The Hope College Knickerbocker Winter Film Series will continue the college’s long tradition of showing current independent and international films. The series will show four films, each for a week-long run, beginning with “Beans” on Jan. 24-29; “They Say Nothing Stays the Same” on Feb. 21-26; “Julia” on March 28-April 2; and “Hive” on April 4-9.
“Beans,” showing Monday-Saturday, Jan. 24-29, is a Canadian drama film exploring the
1990 Oka Crisis at Kanesatake through the eyes of a young Mohawk girl, Tekehentahkwa
(nicknamed “Beans”). Twelve-year-old Beans lives on a reservation in Kahnawake and
is torn between innocent childhood and reckless adolescence. She is forced to grow
up fast when the Oka Crisis strikes – the turbulent Indigenous uprising that tore
Quebec and Canada apart for 78 tense days in the summer of 1990. The film is a semi-autobiographical
story directed by Tracey Deer, who lived through the events as a child. Variety describes the film as a “thoughtful, stirring reflection by someone who survived it
all, quietly demanding acknowledgement of not just her land, but of her life.” The
film is not rated.
On Monday-Saturday, Feb. 21-26, the series will feature the Japanese drama “They Say
Nothing Stays the Same,” the debut directorial film by actor Joe Odagiri. The film follows an old ferryman
in a remote Meiji-era community, whose peaceful, cyclical life is given meaning by
the essential role he plays in transporting people, livestock and goods across the
water, connecting villages and lives. His placid existence is disturbed by two events:
news that a bridge is being built nearby, which would void the need for his services,
and the appearance of a mysterious young woman whom he saves from drowning. Cinematographer
Christopher Doyle’s classical approach mirrors the film’s thematic concern with those
fondly-remembered traditions sacrificed in the name of progress. The film is in Japanese
with English subtitles and is not rated.
A documentary film chronicling the life of Julia Child, “Julia,” will run on Monday-Saturday,
March 28-April 2. Using never-before-seen archival footage, personal photos, first-person
narratives and cutting-edge food cinematography, the film tells the story of the legendary
cookbook author and television superstar who changed the way Americans think about
food, television and even women. Viewers get an in-depth look at Julia Child’s path,
from her struggles to create and publish the revolutionary book “Mastering the Art
of French Cooking” (1961), to her empowering story of a woman who found fame in her
50s, and her calling as an unlikely television sensation. The film is rated PG-13.
“Hive,” a Kosovan drama based on the true story of Fahrije, will conclude the series
on Monday-Saturday, April 4-9. Fahrije, whose husband went missing during the war in Kosovo, pulls together
the other widows in her patriarchal village to launch a business of selling her own
ajvar and honey to provide for her struggling family. Their journey of healing and
solace is met with hostility from the men in the village, who start a feud that threatens
the women’s newfound sovereignty, and, against the backdrop of Eastern Europe’s civil
unrest, the women join in a struggle to find hope and perseverance in uncertain times.
At the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, the film became the first film in Sundance history
to win all three main awards — the Grand Jury Prize, the Audience Award and the Directing
award — in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The film is in Albanian with English
subtitles.
Tickets for the individual films are $7 for regular admission and $6 for senior citizens, Hope College staff and faculty, and children. Tickets will be sold at the door.
Audience members who need assistance to fully enjoy any event at Hope are encouraged to contact the college’s Events and Conferences Office by emailing events@hope.edu or calling 616-395-7222 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Updates related to events are posted when available in the individual listings at hope.edu/calendar
Due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, Hope is currently requiring that masks be worn by all individuals while indoors on campus unless in their living space or alone in their work space.
The Knickerbocker Theatre is located in downtown Holland at 86 E. Eighth St.