| For Immediate Release | Contact: Carol O'Sullivan |
| Apr 20, 2005 | 412-681-5449 x205 |
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May Programming (PITTSBURGH, PA) -- The following are descriptions of Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ Film Exhibition program for June 2005. These 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. Weekday screenings at 5:30 are just $5. April 29 - May 5: Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior On a dark and stormy night in a quiet Thai village, the town’s Buddha statue, known as Ong-Bak, is stolen. The locals see this as a catastrophe and look for a hero to retrieve their lost treasure. Hot new action star Tony Jaa follows in the powerful martial arts footsteps of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li in this mesmerizing film, one of the first to showcase the fighting technique of "Muay Thai." Jaa plays Ting who has volunteered to bring back the head of Ong-Bak. Soon after arriving in the city, Ting, a peaceful fish out of water, finds the only way to recapture the sacred treasure is by using his arms, his legs—and his head. Tony Jaa is charmingly fearless, performing all his own stunts without any special effects, computer enhancement, or ropes. (Directed by Prachya Pinkaew; Thailand; 2003; 105 min) May 9 - 12: The Sea Inside This year’s Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film. "Based on the true story of Ramón Sampedro (Javier Bardem), paralyzed from the neck down in a swimming accident at 25, immobilized for the 30 years since but powerfully energized by a single cause: the right to end his own life. As crusades go, it is grim, but Ramon himself is not. To the contrary, he is charming, flirtatious, intellectually engaged and engaging, charismatic, really -- and much loved by the brother, sister-in-law and nephew who take fine care of him. … There is a great deal of humor and joy in Ramon's ostensibly somber dilemma and in Bardem's brilliant, soul-stirring characterization of him. There is Wagner on the record player and soccer on the TV. There is the poetry Ramon writes and the poetry of his conversation. In the film's funniest scene, a paraplegic priest shows up to debate the suicide issue with theological truths but gets existential rebuttals -- one side's arguments yelled up, the other down, two flights of stairs." - Barry Paris, Pgh Post-Gazette. (Directed by Alejandro Amenábar; Spain/France/Italy; 2004; 125 min) May 13 - 19: The Nomi Song "Forget Devo, Nico, Bowie, or Beefheart: The most mesmerizing freak show in the history of rock & roll was Klaus Nomi." - O. Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly. Looking like an alien and singing like a diva, Klaus Nomi was a cult figure in the New Wave Underground scene who sang pop music like opera and brought opera to club audiences. He was a performer with a "look" so strong, that his first audiences went wild before he even opened his mouth. On the verge of international fame as a singer, he instead became one of the first prominent artists to die of AIDS. But reaction to Klaus Nomi is still strong, even 20 years after his death. He was an alien amongst the outcasts, a tortured soul. He has to be seen - and heard - to be believed. This documentary is very visual, partly because Nomi himself was so visual, someone who's main concern was putting forth an image of himself in everything he did - literally illustrated by the photos, films, videos and artworks that go with it. It's a story that grows out of a group of people who influenced him, loved him, felt pity for him or betrayed by him, yet above all, were inspired by him. (Directed by Andrew Horn; USA; 2005; 96 min) May 20 - 22: Steamboy "[See it] on the big screen so as to be reminded of the marvels of hand-drawn animation. Otomo visuals are precisely and passionately crafted…" - LA Alternative Press. The master Japanese anime director Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) scores again with Steamboy, the retro science-fiction story of a family of inventors in Victorian England that gets ripped apart by greed, pride, and power. Ray Steam is a young boy following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, scientists dedicated to steam technology. When his grandfather invents a steam ball that has unheard-of possibilities, everyone wants it - world leaders, wealthy industrialists, even the government. But of course most of them want it for evil purposes. So it is up to Ray to protect the fate of the earth. This is the English-language version featuring the voices of Anna Paquin, Alfred Molina, and Patrick Stewart. (Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo; Japan; 2005; 116 min) May 23 - 26: Born Into Brothels Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary, this is the fascinating story of British-born photojournalist Zana Briski, who overcame barriers of language, culture, and ethnicity when she immersed herself into an impoverished and illegal neighborhood in Calcutta, India. Briski befriended the children of Sonagachi (the city's red light district), starting a photography workshop and providing them with cameras. The transformative power of this simple object is remarkable; within weeks the children show new spirit and several have discovered a new talent. Over the course of the film, a central narrative unfolds -- the children's quest, fueled by their newfound hope and strength, to leave for a better life. Though the beauty of the story is tinged with heartbreak, this fine documentary is ultimately a testament to the immense power of art, even in the bleakest of environments. (Directed by Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman; India/USA; 2004; 85 min) Opens May 27: Beautiful Boxer "A moving fight for fulfillment.... a deeply affecting odyssey" - K. Thomas, LA Times. "A tearjerker that kicks ass." - JR Huston, SF Bay Guardian. Based on the real story of Parinya Charoenphol (now Nong Tum). Nong Tum was a champion kick boxer, but that was before sex reassignment surgery. As a man Tum was a national hero, idolized for his mastery of "Muay Thai" — the term for traditional Thai kick boxing. Now, as a woman, Tum is barred from the ring. She can never compete again. Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2004 Brussels Int'l Film Festival, and the Best Film award at the 2004 Turin Internazionale Film Fest. In English and Thai with subtitles. (Directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham; Thailand; 2004; 118 min) Regent Square Theater - 1035 South Braddock Ave. May 10: The Annual Film Kitchen Contest Presented on the second Tuesday of every month, Film Kitchen showcases local film and video art. Reception at 7:00; screening at 8:00pm. Co-sponsored by Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Pittsburgh City Paper, WYEP, Pittsburgh Brewing, Pittsburgh Deli Co. Through May 12: Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill This is the true story of a street musician and his remarkable relationship with a flock of wild green-and-red parrots. Mark Bittner falls in with the flock as he searches for meaning in his life, unaware that the wild parrots will bring it to him. The film celebrates urban wildness, bohemian and avian, and links the parrots’ antics to human behavior. Mark becomes something of an expert himself as he consults local birders, and as he feeds, names, studies, and protects the cherry-headed conures . (Directed by Judy Irving; USA; 2004; 83min) Opens May 13: Turtles Can Fly Winner of the Silver Bear at the Chicago Film Fest, and the Iranian entry for Best Foreign Film Oscar, this powerful drama paints a grim yet hopeful portrait of the children in an unending war zone. Set near the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of an American invasion, refugee children gauge and await their fate. The director, an Iranian Kurd who studied under Abbas Kiarostami, shows a world where kids spend their days in fields collecting live land mines for sale. "Satellite" is a young wheeler-dealer who installs a satellite dish in the village to get news of the coming war. He falls for an unlikely orphan, a sad-faced girl traveling with her brother, who appears to have the gift of clairvoyance. The exquisitely haunting mountains play backdrop to the tragedy, but at the same time the heart and humor of the children is an undeniable force. In Kurdish with subtitles. (Directed by Bahman Ghobadi; Iran/France; 2005; 98 min) Opens May 20: Up And Down "It's been a long time since a movie allowed so many diverse narratives to fold into so unexpected, unified and satisfying a story." - Chicago Tribune In this bittersweet tale of fate, two smugglers near the Czech-Slovak border discover their truckload of illegal Indian immigrants have left a baby behind in the dead of night. In a small Prague apartment, Franta and Mila dream of having a child, but Franta - on probation because of his soccer hooliganism past - is not allowed to adopt, and Mila is unable to conceive. Director Hrebejk seems to share the same sense of humor as native son Milos Forman in a contemporary setting, a world in which forgiveness and aggression roam indiscriminately. The Czech Republic’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. In Czech with subtitles. (Directed by Jan Hrebejk; Czech Republic; 2005; 108 min) Opens May 27: Nobody Knows In this Cannes Film Fest winner, the director of Maborosi, and After-life presents an exceptional story of a makeshift family of children left to survive in an urban jungle. Four siblings live happily with their mother in Tokyo. The children all have different fathers and have never been to school. The existence of three of them has been hidden from the landlord. One day, the mother leaves behind a little money and a note, asking her 12-year-old boy to care for the others. And so begins the children’s odyssey. "In less sensitive hands, the film could easily have been a manipulative melodrama of children in danger, or else a too-cute appreciation of youthful resilience, but Kore-eda directs his dry-eyed young actors with an extraordinary mixture of tenderness and detachment, hovering between the children's point of view and that of a stricken, sympathetic adult." - NYTimes. In Japanese with subtitles. (Directed by Hirokazu Kore-Eda; Japan; 2004; 141 min) Sunday Night Series: Visions of War These four films, with guest speakers, represent a sample of the varying cinematic styles and genres used as a response to war. Presented by the Pittsburgh Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility and Pittsburgh Filmmakers. A four-film pass is available from PSR (412-521-9043 or 724-339-4279), or at the Regent Square Theater box office, for $20. May 1: Bananas Melwood Screening Room - 477 Melwood Ave. May 3 - 8: Russian Film Symposium This annual event is co-presented by Pittsburgh Filmmakers and the University of Pittsburgh’s department of Slavic languages and literature. May 3 & 6: The Tuner Please Note: Film Kitchen moves to Regent Square this month. |
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