Tuesday, January 21 at 7pm
Rising Hope – FILMMAKER IN PERSON!
Directed by Theo Avgerinos (U.S. 2024) 104 min. DCP.
Rising Hope introduces audiences to a Mississippi Delta community—where hope survives, despite generational poverty. The documentary explores issues surrounding the state’s historically oppressive policies towards Black Mississippians, the massive employment loss following NAFTA, and the devastating effects of defunding public education for consecutive generations. More central to the film, however, is the vibrant tapestry of voices and personal narratives found within the Delta. The film follows a former news anchor turned church youth leader; a first-generation college student pursuing photography; the journeys of community non profits; and the profound life experiences of town mayors and local citizens. Through these transformational stories, audiences bear witness to extraordinary personal hardships, and their refusal to internalize the narrative of hopelessness. Bucknell alumnus Theo Avgerinos (‘00) will visit for a post-film discussion!
“Once Upon a Time in Uganda reminds you how the art of moviemaking can make dreams real.”
– New York Times
Tuesday, January 28 at 7pm
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – NEW 60TH ANNIVERSARY RESTORATION!
Directed by Jacques Demy (France 1964) 91 min. DCP. With Catherine Deneuve, Anne Vernon, Nino Castelnuovo, Marc Michel. French with English subtitles.
An angelically beautiful Catherine Deneuve was launched to stardom by this dazzling musical heart-tugger from Jacques Demy. She plays an umbrella-shop owner’s delicate daughter, glowing with first love for a handsome garage mechanic (Castelnuovo). When the boy is shipped off to fight in Algeria, the two lovers must grow up quickly. Exquisitely designed in a kaleidoscope of colors, and told entirely through the lilting songs of the great composer Michel Legrand, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of the most revered and unorthodox movie musicals of all time. “This jeu d’espirit of the French New Wave took the Palme d’or and Best Actress award at Cannes; garnered five Oscar® nominations; and, in its overwhelming romanticism, capped by a snow-blanketed Christmas climax at an Esso station, reduced packed houses around the world to bittersweet tears” (Film Forum).
“Elevates the quotidian to the spectacular… Umbrellas’ palette of sherbet-colored pastels remains undimmed.” – Melissa Anderson, Village Voice