Fleisher Art Memorial
719 Catharine St, Philadelphia
This program of seven shorts each deal with a major transition, literal or figurative, and each challenge conventional storytelling in their execution. Fleisher Art Memorial | 61 mins Filmmakers expected in attendance for post-film Q&A. Monster Me Director: Yeon Jin Lee | 13 mins | USA An ancient monster emerges from the “Old Faithful” geyser at Yellowstone, attacking an artist in residency there, and wreaking havoc in Jackson Hole. Metamorphosis Director: Sophia You | 3 mins | USA Strangers pass each other every day on the ferries leaving and entering San Francisco - some find romance, others remain unseen. Sea of Fog explores the distance between the dreams we’re sold about love and its daily reality. Naan & Balsamic Vinaigrette Director: Urvashi Pathania | 6 mins | USA A story about love, loss, and those ephemeral salad days. Unfair & Lovely Director: Anita Kalathara | 4 mins | USA Influenced by years of color shaming, a dark-skinned Indian American woman uses lightening creams and other methods to whiten her skin. #justB Kenson’s Story Director: Kenson Alik | 3 mins | USA A Marshall Islander named Kenson is diagnosed with Hepatitis B and moves to Hawaii in search of treatment. Now, Kenson and his wife educate the Pacific Islander community in Hawaii about the disease, challenging myths about it and doing all they can to promote testing and care. Water in the Cup Director: Ikuo Kato | 6 mins | Japan A human being is like water in a bottle. But if the bottle breaks, where does the water go? Heaven is My Country Director: Tristan Hsu | 27 mins | Japan A high school freshman named Jin moves into a new town, where gets reacquainted with his older cousins. They help him adjust, but as the year progresses, Jin encounters voices, specters, and other happenings. As he tries to find a sense of self amidst the unsettling histories of this Asian American community, something from his past is haunting him as well.
Rob Buscher (University of Pennsylvania) Beginning with Thomas Edison’s 1898 documentary news reel footage of the Wreck of the Battleship Maine and subsequent coverage of the Spanish-American War, film has played an important role in the way that Americans understand and consume conflict. As the technology used to produce motion pictures improved and Hollywood became increasingly intertwined with the military industrial complex, economic and cultural conditions of wartime America both necessitated and encouraged through capital gain the integration of anti-Japanese propaganda in major studio films spanning the war years 1942-1945. This program will provide a brief history of the Hollywood Studio system’s emergence as the hegemonic gatekeeper of American popular media, followed by a guided viewing of anti-Japanese WWII propaganda films. Content is derived from a variety of sources, but this lecture focuses primarily on entertainment based Hollywood films (fictional narratives), documentary news reels and soldier training films produced by the US Military sponsored War Pictures, and cartoons. Selected clips include: News Reels and US War Pictures: The News Parade: Bombing of Pearl Harbor (1941) Why We Fight: Prelude to War (1942) Know Your Enemy: Japan (1945) Popular Films: Little Tokyo, USA (1942) Across the Pacific (1942) Victory Through Air Power (1943) Air Force (1943) Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944) Purple Heart (1944) Cartoons: Ducktators (1942) Tokio Jokio (1943) You’re a Sap, Mr. Jap (1943)
Lightbox Film Center
3701 Chestnut St, Philadelphia
Writer, Director & Performer: Pratima Agrawal 80 mins | Live Performance What is it like to be an unconventional Indian woman trying to exist in a marginalizing world? Voided is a solo performance inspired by Pratima’s own experiences and the true story of Kalpana Chawla (the first Indian female astronaut in space and one of the crew members who died in the 2003 Columbia accident). It iss the exploration of culture, status quo, and representation that dares to color outside the lines. BIO: Pratima is a local performing artist, teaching artist, and administrator. While she considers herself to be from Austin, TX, she moved to Philadelphia four years ago by way of Bethlehem, PA for the city’s vibrant theatre and arts scene and is inspired by the progressive community voices within and outside of the arts. She finds purpose in working on projects that challenge her as an artist and push the boundaries of art and humanity. She also volunteers for the Philadelphia Ready for 100 clean energy campaign and is a Sixers fan. She would like to thank all her collaborators for their artistry and continued support.
