Renowned French Filmmaker Robert Guédiguian and More Amazing Guests | Community Newsletter

February 10, 2023

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French Filmmaker Robert Guédiguian among Many Amazing Guests to Appear In-Person...

We are so excited to announce an in-person program with renowned French Filmmaker Robert Guédiguian. Guédiguian is one of France's best-known and most widely respected auteur filmmakers. Most of his films are concerned with the problems of ordinary working class people. While his films predominantly have a social realist bearing, Guédiguian is not overly preoccupied with naturalism. Often, he employs film noir thriller elements and stylistic touches which sometimes appear to be at variance with the ordinariness of his subject matter. The one theme that runs across Guédiguian's oeuvre is a growing sense of disillusionment with the ability of leftwing politics to improve the fortunes of the working classes. This pessimism is countered by a more hopeful assertion that the less privileged members of society can surmount their problems by working together. Guédiguian's cinema is therefore both a cry of despair, accepting that grand socialist dreams will always fail, but also an expression of hope, as friendship and solidarity will always see us through.

Guédiguian will be appearing at the Cinema Arts Centre in person with a screening of DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO.

The 1960s were a time of change everywhere, and that includes Bamako, the capital city of Mali, a nation only recently independent from French colonial rule. DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO is a romance fraught with the drama of political change, infused with the musical energy of that decade. Samba, a young, idealistic socialist, works toward creating a more just nation by day and dances with girlfriend Lara to the Beach Boys, Otis Redding, and the Supremes by night. The film’s sensibility is inspired by the vibrant images, patterns, and compositions of famed Malian photographer, Malick Sidibé. Lara’s orange silk dress and Samba’s dazzling white suit, shot against the striped backdrop of their dance club and the black and white checked dance floor they cut up, all suggest that change is coming rapidly - that life is for living.

"Inspired by the photographs of Malick Sidibé, DANCING THE TWIST IN BAMAKO does not claim to moralize or substitute for an African perspective. The film relies on the universality of love stories that defy (at the risk of their lives) traditions and ideologies, to weave a story nourished by simplicity, enthusiasm, and even the touching naivety of youth, against the backdrop of a utopia of class struggle confronted by "realpolitik." A dive into the past, punctuated by a multitude of hits from the early 60s whose fragrance of effervescent happiness is tinged with nostalgia and tragedy, like a challenge to time and the dictates of the mind." - Fabien Lemercier, Cineuropa

Wednesday, March 1st at 7:00 PM

CLICK HERE for tickets.

Here are a few other very exciting special guests who will be visiting the Cinema:

FILMMAKERS FOR THE PROSECUTION (2022) & NUREMBERG: ITS LESSON FOR TODAY (1948)

With Author & Producer Sandra Schulberg, daughter of Nuremberg director Stuart Schulberg, in person

Sunday, February 19^th at 2:20 PM

Tickets

MY COMIC SHOP COUNTRY

Featuring panel discussion with director Anthony Desiato and two comic shop owners from the film, Menachem Luchins (Escape Pod Comics) and Shawn Hendricks (Fat Moose Comics)

Monday, February 20^th at 7:30 PM

Tickets

Long Island LitFest Presents Supermodel, actress, & author

PAULINA PORIZKOVA IN-PERSON

Sunday, March 5^th, 2023 at 2:30 PM

Tickets

THE ROOM

With Greg Sestero in-person

Film/Q&A/Meet-and-Greet

Friday, March 17^th at 7:00 PM

Tickets

ITHAKA (Long Island Premiere)

With Julian Assange's Father and Brother, John and Gabriel Shipton, in-person

Saturday, March 18^th at 7:00 PM

Tickets

Check our our CALENDAR for many more films and special programs!

Crossing Party Lines - First Event and Call for Volunteers

The Long Island Chapter of Crossing Party Lines will hold its first event in the Cinema Arts Centre's Sky Room Cafe on Thursday, February 16 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST. The topic: George Santos: What can we learn?

Six weeks after his election, NY-03 Rep. George Santos became nationally famous for making numerous false or dubious claims about his personal and professional life. After The New York Times published the results of its investigation, several other news outlets reported that large parts of George Santos' self-published biography were fabricated. Santos has since admitted to lying about his education and employment and is currently under investigation by U.S. federal, New York state, Nassau County, and Brazilian authorities.

In September 2022, a local Long Island newspaper, The North Shore Leader, had reported various oddities about Santos' biography. A month later in October, the paper, which traditionally endorses Republican candidates, endorsed Santos' Democratic opponent calling Santos “bizarre, unprincipled and sketchy “. Public response to that story was minimal and Santos went on to win the election.

To those of us living on Long Island, the events have left us scratching our heads and asking how this could have happened. Join us as we explore this and other questions such as:

Whether you voted for him or not, how have you felt about his election and him representing us?

What do you believe is the appropriate response to the situation?

What can we learn for the future?

Join our FIRST in-person discussion at our NEW Long Island chapter and have a voice in our local (and national) conversation! Help us rebuild our culture where all views are welcomed, appreciated, and heard. We count on our members to represent a wide range of experiences, perspectives, and concerns.

Please do your best to arrive 5-10 minutes before the meeting so we can get to know each other before we start the discussion.

We would love to hear your thoughts on our social media pages. Don't miss topic announcements, updates, and news! Follow us on:

• Instagram @crossingpartylines

• Twitter @crosspartylines

• Facebook @crossingpartylines

Pre-Reads

https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/12/29/north-shore-leader-santos-scoop/

https://www.theleaderonline.com/single-post/santos-filings-now-claim-net-worth-of-11-million

Check Out the Meet-up group HERE.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS AND INTERNS

Crossing Party Lines (CPL) is looking for volunteers and interns for its new Visual Media department. CPL is a non-profit organization that facilitates conversations between people of varied political persuasions. The Director of CPL Visual Media team is based on Long Island and is keen to work with her team in-person at least 1 day a week. If you are a Filmmaker/Video Editor/Graphic Design Artist with experience video editing/ animating/ motion graphics and interested in doing the most important work of our time of bridging our differences, reach out to Swati Srivastava at swati.srivastava@crossingpartylines.com or fill our volunteer form at http://bit.ly/40nDhRS

Peter Scheer Art Show - Purchase of Prints to Benefit Cinema Arts Centre

Come see Peter Scheer's remarkable work in the Cinema Arts Centre's gallery space. Works are currently on display, and the official opening is Saturday, February 18th, between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM. The Exhibit runs through the end of April. Purchases of these works, both reproductions of paintings and photography, will help raise funds for the Cinema and the artist. Inquire at the Cinema Box Office.

Longtime Cinema Member Peter Scheer is a photographer, filmmaker, painter and visual artist who lives in Dix Hills, New York. Peter is a graduate with a BA from Long Island University and a Pratt Institute Fellowship in Art.

He has taught filmmaking, created installations in the American Museum of Natural History, and documented national figures and celebrities as cinematographer for major networks and producers.

His creative communication skills and talent have contributed to the important media missions of many international and national institutions, in addition to the private sector and non-profit organizations.

For many years, his professional accomplishments have received numerous accolades for this documentary films and photo journalism.

Peter’s fascination with photography and now paint has evolved into a rather unique vision: PhotoArt. Using his natural skills as photographer, his latest works go beyond the bounds of reality taking common subjects, transforming them into lustrous images that stimulate the viewers imagination.

Peter has supported the Cinema Arts Centre with a wide array of in-kind contributions and as a program partner for many years. We are excited to exhibit his work and so grateful that he will be contributing a portion of funds raised to support Cinema programs and operations.

Special Thanks to our February Program Sponsors:

CLICK HERE to review current sponsorship opportunities.