lifestyle
City and Campus Focus on Film S pring is in the air, and so are film festivals: This month sees the return of both Filmfest D.C. and the Georgetown Film Festival. The former allows between 25 to 35 different countries to display their cinematic talents in over 80 films that will play in theaters throughout the city, while the Georgetown Film Festival, presented by GUTV, gives student filmmakers an opportunity to showcase their work here on campus. Filmfest D.C., which runs from April 11 to 21, has become a major cultural event and expects a turnout of around 23,000 to 25,000 people this year. A number of directors will be invited to the showings of their films in order to conduct a question and answer session after the screening. “We’re looking forward to this year,” said Shirin Ghareeb, the festival’s deputy director. “We have a couple of focuses — international comedies, which is our lighter side, and international espionage thrillers and crime dramas, which we are labelling ‘Trust No One.’” International comedies, which the festival introduced last year, became so popular they were brought back to this year’s
event with a set of new films, while the latter division offers captivating plots and fascinating characters. The festival will open with Underground, an Australian drama about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s teenage years, and a live telephone interview with Assange himself will follow the screening. “We think everybody will be sitting on the edges of their seats and really enjoying the films,” said Ghareeb. “And it’s nice for filmmakers to have opportunity for these films to travel here and be exposed.” Closing night will feature a comedy called English Vinglish about an Indian housewife who decides to secretly enroll in an English course as her niece’s wedding in the United States draws closer. Both screenings will take place at Regal Cinema Gallery Place and will be followed by a party afterwards. The festival has come to be seen as a notable cultural event in the city. “It is a major arts event, and it is important in terms of representing all different cultures that we have here in Washington, D.C. We have a rich cultural dynamic here, and it just makes our arts that much richer to have these films come here,” said
KIM BUSSING Hoya Staff Writer
Ghareeb. “Most of the films that we bring to the festival don’t have distribution in the US, so it’s a rare opportunity for them to be seen by US audiences.” The Georgetown Film Festival offers a different type of film experience; instead of focusing on the cultural aspects of films, undergraduates are invited to enter their short films — between two and 20 minutes in length — into a competition that will be judged by current proINDICINE.COM fessors and alumni. FOREIGN FILM FLAIR The film festival GUTV will show the films on Saturday, will represent the vibrant international April 20, in ICC Auditorium. Awards will culture of Washington, D.C. be given to outstanding films based on genre, actor and photography amongst ’01), “Saturday Night Live” writer John others, and the festival will last up to two Mulaney (COL ’04) and comedian Mike Birbiglia (COL ’00). hours. “In the past, the festival was a lot bigIn fact, in the past, the festival has helped to launch students’ careers in ger, and it’s important to remember film. Zal Batmanglij (COL ’01) won the how large a role the festival used to play Georgetown Film Festival while a stu- in the future careers of film students,” dent at Georgetown and since then has said GUTV Culture Director Katherine partnered with fellow Georgetown grad- Propper (COL ’15). “A lot of people would uate Brit Marling (COL ’05) to produce go and there was a big afterparty, but it several films that have been featured at fizzled out and was only revamped last the Sundance Film Festival. Other no- year. … But we got a lot of submissions table alums who participated in the fes- this year, so I would say we’re on an uptival include director Mike Cahill (COL hill streak.”
almost-doctor dave
Caveman Instincts Shape Modern Cravings
L
et’s face it: When it comes to our eating habits, most of us Americans know the ABCs of nutrition backwards and forwards: Eat lots of vegetables and fruits, be sure to get a healthy dose of grains — whole grain if at all possible — and keep the meat lean and relatively free from those dreaded saturated fats. But when it comes down to the time of reckoning at our favorite restaurant, we almost always go for the options that fly in the face of our vast nutritional knowledge. The succulent taste of a juicy hamburger, a side of salty fries and a large chocolate milkshake to wash it all down offer a fusion of flavor that is practically irresistible. Have you ever stopped to wonder why that is the case? It all comes down to what kept you and me alive in the days of old, when food was a luxury eagerly sought after but not always found. Imagine weeks upon weeks of subsisting on foraging for roots and berries because you are unable to find anything else to eat — until, that is, the eagerly-awaited discovery of a deer grazing in the nearby
meadow. Under starvation-like condi- so cherished by you and the others tions, this happenstance encounter back at camp. And so, after appeasing can guarantee your well-being for your deep hunger, you wrap up what weeks to come. Knowing the criti- remains of the deer and begin your cal importance of this moment, you journey back home. In the midst of such harsh conimmediately quiet your movements and still your breathing, noticing the ditions, our bodies evolved mechaaching hunger pains quickly melting nisms, like taste receptors and special away and your stiff muscles becom- fat-storing processes, that drove us ing limber once again as adrenaline to seek out energy-dense foods that could provide the metabolpumps through your bloodic power needed to tackle stream to ready your body the particular challenges for the intense struggle to of any given day. All this come. was necessary in a context Sensing the timing to be when food was scarce, but right, you delicately raise your crudely made spear DavidSterns that era is long gone for most people in the world. and hurl it with all your might. You are rewarded with the Now, many have unlimited access sound of a soft thud as the deer col- to food whenever and wherever, all lapses before you, unable even to find without the enormous expenditure the strength to put up the vain show of energy that was commonplace in of resistance you have seen from securing enough food to resemble a hunted prey in times past. This gift meal. And to further compound this of providence is exactly what your predicament, we have embraced techstarving body needed, a realization nology as a means to make our life confirmed by the voracity in which ever easier, further distancing ouryou dive into the fresh meat, still selves from the natural process domipulsing with the life-bringing liquid nated by the principle of survival of
the fittest. What does this all mean for you and me? A deep disconnect between what our bodies do and do not need to continue functioning properly. We still crave the fats, the salt and the sweets as if we don’t get more than our fair share every day. How to fix the problem? Try taking out the simple carbs from your diet and substitute for complexity like the dark leafy vegetables your ancestors enjoyed. And when the sweet tooth in you becomes unbearable, buck the tendency to imbibe and reach for those healthy fat options like avocados or cashews instead. Believe it or not, sufficient dietary fat intake will make all the difference in curbing those sugar cravings, so for the sake of your pancreas and long-term health, start listening to what your body is really telling you and start eating like a caveman. You’ll be amazed at how right it feels.
David Sterns is a student at Georgetown University School of Medicine. This is the final appearance of ALMOST-DOCTOR DAVE this semester.
4.12.13 | the guide | 3