Posted by Cathy Reisenwitz on 2007-09-05

The Samford University Foreign Film Series showcases world cinema by showing films shot and or set in foreign countries, all in the language in which they were shot, with English subtitles to help those who are not quite fluent. All movies will play at 6 p.m. in the Christenberry Planetarium and are open to the public free of charge.

The Lives of Others, a hauntingly accurate portrayal of the effect of the "Stasi," (State Security) which recruited a fourth of East Germans to spy on their friends and neighbors, will kick off the series on Monday, Sept. 10. The film won several Lolas, or German Film Awards, as well as the 2007 Oscar for Best Foreign Film.

Next up is In July, a romantic comedy/road movie by renowned German-Turkish director Fatih Akin. It will play Sept. 24 and is in German with English subtitles.

Sophie Scholl recreates the last few days of the life a 22-year-old woman who, along with her brother and several co-conspirators, published "The White Rose," an anti-Nazi leaflet. The film uses the actual transcripts to depict her interrogation, trial, verdict and execution for crimes against the Third Reich. It will play October 8th.

The Motorcycle Diaries follows young Che Guevara, a medical student from Buenos Aires, and a friend on the motorcycle ride they took through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. Based on his life, the movie shows how these encounters with the world changed the man who would later be associated with Socialist revolutions in Cuba, the Congo and Bolivia. This movie will play Oct. 22 and is in Spanish with English subtitles.

In Les Choristes, a former music teacher enters a French boarding school full of troubled young boys as an inspector and finds the iron first method ineffective. He encourages the boys to get involved in music and watches as it transforms their lives. The film will play Nov. 7.

Joyeux Noel: Lessons in German tells the story of the World War I Christmas truce through the eyes of Scottish, French and German soldiers. It will play Nov. 26 and is in French, German and English.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.