At 7 PM on a Wednesday night, students and community members gather in the Liberal Arts building to watch Z, a French-language film made in 1967. Over the next two hours, the audience travels around the globe to the heart of a political uprising in Greece. Not a word of English is spoken, but the audience follows along thanks to subtitles.
This film and many others are screened at Northern Arizona University as part of the NAU International Film Series. This series, supervised by faculty member Dr. Astrid Klocke, shows foreign films in the Liberal Arts building three times a month. It is sponsored by the College of Arts and Letters, so these films are presented free of charge to students and members of the community. A faculty member from NAU presents each film in the series, giving the audience background information on the film's content and production.
Originally, the International Film Series began when the Modern Language Department at NAU wanted to show films for language students, giving them the opportunity to hear the language spoken and get a glimpse of the culture. Over time, it has grown to include films from around the world, regardless of whether or not the language of origin is taught at NAU.
Films are suggested by faculty members as well as students. Students in the CINE 101 (Introduction to Cinema and Visual Culture) class at NAU help to decide on a theme and select the films that are shown every semester.
This semester’s theme, “The personal is political”, was stumbled upon by chance. “Several films suggested … happened to focus on political aspects of the main character’s personal life,” says Dr. Klocke. “Then other films were added to … complete the series with this theme.” Thus, every film shown this semester has a distinct political storyline.
The films in the series this semester vary in origin and date of production. The oldest film was made in 1959, the newest in 2010, and the films come from locations as diverse as Germany, Argentina, Iran, and many more. This allows students and members of the community to experience a variety of different films, each offering a unique perspective.
Students attend the series for a variety of reasons. Some want to obtain extra credit for attending films in the language that they study, and others simply love foreign film. No matter what the reason, Dr. Klocke feels that it is important that students have the opportunity to watch films from around the world and see a different perspective. “These films are different from the mainstream, commercial fare usually shown in theaters in Flagstaff.” she explains, “The series provides an opportunity for students to broaden their mind and experience other types of films than standard Hollywood productions.”
The next film in the series is Agony - The Life and Death of Rasputin, a Russian-language film from the USSR. It will be screened at 7 PM on October 19th in Liberal Arts 120. Additional information about the film series can be found at their webpage.
