Cinema Sampler, Tri-State University’s free movie series, begins its spring 2006 schedule on Thursday, February 9 in Wells Theatre in Taylor Hall.  The theme of the spring series is “Really Reel Life” and will continue on most Thursday nights through April 20.

“The series title, “Really Reel Life,” is meant to suggest coverage of three different types of movies: extraordinary documentary films, accomplished “re-creations” based on real-life people and their stories, and amazing works that are so “really reel” or in other words exaggerated and artificial that they truly transcend any possibility of our mistaking them for “real,” said TSU professor Dr. Dennis Petrie.

The first film, “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill,” is a crowd-pleasing movie that examines both a flock of exotic birds living in San Francisco and the homeless, philosophical man who cares for them.  Judy Irving directed the film.  The San Jose Mercury News called the film “a rare documentary that has romance, comedy and a surprise ending that makes you feel as if you could fly out of the theater.”  The G-rated film runs one hour, 23 minutes.

Cinema Sampler is sponsored by the TSU Humanities Institute, a campus affiliate of the Indiana Humanities Council.  The institute will present 8 free films throughout the spring.  The public is invited to the 75-seat theater, which features widescreen projection and surround sound. 

Each film in the series will begin at 7 p.m.  For more information on the movies or the series, contact Petrie at 260.665.4204 or petried@tristate.edu.

Following is a complete schedule of films in the “Really Reel Life” Cinema Sampler:

February 9 – “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill,” 2005, Rated G.

February 16 – “Cinderella Man,” 2005, Rated PG-13. 

The film, featuring Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger, is a true-life Depression-era drama about celebrated boxer Jim Braddock.

February 23 – “Mad Hot Ballroom,” 2005, Rated PG. 

While learning the rhumba, foxtrot, tango, and swing, New York fifth-grade students from Tribeca, Bensonhurst, and Washington Heights transform from urban kids to “ladies and gentlemen.”

March 2 – “Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room,” 2005,

Rated R. 

Based on a best-selling book by Fortune magazine reporters, Alex Gibney’s film presents the shocking inside story of one of history’s greatest business scandals.

March 16 – “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit,” 2005, Rated G. 

Nick Park, the creator of Chicken Run and two immensely popular, Oscar-winning shorts starring the inimitable Wallace and his dog Gromit, presents another antic, gracefully-realized claymation comedy adventure.

March 23 – “Murderball,” 2005, Rated R. 

Featuring fierce rivalry, stopwatch suspense, and larger-than-life personalities, this critically acclaimed documentary film examines tough, highly competitive rugby players – quadriplegic ones in steel-reinforced wheelchairs.

April 6 – “The Prize Winner Of Defiance, Ohio,” 2005,

Rated PG-13. 

The film is a straightforward adaptation of Terry Ryan’s memoir of her mother.  Evelyn Ryan raised ten children and kept a roof over their heads by winning contests.

April 20 – “Good Night, And Good Luck,” 2005, Rated PG. 

George Clooney directs and appears in this film that takes its title from the signature broadcast farewell of Edward R. Murrow, its central character.  David Strathairn mesmerizes as the legendary CBS newsman, whose infamous media battle with Senator Joseph McCarthy is dramatized here.