WRITING WITH FIRE
TUESDAY, FEB. 22 • 7:00
SATURDAY, FEB. 26 • 4:15
ASCENSION
TUESDAY, MARCH 1 • 7:00
SATURDAY, MARCH 5 • 4:15
FLEE
TUESDAY, MARCH 8 • 7:00
SATURDAY, MARCH 12 • 4:15
SUMMER OF SOUL
TUESDAY, MARCH 15 • 7:00
SATURDAY, MARCH 19 • 4:15
ATTICA
TUESDAY, MARCH 22 • 7:00
SATURDAY, MARCH 26 • 4:15
The Rafael is excited to present the five nominees for the 2022 Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature Film. Purchase tickets to individual screenings or catch all five films with our series pass.
SERIES PASS
ACCESS TO ALL 5 PROGRAMS
$30. General | FREE TO CFI MEMBERS
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WRITING WITH FIRE
Reporting from a social environment built to divide based on caste and gender, a fearless group of journalists maintain India’s only women-led news outlet. The women of Khabar Lahariya (‘Waves of News’), all from the Dalit (“untouchables”) caste, prepare to transition the newspaper from print to digital even though many of their reporters don’t have access to electricity at home. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her team of investigative journalists confront some of India’s biggest issues – exposing the relentless discrimination against women and amplifying the voices of those who suffer from the oppressive caste system. WRITING WITH FIRE chronicles the astonishing determination of these local reporters as they empower each other and hold those responsible for injustice to account. Reaching new audiences through their growing platform, the women of Khabar Lahariya redefine what it means to be powerful in this timely and inspiring documentary. Directors: Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh (India 2021) 98 min.
TUESDAY, FEB. 22 • 7:00
SATURDAY, FEB. 26 • 4:15
THE LAST WAVE
Director Peter Weir’s third feature demonstrates his underlying fascination with the collision between the modern world and older belief systems. Richard Chamberlain stars as David Burton, a lawyer in Sydney engaged through legal aid to defend five Aboriginal men accused of causing the suspicious death of a sixth. Plagued by bizarre dreams, Burton senses an otherworldly connection to one of the accused, played by David Gulpilil, as well as to the increasingly strange weather phenomena besetting the city. (Australia, 1977) Camera: Russell Boyd. Writers: Peter Weir, Tony Morphett, Petru Popescu. Director: Peter Weir. 106 min.
SUNDAY, MARCH 6 • 4:15
THE TRACKER
David Gulpilil stars as the Tracker in this powerful morality tale about a manhunt though the Australian outback in 1922. The hotheaded and racist lawman known as the Fanatic (Gary Sweet) doesn’t see much difference between their resourceful guide and the Aboriginal fugitive they pursue. Filmmaker Rolf de Heer employs symbolism to convey the story’s violent moments, showing us paintings by artist Peter Coad rather than actual images of brutality. In addition, soundtrack vocals by Aboriginal blues singer Archie Roach provide ongoing commentary and enforce a quality of epic drama. Gulpilil invests his character with wisdom, dignity and humor. (Australia 2002) Writer/Director: Rolf de Heer. 98 min.
SUNDAY, MARCH 13 • 4:15
RABBIT-PROOF FENCE
Still one of the best-attended films in the history of the Rafael, this true story of Australia’s “Stolen Generations” stars Kenneth Branagh as the official in 1931 promoting the government’s policy forcibly removing half-caste children from their Aboriginal mothers, so they will integrate and breed with white society. Three young girls escape, but their long walk back home spans 1500 miles of desert. David Gulpilil plays the skilled tracker Moodoo, who is enlisted to find them. (Australia 2002) Music: Peter Gabriel. Camera: Christopher Doyle. Writer: Christine Olsen, based on the book by Doris Pilkington Garimara (daughter of one of the protagonists). Director: Phillip Noyce. 94 min.
SUNDAY, MARCH 20 • 4:15
CHARLIE’S COUNTRY
Filmmaker Rolf de Heer continued his close collaboration with David Gulpilil with this “roman à clef” about Charlie, a restless elder in alcohol-free Arnhem Land who feels the government’s growing grip on his culture while he decries the rapid disappearance of Yolngu traditions. Although well past his prime, Charlie decides to “go bush” and sets out into the wild to practice the old ways, without reckoning how much things really have changed and exactly where he might be going. Gulpilil’s remarkable face is a vessel of both bemusement and despair, and he received a special award at Cannes for his performance. (Australia 2013) Writers: Rolf de Heer, David Gulpilil. Director: Rolf de Heer. 108 min.
THURSDAY, MARCH 24 • 7:00