Film Series
Tales of Revenge and Horror (2006)
In the past decade few national cinemas have been as vibrant, active, and diverse as Korean cinema. South Korea has the most movie screens per capita. In fact, the original dream of the cineplex lives intact in Korea, where one can see a Korean film, an independent American production, and the latest Hong Kong action picture, all at the local cineplex. With such a varied and voracious appetite for movies it is no wonder that Korea has produced some of the most exciting cinema of the past decade.
Because it is nearly impossible to program an adequate survey of the great variety of Korean film, The Block, in cooperation with the CGCC, focused on a category of Korean cinema—recent tales of revenge and horror. Sometimes called shock cinema, these movies are not for the faint of heart. The series featured the first two movies in director Chan-wook Park’s trilogy on revenge, Oldboy and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Oldboy won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes in 2004. Save the Green Planet! may be the most bizarre film you will ever see, while The Tale of Two Sisters is textbook Korean horror.
New African Cinema (2005)
Over the last decade, African media from newspapers to motion pictures have increased exponentially. Gone are the days when African film was associated with a few grand directors. Now countries like South Africa and Nigeria are developing their own film industries. The Block cinema and the CGCC showcased five such recent films from African film festivals that celebrate this explosion of creativity and production. The selections ranged from documentaries exploring Africa’s influence on astronomy, Cosmic Africa, to dramas about truth and reconciliation in South Africa, Forgiveness.
This series featured internationally acclaimed films from numerous different countries within Africa, including Angola, South Africa, Senegal, and Nigeria. The screening of the Moroccan film Threads was also followed by a Q&A with the director, Hakim Balabbes.
New Taiwanese Cinema (2004)
In celebration of a gift of 16mm prints from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago to Northwestern, the Block Cinema and the Center for Global Culture and Communication collaborated to exhibit a film series titled "New Taiwanese Cinema.” In the 1980s, Taiwanese film underwent a rebirth, producing what some argue is the most interesting national cinema in the world today. Spurred by Taiwan’s massive economic revitalization and the social upheaval it caused, Taiwanese cinema is refreshingly modern. The modern sensibility of Taiwanese film is complimented by Taiwan's unique political situation. Taiwan is a marketplace for cultures, a textbook example of a lively global exchange. The carefully constructed mise-en-scene and the intricate plots of Taiwanese cinema subtly incorporate the ebb and flow of new cultures entering and exiting Taiwan—whether that is the bright neon of Taipei, American pop music, or the end of Japan’s 51-year rule of Taiwan.
Six Bollywood Classics (2003)
The CGCC collaborated with Northwestern’s Block Cinema and the Office of the Counsel General of India (Chicago) to produce a film series entitled "Six Bollywood Classics." Six canonical, commercial Indian movies were screened for a combined audience of about four hundred people. The series began with the film Guide, featuring the Bollywood actor Dev Anand. Anand himself attended the opening night reception. This was followed by screenings of Arth Satya, Umrao Jaan, Mughal-E-Azam, Rudaali, and Mother India.
