Is He or Isn’t He?: Man Facing Southeast / The Brother From Another Planet

In the stranger-comes-to-town narratives of The Brother From Another Planet and Man Facing Southeast, norms in the human world get shaken up by an alien presence. In both films, the strangers arrive on Earth under mysterious circumstances and, once here, unintentionally adapt to our world via their perceived empathetic gazes on marginalized communities. Their observations of human behavior lead to both comedic events and revelatory critiques of society. Without relying on special effects, these narrative feature films emulate their protagonists and what might or might not be their alien powers in conveying themes of otherness that are relatable even here among earthlings.

Screenings include Man Facing Southeast (Eliseo Subiela) and The Brother From Another Planet (John Sayles).

Science Fiction Against the Margins, a PST ART: Art & Science Collide film series is presented by UCLA Film & Television Archive in partnership with UCLA Cinema & Media Studies Program.