FALL 2006
Fri-Thurs, Sept. 1-7 at 7pm
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
DARSHAN THE EMBRACE
(Jan Kounen, France, 2006, 35mm, 92 min.)
A journey into the heart of India and Hinduism, DARSHAN, THE EMBRACE focuses on Amma, “The Hugging Saint,” one of the most important and influential Mahatmas (spiritual guides) alive today. For the very First time, Amma agreed to open her world to a foreign director, Jan Kounen (DOBERMANN, BLUEBERRY). Through conversations with Amma and those close to her, this intimate documentary captures her charisma and loving spirit. However, far from inundating viewers with a litany of facts, Jan Kounen lets his lilting cinema vérité camera drift through the colorful streets of India.
"Amma is the embodiment of pure love. Her Presence heals." –Deepak Chopra
Fri-Thurs, Sept. 1-7 at 7pm
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
THE MOTEL
From the producers of ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW and THE GOOD GIRL
(Michael Kang, USA, 2006, 35mm, 76 min.)
Michael Kang’s debut feature “signals the arrival of a singularly promising filmmaker (VARIETY). Puberty sucks, and nobody knows it better than 13-year-old Ernest Chin (Jeffrey Chyau). Stuck at his own family’s hourly-rate motel, young Ernest divides his time between taking orders from his overbearing mom, tending to whatever miscreants the motel may attract and longing for the girl of his dreams, 15 year old Christine (MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA’S Samantha Futerman). All is soon overshadowed by a charismatic stranger (Sun Kang), a sexy Korean-American ne’er-do-well inhabiting the motel for trysts with prostitutes. While Kang draws upon the specific realities of Asian-American lives, his believable, nuanced universe is recognizable to anyone who has survived adolescence.
"A portrait of adolescence as heartfelt and authentic as it is hilarious." –Jeff Yang, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Sun-Wed, Sept. 10-13 at 7, 8, 9pm
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
BURN TO SHINE
(Christoph Green, USA, 2005/06, BetaSP, 135 min.)
Produced by Fugazi’s Brendan Canty and directed by filmmaker Christoph Green, BURN TO SHINE is an ongoing film series chronicling the music scene in towns throughout the United States. Renowned local bands each perform one song in a house scheduled to be demolished or burned to the ground at the end of the day. The films document the doomed houses, the bands, and the demolitions. Northwest Film Forum hosts the Seattle premiere of the first three installments, shot in Washington DC, Chicago, and, most recently, Portland. The films will be shown together, with intermissions between each 45-minute film. One ticket buys admission to all—come to one, two or all three. 7pm
7pm
BURN TO SHINE: WASHINGTON, DC
Featuring performances by Bob Mould, Ted Leo, The Evens, Medications, French Toast, Q and Not U, Weird War and Garland of Hours.
8pm
BURN TO SHINE: CHICAGO
Featuring performances by Wilco, Shellac, Tortoise, Freakwater, The Ponys, Red Eyed Legends, Tight Phantomz, Lonesome Organist and Pit er Pat.
9pm
BURN TO SHINE: PORTLAND
Featuring performances by Sleater-Kinney, The Shins, The Decemberists, The Thermals, The Gossip, Mirah, Quasi, Lifesavas, The Planet The, The Ready and Wet Confetti.
Wed, Sept. 13 at 8pm
FREE FOR NWFF MEMBERS!
SEARCH AND RESCUE
No matter how daring or eclectic you think your film collection is, Search and Rescue has you beat! Filling the shelves of NWFF’s vault, our 1500+ 16mm films represent esoteric experimental animation, 1950s educational filmstrips, promotions for heavy industry, newsreels and things too mysterious and wonderful to classify. Will this quarter’s program yield revelations? Outdated attitudes? Clumsy narratives that both fail and succeed? At this point in the project we feel confident that the answer to all three questions is “yes.” Admission free for NWFF members.
Thurs, Sept. 14 at 8pm
I LOVE LED ZEPPLIN
A Live Multimedia Spectacle
Starring Ellen Forney and Friends!
Sponsored by Plex Pixel, Fantagraphics,The Stranger and The Vera Project
Burlesque star Miss Indigo Blue, cartoonist Ellen Forney, emcee Sarah Rudinoff and Led Zeppelin tribute band No Quarter, perform in support of Forney’s new comic, I LOVE LED ZEPPELIN (Fantagraphics Books). In his introduction to the book, writer Sherman Alexie calls her work “eclectic... smart... sexy... funny... hotter than five-star curry.” SALON terms Forney “bold” and “badass,” adjectives that also describe the night’s entertainment! This one-time only live narration of video adaptations of selected comics promises to deliver this world-class graphic novelist into the hearts of filmgoers. Reception follows the event.
"I LOVE LED ZEPPELIN is a beautiful book, but it has a sneaky beauty. Amid the post-punk attitudes, the hints of sadomasochism and wry looks on characters’ faces, Forney offers real laughter and deep glimpses of the human. Sometimes you have to trick people into happiness. Forney pulls off this trick again and again." –Laurel Maury, LA TIMES
Fri-Tues, Sept. 15-19 at 7, 9pm
SCREAMING MASTERPIECE
(Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon, Iceland, 2005, 35mm, 88 min.)
Iceland is a mystery for many, even for most foreign fans of its music. Featuring interviews and amazing performances from Björk, Sigur Rós, Múm and many others, the beautifully shot SCREAMING MASTERPIECE explores the unique sounds and styles coming from the tiny island nation with an astonishing diversity of artists. The film takes us from eerily beautiful, desolate landscapes to the vibrant indie music scene in the capital city of Reykjavik, drawing connections between the country's music and its isolation, ancient traditions and natural settings. Don't miss this unforgettable musical journey to the top of the world. In Icelandic and English with English subtitles.
Fri-Thurs, Sept. 15-21 at 7, 9pm (No screenings SEPT 18 Mon)
SEATTLE PREMEIRE!
SALVADOR ALLENDE
(Patricio Guzmán, Belgium/Chile/France, 2004, DV-CAM, 100 min.)
September 11th holds as much significance in Chile as it does in the USA—perhaps more so. On September 11, 1973, a military coup resulted in the murder of Chilean president Salvador Allende, the dissolution of his democratic government and the installation of General Augusto Pinochet as dictator. The terrifying fascist regime that followed prompted millions of Chileans, including director Patricio Guzmán, to flee the country into exile. Guzmán’s documentary about Allende is a candid but necessary step forward for the Chilean people. His film not only retraces the life of this Marxist-humanist determined to maintain democratic rule, but also delves into the United States’ role in the coup d’etat. In Spanish with English subtitles.
"The footage of Allende’s prescient 1972 speech to the UN, when he warned the assembly of the insidious threat being posed by transnational corporations, is as relevant as today’s headlines." –MINNEAPOLIS CITY PAGES
Sat, Sept. 16, 23, 30 at 11pm
DIRECTOR J.K. REALMS IN ATTENDANCE!
RAY OF DARKNESS
(J.K. Realms, USA, 2005, DVD, 94 min.)
Last year's winner of Local Sightings, RAY OF DARKNESS is a new vision for indie horror. Everyone is drawn to the Inland Empire—a point of uncharted wilderness within the Cascade Mountains—but no one knows why. After a mysterious phone call from within the Inland Empire relays a homicide in progress, Seattle investigators set out to find a comrade whose disappearance coincides with the call. Thrust into the mixture of hype and paranoia surrounding this dark land, they stumble across more than they bargained for. As they journey into the shadow of death itself, it seems as if nothing can save them from certain doom.
Sat, Sept. 18 at 7pm
NWFF ANNUAL MEETING
MEMBERS, come make your voice heard at our most important meeting of the year.
SEPT 22 Fri at 7, 9pm
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
ACCORDION TRIBE
(Stefan Schwietert, Austria/Switzerland, 2004, 35mm, 90 min.)
The squeezebox receives a long overdo overture! Five highly individual musicians from different countries form the ACCORDION TRIBE and achieve the seemingly impossible: returning their long disregarded instrument to the worldwide recognition it once enjoyed. As their tour bus journeys through a Europe resplendent with rich musical heritage, the unlikely ensemble embraces the past and searches for new beginnings. Accompanied by an exciting aural landscape of trancelike intensity, ACCORDION TRIBE is both an enjoyable road movie and a magnificent showcase for the transforming power of music. In English and German with English subtitles.
Sat, Sept. 22-24 at 7, 9pm, (plus Sat & Sun at 3, 5pm)
STARS IN MY CROWN
(Jacques Tourneur, USA, 1950, 35mm, 89 min.)
An unsung masterpiece in the American family film canon, this expressive, beautifully written, and almost perfectly directed western tells the story of Josiah Gray (Joel McCrea), a gospel preacher who heroically shepherds his small-town flock through a stormy season of racial unrest and a tragic outbreak of typhoid. STARS IN MY CROWN is aptly named, with magnificent, heartfelt performances by a constellation of stars, including McCrea, a young Dean Stockwell, Ellen Drew, Amanda Blake, Ed Begley, Alan Hale and James Mitchell. Tourneur’s rock-steady directorial hand results in a visually rich and emotionally resonant examination of such significant themes as science versus religion, racial tolerance and the true nature of the American character.
"STARS IN MY CROWN is...far off the beaten track of commercial entertainment in the usual sense of that connotation. It is...a refreshing experience that is very personal..." –NEW YORK TIMES
Sept. 23 Sat at 4pm
FREE!
ITVS Community Cinema and Northwest Film Forum Present:
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SESAME STREET
(Linda Goldstein Knowlton & Linda Hawkins Costigan, USA, 2006, BetaSP, 90 min.)
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SESAME STREET reminds us that social change can come from the most unlikely sources, including a team of Muppets. We follow three producers from the Sesame Street Workshop to Bangladesh, Kosovo and South Africa, where they localize the world’s most-watched children’s television program with indig-enous songs, puppets and curricula. The cultural and production challenges they face reflect the complex political struggles of each country. Education is always more than letters and numbers—the contradictions inherent in teaching humane values in a world where AIDS, ethnic genocide and poverty dominate the landscape make this film a must-see for anyone interested in intercultural dialogue.
SEPT 23 Sat at 7, 9pm
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
DAS ALPHORN
(Stefan Schwietert, Germany/Switzerland, 2003, BetaSP, 76 min.)
The alphorn is often misused as a symbol in advertising for Alpine tourism. Stefan Schwietert’s film explores the diversity of music produced by a singular instrument, from the wild “Büchelsätzli” of central Switzerland to jazz musician Hans Kennel performing the modern sound collages of minimalist composer Moondog, from the beautiful traditional alphorn melodies by the contemporary composer Hans-Jürg Sommer to the bombastic towers of tone performed by groups called “hornroh” in train stations and expressway underpasses. In Swiss-German with English subtitles.
SEPT 24 Sun at 7, 9pm
A TICKLE IN THE HEART
(Stefan Schwietert, Germany/Switzerland, 1996, 35mm, 90 min.)
Shot in beautiful black and white, A TICKLE IN THE HEART is a stunning, cinematic documentary depicting the semi–retired lives of The Epstein Brothers, the "Kings of Klezmer Music." For more than 60 years, the brothers played their joyous, sentimental songs at Jewish immigrant celebrations in Brooklyn. Today, they live and continue to play their memory-laden melodies in America’s retirement paradise, Florida. In English and Yiddish with English subtitles.
SEPT 25 Mon at 7, 9pm
OMBRES
(Edna Politti, Switzerland, 1997, 35mm, 107 min.)
A moving meditation on artistic process and performance, OMBRES recounts the development of a violin concerto by the maestro Heinz Holliger in homage to the little-known Swiss painter Louis Soutter. Director Edna Politi juxtaposes the work of these radically different creators in her unique project. The film alternates scenes featuring the refinement of Holliger’s musical composition—highlighted in rehearsal sessions by the impassioned violinist Thomas Zehetmair—with select reproductions from Soutter’s underappreciated oeuvre. The account of Soutter’s tragic life lends OMBRES a somber weight, but the rousing rendition of Holliger’s concerto supplies the film with a hopeful and affirmative finale. In French and German with English subtitles.
SEPT 26 Tues at 7, 9pm
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
IRÈNE SCHWEIZER
(Gitta Gsell, Switzerland, 2005, 35mm, 75 min.)
Swiss pianist Irène Schweizer is a pioneer. For the past 40 years, she has been a fixture of the European free jazz scene, even if she is not as well known as some of her male colleagues. This film offers fascinating insight into the life of a great artist, a life where friendships and relationships always take second place to the music. In Swiss-German, German and English with English subtitles.
SEPT 27 Wed at 7, 9pm
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
NAMIBIA CROSSINGS
(Peter Liechti, Switzerland, 2004, 35mm, 92 min.)
NAMIBIA CROSSINGS chronicles a gathering of the Hambana Sound Company, a troupe comprised of twelve musicians from Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Switzerland. The musicians meet with local Namibian villagers to locate the origins of music. Their search triggers feelings ranging from euphoria to sorrow. Liechti creates a polyphonic emotional landscape from each individual’s highs and lows. In Afrikaans, English and German with English subtitles.
SEPT 28 Thurs at 7, 9pm
STEP ACROSS THE BORDER
(Nicholas Humbert & Werner Penzel, Germany/Switzerland, 1990, 35mm, 90 min.)
British composer, instrumentalist, improviser and performer Fred Frith is an irrepressible and unpredictable pillar of the gray area where rock meets contemporary avant-garde music. From the late sixties, when he formed his first "dada" blues band, through collaborations with John Zorn and The Residents, Frith has dazzled audiences with his playful audacity and inventiveness. Nicholas Humbert and Werner Penzel's globe-trotting documentary offers a startling and poetic fusion of Frith's life that lays bare the spirit and tenacity of his creative process. Humbert and Penzel fuse film and music to create what they call "a film about the symphonic relationship between express trains, storms and electric guitars, which brings together two kindred forms of artistic expression—improvised music and cinema direct." In English and German with English subtitles
SEPT 29-OCT 5 Fri-Thurs at 7, 9pm
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
FREE ZONE
(Amos Gitai, Israel/Belgium/France/Spain, 2005, 35mm, 90 min.)
Actress Natalie Portman teams with Israeli director Amos Gitai to probe the cracked truths of the Middle East in this gripping road movie about three unlikely travel companions: an American, an Israeli and a Palestinian. The film opens with Rebecca (Portman), distraught and eager to leave Jerusalem after splitting with her fiancé, and Hanna (Hanna Laszlo, who garnered a Best Actress award at Cannes), an Israeli taxi driver. Together they head for the Free Zone, a remote site on the Jordanian border where people of all nationalities mingle and everything is for sale. There they encounter a Palestinian named Leila (Hiam Abbass) and continue their journey, with histories of loss and suffering permeating the conversation. In English, Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish with English subtitles.
"The best hope for a constructive dialogue in the Middle East, the movie suggests, may lie in the ability of women from every faction to ignore political and ideological differences and communicate in the ‘free zone’ of their common humanity." –Stephen Holden, NEW YORK TIMES
SEPT 29-OCT 1 Fri-Sun at 7, 9:30pm, (plus Sat & Sun at 2, 4:30pm)
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
(Robert Mulligan, USA, 1962, 35mm, 129 min.)
One of the most beloved and lauded stories in both American literature and film, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD employs unforgettable characters and a gripping plot to bring home a profoundly affecting message about racial prejudice and tolerance in America. Told from a child’s perspective, the film is, by turns, a complex coming-of-age story, a thrilling courtroom drama and a fierce examination of the nature of good and evil. Cinema K is proud to bring this great American film back to the big screen, where it belongs.
"I put everything I had into it—all my feelings and everything I’d learned in 46 years of living, about family life and fathers and children. And my feelings about racial justice and inequality and opportunity." –Gregory Peck on the role of Atticus Finch, BRIGHT LIGHTS FILM JOURNAL
OCT 3-5 Tues-Thurs at 7, 9pm
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE!
Northwest Film Forum and 911 Media Arts present:
ROOM
(Kyle Henry, USA, 2005, BetaSP, 75 min.)
Director Kyle Henry's feature film debut, ROOM, is a unique portrait of a working-class woman's flight from reality. Life's pressures and paranoia threaten to drown Texas housewife Julia, played Cyndi Williams. Between juggling her husband, kids and a dead-end job at a bingo parlor, Julia finds herself increasingly plagued by migraines, suffering blackouts and driven by strange visions to drop everything and embark on a personal quest. After premiering at Sundance and Cannes, ROOM was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards.Director Kyle Henry will be in attendance for the Oct. 5th screenings and will conduct a workshop Saturday Oct. 7th at 911.
"Kyle Henry’s ROOM is one of those rare American indies that confidently and success-fully propose their own narrative logic..." –Ed Halter, VILLAGE VOICE
Friday, Oct. 6 at 7pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
OPENING NIGHT!
World Premiere
FREE ADMISSION
JUNE & JULY
(Brady Hall, Seattle, 2006, 35mm, DVCam, 85min.)
Written and directed by Seattle filmmaker Brady Hall (POLERCHRIST, JERKBEAST), JUNE & JULY turns the 20-something indie film formula on its ear. Lifelong residents of a depressed small town, fraternal twins June (Bernadette Culvo) and July Shauer (Nathan Williams) are inseparable. Sprung into action by the death of their mother, June hatches a plan to leave her brother and the dull rural life, in search of adventure and excitement in the big city. July, unaware of June's plans, continues to enjoy the simplicity his quaint town has to offer. Before announcing her departure, a house party fight exposes June's mysterious supernatural physiology. While searching for the link between her powers and her past, June discovers an old photograph that leads the pair on a road trip that unravels the secrets of their family and its genetic history. Injecting drama with humor and even a bit of science fiction, JUNE & JULY is a bittersweet portrait of an unusual pair of siblings and the story of their divergent paths. Great music supports this beautifully lensed exploration of an enigmatic family history, in what can only be called a unique vision from our region.
Friday, Oct. 6 at 9pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
$7 NWFF Members, $10 General Public
BIG LOCAL SIGHTINGS PARTY
Just past the searchlights and at the end of the red carpet you'll find THE PARTY OF THE YEAR! Join us in kicking off the festival with an evening of food, drink, live music, djs, film projections, and much more!
Saturday, Oct. 7 at 5pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
Special Presentation
THE BEHRENS AND BIAGINI SUPER SHOW
Jon Behrens and Sarah Biagini, two very dynamic experimental filmmakers, show recent film work that demonstrate why they are sought after artists and teachers in the techniques of direct animation and optical printing. Jonas Mekas and Stan Brakhage are just two of the film luminaries that these two channel with their celluloid explorations.
Film include: LIDS OF ALL SORTS (Sarah Biagini, 16mm, 10min.), UNDERCURRENTS (Jon Behrens, 1994, 16mm, 8min.), MEDUSA THINKS I AM UGLY (Sarah Biagini, 2006, 16mm, 12min.), OTTOMAN (Jon Behrens & RK Adams, 2005, 16mm, 5min.), THE ASTRUM ARGENTIUM (Jon Behrens, 2006, 16mm, 6min.), and SIX ARMS - HOMAGE TO MEKAS (Jon Behrens, 2006, 16mm, 3min.)
Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
FREE ADMISSION
GRANITO DE ARENA / GRAIN OF SAND
(Jill Friedberg, Seattle, 2005, BetaSP, 62min.)
For over 20 years, global economic forces have been dismantling public education in Mexico, but always in the constant shadow of popular resistance. GRANITO DE ARENA is the story of that resistance—the story of hundreds of thousands of public schoolteachers whose grassroots, non-violent movement took Mexico by surprise, and who have endured brutal repression in their 25-year struggle for social and economic justice in Mexico's public schools. Award-winning Seattle filmmaker, Jill Freidberg (THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE), spent two years in southern Mexico documenting the efforts of over 100,000 teachers, parents, and students fighting to defend the country's public education system. Freidberg combines footage of strikes and direct actions with 25 years worth of never-before-seen archival images to deliver a compelling and unsettling story of resistance, repression, commitment, and solidarity.
plays with
HOW TO BRING DEMOCRACY TO THE FISH
(Drew Christie, Sammamish, 2006, MiniDV, 2min.)
A satirical interpretation of imperialism and "democracy spreading" under the guises of a How-To video on seafood consumption.
and
AN OKLAHOMA PRIVATE JUST SAYS NO
(Patricia Boiko & Randy Rowland, Seattle, 2005, MiniDV, 8min.)
An Oklahoma private refuses to go back to Iraq when he is on leave in the US. If granted, he and his family will be the first Americans given refugee status in Canada.
Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
FREE ADMISSION
YELLOW
(Nick Peterson, Portland, 16mm>DVCam, 101min.)
The collaboration of filmmaker Nick Peterson and musician Eric Schopmeyer, YELLOW combines the sensibilities of Ernst Lubitsch's Hollywood musicals of the 1930s and the restrained photographic sense of Yasujiro Ozu to create a unique modern musical exploring the complexities of love, sex and relationships. The story follows cynical Natalie (Nora Ryan) and her interactions with new boyfriend Matt (Eric Schopmeyer) and best friend Christian (Nico Izambard). The clever original songs never upstage the film, but rather serve as integral parts of the story. Amazingly, they were recorded live on the set with the musicians accompanying off camera, lending a naturalness to the performances and transitions. Shot and edited completely on film, YELLOW's daring artistic approach makes the indie musical one of the most original features to come out of Portland in recent years.
plays with
HAND OF BRIDGE
(Curtis Taylor, Seattle, 2006, 16mm>BetaSP, 11min.)
An adaptation of the 1959 Samuel Barber/Gian Carlo Menotti comic chamber opera. Two married couples enjoying the comforts of post-war "Gracious Living" settle in to their nightly bridge game, and what lies beneath the shellac is revealed in four short set-pieces as each character reveals in turn what truly captivates their heart.
Saturday, Oct. 7 at 9-11pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
FESTIVAL LOUNGE
A celebration of Portland filmmaking and welcoming of the festival's visiting Portland filmmakers. (Immediately follows the 7pm screening of YELLOW.)
Saturday, Oct. 7 at 9:30pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
Shorts
1:1 PERSONAL CINEMA
With traditional investigative prowess and very atypical story-telling techniques, this program of documentaries and exploratory films gives viewers a peak inside the lives of some very unique people.
IT'S NOT ALL TRUE
(Wayne Blackwelder, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 5min.)
A Japanese woman reflects on her asthmatic childhood. Set in Tokyo, the story reveals a woman searching for memory and pondering the future of her infant daughter, never finding facts, but finding beauty in ambiguity, instead.
HAND GUNS
(Malayka Gormally, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 8min.)
A quasi-documentary about the paradoxical pleasure that people take in playing "guns" despite the ramifications of gun violence. Children to senior citizens mimic shooting a gun with their hands, their voices providing the soundtrack.
DIESEL ENGINE
(Dayna Hanson, Seattle, 2006, MiniDV, 7min.)
Dressed as Gena Rowlands from John Cassavetes' OPENING NIGHT, Dayna Hanson dramatizes a quest for waste vegetable oil to fuel her 1980 Mercedes but is halted by a disapproving postman and a dreamily eccentric dance interlude.
USHTANKA, THE MAMA STORY
(Linas Phillips, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 40min.)
A CRACK IN THE SIDEWALK
(Kris Kristensen, Seattle, 2006, BetaSP, 10min.)
Bryan Harvey, frontman of the 80's rock-duo House Of Freaks, was brutally murdered along with his family. To most of the world this was simply a sensational headline, but for those who treasured Harvey's music, a part of themselves was extinguished.
Saturday, Oct. 7 at 11:30pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
Shorts
DEAD WOOD: FARMS, BARNS AND COPULATING PUPPETS
How many horrific ways can a person come face to face with their mortality? This collection of late night shorts may just answer that question as it teases you with suspense until it attacks your eyes with scenes of spine-tingling terror!
YELLOW
(Semih Tareen, Seattle, 2006, MiniDV, 7min.)
A romantic evening turns fatal. Dedicated to filmmaker Mario Bava, YELLOW is an homage to giallo; a genre of Italian horror/crime films from the 1960's.
THE COPULATING MERMAID OF VENICE, CA
(Joe Plotts & Adam Ende, Seattle, 2006, MiniDV, 16min.)
A Bunraku puppet video which explores the tragic comedic aspects of male desire within the framework of a short story by Charles Bukowski.
TERROR
(Matt Levinthal, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 1min.)
A film about architectural paranoia.
WHAT'S IN THE BARN?
(Mike Corrigan, Travis Hiibner, Derrick King & Gary McLeod, Spokane, 2006, DVD, 30min.)
A young girl living on a remote farm is menaced by a traveling preacher with sinister intentions. Yet it's not immediately apparent where the true menace lies. And furthermore, what's the deal with that barn?
DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF PANCAKES
(Tyson James Theroux, Seattle, 2006, MiniDV, 18min.)
Four irresponsible teenagers out past curfew (!) on prom night (!) find themselves in a nightmarish netherworld when they decide to explore a decrepit old roadside eatery. With the help of collaborator Jason Gutz, actors, sets and props were prepared to create a false-positive result.
LITTLE FARM
(Calvin Reeder, Seattle, 2006, DVCam, 8min.)
A family moves to a small farm for a fresh start, things change for them.
Sunday, Oct. 8 at 3pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
TEACHINGS OF THE TREE PEOPLE: THE WORK OF BRUCE MILLER
(Katie Jennings, Bainbridge Is., 2005, DVCam, 58min.)
Nationally acclaimed artist and Skokomish tribal leader Gerald Bruce Miller (subiyay), who passed away shortly after completion of the film, interpreted the sacred teachings of the natural world for anyone who wanted to learn. A passionate student of traditional culture, Bruce became the bearer of the language, oral history, art, and spirituality of the tuwaduq (Twana) of Hood Canal. This gentle and generous film documents his race against time and ailing health to pass his knowledge on to the next generation. The four-part seasonal structure, gradually unfolding narrative, and currents of deep emotion make TEACHINGS OF THE TREE PEOPLE a poignant walk through Native American Country.
Sunday, Oct. 8 at 5pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
Special Presentation
TEEN VOICES: HIGH SCHOOL SHOWCASE
Following the success of last year's inaugural showcase, we are proud to present another collection of local High School films. Some of the best, recent high school student work in narrative, documentary, animation, music video, and experimental/art film will be presented. Whether working in video or film; doing traditional animation; or using software like Final Cut Pro, Premiere, Motion, After Effects, Shake, or Maya, high school students are exhibiting some exceptional skills and imagination. Come see what's incubating in Seattle's extended arts community!
Sunday, Oct. 8 at 7pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
FREE ADMISSION
THE FRENCH GUY
(Anne Marie Fleming, Vancouver, 2005, 35mm, 82min.)
Think Baby Jane on Prozac. Graceful movement and composition and much playful surrealism create a light-hearted, comedy in THE FRENCH GUY. Elizabeth Murray (Babz Chula, SEVEN TIMES LUCKY) has just been released from the hospital after surgery on the very same day. It's all carpe diem for her! When she comes across a suicidal jingle writer (Tygh Runyan, EMELIE) on the beach she springs into action. But it seems that Elizabeth might have been discharged a bit too early, especially after a head operation. Her wound is seeping, her perceptions are altered and her allergies are extreme. The deadly combination of her attempts to control her environs while simultaneously helping others only end in chaos, murder and feverish mopping. And all the time, the French guy next door is trying to finish his masterpiece. Vancouver's Ann Marie Fleming (THE MAGICAL LIFE OF LONG TACK SAM) gives us a wonderfully absurdist comedy of errors.
plays with
WHY THE ANDERSON CHILDREN DIDN'T COME TO DINNER
(Jamie Travis, Vancouver, 2006, 17min.)
Things are a bit off at the Anderson home. Matriarch Maud devotes her days to filling the stomachs of her little ones, Chester, Eliza and Godfrey. Until today. As Maud prepares the dinner her children will never forget, they employ their queer preoccupations for a communal objective - their undeniable, unprecedented and completely heroic absence from dinner.
Sunday, Oct. 8 at 7pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
PANEL DISCUSSION
FREE ADMISSION
IS THERE A NORTHWEST AESTHETIC?
A discussion exploring connections among recent Northwest films and posing the question: What is the Northwest sensibility?
Moderated by Peter Lucas (Northwest Film Forum, SIFF), Panelists include Charles Mudede (The Stranger, co-writer POLICE BEAT), Megan Griffiths (cinematographer URBAN SCARECROW) and others TBA
Sunday, Oct. 8 at 9-11pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
FESTIVAL LOUNGE
An open saloon for filmmakers, programmers and festival-goers immediately following the Northwest Sensibility panel discussion.
Sunday, Oct. 8 at 9:30pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
Special Presentation
EYES AND EARS VLADMASTER
A catastrophic collision of sound and light sets the cinema aflame as filmmakers show experimental work accompanied by some seriously loud music by Seattle's Ear Venom and Olympia's Blood Clot. Tonight features Portland artist Vladimir as she makes a rare Seattle appearance for a live performance of one of her Vladmasters. Vladimir has been hand-making and selling her own Vladmaster disks since May of 2003. In April of 2004 she debuted her first performance of the Lucifugia Thigmotaxis Vladmaster set at the Portland Documentary and Experimental (PDX) Film Festival where she was crowned the World Champion of Experimental Film. Recently, she managed to grab that title two years running, debuting ACTAEON at Home at the 2005 PDX Film Festival.
Screenings include: VIDEO FEEDBACK (Terry Newberg, Bellingham), THE BIRDS AND THE BEES SUITE (Eric Ostrowski, Seattle, 2006, 16mm, 8min.), QUADRANT (Jason Gutz, Tacoma, Super 8, 5min.), ANGRY FLOWER (Kevin Jacobs, Super 8, 5min), THE TURTLE SHELL (Doug Lane, Seattle, Super 8, 3min.), CELLO AND ABSTRACT SLIDESHOW (Derek Johnson, Olympia), ELSEWHERE (Luke Sieczek, Seattle, 2005, 16mm, 6min.), and VLADMASTER: HANDMADE VIEWMASTER PERFORMANCE (Vladimir, Portland, Viewmaster, 10min.)
Monday, Oct. 9 at 7pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
A Northwest Historic Presentation
FREE ADMISSION
BEACON HILL BOYS
(Dean Hayasaka, Ken Mochizuki & William Satake Blauvelt, Seattle, 1985, 16mm, 43min.)
Looking to break the stereotypes of Asian American representation in films, Ken Mochizuki, William Satake Blauvelt, and Dean Hayasaka, crafted a heroic film based on Mochizuki's then unfinished novel (which has since become a classic of Asian American literature). BEACON HILL BOYS, shot in 1985, tells the bittersweet stories of a quartet of aimless just-out-of-high-school kids coming of age in the early 70s. Cruising the nighttime streets of Beacon Hill, the Rainier Valley, and the International District in classic muscle cars blaring power soul music (Tower of Power, War, Marvin Gaye), hanging out at the Imperial Lanes and burger joints, getting high, looking for girls, love and direction, BEACON HILL BOYS not only documents a disappeared Seattle, but puts an illuminating lens to the hopes and dreams of a generation of Asian Americans. BEACON HILL BOYS played at (the now unused) Nippon Kan Theater in 1985. It became a critical success at a number of Asian American film festivals and then, sadly, fell into obscurity. NWFF is proud to revive this truly lost gem of Seattle film history.
Monday, Oct. 9 at 7pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
FREE ADMISSION
URBAN SCARECROW
(Brady Hall, Seattle, 2006, 35mm>DVCam, 85min.)
Set in a landscape of cracked pavement, broken signs and abandoned buildings, director Andrew McAllister's URBAN SCARECROW is a poetic portrait of life in limbo. Teenager Wesley (Peter Richards) and his father Frank (Charles Leggett) live in a run-down motel amidst the bleak urban ruin of Seattle's Highway 99. The two have never recovered from the death of Wesley's mother, and have only their imaginations to combat loneliness, fear and boredom. Restless Wesley searches for treasure in a world of junk, while Frank hopelessly clings to the dream of a career as a stand up comedian. The arrival of new neighbor Vicki (Debra Pralle) and her young daughter brings a ray of light into their world, but Wesley's thoughts are further and further away each day. Megan Griffith's cinematography and Ben McAllister's music help to create a unique cinematic sense of life adrift for the bittersweet story of two displaced dreamers.
plays with
MAGNETIZED
(Lynn Shelton, Seattle, 2006, 35mm, 3.min.)
A haunting love song featuring ghosts, birds and white spider stars. Laura Veirs sings her poetic ode to the poignancy of romantic entanglement while being entrapped, swarmed and crawled over by three ethereal dancers.
Monday, Oct. 9 at 9-11pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
FESTIVAL LOUNGE
Scott K. James (The Now Device, Oscillate) hosts an evening of electronic music and video projections by Northwest artists.
Monday, Oct. 9 at 9pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
Shorts
LEAPS AND BOUNDS
This program presents short films that search out the boundaries of cinematic convention and leaps well beyond them. All kinds of innovative techniques and approaches are explored among these films as they sing to your eyes and obfuscate your mind.
HOW TO DRAW CLOUDS
(Salise Hughes, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 2min.)
A humorous attempt to pin down a speeding cloud, HTDC is a nod to the how-to-make-art educational films and a poetic meditation on the desire to make permanent what is ephemeral.
THE COWBOY SONG
(Rick McIntire, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 3min.)
THE COWBOY SONG was edited out of a larger film, YAMABUSHI, a sci-fi horror with yugen-driven characters containing comedy, ghosts, pop music, comic book colors, mathematics and haute couture.
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
(SJ Chiro, Seattle, 2006, BetaSP, 11min.)
A pregnant woman�s anxiety dream unveils the seemingly familiar story of Little Red Riding Hood. But this time, don't talk to strangers, isn't enough!
THE DEAD LOVERS BENEVOLENT RETURN
(Tyson Theroux, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 22min.)
A macabre fable considering the issues of loves lost, long sufferings, and missed opportunities. DLBR is the cinematic interpretation of an Italian Giallo/horror soundtrack recorded by Portland based composer Nathaniel Chace Ashley.
YOUR LIGHTS ARE OUT OR BURNING BADLY
(Gaelen Hanson, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 9min.)
By Seattle-based director and choreographer Gaelen Hanson, the film features an emotionally charged solo dance performed by Hanson with music by Seattle band KINSKI.
MUSICAL OFFERING
(Nick Peterson, Portland, 2006, DVCam, 7min.)
Inspired by Anton Webern's famed 1935 arrangement of a fugue for 6 voices from Bach's Musical Offering, a succession of horizontal tracking shots mimic Webern's acute mapping of different instruments to the same melody lines.
MZUNGUZUNGU
(Grant Robinson, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 7min.)
As a compilation of field recordings and Super-8 footage taken during a two-month stay in and around Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, MZUNGUZUNGU's title is derived from the Kiswahili words "mzungu" ("white person") and "zunguzungu" ("dizzy").
SKULL AND BLACKBERRIES
(Eric Ostrowski, Seattle, 2006, 16mm, 4min.)
A sequence of contact nature prints of blackberries, introduced by a band of Archie McPhee's pirates.
FORCEFIELDS
(Christian Palmer, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 5min.)
A story describing one man's awkward attempt at re-entering his social circle after a long period of self-imposed exile. His plan is sabotaged by the persistence of his attraction to the one person he has vowed to avoid.p>
COBURN
(Anton Bogaty, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 6min.)
Old man Coburn's lonely life is abruptly interrupted when the batteries in his TV's remote control die. Only then is he forced to venture beyond the safety of his apartment into the night with tragic results.
CHRONICLES OF A PROFESSIONAL EULOGIST FIELD REPORT NO. 3
(Sarah Jane Lapp, 2006, 7min.)
This film uses hand-drawn animation, live action photography, and audio interviews with clergy to explore the role of those who minister to the soul and manage the inflections of individual and communal sentimentality within the process of creating and sustaining social memory.
SHAVE
(Craig Downing, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 1.5min.)
A short film about an intimate conversation.
SPIRIT HOUSE
(Robert Millis, Seattle, 2005, 4min.)
SPIRIT HOUSE is a short impressionistic look at Thai Spirit Houses, with music by Climax Golden Twins. Spirit houses commemorate the dead and are said to be the abodes of departed loved ones, relatives and guardian spirits.
BUT SOFT
(Britta Johnson, Seattle, 2006, 35mm, 2min.)
Produced with NWFF's Signature Shorts program, BUT SOFT is a stop-motion animated film that uses bras and lace as the raw material to portray a group of birds mysteriously entering and exiting through a bedroom window.
Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 6:30pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
Special Presentation
FREE ADMISSION
FREAK LIKE ME: SCREENPLAY READING
Destiny is the first kid to ever run away from the circus, but can she ever fully escape the geeks, the glamour, and the greasepaint? Destiny dreams of being normal, but can she deny how truly special she is? Can anyone deny their own secret identity?
Winda Benedetti unveils her charming, comic fable in an exclusive staged presentation of FREAK LIKE ME, winner of this year's Washington State Screenplay Competition. Winda's script is inspired by her short film, GEEK LIKE ME, directed by John Vechey, that proved an audience favorite on the festival circuit. FREAK LIKE ME will be performed by an A-list cast. The reading will be followed by a post-show discussion with the author.
Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 7pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
PANEL DISCUSSION
Presented by Artist Trust
FREE ADMISSION
SHOW US THE MONEY!
Making an independent film is an expensive undertaking. Raising the necessary funds to bring an artistic vision to the silver screen requires tenacity, persistence and a little bit of luck not too dissimilar from the creative process itself. Join us for an evening of engaging dialogue with a panel of local filmmakers. They will share stories of how they secured money from a variety of sources - grants, donations, and other innovative fundraising efforts. A reception with beverages and light snacks will follow.
Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 9-11pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
FESTIVAL LOUNGE
Non-profit arts funding organization Artist Trust hosts an evening in the lounge saluting the many artists included in the festival they have supported. Follows the Funding/Distribution panel.
Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 9:30pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
Shorts
DOCS WITH A VIEW
With these four documentaries (and one fictional documentary) we discover how the interests and circumstances that people face can create entire realities that co-exist with our own familiar view of the world.
TIENTSIN DIARIES
(Serge Gregory, Seattle, 2006, MiniDV, 31min.)
TIENTSIN DIARIES is a fictional documentary about the courtship of Misha and Natasha, whose Oriental idyll begins to unravel with the outbreak of WWII. Using actors, family photographs and newsreels, the film recreates the lost world of Russian exiles against the backdrop of the disintegration of pre-revolutionary China.
AIR
(Patti Sakurai, Portland, 2005, DVD, 5min.)
AIR is the filmmaker's response to anti-Asian remarks of two New Jersey DJs in the spring of 2005. Shot on Super 8, the film also points to the importance of alternative media by using audio from APA Compass, an Asian Pacific American monthly radio program on KBOO 90.7FM in Portland.
RC DRIVER
(Sophia Betz, Seattle, 2005, DVD, 18min.)
Competitors vie for the title of World Champion in the World Finals of Radio Control Monster Truck Racing.
AVE RATS
(Clinton Carucci, Ian MacKagan & Mixtli Zavaleta, Seattle, 2006, MiniDV, 6min.)
Giving voice to one of Seattle's most misunderstood and marginalized communities, homeless youth, Ballard High School students present a fresh, unsentimental approach to this important topic.
AQUARIUM KIDS
(Wes Kim, Seattle, 2006, DVCam, 10min.)
Every Sunday, three high school interns. Sam, Shun and Savy, come to the Seattle Aquarium to help clean the exhibit tanks and feed the animals. They all come from families with roots in Asia, but their unique personalities and life histories illustrate the diversity within the Asian American community, a diversity that in turn enriches the lives of the aquarium's staff and visitors.
Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 7pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
FREE ADMISSION
APART FROM THAT
(Randy Walker & Jennifer Shainin, Mount Vernon, 2006, BetaSP, 120 min)
APART FROM THAT is about how everyone wants to be liked. How people will go to any length to be accepted, and how denial and unmet expectations play a part. In this character-driven drama/comedy, the little moments and everyday lives surrounding three sets of strangers living in the Pacific Northwest coalesce into an examination of this human desire to belong. One story follows the path of Ulla, an introverted student beautician who rents a room in the home of Peggy, an elderly exhibitionist who has made a habit out of placing false phone calls to local fire departments. The second story is that of Leo, a Native American striper for the department of transportation who is in constant search for any distraction that might allow him to forget that his best friend is dying. Running concurrently with these stories is the tale of Sam, a Vietnamese banker who must make a decision at the office that initiates a seemingly irreconcilable divide between himself and his adopted American son. The common thread that binds these stories together is the emotional landscape that silently governs them all. It's an honest look at human vulnerability and the similarities between very different people.
Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 9:30pm
NWFF'S 9TH ANNUAL LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL
Shorts
COLLECTED STORIES
You will experience life's full range of emotions by witnessing this collection of fictional short films. Comical films portray showdowns between protagonists with a new-found reason for being against mythical foes and surly cyclists, while dramatic films present challenges that force characters to commit to their convictions.
KITE FLYERS
(Carlos Lopez, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 9min.)
Three life-long friends are confronted by a belligerent giant and find out, the hard way, that there is more to life than flying kites.
DEATH AND A SALESMAN
(Joe Shapiro & Andy McCone, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 6min.)
A visit by the Angel of Death prompts one man to try and reform himself.
FREE PARKING
(Laura Jean Cronin, Seattle, 2006, 16mm>BetaSP, 10min.)
The subtle difference between love and power is explored when two sisters, Janet, 10, and Shannon, 5, are sent to pick blackberries and the eldest turns the field into a monopoly game.
OMELET
(Cuneyt Havlioglu & Serkan Kutan, Seattle, 2005, DVD, 20min.)
Romance drops out of a three-story window and lands on the protagonists' heads. OMELET is a romantic comedy about two people's paths crossing without their awareness, and yet they affect each other's lives in absurd ways.
CIRCLED WAGONS
(Nathan Williams, Seattle, 2005, DVD, 7min.)
Somewhere in Tennessee, 2004—an examination of loyalty, commitment, and the sense of watching the train move by without you.
BLACK, WHITE AND RED ALL OVER
(Amanda Becker, Seattle, 2005, DVD, 10min.)
A priest and his three clergy men embark on a night of cocktails, resolutions, and re-confirmation.
MINARET
(Matthew Cibelli, Seattle, 2006, DVD, 11min.)
In a touching and winding tale, a woman struggles to fulfill a grim promise. Can she find the strength to see the task through, or will she miss her last opportunity for connection?
ANAELLE
(Stefan Gruber, Seattle, 2006, 35mm, 3min.)
ANAELLE, a Flash animated film, is narrated by the filmmaker as he describes an experience of bonding with a young girl despite the barrier of speaking different languages. Vivid color fields and dreamy movement enhance the film's magical conclusion as the pair share a unique encounter with ladybugs.
MANQUER
(Matt Daniels, Seattle, 2006, DVD)
On Alain's 10th birthday he is given Suzette, the bicycle that carried his father to 12 Tour de France victories. Robert Henri, a notorious Tour de France loser, thinks that by stealing Suzette he may finally have a chance at victory. This is a stop-motion story about love, loss, and the journey to reunite two friends.
OCT 13-19 Fri-Thurs at 7, 9:30pm
LUNACY
(Jan Svankmajer, Czech Republic/Slovakia, 2005, 35mm, 118 min.)
The latest production from legendary Czech surrealist Jan Svankmajer (LITTLE OTIK) loosely adapts the writings of the Marquis de Sade and Edgar Allan Poe to create a forceful black comedy about social perceptions of freedom and mental illness while lashing out at institutional manipulation and the extent of what people accept as good or evil. Coming from Svankmajer, it should be no surprise that these issues are occasionally addressed with stop-motion animated pig brains, cow eyes and slabs of rotting meat. In Czech with English subtitles.
"Shot through with the Czech director's customary black humor, and...punctuated by some cheerfully gruesome animation...It’s a fully formed film which transcends polemic by an intelligent use of the imagination." –HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
OCT 14 Sat at 4pm
FREE!
DEMOCRACY ON DEADLINE: The Global Struggle for an Independent Press
(Calvin Skaggs, USA, 2006, BetaSP, 90 min.)
ITVS Community Cinema and Northwest Film Forum Present:
Does a free press make a free society? DEMOCRACY ON DEADLINE shadows journalists and champions of independent media as they work to make—and keep—their societies free in Afghanistan, Israel, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Sierra Leone and the United States. Free admission.
OCT 17-22 Tues-Sun
See www.seattlequeerfilm.com/06/index.html for more information about the 2006 festival.
SEATTLE LESBIAN AND GAY FILM FESTIVAL
It's the largest queer film event in the Pacific Northwest! The Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival brings you ten days of the best queer films and videos from across the globe. This year the festival will screen more than 65 local films, narrative features, documentaries, and short films, and will include special presentations with visiting filmmakers and producers. Come out to the movies and join us at the best queer parties of the year. See seattlequeerfilm.com for more information.
OCT 24 Tues at 8pm
NWFF AND THIRD EYE CINEMA PRESENT:
COLEMAN MILLER: Sprocketholes Edge #'s Framelines
(Coleman Miller, USA, 1982-2005, 87 min.)
By manipulating found footage, filmmaker Coleman Miller has created a body of work that turns the medium of film back upon itself. Miller's films have screened at numerous festivals including Sundance, Ann Arbor, Black Maria, Athens, Rotterdam, Edinburgh and many more. This retrospective features eleven works made over the past 24 years, including single-take films, inspirations, and nods to Bruce Conner and Martin Arnold, commissioned shorts for Craig Baldwin and Lollapalooza, and other miscellaneous found footage edited for our entertainment. We conclude the program with Miller’s most recent award-winning film, USO JUSTO, an existential comedy about a small town thrown into turmoil when an experimental filmmaker decides to shoot his next film there.
"Coleman Miller is destined for admiration and great poverty." –Isabella Rossellini
OCT 20-26 Fri at 8pm Sat-Thurs at 7, 9pm (plus Sat at 3, 11pm and Sun at 3pm)
GREEN GREATNESS: THE BEST OF GUMBY, POKEY AND ART CLOKEY
NEWLY RESTORED!
GUMBY 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Sponsored by: Izilla Toys and KBCS 91.3 FM
(Art Clokey, USA, 91 min.)
For 50 years, Gumby has been the small green clay conduit to the mind-boggling skill and creative spirit of pioneering animator Art Clokey. This 50th Anniversary celebration of Clokey’s work features a walk through the decades with beloved animated characters Gumby, Pokey, the Blockheads, Groobee, and Davey and Goliath as well as other early, rarely seen works by Clokey, including GUMBASIA—arguably the first music video—television commercials from the 1950s, and the magnificent 1977 art film MANDALA. This program will amuse the whole family and offer awe-inspiring revelations to anyone passionate about the art and history of animation. Join us for our special opening night celebration featuring a post-film Q&A session with Joe Clokey, who is carrying on his father’s work by introducing Gumby to a new generation, Al Eggleston, GUMBY’s original art director in the 1950s, and Bill Webb, Art Clokey’s collaborator and best friend since childhood.
OCT 22 Sun 12-3pm
Claymation workshop for kids taught by Seattle animator Web Crowell.
OCT 21-22 Sat-Sun at 5pm
NEWLY RESTORED!
GUMBY 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Sponsored by: Izilla Toys and KBCS 91.3 FM
GUMBY DHARMA
(Robina Marchesi, USA, 2005, BetaSP, 72 min.)
You'll never see Gumby in quite the same way again after viewing this insightful film about his creator. The life and times of pioneering animator Art Clokey are explored in this new documentary, which features fascinating interviews with Art as well as a host of other figures in the animation field. Clips of Art's groundbreaking work, including his art film MANDALA and early Gumby and Davey and Goliath episodes, are given deep context through a comprehensive biographical portrait that includes accounts of painful personal tragedies and a spiritual quest helped Art shape the indestructible character of Gumby himself. It is only appropriate that GUMBY DHARMA also features new stop motion work (directed/animated by Academy Award© Nominee Timothy Hittle) depicting interviews with Gumby and some of the gang on their time with Art Clokey.
OCT 26-29 Thurs-Sun at 7pm
EARSHOT JAZZ FILMS
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
PARIS BLUES
(Martin Ritt, USA, 1961, 35mm, 98 min.)
Sponsored by KEXP, Easy Street Records and Earshot Jazz
Director Martin Ritt's ambitious 1961 film stars Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier as American jazz musicians living in Paris. The arrival of American tourists Diahann Carroll and Joanne Woodward sparks romance, but also brings to the surface issues of race, freedom, relationships and dedication to one's art. Seeing the talented (and attractive) stars in early roles is a treat, and the film is beautifully lensed by legendary French cinematographer Christian Matras (LA GRANDE ILLUSION). However, the real star here is the music, with an unforgettable performance by Louis Armstrong and one of only three feature film scores composed by the great Duke Ellington. Written in an especially prolific period, Sir Duke's Oscar-nominated score uses both small bands and a large orchestra. PARIS BLUES is rarely screened and not available on DVD. We're pleased to present a beautiful 35mm print for this special engagement celebrating the film's 45th anniversary.
"An extraordinary score...glittering with beautiful melodies and graceful interludes." _Peter Watrous, NEW YORK TIMES
OCT 26 Thurs at 9pm
EARSHOT JAZZ FILMS
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
JAZZ TRANSMISSIONS
Sponsored by KEXP, Easy Street Records and Earshot Jazz
Join us for a special selection of rarely screened jazz performances culled from 1960s' American and European TV programs. Televised performances of the era, shot with multiple cameras in controlled settings, remain some of the best surviving footage of our greatest jazz masters in action. Just as these transmissions brought great artists into living rooms more than four decades ago, they transform our cinema for one night into an intimate all-star concert featuring Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Eric Dolphy, Wes Montgomery and many others.
OCT 27-NOV 2 Fri-Thurs at 7pm, 9:30pm
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
THE BRIDESMAID
THE NEW THRILLER FROM CLAUDE CHABROL
(Claude Chabrol, France/Germany/Italy, 2004, 35mm, 111 min.)
Famed French filmmaker Claude Chabrol directs this masterful mysterious, romantic thriller about passion and secrets. It’s love at first sight when bridesmaid Senta falls into the life of handsome young Philippe at the wedding of his younger sister. Philippe soon discovers that Senta’s life is shrouded in mystery and violence, and the stories surrounding her past are anything but believable. When Senta asks him to compromise his morals to prove his love for her, he must decide how far he will go to keep their love intact. In French with English subtitles.
"Skillfully adapted from a Ruth Rendell novel and set in a provincial French town, THE BRIDESMAID is a slyly enjoyable thriller with echoes of Hitchcock’s STRANGERS ON A TRAIN." –BBC
OCT 27-30 Fri-Mon at 9pm
EARSHOT JAZZ FILMS
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
CECIL TAYLOR: ALL THE NOTES
(Chris Felver, USA, 2004, BetaSP, 71 min.)
Sponsored by KEXP, Easy Street Records and Earshot Jazz
Filmmaker Christopher Felver gets up close and personal with the larger-than-life free jazz innovator, pianist Cecil Taylor. ALL THE NOTES is an intimate portrait of the artist, providing rare insight into his unique music and its deep intellectual underpinnings. We find Taylor at work and at play in his Brooklyn home, in live performances, at teaching gigs in California, and in a backstage meeting with old friend Mal Waldron. The film also includes interviews with Elvin Jones and several poets. Taylor's performances and pronouncements on life, art and music are revelatory.
OCT 28-30 Sat at 5pm; Sun at 3pm, Mon at 7pm
EARSHOT JAZZ FILMS
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
'TIS AUTUMN: THE SEARCH FOR JACKIE PARIS
(Raymond De Felitta, USA, 2006, BetaSP, 100 min.)
Sponsored by KEXP, Easy Street Records and Earshot Jazz
Jackie Paris exploded onto the New York scene in the 1940s and quickly became the favorite vocalist of such jazz greats as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk. So why is it that this singing sensation is today only an obscure side-note in jazz history, if remembered at all? Director Raymond De Felitta unearths Paris' glorious art and the mysteries of his enigmatic career and complex past. Producer David Zellerford scheduled to attend.
"Magnificent and moving...essential viewing for jazz fans." -Robert Koehler, VARIETY
OCT 28-29 Sat at 3pm, Sun at 5pm
EARSHOT JAZZ FILMS
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
MUSIC IS MY LIFE, POLITICS IS MY MISTRESS
(donnie l. betts, USA, 2005, BetaSP, 110 min.)
Sponsored by KEXP, Easy Street Records and Earshot Jazz
This new documentary celebrates the life and work of Oscar Brown, Jr., the legendary Chicago-born jazz singer, songwriter, poet, playwright and political activist who passed away last year. Known for his distinctive humor and socially conscious works, Brown composed more than one thousand songs, wrote over a dozen stage shows, shared bills with the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and John Coltrane, and hosted the television series JAZZ SCENE USA. Interviews with Brown himself as well as friends and colleagues are mixed with recordings, photos and archival film footage for a compelling portrait of the often overlooked artist. Director donnie l. betts scheduled to attend.
"Sets the record straight, eloquently summing up Brown's enormous achievements while capturing the man's wizardry." -Howard Reich, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
OCT 31, Pick up at 8pm
24-HOUR FILM CHALLENGE: CURIOSITIES
If you yelled for eight years, seven months and six days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. If you farted constantly for six years and nine months, your gas emissions would equal the energy of an atomic bomb. So what happens when you give Seattle filmmakers more than they bargained for in less time than they need? You have entered the zone of the 24-HOUR FILM CHALLENGE, a thematic kick in the pants for the local filmmaking community! We took the lead from a month that offered us both Friday the 13th and Halloween to deliver CURIOSITIES. Stop on down, camera in hand, October 13th for this special celebration of all things weird. We'll give you the rules and one request: to return October 14, bleary eyed and a more well-honed filmmaker to boot. Ticketed screening Halloween, OCT 31st at 8pm!
NOV 3-5 Fri-Sun at 7, 8:30, 10pm
LET'S ALL MAKE LOVE IN LONDON: THE FILMS OF PETER WHITEHEAD
TONITE LET'S ALL MAKE LOVE IN LONDON
(Peter Whitehead, United Kingdom, 1967, BetaSP, 70 min.)
Sponsored by KEXP and Easy Street Records
The definitive document of Swinging London! One of the few filmmakers trusted within the perfumed gardens of 1960s Britain's music and art scene, Whitehead used his unparalleled access to capture a historic pop culture moment in a kaleidoscopic film. With contributions from the likes of Mick Jagger, Michael Caine, Julie Christie, Lee Marvin and David Hockney, TONITE presents a dazzling and intimate record from the very core of the in-crowd and includes music by Pink Floyd, among many others. "Not a documentary in any ordinary sense," wrote VARIETY, "but rather an impressionistic view of the 'land of mod' as seen by a sympathetic participant."
NOV 4-5 Sat-Sun at 3, 5pm
LET'S ALL MAKE LOVE IN LONDON: THE FILMS OF PETER WHITEHEAD
THE BEACH BOYS IN LONDON
(Peter Whitehead, United Kingdom, 1967, BetaSP, 30 min.)
Sponsored by KEXP and Easy Street Records
Whitehead's rare document of the Beach Boys' 1966 UK Tour. The film features The Beach Boys at their peak; Brian Wilson stayed in Los Angeles to finish recording SMILE, leaving the band to fly to London by popular demand.
Plays with
PINK FLOYD, LONDON '66-'67
(Peter Whitehead, United Kingdom, 1967, BetaSP, 30 min.)
A record of Pink Floyd's recording sessions for the TONITE soundtrack, PINK FLOYD features footage of the band (then helmed by soon-to-vanish Syd Barrett) playing in the studio, at the UFO Club, and at the "14 Hour Technicolor Dream" happening at London's Alexandra Palace, an event that included a performance by Yoko Ono (John Lennon watched from the audience).
NOV 6 Mon at 7, 9pm
LET'S ALL MAKE LOVE IN LONDON: THE FILMS OF PETER WHITEHEAD
WHOLLY COMMUNION
(Peter Whitehead, United Kingdom, 1965, BetaSP, 33 min.)
Sponsored by KEXP and Easy Street Records
The documentary that effectively launched Whitehead's career, WHOLLY COMMUNION captures the historic first meeting of American and British Beat poets at Royal Albert Hall on June 11, 1965. An audience of 7,000 witnessed live readings by prominent poets Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso and Adrian Mitchell.
Plays with
THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT
(Peter Whitehead, United Kingdom, 1967, BetaSP, 65 min.)
Peter Brook directs the Royal Shakespeare Company in US, a semi-improvised work protesting England's unseen and unacknowledged role in the Vietnam War. Containing sequences at public meetings and interviews with the actors (including Glenda Jackson) and Brook himself, the film is an agit-prop time capsule that has gone virtually unseen in this country since its premiere at the New York Film Festival in 1967.
"For Americans interested in current theatrical trends [THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT] could be a must, since it's their only current opportunity to see one of the most adventuresome and controversial stage productions of the last few years." -VARIETY
NOV 7 Tues. at 7, 9pm
LET'S ALL MAKE LOVE IN LONDON: THE FILMS OF PETER WHITEHEAD
DADDY
(Peter Whitehead, France/United Kingdom, 1973, BetaSP, 90 min.)
Sponsored by KEXP and Easy Street Records
One of Whitehead's few out-right fictions, DADDY began as a documentary about French sculptress Niki de St. Phalle and ended up as a fantasy about a woman's attempts to exorcise the influence of her sexually domineering father. Alternately gothic and surreal, the film follows protagonists de St. Phalle and Mia Martin acting out their fantasies on unfortunate patriarch Rainer von Diez in a kind of "let's get daddy" charade.
NOV 8 Wed at 7, 9pm
LET'S ALL MAKE LOVE IN LONDON: THE FILMS OF PETER WHITEHEAD
FIRE IN THE WATER
(Peter Whitehead, United Kingdom, 1977, BetaSP, 90 min.)
Sponsored by KEXP and Easy Street Records
Set in the Scottish highlands, FIRE IN THE WATER is an alchemical allegory in which a filmmaker edits a documentary and reflects on his career while his girlfriend roams the countryside alone. The documentary-within-the-film includes appearances by Allen Ginsberg, David Hockney and John Lennon, and the film features music by The Animals, The Who and Jimi Hendrix.
NOV 9-10 Thurs-Fri at 7, 9:30pm
LET'S ALL MAKE LOVE IN LONDON: THE FILMS OF PETER WHITEHEAD
POP FILMS
(Peter Whitehead, United Kingdom, 1966-69, BetaSP, 120 min.)
Sponsored by KEXP and Easy Street Records
Whitehead's work with the Small Faces, The Beach Boys and Nico was the very inception of the artful, experimental and daring pop promo. This program includes nearly two hours of promo films, the first-ever footage of Pink Floyd (with the recently deceased Syd Barrett) performing live and in-studio, and some rare surprises from the director's extensive archive.
NOV 10 Fri at 7, 8:45pm
REVELATIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL: WORKS OF KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI
STUDENT SHORTS AND EARLY DOCUMENTARIES
(Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1966-1971, 76 min.)
Made possible with the assistance of Polish Cultural Institute, Telewizja Polska, Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, Filmoteka Narodowa and Polish Home Foundation.
This rare assemblage of student shorts and documentaries includes Kieslowski's first known documentary, THE OFFICE. Shot with a hidden camera in a social security centre, this pointed documentary satirizes officialdom; its striking images of endless rows of bulging files are a paean to aimless bureaucracy. The charming TRAM, about a young man flirting with a girl on a trolley car one night, intriguingly intimates future Kieslowski themes of chance and choice. His last student film, CONCERT OF WISHES, juxtaposes two groups of young people on a holiday weekend and contains nascent Kieslowski tropes and formal techniques. FROM THE CITY OF LODZ provides a fascinating, detailed portrait of the Polish town. The award-winning I WAS A SOLDIER is a moving documentary about blind veterans of the Second World War, and BEFORE THE RALLY (1971, 16 min.) chronicles a man's struggles to acquire and prepare a car for international rally competition.
NOV 11 Sat at 7, 9pm
REVELATIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL: WORKS OF KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI
KIESLOWSKI ON DAILY LIFE
(Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1970-1974, 98 min.)
Made possible with the assistance of Polish Cultural Institute, Telewizja Polska, Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, Filmoteka Narodowa and Polish Home Foundation.
This program showcases a director merging the truth-telling capacity of documentary with the narrative richness of fiction. FACTORY and BRICKLAYER offers in sight into the disillusionment of the Stalinist era detailing the difficulties encountered by workers attempting to meet unreasonable quotas and an engrossing portrait of a brick-layer who moves from hard labor to office work and back again. Then in REFRAIN and FIRST LOVE, Kieslowski precedes reality TV by decades as he chronicles the bureaucratic hassles of funeral caretaking and the travails of a young couple in their preparations to become parents.
NOV 11-12 Sat-Sun at 7, 9:30pm
REVELATIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL: WORKS OF KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI
THE FALL
(Peter Whitehead, United Kingdom, 1969, BetaSP, 120 min.)
Sponsored by KEXP and Easy Street Records
Considered by Whitehead to be his most important film, THE FALL is an extraordinary piece of filmmaking, an extremely personal statement on violence, revolution and the turbulence in late 1960s America. Filmed entirely in and around New York between October 1967 and June 1968, THE FALL features Robert Kennedy, the Bread and Puppet Theater, Paul Auster (fresh-faced as a Columbia student), Tom Hayden, Mark Rudd, Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, Arthur Miller, Robert Lowell and Robert Rauschenberg. Richard Roud, co-director of the New York Film Festival, called the film "an attempt to come to grips with today, both in terms of its content as well as its form."
"THE FALL is unlike any other record of the period, perhaps because its very obscurity has kept it fresh" -LA WEEKLY
NOV 12 Sun at 7, 9pm
REVELATIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL: WORKS OF KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI
KIESLOWSKI ON POLITICS AND PROTEST
(Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1973-1975, 87 min.)
Made possible with the assistance of Polish Cultural Institute, Telewizja Polska, Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, Filmoteka Narodowa and Polish Home Foundation.
Kieslowski analyzes the psychology of the ill in X-RAY, a film in which patients suffering from tuberculosis speak of their fears and of their wish to return to a normal life. THE UNDERGROUND PASSAGE written in a drunken haze and largely improvised over ten erratic days, is Kieslowski's first narrative film, while in CURRICULUM VITAE, the director combines truth and fiction by filming a real Communist Party tribunal debating a fictional case.
NOV 13 Mon at 7, 8:30pm
REVELATIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL: WORKS OF KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI
FINAL DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
(Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1977-1980, 71 min.)
Made possible with the assistance of Polish Cultural Institute, Telewizja Polska, Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, Filmoteka Narodowa and Polish Home Foundation.
HOSPITAL follows orthopedic surgeons on a 32-hour shift. Although instruments fall apart in their hands, the electricity keeps shorting, and the most basic materials remain in short supply, the doctors persevere hour after hour. SEVEN WOMEN OF DIFFERENT AGES shows individual ballerinas at work or in rehearsal each day of the week; however, the ages of the dancers vary from the smallest child taking her first ballet steps to the eldest ballerina, now a ballet teacher. In TALKING HEADS, Kieslowski conducts a quasi-sociological poll in which 79 Poles answer three questions: When were you born? What are you? What would you like most? The director interviews a subject of a different sort in FROM A NIGHT PORTER'S POINT OF VIEW-a factory porter, whose primitive opinions include the desire for public hangings to scare others away from crime.
NOV 14 Tues at 7, 9:30pm
REVELATIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL: WORKS OF KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI
THE SCAR
(Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1976, 35mm, 112 min.)
Made possible with the assistance of Polish Cultural Institute, Telewizja Polska, Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, Filmoteka Narodowa and Polish Home Foundation.
In his first theatrically released film, Kieslowski generates a tale of a man, Stefan Bednarz (Franciszek Pieczka), who is chosen by the Communist Party to supervise a construction project in his hometown, where he has not lived for many years. Despite his negative associations with the place, he returns in hopes of building a project that will revitalize the town. Unfortunately, he soon finds that local residents want nothing to do with the project and are more interested in short-term goals. Disillusioned, he decides to resign from his position. The screening is followed by SLATE a fascinating compilation of out-takes from THE SCAR.
NOV 15 Wed at 7, 9:30pm
REVELATIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL: WORKS OF KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI
CAMERA BUFF
(Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1979, 35mm, 112 min.)
Made possible with the assistance of Polish Cultural Institute, Telewizja Polska, Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, Filmoteka Narodowa and Polish Home Foundation.
A true benchmark of the Cinema of Moral Anxiety, this is film that launched Kieslowski into the international sphere. Filip, a clerk in a small Polish town, buys an 8mm camera to film the baby his wife is expecting. His bosses take an interest in it and commission him to film the company's 25th anniversary celebrations. When the result wins a prize at an amateur film festival, Filip (Jerzy Stuhr), encouraged by his success, becomes consumed by his newfound passion. But as he develops his creative skills, Filip soon discovers that his devotion to making films has unexpected consequences as his marriage sours, his managers censor him and his films inadvertently lead to the sacking of a colleague.
NOV 16 Thurs at 7, 9:30pm
REVELATIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL: WORKS OF KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI
BLIND CHANCE
(Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1987, 35mm, 122 min.)
Made possible with the assistance of Polish Cultural Institute, Telewizja Polska, Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, Filmoteka Narodowa and Polish Home Foundation.
Some call BLIND CHANCE one of Kieslowski's best and most original films. His inclusion of three possible endings to the story still looks fresh today, mainly because it is not used as a gimmick, but as an effective way to explore deeper questions: Is destiny predetermined? What is the role of chance and coincidence in people's lives? Idealistic medical student Witek impulsively decides to go to Warsaw after his father's death; at the train station, his rush for the last train emerges into three alternate scenarios. This simple incident will influence whether he becomes a Communist Party member, an underground dissident or a doctor devoted to his career and wife.
NOV 17 Fri at 7, 9:30pm
REVELATIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL: WORKS OF KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI
NO END
(Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1985, 35mm, 109 min.)
Made possible with the assistance of Polish Cultural Institute, Telewizja Polska, Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, Filmoteka Narodowa and Polish Home Foundation.
The last film Kieslowski's made before embarking on his ten-installment Decalogue series, No End is a bleak political allegory disguised as a romantic ghost story. The story depicts the spirit of a young lawyer (Jerzy Radziwilowicz) watching as his beloved widow (Grazyna Szapolowska) struggles to uphold the cause he fought for. Shot during Poland's period of draconian martial law, Kieslowski's austere drama powerfully captures the mood of those dark days.
NOV 18 Sat at 7, 9pm
REVELATIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL: WORKS OF KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI
A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING
(Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1988, 35mm, 84 min.)
Made possible with the assistance of Polish Cultural Institute, Telewizja Polska, Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, Filmoteka Narodowa and Polish Home Foundation.
An expansion of and a departure from Episode V of the famed European TV series The Decalogue, Kieslowski's feature is a haunting vision of the brutality of modern life and an ethical puzzle pitting random coincidence against irresistible fate. A Short Film About Killing employs a rich arsenal of cinematic imagination to create a persuasive portrait of savagery and redemption.
NOV 19 Sun. at 7, 9pm
<REVELATIONS OF THE HUMAN SOUL: WORKS OF KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI
A SHORT FILM ABOUT LOVE
(Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1988, 35mm, 86 min.)
Made possible with the assistance of Polish Cultural Institute, Telewizja Polska, Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, Filmoteka Narodowa and Polish Home Foundation.
A film that expands and re-invents of the most powerful episodes in the director's renowned DECALOGUE, in A SHORT FILM ABOUT LOVE Kieslowski takes a cliched situation and gives it several ironic twists. Tomek, an introverted nineteen-year-old virgin, living with his aged mother in a Warsaw flat, becomes obsessed with the woman who lives across the way: Magda, a beautiful woman in her thirties who entertains a steady stream of lovers. Tomek discovers the pleasures of the flesh come at a price in this powerful exploration of sexual obsession as Kieslowski masterfully subverts our expectations with a series of tonal and narrative surprises, turning the film from a familiar study of adolescent erotic obsession into a darkly romantic tale about loneliness and connection.
"Even if you've already seen the [DECALOGUE] segment this film is based on,...the radically different and far more redemptive ending makes LOVE worth seeing separately....[I]t speaks with the tranquility of a parable." -SLANT MAGAZINE
NOV 11 Sat at 4pm
FREE!
SHADYA
(Roy Westler and Udi Kalinsky, USA, 2006 Beta SP, 60 mn)
ITVS Community Cinema and Northwest Film Forum Present:
Shadya, a 17-year-old Muslim girl, Israeli citizen and World Karate Champion fights to win her independence from the traditional life expected by her community. SHADYA is a compassionate and painfully honest exploration of the evolution of a young Israeli-Arab woman with feminist ideas in a male-dominated culture set against the backdrop of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Free admission.
NOV 20-22 Mon-Wed at 7, 9pm
SEATTLE PREMIERE!
ABEL RAISES CAIN
(Jenny Abel & Jeff Hockett, USA, 2005, BetaSP, 82 min.)
Alan Abel is the greatest American satirist you’ve never heard of. His career began in the 1950s with a campaign to clothe all animals for the sake of decency. Even though it was a satirical commentary on censorship, the serious response from the press and public constituted an even grander joke, and the former musician embarked on an unbelievable life of no-holds-barred, deadpan satire using the media as both target and venue. He has posed as Howard Hughes, created a fictional presidential candidate, promoted a euthanasia cruiseline, denounced breast feeding, staged mass faintings and much much more, all to get the public to think about what they see and hear.
Abel’s daughter, filmmaker Jenny Abel, offers this intimate portrait of her eccentric father and his unusual career (Grand Jury Award winner for Best Documentary at last year’s Slamdance Film Festival).
NOV 24-30 Fri-Thurs at 7, 9pm
NEW 35MM PRINT!
DAYS OF HEAVEN
(Terrence Malick, USA, 1978, 35mm, 95 min.)
Sponsored by Broadway Market Video
A classic of contemplative cinema justifiably lauded as one of the most visually dazzling films ever made, Terrence Malick's exquisite film, shown here in a new 35mm print, tells the story of early twentieth century itinerant workers (Richard Gere and Brooke Adams), who become entangled in a love triangle with a wealthy farmer (Sam Shepard). Patient storytelling and breathtaking images merge into a rich, moving verbal and visual narrative. Ennio Morricone's mellifluent score, Nestor Almendros's Oscar-winning cinematography, and Billy Weber's unhurried editing all contribute to Malick's stunning vision.
"Almost incontestably the most gorgeously photographed film ever made." –VILLAGE VOICE
