UNT to present films from eight countries during series

Films from eight nations will be shown at UNT during the Spring 2004 Global Film Series, which begins Feb. 3 with Mr. Klein, a film from France about an art dealer living in Paris during the Nazi occupation.

The films in the series, free and open to the public, will be shown Tuesdays at 7 p.m. through March 30. No film will be shown March 16, when UNT is closed for spring break.

All of the films, which are in English or subtitled, will be presented in the Radio, Television, Film and Performing Arts Building, Room 184.

The series is sponsored by the UNT Global Film Society with support from the Arts Guild of Denton, the Greater Denton Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the UNT Fine Arts Series and the UNT Department of Radio, Television and Film.

The films to be shown in the series are:

Feb. 3 — Mr. Klein — This 1977 release from France, directed by an American who made art films abroad, focuses on a suave art dealer living in Paris during the 1942 Nazi occupation. The dealer takes advantage of Jews who are being arrested and sent to Germany by buying their family heirlooms at rock-bottom prices until he is mistaken for a Jew.

Feb. 10 — Caravaggio — Released in 1986, this British film depicts the story of Italian painter Caravaggio by using 20th-century anachronisms.

Feb. 17 — A Ay (Oh Moon) — This 1998 Turkish film follows a girl living with her two aunts in a dilapidated castle, where she seeks to unlock the mysteries of her past.

Feb. 24 — Il Monstro (The Monster) — Directed by and starring Roberto Benigni (Life is Beautiful), this 1994 comedy of errors from Italy focuses on a gardener who is mistaken for a serial sex killer. An undercover policewoman is assigned to follow the gardener and gain evidence for his arrest, but things don't quite go according to plan.

March 2 — Gumnaam (Nameless) — A Bollywood version of Agatha Christie's famous mystery Ten Little Indians, this 1965 Indian musical follows eight people stranded on a desert island. The castaways seek shelter at a mansion where a sinister-looking butler knows who they are, and they start dying one by one.

March 9 — Cronos — This 1992 horror film from Mexico reworks the vampire myth. An elderly antiques dealer discovers an ancient artifact secreted within a statue obtained from the estate of a 16th-century alchemist. Unknown to him, the device houses an immortal parasite that will grant eternal life to its host. After the object anchors itself to his body, the antiques dealer shows signs of becoming a vampire by developing an extreme aversion to daylight and a thirst for human blood.

March 23 — Happiness of the Katakuris — Released in 2001, this Japanese musical is a black comedy satire focusing on a Japanese family running a country inn. However, all of their guests keep dying on them.

March 30 — Tales From the Gimli Hospital — This 1988 Canadian film tells the story of a man who gets sick during an epidemic and has to stay in a rather strange hospital to recover. The surreal film became a cult hit.

For more information, call the Department of Radio, Television and Film at (940) 565-2537.

BY NANCY KOLSTI nkolsti@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• UNT to present gala celebration Feb. 14 to honor 50 years of desegregation
• Academy wins federal funds
• Gift creates UNT euphonium endowment
• Equity, diversity workshop set
• Staff Council discusses insurance changes
• New UNT research center uncovers secrets of plants
• UNT performance of oratorio set for Jan. 29
• Markley accepted into Leadership Texas
• 'Star man' fronts musically diverse band Crawfish

homepage