For Immediate Release Contact:
Carol OSullivan
March 21, 2007
412-681-5449
Pittsburgh Filmmakers Announces
April Programming
(Pittsburgh, PA) – The
following descriptions are from Pittsburgh Filmmakers Film Exhibition Program
for April 2007. The films are screened at the Harris Theater, 809 Liberty
Avenue (Downtown), the Melwood Screening Room, 477 Melwood Avenue (in North
Oakland) and the Regent Square Theater, 1035 S. Braddock Avenue (in Edgewood).
For admission prices and current showtimes call 412-682-4111. All titles and
dates are subject to change, due to film availability.
The Harris Theater – 809 Liberty Ave
Through April 12: Puccini for Beginners
A recent hit at Sundance, Puccini is a smart screwball comedy that centers around a
beautiful woman with commitment issues and two lovers: a woman and a man. With
nods to Woody Allen, the witty script from writer-director Maria Maggenti (The
Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love) offers sparkling dialogue as the
plot races to its hilarious
denouement, and the threesome confront their interlocking relationships. Stars
Gretchen Moll and the wonderful Elizabeth Reaser (currently wowing audiences as
a Norwegian mail-order bride in Sweet Land) who demonstrate their versatility and considerable comic chops in this
charming, sexy film. (Maria Maggenti; USA; 2006; 82 min)
Opens April 13: Absolute Wilson
Creative genius and rule-breaker Robert Wilson, known for
his cutting-edge theater productions, is explored here for the first time. We
get snippets from his legendary productions over the past four decades, and
learn about his background (he grew up gay in Waco, Texas, with a
fundamentalist father). But more than a biography, Absolute Wilson is an exhilarating look at the transformative power
of creativity itself. This tale of
a troubled boy who became a fearless artist with a profoundly original
perspective to share with the world, is downright inspirational. As for the
enigmatic Wilson himself, hes like many other savants (Andy Warhol, David
Lynch) – cryptic about what it all means. Features interviews with Tom
Waits, Susan Sontag, William S. Burroughs, David Byrne and more. (Katharina
Otto-Bernstein; Germany; 2006; 105 min)
Opens April 20: Air Guitar Nation
Forget spelling bees and hot
dog eating contests. Another kind of competitive sport has taken America by
storm and captivated audiences coast to coast: air guitar! Winner of awards at
the SxSW and Tribeca Film Festivals, this hilarious film chronicles the birth
of Air Guitar Championships and the intense arch-rivalry between the top two
air guitarists in the US: Dan Bjorn Turoque Crane (To air is human, to air
guitar, divine) and David C-Diddy Jung (Asian fury, air supremacy). We
follow them across the country and on to Finland, seat of the World
Championship since 1996. Full of triumph and disappointment, patriotic spirit
and political tension -- and, of course, invisible guitars -- this film is one exhilarating
journey to find out what it takes to become a champion. In front of hundreds of
fans, the expressive shredding and riffing is evaluated by sharp-eyed judges
who score on originality, charisma and most importantlyairness. (Alexandra Lipsitz; USA; 2006; 82 min)
Regent Square Theater – 1035 South Braddock Ave.
April 6 - 15: Inland Empire
David Lynch and Laura Dern are
reunited in his latest project, a hallucinatory epic thats just what you might
expect from the director of Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Lost Highway and Mulholland
Drive. Dern plays an actress who lands a
dream movie part that soon morphs into alternate identities and nightmarish
role-playing. With Dern's face as our guide, Lynch takes us on an unsettling
adventure between worlds, exploring the true nature of reality. Ultimately this
film is made up of ideas, colors, moods -- intangible things we feel and
internalize -- rather than solve. Co-stars Jeremy Irons and Justin Theroux.
(David Lynch; France/USA; 2006; 168 min)
April 16 – 19: Our Daily Bread
"Outstanding!
Provocative! Eccentrically lovely and frequently horrifying." -Premiere
In sealed rooms, as sterile as
computer microprocessor factories, chicks hatch while being closely monitored.
A huge hose sucks salmon out of a fjord. Metal teeth chomp up fields of
sunflowers which, thanks to chemicals, have withered at just the right time. On
mechanized conveyer systems, chickens are cut up and pigs are gutted in
seconds, although cows take a little longer. Our Daily Bread reveals the little-known world of high-tech agriculture.
In a series of visually stunning, continuously tracking images, we see the
places where food is cultivated and processed: surreal landscapes of
agricultural machinery, clean rooms in cool industrial buildings designed for
maximum efficiency. There's little space for humans here. Undersized and
vulnerable, they adapt as best they can, with chemical suits, respirators, ear
protectors, and helmets. They do the jobs for which machines have not yet been
invented. Dispensing entirely with commentary or interviews, this remarkable
documentary unfolds on the screen like a disturbing dream: an endlessly
fascinating flow of images, accompanied by the persistent industrial soundtrack
-- whirring, clattering, booming, slurping -- of food production in modern society:
plenty of everything, made as quickly as possible. (Nikolaus Geyrhalter; 2005;
USA; 92 min)
Opens April 20: The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Winner of the Palm dOr at Cannes, this eagerly awaited film
from British director Ken Loach (Ladybird, Ladybird; The Navigators) tackles the Irish uprising during the early 20s.
The British government was fighting furiously to prevent the formation of an
Irish Republic and turned to the infamous Black and Tans (British soldiers)
to keep order. The Irish Republicans fought back with equal ferocity. This
powerful drama centers on two brothers: Teddy (Pdraic Delaney), a passionate
loyalist committed to ousting the Brits, and Damien (Cillian Murphy), a
thoughtful, cautious medical student. Loach relentlessly depicts the hardening
of lines, showing the pitfalls of remaining faithful to one's ideals when faced
with the atrocities of war. Much more than just a history lesson, this
heart-felt story with magnetic performances, of brother pitted against brother,
offers an unmistakable parallel to contemporary politics. (Ken Loach; UK; 2006;
126 min)
Sunday
Night Series:
Janus Films:
The 50th Anniversary of Art House Cinema
Art houses, as specialized movie
theaters were called, began to flourish in this country in the 50s (growing
nationally from 12 in 1945 to over 550 in 1960). This was partly due to the
efforts of one small foreign film distributor, Janus Films. Art films became
hip and a vibrant, with the latest releases championed or denounced by
passionate, literate critics. This series celebrates
the 50th anniversary of Janus Films, who helped bring Americans the
kinds of films by which we still judge movies. All
films with subtitles.
April 1: The Cranes are
Flying
June
1941 -- Boris and Veronika are ambling through the streets of Moscow,
desperately in love. In a matter of hours, they are wrenched apart by war,
following the surprise Nazi invasion. Director Mikhail Kalatazovs
magnificently expressive film came to symbolize the hopes and indomitable
spirit of an entire nation during the period of the post-Stalinist thaw.
Named Best Film at Cannes. (Mikhail
Kalatazov; Soviet Union; 1957; 94 min)
April 8: The Seventh Seal
During the Middle
Ages a knight (Max von Sydow) returns home from the Crusades and plays a game of
chess with Death, hoping to stall for time. The first of Bergmans works to ask
the big question, it vaulted him to the top tier of international directors. Seventh
Seals beautiful,
haunting images are some of the most famous in the history of cinema. (Ingmar
Bergman; Sweden; 1957; 96 min)
April 15: La Strada
Fellini's fable
was his first international success, and won a Best Foreign Film Oscar. Its
the story of a simple-minded peasant girl (played by Giulietta Masina,
Fellinis wife) who is sold to a circus strongman (Anthony Quinn). She falls
desperately in love with him even though he beats her. A kind acrobat assures
her that she too has a place in the world. (Federico Fellini; Italy; 1954, 94
min)
April 22: The 400 Blows
Growing up is
tough for Antoine Doinel, as he gets caught in class adding a moustache to a
pinup and plagiarizing Balzac -- leading to even worse trouble. Truffaut's
poignant autobiographical first feature was the New Wave's first worldwide
international hit, garnering him Cannes' Best Director prize. (Franois
Truffaut; France; 1959; 99 min)
April 29: Ikiru
Considered by
some to be Kurosawas greatest achievement, showing the director at his most
compassionate. Ikiru
(translation: to live) affirms life through its exploration of a mans death.
Takashi Shimura plays an aging bureaucrat with stomach cancer forced to strip
the veneer off his existence and find meaning in his final days. The result is
a drama, layered with multiple flashbacks, that packs an emotional wallop. (Akira
Kurosawa; Japan; 1952; 143 min)
Melwood Screening Room – 477 Melwood Ave.
April 10: Film Kitchen
Presented on the second Tuesday of
every month, Film Kitchen showcases regional film and video art. Reception
begins at 7:00; films begin at 8:00. Co-sponsored by Pittsburgh City Paper,
WYEP-FM, Isoldis in the Strip and Pittsburgh Brewing. For more info:
www.filmkitchen.org
April 13 –
19: Tales
of the Brothers Quay: a retrospective
"The
Brothers Quay find their inspiration in Eastern European literature and
classical music and art, their work distinguished by its dark humor and an
uncanny feeling for color and texture. Masters of miniaturization, they turn
their tiny sets into unforgettable worlds suggestive of long-repressed
childhood dreams." - Film Forum, NYC
Few contemporary filmmakers have created more memorable
worlds than the Brothers Quay. Born in America but living and working in London
for 20 years, these reclusive identical twins have completed many imaginative
short films and two feature-length films. (Institute Benjamenta and The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes) While experimenting with digital backdrops and
computer effects, they still maintain their handmade aesthetic. We celebrate
their years of idiosyncratic filmmaking with a retrospective of their
domestically available short films. These masterworks feature many haunting yet
amusing images, including: skulls, porcelain dolls, ping-pong balls, a pair of
severed hands, broken pencils and lead shavings. (Two programs: approx. 82 min
each; individual or double-feature tickets can be purchased.)
April 20 –
22: China Blue
"Eye opening -- NY Post
Shot clandestinely, this
poignant documentary uncovers the inner workings of one denim factory in China.
Its a video diary of the young girls who make up China's largest labor force,
as well as a journalistic expos of Chinese labor practices and the high costs
of a global economy. We get a fly-on-the-wall look at the relationship between
the young laborers, the owners, and the West. China Blue had its world premier at the Toronto Film Festival
after overcoming several production stalls and the confiscation of footage by
authorities. It is a remarkable
film that will challenge the way we buy our clothes. (Micha X. Peled;
USA/China; 2006; 86 min)
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