Sewickley Series Presents Film Series That Challenges Stereotypes

12/8/2011 Filed under Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          

 

SEWICKLEY SERIES PRESENTS FILM SERIES THAT CHALLENGES STEREOTYPES  

Please register to attend at: http://www.sewickley.org/sewickleyseries

 

(SEWICKLEY, PA) –Sewickley Academy has partnered with Silk Screen – a Pittsburgh non-profit organization that celebrates Asian arts and culture through films, music, and dance – to present three films that challenge stereotypes. Each film will be followed by a moderated discussion.

 

Wings of Defeat - 90 minutes

Saturday, January 9, at 2 pm / Rea Auditorium
In Japan, WWII Kamikaze are still revered as self-sacrificing heroes. Internationally, they remain a potent symbol of fanaticism. Until now, few outsiders knew that many Kamikaze survived their suicide missions. The candid, heartbreaking testimony of surviving Kamikaze conveys the true depth of war's travesty. More than 60 years later, these humble men tell us about the horrors of the cockpit, their dramatic survival, and the survivor's guilt still haunting them. (Parental discretion is advised.)

 

    

 

They Chose China: - 52 minutes
Saturday, February 25, at 7 pm / Rea Auditorium
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Shuibo Wang (Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square) aims his camera at the astonishing story of 21 American soldiers who opted to stay in China after the Korean War ended in 1954. Back home in the United States, McCarthyism was at its height and many Americans believed these men were brainwashed by Chinese communists. But what really happened? Using never-before-seen footage from the Chinese camps and interviews with former POWs and their families, They Chose China tells the fascinating stories of these forgotten American dissidents. (Parental discretion is advised.)

 

 

          

 

Lakshmi and Me - 59 minutes
Sunday, January 29, at 2 pm / Rea Auditorium
Lakshmi is a 21-year-old housemaid in Mumbai. One of her employers is Nishtha Jain, who begins to make a documentary that explores their relationship. Nishtha films Lakshmi at home and at work in various houses. Lakshmi's is a precarious existence to begin with; illness and romance compound her problems in unexpected ways. As the filmmaker is drawn deeper into Lakshmi's life, she is forced to question many of the things she takes for granted. During a year and a half of dramatic changes, the process of filming has its own impact on unfolding events and on the relationship between two women.

 

       ALL SEWICKLEY SERIES PROGRAMS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.  

 

 

For more information and to register for these films, please visit www.sewickley.org/sewickleyseries.

 

# # #

 

Founded in 1838, Sewickley Academy is Pittsburgh’s oldest independent school. A premier coeducational, college-preparatory day school, Sewickley Academy enrolls 800 students in prekindergarten through grade 12. For more information, visit www.sewickley.org.