Marian McPartland, center, flanked by drummer Joe Morello and bassist Bill Crow. McPartland is portrayed in a 乐播传媒 screening of the documentary “In Good Time.” (Courtesy of Films by Huey)

The Museum of Art exhibition Convergence: Jazz, Films and the Visual Arts expands in autumn 2014 with films, panels and lectures beginning with a talk by the founder of Columbia University’s Center for Jazz Studies at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, in Room 104 of the Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St.

The talk by Robert O’Meally, who is also a former director of the Center for Jazz Studies and serves as the Zora Neale Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia, is titled Looking at the Music: Jazz and the Visual Arts. A panel discussion and an additional lecture take place on Oct. 1 and 27 (information below).

Events related to Convergence, as well as admission to the exhibition itself, are open to the public at no cost. An important exhibition of art exploring jazz and African American culture, Convergence is on display at 乐播传媒 through Dec. 13. Learn more at bates.edu/news/2014/06/04/convergence/.

The museum is also presenting Encountering Maine. Drawn from the museum’s collection, this exhibition comprises depictions of the state by such well-known artists as Marsden Hartley, Bernard Langlais, Melonie Bennett, Dahlov Ipcar and Robert Indiana. Encountering Maine shows through Oct. 12. Learn more at bates.edu/news/2014/06/04/encountering/.

The museum is located at 75 Russell St. Hours are 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday (until 7 p.m. on Wednesdays during the academic year). For more information, contact 207-786-6158.

The Convergence film series begins with In Good Time, The Piano Jazz of Marian McPartland at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15, in Olin 104. This piece by renowned Maine filmmaker Huey documents the life of the legendary McPartland through interviews and performances. A composer and radio host as well as pianist, McPartland arrived in America in 1948 and established herself as a leading figure in the male-dominated jazz world.

Louis Armstrong figures prominently in “Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns.” (Courtesy of the Frank Driggs Collection)

The film series continues through the fall with the 10 episodes of Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns, the widely acclaimed series premiered on public television in 2001. This musical epic chronicles the history of jazz from its pre-World War I beginnings to the modern day. Showings take place in Olin 104 at 7:30 p.m. on these Mondays: Sept. 22 and 29; Oct. 6, 13 and 20; Nov. 3, 10 and 17; and Dec. 1 and 8.

The Convergence exhibition resulted from a partnership between the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland, and the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City. Three leading authorities on the arts surrounding the jazz movement, all connected with the Driskell Center, discuss the exhibition at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, in Olin 104.

The speakers are:

• David Driskell, for whom the center is named. A distinguished artist and collector, this part-time Maine resident is one of the leading authorities on African American art and serves as curator of the Camille O. and William H. Cosby Collection of African American Art;
• Robert Steele, a lifelong collector of African American art who became the founding director of the Driskell Center in 2004 following a career teaching psychology at the University of Maryland.
• Curlee Raven Holton, a painter, printmaker, professor of art at Lafayette College and acting executive director of the Driskell Center.

The speaker series concludes with Jazz Under the Lens, a lecture and screening relating to an important collection of jazz films assembled by the late John Baker, an Ohio lawyer, at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, in Olin 104. The speaker is Gregory Carroll, chief executive officer of the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, Mo., which now holds the John H. Baker Jazz Film Collection.

The screening will include historic Soundies, short musical films from the 1940s that anticipated modern music videos.

Julieta Zylberberg stars in Diego Lerman’s film “The Invisible Eye.”

Celebrating the introduction of its Program in Latin American Studies, 乐播传媒 presents a festival of independent films set in Latin America in screenings Friday through Sunday, Oct. 11-13, in Room 104 of the Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St.

Titled Memories of the Present Past/Memorias del Pasado Presente, the series opens at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, with The Invisible Eye, an exploration of surveillance, repression and insurrection during the military regime in Argentina.

A scene from “Fat, Bald, Short Man,” a 2011 production in rotoscope by Colombian director Carlos Osuna.

Showing on Saturday, Oct. 12, are Fat, Bald, Short Man at 3 p.m. and The Prize at 7. Sunday’s films are The Finger at 3 p.m. and A Useful Life at 7. (Descriptions appear below.)

Admission is open to the public at no cost. The series is presented by the Latin American studies program, the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art and the college’s George and Helen Ladd Library. For more information, please call 207-786-8212.

These five critically acclaimed films reflect on the contested memories of the past, the reverberations of state repression in everyday life and the restoration of democracy in the region.

They are drawn from the Global Lens series of international films. Created by the Global Film Initiative and regularly featured at 乐播传媒, Global Lens celebrates the artistry of independent and emerging filmmakers in countries outside the film industry mainstream.

A scene from the film “The Prize.”

Formalizing the college’s longstanding interest in Latin America, the new program enables 乐播传媒 to offer, for the first time, a formal major in the field. Geographically, the program encompasses Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Course offerings cover anthropology, economics, environmental studies, history, politics and Spanish.

“You can’t understand the United States without understanding Latin America, and you cannot understand Latin America without understanding the United States,” says film series co-coordinator Jennifer Adair, visiting assistant professor of history. A specialist in Latin American history, Adair organized Memories of the Present Past with Baltasar Fra-Molinero, professor of Spanish and of African American studies, and with staff at the art museum.

Politically, socially, economically and culturally, the Americas are connected in ways both apparent and subtle, Adair says. “Understanding what unites the Americas is really resonant today, so it’s timely that 乐播传媒 can now integrate these different aspects of what it is to be American — meaning North, Central and South America.”

A scene from Argentinian director Sergio Teubal’s 2011 film “The Finger.”

The film series has its own timeliness. 2013 is the 40th anniversary of the military coup in Chile that overthrew the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende and epitomized a period of state terror throughout Latin America. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of democracy’s return to Argentina after a military dictatorship notorious for its brutally repressive tactics.

Those events shape the stories and characters in this film series. And film, in turn, is a uniquely effective medium for these stories.

Film, says Fra-Molinero, is “a showcase of the diversity of cultural, political and artistic experiences of Latin America.” And Latin American film is an up-and-coming force in the film world. “Film is such a strong cultural product,” he says.

These filmmakers, Adair says, are “children of the dictatorships.”

Jorge Jellinek plays a dedicated cinema employee in Federico Veiroj’s 2010 film “A Useful Life.”

“Each film in the series is in direct conversation with some aspect of the recent past, and speaks to the ways that memory has somehow become part of politics today.”

In that sense, says Fra-Molinero, the films offer valuable lessons for 乐播传媒 students coming to grips with pivotal moments in the recent history of their own country that took place when they were very young, such as the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

Here are the films of Memories of the Present Past/Memorias del Pasado Presente:

• The Invisible Eye (La Miranda Invisible; Argentina, 2010. 95 min.). Director Diego Lerman tells the story of a lonely and obedient teacher at an elite Buenos Aires school. At first adopting the school’s totalitarian oversight policies, she soon finds herself amidst a breakdown in structure and discipline at the school that mirrors the rebellion outside.
• Fat, Bald, Short Man (Gordo, Calvo y Bajito; Colombia, 2011. 91 min.). In this film by Carlos Osuna, the prospects for a lonely middle-aged notary unexpectedly change after he joins a self-improvement group and his charismatic new boss 鈥� and strangely affable doppelg盲nger 鈥� takes an interest in his life. Filmed in rotoscope.
• The Prize (El Premio; Argentina, 2011. 99 min.) A political activist’s life-in-hiding on an isolated stretch of Argentina’s coast is jeopardized after her 7-year-old daughter is selected to participate in a local school’s patriotic essay contest. Directed by Paula Markovitch.
• The Finger (El Dedo; Argentina, 2011. 93 min.) In the face of electoral fraud and intimidation, the severed finger of a respected local leader points the way forward for independent-minded citizens and their town’s quest for democracy. Directed by Sergio Teubal.
• A Useful Life (La Vida Util; Spanish, 2010. 63 min.) In director Federico Veiroj’s story, a cinema in Uruguay closes due to dwindling support, forcing loyal employee Jorge to find a new passion and navigate his world beyond the screen.

A scene from Nahid Ghobadi and Bijan Zamanpira’s film “About 111 Girls.”

A showcase of international films selected for authentic voice, strong cinematics and unique cultural perspectives, the 2013 Global Lens series premieres at 乐播传媒 College with the Iraqi film About 111 Girls at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9, in Room 104 of the Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St.

Global Lens screenings at 乐播传媒 are open to the public at no cost. The series continues at 7:30 p.m. Mondays in Olin 104 through Nov. 18, skipping Oct. 14.

Global Lens 2013 is presented by the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art in cooperation with the 乐播传媒 College libraries, and with co-sponsorship by the programs in Asian studies and Latin American studies. For more information, please call 207-786-8212 or visit bates.edu/museum.

Directed by Nahid Ghobadi and Bijan Zamanpira,聽About 111 Girls is the story of an Iranian state official, his driver and a young guide who race across a troubled but magnificent landscape to stop 111 young Kurdish women from committing suicide in protest against conditions that have left them spinsters. Against a dramatic physical and human landscape, wistful longing mingles with dreamlike desire and absurdist humor as the travelers meander helplessly in a land riddled with contradictions. (2012; 79 min.)

A scene from “The Fantastic World of Juan Orol.”

2013 is the sixth year the 乐播传媒 museum has presented Global Lens. “Providing our community, which grows more diverse each year, with films from around the world helps everyone understand the similarities of the human condition and the particular challenges people face in various countries and cultures,” says Anthony Shostak, curator of education for the museum and 乐播传媒 coordinator of Global Lens.

Organized by the Global Film Initiative, the 2013 Global Lens series comprises 10 narrative features from Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Serbia. In addition to these 乐播传媒 premieres, the museum and the Latin American studies faculty will present a reprise of several Spanish-language films from previous Global Lens series on Oct. 11-13 as part of celebrations surrounding the inauguration of the Latin American studies major at 乐播传媒.

“This year, our 10th year, we went back to our roots,” says Susan Weeks Coulter, board chair of the Global Film Initiative. “Bold and unique storytelling by filmmakers unafraid to take risks with their culture and creativity — it’s a beautiful lineup.”

“Beijing Flickers.”

Here’s the remainder of the 2013 Global Lens season at 乐播传媒:

• Sept. 16, Beijing Flickers (“Youzhong”). Director Zhang Yuan directs this story of a young man, left behind by Beijing’s fabulous new wealth, who experiences moments of euphoria amid despair as he roams the city with other misfit dreamers in this darkly funny, gorgeously gritty portrait of disaffected youth. (China, 2012, 96 min.)
• Sept. 23, Cairo 678. For his feature debut, writer-director Mohamed Diab depicts three Cairene women from different backgrounds who warily unite to combat the sexual harassment that has impacted each of their lives — and become a citywide plague. But their unconventional response provokes a dogged police hunt. (Egypt, 2010, 100 min.)
• Sept. 30, The Fantastic World of Juan Orol (“El Fant谩stico Mundo De Juan Orol”). Move over Ed Wood! Director and co-writer Sebasti谩n el Amo’s debut feature pays tribute to Mexico’s half-forgotten B-movie master, the “involuntary surrealist” Juan Orol. A deft, irresistible love letter to life, the movies and a self-made man of showbiz. (Mexico, 2012, 90 min.)
• Oct. 7, Life Kills Me (“La Vida Me Mata”). Life and death come wrapped in a mutual embrace, absurd and poignant at once, in director Sebasti谩n Silva’s film about the unlikely friendship between a grieving young cinematographer and a morbidly obsessed drifter. This debut pulses with a sure cinematic style as it channels a compassionate vision of frail, formidable, unforgettable lives. (Chile, 2007, 92 min.)

A scene from “The Parade.”

• Oct. 21, Modest Reception (“Paziraie Sadeh”). Two sibling sophisticates from Tehran travel the mountainous north, maniacally pushing bags of money on locals — a hilarious and alarming exercise that unfurls with unexpected force amid subtle themes of power and corruption. This comedy-drama is led by riveting performances from Taraneh Alidoosti and co-writer and director Mani Haghighi. (Iran, 2012, 100 min.)
• Oct. 28, The Parade (“Parada”). Writer-director Srdjan Dragojevic tells the story of a macho Serbian crime boss who, in exchange for some wedding planning expertise, recruits a ragtag group of Balkan war buddies to provide protection for a Pride march in this rollicking yet poignant comedy inspired by real events. (Serbia, 2011, 115 min.)
• Nov. 4, Shyamal Uncle Turns Off The Lights. An 80-year-old Kolkata retiree is determined to get the streetlights turned off after sunrise, but finding someone to take him seriously proves a battle against an indifferent bureaucracy and a complacent status quo. Writer-director Suman Ghosh’s v茅rit茅-style film is alive with the sights, sounds and personalities of this old neighborhood in this wry, revealing, highly original tour of modern India. (India, 2012, 65 min.)
• Nov. 11, Southwest (“Sudoeste”). In director Eduardo Nunes’ debut, a young woman on her deathbed gives birth to a child who, spirited away to a remote lakeside village, lives her lifetime in a single day in this haunting tale. Precious strands of memory, identity and desire add up to a palpable affirmation of our place in the ineffable stream of life. (Brazil, 2011, 128 min.)
• Nov. 18, Student. A solitary philosophy student commits a calculated violent crime against the backdrop of Kazakhstan’s growing inequality, institutional corruption and a ruthless ethic of eat or be eaten in this broodingly contemporary adaptation of Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment.” Written and directed by Darezhan Omirbayev. (Kazakhstan, 2012, 90 min.)

A scene from “Fat, Bald, Short Man,” a 2011 production in rotoscope by Colombian director Carlos Osuna.

The Global Lens 2012 film series, a showcase of award-winning international features, continues in weekly screenings at 7:30 p.m. most Mondays in Room 104 of the Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St.

Editor’s Note: A previous article about this film series, as well as the printed October at 乐播传媒 calendar, incorrectly indicated that there was an admission fee for these screenings. In fact, admission is free. We regret the error.

Playing on Oct. 1 is聽 Fat, Bald, Short Man, a 2011 film by Colombian director Carlos Osuna. For a complete schedule of films, visit bates.edu/museum or call 207-786-8212. The series is sponsored by the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art.

The 2012 series comprises films from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Rwanda and Turkey, as well as Albania. “Our community grows more diverse each year, and providing films from around the world helps everyone understand the similarities of the human condition and the particular challenges people face in various countries and cultures,” says Anthony Shostak, curator of education for the museum and coordinator of Global Lens at 乐播传媒.

“The lineup this year is really going to surprise audiences,” says Susan Weeks Coulter, chair of the Global Film Initiative Board of Directors. “The cinematics are strong, the tone is fresh and the stories are thought-provoking and unlike anything we鈥檝e seen before.

“We鈥檙e thrilled to be screening them at the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art.”

This is is the fifth series of Global Lens films that the 乐播传媒 museum has presented.

Fat, Bald, Short Man (91 min.) tells the story of a lonely middle-aged notary whose prospects unexpectedly change after he joins a self-improvement group and his charismatic new boss — and strangely affable doppelg盲nger — takes an interest in his life.

Here鈥檚 the remainder of the autumn 2012 schedule:

• Oct. 8: The Finger (dir. Sergio Teubal, Argentina, 2011, 93 min.) — In the face of electoral fraud and intimidation, the severed finger of a respected local leader points the way forward for independent-minded citizens and their town鈥檚 quest for democracy after dictatorship.
• Oct. 15: Grey Matter (dir. Kivu Ruhorahoza, Rwanda, 2011, 100 min.) — After government officials decline to support his project, a determined filmmaker enlists the support of a loan shark to finance his trenchant drama about the aftermath and impact of genocide on a brother and sister.
• Oct. 29: Mourning (dir. Morteza Farshbaf, Iran, 2011, 85 min.) — In the wake of his parents鈥� disappearance, a young boy is placed in the care of his deaf aunt and uncle who, during a road trip to Tehran, engage in a silent but apparently not-so-secret debate about the child鈥檚 future.
• Nov. 5: Pegasus (dir. Mohamed Mouftakir, Morocco, 2010, 104 min. — A young woman, traumatized by her dictatorial father鈥檚 insistence she be raised as a boy, finds herself the unwitting patient of a psychiatrist intent on learning the truth behind the girl鈥檚 story.
• Nov. 12: The Prize (dir. Paula Markovitch, Argentina/Mexico, 2011, 99 min.) — A political activist鈥檚 life-in-hiding on an isolated stretch of Argentina鈥檚 coastline is jeopardized after her 7-year-old daughter is selected to participate in a local school鈥檚 patriotic essay contest.
• Nov. 26: Qarantina (dir. Oday Rasheed, Iraq, 2010, 90 min.) — A sullen assassin, living above a dysfunctional family in Baghdad, captures the attention of the household鈥檚 unhappy mother, setting a dangerous stage for confrontation with the family鈥檚 lecherous father.
• Dec. 3: Toll Booth (dir. Tolga Kara莽elik, Turkey, 2010, 96 min. — An aging toll booth attendant, straining under the weight of a domineering father and suffocating work routine, finally begins to crack when faced with the emotional pressure of an unexpected romance.

The Global Film Initiative is a U.S.-based international arts organization specializing in the support of independent film from Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Founded in 2002 to promote cross-cultural understanding through the language of cinema, the initiative awards numerous grants to deserving filmmakers from around the world each year, and supports a touring film series entitled Global Lens.

.

Luli Bitri plays Elsa in the Global Lens film presentation “Amnesty.”

The Global Lens 2012 film series, a showcase of 10 award-winning international features, returns to 乐播传媒 College in weekly screenings at 6 p.m. Mondays starting Sept. 17 in Room 104 of the Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St.

Admission is $5. For a complete schedule of films, visit bates.edu/museum or call 207-786-8212. The series is sponsored by the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art.

Opening the series is聽Amnesty, made in 2011 by Albanian director Bujar Alimani. In the film, a new law allowing conjugal visits in Albanian prisons presents the opportunity for a sympathetic affair between a man and woman visiting their incarcerated spouses 鈥� until a prisoner amnesty threatens their fragile new bond (83 min.).

The 2012 series comprises films from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Rwanda and Turkey, as well as Albania. “Our community grows more diverse each year, and providing films from around the world helps everyone understand the similarities of the human condition and the particular challenges people face in various countries and cultures,” says Anthony Shostak, curator of education for the museum and coordinator of Global Lens at 乐播传媒.

“The lineup this year is really going to surprise audiences,” says Susan Weeks Coulter, chair of the Global Film Initiative Board of Directors. “The cinematics are strong, the tone is fresh and the stories are thought-provoking and unlike anything we鈥檝e seen before.

“We鈥檙e thrilled to be screening them at the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art.”

This is is the fifth series of Global Lens films that the 乐播传媒 museum has presented. Here鈥檚 the remainder of the autumn 2012 schedule:

• Sept. 24: Craft (dir. Gustavo Pizzi, Brazil, 2010, 85 min.) — A struggling actress and celebrity impersonator lands an audition and what may be her 鈥渂ig break鈥� after an inspired director recasts his film around her socially marginalized life as an underrated artist in Rio de Janeiro.
• Oct. 1: Fat, Bald, Short Man (dir. Carlos Osuna, Colombia, 2011 91 min.) — The prospects for a lonely middle-aged notary unexpectedly change after he joins a self-improvement group and his charismatic new boss — and strangely affable doppelg盲nger — takes an interest in his life.
• Oct. 8: The Finger (dir. Sergio Teubal, Argentina, 2011, 93 min.) — In the face of electoral fraud and intimidation, the severed finger of a respected local leader points the way forward for independent-minded citizens and their town鈥檚 quest for democracy after dictatorship.
• Oct. 15: Grey Matter (dir. Kivu Ruhorahoza, Rwanda, 2011, 100 min.) — After government officials decline to support his project, a determined filmmaker enlists the support of a loan shark to finance his trenchant drama about the aftermath and impact of genocide on a brother and sister.
• Oct. 29: Mourning (dir. Morteza Farshbaf, Iran, 2011, 85 min.) — In the wake of his parents鈥� disappearance, a young boy is placed in the care of his deaf aunt and uncle who, during a road trip to Tehran, engage in a silent but apparently not-so-secret debate about the child鈥檚 future.
• Nov. 5: Pegasus (dir. Mohamed Mouftakir, Morocco, 2010, 104 min. — A young woman, traumatized by her dictatorial father鈥檚 insistence she be raised as a boy, finds herself the unwitting patient of a psychiatrist intent on learning the truth behind the girl鈥檚 story.
• Nov. 12: The Prize (dir. Paula Markovitch, Argentina/Mexico, 2011, 99 min.) — A political activist鈥檚 life-in-hiding on an isolated stretch of Argentina鈥檚 coastline is jeopardized after her 7-year-old daughter is selected to participate in a local school鈥檚 patriotic essay contest.
• Nov. 26: Qarantina (dir. Oday Rasheed, Iraq, 2010, 90 min.) — A sullen assassin, living above a dysfunctional family in Baghdad, captures the attention of the household鈥檚 unhappy mother, setting a dangerous stage for confrontation with the family鈥檚 lecherous father.
• Dec. 3: Toll Booth (dir. Tolga Kara莽elik, Turkey, 2010, 96 min. — An aging toll booth attendant, straining under the weight of a domineering father and suffocating work routine, finally begins to crack when faced with the emotional pressure of an unexpected romance.

The Global Film Initiative is a U.S.-based international arts organization specializing in the support of independent film from Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Founded in 2002 to promote cross-cultural understanding through the language of cinema, the initiative awards numerous grants to deserving filmmakers from around the world each year, and supports a touring film series entitled Global Lens.

.

Ana Carbatti plays Iara in S茅rgio Bianchi’s 2009 film “The Tenants.”

The Global Lens series of international films returns to 乐播传媒 College this month starting with a screening of Brazilian director S茅rgio Bianchi’s 2009 film The Tenants at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, in Room 104 of the Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St.

All at 7 p.m., Global Lens screenings take place at 乐播传媒 Mondays and Wednesdays through April 2. Monday screenings take place in Olin 104, and Wednesday screenings in Olin 105.

Screenings are open to the public at no cost. The series is presented by the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art. For more information, please contact 207-786-6158.

Winner of the Best Screenplay award at the 2010 Festival do Rio in Brazil,聽The Tenants depicts a working-class family whose new next-door neighbors are young criminals. Building tension with stylish sequences that blend reality and fevered imagination, Bianchi’s thriller offers a shrewd portrait of the social and psychological impacts of urban violence. It depicts a city of S茫o Paulo beset — yet also aroused — by a permeating atmosphere of destruction.

Featuring 10 award-winning films in this series, the Global Lens project is designed to promote cross-cultural understanding through cinema. It is produced by the Global Film Initiative, a U.S. nonprofit that supports independent film from Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

GFI awards grants to deserving filmmakers and supports the touring film series, whose other venues include Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

“Global Lens brings the world to Lewiston, giving viewers fresh perspectives on issues that confront people around the globe,” says Anthony Shostak, education curator for the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art. “Seeing them with other members of the community, as opposed to sitting at home, provides an expanded opportunity to discuss these issues.”

Here’s the schedule for the remaining winter-spring Global Lens screenings:

• Feb. 29: Dooman River depicts intensifying tensions between illegal North Korean immigrants and rural villagers on the Chinese side of the frozen river-border through the eyes of 12-year-old Chang-ho. While Chang-ho and his community are initially sympathetic toward refugees, mounting suspicion leaves Chang-ho torn between compassion and conflict. Directed by Chinese director Zhang Lu, the intricately detailed film has won multiple awards including the Jury Prize, Paris Cinema International Film Festival. (China, 2009, 89 min.)
• March 5: Soul of Sand is a suspenseful and eccentric thriller, directed and written by New Delhi native Sidharth Srinivasan, that explores the dark intersection between Indian modernity and tradition. A powerless watchman who guards an abandoned mine reluctantly helps his landlord’s daughter and her lower-caste lover escape when she is offered to her father’s business partner as his wife. When a masked killer is dispatched to hunt the pair down, all are immersed in a visually striking world of danger, honor and hierarchy. (India, 2010, 98 min.)
• March 7: Opera Jawa blends images of contemporary Indonesia with traditional Javanese dance, music and myth to tell the tale of Seyto and Siti — a husband and wife content until the local butcher seduces Siti. This sets the stage for an epic battle in lush forests and pristine beaches, based on “The Abduction of Sita” from the Hindu epic “The Ramayana.” Directed by Indonesian Garin Nugroho. (Indonesia, 2006, 120 min.)
• March 12: Belvedere, set in a refugee camp after 15 years of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, paints a rich and uncommon portrait of the aftermath of war. Ruveyda is a widow who takes solace in routine: caring for her extended family and searching for the remains of her husband and son. But she is tested when her nephew is selected to participate in a reality show in a former enemy enclave. Directed by Ahmed Imamovic, the film explores themes of patience, faith, love and forgiveness. (Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2010, 90 min.)
• March 14: The Light Thief is a contemporary tale of good and evil set in a wind-swept valley in Kyrgyzstan. Director Aktan Arym Kubat plays Mr. Light, a humble, trusting and compassionate village electrician who strikes a suspicious deal with a wealthy developer. With the dream of supplying wind-generated electricity to the valley and employment to his destitute neighbors, Mr. Light embodies goodwill and decency in a corrupt and changing world. (Kyrgyzstan, 2010, 80 min.)
• March 19: Street Days uses humor and gritty realism to explore desperation, decline and moral dilemmas in modern Georgia. Checkie, a middle-aged and unemployed heroin addict, is blackmailed by corrupt policemen into introducing the son of their wealthy enemy to drugs. Making increasingly bad decisions, Checkie reunites with his wife to face his deteriorating options before a penultimate choice. Directed by Levan Koghuashvili. (Georgia, 2010, 86 min.)
• March 21: The White Meadows a blend of fable and political critique set on the shores of a salt lake, follows Rahmat, a boatman who listens to people’s sorrows and collects their tears in vials to pour into the sea. But he remains powerless against a community that, in misguided attempts to appease the gods, inflicts multiple brutalities. Director Mohammad Rasoulof’s mesmerizing and surreal film won the AsiaAfrica Special Jury Prize and the Muhr AsiaAfrica Award for Best Director at the Dubai International Film Festival. (Iran, 2009, 93 min.)
• March 26: The Invisible Eye explores surveillance, repression and insurrection during the 1980s military regime in Argentina. An assistant teacher at an elite Buenos Aires private school, the lonely and obedient Mar铆a Teresa adopts the school’s totalitarian oversight policies. But she soon finds herself amidst a breakdown in structure and discipline at the school that mirrors the rebellion outside. Directed by Diego Lerman. (Argentina, 2010, 95 min.)
• April 2: A Useful Life is a universally appealing tribute to the soul of cinema, set in Uruguay and filmed in black and white. When a local cinema closes due to dwindling support, loyal employee Jorge is forced to find a new passion and navigate his world beyond the screen. Director Federico Veiroj received an award for Best Director at the Valdivia International Film Festival. (Uruguay, 2010, 63 min.)

The Global Lens series of films from around the world continues at 乐播传媒 College with Ordinary People by Serbian director Vladimir Perisic, showing at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, and 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, at the Ronj, 乐播传媒’ student-run coffeehouse at 32 Frye St.

Admission is $5. Made in 2009, “Ordinary People” is in Serbian with English subtitles (79 min.). For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.

The Global Film Initiative produces the series in an effort to promote cross-cultural understanding through the medium of cinema by showing little-known, skillfully made independent films to American audiences. The initiative believes that “a powerful, authentic narrative can foster trust and respect between disparate cultures and mitigate the social and psychological impact of cultural prejudice.”

Set in an unspecified time of conflict in the Balkans, Ordinary People captures the psychological toll of war on its participants, and the universal struggle of all soldiers to reconcile morality with action.

On a seemingly average day, a busload of young soldiers is sent to a remote location in the countryside and given a macabre task: the execution of a number of civilians. Dzoni, a green recruit, initially objects, but as he moves from one killing to the next, he is swept up by the specter of military authority, and quickly becomes desensitized by the apparently routine nature of his task. As he nears the end of his assignment, the quiet horror of the day slowly begins to affect him, forcing a painful reconciliation with his actions.

Perisic has directed several short films including Realitatvirtust and Miloch. His graduation film, Dremano Oko, was selected for Cinefondation at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2003. Ordinary People is his first feature film.

The Global Lens series of films from around the world continues at 乐播传媒 College with My Tehran for Sale by Iranian director Granaz Moussavi, showing at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, and at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 1, at the Ronj, 32 Frye St.

Hosted by the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art, the series continues on Fridays and Saturdays throughout the fall. Admission is $5. Made in 2009, My Tehran for Sale is in Farsi and English with English subtitles (97 min.). For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.

The Global Film Initiative produces the series in an effort to promote cross-cultural understanding through the medium of cinema by showing little-known, skillfully made independent films to American audiences. The initiative believes that “a powerful, authentic narrative can foster trust and respect between disparate cultures and mitigate the social and psychological impact of cultural prejudice.”

In this riveting insider’s perspective on life in Iran’s capital city, Marzieh — a terminally ill actress — wearily relates her desperate quest for political asylum through a series of interviews with an unsympathetic government official. Set against the backdrop of Tehran’s thriving arts culture, and framed through a series of artful and dramatic flashback sequences, Moussavi boldly registers the trials of a modern woman struggling to flourish in Iran’s contemporary political climate.

Marzieh recounts her struggle to work as an actress under Iran’s current regime, her hope for a future ultimately dashed by the devastating discovery of her illness, and her need to “escape” the only home she has ever known.

Born in Tehran, in 1974, Moussavi is the author of four collections of avant-garde poetry and has directed and edited several short films and documentaries. She received a degree in screen studies from Flinders University and a postgraduate degree in film editing from the Australian Film Television and Radio School. My Tehran for Sale is Moussavi’s first feature film.

The Global Lens series of films from around the world continues at 乐播传媒 College with Leo’s Room by Uruguayan director Enrique Buchichio, showing at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, and at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, at the Ronj, 32 Frye St.

Hosted by the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art, the series continues on Fridays and Saturdays throughout the fall. Admission is $5. Leo’s Room is in Spanish with English subtitles (92 min.). For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.

The Global Film Initiative produces the annual series in an effort to promote cross-cultural understanding through the medium of cinema by showing little-known, skillfully made independent films to American audiences. The initiative believes that “a powerful, authentic narrative can foster trust and respect between disparate cultures and mitigate the social and psychological impact of cultural prejudice.”

Buchichio’s affirming coming-of-age tale is set in the heart of Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo. The affable but secretly troubled Leo wraps himself in the comfort of his small rented room, unmotivated to finish his college thesis or find a job, and content with infrequent visits from his girlfriend. After their relationship ends, Leo begins to break out of his shell by cruising the Internet for a new companion. However, it isn’t until he has a chance reunion with a classmate that he is forced to consider the true meaning of his reclusive lifestyle, and a future outside the metaphoric safety of his room.

Made in 2009, Leo’s Room is Buchichio’s first feature film. In 2005, he was selected for the Talent Campus Buenos Aires competition, organized by the Universidad del Cine in cooperation with the Berlinale Talent Campus. In 2007 he released the short Noche Fr铆a.

The Global Lens series of films from around the world continues at 乐播传媒 College with Masquerades by Algerian director Lyes Salem, showing at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8, and 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 11, in the Ronj, 乐播传媒’ student-run coffeehouse, 32 Frye St.

Hosted by the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art, the series continues on Fridays and Mondays throughout the fall. Admission is $5. Made in 2008, Masquerades is in Arabic with English subtitles (92 min.). For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu.

The Global Film Initiative produces the series in an effort to promote cross-cultural understanding through the medium of cinema by showing little-known, skillfully made independent films to American audiences. The initiative believes that “a powerful, authentic narrative can foster trust and respect between disparate cultures and mitigate the social and psychological impact of cultural prejudice.”

After working for much of his life as a gardener in a dusty Algerian village, Mounir dreams of improving his family’s fortune and gaining a measure of respect by marrying off his narcoleptic sister, Rym, to a “real gentleman.” However, Rym has other plans — she dreams of marrying Mounir’s best friend, Khliffa, who has secretly courted her for years.

When Mounir lashes out at village gossip with a fib that he has promised Rym to a wealthy outsider, she comes out of her sleepy stupor to embrace the rumor and press her real betrothed into action.

Beautifully brought to life by a memorable cast, this heartfelt comedy is Salem’s first feature film. His second short film, Cousines, received France’s Cesar award for Best Short Film in 2005. He has acted in a number of films, including Alex, Banlieue 13 and L’Ecole de la Chair.