CineCulture announces the lineup for the remainder of the spring semester.
Most CineCulture screenings are at 5:30 p.m. on Fridays during the semester in the Peters Education Center Auditorium (5010 N. Woodrow Ave.) in the Student Recreation Center. All films screened on campus are free and open to the public. Parking is not enforced after 4 p.m. on Fridays.
See the full list below.
Feb. 23: “Electric Shadows” (2004)
- Discussant: Dr. Ed EmanuEl
- In Mandarin with English subtitles. 93 minutes.
“Electric Shadows” marks the directing debut of Xiao Jiang one of the few active female film directors in China. The film begins when a young woman mysteriously attacks a stranger and then asks him to care for her fish while she is being arrested. When he enters her apartment he discovers an apparent shrine to the iconic Chinese singer and film actress of the 1930s Zhou Zuan, nicknamed “ the Golden voice,” and that they share a love of the cinema and more.
March 2: “And Then They Came for Us” (2017)
- Discussant: Don Tamaki, the attorney for Fred Korematsu’s legal team
- Sponsors: The Central California District Council of the Japanese American Citizens League, Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno
- 40 minutes
Seventy-five years ago, Executive Order 9066 paved the way to the profound violation of constitutional rights that resulted in the forced incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII. Directed by Abby Ginzberg and Ken Schneider, “And Then They Came for Us” features Japanese-American actor George Takei and many others who were incarcerated, as well as newly rediscovered photographs by the late Dorothea Lange, a photojournalist best known for her Depression-era work. This film brings history into the present, retelling this difficult story and following Japanese American activists as they speak out against the Muslim registry and travel ban. “And Then They Came for Us” is a cautionary and inspiring tale for these dark times.
March 9: “Angelica” (2016)
- Discussant: Marisol Gómez-Mouakad, director
- Sponsors: The Department of Chicano and Latin American Studies, the Spanish program and the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures
- In Spanish with English subtitles, 90 minutes
Angélica dreams of a major career as a fashion designer in New York, but has not got much further than a boring sewing job. After a long absence from Puerto Rico, she returns to the island when her father, Wilfredo, suffers a heart attack. The unexpected return to the house where she grew up forces her to face herself and discover that she does not know who she is, and moreover that she does not accept herself.
March 16: “Serenade for Haiti” (2016)
- Discussant: Christy McGill, producer
- Sponsor: The Africana Studies Program
- In Haitian Creole, French and English with English subtitles, 78 minutes
Filmed over a seven-year period in Haiti, this documentary feature film by director Owsley Brown tells the story of a small classical music school, the Sainte Trinité Music School, in the heart of troubled Port au Prince, Haiti. This modest school thrives in the shadows of decades of political turmoil and natural disasters. Its story transcends poverty and political violence and shows how music can transform the lives of the children and faculty of the school and unlock the power of their own lives and imagination.
March 23: “Shadow of Drought: Southern California’s Looming Water Crisis” (2018)
- Discussant: Bill Wisneski, director
- Sponsor: The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and Fresnans Against Fracking
- 42 minutes
While California recovers from the worst drought in state history, myriad impacts resulting from climate change threaten Southern California’s imported water supply. As a shadow of drought hangs over the region, this documentary explores the dire consequences of inaction that lie ahead.
MARCH 30: No film (Campus closed for Caesar Chavez holiday)
April 6: “Dogs of Democracy“ (2016)
- Discussant: Mary Zournazi, writer/director
- Sponsors: The Classical Studies Program, the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, with support from the Phebe McClatchy Conley Endowment
- 58 minutes
“Dogs of Democracy” is a documentary film about the stray dogs of Athens, Greece, and the people who take care of them. Greek-Australian filmmaker Mary Zournazi explores life on the streets through the eyes of these dogs and their peoples’ experience. Shot on location in Athens, the birthplace of democracy, the film is about how the Greeks have become the “stray dogs of Europe,” and how the stray dogs in Athens have become a symbol of hope for the people and for the Greek anti-austerity political movement.
April 13: “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story“ (2017)
- Discussant: Richard Rhodes, author of “Hedy’s Folly,” the book on which the film is based
- Sponsors: The Jewish Studies Program and the Jewish Studies Association
- 88 minutes
What do the most ravishingly beautiful actress of the 1930s and ’40s and the inventor whose concepts were the basis of cell phone and Bluetooth technology have in common? They are both Hedy Lamarr, the glamour icon whose ravishing visage was the inspiration for Snow White and Cat Woman and a technological trailblazer who perfected a radio system to throw Nazi torpedoes off course during WWII. “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story” brings to light the story of an unusual and accomplished woman, spurned as too beautiful to be smart, but a role model to this day.
April 20: “The Other Side of Home“ (2016)
- Discussant: Naré Mkrtchyan, director/producer
- Sponsor: The Armenian Studies Program
- In English, Armenian and Turkish with English subtitles, 40 minutes
In 1915, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Turks during the Armenian Genocide. In 2015, a Turkish woman named Maya discovers that her great-grandmother was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide. This documentary follows Maya as she decides to go to Armenia to take part in the 100th commemoration of the genocide. This film is a universal story of identity, denial, and how the experience of genocide creates a ripple effect for future generations on both sides.
April 27: “The Suffragists (Las Sufragistas)“ (2012)
- Discussant: Ana Cruz Navarro, director
- Sponsors: The College of Arts and Humanities, the Consulate of Mexico in Fresno, Aeromexico, the Spanish Program, the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures and the Department of Chicano and Latin American Studies
- In Spanish with English subtitles, 78 minutes
“The Suffragists” by Mexican filmmaker Ana Cruz Navarro tells the story of Eufrosina Cruz, an indigenous woman from the Zapotec community of Santa María Quiegolani in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. In 2008, her right to vote and run as Municipal president of her community was denied on the grounds that indigenous customary laws prohibit women from participating in electoral processes. In Mexico, women won the right to full suffrage in 1953. Today, after a long battle, Eufrosina Cruz is a representative in Mexico’s federal government, and the first indigenous woman to be a member of the Congress of Oaxaca. “The Suffragists” details her political struggle, as well as Mexican women’s long fight for political power.
May 4: To be determined
CineCulture is a film series provided as a service to Fresno State students, faculty and staff and the community. CineCulture is also offered as a three-unit academic course (MCJ 179) in the Media, Communications and Journalism Department.
The CineCulture Club promotes cultural awareness through film and post-screening discussions. Fresno State encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities.
For more information, contact Dr. Mary Husain, professor and club adviser, at mhusain@csufresno.edu, or visit the CineCulture website.
The College of Arts and Humanities at Fresno State 