Global Lens Series

10 Weeks on Thursday Nights, 6 p.m., Annenberg Theater

The films presented in this annual collaboration are part of the touring film exhibition Global Lens, a project conceived by The Global Film Initiative (GFI) to encourage filmmaking in countries with developing film communities.

A representative from the Desert Film Society will facilitate a discussion following each film.

12.04.08 - LET THE WIND BLOW Partho Sen-Gupta, India, 2004 At the height of nuclear tensions between India and Pakistan, Arjun and his best friend, Chabia, weigh their options for the future against the reality of life on the streets of Mumbai. Enticed by the promise of wealth and opportunity in the Persian Gulf, Chabia is eager to leave his job as a mechanic. But for Arjun, who must finish college and care for his mother, the decision is not so easy in director Partho Sen-Gupta's gritty, apocalyptic interpretation of Krishna's counsel to Arjuna, from the Bhagavad Gita. View Film Trailer

12.11.08 - LUXURY CAR Wang Chao, China, 2006 In this emotionally taut narrative, Li Qi Ming travels from his small village to the city of Wuhan, determined to fulfill his wife's last wish of seeing her son. But instead of finding his son, he discovers his daughter working as a karaoke bar escort, forcing him to come to terms with their long-estranged relationship and the tenuous future of his family. Director Wang Chao uses Li Qi Ming to represent the painful reality of thousands of parents who have lost contact with their children through rural exodus and political upheaval in China. View Film Trailer

12.18.08 - OPERA JAWA Garin Nugroho, Indonesia, 2006 Setyo and Siti live a peaceful life as husband and wife, selling earthenware in their village. But when Setyo is called away on business, a flirtatious butcher, Ludiro, takes advantage of Siti's loneliness to seduce her. Tempted by song and dance, Siti initially refuses his advances but acquiesces in a moment of weakness, setting the stage for an epic battle between the two men. Located in lush forests and on pristine beaches of Java, director Garin Nugroho bases his deeply imagistic and dazzling visual narrative on the “The Abduction of Sita,” from the Hindu epic, The Ramayana. View Film Trailer