KPBS Events

FILM FORUM CORONADO: 'The Russian Question'

Wednesday, December 4, 2024 from 6 PM to 8:45 PM

Coronado Public Library

Coronado Public Library, in partnership with the Coronado Island Film Festival, presents FILM FORUM CORONADO, taking place the first and third Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the library's Winn Room. Film expert Ralph DeLauro provides a brief introduction to each film and leads a discussion afterwards, often including pointers about how lighting or camera angles contribute to a scene’s mood or propel the story.

December 4: "The Russian Question" (1948, Not Rated, 91 min, Russian with English subtitles)

Renowned director Mikhail Romm’s controversial, rarely screened feature throws audiences back to the dawn of the Cold War when a natural affinity between two nations had been corrupted by American yellow journalism and the power of capitalist money. An honest journalist struggles with his conscience when he is forced to write a scaremongering report about Soviet belligerent and expansionist intentions in order to further a campaign of propaganda undertaken by American media and conservative elites.

Coronado Public Library - Winn Room
640 Orange Ave.
Coronado, CA 92118
(619) 522-7390

Free Film and Discussion

Adults

This movie, made from a Konstantin Simonov play, was one of the subtler works of the Cold War era. It showed a natural affinity between two nations that had been corrupted by the American yellow press and the power of capitalist money. The picture played on a still-living affection for the wartime ally while presenting the standard government line. In this scene, the honest journalist Smith struggles with his conscience as he dictates his book on Russia, to be sold to the Hearst-like publisher Macpherson.

Coronado Public Library

640 Orange Ave.

Coronado, California 92118

619-522-7390

eskelly@coronado.ca.us

The mission of the Coronado Public Library is to acquire and make available a collection of books, audio-visual and other library and information resources to meet the informational, recreational and cultural needs of the community and to actively promote reading, life-long learning and the pursuit of knowledge.