January/February 2012 EVENTS @ UTAH FILM CENTER (SLC)

UTAH FILM CENTER

January/February 2012

Through the Lens

Thursday, January 5 – 7:00 pm

The Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts

Masterclass with Frederick Wiseman

The Utah Film Center and RadioWest are excited to present a Master Class with Frederick Wiseman, arguably one of today’s greatest filmmakers. He has created some of the most powerful and moving films of the past 40 years, including Titicut Follies, High School, Ballet, Boxing Gym and the soon to be released Crazy Horse. Using clips from his films, he will discuss the process, philosophy, and challenges of documentary filmmaking. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from a true master of the craft. 

Saturday, January 7 – 11:00 am

The City Library

WHITE LION

Director: Michael Swan

South Africa/Rated PG

When a rare white lion is born to a pride in an African valley, a Shangaan boy named Gisani believes it his is responsibility to protect the cub, which he names Letsatsi. Tribal beliefs dictate that the lion is a messenger of the gods. But Letsatsi breaks free of his pride and must learn to survive on his own. Meanwhile, Gisani learns that a trophy hunter wishes to track Letsatsi down and kill him.

Tuesday, January 10 – 7:00 pm

The City Library

THE REDEMPTION OF GENERAL BUTT NAKED

Directors: Eric Straus and Daniele Anastasion

Joshua Milton Blahyi – aka General Butt Naked – is a brutal African warlord who has renounced his violent past and reinvented himself as a Christian evangelist. Today, Blahyi travels the nation of Liberia as a preacher, seeking out those he once victimized in search of an uncertain
forgiveness. This film tracks his often troubling path up-close, finding both the genuine and disconcerting in Blahyi’s efforts, raising questions about the limits of faith and forgiveness in the absence of justice.

Winner, Excellence in Cinematography Award: Documentary – 2011 Sundance Film Festival; Nominee, Best Feature Award – 2011 International Documentary Association Awards

Friday, January 13 – 7:00 pm

Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (formerly the Salt Lake Art Center) – 20. S. West Temple

THE COLOR OF YOUR SOCKS: A Year with Pipilotti Rist

Director: Michael Hegglin

In Swiss German, German, and English with English and French subtitles.

This film follows the Swiss video artist Pipilotti Rist as she prepares for a major show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Since winning the Duemila Prize at the Biennale di Venezia in 1997, Rist has established herself as a major presence in video art. For the first time, she lets a documentary filmmaker into her world, providing insight into her creative process, the development of projects and the collaboration with her team.
 

Tuesday, January 31 – 7:00 pm

The City Library

PLASTIC PLANET

Director: Werner Boote

This feisty, informative documentary takes us on a journey around the globe - from the Moroccan Sahara to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, from a factory in China to the highest peaks of the Alps - to reveal the far-flung reaches of our plastic problem. Interviews with the world’s foremost experts in biology, pharmacology, and genetics shed light on the perils of plastic to our environment and expose the truth of how plastic affects our bodies and the health of future generations.

 Saturday, February 4 – 11 am

The City Library

WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE

Director: Catherine Gund

This witty and provocative documentary is about kids and food politics. Over the course of one year, the film follows two eleven-year-old African-American city kids as they explore their place in the food chain. Sadie and Safiyah talk to food activists, farmers, and storekeepers, as they address questions regarding the origin of the food they eat, how it’s cultivated, and how many miles it travels from farm to fork.

Tuesday, February 7 – 7 pm

The City Library

LOUDER THAN A BOMB

Directors: Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel,

Every year, more than six hundred teenagers from over sixty Chicago area schools gather for the world’s largest youth poetry slam, a competition known as “Louder Than a Bomb”. This film chronicles the stereotype-confounding stories of four teams as they prepare for and compete in the 2008 event.  By turns hopeful and heartbreaking, the film captures the turbulent lives of these unforgettable kids, exploring the ways writing shapes their world, and vice versa.

Creativity in Focus

 Friday, February 10 – 7 pm

Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (formerly the Salt Lake Art Center) – 20 S. West Temple

I AM SECRETLY AN IMPORTANT MAN

Director: Peter Sillen

This portrait of Steven J. Bernstein (aka Jesse Bernstein) illuminates the life, work and impact of one of Seattle’s most celebrated voices. Known for his angry, surprisingly fresh, lyrical writings about people alienated by a society that refuses to understand them, his unique rhythms, filled with humor and pain, were especially exciting when read in his own gravely voice. Unfortunately much of Jesse’s work has not yet found the audience it deserves outside the Pacific Northwest.

Science Movie Night

Tuesday, February 14 – 6:30 pm

The City Library

ANOTHER EARTH

Director: Mike Cahill

On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in our solar system, the lives of a bright young student and a brilliant composer are irrevocably intertwined in a tragic accident. Through these compelling characters, ANOTHER EARTH explores the issues of identity and redemption, raised by the possibility of encountering a parallel reality from an alternate universe. Join us for a discussion of theories predicting the existence of multiple universes with Ben Bromley, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Utah, following the screening

Winner, Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize – 2011 Sundance Film Festival; Winner, Special Jury Prize: Dramatic – 2011 Sundance Film Festival

Films Without Borders

Tuesday, February 21 – 7:00 pm

The City Library

GRANITO: How to Nail a Dictator

Directed by Pamela Yates

Part political thriller, part memoir, GRANTIO takes us through a riveting, haunting tale of genocide and justice that spans four decades, and chronicles the genocide of the Mayan people carried out by the Guatemalan government.

Environmental Film Series

Tuesday, February 28 – 7:00 pm

The City Library

IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT

Director: Marshal Curry

On December 7th, 2005, federal agents conducted a nationwide sweep of radical environmentalists involved with the Earth Liberation Front — an organization the FBI has called America’s “number one domestic terrorism threat.”  This is the remarkable story of the group's rise and fall, told through the transformation and radicalization of one of its members, Daniel McGowan.  

Shortlisted, Best Documentary – 2012 Academy AwardsÒ; Winner, Documentary Editing Award – 2011 Sundance Film Festival; Winner, Best Documentary – 2011 Nashville Film Festival; Winner, Environmental Visions Award – 2011 Dallas Film Festival; Winner, Founder’s Award for Best Documentary – 2011 Traverse City Film