Wednesday,
April 23 – Saturday, April 26
Moving
Pictures: From Frame to Screen
Co-presented
by Penn Cinema Studies
 The
still photograph makes its statement in one critical exposure.
In the cinema, the total effect of motion is conveyed by a series
of photos projected upon a screen in rapid succession. Moving
pictures depend on photography for their existence, and although
the images within the moving picture are similar to those used
in photographs, cinematography is a special field in itself.
Unlike the still photographer and the moving photographer can
tell their story from a number of points of view. We hope to
provoke from this series is a dialogue between the two forms.
Wednesday,
April 23 at 7pm
Looking
for an Icon
dir. Hans Pool and Maaik Krijgsman, US, 2005, BetaSP, 55
mins, color
For
the last fifty years, a professional jury of the World Press
Photo Foundation has selected one photograph as “World Press
Photo of the Year”. Some of these images have had such an impact
on society that they have become symbols of their time – true
historical icons. The film focuses on four winners, including
Eddie Adams’s 1968 photo of the public execution of a Viet Cong
prisoner, an anonymous photographer’s last image of Salvador
Allende during the 1973 coup, Charlie Cole’s 1989 photo of a
lone student confronting tanks in Tienanmen Square and David
Turnley’s 1991 photo of a grieving soldier during the first
Gulf War. Looking for an Icon examines the process
by which photos become icons, revealing that once a photo is
published, social forces are at work beyond the photographer’s
control.
preceded
by
The
Day You’ll Love Me (El Dia Que Me Quieras)
dir. Leandro Katz, Chile /US, 1998, BetaSP, 30 mins, color,
Spanish and English w/ English subtitles
Investigating
death and the power of photography, The Day You’ll Love
Me is a meditation on the last picture taken of Che Guevara
by Freddy Alborta (1932-2005), which was transmitted from Bolivia
and published worldwide on October 10, 1967. Katz deconstructs
the famous photo with comparisons of the legendary photo to
classic paintings Mantegna’s “Dead Christ” and Rembrandt’s “The
Anatomy Lesson” and 72 never-before-seen photos from the several
rolls of film he shot that day.
Thursday,
April 24 at 7pm
Tango
of Slaves
dir.
Ilan Ziv, Poland, Germany, 1994, Beta SP, 111 mins, color, English
and German w/ English subtitles
In
an effort to document his family history, filmmaker Ilan Ziv
traveled to Poland with his father, hoping to document his wartime
experiences in the Warsaw Ghetto. Failing to find any physical
traces, Tango of Slaves becomes a meditative essay
about history and memory, and how they are preserved in photos.
preceded
by
Zygosis
dir. Gavin Hodge and
Tim Morrison, UK, video, 1991, 26 mins, color, English and German
w/ English subtitles
Paying
tribute to John Heartfield, the anti-Nazi German satirist who
pioneered the art of photomontage, Zygosis is a radical
and humorous cinematic homage to Heartfield’s methods. In addition
to showing some of Heartfield’s famous photomontages, the film
incorporates animation of archival material, contemporary interviews,
and footage shot in Berlin during the opening of the Wall and
the upheavals in East Germany.
Friday,
April 25 at 7pm
Remembrance
of Things to Come
dir. Chris Marker and Denise Bellon, France, 2001, BetaSP,
42 mins, b/w, French w/ English subtitles
This
remarkable “cineessay,” co-directed by renowned French documentarian
Chris Marker and Yannick, Denise Bellon’s daughter, use Bellon’s
own photos to create a dazzling historical portrait of the two
momentous decades between 1935 and 1955. Bellon (1902-1999)
was a pioneer in photojournalism, and one of the original members
of the Alliance Photo Agency, founded in Paris in 1934. This
imaginative photomontage offers fascinating philosophical ruminations
on the complex interrelations between photos, memory, thought
and history.
preceded
by
Ringl and Pit
dir. Juan Mandelbaum, US, 1996, Beta SP, 56 mins, color,
English and German w/ English subtitles
 Ringl
and Pit explores the lives
and times of emigrÙ photographers Grete “Ringl” Stern (1904-1999)
and Ellen “Pit” Auerbach (1906-2004) – from their early days
together as the “ringl + pit” studio in Weimar Germany to their
later photographic work spanning three continents. Challenging
the expectations of their class, culture and sex, they established
an advertising studio. Just as Ringl and Pit began to win international
prizes, the Nazis came to power and they fled Germany. Ellen
to New York and Grete to Buenos Aires. Ringl and Pit
show how their pioneering work has been rediscovered and celebrated
for its innovative portrayal of women.
Saturday,
April 26 at 2pm
The
Magnum Eye
For
a young photographer it’s still a great dream to become a member
of Magnum Photos, the world's most prestigious photo agency.
Founded as a unique cooperative in 1947 by Robert Capa, Henri
Cartier-Bresson, David Seymour and George Rodger, Magnum Photos
is owned by its members. Created to give photographers the freedom
and independence to work outside of the restrictive formulas
of commercial journalism, Magnum was built upon the principle
that the vision of every individual photographer be respected.
Magnum strives to record all facets of the human condition,
be it beauty or horror. The members of Magnum are still considered
the premier photographers in the world.
Magnum
Photos: The Changing of a Myth
dir.
Reiner Holzemer, US, 2000, BetaSP, 58 mins, color
Filmmaker
Reiner Holzemar was granted extraordinary access to the intimate
workings of the agency. He is the first to have filmed the annual
Magnum Photos meeting, where some of the world's finest photographers
decide upon the nominations of new members. Reiner caught Henri
Cartier-Bresson, the camera shy founder of Magnum, shortly before
his 90th birthday. Magnum Photos explores the history
and accomplishments of this remarkable and resilient agency.
These
7 films are approximately 10 minutes:
The
Other Side ( El Oltro Lado)
dir.
Alex Webb, US, 1993, video, color, English and Spanish w/ English
subtitles
Alex
Webb captures the odd panorama of the border, comical peddlers
making deals with amused tourists, US servicemen in search of
tequila, and Mexicans furtively looking to get stateside. Americans
simply pass through turnstiles for cheap thrills in Tijuana.
However Mexicans on the other side, face endless barriers of
barbed wire, attack dogs and armed border patrols. They wait
for nightfall to attempt crossings, to live or simply in search
of a day's work. The border is a constant flurry of activity
which represents different things to different people, depending
on which side you are on.
The
People Next Door
dir.
Patrick Zachmann, US, 1993, video, color, English, French, Polish
and Japanese w/ English subtitles
Chinese,
Arabs, Jews, Algerians, Tunisians, Africans and French live
together in Belleville, one of the few working class neighborhoods
left in Paris. Historically a melting pot for immigrants of
all races, Belleville now faces the pressures of gentrification,
high unemployment, and the rise of right wing extremism. Zachmann
explores this small but infinitely diverse universe, encountering
a Senegalese man in search of work, a girl who finds her close
knit Chinese community constricting, Arabs and Jews who dislike
each other, and native French whose feelings about their community
are mixed.
A
Peruvian Equation
dir.
Gilles Peress, US, 1993, video, color, English and Spanish w/
English subtitles
Descending
from the mountains in mostly unfruitful searches for work, a
Quecha Indian community developed in the shantytowns just outside
Lima. Peress lived with one Quecha family for a week, documenting
their difficult daily routines. Perdita, mother of nine, speaks
of a life filled with conflict and suffering. This sobering
portrait is enhanced by Peress' innovative use of subtitles
which provide a stream of statistics that place Perdita's life
in the broader context of Peruvian poverty.
The
Russian Prison, A Separate Life
dir.
Gueorgui Pinkhassov, US, 1993, video, color, English and Russian
w/ English subtitles
Magnum
photographer Gueorgui Pinkhassov gains rare entry into one of
Russia's normally impenetrable prisons. With a wry sense of
humor, prisoners tell their stories – the reasons for their
incarceration, their disappointment with loved ones whose visits
are infrequent, and the significance of the tattoos which adorn
their bodies. This atmospheric piece conveys the starkness of
life on the inside.
Scared
Again: Jews in Berlin, 1993
dir.
Thomas Hoepker, US, 1993, video, color, English
and German w/ English subtitles
The
aftermath of fall of the Berlin Wall included a resurgence of
neo-Nazism. Four years later, the Wall served as a warning not
to forget the past. Hoepker interviews five Jews – including
two concentration camp survivors – who are making efforts to
enlighten and change the future of the united Germany while
seeking a place in hostile post-Wall Berlin. Although fear exists,
a new sense of Jewish identity, solidarity and strength is emerging.
The
Sidewalk Santas
dir.
Elliot Erwitt, US, 1993, video, color
Beneath
the beards and stuffed red coats of the Volunteers of America's
Santa Claus training program are the individuals who annually
transform into the Western symbol of good will. 40 men from
various backgrounds – mostly homeless, often rehabilitating
alcoholics or drug addicts – don the suit for the Christmas
season. These volunteers, normally society's outcasts, spread
good cheer in the streets of New York.
Looking
For Madonna
dir.
Peter Marlow, US, 1993, video, color
Paparazzi,
freelance photographers who single-mindedly track down celebrities
in the hope of getting candid shots, turn voyeurism into an
art form and big business. Following Dave Hogan, an English
paparazzo, Marlow explores the photographer's daily life with
all its waiting, momentary thrills, and innumerable disappointments.
The watchful suspense culminates with the tension-filled chase
of the elusive pop mega-star, Madonna. This close up portrait
of Hogan taps into another side of our society's obsession with
fame.
Free admission members above Internationalist
level + Penn students and faculty; $5 Internationalist members,
students + seniors; $7 general admission.
In
advance at 
and 866.468.7619 or 1/2 hour before showtime.
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