"US AND THEM" -- SCHOLARS, ACTORS, PRODUCERS -- WILL EXAMINE "U.S. AND THEM" AT FILM FESTIVAL CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 6 -- Lights, camera, talk. Darkened rooms, followed by enlightened conversations, will characterize the 1995 Virginia Festival of American Film Oct. 26 29 as participants explore how Americans, across eras and communities, respond to people and cultures they define as "foreign." With a theme of "U.S. and Them: The Cross-Cultural Politics of American Film," the eighth annual festival at the University of Virginia will examine images of Americans and foreigners interacting as immigrants, tourists, enemies and partners in each other's lands. Nearly 100 studio premieres, classics and independent films and more than 80 speakers, including about 40 scholars in such fields as anthropology, history, government and economics, will lead discussions on how American cinema and the nation's identity have been transformed by immigration and globalization. "Movies are the lens through which disciplines can merge," said festival program director Richard Herskowitz. "There are other film festivals, but what distinguishes the Virginia festival is its unique academic flavor." Legendary film star Fay Wray will introduce and discuss two of her classic films, "King Kong" and "The Wedding March." "King Kong" may be the ultimate "U.S. and Them" film, Herskowitz says, because it evokes a primal fear of the outsider--in this instance a creature whose savage appearance disguises a gentle and loving nature, but who is captured and provoked into aggressive, violent behavior. Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert returns to conduct a six-hour workshop exploring "The Third Man," a 1949 classic movie set in post-war Vienna that stars Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles. The theme of the festival's opening day will be "A Nation of Immigrants." Movies such as "Scarface," "The Jazz Singer" and "Picture Bride" (with filmmakers Kayo and Mari Hatta in attendance) will examine the diverse experiences of immigrants to the U.S. There will be a special tribute to "Salt of the Earth," the 1953 film produced by defiant blacklisted filmmakers, with producer Paul Jarrico and labor organizer Dorothy Healey in attendance. A "King Kong" screening will be followed by a showing of "Oh Godzilla! A Monster Tribute." Friday's "Americans Abroad" theme will address visions of foreign countries by American directors and cinematic portrayals of U.S. travelers in such diverse roles as artists, journalists, tourists, soldiers and spies. Actor Richard Roundtree will appear with his 1973 film "Shaft in Africa" and with actress Phylicia Rashad (of "The Cosby Show") and director Tim Reid when "Once Upon a Time... When We were Colored" (Reid's directing debut) is screened. Also slated for Friday are appearances by American emigre photographer William Klein with two of his films, "Mr. Freedom" and "The Little Richard Story" and Monica Flaherty with a restored sound version of her father's "Moana." During Saturday's "Foreigners Within" theme, films will focus on a variety of "outsiders," from Communists to Canadians. Producer David Brown and director Michael Moore will present their new "Canadian Bacon." Foreign directors' films about America, including Luis Bunuel's "The Young One" and Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West," will be screened. Vietnamese-American filmmaker and cultural theorist Trinh T. Minh-ha will present "Surname Viet Given Name Nam;" poet Bob Holman will premiere "The United States of Poetry," and archivists Patrick Loughney and Paolo Cherchi Usai will discuss a 1915 film, "The Italian." Desmond Nakano's "White Man's Burden," with John Travolta and Harry Belafonte will be premiered, with the director expected to attend the discussion with civil rights historian Julian Bond. Director Brian Fox will introduce his newly completed feature "Scorpion Spring," starring actor/singer/politician Ruben Blades. Sunday's "Transnations/Shifting Borders" theme will examine the dissolution of America's traditional boundaries, with independents Gordon Ericksen and Heather Johnston presenting "Scenes from the New World" and DeeDee Halleck accompanying "The Gringo in Mananaland." Film scholars Scott MacDonald and Patricia Zimmermann will host avant-garde film and video programs. Free panel discussions, with filmmakers and scholars presenting film clips, will be held daily in McLeod Auditorium. Thursday's panel, with filmmaker Kayo Hatta and three historians, will compare screen images of past waves of European immigrants with images of past and recent Third World refugees. Friday's "Artists as Emigres" panel will include photographer/filmmaker William Klein, novelist Mary Lee Settle and producer Lewis Allen, a close friend of actress emigree Jean Seberg, who will respond to that day's screening of Mark Rappaport's "From the Journals of Jean Seberg." The influence of foreign film on some of America's most innovative filmmakers, including Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, and the state of foreign film exhibition in America will be discussed by Roger Ebert and a panel of exhibitors and distributors on Saturday. The festival's annual panel on screenwriting will explore how screenwriters cross cultural boundaries and address stereotypical conventions in creating ethnic characters and plots. Participants will include screenwriter Paul Jarrico ("Tom, Dick and Harry"), Frank Pierson ("Dog Day Afternoon") and Mari Hatta. For the second year in a row, the festival will include a Family Celebration from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Downtown Mall. Storytellers, mines, dancers and a Halloween costume parade will complement an afternoon of films at the Jefferson Theater. For details on the festival, a program of U.Va.'s Division of Continuing Education, access its new home page on the World Wide Web at http://minerva.acc.virginia.edu/~vafilm. ### October 5, 1995 FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Richard Herskowitz, festival program director, at (804) 982-5277.