Mahatma Gandhi’s statement informs this 9-week film series, which–in conjunction with current Queens Museum exhibitions–elaborates on themes including the pursuit of freedom (Zhang Hongtu), construction of narratives (Kameelah Janan Rasheed), and collision of cultures (Casey Tang). Moving from traditional Hollywood genre films to independent and international cinema, these comedic as well as dramatic movies trace journeys of self-creation and freedom.

Each movie is introduced by Mark Ethan Toporek, who also leads a post-screening discussion. He is a member of the Actors’ Studio, who has appeared in films including The Secret Lives of Dentists, The Confession and Lesser Prophets. He has been presenting the Film Series at the Queens Museum since 1998, and at 92Y since 2003.

This film series takes place in the second-floor theater and is free with Museum suggested admission and open to the public (with a special invitation to seniors).

Today’s Film:

Nov 18: The Sapphires (2012), directed by Wayne Blair, 103 min. In Australia, a talent scout (Chris O’Dowd) enlists four talented Aboriginal women to sing Motown for U.S. troops during the Vietnam War.

The Complete Fall Series:

Cultural Tensions:

Sept 30: Ninotchka (1939), directed by Ernst Lubitsch, 110 min. Greta Garbo shines in this comedy playing an agent from the Soviet Union who is seduced by both Western values and playboy Melvin Douglas.

Oct 7: In the Heat of the Night (1967), directed by Norman Jewison, 109 min. Sidney Poitier as a Philadelphia detective drawn into a murder investigation in a Southern town with a prejudiced Sheriff played by Rod Steiger. Winner of 5 Academy Awards.

Oct 14: South Pacific (1958), directed by Joshua Logan, 151 min. Rodgers and Hammerstein adaptation of James Michener’s stories of love and war in the Pacific islands during WWII. Starring Mitzi Gaynor, Rossano Brazzi and John Kerr.

Oct 21: The Searchers (1956), directed by John Ford, 119 min. Classic Western that follows John Wayne in his obsessive quest to recover his niece who was abducted as a child in an Indian raid. Also starring Jeffrey Hunter and Natalie Wood.

Reconstructing a Narrative of Identity:

Oct 28: The Good Lie (2014), directed by Philippe Falardeau, 110 min. A group of young Sudanese refugees receive asylum in the US and seek help from Reese Witherspoon as an employment agency counselor.

Nov 4: Hiding and Seeking (2004), directed by Menachem Daum and Oren Rudavsky, 90 min. A documentary about an Orthodox Jewish man and his grown sons who travel from NY to Poland, to find the family that protected his father during WWII.

Nov 11: The Other Son (2012), directed by Lorraine Levy, 105 min. Two young men, one Israeli and one Palestinian, discover they were accidentally switched at birth. In Hebrew and Arabic, with English subtitles.

Nov 18: The Sapphires (2012), directed by Wayne Blair, 103 min. In Australia, a talent scout (Chris O’Dowd) enlists four talented Aboriginal women to sing Motown for U.S. troops during the Vietnam War.

Nov 25: Pride (2014), directed by Matthew Warchus, 119 min. Gay activists try to forge an alliance with Welsh mine workers during their lengthy 1984 strike. Based on a true story.