Manahttanville Film Fete Explores Theme of “Monsters and Monstrosities”

Purchase, NY, March 20, 2017 -- A series of foreign monster films will disquiet the evening tranquility of Manhattanville College’s leafy campus this March and April during the school’s annual International Film Festival. The screenings are free and open to the public and start at 7 PM in the Berman Student Center Theatre. Each film is followed by a group discussion with a Manhattanville faculty member as guide.

“Through foreign films, we can travel into worlds other than our own. This year’s festival theme ‘Monsters and Monstrosities” was selected in order to align with this year’s Freshman common read- Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein,” said Nimish Adhia, Assistant Professor, Economics. “The theme concerns not only monsters in the literal sense, but also in the figurative sense. We will explore in these films the use of monsters as an allegory for themes related poverty, race, class, gender, etc.”

Film Schedule:

Monday, March 27th: Pan’s Labyrinth, a 2007 Mexican film in falangist Spain in 1946 in which the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

Wednesday, March 29th: The Host, a 2006 South Korean film, in which a monster emerges from Seoul’s Han River and focuses its attention on attacking people. One victim’s loving family does its best to rescue her from its clutches.

Tuesday, April 4th: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, a 2014 US-Iran film that takes place in an Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness. A vampire stalks the town and its people.

Thursday, April 6th: The Babadook, a 2014 Australian film about a single mother, plagued by the violent death of her husband, who battles with her son’s fear of a monster lurking in the house, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her.

Tuesday, April 11th: Let the Right One In, a 2008 Swedish film about Oskar, a bullied 12-year-old, who falls in love with Eli, a peculiar girl who needs to drink other people’s blood to live.

Monday, April 15th and Thursday April 20th: Manhattanville Student Films in which the young filmmakers showcase their work. These films will be shown in Pius X Theatre.

Please email nimish.adhia@mville.edu for additional information about the films and faculty discussants.

About Manhattanville College:

Manhattanville College (www.manhattanville.edu) is an independent, co-educational liberal arts institution dedicated to academic excellence and social and civic action. Manhattanville prepares students to be ethical and socially responsible leaders in a global community. Located just 30 minutes from New York City, Manhattanville serves 1,800 undergraduate students and 1,100 graduate students from more than 45 countries and 40 states. Founded in 1841, the College offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate areas of study in the arts and sciences, education business, creative writing, as well as continuing and executive education programs.