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East
3rd Street, between Avenues A and B (closer to A) * New York City Inside
the Pioneer (blog) |
| Brave
New Europe: May - June 2006 No one can be surprised that good films are coming from Central and Eastern Europe, both as a source of production and as a subject for films by foreigners. This May and early June, the Pioneer very proudly hosts a wide range of films from and about the very diverse region that stretches from the Baltics to the Balkans, and from the Rhine to the Urals. Other than some very loose historical and geographic similarities, the films have little in common. We're just taking the moment to celebrate some films from and about the region. We look forward to welcoming filmmakers and other friends from across the region, as well as people just looking for some strong movies. Titles in the program are incorporated into the general schedule below. Click here for only the Brave New Europe program. Presented with the generous collaboration of Daniela and Andrej Urem (Doors Art Foundation), Zoya Rozin, Wanda Bershen (Red Diaper Productions), Marjorie Sweeney, Signe Baumane, Krzysztof Kamyszew and Ewa Domeredzka (Society for Arts / Chicago), Phil Bajorat (Chicago International Film Festival), Shalom Neumann (Fusion Arts Museum), Marc Mauceri (First Run Features), Gorazd Poposki (Gallery MC), Edita Zulic, Karel Och (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival), and many others. |
Brave
New Europe: HOW I KILLED A SAINT (dir. Teona Strugar Mitevska, 82 mins, 2004) France / Republic of Macedonia / Slovenia. In Macedonian subtitled in English, with some sequences in English. Thurs May
4 9pm - buy
tix |
*
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival * Rotterdam Film Festival * Nominated for a Tiger award at the Rotterdam festival in 2004, and subsequently screened at several other festivals including Karlovy Vary and the Sarajevo Film festival, Teona Strugar Mitsevska’s stunning first feature presents a slice of Macedonian life in 2001, the year the former Yugoslav republic skirted civil war with its ethnic Albanian citizens. Viola (Labina Mitevska, who played the young Albanian girl in BEFORE THE RAIN) returns from college in the U.S., acting moody and withdrawn. Guns are being fired and bombs exploding in Skopje, the city where her family lives. Her brother Kokan engages Viola as a cover in one of his pick-ups. Their trip to the Albanian border to get a bag full of money turns into a harrowing homeward journey through police inspections and land mines. About the same time, Viola tells Kokan her secret: She has a baby daughter she left behind with a diplomat's family when she left for America. Presented by Red Diaper Productions, as part of their program "Screening Women: Recent Films from the New Europe."
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Brave
New Europe: Michael
Haneke: (dir. Nina Kusturica
and Sat May 6 7:30pm - buy tix
|
A
documentary on Michael Haneke, director of Caché and The Piano
Teacher, one of the most provocative and important filmmaker working today.
"I
always say that film is 24 lies per second at the service of truth or
at the service of the attempt to find the truth." Michael Haneke, the Austrian director of such acclaimed films as THE PIANO TEACHER, TIME OF THE WOLF, CODE UNKNOWN, and FUNNY GAMES is arguably the most provocative and important filmmaker working today. His most recent film, CACHE (HIDDEN), starring Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil, winner of the Best Director prize at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, is one of the best reviewed films of the year and has appeared on numerous critics’ top ten lists. 24 REALITIES PER SECONDis a compelling documentary that provides a rare window into the life, ideas and work of the celebrated filmmaker. Directors Nina Kusturica and Eva Testor followed Michael Haneke for a period of two and a half years. They accompanied him to film premieres and public appearances, radio interviews and photo shoots; they observed him as he scouted locations, directed actors on the set, and made final cuts in the editing room. In between, on long train and car rides, Haneke spoke candidly about his childhood, his transition to filmmaking, and his views on cinema, discussing films that inspired him and his own work (he counts THE SEVENTH CONTINENT and 71 FRAGMENTS OF A CHRONOLOGY OF CHANCE among his favorites). What emerges in this insightful documentary is a portrait of a dedicated filmmaker, a charming yet elusive figure in thrall to cinema and the constant perfection of his craft. |
Brave
New Europe: Clayton Patterson presents Mon May 8 7pm - buy tix This is a "Bizarro Monday" program. Every Monday at 7pm the Pioneer presents the finest (and trashiest) in horror, sci-fi, freakshow, exploitation, martial arts, genre, b-movies, z-movies, and just plain weird stuff. |
Lower East Side Videographer and Documentarian extraordinaire Clayton Patterson presents a program drawn from his vast archives. This
month:
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Brave
New Europe: HESTER STREET Tues May 9 6:45pm - buy tix This is a Tuesdays@7 program, generously sponsored by Magic Hat. Every Tuesday at 7pm features special guests presenting their film, and is followed by a beer and pizza reception for ticket holders. |
Join
the Young Leaders of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) on May 9th
This acclaimed Yiddish film from the director of CROSSING DELANCEY brings to life the story of a recently emigrated Russian Jewish family in the Lower East Side at the turn of the century. Introduction:Valery
Bazarov, HIAS From the Shtetl to the States is a series of cultural events celebrating the immigrant experience in New York, which supports our efforts to save our bubbes and zaydes (elderly Jewish refugees from the former Soviet Union who are now at risk of losing their Supplemental Security Income, a life-sustaining public benefits program). Stay tuned for upcoming events in the series.To learn more about HIAS campaign to assist elderly Jewish refugees, visit here. To
learn more about HIAS Young Leaders, visit here. |
Brave
New Europe: LIGHT FROM THE EAST (dir. Amy Grappell,
72 mins, 2005) Thurs May
11 9pm - buy
tix
|
“Personal, political, historical, I loved It.”
- Richard Linklater , director of BEFORE SUNRISE and BEFORE SUNSET “Beautifully
captures the spirit of the former Soviet Union and the soul of its people.”
“After
the recent, quiet Revolution in Ukraine, this movie is a must see as it
uses a cultural exchange theater project for the focal point of examining
a people who despite political realities are driven by dreams that become
realities.” The story of an American theater troupe that witnessed the fall of Communism. 1991. Glasnost. Perestroika. The Soviet Union opens its doors to the West. A troupe of young American actors from La Mama Theater in NY travels to Kiev to participate in the first American/Ukrainian cultural exchange theater project in history. The play they are to perform is based on the life of Les Kurbas, a revolutionary Ukrainian theatre director who was murdered in one of Stalin’s purges. Two weeks into their trip, Gorbachev is kidnapped, the Kremlin is overthrown by a military coup and the entire USSR is plunged into volatile uncertainty. As rehearsals progress, the play ironically begins to mirror action in the streets. Kurbas and his company struggled to make art during the revolution that ushered in Communism; the international troupe performs the life of Kurbas as the walls of Communism come tumbling down. During the massive political changes of 1991, including the fall of Communism and the Ukraine declaring its national independence, LIGHT FROM THE EAST takes viewers on a philosophical inquiry into the meaning of freedom. |
Brave
New Europe: Bitter
+ Tues May 16 7pm - buy tix This is a Tuesdays@7 program, generously sponsored by Magic Hat. Every Tuesday at 7pm features special guests presenting their film, and is followed by a beer and pizza reception for ticket holders. |
"Bitter!" (Gor'ko!) -
dir. Darya Zhuk , 2003, Russian with English subtitles - 40 min "Samantha
Smith Project" - dir. Irene Lusztig - 51 min |
Brave
New Europe: FORGIVING DR. MENGELE (dir. Bob Hercules
and Cheri Pugh, 80 mins, 2006) Thurs May
18 7pm - buy
tix Sat May 20
5:15pm- buy
tix Sat May 20
9pm
- buy tix Sun May 21
5:15pm - buy
tix Sun May 21
9pm - buy
tix Mon May 22
5:15pm - buy
tix Mon May 22
9:30pm - buy
tix Tues May
23 5:15pm - buy
tix Tues May 23
9pm - buy
tix Weds May 24 7pm - buy tix |
"It's
impossible not to be moved by [Eva Kor's] fierce capacity for life." "Affecting
. . .a portrait of an incredible yet flawed woman . . . chilling." "Compulsively
watchable." "Riveting.
. .heads for true importance." "Takes
one's breath away." Could you forgive a war criminal? Could you forgive your worst enemy if it released you from your past trauma? FORGIVING DR. MENGELE tells the story of a shocking act of forgiveness by Auschwitz survivor Eva Mozes Kor and the firestorm of criticism it has provoked. Eva and her twin sister, Miriam, were victims of Nazi doctor Josef Mengele's cruel genetic experiments--an experience that would haunt them their entire lives. We follow Eva's metamorphosis from embittered survivor to tireless advocate for reconciliation. This unexpected transformation was sparked when Eva, in an attempt to get information about the experiments, met with another former Auschwitz doctor. Eva's ideas about justice, revenge and the possibility of healing through forgiveness--as well as the passionate opposition from other survivors--become a window to a larger discussion of the many ways people define forgiveness.
|
Brave
New Europe: Latvian Shorts Sun May 21 7pm - buy tix This is a Sunday Shorts program. Early evenings on many Sundays, the Pioneer presents programs of short films. |
Esteemed filmmaker Dzintra Geka curates a program of distinguished short films from Latvia. White
Beast
/ Baltais zvers Water
/ Udens Signe
and... / Signe un... Insomnia
/ Bezmiegs Woman
/ Sieviete |
Brave
New Europe: (dir. Gabor Zsigmond Papp, 82 mins, 2004) Hungary * In Hungarian with English subtitles Thurs May 25 7pm - buy tix |
Secret tapes of the Hungarian Communist Police! From 1958 to 1988, the film studio of the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior made several hundred propaganda films, including shorts, instructional works and features. Over a wide thematic range, these films sought to teach Hungarian policemen how to maintain public order. Topics included secret home-raids, operatives shadowing suspects, how to install interceptive devices and recruiting informers and agents. The monotone narration used in these films contrasts with the "elevated" cause they were supposed to serve. As a result, these films can seem wickedly comical, petty or shocking to us today as contemporary viewers. But in the 1960s and 1970s, plenty of time and effort was put into this form of ideological training. The films were also made with relatively large budgets, with the participation of renowned experts, and they utilised the most advanced technologies of their time. By selecting and masterfully assembling the strongest samples, director Zsigmond shows us how the operation of the totalitarian dictatorship under Kádár functioned, and the main forces underlying its efficiency. [synopsis adapted from International Documentary Festival Amsterdam description] |
Brave
New Europe: WHAT IS A MAN WITHOUT A MOUSTACHE? (Što je muškarac bez brkova) (dir. Hrvoje Hribar, 109 mins, 2005) Croatia * in Croatian subtitled in English Mon May 22
7pm - buy
tix Thurs May
25 9pm - buy
tix |
Thessaloniki International Film Festival * Sarajevo Film Festival A
young widow, an aging immigrant who has returned home from Germany, and
a priest from a bankrupt parish are struggling to come to terms with the
post-war environment, complete with its prejudices, illusions, and unpleasant
mentality. What follows is a powerful, poignant romantic comedy set in
rough landscape, about a woman who falls in love with a local priest.
He is not blind to her love, but is unable to choose between the church
and her, until the circumstances force him to make his choice. Presented by the Doors Art Foundation |
Brave
New Europe: (dir. Gabor Zsigmond Papp, 82 mins, 2004) Hungary * In Hungarian with English subtitles Thurs May 25 7pm - buy tix |
Secret tapes of the Hungarian Communist Police! From 1958 to 1988, the film studio of the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior made several hundred propaganda films, including shorts, instructional works and features. Over a wide thematic range, these films sought to teach Hungarian policemen how to maintain public order. Topics included secret home-raids, operatives shadowing suspects, how to install interceptive devices and recruiting informers and agents. The monotone narration used in these films contrasts with the "elevated" cause they were supposed to serve. As a result, these films can seem wickedly comical, petty or shocking to us today as contemporary viewers. But in the 1960s and 1970s, plenty of time and effort was put into this form of ideological training. The films were also made with relatively large budgets, with the participation of renowned experts, and they utilised the most advanced technologies of their time. By selecting and masterfully assembling the strongest samples, director Zsigmond shows us how the operation of the totalitarian dictatorship under Kádár functioned, and the main forces underlying its efficiency. [synopsis adapted from International Documentary Festival Amsterdam description] |
Brave
New Europe: Sunday Shorts Fusion Arts Museum Presents Program #1 Program #2 filmmakers & special guests will attend! This is a Sunday Shorts program. Early evenings on many Sundays, the Pioneer presents programs of short films. |
Shalom Neuman, Czech native and director of Lower East Side's Fusion Arts Museum, presents two distinct programs of shorts from across Central and Eastern Europe. More details will follow. Program
1: TOXIC
PARADISE 1987
"impeachment of the oversight quilt"
2005 Program
2: WALL
OF CULTURAL CONFUSION |
Bizarro
Monday! (dir. Roman Polanski, 94 mins, 1962) Poland * In Polish with English subtitles Mon May 29 7pm - buy tix This is a "Bizarro Monday" program. Every Monday at 7pm the Pioneer presents the finest (and trashiest) in horror, sci-fi, freakshow, exploitation, martial arts, genre, b-movies, z-movies, and just plain weird stuff. |
Roman Polanski's breakthrough film Roman
Polanski's first feature-length film is a suspenseful three-person chamber
drama reminiscent of the work of Ingmar Bergman. KNIFE IN THE WATER was
filmed in the director's native Poland and financed through government
subsidies. Although denounced by local authorities as devoid of any significant
social or political content, the film caused a minor sensation in the
West, was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Film, and even
made the cover of Time magazine. The action takes place almost entirely
within the confined setting of a sailboat owned by a wealthy journalist
(Leon Niemczyk) and his much younger wife (Jolanta Umecka). On their way
to the lake for a weekend of sailing, they are accosted by a young hitchhiker
(Zygmunt Malanowicz) who jumps in front of their car, forcing them to
stop. Annoyed by the youth's daredevil posturing, the journalist nevertheless
decides to invite him to join the couple on their boat, initiating a series
of playfully competitive games between the two men. Playfulness soon gives
way to hostility, however, as each tries to outshine and humiliate the
other in front of the woman, who appears to be taking a more than casual
interest in her husband's young rival. |
Brave
New Europe: LONG KNIVES NIGHT + REPORTING FROM THE RABBIT HOLE Belarus * in Russian and Belarussian subtitled in English Thurs June
1 9pm - buy
tix |
A ferocious film in two parts, depicting and severely criticizing the
rise and reign of "Long
Knives Night" "Reporting
from the Rabbit Hole" Banned by Belarussian authorities. The copy to be shown by the Pioneer was smuggled out of the country. Presented with thanks to Zoya Rozin |
Pioneer Theater
