November 11, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will celebrate International Education Week Nov. 16-20 with special events, foreign films and foods from India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Italy and Latin America on the menu at Commons on the Green.

International Education Week is a joint initiative of the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Department of Education to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study here. For information about other UAB International Education Week events, call the UAB Office of Study Away at 205-975-6611.

Here are just some of the week's events at UAB:

The UAB Foreign Film Series will present a free screening of the film "Nana" at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17 in the UAB Mary Culp Hulsey Recital Hall, 950 13th St. South. Call 934-4652 for more details. Kentaro Otani directed this 2005 film about two strangers, Nana Komatsu and Nana Osaki, who meet on a night train to Tokyo and quickly become best friends. Romantic and fickle, Komatsu wants to escape her relationship problems, while the more edgy Osaki hopes to make it big in the capital with her punk band. This coming-of-age drama is in Japanese with English subtitles.

UAB also will feature a free screening of the film "District 9" at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18 in the Hill University Center Alumni Auditorium, 1400 University Blvd. Free food and popcorn will be served. The event is sponsored by UAB Interculture. In this science-fiction thriller, an alien spaceship is stranded above South Africa. Eventually, the creatures inside are exploited and placed into segregated townships. The film was directed by South African-born Neill Blomcamp.

The UAB World Students Association and the Undergraduate Student Government Association will present an International Game Night, 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, in the UAB Smolian International House, 1600 10th Ave. South. International coffees, teas and food will be served. The event is free and open to the public.

About UAB

Known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to graduate and undergraduate education, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is an internationally renowned research university and academic medical center and the state of Alabama's largest employer. For more information, please visit www.uab.edu.