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Global Lens 2008

The 2008 Global Lens Film Series presented by Knopik Varner Moore

The Studio@620 and The Gasparilla Film Festival are proud to announce, along with their partner the University of Tampa, the prestigious 'Global Lens 2008' film series.

The Studio@620 and Gasparilla Film Festival are partnering with the Global Film Initiative (GFI) to host 'Global Lens 2008', a GFI-sponsored traveling film series. GFI promotes cross-cultural understanding and diversity by presenting developing world feature films in over forty major U.S. Cities, with their prestigious film series entitled "Global Lens." GFI is considered one of the foremost leaders in funding and distributing world cinema. It's Film Board is comprised of well known, accomplished international filmmakers, such as Pedro Almodóvar, Lars von Trier, Mira Nair & Lucy Barreto, to name a few.

    

 

About Gasparilla Film Festival

The Gasparilla Film Festival, Tampa Bay 's largest independent film festival, is operated by the Tampa Film Institute, a 501 (c)3 organization dedicated to advancing film education and community involvement in film in the Tampa Bay area. The 2008 Festival, completed this past March, more than tripled attendance year-over-year, and attracted over 6,000 moviegoers during its 5 days.

Consolidated Screening Schedule

Friday, May 23, 2008 - 8:00 pm
Bunny Chow (South Africa)

In director John Barker's debut feature, up-and-coming comedians Kags, Joey and Dave make clear that life in the 'new' Johannesburg is not just about hardship and townships. It's also about finding humor in relationships, hanging out with friends and celebrating life on a raucous roadtrip to Oppi Koppi-South Africa's largest music festival. Shot in a cinema vérité style and using the street food 'bunny chow' as a metaphor for contemporary Johannesburg's mix of races, cultures and attitudes, Barker's edgy, urban comedy asks us to envision a nation through the eyes of its future, rather than the tragedy of its past.

Friday, June 27, 2008 - 9:00 pm
The Kite (Lebanon)

In director Randa Chahal Sabbag's 'fairytale for troubled times,' sixteen-year old Lamia must cross a border checkpoint between Lebanon and Israel to marry a man she has never met. But on her wedding day, neither she nor her betrothed are eager to consummate a marriage to a stranger-a matter further complicated by Lamia's surprising admission that she is in love with the Israeli soldier guarding the checkpoint. Sabbag's enchanting drama about marriage and tradition is underscored by delicate symbolism and artful references to politics of Lebanon's annexed territories.

Friday, July 11, 2008 - 8:00 pm
All For Free - (Croatia)

After his friends are killed in a bizarre, bar room argument, Goran devises an unusual plan to deal with the loss: he will sell his house, buy a mobile tavern and travel from town to town, giving away free drinks to everyone he meets. But for everyone except Goran, the idea is strangely suspicious, and a bit absurd, in director Antonio Nui_'s darkly humorous tale of loss and reconciliation, told as a metaphor for Bosnia's gradual rediscovery of its shared humanity, lost during the war.

Friday, August 22, 2008 - 8:00 pm
The Fish Fall in Love (Iran)

Atieh's singular passion is food, and her small but popular restaurant on the sleepy Caspian coast is her pride and joy. But when Aziz, her former fiancé, appears after a twenty-year absence, the women believe he has intentions of closing the restaurant, so Atieh prepares his favorite dishes, one after the other, in a desperate effort to convince him otherwise. Loosely based on the Persian fable of Shahrazad and the Thousand Myths (A Thousand and One Nights), director Ali Raffi uses the language of food to paint a richly textured portrait of life and love on the northern coast of Iran.

Friday, September 12, 2008 - 8:00 pm
The Bet Collector

Amy, the family matriarch, makes ends meet by running a small convenience store out of her home. But in a struggling economy customers are scarce, and without the help of her husband or pregnant daughter, she is forced to supplement the family income by collecting bets for an illegal numbers game. In this starkly realistic narrative, director Jeffrey Jeturian presents a captivating portrait of a once-proud woman, haunted by memories of a dead son and hounded by the police, and her fragile and lonely life as a kubrador (bet collector) on the streets of Manila.


MINI- FESTIVAL October 3 - 4, 2008

Special Mini-Festival Ticket Prices:

$8 for single film, $12 for two films, $15 for three.

Friday October 3, Argentine Doubleheader:

The Custodian

Friday, October 3, 2008 @ 7 pm

93 minutes

As a bodyguard for a high profile politician, Ruben is reduced to a mere shadow of a man: every action in his life is regulated by a series of mundane routines, and everywhere his boss goes he must follow, watching but never speaking. Resigned to his invisibility, his life is a series of days without meaning, punctuated only by visits to a prostitute, in this compelling chronicle by first-time director Rodrigo Moreno of a man without any true identity or connection to the world in which he lives.

 

Kept & Dreamless

Friday October 3, 2008 @ 9 pm

94 minutes

During Argentina's economic crisis of the '90s, nine year-old Eugenia and her mother, Florencia, live a seemingly colorful life surrounded by eclectic neighbors and an offbeat collection of family. But for Eugenia, who must deal with her mother's dysfunctional and drug-addled lifestyle, life is anything but pleasant in this darkly inspiring story of expectation, acceptance and nontraditional family, led by standout performances from director Vera Fogwill and young actress Lucía Snieg.

 

Saturday October 4, Celebration of Asia:

Let the Wind Blow (India)

Saturday, October 4, 2008 @ 3 pm

93 minutes

At the height of nuclear tensions between India and Pakistan, Arjun and his best friend, Chabia, weigh their options for the future against the reality of life on the streets of Mumbai. Enticed by the promise of wealth and opportunity in the Persian Gulf, Chabia is eager to leave his job as a mechanic. But for Arjun, who must finish college and care for his mother, the decision is not so easy in director Partho Sen-Gupta's gritty, apocalyptic interpretation of Krishna's counsel to Arjuna, from the Bhagavad Gita.

 

Luxury Car (China)

Saturday October 4, 2008 @ 7 pm

88 minutes

In this emotionally taut narrative, Li Qi Ming travels from his small village to the city of Wuhan, determined to fulfill his wife's last wish of seeing her son. But instead of finding his son, he discovers his daughter working as a karaoke bar escort, forcing him to come to terms with their long-estranged relationship and the tenuous future of his family. Director Wang Chao uses Li Qi Ming to represent the painful reality of thousands of parents who have lost contact with their children through rural exodus and political upheaval in China.

 

Opera Jawa (Indonesia)

Saturday October 4, 2008 @ 9 pm

120 minutes

Setyo and Siti live a peaceful life as husband and wife, selling earthenware in their village. But when Setyo is called away on business, a flirtatious butcher, Ludiro, takes advantage of Siti's loneliness to seduce her. Tempted by song and dance, Siti initially refuses his advances but acquiesces in a moment of weakness, setting the stage for an epic battle between the two men. Located in lush forests and on pristine beaches of Java, director Garin Nugroho bases his deeply imagistic and dazzling visual narrative on the "The Abduction of Sita," from the Hindu epic, The Ramayana.

 

 

Past and present partners of the Global Lens Series include:

  • The Museum of Modern Art in New York
  • The American Film Institute
  • The Chicago International Film Festival
  • Gene Siskel Film Center
  • Miami International Film Festival
  • Boston Museum of Fine Arts
  • San Francisco Art Institute
  • Sarasota Film Society &
  • The Seattle International Film Festival
  • Walker Art Center
  • Museum of Fine Arts Houston
  • Denver Film Society
  • Salt Lake Film Society

Studio @ 620's co-Artistic Director, G. David Ellis:

“The Studio@620 is very pleased and excited to be a part of "Global Lens 2008", and host these films through October. The Global Lens series will be a wonderful compliment to our evenings at the International Film Cafe. You can travel the world in the comfort of the Studio@620 and enjoy free popcorn too!"

Visiting Assistant Professor of Communication Tom Garrett at University of Tampa states:

"It's a wonderful international experience for University of Tampa's Film Media Arts Program and its students to be involved- to have first look exposure to the 'Global Lens' series along with The Gasparilla Film Festival."

John Rosser, Executive Director of the Gasparilla Film Festival:

"The Gasparilla Film Festival is proud to hold the 2008 Tampa Bay exclusive rights for a world-class film series such as 'Global Lens 2008'. We are particularly thrilled to be working with such high-quality local partners as the University of Tampa and Studio @ 620 on screening these important films. Our organization continues to grow, and we look forward to continuing to support such worthwhile endeavors as 'Global Lens".

 

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