Winner of the Academy Award for best documentary, the extraordinary French feature Murder on a Sunday Morning concerns a black teenager on trial for a murder he did not commit.

In May 2000, Mary Ann Stephens, a 65-year-old white tourist, was leaving a Ramada Inn in Jacksonville, Florida, with her husband when a black assailant stole her purse and shot her dead. The Jacksonville police picked up the first black youth they saw in the area, 15-year-old Brenton Butler, who was out walking his dog.

Everything was against Butler: the grieving husband immediately identified him as the killer, and by that evening Butler had signed a confession. Butler told his court-appointed defense attorneys, Ann Finnell and Patrick McGuinness, that he was innocent and that the confession had literally been beaten out of him by the police. Within a short time, the public defenders discovered their young client was telling the truth, and they proceeded to mount the most vigorous defense they could muster. 

The 111-minute movie is not only riveting but important. It illustrates how easily innocent people can be indicted for capital crimes; it is essential viewing for anyone interested in the fallibility of American justice.

Crime reporter Fredric Dannen will be on hand for a discussion of the issues of justice and injustice in the American judicial system. 

For further information, call the Center for Global Justice at 150-0025.
Film
Murder on a Sunday Morning
Presented by the Center for Global Justice 
Tuesday, May 30, 4pm
Teatro Santa Ana, Insurgentes 25
50 pesos



Cinemateca at the Biblioteca Pública May 26 thru Jun 3
(Insurgentes 25 or Reloj after 7pm)

José Luis's Pick and Tips:


This week's pick: 

My Life Without Me is a beautiful, intercultural movie about life and death. Isabel Coixet's commercial debut is very impressive. This Spanish production, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, takes place in North America and captures a very human experience. The film has wonderful photography and great acting by Sarah Polley and Leonor Watling (Talk to Her).


The tips:

In order to be able to provide the best viewing experience, the show times for some movies may be adjusted to accommodate their length. Be sure to check the schedule carefully. Also, please remember the new ticket price of 50 pesos. Discount cards are 400 pesos for 10 shows.


Australia/Canada
Black Robe
Friday, May 26, 7pm
Monday, May 29, 3pm
English with Spanish subtitles, 101 minutes.
Director: Bruce Beresford
Cast: Lothaire Bluteau, Aden Young, Tantoo Cardinal, August Schellenberg, Sandrine Holt.
In 1634, Jesuit missionary Father Laforgue (Lothair Bluteau) arrives in the Canadian wilderness to convert the Huron and Algonquin Indians to Catholicism. Although the Algonquin chief (August Schellenberg) offers guidance and friendship, Laforgue doesn't endear himself to the natives. On a journey up the St. Lawrence River, a devastating chain of events causes Laforgue to question his beliefs and forever changes the natives' way of life.


France
Cleo from 5 to 7
Monday, May 29, 7pm
French with English subtitles, 90 minutes.
Director: Agnès Varda
Cast: Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dorothee Blank, Michel Legrand, Dominique Daray.
A woman delves into the inner depths of her soul and resurfaces transformed in this 1962 film by French director Agnes Varda. Young singer Cleo (Corrine Marchand) strolls along the bustling Paris streets, pondering the meaning of life and her own existence as she awaits the results of her cancer biopsy. Cleo's observations offer a close look at Paris's rich street life, and desperation turns into hope when Cleo encounters a young soldier.


Global Justice Feature film
Murder on a Sunday Morning (Un Coupable Ideal, 2001)
Tuesday, May 30, 4pm
English, 111 minutes
Director: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade
Cast: Brenton Butler, Patrick McGuiness, Mary Ann Stephens.
This documentary won a 2001 Academy Award for its compelling account of a reopened murder case that involved a potentially incorrect suspect and shocking tales of police corruption. Brenton Butler, a 15-year-old African-American accused of murdering a woman in Florida, was condemned by everyone involved with the case. But Butler's lawyer eventually reopened the investigation and found some crucial evidence to support his client's innocence.


Mexico
Cinema for Young Mexicans
Real Women Have Curves (2002)
Wednesday, May 31, 5pm
Spanish with English subtitles, 86 minutes
Director: Patricia Cardoso
Cast: America Ferrera, Lupe Ontiveros, George Lopez, Sandie Torres, Ingrid Oliu, 
Set in East Los Angeles, this is the story of Ana, a Mexican-American teenager struggling to break free from the responsibilities and expectations of her mother, Carmen, and sister, Estela. Ana wants to attend college so she can better herself (she's received a scholarship to Columbia University), but she's needed in Estela's sewing sweatshop, where women labor to make dresses that are then sold for many times what the shop is paid to make them.


Ballet Special
Born to be Wild: The Leading Men of American Ballet Theatre (2004)
Wednesday, May 31, 6:30pm
English, 60 minutes
Director: Judy Kinberg
Fans of the American Ballet Theatre will delight in this documentary about the renowned company's four lead male dancers: Angel Corella, Vladimir Malakov, Hose Manuel Carreno and Ethan Steifel. Find out how each dancer got started in classical ballet, learn about their individual approach to the discipline, their backgrounds and their strengths onstage, and view clips of their best performances from the beginning to the apex of their careers.


Korea
Old Boy (Oldeuboi 2003) 
Thursday, June 1, 4pm
Friday, June 2, 6pm
Korean with English subtitles, 115 minutes
Director: Chan Wook Park
With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years-and no one to hold accountable for his suffering-a desperate businessman seeks revenge on his captors, relying on assistance from a friendly waitress. Korean director Chan-wook Park-a former philosophy student and Hitchcock devotee-uses his influences to create a mesmerizing psychological drama with a resolution that will leave you speechless.


My Life Without Me (2003)
Thursday, June 1, 6:30pm
Friday, June 2, 4pm
English, 106 minutes
Director: Isabel Coixet
Cast: Sarah Polley, Scott Speedman, Deborah Harry, Mark Ruffalo, Leonor Watling.
It takes an illness with a bleak prognosis to break open 23-year-old Anne's (Sarah Polley) longing for a better life. A mother of two stuck in a dead-end job, Anne has received nothing but grief from her troubled parents and her slacker husband (Scott Speedman). But when she finds out she's dying, she makes a list of things she wants to accomplish: get acrylic nails, sleep with another man and, best of all, realize her true potential.


Kids' Cartoons
Saturday, June 3, noon
Free