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The Seventh Annual Northern Lights Film Festival will be held March 31, April 1 and April 2 at the McArdle Theatre on the Michigan Technological University campus. This year’s festival brings recent award-winning independent films to the campus and surrounding community. For more information, contact Erin Smith at smitherin@mtu.edu or (906) 487-3263. Open to the public. Admission is free.
Schedule:
March 31st:
7:00 PM: Gasland (Josh Fox, 2010) (click for trailer)
Director Josh Fox investigates the disturbing underworld of fracking, the a controversial drilling technique spreading across the United States. Gasland explores the devastating effects fracking has on our environment and health. (107 minutes)
Gasland will be introduced by senior Wes Kolbe, who will also moderate a discussion following the film.
9:30 PM: Zenith (Nikolic, 2010) (click for trailer)
Memento, Inception, and 12 Monkeys have company. This sci-fi thriller takes place in 2044. Everyone is genetically modified to be happy, but has it come at the cost of what makes us human? Directed by Vladan Nikolic. (93 minutes)
Screens with:
Spider
Nash Edgerton
(9 minutes)
April 1st:
5:00 PM: In the Family (Rudnick/Kartemquin, 2008) (click for trailer)
Documentary filmmaker Joanna Rudnick turns the camera on herself after testing positive for the breast cancer gene. At 27, she must confront the emotional and medically complex question of whether to remove her breasts and ovaries or risk developing cancer. (83 minutes)
7:30PM: Erasing David (David Bond, 2010) (click for trailer)
Four million closed-circuit TV cameras survey the United Kingdom. In this captivating documentary, director David Bond challenges those in charge and attempts to disappear without a trace. Will he succeed in eluding those attempting to track him down? (80 minutes)
Screening with:
Thrush
Gabriele Bisset-Smith and Graham Turner
(4 minutes)
9:30 PM: Heartless (Ridley, 2010) (click for trailer)
This psychological thriller follows Jamie (Jim Sturgess), a young man with a heart-shaped birthmark on his face, through the troubled streets on the East End of London. The violent and disturbed neighborhood is not only ruled by gangs, but by demons as well. Directed by Philip Ridley. (114 minutes)
Screens with:
Snowblowing Over the Dead of Winter
Daena Makela
(11 minutes)
April 2nd
1:00PM: Student Academy Award Winners (2010)
“Departure of Love,” Animation Gold Medal Award
Jennifer Bors, Ringling College of Art and Design
In silent film tradition, a young man discovers his love is leaving on a train. (3 minutes)
“God of Love”, Narrative Gold Medal Award
Luke Matheny, New York University
A love-struck, dart-throwing lounge singer finds his prayers answered when he receives a mysterious box. (19 minutes)
“Surface: Film from Below,” Alternative Gold Medal Award
Varathit Uthaisri, Parsons The New School for Design
Exploring an emotional journey from an underground urban perspective. (3 minutes)
“Yizkor (Remembrance),” Documentary Gold Medal Award
Ruth Fertig, University of Texas at Austin
Years after her grandparents have died, the filmmaker discovers her Grandmother’s memoir revealing their experiences during the Holocaust. (23 minutes)
“The Confession,” Honorary Foreign Film Award
Tanel Toom, National Film and Television School, United Kingdom
Nine-year-old Sam is nervous about his first confession. (25 minutes)
2:30 PM Michigan Tech Student Films
PANK Justin Jones, Michelle Farrey, Dawn Bodrie, John Kinney • PANK Magazine is an independent literary journal that continues to publish writing both in print and online. Through the opinions of editors and writers involved in the process, PANK takes a quick look at the ways in which online media and print technology have created a space for small publishing to thrive in. (11 minutes)
A Second Look: Accessible Education Laura Holt, Samantha Allen, Ting Wang, Chad Reid • This documentary takes a look at accessible education on Michigan Tech’s campus through the eyes of Rebecca Klumpp, a student with cerebral palsy. (15 minutes)
Glory Glory Audrey Reenders, Kenny Stahl • After a crazy night, Kenny Stahl has to find the members of his one man band in time to perform a concert. Original music by Kenny Stahl. (5 minutes)
Concentric Circles Matt Durocher, Samantha Stauch, Steve Lichon • Traditional Ethnic music in the Copper country is alive and well as musicians form communities that create new insights and modern interpretations for new generations. Concentric Circles explores local musician Oren Tikkanen and how he is keeping the music alive. (13 minutes)
Wandering Heart Heather Norton, Kate Pote, Trevor Kuehl, Christina Irwin, Alissa Pacaitis • MTU students Kate Pote and Dan Haefs double as the indie folk duo, “This Is Deer Country.” This documentary explores the choices faced by student musicians. (10 minutes)
4:00 PM: Marwencol (Malmberg, 2010) (click for trailer)
After Mark Hogancamp awakens from a coma, brought on by a beating outside a New York tavern, he finds peace in his 1/6th scale World War II-era town named Marwencol. Directed by Jeff Malmberg. (83 minutes)
Screening with:
Cigarette Candy
Lauren Wolkstein
(13 minutes)
7:30 PM: Waste Land (Walker, 2010) (Click for trailer)
Artist Vik Muniz travels from Brooklyn to the world’s largest garbage dump in the world outside Rio de Janeiro. There he discovers the pickers of recyclable materials and begins an awe-inspiring collaboration with the “catadores.” Through their art from garbage, the human spirit and outlook on life is transformed forever. Directed by Lucy Walker, Karen Harley and João Jardim. (99 minutes)
Screens with:
The Lost Thing
(15 minutes)
Andrew Ruhemann, Shaun Tan
The Northern Lights Film Festival is sponsored by the departments of Humanities and Visual and Performing Arts and Cin/Optic Communication and Media Enterprise Team. Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer.