TheJHub.com

All > Events > Theater
"Chicago 10" Kicks Off Fifth Season of Community Cinema at ISU
Topics:
Posted by Jen1180 Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:13:51 MDT
Viewed 58 times
0 responses 0 comments Start: Sep 9, 2008
Time: 5:00pm
Price: FREE
Contact: 282-3451
 CHICAGO 10
Kicks Off Fifth Season of Community Cinema at ISU
Film Explores the Buildup to and Unraveling of the Chicago Conspiracy Trail After the 1968 Democratic Convention
Jim Fullerton to speak on free speech and civil rights issues.

WHEN & WHERE:  Tuesday, Sept 9, 5:15 to 6:45 P.M, ISU Student Union, Bengal Theater           
HOW: Free and open to the public. Free parking on campus after 4:00.
WHO: For more information call 282-3451

A new season of the Community Cinema outreach film series kicks off in Boise and Nampa in September. Community Cinema offers monthly sneak previews of films selected from the PBS series Independent Lens. Each screening is followed by a speaker and audience discussion, providing a unique opportunity for civic discussion about important social issues raised in the films. The series is made possible through a partnership of Idaho Public Television, the Independent Television Service, Boise State University, and Boise State University West. All screening events are free and open to the public.

The first show CHICAGO 10 juxtaposes scenes of the 1968 Democratic Convention and the trial of Vietnam War protesters.  Mixing animation with archival footage, Director Brett Morgan explores the build-up to and unraveling of the 1968 Chicago Conspiracy Trial. CHICAGO 10 is a parable of hope, courage and challenge as it portrays the struggle of young Americans speaking out and taking a stand in the face of an oppressive and armed government. Is it 1968 or 2008?  CHICAGO 10 examines civil rights issues that are remarkably familiar today.

Following the film Jim Fullerton of ISU will speak and lead an audience discussion about free speech, civil rights, and other issues raised in the film. Fullerton is Interim Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, University Student Conduct Administrator, Director of the ISU Leadership Program, and Chair of the ISU 2008-2009 reading group on “The First Amendment on Campus.”

The year was 1968. A war in a foreign land was tearing people apart, and the president’s approval rating was at an all-time low. The country was divided. Many felt America was lost, without a moral compass. And young Americans took to the streets to change the world.

Visceral and emotional, the film brings viewers inside the courtroom to experience firsthand the riveting drama, legal wrangling and raucous political theater. During the infamous 1968 Democratic national convention, antiwar protesters—denied permits to march and blocked from the political process—fought for their right to be heard. Arrayed against them were the formidable forces of Mayor Richard Daley’s political machine, backed up by billy clubs and the stinging fog of tear gas. Bloody riots splashed nightly on live television as Americans stared at their screens in disbelief. Eight of the most vocal activists were charged and brought to trial in a courtroom circus that pitted activism against the establishment.

CHICAGO 10’s characters are the stuff of legend: Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, the eighth defendant, who insisted on representing himself and ended up bound and gagged by an exasperated Judge Julius Hoffman; defense attorney William Kuntsler; SDS defendant Tom Hayden; and Yippies Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman, who served as court jesters.

Although many know the defendants as the Chicago Seven, Jerry Rubin once said: “Anyone who calls us the Chicago Seven is a racist. You need to call us the Chicago Eight. But really, you should call us the Chicago 10, since our lawyers were each given contempt sentences.”

Capturing the idealism, rage and tumult of an era, CHICAGO 10 uses artistry and creative vision to shatter the constraints of the historical documentary and fashion something completely new.


ADDITIONAL 2008 FALL COMMUNITY CINEMA FILMS   
October – LIONESS – Follow five women who served on the front lines in Iraq—contrary to official U.S. Policy.
November - I.O.U.S.A. – Can America change our spendthrift ways in time to prevent a financial meltdown?
December – HELVETICA – How graphic arts dominate our lives and how Helvetica typeface dominates graphic arts.

About the Filmmaker
Brett Morgen (Director/Writer/Producer) is an Academy Award–nominated producer and director. His credits include the Robert Evans biopic The Kid Stays in the Picture and the critically acclaimed boxing documentary On the Ropes. The Kid Stays in the Picture premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival and was an Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was released nationwide in the summer of 2002 by Focus Features and was named one of the 10 best films of 2002 by more than 50 film critics in the United States. CHICAGO 10 was named Best Documentary of 2002 by the International Press Academy (the Golden Satellite Award), the Boston Film Critics and the Seattle Film Critics and was named runner-up in that category by the National Society of Film Critics.
On the Ropes premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the Special Jury Award. Later that year, the film was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Feature Documentary), a Directors Guild Award, an Independent Spirit Award and the 2000 International Documentary Association Award (Best Feature Length Documentary). The film won the Directors Guild Award and the International Documentary Association Award, making Morgen one of the youngest recipients to win both of these awards. In 2003, Morgen began directing commercials for Anonymous Content. His first campaign, “Nimrods” for ESPN, became a cult sensation and is the inspiration for his latest television project, Nimrod Nation, an eight-part documentary series that premiered on the Sundance Channel. In addition to the ESPN campaign, Morgen has directed award-winning campaigns for such brands as Budweiser, Southwest Airlines, Kellogg’s and Nike.

About Independent Lens
Independent Lens is an Emmy® Award–winning weekly series airing Tuesday nights at 10 PM on PBS. The acclaimed anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions of their independent producers. Independent Lens features unforgettable stories about unique individuals, communities and moments in history. Independent Lens is jointly curated by ITVS and PBS and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding provided by PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts. The series producer is Lois Vossen. Further information about the series is available at www.pbs.org/independentlens.

About ITVS
Independent Television Service funds and presents award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects on the Web and the Emmy Award-winning weekly series Independent Lens on Tuesday nights at 10 PM on PBS. ITVS is a miracle of public policy created by media activists, citizens and politicians seeking to foster plurality and diversity in public television. ITVS was established by a historic mandate of Congress to champion independently produced programs that take creative risks, spark public dialogue and serve underserved audiences. Since its inception in 1991, ITVS programs have revitalized the relationship between the public and public television, bringing television audiences face-to-face with the lives and concerns of their fellow Americans. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people. 

Reply or Comment

Send to a Friend

Report a Violation