CU Cinema features films from 10th Human Rights Watch festival

Barbara Sonneborn's "Regret to Inform" kicks off Cornell Cinema's series of films from the 10th Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.

This fall, Cornell Cinema presents a sampling of some of the best films from this year's Human Rights Watch International Film Festival as well as two new Chinese films.

Currently in its 10th year, the Human Rights Watch festival continues to serve as a "consciousness-raising, and conscience-pricking" means to bring attention to social inequality and injustice. Screenings will be Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for Theatre Arts Film Forum. Admission is $3.

The series begins Sept. 14 with Barbara Sonneborn's "Regret to Inform," lauded by a reviewer for The New York Times as an "odyssey of loss and war in a land of languid beauty." Winner of the Best Director and Best Cinematographer awards at the Sundance Film Festival, the film follows Sonneborn as she travels to Vietnam on the 20th anniversary of her husband's death. The film consists of interviews with both American and Vietnamese war widows that together create a damning indictment of the war.

"The Man Who Drove with Mandela" depicts the brilliant reconstruction of the life of Cecil Williams, a gay theater director and political activist in 1950s South Africa. Using interviews with friends, home movies and newspaper clippings, Greta Schiller explores the relationship between Williams' homosexuality and his public life of political activity. The film will be shown Sept. 21.

The third film in the series, "The Port of Last Resort," also uses documents and footage to relay the powerful story of Jewish refugees in Shanghai during the years preceding World War II. The film, ultimately a survival story, documents the refugees' passage from persecution to freedom. "The Port of Last Resort" will be shown Sept. 28.

The final film in the series, "Cabaret Balkan," the centerpiece of the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, will be shown in October as part of a Balkan film series.

In addition to the Human Rights Festival screening, two new Chinese films will be shown this month. Admission to both films is $4.50 for adults and $4 for students, seniors and children under 12.

Set in the Sichuan province circa 1930, "The King of Masks" tells the story of an aging street performer and his protégé, a child whom he buys. When he realizes the child is a girl, however, he must rely upon their affection for each other to carry them through dangerous times. Featuring beautiful folk art and performances, "The King of Masks" will be shown Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. in Uris Auditorium and Sept. 14 at 7:15 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre.

Action flick director Tsui Hark brings his trademark pacing and seamless motion to "A Chinese Ghost Story," an animated tale based on Chinese legend. In the film, a dimwitted tax collector falls in love with a beautiful ghost and must battle the supernatural world in order to win her over. The film will be shown Sept. 17 and 18 in Uris Auditorium, and Sept. 21 in Willard Straight Theatre.