Cinema Series rings in 2016 with debut, tribute to Bowie

The Cinema Series at Augusta University kicks off its 2016 season with a stunning debut and a nod to the Starman himself.

Mustang

The Cinema series will host two screenings of Turkish-French filmmaker Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s debut film, Mustang, on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Maxwell Theatre.

Mustang is the tale of Lale, a young woman living in northern Turkey. On their way home from school one afternoon, Lale and her four sisters are caught playing with a group of boys. Unfortunately for them, that play carries dire consequences. Touching off a scandal with unforeseen and, to Western audiences, unimaginable reach, Lale’s home quickly becomes a prison.

With the aid of her sisters, Lale and her siblings quickly find ways to circumvent their punishments.

Mustang was recently nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign-Language Film category.

The Man Who Fell to Earth

From music to film, David Bowie’s impact on popular culture is nearly indescribable by human standards. Therefore, rather than trying to eulogize him in print, the Cinema Series is honoring the Starman with a big-screen showing of Bowie’s 1976 film debut, The Man Who Fell to Earth, on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. in the Maxwell Theatre.

Thomas Jerome Newton is a strange sort of businessman. Some might even say he’s inhumanly good at what he does. But when this well-meaning alien’s world is faced with a crisis, he comes to Earth to gather the resources necessary to save his dying planet.

Along the way, he meets a number of interesting characters and learns that on Earth, corporations speak only one language: money.

Directed by Nicolas Roeg and written by Paul Mayersberg, The Man Who Fell to Earth is based on Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel of the same name.

The film was entered into the 26^th Berlin International Film Festival. Bowie won the Saturn Award for Best Actor for his performance.

Prior to the showing, select clips of Bowie’s music and film trailers will also be shown.

Free admission to the Cinema Series for students, faculty, staff and the general public is made possible by Student Life and Engagement and by the generous support of the Westobou Festival.