Nashville for Free

America’s health care system has its problems, but at least treating patients isn’t a constant struggle for our doctors.

In Lesotho in Africa it’s a different story. The money is bad, the benefits are few, and it’s terribly hard work. The HIV/AIDS rate is out of the roof and there are other epidemics that the doctors have to find a way to treat. Many doctors from Lesotho move to South Africa, where the work is easier and the money is better, but for those who stay it’s a constant struggle.

Mountains of Hope is a 30 minute documentary made by Boston medical students about the situation is Lesotho. It’s being screened tonight at Vanderbilt’s Sarratt Cinema at 7pm as part of the International Lens film series.

-Emily

For many people, “feminism” is a loaded word that brings to mind hirsute man-haters and bra-burners when it really just means seeking equality, i.e. recognizing the fact that a woman earns 75% of what a man does for performing the same job.  This is what Jessica Valenti sought to change when she started the blog Feministing seven years ago.  Since then, the site has become a popular resource with an international audience, and Valenti was named “the poster girl for third-wave feminism” by Salon and one of the top 100 most inspiring women in the world by the Guardian.  On Wednesday, she visited Vanderbilt University for the 24th annual Cuninggim Lecture on Women and Culture and Society.  The event was open to the public, and I decided to ignore my awkward feelings as a Belmont student, even forgoing any attempt to camouflage myself with a cable-knit sweater and boat shoes.

Valenti’s speech, “The Purity Myth,” focused on patriarchal standards and the commodification of female virginity.  If that sounds complicated, it just means that it’s pretty awful that sexually active unmarried women are automatically labeled as sluts by society, while men can get away with whatever they want.  Amongst other things, Valenti discussed the all-out creepiness of purity balls, a tradition in which middle school girls pledge their virginities to their fathers until marriage, and the detrimental effects of abstinence-only sex ed.

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“Corporation” has become a real dirty word in recent years. Add to that list: big business, multinationals, associations, octopi… Heck, my mom threatened to wash my mouth out with soap the last time I mentioned conglomerates (it just slipped). Let’s face it, people do nasty things for money (don’t read into that). And what are corporations than a bunch of people organized in the pursuit of money? Seriously, you’ve got board of directors, senior management, regular ole’ employees, stakeholders, stockholders, communities… Pretty much everyone’s got a hand in big business, yet we hate the organization just the same. Geez, capitalism ruins everything.

Which is why we need the Yes Men. Their mission is simple, but their tactics are brilliant. The Yes Men–Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno–take on big corporations by making them honest, whether they want to be or not. How? Well, by impersonating real executives, of course! Showing up at conferences, media outlets or just on the street, the Yes Men are setting the story straight. They’re doing corporations a favor, getting a good laugh and representing real issues all at the same time. It’s a great formula, and you can watch the hilarity unfold in either of their two, critically-acclaimed films. Or read about it all on their blog (check out the Chevron spoof marketing campaign).

Well, the Yes Men are visiting Nashville–big whigs, watch out–and you have a chance to hear them speak tomorrow at Vanderbilt’s Wilson Hall at 7pm. It’s certain to be hilarious, informative and strikingly odd. They’re a fascinating duo, so check them out!

- Matt

I think you could get away with calling pretty much any Hitchcock film a “classic.” Before writing this article I’d never heard of his 39 Steps, but apparently it’s incredibly highly acclaimed and has been called one of the greatest films in British history. And it’s about spies and mistaken identity!

As you could probably guess from the title of this blog post, 39 Steps started as a book. To be exact, it was an adventure novel by John Buchan. It was then, obviously, made into a movie by Hitchcock, and was THEN adapted to the stage. That’s one hell of a life for a story.

This event, titled “the 39 Steps: From Page to Screen to Stage,” will feature film clips from the classic 1935 Hitchcock film and scenes from Tennessee Rep’s stage production as well as discussion from featured panelists. The panelists include Tennessee Rep Producing Artistic Director Rene D. Copeland, Nashville Film Festival Artistic Director Brian Owens, and (Vanderbilt Associate Professor of English and Director of Film Studies Paul Young.

This event will take place tonight, March 1st from 6-8pm at Vanderbilt’s Wilson Hall auditorium room 103. It’s free and open to the public, but since seating is limited they’d like it if you RSVP’d to represervations@gmail.com.

-Emily

You know what I like? Movies. I watch all kinds, good movies, old movies, Lifetime movies, I just like watching movies. That’s why I like International Lens. They show movies every week, and for free. That’s right, every week International Lens at Vanderbilt shows movies that you probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise.

Take Moloch Tropical, the movie they’re screening tonight at the Sarratt Cinema at 7pm. It’s about a fictional Haitian president (based on Henri-Christophe, the first King of independent Haiti) and is about on the last days of his reign before a violent revolution erupts around him.

Hey, that actually sounds pretty interesting. It promises a Haitian take on Alexander Sokurov’s Hitler pic Moloch, which I haven’t seen, but I’ve heard that it one several awards in Russia. As for Moloch Tropical, director Raoul Peck offers a critique of absolute power in an apparently beautifully shot film.

Now, before you go running to RottenTomatoes you check the rating you should know that this was not a film that has been released in theater, but if you’ve ever been to a film festival you’ll know that this doesn’t mean it’s not a good movie, it just means most critics aren’t going to rate it. Hell, Tribeca Film Festival thought it worthy to give a screening to, and so did International Lens. And that means masterpiece or not, it’s probably worth seeing, especially for free.

-Emily

International Lens continues in its quest to introduce us to movies we never would have seen otherwise with a screening of Freedom House Street Saviors, a film about the country’s first specially-trained paramedic emergency unit. But these paramedics weren’t some young medical students and they weren’t advantaged upper-middle class white kids. They were, to quote the poster, “hardcore unemployed black men” from some bad, bad neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.

That’s right, these were some guys from dangerous neighborhoods who were recruited to get specific medical training for emergency situations because they wanted to help save lives in their neighborhood. And they did that. Their work was groundbreaking and we probably have them to thank for modern day EMTs, but sadly their work has been all but completely forgotten.

That’s what Freedom House Street Saviors wants to correct, our forgetfulness. The documentary tells the story of these paramedics and spells out their legacy in 90 minutes. It screens for free tonight at Vanderbilt’s Sarratt Cinema at 7pm.

-Emily

Sam Phillips is one of those infamous names that you just learn in your lifetime. You watch a PBS special on Johnny Cash, you saw Great Balls of Fire, you’ve looked at Elvis memorabilia. Somewhere along the way you have heard the name Sam Phillips, and you know it’s associated with music, but you don’t know the man.

In Memphis, Tennessee in 1952 Sam Phillips founded Sun Records, a record label that would be home to several great artists including Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. These artists would end up shaping the sound of music in the 1950s and their influence reaches into today. This is the label that made rock’n'roll famous.

Tonight at Vanderbilt’s Sarratt Cinema at 7pm you’ll be able to attend a free screening of Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock’n’Roll. It’s a documentary, not a biopic, so expect it to be more factual than dramatic. If you’re at all interested in the history of rock’n'roll then you won’t want to miss this event.

-Emily

I’ve written about Shakespeare a few times on N4F, mostly because he’s really famous and the Nashville Shakespeare Festival always performs his stuff, sometimes for free.

But just as interesting as Shakespeare (which sometimes doesn’t feel very interesting) is seeing an original take on his works or even just seeing a reaction to them.

“Women of Will” isn’t a play, it’s more of a theatrical experience. Tina Packer wrote it, and in it she and her performing partner Nigel Gore investigate the evolution of Shakespeare’s female characters, all of which are played by Packer. Packer asserts that as you move chronologically through Shakespeare’s plays his treatment of female characters evolves, from simply describing them to writing from within their psyche. She argues that his later female characters represent “literal embodiment of his ideas about society, humanity, and the role of the artist.” And Packer knows Shakespeare, she worked for years as artistic director of Shakespeare & Company.

But is the performance any good? The Boston Globe seems to think so. They gave it, especially Packer’s performance, a glowing review last June. From the way they describe it, it sounds like Nashville is lucky to have the opportunity to see this for free.

The free performance of “Women of Will” will take place at 7:30pm tonight, February 3rd at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music’s Ingram Hall. If you’re a fan of Shakespeare you’d be sorry to miss this.

-Emily

As some of you may know (I didn’t), Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan.

You may then assume that this movie’s focus is there, and you would be correct.

The film Kandahar, which was released in 2001, follows a woman named Nafas. She’s a reporter who was born in Afghanistan, but fled with her family to Canada when she was young. She made it out safely, but her sister lost legs to a land mine when she was young and was accidentally left behind. Apparently they still converse, and one day Nafas gets a letter from her sister where her sister threatens suicide. Nafas makes the decision to return to Afghanistan to save her sister, where she “gets a clear and disturbing portrait of the toll the Taliban regime has taken upon its people.”

The film is playing tonight at 7pm at Vanderbilt’s Sarratt Cinema. It has a rating of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, if you’re into that kind of thing.

-Emily

If you’re from Jacksonville, Florida or ever call anyone from there then you’ll know that 904 is the city’s area code. If you’re from there you might also know that Jacksonville is the Sunshine State’s murder capitol and has been for nine years.

That’s where the documentary The 904 comes in. It documents the “real-life story of a city’s effort to stem the tide of violence threatening to consume it” through a woman named Beverly McClain. Beverly’s son was murdered two years before this film was released and it made her realize the magnitude of Jacksonville’s problem. She hasn’t found out who murdered her son, but she has made it her life’s mission to help comfort grieving families, consult with the police about killers, and work to raise awareness and funds for Families of Slain Children Center, the center she one day hopes to open.

This film will be screening for free at Vanderbilt’s Sarratt Cinema tomorrow, Tuesday February 1st at 7pm. It’s not rated and the running time is 66 minutes long.