New Releases May 2009 - Learningemall.com

uncovers a tangled web of historicalviolence, power dynamics and intertwinedand interdependent race relations.It is the central coronations of the MobileCarnival Association (MCA), an all-whiteorganization, and the Mobile Area MardiGras Association (MAMGA), an all-blackorganization, which provides the centralnarrative through which we view thefestivities. Each organization has its ownseparate parades, balls, and royal court,complete with King, Queen, Knights andLadies. Like foreign dignitaries who willsoon return to their own separate worlds,the MCA and MAMGA Kings and Queenscross the color divide only briefly to visiteach other's event.The Order of Myths comes from the nameof the oldest mystic society in Mobile. Thechief symbol of The Order of Myths is ajester named Folly chasing the skeletalfigure of Death around the broken columnof the South. Using this symbol as acentral metaphor, this remarkably assureddocumentary illuminates the complexity ofrace relations in the 21st century.Reviews• "Brilliantly captivating. An invaluableportrait of us-and-them America, asmart, generous, poignant, quietlydisturbing movie." – Robert Abele, LATimes• "An intimate excavation of the historyof American racism." – Logan Hill,New York Magazine• "Three and a half stars. Highlyrecommended." - Video Librarian• "Brilliant. Heartbreaking. A winner!" –David Edelstein, New York Magazine• "A haunting and importantdocumentary about modern-dayAmerican segregation. It is the kind ofilluminating work that sendsaudiences stumbling home in awide-eyed state of astonishment."– S.James Snyder, The New York Sun• "The Order of Myths is the bestdocumentary in ages, and one of thebest films of the year."– Jeff Reichert,Reverse Shot• "Engrossing. This deftly made portraitis provocative, but not vitriolic. As Sen.Barack Obama makes history… it'sunsettling to realize racism's uglyshadow continues to loom large." –Claudia Puig, USA?Today• "Fascinating. A beautifully restrained,intelligent documentary about howcomplicated race relations can be inthe modern South." – Stan Hall,Portland Oregonian• "Quietly shocking, The Order of Mythsis a deft, engrossing cross-section ofMobile life, heavy on local color andinsight." – Vadim Rizov, The VillageVoice• "Extraordinary. It may be one of thebest films ever made about theparadoxes and complexities of thepostwar South. Hugely entertaining."–Jim Ridley, Nashville Scene• "Highly sophisticated nonfictionfilmmaking…. Brown has managed, ina fleet 80 minutes, to uncover quite alot about (obviously) America'sentrenched racism and (perhaps notso obviously) why our presumablymodern sensibilities allow for itscontinuity." – Michael Koresky,Indiewire• "One of the Ten Best Films of theYear"- Boston Globe, Salon.com,Jonathan RosenbaumNotes• Nominee, Best Documentary,Independent Spirit Awards, 2009• Nominee, Truer Than Fiction Award,Independent Spirit Awards, 2009• Official Selection, Sundance FilmFestival, 2008• Official Selection, SXSW Film Festival,2008• Official Screening, Organization ofAmerican Historians AnnualConference, 2009• Official Selection, Full Frame FilmFestival, 2008• Official Selection, True/False FilmFestival, 2008• Official Selection, Edinburgh FilmFestival, 2008Awards• Winner, Cinematic Vision Award,Silverdocs Film Festival, 2008• Winner, Youth Jury Award, SheffieldDoc/Fest, 2008Item no. : AB05970720Format : DVDDuration : 80 minutesCopyright : 2008Price : USD 395.00SEX POSITIVEDirected by Daryl WeinSex Positive explores the life of RichardBerkowitz, a revolutionary gayS&M-hustler-turned-AIDS activist in the1980s, whose incomparable contributionto the invention of safe sex has neverbeen aptly credited.Berkowitz emerged from the epicenter ofthe epidemic as a community leader,demanding a solution to the problembefore anyone else would pay attention.However, it was not Berkowitz' voice alonethat sparked contention.Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, a controversialvirologist and AIDS doctor, postulated thatAIDS was more complicated than just anew virus. With Sonnabend's theory in tow,Berkowitz fought, alongside belovedactivist and musician Michael Callen, forsafer sex practices without giving up onsex altogether.Sex Positive looks at the explicit bravery ofthis unrecognized triumvirate, and theirdire quest to save lives in the midst ofunwavering dissent. Now destitute andalone, Mr. Berkowitz tells his story - thestory of the birth of the safe sexmovement.Reviews• "Important." - Tony Kushner• "A taut and fascinating look at a trueunsung hero." - John CameronMitchellAward• Grand Jury Prize, DocumentaryFeature, Outfest, LA?Gay &?LesbianFilm Festival, 2008Item no. : YZ05970743Format : DVDDuration : 76 minutesCopyright : 2008Price : USD 350.00STRANGEST DREAM, THEThe inspiring story of Joseph Rotblat andthe efforts of the Pugwash Conferences tohalt nuclear proliferation.Directed by Eric BednarskiWhen the U.S. government brought theworld's greatest scientists together to buildthe first atomic bomb, nuclear physicistJoseph Rotblat was among them. But hisconscience would not allow him tocontinue, and he became the onlymember of the Manhattan Project to leaveon moral grounds. Branded a traitor andspy, Rotblat went from designing atomicbombs to researching the medical uses ofradiation. Together with Bertrand Russellhe helped create the modern peacemovement, and eventually won the NobelPeace Prize.The Strangest Dream tells the story ofJoseph Rotblat, the history of nuclearweapons, and the efforts of the PugwashConferences on Science and World Affairs- an international movement Rotblatco-founded - to halt nuclear proliferation.The first Pugwash conference took placein the small Nova Scotia fishing villagefrom which it draws its name. This filmbrings to light the group'sbehind-the-scenes role in defusing someof the tensest moments of the Cold War.The story takes us from the site of the firstnuclear test, in New Mexico, to Cairo,where contemporary Pugwash scientistsmeet under the cloud of nuclearproliferation, and to Hiroshima, where wesee survivors of the first atomic attack.Featuring interviews with contemporariesof Rotblat, members of the Pugwashmovement, and passionate public figuresincluding Senator Romeo Dallaire, TheStrangest Dream demonstrates therenewed threat represented by nuclearweapons, while encouraging hope throughthe example of morally engaged scientistsand citizens.Reviews• "An emotionally and politicallypowerful, anti-nuclear weapons film."- Barton Bernstein, Professor of________________________________________________________________________________________________________Email: inquiry@learningemall.comLearning Rendezvous LimitedWebsites: http://www.learningemall.com & http://www.learningemall.com.hk7