UND Writers Conference Hosts Free Film Festival

Each year, the UND Writers Conference hosts a free film festival at the UND Memorial Union to compliment the panel discussions and readings. This year’s authors have selected films they believe fit the 41st Writers Conference theme, “Mind the Gap: Print, New Media, Art.” The 2010 Writers Conference offers several unique films, each one focusing on new ways of building a compelling story.

2010 Writers’ Conference Film Festival schedule:

Tuesday, March 23, 6 p.m. Memento, selected by Deena Larsen

Director—Christopher Nolan; starring Guy Pearce, Carrie-Ann Moss and Joe Pantoliano, 2000
This head-spinning thriller tells the story of a man desperately searching for his wife’s murderer while suffering from short-time memory loss. Through the aid of notes, photos, and tattoos he is able to trace his own leads, eventually leading him to a plot more entangled than he could have anticipated.
Running time: 113 minutes

Wednesday, March 24, 2 p.m. Oh Rapunzel and other films, selected by Cecilia Condit

Directors—Cecilia Condit and Dick Blau, 1996-2008
The festive music in this film about the complications between her mother and grandmother counters the darker meaning in the images. The two other films, All About a Girl and Suburbs of Eden, also focus on children, the first about a girl with a curiosity for dead animals and the other about the family dreams of three children which are woven into the original Genesis story of Adam and Eve.
Running time: about 45 minutes

Wednesday, March 24, 6 p.m. Sans Soleil, selected by Mark Amerika

Director—Chris Marker; starring Alexandra Stewart, 1983
This documentary presents letters from a world traveler, narrated by an unseen woman. Through composition of thought, scene, and images, these letters explore a variety of topics, such as the social customs of Tokyo, memories of Iceland and Guinea-Bissau, and pilgrimage to present-day San Francisco, which retrace the steps of Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo.
Running time: 100 minutes

Thursday, March 25, 2 p.m. Timecode, selected by Stuart Moulthrop

Director—Mike Figgis; starring Salma Hayek, Stellan Skarsgård, 2000
Timecode’s four storylines run simultaneously on the screen, weaving together to form a dramatic masterpiece. The film is shot in real time with one 90-minute take. It tells the story of four people involved in the production of a new film. Follow the separate paths of Rose, Alex, Lauren, and Emma as the film progresses into a whirlwind of jealousy, sex, and drugs.
Running time: 97 minutes

Thursday, March 25, 6 p.m. Selected Music Video Shorts, selected by Nick Montfort

Directors—Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, Chris Cunningham, John Landis, and others
These unconventional directors are the pioneers of modern filmmaking. They led breakthrough films including Alien 3, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, and Where The Wild Things Are. Musicians such as Weezer, Aphex Twin, Madonna, Bjork, and The Rolling Stones have all collaborated with these directors to create stylistically unique music videos.
Running time: about 120 minutes

Friday, March 26, 2 p.m. Coal Black Voices, selected by Frank X. Walker

Directors—Jean Donohue and Fred Johnson in consultation with Frank X. Walker
Rarely does a film characterize the artistic heritage of African American poetry so profoundly as Coal Black Voices. This documentary presents the intimate stories of ten regional poets from the Appalachian country of Kentucky as they grapple with concerns of race, identity, family, and land.
Running time, 57 minutes.

Friday, March 26, 6 p.m. The Holy Mountain, selected by Saul Williams

Director—Alejandro Jodorowsky; starring Horácio Salinas and Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1973
The Holy Mountain follows the journey of a thief who is awakened from a rough sleep by an dwarf amputee. The film is a psychedelic sensory overload featuring a loose narrative with intense mystical and religious symbols. Be prepared. The Holy Mountain will leave you with more questions than answers.
Running time: 114 minutes

Contact:
Kathy Coudle-King, co-director
UND Writers Conference
701-777-2787 or 701-330-1637 (cell)
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