World Cinema Festival 2012 Runs Feb. 20-24

Contact:
Gwen O’Brien 
Director of Media Relations
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
(574) 284-4579

January 27, 2012 (Notre Dame, Ind.)—The Saint Mary's College Center for Women’s Intercultural Leadership (CWIL) will host the World Cinema Festival, Monday, February 20 through Friday, February 24. The award-winning films, which are free and open to the public, will be shown in the Vander Vennet Theatre on the ground level of the Student Center each night at 7 p.m.

Mana Derakhshani, associate director of CWIL, director of the Intercultural Studies Program, and a professor in the Department of Modern Languages says that the festival will bring a unique opportunity to area students and the South Bend-area community as a whole.

“Some of the films are in languages that are taught at Saint Mary’s, such as French, Mandarin, and Spanish, providing authentic listening practice to students of these languages. All the films deal with important human experiences as lived in different cultural contexts, thus presenting viewers with rich intercultural perspectives,” said Derakhshani.

Derakhshani added that the festival brings the world to Michiana through film. “How many of us have the chance to travel to Hong Kong, India, Italy, Algeria, and Spain? Through cinema, the audience will discover new artistic expressions of different cultures and regions.”

Films not in English will be subtitled.

World Cinema Festival Schedule:

Monday, February 20

Monsoon Wedding

Director: Mira Nair

Country: India

Year: 2001

Language: English

Description: A stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India.

Tuesday, February 21

In the Mood for Love (Fa yeung nin wa)

Director: Kar Wai Wong

Country: Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China)

Year: 2000

Language: Mandarin/Cantonese

Description: A man and a woman move in to neighboring Hong Kong apartments and form a bond when they both suspect their spouses of extra-marital activities.

Wednesday, February 22

Biutiful

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Country: Spain

Year: 2010

Language: Spanish

Description: This is the story of Uxbal, a man living in this world, but able to see his death, which guides his every move.

Thursday, February 23

Certified Copy (Copie Conforme)

Director: Abbas Kiarostami

Country: Italy

Year: 2010

Language: Multiple languages

Description: In Tuscany to promote his latest book, a middle-aged British writer meets a French woman who leads him to the village of Lucignano. While there, a chance question reveals something deeper.

Friday, February 24

Of Gods and Men (Des Hommes et des dieux)

Director: Xavier Beauvois

Country: Algeria

Year: 2010

Language: French

Description: Under threat by fundamentalist terrorists, a group of Trappist monks stationed with an impoverished Algerian community must decide whether to leave or stay.

About Saint Mary’s College: Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind., is a four-year, Catholic, women’s institution offering five bachelor’s degrees and more than 30 major areas of study. Saint Mary’s College has six nationally accredited academic programs: social work, art, music, teacher education, chemistry and nursing. Saint Mary's College ranks among the top 100 “Best National Liberal Arts Colleges” for 2012 published by U.S.News and World Report. Founded in 1844, Saint Mary’s is a pioneer in the education of women, and is sponsored by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.