Fall 2012 Kitchen Stove Film Presentations
October 18 at 4 p.m. & 7 p.m. Beasts of the Southern Wild (USA)
Director: Benh Zeitlin Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Jonshel Alexander PG
A post-apocalyptic fable, Beasts of the Southern Wild follows the story of Hushpuppy, a precocious six year old with a wild fro, who tries to make sense of her place in a messy, shifting world. Her world is the Bathtub, an island located in a Louisiana bayou cut off from civilization and industrialization. Hushpuppy lives with her terminally ill, alcoholic father Wink in a makeshift, self-reliant, if not exactly harmonious community. For all his lapses, Wink is trying to raise his daughter with sufficient skills and grit so when the temperatures rise, the waters surge and the wild aurochs arrive, this resilient young heroine is equal to the task of survival.
Beasts of the Southern Wild is a stunning debut film – equal parts mythological, anthropological, folkloric and apocalyptic, it effortlessly captures the wonder and terror of childhood while blindsiding with imaginative genius.
Also screening: Selected short films from the 2012 TIFF Student Showcase.
November 8 at 4 p.m. & 7 p.m. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (USA/ China ~ some subtitles)
Director: Alison Klayman Documentary with Ai Weiwei R
Chinese artist and political activist Ai Weiwei first captured international attention when appointed the artistic design consultant for Beijing’s Olympic “Bird’s Nest” stadium. Regarded as one of the most powerful contemporary artists working today, he was runner-up for TIME Magazine’s 2011 Person of the Year. But in China, he is subjected to surveillance and endures swift censorship of his work and activities. From 2008-10, Beijing-based journalist and filmmaker Alison Klayman had close contact to Ai Weiwei and documents his preparation of a major exhibition, captures intimate exchanges with his family and exposes his increasingly public clashes with the Chinese government.
Ai Weiwei is plain-spoken, irreverent and uncompromisingly critical of the arbitrary use of government power. The imprisonment, suppression and persecution of his father, the poet Ai Qing, has strongly impacted Ai Weiwei’s art – his work often hints of violence while at other times is incredibly calm and expansive. This timely film is essentially a portrait of a key contemporary artist but the camera lens also focuses on China’s internal politics in the wake of Olympic promise and growth.
Also screening: Selected short films from the 2012 TIFF Student Showcase.
