Bryn Mawr Film Institute Programs
March - June 2010
Our repertory film series are selected by BMFI staff for your enjoyment and edification. See one film or attend the entire series.
Standard ticket prices apply unless otherwise noted. If you have a question for a Box Office representative, call 610.527.4008 x111.
This year, BMFI will screen two impressive films from this festival’s new season: Eyes Wide Open, which depicts the journey of an Ultra-Orthodox man fighting to sustain his spiritual values while tempted by the pursuit of worldly pleasures, and Seven Minutes in Heaven, a psychological thriller focusing on a young woman from Jerusalem as she struggles to reclaim her memory of a horrific suicide bus bombing.
Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for seniors, $5 for BMFI members, and free for students with reservations.
Visit iffphila.com for details and to purchase tickets.
SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN
2008 – Israel – 1 hr 34 min – d. Omri Givon – with subtitles
Shortly before their wedding, Galia and Oren board a local Jerusalem bus, only to become victims of a deadly suicide bombing. While her fiancé is knocked into a coma, Galia suffers memory loss and is severely burned. Through darkly realistic scenes, the young woman journeys to reassemble the missing pieces of that day. This screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Reymonde Amsellem, the actress who portrayed Galia in the film.
John Waters is admired by many (and reviled by some) for his filmic forays into the world of sexual deviancy, camp, counterculture, and gleeful bad taste. A man once referred to by William Burroughs as “The Pope of Trash,” Waters’s films have sparked controversy, but have also earned him a cult following among cineastes and popular audiences alike. In celebration of John Waters’s visit to Bryn Mawr College on March 26th, BMFI presents two of his films: Pink Flamingos, the incendiary cult classic that takes depravity to a whole new level, starring drag queen Divine, and the tamer, but no less original, Hairspray.
Bryn Mawr College students, faculty, and staff may purchase tickets to these screenings at the BMFI member price of $5.00.
BMFI members may purchase tickets to Waters's appearance at Bryn Mawr College for the reduced price of $15.00.
HAIRSPRAY
1988 – USA – 1 hr 32 min – d. John Waters
A campy send-up of 1960’s youth culture (and critical commentary on the racism of that era), Hairspray is the story of “pleasantly plump” Tracy Turnblad and her rise to stardom on the Corky Collins Dance Show.
PINK FLAMINGOS
1972 – USA – 1 hr 48 min – d. John Waters – RATED NC-17
Divine (code name “Babs Johnson”), who lives in a trailer park with her demented mother and son, engages in a hilariously atrocious contest with an upper-class couple for the title of “filthiest person alive.”
Since 2008 the staff of the Opera Company of Philadelphia has provided illuminating commentary to our audiences prior to the screenings of Bryn Mawr Film Institute’s popular HD operas. This season we expand the fruitful partnership to include a series of films that specifically relate to upcoming operas in OCP’s live program.
CLEOPATRA
1963 – USA – 3 hr 12 min – d. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Elizabeth Taylor embodies Cleopatra in this epic saga of the legendary Queen of Egypt’s struggle to resist the imperialist ambitions of Rome. The gorgeous costumes, elaborate sets, and massive cast reflect the film’s headline-making budget. The Curtis Opera Theatre’s March production of Antony & Cleopatra coincides with this screening.
CAMILLE
1936 – USA – 1 hr 49 min – d. Geroge Cukor
Based on the same story by Alexander Dumas that inspired Verdi’s opera La Traviata, OCP’s May production, Camille stars timeless beauty Greta Garbo as an ailing Parisian courtesan who is forced to choose between a young man who loves her and the callous baron who must have her.
BLACK ORPHEUS
1959 – Brazil – 1 hr 40 min – d. Marcel Camus
This film, renowned for its soundtrack by bossa nova legend Antonio Carlos Jobim, sets the Greek Orpheus myth in the midst of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival festivities. This screening coincides with OCP’s June production of Orphée & Eurydice by Christoph Willibald Gluck.
In celebration of Earth Day, Bryn Mawr Film Institute is proudly partnering with Whole Foods Market on a day of interesting and informative films devoted to the crucial topic of the future of food. From the kid-friendly documentary What’s On Your Plate?, to the environmentally themed classic science fiction film Silent Running, the Earth Day Film Festival offers a wide range of fare aimed at raising awareness of these increasingly weighty issues.
See just one of these important films, or buy a day pass to see all five. Day passes are $25.00 for the general public and $20.00 for BMFI members. A portion of proceeds will benefit The Food Trust.
WHAT'S ON YOUR PLATE?
2009 – USA – 1 hr 32 min – d. Catherine Gund
Filmed over the course of a year, this clever documentary follows two eleven-year-old inner-city girls as they explore the origin of food. Sadie and Safiyah educate themselves and viewers as they gain knowledge and form opinions on metropolitan sustenance.
TAPPED
2009 – USA – d. Stephanie Soechtig and Jason Lindsey
An enlightening documentary, Tapped scrutinizes the role of the bottled water industry and the drastic results of its contamination on the environment and direct effects on our personal well being.
END OF THE LINE
2009 – USA – 1 hr 25 min – d. Rupert Murray
Filmed over two years, this eye-opening documentary follows reporter Charles Clover as he investigates the devastating global consequences of overfishing our oceans. Predicting the end of seafood by 2048, this film is a wake-up call to the world.
NO IMPACT MAN
2009 – USA – 1 hr 33 min – d. Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein
This socially conscious documentary follows the efforts of a Manhattan-based family as they attempt to curb their high energy consumption lifestyle and live one year making as little environmental impact as humanly possible.
SILENT RUNNING
1972 – USA – 1 hr 29 min – d. Douglas Trumbull
Bruce Dern stars as a loner crew member of a spaceship carrying the last of the Earth’s natural resources who rebels after being ordered to jettison his precious cargo. This sci-fi classic was co-written by Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter).
OKLAHOMA! Sing Along
1955 – USA – 2 hr 25 min – d. Fred Zinnemann
Put on your cowboy boots and head over to BMFI to belt out the rip-roaring songs from Oklahoma! Rod Steiger and Shirley Jones star in this romantic turn-of-the-century tale that takes place in the Oklahoma territory. With such classic songs like “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin,’” "The Surrey With a Fringe on Top,” and “People Will Say We’re in Love,” it’s remarkable that this was Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first musical collaboration.
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