Fall film series presents film on electronic vote fraud
By John Sievert
Global Justice Film Series
Invisible Ballots: A Temptation for Electronic Vote Fraud
Thursday, October 19, 3pm
Teatro Santa Ana, Insurgentes 25, 50 pesos
“Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything.”
—Josef Stalin
The Center for Global Justice takes on an important issue facing American democracy with Invisible Ballots: A Temptation for Electronic Vote Fraud, the third entry in the Fall Film Series.
Does the proverbial “black box” (read: touch-screen voting machine) jeopardize the sanctity of the voting process? Governments are installing computerized voting systems with no paper record to verify accuracy. Companies that will not allow voters to inspect their software will control elections. If vote counting becomes privatized, there may be no way to get it back. High-tech vote fraud is already a reality.
Invisible Ballots is an in-depth investigation of all-electronic computerized voting. Underneath the radar of public scrutiny, election officials and voting machine manufacturers are putting into service tens of thousands of touch-screen voting machines that cannot be relied upon for accuracy or security from tampering. Elections already using these machines are often plagued by “glitches” and “technical problems” that only technicians working for the manufacturers can solve. Voting is swiftly coming under the control of private corporations using secret software with little or no independent oversight. These companies and the people who run them are rife with corruption and insider alliances. Mysterious election upsets are increasing, and verified recounts are impossible. If we are to preserve representative government, the public must learn the secrets revealed in Invisible Ballots and take action quickly.
The film has a running time of 90 minutes, and a discussion will follow.
Cinemateca October 16 thru October 20
José Luis’s Pick and Tips:
The pick:
Something the Lord Made
What a beautiful movie! Everything about this picture leaps off the screen. From the subdued and graceful acting of Mos Def and Alan Rickman to the musical score and the direction. The film tells the story of the pioneering of cardiac surgery, which was accomplished by a white doctor and a black lab technician. It follows them as they try to cure blue baby syndrome, and the backdrop of racial and cultural issues are handled with a deft hand. There is a wonderful scene where Vivien (Mos Def) and Blalock (Rickman) go into the whites-only bathroom and have an in-depth yet casual discussion of medicine while another white guy stares at them. There is tension in that scene because you think something tragic is about to happen, but it doesn't. They leave the restroom and everything is fine—except the fact that racism looms over everything said and done in this film. And that feeling of being shadowed is so masterfully directed that it makes the film a real joy to watch.
The tips:
Please note that in order to provide the best viewing experience, the show times for some movies may be adjusted to accommodate their length. So double-check the times in your schedule. Also, please remember our new ticket price is 50 pesos.
Discount cards are 450 pesos for 12 shows.
On Monday after 4pm, buy your tickets for any selection of the week. Don’t take the risk of being locked out! Nos vemos en el Cine….
Art Special:
Lumière Brothers' First Films (1896)
Monday, October 16, noon
English, 61 minutes
Director: The Lumière Brothers
One of France's leading directors, Bertrand Tavernier, presents 85 of the Lumière brothers' 50-second silent "actualities," made between 1895 and 1897, and remastered from the original 35-mm source material. Presented for the first time in an authorized video presentation and scored with piano by Stuart Oderman, these films provide a rare journey through the birth of the motion picture as a bona fide art form.
Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine
(Booye Kafoor, Atre Yas, 2001)
Tuesday, October 17, 6pm
Friday, October 20, 5pm
Farsi with English subtitles, 93 minutes
Director: Bahman Farmanara
Cast: Roya Nonahali, Reza Kianian.
Bahman Farmanara directs this drama and plays the protagonist, Bahman Farjami, a graying director (think an Iranian Woody Allen) who continues to mourn his recently deceased wife. When he gets to the graveyard, it appears a mix-up has occurred: The plot Bahman has reserved for himself, adjacent to his wife's grave, has been mistakenly occupied. Distraught and confused, Bahman decides to stage and film his own funeral.
Something the Lord Made (2004)
Wednesday, October 18, 7:30pm
Friday, October 20, 3pm
English with Spanish subtitles, 117 minutes
Director: Joseph Sargent
Cast: Alan Rickman, Mos Def, Mary Stuart Masterson.
This HBO film follows two men who go against all odds to save babies suffering from a heart defect that causes them to suffocate. Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman), a white surgeon from Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Vivien Thomas (Mos Def), a black carpenter with big dreams, are a great team, but their dissimilar societal statuses cause problems. As they save lives using innovative methods, the reality of their social differences looms overhead.
Cinema for Mexican youth
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Wednesday, October 18, 5pm
English with Spanish subtitles, 126 minutes
Director: John Huston
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Barton MacLane, Alfonso Bedoya
John Huston won Academy Awards for writing and directing this powerful saga that pits gold against greed in the wilds of Mexico. Three poverty-stricken dreamers (Walter Huston, Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt) head to the mountains south of the border in search of gold. Their fortune and friendship grow at first, but soon paranoia and greed begin to take over, endangering all that they've gained. Walter Huston also won an Oscar for his role.
Kids' Cartoons
Saturday, October 21, noon
Free
Musical Saturdays
This series will resume in January.
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