Body of War
dir: Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro
USA 2007 | 87 min

Fri.5.Sep | 2008 | Madison
Barrymore Theater | 7:30 pm | $10 | check listings

from fightingbobfest.org: We couldn’t be more thrilled that Phil Donahue is coming to Wisconsin. He will keynote at Bob Fest on Saturday of course, but will also be bringing with him his co-producer, Ellen Spiro, and their new documentary film, “Body of War.” Not only is Phil Donahue a revolutionary in the realm of daytime television with his award-winning program, “Donahue,”, he is also an outspoken voice against the war and an advocate for peace. Remember — Phil Donahue was also a host of a program on MSNBC in 2002, yet was dropped from their programming after realizing he was the only host of a talk show on any cable network who was in opposition to the proposed invasion of Iraq.
   His film, Body of War, features Tomas Young, 25 years old, who was paralyzed from a bullet to his spine — wounded after serving in Iraq for less than a week. Phil writes about the movie: “Before the next President swaggers to the cameras challenging the enemy to ‘Bring it on,’ before the next Congress votes another War Resolution, my hope is that all these heavy breathing, lap-top bombers take a moment to meet the First Cavalry’s Honorably Discharged United States Army Specialist — Tomas Young.”
film web site | watch the trailer

Hawthorne Anime Club Presents:
Princess Mononoke
Japan | DVD | in Japanese with English subtitles

Fri.5.Sep | 2008 | Madison
Hawthorne Branch Library, 2707 E. Washington Avenue | 6:30 pm | FREE

Inflicted with a deadly curse, a young warrior named Ashitaka sets out to the forests of the west in search of the cure that will save his life. Once there, he becomes inextricably entangled in a bitter battle that matches Lady Eboshi and a proud clan of humans against the forest’s animal gods…who are led by the brave Princess Mononoke, a young woman raised by wolves! Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Pizza, pop and other refreshments will be served.
   The Hawthorne Anime Club meets once a month to screen and discuss anime. Films are shown in Japanese with English subtitles. Refreshments will be served. Need more info? Contact the Hawthorne Library at 246-4548. Viewers under age 14 must contact the library to register in advance.
more information | film web site

Emerging Legends series:
Dark Victory
dir: Edmund Golding
USA 1939 | 106 min | DVD

Fri.5.Sep | 2008 | Madison
Alicia Ashman Branch Library, 733 N. High Point Rd. | 7 pm | FREE

Bette Davis earned an Oscar nomination for her role in this classic four-hanky tearjerker. Judith Traherne (Bette Davis) is a very wealthy Long Island heiress whose life is a constant whirl of cocktails, parties, and wild living. Despite her hedonistic lifestyle, Judith derives little pleasure from life except for her horses, cared for by stable master Michael O’Leary (Humphrey Bogart). When Judith begins suffering from headaches and dizzy spells, Dr. Frederick Steele (George Brent) gives her the bad news: she has a brain tumor that could threaten her life if not treated immediately. Judith consents to surgery, and Frederick informs her that the operation was a success. A grateful Judith quickly falls in love with Frederick, and they plan to marry. However, the tumor returns….
   Emerging Legends Film Series: The American Film Institute defines “an American screen legend” as an actor or a team of actors with a significant screen presence in American feature-length films whose screen debut occurred in or before 1950.
more information

from the 2008 Wisconsin Film Festival
My Winnipeg
dir: Guy Maddin
Canada | 2007 | 80 min

opens Fri.12.Sep | 2008 | Madison
Orpheum Theatre | check listings

Todd Brown of Twitch says it best: “This isn’t just a story about Winnipeg, this is a story about Canuck auteur Guy Maddin’s Winnipeg, his own very personal recollections and impressions of the place he has lived his entire life. It is less a documentary than a memoir, less an exposition than a freewheeling, impressionistic rant that spins through Maddin’s own childhood and obsessions with a blend of his trademark black and white cinematography, absurdly hilarious recreations of key events of his childhood with his own mother a willing participant, and odd diversions into quirky facts about his home town, including the fact that it was once home to the world’s smallest park — until the lone tree was exploded with dynamite — and that it has a sleepwalking rate ten times that of any other city. Hell, let’s be honest: My Winnipeg isn’t about Winnipeg at all. This is a film purely about Maddin himself as presented by himself and as such it will be embraced and beloved by Maddin enthusiasts while completely baffling those outside the cult.”
film web site + trailer

Ashman Anime Club Presents:
Genshiken, vol. 1: Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture
Japan | DVD | in Japanese with English subtitles

Fri.12.Sep | 2008 | Madison
Alicia Ashman Branch Library, 733 N. High Point Rd. | 7 pm | FREE

It is Sasahara’s first day of college, and a fateful choice awaits him. Which college clubs will he choose to join? But Sasahara is no ordinary young man; a dark secret lurks within his soul. For one thing, he knows what “cosplay” is, and he’d like to know more. He knows how to unlock all the secret characters in “Guilty Gear X,” and he’d like to know more. He knows what the plot twist is in episode twenty-five of “Kujibiki Unbalance” because he’s read the manga, and he’d like to know more. He’s heard of Doujinshi, and he…needs to know more. Enter Genshiken, the barely legitimized Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, home to all subspecies of Otaku!
   The Ashman Anime Club was created to give people a place to gather, watch, and talk about Japanese animation. Each meeting will include screenings of everything from classic titles to new releases. The club is aimed primarily at teens and adults. Films are shown in Japanese with English subtitles. Refreshments served at each meeting. Call ahead to reserve your spot! See upcoming screenings below. Need more info? Contact the Ashman Branch Library at 824-1780. People under age 16 who are interested in attending are required to have a parent present or to have a signed parental permission slip.
more information

Classic Book & Movie Club Presents:
Sense and Sensibility
dir: Ang Lee
USA 1995 | 136 min | DVD

Sun.14.Sep | 2008 | Madison
Wisconsin History Society, 816 State Street | 1:30 pm | FREE

with introduction and discussion by University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor of English, Caroline Levine | Emma Thompson scores a double bull’s-eye with this marvelous adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1811 novel. Not only does Thompson turn in a strong (and gently humorous) performance as one of the Dashwood sisters — the one with “sense” — she also wrote the witty, wise screenplay.
   Austen’s tale of 19th-century manners and morals provides a large cast with a feast of possibilities, notably Kate Winslet, in her pre-Titanic flowering, as Thompson’s deeply romantic sister. Winslet attracts the wooing of shy Alan Rickman (a nice change of pace from his bad-guy roles) and dashing Greg Wise, while Thompson must endure an incredibly roundabout courtship with Hugh Grant, here in fine and funny form. All of this is doled out with the usual eye-filling English countryside and handsome costumes, yet the film always seems to be about the careful interior lives of its characters. The director, an inspired choice, is Taiwan-born Ang Lee, who brings the same exquisite taste and discreet touch he displayed in his previous Asian films (such as Eat Drink Man Woman). Thompson’s script won an Oscar, and 1995 was a fine year for Jane Austen all around.
   Admission to all the screenings is free to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information about the program, contact Karen Kron at 608-264-6445 or via e-mail. The series presents Hollywood movies adapted from classic books of the 19th and 20th centuries. Participants are invited to read the books, then see the movies — on the big screen!
more information

Beyond the Veil: Perspectives from the Muslim World Film Series:
They Call Me Muslim
dir: Diana Ferrero
Italy/France/Iran 2006 | 27 min | DVD | in French and Farsi with English subtitles

The Noble Struggle of Amina Wadud
dir: Elli Safari
The Netherlands/US 2007 | 29 min | DVD

Fri.19.Sep | 2008 | Madison
Alicia Ashman Branch Library, 733 N. High Point Rd. | 7 pm | FREE

In popular Western imagination, a Muslim woman in a veil – or hijab – is a symbol of Islamic oppression. But what does it mean for women’s freedom when a democratic country forbids the wearing of the veil? In They Call Me Muslim, filmmaker Diana Ferrero portrays the struggle of two women — one in France and one in Iran — to express themselves freely.
film web site
   On March 18, 2005, Amina Wadud shocked the Islamic world by leading a mixed-gender Friday prayer congregation in New York. The Noble Struggle of Amina Wadud is a fascinating and powerful portrait of this African-American Muslim woman who soon found herself the subject of much debate and Muslim juristic discourse. In defying 1400 years of Islamic tradition, her action caused global awareness of the struggle for women’s rights within Islam but also brought violence and death threats against her.
film web site

Ashman Anime Club hosts an Animation Special:
Persepolis
dir: Diana Ferrero
France/USA 2007 | 95 min | DVD

Fri.26.Sep | 2008 | Madison
Alicia Ashman Branch Library, 733 N. High Point Rd. | 7 pm | FREE

In 1970s Iran, Marjane ‘Marji’ Statrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family. Their long dream is realized when the hated Shah is defeated in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, Marji grows up to witnesses first hand how the new Iran has become a repressive tyranny on its own. With Marji dangerously refusing to remain silent at this injustice, her parents send her abroad to Vienna to study. This change proves an equally difficult trial for Marji and finds herself in a different culture loaded with abrasive characters and profound disappointments that deeply trouble her. Even when she returns home, Marji finds that both she and her homeland have changed too much and the young woman and her loving family must decide where she truly belongs.
film web site

Beyond the Veil: Perspectives from the Muslim World Film Series:
Enemies of Happiness
dir: Eva Mulvad and Anja Al-Erhayem
Denmark 2006 | 59 min | DVD | in Farsi and Pashtu with English subtitles

Fri.3.Oct | 2008 | Madison
Alicia Ashman Branch Library, 733 N. High Point Rd. | 7 pm | FREE

In September 2005, Afghanistan held its first parliamentary elections in 35 years. Among the candidates for 249 assembly seats was Malalai Joya, a courageous, controversial 27-year-old woman who had ignited outrage among hard-liners when she spoke out against corrupt warlords at the Grand Council of tribal elders in 2003. Enemies of Happiness is a revelatory portrait of this extraordinary freedom fighter and the way she won the hearts of voters, as well as a snapshot of life and politics in war-torn Afghanistan.
film web site

Ashman Anime Club Presents:
Hell Girl, vol. 1
Japan | DVD | in Japanese with English subtitles

Fri.10.Oct | 2008 | Madison
Alicia Ashman Branch Library, 733 N. High Point Rd. | 7 pm | FREE

According to rumor, a mysterious message board exists, accessible only at midnight. Those who find the site have the ability to post a grudge they harbor against someone, and the Jigoku Shojo (Hell Girl) will carry out the revenge and then transport that person’s soul to hell. Of course, vengeance comes with a hefty price. Those who seek revenge must accept the fact that when they die, their souls will also be taken to hell….
   The Ashman Anime Club was created to give people a place to gather, watch, and talk about Japanese animation. Each meeting will include screenings of everything from classic titles to new releases. The club is aimed primarily at teens and adults. Films are shown in Japanese with English subtitles. Refreshments served at each meeting. Call ahead to reserve your spot! See upcoming screenings below. Need more info? Contact the Ashman Branch Library at 824-1780. People under age 16 who are interested in attending are required to have a parent present or to have a signed parental permission slip.
more information | film web site

Beyond the Veil: Perspectives from the Muslim World Film Series:
Four Wives — One Man
dir: Nahid Persson
Sweden/Iran 2007 | 76 min | DVD | in Persian with English subtitles

Fri.17.Oct | 2008 | Madison
Alicia Ashman Branch Library, 733 N. High Point Rd. | 7 pm | FREE

From Nahid Persson, the filmmaker of the award-winning Prostitution Behind the Veil, comes an intimate portrait of a polygamist family in a rural Iranian village. Persson reveals the intricacies of the relationships between the four wives, their husband, their astoundingly free-spoken mother-in-law and their numerous children. Sometimes humorous and often heartbreaking, this film follows the daily lives of the wives whose situation has turned them into both bitter rivals and co-conspirators against their abusive husband.
film web site

Ashman Anime Club Presents:
Boogiepop Phantom, vol. 1
Japan | DVD | in Japanese with English subtitles

Fri.24.Oct | 2008 | Madison
Alicia Ashman Branch Library, 733 N. High Point Rd. | 7 pm | FREE

A scream in the night, and in that instant the world changed…or at least, it appeared to. There have always been forces in the world and voices in the night: some friendly and other malevolent. Invisible until summoned, they slide through dimensions as people walk through doorways. They wait, and watch the doings of Man closely&hellipeach for their own reasons. Sometimes, they appear…and when they do, the world changes. Everyone knows about Boogiepop: meet her one dark night and you are taken. People tell each other the stories and laugh: no one believes that she exists in this day and age. Still, there are some strange things that appear to be going on just below the surface. Darkness takes many forms, though. Evil and good intermingle. The glass shatters. Time stands still. There is something in the darkness. You aren’t alone. Are you safe?
   The Ashman Anime Club was created to give people a place to gather, watch, and talk about Japanese animation. Each meeting will include screenings of everything from classic titles to new releases. The club is aimed primarily at teens and adults. Films are shown in Japanese with English subtitles. Refreshments served at each meeting. Call ahead to reserve your spot! See upcoming screenings below. Need more info? Contact the Ashman Branch Library at 824-1780. People under age 16 who are interested in attending are required to have a parent present or to have a signed parental permission slip.
more information | film web site

Beyond the Veil: Perspectives from the Muslim World Film Series:
Linda & Ali: Two Worlds Within Four Walls
dir: Lut Vandekeybus
Belgium 2005 | 94 min | DVD | in Arabic with English subtitles

Sat.1.Nov | 2008 | Madison
Alicia Ashman Branch Library, 733 N. High Point Rd. | 2 pm | FREE

Linda & Ali provides a nuanced and intimate look into the life of a traditional Muslim family in Doha, Qatar. But Linda and Ali’s 20-year marriage is far from traditional. Linda was brought up Catholic in Arizona and met Ali — a Shiite Muslim from Qatar — at college in the 1980s. Shot during the American invasion of Iraq, this poignant film shows how Linda and Ali struggle to surmount their cultural differences while raising their seven children in a lively, loving home.
film web site

Classic Book & Movie Club Presents:
Persuasion
dir: Roger Mitchell
UK 1995 | 107 min | DVD

Sun.19.Jan | 2009 | Madison
Wisconsin History Society, 816 State Street | 1:30 pm | FREE

with introduction and discussion by University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Emeritus of English, Joseph Weisenfarth | Persuasion is the story of a love that survives eight years of dormancy and the frustrating obstacles of class prejudice in 19th-century England. Anne (Amanda Root) is captivated when she meets the dignified naval officer Capt. Wentworth (Ciarán Hinds), but she is advised to discourage his romantic overtures because he has no fortune. They meet again eight years later, but now Captain Wentworth has become wealthy while Anne’s father is in reduced circumstances in the wake of reckless extravagance. A series of circumstances ensues that prevent Anne and Wentworth from expressing their mutual and inevitable love. The film’s success depends entirely on the subtle, superb performances of Root and Hinds. The film builds slowly, occasionally leaving you wondering if anything at all is going to happen. When it does, you realize how carefully crafted a film this is, and the final result is grandly rewarding.
   Admission to all the screenings is free to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information about the program, contact Karen Kron at 608-264-6445 or via e-mail. The series presents Hollywood movies adapted from classic books of the 19th and 20th centuries. Participants are invited to read the books, then see the movies — on the big screen!
more information