Provided

Cornell Cinema will screen a restored 35mm print of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's classic "The Red Shoes," in Willard Straight Theatre this month.

Technicolor treasure

Cornell Cinema will screen a restored 35mm print of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's classic "The Red Shoes," May 12, 14 and 15 at 7:15 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre.

Based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale of shoes that dance their wearer to exhaustion and death, the 1948 drama features Moira Shearer (who was also a ballerina offscreen) dancing a stunning 17-minute original ballet sequence.

"The Red Shoes" influenced Daron Aronofsky's recent Oscar-winner "Black Swan" and is "one of the most beautiful Technicolor films ever made," according to Martin Scorsese, who has frequently noted the film's influence on him. Scorsese oversaw its restoration in 2009 with his editor (and Powell's widow), Thelma Schoonmaker '61, via his nonprofit Film Foundation, the British Film Institute and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Information: http://cinema.cornell.edu.

Latin American art

The Institute for Comparative Modernities highlights the importance of new technologies in Latin American art practices at its 2011 conference, "Sighting Technology in Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art," May 13-14 at the A.D. White House. Organized by María Fernández, associate professor of the history of art and visual studies, the conference will include a keynote address May 13 at 5 p.m. by Mexican artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer on "Platforms for Alien Participation."
Information: http://icm.arts.cornell.edu/conference_2011/index.html.

Game theory

Stop time and rewind the world. Rebuild a space station before it collapses. Or capture "Squidgets" and transform them into useful tools. All this and more when you play video games created by students at the Game Design Initiative at Cornell (GDIAC)'s annual showcase, May 14, 3 to 6 p.m. in the ACCEL Lab in Carpenter Hall. The games were developed over the spring semester in beginning and advanced game design classes, bringing together teams of programmers, artists and musicians, many of whom will go on to careers in the game industry. This year's offerings include an XBox game and, for the first time, games for the iPad. Most of the games will be available later for download from the GDIAC website, http://gdiac.cis.cornell.edu.

Pourin' off of every page

The Cornell Store hosts a pre-celebration of Bob Dylan's 70th birthday (May 24) with author David Yaffe and musical guests, May 17 at 2 p.m.

Yaffe is the music critic for The Nation, a literary scholar and an assistant professor of English at Syracuse University. In his new book, "Bob Dylan: Like a Complete Unknown," he considers Dylan from four perspectives: the underrated influence of his singing style, his image in films, his relationship to blackness (including his involvement in the civil rights movement), and controversial songwriting practices that could be called either the folk process or plagiarism.

The presentation and performance will be followed by a discussion of all things Dylan. Birthday cake and discounted copies of the book will be available. The event is free and open to the public.

Behind the scenes in 'Myanmar'

Cornell Cinema has added an encore screening of Robert H. Lieberman's documentary "They Call it Myanmar: Lifting the Curtain" to its late spring schedule. Lieberman, a senior lecturer in physics, filmed clandestinely inside Burma, now named Myanmar, during four visits over a two-year period. His 90-minute film premiered here May 3.

Producer Deborah Hoard and editor David Kossack, from PhotoSynthesis Productions of Ithaca, will introduce the screening on May 17 at 7 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre.

"They Call it Myanmar" is an evocative portrait of contemporary Burma, with interviews and interactions with hundreds of Burmese people living under an oppressive military regime. Former political prisoner and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi provides part of the film's narration. Information: http://cinema.cornell.edu, http://theycallitmyanmar.com/.

Biblical text and history

Assistant professor of Near Eastern studies 
Lauren Monroe will discuss her new book, "Josiah's Reform and the Dynamics of Defilement: Israelite Rites of Violence and the Making of a Biblical Text," May 20 at 12:30 p.m. at the Cornell Store.

Monroe's book, published this month by Oxford University Press, looks at the composition of 2 Kings, Chapters 22 and 23, to explore identity construction in ancient Israel during the development of monotheistic Judaism. The text describes religious reforms the Judean King Josiah enacted to assert Israelite identity. Josiah's reforms systematically destroyed the places where his own people worshipped and consolidated religious authority in the hands of temple priests in Jerusalem.

Kim Haines-Eitzen, chair of Near Eastern studies, will introduce Monroe, who will answer questions after her presentation. Refreshments and discounted copies of the book will be available.

Mayfest returns

Cornell's fourth annual international chamber music festival, Mayfest, will be held May 20-25 with five intimate concerts in Barnes Hall and the Carriage House Café on Stewart Avenue. Created by pianists and artistic directors Xak Bjerken and Miri Yampolsky, the festival boasts a roster of local musicians and young guest artists including two Israelis -- clarinetist Chen Halevi, who debuted with the Israel Philharmonic and conductor Zubin Mehta at age 15; and violist Guy Ben-Ziony, a member of the Israeli Chamber Project and the Waldstein Ensemble.

Also featured: American cellist Clancy Newman; Russian violinist Tatiana Samouil; German soprano Íride Martínez and French violinist Philippe Graffin. Highlights will include premieres of new works by Steven Stucky and doctoral composer Jesse Jones. A festival pass for all five concerts is available for $85; admission to individual concerts is $20, $8 for students.

Information: http://mayfest-cornell.org. Sponsored by the Department of Music.

Arts roundtable

The Society for the Humanities hosts a Regional Economic Development Roundtable and grants workshop, "Promoting the Arts, Cultural Institutions and Historic Sites: A Strategy for Economic Growth and Job Creation," May 17, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., G10 Biotechnology Building. To register, RSVP to the office of U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., at artsummit@gillibrand.senate.gov.

The roundtable is open to the public and features updates on recent federal culture and tourism-related legislative action, a discussion of the role of culture and tourism in economic development in the Southern Tier, and a workshop on applying for grants. Participants can choose to tour the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Carl A. Kroch Library Rare and Manuscript Collections, the A.D. White House or the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m.