Taking Root tells the dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, whose simple act of planting trees grew into a nationwide movement to safeguard the environment, protect human rights and defend democracy.
Apr. 22 7:15 PM
FLICKS, 2009
Rice Student Films
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Description
Flicks, the end-of-the-year showcase for Rice Student-made films. Topics and approach vary from documentary, fiction films and conceptual pieces.
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FREE Admission.
"Flicks" is part of the opening ceremony for the 46th Annual Student Art Exhibition
Apr. 30 7:30 PM
La Onda Chicana/The chicano wave
John J. Valadez
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Description
La Onda Chicana / The Chicano Wave is an hour-long documentary about the history of Mexican American music, directed by award winning filmmaker John J. Valadez.
From the barrios of Texas and California, Mexican-Americans would forge new and inventive musical styles: Conjunto, Tejano, Chicano Rock and Norteño, and they would play a profound role in influencing American popular musical styles like Country, Rock and Jazz. They found themselves struggling against bigotry, discrimination and exclusion often downplaying their identity in an effort to reach a national audience. While at other times they simply flaunted it. Their music would help shape the political movements of the 1960s and 1970s. And through their own tenacity, virtuosity and talent they would earn a place on the national stage, forever changing American culture and American music.
May. 8 7:00 PM
Thomas Cambpell's surf film "The Present"
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Description
Campbell’s new Super 16mm film, The Present is a colorful and artistic exploration of the beautiful environment surfers play in everyday. Through his uniquely artistic style of filmmaking and intimate city-by-city screenings, Campbell hopes to help keep alive the nearly dead tradition of surfers gathering at a local theater to view a new independent surf film.
Additional Information
The Band featured in the film will play before the show. Tickets are $10
May. 17 3:00 PM
Raga Unveiled
Gita Desai
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Raga Unveiled is a film that brings alive the history and essence of North Indian classical Music. For the first time on film, eloquent commentaries by musicians, Vedic scholars, and musicologists combine with spectacular cinematography, great music, and rare archival footage resulting in a grand synthesis to honor this tradition in its entirety. Produced by Gita Desai – maker of Yoga Unveiled. Tickets are $10. To view trailer, go to http://livingplanetfoundation.org/trailer.htm
Additional Information
Sponsored by the Rice Indian Students and Living Planet Foundation.
May. 19 7:00 PM
Crips & Bloods: Made in America
Houston PBS Community Cinema
Stacy Peralta
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Description
Combining unprecedented access into the worlds of active gangs, CRIPS AND BLOODS: MADE IN AMERICA offers a compelling, character-driven documentary narrative which chronicles the decades-long cycle of destruction and despair that defines modern gang culture.
The shocking war-zone reality of the South LA Gangs, the Crips and the Bloods..
From the genesis of LA’s gang culture to the shocking, war-zone reality of daily life in the South L.A., the film chronicles the rise of the Crips and Bloods, tracing the origins of their bloody four-decades long feud. Contemporary and former gang members offer their street-level testimony that provides the film with a stark portrait of modern-day gang life: the turf wars and territorialism, the inter-gang hierarchy and family structure, the rules of behavior, the culture of guns, death and dishonor.
Ex-gang members of the Crips and Bloods, gang intervention experts, activists and academics talk..
Throughout the film ex-gang members, gang intervention experts, writers, activists and academics analyze many of the issues that contribute to South LA's malaise: the erosion of identity that fuels the self-perpetuating legacy of black self-hatred, the disappearance of the African-American father and an almost pervasive prison culture in which today one out of every four black men will be imprisoned at some point in his life.
Solution to the South LA gang problem..
Finally the gang members themselves articulate their enduring dream of a better life. They provide CRIPS AND BLOODS: MADE IN AMERICA with its ultimate statement: a message of hope and a cautionary tale of redemption aimed at saving the lives of a new generation of kids, not just in South LA but anywhere in the world that gang violence exists.
From Balance Vector and Verso Entertainment..
'CRIPS AND BLOODS: MADE IN AMERICA' - from Balance Vector Productions and Verso Entertainment
Additional Information
For more information or to download a press kit please visit http://www.madeinamericathemovie.com/index.html
Jun. 23 7:00 PM
Ask Not a documentary film hosted by Houston PBS Community Cinema
Houston PBS Community Cinema
Johnny Symons
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Description
ASK NOT is a rare and compelling documentary film that explores the effects of the US military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay and lesbian soldiers and service members. The film exposes the tangled political battles that led to the discriminatory law and examines the societal shifts that have occurred since its passage in 1993. Current and veteran gay soldiers reveal how “don’t ask, don’t tell” affects them during their tours of duty, as they struggle to maintain a double life, uncertain of whom they can trust. The film also explores how gay veterans and youth organizers are turning to forms of personal activism to overturn the policy. From a national speaking tour of conservative universities to protests at military recruitment offices, these public events question how the U.S. military can claim to represent democracy and freedom while denying one segment of the population the right to serve.
Additional Information
For more information or to download a press kit, please visit http://asknotfilm.com/
