ASU Herberger Institute School of Theatre and Film announces the opening of Film Forum, a new screening series designed to illuminate the independent cinematic voice in America. Titled “From Abroad: The World Visits America,” the first series features three critically-acclaimed films, each of which offers a unique take on the theme of foreign-born characters on U.S. soil.

Screenings are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. the first Wednesday of every month at Murdock Hall Room 101, 450 E Orange St. on the ASU Tempe Campus (http://www.asu.edu/tour/tempe/mur.html). Free and open to the public.

Film Forum Screenings:

October 7

Bagdad Café (1987) – German director Percy Adlon earned acclaim for this wry comedic tale of an abandoned German hausfrau (played by Marianne Sagebrecht) who becomes an unlikely asset at a roadstop restaurant located in the harsh Arizona desert. Supporting performances by Academy Award winner Jack Palance and C.C.H. Pounder, the film also features one of the most beautiful and haunting film songs of the last generation, the Oscar-nominated “Calling You” sung by Jevetta Steele.

November 4

Mississippi Masala (1991) – Internationally acclaimed director Mira Nair gives us this ensemble drama about an Indian-Ugandan family displaced by the Amin regime who takes up residence in Greenwood, Mississippi. Tradition and ambition clash when the family’s daughter Mina (Sarita Choudhury) falls in love with Demetrius (Denzel Washington). The film won awards at the Venice and Sao Paolo Film Festivals, as well as earning a nomination for Best Picture at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Sugar (2008) – From independent filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck comes the story of a teenaged baseball player nicknamed Sugar (Algenis Perez Soto), recruited from the barren fields of the Dominican Republic and brought to the American Midwest to play in the low minor leagues. A nominee for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Sugar was hailed as “a beautifully made...thoughtful, poignant film” (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times).