NOVEMBER AT
THE DORIS DUKE THEATRE    

LIVING YOGA: The Life and Teachings of Sri Swami Satchidananda
Director: Shiva Kumar
USA, 2008, 62 mins.
See the trailer.

Living Yoga looks at the modern yoga movement’s impact on the world. Learn how in 1966 Swami Satchidananda offered the Woodstock generation a blend of yoga, spiritual philosophy and interfaith ideals. The film highlights applications of Yoga in healthcare, conservation, education, and the arts through interviews with headliners such as Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Mehmet Oz, CNN’s Larry King, and artist Peter Max.

•Tuesday, November 4; Wednesday, November 5; Thursday, November 6; Saturday, November 8 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

 

AFI PROJECT: 20/20

The Doris Duke Theatre presents a touring film festival from the American Film Institute AFI PROJECT: 20/20. By sharing their work with audiences here and overseas, AFI PROJECT: 20/20 filmmakers seek to foster cross-cultural understanding, promote appreciation of shared values, diverse perspectives and underscore the importance of free expression.  In its third year, AFI PROJECT: 20/20 is an unprecedented collaboration between the American Film Institute, the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Drawing on the joint resources and expertise of these supporters, AFI PROJECT: 20/20 connects audiences here and abroad with American and international artists through movies. The directors of the AFI films will be here to introduce their films.  Check below for more details. Click here to learn more about AFI Project: 20/20.

•Friday, November 7 through Monday, November 17

THROW DOWN YOUR HEART
Director: Sascha Paladino
Mali/The Gambia/Uganda/Tanzania/Mali, 2008, 98 mins.
See the trailer.

Follow American banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck as he travels to Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Mali to explore the banjo’s little-known African roots and record an album. Bela transcends barriers of language and culture, using his banjo to find common ground and forge connections with musicians from very different backgrounds, while revealing the beauty and complexity of Africa.

•Friday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Friends of Film Friday.  Filmmaker Sascha Paladino will introduce Throw Down Your Heart at Friends of Film Friday on Friday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. and be available for a q&a following the screening.  Walk-in tickets are $15 for non-museum members, $12 for museum members and $8 for students.

Sascha Paladino’s documentary short, Obstinato: Making Music for Two (2004), about the musicians Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer, premiered at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, won the Best Documentary Short Award at the Woodstock Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Newport Film Festival, South by Southwest Film Festival in 2008 and the Vancouver Film Festival.  The film also  won Best Music Documentary at Silverdocs Film Festival. Sascha is also an Emmy-nominated writer and producer for children’s television programs including “Wonder Pets,” Blue’s Clue’s,” Todd World,” and many others.

SKIN
Director: Anthony Fabian
South Africa/United Kingdom, 2008, 105 mins.

Based on the true story of Sandra Laing (played by Sophie Okonedo). Abraham and Sannie Laing, played by Sam Neill (The Piano) and Alice Krige (Chariots of Fire ), are white Afrikaner shopkeepers in a remote area of apartheid South Africa. They’re unaware of African blood in their family tree until their daughter Sandra is born, with tightly curled hair and brown skin. She is “classified” as white and the Laings lovingly bring her up and send 10-year-old Sandra to the local boarding school, which her brother attended. Other parents, teachers, and children object, and the school principal has Sandra examined by government officials who reclassify her as ‘coloured.’ She is expelled. Abraham fights all the way to the Supreme Court to get her classified white again. Yet Sandra knows she will never belong in white South Africa. At 17, she falls in love with Petrus, a black vegetable seller, and her father threatens to disown her. Skin is a fascinating story about family, forgiveness and the triumph of the human spirit.

•Tuesday, November 11 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
•Wednesday, November 12 at 1:00 p.m.
•Saturday, November 15 and Monday, November 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Anthony Fabian will introduce his film on Tuesday, November 11 at 7:30 p.m. and be available for a q&a following the screening. Skin is director Anthony Fabian’s first feature documentary and stars Sophie Okonedo, who was nominated for an Oscar for Hotel Rawanda, and a Golden Globe for Tsunami, The Aftermath; Sam Neill of Jurassic Park and The Piano; and Alice Krige of Chariots of Fire.  Mr. Fabian has also produced and directed five short films and four documentaries, including Embracing the Tiger, which charts the history, philosophy, and practice of Tai Chi.

ALONE IN FOUR WALLS
Director: Alexandra Westmeier
Russia/Germany, 2007, 85 min

Adolescent boys struggle to grow up in a home for juvenile delinquents in rural Russia, where life behind bars may be better than freedom. In his elegantly crafted documentary, Westmeier reveals a society from the inside out, where boys under the age of 14 are held for crimes ranging from theft to rape to multiple murders. They receive food and clothing. They go to school and play sports. For the first time in their lives, they no longer have to fight for their daily existence; they can simply be what they are—children. Eschewing sentimentality, Alone in Four Walls is filmmaking of the highest order. Austere and powerful, Westmeier’s heart-wrenching film literally rises in song, becoming a poignant ode to a lost generation of Russian youth.

•Wednesday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, November 13 at 1:00 p.m.
Filmmaker Alexandra Westmeier will introduce her film Wednesday, November 12 at 7:30 p.m. and be available for a q&a following the screening.  

Director Alexandra Westmeier won several awards for Alone in Four Walls, including Winner 60th Locarno International Film Festival 2007, Best Cinematography in 2008 from the New Berlin Film Award Film Festival, and was an official selection in the 2008 Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Competition. 

IRON LADIES OF LIBERIA
Directors: Daniel Junge and Siatta Scott Johnson 
Liberia, 2007, 77 mins.
See the trailer.

After nearly two decades of brutal civil war, Liberia—and Africa—got its first elected female president in 2006. Since taking office, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has appointed an unprecedented number of women to leadership positions in all areas in the Liberian government. With the exclusive cooperation of President Sirleaf, the directors go behind the scenes of this groundbreaking administration, as it works to prevent a nation from returning to civil war. We also see how Sirleaf, despite massive support in Liberia and abroad, must find ways to reform a corrupt authoritarian government saddled by astronomical debts, while confronting opponents loyal to former President Charles Taylor—all without alienating her voter base. The film also follows other female leaders in her administration. How would the world be different if women were in the seat of power? As this film illustrates, they already are.

•Friday, November 14 at 1:00 p.m., Sunday, November 16 at 1:00 p.m.

Filmmakers Daniel Junge and Siatta Scott Johnson will introduce Iron Ladies of Liberia on Friday, November 14 at 1:00 p.m. and be available for a q&a following the screening. Director Daniel Junge's feature-length directorial debut Chiefs premiered and won Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival and later aired on PBS.  He has also directed Reading Your Rights (PBS), Big Blue Bear, We Are PHAMALy, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival.  Most recently, Junge completed They Killed Sister Dorothy, which premiered at the 2008 South by Southwest Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Award, Best Documentary and was Winner of the Audience Award at SxSW.  Iron Ladies of Liberia won Best Documentary at AFI Dallas International Film Festival in 2008, among many other awards, and was an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2007.   Siatta Scott Johnson, who is co-director of Iron Ladies of Liberia, has five years of experience as a reporter and producer at DCTV, one of Liberia’s few broadcast television stations. 

FARO, GODDESS OF THE WATERS
Director: Salif Traore
Mali, 2007, 96 mins.

Traditional and modern Africa clash in Salif Traore’s debut feature film. Zanga, who was driven out of his rural Mali village years ago for being an illegitimate child, returns home as an educated city man. His arrival coincides with an incident—which villagers believe means that Zanga’s return has angered the river spirit. Villagers must face their suspicious, misogynistic ways in a changing Africa.

•Saturday, November 15 at 1:00 p.m., Sunday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Salif Traore will introduce his film on Saturday, November 15 at 1:00 p.m. and be available for a q&a following the screening. Salif Traore, born in San, Mali, has made several short films and one film for television.  Faro, Goddess of the Waters is his first feature film. 

NETPAC FILM FESTIVAL

In 1990 Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, with the help of UNESCO Paris, held a conference on Asian cinema in New Delhi. One of the results was the creation of the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC). The organization aims to play a role in deepening international awareness of the men and women engaged in the art and business of Asian cinema. With its secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka, NETPAC has representatives in 27 countries, including the United States. Curator of this series is Jeannette Paulson Hereniko, founding president of NETPAC/USA and a board member of the international secretariat (she also founded the Hawaii International Film Festival). NETPAC programs Asian sections in international film festivals, organizes seminars and conferences on Asian cinema, programs a touring Asian film festival and presents a Best Asian Film award at some of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, including Pusan, Berlin, Rotterdam, Singapore, Brisbane, and HIFF. NETPAC also publishes books on Asian cinema and plays an instrumental role in the development of Honolulu- based iFilm Connections: Asia & Pacific, an Asian and Pacific Island film library complete with streaming films. For more information, email Jeannette Paulson Hereniko at jphmovies@aol.com. 

THOSE THREE (An Seh)
Director: Naghi Nemati
Iran, 2007, 80 mins.

Anyone who loves a beautiful shot can’t miss this winner of the Best Cinematography award at the 2007 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the Asian equivalent of the Oscars. (Kudos to cinematographer Hooman Behmanes). On a chilly winter day, three soldiers flee their military training course. Near the border, smugglers take the soldiers’ fur hats and overcoats. Lost and exhausted in foggy, freezing weather, the three encounter a pregnant woman abandoned by a human smuggler. The woman is forced to accompany the runaway soldiers as they try to survive against hunger, biting cold, and their own personal relationships.

•Wednesday, November 19 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
•Friday, November 7 at 1 p.m.       

KAAL
Director: Bappaditya Bandopadhyay
India, 2007, 118 mins.

Kaal is an introspective film about four women trapped in the world of human trafficking. Lured by an agent who promises them a better life in a distant city, betrayed in love and let down by family, they change their names and sneak into a metropolis. Lost in the city’s glitter and glamour, the women become call girls to survive. As their dreams change, they hunger for more money. The intrigue is heightened when a European girl, another trafficking victim, shares their apartment.

• Thursday, November 20 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

THE LITTLE MOTH (Xue Chan)
Director: Peng Tao
China, 99 mins., 2007

Peng Tao’s gritty, grainy first feature has won awards around the world for its powerful look at a child beggar in China. The two child actors, Zhao Huihui and Hong Quifa, deliver unforgettable, sometimes devastating, performances. Instead of hopeless victims, the children are pragmatic about their situation as they search to escape it. When this nearly perfect little film ends, we recognize that we have truly walked inside the two protagonists’ tiny shoes.

University of Hawai‘i Professor Ming Bao Yue, a member of NETPAC’s board of directors, will introduce the film at Friends of Film Friday on Friday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m.  Walk-in tickets are $15 for non-museum members and $12 for museum members.  

• Friday, November 21 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

THE PHOTOGRAPH
Director: Nan Achnas
Indonesia, 2006, 98 mins.

In this visually luxurious and sensitive film, aging photographer Johan (Lim Kay Tong) operates his portrait business in Semarang, the capital of Central Java. Scorned by town residents, Johan lives alone and is haunted by mysterious photographs placedon his meditation altar. Meanwhile, 25-year-old Sita (Shanty) has just been evicted from her rented room, and removes her photographs. The two meet and Sita convinces Johan to let her move into his attic. Photography becomes their way to salvation as their lives weave toward a meaningful existence.

• Saturday, November 22 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

GOOD CATS (Hao Mao)
Director: Ying Liang
China, 2008, 103 mins.

Heralded by Variety for being at the forefront of Chinese cinema’s digital- video renaissance, director/writer Ying Liang’s third feature is a darling of international film festivals—including this year’s HIFF, where Good Cats is in competition. Through black humor, Ying Liang illustrates how young men in urban centers dream of returning home with fame and fortune. Contemporary, booming China—specifically Zigong, an inland city in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province—is seen through a young man hustling to find a comfortable future. The film reveals a society with no rules, other than the injunction to get really rich, really fast.

TAKVA
Director: Ozer Kiziltan
Turkey, 2007, 96 mins.
See the trailer.

What happens to the humblest of the religiously devout when they are put in charge of their church’s wealth? Find out in this film, through a look at the secret life of Muharrem (acted brilliantly by Erkan Can). Director Ozer Kiziltan made his name in television, but his debut feature film demonstrates a confidence and powerful control of each big-screen frame. Particularly memorable are the film’s dream sequences and hypnotic worship scenes. Takva is set within a Muslim community, but it’s all too easy to imagine the moral conflicts unfolding within any religious institution.

Dr. Wimal Dissanayake, a member of NETPAC’s board of directors, will introduce the film on Tuesday, November 25 at 7:30 p.m.

•Tuesday, November 25 at 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
 

PAPER CANNOT WRAP UP THE EMBERS
Director: Rithy Panh
Cambodia/France, 2007, 90 mins.

Cambodia’s history of genocide is well known but what has not been explored are the intransigent social problems that have arisen in relatively modern times, albeit as a result of the national tragedy. Cambodian director Rithy Panh takes us away from sunny paths into the darker alleys of Khmer society, presenting a heartfelt piece on women who turn to prostitution to survive. This documentary received the Prix Arte at the European Film Academy Documentary 2007 awards.

•Wednesday, November 26 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

LAST QUEEN OF THE EARTH
(Akharin Malakeye Zamin)
Director: Mohammad Reza Arab
Iran, 2007, 89 mins.

It’s post 9/11 and Afghani laborer Ali Bakhsh is working in an Iranian henna-grinding factory, while his wife and family remain in Afghanistan. As a U.S.-led invasion becomes more likely, Ali attempts to return to Afghanistan to find his family before war and chaos make it all but impossible. This simple, powerful film has won several international awards but has been banned in Iran.

• Friday, November 28 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

AMERICA, THE BEAUTIFUL
Director: Darryl Roberts
USA, 2008, 105 mins.
See the trailer.

Darryl Roberts received a standing ovation at Friends of Film Friday for this documentary about Roberts' two-year journey to examine an American obsession: physical perfection. We learn secrets, confessions, and harsh realities as Roberts unearths the origin and deadly risks of our nation’s quest for beauty. In 2004, Americans spent $12.4 billion on cosmetic surgery. We see how unattainable standards contribute to the rise in body dysmorphia and eating disorders in young women and girls—the beauty industry’s target. What are the true costs of our obsession with youth, beauty, and a waif’s body—and who gets the payoff? At the heart of the film is Gerren Taylor, a 12-year-old on the supermodel track. Watch her struggle with adolescence while on the catwalks of Marc Jacobs, DKNY, and other top designers. Her tumultuous path is a mirror to the American psyche.

• Saturday, November 29; Sunday, November 30; Tuesday, December 2 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
• Monday, December 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Coming in December: Who Does She Think She Is?, In Search of a Midnight Kiss, Sliding Liberia

General information: The Doris Duke Theatre opens its doors on Kinau Street one half-hour before each showing.
Tickets for films may be purchased at the theater door on the day of screening, beginning one half-hour before each showing.
Admission: $7 adults; $6 seniors, students and military; $5 Academy members.
Parking: For weekday matinees, theater patrons may park in the lot behind the Academy Art Center at Linekona (entrance on makai side of Beretania) for $3 with theater validation. For evening screenings, you can park free at the Academy's lot at 1035 Kinau St., Diamond Head of Victoria Street. Handicapped parking is available in the small Luce Pavilion lot on Victoria Street. Patrons using handicapped stalls should proceed to the main entrance on Kinau Street.
For the hearing impaired: The Doris Duke Theatre is equipped with the Easy Listener Hearing Assistance System. You can pick up a receiver at the ticket counter.