New Religion & Film Series at University of the West
PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Jason Kosareff
University of the West
(626) 571-8811, Ext. 311
jasonk@uwest.edu
http://www.uwest.edu
New Religion & Film Series Begins This Week at University of the West
ROSEMEAD, CA, October 13, 2009 — The Buddhist Chaplaincy Program at University of the West announced on Monday, October 12th, the titles and showtimes for the institution’s first annual Religion & Film Series.
The Buddhist Chaplaincy Program is sponsoring the series, which will screen a different film that deals explicitly with religion each week. Afterwards, members of the university’s faculty and staff will lead an informal discussion.
The series officially begins this Friday, October 16th, at 7 pm in ED309 with Peter Weir’s 1985 classic Witness. The film stars Harrison Ford as a hunted police detective in hiding with the Pennsylvania Amish. Danny Fisher, Coordinator of the Buddhist Chaplaincy Program, says, “You kind of have to start with Peter Weir because so many of his films mull over religious ideas in really exciting, intelligent ways. Witness, though, is special in that religion is addressed directly. It’s a good start for the series too because it’s a totally engrossing, thrilling film with a big movie star that people still talk about today–almost twenty-five years after its initial release.”
Fisher will lead a discussion with the audience following the film.
Other films in the series include last year’s multiple Academy Award-nominee Doubt, the Muslim road movie Le Grande Voyage, the controversial South Asian drama Water, actor/writer/director Robert Duvall’s tour-de-force The Apostle, Werner Herzog’s quirky Buddhism documentary Wheel of Time, Woody Allen’s morality tale Crimes and Misdemeanors, the Oscar-winning Babette’s Feast, the meditative Baraka, and the much-beloved comedy Monty Python’s Life of Brian. All of this semester’s films were selected by Fisher, but he hopes to begin including picks from others in the UWest community next semester.
“To get the series started this semester, I tried to pick movies that are both excellent and engaging–selections that would be appreciated regardless of one’s interest in religion and film. We’ve also got brand new films like Doubt. We’ve got popular favorites like Life of Brian as well. At the same time, we’ve got smaller films like Le Grande Voyage that most people probably haven’t seen but will likely enjoy a lot.”
Other faculty and staff set to participate in the post-film discussions include Dr. J. Bruce Long, Professor of the History of Religions and Buddhist Studies; Corrine Hinton, Coordinator of the Learning Center; Corinne Medina, Executive Assistant to the President; Vanessa Karam, International Student Service Officer; Oscar Martinez, ESL Coordinator and Instructor; and Dr. Kenneth A. Locke, Chair of the Religious Studies Department.
All films will screen at 7 p.m. in ED309 in the Education Building on the campus of University of the West. Films will be shown in video format. Admission is free, and the series is open to the public. Showtimes are below:
October 16th – Witness (1985) by Peter Weir
October 23th – Doubt (2008) by John Patrick Shanley
October 30th – Le Grande Voyage (2004) by Ismaël Ferroukhi
November 6th – Water (2005) by Deepa Mehta
November 13th – The Apostle (1997) by Robert Duvall
November 20th – Wheel of Time (2003) by Werner Herzog
November 27th – Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) by Woody Allen
December 4th – Babette’s Feast (1987) by Gabriel Axel
December 11th – Baraka (1992) by Ron Fricke
December 18th – Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) by Terry Jones
University of the West is was founded in 1991 and accredited by WASC in 2006. It is one of three accredited Buddhist universities in the United States and the only one of the three offering a Master’s in Business Administration degree. Its current enrollment is approximately 260 students. UWest is located at 1409 N. Walnut Grove Ave., Rosemead, CA 91770.
