Center for Social Media: Events

Best of INPUT 2004, Washington D.C.
November 9-13, 2004
A cooperative program by Center for Social Media, Goethe-Institut Washington, US Independents, WETA TV 26, WHUT-TV/Howard University, Women in Film & Video, Silverdocs: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival and Brazilian-American Cultural Institute, in cooperation with INPUT, the International Public Television Screening Conference. Go to Programming Committee>>

Each year, public broadcasters from around the world convene to view and discuss work that has aired or been rejected from public broadcasting. This Best of INPUT program highlights exceptional examples of international filmmaking from the 2004 conference. Although most screenings are free, some programs require RSVP. Please read instructions for each venue you wish to attend.

For the first time in 6 years, INPUT 2005 will be held in the U.S. in San Francisco, sponsored by Independent Television Service. The Center for Social Media is cosponsoring the event.

Saturday, November 6, 8:00 pm
WHUT-TV, Howard University
Broadcast event, check local listings.

Flag Wars (US, 86 min.)
By Linda Goode Bryant and Laura Poitras
Shot over four years, "Flag Wars" is a poignant account of economic competition between two historically oppressed groups, seen through the politics and pain of gentrification. The setting could be any city with a once stable working and middle class black community, now aging and economically depressed, in danger of losing control of their neighborhoods as wealthier home buyers gentrify block by block. In this case, the neighborhood is in Columbus, Ohio and the home buyers are largely white and gay. The resulting conflicts are a case study of differences in perception.

Program I: Tuesday, November 9, 6:30 p.m.
WHUT-TV, Howard University
Special in-studio event (non-broadcast); by invitation only.

Al'lèèssi... An African Actress (Al'lèèssi... une actrice africaine)
By Rahmatou Keita (Niger, 68 min.)
Zalika Souley is in her fifties. She lives in suburban Niamey, the capital city of Niger. In a one-room apartment, she looks after four children. In her home, there is no electricity and no water. Thirty years ago, she was a movie star. But, today, who remembers her? She acted in many films and worked with the major film directors from Niger like Oumarou Ganda or Mustapha Alassane... and also with film directors from other countries such as Adamu Haliilu (Nigeria) or Yeo Kozolowa (Ivory Coast). She is the first truly professional female actor in Africa. In the course of her daily chores, Zalika tells us about her glories and her relationships with directors and actors. At the same time, she also tells us the current condition of African cinema.

Program II: Wednesday, November 10, 6:30 p.m.
WETA TV 26
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED FOR THIS EVENT

The World of a Barber Shop (O Mondo Cabe numa Cadeira de Barbeiro)
By José Roberto Torero (Brazil, 55 min.)
The World of a Barber Shop tells the story of six hair strands, which belong to six different heads of six different people. They’ve all come from different countries and distinct backgrounds. Their hair types may be very diverse, for example wavy like the Portuguese cab driver Guimbra, straight and black like the Bolivian dressmaker Lucy, thin like the Japanese masseuse Yamaguche, scarce like Spanish barber Fombelida, or even full like the Syrian housewife Fatimah, or unruly like the Italian shoe man Consolato. However, underneath it all, it’s not that big of a difference. This documentary tells, through six distinct hair strands, the stories of foreign immigrants that made their move to São Paulo during the 20th century.
Photo Credit: Synapse-Brazil, Rio de Janeiro

Program III: Thursday, November 11, 6:30 pm
Center for Social Media
Wechsler Theater, Mary Graydon Center
For directions, visit American University

Checkpoint (Machsomin)
By Yoav Shamir (Israel, 80 min.)
Over three million Palestinians live under Israeli occupation. When traveling from one village or city to another to go to work, to visit relatives, or to get medical treatment, they must pass through Israeli checkpoints. These checkpoints, essentially the first points of contact between the two peoples, have an enormous significance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Shamir films interactions at these checkpoints for a revealing look at the everyday reality of the soldiers who man the stations and the people who must pass through them.

Checkpoint aired on cable television in Israel on Channel 8, was later shown on the main commercial Israeli channel in October 2004, and was a finalist for Best Documentary in the Israeli Academy Awards. Checkpoint has been adopted by the Israeli military for training purposes.

Program IV: Friday, November 12, 6:30 p.m.
Goethe-Institut Washington

Please RSVP for this screening to 202-289-1200 x170 or info@washington.goethe.org
For directions, visit Goethe-Institut Washington

Special guest: Madeleine Avramoussis, Commissioning Editor, ARTE/European Cultural Channel

Views on War (Regards sur guerre)
By JF Bastin, J. Packer, M. Es Saïdi (Belgium, 36 min.)
Since the launch of the war against Iraq,a team from Belgian television (RTBF) has studied news coverage world-wide to bring us up to date on that other war, the television one. And a passionate war it is,what with the rise of Arab networks,the fierce competition between CNN and Fox, and the myriad other stations vying for a throw of the dice.This programme stands back from the news to examine the image of war on our tv screens. Taking highpoints from war coverage to look how the stations handled the war and waged it between themselves. Photo Credit: Cine-Resitances

Citizen Berlusconi by Susan Gray (Italy/USA, 56 min.)
This was a hot summer in Italy, a big summer for Silvio Berlusconi - Italy's prime minister - and a summer Italians should never forget. A summer where the Prime Minister's soccer team won the European championship, where he took over the rotating presidency of the European Union, and a summer where Berlusconi used the power of Prime Minister to remedy his personal and business problems. It was a summer to show the rest of the world the dangers of mixing media ownership with politics. ....´Citizen Kane´ is, you know, a mouse compared to an elephant. ´Citizen Kane´ was a businessman and ran a very important newspaper. Berlusconi owns half of Italian television, controls the other half and all the advertisement. He conditions most of the press. Citizen Kane is, as we say in Italian ´una pulce!´ nothing... (Giovanni Sartori). Director Susan Gray will be present for Q&A following the screening. Photo Credit: Journeyman Pictures

Program V: Saturday, November 13, Screening: 4:00 p.m. (Note time change!)
Reception to follow screening and discussion until 7:00 p.m.
SILVERDOCS at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
For directions, visit AFI Silver
Admission is free. To guarantee admission, please RSVP to 301-495-6705.

As Life Goes By (La vie comme elle va)
By Jean-Henri Meunier (France, 93 min.)
Najac is a French village perched on a Rouergue mountaintop, between Auvergne and Occitanie, on the borders of three regions and three climates. A small group of neighbors or friends embodies Najac: the centenarian who breaks out in song whenever she is asked, the mad, slightly fatalistic mechanic repatriated from Indochina, the mayor alla Peppone*, the farmer’s son reconverted to organic farming, the woman who, disappointed in love, gladly consoles herself with a wee drink or two… Poetic, lyrical, surrealist, comical or pathetic, these thirteen characters make up a group portrait of a provincial village where nature is always close at hand and the seasons distinct. Woven from bits of everyday life and filmed unswervingly, As Life Goes By is a human epic in which time passes in slow motion, seen close up. This microcosm of mankind, observed through a magnifying glass, reveals all the richness of society. * one of the main characters in the five Don Camillo films made between 1951 and 1965.