Fall 2018 Films
The Chinese Exclusion Act
Wednesday, September 12, 2018 at 1:00 PM
Charles B. Wang Center Theatre
(2017 | 35 minutes | Documentary | Directed by Ric Burns and Li-Shin Yu)
Discussion and Q&A led by Prof. Peggy Christoff, Senior Lecturer of College of Arts and Sciences, and Dr. Lee Bitsóí, Chief Diversity Officer.
People across the United States are wondering about the history of U.S. immigration laws and how we got to where we are today. The Chinese Exclusion Act tells the story behind about a little-known 1882 law that helped form ideas relevant to today's heated conversations around American identity, democracy, and civil rights. For 61 years, Chinese people were barred from immigrating to the United States and were denied citizenship. The exclusion law was eventually expanded to bar all Asians. By examining the socioeconomic and geopolitical forces that led to the act, the film uncovers its unmistakable and wide-ranging consequences on national attitudes towards race, culture, politics, and society. Using historical documents, testimonies, and insights from leading scholars, The Chinese Exclusion Act explores the history of Chinese immigration to the United States and its significance to current issues of globalization, immigration, labor, and civil rights.
A Cambodian Spring
Wednesday, September 19, 2018 at 1:00 PM
Charles B. Wang Center Theatre
(2017 | 120 minutes | Documentary | In Central Khmer, with English subtitles | Directed
by Chris Kelly)
Discussion and Q&A to follow.
A Cambodian Spring is an intimate and unique portrait of three people caught up in the chaotic and often violent developments shaping modern-day Cambodia. Shot over a six-year period, the film charts the growing wave of land-rights protests that led to the “Cambodian Spring” and the tragic events that followed. At its heart, this film is about the complexities—both political and personal—of fighting for what you believe in.
The film is presented as a part of Human Rights Film Festival by the Department of English and the Global Citizenship and World Literature Project, and sponsored by the President's Mini-Grant for Diversity.
Intention (그날, 바다)
Saturday, October 13, 2018 at 5:00 PM
Charles B. Wang Center Theatre
(2018 | 115 minutes | Documentary | In Korean, with English subtitles | Directed by
Ji-Young Kim)
Discussion and Q&A led by the film’s director, Ji-Young Kim and its producer, Jin-a Choi.
This documentary recounts the Sewol Ferry Disaster of 2014, an event that resulted in over 300 casualties and inflicted trauma to the national psyche of South Korea. So momentous was this disaster, it led to remarkable political change and the eventual impeachment of South Korean president Geun-hye Park. But this documentary isn’t solely about the mourning of the victims or the political and social ramifications of the tragedy. It also details the four-year-long scientific investigation to uncover the truth behind the disaster. What really happened that day out at sea?
The film is presented as a part of Human Rights Film Festival by the Department of English and the Global Citizenship and World Literature Project, and sponsored by the President's Mini-Grant for Diversity.
The film will tour to CUNY Queens College (October 14) and the University of Pennsylvania (October 15).
Lesbian Factory
Thursday, November 29, 2018 at 4:00 PM
Charles B. Wang Center Theatre
(2010 | 57 minutes | Documentary | Directed by Susan Chen)
Discussion and Q&A led by the filmmaker Jing-ru Wu and the film's producer Teri Silvo.
The documentary follows a group of Filipina migrant worker activists and their tumultuous same-sex relationships while abroad. The project grew out of the long-time collaboration of Filipina migrants with the Taiwan International Workers’ Association. Lesbian Factory brings together migrant labor activism and queer love to unpack the complex and multi-layered texture of our globalized moment.
The film is presented as a part of Human Rights Film Festival by the Department of English and the Global Citizenship and World Literature Project, and sponsored by the President's Mini-Grant for Diversity.
Spring 2018 Films
I Can Speak
Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 6:00 PM
Charles B. Wang Center Theatre
(2017 | 120 minutes | Drama/Comedy | Directed by Kim Hyun-seok)
Discussion and Q&A led by Prof. Heejeong Sohn, Assistant Director of the Center for Korean Studies at SBU.
An elderly Korean woman constantly files complaints with her municipal office about the wrongs she sees around her each and every day. Along the way, she forms an unlikely friendship with a junior civil service officer, who begins to teach her English. As he and his student grow closer, the civil servant realizes the real reason behind why this relentless elderly woman wants to learn English and comes to be one of her most ardent, important supporters. Though the film is a comedy, the film does not shy away from discussing the deeper, still sensitive topic of Korean “comfort women,” women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army in occupied Korea before and during World War II.
Presented by the Center for Korean Studies at Stony Brook University.
Factory Complex
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at 4:00 PM
Charles B. Wang Center Theatre
(2016 | 92 minutes | Documentary | In Korean, with English subtitles | Directed by Im Heung-soon)
Discussion and Q&A led by Prof. E. K. Tan and Prof. Mireille Rebeiz from the Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature.
The winner of the Silver Lion at the 2015 Venice Biennale, Im Heung-soon’s powerful documentary is both an artful exposé that examines the nature of exploitation and a lyrical ode to the female working poor. Factory Complex provides a rare insight into the world of working women and their ongoing struggles, as hard-won earnings and workers’ rights are swallowed up by a rapidly modernizing society.
The film is presented as a part of the Human Rights Film Festival by the Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, and funded by the Presidential Mini-grant for Departmental Diversity.
Out of Focus
Wednesday, April 11, 2018 at 4:00 PM
Charles B. Wang Center Lecture Hall I
(2017 | 88 minutes | Documentary | In Mandarin, with English subtitles | Directed by Shengze Zhu)
Discussion and Q&A led by Prof. E. K. Tan and Prof. Mireille Rebeiz from the Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature.
This documentary offers a harsh and unsettling portrait of poverty and urbanism through the sobering perspectives of “migrant children” in modern China. These children were originally from rural areas but have since moved to Wuhan, as their parents chase work and the possibility of a better life in the most populous city in central China. Many of the children fell in love with the bustling city at first, a huge change from the quiet, tranquil countryside existences they previously lived. They grow ambitious about the bright futures the big city could provide them.
The film is presented as a part of the Human Rights Film Festival by the Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, and funded by the Presidential Mini-grant for Departmental Diversity.
Taste of Cement
Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 4:00 PM
Charles B. Wang Center | Lecture Hall I
(2017 | 85 minutes | Documentary | In Arabic with English subtitles | Directed by
Ziad Kalthoum)
Discussion and Q&A led by Prof. E. K. Tan and Prof. Mireille Rebeiz from the Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature.
In Beirut, Syrian construction workers build a skyscraper. At the same time, back in Syria, their houses are being shelled into rubble. Though war and armed conflict have quieted in Lebanon, the Syrian civil war still rages on. The Syrian workers often find themselves locked in the building site, not allowed to leave until after 7 p.m. To make their lives even harder, the Lebanese government has imposed night-time curfews on all refugees. The only contact with the outside world for these Syrian workers is the hole through which they climb out in the morning to begin a new day of work. Cut off from their homeland, they gather at night around a small TV set to get news from Syria. Tormented by anguish and anxiety, suffering and deprived of the most basic human and workers’ rights, they nevertheless hope for a different, better life.
The film is presented as a part of the Human Rights Film Festival by the Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, and funded by the Presidential Mini-grant for Departmental Diversity.