Post World War II Film Series 'Rubble' Continues on Oct. 8

CORTLAND, NY (10/01/2014)(readMedia)-- Editor's note: The room for "Ashes & Diamonds" showing on Oct. 29 was changed from Sperry Center, Room 304 to the Johnson Lecture Hall, Sperry Center, Room 106.

Géza von Radványi's 1949 movie "Somewhere in Europe" will be screened on Wednesday, Oct. 8, continuing SUNY Cortland's "Rubble" 2014-15 film series.

Presented by the College's Project on Eastern and Central Europe (PECE) and the History Department, the movies depict the World War II aftermath, also known as "Europe -Year Zero," set amid the rubble of postwar Europe.

"'Rubble' is also a metaphor for the damage to people and societies and for the chaos and uncertainty that shaped their shattered lives," said SUNY Cortland Distinguished Service Professor Henry Steck, a professor of political science. Steck is the PECE series organizer with Scott Moranda, an associate professor in the History Department.

"The films were not only set in 'rubble' but were often made by filmmakers working in conditions that gave their films an authentic and gritty realism," Steck said. "And beyond their historical and cinematic importance, the films provide an opportunity for audiences to reflect on the reconstruction of war-torn and occupied countries more generally."

The films will be screened on Wednesdays during October beginning at 7 p.m. in Sperry Center. Each screening features an introduction and post-film discussion with Steck and Moranda.

The upcoming features are as follows:

• "Somewhere in Europe," on Oct. 8 in Sperry Center, Room 304, gives an insight to orphaned children's postwar lives. The children rob one another for both food and clothing and find shelter in a bombed-out castle. There, they meet a shell-shocked musician who decides to protect and essentially adopt them.

• Andrzej Wajda's 1958 film, "Ashes & Diamonds," will be shown Oct. 29 in Johnson Lecture Hall, Sperry Center, Room 106. The room was changed from Sperry Center, Room 304. The Polish film takes place on the last day of World War II, when the Germans surrender. A soldier is stuck between falling in love with a woman and assassinating a fellow soldier.

The film series is presented in conjunction with the ongoing "Keeping Things Whole" art exhibition on display at Dowd Gallery through Friday, Oct. 10. Fawn Krieger, a New York City-based artist who works in mediums ranging from video and photography to paint, fabric and construction debris, presents a retrospective of her work to date exploring evolving forms, incomplete construction and rubble created during World War II. Gallery events and programs relating to "Keeping Things Whole" are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday and by appointment.

The film series is co-sponsored by the Political Science Department, the Clark Center for International Education, the International Studies Program, the International Programs Office and the Auxiliary Services Corporation.

For more information, contact Steck at 607-753-4807 or henry.steck@cortland.edu. For more information on the gallery exhibition, contact gallery Director Erika Fowler-Decatur at 607-753-4216.

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