KUCI: Film School

An interview with TONY STONE the director of SEVERED WAYS. In the year 1007, an expedition of Vikings arrives on the shores of the New World and travels south in search of a fabled Vinland. When their party is attacked by "Skraelings" and must flee to safety, two men who had gone ahead to explore the interior are left behind, assumed dead. Very much alive but stranded on the rocky shore, the two move north in hopes of reuniting with their countrymen. Haunted by memories and visions of the Old World, the Norsemen face the challenges of an unfamiliar landscape in very different ways. And though the terrain seems dense and deserted, they are not the only people in the woods: both Indians and Irish Monks factor in their epic adventure in the Americas. SEVERED WAYS will screen at the Laemmle Sunset 5 beginning Friday, July 17.

An interview with CYRUS NOWRASTEH the director of THE STONING OF SORAYA M. - a classic fable of good vs. evil and an inspiring tribute to courageous women fighting against violence all around the world. In a world of corruption and injustice, a single courageous voice can tell a story that changes everything. This is what lies at the heart of this emotionally charged film. Based on a true story, this tale of a village's persecution of an innocent woman becomes both a daring act of witness and a parable about how people react when someone in their community is turned into a scapegoat: who will join forces with the plot, who will surrender to the mob, and who will dare to stand up for what's right. THE STONING OF SORAYA M. is inspired by French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam's acclaimed international best-seller of the same name which first brought global attention to the real Soraya, who in 1986 was stoned to death by her fellow villagers, in the presence of her children.

An Interview with SAM ANDERSON the screen writer of MUNYURANGABO. After stealing a machete from a market in Kigali, Munyurangabo and his friend, Sangwa, leave the city on a journey tied to their pasts. Munyurangabo wants justice for his parents who were killed in the genocide, and Sangwa wants to visit the home he deserted years ago. Though they plan to visit Sangwa's home for just a few hours, the boys stay for several days. From two separate tribes, their friendship is tested when Sangwa's wary parents disapprove of Munyurangabo, warning that "Hutus and Tutsis are supposed to be enemies." A son of Korean immigrants, Chung grew up on a small farm in rural Arkansas and then attended Yale University to study Biology. At Yale, with new exposure to art cinema in his senior year, Chung dropped his plans for medical school and turned to filmmaking. Munyurangabo, his first feature film, premiered in the Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes Film Festival.