a highly-opinionated selection of things happening around town, and sometimes out of town. this month's page here.
tue. dec. 1 freeway: crack in the system FREE @ hammer go for broke FREE 1:30 PM @ skirball mistress america FREE (RSVP) 7 PM @ usc stark die hard 7 PM @ arclight santa monica die hard @ arclight hollywood rocco and his brothers 2:30 9:45 PM @ silent movie theater aferim! (w/ q&a) FREE (RSVP) @ awardsline @ landmark stir crazy, see no evil hear no evil @ new beverly wed. dec. 2 daniel bachman @ echo the karate kid (w/ q&a) FREE (RSVP) 7 PM @ usc stark rocco and his brothers 2:30 PM @ silent movie theater under capricorn, the age of innocence @ new beverly thu. dec. 3 f for fake FREE 7 PM @ csun armer gremlins @ eat see hear @ laemmle noho 7 lois weber in early hollywood @ ampas linwood dunn eugene chadbourne @ coaxial macbeth (2015) FREE (RSVP) 7 PM @ usc stark 2001: a space odyssey 7 PM @ arclight santa monica christmas vacation 8 PM @ arclight culver city telecaves, tara jane o'neil @ pehrspace jonathan richman @ eagle rock center for the arts under capricorn, the age of innocence @ new beverly colleen green @ harvard & stone gal pals @ lolipop records fri. dec. 4 dusty and sweets mcgee @ ucla film archive psycho MIDNIGHT @ nuart the final passage: chauvet-pont d'arc cave FREE (RSVP) 7 PM @ getty center where to invade next (w/ q&a) FREE (RSVP) 2 PM @ usc stark dirty rotten scoundrels, crimes and misdemeanors @ aero car wash, thank god it's friday @ new beverly django unchained MIDNIGHT @ new beverly the car MIDNIGHT @ silent movie theater angelo de augustine @ smell sat. dec. 5 tillie's punctured romance 3 PM, safety last! @ ucla film archive crime and punishment (RSVP) 7:45 PM @ starlight studios goodfellas @ egyptian ixcanul (w/ q&a) @ aero car wash, thank god it's friday @ new beverly blazing saddles MIDNIGHT @ new beverly dangerous men MIDNIGHT @ silent movie theater all night salon 7 PM @ epfc sweet blues: a film about mike bloomfield FREE 1 PM @ mayme a. clayton library & museum sun. dec. 6 wanda 7 PM, shadows @ ucla film archive back to the future trilogy (w/ q&a) FREE (RSVP) NOON @ usc sinatra raiders of the lost ark 5:30 PM @ arclight santa monica this changes everything @ crest the wild bunch @ egyptian harold lloyd's world of comedy, laurel & hardy's laughing 20's @ new beverly the silent partner FREE 7 PM @ reel grit @ afi spokenest, absurd walls @ underground skate supply mon. dec. 7 clueless 7 PM @ arclight santa monica the loved one (w/ q&a) 8 PM @ egyptian harold lloyd's world of comedy, laurel & hardy's laughing 20's @ new beverly the palm beach story @ greg proops film club @ silent movie theater tue. dec. 8 sea lions @ satellite bad day at black rock FREE 1:30 PM @ skirball nenette and boni @ la collectionneuse @ silent movie theater birth of the blues 1 PM @ lacma death race 2000, p.o.w. the escape @ new beverly memories on stone (w/ q&a) FREE (RSVP) @ envelope independent @ arclight sherman oaks wed. dec. 9 east los angeles and the chicano moratorium FREE @ ucla film archive killer of sheep FREE 8 PM @ union station reservoir dogs 7 PM @ arclight santa monica the look of silence (w/ q&a) @ aero man in the wilderness, a man called horse @ new beverly thu. dec. 10 spaceballs @ eat see hear @ laemmle noho 7 paris blues 8:30 PM @ redcat scrooged 8 PM @ arclight culver city double indemnity FREE 2 PM @ santa monica library montana branch misery, the silence of the lambs @ aero animation breakdown roundup @ silent movie theater an animated evening with lance bangs 10 PM @ animation breakdown @ silent movie theater remember the night 7 PM @ ampas linwood dunn john wiese (screening) FREE 9 PM @ laca man in the wilderness, a man called horse @ new beverly you carry me (w/ q&a) FREE (RSVP) @ awardsline @ landmark personal & the pizzas @ five star bar fri. dec. 11 m (1931) @ lacma bless their little hearts, please don't bury me alive! @ ucla film archive casablanca MIDNIGHT @ nuart the bug (feat. earth & liz harris), william basinski @ masonic lodge @ hollywood forever the manchurian candidate (1962), the man with the golden arm @ egyptian the last of the mohicans, the age of innocence @ aero belladonna of sadness 10 PM @ animation breakdown @ silent movie theater why should the birds fly? @ epfc almost there @ arena cinema mecolodiacs @ taix django unchained MIDNIGHT @ new beverly the brides of dracula 9:55 PM @ new beverly sat. dec. 12 the last laugh (1924, w/ live accompaniment) @ lacma the big sleep, double indemnity @ ucla film archive bouquet @ non plus ultra die hard @ cinespia @ million dollar theatre meg baird @ besant lodge christmas vacation @ street food cinema @ palace theatre ocean's eleven (1960) @ egyptian pulp fiction @ aero mouse-terpiece theater NOON @ animation breakdown @ silent movie theater tess of the storm country (1914) 2 PM @ silent movie theater karel zeman: adventurer in film 4:30 PM, inspiration @ animation breakdown @ silent movie theater smokehouse films' cinematic cabinet of wonders 8 PM @ epfc almost there 3:00 7:30 PM @ arena cinema blazing saddles MIDNIGHT @ new beverly mike watt & the missing men, adult books, bombon, etc @ midnight mass @ madhaus (long beach) personal & the pizzas @ the observatory (santa ana) star wars episode iv (16mm) FREE 5 PM @ secret sixteen @ creature features the brides of dracula 9:55 PM @ new beverly sun. dec. 13 kiss me deadly 7 PM, m (1951) @ ucla film archive post life @ smell invention for destruction 2 PM @ animation breakdown @ silent movie theater the ace of light: the films of sky david 7 PM @ animation breakdown @ silent movie theater horse money @ filmforum @ spielberg @ egyptian male gaze @ non plus ultra almost there 6:00 9:30 PM @ arena cinema this changes everything FREE 2:30 PM @ conscientious projector @ all saints church forum the brides of dracula 9:55 PM @ new beverly mon. dec. 14 mike kelley: single channel videos 8:30 PM @ redcat los angeles in the newsreels @ ucla film archive the king of kong: a fistful of quarters 8 PM @ arclight hollywood almost there @ arena cinema anomalisa (w/ q&a) 7 PM @ reel talk @ regent the brides of dracula 9:55 PM @ new beverly tue. dec. 15 the color of pomegranates FREE @ hammer fast times at ridgemont high 7 PM @ arclight santa monica almost there @ arena cinema the patsy FREE (RSVP) 6:30 PM @ annenberg beach house defiance, rolling thunder @ new beverly wed. dec. 16 fuzz, thee oh sees, wand @ teragram ballroom the ardennes @ aero crocodiles @ smell almost there 9 PM @ arena cinema earthless @ fonda cartel land (w/ q&a) FREE (RSVP) @ awardsline @ landmark anomalisa (w/ q&a) 8:30 PM @ landmark thu. dec. 17 big trouble in little china @ eat see hear @ laemmle noho 7 fuzz, thee oh sees, wand @ teragram ballroom almost there 9 PM @ arena cinema he named me malala (w/ q&a) FREE (RSVP) @ awardsline @ landmark the revenant FREE (RSVP) 6 PM @ the envelope @ writers guild theater once upon a time in the west (w/ q&a) FREE (RSVP) @ italian cultural institute fri. dec. 18 jon brion @ largo colleen green @ echo christmas vacation, scrooged @ egyptian nihilist film festival @ epfc mind meld @ smell stinking heaven 6:45 PM @ arena cinema scrooge (1922) 8:15 PM @ old town music hall django unchained MIDNIGHT @ new beverly twice upon a time @ animation breakdown @ silent movie theater mustang 10 PM @ silent movie theater sat. dec. 19 gremlins @ cinespia @ palace theatre blonde venus, the love parade @ ucla film archive the silent man @ retro format @ spielberg @ egyptian it's a wonderful life @ egyptian it's a wonderful life 8 PM @ epfc elf, bad santa @ aero stinking heaven 3:30 6:30 PM @ arena cinema the blue dahlia FREE 2 PM @ la library los feliz branch scrooge (1922) 2:30 8:15 PM @ old town music hall blazing saddles MIDNIGHT @ new beverly it's a mad mad mad mad world (70mm) 1:30 PM, the hateful eight (70mm road show) @ lacma the vampire of dusseldorf 6:30 PM @ bv cinemas a christmas story 7 PM @ crest mustang 3:30 PM @ silent movie theater it's a wonderful life 6 PM @ silent movie theater sun. dec. 20 die hard, lethal weapon @ egyptian it's a wonderful life @ aero cafe society 7:45 PM (RSVP) @ starlight studios stinking heaven 3:30 6:30 PM @ arena cinema scrooge (1922) 2:30 PM @ old town music hall a christmas story 7 PM @ crest mon. dec. 21 susan @ the griffin stinking heaven 7 PM @ arena cinema the silent partner @ new beverly bring me the head of alfredo garcia, dylan carlson (performance) @ silent movie theater tue. dec. 22 stinking heaven 9:45 PM @ arena cinema black christmas, silent night deadly night @ new beverly it's a wonderful life @ silent movie theater mustang 10:30 PM @ silent movie theater wed. dec. 23 stinking heaven 7 PM @ arena cinema life of brian 10:30 PM @ bv cinemas a christmas tale @ silent movie theater mustang 10:45 PM @ silent movie theater thu. dec. 24 stinking heaven 9:45 PM @ arena cinema die hard, three days of the condor @ new beverly mustang 5 PM @ silent movie theater it's a wonderful life @ silent movie theater fri. dec. 25 horse feathers NOON, a night at the opera, animal crackers @ new beverly mustang 5:00 10:45 PM @ silent movie theater it's a wonderful life @ silent movie theater sat. dec. 26 the poseidon adventure (1972) @ egyptian his girl friday, topper @ aero the greatest cartoons ever 2:00 7:00 @ alex theatre django unchained 7 PM, boss n--, blazing saddles @ new beverly welcome to leith 2 PM @ arena cinema heart of a dog 3:30 8:30 PM @ arena cinema the look of silence 6:45 PM @ arena cinema mustang 7 PM @ silent movie theater sun. dec. 27 neil hamburger @ satellite koszulinski films FREE 7 PM @ beyond baroque lawrence of arabia (70mm) @ egyptian my little chickadee, you can't cheat an honest man @ aero dead men don't wear plaid, the cheap detective @ new beverly welcome to leith 2 PM @ arena cinema heart of a dog 3:30 8:30 PM @ arena cinema the look of silence 6:45 PM @ arena cinema mustang 4 PM @ silent movie theater mon. dec. 28 pee-wee's big adventure FREE 3 PM @ santa monica library main branch dead men don't wear plaid, the cheap detective @ new beverly the look of silence @ arena cinema heart of a dog 9:15 PM @ arena cinema mustang @ silent movie theater tue. dec. 29 hold on! FREE 3 PM @ santa monica library main branch take a hard ride, joshua, adios amigo @ new beverly heart of a dog @ arena cinema the look of silence 8:45 PM @ arena cinema mustang @ silent movie theater wed. dec. 30 mystic braves @ echo spokenest @ smell the sting FREE 3 PM @ santa monica library main branch the lost patrol, the long gray line @ new beverly the great silence 8:30 PM @ bv cinemas mustang @ silent movie theater thu. dec. 31 mustang @ silent movie theater fri. jan. 1 duck soup 5 PM, the cocoanuts @ aero chimes at midnight 4:30 7:30 PM @ silent movie theater sat. jan. 2 midnight, remember the night @ aero chimes at midnight 2:00 5:00 7:30 PM @ silent movie theater sun. jan. 3 the thin man, libeled lady @ aero to have and have not 2 PM @ silent movie theater chimes at midnight 4:45 7:30 PM @ silent movie theater mon. jan. 4 chimes at midnight 4:30 7:30 PM @ silent movie theater tue. jan. 5 sherlock: the abominable bride (fathom events) @ amc century city, universal city, burbank; cinemark hughes, north hollywood chimes at midnight 4:30 PM @ silent movie theater wed. jan. 6 sherlock: the abominable bride (fathom events) @ amc century city, universal city, burbank; cinemark hughes, north hollywood beasts of no nation (w/ q&a) @ hammer chimes at midnight 4:30 7:30 PM @ silent movie theater thu. jan. 7 the hateful eight (w/ q&a) @ hammer chimes at midnight 4:30 PM @ silent movie theater fri. jan. 8 room (w/ q&a) @ hammer sat. jan. 9 electra glide in blue 10:30 PM @ bv cinemas sun. jan. 10 the big sleep 2 PM @ silent movie theater mon. jan. 11 and when i die i won't stay dead 8:30 PM @ redcat 99 homes (w/ q&a) @ hammer tue. jan. 12 carol (w/ q&a) @ hammer women in motion: marion davies and marvelous mavens of early film comedy fri. jan. 15 jafar panahi's taxi (w/ q&a) @ hammer ty segall & the muggers, cfm @ teragram sat. jan. 16 ty segall & the muggers, cfm @ teragram the shining (forwards and backwards at the same time) 6:30 PM @ bv cinemas sun. jan. 17 dark passage 2 PM @ silent movie theater wed. jan. 20 the look of silence (w/ q&a) @ hammer fri. jan. 22 l.a. witch @ roxy sat. jan. 23 dead reckoning 6 PM, thieves after dark @ bv cinemas series 7: the contenders 8:30 PM @ bv cinemas sun. jan. 24 key largo 2 PM @ silent movie theater thu. jan. 28 winter @ echo sat. jan. 30 julia holter @ teragram a trip to the moon 6:30 PM @ bv cinemas thu. feb. 4 godspeed you black emperor @ the cathedral sanctuary @ los angeles immanuel presbyterian fri. feb. 5 godspeed you black emperor @ warner grand theatre (san pedro) WHAT IT IS: THE ACE OF LIGHT: THE FILMS OF SKY DAVID In the latter half of the 1960s, 18 year old Dennis Pies headed off to Vietnam to serve with the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army. He returned home, as all men did, a different person. One with stories and visions to share. He bought a ‘46 Chevy school bus and departed his hometown of Lubbock, Texas for a commune in the Santa Cruz mountains. But a fateful pitstop on the way at Cal Arts’ notorious (and recently San Fernando Earthquake-rocked) Villa Cabrini campus altered his life’s course. It was there that the Pies, armed with absolutely no prior artistic training, began his path to becoming the man and artist known as Sky David. Mystical, dreamlike, and otherworldly — watching a Sky David film is like stumbling into the pages of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Popol Vuh or I Ching. They unfurl as symbolic, dreamlike narratives of shifting landscapes, both physical and mental, each frame leading the viewer further into uncharted optical realms. Endlessly inventive, David employs techniques ranging from delicate pencil and airbrush drawings, to computer animation, to (in the case of this evening’s jawdropping titular film Ace of Light) “hand drawn art on paper, filmed in negative, projected via an aerial image projector into a tank of water, then filmed frame by frame”—all to create visuals striking, haunting and utterly singular. Join us as we celebrate the incredible career of ABD’s 2015 honoree and marvel at his films with the premieres of new 35mm and 16mm prints, lovingly restored and graciously loaned by The Academy Film Archive. AFERIM! This Romanian Western is an odyssey through the landscape of feudal Eastern Europe, following a father and son on a mission to find a gypsy. DIR Radu Jude. SCR Radu Jude, Florin Lazarescu. CAST Teodor Corban, Mihai Comanoiu, Cuzin Toma, Alexandru Dabija, Alexandru Bindea, Lumini?a Gheorghiu, Victor Rebengiuc, Alberto Dinache, Mihaela Sîrbu. Romania/Bulgaria/Czech Republic ALL NIGHT SALON LATE NIGHT MARATHON & FUNDRAISER – 7 PM UNTIL LATE! Celebrate fourteen years of the Echo Park Film Center with films, videos, music, music videos, performances, poetry, toasted sandwiches, and more, stretching into the early hours of the morning. Sliding scale donations in any amount go towards keeping EPFC operations up and running for the year to come. Festivities begin with the EPFC Cabaret, hosted by Paolo Davanzo and Lisa Marr, and featuring Los Gatitos, Maya Abee, Michael Jefferson and Tom Duffy, Beaux Mingus, Shauna McGarry, and more! Then Rick Bahto will present a selection of works on Super 8, 16mm, video, and performance by alumni from the EPFC youth program, former LA AIR residents, and artists who have participated in his New Works Salon series, including Amy Halpern, Penelope Uribe-Abee, Jordan Biren, Kate Brown, Pablo Valencia, Ursula Brookbank, Kate Dollenmayer, Walter Vargas, and more tba! We’ll also have the World Premieres of Super 8 films commissioned by EPFC, including Janis Crystal Lipzin, Daniel Marlos, Jessica Storm, Cindy Stillwell and Elizabeth and Patrick Wodzinski. Miko Revereza will present MTV Off The TV Screen, featuring an hour of pirated music videos, dance scenes, and video oddities mixed on VHS. Beaux Mingus will host Grub Buds Film and Video Extravaganza!: The Sony AV-3400 Portapak, the world’s first portable video camera system, was introduced in 1967, and took the art world by storm. Madonna’s music video for her 1992 song, Erotica, used Super 8 film to make the footage look aged and gritty to mesh with the song’s atmosphere. A pie iron (also known as a pudgy pie or sandwich maker) is a cooking appliance that consists of two hinged concave, round or square metal, plates on long handles. In the United States, the Tostwich is possibly the earliest toasted sandwich maker, dating back to before 1920. What do all of these things have in common? Well, probably not much, but if you like to eat toasted sandwiches and watch movies, this is the screening for you! Toasted sandwiches provided by Grub Buds. Throughout the night there will be surprises, treats, and tricks of all kinds! ALMOST THERE Filmmakers Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden stumble onto a treasure trove when they befriend outsider artist Peter Anton. His run-down, rotting home is filled with his paintings, drawings, and notebooks - not to mention Anton himself, a character worthy of his own reality show. Shot over eight years, ALMOST THERE documents Anton's first major exhibition and how the controversy it generates forces him to leave his childhood home. Each layer revealed reflects on the intersections of social norms, elder care, and artistic expression. 85 mins, 2015. And When I Die I Won't Stay Dead Billy Woodberry introduces the US premiere of his long-awaited new film And When I Die I Won’t Stay Dead, a feature-length documentary about jazz-inspired beat poet Bob Kaufman, sometimes called the “black American Rimbaud." Woodberry’s landmark 1984 film Bless Their Little Hearts was honored with a jury award at the Berlin International Film Festival and was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry. The program begins with Marseille après la guerre, a short montage crafted from images found in a longshoremen’s union hall. AN ANIMATED EVENING WITH LANCE BANGS Lance Bangs hosts an animated evening, featuring a curated mix of his work over the years, and the world premiere of animated stories from his new Viceland television series Party Legends! Lance will show us gems from the course of his career, sharing stories along the way, including: the Kanye West music video for Heard Em Say (animation by Bill Plimpton), the stop motion video for “White Stripes Hardest Button to Button” for Michel Gondry, and the hand drawn on 35mm film animation Marissa Paternoster did for the Screaming Females song “Hopeless.” Plus, we’ll indulge in a marathon of Party Legends episodes, featuring Jon Daly, Bushwick Bill, Earl Sweatshirt, Eric Andre, Kid Ink, David Pajo, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Margaret Cho, Sean Patton, Dennis Rodman, Lizzo, and Ryan Sickler! Chris “Party Boy” Pontius and Jon Daly will be here in person! THE ARDENNES 2015, 93 min, Belgium, Dir: Robin Pront The botched robbery that kicks off director Robin Pront’s feature debut drives a wedge between two brothers: Kenny (Kevin Janssens), who is convicted for the crime, and Dave (Jeroen Perceval), who manages to escape. When Kenny is paroled after years in prison, he struggles to adjust to straight life – while Dave struggles to hide his relationship with Kenny’s former girlfriend (Veerle Baetens). The tension escalates steadily from this taut drama’s beginning to its head-turning climax in Belgium's Ardennes forest. In Flemish and French with English subtitles. Belgian beer reception to follow. BELLADONNA OF SADNESS One of the great lost masterpieces of Japanese animation, never before officially released in the U.S., Belladonna of Sadness is a mad, swirling, psychedelic light-show of medieval tarot-card imagery with horned demons, haunted forests and La Belle Dame Sans Merci, equal parts J.R.R. Tolkien and gorgeous, explicit Gustav Klimt-influenced eroticism. Belladonna unfolds as a series of spectacular still watercolor paintings that bleed and twist together. Extremely transgressive and not for the easily offended, Belladonna is fueled by a mind-blowing Japanese psych rock soundtrack by noted avant-garde jazz composer Masahiko Satoh. The film has been newly restored by Cinelicious Pics using the original 35mm camera negative and sound elements – and including over 8 minutes of surreal and explicit footage cut from the negative. On par with Rene Laloux’s Fantastic Planet and Ralph Bakshi’s Wizards as an LSD-stoked 1970s head trip, Belladonna marks a major rediscovery for animation fans. Dir. Eiichi Yamamoto, 1973, DCP Restoration, 93 min. Birth of the Blues Directed by Victor Schertzinger; written by Harry Tugend based on the story by Walter DeLeon; with Bing Crosby, Mary Martin, Brian Donlevy, Carolyn Lee, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, J.Carrol Naish, Warren Hymer, Horace McMahon, Ruby Elzy, Jack Teagarden Musician Jeff puts together a band, the Basin Street Hot-Shots, which includes a cornet player, Memphis. As they struggle to get their jazz music accepted by the café society of the city, Memphis and Jeff both fall in love with Betty Lou, the band’s new singer. 1941, 87 min. Bless Their Little Hearts (1984) Named to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2013, Billy Woodberry’s magnificent feature represents the closure and pinnacle of a neorealist strand within the “L.A. Rebellion” school of Black filmmakers. Chronicling the psychological and spiritual toll experienced by a family in the throes of economic hardship and underemployment—and seeking a dignified way to live and be happy—the film also constitutes a felicitous creative collaboration between Woodberry and screenwriter-cinematographer Charles Burnett. 35mm, b/w, 84 min. Producer: Billy Woodberry. Director: Billy Woodberry. Screenwriter: Charles Burnett. Cinematographer: Charles Burnett. Editor: Billy Woodberry. With: Nate Hardman, Kaycee Moore, Angela Burnett, Ronald Burnett, Kimberly Burnett. Blonde Venus (1932) Marlene Dietrich portrays a former cabaret singer, forced to return to work to support her husband's desperately needed medical treatments. Famed as the "Blonde Venus" of nightclub life (and not incidentally, photographed to shimmering perfection in astounding performances), she nonetheless becomes the mistress of a wealthy man, all for the sake of the husband who comes to despise her, forcing her to decide where she really belongs. 35mm, b/w, 93 min. Production: Paramount Publix Corp. Distribution: Paramount Publix Corp. Producer: Josef von Sternberg. Director: Josef von Sternberg. Screenwriter: S. K. Lauren. Cinematographer: Bert Glennon. With: Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall, Cary Grant, Dickie Moore, Gene Morgan. THE CAR 1977, Universal, 98 min. Dir. Elliott Silverstein. Wildly-deranged shocker about a mysterious black car given to mowing down anyone in its path. It soon dawns on desert town sheriff James Brolin that the homicidal car has no driver and may, in fact, be a satanic entity! A guilty pleasure from the 1970s. With John Marley, Ronny Cox, R.G. Armstrong. A CHRISTMAS TALE Nominated for the Palme d'Or, selected on many of 2008's best-of lists, and perhaps Desplechin’s finest directorial work, Un conte de Noel reinvents the holiday movie as a freewheeling auteurist meditation on the ways in which we love each other in spite of maybe not loving each other that much. Featuring world-class heavy hitters like Catherine Deneuve and Mathieu Amalric delivering empathetic performances, this anti-holiday movie revels in its existential ambivalence, cooly tragic as it nimbly hops between moods and perspectives, with unexpected monologues into camera, poetic editorial flourishes, and sumptuous, nostalgic cinematography. Witty, philosophical, and emotionally volatile, this yuletide portrait of a family of besieged aristocrats and burnt-out prodigies trying to make sense of their lives has absolutely no carols (hip-hop and classical instead), and lots of opportunity for a little merry schadenfreude. Dir. Arnaud Desplechin, 2008, 35mm, 150 min. DUSTY AND SWEETS MCGEE During the summer of 1970 director Floyd Mutrux worked with a group of using and recovering heroin addicts (including ex-cons, hustlers and college dropouts) to create this stellar docu-fiction, composed of interviews and reenactments—a true collaboration with his subjects. Day-glo nights and hazy afternoons are photographed in exacting yet gentle detail, creating visually stunning and deeply felt portraits of these junkies and their Los Angeles stomping ground. “It’s the film everyone has been trying to make since: free, fragmentary, bursting with life.” (Thom Andersen). Don’t miss this rare chance to see it in beautiful 35mm! Dir. Floyd Mutrux, 1971, 35mm, 92 min. In-person: Floyd Mutrux. East Los Angeles and the Chicano Moratorium On August 29, 1970 in East Los Angeles, a peaceful march of more than 20,000 Chicanos, united in protest against the Vietnam War as part of the Chicano Moratorium movement, was violently interrupted by a massive law enforcement response. The tragic events of that day left three dead, including prominent Mexican American journalist and activist, Ruben Salazar (1928-1970). In recognition of the 45th anniversary of the march, we present an eclectic selection of short works that explore the Chicano Moratorium, its aftermath, and the people and culture of East Los Angeles from various perspectives. * Cinco Vidas (Five Lives) (1973) - KNBC, 1/1/1973. Five residents of East Los Angeles—a grandmother, a principal, an attorney, a mother and a gardener—are profiled in this rich tapestry of a culturally vibrant and politically engaged community. * The Murals of East Los Angeles: (A Museum Without Walls) (1977) - An important early documentary snapshot of the Chicano mural movement that highlights the murals of Ramona Gardens and the work of artists such as Richard Ruiz, David Botello, Eduardo Ortiz and others. * The Chicano Moratorium: A Question of Freedom (1971) - An on-the-ground account of the events of August 29, 1970 at Laguna Park and their immediate aftermath directed by Thomas Myrdahl, then a student at Loyola Marymount. The Final Passage: Chauvet-Pont d'Arc Cave The US premiere of The Final Passage, a twenty-eight minute single sequence-shot film offering an immersive and cinematic journey in 3D through the Chauvet-Pont d'Arc Cave in France. Established as one of the world’s most ancient rock art sites, dating back 37,000 years, Chauvet is considered by many to be the birthplace of art, a symbol of our exceptional creative human legacy. The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion on the making of this film, the preservation of the site, and the archeology of rock art. Freeway: Crack in the System The real story behind America's drug war, complete with drug dealers, dirty cops, and government complicity, this film was selected by the artist Frances Stark. At the center of it all is the rise, fall, and redemption of “Freeway” Rick Ross—a street hustler who became the king of crack. Followed by a Q&A with “Freeway” Rick Ross and others. (2015, Dir. Mark Levin, 103 min.) GO FOR BROKE In this classic war film, newly commissioned Lt. Michael Grayson (Van Johnson) is put in charge of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a group of Japanese American soldiers. Uneasy about the assignment at first, Grayson soon finds admiration for the courage and determination of his team as they become the most decorated unit in the United States Army. Directed by Robert Pirosh. (1951, 92 min.) HOLD ON! British pop rockers Herman’s Hermits star in this silly musical comedy, which includes an extensive segment filmed at Santa Monica’s long-lost Pacific Ocean Park. Screened as part of our 125th Anniversary celebration. (85 min.) INSPIRATION A sparking, splendorous, 35mm strip of joie de vivre, Inspiration is perhaps Karel Zeman’s most dizzyingly impressive work. With unimaginable precision, Zeman tells a story in a fragile, miniature world, animating hand-blown glass! He’s master of this delicate universe, like a painter, sculptor, and dreamer all at once. You’ve got to see this one to believe it. Dir. Karel Zeman, 1949, 35mm, 10 min. INVENTION FOR DESTRUCTION aka THE FABULOUS WORLD OF JULES VERNE This marvelous film from Czech master animator Karel Zeman is a partial adaptation of the Jules Verne novel "Facing the Flag." The story treads the well-worn path of world domination as attempted by a piratical mastermind, who uses a morally myopic scientist's high explosive. Dir. Karel Zeman, 1958, 35mm, 83 min. IXCANUL A young Mayan woman becomes pregnant outside of an impending arranged marriage, throwing her and her family’s future into dire uncertainty. DIR Jayro Bustamante. SCR Jayro Bustamante. CAST María Mercedes Coroy, María Telón, Manuel Antún, Justo Lorenzo, Marvin Coroy. Guatemala/France. Discussion following with director Jayro Bustamante. KAREL ZEMAN: ADVENTURER IN FILM Before CGI, before there were entire teams of post-production technicians, before the endless barrage of high-budget fantasy films, early animator Karel Zeman was creating technically astounding visual masterpieces, using the kind of masking and in-camera editing that is arduous enough for a still photographer; for a filmmaker it was painstaking (and high-stakes!) labor. We are so excited to introduce the Cinefamily audience to Zeman, who is heralded and beloved in the Czech Republic and among hardcore animation fans, and is too little known outside these niches! Untrained as a filmmaker, Zeman taught himself how to animate by studying film prints of Felix the Cat cartoons, and hired artisans and craftsmen, not filmmakers, to aid him in creating immersive fantasy worlds, rife with “analog” special effects, and a contagious playfulness and conviviality. In this charming documentary portrait, Zeman’s former collaborators and fans (filmmakers Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton among them) speak of the mythical life and work of this impossibly innovative director, artist, magician, and perfectionist force. Dir. Tomás Hodan, 2015, DCP, 80 min. KOSZULINSKI FILMS Experimental non-fiction filmmaker Georg Koszulinski (in person) screens films that meditate on the radical possibilities of the cinema as a hallucinatory space where a critical engagement with the past can inform alternative visions of the future. The Last Laugh 1924, 90 minutes, black and white, 35mm Directed by F.W. Murnau; written by Carl Mayer; with Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Max Hiller, Emilie Kurz, Hans Unterkircher, Olaf Storm. Featuring live musical accompaniment and original score by Michael Mortilla After being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious hotel, an aging doorman faces the scorn of his friends, neighbours, and society. LIBELED LADY 1936, Warner Bros., 98 min, USA, Dir: Jack Conway Remade a decade later as EASY TO WED, this screwball comedy gem features a veritable dream team of MGM stars at the top of their game. Heiress Myrna Loy sues the New York Evening Star when it paints her as a home-wrecker, but editor Spencer Tracy thinks he can get the suit dropped by trapping the wealthy woman between one of his ex-reporters (William Powell) and his own fiancée (Jean Harlow). Powell’s hilarious fishing sequence is but one of the many highlights. LOIS WEBER IN EARLY HOLLYWOOD One of the most important and prolific directors of the silent film era, who also happens to be one of Hollywood’s few women directors to this day, Lois Weber was also a writer, producer, actress and head of her own production company who forged the way for filmmakers who saw film as an opportunity to inject their own ideas and philosophies into the burgeoning entertainment industry. The Academy Scholars presentation by Shelley Stamp, professor of film and digital media at UC Santa Cruz and author of the recently published Lois Weber in Early Hollywood, will be followed by a screening of Weber’s 1916 film Shoes. Based on the short story by Stella Wynne Herron, Shoes tells the plight of a young girl whose financial desperation leads her to prostitution. The film will be screened from a print recently restored by EYE Film Museum. Los Angeles in the Newsreels Contemporary news media, in all its forms, is replete with stories and images of Los Angeles, sensational and otherwise, befitting the city’s position as a global economic and cultural center—and producer of much of that same media. Tonight’s program looks back at how the city, as it ascended to its current prominence in the last century, was represented in the newsreels that gave rise to the moving image news of today. From baby pageants to anti-war rallies, in both completed films and in raw footage, the newsreels captured the provincial and increasingly international dimensions of the city as it evolved. 35mm, b/w, total running time of program: approx. 120 min. MEMORIES ON STONE Kurdish childhood friends Hussein and Alan direct and produce a film about the genocide of Kurdish people in Iraq, the Anfal campaign in 1988. They learn that, to achieve veracity by the means of cinema and to face their own identity, it's worth putting everything on the line - even their own life. Q&A to follow with Najat Abdullah, Director of Culture & Community Affairs, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Washington, D.C. Moderated by Jeff Fleishman, Los Angeles Times writer. MIDNIGHT 1939, Universal, 94 min, USA, Dir: Mitchell Leisen A showgirl (Claudette Colbert) impersonating a Baroness, a lovestruck taxi driver (Don Ameche) and a cuckolded millionaire (John Barrymore) are just a few of the ingredients in this frothy concoction penned by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder and directed with breathless elan by Mitchell Leisen. Costarring Mary Astor, Francis Lederer and gossip queen Hedda Hopper, this delirious riff on the Cinderella story ranks among the greatest of all screwball comedies. Mike Kelley: Single Channel Videos “One of the most influential artists of the past quarter century and a pungent commentator on American class, popular culture and youthful rebellion.” – The New York Times When Mike Kelley passed away in 2012, he left the legacy of a body of deeply innovative work mining American popular culture and both modernist and alternative traditions. This screening features a selection of Kelley’s videos, from the sassy/melancholy Superman Recites Selections from 'The Bell Jar' and Other Works by Sylvia Plath (1999) to the threatening histrionics of Extracurricular Activity Projective Reconstruction #1 (Domestic Scene) (2000), as well as collaborative pieces, such as his minimalist exploration of sado-masochistic relationships in 100 Reasons (1991) – among others. MOUSE-TERPIECE THEATER: THE ART AND ARTISTS BEHIND DISNEY'S "MICKEY MOUSE" (2015) Believe it or not, the funniest, most visually exciting/most cutting edge cartoons made for television today star a well-known corporate icon who dates back to 1928. Yes, the Mouse – the one originally voiced by Uncle Walt himself, though you might know him better as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The Brave Little Tailor or simply as Mickey. The characters has been given a complete make-over for the 21st Century – and in case you haven’t seen the latest series of Disney’s Mickey Mouse shorts, Animation Breakdown will bring you up to speed. And “speed” is the operative word here – these colorful 4 minute cartoons are fast paced and funny, and insanely imaginative. This is not your great grandfathers “Mickey Mouse”. You’ll see Mickey and the gang (yes, with Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Daisy and Pluto) run rampant in episodes taking place in different locales, in different languages, and beyond international time zones. They even play havoc with classic characters in Disney history. We’ll be screening the best of this new batch, inter-mixed with classic pre-code 1920s-30s Mouse cartoons to demonstrate how the new generation didn’t fall too far from the original tree. MY LITTLE CHICKADEE 1940, Universal, 83 min, USA, Dir: Edward F. Cline In one of the most ingenious - and strange - pairings in comedy history, cranky misanthrope W.C. Fields meets his match in the sassy Mae West. Their Old West hijinks made this one of the most successful movies of its year (behind 1939 holdover GONE WITH THE WIND), and it remains a classic of sly double entendres. NENETTE AND BONI If American Pie is post-pubescent psych for dummies, then Claire Denis’ wistful, sexy, mysterious ode to the eroticism of pizza dough and “long french sticks” is like the teen food fetishist’s kamasutra. La Collectionneuse’s favorite film she’s screened thus far, this hits that off-kilter/emotionally disturbed/candy-colored mid-nineties sweet spot—think electric blue eyeshadow, cleavage at the pastry counter, and Vincent Gallo in the background ranting about how he’s “had enough of these fucking croissants.” It’s all poetry, though, with dreamy moods taking precedence over explanation as Denis plucks grace notes out of ape-ish Boni’s hyper-sexy/angry boy brain, juxtaposed with wispy Nenette, vagabond sister whose mission to lose her unborn kid awakens some kind of caveman paternity in her pizza-pounding brother. Set inside a beautiful portrait of Marseilles, a messy, smelly port city expressing itself poignantly as Denis telescopes into fantasies of skin, where estranged urban kids preside over alleys and odd jobs, dreaming of domesticity and fondling french rolls. You’ll never look at your coffee machine the same way… Dir. Claire Denis, 1996, 35mm, 103 min. DJ set by Sun Araw! PARIS BLUES In a potent collision of race, romance, and jazz, Paris Blues chronicles the passionate relationship of two couples embarking on intellectual and artistic adventures in turbulent times. Starring Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman, Diahann Carroll, and Joanne Woodward and presented in exquisite 35mm, the screening of this 1961 gem will serve as the springboard for a dynamic discussion about identity, creativity, and expatriatism. Engaging the audience in this conversation will be a high-profile quorum of actors, musicians, and scholars selected by filmmaker and ARRAY founder Ava DuVernay, who will also serve as host for the debut gathering in this ongoing film series. THE PATSY In this zany fast-paced comedy, Marion Davies captivates in every scene. The first of the "screwball" comediennes, it was not until The Patsy in 1928 that Marion was able to team up with director King Vidor in a completely comedic role. Elaina Archer, noted film historian and documentarian, will introduce The Patsy. Archer has a degree in Film History and Criticism, and extensive background in the industry as photo editor at New Line Cinema, producer, writer and co-director at Timeline Films, and manager of the Mary Pickford Library where she oversaw the restoration of several endangered films. Archer produced six documentaries including Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies. Please, Don't Bury Me Alive! (1977) Efraín Gutiérrez’ landmark independent feature, recently added to the National Film Registry, offers an in-depth look at 1970’s-era South Texas Chicano culture, as its central character questions his place in a society that undervalues Latinos, so many of whom have been killed in the Vietnam War. A historic, influential hit in regional theaters, the film was long thought lost before its restoration at UCLA. 35mm, color, 81 min. Production: Chicano Arts Enterprises. Producer: Efraín Gutiérrez. Director: Efraín Gutiérrez. Screenwriter: Sabino Garza. Cinematographer: David Peña. Editor: Jack Landman. With: Efraín Gutiérrez, Josefina Paz, David Moss, Abel Franco, Oscar Escamilla. REMEMBER THE NIGHT 1940, Universal, 94 min, USA, Dir: Mitchell Leisen In this romantic holiday classic, Barbara Stanwyck is arrested for shoplifting during the Christmas season. District attorney Fred MacMurray is assigned to prosecute her but instead falls in love. Preston Sturges wrote the witty and surprisingly nostalgic script just before he turned to directing. ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS “Like five fingers of the same hand,” the wailing matron Rosaria describes her five sons, at the opening of Rocco and His Brothers. Bonded as they may be, each of the brothers falls prey to his own dark-night-of-the-soul, in Italian master Luchino Visconti’s sprawling epic, screening in a brand new sparkling 4K restoration. The Parondi family—recently located from rural southern Italy to Milan—is caught in a net of intertwined family, political, and social drama, as the seductions of city life chip away at the brothers’ previously held values. With this gargantuan and novelistic work, Visconti—counted among the ranks of Fellini, Rossellini, and Antonioni, and known for masterpieces such as The Leopard, Death in Venice, and La Terra Trema, as well as his influence on filmmakers from Scorsese to Coppola—has authored a bizarre and sumptuous marriage of neorealism and melodrama, universally likened to opera, and featuring magnificent performances from Alain Delon and Annie Girardot. Dir. Luchino Visconti, 1960, DCP, 177 min. THE SILENT MAN Presented by Retro Format Films on 8mm Retroformat continues its holiday tradition with another excellent feature directed by and starring silent cinema's foremost Western star, the great William S. Hart. Characteristic of Hart's best work, this absorbing tale of treachery and redemption premiered 98 years ago in November 1917. With the Edison Company’s “Santa Claus vs. Cupid” (1915, 16 min. Dir. Will Louis) starring Raymond McKee and Jack Norwood, and more. With live musical accompaniment by Cliff Retallick. THE SILENT PARTNER Christopher Plummer plays a psychopathic bank-robbing mall Santa in a brilliantly scripted heist film by Curtis Hanson (LA Confidential, 8 Mile.) Elliott Gould is a timid bank teller who anticipates a bank robbery and steals the money himself before the crook arrives. When the sadistic crook realizes he's been fooled, he tracks down the teller and engages him in a cat-and-mouse chase for the cash. With John Candy. 1978, 106 mins. SMOKEHOUSE FILMS’ CINEMATIC CABINET OF WONDERS EPFC and guest curator/ filmmaker John Cannizzaro present SMOKEHOUSE FILMS’ CINEMATIC CABINET OF WONDERS –THE MYTHOLOGICAL TIME MACHINE a compendium of rare & remarkable, strange & wonderful 16mm film gems from the archives of Smokehouse Films. This unique mix of films includes works of animation, ethnographic fables, and educational documentaries that explore the world and its history through a myriad of Mythological stories. Included are such treasures as “ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE” (1963), which uses puppets to tell the classic Greek legend of the minstrel Orpheus and his descent into Hades in quest of his lost bride Eurydice – narrated by Orson Welles! “THE DIARY” (1981), by the amazing Claymation animator Will Vinton – an adaptation of Mark Twain’s short story entitled The Diary of Adam and Eve, which tells the author’s tongue-in-cheek tale about the creation of the world from a twentieth-century perspective. The NFBC’s live action short, THE MAN AND THE GIANT – AN ESKIMO LEGEND (1978) – a dramatization of an Inuit legend about a hunter who is taken captive by a giant. And “SISYPHUS” (1974) – Marcell Jankovics’ stark animation about human efforts directed toward setting a boulder on top of a mountain. Also included are mythological films from Africa, Australia, and Native America as well as some other surprises. Curator and “spirits” will be present. STINKING HEAVEN Married couple Jim and Lucy (Keith Poulson, Deragh Campbell) run a commune in the early 90s for sober living out of their suburban New Jersey home. But the harmony is interrupted when Ann (Hannah Gross), a recovering addict and the ex-lover of one housemate, arrives. Ann's insidious presence sends the members spiraling out of control, resulting in paranoia, drug relapse and eventually death. DIR Nathan Silver. SCR Nathan Silver, Jack Dunphy. CAST Deragh Campbell, Keith Poulson, Hannah Gross, Eléonore Hendricks, Tallie Medel, Henri Douvry, Jason Giampietro, Jason Grisell, Eileen Kearney, Larry Novak. USA. THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING Filmed over 211 shoot days in nine countries and five continents over four years, This Changes Everything is an epic attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change. Directed by Avi Lewis, and inspired by Naomi Klein’s international non-fiction bestseller This Changes Everything, the film presents seven powerful portraits of communities on the front lines, from Montana’s Powder River Basin to the Alberta Tar Sands, from the coast of South India to Beijing and beyond. Interwoven with these stories of struggle is Klein’s narration, connecting the carbon in the air with the economic system that put it there. Throughout the film, Klein builds to her most controversial and exciting idea: that we can seize the existential crisis of climate change to transform our failed economic system into something radically better. TWICE UPON A TIME The towering, feature-length achievement in the “Lumage” stop-motion process, this lighthearted triumph of eye-popping visual design is ESSENTIAL viewing for Yellow Submarine diehards, Allegro Non Troppo ‘toonheads, animation aficionados of all colors, and quirk-tastic kids of all ages. After animating for Sesame Street, filmmaker John Korty perfected “Lumage”: the coloring, collaging and lighting of translucent fabric characters. Co-directed by fellow animation auteur Charles Swenson (Dirty Duck) and assembled by a small army of dedicated craftsmen (including David Fincher, Ratatouille’s Harley Jessup and The Nightmare Before Christmas’s Henry Selick), this timeless tale of sweet dreams and nightmares finds our heroes attempting to re-calibrate the cosmic clock and restore the flow of time. Join us as we rekindle the luminous, all-natural glow of Twice Upon A Time, finally giving Synonamess Botch, Scuzzbopper and Ibor the Video Gorilla their deserved place on the silver screen. Dir. John Korty & Charles Swenson, 1983, 35mm, 75 min. John Korty in person! Wanda (1971) Filmmaker Barbara Loden's neo-realist gem depicts a rural Pennsylvania housewife's lost flight to nowhere. Dragged seemingly by the wind into a relationship with a small-time crook, Wanda floats through her own life as if a witness to it; a view of desperation filtered through a tinted windshield. One of the most authentic visions of Middle America ever committed to screen. 35mm, color, 105 min. Production: Foundation for Filmmakers. Producer: Barbara Loden. Director: Barbara Loden. Screenwriter: Barbara Loden. Cinematographer: Nicholas T. Proferes. Editor: Nicholas T. Proferes. With: Michael Higgins, Barbara Loden, Frank Jourdano, Valerie Manches, Dorothy Shupenes. WELCOME TO LEITH “Welcome to Leith” is a gripping you-are-there portrait of a community under siege: the titular tiny North Dakota burg that, a couple of years ago, suddenly found itself unhappily chosen as a suitably cheap, isolated “planned community” for some of the United States’ most notorious white supremacists. The conflict between different notions of freedom, law-enforcement problems, and an atmosphere of escalating violent threat make Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker’s documentary as engrossing as a fictional thriller. Women in Motion: Marion Davies and Marvelous Mavens of Early Film Comedy * The Gibson Goddess (1909) Starring Marion Leonard Screening of Vintage Films * They Would Elope (1909) Starring Mary Pickford * Willful Peggy (1910) Starring Mary Pickford * Short & Spicy Skits from the Other Side of Hollywood: The Home Movies of William Randolph Hearst (1925) with Marion Davies Join the Malibu Coast Silent Film Orchestra for an evening of music and film celebrating the pioneering women behind four hilarious silent film shorts of the early 20th century. Marion Davies, Mary Pickford, and Marion Leonard were each extraordinary women in film who significantly changed and developed the art of filmmaking, business, human rights and resources, and the role of women as independent artists, all before American women obtained the right to vote. Composer Maria Newman has composed new scores for each of these rare film shorts. The bold and versatile Malibu Coast Silent Film Orchestra makes its home at the Montgomery Arts House for Music and Architecture in Malibu, presenting live collaboration with vintage films of the silent era. YOU CAN’T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN 1939, Universal, 79 min, USA, Dir: George Marshall W.C. Fields re-creates his legendary radio feud with wooden wag Charlie McCarthy in this cavalcade of gags and insults. The Great Man plays Larson E. Whipsnade, owner of a debt-ridden circus, whose daughter is in love with the troupe’s ventriloquist (Edgar Bergen). Fields allegedly turned down the title role in THE WIZARD OF OZ to focus on this film. YOU CARRY ME Dora is a neglected girl, who dreams about becoming a football manager. Suddenly, her outlaw father enters her life and they build a close relationship. Ives, a soap opera director, nurses her father who suffers from Alzheimers. As she loses him, she gradually loses the ground beneath her feet. Nataša, successful producer, is pregnant. When things go awry for her, she decides to confront her estranged father. Three daughters battle for acceptance, redemption and new opportunities. Q&A following with writer/director Ivona Juka and producer Anita Juka.