Z

A pulse-pounding political thriller, Greek expatriate director Costa-Gavras’s Z was one of the cinematic sensations of the late sixties, and remains among the most vital dispatches from that hallowed era of filmmaking. This Academy Award winner—loosely based on the 1963 assassination of Greek left-wing activist Gregoris Lambrakis—stars Yves Montand as a prominent politician and doctor whose public murder amid a violent demonstration is covered up by military and government officials; Jean-Louis Trintignant is the tenacious magistrate who’s determined not to let them get away with it. Featuring kinetic, rhythmic editing, Raoul Coutard’s expressive vérité photography, and Mikis Theodorakis’s unforgettable, propulsive score, Z is a technically audacious and emotionally gripping masterpiece.

Steve Rohde is a constitutional scholar and retired civil rights attorney; he is chair emeritus of the ACLU Foundation of Southern California; immediate past chair of Bend the Arc a Jewish Partnership for Justice; past president of the Beverly Hills Bar Association and is Founder of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace. His written work has appeared in the L.A. Times, Truthdig, LA Progressive, Ms. Magazine.  He currently co-hosts Law and Disorder Radio and upon his recent relocation to Sonoma County, he will be launching Speaking Freely – a podcast on the First Amendment produced by Ms. Media. 

Dr. Marco Calavita is a Professor of Communication and Media Studies.  He received his PhD in Culture and Communication from New York University and his BA in Theater Arts-Film from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Before arriving at Sonoma he was a Doctoral Teaching Fellow at NYU, where he also worked as research assistant to Professor Todd Gitlin.  His book Apprehending Politics: News Media and Individual Political Development was published by SUNY Press (2005), and his journalism, criticism and research have appeared in Wired, Cineaste, the San Francisco Chronicle, SportsIllustrated.com, the Journal of Film & Video, the Journal of Communication, American Journalism, Mass Communication & Society, Journalism Studies, the Communication Review, the Atlantic Journal of Communication, and Popular Communication, among other publications and outlets.  He is at work on a new book about contemporary American film and society.