For Immediate Release Contact: Carol O’Sullivan

April 20, 2007 412-681-5449

Pittsburgh Filmmakers Announces

May Programming

(Pittsburgh, PA) – The following descriptions are from Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Film Exhibition Program for May 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

Thru May 3: 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! This hilarious film chronicles the birth of Air Guitar Championships and the intense arch-rivalry between the top two air guitarists in the US. 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. Their expressive shredding and riffing is evaluated by sharp-eyed judges who score on originality, charisma and most importantly, airness. (Alexandra Lipsitz; USA; 2006; 82 min)

Opens May 4: Grbavica: the Land of My Dreams

In this moving tale of survival, a single mother, Esma, and her 12 year-old daughter, Sara, try to make ends meet in the Grbavica district of Sarajevo. Once an internment camp, the community is still ravaged by an ugly ethnic war. First time director Jasmila Zbanic, who grew up in the region, is especially tuned in to the struggles of women there. Her drama reveals a land broken by the barbarous Bosnian conflict, and although officially over, it still informs every aspect of life. A pending school trip compels Sara to ask for documents that prove her father's martyrdom. As the child of a “shaheed,” she’s entitled to go for free. But it spurs a confrontation, not only between mother and daughter, but between Esma and her past. Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival, and a 2006 Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film. With subtitles. (Jasmila Zbanic; Bosnia/Herzegovina; 2006; 90 min)

May 11 – 20: Silk Screen Film Festival

For schedule: www.silkscreenfestival.org

May 21 - 24: Fay Grim

Hal Hartley's latest espionage comedy, starring Parker Posey and Jeff Goldblum, is his smartest, funniest film in years. Fay Grim is the sequel (seven years later) to his hit film Henry Fool. But in one of its many creative flourishes, Grim totally upends the Fool story and returns to the kind of playfulness the indie director is known for. With characteristic cadences it asks, can a neurotic mom from Queens (with help from a friendly stewardess/part-time topless dancer) elude spy agencies and Afghan terrorists before her ex-husband, who’s missing, is killed over eight volumes of illogical, pedantic gibberish? The fast pace and taut dialogue -- flawlessly performed by its leads – take the audience on one very cool ride. (Hal Hartley; USA; 2006; 118 min)

Opens May 25: U – Carmen e Khayelitsha

This dazzling version of Bizet’s opera challenges every notion you might have about the classic, breaking free of the work’s stage origins to create a unique cinematic experience. It relocates the tale’s doomed love affair to Khayelitsha, a shantytown in South Africa; it sets the action in a cigarette factory; and it translates the libretto into Xhosa, a regional language distinguished by pops and clicks. This vibrant update, which took the top award at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival, is a celebration of South African art at its best. And the Khayelitsha-born opera singer Pauline Malefana, is superb in the title role of the sensuous and independent cigarette seller, supported by an excellent cast from the acclaimed South African theatre production company, Dimpho Di Copane. With subtitles. (Mark Dornford-May; 2005; South Africa; 126 min)

Regent Square Theater – 1035 South Braddock Ave.

May 8: Special 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

Thru May 10: The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Winner of the Palm d’Or at Cannes, this eagerly awaited film from British director Ken Loach tackles the Irish uprising during the early 20s. The British government was fighting to prevent the formation of an Irish Republic and turned to the “Black and Tans” (British soldiers) to keep order. The Irish Republicans fought back with equal ferocity. This powerful drama centers on the story of brother pitted against brother. 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, offers an unmistakable parallel to contemporary politics. (Ken Loach; UK; 2006; 126 min)

May 11 – 20: Silk Screen Film Festival

For schedule: www.silkscreenfestival.org

May 21 – 24: The Host

We were surprised when this wildly entertaining sci-fi movie came and went so quickly last month. Not only is it one of the best reviewed films so far this year, it’s the highest grossing film to date in South Korea. So we're bringing it back for a second chance.

It’s the story of a young girl snatched off the banks of the River Han by a slimy reptilian monster – a spectacular mutant spawned by a chemical spill in Seoul’s major waterway. The girl’s low-functioning family must rise to the occasion and attempt a heroic rescue. But The Host squirms in unexpected directions – incorporating enough political and social subtext to keep it relevant and funny. Ultimately, it works as a black comedy, an exciting monster movie with great FX, and a touching family drama. With subtitles. (Bong Joon-ho; South Korea; 2006; 119 min)

Opens May 25: Offside

What does a girl have to do to cheer for her soccer team? Plenty, if she lives in a culture that bans women from such “profane” male activities. The daring young Iranian women in this delightful new comedy from Jafar Panahi (Crimson Gold) demonstrate a resourcefulness and rebelliousness never before seen in Iranian dramas. It’s a celebration of fandom and feminism, even when their ruses and disguises prove useless. The gaggle of female fans in a stadium holding pen just out of view of the game, guarded by equally young, bewildered soldiers (who would rather be watching the game themselves) tweak the absurdity of the situation. There’s no finer or funnier Iranian political slapstick than the logistics of a boy soldier assigned to chaperone a girl prisoner for a toilet break. Winner of a Silver Bear at the 2006 Berlin Film Fest. With subtitles. (Jafar Panahi; Iran; 2006; 99 min)

Sunday Night Series:

Cautionary Tales: To Do No Harm

Presented by the Pittsburgh Chapter - Physicians for Social Responsibility, KQV, City Paper and Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Guest speakers follow each film. A four-film pass is available for $18.

May 6: An Inconvenient Truth

This Oscar winning film eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Al Gore's lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of climate change. Gore, who has never been more charming, presents the facts in a thoughtful and compelling way.  It is not a story of despair but rather, an energizing rallying cry “to act boldly, quickly, and wisely," as Gore says. With the recent landmark Supreme Court decision favoring government enforcement of emissions, this issue just got hotter. (Davis Guggenheim; USA; 2006; 100 min)

May 13: The Fog of War

Robert S. McNamara is one of the most controversial and influential figures in the history of world politics. This compelling documentary examines the psychology and reasoning, not just of the former Secretary of Defense, but of all the top government “deciders” who send men to war. While focusing primarily on the failures of Vietnam, acclaimed filmmaker Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line) combines extraordinary archival footage, de-classified White House recordings, and a very candid McNamara himself, to create a gripping story. (Errol Morris; USA; 2003; 106 min)

May 20: Manufactured Landscapes

Like the environmentally enlightening An Inconvenient Truth, this stunning new documentary asks us to see the world -- and the way we live in it -- with new eyes. Artist Edward Burtynsky is internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of nature transformed by industry. We follow Burtynsky to China as he captures the effects of the country’s massive industrial revolution. With breathtaking sequences we witness both the epicenters of industrial endeavor and the dumping grounds of its waste. This remarkable film has won awards at both Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals. (Jennifer Baichwal; Canada; 2007; 90 min) Speaker: Joe Morrison

May 27: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

A perennial favorite, the classic is a ruthless satire of the US war machine. When a general starts the process that leads up to a nuclear holocaust, a war room full of politicians and military men cannot stop it. All the while they complain that the communists are conspiring to pollute the "precious bodily fluids" of the American people. Peter Sellers stars in three hilarious roles, including the mad scientist, Strangelove. Remarkably undated, this irreverent comedy remains one of the best anti-war films ever made. (Stanley Kubrick; UK; 1964; 93 min)

Melwood Screening Room – 477 Melwood Ave.

Melodrama and Kino-Ideology

These films are part of the ninth annual Russian Film Symposium at the University of Pittsburgh. All shown with English subtitles For more info: www.rusfilm.pitt.edu

May 2 and 5: Transit

Set in the remote far eastern region of Chukotka in 1943, this melodrama is about the US Lend Lease program, which provided Soviet aviators with American planes to fight the common fascist enemy. The planes were flown to Chukotka by US pilots (all women in the film) and then on to the Western front by the Soviets. Inevitably a series of romances ensue. (Directed by Aleksandr Rogozhkin; Russia, 20066; 140 min) Speaker: Oleg Sulkin, film critic for Novoye russkoye slovo, introduces the film on May 2.

May 3 and 6: It Doesn’t Hurt

Three young people open their own business, an interior design bureau, in St. Petersburg. Short on funds, the friends acquire a curious patroness (played by cult actress Renata Litvinova), the mistress of wealthy New Russian (Nikita Mikhalkov). Very quickly business relations become personal ones and an affair develops between the patroness and one of the friends. (Directed by Aleksei Balabanov; Russia, 2006; 104 min) Speaker: Mikhail Trofimenkov, film critic for Kommersant, introduces the film on May 3.

May 4 and 6: Alive

Returning home from the Second Chechen war without one of his legs, a young contract soldier cannot find his place in his home town. He sets off on a journey and discovers that he is being accompanied by two of his former fellow soldiers, both of whom had been killed as they assisted in getting him to safety after he was wounded. (Directed by Aleksandr Veledinskii; Russia, 2006; 98 min) Speaker: Dmitrii Savel'ev, film critic for Russian Vogue, introduces the film on May 4.

May 5: Euphoria

Set deep in the desolate Russian countryside, this is a melodrama of adultery: a married man meets a married woman at a wedding and abandons everything to be with her. When the woman’s daughter is transported to a hospital after a dog bites off her finger, the couple find themselves alone with their increasing passion and her pursuing husband. (Directed by Ivan Vyrypaev; Russia, 2006; 74 min) Speaker: David MacFadyen, professor, University of California-Los Angeles

###