CONFLICT KITCHEN - PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

Conflict Kitchen is a take-out restaurant that only serves cuisine from countries that the US is in conflict with. Open on Sat. and Sun. from 11am to 2:30pm, and Mon. through Fri. from 11:30am-2:30pm. Located at 124 South Highland Ave. Pittsburgh, PA

The food is served out of a take-out style storefront, which will rotate identities every four months to highlight another country. Each Conflict Kitchen iteration is augmented by events, performances, and discussion about the culture, politics, and issues at stake with each country they focus on.

Currently presenting the second iteration of Conflict Kitchen via Bolani Pazi, an Afghan take-out restaurant that serves a savory homemade afghan turnover filled with either pumpkin, spinach, lentils, or potatoes and leeks. Developed in collaboration with members of the Afghan community, their bolani comes packaged in a custom-designed wrapper that includes interviews with Afghans both in Afghanistan and the United States on subjects ranging from Afghan food and culture to the current geopolitical turmoil.

Through food, wrappers, programming, and daily interactions with customers, Conflict Kitchen creates an ongoing platform for first-person discussion of international conflict, culture, and politics. In addition, the project introduces a rotating venue for culinary and cultural diversity in Pittsburgh, as future iterations will focus on North Korea, Venezuela, and more.

Conflict Kitchen is a project by Jon Rubin, and Dawn Weleski and is funded by the Sprout Fund, The Waffle Shop, the Center for the Arts in Society, and the sale of food. Graphic design by Brett Yasko. Architectural design by Pablo Garcia of POiNT. Special thanks to Illah Nourbakhsh, Sohrab Kashani, Marti Louw, Najibah Tursonzadah, Mohammed Sidky, and all of those from the Iranian and Afghan community who supplied Conflict Kitchen with their input and perspectives.

(Above text and photos from Conflict Kitchen Website. Visit them for information.)

PAX CHRISTI FILM SERIES 2011

This film series on peace and justice themes, now in its sixth year, is sponsored by Pax Christi El Paso and the Peace and Justice Ministry of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso. Admission is free. Donations are graciously accepted but not required. Light refreshments are served, and there is time for discussion after each film. Movies have been scheduled at 3:00 p. m. generally on the second Sunday of each month (but check the schedule for changes) through the end of 2011.
JULY 10TH: BONHOEFFER is a 93-minute documentary film that tells the dramatic story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the young German theologian who offered one of the first clear voices of resistance to Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer openly challenged his church to stand with the Jews in their time of need, and eventually joined his family in the plots to kill Hitler. His books, Cost of Discipleship, Letters and Papers from Prison, and Ethics, were written during the struggle and are considered classics in the world of religion and ethics.

The film, shot on location in Germany and the United States, features interviews with family members, friends, students and associates who knew Bonhoeffer personally, including the last interview given by Bonhoeffer's closest friend and biographer, Eberhard Bethge, and an interview with Ruth Alice von Bismarck, the sister of Bonhoeffer's fiancée, Maria von Wedemeyer.

It also features interviews with outstanding historians and theologians including John de Gruchy and Geffrey Kelly, as well as comments from Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Extensive research in archives both in Europe and the US yielded extraordinary archival footage, including a speech by Hitler praying for God's blessing on him and the German people and Bonhoeffer family footage that features the only known moving footage of Dietrich. The production team was also given access to never-before-seen personal and family photographs that help bring visual context to Bonhoeffer's life.

Reading for the voice of Bonhoeffer is actor Klaus Maria Brandauer (Out of Africa, Russia House, etc). The film also features an original score by Emmy-award-winner John Keltonic.

"Bonhoeffer is one of the great examples of moral courage in the face of conflict," explains director/writer Martin Doblmeier. "I believe part of the reason the film is getting attention now is because many of the issues Bonhoeffer faced – the role of the church in the modern world, national loyalty and personal conscience, what the call to being a "peacemaker" really means – are issues we continue to struggle with today."

For more information, call (915)532-0527
Show time: 3:00 p. m.
Mother Tesesa Hall of Dioscesan Migrant & Refugee Services
2400 E. Yandell Dr.
El Paso, TX
(Between Piedras and Cotton St.- From I-10 take the Piedras exit, go north on Piedras turn left on Yandell.)

Schedule for 2011
February 13 - AT THE RIVER I STAND
March 13 - UP TO A CERTAIN POINT (HASTA CIERTO PUNTO)
April 10 - EARTH DAYS
May 15 - COLLAPSE OR PIRATE RADIO (To Be Announced)
June 12 - UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU!
July 10 - BONHOEFFER

Tentative Schedule:
August 14 - COUNTDOWN TO ZERO
September 11 - WETBACK: THE UNDOCUMENTED DOCUMENTARY
October 9 - BREAKING ROCKS
November 13 - (To Be Announced)
December 11 - WHERE LOVE IS: THE STORY OF THE CAPUCHIN SOUP KITCHEN