The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College presents the 2013-2014 Community Cinema series of films in partnership with WCMU. All films will be shown at 7:00 pm in Milliken Auditorium free of charge, and include light refreshments and a panel discussion led by area leaders and scholars. More info can be found at: http://www.dennosmuseum.org/events/community-cinema.html
Community Cinema is a community outreach project of CMU Public Television and the Dennos Museum Center. These screening events are part of the ITVS (Independent Television Service) Community Cinema program. Free screenings of Independent Lens films will be held the first Thursday of most months October 2013 through May 2014. For more on the Independent Cinema series, including upcoming dates and films, visit WCMU.org/TV.html.
Films are screened with captions. Milliken Auditorium now features a hearing loop for those with hearing impairments. Additional arrangements for a sign language interpreter can be made by contacting Linda Dielman at dielm1lk@cmich.edu or 989-774-3562. Interested in being a panel member for a discussion? Contact Jason Dake, Curator of Education, at jdake@nmc.edu.
Thursday, October 3, 2013 – 7pm
The Graduates/Los Graduados (2013) – The Graduates/Los Graduados, a new documentary from filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz, explores the many roots of the Latino dropout crisis through the eyes of six inspiring young students from across the United States who are part of an on-going effort to increase graduation rates for a growing Latino population. Much more than a survey of contemporary policy debates, the student profiles in The Graduates offer a first-hand perspective on the challenges facing many Latino high school students, including over-crowded schools, crime-ridden neighborhoods, , teen pregnancy, and pressure to contribute to the family finances. The Graduates/Los Graduados is an eye-opening introduction to many of the determined and resilient young people who will shape America’s future.
Thursday, November 7, 2013 – 7pm
The State of Arizona (2013) – This vérité documentary captures the explosive emotions and complex realities behind Arizona’s headline-grabbing struggle with illegal immigration. Tracking the year after Arizona passes SB1070, its controversial “papers please” law, the film tells the stories of Arizonans on all sides of this divisive issue and depicts a state and its people testing the edges of our democratic values.
Thursday, December 5, 2013 – 7pm
TBD
Thursday, February 6, 2014 – 7pm
Las Marthas (2014) – Las Marthas is a documentary about an extraordinary rite of passage in Laredo, Texas where Mexican-American debutantes are presented at a grand Colonial ball dressed as American revolutionaries – a border tradition that’s 114 years old.
Thursday, March 6, 2014 – 7pm
The Trials of Muhammed Ali (2013) – The Trials of Muhammad Ali is a feature-length documentary film covering Ali’s toughest bout, his battle to overturn the five-year prison sentence he received for refusing U.S. military service. This is not a boxing film. It is a fight film tracing a formative period in Ali’s life, one that is remarkably unknown to young people today and tragically neglected by those who remember him as a boxer, but overlook how controversial he was when he first took center stage.
Thursday, April 3, 2014 – 7pm
Medora (2013) – Medora follows the down-but-not-out Medora Hornets varsity basketball team over the course of the 2011 season, capturing the players’ stories both on and off the court. The Hornets were riding a brutal losing streak when we arrived, and the team’s struggle to compete bears eerie resonances with the town’s fight for survival.
Thursday, May 1, 2014 – 7pm
The New Black (2013) – The New Black is a documentary that tells the story of how the African-American community is grappling with the gay rights issue in light of the recent gay marriage movement and the fight over civil rights. The film documents activists, families and clergy on both sides of the campaign to legalize gay marriage and examines homophobia in the black community’s institutional pillar—the black church and reveals the Christian right wing’s strategy of exploiting this phenomenon in order to pursue an anti-gay political agenda.
The Dennos Museum Center is open daily 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursdays until 8 PM, and Sundays 1-5 PM. Admission is $6.00 adults, $4.00 for children and free to museum members. For more information on the Museum and its programs, go to www.dennosmuseum.org or call 231-995-1055. The Dennos Museum Center is located at 1410 College Dr., Traverse City, MI 49686, at the entrance to the campus of Northwestern Michigan College.