By Daniel Berman
2006-03-02

7th Annual Gala Evening


The Coolidge Corner Theater


Monday, February 27, 2006


 


                                     Tonight's Filmic Selection


 


The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang-Bang Club


 


2005 Student Academy Award Winner


Director: Dan Krauss


Running Time: 27min.


Originally Titled: "The Life of Kevin Carter"


Official Film Website: http://www.kevincarter.com   


 


Film Synopsis: Photographer, Kevin Carter, along with four friends called themselves The Bang-Band Club. As Photojournalists, they captured the horrors of the world, including groundbreaking work about apartheid in their native South Africa. The same images that he captured with his camera were haunting him through his nightmares, reliving those disturbing moments. On an assignment to the Sudan he photographs a starving young girl about to die alone. In the background is a vulture stalking the innocent child waiting for his opportunity. When Carter receives the prominent Pulitzer Prize, and earning the New York Times it's first Pulitzer for photography in 1994. What started as a time of celebration ended in tragedy for the young photojournalist as the media asked the question: why didn't you save her? The pressure, and guilt was mounting and it ended with Carter committing suicide at a nearby park.


 


Dan Krauss is a San Francisco based filmmaker who worked as a professional photojournalist for nearly a decade, shooting assignments throughout the United States, Africa, and the Middle East. Krauss is a graduate UC Berkley's Graduate School of Journalism it's the only student Academy Award nominee to ever be nominated for a regular Oscar nod category. 


 


Final Cinematic Thought: ‘Tragic, and haunting. One of those short subject documentary films that deserves your attention' Daniel Berman, Newton Magazine


 


 


God Sleeps In Rwanda


 


Directors: Kimberlee Acquaro, & Stacy Sherman


Narrated By: Rosario Dawson 


Running Time: 30min.


Official Film Website: http://www.godsleepsinrwanda.com


 


Film Synopsis: The genocide that devastated Rwanda in 1994 also left in it a population that was suddenly 70% female. This presented Rwanda's women with an extraordinary burden and an unprecedented opportunity. In retrospective to the Academy Award nominee Hotel Rwanda this filmic triumph reminds you of another brilliant piece of filmmaking. God Sleeps In Rwanda traces the lives of courageous women as they struggle to rebuild their lives and bring hope to their community. 


 


Kimberlee Acquaro is a photojournalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Time, and Mother Jones and many international publications. She was awarded a Pew Fellowship in International Journalism for her work documenting Rwandan women's emerging rights.


 


Stacy Sherman is a screenwriter and filmmaker who previously worked on, waitress, a documentary short film.


 


Final Cinematic Thought: ‘God Sleeps In Rwanda' is a strong reminder of the chaos, bloodshed, and the struggle to overcome the devastation of war.'


Daniel Berman, Newton Magazine


 



 


The Mushroom Club


 


Director: Steven Okazaki


Running Time: 35min.


Official Film Website: http://www.farfilm.com 


 


Film Synopsis: Filmmaker Steven Okazaki revisits a theme he first explored 25 years ago - the destruction and horror left after the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The film's subjects include a 90 year-old survivor who collects the melted glass and metal that washes ashore in Hiroshima. Both a frightening look into what happened to the people of Hiroshima after the atomic blast. It's an expedition into personal reflection and paints a scary portrait of the city bombings. The survivors live on but are still suffering from that one dreaded day in history. The people who did survive the blast came away with severe burns, physical disfigurements, and even problems with everyday activities. It recalls the myths and monuments to its survivors and the political shockwaves Japan still to this day struggles through.


 


Steven Okazaki is an Academy Award-winning filmmaker for Days Of Waiting (1990). His diverse archive includes children's films, documentaries, and independent features. In 1999, he made the powerful HBO documentary Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street, a cinema-verite chronicle of the lives of five young heroin addicts. It was nominated for an Emmy and was one of HBO's highest rated televised documentaries.


 


Final Cinematic Thought: ‘Okazaki is one of the best filmmakers out there his stunning film The Mushroom Club is one to be remembered for years to come.'


Daniel Berman, Newton Magazine


 


 


On A Note Of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin


 


Directors: Corinne Marrinan & Eric Simonson


Running Time: 40min.


 


Film Synopsis: Norman Corwin can be best described as the Edward R. Murrow of radio. He made such an impact on American culture with his broadcast of "On A Note Of Triumph" on V-E Day, May 8th, 1945. This film is an examination of what many people consider the greatest radio presentation in the history of the medium, and how it remains eerily prescient in light of today's news and events. Corwin won an Oscar nomination for his script for Lust for Life, a biography of the renowned painter Van Gogh.


 


Movie Note: This year film director George Clooney came out with his astonishing docudrama on the legendary Edward R. Murrow called Good Night, and Good Luck which is up for multi-nominations in several award categories at the Oscars.


 


Final Cinematic Thought: ‘Corwin deserves to be up there with such greats as Murrow. It's an exploration into the world of broadcast radio. Where Murrow became a figure in TV news Corwin did for millions of radio listeners across the country.'


Daniel Berman, Newton Magazine   


 


Eric Simonson is a Tony-award winning member of the famed Chicago theater group, Steppenwolf. He was previously nominated for an Oscar for 2000's On Tiptoe, a profile of the music group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. 


 


Sources: Academy Award Nominated Short Subject Documentaries evening program guide.


 


[Author's Biography]


Daniel Berman has been part of the media since 1997 when he collaborated as co-editor of the entertainment publication The Voicemakers. He currently serves as film critic for publications including Newton and Brookline Magazines, and is a columnist for the Behind The Camera newsletter. Daniel is also host and executive producer of a television program called A Time To Review for Brookline Access Television. He also served as Film Critic for publications like Our Town Brookline.     


 


See the Academy Awards Sunday, March 5th, 2006 8pm.