RELEASED: Sept. 15, 2005

DANVILLE, KY—From to a 1970s Swedish commune to the Arctic wilderness a thousand years ago, from Burkina Faso to the Turkish-German community in Hamburg, the International Film Series brings a wide range of critically acclaimed international films to the Centre College campus. Now in its second year, the fall showcase begins Tuesday, Sept. 27, and will continue with a new film every Tuesday through Oct. 18.

The series, organized by professors Ian Wilson and Ruben Dupertuis, arose out of Wilson's desire "to bring some extraordinary cinema to campus and to help expose the Centre community to intriguing cultural issues in an accessible manner."

"Last spring's series was quite successful, given that it was the first such series in years," says Wilson. "We focused on showing films made in languages not taught at Centre, and we began the practice of emphasizing recent films: most are from the last five years. The response last year from students, faculty, and staff was positive enough that we decided to go ahead and do more series: one in the fall and one in the spring."

The films will show at 7 p.m. in the newly renovated Vahlkamp Theater in the lower level of Crounse. A brief introduction and discussion afterwards are included.

Tuesday, September 27
Moolaadé (124 minutes), in Jula and French with English subtitles, 2004, director Sembene Ousmane. In Burkina Faso, a woman challenges the local practice of female circumcision by offering sanctuary to young girls about to undergo the practice.

". . . to skip Moolaadé would be to miss an opportunity to experience the embracing, affirming, world-changing potential of humanist cinema at its finest."
-A.O. Scott, New York Times

Tuesday, October 4
Head-On (121 minutes), in German, Turkish, and English, 2004, director Fatih Akin. A peculiar love story within the Turkish-German community of Hamburg engages questions of multicultural identity.

"Impeccably made, uncompromising in its implacable vision of the deranging power of love, sex and controlled substances, this savage and staggering film knows how to take our breath away. It's a French New Wave romance flying dangerously high on speed, a bleak and bittersweet love story willing to go to extreme emotional places you wouldn't think it could reach, a cross-cultural drama by a filmmaker who has inside-out knowledge of both sides of the divide."
-Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Tuesday, October 11
Together (106 minutes), in Swedish with English subtitles, 2001, director Lukas Moodysson. A touching comedy about a commune in 1970s Stockholm blends the hypocrisy of the hippie movement with a sense of idealism and solidarity.

"Together . . . doesn't reduce its characters to flower-wearing, peace-sign-flashing cliches—or try to expose their politics as empty, adolescent rhetoric. Moodysson avoids those pitfalls and offers a gentle, sprightly satire that pokes fun at these trendy communards but emphasizes their humanity and fallibility."
-Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

Tuesday, October 18
The Fast Runner (172 minutes), in Inukitut with English subtitles, 2000, director Zacharias Kunuk. The Fast Runner, an ancient Inuit tale, defies the hierarchy of his community and must struggle to restore it to balance.

" The Fast Runner accomplishes something rare: It creates a world so faithfully and so fully that audiences will feel they've been thoroughly immersed. When films succeed on this level, watching them is not only a pleasure but a privilege. "
- Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

The sponsors of this semester's series are the Office of Academic Affairs, the Humanities Division, Student Activities, and the Deutschklub.

All films are free to all members of the Centre community. To get more information and to view trailers, visit the International Film Series Web page.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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