itro Hnatiuk, Soviet
Who will be appearing
Victoria on Oct. 11 and
Ouver on Oct. 13, recent-
turned from a concert
of Africa. (Tickets for
Performances here are
@ble at the People’s Co-
00k Store, 339 W. Pender
nd the Ukrainian Hall,
E. Pender St.)

returning from
Hnatiuk wrote an
€, describing his impres-
Of the tour, for the
Publication ‘News
Ukraine.” Following
cerpts from that article.
: @
€n it was proposed that
Ould be included in a
f Soviet artists touring
: and Western Africa
Nigeria, Mali, Guinea,

hesitate. Africa, the
“ous continent, caught
1 the swirl of the national
ion movement; Africa,
& whole list of newly-
‘Pendent and non- aligned
ons, with a people who,
Centuries of exploita-
NOw found themselves
€rs in their own house—
Tospect was enchanting!

8 * *
first concert was in

Togo and bthers 1.

Soviet Ukrainian artist, Dmitro Hnatiuk, with a group of Ni-

gerian young people.
Nigeria’s capital city—Lagos,
and the audience was made
up of members of the govern-
ment, diplomatic corps, civic
dignitaries, etc.

There was no admission
charged at any of our concerts
in Nigeria, and they all took
place where the only ‘roof”
was the sky!

Men and women, as per
custom, stood and watched
separately. The size of the
audience grew so large that
the police had difficulty in
maintaining order; instead of
persuasion, they used physical
force. The sight of policemen
beating a crowd with clubs

made a lasting impression
upon us, for we realized that
this was one of the legacies
left by the colonial system.

Still, despite such incidents,
we did our best to pr¢sent our
culture to the friendly Ni-
gerian people.

The way in which they re-
ceived our offerings was
tremendous. It might be of
interest to note, here, the
system by which they show
their appreciation of an art-
ist’s endeavours. Applauding
with the hands is non-existent
—the onlookers applaud by
emitting enthusiastic yells

while the performance is
going on.
Therefore, while (for in-

stance) a singer is taking a
high note and trying to be
soft and subtle about it, he is
greeted with a huge roar of
encouragement from his
listeners. The reader can well
imagine the turbulent atmos-
phere in such a ‘concert hall.”

*

Sometimes we travelled by
plane, but mostly by bus; not
on asphalt roads, but on
meagre trails, and the dust
ate into your eyes and made
your teeth grit every time you
moved your jaw.

Earlier, I had resented the
coming of our snowy, cold
winter. This was probably
due, in no small part, to a
professional dislike of winter,
for a cold is a singer’s natural
enemy and greatly hinders
him in his work. It had always
seemed to me _ that. hot
weather was a singer’s friend,
but, after encountering what
we did in Africa, I was forced
to change my opinion of our
wonderful climate, our be-
loved winter. And this was
the African ‘‘cold season!”
What must their summers be
like?

Everywhere we went in

itro Hnatiuk writes on Nigeria

Nigeria, we were shown the
utmost kindness -and hospi-
tality and were treated as
friends, but one _ occasion
stands out.

We had just arrived at a
typical village — houses of
hewn logs, with thatched
roofs and windows without
glass. The entire population
came out to greet us with song

and dance; the ' women,
dressed in brightly colored
national costumes, and the

men, armed with spears, clubs
bows and arrows—in a word,
with 12th century arms. The
young people danced to the
rhythm of beating drums,
thus showing their respect
for their guests. The local
poets sang in a recitativo
style, while accompanying
themselves on one and two-
stringed instruments, much
like a mandolin. This was
indicative of the people’s
warmth everywhere that we
went.

* 2 *

Nigeria is a young country,
but, under the guidance of the
progressive forces at its helm,
it will overcome its centuries-
old backwardness and will
provide a good life for its
people.

Society time again! Al-
Mough Classic Film Society
mately no longer is in the
» this season provides a
ariety than ever. Cinema
ffering four independent
t the university and Van-
Film Society has two.

4 16 — Series 1: ‘Inter-
Cinema.’

 Bunuel’s savagely anti-
“| anti-authoritarian Viri-
heads this list. It excited
terest than’ any other film
year’s Vancouver Film
Michelangelo (L’Avven-
Antonioni’s 11 Grido (‘The
1s 4 tragic story involving
ian industrial worker.
8 number of years ago,
a its first (long overdue)
Reaver. Showing. Two films
oe America—The Roots
rt stories about Mexican
~ 8nd Cangaceiro (Brazil)
pone to the realist tradi-

bst’s ‘The Last Ten Days
€r), “Films Of Protest”
“€ French films round out

* *
16—Series 2: ‘Swedish
~ _ The Mystic View”

Ms beginning October

© Tange from early classics
Arne’s Treasure (1919) an
» wttom Chariot (1920) —

Tgman’s death- ees

ultimately equivocal Seventh Seal
(1956) and the rather unpromis-
ing, no-dialogue Mirage (1959).

Cinema 16 — Series 3: “The
World of Comedy.”

e 9 films beginning October
22; $4.50.

Chaplin’s Burlesque on Carmen
(1916), Rene Clair’s The Crazy
Ray (1923), Buster Keaton’s The

General (1926), Fellini’s White
Shiek (1952), Bert Haanstra’s
Fanfare (1958), and some others.

co * *

Cinema 16 — Series 4: “‘Japan-
ese Cinema.”

e 6 films beginning October
11; $4.50.

Every single one of these is an
outstanding film. Akira Kuro-
sawa’s Ikiru (Living) and Kenji
Mizoguchi’s Ugetsu are univers-
ally acclaimed ~ masterpieces.
Kinugasa’s Gate Of Hell is a near-
masterpiece, with unexcelled col-
or. Women Of The Night (also
by Mizoguchi), Muddy Waters (di-
rected by _ left-winger, Tadashi
Imai) and No Greater Love (Ma-
saki Kobayashi)
of comparable quality.

* A *

Vancouver Film Society—Vogue
Series. a
e 7 films, Sundays, beginning

October 7; $6.00.

An Indian masterpiece heads _

Ashes And Diamonds).

are reportedly”

the list here: Jalshagar (The
Music Room) by Satyajit (Pather
Panchali) Ray, one of the world’s
greatest creative artists. This is
seconded by Andrzej Wajda’s
Kanal, the middle film of this
Polish director’s triple tribute to
World War Two’s lost generation
(the others: A Generation and
Director
of The Knife, Fons Rademaker,
will be remembered for his haunt-
ing Village on the River in the
1960 Vancouver Film Festival;
while the opener is controversial
Last Year At Marienbad by the
maker of Hiroshima Mon Amour.
The other two French films afe
duplicated in Cinema 16’s Series
Lig
* * *

Vancouver Film Society — Var-
sity Series.

e 5 films, Sundays, beginning
November 18; $4.50 ($3.00 with
Vogue Series).

Early Buster Keaton, early
Erich Von Stroheim (Foolish
Wives), early Ingmar Bergman
(Thirst), early Hitchcock (Sabo-
tage) and excerpts from Ameri-
can musicals.

Best of the assortment seems to
be Cinema 16’s Japanese Series
4, Vancouver Film _ Society's
Vogue Series and Cinema 16’s
“Tnternational’’ Series 1 — in that
order. A valuable bonus for mem-
bers of either of Vancouver Film
Society’s Series is Kon Ichikawa’s
brilliant pacifist film, Harp . Of

Burma, to be shown at their An-
nual Meeting. All showings in-
clude short subjects. Memberships

"are available at Duthie’s Book-

store, 901 Robson St., Vancouver
4. =
e

Italian cinema’s wonderful year
of 1960 produced three sprawling
masterpieces: L’Avventura, La
Dolce Vita and Luchino Visconti’s
Rocco And His Brothers, now

_ showing at the Varsity Theatre,

in Vancouver. It is more than
coincidental that two of the di-
rectors are Communists and that
the other is a left existentialist!

Although Rocco And His Broth-
ers has accumulated some 27 Jn-
ternational awards, local reaction
to its initial showing at the 1961
Vancouver Film Festival was no

ROCCO:

s BROTHERS |

“more than lukewarm. This was

encouraged by the fact that it
was a giant amongst giants in
a year that included L’Avven-
tura, Fires On the Plains and
Saturday Night And Sunday
Morning, as much as by bour-
geois snobbery. Matters weren’t
helped by. a badly dubbed ver-
sion later run comercially.

Dont’ be misled! Roeco And His
Brothers is a powerful, superbly
fashioned, vigorous working class
novel for the screen. It concerns
a poor farm family which moves
to the northern city of of Milan;

‘from botany to

and the brutality, corruption and
hardship of working class life
there, complicated by the vulner-
ability of those who have lost
their roots. This is epitomized in
Simon’s tragic fate.

On the other hand, the too-pure
Rocco who does not know how
to hate also illustrates — object-
ively — the need for a class con-
scious backbone. Family loyalty
alone is not enough. Vincenzo and
Ciro are more or less _ typical
workers, the latter expressing
Visconti’s conviction that the
winds of change are blowing
stronger and stronger, with the
prospect that the youngest broth-
er, still a young boy, may grow
up in a better world.

Katina Paxinou’s possesive-pro-
fective mother is superb. The
boxing sequences have the full
smell of. authenticity (to a non-
fan, at least). Above all, the fer-
ocious inhumanity and violence
of sections of the films must be
understood in context as a cath-
artic, not an exploitation of vio-
lence for its own sake but a de-
scription of violence to reveal its
horror.

This is a powerful social docu-
ment that no reader of the
Pacific Tribune should miss.

— N. E. STORY

One in every five research-
ers in the Chinese Academy
of Sciences is a woman.
Women work in every insti-
tute of scientific research,

atomic
energy.

WORTH
READING

ore East, two
8. $1.50 per set.
tt by Soviet journa-
_the visit of N. S.
aa to India, Burma,
book and Afghanistan.
; describes episodes
Ng and talking with
different political
religious convictions.
Ty about the spirit
times in which many
Of people have’
0” a new life.

‘and dramatic

Labor poets in print

POEMS FOR LIFE is the
title of a small but inspiring

booklet, recently issued by
the Labor Poets Workshop of
Vancouver.

This selection of poems and
artistry by a group of British
Columbia’s talented working
people, and addressed to
“ordinary people” like them: _
selves, proves once again, if
such proof is needed(?), that
poets not only have “some
thing to say” to their fellow
men and women on the vital
struggles of
\ aS ‘

every age, but say it very well
with a beauty of language and
purpose which should not and
can not be ignored.

In POEMS FOR LIFE the
authors sing of peace and
abundant life, of the majestic

beauties of nature, of the
horror of man-made nuclear
annihilation, of ‘Tomorrow’s
Dawn” and its message of
hope for all mankind. Pat
Domphousse, Roy Lowther,
Dan McLean, Anne. and
Gordon Minard, Al Rankin,
Esther Radosevic, Roger
Prentice. These and others
are the poets who write a
nation’s struggles and hopes
in its songs; who dedicate
their hours’ in POEMS FOR
LIFE as a fitting answer to
those who scheme and con-
spire for nuclear destruction
and death.

_ Another feature of this fine

Oct. 5, 1962—PACIF it

compendium of poems are
the many woodcut illustra-
tions by Mrs. Margaret Apps,

‘a standard of artistic endea-

vour that rates
highest. ee)

POEMS FOR LIFE (50-
cents a copy) is available at
most Vancouver Bookstores,
or by writing directly to
Labor Poets Workshop, 636
East 12th Ave., Vancouver 10,
ihegesS

POEMS FOR LIFE makes
a splendid addition to every
workingman’s home _ book-
shelf, as well as enriching the

with the

» living literature of Canada’

see T.McE.

=