WRIF wants to make these films as accessible as possible--use the discount code WRIF2021FORALL if you're a student or need accessible pricing. If you have purchased a pass, make sure you're logged into your account to claim your $0 ticket.
For nearly two decades, John Gianvito has been carving out a unique space in American cinema with passion projects of expansive shape and political ambition, including The Mad Songs of Fernanda Hussein, a documentary-fiction inquiry into the human toll of the Gulf War, and Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind, a becalmed yet radical Howard Zinn–inspired reflection on American progressivism. In his new film, Gianvito meditates on a particular moment in early 20th-century history: when Helen Keller began speaking out passionately on behalf of progressive causes. Beginning in 1913, when, at age 32, Keller gave her first public talk before a general audience, Her Socialist Smile is constructed from the text of Keller’s speeches, impressionistic images of nature, and newly recorded voiceover by poet Carolyn Forché. The film is a rousing reminder that Keller’s undaunted activism for labor rights, pacifism, and women’s suffrage was philosophically inseparable from her battles for the rights of the disabled.
Film critic and WRIF programmer David Sterritt will host a live interview and Q&A with filmmaker John Gianvito on Friday, May 28 at 8 pm. You will be sent the Zoom link if you purchase a ticket (or you can RSVP here)
- Year2020
- Runtime93 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUSA
- DirectorJohn Gianvito
WRIF wants to make these films as accessible as possible--use the discount code WRIF2021FORALL if you're a student or need accessible pricing. If you have purchased a pass, make sure you're logged into your account to claim your $0 ticket.
For nearly two decades, John Gianvito has been carving out a unique space in American cinema with passion projects of expansive shape and political ambition, including The Mad Songs of Fernanda Hussein, a documentary-fiction inquiry into the human toll of the Gulf War, and Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind, a becalmed yet radical Howard Zinn–inspired reflection on American progressivism. In his new film, Gianvito meditates on a particular moment in early 20th-century history: when Helen Keller began speaking out passionately on behalf of progressive causes. Beginning in 1913, when, at age 32, Keller gave her first public talk before a general audience, Her Socialist Smile is constructed from the text of Keller’s speeches, impressionistic images of nature, and newly recorded voiceover by poet Carolyn Forché. The film is a rousing reminder that Keller’s undaunted activism for labor rights, pacifism, and women’s suffrage was philosophically inseparable from her battles for the rights of the disabled.
Film critic and WRIF programmer David Sterritt will host a live interview and Q&A with filmmaker John Gianvito on Friday, May 28 at 8 pm. You will be sent the Zoom link if you purchase a ticket (or you can RSVP here)
- Year2020
- Runtime93 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUSA
- DirectorJohn Gianvito
