Seraphine
March 18, 2010
Seraphine
Saturday October 24, 2009 7:30 pm Collins Hall, Bowen Island
121 mins. Rated G.
A Special Presentation at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival and winner of multiple César awards in France, this film is about the obscure yet endlessly fascinating forgotten French painter, Séraphine de Senlis, a simple housekeeper whose brilliantly colourful canvases adorn some of the most famous galleries in the world. Yolande Moreau’s leading performance is a towering accomplishment: a testament to creativity and the resilience of one woman’s spirit. In French & German with subtitles. View the trailer “[Director] and co-writer Martin Provost brings a pastoral eye to the story, layering the tale with a discreet visual style while… firmly understanding the pic belongs to Moreau. Her Séraphine is a creature at once pitiable and divine, a natural talent so devoted to expression that all else is meaningless.” – Eddie Cockrell, Variety
Preceded by: Stuart Slind: Artist and Teacher
Canada, 2009, 24 minutes
Lensed by Bowen filmmaker Len Gilday, this film is an understated examination of the craft and artistic intentions of painter Stuart Slind. Stuart is well-known as one of Bowen’s foremost figurative artists, shown and collected internationally.
Review of “Seraphine” and “Stuart Slind: Artist and Teacher”
March 18, 2010This Saturday’s Bowen Island Film Society’s screening is Seraphine [France, 2008]. It will be preceded by a 20-minute short, Stuart Slind: Artist and Teacher, featuring Bowen Island resident Stuart Slind, who will attend the screening. Stuart Slind: Artist and Teacher divides itself roughtly into two parts: classroom-related footage focuses on Stuart Slind’s teaching practice, while other footage shot in his home studio features discussion of the philosophical basis of his work. Stuart will be well-known to many in the audience from his shows on Bowen Island and his generous support of fund-raising initiatives which have featured his artwork. He will be present at the screening to discuss further the film and answer questions audience members may have. Also in attendance will be Bowen-based Len Gilday, who worked with Stuart as filmmaker on the project. Note that portions of this video can be viewed on Youtube, for those who are interested in an advance peek. Next, Seraphine, which won seven Cesars [the French Oscar] including best picture in 2008. This film runs long, at over 2 hours, and is based on actual events and characters. It is about a lowly French cleaning lady, Seraphine Louis [known today as Seraphine de Senlis] in pre-World War I France who is accidentally discovered to be a painter of great talent by a Parisian art-dealer who, out on a visit spies one of her paintings stuck away in a corner….and the rest, as they say, is history. “”Seraphine” is not a rags-to-riches story. The director, Martin Provost, who wrote it with Marc Abdelnour, focuses intently on Seraphine’s delusions, on the manic state that overtakes her at the prospect of fame and fortune, about how she hides far inside so that Uhde cannot reach her. I’ve seen many films hoping to understand the nature of great artists; one that comes close is “Vincent” by Paul Cox. This is another. It “explains” nothing but feels everything.” – Roger Ebert Stuart Slind: Artist and Teacher and Seraphine screen on Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 7:30 pm at Collins Hall. The running time will be about two and a half hours. Rated PG 13 [adult themes; kids are likely to be bored]. As always, facilities for the hearing impaired will be available. Bring your own pillow to improve seating comfort. Doors and concession open at 7 pm. For film society members, reserved tickets are available from the web site. Reserved tickets will be held until 7:15 pm. Ten percent of all door admissions are donated to the Bowen Island Community Hall and Arts Centre fund. For further information, Bowen Island Film Society membership forms are available at the BI Library, Ruddy Potato and the Office at Artisan Square.
- Michael Epp, Bowen Island Film Society
Slumdog Millionaire, 7:30 pm June 27, 2009
March 18, 2010
Slumdog Millionaire
Saturday June 27, 2009 7:30 pm Collins Hall, Bowen Island|
120 mins. Rated R
The Bowen Island Film Society’s Saturday screening – the last until next fall — will be Slumdog Millionaire. In contrast to its usual more esoteric fare, the society likes to round out the season and celebrate the arrival of summer with a more widely-known and popular film, and Slumdog certainly fits that bill. If you are one of the few people remaining on this planet who hasn’t yet seen the movie and/or adopted one of its child stars, you definitely won’t want to miss the opportunity to gather with your island neighbours and enjoy our own local big-screen showing of this great movie [8 Oscars, 87 other awards, and 33 nominations]. “Slumdog Millionaire is the story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show’s questions. Each chapter of Jamal’s increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show’s seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no apparent desire for riches really doing on the game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out. At the heart of its storytelling lies the question of how anyone comes to know the things they know about life and love” – Fox Searchlight Pictures
Bowen Island Film Society Seeks Treasurer
March 18, 2010The Film Society needs help to continue functioning as a society. After our last AGM the positions of President and Secretary were filled, but we were not able to replace the Treasurer. Is there anyone within our membership who could fulfill this vital role on the board? You are not required to be an accountant or financial wizard but some basic bookkeeping knowledge and working with numbers is an asset. Selling tickets at the door, tallying ticket sales, depositing proceeds and paying bills are some of the ongoing tasks as well as providing reports for the monthly board meetings. The Society’s account will be moved to the First Credit Union on Bowen Island, which will not require travel to the mainland to deposit proceeds. If you are up to this and would like to lend a hand with running the Film Society, please contact Richard Fitzgerald 2966 for more information.
