December 2019

Posted December 1, 2019. Addition to Calendar on December 3 and 4.

Contents

  • The Cinema Lounge
  • Adam's Rib Asks: Should New Movies Have Dead Stars?
  • The 2019 BFI London Film Festival
  • We Need to Hear From You
  • Calendar of Events

    Last 12 issues of the Storyboard.


    The Cinema Lounge

    The Cinema Lounge meets Monday, December 16, 2019 at 7:00pm. Our topic is: Does Disney Own Everything?

    They have Star Wars. They have Marvel. They have Pixar. Hell, they even have The Simpsons. With their recent acquisition of 20th Century Fox, Disney now seems to own every property worth owning. How much is Disney dominating the movie landscape? How does this impact what we will be seeing in theaters?

    The Cinema Lounge, a film discussion group, meets the third Monday of every month (unless otherwise noted) at 7:00pm at     Teaism in Penn Quarter, 400 8th St., NW in Washington, DC (closest Metro stop is Archives, also near Metro Center and Gallery Place). NOTE: We will meet in the downstairs area. You do not need to be a member of the Washington DC Film Society to attend. Cinema Lounge is moderated by Adam Spector, author of the DC Film Society's Adam's Rib column.


    Adam's Rib Asks: Should New Movies Have Dead Stars?

    On November 6, Magic City Films announced production of Finding Jack, an upcoming Vietnam War film. That would hardly be worth mentioning, save for the casting of James Dean in a key role. Dean was unavailable for comment because he’s been dead the past 64 years. The filmmakers are treating Dean’s current condition as a mere technicality. They are planning to construct Dean’s “performance” digitally with computer graphics and another actor supplying the voice. This can happen, but should it? I argue against in my new Adam's Rib column.


    The 2019 BFI London Film Festival

    By Ron Gordner, DC Film Society Member



    The 63rd BFI London Film Festival was held October 2-13, 2019, almost a week earlier on the calendar than in 2018. There were 345 total films; 225 feature films (including 42 documentaries) and over 100 shorts from 78 countries this year showing the global changes of the past year, and including films on immigration, the environment, action, horror, women’s issues and many family and marital dramas. The new Festival director Tricia Tuttle said they had a very strong women’s presence this year, having 40% of the films with female directors. This was up from 38% last year's representation of female directors’ films in the festival. In the competitive films area female directors accounted for nearly 60% of those films. Additional statistics included that the overall festival attendance was up by 6% with the greater London and some areas of the U.K. audience reaching 178,789. Also 17,730 press and industry attendances were recorded this year. Some films were also screened in many other venues across the United Kingdom.

    Categories or Sections of films included: Headline and Strand Galas, Special Presentations, Competitions, Love, Debate, Laugh, Debate, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Create, Family, Treasures, and Experimental.

    Screen talk programs were held with: Kim Longinotto, director of new documentary Shooting the Mafia; Celine Sciamma, director of the French film Portrait of a Lady on Fire; Rian Johnson, director of the thriller Knives Out, Swedish director Lucas Moodysson, director Kasi Lemmons, and actor Robert De Niro.

    The Surprise film turned out to be Uncut Gems starring Adam Sandler.

    There were fewer large hotel press conferences this year after screenings, but red carpet screenings were many at some of the larger venues with blocked off areas where photographers and the general public thronged to see or take photos of the stars and directors.

    Most of the press screenings were at the Vue Cinemas and refurbished Odeon Lux Leicester Square huge theatre. They did not use Picture House Central as last year, which had 2 cafes and had better space for queuing up. The first few days of screenings at the Vue Cinema for separate screens was very confusing until worked out.



    MUST SEE FILMS:

  • And Then We Danced (Levin Akin, Sweden/Georgia/France, 2019). Set primarily in Georgia, Merab, a young male dancer tries to become the lead dancer. The company director says the Georgian dance displays no sexuality but a new dancer definitely portrays a more masculine version of the dance than Merab. A film that shows the constraints of society in many areas including sexuality, aesthetics, dance, and self-identity and self-expression. The film is the Swedish nominee for Best International Feature Film and can be seen in December at the European Union Showcase at the AFI Silver Theatre.

  • Beanpole (Kantemir Balagov, Russia, 2019). Iya and Masha are two young traumatized women trying to survive in Leningrad after post World War II. Russian nominee for Best International Feature Film and should be in some select U.S. theatres.

  • By the Grace of God (Grace A Dieu) (Francois Ozon, France, 2019). When a father finds out that a Catholic priest who sexually assaulted him years ago is still involved in a Scouts retreat, he finally addresses the issue long hidden and tries to get others to come forward and have the priest removed from working with youth. Filmed in some churches in Belgium and elsewhere, the film met some resistance when it was released in France. It also won the Berlinale Grand Jury Prize in 2019. It ran at briefly at the E St Landmark Theatre in late October 2019 and there will be an additional area screening Wednesday, December 18th, at the Avalon Theatre.

  • Honey Boy (Alma Har’el, U.S., 2019). A somewhat autobiographical story of Shia LaBeouf (here named Otis) and his childhood and interaction with his alcoholic and abusive father that is quite painful. Very young Otis is played by Noah Jupe and as a teen and young adult by Lucas Hedges. LaBeouf plays the role of his father. It opened recently in the DC Metro area.

  • The Irishman (Martin Scorsese, U.S., 2019). The closing night gala film at the BFI London Festival this year. Based on the book "I heard You Paint Houses," this is the epic crime tale of how an Irishman gets involved with the mafia and befriends Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa. It is having a short theatrical run and then available on Netflix.

  • Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, U.S., 2019). New Zealand actor/director/writer Taika Waititi agreed to play the imaginary friend (Hitler) for Jojo Betzler, a small boy proud to be in the Hitler Youth movement. Hilarious, yet dramatic turn on the end of World War II in Germany. It recently won the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and stars Scarlett Johansson as the mother willing to support her son and the resistance and has a secret hidden in the house.

  • La Llarona (Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala/France, 2019). Haunting film about a general from the Guatamalan Civil War who is guilty of genocide of indigenous people. Rooted in a somewhat horror genre, dealing with many secrets, lies and revenge.

  • LeMans ‘66 (Ford vs Ferrari) (James Mangold, U.S./France, 2019). Based on the real life relationship of race car drivers Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and British Ken Miles (Christian Bale) and their attempt to build and race a Ford car and beat a Ferrari in 1966. A number of Oscar nominations may come from this film.

  • Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach, U.S., 2019). Sad story of the happy marriage and descent into separation of Nicole (Scarlett Johansson), an actress and her Broadway play director, Charlie (Adam Driver) and the influences of lawyers and others that help sidetrack the reconciliation more into a bicoastal problem arrangement with custody of a son involved. This should be a big Oscar nominated film for actor, actress, screenplay, best film, etc.

  • Mr. Jones (Agnieszka Holland, Poland/Ukraine/U.K., 2019). Feature film based on the real British/Welsh journalist Gareth Jones (James Norton) trying to tell the world about the true Stalin agenda and poverty and starving populations in the Ukraine and elsewhere in the Soviet Empire who is discredited by the Western press. Another fascinating recent film dealing with subverted true and fake news coverage.

  • Western Stars (Thom Zimney, Bruce Springsteen, U.S., 2019). Somewhat a concert film but deeper than that. Springsteen’s 19th album follows his narration of his life and new songs dealing with the melancholic West and many separate stories within the songs.


    VERY GOOD FILMS:

  • Arab Blues (Manele Labidi Labbé, France/Tunisia, 2019). Young woman Selma returns home to Tunisia after living years in France and hopes to set up a private psychoanalysis practice but meets multiple hurtles. It screened at 2019 Arabian Sights in DC.

  • Atlantics (Mati Diop, France/Senegal/Belgium, 2019). Ada is set to marry another man but loves Souleiman, a fisherman she awaits to return and save her. Supernatural forces may or may not be at work also in this surreal film. This is Senegal’s nominee for Best International Feature Film.

  • Babyteeth (Shannon Murphy, Australia, 2019). Sharp Objects star Eliza Scanlen stars as a very ill teenager who loves a young drug dealer. Parents (Ben Mendelsohn [Game of Thrones] and Essie Davis [The Babadook, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries] are her parents and repelled by Mila’s choices but want her to be happy in what may be a short-lived life.

  • Bacurau (Kleber Mendonca Filho,Juliano Dornelles Brazil/France, 2019). Winner of the 2019 Cannes Jury Prize. A small group of armed American and European tourists arrive in what seems to be an abandoned town. A dark story unfolds that will require discussion after the film ends.

  • Eternal Beauty (Craig Roberts, United Kingdom, 2019). Sally Hawkins takes on another challenging role: June, a young woman with schizophrenia trying to survive living on her own with medications, a somewhat supportive family, and the chance for new love. Hawkins, as ever, is extraordinary capturing the joys and pains of life, real and delusionary. Supporting cast includes David Thewlis, Billie Pipe, Alice Lowe, and Penelope Wilton.

  • Fanny Lye Deliver’d (Thomas Clay, United Kingdom, 2019). Maxine Peake (Silks) is a dutiful mother and wife, Fanny, to Puritan hardened husband, John (Charles Dance) on an isolated Shropshire farm in 1867. When Fanny finds two strange but young lovers hiding in her barn and asking for help, her ordered world is changed forever.

  • Knives Out (Rian Johnson, U.S., 2019). A fun roller coaster thriller, family murder mystery that keeps you guessing with many known actors: Jamie Lee Curtis; Toni Collette, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, Daniel Craig, Ana de Armas, Don Johnson, and Christopher Plummer as the family patriarch. The film opened in late November in the metro DC area.

  • The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers, U.S., 2019). Director Eggers (The Witch) black and white New England coast claustrophobic lighthouse with the main older keeper (Willem Defoe) and new young apprentice (Robert Pattinson). An odd film mixing cinematographic beauty and brutality, drunken scowling histrionics mixed with pounding horror of the Nature and the waves.

  • Mattias and Maxime (Xavier Dolan, Canada, 2019). Dolan directs and acts as Maxime who is leaving Canada for Australia soon and he will miss his childhood friend Mattias (Gabriel D’Almeida Freitas). Some house parties reveal some intimacies and vulnerabilities the two must try to reconcile.

  • Noura’s Dream (Hinde Boujemaa, Tunisia/Belgium/France/Qatar, 2019). Noura’s husband may soon be released from prison. With three children to account for, will her husband return to petty crime again? Also she is secretly intimate with Lassad, and wants to divorce her husband. The film highlights the dangers of infidelity and the position of a woman in Tunisian’s religious and legal system.

  • The Report (Scott A. Burns, U.S., 2019). Adam Driver stars as Daniel Jones, the journalist assigned by Senator Diane Feinstein (Annette Benning) to investigate the CIA’s torture methods after 9/11.

  • Rocks (Sarah Gavron, U.K., 2019). Gavron (Brick Lane) directs a story of London teens, especially Olushola (known also as Rocks) who cares for her younger brother also. When their mother disappears, Rocks tries to keep things quiet and normal without involving child services, hoping Mom will return soon, as she has done on other disappearances.

  • System Crasher (Nora Fingscheidt, Germany,; 2019). A drama involving 9-year-old Benni who is violent, traumatized and out of control, even for her fearful mother. Can teachers, social workers, or therapists reach her to fit somehow into society or will she be lost in the institutionalized system? This was recently shown in the DC area at Film Neu. This is Germany’s nominee for Best International Feature Film.


    GOOD FILMS:

  • Adoration (Fabrice du Welz, Belgium/France, 2019). 12-year-old Paul lives with his mother, a nurse who works in a private psychiatric facility in the country. He becomes fascinated with a young, beautiful teenage girl Gloria and wants to help her at all costs, despite her schizophrenic and violent episodes. Excellent acting from the two young actors on the run in a bittersweet tale of love and vulnerability.

  • Burning Cane (Phillip Yomans, U.S. 2019). The film was the top winner at this year’s Tribecca Film Festival. Depicted almost as a documentary from Louisiana, a local preacher with his own drinking demons tries to help a family where the mother is dealing with her grown son’s shady work, problems with his estranged wife and son. Very stylized, similar to a Terrence Malick film.

  • Burning Night (Eryk Rocha, Brazil/Argentina/France, 2019). Paulo is a cab driver who needs money to pay his ex-wife and child support. The film is a feature but documentary in style, of one night of his many passengers and encounters.

  • Calm with Horses (Nick Rowland, United Kingdom/Ireland, 2019). Douglas (Cosmo Jarvis) is a hired muscle for a mafia like character in rural Ireland. His sidekick, played by Barry Keoghan, tries to keep the brutish, yet vulnerable Douglas in line, but events force Douglas to decide between loyalty to his employer or revenge.

  • Girl with a Bracelet (Stephane Demoustier, France/Belgium, 2019). Teenager Lise is charged with killing her best friend. Her parents (Chiara Mastroianni, Roschdy Zem) need to support their daughter and her innocence in court. Is she totally innocent from the charges or not?

  • Judy & Punch (Mirrah Foukes, Australia, 2019). Based on the fairy tale, Judy (Mia Wasikowska) travels from town to town with husband Punch, who is unfaithful and also abusive. Dark, sometimes comic, fable with a feminist twist.

  • The King (David Michod, United Kingdom/Hungary/Australia, 2019). Timothee Chalamet as the young Hal to become Henry V. Robert Pattison also stars as the French dauphin. This film had a brief run here and is available on Netflix.

  • Lara (Jan-Ole Gester, Germany, 2019). Lara is estranged from her pianist son Viktor. He is giving a concert in the city and it is also her birthday so she wants to buy tickets and invite colleagues to go. Viktor is preparing for the concert and may not need the overbearing advice of his pushy mother who was once his piano teacher. The film will show at the European Union Showcase in December at the AFI Silver Theatre.

  • Martin Eden (Pietro Marcello, Itgaly/France/Germany, 2019). An interesting collage of one man’s philosophical, religious, artistic, and political trek through life and introduction to the middle or higher classes in Society. It will also have screenings at the European Union Showcase in December 2019 at the AFI Silver Theatre.

  • Ondog (Wang Quan’an, Mongolia, 2019). Fascinating landscapes with an investiagion of a dead body and possible murder mystery in rural Mongolia where a detective is assigned to stay behind to guard the body and has interactions with the local herdsmen and women.

  • The Painted Bird (Vaclav Marhoul, Czech Republic/Slovakia/Ukraine, 2019). Clocking in at over three hours in length, this black and white bleak journey of a young boy across Nazi-held Central Europe can seem unrelenting at times as the young boy encounters many different people. The film will also have showings at the European Union Showcase in December 2019 at the AFI Silver Theatre and is the Czech Republic’s submission for Best International Feature Film.

  • Rialto (Peter Makcie Burns, Ireland/United Kingdom, 2019). A Dublin man with a family and in a strange midlife crisis, suddenly finds himself fascinated with a male teen sex worker. He is dealing also with possible unemployment and issues with his wife, estranged teen son, and coming to terms with the death of his own abusive father.

  • Saint Maud (Paul Dano, U.S., 2019). A strange beautifully acted tale of a private nurse Maud (Mortydd Clark) working for a hedonistic patron (Jennifer Ehle) who has a chronic or terminal illness and Maud’s obsession to save her soul.

  • Sid and Judy (Stephen Kijak, United Kingdom, 2019). Marking the 50th anniversary of Judy Garland’s death, a documentary about her final years and her interactions in London and with ex-husband and manager, Sid Luft.

  • A White, White Day (Hlynur Palmason, Ideland/Denmark/Sweden, 2019). Police chief Ingimundur is building a new house but is still having difficulty dealing with his wife’s death after an automobile accident. As new evidence is found about the accident, he becomes obsessed with grief and revenge. This is Iceland’s submission for Best International Feature Film.


    Award Winners

    Official Competition Winner, Best Film: Monos (Alejandro Landes, Colombia/Argentina/Netherlands/Germany/Sweden/Uruguay/U.S./Switzerland/Denmark, 2019).

    The First Feature Competition Winner, The Sutherland Award: Atlantics (Mati Diop, France/Senegal/Belgium, 2019). See description above.

    Documentary Competition Winner, The Grierson Award: White Riot (Rubika Shah, United Kingdom, 2019).

    Short Film Competition Winner, Best Short Film Award: Fault Line (Soheil Amirsharifi, Iran, 2019).

    See     the website for more information.


    We Need to Hear From YOU

    We are always looking for film-related material for the Storyboard. Our enthusiastic and well-traveled members have written about their trips to the Cannes Film Festival, Karlovy Vary Film Festival, London Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Austin Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Festival, the Berlin Film Festival, the Palm Springs Film Festival, the Reykjavik Film Festival, the Munich Film Festival, and the Locarno Film Festival. We also heard about what it's like being an extra in the movies. Have you gone to an interesting film festival? Have a favorite place to see movies that we aren't covering in the Calendar of Events? Seen a movie that blew you away? Read a film-related book? Gone to a film seminar? Interviewed a director? Taken notes at a Q&A? Read an article about something that didn't make our local news media? Send your contributions to Storyboard and share your stories with the membership. And we sincerely thank all our contributors for this issue of Storyboard.


    Calendar of Events

    FILMS

     American Film Institute Silver Theater
    The 32nd AFI European Union Film Showcase (December 4-22) brings 46 films from the 28 countries in the European Union, including award winners, regional box-office hits, debut works by up-and-coming talents, new works by leading auteurs plus 11 Oscar submissions for Best International Film. The Opening Night film is Alice and the Mayor from France and the Closing Night film is Patrick from Belgium. Some films will have directors present to discuss their film. A festival pass is available.

    Special engagements at the AFI during December include The Wizard of Oz, The Muppet Movie, North by Northwest, The Third Man, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and This Is Spinal Tap. Two films with music scores by Toru Takemitsu will be introduced by Max Carpenter: The Koumiko Mystery and The Inland Sea, both in new DCPs. The Best of 48 Hour Film Sci-Fi and Horror Project compiles the best results from October's filmmaking contest. The documentary Fantastic Fungi with filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg present for Q&A is on December 12.

    Holiday films include Black Christmas (1974); A Christmas Story; Die Hard, Gremlins; Holiday Affair (1949); The Holly and the Ivy with author of "Christmas in the Movies" Jeremy Arnhold present to introduce the film; It's a Wonderful Life; Miracle on 34th Street; The Muppet Christmas Carol; Remember the Night; Silent Night, Deadly Night; White Christmas; The Reckless Moment; and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation with author Jeremy Arnhold introducing the film.

    Freer Gallery of Art
    A series of Japanese classic films continues at the Freer. On December 4 at 2:00pm is A Story from Chikamatsu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954).

    On December 5 at 7:00pm is 13 Assassins (Takashi Miike, 2010) with live music accompaniment by DJ 2-Tone Jones.

    On December 8 at 2:00pm is The Minamata Mural (Noriaki Tsuchimoto, 1981), a documentary about artists Iri and Toshi Maruki who paint murals depicting the mercury-poisoned town of Minamata. Preceded by a short film Kyoto (Kon Ichikawa, 1970).

    On December 15 at 2:00pm is the great silent classic Broken Blossoms (D.W. Griffith, 1919) starring Lillian Gish and Richard Barthelmess. Appalasia provides an original live score to the silent film.

    National Gallery of Art
    While the National Gallery of Art's East Building Auditorium is being renovated films are shown in the West Building Lecture Hall and other locations.

    "We Tell: Fifty Years of Community Media" (November 23-December 21), a five-part series about the 50 year history of community media in the US. On December 7 at 2:00pm is "Collaborative Knowledge," a collection of films from community media centers. On December 7 at 4:00pm is "Environments of Race and Place," short films about immigration, migration and racial identity. On December 15 at 4:00pm is "Wages of Work," short films about jobs, wages, and underemployment. On December 21 at 2:00pm is "States of Violence," short films about incarceration, police brutality, crime and war. Location: West Building Lecture Hall.

    "ArtFIFA" International Festival of Films on Art" (December 13-14) is a sampling of work from the 37th Festival International du Film sur l'Art in Montreal. On December 13 at noon is Part I and on December 14 at noon is Part II. Both are in the West Building Lecture Hall.

    Special events in December are the documentary Our Family Album (Charles Musser and Maria Threese Serana, 2019) on December 1 at 2:00pm with an introduction by Charles Musser. Location: West Building Lecture Hall. On December 11 at 7:00pm is a Cine-concert "Gaumont Restores," featuring L'X Noir (Leonce Perret, 1916) preceded by four short films Dressage d'oiseaux (1916), La Course a la saucisse (Alice Guy Blache, 1907), Onesime aime lees betes (Jean Durand, 1913) and Le Petit Chantecler (Emile Cohi, 1910). Andrew Simpson provides music accompaniment. Location: Embassy of France-registration required. On December 15 at 2:00pm is Broken Blossoms (D.W. Griffith, 1919) with Appalasia in performance. Location: Freer Gallery of Art. On December 22 at 2:00pm and 4:30pm is John Richardson: The Art of Picasso 1927-1973) (Edgar Howard, Tom Piper, and Muffie Dunn, 2017). Location West Building Lecture Hall.

    Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
    On December 7 at 2:00pm is Manifesto (Julian Rosefeldt, 2015). Cate Blanchett performs thirteen distinct roles in vignettes from 20th century art movements.

    Museum of American History
    A number of holiday films are shown in the Warner Brothers theater. On December 5 at 5:15pm and 8:00pm is Love Actually (Richard Curtis, 2003); on December 8 at 3:30pm and December 24 at 3:15pm is It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1947); on December 14 at 3:15pm is Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988); on December 15 at 3:50pm is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Jeremiah Chechik, 1989); on December 21 at 3:50pm is Elf (Jon Favreau, 2003); on December 22 at 3:50pm is A Christmas Story (Bob Clark, 1983); on December 23 at 3:50pm is White Christmas (Michael Curtiz, 1954); on December 28 at 3:20pm is The Best Man Holiday (Malcolm D. Lee, 2013) and on December 29 at 3:30pm is Trading Places (John Landis, 1983).

    Washington Jewish Community Center
    The newly renovated JCC has begun its new film program. Titles in December include Synonyms (Nadav Lapid, 2019) (November 29-December 12; Shoelaces (Jacob Goldwasser, 2018) December 13-21; A Hidden Life (Terrence Malick, 2019) on December 9 at 7:00pm and two films from the AFI's European Union Film Festival: Those Who Remained on December 15 at 2:30pm and The Painted Bird on December 18 at 7:00pm. See the website for dates, times and tickets.

    French Embassy
    On December 10 at 7:00pm is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004), part of the series "The Creative Mind of Michel Gondry."

    The Japan Information and Culture Center
    On December 6 at 6:30pm is the animated film Mirai (Mamoru Hosoda, 2018).

    On December 18 at 6:30pm is The Night I Swam (Igarashi Kohei, 2018).

    Bethesda Row
    "Cinema Arts Bethesda" is a monthly Sunday morning film discussion series. On December 15 at 10:00am is The Constitution (Rajko Grlic, 2016) from Croatia.

    Breakfast is at 9:30am, the film is at 10:00am and discussion follows, moderated by Adam Spector, host of the DC Film Society's Cinema Lounge and author of the column "Adam's Rib." A season pass is available.

    National Museum of Natural History
    On December 16 at 6:45pm is "The Bearded Lady Project," a documentary film and photographic project feature the work of female paleontologists. A Q&A discussion follows the screening. Also see the exhibit "The Bearded Lady Project."

    The Avalon
    On December 4 at 8:00pm is the documentary Stuffed (Erin Derham, 2019), about the world of taxidermy. Part of the "Avalon Docs" series.

    On December 11 at 8:00pm is the comedy Bear With Us (Tomas Pavlicek, 2018), for this month's "Czech Lions" series.

    The "French Cinematheque" film for December is By the Grace of God (Francois Ozon, 2018) on December 18 at 8:00pm.

    Italian Cultural Institute
    On December 20 at 6:00pm is "The Shortest Day," a collection of six short Italian films about love.

    Library of Congress
    The Mary Pickford Theater at the Library of Congress continues its series of films showcasing the Library's collection and including newly preserved films. On December 19 at 7:00pm is Key Witness (D. Ross Lederman, 1947), shown with The Devil Thumbs a Ride (Felix E. Feist, 1947). Both are recently preserved film noirs.

    "Capital Classics" at Landmark's West End Cinema
    Classic films are shown at the West End Cinema on Wednesdays at 1:30pm, 4:30pm and 7:30pm. On December 4 is A Face in the Crowd (Elia Kazan, 1957); on December 11 is Dr. Zhivago (David Lean, 1965) (no 4:30pm show); and on December 18 is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Jeremiah Chechik, 1989).

    Kennedy Center
    On December 1 at 2:00pm is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (David Yates, 2007). The NSO Pops plays composer Nicholas Hooper's score.

    Solas Nua
    On December 11 at 6:30pm is Citizen Lane (Thaddeus O'Sullivan, 2018), a documentary about Hugh Lane who fights to establish a public modern art gallery. Location: American University museum, 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW.

    Atlas Performing Arts Film Series
    On December 1 at 4:00pm is the silent film Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925) with music accompaniment by Andrew Simpson.

    Hill Center
    "Evil and the Anti-Hero" is a three-part series of films in which anti-heroes confront the unjust status quo. A discussion with series curator Tom Zaniello follows. On December 6 is Brother From Another Planet (John Sayles, 1984).

    Alden Theater
    On December 11 at 12:30pm is a kids film The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992).

    Reel Affirmations XTra
    On December 12 at 7:00pm is Crystal City (Terrence Crawford, 2019), a documentary about crystal meth. On December 12 at 9:00pm is Jose (Li Cheng, 2018) from Guatemala. Location for both: Landmark's E Street Cinema.


    FILM FESTIVALS

    AFI European Union Film Showcase
    The 32nd European Union Film Showcase (December 4-22) includes films from countries in the European Union. A total of 46 films are shown, many are award-winners from international film festivals, European box office hits, and official Oscar submissions for Best Foreign Language Film. The Opening Night film is Alice and the Mayor from France, followed by a reception; and the Closing Night film is Patrick from Belgium. Many films will have special guests and Q&As. Festival passes are available, see the website.


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