UW - Parkside Foreign Film Series

UW-Parkside recently released its schedule for its Foreign Film series. Here is the full release:

UW-PARKSIDE FOREIGN FILM SERIES CELEBRATES 30 YEARS WITH 17 FILMS

KENOSHA, Wis.—The University of Wisconsin-Parkside Foreign Film Series returns for its 30^th season with 14 exceptional first-run movies and three classics of international cinema. With a line-up that includes Academy Award-winner “In a Better World,” the international sensation “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” and the poignant Italian film “The Bicycle Thief” among other celebrated movies, the Foreign Film Series offers great entertainment and an extraordinary value.

When we created the series in 1982, we did not imagine it would be as successful as it has become,” said UW-Parkside Economics Professor and series director Norm Cloutier. “The 14 contemporary films we selected have been recognized by critics as some of the best cinema the world has to offer, and in celebration of our 30^th anniversary we are offering three bonus films from master directors who helped define international cinema for American audiences.”

The 2011-2012 Foreign Film series starts Sept. 15-18 with the French film “Of Gods and Men.” In Algeria in 1996, a small group of monks must decide whether to exercise their faith or flee in the face of fundamentalist violence. Other European films are the animated feature “The Illusionist” (France, Nov. 3-6), “Soul Kitchen” (Germany, Dec. 8-11), “I Am Love” (Italy, Jan. 26-29), “Welcome to the Sticks” (France Feb. 9-12), “Mid-August Lunch” (Italy, Mar. 22-25), and “Kings of Pastry” (France, Apr. 12-15).

English and Canadian productions shown during the Foreign Film Series include the uplifting drama “Made in Dagenham” (UK, Sept. 29-Oct. 2), “Another Year” (UK, Nov. 17-20), and “Incendies” (Canada, in French and Arabic, Mar. 8-11, this film is tentatively scheduled). Scandinavian films include “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sweden, Mar. 1-4) and “In a Better World” (Denmark, May 3-6, this film is tentatively scheduled). And a pair of Korean films—“Poetry” (Oct. 13-16) and “Mother” (Apr. 19-22)—are important parts of the series.

The classic foreign films begin Oct. 27-30 with Ingmar Bergman’s “Wild Strawberries.” One of Bergman’s most accessible films, this is the story of one man’s assessment of his life as he comes to grips with his own mortality. Dec. 15-18, the series presents Akira Kurosawa’s life assessment film “Ikiru.” Like the Japanese word that serves as its title, “Ikiru” examines what it means “to live.” “The Bicycle Thief” is the series’ third classic film, showing Feb. 23-26. In post-war Italy, a man and his son stage an increasingly desperate search for the source of his livelihood: his stolen bicycle.

Season tickets covering all 17 films are $25 (student tickets are $23). Each film is shown Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 5 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 and 5 p.m. Purchase tickets online at www.uwp.edu keyword: foreign films, call 262-595-2307, or in person at the Student Center Concierge Desk.

All films are subtitled and are shown in the UW-Parkside Student Center located at 900 Wood Rd. in Kenosha. Parking is free. For more information, call Professor Cloutier at 262-595-2572. 

More than a dozen of the world’s best contemporary films plus three classics of international cinema are yours and all for an amazingly low price during the 30^th year of the Foreign Film Series.