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March 17, 2003 :: No.175

Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival to Screen at Cal State Fullerton

Professional and student-produced documentaries on various aspects of anthropology will be shown during the annual Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival, scheduled for March 19 and March 21 at Cal State Fullerton. Screenings will be in Room 121 of McCarthy Hall and the events are open to the public free of charge.

Wednesday, March 19:
• 5:45 p.m. Doors open
• 6 p.m. Introductions
• 6:15 p.m. Screening of Breaking Bows and Arrows
• Liz Thompson. 2001. 52 min. Video. (Australia)
• U.S. Premiere at the 2002 Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival
In the late 1980s, on the island of Bougainville in Papua, New Guinea, a bloody civil war broke out - one that was to last over a decade and claims thousands of lives. This film explores the powerful role of traditional ceremonies as a form of reconciliation, where rituals bring together both victims and perpetrators in an attempt to heal the deep emotional wounds and reverse the legacy of anger, pain and revenge.
• 7:05 p.m. Discussion on Breaking Bows and Arrows
 

 
• 7:20 p.m. Screening of Ota Benga
• Alfeu Franca. 2002. 16 min. Video. (U.S.)
• N.Y. Premiere at the 2002 Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival
When the explorer Samuel Phillips Verner was commissioned to supply the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair with “specimens” of other cultures, Ota Benga was brought over from the Belgian Congo and put on display in its anthropology exhibit. After the fair, Benga was exhibited in the Bronx Zoo where he resided in the monkey house. Drawing on newspaper articles of the day, animated sequences, and archival photographs, Franca presents a shocking cautionary tale about scientific racism in turn-of-the-century America.
• 7:40 p.m. Discussion on Ota Benga moderated by Joseph J. Nevadomsky, professor of anthropology
 

 
• 7:55 p.m. An Injury to One
• Travis Wilkerson. 2002. 53 min. 16mm. (U.S.)
• N.Y. Premiere at the 2002 Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival
A captivating portrait of a town (Butte, Montana), the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, and a long-forgotten event-the lynching of union organizer Frank Little. Wilkerson delves into the history of Montana to tell a story of modern capitalism. Archival documents, images of present-day Butte, miners' songs, and Little's speeches are expertly interwoven in an experimental film that is both a lament and a call for action. With a haunting soundtrack by indie band Low.
• 8:50 p.m. Discussion on An Injury to One moderated by Joseph J. Nevadomsky, professor of anthropology
 

 
• 9:05 p.m. Student film by Melissa Karpinski
Open Discussion on Films
 

 
Friday, March 21:
• 5:45 p.m. Doors Open
• 6: 00 p.m. Introductions
• 6:15 p.m. Screening of Wa 'N Wina (Sincerely Yours)
• Dumisani Phakathi. 2001. 52min. Video. (South Africa)
• N.Y. Premiere at the 2002 Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival
Filmmaker Dumisani Phakathi revisits his old South African neighborhood to reconnect with friends and break longstanding taboos about discussing HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy and sex. Telling it like it is, Phakathi's exploration of community reveals the everyday voices of those who find themselves overlooked by the very campaigns that seek to help them. This film is part of the project Steps for the Future, a unique international collaboration that engaged a team of both noted and emerging African filmmakers to create advocacy works on the HIV/AIDS campaign for South Africa. The series comprises 40 titles, which are distributed through a targeted strategy that includes mobile screenings and informal venues.
• 7:05 p.m. Discussion on Wa'N Wina (Sincerely Yours) moderated by John A. Bock, assistant professor of anthropology
 

 
• 7:20 p.m. Screening of Alpana
• Prasun Basu. 2002. 3 min. Video. (India)
• U.S. Premiere at the 2002 Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival
This short film lyrically animates images of an Indian folkdance that gradually unfolds into the harmonious patterns of the “Alpana,” a traditional ritual floor and wall art of rural Bengal.
 

 
• 7:25 p.m. Screening of Duka's Dilemma
• Jean Lydall and Kaira Strecker. 2001. 87 min. Video. (Ethiopia)
•U.S. Premiere at the 2002 Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival
Filmmaker and anthropologist Jean Lydall has been making films with the Hamar community of southern Ethiopia since the 1970s. Two years ago she returned with her daughter and grandson to follow the continuing life story of Duka, featured in past Mead Festival favorites (The Women Who
Smile, Our Way of Loving). Candid interviews reveal the complex family dynamics when Duka's husband, Sago, takes a second wife, Boro. This film provides an intimate and personal family portrait, which captures Duka's ambivalence in sharing her home and husband. The quiet suspense is only heightened when Duka's mother-in-law starts stirring up trouble.
• 9 p.m. Discussion on Alpana and Duka's Dilemma moderated by Hilarie Kelly, assistant professor of anthropology
 
The film festival is sponsored by the Anthropology Students Association, Lambda Alpha-Anthropology Honors Society and the Women's Studies program.
 
Media Contacts: Jeremy Hutman, event organizer, at jhut1000@hotmail.com
Susan Katsaros, Office of Public Affairs, at 657-278-4854 or skatsaros@fullerton.edu