“History” Launching 33rd Margaret Mead Fest

by Bryce Renninger (October 13, 2009)
“History” Launching 33rd Margaret Mead Fest
A scene from Péter Kerekes's "Cooking History." [Image courtesy of filmmaker.]

The 33rd Annual Margaret Mead Film & Video Film Festival, the documentary festival named after the pioneering anthropologist, will run from November 12-15 at New York’s American Museum of Natural History.  The opening night film, Péter Kerekes’s “Cooking History,” tours 20th century battlefields, asking cooks to recreate the dishes they served to their troops.  Sunday’s closing night film will be Raffaele Brunetti and Marco Leopardi’s “Hair India,” a doc about the group of poor Hindu devotees who offer up their only possession, their hair.  Also on Sunday, DJ Spooky will present a multimedia presentation exploring climate change built on music and the museum’s collection of photographs.

The festival is the United States’ longest lasting documentary film festival.  Two themed special programs will also be featured in the program.  Along the Modern Silk Road explores the cultures along the Silk Road.  Love Against the Odds will explore love amongst people with disabilities.  The festival will bring highlights on a tour starting in January.  For more information and for tickets, visit the festival’s website

The Living (Zhyvi), directed by Sergiy Bukovsky. When Stalin implemented his plan to industrialize and de-privatize the USSR, the resulting Holodomor—the forced starvation of the Ukraine resistant rural population—was witnessed by few outsiders. Holodomor survivors share their testimony about this horrific chapter in Soviet history, which cost the lives of over 4 million Ukrainians.

Perestroika: Reconstruction of a Flat (Perestroika: Umbau einer Wohnung), directed by Christiane Büchner. In a St. Petersberg flat, four rooms are inhabited by different families, all of whom share the bathroom and kitchen. When one owner decides to put her room on the market, she must also convince the others to sell. The film is a ride through Russia’s new economy, which is pitted against its Byzantine past.

The Unforbidden City (De Onverboden Stad), directed by Floris-Jan van Luyn. The film follows the lives of villagers from Beijing’s 14th century neighborhood known as Source Street. Just beyond the tightly packed warren stands the National Grand Theater and modern high-rises that represent the future of this expanding city. Residents prepare for the day when Beijing’s historic heart has no more room for them.

Where the Sun Doesn’t Rush (Tam Gozie Stonce Sig Nie Spieszy), directed by Matej Bobrik. A small village in Slovakia is almost entirely made up of the elderly. A portrait of the slow death of a village, where the old times are already gone and the new ones have not yet arrived.

The Wondrous World of Laundry, directed by Hans-Christian Schmid. The film tours the Polish border town where Fliegel Textile provides 24-hour turnaround service to its Berlin hotel clients. The story exposes how the global marketplace is affecting small-town Eastern Europe, where labor is cheaper and life is harder.

Beyond the Game, directed by Jos de Putter. This behind-the-scenes look at the tight-knit and competitive community of cybergamers follows the top players of Warcraft III, the most popular game globally, on their way to the professional world championships in Korea.

I Wanna Be Boss, directed by Marije Meerman. Following four students as they compete for the coveted spots at Beijing’s two top universities, the pressure from teachers who earn bonuses based on test scores and guilt from parents who sacrificed to send their children to school add to the tension in the final weeks before the exams.

Mamachas of the Ring (Mamachas del Ring), directed by Betty M. Park. Carmen Rosa La Campeona is torn between her family and lucha libre, the sport she loves. The documentary shows Carmen Rosa taking charge of her own life while also becoming increasingly isolated. As family responsibilities take time away from training and travel, she must make a decision between her family and her sport.
—more films can be found on page two—

 
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posted on October 13, 2009

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