Browning Cinema Film Series Takes Action Against Islamaphobia

The DeBartolo Performing Arts Center remains the sole Indiana venue north of Indianapolis scheduled to screen films as part of The Seventh Art Stand, a nation-wide series of films presented by movie theaters and community centers across the U.S. as an act of cinematic solidarity against Islamophobia.

The center's Browning Cinema weekend showcase of films, May 5-7, was curated from titles representing the seven countries affected by the travel bans: Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, Iran, and Sudan.

Throughout May 2017, venues across the U.S. are joining The Network of Arab Alternative Screens (NAAS) in this coalitional effort to advance the film industries and stories of our friends and fellow filmmakers abroad. The Seventh Art Stand is critical to building a tradition of sharing more stories, voices, and faces on screens, not fewer.

Focused on building community through conversation, Ricky Herbst, cinema program director, garnered the support of the Islamic Society of Michiana and the University of Notre Dame's Department of American Studies as co-presenters.

Participants in the May 5 opening night panel discussion are pending announcement. The Seventh Art Stand schedule at the Browning Cinema is as follows:

Last Men in Aleppo (2017)
Friday, May 5 at 7 P.M.
Arabic with English subtitles
Panel discussion to follow

Fresh off its Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, this documentary covers Aleppo's remaining residents who, after five years of war, prepare themselves for a siege.

Iraqi Odyssey (2014)
Saturday, May 6 at 3 P.M.
Arabic with English subtitles

Tracing the emigrations of his family over more than half a century, this documentary epic from expatriate Iraqi filmmaker Samir pays moving homage to the frustrated democratic dreams of a people successively plagued by the horrors of dictatorship, war, and foreign occupation.

The Letter: An American Town and the "Somali Invasion" (2003)
Saturday, May 6 at 6:30 P.M.

In the wake of September 11, a firestorm erupted when the mayor of Lewiston, Maine, sent a letter to 1,100 newly-arrived Somali refugees advising that the city's resources are strained to the limit and asking that other Somalis not to move to the city. Interpreted as racism by some and a rallying cry by white supremacist groups across the United States, that letter led to this documentary.

Karama Has No Walls (2012)/Libya in Motion (2015)
Saturday, May 6 at 9:30 P.M.
Arabic with English subtitles

The Friday of Karama (March 18, 2011) marked a significant turning point in Yemen's revolution when pro-government snipers opened fire on a peaceful protest. Libya in Motion is an omnibus documentary feature is a series of short stories filmed over three years by fifteen different emerging Libyan filmmakers in post-revolution Libya, follows Karama Has No Walls.

Starless Dreams (2016)/Human Being (1994)
Sunday, May 7 at 3 P.M.
Farsi with English subtitles

A variety of criminal offenses and traumatic stories mark the lives of girls confined at the Iranian Correctional and Rehabilitation Center for Girls. Starless Dreams is a documentary that offers a picture of how young women struggle to recapture or maintain a sense of self and associated dignity. Preceding this feature and shot entirely without dialogue by Sudanese filmmaker Ibrahim Shaddad the short, Human Being, tells the story of a shepherd who leaves his wife and herd to settle in a nearby town.

Regular tickets are $7, $6 for seniors, and $4 for children and students. Visit performingarts.nd.edu for more information, including film ratings and run times or call the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Ticket Office at (574) 631-2800 Monday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.

The DeBartolo Performing Arts Center Browning Cinema is on the second floor at 100 Performing Arts Way, Notre Dame, Indiana. The center sits at the south end of Notre Dame's campus across from Eddy Street Commons. The main entrance is on the building's north side, facing the Mendoza College of Business.

Since opening in September 2004, the University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center has become an integral part of the University's vision and commitment to becoming a preeminent research university. It is the University's leading presenter of world-class artistic programming, one with an institutional focus on contemporary works. As an academic space, the center enhances the scholarship, teaching and practice of the performing and cinematic arts. As a community space, the center welcomes more than 100,000 patrons annually, including thousands of K-12 students in education and related artistic programs. Presenting Series and Browning Cinema programs are curated to increase the center's capacity to educate, enlighten, and engage.

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