Participate in the first Penn Alumni
Film Festival during Homecoming Weekend featuring Arts and Culture!Attend a film and receive your Homecoming Weekend film festival goodie bag while supplies last.
David Novack, ENG'86 and Nancy Levy-Novack, C'87 approached Penn Alumni to host the first Penn Alumni Film Festival and have provided the three documentaries showing this weekend. Nancy is an Emmy award-winning editor, who has been editing documentary and feature films for 18 years. Her work has appeared on HBO, PBS, MSNBC, The History Channel, The National Geographic Channel and The Discovery Channel, and has been featured at the Sundance, Venice, Tribeca, Mountain and Impact film festivals. David Novack has been a producer and associate producer for a number of documentary films and television series, including the historical documentary Songs
of Odessa, WGBH/Frontline, and the acclaimed Showtime/United Nations series "What's Going On."
Our feature Surrogates, a Bruce Willis film, was produced by Penn alumni Todd Lieberman, C'95, Elizabeth Banks, C'96, and Max Handelman, C'95. Learn more about the film and the business by joining Todd Lieberman and Max Handelman for a panel discussion after the movie.
FRI
1:30-4:30 PM Burning the Future: Coal in America
Penn Film Festival Claudia Cohen Hall (formerly Logan Hall), G17
249 South 36th Street www.burningthefuture.com Burning the Future: Coal in America is an award-winning documentary developed, produced, written, and directed by Penn alumnus David Novack (ENG'86). The documentary details the devastating effects of coal mining on the people and land of Appalachia. David is the recipient of the Society for Environmental Journalism's first prize for in-depth reporting for this film and curates the Penn Film Festival with Nancy Levy-Novack (C'87). After the film, join a discussion with David and other scholars interested in the critical issues surrounding environmental policy and justice.
Panelists:
Herman Pfefferkorn, Professor of Earth and Environmental Science
Bill Price, Sierra Club's Environmental Justice Program
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SAT
10 AM-1 PM Kimjongilia
Penn Film Festival Claudia Cohen Hall (formerly Logan Hall), G17
249 South 36th Street www.kimjongiliathemovie.com
Kimjongilia is an artistic, experimental film that looks beyond North Korea's nuclear bluster to the human suffering caused by Kim Jong II's regime. Heroic survivors reveal a barren landscape of children in prison camps, public executions, and human trafficking. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and opened in theaters in August. Join a discussion after the screening with producer and alumnus, David Novack (ENG'86) and panelists below.
Panelists:
Russell Aldrich, L'11, Gr'12, studying the international legal status of North Korean refugees in China
Franklin Shen, ENG ’03, Co-Founder of the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival
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SAT
12-3 PM Rear Window Fisher-Bennett Hall, Room 201
3340 Walnut Street
A bag of popcorn, a great movie, and smart, fun people to discuss it! Join Valerie Ross, Director of the Critical Writing Program at the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing, for a screening of Hitchcock's "most cinematic" film, Rear Window, and a conversation about his reputation as one of the world's greatest filmmakers. Advance registration required — space is limited. Lunch will be provided. Location will be confirmed following registration. Contact (215) 898-7811 or alumni@dev.upenn.edu for more information.
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SAT
2-5 PM Surrogates
Penn Film Festival Claudia Cohen Hall (formerly Logan Hall), G17
249 South 36th Street www.chooseyoursurrogate.com
In this gripping action thriller, people are living their lives remotely from the safety of their own homes via robotic surrogates — sexy, physically perfect mechanical representations of themselves. It's an ideal world where crime, pain, fear and consequences don't exist. When the first murder in years jolts this utopia, FBI agent Greer (starring Bruce Willis) discovers a vast conspiracy behind the surrogate phenomenon and must abandon his own surrogate, risking his life to unravel the mystery. Directed by Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Breakdown), Surrogates also stars Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, James Cromwell, and Ving Rhames.
Based on a graphic novel, the film sets itself in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact with one another through surrogate robots. After years of isolation, a cop is forced to leave his home in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates. The film was produced by Penn alumni Todd Lieberman (C'95), Elizabeth Banks (C'96), and Max Handelman (C'95). Learn more about the film by joining us for a panel discussion with Todd and Max after the movie.
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SUN
10 AM-1 PM The Accidental Advocate
Penn Film Festival Claudia Cohen Hall (formerly Logan Hall), G17
249 South 36th Street www.theaccidentaladvocate.com The Accidental Advocate is a documentary on the current battle over stem cell research, told through the eyes of the daughter of a physician who suffered a spinal cord injury. The film captures her journey to uncover the truth behind the science and politics of this divisive issue, and also features Senator Arlen Specter (C'51). Join us after the film for a panel discussion with Emmy award-winning film editor and alumna Nancy Levy Novack (C'87), whose work has appeared on HBO, PBS, MSNBC, The History Channel, National Geographic Channel and Discovery Channel.
Panelists:
Jon Merz, Associate Professor and Associate Chair for Faculty Affairs in the Department of Medical Ethics in the School of Medicine and Senior Fellow in Penn's Center for Bioethics
Jessica Gerstle, Director and Producer of The Accidental Advocate
