The VCWA is pleased to bring you the following films as a community partner with the Green Mountain Film Festival. All events are in Montpelier. See Green Mountain Film Festival for a complete schedule of events.
LEMON TREE
Saturday, March 27, Noon, Savoy Theater
Sunday, March 28, 3:45 p.m., Savoy Theater
Salma Zidane is a 45-year-old widow who lives alone in a tiny Palestinian village on the West Bank. When the Israeli minister of defense builds a house on the other side of the green line, his bodyguards consider Selma's lemon trees, planted many generations ago, to be a security risk since they can hide terrorists. Meanwhile, the minister's wife feels increasingly drawn to Salma as the battle between her husband and their Palestinian neighbors drags on. An invisible bond connects these two very different women who find themselves on the brink of a new phase in their lives. Directed by the Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis, the film is a wrenching, richly layered feminist allegory as well as a geopolitical one. 105 minutes, in Arabic and Hebrew with subtitles.
TIBET IN SONG
Saturday, March 27, 6:30 p.m., City Hall Arts Center
Sunday, March 28, 11:15 a.m., City Hall Arts Center
In 1995, Ngawang Choephel returned to his native Tibet to document the country's fast-disappearing folk-singing tradition. Once there, he was accused of being a spy and sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Chinese, inspiring international demand for his eventual release after five years. Despite the personal hardship he suffered, Choephel puts the local musicians and their endangered traditions first. But his own experience strongly amplifies the films political subtext, revealing a form of cultural Darwinism in which Chinese control threatens to extinguish centuries of cultural heritage. The film contains both original music composed by Ngawang and traditional folk songs sung by native Tibetans. 86 minutes, in Tibetan with subtitles and English.
