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Free travel film series
Topics: films, Bakersfield Adult Schools, Travel
Posted by citizenjournalist Mon Sep 10, 2007 16:53:06 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments Bakersfield Adult School's Travel Film Lecture Series opens its fall season on Tuesday, Oct. 2, with Dennis Burkhart's film, "Hawaii — the Pacific Paradise." Two other films follow on Oct. 9 ("The Exploration of the Colorado River" by Gray Warriner) and Oct. 16 ("Biblical Treasures of Turkey, Part 2" by Robin Williams).

The travel film series, which began in the late 1950s, is in its second 50-year run. Originally started as something for the "arm chair traveler," it has broadened its scope to show films of a documentary nature, in addition to ones features travel to different areas of the world. To highlight its broadened purpose, Adult School now bills it as a "Cultural Studies Program."

Burkhart's Hawaii film covers the natural beauty of the islands, but he also emphasizes the historical aspects of the archipelago. Warriner's film, conceived as an historical documentary, approaches his visit to the Colorado River from the standpoint of the first explorer, Major John Wesley Powell. After the Civil War, Powell (who lost his right arm in the war), with his crew of nine men "ran" the Colorado and Green Rivers in wooden boats to map the last unexplored area of the United States. Warriner recreates that trip for the modern viewer. And Robin Williams, in his Turkey film, traces the route of St. Paul, to show the places that are familiar to us from school days and Sunday school classes. He also includes some "dramatized" scenes.

The film series continues on Tuesdays in January and March with a wide selection of topics (the World of the Maya, Ireland, Jerusalem, the Gulf Coast after Katrina, the "other" side of Mexico, and a raft trip down the Mississippi.)

The series is presented at Harvey Auditorium, with two performances, 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. The films are suitable for all ages. The presenters are all professional cinematographers, whose work is shown throughout the United States, often at prices similar to what one would pay at a movie theater. There is no admission charge for the Adult School's film series.

For more information about the series, contact Laddie Kumelos at 871-0146.

Laddie Kumelos is the coordinator of the Open Forum Travel Film Series hosted by Bakersfield Adult School.

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