Sundance

Modern and postmodern civilization exhibits a variety o f pathological trends that have not only polluted the environment but have contributed to a spiritual crisis within humanity. Personal and social fragmentation has resulted from us losing touch with our spiritual roots. This paper explores aspects of archaic ontology as a remedy for the fragmented selfthrough an examination of the Native American Sun Dance ceremony. Through personal narrative and a review of the literature on the Sun Dance I explore ways for ethical intercultural exchange that can help us rediscover our spiritual connection with the Earth and how we might begin to embody the wisdom we encounter.

Time Share (Tiempo Compartido) is set in an oppressive, claustrophobic time share community called Vistamar, a vacation spot owned and operated by Everfields International. The latter is a phantom company purportedly headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, perhaps a nod to the very American-style promise of fun and restoration that the community promises its guests. However, the ownership, function, and purpose of the resort are never clearly revealed except through suggestion and innuendo. Time Share is a Spanish-Language film, a Mexican/Dutch venture, and the second feature film created by Piano, a company headed by Sebastian Hofmann and Julio Chavezmontes. The pair also serves as co-screenwriters (Hoffman directs) of this eerie, ominous, and darkly comedic drama (more dark than comic).Official Entry, Sundance Film Festival

"Benh Zeitlin’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild” enjoyed an incredible buzz after its debut, receiving the Caméra d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival and Grand Jury Prize in Drama at Sundance. It recently hit theaters nationwide and is currently being featured at Austin’s South Lamar Alamo Drafthouse.

The film centers on a young girl, Hushpuppy, and her all-but-forgotten, defiant, and determined bayou community cut off from the rest of the area by a sprawling levee. Her view of the world is the central narrative vehicle of the film as her bayou village called the ‘Bathtub’ is ravaged by a giant storm. Her father, Wink, strives for a simplistic life as far away from the industry of modern society as possible, and goes through great lengths to keep Hushpuppy from urbanity as well. This is evidenced in her turns of phrases, her immensely naturalistic view of the world, and her primitivistic sense of self-preservation. Strewn throughout the film are wild, prehistoric beasts that have thawed out of their icy prisons to roam throughout the bayou. Their presence in the film starts as metaphor and transcends into Hushpuppy’s reality with varying degrees of success." >>more