For Immediate Release Contact: Carol O’Sullivan

June 23, 2008 412-681-5449

Pittsburgh Filmmakers Announces

July Programming

(Pittsburgh, PA) – The following are descriptions of Pittsburgh Filmmakers Film Exhibition program for July 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 July 10: Mr. Lonely

“Nearly every frame is an image of arresting clarity and beauty.” – NY Times

This is the long-awaited comeback of Harmony Korine (Gummo, Julien Donkey-Boy) and it was worth the wait. It stars Diego Luna (y Tu Mamá También) as a Michael Jackson impersonator who hangs out with other impersonators. They all stay in character – Charlie Chaplin, James Dean, Abe Lincoln and more – 24 hours a day. This includes Marilyn Monroe (Oscar- nominated actress Samantha Morton) who bonds with “Michael” on her Scottish commune. To say this film is quirky is an understatement, but it is also a highly original, surreal and rewarding film experience. (Harmony Korine: 2008; USA; 112 min)

July 12 - 20: The Singing Revolution

Most people don't think singing when they think revolution. But song was the weapon of choice when Estonians sought to free themselves from decades of Soviet occupation. Between 1986 and 1991, hundreds of thousands gathered in public to sing forbidden patriotic songs and to rally for independence. "The young people, without any political party, and without any politicians, just came together...to gather and to sing and to give this nation a new spirit," says Mart Laar, a Singing Revolution leader featured in this inspiring film. It tells the moving story of how the Estonian people peacefully regained their freedom, and helped topple an empire along the way. (James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty; USA; 2007; 94 min)

July 21 – July 24: Les Carabiniers – new print!

Jean Luc Godard’s potent antiwar film from the 60s is the surreal tale of two moronic mercenaries who leave their wives and travel the world in service to the “King." There’s a grotesque humor throughout the film, emphasizing the idiocy of war, yet its premise is as relevant as ever. We find Godard playing mischievously here with images and ideas, and his favorite themes, such as the destructiveness of capitalism. Full of the innovative editing techniques and intellectual vigor that punctuate his best work, Les Carabiniers is classic Godard – beautiful, funny, complex, fascinating, and frustrating. With subtitles. (Jean-Luc Godard; France; 1963; 99 min)

Opens July 25: OSS 117

“An uproarious send-up” – LA Weekly

A box-office sensation in France, comic star Jean Dujardin stars as secret agent OSS 117 who somehow succeeds – in the grand tradition of Maxwell Smart and Inspector Clouseau – 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. This is to be his cover while he investigates the death, monitors the Suez Canal, checks up on the Brits and Soviets, burnishes France's reputation, quells a fundamentalist rebellion and brokers peace in the Middle East. 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)

Regent Square Theater – 1035 South Braddock Ave.

Thru July 10: My Brother is an Only Child

A smash hit in its native Italy, this politically-charged family drama tells the story of two brothers who both want to change the world, but in completely different ways. The elder is a handsome, charismatic firebrand who joins the local Communist party. The younger, more rebellious brother joins a reactionary Fascist group. The rift between the brothers is further intensified when one falls in love with the other’s girlfriend. What starts as a tale of sibling rivalry becomes the story of the polarizing and paralyzing politics of the turbulent 60s and 70s. Hailed at this year’s Cannes and Toronto film festivals, it reunites the director with the screenwriters of The Best of Youth. With subtitles. (Daniele Luchetti; 2007; Italy; 108 min)

July 11 - 24: Jellyfish

“Seductive and intoxicating, playfully surreal and inexplicably moving.” – LA Times

Exceedingly cinematic, this award-winning drama tells the story of three very different women as their intersecting stories weave a portrait of modern Israeli life. We meet a groom and his bride, an aimless young woman and a mysterious child, a Filipino caregiver and her cranky charge. As their paths wend their way through Tel Aviv, they struggle with issues of communication, affection and destiny. Co-directed by the bestselling Israeli writer Etgar Keret and his wife, dramatist-director Shira Geffen, Jellyfish is full of keen observations, both poignant and refreshingly witty. With subtitles. (Etgar Keret & Shira Geffen; Israel; 2008; 78 min)

Opens July 25: When Did You Last See Your Father?

Shared memories can be slippery, as we see in this adaptation of Blake Morrison's memoir about the weeks leading up to his father’s death. In this unflinching exploration of a father/son relationship, Blake (played by Colin Firth) contemplates their shared life experiences – only to find everything was embarrassing or upsetting. Flashbacks are interspersed with tender and heartrending scenes in the present, as he struggles to come to terms with the bond between them. This poignant and funny film astutely expresses the contradictions, frustrations, love and loss bound to the complicated relationships we have with our parents. Features an outstanding British/Irish ensemble of actors, including another Oscar-worthy turn by Jim Broadbent. (Anand Tucker; UK; 2008; 92 min)

Sunday Night Series: Richard Widmark: The Last Face of Noir

Richard Widmark spent his career playing the flawed heroes of film noir. His blonde good looks should’ve made him a natural leading man, but instead he played anti-social mobsters, and one particularly vicious psychopath. In real life he was a mild-mannered former teacher who was married to his college sweetheart for 55 years, and kept out of the public eye. His prolific career of more than 65 movies included working with some of Hollywood’s greatest directors, though many felt he never got the recognition he deserved. Widmark died in March at the age of 93.

July 6: Kiss of Death

In Widmark’s spectacular film debut, he plays a creepy psycho ("I wouldn't give you the skin off a grape") that earned him his only Oscar nomination. This fast-paced gangster film features many great character actors, such as Victor Mature, Karl Malden, and Brian Donlevy. But it’s mostly famous for one scene: the baby-faced Widmark gleefully shoves a wheelchair-bound woman down the stairs to her certain death. (Henry Hathaway; 1947; 98 min)

July 13: Night and the City

Mood and atmosphere permeate this classic film noir. Directed by the great Jules Dassin (the blacklisted director also died in March 2008), it’s set in the tawdry back streets, nightclubs, and bars of a decidedly pre-Mod London. Here Widmark plays a fight promoter hustling to stay ahead of the debt collectors. Money and backstabbers keep him in trouble, while a loyal gal pal tries to steer him straight. (Jules Dassin; 1950; 100 min)

July 20: Panic in the Streets

Elia Kazan directed this tense, Oscar-winning thriller, shot on location in New Orleans. When a doctor (Widmark) discovers that a murder victim is infected with a deadly and highly contagious virus, he spends the next 48 hours helping the cops find the killers (including Jack Palance, and in one of the more colorful performances of that decade, Zero Mostel) before they can infect others. (Elia Kazan; 1950; 96 min)

July 27: Pickup on South Street

In this edgy thriller, a pickpocket (Widmark) lifts a purse from a beautiful woman on a New York subway, and gets more than he bargained for: namely, top secret microfilm she’s unwittingly transporting for her lover, a Communist spy. All of a sudden the spies are after him! Like many of Sam Fuller's protagonists, Widmark's "Skip McCoy" is a hoodlum on his own terms. Features superb noir-style cinematography. (Samuel Fuller; 1953; 80 min)

Melwood Screening Room – 477 Melwood Ave.

July 8: Film Kitchen

A showcase for regional independent film and video art, Film Kitchen is presented on the second Tuesday of every month. This month features a collection of avant-garde improvisational videos by local artist tENTATIVELY a cONVENIENCE.

Co-sponsored by City Paper, WYEP-FM, Tandoor Indian Grill, and DH Creative. Admission: $4.

July 25 – 27: Beaufort

Back by request from the Three Rivers Film Festival, this favorite is not a story of war, but of retreat, set in southern Lebanon in the days leading up to the withdrawal of Israeli troops in 2000. Based on a true story and adapted from a novel by journalist Ron Leshem, it’s about a 22 year-old commander, whose growing awareness of his situation forces him to act, as the mental and physical disintegration of his young soldiers grows. The tension created throughout the film is a not created with fast-paced editing, but through a series of claustrophobic scenes that take the viewer into the young soldiers’ world. A beautiful, haunting film. With subtitles. (Joseph Cedar; Israel; 2007; 125 min)

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