For Immediate Release Contact: Carol O’Sullivan

February 19, 2007 412-681-5449

Pittsburgh Filmmakers Announces

March Programming

(Pittsburgh, PA) – The following descriptions are from Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Film Exhibition Program for March 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 March 8: Jonestown: the Life and Death of Peoples Temple

This chilling documentary explores the events leading up to a mass suicide in 1978 that left 900 people dead. Led by Jim Jones, most believed they were sacrificing themselves for a greater cause. (Stanley Nelson; USA; 2006; 86 min)

Opens March 9: An Unreasonable Man

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

-George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman (1903)

A look at the life and career of Ralph Nader, from consumer advocate, to presidential candidate, to public pariah. Nader rose to national prominence after General Motors tried to dig up dirt on him (an obscure 22-year-old public interest lawyer at the time) because he wrote a book critical of GM’s 60s deathtrap, the Corvair. The scandal that ensued from the smear campaign established Nader as leader of the modern Consumer Movement. Over the next 30 years, and without ever holding public office, Nader built a legislative record that rivals any contemporary president. Many things we take for granted now, including seat belts, airbags, product labeling, even free tickets for bumped flights are largely due to the efforts of Ralph Nader and his citizen groups. This fascinating film traces the rise and inevitable fall from grace of an uncompromising man. (Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan; 2006; USA; 122 min)

March 23 - 25: Man Push Cart

Due to an ice storm and a small flood that closed the Harris Theater for a few days last month, we decided this great little indie film needed one more chance to be seen. Recalling that great neorealist classic The Bicycle Thief, this beautifully crafted fiction film is a touching portrait of a Manhattan street vender. Ahmed – once a famous pop star in Pakistan – is now selling coffee and bagels to rushing New Yorkers. We come to understand that this quiet man is troubled by his past, as he struggles with his sense of self-worth and the harsh realities of finding his place in a rarely depicted corner of America. “I loved it!” – Roger Ebert. (Ramin Bahrani; 2006; USA; 87 min)

March 26 – 29: Guatemalan Handshake

Another independent film (which premiered here at the Three Rivers Film Festival) we wanted to bring back is this quirky look at Americana. Filmed in Harrisburg, it’s the story of Donald the demolition derby driver, played by Will Oldham. When Donald vanishes, his friends and family are in a quandary. The landscape is strewn with lost objects and lost people: Donald’s pregnant girlfriend, his helpless and car-less father, a pack of wild boy scouts, a lactose intolerant roller rink employee, an elderly woman in search of her lost dog, and a ten-year-old girl named Turkeylegs. Many of the crew on this project have a local connection. (Todd Rohal; USA; 2005; 96 min)

Opens March 30: 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 silly plot races to its hilarious denouement, and the threesome confront their interlocking relationships. Bonus: it stars the wonderful Elizabeth Reaser (currently wowing audiences as a Norwegian mail-order bride in Sweet Land) who demonstrates her versatility and considerable comic chops in this charming, sexy film. (Maria Maggenti; USA; 2006; 82 min)

Regent Square Theater – 1035 South Braddock Ave.

March 2: The Lives of Others

"If there is any justice, this year's Academy Award for best foreign-language film will go to The Lives of Others, a movie about a world in which there is no justice."

-- Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

This political thriller is one of the best-reviewed films of the year. Beginning in East Germany, five years before Glasnost and the fall of the Berlin Wall, it chronicles the consequences of the Minister of Culture's decision to investigate, by means of surveillance, the lives of a successful playwright and his girlfriend, a popular actress – even though they pose no threat to the state. The complex yet lucid script and the noir-inflected camerawork establish a brooding atmosphere of fear, doubt and suspicion, and create a suspenseful story of political and moral relevance. With its superb cast, this intense drama (a favorite at this year’s Three Rivers Film Festival) succeeds both as a convincing historical recreation and as a compelling tale of individuals whose lives are shaped by the society they live in. In German with subtitles. (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck; Germany; 2006; 137 min)

March 23: Inland Empire

David Lynch and Laura Dern are reunited in his latest project, a hallucinatory epic that’s just what you might expect from the director of Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive. In the performance of a lifetime, 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)

Sunday Night Series: Orson Welles Classics

Mar. 4: Citizen Kane

Loosely based on newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, it remains a potent metaphor for the corrupting nature of power. Still considered one of the greatest American films ever made, Kane must be seen on the big screen to be fully appreciated. The beautifully layered story follows a reporter on a frustrating search for the essence of a man’s life. Even today, Gregg Toland’s camerawork, Robert Wise’s editing, Bernard Herrmann’s score are simply breathtaking. (1941; 120 min)

Mar. 11: Lady From Shanghai

Welles works the film noir here, in this thriller about an amoral woman (Rita Hayworth with bleached, cropped hair) and her repulsive lawyer-husband who get tangled up in a murder scheme. Much of this moody film takes place on a yacht, but it’s the famous grand finale everyone talks about -- set in a funhouse hall-of-mirrors. (1948; 87 min)

Mar. 18: Confidential Report

An amnesiac millionaire hires an investigator to find his past. It’s an extension of the same quest Welles explored in Citizen Kane, but this time with 15 years of frustration and disappointment under his belt. When Welles’ backers snatched this film from him in post-production, it was re-edited in chronological order eliminating many scenes involving flashbacks. This is the European version – flashbacks intact – and released under this title. The US theatrical version (edited without Welles’ input) was released under the title Mr. Arkadin. (1955; France/Spain; 95 min)

Mar. 25: Touch of Evil

Even with studio interference, Welles proved he was an exceptional talent, in this taut drama about police corruption in a sleazy border town. Great performances from Welles, Janet Leigh and Charlton Heston, as a Mexican cop, no less. The opening sequence is legendary, and even after almost 50 years, it holds up as stunning cinema. (1958; 108 min)

Melwood Screening Room – 477 Melwood Ave.

March 13: 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, Isoldi’s in the Strip and Pittsburgh Brewing. For more info: www.filmkitchen.org

March 16 – 18: An Independent Portrait

Winner of the Audience Choice award at the 2006 Three Rivers Film Festival! This locally made production begins with film director Robert Young sitting for his first formal portrait with the Spanish painter Félix de la Concha. The film unfolds in an artist's studio in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. As we watch de la Concha at work, Young discusses his career filming subjects ranging from nomadic Eskimo tribes to Sicilian slum-dwellers. In the process, the two artists discuss their calling. What drives them to do independent work? How do creative people find their subjects? How are they supported, thwarted and inspired by what goes on around them? (Jose Munian; USA; 2006; 55 min)

Also showing: Cortile Cascino Although this documentary was made for NBC's prestigious "White Paper" series, the network refused to air it because it was considered too controversial. With sometimes shocking images, the director reveals the lives of the impoverished inhabitants of Cortile Cascino, a section in Palermo, Sicily. Young rescued his film from the trash, and after some editing, it was finally shown publicly at the Museum of Modern Art in 1984. (Robert Young; USA; 1962; 45 min)

March 23 – 25: Matthew Barney: No Restraint

This documentary examines the creative process by observing one of the most brilliant artists working today: Matthew Barney (often baffling, always amazing). We watch him as he installs his blubbery sculpture on a Japanese whaling ship. He's there to make his film Drawing Restraint 9 (shown here last year to sell-out crowds) with co-star and girlfriend Bjork as they play terrifically strange travelers. For background, there's a video clip of Barney's 1988 performance piece Drawing Restraint 2. Strapped into a harness and tether, the athletic artist strains to make a drawing on paper almost beyond his reach. Art dealers, critics and curators add appreciative and helpful comments. Barney's dad says his son started as a pre-med major at Yale, planning on a career in plastic surgery. If he had not detoured to art, "there'd be some strange people walking around the street," notes his dad. (Alison Chernick; USA/Japan; 2007; 70 min)

March 31; 8:00pm: CMU’s Damaged Goods

From 8-bit game hacks and National Geographic photo spreads to hyperkinetic collage films and editioned video art, this one-night-only program takes a look at the rich and varied practices of image appropriation. As part of Carnegie Mellon’s You’re Not the Boss of Me! Copyright and Transgression Festival (March 30 & 31), “Damaged Goods” was programmed by Thomas Beard, a writer and curator of film and electronic art. He has organized screenings and exhibitions at such venues as Aurora Picture Show, Chicago Filmmakers, MassArt Film Society, Pacific Film Archive, and the Museum of Modern Art. For more details go to www.yourenotthebossofme.info/

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