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Schnitzer Cinema screens James Blue’s Cannes prize-winning film “Les oliviers de la justice” (“Olive Trees of Justice”)

Part of the James Blue Tribute, the 1962 film will be screened on Wednesday, February 12 at 7 p.m.

 

EUGENE, Ore. -- (January 29, 2014) – Schnitzer Cinema, continuing the six-month James Blue Tribute, screens Blue’s 1962 neo-realist film, “Olive Trees of Justice,” on Wednesday, February 12 at 7 p.m. Cosponsored with the Cinema Pacific film festival, the screenings are free and include free popcorn and soda.

 

"The Olive Trees of Justice" was the only feature film made during the French/Algerian conflict, otherwise known as the Algerian War of Independence. Director James Blue shot the film in the heart of the Algerian countryside with a cast of nonprofessional actors including Pierre Prothon as the perplexed son, Marie Decaitre as the mother and Jean Pelegri as the old farmer.

 

The film, based on Jean Pelegri’s book of the same name, won the 1962 Critic's Prize at Cannes. It will be screened in French on 16mm film with English subtitles.

 

While the conflict is central to the story, the film is not concerned with the particulars of the conflict and it relates feelings about the French/Algerian situation more than the situation itself. The story begins when a young Frenchman arrives in the Algerian capital to be with his dying father, once a prosperous farmer. The scenes shift in flashback from the musing old man's bedside and the tense city itself to the provinces, as the son relives his boyhood on the farm.

 

In March and April, Schnitzer Cinema will continue The James Blue Tribute.  Blue’s co-director Brian Huberman will present, via Skype, excerpts from “Who Killed the Fourth Ward?” (1977) and “Invisible City” (1979) on Wednesday, March 12. Both films are examples of “The Complex Documentary,” the participatory, socially engaged mode of production Blue espoused and practiced.  The film series concludes with “Kenya Boran” (1974) on April 23, presented by the renowned ethnographic filmmaker David MacDougall, Blue’s co-director on the film. All films take place at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and start at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

 

The James Blue Tribute honors University of Oregon alumnus James Blue, an independent filmmaker renowned for his socially engaged documentaries and teaching, with a six-month tribute that will include screenings, guest speakers, and panels as well as publications and websites produced by UO faculty and students. Cinema Pacific and the JSMA’s James Blue Tribute is supported by a JSMA Academic Support Grant, and is cosponsored with the Clark Honors College, UO Libraries, and the UO Cinema Studies Program.

 

About the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art

The University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is a premier Pacific Northwest museum for exhibitions and collections of historic and contemporary art based in a major university setting. The mission of the museum is to enhance the University of Oregon’s academic mission and to further the appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public.  The JSMA features significant collections galleries devoted to art from China, Japan, Korea, America, Europe and elsewhere as well as changing special exhibition galleries.  The JSMA is one of six museums in the state of Oregon—and the only university museum--accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.

 

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon campus at 1430 Johnson Lane. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens. Free admission is given to ages 18 and under, JSMA members, college students with ID, and University of Oregon faculty, staff and students. For information, contact the JSMA, 541-346-3027.

 

About Cinema Pacific

Cinema Pacific is an annual film festival based at the University of Oregon in Eugene that is devoted to discovering and fostering the creativity of international films and new media from Pacific-bordering countries, including the U.S. Through onsite and online presentations, the festival connects stimulating artists and ideas with a diverse public, furthering our understanding of world cultures and contemporary issues.

 

About the University of Oregon

The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

 

Contact: Debbie Williamson Smith, 541-346-0942, debbiews@uoregon.edu

 

Links: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, http://jsma.uoregon.edu

Cinema Pacific, http://cinemapacific.uoregon.edu/