The 16th Annual Oscars Party: "And the Winner Is..."
Watch the Oscars Live on the Big Screen
Join the Washington, DC Film Society as we sit on pins and needles at our 16th Annual Party FUN-raiser “And the Winner Is…” to cheer and jeer the stars and watch the Oscars ceremony. The event on Sunday, February 24, 2008 is once again at Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA). Doors open at 6:30pm; the pre-Oscar show begins at 7:00pm and the Academy Awards show starts at 8:00pm.
Local film critics Joe Barber and Bill Henry will be our hosts to watch the 80th Academy Awards broadcast LIVE ON THE BIG SCREEN. Plus the evening also includes the casual comfort of an Art-Deco theatre setting, affordable food and drink, lots of fun film promotional items and door prizes, a “Predict the Winners” contest, trivia throughout the evening and our highly-touted Silent Auction.
Silent Auction items (cash/check only) include movie, comedy club and theatre tickets, restaurant gift certificates, as well as many autographed movie posters and DVDs signed by filmmakers who have been to the DC area for screenings over the last year.
Tickets are $20; purchase at the door beginning at 6:00p.m. (cash/check only) or in advance online.
Film Society members attended advance screenings of the following Academy Award-nominated movies during 2007, some with visiting filmmakers: Juno (with actress Ellen Page and writer Diablo Cody), Once with the director and stars, La Vie En Rose (also the Opening Night film at Filmfest DC), Michael Clayton (with writer/director Tony Gilroy), No Country for Old Men (with actor Josh Brolin), The Savages (with actress Laura Linney), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (with director Julian Schnabel), 3:10 to Yuma (with actors Peter Fonda and Ben Foster), The Kite Runner (with actor Khalid Abdalla), Eastern Promises, In the Valley of Elah, Atonement, There Will Be Blood, Into the Wild, Lars and the Real Girl, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Charlie Wilson’s War, Persepolis and Sweeney Todd.
Silent Auction Items as of 2/1/2008:
Signed posters for films including Oscar-nominated films Juno (actress Ellen Page and writer Diablo Cody), Michael Clayton (writer/director Tony Gilroy), No Country for Old Men (actor Josh Brolin), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (director Julian Schnabel), 3:10 to Yuma (actors Peter Fonda and Ben Foster), The Kite Runner (actor Khalid Abdalla) and Across the Universe (signed by cast).
Additional signed posters: Broken English (writer/director Zoe Cassavettes), You Kill Me (director John Dahl), Year of the Dog (writer/dir Mike White) and The Host (director Bong Joon-Ho).
Autographed DVDs: signed by Into the Wild actor Emile Hirsh; actor Josh Brolin, Bourne trilogy screenwriter Tony Gilroy, actress Laura Linney, actor Peter Fonda, actor Ben Foster, director John Dahl.
The Honeydripper: Q&A with Writer and Director John Sayles
By Ron Gordner, DC Film Society Member
On a snowy evening, January 17, 2007, the Arlington Draft House Theater hosted a preview of John Sayles’ new film, The Honeydripper, for which he wrote, directed, edited and composed songs. His partner and producer, Maggie Renzi was also in attendance. A local blues guitarist played for a half an hour before the screening. DC Film Society's Director Michael Kyrioglou moderated the discussion.
Michael Kyrioglou: We are thrilled to have John Sayles with his new film. He has written and/or directed films in the past like Silver City, Lone Star, Passion Fish, Brother from Another Planet, and Sunshine State. What inspired this particular film? In many of your films the locale is almost another character.
John Sayles: I have had a lifelong relationship with American music and this was a story that was in my head for a long time. I was born in 1950, the year the film takes place. As a kid I listened a lot to the radio and top 40 rock and roll music, including Elvis Presley and Hound Dog, which was the first record I bought. Rock and roll music also had roots in gospel music, and I then started to listen to the blues and other music made before I was born. That gets you into the history of music and how each musician or community listened to other types of music and how each song written evolved, and how American music itself evolved. So it’s difficult to identify the exact moment that was the birth of rock and roll. I didn’t think much about the audience, as much as the players when they heard that solid sound of the guitar and realized, uh oh, everything is going to change, and if I don’t get on board, I might be left at the station. Also the players had to decide who could make that jump, or who wanted to make that jump. If you look at the history of American music, you realize there was a 40 year war between the players of the piano and the guitar. The piano was the primary instrument, and the guitar was just on the side. But once the electric guitar could put out the volume of sound the piano had done, it was a new world. Kids could buy a guitar from the Sears and Roebuck catalog for a reasonable price, and it was portable, compared to the more expensive and heavy piano.
MK: I like the way you showed the difference between the piano and the emerging electric guitar and the merging musical styles of the young generation of players. You really did this in a subtle way in the film. Also we know how the white community was affected by the African American music and changed.
JS: If you have heard the Hank Williams song Movin on Over, and change the words a little, it can sound like Rock Around the Clock. So there was rockabilly before rock.
MK: You had a nice combination of standards and some new songs you composed in the film.
JS: Yes I write songs and make about $500 a year from ASCAP. I tailored a song for the film China Doll which is fairly simple and in the genre of Buddy Holly’s Peggy Sue.
MK: I liked the blend of music including Keb’ Mo’ and the young guitar player.
JS: We thought the hardest character to cast would be the young guitar player, Sonny, but we heard about a great young guitarist from Austin, Gary Clark, Jr. and he was one of the first to be cast. He turned 21 years old, but had been playing or jamming with groups since he was 14 years old. We gave him a try out, and he just blew us away.
Question: What was the name of the sax player?
JS: That’s Eddie Shaw. His son is Stan Shaw, a well known character actor. Eddie played for years the Howlin’ Wolf style with the Wolf Band. Eddie had never acted before. I told him to just be cool in the part and he did.
Q: Where was the film shot?
JS: The exterior shots were in Georgiana, Alabama, which also happens to be the hometown of Hank Williams. There were lots of Hank Williams’ stories. There was always a schism between the people who went to the road houses versus the ones that went to the revival meetings, but there were also people trying to do both. Hank was famous for playing in honky tonks or parties all night, and then turning up in the morning in the Church singing gospel music. Many of the good old guys playing then played the Grand Ole Opry and shows like the King Biscuit Hour and Sonny Boy Wilson. I believe that integration in America really started with music and the appreciation of the blues and gospel music, and then adapting it to your own style for the public.
MK: Many of your films have racial and class issues in them like Sunshine State.
JS: It’s part of our country, the ideals of democracy and the melting pot and the constant struggle. We just dropped a needle on 1950. It is what it is. The blues is not just sad, but it can also be quite joyous. It did come from depression and struggle to survive. You have to pick a lot of cotton to fill a 30 pound sack to make a dollar. Some of the people thrived on the music in the fields to get through the day.
MK: How did you research or shoot the cotton picking scenes?
JS: Years ago, almost everyone under the age of 50 picked cotton in Alabama. They closed the schools and it was the cash crop. That way of life pretty much stopped in the 1960’s. We brought in experts and had a seminar on how to pick cotton.
Q: You had an outstanding eclectic and varied cast. Did you write some of the parts with particular actors in mind first, or write the screenplay first?
JS: I don’t usually think of actors first, because you may not get them. If you don’t get your first choice of actor, you could end up with a script already tailored for another actor you couldn’t get. I try to usually finish the script first and then cast it. Danny Glover was the first actor we asked to do the part of the Honeydripper Lounge owner. I wanted someone like Danny who is 6 ft. 3 in. and is imposing and carries a certain demeanor to the part. Also most of the actors are working for union scale. Most of our first choices said yes. Some of the actors like Mary Steenburgen, we know very well. I wanted Stacy Keach for the sheriff and we did have to wait until he finished another job. We did auditions for China Doll and some other characters and hired local people for some roles including the cotton pickers.
Q: Did Danny play the piano parts in the films?
JS: Danny practiced enough to know where the hands should go, but we had a pianist from L.A. and the hands are from a piano player from Tuscaloosa. The actor who plays Danny’s conscience is Keb’ Mo’, a wonderful musician and guy.
Q: To what extent do you use local talent or the people of Alabama in the film?
JS: It depends what talent is available locally where you shoot. We had at least 15-20 small speaking parts cast by locals. The actor who plays Luther, the hardware store worker, is a local person who was good in the role and helped us hook up to the choir. We also had a number of Alabama State University students playing parts. It’s a nice bond with the community to have their input.
Q: Do you always do cameo roles in your films?
JS: Probably in about half of my films I have done a cameo role. I am in the Screen Actors Guild and it saves a little money. I am 6ft. 4in. and alongside Danny can look intimidating, so I fit the role. I also learned to drive a stick shift.
Q: It’s great you’ve come to Washington DC with the film, but why are you self distributing this film and why haven’t we seen much advertising about it?
JS: This is our 16th film and we have taken it to the usual studios and film festivals and no one has come up and said we want to buy it for 10 million dollars, so we are going on the road and self-distributing ourselves and depending on word of mouth advertising to help get it seen. The usual distributors have gotten lazy and tend to throw it just into the art houses. We don’t have 15-20 million dollars to spend for advertising. We put together our own distributing company with Maggie Renzi’s help or put together an all-star team of people to do advertising and distribution, and we are going to open up regionally and do events like this to get the buzz going. It’s more labor intensive, but it’s what we had to do with our first film 30 years ago, in 1980 taking Return of the Secaucus Seven on the road. It opened in New York and L.A. and a few other cities like Atlanta, Chicago, and the Boston area. I am not sure where it will be playing yet in the DC area but it should open in early or mid February. We don’t know if our system will work or not. Unlike then we now do have the Internet also and have a website to help. Also the soundtrack is coming out February 5th on Rhino Records.
Q: How do you feel about the studio system and distribution?
JS: I am a free lance screenwriter also and the studios are sending out messages that they are not interested in period pieces or dramas, but like teen comedies and horror films that sell.
MK: The bigger films are usually out in the fall of each year and smaller films out earlier.
JS: Yes many small films come out earlier in the year and by the end of the year are out of the memories of Academy voters. The rest of the year are the summer blockbusters or smaller films.
MK: Some of the bigger studios now though do have boutique or independent film divisions.
JS: Yes, Clooney and some other big actors may make smaller films and for smaller salaries and scales, but the studios allow or fund these so they will continue to sign up for the big blockbuster films. So it’s a means of placating them and still get the big money making films made like Oceans 11.
Q: I am interested in getting into film or acting. Is there any advice you can give those interested in getting into the business?
JS: I would say find out what you can do locally first at local theater and film schools and get involved in community theater and films to get exposure and experience. We don’t keep a library of videos, films, or actors’ resumes. I start most casting from scratch. If you want to go to New York or L.A. get together examples of your work and good head shots.
MK: There are even a number of acting and talent agencies in the DC area that cast for films made in Washington.
Q: Thanks for bringing the film here. Did you take the film to many film festivals and other areas and doesn’t this help sell the film?
JS: We’ve done 15 film festivals already with this film and are still going to do a few more like El Paso. Our foreign sales have been slow. International sales of a primarily cast African American cast film is difficult unless you have major stars like Denzel Washington or Will Smith involved. Without a major distributor, you have to go to festivals like Sundance and Edinburgh and become a salesman. So far, we have sold to a few other countries like Scotland. Even when you sell or distribute a film, however, it’s important in the business how well a film does its first weekend so please get out the word when it comes to your area.
Honeydripper is scheduled to open in the DC area this month.
An American Film Master: Charles Burnett
By Cheryl Dixon, DC Film Society Member
Renaissance man, Mississippi-born Charles Burnett has written, directed, filmed, produced, edited or acted in a variety of short and feature films, and TV films, in a distinguished career starting from the late-60s. Hailed as one of America’s greatest filmmakers, Burnett is probably most popularly known as the Writer/Director of the “lost classic” feature, Killer of Sheep, completed in 1977. Originally his master’s thesis film at UCLA Film School, which was never intended for commercial release, this black and white film, compassionately and artfully depicting the stark reality of inner-city life in the Watts section of Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, nonetheless gained recognition and momentum along the festival, arthouse, and museum circuits. A prize-winner at the 1981 Berlin International Film Festival, Killer of Sheep was eventually declared a national treasure and is one of the first 50 films carefully preserved in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. The National Society of Film Critics, also praising its neorealism style, considers it one of the “100 Essential Films” of all time. Due to the expense of purchasing music rights, the film was rarely shown theatrically or made available on video/DVD. Until now.
Thirty years later, the film’s original 16mm print has been restored on 35mm film, is enjoying a DVD release, and is coming soon to a theatre near you. For music fans, the film’s soundtrack is a musical voyage, with delightful offerings from Paul Robeson, to Dinah Washington, to Earth, Wind, and Fire. On January 21, 2008, if you missed the Turner Classic Movies world broadcast premiere of an all-night marathon of Burnett’s films, including Killer of Sheep, be sure to catch this legendary film, an additional feature, My Brother’s Wedding, and a selection of film shorts, including, Several Friends, The Horse, When it Rains, Quiet as Kept, and Bless Their Little Hearts at the AFI Silver Theatre when it runs its The Films of Charles Burnett program screenings from February 9 through March 5.
Film Society fans may also recall several of Burnett’s later works including his writing and directing of To Sleep With Anger (1990), The Glass Shield (1994), and his directing of several TV films, including, “Oprah Winfrey Presents: The Wedding” (1998) and Selma, Lord, Selma (1999). Burnett recently completed the feature, Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation (2007).
Recently I had the opportunity to interview Charles Burnett and gain some insights into his brilliant film career:
Question: Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Producer, Editor, Actor … which of these various roles do you have a preference for, and which do you enjoy the least?
Charles Burnett: Burnett explained that as a filmmaker, you do whatever it takes to get the film done. Filmmaking involves a collaborative process and it’s good when you have others who can take on the various roles involved and can concentrate on one area as opposed to another. He says that you must “just do it.”
Q: What attracted you to filmmaking as a profession? Did you always want to work in the worlds of TV and film?
CB: Burnett stated that he backed up into it. He originally focused on electronics due to the vocational thrust of his school. He also had a longstanding desire to depict the L.A. school system that he grew up with, which he viewed as “not nurturing.” He describes an overwhelmingly negative junior high school environment where there were few images of positive African-Americans and their accomplishments, where some teachers openly pointed out which students would be failures, and where some inspiring teachers were fired. This environment of low expectations and discouragement, he thinks, was the reason why so many students dropped out of high school. His interest in telling this story led him to register in film school, narrowly avoiding the draft, and the Vietnam War.
Q: How do you measure “success” as a filmmaker? What drives you?
CB: Burnett says that you don’t make films very often, it’s feast or famine, but you survive. You get money to do another film, and then you make the film that you want to make. He added that in an earlier period after film school graduation, he was working at a talent agency, reading scripts, writing synopses, and still shooting films.
Q: You’ve been compared to Italian neorealists, including Roberto Rossellini, and American filmmakers Stanley Kubrick and Robert Altman. Haile Gerima views you as a mentor. Who are your writing and directing influences?
CB: Burnett particularly likes documentary filmmakers, who also happen to have served multiple roles. He mentioned Writer/Producer/Directors Robert Flaherty and Basil Wright. American Robert Flaherty wrote Louisiana Story (1948) about Cajun life, and directed Nanook of the North (1922) about a year in the life of an Eskimo family in the Arctic. Englishman Basil Wright, who directed Night Mail (1936), about a mail train, where workers collect, sort, and deliver mail overnight in Scotland, and Song of Ceylon (1934) about the history of Sri Lanka. He also cited French Writer/Producer/Director Jean Renoir and his Oscar-nominated film, The Southerner (1945) -- finding comments that Europeans cannot make films about Americans to be strange. On the contrary, Burnett says that Renoir’s film is unique, one of the best films about the South, with a very balanced Faulkner-like perspective and sense of humanity governing the depictions of both Caucasians and African-Americans. African-Americans are not seen as childlike or overly dependent or otherwise heavily stereotyped as seen in other period dramas such as Birth of a Nation. He also likes Japanese filmmakers such as Director Akira Kurosawa and Writer/Director Yasujiro Ozu and their film depictions of war, where there is a humanity and dignity not seen in propaganda films he was used to seeing. He felt very enlightened to see different perspectives and thought that he could no longer trust media depictions of war for the whole truth.
Q: Do you have any advice for anyone interested in working in the TV/film industry?
CB: Burnett says that when he finished UCLA Film School there weren’t a lot of fellowship programs that he could take advantage of, and filmmakers made films because they liked the subject matter, or for personal reasons if they had an “axe to grind.” There was no urge to compromise. Now, he says, it’s more about accommodating and you can’t make as many films, plus it’s much more expensive now. Further, you need confidence and self-understanding. You need to know how to say “no” and know how to make a film even when things fall apart, such as when actors walk off the set, or when money falls short. You have to know how to collaborate with others.
Q: These questions relate to your film classic, Killer of Sheep. I’d like to sort out the fact from fiction and set the record straight. Is it true that you never intended to commercially release this film? Had you known that it would eventually get a release would you have made any other changes to the film?
CB: It’s true that that Killer of Sheep was never intended for a commercial release. One of Burnett’s objectives was to demystify filmmaking in the Watts community where he made the film. Kids helped him throughout and so the end results, particularly the sound quality, are not what he would have done for a commercially released film. He would have done things differently in the post-production phase with the sound. He viewed this thesis film as an experiment and would have been more technically proficient. He said, however, that he did what he felt was right, and “if you fail, you might as well fail on your own terms.”
Q: Would you comment on a critic’s opinions that Killer of Sheep has no acts, plot arcs, or character development as conventionally defined.
CB: Burnett says that the plot line pattern isn’t really discernible. He says that the characters repeatedly make promises that they can’t make happen. Nothing is resolved. He wanted to demonstrate the crushing situations that these characters endure. The main character, Stan, is a man, husband, father, and the moral centerpiece of his family. Despite the odds and various temptations, he holds his family together, and keeps them out of trouble.
Q: How did you cast the film? Particularly, how did you select Henry Sanders and Kaycee Moore, who portray the main characters, husband and wife, in the film?
CB: Burnett had to finish his film quickly and had a small film budget (less than $10,000) and therefore used a lot of non-actors. He saw Actor Henry Sanders in an elevator where he worked. Sanders had been in student films and he thought that he would be perfect to portray Stan. Kaycee Moore was referred to him as a woman interested in acting, who had participated in acting workshops. Upon meeting her, Burnett found her very animated, passionate, and with a lot to offer. Her chemistry worked with Sanders, so she was cast as his wife. Burnett’s nieces, nephews, and neighborhood residents rounded out the cast.
Q: Can you explain the significance of the title, Killer of Sheep?
CB: Burnett says that he tries to keep the title to one level. Stan works in a slaughterhouse, and Burnett’s concern was that the audience gets the sense that this is a horrible job, one that would cause nightmares….
Q: Let’s talk about this great opportunity to see more of your early work now that it’s been released theatrically and on DVD. Maybe if we talked about some of the individual works….
CB: Several Friends (1969), Burnett explains, is not a precursor to Killer of Sheep, although its characters might remind you of those seen in the latter. The Horse (1973) is described as an allegory of the south, set in the west. Bless Their Little Hearts (1984) offers the opportunity to see actress Kaycee Moore again in this saga of life in South Central L.A. My Brother’s Wedding (1983), Burnett’s second feature of his early works on DVD, and which, like the shorts previously mentioned will also be screened at the AFI, offers some brotherly love/division as a man who dislikes his lawyer brother, but agrees to serve as the best man at his brother’s wedding.
Q: What’s next?
CB: Burnett is currently at work writing and directing Man in a Basket, based on a 1950s Chester Himes mystery novel, and featuring those amiable cops, Grave Digger and Coffin Ed (anyone recall, Cotton Comes to Harlem?). Burnett and I also talked about his interest in focusing on different issues in the community and his desire to keep making different films. We discussed the extended family folklore elements in To Sleep with Anger, and he spoke about avoiding the dangers of becoming corrupt when working in a corrupt environment in The Glass Shield.
Calendar of Events
FILMS
American Film Institute Silver Theater
"The Films of Charles Burnett" runs from February 9 to March 5. In February is Killer of Sheep (1977), My Brother's Wedding (1983) and a program of four short films: Several Friends, The Horse, When It Rains, and Quiet As Kept. In March Bless Their Little Hearts (1984) will be screened. Check the AFI website for dates and times.
"The Complete Coen Brothers" starts February 8 with Raising Arizona (1987) and continues with Blood Simple, The Hudsucker Proxy, Intolerable Cruelty, Fargo, The Ladykillers, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing, The Man Who Wasn't There and The Big Lebowski.
"Ingmar Bergman Remembered," beginning February 8 is the first intallment of a multi-part retrospective of Bergman's films. This part focuses on his work from the 1950s and includes the works that brought Bergman international acclaim at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals. See the AFI website for titles, dates and times.
The winner of the Silverdocs 2007 Audience Award Souvenirs (Shahar Cohen and Halil Efrat, 2006) will get an encore screening on February 4 at 7:00pm.
Freer Gallery of Art
As part of the "Japan! culture + hyperculture" festival held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Freer presents five films starring Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano who will be present for the first three films. On February 1 at 7:00pm is Vital (Shinya Tsukamoto, 2004); on February 2 at 2:00pm is Last Life in the Universe (Pen-ek Ratanaruang, 2003); on February 3 at 2:00pm is Sad Vacation (Shinji Aoyama, 2007); on February 8 at 7:00pm is Tori (2004); and on February 10 at 2:00pm is Bright Future (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2003).
The Freer concludes its twelfth annual festival of Iranian film with Red Robin (Parviz Sheikhtadi, 2006) on February 15 at 7:00pm and February 17 at 2:00pm.
National Gallery of Art
"Istvan Szabo's 20th Century" is a retrospective of the work of the Hungarian filmmaker. On February 9 at 4:30pm is The Age of Daydreaming (1964); on February 10 at 4:00pm is Father (1966); on February 10 at 5:45pm is Meeting Venus (1991); on February 16 at 12:30pm is Budapest Tales (1976); on February 16 at 2:30pm is Confidence (1979); on February 16 at 4:30pm is Taking Sides (2001); on February 17 at 4:00pm is Sunshine (1999); on February 23 at 4:00pm is Being Julia (2004); on February 24 at 4:00pm is Relatives (2006). More in March.
"From the Archives: 16 at 12" is a series shown on Tuesdays at noon, featuring historical films. On February 5, 12, 19 and 26 at noon is Duke Ellington at the White House (1969).
The final film in "England's New Wave, 1958-1964" is The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Tony Richardson, 1962) on February 3 at 4:30pm shown with Lindsay Anderson's 1957 short film Every Day Except Christmas.
Special events and art films in February include "Henri Storck' Legacy: Belgian Films on Art" on February 2 at 2:00pm and "England's Finest Hour: Films by Humphrey Jennings" on February 2 at 4:30pm. A selection of short films from the Balazs Bela Studio is on February 9 at 2:00pm.
National Museum of African Art
On February 2 at 2:00pm is 500 Years Later (2005), an award-winning documentary about the atrocities that uprooted Africans from their cultures and homeland. The screening will be followed by a discussion.
National Portrait Gallery
On February 24 at 7:00pm is Wild Style! (Charlie Ahearn, 1983), a portrait of the earliest days of hip hop in the New York boroughs. Filmmaker Ahearn will be present for discussion after the film.
National Museum of Women in the Arts
As part of the "Sisters in Cinema" series is Black Business, a documentary by award-winning filmmaker Osvalde Lewat-Hallade about Cameroonian families who are victims of government disappearances.
Films on the Hill
On February 13 at 7:00pm is Man of Conquest (George Nichols, Jr., 1939) starring Richard Dix as Sam Houston and nominated for three Oscars. On February 20 at 7:00pm is An American Guerrilla in the Philippines in Technicolor (Fritz Lang, 1950), starring Tyrone Power in a story based on the real-life Navy lieutenant who escaped the Bataan death march and helped the Filipinos in their guerrilla war against Japan while surviving behind enemy lines for four years. On February 27 at 7:00pm is a silent double feature The Man Who Had Everything (Alfred E. Green, 1920) starring Jack Pickford which is shown with Orchids and Ermine (Alfred Santell, 1927) starring Colleen Moore, the quintessential flapper, with Mickey Rooney in one of his very first roles.
Washington Jewish Community Center
On February 5 at 7:30pm is Making Trouble (Rachel Talbot, 2006), a documentary tribute to six Jewish comediennes: Molly Picon, Fanny Brice, Sophie Tucker, Joan Rivers, Gilda Radner and Wendy Wasserstein and covering vaudeville, Yiddish theater, Broadway and Saturday Night Live. On February 25 at 7:30pm is The Girls from Brazil (Nili Tal, 2007) about four young Israeli women who had been adopted from Brazil as they reconnect with their Brazilian roots.
Goethe Institute
Fans of the recently concluded "Film|Neu" festival of new German films can get a look at earlier films by directors featured in that series. On February 4 at 6:30pm is Alice in the Cities (Wim Wenders, 1973) and on February 11 at 6:30pm is The Pharmacist (Rainer Kaufmann, 1997) preceded by a short film.
On February 2 at 4:30pm is the "Leprechaun Film Festival," a program of award-winning French short films. "The Best of INPUT, the International Public Television Screening Conference" is on February 5 at 6:30pm which includes Promised Paradise from Indonesia.
A series of films by Michael Haneke begins on February 25 at 6:30pm is The Castle (1997) and continues in March. The Michael Haneke films are also shown at the Austrian and French embassies.
A program of selections from the Best of DC Shorts 2007 is on February 8 and 9 at 7:00pm and 9:30pm. See the website for information on titles and cost.
National Geographic Society
Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet is the first in a series of "eco-sessions" programs at the National Geographic. Six Degrees, based on the book by Mark Lynas is on February 4 at 7:30pm and paints a sobering picture of advancing deserts and melting glaciers based on geologic records and the latest research. ($60 for the series; $15 for single sessions).
The "Banff Mountain Film Festival" starts February 5 at 7:00pm with a series of 6 short films from the annual festival on mountain sports and cultures, now in its 32nd year. Another different program of 6 short films follows on February 6 at 7:00pm, with more on February 7, 8 and 9--all at 7:00pm. (Non-members: $70 for the series; $20 for single sessions).
"Global Glimpses" gives us the opportunity to see all the Oscar-nominated Foreign Language Films. On February 14 at 7:30pm is The Counterfeiters (Austria); on February 15 at 7:30pm is 12 (Russia); on February 16 at 7:30pm is Beaufort (Israel); on February 17 at 2:00pm is Mongol (Kazakhstan); and on February 17 at 5:00pm is Katyn (Poland). ($25 for a package of 5 films; $7 for single tickets).
French Embassy
On February 13 at 7:00pm is Could This Be Love? (Pierre Jolivet, 2006) a comedy starring Sandrine Bonnaire.
On February 26 at 7:00pm is Code Unknown (2000), starring Juliette Binoche, part of the Michael Haneke retrospective (see Goethe Institute). More Michael Haneke at the Austrian Embassy and Goethe Institute.
The Japan Information and Culture Center
On February 28 at 6:30pm is XXXHolic and Tsubasa Chronicle, both based on comic books. Reservations are required.
The National Building Museum
"Bachelors, Secretaries and Spies" is a three-part series of films that display mid-century style. On February 6 at 6:30pm is The Moon is Blue (Otto Preminger, 1953) on the topic of "playboy chic: designing the mid-century bachelor pad. On February 13 at 6:30pm is The Best of Everything (Jean Negulesco, 1959) with Joan Crawford in "office politics: the lipstick jungle of 1950s Manhattan." On February 20 at 6:30pm is In Like Flint (Gordon Douglas, 1967) a spy spoof with James Coburn and Lee J. Cobb. (Prepaid registration required: $10 for each film).
National Archives
"Eyes on the Prize" is a 14-part PBS series on the civil rights era. Each part is 60 minutes long. The series continues in February with Two Societies on February 1 at noon, Power! on February 5 at noon, The Promised Land on February 8 at noon, Ain't Gonna Shuffle No More on February 12 a noon, A National of Law? on February 15 at noon, The Keys to the Kingdom on February 19 at noon, and Back to the Movement on February 22 at noon.
The Archives will screen all the Oscar-nominated documentary features: on February 20 at 7:00pm is Sicko (Michael Moore); on February 21 at 7:00pm is Taxi to the Dark Side (Alex Gibney and Eva Orner); on February 22 at 7:00pm is Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (Richard E. Robbins); on February 23 at 7:00pm is No End in Sight (Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs); and on February 24 at 4:00pm is War/Dance (Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine). The Live Action Short Film Nominees will be screened on February 23 at noon; the Animated Short Film Nominees on February 23 at 3:30pm; and the Documentary Short Subject Nominees on February 24 at 12:00 noon. For the Foreign Language Nominees see the National Geographic.
As part of the "Running for Office" film series The Great McGinty (Preston Sturges, 1940) will be shown on February 16 at noon. This film stars Brian Donlevy and won Preston Sturges an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.
National Museum of Natural History
On February 23 three films about Rastafari culture will be shown: at 11:00am is Awake Zion (2005), a documentary about Jewish and Jamaican historians to explore the connection between reggae culture and Judaism; at 12:00 noon is Coping with Babylon (2007), a concert documentary with interview subjects Bob Marley and others; at 1:00pm is The Promised Ship (2007.
The Avalon
On February 13 at 8:00pm is All My Loved Ones (Matìj Mináè, 1999) presented by The Lions of Czech Film Series. On February 20 at 8:00pm is How Much Do You Love Me? (Bertrand Blier), presented by French Cinémathèque and starring Monica Bellucci and Gerard Depardieu.
Embassy of Austria
The Embassy of Austria takes part in the Michael Haneke retrospective with the made for Austrian TV film Lemmings Part I on February 27 at 7:30pm. Part II will be shown in March.
Other films at the embassy are I Love Vienna (Houchang Allahyari, 1991) on February 12 at 7:30pm about an Iranian teacher of German who comes to Vienna, and Free to Love (Peter Payer, 2007) on February 22 at 7:30pm based on the 1937 play "Judgement Day". Reservations are required.
Smithsonian Associates
On February 10 at 1:00pm is The Grand Finale (Gerardo Olivares, 2007) a comedy about soccer fans. On February 23 at 4:00pm is the Oscar-winning documentary Isaac Stern in China (Murray Lerner, 1981) which features cellist Jian Wang when he was 10 years old. After the film, Wang discusses growing up in China, meeting Isaac Stern and becoming a musician.
Embassy of the Slovak Republic
On February 5 at 8:00pm is She Kept Crying for the Moon (Stefan Uher, 1982). Reservations are required.
FILM FESTIVALS
