For Immediate Release                                                                   Contact: Carol OÕSullivan

Sept. 23, 2009                                                                                               412-681-5449         

 

Pittsburgh Filmmakers Announces

October Programming

 

(Pittsburgh, PA) – The following are descriptions of Pittsburgh Filmmakers Film Exhibition program for October 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.

 

 

Through Oct. 4: LornaÕs Silence

From the brilliant writing-directing team of brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne  (Rosetta, LÕEnfant) comes this Hitchcock-style drama, their most gripping film to date. Lorna is a young Albanian woman living in Belgium. She wants citizenship, but as with everything, there is a price attached. When she finds herself involved in the schemes of an unscrupulous mobster, LornaÕs world suddenly becomes complex and dangerous. With subtitles. (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne; Belgium/France/Italy; 2008; 105 min)

 

Oct. 5 – 8: Dead Snow

Dude, thatÕs not a regular zombie biting your neck, itÕs a Nazi zombie! Which means these flesh eaters are better dressed than George RomeroÕs undead, and a lot more relentless. The unlucky travelers who encounter them are a group of students on a ski trip in the Alps. A local warns them about an evil danger lurking in the mountains but of course, the arrogant youths donÕt listen. Make no mistake – heads roll, blood flows, and entrails ooze in this wacky horror-comedy, with the pristine slops making an eerie and ironic backdrop. With subtitles. (Tommy Wirkola; Norway; 2008; 91 min)

 

Oct. 9 - 15: Afghan Star

This intriguing documentary follows an American Idol style TV show in which 2,000 contestants compete for cash prizes and a record deal – in Afghanistan. Three of them are women. Viewers vote for their favorite singers by mobile phone, a taste of democracy. But in a troubled country like this, even music is controversial. Considered sacrilegious by the Mujahideen and banned by the Taliban, music has come to symbolize freedom for the youth. When one young woman dances on stage, she threatens her own safety and the future of the show. In English, Dari and Pashto with subtitles. (Havana Markin; Afghanistan; 2008; 87 min)

 

Oct. 16 – 22: $9.99

Created in 40 weeks by nine animators, this sly satire is an award-winning stop-motion feature (an Australian-Israeli co-production) with the voices of an all-star cast. We first meet quirky Dave Peck, a 28-year-old who fancies himself a philosopher. He prefers the search for the meaning of life to the search for gainful employment, much to his fatherÕs chagrin. One day Dave sees an ad for a book that will tell him the meaning of life Òfor the low price of $9.99.Ó He decides to share this with friends and neighbors – an eccentric bunch whose stories gradually intertwine to offer a revealing portrait of their hopes and beliefs. Features some great Australian actors, including Geoffrey Rush, Barry Otto and Anthony LaPaglia. (Tatia Rosenthal; Australia/Israel; 78 min)

 

Oct. 23 – 29: Victim

ÒViewed in the context of Great Britain in 1961, it's a film of courage.Ó – Roger Ebert

Victim is also a taught thriller starring Dirk Bogarde, in a daring, career-defining role. He plays a highly respected (but closeted) gay attorney who risks his marriage and reputation to go after a blackmail ring terrorizing gay men. At this time public exposure meant not only disgrace but jail time.  The classic features excellent performances, striking cinematography, and – reportedly – the first utterance of the word "homosexual" on film.  (Basil Dearden; UK; 1961; 100 min)

 

 

Regent Square Theater – 1035 South Braddock Ave.

 

Opens Oct. 2: It Might Get Loud

ÒDoes this sound like rock heaven? It is.Ó – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

From the Oscar-winning director of An Inconvenient Truth, comes a kind of multi-generational six-string summit of rock legends: The Edge (U2), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), and Jack White (The White Stripes).  They tell personal stories -- in their own words -- of how each developed a unique sound and style, and how their love affair with the electric guitar began. While they talk and play new music together, we get a rare peek at the deliberate and accidental occurrences of creativity, of how a song's path travels from the brain, to the fingers, to the listenerÕs ears. Downright invigorating, this film will have you playing air guitar for weeks. (Davis Guggenheim; USA: 2009; 97 min)

 

Opens Oct. 23: The Baader Meinhof Complex

This thoroughly riveting Oscar nominee (Best Foreign Film) is finally coming to Pittsburgh. It features a terrific cast headed by the always wonderful Bruno Ganz and a crackling script. The action-drama opens with the idyllic image of children playing on a beach, but we learn they will grow up to be the Baader Meinhof Gang, a West German terrorist group in the 1970s. They were the children of Nazis who fought against "the new face of fascism" – American imperialism supported by the German establishment. A sprawling epic, it explores the minds and motivations of the key figures in the group, while moving at a breakneck pace. In German, English, French and Swedish with subtitles. (Uli Edel; Germany, France, Czech Republic, 2008, 150 min)

 

 

Sunday Night Series:

Menace Behind the Manners: British Noir

Most people think of film noir as uniquely American, but in fact post-war British films offered an equally pessimistic take on human behavior. Filled with greed, desire, betrayal, here are five deliciously dark English noirs – Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple are nowhere to be found.

 

Oct 4: The Third Man

Starring Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles, this classic British noir follows pulp writer Holly Martins as he travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna to investigate the mysterious death of an old friend, black-market opportunist Harry Lime.  A brilliant and suspenseful tale of deception and murder, it features a wonderful zither score, razor-sharp dialogue, and Oscar-winning noir-drenched cinematography. (Carol Reed; UK; 1949; 104 min)

 

Oct 11: It Always Rains on Sunday

ÒAlmost the definitive British postwar filmÓ is how one historian described this noir from the director of Kind Hearts and Coronets. ItÕs a poetic film with multiple story lines and flashbacks, steam and shadows. An escaped convict hides in an upstairs bedroom, protected by a housewife who was once his lover. But in this tale all dreams are dead ends, and all trains return to the East End. (Robert Hamer; UK; 1947; 92 min) 

 

Oct 18: Brighton Rock  – new print!

Sir Richard Attenborough (at 24 years old) gives a chilling performance as Pinkie Brown, a teenage psychopath and leader of a gang of toughs at a seedy beach resort. Author Graham Greene (The Third Man, The Fallen Idol) provides the source for this dark glimpse into the underbelly of a British seaside resort. (John Boulting; 1947; 92 min)

 

Oct 25: The Fallen Idol

Largely told from a childÕs point of view, this Graham Greene story elegantly balances suspense and farce. It follows the fraught relationship between a boy and the beloved butler he suspects of murder. Very Hitchcockian and delightfully macabre, it stars the sublime Sir Ralph Richardson as the butler. (Carol Reed; UK; 1948; 95 min)

 

Nov. 5: So Evil My Love

On a boat back from Jamaica, a Victorian widow saves a handsome artist (and criminal on the run) played by Ray Milland. Her reward: a descending spiral of betrayal, blackmail, reverse blackmail and murder...but thereÕs a final twist. Full of depravity, finesse and old lace. (Lewis Allen; UK; 1948; 112 min)

 

 

Melwood Screening Room – 477 Melwood Ave.

 

Oct. 2 & 3: Ann Arbor Film Festival – Free RAD weekend event

AmericaÕs oldest and most prestigious festival of independent film is held each year in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The touring program (now in its 47th year) is a wide-ranging compilation of prize-winning experimental, animated, documentary and narrative films. As the longest-running film festival of its kind in North America, it is steeped in a rich tradition of ground-breaking cinema.

 

Oct. 9: Open Screening – Free

Students, alumni and PF/PCA members will show their work.

 

Oct. 13: Film Kitchen

This monthly series highlights regional, independent film and video work. This month  features a Halloween theme with short films by Jeffrey Hemphill, John Rohach  and Mike Maraden. Costumes optional. Reception at 7:00; films at 8:00.

 

Oct. 15: She Done Him Wrong

Filled with lots of clever innuendo, witty one-liners, and bold carnality, Mae West spouts irreverent one-liners in her star-making role as liberated, racy Lady Diamond Lou. She seduces a mission worker (Cary Grant) and sings bawdy songs, including ÒFrankie and Johnny.Ó (Lowell Sherman; USA; 1933; 66 min) An introduction, a post-film reception and informal discussion are planned. Part of the ÒSex Symbols in Sepia TonesÓ series; co-presented with PittArts.

 

Oct. 16 – 18: Shoot the Piano Player

Part thriller, part comedy, part melodrama, part noir, Francois TruffautÕs second feature is both a sly tribute to the American ÒBÓ film and a daring reworking of genre. The result is pure nouvelle vague. It follows a mild-mannered loser named Charlie (Charles Aznavour), who was once a famous concert pianist, now reduced to playing honky-tonk in a neighborhood bar. When his past catches up with him in the form of his wayward brother, Charlie stumbles into the criminal underworld and a whirlwind love affair with a waitress. (Francois Truffaut; 1960; France; 81 min)

 

Oct. 23 – 25: Evangelion 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

Based on the acclaimed anime TV series, ÒNeon Genesis Evangelion,Ó this sets the stage for the film franchise. Fourteen-year-old Shinji arrives in the city filled with self-doubt but he gets a chance to prove himself as one of three teenagers chosen to pilot robots called Evas – mysterious hybrids of man, spirit, and machine created to fight the unrelenting monsters who attack earth. Thrown into battle, Shinji knows the world's survival is on his shoulders. Features newly-available CG effects. (Hideaki Anno; Japan; 2007; 95 min)

 

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