For Immediate Release                                                                   Contact: Carol OSullivan

Feb. 20, 2009                                                                                                412-681-5449         

 

Pittsburgh Filmmakers Announces

March Programming

 

(Pittsburgh, PA) – The following are descriptions of Pittsburgh Filmmakers Film Exhibition program for March 2009. 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 March 12: The Black Balloon

Starring the fabulous Toni Collette, this is a story about fitting in, discovering love, and accepting your family. Its not easy being Thomas. Hes turning 16, moving into a new house and new school. When his pregnant mother (Collette) has to take it easy, hes put in charge of his autistic older brother Charlie. Nominated for 11 Australian Film Institute awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Script, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress. (Elissa Down; Australia; 2008; 97 min)

 

March 13 - 19: Timecrimes

In this dazzling low-budget sci-fi thriller, an ordinary man accidentally travels to the past and meets himself – which sets into motion a disastrous chain of unforeseeable events, including a shocking crime. This gripping time-travel story comes from an Oscar-nominated short-film director, making his feature film debut. Brilliantly imaginative, it presents a deeply ironic and darkly funny vision of the universe. With minimal special effects, Timecrimes instead uses hold-your-breath pacing, seamless plotting, and remarkably believable performances. Add it to the list of finely crafted Spanish fantasy/horror films from recent years (Pan's Labyrinth, The Orphanage). With subtitles. (Nacho Vigalondo; Spain; 2008; 89 min)

 

March 20 – 26: Che: the Argentine (Part 1)

Oscar-winner Steven Soderbergh delivers an ambitious and sprawling portrait – divided into two parts – of one of the 20th century's most influential political figures. In the first part (the Argentine) we meet Che Guevara (played to perfection by Benicio Del Toro), a young Argentinean doctor who teams up with Fidel Castro to overthrow the corrupt Batista dictatorship in Cuba. Che's commitment to the cause soon propels him to the top of a burgeoning guerrilla movement. The story of the revolution is inter-cut with his landmark appearance at the United Nations in 1964, shot in black and white, newsreel-style. Young, handsome and idealistic, Che was a hero to the oppressed the world over. (Steven Soderburgh; USA/Spain/France; 2008; 137 min)

 

March 27 – April 2: Che: Guerilla (Part 2)

In part two Che (Del Toro) has abandoned Cuba to start a more daunting Latin American revolution in Bolivia training a rag-tag army, while his asthma takes an increasing toll. This is guerilla warfare and the film captures its scale and gritty reality. Gone is the glorious widescreen photography of part one – its replaced by a claustrophobic and unstable point of view. The cumulative effect of this two-part epic is rewarding in ways that few films are. In English and Spanish with subtitles. (Steven Soderbergh; USA/Spain/France; 2008; 131 min)

 

 

Regent Square Theater – 1035 South Braddock Ave.

 

 

Thru March 8: Wendy and Lucy

Michelle Williams "delivers a sensationally nuanced performance" – Village Voice

From the writer-director team of Old Joy comes this showcase for Ms. Williams. She plays Wendy, a flat broke, yet resilient, young woman who decides to move to Alaska with her beloved dog Lucy (played by the director's own dog) for a lucrative job in a fish cannery. She gets as far as Oregon before her sad wreck of a car breaks down. (Kelly Reichert; USA; 2008; 80 min)

 

March 9 – 12: Antonio Gaud

Legendary director Hiroshi Teshigahara (Woman of the Dunes) was inspired to make this film by the wild, undulating forms of Barcelona architect Antonio Gaud. It soon developed a cult following and became one of the most successful art-house films ever made, shown here in a gorgeous print. Teshigaharas eye for texture, shape and sensual detail reveals the intricacy and hallucinatory richness of Gaudis concepts. With very little narration, he accompanies the images with a brilliantly eclectic selection of music, ranging from baroque harpsichord to glass orchestra. With subtitles. (Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara; Japan; 1985; 72 min)

 

Opens March 13: The Class

Since the subjectis education, let's begin by giving it the grade it deserves: A+ – Wall Street Journal

Best Foreign Film Oscar nominee and top-prize winner at Cannes, this absorbing drama – which walks a fine line between fiction and non-fiction –- looks at public education through the eyes of a dedicated high school teacher and his multicultural students. They are a mixed bunch of girls and boys who challenge him on every occasion. All non-professional actors, they reflect their own working-class urban neighborhood. If their teacher is utterly convincing its because he is played by a former teacher who wrote a novel on this very subject. But much of the script was improvised, adding an uncompromising authenticity to this unforgettable film. With subtitles. (Laurent Cantet; France; 2008; 128 min)

 

Sunday Night Series: Kirk Douglas

At 92, Douglas is as appealingly indomitable as the characters he made famous. He has seen his share of trouble: the deaths of friends and family, a near-fatal helicopter accident, a stroke. Yet he endures. A Hollywood icon, his dimpled chin is an unambiguous symbol of the determined he-men he once played.

 

March 1: Lust for Life

In a well-deserved Oscar-nominated performance, Douglas is physically and emotionally perfect as the tormented Dutch painter. The film centers on Van Gogh's stormy friendship with fellow artist Gauguin (played by Anthony Quinn). (Vincent Minnelli; 1956; 122 min)

 

March 8: Paths of Glory

In one of his finest roles, Douglas plays Colonel Dax, commander of a battle-worn French regiment on the western front during World War I. Three young soldiers are tried on charges of cowardice and Dax defends them. (Stanley Kubrick; 1957; 86 min)

 

March 15: Lonely Are the Brave

Set in the 20th century, a cowboy (Douglas) out of step with the times becomes the focus of a manhunt when he escapes from jail. A poignant, character-driven story, its Douglas personal favorite. (David Miller; 1962; 107 min)

 

March 22: Spartacus

In this large-scale 50s style epic, the slave Spartacus (Douglas at his most buff) leads a violent revolt against the decadent Roman Empire. The all-star cast includes Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov and Tony Curtis. (Stanley Kubrick; 1960; 191 min)

 

March 29: Seven Days in May

Right-wing extremists in the US military stage a coup in this tight political thriller. Colonel Casey (Douglas) is jolted by the discovery of a secret plot to topple the President because he supports nuclear disarmament. (John Frankenheimer; 1964; 118 min)

 

 

 

 

Melwood Screening Room – 477 Melwood Ave.

 

 

 

March 7 & 8: Oskar Fischinger: Optical Poetry

Decades before computer graphics, before music videos, even before Fantasia (the 1940 version), there were the abstract animated films of Oskar Fischinger (1900-1967), master of absolute or nonobjective filmmaking. He was cinema's Kandinsky, an animator who, beginning in the 1920s in Germany, created exquisite "visual music" using geometric patterns and shapes choreographed tightly to classical music and jazz. -- John Canemaker, New York Times. This program features 35mm prints of Fischinger's classic Visual Music films, including Allegretto (2 versions), Composition in Blue, Motion Painting No.1, Study No. 6, Muratti Greift Ein, Radio Dynamics, Kreise, American March, Spirals, Spiritual Constructions, and more. All are preserved or new prints, including prints preserved by Academy Film Archive, Center for Visual Music and Fischinger Archive, with the support of Film Foundation, Sony, and Cinmathque qubcoise. Presented by Pittsburgh Filmmakers and CMUs School of Art Lecture Series (with Golan Levins mini-symposium on generative form and digital fabrication) in association with Center for Visual Music. (program approx: 70 min)

 

March 10: Film Kitchen

This monthly series highlights local independent film and video work. It is presented on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. Co-sponsored by City Paper, WYEP-FM, DH Creative, and Rock Light.

 

March 19: Fahrenheit 451

Based on Ray Bradburys futuristic novel. (Francois Truffaut; UK; 1966; 112 min) Presented in collaboration with Pittarts; reception follows screening.)

 

March 28: Black Maria Film & Video Festival

Since 1981, this international juried competition and award tour has been fulfilling its mission to advocate, exhibit and reward cutting edge works from independent film and video-makers. The festival is known for its national public exhibition program, which features a variety of bold contemporary works drawn from the annual collection of 50 award winning films and videos. As always Black Marias founder, John Columbus will present the films in person.

 

 

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