How to describe Nobuhiko Obayahshi’s 1977 movie House? A psychedelic ghost tale? A stream-of-consciousness bedtime story? An episode of Scooby Doo as directed by Dario Argento? Any of the above will do for this hallucinatory head-trip about a schoolgirl who travels with six classmates to her ailing aunt’s creaky country home, only to come face to face with evil spirits, bloodthirsty pianos, and a demonic housecat. Too absurd to be genuinely terrifying, yet too nightmarish to be merely comic, House seems like it was beamed to Earth from another planet. Or perhaps the mind of a child: The script was inspired by the eccentric musings of the director’s 11-year-old daughter. He then employed all the tricks in his (non-digital) arsenal–mattes, animation, and collage–to make them a visually astonishing, raucous reality. Never before released in the United States, and a bona fide cult classic in the making, House is one of the most exciting genre discoveries in years. In Japanese with English subtitles. Admission is $6 for all University of Miami faculty, staff, and alumni; free for students. General admission is $8. The film screens on Friday, January 22 at 9 p.m.; Saturday, January 23 at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.; and Sunday, January 24 at 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.cosfordcinema.com.

Researching his next book, author Colin Beavan began the No Impact Project in November 2006. A newly committed environmentalist who could no longer avoid pointing the finger at himself, Beavan left behind his liberal complacency for a vow to make as little environmental impact as possible for one year. No more automated transportation, no more electricity, no more non-local food, no more material consumption–all while living in New York City.  No problem–that is, until his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife, Michelle Conlin, and their 2-year-old daughter were dragged into the fray. Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein’s film provides a front-row seat into the familial strains and strengthened bonds resulting from Colin and Michelle’s struggle with this radical lifestyle change. Admission is $6 for all University of Miami faculty, staff, and alumni; free for students. General admission is $8. The film screens on Friday, January 22 at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.; Saturday, January 23 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, January 24 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.cosfordcinema.com.

Daria Mochly Rosen, senior associate dean for research at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, professor in the Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, and member of the Neuroscience Institute at Stanford, will present “Delta PKC Inhibitor Induces Neuroprotection: Is It All About Protecting the Mitochondria?” on Friday, January 22 from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium.

The University of Miami School of Law’s Student Organization for Human Rights will host a panel discussion featuring Paul Rusesabagina (Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation), defense lawyer Kathleen Kirwin, University of Michigan Professor Allan Stam, and Loyola University Professor Brian Endless on Friday, January 22 at 7 p.m. at Gusman Concert Hall on the Coral Gables campus. The event will raise awareness of the issues in the African Great Lakes by actively engaging the audience in the discussion. The Student Organization for Human Rights will connect with groups on the main campus and will host showings of the movie The Hotel Rwanda on Friday, January 15 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the School of Law, Room 209.

The schedule of events also includes an in-house training for the Miami Asylum Office regarding the country conditions in the region. This is an important opportunity to influence federal asylum and immigration policy at the local level. The week will culminate with a fundraising gala on Saturday, January 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Gaetano’s Ristorante in the Hotel St. Michel, 162 Alcazar Avenue, in Coral Gables. For more information on this event or the organization(s), call Tom Oglesby at 305-495-1571.

Yanbin Zhang, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the Miller School of Medicine, will present “Assembling an Orchestra: Fanconi Anemia Pathway of DNA Repair” on Friday, January 22 at 12 p.m. in the Gautier Building, Room 118.