CAL Film Series
The 2019 Spring CAL Film Series
Youth in the Movies: Troubled Youth!
NAU’s College of Arts and Letters Film Series, which is co-sponsored by the Cline Library and the School of Communication, promotes understanding and appreciation of cinema through Northern Arizona University and the greater Flagstaff community.
Before each movie, a local film expert offers a short introduction to set the film in its historical, artistic, and cultural context. Each film is followed by a discussion.
The CAL film series blends well-known audience favorites along with lesser-known movies, as well as a mix of genres, artists, and decades, moving chronologically from past to present so that audiences can see the evolution of the art form.
Why is this film series important to the NAU?
The College of Arts and Letters Film Series celebrates 15 years drawing campus and community to the big screen to promote an understanding and appreciation of cinema.
The Spring 2019 film series begins our two-season focus on youth in the movies with 15 films about coming of age.
If you need special accommodations, please contact Disability Resources: DR@nau.edu, Phone: 928-523-8773 or TTY: 928-523-6906. We suggest contacting Disability Resources 48 hours prior to the event as some accommodations may take a reasonable time frame to arrange. Assisted listening systems are also available.
Spring 2019 schedule
Admission is free, but donations are welcome!
January 15: Zero for Conduct Accordion Closed
Directed by Jean Vigo; Starring Robert le Flon, Louis Lefebvre, Constantin Kelber; 1933. 44 min. NR
In this highly influential film by Jean Vigo, four rebellious boys lead a mutiny against school officials in this comedic yet visually stunning film that was banned in France for over a decade.
January 22: Rebel Without a Cause Accordion Closed
Directed by Nicholas Ray; Starring James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo; 1955. 111 min. PG-13
You can’t have a series about rebellious youth without including James Dean in his best-known role as a troubled youth who moves to a new town full of car racing and knife fights.
January 29: The Bad Seed Accordion Closed
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy; Starring Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones; 1956. 129 min. Approved.
In this psychological melodrama, a mother slowly comes to suspect that her seemingly perfect young daughter may have a dark secret.
February 5: Lord of the Flies Accordion Closed
Directed by Peter Brook; Starring James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards; 1963. 92 min. NR
Fear, hate, and violence quickly arise among a group of boarding school boys stranded on an isolated island in this drama about the ease with which civilization collapses into savagery.
February 12: Pretty Poison Accordion Closed
Directed by Noel Black; Starring Anthony Perkins, Tuesday Weld, Beverly Garland; 1968. 89 min. Approved.
In this little-known but critically acclaimed film, a mentally unstable man arrives in town and tells 17-year-old Sue Ann that he’s a secret agent. The pair embarks on a crime spree that quickly spins out of control.
February 19: Gimme Shelter Accordion Closed
Directed by David Maysles; Starring Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor; 1970. 91 min. R
This intense and innovative documentary follows The Rolling Stones in 1969, leading up to the tragic concert at Altamont that resulted in several deaths, including the murder of a black teenager by members of the Hell’s Angels.
February 26: Two Lane Blacktop Accordion Closed
Directed by Monte Hellman; Starring James Taylor, Dennis Wilson, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird; 1971. 102 min. R
Two young men drag-race a middle-aged challenger across America in this iconic 70s road picture.
March 5: Fast Times at Ridgemont High Accordion Closed
Directed by Amy Heckerling; Starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold; 1982. 90 min. R
Based on a screenplay by under-cover reporter Cameron Crowe, this film follows Southern California high school students in their pursuit of sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
March 12: Rumble Fish Accordion Closed
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola; Starring Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane; 1983. 94 min. R
This visually striking film tells the story of a young man trying to make his mark as a hoodlum while his older brother struggles to escape that life in this modern gangster picture.
March 26: My Own Private Idaho Accordion Closed
Directed by Gus Van Sant; Starring River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo; 1991. 104 mins. R
Based loosely on Shakespeare’s Henry IV, this film follows two young hustlers who befriend each other while living on the streets, but their different backgrounds threaten to drive them apart
April 2: Backbeat Accordion Closed
Directed by Iain Softley; Starring Stephen Dorff, Sheryl Lee, Ian Hart; 1994. 100 min. R
Backbeat chronicles the early career of the Beatles in Hamburg Germany and the conflicted relationship between John Lennon and founding Beatle Stuart Sutcliffe.
April 9: The Virgin Suicides Accordion Closed
Directed by Sofia Coppola; Starring Kirsten Dunst, Kathleen Turner, Josh Hartnett, James Woods; 1999. 97 min. R
This directorial debut of Sofia Coppola is the story of five teenage sisters in 70s suburban Detroit who are kept under increasingly close scrutiny by their parents after the youngest attempts suicide.
April 16: Mean Girls Accordion Closed
Directed by Mark Waters; Starring Lindsay Lohan, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel McAdams; 2004. 97 min. PG-13
From a screenplay by SNL alumna Tina Fey, this film follows a formerly home-schooled girl trying to negotiate the perils of high school and its cruel social cliques.
April 23: It Follows Accordion Closed
Directed by David Robert Mitchell; Starring Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Olivia Luccardi; 2014, 100 min. R
After a sexual encounter, a teenage girl is followed by a supernatural killer and the only way to pass it on is to have sex with someone else.
April 30: Beasts of the Southern Wild Accordion Closed
Directed by Benh Zeitlin; Starring Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly; 2012, 93 min. PG-13
Hushpuppy, a young girl raised by her tough but loving father, ventures out on her own in search of her absent mother when her father becomes ill and ancient beasts return to the world.
Parking at NAU
Free weeknight parking behind Cline Library in lot P13 requires a permit, which community members can get by registering with NAU Parking:
- Create a Guest Account for designated free parking at nau.edu/guest.
- Then contact NAU Parking by calling 928-523-6623 or emailing ask.parking@nau.edu to verify you are not affiliated with NAU.
- After completing this one-time registration, you will be able to print a free evening parking permit at home for each film. This permit must be displayed on your vehicle dashboard while parked for the event.