Films, with extras

By Cindy Landrum  

JANUARY 27, 2012 9:55 a.m. (0)

Going to the Peace Center’s Downtown Film Series won’t be like going to any other movie in Greenville.

And that’s the way Eric Kerchner, the Peace Center’s new programming associate in charge of the series, wants it.

At each showing of one of the independent, foreign and classic films, there will be “Films in Focus,” a pre- or post-film discussion, cultural events such as dance and music offerings or even a Facebook contest.

“When you go to a regular movie theater, you purchase a ticket and once you pass by the ticket counter, that’s the end of the interaction,” he said. “We’re trying to engage the audience through the entire experience.”

The Peace Center started Downtown Films and Cultural Sundays, a separate series of taped or live opera and ballet performances from some of the world’s most famous venues, last year as a way to fill the void of cinema in downtown and increase the offerings of independent and foreign films.

“We need to make sure the audience experience is different than going to a movie theater,” Kerchner said. “We want to separate ourselves from movie theaters from the audience point of view. They’re getting a little more than a movie or to see an opera or ballet.”

On Saturday, the theater will show “Joffrey – Mavericks of American Dance,” a documentary that tells the story of the first truly American ballet company from its founding in 1956 through its move to Chicago.

The film starts at 1:30 p.m. because the film is premiering in theaters across the country simultaneously, Kerchner said.

After the film, there will be a live web cast question and answer session with dancers from the company.

On Feb. 18, Downtown Films will feature Academy Awards Shorts.

The five Academy Award nominated live action short films – “Pentecost,” “Raju,” “The Shore,” “Time Freak,” and “Tuba Atlantic” – will be shown at 4 p.m.

At 7 p.m., the Academy Award-nominated animated short films will be shown. The films, just announced Tuesday, are “Dimanche/Sunday,” “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” “La Luna,” “A Morning Stroll” and “Wild Life.”

After the airing, the Peace Center will hold a Facebook contest to see who can correctly pick the two winners. The prize has not been determined.

And on Feb. 25, the acclaimed Chinese documentary, “Last Train Home,” will cap a daylong Chinese cultural celebration on the newly revamped Peace Center plaza. The event will feature dance, music, art and food.

“Last Train Home” tells the story of a Chinese couple embarking on a journey home for Chinese New Year along with 130 million other migrant workers. Their story tells the story of the cost of China’s soaring toward being a world economic superpower.

Furman University Asian studies professor Harry Koushu will be the speaker.

Kerchner said the Peace Center is taking advantage of its new partnership with Furman University to provide “Films in Focus” programming, but not all of the programs will feature professors from the school.

“We’re going to tap into all of the resources Greenville and the Upstate has,” he said.

The Downtown Film Series typically are local premieres of independent, foreign and documentary films. Most of the series’ screenings are held on Fridays and Saturdays in the Gunter Theatre, which has high-definition audio and visual equipment.

During the film series, beer and wine will be allowed in the theater.

Cultural Sunday is, like the name implies, held on Sundays.

It features broadcasts of shows from the great opera houses in Europe. Shows can be broadcast live; streamed live, which is an unedited version shown within two days of the actual performance; or shown in an encore presentation, which are edited versions shown within 10 days of the actual performance.

The next opera performance will be “Il Trittico” on Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. Furman University music professor Thomas Joiner will give a pre-show talk.

On March 11, ballet fans will be able to see a live broadcast of “Le Corsaire” from the Bolshoi in Moscow. The time has not been determined.

Comments

Add New

Leave a Comment
Comments are moderated and may not be posted immediately.
Name:
Email:	do not notifynotify
Title:
	Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."