Canadian University Press Releases/Newswire

Source: Wilfrid Laurier University
http://www.wlu.ca/news_update.php?grp_id=28&nws_id=2594&filter_type=update

Laurier hosts premiere of award-winning movie short

October 16, 2006

The Canadian premiere of Up on the Rope, a short film by Paula M. Froehle,
will take place in Laurier’s Paul Martin Centre on Thursday, October 19 at
6:00 pm. The film, which is based on the short story by Spanish author
Cristina Peri Rossi, will be accompanied by a lecture from the director
herself and from Laurier’s resident expert on Peri Rossi, Dr. Mercedes
Rowinsky.

"The possibility of bringing stories through film is considered a great tool
in the classroom," says Rowinsky. "The complexities of the media offer
students the possibility to play with all their senses and help to create a
different understanding of the world."

The narrative comes from a 1993 collection of short stories from Peri Rossi.
Up on the Rope, the second one in the collection, is about a boy who lives
his life, quite literally, up on a network of tightropes, where his bed and
other living necessities have also been rigged. Froehle, who "was
immediately struck by the magical realistic quality of the writing," adapted
the story into her own screenplay and turned Peri Rossi’s work into the
film.

The result won Up on the Rope the Grand Jury Award for Best Short film from
the DC Independent Film Festival this year.

"The running time is only about 15 minutes long," says Rowinsky, "but the
set is truly remarkable."

Rowinsky proceeded to get in touch with Froehle and invited her to come and
present the film at Laurier. Froehle was more than happy to attend, and her
lecture will focus on the set and screenplay adaptation. Rowinsky, who won
first prize for her translation of another book by Peri Rossi, Panic Signs,
will take a more literary point of view on Rossi’s short story.

"Froehle interprets Up on the Rope as a love story, but I don’t believe it
is," says Rowinsky. "I believe the story is about being different and being
satisfied with it. We have different approaches, but it’s a great learning
opportunity. We can motivate people to get to know Peri Rossi’s work, and
appreciate the challenges of adaptation; how stories change and what kind of
sacrifices need to be made in the process."

The premiere and lectures are open to everyone, and Rowinsky encourages
students to attend and ask questions. This one-of-a-kind event is a first
for the department of languages and literatures and Rowinsky is very pleased
with the support Laurier has shown.

"We got fundraising from the Special Initiatives Fund, V.P. Academic, Dean
of Arts, Department of Languages of Literatures, Department of English and
Film Studies and Academic Affairs," says Rowinsky. "This is the first time
Peri Rossi has had her work turned into a movie, and I’m very excited for
the occasion."

For more information about the event, please contact Dr. Mercedes Rowinsky
at mrowinsky@wlu.ca.