The gripping Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker,” winner of six 2010 Academy Awards, including best picture, headlines Lawrence University’s 10-week-long independent film series beginning March 31.
All films are shown on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema, 711 E. Boldt Way, Appleton. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, call 920-832-6837.
The series schedule is as follows:
• March 31 — “500 Days of Summer” (2009): Nonlinear story of boy meets girl…boy falls in love…girl doesn’t. Winner of two 2010 Golden Globe awards, including best picture.
• April 7 — “Amreeka” (2009): Chronicles the adventures of Muna, a single mother who leaves the West Bank with her teenage son, Fadi, with dreams of an exciting future in the promised land of small-town Illinois.
• April 14 — “A Serious Man” (2009): A black comedy by the Coen brothers set in 1967 and centered on a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother won’t move out of the house.
• April 21 — “Earth Days” (2009): Traces the origins of the modern environmental movement through the eyes of nine Americans who propelled the movement from its beginnings in the 1950s to its moment of triumph in 1970 with the original Earth Day, and to its status as a major political force in America.
• April 28 — “The Hurt Locker” (2009) : An intense portrayal of elite U.S. soldiers in Iraq who perform one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: disarming bombs in the heat of combat. Winner of six Oscars, including best picture and best director.
• May 5 — “Paranormal Activity” (2009): After a young couple moves into a suburban house, they become increasingly disturbed by a demonic presence that is active in the middle of the night – especially when they sleep – where the horrific presence is captured on their video camera.
• May 12 — “Blue Gold” (Documentary, 2008): Wars of the future will be fought over water as they are over oil today as the source of human survival enters the global marketplace and political arena.
• May 19 — “An Education” (2009): A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age. Nominated for three Academy Awards in 2010, including best picture.
• May 26 — “Man on Wire” (Documentary, 2008): A look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit’s daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City’s World Trade Center’s twin towers in 1974, what some consider, “the artistic crime of the century.” Winner of 2009 Academy Award for best documentary.
• June 2 — “The Visitor”(2008): A college professor travels to New York for a conference where he discovers a Syrian musician and his Senegalese girlfriend living in his apartment. The illegal immigrants have nowhere to go so he reluctantly allows them to stay with him. Earned Oscar nomination for lead actor Richard Jenkins and Independent Spirit Award for best director.
