First up, Mercer University will be hosting a truly special event with its inaugural Freedom Lecture on Monday night, and will be screening two movies related to it. Sister Helen Préjean, who has devoted much of her life to ministering to death row inmates and become a leading advocate for the abolition of the punishment, will be speaking at 7 p.m. at Mercer’s Willingham Auditorium.
Préjean will be signing copies of her book, “Dead Man Walking,” following the lecture, and the movie it inspired will be screened earlier in the day, at 2 p.m. at the Cox Capitol Theatre downtown. Additionally, the documentary “At the Death House Door,” which focuses on the career of a chaplain for the Texas prison system and his change of heart about the death penalty, will be screened at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the Social Hall of St. Joseph Catholic Church.
A truly unique set of events, and best of all, they’re all free.
And, this being a great college town, it’s not just Mercer that gets in on the movie action. Mercer, Wesleyan College and Macon State College are teaming up once again for the 2011 CollegeTown Film Series beginning Thursday, with all movies being screened at the Douglass Theatre downtown.
First up, Thursday, will be “Last Night,” a 1998 movie by director Don McKellar, which brings together a diverse group of people -- played by Sandra Oh, Sarah Polley and director David Cronenberg, among others -- with the world set to end in six hours.
The final two movies in the series are among my favorites. Jim Jarmusch’s “Ghost Dog,” which stars Forest Whitaker as a zen hitman of sorts who turns against the mafia thugs who are usually his employer, will be screened Jan. 27. And finally, Alfonso Cuaron’s “Children of Men,” a riveting dystopian film starring Clive Owen, which tied with “Pan’s Labyrinth” for my favorite movies of 2007, will be screened Feb. 3.
Immediately following each movie, a professor from one of the presenting colleges will lead a discussion: Tom Ellington of Wesleyan College following “Last Night,” Craig Coleman of Mercer University after “Ghost Dog” and Patrick Brennan of Macon State College after “Children of Men.” All movies start at 7 p.m. at the Douglass, with admission being free for students of the presenting schools, and $5 for others, which includes a snack pass.
And not to be left out of all the movie fun, the Macon Film Guild is supplementing it’s once-monthly offering of fantastic films from the edge of the map with a new quarterly documentary series, with “The Tillman Story” next up at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night, also at the Douglass.
The movie examines the life and death of Pat Tillman, who turned his back on a pro football career to join the military after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. His death in the line of duty, how it was exploited by the military and his family’s search for the truth all are explored by director Amir Bar Lev. Admission is $5.
So, we may have had least a smattering of snow this week in Macon, but great movies are still blooming all around -- if you know where to look.
Read more of Keith Demko’s writing about movies in his Reel Fanatic blog at Macon.com.
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment