For Immediate Release Contact: Carol O’Sullivan

July 22, 2008 412-681-5449

Pittsburgh Filmmakers Announces

August Programming

(Pittsburgh, PA) – The following are descriptions of Pittsburgh Filmmakers Film Exhibition program for August 2008. The films are screened at 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 August 7: OSS 117

“An uproarious send-up” – LA Weekly

French comic star Jean Dujardin stars as secret agent OSS 117 who somehow succeeds in spite of his ineptitude. After a fellow agent and close friend is murdered, he is ordered to take his place at the head of a poultry firm in Cairo. Blithe and witty, it spoofs not only spy films and the suave secret agent figure, but also neo-colonialism, ethnocentrism and the very idea of Western covert action in the Middle East. With subtitles. (Michel Hazanavicius; 2007; France; 99 min)

August 8 - 14: Milos Forman Double Feature – new prints!

Part of the original Czech New Wave in the 60s, Forman emigrated to America and made a name for himself in Hollywood. He won Oscars (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus) even though he was always considered a maverick. Here is a look back at his final Czech films, both of which explore his favorite themes: the banality of modern life, bureaucratic incompetence, and ideological rigidity.

Loves of a Blonde

In this sharply observed comedy of every day life, a philandering young piano player seduces a simple factory girl at a dance. When she doesn’t hear from him again she shows up on his doorstep in Prague -- to the acute embarrassment of the boy and his parents. With subtitles. (1965; 88 min)

The Firemen’s Ball

This allegory of government bumblings shows organizers of a commemorative celebration for a small town’s retiring fire chief, bickering endlessly. They are totally disorganized and the contestants for their beauty contest are all plain janes. To top it off the ball is interrupted by a fire and all the prizes are stolen. Censors were outraged and Forman fled the country. With subtitles. (1968; 71 min)

Opens August 15: What We Do Is Secret

This high-energy biopic chronicles the birth of punk rock in the US, and the short, tumultuous life of notorious Germs lead singer Darby Crash. Best known for playing a cute young doctor on ER, Shane West nails this starring role. His performance and infectious charm helps us make a quick connection with his doomed character. The film begins in 1975 when a teenager and his best friends wanted fame more than anything else. The first step was forming a band, despite the fact that none could play instruments. They adopted the names Darby Crash, Pat Smear, and Lorna Doom, and called themselves the Germs. They recorded a single album and never toured, yet in hindsight they were one of the first punk bands of influence. Since completing the film, three of the original Germs have toured the US with West performing lead vocals. (Rodger Grossman; 2007; USA; 92 min)

Opens August 22: Up the Yangtze

"An astonishing documentary of culture clash and the erasure of history amid China's economic miracle." - NY Times

In China it’s known simply as “The River.” The Yangtze and all that surrounds it, is undergoing an astounding transformation wrought by the largest hydroelectric project in history. In his remarkable journey, Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang returns to the gorgeous, now-disappearing landscape of his grandfather's youth to trace the surreal life of a "farewell cruise" that traverses the gargantuan waterway. With a humanist gaze and wry wit Chang captures the microcosmic society on the luxury liner. This beautiful film illustrates the wrenching changes facing not only an increasingly globalized China, but the world at large. In English and Mandarin. (Yung Chang; China/Canada; 2008; 93 min)

Regent Square Theater – 1035 South Braddock Ave.

Thru August 7: When Did You Last See Your Father?

In this unflinching exploration of a troubled father/son relationship, Blake Morrison (played by Colin Firth) remembers their shared life experiences when his dad gets sick – only to find everything was embarrassing or upsetting. This poignant and funny film astutely expresses the contradictions, frustrations, love and loss bound to the complicated relationships we have with our parents. Features another Oscar-worthy turn by Jim Broadbent. (Anand Tucker; UK; 2008; 92 min)

Opens August 8: Encounters at the End of the World

The South Pole has lured scientists, adventurers and eccentrics like a magnet since Shackleton ventured there a century ago. It seems inevitable that Werner Herzog should make his own exploration there. In documentaries such as Grizzly Man, Little Dieter Needs to Fly, and many others, Herzog is driven to understand those (like himself) who live in extremes. Here, Herzog travels to an Antarctic community on Ross Island, headquarters for the National Science Foundation and home to 1,100 people during the austral summer. Beyond the settlement, he ventures through a science-fiction landscape, from the under-ice depths of the Ross Sea, to the brink of the Mount Erebus volcano. Over the course of Herzog’s journey, nature-in-the wild shares equal time with human nature. His encounters are alternately surreal, absurd, profound and, sometimes, all of the above. (Werner Herzog; USA; 2007; 99 min)

Opens August 29: My Winnipeg

“Unexpectedly beautiful. A haunting phantasmagoria of a film – comic, singular, surreal. A film to give yourself to, with pleasure.” – LA Times

Named Best Canadian Film at the 2007 Toronto Film Fest, this is a re-imagined version of childhood from indie director Guy Maddin (The Saddest Music in the World) as well as a goodbye letter to his hometown. In a brilliant bit of casting, B-movie icon Ann Savage (Detour) plays his domineering mother. Both wacky and profoundly touching, this "docu-fantasia" (as Maddin prefers to call it) inventively blends local and personal history with surrealist images and metaphorical myths. He addresses the city’s large number of sleepwalkers, the loss of their NHL team, and a tragic racetrack accident involving horses frozen in a logjam. (Guy Maddin; Canada; 2008; 80 min)

Sunday Night Series: Life On Mars: New Perspectives

Co-presented with Carnegie Museum of Art's exhibition Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International, this film series explores similar themes of alienation, dystopia, and new ways of seeing the world. Exhibition curator Douglas Fogle explains that "Life on Mars" refers to “a world – either a personal world or the world itself – spinning out of control.” Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh members will get a $2 discount off full-price tickets to this film series; and during August, PF/PCA members can get a $2 discount to the International.

Aug. 3: 2001:A Space Odyssey

This is the ultimate science-fiction voyage of a man through outer and inner space, through the phases of his own life in time thrown out of whack, to his death and rebirth in an intergalactic embryo. “[Kubrick] made a philosophical statement about man's place in the universe, using images as those before him had used words, music or prayer…to stand outside it as a philosopher might, and think about it.” – Roger Ebert (Stanley Kubrick; 1968; 140 min)

Aug. 10: Brazil

This dark comedy is one of the best films ever made showing how technology might spawn a nightmare society of the future. With nods to both Orwell and Monty Python, this is a world marred by oppressive automation and towering bureaucracy, and populated by tyrannical guards who strong-arm the lawbreakers. Sam Lowry is a civil servant who uses his imagination to escape. (Terry Gilliam; UK/USA; 1985; 131 min)

Aug. 17: Blow-Up

When a photographer believes he has inadvertently captured a murder on film, he begins to question everything he sees. This masterpiece – the first English language film by Antonioni – is a fascinating look at the ramifications of “recording” reality. (Michelangelo Antonioni; 1966; 108 min)

Aug. 24: Playtime

In this French comedy classic about a stranger in a strange land, Monsieur Hulot (played by the brilliant Jacques Tati) comes to Paris for an appointment but the “space age” buildings seem to thwart his every move, and he feels out of place in the modern world. “It directs us to look around at the world we live in, the one we keep building.” – film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum (Jacques Tati; 1967; 126 min)

Aug. 31: Alphaville

Part science-fiction, part film noir – this French New Wave thriller from one of cinema's greatest contributors is nothing less than a cult classic, using no special visual effects. A bizarre space-chase across a glass and metal landscape of futuristic Paris – here called Alphaville – is the movie's premise. This dystopian tomorrow is characterized by alienation, conformity and a stunningly clinical world. Godard slyly suggests that the future is now. The result is a touching, original film laced with the director’s familiar political and intellectual themes. With subtitles. (Jean-Luc Godard; France; 1965; 100 min)

Melwood Screening Room – 477 Melwood Ave.

August 15 - 17: Sputnik Mania

Fifty years ago, at the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union launched “Sputnik,” the first satellite to orbit the earth, bringing America to its knees in awe – then in fear. Initially thrilling as a marvel of science, Sputnik was soon viewed by Americans as a weapon of mass destruction. This stylish documentary explores the fast-moving events that brought us to the brink of WW III. Rather than relying on famous talking heads, the movie (narrated by Liev Schreiber) tells its story primarily through editing. From its thrilling opening section through its account of America’s collective response, Sputnik highlights regular folks who were kids when it was launched in 1957. (David Hoffman; USA; 2008; 87 min)

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