| Special Events & Limited
Engagements in May
Saturdays & Sundays In May
IDA Award Winner!
THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED,
2002, 72 min. Dirs. Kim Bartley & Donnacha O’Briain. While shooting a documentary
on Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, an Irish film crew found themselves caught in the
middle of an attempted coup by opposition leaders and members of the military (who claimed
they were staging a "peaceful, democratic takeover").
Saturday, May 1 - 5:00 PM, 7:00 PM & 9:00 PM
Sunday, May 2 - 5:00 PM
Saturday, May 8 - 5:00 PM, 7:00 PM & 9:00 PM
Sunday, May 9 - 5:00 PM
Saturday, May 15 NO SCREENINGS
Sunday, May 16 - NO SCREENINGS
Saturday, May 22 - 5:00 PM, 7:00 PM & 9:00 PM
Sunday, May 23 - 5:00 PM & 7:00 PM
Saturday, May 29 - 5:00 PM, 7:00 PM & 9:00 PM
Sunday, May 30 - 5:00 PM & 7:00 PM
Monday, May 3 – 7:30 PM
Special Sneak Preview!!
THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD, 2004, IFC Films, 100
min. Visionary Canadian director Guy Maddin returns with his latest, visually-stunning
feature – a Depression-era, musical fable centering around Port-Huntly Beer
Company’s international contest to find the world’s saddest music. Isabella
Rossellini sizzles as Beer Baroness Lady Port-Huntly, the broken-hearted, amputee/diva
host of the $25,000 competition. As musicians from all around the globe (West Africa,
Scotland, Mexico, Siam, etc.) flock to Winnipeg to compete, a dysfunctional family
composed of an alcoholic Canadian father and his two dramatic sons (both posing as
foreigners) squares off against each other in hopes of landing the prize money – and
the hearts of both Lady Port-Huntly and Narcissa, a self-proclaimed nymphomaniac with a
talking tapeworm. With Mark McKinney, Maria de Medeiros, Ross McMillan and David Fox. Plus
three brand-new Guy Maddin shorts!!! "Sissy Boy Slap Party,"
2004, 4 min.; "A Trip to the Orphanage," 2004, 4 min.; "Sombra
Dolorosa," 2004, 4 min.
[THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD will be released theatrically on May 7th by
IFC Films.]
Saturday, May 8
Egyptian Theatre Historic Tours & FOREVER HOLLYWOOD
10:30 AM Behind the Scenes Tour
11:30 AM, 2:00 PM & 3:30 PM FOREVER HOLLYWOOD
Sunday, May 9
MOTHER’S DAY
TOUR
Egyptian Theatre Historic Tours & FOREVER HOLLYWOOD
10:30 AM Behind the Scenes Tour
11:30 AM, 2:00 PM & 3:30 PM FOREVER HOLLYWOOD
Thursday, May 13 – 7:30 PM
Alternative Screen
THE NAKED PROOF, 2003, 95 min. Dir. Jamie Hook. A
charmingly quirky and cleverly scripted philosophical comedy about a Seattle Philosophy
graduate student (Michael Chick, SILENCE!) and the very pregnant woman (Arlette Del Toro)
who lands by chance on his doorstep -- who may or may not actually exist. The debut
feature from Seattle's WigglyWorld Studios founder Jamie Hook. "Clever as hell,
smart, ruminative and throughly entertaining." -- Cinemania Online Discussion
following with co-writer/director Jamie Hook.
Discussion following with director Jamie Hook. [American
Cinematheque members will be admitted free to this screening upon presentation of a
current membership card.]
Friday, May 14 – 8:00 – Spielberg
Theatre
"Hunger Artists" – Dark, Deadpan and
Surreal shorts from Slamdance 2004.
The class of 2004 at Slamdance featured a number of filmmakers who bravely turned away
from the prevailing trend in our culture of louder, faster and
make-sure-you-don’t-lose-any-slow-children-along-the-way. Alongside the marvelously
raucous and irreverent films that are often thought of as characteristic of Slamdance, a
type of film emerged that investigates the soft, dark, vulnerable areas of contemporary
America – the thoughts, sensations and emotions that are lost or hidden by the
crushing ambition and lust for pleasure that dominates the zeitgeist. These films use a
cool but compassionate tone, with a taste for the absurd and plenty of deadpan humor, to
describe the flipside of what’s seen on television and mainstream movies. We showed a
group of these shorts together and found that they dovetailed beautifully one into another
and resulted in a great deal of buzz and standing-room only crowds in Park City.
West Coast Premiere! Hugh Merrill's "Fine
and Dandy" (2003, 6 min., USA) A dreamlike look at a femme fatale preparing for a
tap dance that comments on U.S. history, or perhaps not.; West Coast Premiere!
Michael Fisher's "Falls" (2003, 8 min.) A farmer worries helplessly as
his daughter’s ambition seems to lead her down the road that destroyed her mother.; Winner,
Spirit of Slamdance Award 2004! David Zellner's "The Virile Man"
(2003, 8 min.) From his bedroom closet, a married man gets a telephone psychic to support
him in a hilariously deadpan denial of his sexuality.; Sarah Brown's "Live
Bait" (2003, 7 min.) An animated starving fisherman is lured by three bird women
into their island of instant gratification.; West Coast Premiere! Kat
Candler's "Roberta Wells" (2003, 8 min.) At a loud family gathering, a
frail 70-year old woman eludes her overbearing daughter and sneaks outside for a cigarette
break of sorts.; L.A. Premiere! Jamie Travis' "Why the Anderson
Children Didn't Come to Dinner" (2003, 16 min.) In this brightly colored and
utterly dark comedy (also featured at Toronto Int'l Film Festival and SXSW), three
neglected children pursue creepy interests as their mother strains to control her perfect
household.; Harry Dodge’s and Stanya Kahn's "Winner" (2002, 15 min.)
A radio sweepstakes winner turns a testimonial for a TV ad into a documentary about her
very personal artwork.; Benjamin Goldman’s and Nirvan Mullick's "The
Three of Us" (2003, 3 min.) An animated creature with two heads and two torsos
struggles against itself to capture its heart’s desire.; Christine Dunn's
"Particle Valentine" (2003, 4 min.) A hypnotic, largely abstract video of
dazzling kinetic images builds toward a powerful conclusion. Discussion following with filmmakers. (If the first show sells out an
encore screening will begin at 10 PM.
Wednesday, May 19 – 7:30 PM
Special Sneak Preview!!!
BAADASSSSS!, 2004, Sony Classics, 108 min.
Writer/Director Mario Van Peebles pays loving tribute to father Melvin Van Peebles in this
adaptation of Melvin’s autobiography. Mario stars as Melvin, tracing his tumultuous
journey to bring his groundbreaking, controversial film SWEET SWEETBACK’S BAADASSSSS
SONG to the big screen. SWEET SWEETBACK, after much political and civil strife, went on to
become the highest-grossing independent film of 1971 and stands as a landmark of
Independent Black Cinema. Mario’s poignant, yet brutally truthful re-telling of
Melvin’s triumph features Joy Bryant, David Allen Grier, Paul Rodriguez and Nia Long.
Discussion following with director/actor Mario Van Peebles and
his father, the legendary filmmaker/actor/musician/playwright Melvin Van Peebles. [BAADASSSSS!
will be released theatrically on May 28th by Sony Classics.]
Thursday, May 20 – 7:30 PM
Alternative Screen Independent Film Showcase
STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS Sneak
Preview: (2004, 90 min.) Two American soldiers (Scott MacDonald & Ryan Francis)
desert, flinging themselves into unknown geographical and emotional territory in rural WW
II France. Director Jeff Burr captures the surrealism of war and the contrast between
identity in peacetime and who we become in war, with this hard-hitting drama about
survival and the fleeting beauty and innocence of life. With David Warner (CROSS OF IRON).
Official website. Discussion following with director Jeff Burr, actress Lynda
Thorson ("The Avengers"), James
Le Gros (ENEMY OF THE STATE; SCOTLAND, PA; MYTH OF FINGERPRINTS), Scott MacDonald (SEVEN
GIRLFRIENDS, BAD CITY BLUES, FIRE IN THE SKY), Daniel Roebuck ("A Minute With Stan
Hooper", THE RIVER’S EDGE, "The Late Shift"), Ryan Francis (HOOK;
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Sisters"). Director of STRAIGHT INTO
DARKNESS Jeff Burr (THE OFFSPRING). Producer of STRAIGHT INTO DARKNESS Chuck Williams and
Will Huston.
.
Monday, May 24 – 7:30 PM
Special Sneak Preview: ZATOICHI, 2004, Miramax, 116 min. Japanese director Takeshi
Kitano is best known for his action-packed yakuza gangster films. ZATOICHI, however,
marks his first foray into period samurai drama. Though he’s set down the guns and
picked up the sword, ZATOICHI emerges as blood-soaked as ever. Zatoichi is a 19th
Century blind nomad who makes his living gambling and giving massages. However, behind
this humble facade, Zatoichi is a master swordsman gifted with a lightning-fast draw and
breathtaking precision. While wandering, Zatoichi discovers a remote mountain village at
the mercy of Ginzo, a ruthless gang-leader. Ginzo disposes of anyone who gets in his way,
especially after hiring the mighty samurai ronin Hattori as a bodyguard. After a raucous
night of gambling in town, Zatoichi encounters a pair of geishas – as dangerous as
they are beautiful – who’ve come to avenge their parents' murder. As the paths
of these and other colorful characters intertwine, Ginzo’s henchmen are soon after
Zatoichi. With his legendary cane sword at his side, the stage is set for a violent and
bloody confrontation. ZATOICHI has already grossed more than $25 million since September
2003 in its native Japan. Winner of the Best Director Award at the Venice Film
Festival 2003 and the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film
Festival 2003. [ZATOICHI will be released theatrically on June 4th by
Miramax Films.] Discussion following with actor Tadanobu
Asano (ICHI, THE KILLER; LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE; BRIGHT FUTURE. |
