Directors discuss international documentaries

Starting at 7 p.m., the IU Cinema will host directors David Darg and Byrn Mooser for a two-day discussion of their international documentary films.

Tonight, the Cinema will screen “Sun City Picture House” (2010) and “Baseball in the Time of Cholera” (2011). At 3 p.m. Friday, the directors will present a lecture on their experiences during filmmaking.

“They’re entrepreneurial and young and great-spirited to the point where I think they’ll connect well with students,” IU Cinema Director Jon Vickers said.

Thursday’s first film, “Sun City Picture House,” tells the story of Raphael Louigene, a young Haitian man with a passion for movies.

The youth recruited the help of Darg and Mooser to attempt the construction of the first movie theater since Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake.

“They take on subjects that we don’t see enough of on-screen,” Vickers said. “They’re exposing us to real people and real events and a point of view in Haiti we felt was worth championing.”

“Baseball in the Time of Cholera,” a joint effort by both directors, juxtaposes the tale of Haiti’s first little league baseball team and a Haitian lawyer seeking action against the United Nations for a cholera epidemic.

According to the IU Cinema website, the directors’ stories intersect in the struggle for survival and justice.

Darg spent 10 years as a first responder and frontline contributor for Reuters, the BBC and CNN, covering wars and natural disasters in more than 30 different countries. Mooser, who opened a secondary school in Port-Au-Prince, lives and works in Haiti.

The two also founded RYOT.org, a website dedicated to highlighting humanitarian projects around the world with interactive volunteering.

“They’ve created a pretty unique website that not only brings relevant issues to light but also then offers what they consider solutions for anyone who wants to log in and read about certain things, but also ways for every person to take action,” Vickers said.

As a result of their films and international efforts, Darg and Mooser were named on Esquire Magazine’s list of “Americans of the Year” in 2012.

“All of those things combined make it a very worthwhile theater event,” Vickers said.