An 80-year-old Kolkata retiree is on a mission to get his neighborhood streetlights turned off after sunrise after he notices they stay on all day as well. Shyamal Uncle finds his sense of propriety upset by this wasteful expense of electricity. But finding someone to take him seriously proves a battle against an indifferent bureaucracy and a complacent status quo (and is just maybe a welcome distraction from his otherwise dull routine). Suman Ghosh’s vérité-style film is alive with the sights, sounds and personalities of this old Kolkata neighborhood, as his unlikely protagonist pursues a quest that adds up to a wry, revealing, highly original tour of modern India.
Cosponsored by the Fletcher Free Library, Burlington
Wednesday, June 19
7PM
Fletcher Room, Fletcher Free Library Burlington
"Student"
(90 minutes, Kazakh and Russian with English Subtitles)
A solitary philosophy student steers his directionless life toward the commission of a violent crime, spurred on by postmodern musings and a post-Soviet order characterized by growing inequality, corruption and a ruthless ethic of “eat or be eaten.“ Inspired by Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, director Darezhan Omirbayev roots his nameless student in the losing segment of Kazakhstan’s new capitalist era, whose population watches the rich rise above the law and old-fashioned communal values.
Cosponsored by the Fletcher Free Library, Burlington
Sunday, June 23
5PM
Global Burlington International Dinner--Details TBA
North End Studios
Wednesday, July 17
7PM
Fletcher Room, Fletcher Free Library
Burlington
"Cairo 678"
(100 minutes, Arabic with English Subtitles)
Three Cairene women from different backgrounds join together in uneasy solidarity to combat the sexual harassment that has impacted each of their lives. We begin on an overcrowded bus line, which Fayza dreads for its daily humiliation and anguish. Responding to a self-defense talk by Seba, whose own assault has driven her marriage apart, Fayza fights back-and soon has a police detective searching for her amid public panic. Meanwhile, Nelly, an aspiring comic, faces pressure from family to drop a lawsuit against her attacker. Mohamed Diab’s deftly braided narrative tells a timely social tale through its patchwork of connected lives and deeds.
Cosponsored by the Fletcher Free Library, Burlington
Sunday, July 28
5PM
Global Burlington International Dinner--American Barbecue!
North End Studios
Wednesday, August 21
7PM
Fletcher Room, Fletcher Free Library
Burlington
"Modest Reception"
(100 minutes, Farsi/Persian with English Subtitles)
Leila and Kaveh are a mysterious pair from Tehran, traveling the mountainous countryside in their Lexus coupe to push big bags of money on the locals. This turns out to be not so easy, but fascinating to watch, as the cagey couple invent brazen stratagems to place cash in the hands of the wary, proud or indifferent. Will they push things too far? Are they losing sight of their mission? What exactly is their mission? This bold comedy-drama unfurls with unexpected force amid subtle themes of power, privilege and corruption.
Cosponsored by the Fletcher Free Library, Burlington
Wednesday, September 18
7PM
Fletcher Room, Fletcher Free Library
Burlington
About 111 Girls
(79 minutes, Farsi/Persian and Kurdish with English Subtitles)
A government official, carrying a message from Iran’s president, travels across Iranian Kurdistan with his driver and a young guide on a mission to stop 111 young Kurdish women from committing suicide in protest against conditions that have left them spinsters. Racing against the clock, they travel into territory simmering with resentment at official neglect and the hardship it has sown. Against a dramatic physical and human landscape, wistful longing mingles with dreamlike desire and absurdist humor as the travelers meander helplessly in a land of contradictions.
Cosponsored by the Fletcher Free Library, Burlington
Past Programs
May 20
John Isaacs Executive Director, Council for Livable World
"Les Misérables: The Nuclear Bombs Remaining in the Back Yard"
April 28
Global Burlington International Dinner--India
April 9
Community Film Series: "The Island President"
March 31
"The Revolutionary Optimists"
AND
March 26
"The Revisionaries"
March 24
Global Burlington International Dinner--La Francophonie
Friday, March 22
The African Brothers
North End Studios, Burlington
Wednesday, March 13
UVM Professor Greg Gause "Has the Arab Spring Become an Islamist Winter?"
Fletcher Free Library, Burlington
Thursday, February 28
Chris Bohjalian on "The Sandcastle Girls" Pierson Library, Shelburne
Thursday, February 28
Ambassador Zoran Jolevski "The Importance of Leadership in Life, Politics and Military Affairs"
Norwich University
Thursday/Friday, February 28-March 1
"No Place Like Home?"
Middlebury College
Wednesday, January 16
Spotlight on Turkey returning teacher Kim Rizio Manchester Center
Wednesday, January 9
Spotlight on Turkey returning teacher Chris Nezin Bristol
"Let's Talk Turkey"
Sunday, January 27
Global Burlington International Dinner
Food, music and dance from Burundi
Monday, December 10
VCWA's Annual Meeting
Marie-Claude Francoeur
Déléguée du Québec à Boston Quebec Delegate for New England on
“Vermont and Quebec: Key Issues for the Future”
Thursday, November 15
Olav Ljøsne
Senior Manager, International Operations, Shell Oil, on
"Meeting Future Energy Needs: Conflict and Cooperation"
Wednesday, November 14
"Oil Development in the Niger Delta"
Panel discussion featuring:
Olav Ljøsne, Senior Manager of Communications for Shell Oil
Professor Gregory Gause, UVM
Professor Benjamin Sovacool, Vermont Law School
Friday, November 9
Haviland Smith on
"Assessing Active and Potential Threats to the U.S."
Friday, November 2
Steve Zind on
"Iran Today: A Reporter's Reflections"
Monday, October 29
US-China Forum --CANCELLED DUE TO HURRICANE SANDY
Sunday, October 28
Global Burlington International Dinner
South American food, music and film
Monday, October 22
Vermont International Film Festival "Valley of Saints"
Tuesday and Wednesday, October 16/17
The Ambassador Series
H.E. François Delattre Ambassador of France to the US
Wednesday and Thursday, October 4/5
The Ambassador Series
H.E. Michael Collins, Ambassador of Ireland to the US
Sunday, September 23
Global Burlington International Dinner
Evening of Turkish food and entertainment
North End Studios
Friday, September 14-30
Spotlight on Turkey Program presents photographer Terry Abrams
Saturday, July 22
Global Burlington International Dinner
American barbecue and music
North End Studios
Saturday, June 30
Global Burlington International Dinner
Russian Evening
North End Studios
Sunday, May 20
Global Burlington International Dinner
Chinese Evening
North End Studios
Wednesday, May 2
VCWA MIGRATION SERIES:
Peter Garang Deng on his book, "Lost Generation: The Story of a Sudanese Orphan"
Watch his presentation here
The Ambassador Series presents:
His Excellency Petr Gandalovič
Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the United States
Monday, April 23 and 24
Middlebury College, Saint Michael's College, Norwich University, the University of Vermont and the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce
Sunday, April 22
Global Bulington International Dinner
Bhutanese Evening
North End Studios
Sunday, March 24
Global Bulington International Dinner
The Francophone World
North End Studios
Wednesday, March 21
UVM Professor and national expert Greg Gause on
Tuesday, March 20
Zanetta Jansen, Visiting Senior Lecturer in Sociology
University of South Africa (Unisa) on
"Globalization, Global Consciousness and Media Influence"
March 16-25
Monday, February 13
Ciaran Buckley on "Europe: Broken or in Transition?" at Champlain College
Click on the diagram for his complete PowerPoint
Thursday, February 2
Training Program for Citizen Diplomats
VCWA Offices
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Adam Weinberg
President and CEO of World Learning, Brattleboro
on
"Cultivating Leadership Around Critical Global Issues"
