1212 East 59 th Street Chicago, IL 60637 (773) 702 8574 docfilms.org Media Contact Jola Idowu 773.971.4655 publicity@docfilms.org For immediate release DOC FILMS ANNOUNCES ITS SPRING 2016 CALENDAR HYDE PARK, CHICAGO, IL. (March 23, 2016) Doc Films, the historic student-run film society at the University of Chicago, announced its Winter 2016 calendar today. Starting on March 28th, each night features a film series with a unifying theme, be it a director, actor, time, place, studio, genre, or idea. Saturdays showcase a sampling of recent hits you might have missed or perhaps you re craving another viewing and murmuring restorations under the hype radar. In addition to the many special events hosted by Doc Films at the Max Palevsky Cinema, the programmers have designed these eight series to provide the community and world with nightly oases of cinematic reverence: A Taste of Life: The Cinema of Abbas Kiarostami Mondays, Mar 28 May 23, 7pm Abbas Kiarostami is one of the world s most respected and influential filmmakers. First gaining recognition as a leader of the Iranian New Wave and now banned from screening his films in his home country, he has crafted a poetic, self reflexive cinematic style that is distinctly his own. This retrospective showcases the classics of his oeuvre, including his directorial debut Experience, the Palme d Or winning drama Taste of Cherry, and the docufiction Ten. Presented by Doc Films and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. The Miracle Years: City and Country in Mexican Cinema's Golden Age Tuesdays, Mar 29 May 31, 7pm This series presents some of the most significant films of Mexican cinema's "Golden Age," offering a glimpse of Mexican society and culture in the artistically and politically active decades from the early 1930s through the 1950s. Through screening these films, the series brings to light the rapid and conflicted changes in post revolutionary Mexican society as the nation entered a new period of growth and transition. Highlights include Vámonos con Pancho Villa, Maria Candelaria, and Los Olvidados. Presented by Doc Films, the Katz Center for Mexican Studies, and the Center for Latin American Studies. The Maestro and His Muse: Yasujirō Ozu and Setsuko Hara Wednesdays, Mar 30 Jun 1, first showing begins 6:30 7pm, second showing begins 9 9:45pm This retrospective honors Japanese filmmaker Yasujirō Ozu, considered one of the greatest directors of all time, and the extraordinary Setsuko Hara, who passed away last year. The films, all masterpieces of the domestic drama, span Ozu s career, from his silent work ( I Was Born, But... ) to
1960 s Late Autumn. Hara, Ozu s muse and long time collaborator, stars in five of the titles, including Late Spring, Early Summer, and Tokyo Story. Tournées Film Festival: Contemporary French Cinema Thursdays, Mar 31 Jun 2, 7pm In partnership with the FACE Foundation and Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Doc Films presents its Tournées Film Festival, featuring nine contemporary films and one classic title (Paul Grimault s animated gem, The King and the Mockingbird ). The films celebrate the robustness and diversity of French and Francophone cinema, starting with screenings of Abderrahmane Sissako s award winning Timbuktu and Celine Sciamma s powerful coming of age story Girlhood. Presented by Doc Films and the France Chicago Center. The Bright Side of Death: Aces of British Black Comedy Thursdays, Mar 31 Jun 2, varying start times Some of the greatest cinematic works of black comedy have come out of the United Kingdom. The success of the films in this series is not just in somehow making viewers roar with laughter in moments of tragedy or violence, but in doing so, providing a deeper commentary on the issues affecting British society. Highlights include Monty Python s Life of Brian (in a double feature with Monty Python and the Holy Grail), Trainspotting, and Shaun of the Dead. Presented by Doc Films and the Nicholson Center for British Studies. (500) Days of Doc: Romantic Comedies of the 21st Century Fridays, Apr 1 Jun 3, 7pm, second showing begins 9 9:45pm This series presents some of the best modern romantic comedies, focusing on offbeat and independent films that have eschewed the standard formulas of the genre for a more creative (but no less hilarious) touch. The films explore the different facets of love, however awkward and weird it may be. Highlights include Juno, (500) Days of Summer, and Appropriate Behavior. Sexagon: Love Triangles (and Other Shapes) in American Melodrama Sundays, Apr 3 Jun 5, 7pm Love affairs are central to American melodramas, which alternately guard against and celebrate the great expressive potential of desire. The films in this series explore sexual deviancy, gender non conformity, and misdirected longing and attraction to show how this stirring genre can be open to simultaneously regressive and progressive meanings. Masterpieces like Blonde Venus and Giant screen alongside playful parodies like John Waters Polyester, pushing the genre into new and unpredictable directions.
Every Two Weeks Doc Films will send a press release for our films showing in the upcoming two weeks. However, our complete Spring calendar can be found on our website: docfilms.org. The website contains detailed descriptions, series essays, and programmers.
Special Events The Huntsman: Winter's War Tuesday, May 29 @ 9:00 PM (Cedric Nicolas Troyan, 2016) Doc Films presents a free advance screening of The Huntsman: Winter s War, slated for release on April 22. In this prequel to Snow White and the Huntsman, Charlize Theron returns as evil Queen Ravenna, who betrays her good sister Freya (Emily Blunt). Retreating to the north, Freya raises an army of Huntsmen as her protectors, with the only rule that no two of them should ever fall in love. As a war for domination escalates between the two queens, the hero standing between them is Freya s most elite Huntsman, Eric (Chris Hemsworth), aided by fellow warrior Sara (Jessica Chastain), the only woman who has ever captured his heart. Spellbound Monday, April 4 @ 7:00 PM (Alfred Hitchcock, 1945) To celebrate the centennial of Gregory Peck (born April 5, 1916), Doc Films presents two of his finest performances. First, in Spellbound, Peck stars as Dr. Edwardes, the young new director of a psychiatric institute who suffers from amnesia and cryptic dreams (including a sequence designed by Salvador Dali). A psychoanalyst colleague (Ingrid Bergman) tries to unravel his neurosis and falls in love with him even as he becomes implicated in a crime. 35mm. To Kill a Mockingbird Tuesday, April 5 @ 7:00 PM (Robert Mulligan, 1962) Mulligan brings an understated grace to his adaptation of Harper Lee's classic, which in clumsier hands might have turned patriarchal and preachy. His film emanates a gentle paternalism in the sad cadences of Elmer Bernstein's score, the emotional clarity of Mulligan's mise en scéne, and the enigmatic silences of Gregory Peck's Atticus Finch. Peck, nominated for his fifth Academy Award for Best Actor, finally won his first Oscar for this performance. 35mm. Japan Sings! The Japanese Musical Film Tuesday, May 10 and Thursday, May 12, 7 pm In collaboration with the Center for East Asian Studies, Doc Films brings two Japanese musicals from the Japan Society s spring film series in New York to Chicago. The two screenings, both presented in 35mm, span from the golden age of the popular song film starring teen idols and TV stars from 50s and 60s (Umetsugu Inoue s 1957 The Stormy Man ) to more contemporary genre mashups (Tetsuya Nakashima s 2006 Memories of Matsuko ). Free. Presented by Doc Films and the Center for East Asian Studies.
WHERE : WHEN : Max Palevsky Cinema in Ida Noyes Hall Every evening see complete schedule below for 1212 East 59 th Street specific times. Chicago, IL 60637 Street parking is available. MEDIA CONTACT : Jola Idowu 773.971.4655 publicity@docfilms.org Doc Films Online: docfilms.org (facebook)(twitter)/docfilmschicago Doc Films Office: 773.702.8574