New Releases May 2009 - Learningemall.com

the Jewish people and made passionateand emotional pictures of the evacuationof thousands of Jewish men, women andchildren from the Old City. They are theonly published photographs of the battle.Ali Zaarour was one of the fewphotographers who documented thePalestinian side of the story. As the onlyMuslim photographer among them, hiswork depicted the tragedy of thePalestinian ‘Naqba' (‘Catastrophe'). Forover 40 years, his photographs werethought to be lost, but his son andgrandson undertake a search that maylead to an amazing discovery.The film also profiles Jack Padwais,producer of the first major film about thebirth of Israel, "Hill 24 Does Not Answer."Coming from a right wing Jewish family, herecreated the battle for Jerusalem from anIsraeli perspective. To this day, his film isconsistently used in schools as thedefinitive account of that historic battle.These three men offer three differentpoints of view on one war - a pivotalmoment in the history of the Middle East.Together, their images create a whole newnarrative.Notes• Official Selection, AmsterdamInternational Documentary FilmFestival, 2008• Official Selection, DocAviv, 2008Item no. : YH05970679Format : DVDDuration : 52 minutesCopyright : 2008Price : USD 295.00JEWISH STUDIESJERUSALEM CUTSDirected by Liran AtzmorThe founding of Israel – specifically, the1948 war for Jerusalem, which eruptedjust five days after the United Nationsdeclaration – is seen through the work oftwo photographers, British and Palestinian,in this compelling documentary thatexamines how pictures shape the wayhistory is remembered and taught. Itincludes remarkable photographs thathave never been seen before.John Phillip was one of the first photojournalists in the world to report on the warin Jerusalem. Assigned by Life magazine,he became sympathetic with the plight ofthe Jewish people and made passionateand emotional pictures of the evacuationof thousands of Jewish men, women andchildren from the Old City. They are theonly published photographs of the battle.Ali Zaarour was one of the fewphotographers who documented thePalestinian side of the story. As the onlyMuslim photographer among them, hiswork depicted the tragedy of thePalestinian ‘Naqba' (‘Catastrophe'). Forover 40 years, his photographs werethought to be lost, but his son andgrandson undertake a search that maylead to an amazing discovery.The film also profiles Jack Padwais,producer of the first major film about thebirth of Israel, "Hill 24 Does Not Answer."Coming from a right wing Jewish family, herecreated the battle for Jerusalem from anIsraeli perspective. To this day, his film isconsistently used in schools as thedefinitive account of that historic battle.These three men offer three differentpoints of view on one war - a pivotalmoment in the history of the Middle East.Together, their images create a whole newnarrative.Notes• Official Selection, AmsterdamInternational Documentary FilmFestival, 2008• Official Selection, DocAviv, 2008Item no. : YH05970679Format : DVDDuration : 52 minutesCopyright : 2008Price : USD 295.00LABOR STUDIES24 CITYDirected by Jia Zhang-keA masterful new documentary from JiaZhang-ke – "Not only is the 38-year-olddirector the most prominent Chinesefilmmaker of his generation, he also hascome to assume the role of witness andconscience in a society characterized byrapid modernization and a growingamnesia." (Dennis Lim, LA Times, 2008) –24 City recounts the dramatic andthunderous fall of the state-owned Factory420, exploring both its physical demolitionand its powerful symbolic echo of ahalf-century of communist rule.Given the name Factory 420 as an internalmilitary security code, the ChengduEngine Group was founded in 1958 toproduce aviation engines, and saw yearsof prosperous activity. Now abandoned,the factory awaits its destiny. Sold formillions to real-estate developers, it will betransformed into an emblem of marketeconomy: a complex of luxury apartmentblocks called 24 City.Constructed around eight dramaticinterviews, punctuated by snippets of popsongs and poetry, along withbeautifully-shot footage of the demolition,24 City excavates the debris of collectivememory and emphasizes the thinboundary between fact and fiction inpost-revolutionary Chinese history. It doesso by weaving into this oral history threefictional monologues delivered byprofessional actors. The intervieweesrepresent three generations with ties tothe factory: former factory workers,contemporary workers, and their children.An absolutely mesmerizing experience, 24City attempts to understand the complexityof the social changes sweeping acrossChina by observing the impact ahalf-century of Socialism has had on theChinese people.Reviews• "One of the most original filmmakersworking today. Without nostalgia butwith sensitivity and depth of feeling,Mr. Jia is documenting a country andseveral generations that aredisappearing before the world’seyes." - Manohla Dargis, The NewYork Times• "The most important filmmaker in theworld." - Stuart Klawans, The Nation• "Poignant and charming. Eloquenttestimony to a China that is vanishingwith each swing of the wrecking ball….The memories of the workers in theirfactory microcosm, and tellingdocumentaries like these, keep thepast alive, so that later generationswill know what once was, and what’sbeen lost." - Mary Corliss, TimeMagazine• "24 City brings huge stretches oflong-repressed history to life on anintimate scale. Jia, filming with a calm,probing ruefulness, quietly unlocksthe floodgates of memory as a crucialfirst step toward personal and politicalliberation." - Richard Brody, The NewYorkerNotes• Official Selection, Cannes FilmFestival, 2008• Official Selection, Toronto FilmFestival, 2008• Official Selection, New York FilmFestival, 2008Item no. : ZK05970446Format : DVDDuration : 107 minutesCopyright : 2008Price : USD 395.00LA AMERICANADirected by Nicholas BruckmanThe story of a single mother forced toleave her ailing daughter in Bolivia in orderto provide her with a better life is woveninto the current immigration debate overamnesty in the United States. Winner ofmultiple awards at Latino film festivalsaround the country, La Americana puts ahuman face on this timely andcontroversial issue.Carmen never planned to come to theUnited States, but when her daughterCarla was only nine-years-old, tragedystruck. Carmen left Carla behind in Boliviaand made the dangerous and illegaljourney to the U.S. where she could earnenough to support her daughter, knowingshe may never return home. After nearlysuffocating in the trunk of a sedancrossing the U.S.-Mexico border, Carmenmakes it to New York where she can sendmoney home and give her daughter the________________________________________________________________________________________________________Email: inquiry@learningemall.comLearning Rendezvous LimitedWebsites: http://www.learningemall.com & http://www.learningemall.com.hk31