit, whose ideas would later
directly inspire those who flew the planes on 9/11, and political
philosopher Leo Strauss, whose work strongly influenced the
Neoconservative movement that now dominates Washington. Part
2 examines how the radical fundamentalist Islamist movement,
later named al-Qaida, had failed without popular support,
and posits that Neo-conservatives’ reaction to the attacks
of 9/11 transformed it into a grand revolutionary force. Part
3 assesses to what degree the threat from a hidden and organized
terrorist network is real, explores how the illusion of its
existence was created, who benefits from it, and the odd ironies
of the unintended consequences that now grip us all. Whether
the nightmares we face are real or imagined, Curtis’
program is “A controversial, myth-shattering series.
. . necessary for every citizen to see. . .The most important
documentary of the year.”-—David Thomson. “.
. .would warrant an Oscar if the Academy gave one for explaining
current events in a provocative, enlightening and (yes) entertaining
way.”—SF CHRONICLE.
(155 mins.)
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NW FILM CENTER SCHOOL OF FILM
PRESENTS
CERTIFIABLY YOURS
JAN 12 THUR
7 PM
Guild Theatre
The Film Center treasures its role in nurturing, and providing
opportunities for young filmmakers in the Northwest. Tonight
we screen projects completed by School of Film Certificate
Program students Melissa Tvetan, Justin Ward and Charlotte
Lettis Richardson, which demonstrate a breadth of artistic
sensibilities and suggest a bright future for the independent
film community. Melissa Tvetan is the 2005 recipient of a
David King Scholarship, which remembers the life and work
of former Film Center student David King. Her experimental
short, GOODBYE, SUMMER, an ode to summer’s relics, quietly
distills the filmmaker’s distaste for the season. Matriculating
Certificate student Justin Ward is the director of MOTEL NIGHT,
which meditates on the power of chance and inanimate objects
in human relationships through the story of a motel patron
who finds he needs some help with a plumbing problem. Recent
Certificate graduate Charlotte Lettis Richardson is the producer
and director of the feature documentary, RUN LIKE A GIRL,
which traces the evolution of women’s distance running
and women’s sports over the past forty years through
the personal stories of women runners from three different
generations, including Richardson herself. Join us as we celebrate
the talent and accomplishments of these individuals, and the
faculty, staff, friends and family who have supported them.
Our thanks to the King Family Foundation for its making the
David King Scholarships possible.
(70 minutes)
FREE ADMISSION
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THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN
DIRECTOR: TAGGART SIEGEL
US 2005
JAN 18 WED
7 PM
Guild Theatre
 Eccentric
Midwestern farmer John Peterson has struggled over the past
30 years to redefine himself and his rural Illinois family
farm. Siegel’s film, winner of numerous festival awards,
provides a funny and poignant telling of Peterson’s
epic tale of battling to transform his farm with a revolutionary
form of chemical-free agriculture. Castigated as a pariah
in his community, Peterson bravely resurrects his land amidst
a failing economy, vicious rumors and even arson, managing
to create a bastion of free expression, political activism,
and alternative agriculture in the middle of America. In coming
to know John—his personal struggles, failed relationships
and the sadness of losing almost everything, we get the real
dirt on organic farming’s many challenges and ultimate
satisfaction.
(83 mins.)
CO-PRESENTED WITH THE PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL NATURE
AND ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 4.
FULL SCREENING SCHEDULE @ WWW.PINEFILM.ORG.
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WILLIAM EGGLESTON IN THE REAL WORLD
DIRECTOR: MICHAEL ALMEREYDA
US 2005
JAN 20 FRI 7
PMWthisell Auditorium
JAN 22 SUN 1:30 PM Guild
Theatre
 William
Eggleston’s hallucinatory, Faulknerian images were featured
in the Museum of Modern Art’s first one-man exhibition
of color photographs. John Szarkowski, MOMA’s Curator
of Photography called his work “the beginning of modern
color photography” and Eggleston’s work since
has earned him regard as one of contemporary photography’s
most significant figures. Michael Almereyda’s (NADJA,
HAMLET, HAPPY HERE AND NOW) portrait tracks the photographer
on trips to Kentucky, Los Angeles and New York, but gives
particular attention to downtime in Memphis, Eggleston’s
home base. With this rare portrait of the reclusive photographer
at work, Almereyda poses a fundamental question: What does
it mean to see the world so differently that “common”
images are converted into unforgettable pictures?
(86 mins.)
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THE FILM
CENTER AND THE PINE FILM FESTIVAL PRESENT
THE DEVIL’S MINER
DIRECTOR: KIEF DAVIDSON, RICHARD LADKANI
US 2005
JAN 27 FRI 7 PM Guild
Theatre
 Welcome
to hell: the mines of Cerro Rico, Bolivia, known to the local
tribes as “the mountains that eat men.” Here,
death can be sudden and unexpected, and Satan is worshipped
as a god, capable of protecting his followers from misfortune.
Through this inferno we follow 14-year-old Basilio Vargas,
a child-laborer who began working as a fatherless 12-year
old in the pits that are said to have claimed eight million
lives since the Spanish conquistadors first began extracting
silver. Today, average life expectancy for miners is between
35 and 40 and still some 800 children toil in the sweltering
darkness. Winner of a dozen prizes at documentary film festivals
internationally, THE DEVIL’S MINER is a study in courage
and an angry, impassioned plea packed with unforgettable images
and an indomitable spirit.
(83 mins.)
CO-PRESENTED WITH THE PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL NATURE
AND ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL, JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 4.
FULL SCREENING SCHEDULE @ WWW.PINEFILM.ORG.
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OSAMA
DIRECTOR: SIDDIQ BARMAK
AFGHANISTAN 2003
FEB 6 MON 7 PM
Guild Theatre
 Based
on the true story of a young girl living under the rule of
the Taliban, OSAMA received standing ovations and a Special
Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Best Film
prizes at the Montreal New Cinema and London Film Festivals.
In a society where women are forbidden to show their faces
in public or go to school, a 12-year-old girl disguises herself
as a boy to find work to support her mother and grandmother,
both war widows, and get an education. She finds a job in
a shop in Kabul run by a man who fought in the war with her
father. But almost immediately, she is rounded up with other
boys and sent to a Taliban Madrassa for youth military training.
There her deception is uncovered and she is sent to prison
where the court recommends stoning and execution. The first
feature to come out of post-Taliban Afghanistan, OSAMA captures
both her plight and the miseries of daily life in vivid images.
(83 mins.)
SPONSORED BY THE MULTNOMAH COUNTY LIBRARY’S
4TH ANNUAL “EVERYBODY READS” PROGRAM, WHICH THIS
YEAR IS FEATURING KHALED HOSSEINI’S “THE KITE
RUNNER.” FOR INFORMATION ON THE READING PROGRAM GO TO
WWW.MULTCOLIB.ORG/READS.
FREE ADMISSION
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