TAMIU Annette Olsen-Fazi International Film Festival Shines Saturday

Through the month of May, see the world without leaving Laredo. Come join Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) for the TAMIU Annette Olsen-Fazi International Film Festival.

The Film Festival will primarily be screened at the TAMIU Student Center Theater, room SC 236 twice weekly throughout May.

The films are free of charge and open to the public.

The Festival honors the memory of the late Dr Annette Olsen-Fazi, a TAMIU faculty member who initiated the University’s first French Film Festival in 2007 and passed away this January.

The TAMIU Annette Olsen-Fazi International Film Festival was made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information, please contact TAMIU department of language and literature assistant professor Angela M. Moran at 326.3047 or e-mail amoran@tamiu.edu. For full film descriptions, visit the Festival Web site at: tamiu.edu/coas/filmfest

The schedule and films showing are as follows:

La vie en rose (France), Saturday, May 2 at 5 p.m. - A swirling, impressionistic portrait of an artist who regretted nothing, La vie en Rose stars Marion Cotillard as the legendary French icon Edith Piaf. From the mean streets of the Belleville district of Paris to the dazzling limelight of New York's most famous concert halls, Piaf's life was a constant battle to sing and survive, to live and love. Her voice remains one of the indelible signatures of the 20th Century.

El abuelo (Spain), Saturday, May 2 at 8 p.m. - On learning that his son has died, an elderly Spanish man returns home from California, having failed to strike it rich during the Gold Rush. Back in his native land, he is embroiled in a mystery when he learns that his now-deceased son fathered only one of two "daughters" he left behind -- now the old man must find out which one. Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.

Bus Stories (Encinal), Sunday, May 3 at 6 p.m. - A Media del Monte short production, this film deals with interesting incidents that have taken place on buses, especially school buses in Laredo and Encinal.

Los niños invisibles (Colombia), Sunday, May 3 at 6:15 p.m. - Working in the South American tradition of Magical Realism, director Lisandro Duque Naranjo weaves a compelling story of a shy boy so in love with a haughty girl that he goes in search of the secret of invisibility so he can watch his beloved while always remaining hidden to her. Colombia’s Best Foreign Film entry at 2002 Academy Awards.

Les choristes (The Chorus, France), Saturday, May 9 at 6 p.m. - In 1949, Clément Mathieu, an unemployed music teacher, is hired to supervise children in a school for juvenile delinquents. A mild-mannered man, he is able to transform the lives of affection-starved children by teaching them the magic of choir singing and music. His attempts to reach out to the students are often undermined, but Mathieu does not despair and continues to pass his knowledge and love of music on, eventually falling in love with the widowed mother of a student.

Ranch Stories (Encinal), Sunday, May 10 at 6 p.m. - A Media del Monte short production, this film interviews subjects whose ranching roots in the Encinal community go back generations.

Soñar no cuesta nada (Colombia), Sunday, May 10 at 6:15 p.m. - Based on a true story, this action-packed film is loaded with danger, adventure, hope, and hilarious situations…and a moral lesson about values and goals. While on a jungle rescue mission, a group of Colombian soldiers find and decide to keep millions of dollars belonging to guerrillas. Their return to civilization proves difficult and measured by greed and love.

Der Untergang (Downfall, Germany), Friday, May 15 at 7 p.m. in Bob Bullock Hall, room 118 - Based in part on the memoirs of Traudl Junge, Hitler’s last private secretary, Der Untergang dramatizes the last ten days of the Third Reich, as Hitler had fled to a bunker deep in the bowels of Berlin. The film generated controversy for supposedly “humanizing” Hitler, but its portrait of a sick and possibly insane Führer reminds us that evil is perpetrated not by monsters, but by people.

Le scaphandre et le papillon (Belgium), Saturday, May 16 at 7 p.m. - As the editor of French ELLE, Jean-Dominique Bauby was active in Parisian social and cultural circles before suffering a massive stroke at 43. He developed locked-in syndrome, losing all muscle control except his left eyelid. Blinking one letter at a time, he composed a book describing his new life. Julian Schnabel's enthralling film explores how Bauby summons enormous courage, determination, and soaring imagination to escape from his trap.

Audiencia (Laredo), Friday, May 22 at 7 p.m. - The latest production by TAMIU’s award-winning assistant professor, Marcela Moran, Audiencia is a short film about the underground Lucha Libre scene in Laredo, focusing on the audience's participation at the venues. Mexicans from both sides of the border speak passionately about their favorite sport and what it means to be part of the audience.

Señorita extraviada (México), Friday, May 22 at 7:15 - A feature-length documentary about the hundreds of kidnapped, raped, and murdered young women of Juarez, México. Directed by México -born and Chicana-identified director Lourdes Portilla, it begins in1993, when the first murders came to light, continuing till 2005 when filmmakers finished production.

Quince (Encinal), Saturday, May 23 at 7 p.m. - A Media del Monte short exploring the traditional young Mexican girl’s coming out with a party celebrating her 15th birthday

Finding Dawn (Canada) Saturday, May 23 at 7:15 p.m. - “First one woman goes missing . . . then another . . . then another . . .” In this powerful documentary, filmmaker Christina Welsh exposes perhaps the most shockingly under-reported series of crimes in Canadian history: the disappearance or murder of 500+ Native women in a span of 30 years. 2006 Gold Audience Award winner at the Amnesty International Film Festival in Vancouver.

No importa que (Encinal), Friday, May 29 at 7 p.m. - A Media del Monte short, this youth production features contrasting local thinking about immigration issues.

De nadie (México) Friday, May 29 at 7:15 p.m. - Impoverished Central Americans who leave their countries in hope of a better life in the USA have a rough road ahead. De nadie shows how the perilous 2500-mile journey through México tests their ingenuity, resources, and ability to survive. The horror stories of the refugees are filmed by Mexican filmmaker Tin Dirdamal.

Amélie (Le Fabuleux Destin d’ Amélie Poulain, France), May 30 at 7 p.m. - Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s comedy is one of the most popular French films, and made an international star out of Audrey Tatou. Amélie is a sheltered young waitress who, after performing an act of selflessness, embarks on an idealistic quest to make the world a better place.

Additional showings will be held at Encinal’s Veterans’ Hall. The schedule and films showing are as follows.

Sunday, May 10 – Quince and Bus Stories will be shown at 1 p.m. before the feature De nadie which will begin at 1:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 16 – No importa que and Ranch Stories at 1 p.m. and Soñar no cuesta nada at 1:30 p.m.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu