Film Festival offerings

Kevin, a Temple film student who has been helping me on this site, posted some upcoming highlights from the Philadelphia Film Festival. Given the scope of the offerings, I thought I'd add to his list by highlighting a few films I'm particularly interested in.

Dreileben (Three Lives). This German trilogy has been a bit of a festival hit, partly because it explores a crime mystery/art film hybrid across three separate self-contained films from three different filmmakers. David Bordwell had a fuller discussion of the films. (Wed 10/26 and Sun 10/30).

The Kid with the Bike. The Dardenne brothers' latest film gets a rave from Jonathan Rosenbaum, who calls it one of the best films he's seen this year. (Sat 10/22, Sun 10/23)

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia. Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes, this Turkish film sounds to be a slow-cinema version of the police procedural, with stunning cinematography. (Fri 10/28, Sun 10/30)

Life Without Principle. Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To is better known for his action films, but lately he's been venturing into other territory. This one is about the recent financial crisis and its impact on Hong Kong society. (Tues 10/25, Sat 10/29)

And as a reminder, our downloadable iCal calendar has the film festival included, so you can import and even copy the films you want to see into your personal calendar.

Animate Art! series

Karen Beckman, from Penn's Cinema Studies and Art History programs, has curated for the ICA a series of media makers using animation:

The Animate Art! series foregrounds the recent interest that artists have shown in a variety of animation practices within the museum context. Through conversation with artists from a variety of geographic locations we will consider a variety of questions, including: the relationship between animation and other media; contemporary artists' engagement with the histories of art and film; the role of music; the differences among various forms of animation; and animation's treatment of history, time, and place.

This Thursday, at 6:30pm, the series continues with Jennifer Levonian, a local artist who works in cut-paper animation. Levonian will screen her latest film, The Oven Sky, with a live performance by New York-based artist and singer Rachel Mason.

Fall Calendar update

The Repertory Film calendar has been updated. You can download it and import into iCal, Google calendar, or similar program. We've even included the upcoming Philadelphia Film Festival calendar for your convenience.

Bryn Mawr Film Club-The Guard

The Bryn Mawr Film Club screening and discussion this Thursday Sep 29th is The Guard, "an acid-sharp comedy starring Brendan Gleeson. With the humour as black as a pint of Guinness and just as Irish."

Directed by Irish filmmaker John Michael McDonagh with photography directed by Larry Smith (cinematographer for Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut), the film is McDonagh's directing debut and in the spirit of his brother Martin McDonagh's In Bruges(2008). To date The Guard is the most successful Irish independent film of all time according to the box office.

(R) 1 hr 36 min - in English
2011 Starring Don Cheadle, Brendan Gleeson

"A small-town Irish policeman (Brendan Gleeson) reluctantly teams up with a straight-laced FBI agent (Don Cheadle) to investigate a drug case in this wry crime comedy from Irish filmmaker John Michael McDonagh."

Thursday, September 29, 2011
5:30 PM
Admission: $7.00 for students with valid I.D.
Discussion: 7:10 - 8 PM Community Room (just off the arcade, across from MilkBoy)

Bryn Mawr Film Institute
824 W. Lancaster Avenue
PO Box 1058
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
www.BrynMawrFilm.org


The Bryn Mawr Film Club meets bimonthly for screening and discussion of movies currently in theaters. Stay tuned for updates!

Philadelphia Film Festival 2011 Schedule!

Hey everyone!

The schedule for the Philadelphia film festival schedule is now online!

There is a downloadable copy on the website and we will have a downloadable version on the blog soon.

There are many different genres and films this year that are being showcased at the festival with a few specifics standing out for landmark directors.

Lars von Trier's "Melancholia" is premiering at the festival on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 2:20 PM at the Prince Music Theater. As many have read, his Nazi-ist remarks that he made at the Cannes film festival earlier this year have put him on the map for being a truly controversial director. However, the controversy between that, and his last bleak drama "Antichrist" have made him a director to keep an eye on at the festival this year.

"Melancholia" stars Kirsten Dunst stars as a young woman named Justine, who on the night of her marriage finds out that a planet named Melancholia is heading on a collision course with Earth. This sci-fi drama is a strange direction for the genre, but not for Von Trier who is familiar to the abstract craft.

The film is facing comparisons toward Malick's acclaimed film from earlier this year, "The Tree of Life", as both are taking unfamiliar views on the creation and destruction of life as we know it. Both use less dialogue and more vivid imagery helping ramp up the viewers ability to interpret a scene rather than have a theme imposed on them. Melancholia should prove to be an interesting view nonetheless.

Also premiering at the festival is Cronenberg's new film "A Dangerous Method", starring Viggo Mortenson, Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley. The film follows Dr. Jung (Fassbender), who teams with Sigmund Freud (Mortenson) to diagnose and help an extremely unstable patient named Sabina (Knightley). The film follows both of the doctors sexual desires and how they lead to methods never before performed on patients.

The film follows some factual basis, but also takes many liberties and Cronenberg with his signature dark style, helps to add sexuality in a glorious amount to the content. His last film 2007 "Eastern Promises", was notorious for Mortenson's full frontal nude fight scene, both for it's use of the naked body as well as the gratuitous violence. However, his films always have excellent commentary on the desensitization of today's audiences towards violence in cinema.

Another film worth mentioning in Roland Emmerich's "Anonymous" starring Rhys Ifans. It follows the story of the controversy over who actually compiled William Shakespeare's work. As it has plagues the minds of countless philosophers for centuries, the film partly grounded in facts expriements in a art house format to bring the time period to life.

This film is a real step back for Emmerich, who's directed the blockbusters Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. His first full fledged drama ever put on screen will be an interesting watch, and based on preliminary reports by critics, is his "best film yet". (Honeycutt)

So the Philly film fest is shaping up to be a great one this year with plenty of other films that I have yet to even mention! So check out the website attached and find out more synopsis' to see what you are interested in!

Bruce Conner Retrospective

(from Report)

This weekend is a Bruce Conner retrospective at the International House, cosponsored by Bryn Mawr's Film Studies program and introduced by film scholar Bruce Jenkins. It's a terrific opportunity to see Conner's work, famous both for its early exploration of the possibilities of found-footage filmmaking and for its accessible, humorous avant-garde ethos.

Program I
Friday, September 23 at 7:30pm

COSMIC RAY
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1961, 16mm, 4 mins, b/w

A MOVIE
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1958, 16mm, 12 mins, b/w

THE WHITE ROSE
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1967, 16mm, 7 mins, b/w

MARILYN TIMES FIVE
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1968-73, 16mm, 13 mins, b/w

VIVIAN
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1964, 16mm, 4 mins, b/w

TEN SECOND FILM
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1965, 16mm, 10 sec, b/w

BREAKAWAY
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1966, 16mm, 5 mins, b/w

MEA CULPA
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1981, 16mm, 5 mins, b/w

TAKE THE 5:10 TO DREAMLAND
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1977, 16mm, 5 mins, color

VALSE TRISTE
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1979, 16mm, 5 mins, b/w

HIS EYE ON THE SPARROW
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 2006, video, 4 mins, b/w and color

EASTER MORNING
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 2008, 16mm, 10 mins, color


Program II
Saturday, September 24 at 7pm

MONGOLOID
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1978, 16mm, 3 mins, b/w

AMERICA IS WAITING
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1981, 16mm, 4 mins, b/w

REPORT
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1963-67, 16mm, 13 mins, b/w

CROSSROADS
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1976, 35mm, 36 mins, b/w

LOOKING FOR MUSHROOMS
dir. Bruce Conner, US, 1996, 16mm, 14 mins, b/w

Full descriptions available at the I-House site.

Scribe events with Kevin Jerome Everson

This Wednesday, Scribe is bring Kevin Jerome Everson to the International House to screen his work Erie, a series of one-take black and white 16mm shots filmed near Lake Erie. Thematically the work connects the Great Migration to the contemporary experience of African-Americans.

Having seen some of Everson's work, I can recommend it for its formal rigor and an evocative approach to experimental narrative.

Full Exposure: An Evening with Kevin Jerome Everson:

Erie

Sep 21, 07:00 PM at the International House
Presented as part of Scribe Video Center’s Producers’ Forum series.

Q+A with Kevin Jerome Everson following the film.

Reception/Presentation:

"Materials, Process, Procedure and Subject"

Sep 22, 07:00 PM at Scribe Video Center (6PM reception)

Admission: $15. Free for Scribe, PIFVA and Reelblack members, Temple and University of Penn students, faculty and staff. (Everson in person)

In this special topic lecture, Everson discusses how he creates his works that document and reflect on the "gestures or tasks caused by certain conditions in the lives of working class African Americans." Everson will screen a selection of his recent short films. Films courtesy of the artist and Picture Palace Pictures.

(Erie still: Video Data Bank)

Philadelphia Film Festival Schedule

The Philadelphia Film Festival

The schedule for the upcoming Philly film fest is going on sale on September 28th! Remember, you need to be a member of the Philadelphia Film Society to buy discount tickets! All-Access Passes start at $300 for members and $350 for non-members, giving you admission to any film playing at the event! Stay tuned for the schedule release.

The festival runs from October 20th-November 3rd!

Temple's Urban Archives screening at The Piazza

Tomorrow night (Tuesday, Sept. 13) at 7:30PM, the Piazza at Schmidts in Northern Liberties will be hosting a reprise of a program of nontheatrical films from Temple University's Urban Archives. Called "Sound and Vision" the program highlights recent preservation and digitization work done on the archive's film and video holdings; it is curated by John Pettit and Kathryn Gronsbell. Some contents:

• David Bowie visiting Veterans Stadium
• free-jazz performer Sun Ra and his Arkestra
• synthesizer expert Gerson Rosenbloom
• Philadelphia International soul legends McFadden & Whitehead
• punk/...new wave stalwart Ken Kweeder
• the organist at the Spectrum
• jazz-vibraphonist Khan Jamal
• The Mummers string band
• the original Electric Factory concert venue

I take it the screening will be in video projection. The event is free and open to the general public.

Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles

This weekend the International House is showing the premiere of a local documentary, Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, about the cryptic tiles appearing on city streets in Philadelphia and other cities. Philadelphian Jon Foy won an award for Best Documentary Director at Sundance 2011 for the film. (dir. Jon Foy, US, 2011, HD, 85 mins, color)

Showing:
Saturday, September 10 at 7pm and 9:30pm
Sunday, September 11 at 7pm
Monday, September 12 at 7pm

Each screening features the West Philadelphia director, producers, and cast members in person, answering questions as well as providing surprises including live music, tile-making demonstrations, photography exhibitions and more.

AV Club review

UPDATE: Because of the sell-out crowds so far, the I-House is adding an extra screening on Tuesday evening at 7pm. Having seen the film, I can say that it's a gripping experience, in part because of the invocation of the paradoxical publicity and anonymity of the subject matter and the insight into a previous period of history.

NYT on Microcinemas

Via the Cinemathèque Internationale of Philadelphia, I see that Dennis Lim has a writeup on microcinemas in the New York Times. It diagnoses the bourgeoning cinematheque scene in New York (Brooklyn especially):

Throwbacks to the folding-chair cinematheques of yesteryear, many microcinemas — to use a term often applied to these intimate spaces — are also very much of this long-tail moment, content to stay small and specialized, and quick to respond to an artistic landscape that is changing with ever greater speed.

The most enterprising microcinemas promise not just a film that isn’t showing anywhere else but also an experience tailored around it.

I think the latter sentence gets to the heart of what distinguishes microcinemas from their antecedents, film societies. I don't think the difference is a bad one, but it's notable that the cinematic experience has changed enough that people feel the need to self-consciously recreate the aura around it.

Music-Themed Secret Cinema

There are two Secret Cinema events this week. First, tonight (Wednesday, Aug 3) is a Velvet Undergound themed screening, Sister Ray Slam, at the Institute of Contemporary Art (118 S. 36th St.). It features rare Andy Warhol short films, including his Screen Tests, accompanied by live bands performing "Sister Ray." 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm. Admission free.

Friday is a fund-raising screening of Paul Anka films at The William Way Center to benefit the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania. Food and drink start at 6:00 pm. At 7:30 pm: Screening of Look in Any Window (1961), plus bonus short Lonely Boy, introduced by Richard Barrios. Admission: minimum tax-deductible donation of $20 advance at the AIDS Law Project site, $25 at the door. All funds raised will go to the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, a non-profit, public interest law firm that provides free legal services to people with HIV/AIDS and others affected by the epidemic.

Fuller descriptions of the films and bands available at the Secret Cinema website.

Underground Cinema and Apes

The International House is having a mini-series of films with/by Underground Cinema actor Pierre Clementi.

Friday, July 29 at 7pm

Pierre Clémenti: Unreleased Reels
with live musical accompaniment from David First, Chris Forsyth and Koen Holtkamp

Featuring Pierre Clémenti, Philippe Garrel, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Viva, Catherine Deneuve, Nico, Tina Aumont, Frédéric Pardo, and many more, these rarely seen and newly restored films by French actor Pierre Clémenti constitute a major period of creative expression and experimentation. Akin to the works of Andy Warhol and Kenneth Anger, Clémenti’s films are lyrical and hypnotic and function both as portraits of those closest to him and distinctive visions from the mind of a world famous actor, poet and free spirit.

Souvenir souvenir …(Reel 27)
dir Pierre Clémenti, France, 1967-78, 16mm, 27 mins, color, silent

Positano (reel 30B01: soleil)
dir Pierre Clémenti, France, c. 1968, 16mm, 28 mins, color, silent

La Deuxième femme (reel J)
dir Pierre Clémenti, France, 1967-78, 16mm, 48 mins, color, silent

Saturday, July 30 at 7pm

Wheel of Ashes
dir. Peter Emanuel Goldman, France, 1968, digital transfer from 16mm, 95 mins, b/w

American filmmaker Peter Goldman made his second feature film in France with Pierre Clémenti in the leading role. Poetry and promiscuity merge as young Pierre searches for meaning in his tormented world. Goldman is an under-recognized auteur whose unique films serve as excellent example of American independent filmmaking during a defining era.

Saturday, July 30 at 9pm

Necropolis
dir. Franco Brocani, Italy/UK, 1970, 16mm, 92 mins, color

A surreal and disturbing distillation of Western Civilization, Necropolis is the unhinged vision of Italian director Franco Brocani. Pierre Clémenti is Attila the Hun, naked and on horseback, while Warhol superstar Viva is a drunken and abusive Countess Bathory. A pop pastiche for the psychedelic generation, Necropolis features a soundtrack by Gavin Bryars.

Also, Sunday from 11:00 AM—11:00 PM they are running a Planet of the Apes marathon. $20 gets you entrance to any or all of the 5 films. Matt Prigge has the round up.

Man Who Fell To Earth

I've been traveling and otherwise estivating over the summer break so far, but I hope to pick up more postings here. All this next week, the Ritz Bourse is showing Nicholas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth, perhaps most famous for starring David Bowie. Matt Prigge has a write-up, with the pithy summation, "It’s a mess, but the kind of mess that goes to unexplored areas, and is open to odd touches..."

Showtimes: 1:00, 4:00, 6:50, 9:40

Secret Cinema: Top Secret Films

The Secret Cinema at Moore College of Art & Design presents

TOP SECRET: FILMS YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO SEE

Friday, April 29, 2011
8:00 pm
Admission: $8.00

Moore College of Art & Design
20th & Race Streets, Philadelphia
(215) 965-4099

On Friday, April 29, 2011, the Secret Cinema at Moore College of Art & Design will present a program of short films never intended for viewing by the general public.

TOP SECRET: FILMS YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO SEE includes films produced to convey private information from the government, the military and big business, instructional or motivational in nature, to carefully targeted audiences of battle forces in the field, farmers, middle management and wholesale buyers of products. Spanning from World War II through the 1960s, these forgotten reels reveal long hidden and often surprising views of mid-century America. At least one of these films was originally marked as containing "Restricted" information (and for all we know it is still officially restricted!).

There will be one complete program, starting at 8:00 pm. Admission is $8.00.

As always with Secret Cinema events, the films will be shown using real film (not video) projected on a giant screen.

Just a few highlights of TOP SECRET: FILMS YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO SEE are:

ARMY-AIR FORCE COMBAT DIGEST #53 (1944) - A weekly newsreel made just for soldiers, bringing news, developments in the war, and aerial footage of bombing missions right to the barracks via portable 16mm projectors. This episode is from October 4, 1944.

CULL FOR PROFIT (1951) - Made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this color educational film argues in favor of eugenics in egg farming, advising farmers to carefully remove from their coops hens that are lower egg producers. It might have just as easily been called KILL FOR PROFIT.

INSIDE TEST CITY U.S.A. (1953) - A promotional film from Readers Digest magazine that declares "Industry has discovered that what happens in Columbus (Ohio) today will be happening all over America tomorrow." The filmmakers interview local businessmen and consumers, all of whom are loyal Reader's Digest readers. Two comment that "most people read the Bible and the Digest." The narrator points out with pride that the Reader's Digest has greater market penetration in affluent areas than in poorer ones.

RECOGNITION OF AFV'S (1943) - Adapted by the U.S. Signal Corps from a British training film, this short aims to teach soldiers a valuable lesson: how to distinguish Allied tanks (or Armored Fighting Vehicles) from those of the enemy.

1104 SUTTON ROAD (1958) - Motivational dramatization shows the story of a dissatisfied factory worker who imagines what it would be like to become foreman or the company president. He learns that every employee must be productive to succeed. Sponsored by the Champion Paper and Fibre Company, with blazing Technicolor views of home and workplace life.

Plus an in-house training film from Bell Telephone, NAVAL AIRCRAFT WORKERS' DIGEST, THE DELCO 12-VOLT SYSTEM, and much more!