Peter Sellars Speaks about the New Crowned Hope Films March 6, 2009

In 2006, Peter Sellars commissioned a film series for the New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna. Now, Peter brings his films to Montalvo as part of AGENCY. Sellars discusses the commissioned works and will screen the film Opera Jawa.

Sellars is renowned worldwide for his innovative treatments of classical material from western and non-western traditions, and for his commitment to exploring difficult human challenges like terrorism, poverty, slavery, genocide and civil war and their aftermaths, and the role of the arts in contemporary society. Through films, which were made by directors of seven different nationalities, Sellars gives voice to artists living where "the need is to somehow turn the page of history, and where acts of mercy, imagination, and negotiation are the only hope."

Film screenings are offered in Montalvo's Carriage House and at San José State University, complemented by an education program promoting cross-cultural understanding produced in association with The Global Film Initiative.

The seven directors and their films are:

Garin Nugroho, (Indonesia), Opera Jawa

Bahman Ghobadi, (Kurdistan), Half Moon

Paz Encina, (Paraquay), Paraguayan Hammock

Teboho Mahlatsi, (South Africa),Meokgo and the Stickfighter

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, (West Africa), Dry Season

Apichatpong Weerasethakul, (Thailand), Syndromes and a Century

Tsai Ming-Liang, (China), I Don't Want to Sleep Alone

Please check back soon to see screening dates for the above-mentioned films.

Venue: Carriage House Theatre at Montalvo Arts Center

Official Website: http://www.montalvoarts.org/events/peter_sellars_1/