Bates Film Festival: Fallen Leaves / Family Portrait Sittings / We Are the Warriors

Fallen Leaves
dir. Aki Kaurismäki
2023 | 81 min.
12:00 pm

Family Portrait Sittings
dir. Alfred Guzzetti
1975 | 103 min.
with Q&A with director Alfred Guzzetti
3:00 pm

We Are the Warriors
dir. David Camlin & Megan Grumbling
2023 | 72 min.
with Q&A with directors David Camlin and Megan Grumbling
7:00 pm

Fallen Leaves

Award-winning filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre, The Other Side of Hope) makes a masterful return with Fallen Leaves, a timeless, hopeful and ultimately satisfying love story about two lonely souls’ path to happiness – and the numerous hurdles they encounter along the way. Set in contemporary Helsinki, and shot through with Kaurismäki’s typically playful, idiosyncratic style and deadpan humor, this tender romantic tragicomedy is a timely reminder of the potency of movie-going from one of cinema’s living legends. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Awards: Golden Globe Nominee, Best Motion Picture – Non-English Language; Golden Globe Nominee, Best Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy; Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival

Family Portrait Sittings

Using photographs, interviews, home movies, and footage shot in Philadelphia and abroad, Family Portrait Sittings tells the story of the filmmaker’s family from their origins in Italy to their life in the United States.

In Person: Alfred Guzzetti, Director/Cinematographer/Editor

We Are the Warriors

For nearly 70 years, students and alumni of Wells High School in Maine have called themselves the ‘Warriors.’ Their yearbook is named for the Abenaki, the Indigenous people the town’s settlers first encountered in the 1600s. The school’s mascot, variations of a stoic Native American head in profile with braids and feathered headband, has drawn both support and criticism in the past. However, during the 2017 fall athletic season, an incident shocks the town and reignites the debate.

After a home football game, a story appears in the Portland Press Herald reporting that Warriors fans mocked Native culture – that they made ‘Indian’ whooping calls and donned “war paint.” The witness to these transgressions is the mother of the visiting team’s quarterback, herself an Abegweit Mi’kmaq from one of the five sovereign Wabanaki Tribal Nations of what is now called Maine and the Canadian Maritime provinces. Pressure mounts as other press outlets pick up the story and the town is compelled to respond, forming a committee to investigate the incident and consider the fate of the community’s beloved mascot.

We Are The Warriors follows the citizenry of Wells, a population that includes Indigenous Peoples, as they convene to speak, hear each other, and seek consensus. And by inviting Wabanaki voices from across the state to join the conversation, including the mother whose experience ignited the debate, the residents of Wells work to better understand the lasting effects of their colonial past and how it relates to the present day impact of their good intentions.

In Person: David Camlin (Producer/Director); Megan Grumbling (Producer/Director)

The Bates Film Festival harnesses a shared love of film to promote equity and justice, facilitate productive discussions of a wide range of topical issues, and foster an appreciation for the artistry of screen media. Organized, programmed, and executed by Bates College students under the direction of a faculty member, the BFF allows students to witness, engage, and lead civic-minded conversations.