Introduction by and post-screening Q&A with the film producer Serik Abishev (Kazakhstan)

"Kafka meets Kaurismaki in this bleakly funny Kazakh drama.... The Owners is a caustic critique of small-town corruption and croneyism in contemporary Kazakhstan."
--Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter

Dusan Makavejev’s Love Affair provides us with an example of cinematic reflexivity, which can be defined as any technique that reminds the viewer that he or she is watching a film. Reflexivity foregrounds the fact that film meaning is a function of a set of codes with ideological implications rather than a transparent reflection of reality. Reflexivity can be achieved through intertextuality, exaggeration of cinematic conventions or conspicuous narration that reminds us of the author’s mark on the text.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (171 min) is a 1988 American film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Milan Kundera, published in 1984. Director Philip Kaufman and screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière portray the effect on Czechoslovak artistic and intellectual life during the 1968 Prague Spring of socialist liberalization preceding the invasion by the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact that ushered in a period of communist repression.

The Baulkham Hills African Ladies Troupe (85 minutes)

As part of the International Week film series on the theme of 'Displacement', the European Studies Center is proud to bring you the Pittsburgh premiere of the Cannes Film Festival acclaimed 'King of the Belgians'.

Trailer: http://www.kingof.be/#trailer

Diversity may mean different things to different people. In this documentary, we have interviewed several people at Pitt about: (1) what diversity means to them, (2) the value of diversity in their life and work, and (3) their opinion about the most effective way to support diversity. This documentary was produced as part of the "Cultural and Linguistic Diversity Conference: Living and Working Together" which was held at the University of Pittsburgh in celebration of the Provost’s Year of Diversity initiative.
Light refreshments served.

The nineteenth annual Russian Film Symposium Kino-Ivory will be held on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh from Monday, 1 May through Saturday, 6 May 2017, with evening screenings at the Melwood Screening Room of Pittsburgh Filmmakers. For much of the past twenty-five years, the Guild of Film Scholars and Film Critics of the Russian Union of Filmmakers has annually conferred the White Elephant award to the best film produced and released in Russia, as well as awards for directing, scriptwriting, musical score, and acting.

Documentary, 2007. Director: Mike Mills

Starring Hiyaso Hayashiguchi, Michiko Ishikawa, Taketoshi Hayashiguchi.

Running time: 1 hr 22 min.

Students for Justice in Palestine present an award-winning documentary showing what life is really like in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, followed by a Panel Discussion. Come get a glimpse of the everyday lives of Palestinians living in the Israeli occupied West Bank. This is only meant to serve as an educational event and not a political rally. Anyone who wants to learn more about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a friendly, inclusive, and respectful atmosphere. All Political affiliations welcome!

It is a sensation in the midst of the Cold War. Stalin's daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva flees to the West. During her childhood in the center of power, she was Joseph Stalin's favorite child. But death and violence overshadow her life. Her mother and brother die, relatives are killed, Stalin has her lover abducted. The Iron Curtain prevents her dream of family. She, like no other, jumps from one system to the other and loses herself in doing so. Svetlana Alliluyeva's desire for freedom makes her a plaything of power between communism and capitalism.