LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Lock Haven University’s Institute for International Studies will present the third in a series of international films on Tuesday, November 30th from 7:00pm-10:00 p.m. in the Ulmer Planetarium. The film is free and open to the public. The movie will be shown in Russian with English Subtitles. This film is not rated.

A fanciful Russian urban fairytale containing elements of Hans Christen Anderson’s story “The Little Mermaid,” Mermaid is about Alisa, a girl who lives in a seaside shack with her mother and grandmother and who has special talents—she can influence the weather and make wishes come true. This occasionally backfires, causing hurricanes and house fires. Due to her frustration growing up, Alisa stops talking. When her violence and silence are mistaken for intellectual disability, Alisa is shipped off to a special-needs school. With the help of a Down’s syndrome student, the girl discovers that, with sufficient concentration, she can move inanimate objects. People, however, remain beyond her control. When her family moves to Moscow she meets an advertising specialist named Alexander, and she falls in love with him. She saves his life at a moment when he, in a drunken state, wants to drown himself in the river. Mermaid depicts Alisa’s struggles with the realities of life in the city, modernity, materialism, and love.

The film has won several awards, including Best Director at the Sundance Film Festival 2008 (World Cinema Dramatic Competition), FIPRESCI prize at the 58th Berlin International Film Festival (Panorama Section), and Grand Prix at the Sofia International Film Festival 2008.

For more information contact the Institute for International Studies at 570-484-2140