The Cinema Lounge
On Monday, August 21, 2023 at 8:00pm please join the Cinema Lounge, the DC Film Society's monthly film discussion group. We will be online again.
TOPIC: Christopher Nolan
For more than 20 years, Christopher Nolan has made films that have stretched time, narrative, and the audience's imagination. Memento, a film largely telling a story backwards. put him on the map, while The Dark Knight trilogy gave him freedom to make the films he wanted. Nolan's films are big and bold, and he is one of the few directors where every new opening is an event. With the critical and commercial success of his latest, Oppenheimer, let's discuss what makes his films such as Insomnia, The Prestige, Inception, Dunkirk, Interstellar, and Tenet so distinctive, and in some cases, polarizing.
Please RSVP to atspector@hotmail.com and you'll get the Zoom link 1-2 days before the discussion.
The Cinema Lounge, a film discussion group, meets the third Monday of every month (unless otherwise noted) at 8:00pm 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. WE ARE MEETING ONLINE THIS MONTH. 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.
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 Festivl, the Locarno Film Festival, The Nitrate Picture Show, and the Chicago Critics 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
Special Events in August include the "Cat Video Fest 2023" and a presentation by Count Gore De Vol The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951).
"Warner Bros. Centennial" Part 2 (July 14-September 2). Titles in August are A Clockwork Orange (1971); All the President's Men (1976); Badlands (1973); Barry Lyndon (1975); Batman (1989); Beetlejuice (1988); Blazing Saddles (1974); Dog Day Afternoon (1975); Giant (1956) in a 4K restoration; Girlfriends (1978); McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971); Mean Streets (1973); Night Moves (1974); Purple Rain (1984); Superman (1978); Superman II -- The Richard Donner Cut (1980/2006); The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) with a guest introduction; The Right Stuff (1983); and The Shining (1980) in a 4K restoration. More in September.
"AFI Silver After Dark" is a new series of midnight-style movies. The August film is Tokyo Pop (Fran Rubel Kuzui, 1988) in a 4K restoration.
"Sight and Sound: The Top 10" (July 16-September 20) is a series of the top ten films from BFI's Sight and Sound Magazine Critics' Poll. August films are Beau Travail (1999); In the Mood for Love (2000); 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Tokyo Story (1953). More in September.
"AFI's Night at the Movies with ArcLight Cinemas" (July 28-September 13) is a series of films presented at the ArcLight Cinemas' famed Cinerama Dome. Titles in August are Blade Runner--The Final Cut (1982/2007) with a recorded introduction by Harrison Ford; and The Matrix (1999) with a recorded introduction by Keanu Reeves. More in September.
"Looney Tunes" (July 15-September 3) is back by popular demand. Warner Bros. classic Looney Tunes cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweety and more. Four programs are showing in August and are grouped as follows: "Going for Gold;" "I Love to Spoofa;" "Mel Blanc: the Man of a Thousand Voices;" and "Looney Tunes B-Team." One more in September.
"Jean-Luc Godard Remembered" (July 14-September 10). French New Wave pioneer Jean-Luc Godard (1930-2022) was one of the most influential and groundbreaking filmmakers with more than 100 films to his credit. This tribute series includes several new 4K restorations. Titles in August are Contempt (1963); Two or Three Things I Know About Her (1966); A Married Woman (1964); Every Man for Himself (1980); La Chinoise (1967); Masculine Feminine (1966); My Life to Live (1962); and Weekend (1967). More in September.
"The Furious Fists of Bruce Lee" (August 21-September 18) is a short retrospective of kung fu legend Bruce Lee. Titles are Fist of Fury (1972) and The Big Boss (1971). More in September.
Freer Gallery of Art
On August 9 at 2:00pm is the cult classic Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (Kenji Misume, 1972). Part of the "Japanese Classics" series.
Titles in the series "Three Restored Hong Kong Classics" are Infernal Affairs (Andrew Lau Wai-keung and Alan Mak, 2002) on August 4 at 7:00pm; Rouge (Stanley Kwan, 1987) on August 6 at 2:00pm and Boat People (Ann Hui, 1982).
National Gallery of Art
The series "Summer of 16mm: Celebrating 100 Years of Film" continues in August. On August 6 at 2:00pm is "Completa," a program of three short films Monangambee (Sarah Maldoror, 1969), Diary of an African Man (Julie Dash, 1977) and Conspiracy (Simone Leigh and Madeleine Hunt-Ehrlich, 2022). Filmmaker Simone Leigh will take part in a discussion after the films. On August 13 at 2:00pm is "Portraiture and Short Visual Diaries," a collection of ten short films from Canyon Cinema and Pacific Film Archive. On August 20 at 2:00pm is the documentary Experimental Curator: The Sally Dixon Story (2022), with filmmaker Brigid Maher present for discussion. On August 26 at 2:00pm is three sparks (Naoma Uman, 2023) with the filmmaker in person for discussion.
On August 5 at 2:00pm is an encore screening of Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition (David Bickerstaff, 2023).
On August 12 at 12:00pm is "International Shorts: Best of the Thomas Edison Film Festival 2023." This is an annual tour of award winners from the Thomas Edison Film Festival, introduced by Jane Steuerwald, Festival Director. The program is in two parts: Part I (12:00pm-1:45pm) includes the animated Cornucopia (Ani Antonova and Dimiter Ovtcharov) from Austria; the documentary Leo and Nymphia (Hsin-An Pan) from Taiwan; As Big as the Sky (Lindsay Clipner) from the US; the animated Dancing in the Shadows (Eliot Bloom and Alexandra Gordon-Gibson) from the Netherlands; the documentary In Love with a Problem (Julie Kim) from Canada; the animated Inner Polar Bear (Gerald Conn) from the US; Intersextion (Richard Riger Reeves) from Canada; and The Boy Who Couldn't Feel Pain (Eugen Merher) from Germany. Part II (2:30pm-4:45pm) includes the documentary Inside the Beauty Bubble (Cheryl Bookout and Cheri Gaulke) from the US; Language Unknown (Janelle VanderKelen) from the US; City of Ghosts (Christian Elliot and Elle Ginter) from the UK); the animated Now I'm in the Kitchen (Yana Pan) from the US; Winter's Passing (Yang Fei and Pinghu) from the US; giroscopia (John Muse and Brendamaris Rodriguez) from the US; the animated Crumbs! (Like Jaeger and Amara Jaeger) from the US; and Life Left Behind (Valia Phyllis Zwart) from Norway.
All are in the East Building Auditorium. Registration is required.
Washington Jewish Community Center
On August 3, 10 and 24 at 7:30pm is A Compassionate Spy (Steven James, 2022), a documentary about Ted Hall,
physicist on the Manhattan Project. At the August 24 show is a Q&A with Ben Pauker of the Washington Post and film producer Dave Lindorff.
French Embassy
On September 6 at 7:30pm is a Cine-Concert with harpist Isabelle Olivier on women pioneers of silent cinema.
National Archives
On August 25 at 7:00pm is the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington film screening, The March (James Blue, 1964). Speakers include David A. Frank from the University of Oregon.
The Avalon
On August 2 at 8:00pm is the French film Scarlet (Pierre Marcello, 2022) part of the "Programmer's Choice series.
On August 9 at 8:00pm for the "Films in Focus" series is Anonymous Sister (Jamie Boyle, 2021).
On August 16 at 8:00pm is the "French Cinematheque" pick for August Two Tickets to Greece (Marc Fitoussi, 2022).
On August 23 at 8:00pm is Sand Flakes (Gitit and Yahel Kibiri, 2023) for the "Reel Israel" series.
For "Cine Polska" is Filip (Michal Kwiecinski, 2022) on August 30 at 8:00pm.
The Avalon's year-long Centennial Program "100 Years of Cinema Magic" celebrates Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (Judy Irving, 2003) on August 20 at 10:30am.
Library of Congress
The Mary Pickford Theater shows The Front Page (Billy Wilder, 1974) on August 17 at 7:00pm.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress holds its sixth annual "Summer Movies on the Lawn" this summer, focusing on National Film Registry Selections and with live and recorded music before each film. On August 3 is Mary Poppins (1964); on August 10 is Jaws (1975). The following films will be shown in the Coolidge Auditorium and require tickets: on August 17 at 7:00pm is the documentary The Hike Back; on August 24 is "From Cylinders to Surround Mixes," a series of short films related to the history of sound recording.
Landmark's E Street Cinema
"Retro Replay" is a series of classic films shown Tuesdays at 4:00pm and 7:30pm (note that the times may vary). This month's theme is "Happy Birthday, Mr. Hitchcock!. On August 1 is The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956); on August 8 is Rear Window (1954); on August 15 is The 39 Steps (1935); on August 22 is Rope (1948); and on August 29 is The Lady Vanishes (1938).
Kennedy Center
On August 4 at 8:15pm is the animated film Moana (2016), shown outdoors on the Reach Video Wall. On August 11 at 8:00pm is Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977); on August 18 at 8:00pm is A League of Their Own (1992); on August 25 at 7:45pm is O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). All are shown outdoors on the Reach Video Wall. No reservations needed. Note that the starting times vary depending on sundown.
Prologue Theater
Prologue Theater brings a classic movie series as a tie-in to their summer production "Monsters of the American Cinema." On August 4 at 9:30pm is The Invisible Man (1933); on August 5 at 12:00pm and 9:30pm is Dracula (1931); and on August 6 at 4:00pm is Alice in Wonderland (1951).
Old Greenbelt Theater
For the "Summer Concert Series" is What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat, and Tears? (John Scheinfeld, 2023) on August 2 at 8:00pm; On August 9 at TBA is Squaring the Circle (Anton Corbijn, 2023); on August 16 at TBA is Eric Clapton: Across 24 Nights (David Barnard, 2023); on August 23 at TBA is Carole King: Home Again (George Scott, 2023); and on August 30 at TBA is Sign o the Times (Albert Magnoli, 1987).
The "School's Out" series includes Brave (Mark Andrews, 2012) on August 3 at 1:00pm; The Iron Giant (Brad Bird, 1999) on August 10 at 1:00pm; Robin Hood (Wolfgang Reitherman, 1973) on August 17 at 1:00pm; and on August 24 at 1:00pm is Monsters University (Dan Scanlon, 2013). All are animated.
"Monday Matinees" features the great classic North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959) on August 7 at 1:00pm and August 10 at 8:00pm.
For the "Cult Classics" is The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen, 1998) on August 17 at TBA.
Other special events include the "Cat Video Fest 2023" on August 13 at 11:00am.
Embassy of Argentina
The Period Film Series continues August 23 at 6:30pm with The Signalr (Ricardo Darín and Martín Hodara, 2007) set in 1952. Reservations are required.
Angelika Film Center Mosaic
The Harry Potter series continues in August with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)on August 26 at 11:00am.
"Classics in Black and White" features a classic B&W film on the third Monday of each month. On August 21 at 4:00pm and 7:00pm is Roman Holiday (1953) starring Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson.
For the "Angelika Classic" series is The Shining (1975) on August 7 at 7:00pm
The "Studio Ghibli Summer Festival" (June 14-Aug 31) shows films on Wednesdays at 7:00pm with English subtitles and Thursdays at 1:00pm dubbed in English. On August 2 at 7:00pm and August 3 at 1:00pm is Kiki's Delivery Service (1989); on August 9 at 7:00pm and August 10 at 1:00pm is Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984); on August 16 at 7:00pm and August 17 at 1:00pm is Castle in the Sky (1986); on August 23 at 7:00pm and August 24 at 1:00pm is Only Yesterday (1991) and on August 30 at 7:00pm and August 31 at 1:00pm is Grave of the Fireflies (1988).
FILM FESTIVALS
