film festival at Wagner College

This looks like a wonderful event. The Film and Media Studies Program and the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

What: 5 nights of films from different countries, revolving around the theme of immigration, exile and displacement
When: October 17th - 21st, 7pm nightly
Where: Manzulli Board Room and Spiro 4

Prior to each screening, students in Modern Languages will be hosting a $1.00 popcorn sale.  All proceeds will be donated to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)


October 17th, 7pm, Manzulli Board Room

  • El Coyote, (2015), Mexico/US, Dir. Javier Barboza, 7 min. -  Barboza will present his short animated documentary, which tells the story of human smuggling from the point of view of the smuggler. Following the film, Barboza will also present on his animation techniques and do a talk back with the audience.

October 18th, 7pm, Manzulli Board Room

  • Nuovomondo, (2006), Italy, Dir. Emanuele Crialese, 2hrs. - Wagner Italian language and culture professor, Dr. Giuseppe Sorrentino, will present this drama based on a family's migration from Italy to New York at the beginning of the 20th century.

October 19th, 7pm, Spiro 4
Three short films about the refugee crisis in Europe made by students at Wagner’s partner film school, The University of Television and Film Munich (HFF). This program is curated by former Wagner exchange student, Denize Galiao, who will introduce the program via skype.

  • Two at the border, (2013), Germany, Dir. Tuna Kaptan and Felicitas Sonvilla, 30 min.- A portrait about two human smugglers from Syria and Palestine at the border between Turkey and Greece. Their job gets increasingly difficult as Greek and European authorities strengthen the porous border by a 13 km fence and by thousands of officers, trying to barricade the EU against illegal immigration. Ultimately, it all looks pretty abysmal for both the men and their mostly Syrian clients alike, as far fewer of these refugees are making it into Greece.
  • Spielfeld, (2014), Germany, 26 min.- Deserted refugee tents, a mile-long fence becoming an absurd demarcation line in the middle of a forest: the village Spielfeld at the Austrian-Slovenian border – till now in the spotlight of international politics – steadily disappears from the full glare of global publicity. How do the residents cope with the fact that their 1000-souls village became the “playing field” of nationally oriented refugee policy?
  • I come from Syria, (2014), Germany, 14 min.- Perspective turned around: How do three Syrian men feel in Munich? Do they want to become German at some point?

An approach to thoughts and feelings of three men. They came to a foreign country, searching for a new home. It becomes clear that a future together could work in various ways. Just as the refugees are very different individuals.

October 20th, 7pm, Manzulli Board Room

  • The Secret of the Grain, (2007), France/Tunisia, Dir. Abdellatif Kechiche -  A drama about a Tunisian immigrant in France who is confronted with French bureaucracy as he tries to open a restaurant. The film will be introduced by French student Sophia Wright.

October 21st, 7pm, Manzulli Board Room
Three short films by Palestinian Film and Media students followed by the new feature documentary by Palestinian Director Laila Abaas. A skype Q and A with director will follow the screening!

  • The Living of the Pigeons, (2015), Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture in Bethlehem, Dir. Baha Abu Shanab, 17 min.- A haunting glimpse of the surreal early morning hours and the daily experience of “rush hour” at Checkpoint 300, which separates Bethlehem in the West Bank from Jerusalem.
  • What will you do when you go back to your Village, (2016) Lajee Center Media Group, 4 min.- Residents of Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, West Bank, reflect on what they would do if they could return to their villages.
  • Reporter Suspended, (2015), Al-Quds University in Ramallah, Dir. Sanabel Ibrahim and Renad Nasser, 5 min. - This short comedy reflects on media coverage of the West Bank through a child’s eyes.
  • Ice & Dust, (2015), Palestine/Canada, Laila Abaas, 50min. - An essay film that follows the director’s sister who immigrates from Ramallah to Toronto, as she confronts her feelings of displacement both at home and abroad. Skype Q and A with director will follow the screening!

This festival is organized by the Film and Media Studies program and the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, and funded by ACE.

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