IU screens 3-part series from East Asia

In a small village in Tajikistan, a young boy named Khorshid works in an instrument shop. Since he cannot see with his eyes, he sees the world around him by listening. \n"His sensitivity to the sound of the moment exposes the silence in which most of us live," writes professor Paul Losensky in a summary in the IU events calendar.\nThe experiences of little Khorshid are portrayed in an award-winning Persian film "Sokut," or "Silence". The first of a three-part film series, Bloomington residents are invited to experience this Persian film at 7 p.m Thursday in Swain East 105.\nThe department of Central Eurasian Studies is currently promoting a three-film series, highlighting films from Iran, Hungary and Turkey.\nPaul Losensky, the director of the Persian program at IU, said he selected these films to expose students to Persian language and culture.\n"This is an opportunity to see one of the more prominent and innovative national cinemas in the world today," he said. "The films are engaging and of extremely high quality in terms of cinematography, and they open up a window to part of the world that we know mostly through biased newspaper coverage."\nLosensky will preface each screening by explaining to the audience items of cultural significance, in hopes they won't be lost during translation. Unlike Hollywood, he said, the Persian film industry is state-funded. Film producers must submit a scenario and screenplay, and once approved, the film is put into motion.\n"These things look very different when they're realized on screen, so often there are films funded by the state that are not released in Iran, and are smuggled out," he said.\nLosensky will show the uncensored versions of the films. \n"This gives us a chance to see how people in Iran actually live, and in the way they see themselves," he said.\nLosensky will feature a film called "Tangsir" Oct. 20, and wrapping up the series Nov. 17 is "Through Sunglasses." All films in the Persian series are subtitled in English.\nProfessor Lynn Hooker has designed a film series in conjunction with her second eight- weeks class within the CEUS department called "Budapest in the 19th and 20th centuries: The Evolution of a European Capital."\nHooker is a music scholar who became interested in Hungary by playing Hungarian music in high school orchestra. She said the films she has selected emphasize the cultural history and urban sociology of Budapest.\n"I hope (viewers) have a way of seeing into a place that they may not know very well," she said. "This is a chance to see a filmmaker's version of how the city has evolved."\nThere are six films in the Budapest series. The first is in English and is called "Sunshine." It will screen at 6:30 p.m. today in Swain Hall East 140. The remaining five are in Hungarian with English subtitles, and will show at 7 p.m. in the same room. \n"One of the things you'll find with some Hungarian films is that the expectation of a linear narrative doesn't hold," Hooker said of the "visually spectacular" films. "The formulas are different or non-existent."\nHooker said before each feature film, she will show short propaganda films and commercials from earlier times.\nFor Turkish film fans, there are four films remaining in the series. All are at 8 p.m. in Wylie Hall 005. The films Oct. 7, Nov. 11 and Dec. 29 will be in Turkish with English subtitles. The film screening Dec. 19 will be in Turkish without subtitles.\nFor more information on all of these series, visit the IU Events calendar at http://events.iu.edu.