The Communications program of the University of the Virgin Islands presents the 7th Annual UVI Margaret Mead Film Festival. This year, there are films from the American Museum of Natural History in New York, plus films from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Student “Oscars.” With so many to choose from, this year’s festival is the best of the best.
The Communications Department will present the program from 7-11 p.m., Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30, and shown in the Communications classrooms – on St. Thomas in Penha House Studio 4 and on St Croix in Evans Center Room 304. Admission is free. Total time each evening is four hours.
Among this year’s films from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscar) Best Student Films:
“Lalo’s House” by Kelley Kali (26 minutes) inspired by true events. After being taken from their home in Jacmel, Haiti, two young sisters must escape a child sex trafficking ring that has been disguised as a Catholic orphanage.
“Esta Es Tu Cuba” | “This is Your Cuba” by Brian Robau (20 minutes) Inspired by the real-life stories of the children involved in Operation Pedro Pan, the mass exodus of over 14,000 unaccompanied minors from Cuba to America
“Spring Flower” by Hua “Gisele” Tong (29 minutes). A Chinese rural girl, Chun Hua, is forced by her family to marry a man she never met before. Influenced by her cousin Tong, a modern city girl, she decides to change her life.
“A Siege” by István Kovács (23 minutes) – Hungary. A lonely woman in war-torn Sarajevo embarks on a journey to find water, and neither her neighbors nor sniper fire can stop her.
“Get Ready With Me” by Jonatan Etzler (24 minutes) – Stockholm. When Vendela shows her class a blog about how to commit suicide, her classmates become upset and disgusted. Her teacher Lukas seems to be the only one who sees it for what it really is: a cry for help.
Among this year’s films from the American Museum of Natural History festival are:
“The Groove is Not Trivial” by Tommie Dell Smith (62 minutes) — US and UK. Scottish folk music was stigmatized as unsophisticated in Alasdair Fraser’s youth, stifling his creativity. Now he is a master fiddle teacher. Follow his transformation as he travels the world teaching traditional Scottish music and leading a global revival of Scottish culture.
“Virgin Blacktop” by Charlie Samuels (84 minutes) — USA. In 1977, skateboarding was hardly considered a hobby in New York, let alone a lifestyle. As nine boys from towns around Nyack bond over their love of the sport, they discover their unique talent and form one of the best skateboarding crews on the East Coast. Over the ensuing 40 years, they go their own ways while maintaining the connection that helped popularize skateboarding in New York.
“The Guardians” by Ben Crosbie and Tessa Moran (70 minutes) – Mexico. A quiet meditation on the migration of the monarch butterfly becomes a political melodrama. A Mexican Indigenous community goes to battle to protect their land, which is also the migratory home of the butterflies. Facing marauding loggers and diminishing crop returns, how far will the farmers of Donaciano Ojeda go to provide a sustainable future for their children?
“Tibetan Nomads in Exile” by Tsering Wangmo (30 minutes) — India and Tibet. While living in exile in India, 2,300 Tibetan refugees continue to practice their traditional nomadic way of life. Today, their traditions are at risk in a rapidly modernizing environment where younger generations dream of something different.