Tuesday, July 17, 2012

CONCERT IN THE GARDEN
AUGUST 12, 2012 
SOUNDS OF THE PRAIRIE COMMUNITY BAND at the MUSEUM OF THE GRAND PRAIRIE!

5:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M. Join us behind the museum at our FREE garden concert series as we present local bands for your evening’s entertainment. Pack a picnic dinner, bring chairs or sit on a blanket in the grass as the St. Joseph Community Band performs.
For information, (217) 586-2612 or kriopelle@ccfpd.org

Ok, it won't look like the picture, but it will be fun!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Global Lens Film Series presented by Parkland Art Gallery


Coming this Fall!

All films and popcorn are FREE! 
All shows begin at 6:30pm
Location: Parkland College, room C118

A showcase of six critically acclaimed narrative feature films will screen at Parkland College this fall. Global Lens is an annual, touring film series launched in 2003 by the Global Film Initiative to support the distribution of cinematic works from around the world. The series provides a platform for exceptional storytelling and a window into our diverse world. The 2012 film series is co-sponsored by the Center for Global Studies with partial funding from the Title VI Program of the U.S. Department of Education. To learn more, visit www.global-film.org.  Please note our new location with theater-style seating and updated audio-visual equipment.

September 6 
FAT, BALD, SHORT MAN (Gordo, Calvo Y Bajito), dir. Carlos Osuna, Colombia, 2011
91 minutes, Spanish, with English subtitles
Lonesome, middle-aged virgin Antonio Farfán is picked on and ridiculed as a matter of course, whether by coworkers or his bullying mooch of a brother. An employee at a notary’s office, his status improves a bit when his new boss—and strangely affable doppelganger—takes an interest in him. And when he joins a self-improvement group, Farfán slowly confirms what the undulating lines of this story suggest: everything is in motion, and change is inevitable.

September 20
TOLL BOOTH (Gise Memuru), dir. Tolga Karaçelik, Turkey, 2010
96 minutes, Turkish, with English subtitles
A taciturn tollbooth attendant nearly reaches a nervous breakdown as he shuffles between a suffocating home life, where his ailing father attempts to marry him off, and the monotony of the box where he works, reducing his self-esteem. Reassigned to a desolate country road, he begins a flirtatious relationship with a woman who drives by each day. But is this salvation for the aging bachelor, or the further unraveling of his mind? Find out in this wry, heartbreaking ode to lost dreams in a sleep- walking world.

October 4
AMNESTY (Amnistia), dir. Bujar Alimani, Albania, 2011
83 minutes, Albanian, with English subtitles
A new national law allowing conjugal visits for inmates brings together a man and woman visiting the same prison to meet their incarcerated spouses. When Elsa meets Spetim, they slowly find the sympathy and companionship missing from their lives. A prisoner amnesty, however, soon threatens their fragile bond in this closely observed, sensual, and contemplative drama.

October 18
CRAFT (Riscado), dir. Gustavo Pizzi, Brazil, 2010
85 minutes, Portuguese and French, with English subtitles
Bianca manages a precarious living as a talented but underemployed actress in Rio de Janeiro, performing for private events dressed as female movie icons. Troubled by the thought that she has missed her chance at a big break, an audition leads to a rare opportunity and possible redemption for years of social marginality. Karine Teles’s remarkable lead performance drives an enveloping drama of everyday tragedy in the working world of an artist.

November 1
THE FINGER (El Dedo), dir. Sergio Teubal, Argentina, 2011
93 minutes, Spanish, with English subtitles
When a remote village in Argentina formally becomes a town, Hidalgo, a slick, ingratiating scion, is eager to be the new mayor. Baldomero, a beloved natural leader with a habitually tapping digit, opposes him with his own candidacy—and soon turns up dead. His shopkeeper brother vows revenge, keeping Baldomero’s severed finger in a jar, an absurd icon of leadership that spurs the town to go its own way. Based on real events, this dramatic comedy celebrates democratic values.

December 6
MOURNING (Soog), dir. Morteza Farshbaf, Iran, 2011
85 minutes, Persian, with English subtitles
Kamran and Sharareh, a deaf couple, are driving Sharareh’s young nephew, Arshia, back home to Tehran after something terrible has happened. But the couple keeps the news from Arshia, debating his future in a language not as private as they believe, and turning a car trip into a subtly humorous and deeply compassionate meditation on communication and emotional disability.

Check our website for updates about additional programming, panel discussions and events relating to individual films: www. parkland.edu/gallery or call 217/351-2485. Co-sponsored by Parkland Art Gallery and International Student Services. This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.