Screenings and Discussion: Homage-Willie Owusu, Apr. 16 2011 @ Goethe

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Date: April 16, 2011
Venue: Goethe-Institut Auditorium
Time: 4pm
Entry: Free

Goethe Institut continues with its series of retrospectives on Kenyan filmmakers. This month they feature the works of Willie Owusu.

Willie Owusu has been at the heart of creative boom in the Nairobi scene. Behind the scenes he has made a name for himself for a highly creative approach to film and video and as a founding partner in the production company Big Ideas. His specialty is the short but excellently produced formats: films such as Me First that got an award at the famous Oberhausen Short film Festival/Germany, and music videos, commercials and documentaries.

As usual in this series, G.I. will screen a representative selection of his corpus of work and will accompany the screenings with a discussion with the filmmaker.

Cinema.ES Film Series, Apr 12 – May 10 2011 @ Embassy of Spain

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Cinema.ES, a new Spanish cinema series with a unique opportunity for group debate after each screening.
12th April 2011, 18:00 h.: Un Franco, 14 Pesetas, by Carlos Iglesias (2005, 102mins., Original Version with English subtitles)

19th April 2011, 17:00 h.: Siete mesas de billar francés, by Gracia Querejeta (2009, 112mins., OV) – This session will be held in Spanish only (no English subtitles available).

3rd May 2011, 18:00 h.: Abre los ojos, by Alejandro Amenábar (1997, 117mins., OV with English subtitles)
10th May 2011, 17:00 h.: Los lunes al sol, by Fernando León de Aranoa (2002, 117 mins., OV) – This session will be held in Spanish only (no English subtitles available).

WHERE: Embassy of Spain, CBA Building, Mara & Ragati Rds., Upper Hill
Free Entrance.

Screening of Italian Historical Films to mark 150 years of Italian Unification, Apr. 15-17 2011 @ National Museums

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To mark 150 years of Italian Unification the Istituto Italiano di Cultura requests the pleasure of your company at the screening of a series of Italian historical films with English subtitles L’Unita’ d’Italia (Unification of Italy) presented by Dr. George Gona of the Department of History – University of Nairobi

Dates: April 15-17, 2011
Venue: Louis Leakey Auditorium, National Museum of Kenya
Time: Friday 6pm and weekend at 4pm & 6pm
Entrance: Free

Programme:
15.4.11 – 6pm – Historical Introduced by Dr. George Gona with a documentary on Giuseppe Garibaldi / followed by – 1860: I mille di Garibaldi (1860: Garibaldi’s thousand men) directed by A. Blasetti
16.4.11 – 4pm – Allonsanfan (Allonsanfàn) directed by P. & V. Taviani
16.4.11 – 6pm – San Michele aveva un gallo (St. Michael had a rooster) directed by P. & V. Taviani
17.4.11 – 4pm – Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) directed by Luchino Visconti

Friday, 15th April 2011 (6pm)
Historical introduction by Dr. George Gona with the documentary: Giuseppe Garibaldi: Il diavolo rosso (Giuseppe Garibaldi: the red devil)
Documentary by: Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Rome
Running time: Excerpts only (English subtitles)
Documentary based on the historical events that led to the unification of Italy.

Followed by:
1860: I mille di Garibaldi (1936) (1860: Garibaldi’s thousand men)
Directed by: Alessandro Blasetti
Starring: Giuseppe Gulino, Aida Bellia, Gianfranco Giachetti, Mario Ferrari, Maria Denis
Running time: Excerpts only
Drama, History (English subtitles)

“1860” is considered by many, even to this day, as the forerunner of the long season of Italian neorealism.
The story is the harried attempt of a Sicilian partisan, as part of the risorgimento, to reach Garibaldi’s headquarters in Northern Italy, and to petition the revered revolutionary to rescue part of his besieged land. Along the way, the peasant hero encounters many colourful Italians, differing in class and age, and holding political opinions of every type.
There is a key train scene, and the film ends on the battlefield, Italian unification a success, despite brutal losses

Saturday, 16th April 2011 (4pm)

Allonsanfan (1974) (Allonsanfàn)
A brief introduction by Dr. George Gona
Directed by: Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Lea Massari, Minsy Farmer
Running time: 110 minutes
Drama, History (English subtitles)

The political prisoner Fulvio Imbriani is released ill from prison and the authorities expect to find his rebel friends though him. However, he returns to his family’s real state and recovers his health with his siblings. When his lover Charlotte unexpectedly arrives Fulvio’s his sister overhears her saying that their friends would be arriving the next morning and calls the authorities. The soldiers dispose of a great number of revolutionaries but Fulvio escapes with Charlotte who is fatally shot in the back. Fulvio travels with his comrades but with no enthusiasm…

Saturday, 16th April 2011 (6pm)

San Michele aveva un Gallo (1972) (Saint Michael had a rooster)
A brief introduction by Dr. George Gona
Directed by: Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
Starring: Giulio Brogi, Daniele Dublino, Renato Cestie’
Running time: 90 minutes
Drama, History (English subtitles)

Anarchism, socialism, anarcho-socialism: there were enough different varieties of these three political philosophies to fuel hundreds of political movements in late 19th-century Europe. This Italian film looks at the life of one committed radical anarchist from this period. Giulio Manieri is true to his principles and his cause, and he attempts to get a revolution going in a small provincial town. The people, alas, are apathetic, and instead of instigating a revolution, Giulio finds himself imprisoned in solitary confinement for 10 years. When he is transferred to group imprisonment and finally meets contemporary political prisoners, they have nothing but disdain for his beliefs. Their disagreements are unimportant when it becomes clear that an even more radical scheme is brewing.

Sunday, 17th April 2011 (4pm)

Il Gattopardo (1963) (The Leopard)
A brief introduction by Dr. George Gona
Directed by: Luchino Visconti
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon, Paolo Stoppa, Rina Morelli
Running time: 187 minutes
Drama, History, Romance, War (English subtitles)

In the 1860s, a dying aristocracy struggles to maintain itself against a harsh Sicilian landscape. The film traces with a slow and deliberate rhythm the waning of the noble home of Fabrizio Corbero, Prince of Salina (the Leopard) and the corresponding rise to eminence of the enormously wealthy ex-peasant Don Calogero Sedara. The prince himself refuses to take active steps to halt the decline of his personal fortunes or to help build a new Sicily but his nephew Tancredi, Prince of Falconeri swims with the tide and assures his own position by marrying Don Calogero’s
beautiful daughter Angelica. The climatic scene is the sumptuous forty-minute ball, where Tancredi introduces Angelica to society.

AWARDS
• Oscar nominee for: best costume
• Golden Palm Award to Luchino Visconti
• David Award for: Best production
• Silver Ribbon Awards for:
• Best Cinematography, Best costume design, Best production design.
• San Jordi Awards: Special Award to Luchino Visconti, Best foreign film.

Exhibition: The Hadaf International Somalia Cartoon Exhibition, Apr. 2-30 2011 @ The GoDown Arts Centre

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The Association of East African Cartoonists (KATUNI) wishes to invite you to the launch of the HADAF International Somalia Cartoon Exhibition.

Opening: April 2, 2011
Venue: The GoDown Arts Centre
Location: Dunga Road, Industrial Area
Time: 2-5pm
Entry: Free
Exhibition Runs: April 2-30, 2011
Open: Monday-Saturday
Time: 9am-5pm

H.E. Mohamed Ali Nur, Ambassador of the Somali Republic will be the Guest of Honour and will officially launch the exhibition.

During the launch, an expert panel will discuss the theme: The search for peace in Somalia: Achievements and Challenges and take questions from the audience.
A short documentary filmed in Mogadishu will also be screened.

Respond to the Facebook Event

Documentary: Inside the Revolution, Apr. 4 2011 @ Alliance

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Date: April 4, 2011
Venue: Alliance francaise
Time: 6pm
Entry: Free

Inside the Revolution: A journey into the heart of Venezuela by Pablo Navarrette (2009 -1h05)
Presented by Pamoja Film Initiative

Filmed in Caracas in November 2008, on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Chavez’s controversial presidency, this feature-length documentary takes a journey into the heart of Venezuela’s revolution to listen to the voices of the people driving the process forward. The film traces the recent history of Venezuela, before and after the election of Hugo Chavez to the presidency, using archive material and interviews with Venezuelans living in the barrios of Caracas who are involved in community and social movements.

Review
“A rare film about Venezuela, a country in extraordinary transition. Watch this film because it is honest and fair and respectful of those who want to be told the truth about an epic attempt, flaws and all, to claim back the humanity of ordinary people.”
– John Pilger (Journalist, author and documentary filmmaker).

Derek Wall review of Pablo Navarrete’s documentary

You tube trailer

Screening & Discussions: 45th Lola Kenya Screen Film Forum, Mar. 28 2011 @ Goethe

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Lola Kenya Screen invites you to the 45th monthly film forum that holds at Goethe-Institut Library Lounge.

Date: March 28, 2011
Venue: Goethe Institut Library Lounge
Time: 6pm
Entry: Free

This is an evening that is aimed to entertain as well as give stakeholders in the audiovisual sector to exchange ideas as well as comment on short productions from East Africa; the forum shall screen two short dramas by versatile filmmakers within the Kenyan audiovisual sector.

SALOME and ROSE PETALS are short dramas that reflect the day to day life of the common Kenyan citizen. They address various issues including the collective spirit of a society depicted in the films.
Allan Aligula together with the crew and cast that worked on the productions will join the audience to field questions pertinent to the films as well as share their ideologies about filmmaking.

Lola Kenya Screen monthly film forum is the initiative of ComMattersKenya/Artmatters.info in conjunction with Goethe-Institut.

World Water Day Celebrations: Film Pumzi & other Presentations, Mar. 22 2011 @ National Museum

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To mark the world water day celebrations the Kenya Museum Society have organised the screening of Pumzi and other presentations.

Date: March 22, 2011
Venue: National Museums of Kenya, Louis Leakey Auditorium
Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Donation: Non-members Ksh 500, Members Ksh. 400, Students (with valid ID) Ksh 200
To book, call KMS office: 0724 255299 or (20) 2339158

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3elKofS43xM] Pumzi: Nature is extinct. The outside is dead.
Pumzi is a film about futuristic Africa, 35 years after World War III ‘The Water War’.
The film is directed by a young and aspirant filmmaker, Wanuri Kahiu.

Pre-screen talk on emerging conflicts of rural-urban water use and demand management in Kenya by:

Mr Michael Thomas, Director, Rural Focus
Mr Kariuki Mugo, Programme Manager, Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor

Refreshments: 6:15 pm
Doors Open: 7:00 pm

Proceeds to fund the National Museums of Kenya