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| FILM REVIEW | |  1428Directed by Haibin Du. 2009. 117 minutes.
In Mandarin with English subtitles
Reviewed by France Pepper
Du Haibin's documentary about the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake
that struck at 2:28 PM (14:28) on May 12, 2008, captures the
perspective of local people and how they coped with reconstructing
their lives. The film begins with an English subtitle which translates
a slogan on the side of a truck "Unite Our Strength for Rescue Efforts
Against the Earthquake," Illustrating one of Du's underlying themes
throughout his film: the presence of government and propaganda in
contrast to the reality of the situation. Premier Wen Jiabao's arrival
on the scene in the county town of Beichuan, the epicenter of the
earthquake, sparks criticism from locals from other towns, as does the
government in general and its handling of the situation. Paralleling
their anger and frustration is the attempt by the survivors to make
sense of the disaster that has transformed their lives. READ MORE... |
| SPECIAL EVENT
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| Chinese Cinema from the Fifth Generation to the d-GenerationKevin
Lee, Vice President of Programming and Education of dGenerate Films,
will present a special illustrated lecture on the history and current state of independent film making in China. Free and open to the public. Tuesday, October 5, 2010, 3:30 pm
Spurlock Museum, Knight Auditorium
600 S. Gregory Street, Urbana, IL
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FILM REVIEW
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 Shipbreakers
Directed by Michael Kot. 2004. 42 minutes.
In English.
Reviewed by Ritu Saksena
The very first frames establish the location of the film - dust, smoke
and haze blur the skyline of Alang in Gujarat, India and with the
flames of blow torches, and small fires burning everywhere, the
ambience of a graveyard is all pervasive. Known as the biggest
shipyard in the world with 10 km of oily shoreline, and 40,000 workers
exposed every day to toxins, waste, asbestos and more, the similarities
could not be more obvious. On average, one worker a day dies here.
Ironically, the workers also refer to the place as a kasai-ghat or butcher yard where ships come to die so people can survive.
READ MORE...
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| EVENTS | | AsiaLENS
Documentary Film Series
AsiaLENS is a series of free public film screenings and lecture / discussion programs -- organized by AEMS in collaboration with the Spurlock Museum -- presenting recent documentary films on issues reflecting contemporary life in Asia. AsiaLENS Fall 2010 Calendar: 1428Tuesday, October 5, 2010, 7:00 pm Discussion led by Kevin Lee (Vice President of Programming and Education, dGenerate Films)Unmistaken ChildTuesday, November 2, 2010, 7:00 pm Burma VJDecember 7, 2010, 7:00 pm MORE ON ASIALENS |
SPECIAL EVENT
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 Asian Film Festival 2010:
Visualizing Tibet
November 2-7
Documentary
and feature films from Chinese, Tibetan and the American directors portray Tibetan
history, culture, and a way of life that may be the last frontier of an
ever-encroaching global "civilization." The festival starts on November 2 with the AsiaLENS screening of The Unmistaken Child followed by Martin Scorcese's Kundun at The Art Theater on Thursday, November 4th. All other events take place at the Spurlock Museum on the University of Illinois
campus. Admission is FREE for all screenings.
Check our website here for full details.Film Festival Schedule
All films screened at The Spurlock Museum
(unless otherwise noted)
Tuesday, November 2 7:00pm - Unmistaken Child (Nati Baratz, 2008, 102 min) Thursday, November 4 (Art Theater, Champaign, IL) 7:30pm - Kundun (Martin Scorsese, 1997, 135 min) Friday, November 5 7:00pm - Summer Pasture (Lynn True and Nelson Walker, 2010, 86 min) 9:15pm - Serfs(Nongnu)( Li Jun, 1963, 88 min) Saturday, November 6 1:00pm - Milarepa (Neten Chokling, 2006, 90 min) 3:15pm - Tantric Yogi (Chenaktsang Dorje Tsering, 2005, 50 min) 7:00pm - The Search (Pema Tseden, 2009, 112 min) 9:20pm - Song of Tibet (Xie Fei, 2000, 95 min) Sunday, November 7 1:00pm - The Search (Pema Tseden, 2009, 112 min) 3:15pm - Milarepa (Neten Chokling, 2006, 90 min) |
| ONLINE EVENT
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|  LinkTV Screening of Kindergarten Kindergarten,
directed by Zhang Yiqing (2010, 75 minutes), follows a group of very young
students at a boarding preschool through a full year of living and learning
together, from the first day for the youngest children to graduation for the
oldest class. The filmmaker artfully explores childhood and education issues
through the dialog and interaction among students ages 2 - 7 and their
teachers. A broadcast schedule is on LinkTV's web page for Kindergarten, at
www.LinkTV.org/kindergarten, and the film is available to stream online. For
availability for classroom use and DVD sales, please contact Martha Foster at
Living Earth Television NFP at MarthaF@LETV.org or 847-217-7988. |
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About AEMS
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Media Production Group
In addition to hosting film screenings, AEMS also produces
and distributes its own materials under the brand name Media Production Group
(MPG) . These are short educational
videos and DVDs about an aspect of Asian culture suitable for classroom
use and accompanied by curriculum. MPG titles.
Database
AEMS maintains a searchable database of over 6,000 films
about Asia, including length, format, distributor and synopsis. search the database
Library
AEMS
library, through its connection to the Lincoln Trails library system,
circulates videos and DVDs locally from its collection of more than 2,000. view |
  
Asian Educational Media Service
805 W Pennsylvania Ave., Urbana, IL 61801 |
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