William & Mary Global Film Festival pre-festival films

Williamsburg Regional Library is pleased to once again partner with the College of William and Mary on pre-festival showings as part of their Global Film Festival.  This year's theme is Film and the City.

Cities have long inspired and fostered avant-garde experimentation in filmmaking while also contributing to the most popular narrative film genres from musicals, melodramas, and romantic comedies to dystopic crime films, science fiction fantasies, and documentary exposés.  What we feel and think we know about cities around the globe has been shaped by a wide range of cinematic creations.  In 2012, the The William and Mary Global Film Festival invites you to  join us as we look to the urban films of the world while also making community movie culture right here in our own city.  Our four day gala event-- held February 16-19th at the Kimball Theatre--will once again be preceded by a free five film Wednesday night series at the Williamsburg Regional Library Theater, running Wed. January 18th - Wed. Feb. 18th.  All shows will start at 6:30pm and will be preceded by brief introductory presentations by W&M faculty.  Additional details about the festival and pre-festival screenings can be found at: filmfestival.wm.edu

January 18 - Tekkonkinkreet - two boys navigate a dangerous Japanese city in this R-rated animated film.

January 25 - Black Orpheus

• A re-telling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, set during the time of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. The iconic film responsible for generating a globalized feeling for Rio as a singularly energetic Brazilian urban place characterized by music, passion, and Afro-Latin religion and identity.
• Introduced by Prof. Bill Fisher, Anthropology & Latin American Studies

February 1 - Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Grosstadt/Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927 / Germany / Walter Ruttman / 65m / NR)

• Introduced by Prof. Rob Leventhal, Modern Languages & Literatures/German
  • PLUS: The Latest in “City” Musicals:
    • Grand Rapids Lip Dub (2011/ USA / Rob Bliss / 10m / NR)
    • Southeast Side Story: A Williamsburg Community Musical (2011 / USA / W&M GFF Fall Production Team /10m / NR) Introduced by Prof. Tim Barnard, W&M GFF Festival Director

February 8 - Brat 2/Brother 2 (2000 / Russia / Aleksey Balabanov / 122m / NR)

• Introduced by Profs. Prokhorov/a, Modern Languages & Literatures/Russian

February 15 - Suzhou River (2000 / China / Ye Lou / 83m / NR)

•  Introduced by Prof. Yanfang Chang, Modern Languages & Literatures/Chinese