No Narrative

The “Upcoming Screenings” post that you find here every weekend, highlighting second-run and special engagement screenings, and film festivals, is moving over to Celluloid Notes. It just seems to make a little more sense over there. So, we’ve passed it along and it will appear every Saturday over there, as well as the festival reports, and the “What to See This Weekend” roundup of this weeks theatrical releases - which appears every Sunday (more-or-less).

Thanks for reading both No Narrative and Celluloid Notes - check back this week for new Festival Reports.

I haven’t been keeping up with the fests as they finish. I’m hoping to catch up and continue posting the winners here for you to look back upon as the year keeps moving onward.

The LA Comedy Shorts Fest finished up in mid-March and here are your winners:

Funny Or Die’s Best-of-Fest Grand Prize Short:
Captain Coulier (Space Explorer) Directed by Lyndon Casey

Best Comedy Short Script:
Danny Caldwell Goes to Hell (Austin Sheeley)

Best Comedy Feature Script:
The Rock Thrower (Ted Farnath)

AtomicWedgie’s Best Comedy Shortie-Short:
The Swear Police (Joe Wilson)

Atom.com’s Best Comedy Animated Short:
Disraxion (Mike Stern)

Atom.com’s Best Comedy Short:
Daryl From OnCar (David McWhirter)

AtomicWedgie’s Film Festival Audience Award:
A Bit of Counseling (Deb Hiett, Richard Kuhlman)

Recipient of the 2009 Commie Award
For Excelling in Achieving Outstanding Comedical Achievements in the Field of Comedy Excellence ~ Bobcat Goldthwait

NEW YORK, NY:
04.12 - Fighting Spirit // Film Society of Lincoln Center: 5:15
04.13 - New York Double Feature: Do The Right Thing & Taxi Driver (Spike Lee & Martin Scorsese) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8:30pm
04.13 - Triomf (Michael Raeburn) // Film Society of Lincoln Center: 12:30pm
04.14 - Al Franken: God Spoke (Chris Hegedus & Nick Doob - directors present) // IFC Center: 8pm
04.16 - Luxury Car (Wang Chao) // Asia Society and Museum: 7pm
04.22-05.03 - Tribeca International Film Festival
04.23 - An Evening with Jim Jarmusch // Museum of the Moving Image: 8pm
04.27 - Nashville (Robert Altman) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8:30pm
04.28 - Adoration (Atom Egoyan) [preview screening] // IFC Center
06.24 - Visionfest Film Festival
07.28-08.02 - New York International Latino Film Fest (presented by HBO) (10th Annual)

MINNEAPOLIS, MN
04.16 - North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock) // Heights Theater
04.16 - Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival
04.20 - Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock) // Riverview Theater
04.23 - Fados (Carlos Saura) // Walker Art Center: 7:30pm [FREE]
04.27 - Rope (Alfred Hitchcock) // Riverview Theater
05.04 - Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock) // Riverview Theater
05.07 - Annie Get Your Gun (George Sidney) // Heights Theater
05.11 - To Catch a Thief (Alfred Hitchcock) // Riverview Theater
05.18 - Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock) // Riverview Theater

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL
04.17 - The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman) // Cinema Paradiso
04.17 - Repo! The Genetic Opera (Darren Lynn Bousman) // Cinema Paradiso
04.21 - The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton) // Cinema Paradiso
04.30 - The Great Gatsby (Jack Clayton) // Cinema Paradiso (FREE)
05.05 - Solo Con Tu Pareja (Alfonso Cuaron) // Cinema Paradiso

AUGUSTA, GA
04.06-12 First Take Film Festival (2nd Annual)

TORONTO, ON
04.18-24 - Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children

TAMPA BAY, FL
05.01-02 - Motion Film Festival

INTERLOCHEN, MI
05.01-03 Future of Cinema International Film Festival

WASHINGTON D.C.
05.07-09 - Politics on Film Film Festival
09.10-17 - DC Shorts Film Festival (6th Annual)

TURKU, FINLAND
05.21-25 - Polar Film Festival

TORONTO, ON
05.27 - Student Film Showcase ‘09 // AMC (Yonge): 7pm

BIRMINGHAM, AL
05.29-30 - Birmingham Shout! Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (4th Annual)

NEWPORT, RI
06.03-07 - Newport International Film Festival

LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ
06.04-07 - Lighthouse International Film Festival

LOS ANGELES, CA
06.05-11 - Dances with Films Film Festival

SAVANNAH, GA
06.10-14 - Blue Ocean Film Festival

NANTUCKET, MA
06.19-21 - Nantucket Film Festival and Screenplay Competition (14th Annual)

PALM SPRINGS, CA
06.23-29 - Palm Springs International Shortfest

PHILADELPHIA, PA
06.25-28 - Philadelphia Independent Film Festival (2nd Annual)
10.15-18 - Firstglance Film Fest (12th annual)

DEAL PARK, NJ
07.08-18 - Jersey Shore Film Festival (4th Annual)

BEVERLY HILLS, CA
07.24-26 - SSG Summer Shorts Fest

SACRAMENTO, CA
07.24-08.02 - Sacramento Film and Music Fest (10th Annual)

HOLLYWOOD, CA
08.06-09 - Hollyshorts Film Festival (5th Annual)
08.25-09.01 - Action/Cut - Short Film Competition

STRASBOURG, ALSACE (FRANCE)
08.28-09.06 - Strasbourg International Film Festival

SUN VALLEY, ID
09.18-20 - Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival (5th Annual)

KANSAS CITY, KA
09.18-24 - Kansas International Film Festival (9th Annual)

PORT TOWNSEND, WA
09.24-27 - Port Townsend Film Festival (10th Annual)

CHICAGO, IL
10.22-11.01 - Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (26th Annual)

TV:
04.13 - Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater) // IFC
04.18 - Flying By (Jim Amatolli) [world premiere] // Lifetime Movie Network

TV times are EST. Times subject to change. Screenings with no time listed have multiple screenings throughout the day. Bolded screenings are recommended picks.

To find out more about these screenings visit the venue websites:
Film Forum (NYC)
(Le) Poisson Rouge (NYC)
IFC (NYC)
Bryant Lake Bowl (Minneapolis)
Heights Theater (Minneapolis)
Film Society of Lincoln Center (NYC)
Museum of the Moving Image (NYC)
Stranger Than Fiction Series (NYC)
Cinema Revolution (Minneapolis)
Walker Art Center (Minneapolis)
Cinema Paradiso (Fort Lauderdale)

As always, if you’d like to see your venue’s screenings, your film’s upcoming screenings, or your film society’s upcoming screenings listed here send an e-mail to us at celluloidnotes [at] gmail [dot] com. We’d love to hear from you.

NEW YORK, NY:
04.05-04.10 - Gen Art Film Festival
04.06 - Big Night (Campbell Scott) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 9pm
04.13 - New York Double Feature: Do The Right Thing & Taxi Driver (Spike Lee & Martin Scorsese) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8:30pm
04.16 - Luxury Car (Wang Chao) // Asia Society and Museum: 7pm
04.22-05.03 - Tribeca International Film Festival
04.27 - Nashville (Robert Altman) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8:30pm
06.24 - Visionfest Film Festival
07.28-08.02 - New York International Latino Film Fest (presented by HBO) (10th Annual)

MINNEAPOLIS, MN
04.09 - Pride of Lions // Heights Theater
04.16 - North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock) // Heights Theater
04.16 - Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival
04.20 - Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock) // Riverview Theater
04.23 - Fados (Carlos Saura) // Walker Art Center: 7:30pm
04.27 - Rope (Alfred Hitchcock) // Riverview Theater
05.04 - Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock) // Riverview Theater
05.11 - To Catch a Thief (Alfred Hitchcock) // Riverview Theater
05.18 - Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock) // Riverview Theater

PHOENIX, AZ
04.02-09 - Phoenix Film Festival
04.06 - Beat the Clocks Short Film challenge Finals // Harkins-Scottsdale 101: 7:20pm

AUGUSTA, GA
04.06-12 First Take Film Festival (2nd Annual)

TORONTO, ON
04.18-24 - Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children

TAMPA BAY, FL
05.01-02 - Motion Film Festival

INTERLOCHEN, MI
05.01-03 Future of Cinema International Film Festival

WASHINGTON D.C.
05.07-09 - Politics on Film Film Festival
09.10-17 - DC Shorts Film Festival (6th Annual)

TURKU, FINLAND
05.21-25 - Polar Film Festival

BIRMINGHAM, AL
05.29-30 - Birmingham Shout! Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (4th Annual)

NEWPORT, RI
06.03-07 - Newport International Film Festival

NANTUCKET, MA
06.19-21 - Nantucket Film Festival and Screenplay Competition (14th Annual)

PALM SPRINGS, CA
06.23-29 - Palm Springs International Shortfest

PHILADELPHIA, PA
06.25-28 - Philadelphia Independent Film Festival (2nd Annual)
10.15-18 - Firstglance Film Fest (12th annual)

DEAL PARK, NJ
07.08-18 - Jersey Shore Film Festival (4th Annual)

BEVERLY HILLS, CA
07.24-26 - SSG Summer Shorts Fest

SACRAMENTO, CA
07.24-08.02 - Sacramento Film and Music Fest (10th Annual)

HOLLYWOOD, CA
08.06-09 - Hollyshorts Film Festival (5th Annual)
08.25-09.01 - Action/Cut - Short Film Competition

STRASBOURG, ALSACE (FRANCE)
08.28-09.06 - Strasbourg International Film Festival

SUN VALLEY, ID
09.18-20 - Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival (5th Annual)

KANSAS CITY, KA
09.18-24 - Kansas International Film Festival (9th Annual)

PORT TOWNSEND, WA
09.24-27 - Port Townsend Film Festival (10th Annual)

TV:
04.10 - Fast Food Nation (Richard Linklater) // IFC
04.13 - Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater) // IFC

TV times are EST. Times subject to change. Screenings with no time listed have multiple screenings throughout the day. Bolded screenings are recommended picks.

To find out more about these screenings visit the venue websites:
Film Forum
(Le) Poisson Rouge
IFC
Bryant Lake Bowl
Heights Theater
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Museum of the Moving Image
Stranger Than Fiction Series
Cinema Revolution
Walker Art Center

As always, if you’d like to see your venue’s screenings, your film’s upcoming screenings, or your film society’s upcoming screenings listed here send an e-mail to us at celluloidnotes [at] gmail [dot] com. We’d love to hear from you.

NEW YORK, NY:
03.25-04.05 - New Directors/New Films Series @ Film Society of Lincoln Center
03.28 - HDV Canon Camera Training Session with cinematographer Patrick Reis // DCTV 87 Lafayette, 3rd Floor - FREE: 6pm
03.30 - Stanley Kubrick Double Feature: A Clockwork Orange & Dr. Strangelove // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8pm
03.30 - Frontrunner: The Afghan Woman Who Surprised the World (N.Y. Premiere - Virginia Williams) // Paley Center for Media: 6:45pm
03.31 - The English Surgeon (Geoffrey Smith - director in attendance) // IFC Center (Stranger than Fiction Series): 8pm
04.01 - $9.99 (Tatia Rosenthal) // Film Society of Lincoln Center (ND/NF Series) : 9pm
04.02 - Adventureland (Greg Mottola) // Free screening-AMC Village: 7pm
04.03 - Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett) // LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (Museum of the Moving Image): 7pm
04.05 - We Live in Public (Ondi Timoner) // MoMA (ND/NF Series): 7 & 7:30pm
04.06 - Big Night (Campbell Scott) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 9pm
04.13 - New York Double Feature: Do The Right Thing & Taxi Driver (Spike Lee & Martin Scorsese) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8:30pm
04.16 - Luxury Car (Wang Chao) // Asia Society and Museum: 7pm
04.22-05.03 - Tribeca International Film Festival
04.27 - Nashville (Robert Altman) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8:30pm
06.24 - Visionfest Film Festival
07.28-08.02 - New York International Latino Film Fest (presented by HBO) (10th Annual)

MINNEAPOLIS, MN
04.02 - Reel Jazz Film Series: Mario Untrung: A Brain Mystery (Ian Knox) // Bryan Lake Bowl: 6pm
04.02 - Man Push Cart (Ramin Bahrani) // Walker Art Center: 7pm
04.02 - Chop Shop (Ramin Bahrani) // Walker Art Center: 8:45pm
04.16 - North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock) // Heights Theater
04.16 - Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival
04.23 - Fados (Carlos Saura) // Walker Art Center: 7:30pm

PHOENIX, AZ
03.20 - Cinema Lounge: Shorts Program // IFP/PHX: 5:30pm
04.06 - Beat the Clocks Short Film challenge Finals // Harkins-Scottsdale 101: 7:20pm

TORONTO, ON
04.18-24 - Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children

WASHINGTON D.C.
05.07-09 - Politics on Film Film Festival

HOLLYWOOD, CA
08.25-09.01 - Action/Cut - Short Film Competition

PHILADELPHIA, PA
06.25-28 - Philadelphia Independent Film Festival (2nd Annual)
10.15-18 - Firstglance Film Fest (12th annual)

MIAMI, FL
03.23-04.03 - Florida International University Film Festival

AUGUSTA, GA
04.06-12 First Take Film Festival (2nd Annual)

TAMPA BAY, FL
05.01-02 - Motion Film Festival

INTERLOCHEN, MI
05.01-03 Future of Cinema International Film Festival

TURKU, FINLAND
05.21-25 - Polar Film Festival

BIRMINGHAM, AL
05.29-30 - Birmingham Shout! Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (4th Annual)

NEWPORT, RI
06.03-07 - Newport International Film Festival

NANTUCKET, MA
06.19-21 - Nantucket Film Festival and Screenplay Competition (14th Annual)

PALM SPRINGS, CA
06.23-29 - Palm Springs International Shortfest

DEAL PARK, NJ
07.08-18 - Jersey Shore Film Festival (4th Annual)

BEVERLY HILLS, CA
07.24-26 - SSG Summer Shorts Fest

STRASBOURG, ALSACE (FRANCE)
08.28-09.06 - Strasbourg International Film Festival

KANSAS CITY, KA
09.18-24 - Kansas International Film Festival (9th Annual)

PORT TOWNSEND, WA
09.24-27 - Port Townsend Film Festival (10th Annual)

TV:
03.29 – Wonderland (James Cox) // IFC: 8pm
03.31 – Chopper (Andrew Dominik) // IFC: 8:25pm
04.04 - Chasing Amy (Kevin Smith) // IFC
04.04 - Robocop // IFC
04.05 - House of Games (David Mamet) // IFC
04.10 - Fast Food Nation (Richard Linklater) // IFC
04.13 - Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater) // IFC

TV times are EST. Times subject to change. Screenings with no time listed have mulitple screenings throughout the day. Bolded screenings are recommended picks.

To find out more about these screenings visit the venue websites:
Film Forum
(Le) Poisson Rouge
IFC
Bryant Lake Bowl
Heights Theater
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Museum of the Moving Image
Stranger Than Fiction Series
Cinema Revolution
Walker Art Center

NEW YORK, NY:
03.25-04.05 - New Directors/New Films Series @ Film Society of Lincoln Center
03.28 - HDV Canon Camera Training Session with cinematographer Patrick Reis // DCTV 87 Lafayette, 3rd Floor - FREE: 6pm
03.30 - Stanley Kubrick Double Feature: A Clockwork Orange & Dr. Strangelove // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8pm
03.30 - Frontrunner: The Afghan Woman Who Surprised the World (N.Y. Premiere - Virginia Williams) // Paley Center for Media: 6:45pm
04.06 - Big Night (Campbell Scott) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 9pm
04.13 - New York Double Feature: Do The Right Thing & Taxi Driver (Spike Lee & Martin Scorsese) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8:30pm
04.16 - Luxury Car (Wang Chao) // Asia Society and Museum: 7pm
04.22-05.03 - Tribeca International Film Festival
04.27 - Nashville (Robert Altman) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8:30pm
06.24 - Visionfest Film Festival
07.28-08.02 - New York International Latino Film Fest (presented by HBO) (10th Annual)

MINNEAPOLIS, MN
04.02 - Reel Jazz Film Series: Mario Untrung: A Brain Mystery (Ian Knox) // Bryan Lake Bowl: 6pm
04.02 - Man Push Cart (Ramin Bahrani) // Walker Art Center: 7pm
04.02 - Chop Shop (Ramin Bahrani) // Walker Art Center: 8:45pm
04.16 - North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock) // Heights Theater
04.16 - Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival
04.23 - Fados (Carlos Saura) // Walker Art Center: 7:30pm

TORONTO, ON
04.18-24 - Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children

WASHINGTON D.C.
05.07-09 - Politics on Film Film Festival

PHOENIX, AZ
03.20 - Cinema Lounge: Shorts Program // IFP/PHX: 5:30pm
04.06 - Beat the Clocks Short Film challenge Finals // Harkins-Scottsdale 101: 7:20pm

SAN FRANCISCO, CA
03.14-03.21 - San Francisco International Asian Film Festival (27th Annual)

HOLLYWOOD, CA
08.25-09.01 - Action/Cut - Short Film Competition

PHILADELPHIA, PA
06.25-28 - Philadelphia Independent Film Festival (2nd Annual)
10.15-18 - Firstglance Film Fest (12th annual)

MIAMI, FL
03.23-04.03 - Florida International University Film Festival

AUGUSTA, GA
04.06-12 First Take Film Festival (2nd Annual)

TAMPA BAY, FL
05.01-02 - Motion Film Festival

INTERLOCHEN, MI
05.01-03 Future of Cinema International Film Festival

TURKU, FINLAND
05.21-25 - Polar Film Festival

BIRMINGHAM, AL
05.29-30 - Birmingham Shout! Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (4th Annual)

NEWPORT, RI
06.03-07 - Newport International Film Festival

NANTUCKET, MA
06.19-21 - Nantucket Film Festival and Screenplay Competition (14th Annual)

PALM SPRINGS, CA
06.23-29 - Palm Springs International Shortfest

DEAL PARK, NJ
07.08-18 - Jersey Shore Film Festival (4th Annual)

BEVERLY HILLS, CA
07.24-26 - SSG Summer Shorts Fest

KANSAS CITY, KA
09.18-24 - Kansas International Film Festival (9th Annual)

PORT TOWNSEND, WA
09.24-27 - Port Townsend Film Festival (10th Annual)

TV:
03.29 – Wonderland (James Cox) // IFC: 8pm
03.31 – Chopper (Andrew Dominik) // IFC: 8:25pm
04.04 - Chasing Amy (Kevin Smith) // IFC
04.04 - Robocop // IFC
04.05 - House of Games (David Mamet) // IFC
04.10 - Fast Food Nation (Richard Linklater) // IFC
04.13 - Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater) // IFC

TV times are EST. Times subject to change. Screenings with no time listed have mulitple screenings throughout the day. Bolded screenings are recommended picks.

To find out more about these screenings visit the venue websites:
Film Forum
(Le) Poisson Rouge
IFC
Bryant Lake Bowl
Heights Theater
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Museum of the Moving Image
Stranger Than Fiction Series
Cinema Revolution
Walker Art Center

Ah, it’s music video Monday. Last week we posted a few music videos featuring Emilie Simon. this week we’re swinging to the other side of the spectrum with the new music video by Athens, GA natives Mastodon. The video is quite beautiful besides being utterly ridiculous (it’s just a little tongue in cheek). The video features the band rocking in space, climbing a mountain, thawing a Neanderthal who decides to murder them all with a flying V guitar, and a Yeti who just kind of crops up every now and then. So….just another day in the life of Mastodon. This is a great example of the direction of a lot of bigger music videos right now, as the technology to do this sort of thing continues to go do in price we’re seeing a lot of bands utilize this technology (no matter who cheesy it may look at times). Mastodon takes advantage of the often cheesy looking special effects in this video and uses them to a nice ironic effect (only ironic because so many of their contemporaries would kill for the chance to make a video like this, only more earnestly).

Enjoy.

NEW YORK, NY:
03.15 - Tout Court: New French Shorts // Film Society of Lincoln Center: 3:15pm
03.15 - The Other One (director in attendance) // Film Society of Lincoln Center: 5:30pm
03.16 - Deeper into Movies: Michelangelo Antonioni Double Feature: L’Avventura and Blow-Up // (Le) Poisson Rouge - FREE: 8:30pm
03.16 - Sugar (Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck) // SONY Screening Room (550 Madison Avenue) - FREE to IFP members: 8pm
03.20 - Chalo hamara Desh (Shabnam Virmani) // Asia Society and Museum: 7pm
03.28 - HDV Canon Camera Training Session with cinematographer Patrick Reis // DCTV 87 Lafayette, 3rd Floor - FREE: 6pm
03.30 - Stanley Kubrick Double Feature: A Clockwork Orange & Dr. Strangelove // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8pm
04.06 - Big Night (Campbell Scott) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 9pm
04.13 - New York Double Feature: Do The Right Thing & Taxi Driver (Spike Lee & Martin Scorsese) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8:30pm
04.16 - Luxury Car (Wang Chao) // Asia Society and Museum: 7pm
04.22-05.03 - Tribeca International Film Festival
04.27 - Nashville (Robert Altman) // (Le) Poisson Rouge: 8:30pm
06/24 - Visionfest Film Festival

MINNEAPOLIS, MN
03.16 - The Phantom Lady // Heights Theater
03.18 - Seven Blind Women Filmmakers // Women with Vision Fest - Walker Art Center: 7:30pm
03.19 - Living Arrangements (Joe Noreen) // Uptown Theater: 7pm
03.20 - Katia’s Sister (Mijke De Jong) // Women With Vision Fest - Walker Art Center
03.21 - Snow (Aida Begic) // Women With Vision Fest - Walker Art Center
03.21 - Fond of Frogs (kids films about frogs) // Minneapolis Central Library: 10am
04.02 - Reel Jazz Film Series: Mario Untrung: A Brain Mystery (Ian Knox) // Bryan Lake Bowl: 6pm
04.02 - Man Push Cart (Ramin Bahrani) // Walker Art Center: 7pm
04.02 - Chop Shop (Ramin Bahrani) // Walker Art Center: 8:45pm
04.16 - North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock) // Heights Theater
04.16 - Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival
04.23 - Fados (Carlos Saura) // Walker Art Center: 7:30pm

TORONTO, ON
04.18-24 - Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children

WASHINGTON D.C.
03.15 - The Nomad’s Life // Sidwell Friends School: 5pm
05.07-09 - Politics on Film Film Festival

PHOENIX, AZ
03.18 - Homeland // Phoenix Film Society Screening: 7pm
03.20 - Cinema Lounge: Shorts Program // IFP/PHX: 5:30pm

SAN FRANCISCO, CA
03.14-03.21 - San Francisco International Asian Film Festival (27th Annual)

HOLLYWOOD, CA
08.25-09.01 - Action/Cut - Short Film Competition

PHILADELPHIA, PA
10.15-18 Firstglance Film Fest (12th annual)

MIAMI, FL
03.23-04.03 - Florida International University Film Festival

TAMPA BAY, FL
05.01-02 - Motion Film Festival

AUGUSTA, GA
04.06-12 First Take Film Festival (2nd Annual)

INTERLOCHEN, MI
05.01-03 Future of Cinema International Film Festival

NANTUCKET, MA
06.19-21 - Nantucket Film Festival and Screenplay Competition (14th Annual)

DEAL PARK, NJ
07.08-18 - Jersey Shore Film Festival (4th Annual)

PORT TOWNSEND, WA
09.24-27 - Port Townsend Film Festival (10th Annual)

TURKU, FINLAND
05.21-25 - Polar Film Festival

TV:
03.15 – Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese) // IFC: 8pm
03.17 - A Midsummer Nights Dream // IFC: 9am
03.18 - Wordplay // IFC: 6:20am
03.18 – This Film is Not Yet Rated // IFC: 12am
03.19 – Dogville (Lars Von Trier) // IFC: 11:45pm
03.20 – 24 Hour Party People (Michael Winterbottom) // IFC: 7:45pm
03.23 – Shine (Scott Hicks) // IFC: 8pm
03.27 – Foxy Brown (Jack Hill) // IFC: 8pm
03.29 – Wonderland (James Cox) // IFC: 8pm
03.31 – Chopper (Andrew Dominik) // 8:25pm

TV times are EST. Times subject to change.
Screenings with no time listed have mulitple screenings throughout the day.
Bolded screenings are recommended picks.

To find out more about these screenings visit the venue websites:

Film Forum
(Le) Poisson Rouge
IFC
Bryant Lake Bowl
Heights Theater
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Museum of the Moving Image
Stranger Than Fiction Series
Cinema Revolution
Walker Art Center

Yesterday’s post of Buster Keaton’s “Cops” got me thinking about a lot of the early silent short films that have stuck with me from when I initially started studying film in school (which was a little while back now). But there are a few films of this era that have always struck me as incredibly innovative for their period, simply for the vision it took to create them, and how difficult it can be to recognize the innovative qualities of these films knowing what we know now.

It’s easy to blow off something like “The Great Train Robbery” as slightly dull and standard, something you’d see a film student shoot that adheres to our pre-conceptions of chase scenes and narrative structure. Nonetheless, that film was an incredible act of creativity for it’s time. It doesn’t take a brilliant cinema historian to recognize that, but it’s easy to lose sight of those qualities.

Thus we arrive at my short film selection of the day: “Those Awful Hats.” This is a 1909 short by the legendary D.W. Griffith. Griffith is easily one of the most important figures in the development of the cinematic arts. This short, similar to “The Great Train Robbery,” doesn’t offer a whole lot when placed against shorts like those of Kenneth Anger or Maya Deren, who still remain incredibly innovative to this day. Yet, within this film you can begin to see the style and editing technique that would make Griffith such a seminal figure. It’s also a pretty funny film, in that early slapstick fashion.

Of course the debate still rages over Griffith’s place in film history because of Birth of a Nation, which is simultaneously viewed as an incredible master work that developed the standard editing style that is still used today, and an artifact of an era when racism was widely accepted. It is a film whose thematic content is nothing anyone would stand by, and the film is epic, and more than a little tedious. Nonetheless, it’s a film that is monumentally important in the scope of cinematic history.

Anyway, on to “Those Awful Hats”:

Buster Keaton’s short films rank among the best of the early comedic shorts in America. Recently remastered by Kino every short is really fantastic. There are a few that even retain their laugh-out-loud demeanor nearly a century after their creation. “Cops” is one of these. I wouldn’t necessarily place this film at the top of my list of Keaton shorts, but it’s up there. “Cops” really manages to sum up what made The Great Stone Face so wonderful. Below is “Cops” (split into three parts).

I know this blog tends to try and focus on slightly more avant-garde short formats, but looking at the ways in which film was initially utilized for mass consumption is interesting. The filmmakers had to get very creative because the standard narrative and entertainment formats they were familiar with had little bearing on what was possible with film. The desire to create a narrative led to many innovations which ultimately became the status quo in cinema. Nonetheless, these shorts (especially those of Keaton, Chaplin, and Griffith - all of which follow the early innovators like the Lumiere Brothers, Edwin S. Porter, etc.) show an incredible amount of creative and drive to create something fresh and new, to test the limits of this new art form. These are truly amazing and are rarely given the credit they deserve.