1968: An International Perspective
April 29 – May 14, 2008
“Never mind Funny Girl, Oliver! Or even 2001; if you want a glimpse at this turbulent year in America’s history, check out this program of incendiary dramas, intellectually dense critiques and insightful political docs that looks at the era’s legacy. Burn, baby, burn!” – Time Out New York
Don’t miss these special events: the return of King: A Filmed Record…Montgomery to Memphis, an epic documentary on Martin Luther King rarely seen since its initial release in 1971; Dionysus in ‘69, Brian De Palma’s film of a controversial and highly influential Performance Group production of The Bacchae, directed by Richard Schechner; and A Time to Stir, a work-in-progress screening of Paul Cronin’s upcoming film on the 1968 Columbia strike that will be followed by a panel discussion on the film moderated by Richard Peña. The panelists include: Thulani Davis, Carolyn Rusti Eisenberg, Richard Forzani, Tom Hurwitz, Mark Jacobson and Allan Silver.
Somehow, the notion of the ‘60s is never far from any discussion of contemporary life or politics, whether it’s the Left seeing that decade as the harbinger of hope and change or the Right decrying the breakdown of social and cultural values. And no year resonates more powerfully than 1968. The twin shocks of the student-worker uprisings in France and the student strikes at Columbia University in the spring of ‘68 set in bold relief the tensions and contradictions running through the Western world. They were joined and in some cases preceded by upheavals in Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Czechoslovakia, West Germany and elsewhere. From this cauldron of protest and confrontation—some of it violent and bloody—emerged a wide array of movements, from a revitalized feminism to gay rights to the Greens, not to mention a newly fortified right-wing reaction to the challenges of ‘68.
Such a groundswell left its mark on cinema; the modernism exemplified by the era’s various new waves had already been challenging established forms, institutions and conventions, and it was a short leap (if one were needed at all) to read those new cinemas as the artistic vanguard of the emerging New Left. Moreover, with readily available 16mm equipment and training courses, political groups could now make their own films, challenging the images offered by the establishment.
This series looks at the phenomenon that was 1968 from three perspectives. The first is through filmed documents of the events themselves, including the work of the Newsreel collectives and other independent filmmakers who captured many of the key events as they were happening. The second comprises those works that look back and directly meditate on the impact of ’68 either through fiction (Regular Lovers) or nonfiction (Milestones). Finally, the third strand highlights those works that exemplify in myriad ways the continuing influence of ’68, ranging from Glauber Rocha’s celebration of mystical revolution, Antonio das Mortes, to Rosa von Praunheim’s pioneering It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives.
For a listing of the films in the series go to Program Overview.
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Calendar to view the schedule, film descriptions and to purchase tickets online.
The screening schedule & film descriptions for
1968: An International Perspective is available here in brochure format. Please note: Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to download the brochure.
1968: An International Perspective received major support from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art. The series was programmed by Richard Peña.
