MCAD film screenings keep Christmas spirit alive

In the spirit of Christmas, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) offers five free movie screenings during the Yuletide Season.

Screened last Dec. 6 was Joyeux Noel, a German film from 2005. On Christmas Eve of 1914, a remarkable event took place in the trenches where the Germans faced the British and the French. There was a spontaneous ceasefire, as the troops on both sides laid down their weapons and observed the birth of the Savior in whose name they were killing each other. Meanwhile, the musical Babes in

Toyland is featured tomorrow, Dec. 8. Inspired by the popular operetta by Victor Herbert, Laurel and Hardy star as Ollie Dee and Stanley Dum who try to raise funds to help Mother Peep pay the mortgage on her shoe house and prevent the evil landlord Barnaby from marrying her daughter Little Bo Peep. Upon its release in 1934, critics described the movie as “authentic children’s entertainment.”

Two animated films from the ’80s take center stage on Dec. 9. Mickey’s

Christmas Carol is the Disney version of the classic tale by Charles Dickens, A

Christmas Carol, with Scrooge McDuck as Scrooge, Donald Duck as his nephew Fred, Mickey Mouse as Bob Cratchit, Goofy as Jacob Marley. It will be followed by The Snowman, which, like the book by Raymond Briggs upon which it is based on, is without any dialogue. On Christmas Eve, a young boy builds a snowman that comes to life and takes him on an adventure to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, on the other hand, is a dark film from Finland. Pieter and his friend Juuso discover the real identity of Santa Claus after an archaeological dig near their area finds Santa’s tomb. Soon after, children mysteriously disappear and the people find slaughtered reindeer in their town. It will be shown on Dec. 13.

All screenings will be held at the MCAD Multimedia Room, with two showings each day, at 12 noon and 3 p.m. All shows are free and open to the public. The Museum of Contemporary Art and Design is located at the DLS-CSB School of Design and Arts Campus, Dominga Street, Malate, Manila.