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May 19, 2008: Julia Robinson and Hilbert's Tenth Problem will screen in competition on May 19, 2008 at the Third International Science Film Festival Athens. See: http://www.caid.gr/isffa/

May 6, 2008: BERLIN, GERMANY George Csicsery's porridge pulleys and Pi will screen at MathFilm Festival 2008 in Berlin today.
It is one of four films directed by George Csicsery screening throughout Germany during the 2008 MathFilm Festivals. porridge pulleys and Pi was produced for the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute (MSRI) in Berkeley in 2003.

April 18, 2008: The Deluxe edition of Hard Problems: The Road to the World's Toughest Math Contest is now available from the MAA and from The Art of Problem Solving.
The Deluxe edition DVD contains the entire 82-minute feature film, a 45-minute classroom version, 52-minutes of bonus scenes, a 82-page PDF of the 2006-2007 IMO problems and their solutions by Zuming Feng.

April 18, 2008: The May 2008 issue of Notices of the American Mathematical Society features a review of Julia Robinson and Hilbert's Tenth Problem by Carol Wood (see PDF), and an interview with George Csicsery by Bill Casselman (see PDF).

"Csicsery intertwines for us a human story and a mathematical story. In Julia Robinson we find a mathematician who was a heroine in her own time and a role model for all time. It is a story of childhood, illness, love, marriage, disappointment, obsession, and triumph. It is filled with extraordinary instances of luck both good and bad... I can imagine that a general audience, such as viewers of the NOVA series on PBS, would also be captivated by the story."
—Carol Wood, Professor of Mathematics at Wesleyan University, in the May 2008 issue of Notices, a publication of the American Mathematical Society

April 2008: Julia Robinson and Hilbert's Tenth Problem screening at UC Berkeley sponsored by the UC Berkeley Mathematics Department and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute. Event details...

March 2008: The March 2008 issue of the Notices of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) features a series of stills from Julia Robinson and Hilbert's Tenth Problem on its cover. Their April 2008 issue promises a full review of the film.

January 8, 2008: The Mathematical Association of America presents the world premiere screening of Hard Problems: The Road to the World's Toughest Math Contest. A feature documentary film produced and directed by George Csicsery for the MAA, Hard Problems tells the story of the extraordinarily gifted students who represented the United States in 2006 at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). The film will premiere on January 8, 2008 at 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM at the Joint Mathematics Meetings in San Diego.

January 7, 2008: The American Mathematical Society and Clay Mathematics Institute present the world premiere screening of Julia Robinson and Hilbert's Tenth Problem on Monday, January 7th, 2008 at 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM in Ballroom G of the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina.

November 18, 2007: Special screening of N is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdös benefits Film Arts Foundation. Show time is 7 to 10 PM, at Dolby Laboratories, 100 Potrero Avenue, San Francisco, California.

October 17, 2007: The Roxie Cinema in San Francisco (3117 16th Street, San Francisco, California) screens The Thursday Club. Show Times are at 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM.

October 5, 2007: 8:00 PM screening of The Thursday Club is part of First Fridays After Five at the Oakland Museum of California (10th and Oak Streets, Oakland, California).

August 19, 2007: Excerpts from N is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdös were broadcast on the Dutch VPRO network's "Zomergasten" prime time Sunday night series in Holland. The program featured Alexander Rinnooy Kan and his selection of clips from "N is a Number" and other films. More...

May 22, 2007: On the evening of May 21, attendees at the awards ceremony honoring this year's U.S.A. Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) winners enjoyed a private screening of clips from Hard Problems, a documentary about U.S. participation in the 2006 International Mathematical Olympiad. Read more...

August 19, 2007: Excerpts from N is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdös were broadcast on the Dutch VPRO network's "Zomergasten" prime time Sunday night series in Holland. The program featured Alexander Rinnooy Kan and his selection of clips from "N is a Number" and other films. More...

May 22, 2007: On the evening of May 21, attendees at the awards ceremony honoring this year's U.S.A. Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) winners enjoyed a private screening of clips from Hard Problems, a documentary about U.S. participation in the 2006 International Mathematical Olympiad. Read more...

May 1, 2007: VHS Liquidation Sale! The following titles from Zala Films are available on VHS cassettes for $6 each (plus $5 shipping):
N is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdös, Where the Heart Roams, Hungry for Monsters, The Thursday Club, 214-es Csapat (Troop 214) (in Hungarian only). Offer good on VHS cassettes only.
Download order form.

March 27, 2007: Facets Multimedia, Inc. to release the DVD of N is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdös.

March 26, 2007: A rough cut of Julia Robinson and Hilbert's Tenth Problem will be featured at a sneak preview at the Urania kino in Berlin, Germany, as part of the MathFilm Festival 2007. View trailer...

March 15-16, 2007: The Boston Museum of Science will screen scenes from Julia Robinson and Hilbert's Tenth Problem as part of a two-day conference on Hilbert's Tenth Problem organized by the Clay Mathematics Institute.
A new 45-minute version of the work-in-progress will be screened for the public.

January 22, 2007: Turner Classic Movies reviews DVD release of Where the Heart Roams. Read review on FilmThreat.com.

November 28, 2006: Where the Heart Roams DVD released by Facets MultiMedia

October 31, 2006: Hungry for Monsters DVD released by Facets MultiMedia
The 2003 film Hungry for Monsters by George Csicsery has been re-released on a new DVD containing 40 minutes of additional scenes exploring the background of recovered memories in the Althaus case.
The film has also been acquired by Teachers TV, a UK cable channel for educators.

October 5, 2006: The Laney Tower has published a review of The Thursday Club.

October, 2006: Movie Habit has published a review by John Adams of Hungry For Monsters.

September 26, 2006: Facets MultiMedia releases The Thursday Club DVD edition.

September 15, 2006: Documentary Channel of New Zealand has acquired a two-year license to broadcast Hungry for Monsters in New Zealand.

September 1, 2006: A DVD edition of porridge pulleys and Pi has been published and is available from the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute.

September 1, 2006: Facets Multi-Media, Inc. of Chicago begins distribution of three documentaries by George Csicsery. Facets is releasing DVD editions of Hungry for Monsters (2003) and Where the Heart Roams (1987) on the Facets label, making these feature docs available on DVD for the first time. The DVD of Hungry for Monsters will include over 30 minutes of extra scenes. Facets is also distributing the Zala Films edition of The Thursday Club (2005). See www.facets.org.

August 7, 2006: George Csicsery addresses ScriptBiz at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. Scenes from his script "Alderman's Story" will be read by the Angell Street Players of Providence.
www.film-festival.org/scriptbiz.php

August 1, 2006: George Csicsery has completed principal cinematography in HDV format on Hard Problems, a one-hour documentary being produced for the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) about the team of American high school students who participated in the International Mathematical Olympiad in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in July 2006. Following the team selection process since the USAMO test in April, the project has involved shoots in San Jose; Washington, D.C.; Exeter, New Hampshire; Lincoln, Nebraska; and three different locations in Slovenia. The film is scheduled for completion in July 2007. here and here. —>

May 31, 2006: Teachers' TV has acquired a one-year non-exclusive license to broadcast Hungry for Monsters in the United Kingdom beginning September 1, 2006. For more about this broadcaster see www.teachers.tv.

May 19, 2006: Announcing the broadcast premiere of The Thursday Club, a new one-hour documentary about Oakland police during the antiwar demonstrations of the turbulent 1960s by Oakland filmmaker George Csicsery.
KTOP-TV Channel 10, the City of Oakland's government cable television station, will host the broadcast premiere of The Thursday Club on May 19, 2006. The program will be replayed during the rest of May and in June.
For broadcast scheduling information, please visit www.oaklandnet.com.
The Thursday Club portrays a group of retired Oakland, California police officers who battled antiwar demonstrators and Black Panthers. In October 1967 the filmmaker was beaten at an antiwar demonstration in Oakland, California. Thirty years later he set out to find the police officers who were present at that event—his best clue, a news photograph of himself getting clubbed.
The Thursday Club is for anyone interested in the explosive social movements of the 1960s, whether they empathize with the protesters or the police. It is a film that challenges stereotypical readings of the 1960s by giving a voice to the people behind the lingering image of the "fascist pig." The documentary covers the multiracial roots of today's Oakland Police Department, providing an inside look at how blacks and whites grappled with racial integration, and the ambivalence of black officers during the department's war with the Black Panthers.

RAVES AND PRAISES
"...a deceptive piece of work, in the best sense of the term. We go into it expecting a rough-and-tumble exposé of police brutality against demonstrators and political dissidents, but we come away with something bigger, an intimate portrait of a pivotal time."
—Kelly Vance, The East Bay Express

"...a rich, memorable film... Just as he made the idiosyncratic mathematical genius Paul Erdös 'understandable' and human in 'N Is a Number' and got to the essence of the Barbara Cartland mystique in 'Where the Heart Roams,' Csicsery has a revelation once again."
—Janos Gereben, The Oakland Post

"The image of a former cop and a former protester hugging each other onstage was tear-jerking. I hope a staff photographer was present to capture this wonderful event. Thank you, George, for a night to be remembered..."
—East Bay Express reader

February 7, 2006: Filmmaker George Csicsery talks about his documentary project on the Berkeley mathematician, Julia Robinson, at Stanford University. A new sample reel of scenes from the film will be screened for the first time at this event. Audience questions are welcome. Session is moderated by Jonathan Farley, mathematician and Science Fellow, Center for International Security and Cooperation.
The presentation is part of The Institute for Research on Women and Gender program on "Proof and Prejudice: Women in Mathematics," being held from 2 to 9 p.m., Tuesday, February 7, 2006, at Building 460, Margaret Jacks Hall, Room 426 (4th Floor). Free and open to the public. George Csicsery's talk begins at 3 p.m.
For more information see: The Institute for Research on Women & Gender at Stanford University/ Conferences.

September, 2005: The Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) has announced that its Grand Prize winner for the 2005 screenplay competition is Alderman's Story by George Csicsery. "His historical drama gives a balanced portrayal of the rising tensions between the original English colonists and the Native Americans that culminated in the King Philip's War." More information is available on the official RIIF site and at moviebytes.com.

June, 2005: Zala Films releases 60-minute VHS and DVD versions of The Thursday Club. See order form. The DVD contains 20 minutes of extra scenes.

April, 2005: The Thursday Club was screened at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on April 20, 2005.

April, 2005: The Right Spin, a DVD directed by George Csicsery, was completed in March 2005. The DVD was mailed out to several thousand mathematics department chairmen as part of the Joint Policy Board of Mathematics (JPBM) campaign for Mathematics Awareness Month in April 2005. Production of this exciting tale of astronaut Michael Foale's rescue of the MIR space station in 1997 was made possible with support from the Clay Mathematics Institute and the Mathematics Sciences Research Institute. For more information see: http://www.msri.org/specials/rightspin

March, 2005: A second screening of The Thursday Club was held at the Oakland Museum of California on March 4, 2005.

February, 2005: The world premiere of The Thursday Club was held at the Oakland Museum of California on February 4, 2005.

November, 2004: Hungry for Monsters screened at the Three Rivers Film Festival in Pittsburgh, PA on November 9, 2004.

August, 2004: Hungry for Monsters screened twice at the 57th Locarno International Film Festival, August 4-14, 2004, in the festival's Human Rights section. 57.festival internazionale del film locarno

July, 2004: N is a Number: A Portrait of Paul Erdös released on DVD, with 20 minutes of scenes from out-takes added to the menu. Available now.

June, 2004: A review of porridge, pulleys and Pi in the SIAM News.

June, 2004: George was interviewed for an episode of The Science Show entitled "The New Science of Networks," on which Paul Erdös was one of the topics discussed.

August, 1987: A review of Where the Heart Roams in The New York Times (registration is required).

 

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