Events of the Week: Maysles and Wiseman

Tonight, the International House is having a special event with Albert Maysles, the noted direct cinema documentary filmmaker. He will be participating in a discussion at 7:00. [event information]

And this upcoming Tuesday, Nov. 11, the Philadelphia Film Society at the Roxy will be screening Frederick Wiseman's latest documentary, National Gallery. Wiseman himself will be in attendance for the screening. 7:00pm [event information]

Screening Roundup Week of Oct 11

Showing this week
Saturday, October 11 – Friday, October 17

The International House
Sat Oct 11 2:00pm The Witches (Nicholas Roeg) 91m.
Sat Oct 11 7:00pm Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (Benjamin Christensen) 1922. 87 min. 35mm.
Thurs Oct 16 7:00pm A Useful Life (La Vida Util) (Federico Veiroj) 2010. 67 min.
Fri Oct 17 7:00pm The All-Around Reduced Personality (aka Redupers) (Helke Sander) 1977. 98m. 16mm.  / The Wall  (Gordon Matta-Clark) 1976-2007. 15 min. video.

Philadelphia Film Society
Philadelphia Film Festival - see festival overview post for more information

Ambler Theater
Thurs Oct 16 7:30pm Blackmail (Alfred Hitchcock) 1929. 85m. DCP.

County Theater
Tues Oct 14 7:30pm Blackmail (Alfred Hitchcock) 1929. 85m. DCP.

Colonial Theatre
Sun Sept 21 2:00pm The Curse of the Werewolf (Terence Fisher) 1961. 91m. 35mm.


Galleries

Fabric Workshop and Museum
Question Bridge: Black Males
transmedia video installation [exhibition description]
ongoing: September 13, 2014–November 9, 2014

22nd Philadelphia Film Fest

The schedule for the 22nd Philadelphia Film Festival is now available online. The Festival runs from October 17-27, and tickets go on sale October 1.

This year's program follows up on the festival's previous strengths as a best-of-festivals fest. It's a great chance to see films, particular world cinema films and smaller local productions, that otherwise might not get a Philadelphia theatrical release. I personally wish there would be more adventuresome repertory screenings and more international documentary selections, but I will hardly lack for films to see.

So far, these screenings are on my radar to attend:

Burning Bush, a Czech historical that's part of a trend of televisual art films
A Touch of Sin, Jia Zhang-Ke's latest work, a continuation of his thematic exploration of the cultural changes coming to contemporary China
In Bloom, a Georgian coming-of-age drama that's gotten good play on the European film festival circuit
Let the Fire Burn - as someone who did not live in Philadelphia in the 1980s, I could stand to see a good documentary about the MOVE saga, and this one sounds promising
La Maison de la Radio - Nicolas Philibert made the amazing observational documentary Etre et Avoir, but his other films have not always found wide distribution in the US

Philadelphia Film Festival 2012 schedule

The Philadelphia Film Festival 2012 has posted its schedule online. They have a handy feature that organizes your screenings for you, or you can even download the entire schedule into iCal.

Tickets are currently on sale for Philadelphia Film Society members. General public tickets go on sale Monday, October 1.

UPDATE: As a follow-up on earlier news on free ticket vouchers for the Festival, the PFF website mentions the films eligible for the free tickets. They're all from the American Independents series, on first-come basis. Details here. I'm actually surprised the free tickets are not incentives for daytime weekday screenings, but hey, it's their promotion!

Complimentary Tickets to the Phila Film Fest

The Philadelphia Film Festival is coming up in October. They release the schedule on Sept. 27 and I will give an update then. In the meantime, they are offering a special promotion for complimentary tickets for those who register on their website (scroll to the bottom of this page). Only certain screenings will honor the comp tickets and it's on a first-come basis, but still, it's a great way to supplement your festival viewing or to see some of the festival on a budget.