CINEMATECA

José Luis’ Pick’n’Tip

The Pick:

Refusing To Be Enemies The Zeitouna Story (2007)

Wed, Dec 5 at 5pm & 7pm. Director: Laurie White. Social documentary, English, 58 minutes. 

First screening worldwide besides Ann Harbor premiere, limited seating.

On March 18, 2007, this documentary by Ann Arbor filmmaker Laurie White premiered in front of an unprecedented, full house at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. It drew the most diverse audience—out-of-towners and folks from all over, local high school students, the university community, members of faith-based groups, peaceniks, community leaders, experts on the Middle East, lots and lots of curious and scholars. There were three standing ovations—for the film, for writer/director/producer Laurie White, and the Zeitouna women standing on stage. Those same women greeted and talked with everyone in the lobby, receiving “hundreds of hugs, questions and stories from strangers.” I would love to have them here, but for now, it is not possible. I highly recommend this extraordinary film, a documentary of hope that gives a bright light to the overcast horizon on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a big lesson of love and brotherhood for the rest of the world.

This movie profiles the 12 women of an Ann Arbor dialogue group called Zeitouna (olive tree, in Arabic) and documents their developing relationship over a four-year period. Six of the Zeitouna women are of Arab descent and six are of Jewish descent. Some are native born and some are immigrants. What they all have in common is their humanity and their desire to bridge the gulf that has developed between their two communities. They chose the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as the focus of the group and use the dialogue process as a means of personal transformation leading to socio-political transformation. In 2004, Laurie White envisioned a film showing Zeitouna’s learning as a model for others. Refusing to Be Enemies is targeted for national and international distribution as an inspiring educational tool.


Viewer comments from premiere:
“As a Jewish Palestinian rights activist and strong supporter of the right to return, I have reservations about dialogue-based projects. I’m sure you’re familiar with the various arguments. In the case of this movie, I no longer have any of these reservations. Thank you for creating a powerful tool in the pursuit of justice and peace in Israel/Palestine, and a message of hope for the honor and souls of my own people.”

“I cannot express how much hope you have given me. I want to go out and spread love, to myself, to others, and to the world. This movie made me feel that peace should be everywhere.”



The Tip: 

Important: To provide the best viewing experience, show times for some movies may be adjusted to accommodate their length. Check the schedule carefully. Ticket price is 50 pesos and discount cards buy 12 shows for 450 pesos. Starting Monday, after 11am, buy your tickets in advance for any movie or show of the week. If you have a discount card, collect your pass to secure a seat; don’t take the risk of being locked out. Like to receive this info by email? Write to José Luis at alephamour@hotmail.  Thank you.



Hommage a Noir (1998)
Monday, December3, 3pm, Tuesday, December 4 at 7:30pm
Art, social documentary, images and music, 45 minutes.
Director Ralf Schmerberg’s black-and-white documentary encapsulates the spirit of Africa’s people through a striking array of images. Rather than focusing on conventional visuals of Africa’s culture, Schmerberg turns his attention to shadows, empty places and skin tones. Presenting an open-air market, street settings, desert life and other scenes, he offers an arresting portrait of Africa as seen through the eyes of its inhabitants.



The Green Butchers (2004)
Monday, December 3 at 5pm, Thursday, December 6 at 3pm
Dark humor from Scandinavia, Danish w/ English subtitles, 95 min.
Director: Anders Thomas Jensen. Cast: Line Kruse, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Mads Mikkelsen, Bodil Jorgensen, Lily Weiding.
Two rubes (Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Mads Mikkelsen) employed by a porcine, autocratic butcher get fed up with their boss’s belittling and establish their own charcuterie in director Anders Thomas Jensen’s low-key comedy. When a mishap in the freezer room gives rise to a savory culinary concoction dubbed “chickie wickies,” the duo become the toast of the town. But as demand for their new dish rises, the population mysteriously shrinks. …



Special 2008 San Miguel Walk movie
Juarez: The City Where Women are Disposable
Thu, Dec 6 at 5pm 
Directors: Alex Flores and Lorena Vassolo
Social documentary, English, full-length film.
Someone is killing women by the hundreds in Ciudad Juarez, but the crimes are shrouded in mystery and silence. Juarez: The City Where Women are Disposable is an independent documentary directed by two outraged and inspired Latina women, Alex Flores and Lorena Vassolo, that sheds light on the answers to some of these questions. Why are women being killed in Ciudad Juarez and who is killing them? Why isn’t the Mexican government doing anything? Why isn’t there more international attention and action to remedy blatant human rights violations? When and how will justice prevail? 



Planet Earth Series
“Ocean Deep” and “Saving Species”
Tuesday, December 4 at 5pm, approximately 60 minutes each.
“Ocean Deep,” the final installment, concentrates on the most unexplored area of the planet. It begins with a whale shark used as a shield by a shoal of bait fish to protect themselves from yellow fin tuna. An oceanic white tip shark is shown trailing rainbow runners. A 500-strong school of dolphins head for the Azores, where they work together to feast on scad mackerel. Down in the ocean’s farthest reaches, some creatures defy classification. On the sea floor, scavengers such as the spider crab bide their time, awaiting carrion from above. The volcanic mountain chain at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean also sustains life through the bacteria that surround its sulphide vents. There are 30,000 undersea volcanoes, some of them taller than Mount Everest. Their sheer cliffs provide anchorage for several corals and sponges. Nearer the surface, the currents that surround these seamounts force nutrients up from below and thus marine life around them is abundant. Off the Mexican coast, a large group of sailfish encircle another shoal of bait fish. The hunters change color to signal their intentions, since an attack also could be fatal to them.

“Saving Species” depicts the largest animal on Earth: the blue whale, of which 300,000 once roamed the world’s oceans. “Our planet is still full of wonders. As we explore them, so we gain not only understanding, but power. It’s not just the future of the whale that today lies in our hands: it’s the survival of the natural world in all parts of the living planet. We can now destroy or we can cherish. The choice is ours.”



Steam: The Turkish Bath (1997)
Friday, December 7 at 3pm & 5pm 
Turkish drama with English subtitles, 100 minutes
Director: Ferzan Ozpetek. Cast: Alessandro Gassman, Francesca D’ Aloja, Halil Ergun, Carlo Cecchi
Exquisitely constructed with sensual imagery and tantalizing rhythms, Steam proffers a view into the ethereal Mecca that is Istanbul, interweaving the stories of two people who found it necessary to escape and reinvent their lives.



Musical Saturdays:

Betrothal in the Monastery
Sat, Dec 8 at 2:30pm, 157 min.
Betrothal in a Monastery was Sergei Prokofiev’s sixth opera with an opus number. The libretto, in Russian, was by the composer and Mira Mendelson, after Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s ballad opera libretto for Thomas Linley the younger’s The Duenna. Prokofiev began the work in 1940, and it was in rehearsal that year, but World War II halted production of the opera. The first performance was November 3,1946, at the Kirov Theater with Boris Khaikin conducting. Commentators have noted that this opera lacks any particular political or social comment, except for the scene with the drunken monks, given the context of its creation in the 1940s in the Soviet Union. In recent years, the opera has been performed in 1989 at the Wexford Festival and in 2006 at Glyndebourne.