Love likes coincidences

PSU Middle East Studies Center to screen Turkish love story

Maybe love has less to do with fate and more to do with coincidence. Love: Just a Coincidence (2011) is a Turkish film that explores the role of coincidence in the romance of two artists whose lives are intertwined by a string of random events.

An intimate look at Sudan

PSU student group to screen Korean documentary on the African nation

Father Tae-Suk Lee’s death in 2010 at age 48 brought two nations to tears.

The documentary released that same year about Lee’s altruistic life, Don’t Cry for Me, Sudan, pulls no punches in dealing with the emotional impact of Lee succumbing, finally, to cancer. The film, directed by Koo Soo-Hwan, depicts the medically trained priest’s tireless work in Sudan and the great show of mourning that followed his death.

The wise and the wisecracker Rabbi Abraham and his nameless talking cat go on a formative journey together.

Talkin’ cat tells it like it is

French animated feature The Rabbi’s Cat a vibrant film for intelligent adults

It may be an animated film about a French-speaking, wise-cracking cat, but Antoine Delesvaux and Joann Sfar’s The Rabbi’s Cat (2011) is no kiddie cartoon.

Rochelle Kulei Nielsen plays a wall-mounted rawhide drum.

Rediscovering native roots

PSU’s Rochelle Kulei Nielsen to display Shoshone-inspired installation

Portland State Master of Fine Arts candidate Rochelle Kulei Nielsen’s studio is tucked into the heart of the university’s Art Building. The space is alive with the toil of aspiring graduate students. Nielson leads us into her corner studio, boasting artwork in a variety of media and styles, where she relates her journey as a contemporary Native American artist.

Back to the future: Brigitte Helm plays a young priestess who lives among the underground proletariat.

Do the robot!

Northwest Film Center screening of Metropolis reminds us why silence is golden

Now that The Artist has won Best Picture along with four additional Oscars, it appears that silent films are making a comeback.

This Thursday, the Northwest Film Center will screen a restored version of Fritz Lang’s dystopian sci-fi classic, Metropolis (1927). The screening will feature live scoring by the Alloy Orchestra, which will perform on synthesizers, junk percussion and traditional instruments.

Sight reading: The Belden Piano Quartet rehearses for tomorrow’s performance.

France: A musical portrait

Los Angeles-based Belden Piano Quartet to perform in Lincoln Recital Hall

The Portland State Department of Music is focusing on French music this year, and the Los Angeles-based Belden Piano Quartet is taking full advantage during its upcoming visit to Portland.

The music video strikes back

PSU film department and Hollywood Theatre to showcase local talent

Portland State film students are bringing back the music video with a vengeance.

The first-ever PDXMV: A Night of Music Videos showcase, which takes place at the Hollywood Theatre Monday, April 9, will feature the music videos of local bands and filmmakers. There will also be a live performance by Portland-based indie pop band Josh and Mer.

An everyday love story

Academy Award-winner Ernest Borgnine to appear for screening of the film Marty

Ernest Borgnine shines as a lovable lug in Delbert Mann’s 1955 award-winning classic film, Marty. His portrayal of a Brooklyn-area butcher looking for love continues to resonate more than half a century after its original release.

Celestial bodies: Just a few of the period-style costumes on display in Galileo Galilei.

The heretical science of Galileo

Portland Opera performs Philip Glass’ Galileo Galilei at Keller Auditorium

Galileo Galilei, that famed 17th century Italian astronomer whose work pioneered the scientific method, earned the wrath of the Catholic Inquisition when he observed that the Earth revolved around the sun. It was a concept inimical to the Catholic dogma of the time, which taught that the Earth was the center of the universe. Galileo’s theories led to his trial and house arrest by the Catholic Inquisition, despite that he later recanted his findings.

Alien invasion

Littman and White Galleries display extraterrestrial art in Contact exhibition

It’s been over 60 years since an unidentified flying object supposedly crashed in a ranch in Roswell, N. M., but the hunt is still on. All across the globe, people are watching and listening for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Even as farmers ponder the implications of crop circles in the remote plains of the Midwest and Europe, scientists are examining the possibilities of microbial life on distant worlds.