Rock 'n' Roll

I've been advertising it forever in our weekly e-bulletin, so when I spied a review for the Goodman Theatre's production of the play Rock 'n' Roll, I thought that a round-up of various reivews might be of interest to our readers here. Playing until June 7, Rock 'n' Roll takes place in Cambridge and Prague, spans a time period of 20 years, and takes its soundtrack music from The Rolling Stones, The Doors, and U2, to name a few. Sounds exciting, no? 

Anyways, there are reviews of the show in the Chicago Tribune, as well as the Chicago Sun-Times. My favorite Chicago blog, Chicagoist, also has a review. 

For ticket information, visit the Goodman Theater website. As I said, the play runs until June 7. 

European Union Film Festival

If you've got some free time, you should definitely check out the upcoming European Union Film Festival. The festival, which will take place at the Gene Siskel Film Center at the Art Institute of Chicago, will run from March 6 to April 2. According to their website, all 27 nations of the EU are represented, there will be a total of 59 films, and all of them are Chicago premieres. 

Apparently, tradition has it that the film festival is opened by a film from the country which currently holds the presidency of the EU. This year, that happens to be the Czech Republic. The film, entitled I'm All Good, will be screened Friday, and will be presented by the Czech Consul General. The director will also be there for an audience discussion. There will also be an exhibit of Czech film posters from the 1960s-1970s on display in the Siskel Film Center's gallery/cafe throughout the festival. 

Countries that overlap with our region and the EU which will also have films in the festival include Greece, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland and Lithuania, as well as a few others.  For the full schedule, including what other movies, visit the Siskel Center website and click on "European Union Film Festival." 

Christmas Around the World at the MSI

The Museum of Science and Industry here in Chicago does a Christmas Around the World and Holiday of Lights special exhibit every year, which includes Christmas trees from around the world, and performances by various different ethnic groups and choirs. 

Countries represented from the CEERES region include trees from: Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the Ukraine. 

There are many different groups performing that represent the CEERES region. For example, on Sunday December the 7th, there's going to be the Latvian School of Chicago & the Latvian Girl Guides and Boy Scouts, the Knights of Lithuania Dancers and the Greek Consulate. On Sunday the 14th, there's the Iskra School of Ukranian Dance & Ukranian Children’s Choir, Cherubic Voices, Cardinal A. Stepinac Croatian School and the Orpheus Hellenic Folklore Society (Greece Folk dancing and song).  There's other groups, including Polish and Romanian groups other days. For the full schedule, click here. 

Also, right now, you can download a coupon for by one get one free adult admission. Click here for the details. The Museum also has a podcast called Trees & Traditions, if you're not up to leaving your apartment in the cold weather. The exhibit is open until January 4, 2009. 

Polish Film Festival

More films from the CEERES region in Chicago!

The Polish Film Festival is taking place here in Chicago until November 23. Since it started the 8th, you've missed a few films, but there are still plenty to catch this weekend, including one on Saturday and Sunday which will feature the director in attendance. The festival not only includes Polish films, but films from other places as well, including Hungary and Russia.

(An article on the Festival from the Chicago Sun Times can be found here.)

44th Chicago International Film Festival

It's that time of year again, time for the International Film Festival! This year there are some great films from the CEERES region that we'd like you to be aware of.

Like last year, we've put together a list (for the full schedule visit chicagofilmfestival.org):

ABSURDISTAN (France/Azerbaijan)

Veit Helmer

It's 1968, and flower children Catherine, Yves, and Herve are dreaming of a world free from factories, the draft, and the bitter May revolts. Desperately in love and painfully idealistic, they convince several of their friends to join them in starting a commune in the countryside. Twenty years later, with communism collapsing and AIDS exploding, Catherine and Yves' children must deal with the fallout from the free love generation. WORlD CINEMA 88 min Russian with English subtitles

10/23/08 06:15:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

10/25/08 06:45:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

FOUR NIGHTS WITH ANNA / CZTERY NOCE Z ANNA (Poland)

Jerzy Skolimowski

Internationally acclaimed director Jerzy Skolimowski's (Moonlighting) first film in 17 years is an alternately zany and pitch-black portrait of Leon's madcap courtship of his neighbor, Anna. Leon's oddball behavior—like crushing sleeping pills into Anna's sugar so he can snoop through her apartment smelling things—is somehow endearing until we learn the dark secret behind his attraction. 87 Min. Polish with English subtitles.

10/26/08 07:30:00 PM AMC River East 21

10/27/08 08:00:00 PM AMC River East 21

THE HOMECOMING / I EPISTROFI (Greece)

Vassilis Douvlis

Ilias and his wife Eleni have returned to Greece after many years in Germany. Ilias feels like a foreigner in his home village, and life in the country is killing Eleni's spirit. The arrival of Albanian migrant Petros is the first in a chain of events that will change their lives. With an engrossing love triangle as his foundation, Douvlis touches on the perils of identity and the shifting definition of home experienced by immigrants around the world. 98 min. Greek with English subtitles.

10/24/08 04:00:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan
10/26/08 03:30:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

10/27/08 05:50:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

KATYN (Poland)

Andrzej Wajda

In 1939, more than 12,000 Polish military officers and intelligentsia were executed by the Soviet army. Once the mass graves were discovered by the Nazis in 1943, the Soviets began an extensive campaign to cover up their involvement in the massacre. Katyn´ is a courageous film that tells the story of both the victims and those left behind: the survivors who became complicit in the cover-up, and those who refused to deny the truth. 118 min.

Polish, Russian, German with English subtitles.

10/19/08 12:45:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

10/25/08 01:15:00 PM AMC River East 21

THE MERMAID / RUSALKA (Russia)

Anna Melikyan

An Amélie-like fairy tale rich in a mesmerizing magic (literally) all its own, The Mermaid's heart is Alisa, a lonely little girl from a seaside town who takes a rebellious vow of silence at the age of five. Approaching her 18th birthday, Alisa is forced to relocate to Moscow, where a chance encounter with a free-spirited salesman of lunar real estate inspires her to speak again—and compete for his affection. 114 min. Russian with English subtitles.

10/22/08 08:20:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

10/28/08 08:15:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

NATIVE DANCER / BAKSY (Russia/Kazakhstan/France/Germany)

Gulshat Omarova

The award-winning director of Schizo returns with the absorbing story of a Kazakh baksy (shaman), Aidai, who has the power to heal people. She derives her power from the land she lives on, owned by wealthy businessman Batyr. But when the mafia and local authorities force Aidai from her home and build a motel on Batyr's land, a surprising chain of events springs from the powerful and mysterious woman. 87 min. Russian, Kazakh with English subtitles.

10/18/08 02:15:00 PM AMC River East 21

10/21/08 08:40:00 PM AMC River East 21

OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN / O RODICíCH A DETECH (Czech Republic)

Vladimír Michálek

Based on the award-winning novel by Emil Hakl, this candid and revealing relationship study unfolds during an often bittersweet and untamed conversation between a seventysomething father and his middle-aged son. The two men—who love, respect, and hate one another all at once—take to the streets of Prague for their monthly visit, moving with a gentle sweep through their humorous collective memories and careening toward newfound revelations. 112 min. Czech with English subtitles.

10/25/08 12:30:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

10/27/08 06:10:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

SNOW / SNIJEG (Bosnia-Herzegovina/Germany/France/Iran)

Aida Begic

The year is 1997, and the post-war village of Slavno is occupied by a mere handful of residents, mostly women. Some are widows. Others have had their children executed by the nearby Bosnian Serbs. Winner of the critics' week grand prize at Cannes, Snow picks up where most other war films leave off, capturing mournful, everyday lives with such attentiveness and regard that it becomes less a film of politics and more a film of touching fellowship. 99 min. Bosnian with English subtitles.

10/25/08 03:00:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

10/26/08 06:00:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

SUMMER BOOK / TATIL KITABI (Turkey)

Seyfi Teoman

Ten-year-old Ali is getting bullied at school. Older brother Veysel is looking to ditch military school for business school. Austere pop Mustafa disapproves, but uncle Hasan is all for it. Meanwhile, mom Guler is sure that her husband is having an affair. These minor family tensions come to a head one summer when Mustafa suddenly falls ill while away on a business trip. Named best Turkish film at the Istanbul Film Festival. 92 min. Turkish with English subtitles.

10/23/08 08:40:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

10/24/08 06:30:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

TRANQUILITY / NYUGALOM (Hungary)

Róbert Alföldi

Estranged from her daughter and cut off from the outside world, ex-actress Rebeka Weér lives with her deeply troubled son, Andor. Verbally abused by Rebeka since his childhood, Andor becomes a man who must learn to either live with their strained, yet sometimes tender, relationship or leave that suffocating environment behind to pursue love elsewhere. Somber, haunting, and erotic, Tranquility tells a story of self-destruction within the realm of a bizarre mother-son relationship. 108 min. Hungarian with English subtitles.

10/20/08 08:40:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

10/21/08 08:30:00 PM AMC 600 N. Michigan

THE VANISHED EMPIRE (Russia)

Karen Shakhnazaro

The 1970s marked the rise of communism and the peak of power in the Soviet Union. To teenager Sergey Narbekov, it meant friends, booze, girls, and The Rolling Stones. The Vanished Empire is an honest portrayal of four young friends transitioning from their late teens into adulthood. They live hard and love hard, giving no regard to the collapse of their country. 105 min. Russian with English subtitles.

10/19/08 12:30:00 PM ACM River East 21

10/20/08 06:10:00 PM ACM River East 21

Nauryz, Spring in Central Asia, Roksonaki in Chicago

CEERES is co-sponsoring an upcoming concert by the Kazakh band Roksonaki. Details on their performances are below. Their tour coincides with the Persian celebration of spring, Nowruz, or Nauryz. This celebration has various expressions among the various peoples of the region. I heard a fascinating article about Nauryz on NPR Weekend Edition Sunday (March 16), and you can find it here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88156775

Roksonaki will be playing their unique blend of traditional and contemporary Central Asian music on The University of Chicago campus (Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 E 59th St) on Monday, March 31 at 7pm. Check here for more info!

A Week of Russian Folk Concerts at UChicago

Sadly, the snowy weather has ruined our plans at CEERES to host an academic workshop on Islam, Modernity, Eurasia. As this clears up, our community still has a shot at experiencing some great Russian folk music over the next week.

This Sunday, February 3, at 6pm in Ida Noyes Hall Theatre (1212 East 59th Street, Chicago IL), a talented and prolific trio named Zolotoj Plyos will perform. Zolotoi Plyos consists of 3 musicians (Alexander Solovov, Elena Sadina, Sergeui Gratchev) who met at the conservatory in Saratov and who now are students of the Royal Carillon Academy in Mechelen, Belgium. They perform authentic Russian folk music, from the villages, in costume, both a capella and with instrumental accompaniment on over 20 authentic folk instruments (dutki, treshchetki, lozhki, balalaiki, garmoshki, etc.). The name of the group refers to a stretch on the Volga River. This concert is free.

On the following weekend, The University of Chicago will hold its annual Folk Festival. Golosa, the University of Chicago Russian Choir, will perform at 3:00 pm on Saturday, February 9, in the third floor theater of Ida Noyes Hall, located at the corner of Woodlawn Ave. and 59th street on the U of C campus. Admission to the Golosa workshop, and all of the daytime workshops, is free.

More information about the Folk Festival can be found at:

http://www.uofcfolk.org/2008/home.html

Golosa will also be joining forces with the Rockefeller Chapel Choir for an evening
of sacred Russian works by Chesnokov, Kalinnikov, Grechaninov, and Rachmaninov.

The concert will be the February installment of the Chapel's new and very
popular evensong series, and will take place at 5:00 on the evening of Sunday,
February 10. There is no charge for admisssion.

More information about the Rockefeller Chapel performance can be found at:

https://events.uchicago.edu/campusevents/eventdetail.phtml?eventid=58154&Month=1


A map of Hyde Park is here:
(exit 53rd or 57th street from Lake Shore Drive)

http://maps.uchicago.edu/hydepark.shtml


A map with the location of Ida Noyes Hall is here:

http://maps.uchicago.edu/eastquad/idanoyes.html


A map with the location Rockefeller Chapel is here:

http://maps.uchicago.edu/eastquad/rockefel.html


We hope to see you there!

It's time for Polish films

The Polish Film Festival in America is starting this week in Chicago, on Saturday Nov. 3, and continues through the month until November 18. Check it out here - http://www.pffamerica.com/schedule.htm

Gypsy Wednesday

Gypsy Caravan

What really got me thinking about getting this CEERES Blog up and running is the incredible cultural entertainments and events happening in Chicago.

Last night, the Associate Director of CEERES, Meredith Clason, and myself (Jeremy Pinkham, Outreach Coordinator) took a field trip to the historic Chicago theater the Music Box to see the documentary film Gypsy Caravan.

Gypsy Caravan at the Music Box Theater

The documentary follows the Gypsy Caravan, a 2002 concert tour in the U.S. made up of 5 Romani musical groups from Macedonia, Spain, India, and Romania. I'd like to comment on some of the more interesting, eye-opening elements of the film. For one, the music, and variety of musical traditions, coming out of Rom culture is extremely rich and varied. I, for one, was not aware that flamenco music and dance, so associated with Spain, actually has its roots in the Spanish gypsy population. Nor was I aware that an old population of Rom still lives in India (in Rajastan, the supposed ancestral homeland of Rom peoples), though on second thinking it makes perfect sense. The film received favorable comparisons to Bueno Vista Social Club, and I only wish that we were shown more music throughout the course of the film.

There is much talk among the musicians in Gypsy Caravan about the commonalities still shared by these geographically isolated yet culturally linked populations, and about the common soul and rhythm of the gypsies. Something even more interesting to me are the elements that we are shown in passing that give context to the lives of the Romani in the places they live. We get the idea that the success of some of these musicians in the west provides the only income for some of the families and villages back home. One fascinating scene has an interview with a gypsy war refugee from Kosovo, who has found acceptance and assistance from Romanis in Macedonia.

Of note: one of the featured performers in Gypsy Caravan, Esma Redžepova of Macedonia, provided the single Čaje Šukarije for Borat.

I'd recommend this film for a number of reasons: experience great music; find out about a group of people scattered by time, diplacement, and prejudice, but nourished by their community and traditions; visit the wonderful Music Box theater.

[By the way, without meaning any insensitivity, I use the term gypsy, which is often regarded as derogative, interspersed with the more acceptable ethnic terms Rom, Roma, and Romani, because the use of the various terms show how identities are constructed, reinforced, and questioned over time.]

A little more on Gypsies

Watching the film also reminded me that there are other media resources about Rom music that I've been meaning to share. Influences of Balkan, Slavic, Gypsy, punk, jazz, and rock are fusing in lots of different bands in Europe and especially in the U.S. One of the more increasingly well-known bands is Gogol Bordello, based out of NYC, and who seem to be touring across the states all the time. The are fronted by Eugene Huts, a Ukrainian who grew up in the USSR and is a survivor of the Chernobyl disaster. Recently, I heard a couple great pieces of radio about the band and their music. These resources are available online and as podcasts:

• an interview on Fresh Air with Teri Gross with Eugene Huts of Gogol Bordello
  
• a live concert performance of Gogol Bordello on NPR's Live Concert Series
  

That's all for Gypsy Wednesday. I'm sure there's lots more news, events, and bands I could profile in this space, but this media came to my attention, and I hope it's a jumping-off point.

Introduction

Welcome to the new blog of The University of Chicago Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies. Check out the CEERES website for full details about what we do. Basically, we are situated at The University of Chicago and have funding from the U.S. Department of Education Title VI National Resource Centers program to educate and encourage interest and scholarship about the wide region of the world which we represent. Our goal is to reach out beyond the University - to Chicago Public Schools and all the K-12, community college, and other university teachers and students in the Chicago area, to cultural organizations, to people who love music and art, to anyone who needs to know even a little bit about our region of the world to make sense of their own.

The CEERES Blog will serve as an informal, but hopefully informative space for students, teachers, and community members to find out about events (conferences, lectures, concerts, films - you name it) in the Chicago area and on the U of C campus in Hyde Park that are related to our region. We will also use this space to highlight news and cultural events that come to our attention and that we think should be shared - bits of information that are uniquely interesting. Hopefully you'll see what mean.

Your respectful comments and appropriate information to share with us and our readers are welcome and encouraged. This blog will generally be informative and objective. When opinions are shared, they are by no means indicative of the point of view CEERES or The University of Chicago, but are the sole opinions of the posters themselves.