Lay of the Land: New Documentaries

Details:

The winter series of contemporary documentaries continues into the spring with an evening of screenings that shines a light on war, economic hardship and European immigration. A theme that unites this series has been the idea of land and place, and that carries over into this evening, whether it’s the search for home, work, or community; foreign policy issues; returning home from war; or leaving home to find work.

Co-curated and co-presented with Northwestern’s MFA in Documentary Media program. This program is FREE for Northwestern students with ID
 Friday, April 24, 2015 7:00 PM

Waiting for August

(Teodora Ana Mihai, 2014, Belgium/Romania, DCP, 88 min.)

Georgiana Halmac turns fifteen this winter. She lives with her six younger brothers and sisters on the outskirts of Bacau, Romania, where employment is scarce. Their mother, Liliana, found work in Turin, Italy, over a thousand miles away. She won’t be back before summer. Georgiana has been catapulted into the role of head of the family, caring for her siblings. Caught between puberty and responsibility, Georgiana moves ahead, improvising as she goes. Phone conversations with her mom are her only guidelines. Intimate scenes from their daily life show the seven siblings interpreting their experiences with great imagination. Adapted from the online distributor’s notes: http://waitingforaugust.be/.

Preceeded by

Half-Life of War

(Kyle Henry, 2014, US, digital, 7 min.)

Over 30 wars and 1.5 million dead soldiers are memorialized at sites across the United States. How many of us see the radioactive trace of these past conflicts? What is the best way to remember the trauma of war?

Introduced by director and Northwestern University Assistant Professor Kyle Henry.

FREE with student ID

Contact The Block Museum of Art for more information: (847) 491-4000 or email us at block-museum@northwestern.edu