EYE-OPENING FILMS FOR OPEN MINDS
By Heather Billings
The Collegian
California State University, Fresno
ye-opening-films-for-open-minds/
Sept 10 2008
CA
CineCulture class explores cultural and controversial issues
German-Turkish relations may not be most students’ idea of
entertainment, but professor Mary Husain hopes to open eyes this
Friday with "The Edge of Heaven."
Set in a Turkish neighborhood of Germany, "The Edge of Heaven" is the
next movie Husain has scheduled for her CineCulture class. Like all
other CineCulture showings, "The Edge of Heaven" is open to the public.
"I’ve always been a foreign film fan. I thought this film that looks
at Turkish-German relations would be relevant today," Husain said.
She added that the cross-cultural themes presented in the movie are
important for students to understand.
"The Edge of Heaven" follows a Turkish family’s interwoven paths. It
flirts with lesbian issues as Ayten, a Turkish girl, searches for
her mother and Nejat, a Turkish boy, who is also looking for her,
Ayten. It won best screenplay at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Such movies are par for the course for CineCulture students.
Movies relevant to campus, community CineCulture, which went from a
club to a mass communication and journalism class, features different
a different cultural movie every week.
"The idea is to have a space to explore controversial issues,"
Husain said.
Husain, who teaches in the mass communication and journalism department
and the communication department, brings in guests to discuss the
movies with the audience.
"One of the hallmarks is post-screening discussion," she said of the
CineCulture class. "[This semester] we have two students who have
actually picked the films and will be the discussants."
Later this fall, Walter Ramirez Delgado will lead a discussion on
the film "Romero," about an El Salvadorian priest who championed
human rights and was murdered. Roxanne Villaluz will speak about
"Filipino Americans," a film on a subject Husain said Villaluz has
wanted to showcase for some time.
The club’s schedule also seeks to honor diverse community interests.
Armenian Studies professor, Barlow DerMurgrdechian, will discuss
"The People’s Advocate" for Armenian Heritage Month in October. The
Women’s Resource Center sponsored "Iron-Jawed Angels" in August.
Husain said CineCulture is a good experience "because it’s campus,
club and community."
"I promoted it as a class you can bring a date to," she said. "Now
I have a waiting list for a class that meets on a Friday night."
CineCulture events
"The Edge of Heaven" is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 12, at 5:30 p.m. at
the Tower Theater, located on 815 E. Olive Ave. in Fresno. Languages
include German, Turkish and English with English subtitles.
â~@¢ Student and senior tickets are $8. General admission tickets are
$10. The public is welcome to attend this or any other CineCulture
event.
â~@¢ CineCulture students receive free tickets from Fresno Filmworks
and from this year’s LunaFest.
â~@¢ For more information or to view a schedule of upcoming events,
please visit CineCulture’s Web site.
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