Coffee with DocUquarium guest filmmaker Maria Finitzo (Terra Incognita)
Alterra Coffee Roasters – 2211 N. Prospect Ave.
Join us for an intimate chat with the filmmaker.
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DocUquarium Series – every Wednesday September 5-December 5
“Dive deep” into the newest independent documentaries this fall as filmmaker/professor Brad Lichtenstein opens up his film 301 class to the public. Nine premieres, guests every month and deep explor ation guaranteed. Check the complete schedule at http://www4.uwm.edu/docuwm/ and the blog at http://docuquarium.groups.vox.com/.
This Week’s DocUquarium:
UWM Union Theater
7h30pm *FREE*
Terra Incognita
(Maria Finitzo, USA, 100 min, 2007)
Director Maria Finitzo in person!
Terra Incognita tells the story of Dr. Jack Kessler, the current chair of Northwestern University's Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, and his daughter, Allison, an undergraduate student at Harvard University. When Kessler was invited to head up the Neurology Department at Northwestern, his focus was on using stem cells to help cure diabetes. However, soon after his move to Chicago, Allison--then age 15, was injured in a skiing accident and paralyzed from the waist down. In the moments following the accident, Dr. Kessler made the decision to change the focus of his research to begin looking for a cure for spinal cord injuries using embryonic stem cells. The film follows the constantly evolving interplay between the promise of new discoveries, the controversy of modern science and the resilience and courage of people living every day with devastating disease and injury.
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Basement Cinema
Mitchell Hall - Room B91
Basement Cinema is a student-run series of B and unusual commercial movies.
More information at http://basementcinema.wordpress.com
This week: Stunt men, that crazy breed of individuals willing to risk life and limb, to make someone else look cool. Tonight, Basement Cinema celebrates this anonymous celebrities by putting them in the spotlight.
8pm FREE
The Devil at Your Heels
(Robert Forteir, 1981, 105 minutes)
Ken Carter is the Canadian equivalent of Evel Knievel, in fact he’s even better than Evel. At least Ken thinks so. To prove his greatness Ken plans to drive a rocket-powered car off a ramp and jump the St. Lawerence River. It’s a distance of one mile and the jump will not only send Ken hurtling from Canada into American, but it would put him history books. That is, if he makes it. The Devil at Your Heels is a documentary that feels like a mockumentary, so buckle yourself in and get ready to laugh as one crazed Canadian finds excuse after excuse on why he shouldn’t attempt this jump, all the while proclaiming himself to be the greatest daredevil ever.
10pm FREE
Stunt Rock
(Brian Trenchard-smith, 1978, 86 minutes)
Quickly proving that plots are a tired convention this wild 70’s film slams together mystic rock performances and death defying stunts because, really what else do you need for a kickass film. Between daredevil stunts and performances by the theatrical rock outfit Sorcery, real life Australian stunt man Grant Paige tries to explain to a blonde reporter just what it is that makes stunt men like himself do the crazy things they do. It’s a hybrid film. One part cheesy narrative, one part stunt show, and one part rock concert. Or, as the tagline puts it - Stunt Rock is a death wish at 120 decibels!
