College of DuPage’s 29th annual Global Flicks film series, featuring a slate of community-chosen and timely films, kicks off Wednesday with a showing of the British film, “Wicked Little Letters.”
Every Wednesday thereafter through March 12, an international film will be screened publicly for free at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. at the Belushi Performance Hall in the McAninch Arts Center on the college’s Glen Ellyn campus.
A moderated discussion will follow each showing, said Camila Fernandez Cifuentes, program specialist at the college’s Field and Experiential Learning, Study Abroad and Global Education Office. The series is a partnership between the McAninch Arts Center and her office, she said.
“We try to include films that touch different topics and different genres,” she said. “We try to include (a mix) of countries so we have more of a global perspective. I think this is a great opportunity to not only engage with the community but also offer a different way to do international education — not just for the student but the community as well.”
One of the films is particularly topical to the school. “Miss Hokusai” from Japan will be shown Feb. 26 in the Playhouse Theatre. Directed by Keiichia Hara, “Miss Hokusai” is based on the life and works of Japanese artist and ukiyo-e painter Katsushika Hokusai, as seen from the perspective of his daughter, Katsushika O-Ei.
It ties in with the upcoming exhibit, “Hokusai and Ukiyo-e: The Floating World, Artworks from the Chiossone Collection,” which will be presented from May 31 to Sept. 21 at COD’s Cleve Carney Museum of Art. The show will feature a collection of 53 works of art and 13 artifacts never seen in the U.S.
Additionally, the 2015 film is a part of the 33rd annual Asia Symposium presented by McAninch Arts Center. Scheduled for 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 26, the symposium’s theme is “Pop Wave Japan” and focuses on the country’s culture and history.
The first film in the series, “Wicked Little Letters,” is based on a true story of a town whose residents start receiving hilariously profane (and anonymous) letters after World War I. Starring Olivia Coleman, Timothy Spall and Jessie Buckley, the movie was released in 2023.
“Even the Rain” from Bolivia about Bolivians protesting the privatization of their water supply will be shown Feb. 12, followed by “Broker” from South Korea on Feb. 19, about a young woman who gives her newborn child to a church for adoption and discovers an illegal baby trade operation.
“XTrillion,” from the North Pacific, is scheduled for March 5. It’s about an all-women, 14-member, international crew that undertakes a grueling 3,000-mile sailing expedition across the North Pacific Ocean to investigate the crisis of plastic pollution and raise awareness for conservation.
The final movie, “Of Gods & Men,” from France will be screened March 12 and is about an order of Trappist-Catholic monks living among the Muslim population in Algeria when a civil war breaks out.
Fernandez Cifuentes said the price tag makes the event accessible to anyone who would like to attend.
The film committee takes suggestions from the community on which films to show, seeking a selection of different genres and languages (subtitled, not dubbed) and always offering a documentary or two, she said.
“People also appreciate that after the screening, we bring an expert from COD that have an expertise on the topics that are in the film,” she said. “We have time for the audiences to ask questions, maybe something didn’t click when they watched the movie. It also allows us to have meaningful conversations about the movie. I think that people appreciate the after-screening discussions and conversations.”
In addition to getting out of the house on a cold day, she said, seeing an international film is a reminder that we live in a globalized world and the importance of having a global perspective and learning about different cultures.
“The movies that we show aren’t mainstream movies so you’ll have an opportunity to be exposed to movies that might not be on your radar,” she said. “Everyone should be a longtime learner. I think you should never stop learning new things and this is a good opportunity to do that.”
For more information, go to atthemac.org.
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
