Cabiria

If repertory cinema can be thin on the ground at times, silent film gets downright neglected. Thankfully, this Thursday, the International House is showing (on 16mm) Cabiria (Giovanni Pastrone, 1914), an Italian epic that's been on my list of shame for a while. Notably, the film is famous for its spectacular sets, setting off a vogue for epic films in the teens, and for its introduction of the emphatic tracking shot to narrative film. Thursday, October 28 at 7pm.

Leighton Pierce

Still from Number One (2007)

Next Tuesday, the Film and Media Studies at Swarthmore College will be hosting an evening with film and video artist Leighton Pierce.

Tuesday, October 26, 7pm

Lang Performing Arts Center Cinema, Swarthmore College (Directions)

One of the most acclaimed and prolific experimental moving image artists working in the U.S. today, Leighton Pierce uses film, video, photography, and sound to create experiences in transformative time, executing all aspects of his works himself –conceptualization, cinematography, editing, sound design and composition. Pierce will present an hour-long program of his work including the area premieres of Retrograde Premonition and Sharp Edge Blunt, followed by Q&A. Pierce’s early interest in music, especially jazz and electronic music, and the construction of emotional experiences in time continue to guide his work. His work has been exhibited worldwide, including at the Museum of Modern Art, the Centre Georges Pompidou, and the Whitney Biennial. He teaches in the prestigious film program of the University of Iowa, where he has influenced many important experimental artists.

Ulrike Ottinger

Next Tuesday, October 19, the Slought Foundation is hosting a day-long retrospective of Ulrike Ottinger's work. Ottinger's work has ranged from narrative work on the more avant-garde side of the New German Cinema to experimental documentaries, including the 8- hour Taiga, about Mongolia (see this NYT review). Even including the couple of films to be distributed by Women Make Movies to educational and repertory audiences, very little of Ottinger's work has been available in the US.

I do wish for a proper theatrical screening of some of it, but short of that, gallery exhibitions like at the Slought may be the only way to watch it easily. They will have simulatenous video projection of her longer works throughout the day (9am-5pm): Twelve Chairs (198 minutes, 2004), The Korean Wedding Chest (82 minutes, 2008), Taiga: A Journey to Northern Mongolia (501 minutes, 1991/2), and Exil Shanghai (275 minutes, 1997)

From 5-7pm, there will be an evening screening of Still Moving (29 minutes, 2009) and Prater (104 minutes, 2007).

The main event (7-8:30pm), is a presentation by Ottinger herself, followed by public conversation with Kaja Silverman (University of Pennsylvania), Patricia White (Swarthmore College), and Homay King (Bryn Mawr College), moderated by Nora Alter (Temple University).

19th Philadelphia Film Festival

Still from Alamar (Pedro González-Rubio, 2009)

This Friday marks the start of the 10-day Philadelphia Film Festival. This year marks a transition year for the Festival, after a change in management, a divorce from TLA, and a shift to October rather than April. And the changes are not merely behind the scenes reshuffling, but a renewed and changed focus. First, there is more dovetailing with the fare of international film festivals like Toronto. Second, there is the inclusion of crowd-pleasing events like the Stieg Larsson film adaptations. Either of these could elicit cries of commercialization of the film festival, but frankly, I'm impressed with the range and quantity of offerings in this year's festival. It's an embarrassment of riches, since I know I will only be able to scratch the surface.

I'll not be able to do justice to the full line up, but some highlights for me are the auteur showings from Denis, Weerasethakul, and Assayas; the retrospective of a 1960 Korean film The Housemaid; the documentaries Garbo and Boxing Gym; and the recent films from various Latin American new waves.

I have created an iCal version of the festival (download) so you can add to your computer or online calendar. I've kept the festival separate from the regular blog calendar (here), in order to signal the event status and advanced ticketing. If the past is prologue, you may want to get your tickets in advance.

Women Directors from North Africa and the Middle East

La Nouba des Femmes du Mont-Chenoua

This week the International House is screening a series of films by women directors from North Africa and the Middle East. Organized by Patricia White (Swarthmore) and Suzanne Gauch (Temple), the series complicates the vision the West and in particular American cinema often has of Middle-Eastern societies and women's role in them. And, in the process, we get to see work that's otherwise tough to see. I have seen A Door to the Sky, a lyrical and avowedly spiritual film, the only one here to be screened on 35mm. At first it resists the narrative and aesthetic expectations I had brought from both conventional narrative and art cinema, but ultimately I valued the challenging aesthetic voice. I am eager to see other work in the series.

All screenings introduced by Patricia White. Full descriptions at the International House site.

Thursday, October 7 at 7pm

Passage (Shirin Neshat, US/Iran, 2001, 12 mins)

A Door to the Sky (Farida Ben Lyazid, Morocco, 1989, 107 mins)

Friday, October 8 at 7pm
Brick Sellers of Kabul (Lida Abdul, US/Afghanistan, 2006, 6 mins)
La Nouba des femmes de Mont-Chenoua (Assia Djebar, Algeria, 1977, 115 mins)

Saturday, October 9 at 2pm
Souha (Randa Chahal Sabbag, Lebanon, 2001, 57 mins)

Our Heedless Wars (Randa Chahal Sabbag, France/Lebanon, 1995, 61 mins)

Saturday, October 9 at 5pm
Measures of Distance (Mona Hatoum, UK, 1988, 16 mins)

Women Without Men (Shirin Neshat in collaboration with Shoja Azari, France/Germany, 2009, 95 mins)

Top Secret Rosies

My colleague LeAnn Erickson has just completed her documentary on the women who worked as mathematicians for the US Army and later programmed for ENIAC, the first electronic computer. Titled Top Secret Rosies, it covers a fascinating subject, with a local angle, shot with engaging interviews from the women involved.

The film has a couple of screenings, in HD video, in the coming weeks:

County Theater

Monday, October 4, 7:00 pm

Ambler Theater
Wednesday, October 13, 7:00 pm

Running time is 60 minutes. For more information, you can visit the film's website.

Week 5 September 2010

Big event this week is the series of Michael Snow and John Oswald events:

Wednesday, September 29 at 8pm
6:30pm by Opening Reception of Many Moving and Still Works by Two Torontonians at Slought Foundation

*Corpus Callosum
dir. Michael Snow, Canada, 2002, video, 91 mins, color

International House

Thursday, September 30 at 8pm
Michael Snow and John Oswald Duo

International House

Other screenings for the week:

Tuesday, 9/28

Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)

Bryn Mawr Film Institute

7:30 pm

Wednesday, 9/29
Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey, 1963)
Ambler Theater

7:00 pm

Thursday, 9/30
Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
Ambler Theater

7:00 pm

Sunday, 10/3

Cat People (Jacques Tourneur, 1942)
Colonial Theater

2:00 pm

Farocki (and more)

This week in area showings:

Thursday (9/16) Harun Farocki shows his Immersion (2009) at the Slought Foundation. The video installation concerns the connection between virtual reality and the military. The showing will be part of a dialogue between Farocki and Antje Ehmann on "The Image in Question: War – Media – Art." 4017 Walnut Street. 6:30-8:30 pm.

Earlier that day, Farocki will be presenting Peter Nestler’s film, Death and Devil, which concerns Nestler’s grandfather Rosen in Sweden who participated in expeditions before WWI in South America and Africa. The film examines the links between ethnography and colonialism and is part of the rare genre of photo-films. Temple University, Annenberg Hall room 3, 2020 N. 13th, 11:00-12:30.

W 9/15. Metropolis. Ambler Theater. 7pm

Th 9/16. Rashomon. County Theater. 7pm

Sun 9/19. The Hidden Fortress. Colonial Theater. 2pm

Sun 9/19. Yojimbo. Colonial Theater. 4:30pm

For an ongoing film calendar, get the PRFB listings in iCal format.

Utopia in Four Movements

The film programming at the International House continues to expand into more performance-based directions, this weekend with Utopia in Four Movements, a "live documentary" narrated in person by filmmaker Sam Green and accompanied by a live band (the Quavers) as the film screens. Conceptually, the piece explores the role and future of utopian thought in the 21st century.

Utopia in Four Movements

dir. Sam Green and Dave Cerf, US, 2010, video, 80 mins, color

Saturday, September 11 at 7pm

Ibrahim Theater @ the International House

There's an App for That

Well, not exactly, but I have compiled a super handy iCal calendar with all of the planned screenings from the major repertory film programmers in the area. You can download it and import into iCal, either as a separate calendar as part of an existing one. iCal will let you set alarms to remind you of films coming up that you don't want to forget.

Currently the calendar covers the Fall programming season. I will do another version for the Spring. I may make additional updates if it makes sense. Do note that week runs of major repertory releases and some one-off events (notably some of the Scribe Video and Secret Cinema screenings) won't be covered here as they are not planned that far in advance.

Week 1 September 2010

A film that's just not the same on a mobile device...

Tues 8/31
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
County Theater
7:00 PM

Tues 8/31
Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa, 1961)
Akira Kurosawa Retrospective
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
7:00 PM

Tues 8/31
Scribe Video Center
Community Visions Premiere
Ibrahim Theater @ International House
7:00 PM
free admission

Wed 9/1
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
Ambler Theater
7:00 PM

Thurs 9/2
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
7:00 PM

Sun 9/5
Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
Colonial Theater
4:30 PM

Week 4 August 2010

Tues 8/24
Stray Dog (Akira Kurosawa, 1949)
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
7:00 PM

Wed 8/25
The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
7:00 PM

Wed 8/25
Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)
County Theater
7:00 PM

Fri 8/27
Fear No Evil (Frank LaLoggia, 198,)/Tower of Evil (Jim O'Connolly, 1972)
Exhumed Films series
Ibrahim Theater @ International House
8:00 PM

Sun 8/29
Wattstax (Mel Stuart, 1973)
Colonial Theater
2:00 PM

Sun 8/29
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
County Theater
7:00 PM

Week 3 August 2010

Tues 8/17
Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951)
County Theater
7:00 PM

Tues 8/17
Hidden Fortress (Akira Kurosawa, 1958)
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
7:00 PM
(special seminar starts at 6PM - $25)

Wed 8/18
A Place in the Sun (George Stevens, 1951)
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
7:00 PM

Thurs 8/19
Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951)
Ambler
7:00 PM

Sat 8/21
Close Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990)
Bastille Day themed screening
Ibrahim Theater @ International House
7:00 PM

Sun 8/22
Woodstock (Michael Wadleigh, 1972)
County Theater
7:00 PM

Weeks 3-4 July 2010 - Metropolis and more

Big news this week is the Metropolis revival at the Ritz. (The Inquirer's blurb | website on film's restoration)

Fri 7/23-Th 7/29
Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)
New 35-mm restored print, with lost footage, 1-week run only
Ritz Bourse
(12:50 3:40) 6:30 9:20

Thurs 7/22
North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
Ambler
7:00 9:35

Tues 7/27
Trafic (Jacques Tati, 1953)
Tati comedy series
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
7:00 PM

Tues 7/27
Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
County Theater
7:00 PM

Thurs 7/29
Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
Ambler
7:00 PM

Week 2 July 2010 - QFest and more

All week
Q Fest queer film festival
See the festival website for films and listings. Also note the Secret Cinema events below.

Tues 7/13
Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati, 1958)
Tati comedy series
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
7:00 PM

Wed 7/14
On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954)
Bryn Mawr Film Institute
7:00 PM

Wed 7/14
Screened Out: Gay Images On Film
author and film historian Richard Barrios in person
a talk and presentation of 16mm clips from the Secret Cinema collection
William Way Center (1315 Spruce St)
7:00 PM

Fri 7/16
Madame X (David Lowell Rich, 1960)

technicolor 16mm print from the Secret Cinema collection
Benefit screening for AIDS Law Project
John Wanamaker Building, 100 Penn Square East
Benefit start at 6:00 pm. The film begins at 7:30
$20 minimum donation

Fri 7/16
The Best of the 2009 Ottawa International Animation Festival
Ibrahim Theater @ International House
7:00 PM

Sat 7/17
Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959)
Bastille Day themed screening
Ibrahim Theater @ International House
7:00 PM