Pioneer Theater

East Village, New York City
August 2005 schedule

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Monster Monday!

Fangoria presents

THE LAST HORROR MOVIE

(dir. Julien Richards, 80 mins, 2003)

Mon Aug 1 7pm - buy tix

A serial killer uses a horror video rental to lure his next victim. What begins as a teen slasher transforms into a disturbing journey through the mind of Max Parry, a mild mannered wedding photographer with a taste for human flesh.

view trailer


JUST ONE LOOK

(dir. Riley Ip, 96 mins, 2002)

Mon Aug 1 9pm - buy tix
Tues Aug 2 9pm - buy tix

An Asian Cinevision Release

“An utterly charming retro romancer set against a background of '70s movie going. Full of lovely touches and well-etched performances.”
– VARIETY

“Sometimes hilarious, sometimes melodramatic, JUST ONE LOOK always rings true.”
– SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

A valentine to 70s Chinese cinema – from Bruce Lee mania and Chang Cheh kung fu flicks to the Taiwanese melodrama tearjerkers – JUST ONE LOOK evokes a time past with a loving eye for details and an infectious sense of wonderment. Set in the sleepy island of Cheung Chau in HK, this coming-of-age film follows Fan (SHAWN YU, INFERNAL AFFAIRS 2) who sells sugar cane sticks outside a cinema. Growing up believing that his policeman father was killed by a local thug (Anthony Wong), Fan enrolls in a martial arts school and vows revenge. As Fan slowly faces up to the truth of his father’s death, he finds himself caught in a romantic tangle with two girls (Chung and Choi of Canto-pop sensation Twins). Ip peppers the film liberally with film clips from that era, as well as treasured paraphernalia like hand-painted billboard posters and tinted photographs of stars. JUST ONE LOOK is a paean to one of the golden ages of Chinese cinema, a period gone but not forgotten. A treat for everyone who loves Chinese movies – and movies in general, for that matter.


CHICKS WITH FLICKS

Tues Aug 2 7pm - buy tix


Chicks with Flicks is in its 7th year of celebrating films made by independent women filmmakers. In its commitment to providing a venue and supportive audience for filmmakers, Chicks with Flicks has established a reputation for showcasing films that are diverse, original and entertaining.

www.chickswithflicks.org


NewFest presents

WTC VIEW

(dir. Brian Sloan, 102 mins, 2005)

Weds Aug 3 7pm - buy tix

An emotionally haunting film capturing life in downtown Manhattan in the weeks immediately following 9/11, Brian Sloan's WTC View tells the story of Eric, a handsome young man who places an ad in the Village Voice on the night of September 10th for a new roommate to share his SoHo apartment. Though the world outside his window changes forever the next morning, Eric tries to continue with his life. Interviewing potential roommates, he learns their 9/11 stories and slowly reveals his own. Facing difficulty finding someone to take the room, and becoming increasingly unbalanced by the emotional fallout of the terrorist attacks, Eric comes to a crossroads. Featuring a powerful performance by newcomer Michael Urie as Eric, WTC View serves as a cathartic experience for those of us who lived in NYC in September 2001, even now, nearly four years later.

YOUNG REBELS

(dir. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, 70 mins, 2005)

Wed Aug 3 9pm - buy tix
Thur Aug 4 9pm - buy tix
Fri Aug 5 9pm - buy tix
Sat Aug 6 8pm - buy tix
Sun Aug 7 9pm - buy tix
Mon Aug 8 9pm - buy tix
Tues Aug 9 9pm - buy tix

Hip Hop in Cuba!

YOUNG REBELS (JOVENES REBELDES) follows five Cuban hip-hop groups and two producers over the course of a Havana summer. Battling onstage or at home, the characters’ personal travels collide in a summer of explosive concerts, intense debate, unbearable heat and rising tensions as government agencies begin to institutionalize hip-hop’s street roots.


CHASING ERECTIONS

(dir. Hedley Turk, 87 mins, 2005)

Thurs Aug 4 7pm - buy tix
Fri Aug 5 7pm - buy tix

Can a ladies man ever change his ways?

Starring: Hedley Turk, Lisa Miller, David Fensterstock, Francine Daveta, Albert Burton, Matthew Porter and Andrea Garmun

Written, Directed & Produced by Hedley Turk

Chasing Erections is a romantic comedy about a ladies man and what happens when he tries to change his ways. The unpredictable storyline is rich with characters that speak to the emotional commonality in all of us. It is a story that each of us can identify with. It is a story that may change the way you look at life.


DEEP THROAT

(dir. Gerard Damiano, 61 mins, 1972)

Fri Aug 5 10:30pm - buy tix
Sat Aug 6 midnight - buy tix
Fri Aug 12 midnight - buy tix
Sat Aug 20 midnight - buy tix

The movie that changed the film industry (probably for the worse)

How far does a girl have to go to untangle her tingle?

Linda, frustrated that her hugely energetic sex life leaves her unsatisfied, seeks medical help. The doctor informs her that the reason for her problem is that her clitoris is mistakenly located at the back of her throat - but there is a very simple remedy, which the doctor, and various other men, proceed to demonstrate. . .


NIGHT OF THE DAY OF THE DAWN OF THE SON OF THE BRIDE OF THE RETURN OF THE REVENGE OF THE TERROR OF THE ATTACK OF THE EVIL, MUTANT, ALIEN, FLESH-EATING, HELLBOUND, ZOMBIFIED LIVING DEAD PART 2: IN SHOCKING 2-D

(dir. Jim Riffel, etc., 90 mins, 1991, etc.)

Sat Aug 6 10pm - buy tix
Sat Aug 13 10pm - buy tix
Sat Aug 20 10pm - buy tix
Sat Sept 3 10pm - buy tix
Sat Oct 1 10pm - buy tix
Sat Oct 8 9pm - buy tix
Sat Oct 15 9 9pm - buy tix
Sat Oct 22 9pm - buy tix
Sat Oct 29 9pm - buy tix

In 1991 filmmaker Jim Riffel took George Romero's classic horror film, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, wiped out the soundtrack, and re-dubbed it as a comedy. He also edited in several of his own short films and odd clips and gave the film an unforgettable but impossible to remember title, NIGHT OF THE DAY OF THE DAWN OF THE SON OF THE BRIDE OF THE RETURN OF THE REVENGE OF THE TERROR OF THE ATTACK OF THE EVIL, MUTANT, HELLBOUND, FLESH-EATING, CRAWLING, ZOMBIFIED LIVING DEAD, PART 2. He then sent out 500 VHS copies to video stores. The entire "production" was done on a lark and Riffel quickly forgot about the film. But the movie struck a chord with film fans and in the mid-90's word about the movie began to spread through the internet. Fans began to make copies of copies of copies and websites popped up devoted to the film. The movie has now been tracked to over 15 countries including Korea, Japan, Germany, Egypt, Mexico and Australia and the cult continues to grow.

Chicago City Limits First Sundays Comedy Films

FIRST SUNDAYS
Comedy Film Festival

Sun Aug 7 7pm - buy tix

First Sundays is a monthly festival featuring the best in short comedy films from around the world. Each screening features new films, audience and judges awards, and an after party sponsored by Stella Artois.

Visit the First Sundays website


Bizarro Mondays Program

TAFFY WAS BORN

(dir. David Giardina, 114 mins, 2004)

Mon Aug 8 7pm - buy tix

Sometimes we really CAN'T go home. . .

"debut feature from David Giardina, is an extraordinary triumph of massive imagination on a minimum budget. . ."
- Phil Hall, FILM THREAT

"Well-written. . .very effective little mystery. . ."
- Steven Puchalski, SHOCK CINEMA

A troubled man returns to his small home town after many unhappy years away hoping to reclaim his life. But something is very wrong. Why is everyone increasingly uncomfortable with him? Is it his jailtime, his history of mental illness. . .or is it something far worse? And just who is "Taffy". . .


IFP
BUZZCUTS

Tues Aug 9 7pm - buy tix

Followed by beer and pizza reception.

 

 

 

 

IFP Buzz Cuts
presented by SKYY Vodka

The "Relationships Reconsidered" program this month look at characters forced to re-examine or confront their relationships or actions.

Ménage à Trois
(2005, 15 minutes)
Written & Directed by Kimberly M. Wetherell
Brandon intends to spend a romantic day with his girlfriend before he leaves for Paris. But their final day together becomes one long tussle between Brandon and Lindsay’s new cell phone, each vying for her undivided attention.

Can’t You Re-tie It?
(2005, 6 minutes)
Written & Directed by Kelsy Chauvin
One person’s small accident may be another person’s terribly big deal. As girlfriends Amelia and Anita can testify, it might even be enough to set off a string of reasons why their relationship isn’t as strong as they thought.

Nick and Stacey
(2004, 14 minutes)
Written & Directed by Michael Knowles
After waking up together in Room 314, Nick and Stacey at first feel they may have met at the wrong time but come to realize there really is no such thing.

You Are Such a Blindfold
(2005, 23 minutes)
Written & Directed by Tony Osso
When Valerie turns to her husband for solace, a discovery sets in motion a long night of sorrow, confusion, and a desperate attempt to hold the family together.

No Shoulder
(2005, 10 minutes)
Directed by Suzi Yoonessi
Written by Nina Shengold
Driving down a highway late at night in the rain, a troubled woman picks up a hitchhiker. During their anxious drive together, they must face the lives they left behind.

In Time
(2004, 19 minutes)
Directed by Maurice A. Dwyer and Adetoro Makinde
Written by Adetoro Makinde
As a Nigerian-American, Bisi has lived her life balancing between the freedom of an American lifestyle and the beliefs of her Yoruba ancestors. On the eve of her wedding, tradition takes over but could cost her the man she loves.


NewFest presents

THE DAY LABORERS

(dir. Lane Shefter Bishop, 88 mins, 2004)

preceded by
"Room Service"

(dir. Daniel Reitz, 20 mins, 2005)

Weds Aug 10 7pm - buy tix

THE DAY LABORERS:
In this first feature, three cousins pursue the great American Dream. Newly arrived in Los Angeles from Mexico, these young men learn the tricks of the trade as day laborers, but their lives soon splinter into different directions. Pillo becomes involved in the drug underworld, Tura finds himself caught between the desires of two women, and Quique embarks on a relationship with a gay white West Hollywood gallery owner. When tragedy strikes, the cousins’ loyalty to each other is put to the test. THE DAY LABORERS is ultimately an uplifting tale about the importance of the varied families we form.

ROOM SERVICE:
A hotel room rencounter delves into the crushing realities behind a childhood fantasy.


CHAOS

(dir. David DeFalco, 80 mins, 2005)

Weds Aug 10 9pm - buy tix
Thur Aug 11 9pm - buy tix
Fri Aug 12 9pm - buy tix
Fri Aug 12 10:30pm - buy tix
Sat Aug 13 8:30pm - buy tix
Sat Aug 13 midnight - buy tix
Sun Aug 14 9pm - buy tix
Mon Aug 15 9pm - buy tix
Tues Aug 16 9pm - buy tix
Sat Aug 20 4:15pm - buy tix
Mon Aug 22 5pm - buy tix

Angelica, 18, is dying. The worst is yet to come.

To endure CHAOS just keep repeating: It's Only a Movie, It's Only a Movie, It's Only a Movie.

Starring:
Kevin Gage (STRANGELAND, PAPARAZZI, HEAT), Sage Stallone (THE MANSON FAMILY)

As a courtesy, the filmmakers have provided "discomfort bags" to the audience in case of gustatory problems

One of the most brutal films ever made, CHAOS is a cautionary tale of two teens who throw themselves into harm's way. Two girls, looking to score some ecstasy at a rave, follow a young man to a house where terror awaits. There a gang of felons capture and torment the girls drawing them into a nightmare of violence.


THE RAMONES

End of the Century

(dir. Jim Fields & Michael Gramaglia, 110 mins, 2003)

Fri Aug 12 6:45pm - buy tix
Sun Aug 21 7pm - buy tix

Hey! Ho! Let's go!

In 1974, the New York City music scene was shocked into consciousness by the violently new and raw sound of a band of misfits from Queens, called The Ramones. Playing in a seedy Bowery bar to a small group of fellow struggling musicians, the band struck a chord of disharmony that rocked the foundation of the mid-'70s music scene. This quartet of unlikely rock stars traveled across the country and around the world connecting with the disenfranchised everywhere, while sparking a movement that would resonate with two generations of outcasts across the globe. Although the band never reached the top of the Billboard charts, it managed to endure by maintaining a rigorous touring schedule for 22 years.


KONTROLL

(dir. Nimrod Antal, 105 mins, 2003)

Sun Aug 14 6:45pm - buy tix
Mon Aug 29 6:45pm - buy tix
Bizarro Monday show

 

a blazing masterwork
and a new, philosophical cult movie

 

"a tour de force of grime, fluorescence and destinationless velocity. . .has a throb of raw, genuine life"
- A.O. Scott, NY TIMES

"You won't forget it soon, though it may give you at least some qualms about using the subway, especially if you're ever in Budapest."
- Michael Wilmington, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

"A youthful explosion of talent and temperment."
- David Denby, THE NEW YORKER

"A thoroughly satisfying, rambunctious entertainment that also subtly works on philosophical and spiritual levels."
- Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES

The massive labyrinthine netherworld that is the Budapest subway system provides the stunning setting for 'Kontroll,' a high-style, high-speed romantic thriller in which the lives of assorted outcasts, lovers, and dreamers intersect and collide. One handsome young hero, one mysterious maiden, and one particularly nasty killer must conduct a race against time, trains, and destiny itself in their frantic pursuit of one another.


Bizarro Mondays Program

THE TINGLER

(dir. William Castle, 82 mins, 1959)

Mon Aug 15 7pm - buy tix

Scream for your life!

Starring Vincent Price!

** WARNING! A TINGLER HAS RECENTLY BEEN SPOTTED WITHIN THE PIONEER THEATER. ATTEND AT YOUR OWN PERIL! **

Vincent Price stars as Dr. Chapin, a scientist who discovers a caterpillarlike parasite that grows in the human spine when someone is afraid and that, unless they scream, can grow large enough to kill them. He solemnly dubs this creature the Tingler. Philip Coolidge plays the owner of a nearby cinema who befriends the doctor and whose deaf-mute wife suddenly receives all sorts of shocks, like the sight of a bathtub full of blood with a hand reaching out from it. Since she can't scream, she dies, and Chapin gets his hands on her oversize tingler. When it eventually escapes inside the movie theater, the film within the film, and then the film itself, stops for an announcement from Price, out of character, urging the audience to scream their heads off.


BOWERY DISH

(dir. Kevin R. Frech, 60 mins, 2004)

Tues Aug 16 7pm - buy tix

Followed by beer & pizza reception

“It’s a great story, and a fascinating look, for New Yorkers, at the process of eroding middle-income housing in New York.”
- www.aint-it-cool-news.com

Once infamous for dirty flophouses, addicted men, armed gangs, and violent bars, the Bowery has become a neighborhood of hip restaurants and million dollar lofts. BOWERY DISH captures this volatile transformation in a lively and entertaining, as well as informative, manner.

“...[H]old out instead for BOWERY DISH, a documentary by Kevin Frech, and watch the gentrification of New York’s Skid Row neighborhood. Wax nostaglic about the pre-Giuliani days of drug infested flophouses and violent bars. Then go out for a $12 martini and complain about soaring rent prices in Manhattan.”
- NY OBSERVER


LUSTRE

(dir. Art Jones, 81 mins, 2003)

Wed Aug 17 9pm - buy tix
Thur Aug 18 9pm - buy tix
Fri Aug 19 9pm - buy tix
Sat Aug 20 8pm - buy tix
Sun Aug 21 9pm - buy tix
Mon Aug 22 9pm - buy tix
Tues Aug 23 9pm - buy tix
Sat Aug 27 3:20pm

A story of renewal in uncertain times - Starring Victor Argo as Hugo

"Beautiful and distinctive."
- CHICAGO READER

"Awash with splendid things, almost an embarrassment of riches...pulsates with street-level authenticity!"
- Ray Pride, NEW CITY

"A two-fisted tone poem."
- VARIETY

A retirement-age loan shark confronts the practical and metaphysical aspects of debt in Lustre, a two-fisted tone poem that rails against homogenization, while celebrating what makes New York City unique. Hugo (the late Victor Argo from MEAN STREETS, KING OF NEW YORK) thinks that New York is losing its soul, and that faceless buildings and vacant people are replacing the old-time New York that he loves. But when visions interfere with his daily rounds, he must determine for himself what is real and what is not. Capturing the gruff beauty of dilapidated storefronts and the inherent grace of solidly crafted skyscrapers, Art Jones' (GOING NOMAD) second feature is anchored by a lead performance by Argo, one of the most familiar faces in New York films for the past 30 years, with a career that spanned over four decades.


VIEQUES:
worth every bit
of struggle

(dir. Mary Patierno, 55 mins, 2005)

Weds Aug 17 7pm - buy tix

 

a people's struggle in Puerto Rico

In the 1940s, the United States Navy expropriated much of the Caribbean island of Vieques, Puerto Rico and constructed a weapons testing and training site. Evicting dozens of families, the Navy built hundreds of bunkers to store the weapons on the western end of the island. On the eastern end they created a target area to detonate them. For almost sixty years the citizens were left wedged on only 23% of the island, sandwiched between a weapons depot and a bombing range. But the struggle against the Navy didn't achieve widespread support until April 1999, when a civilian was killed by two misfired bombs. This death ignited the simmering anger of islanders and shed a harsh new light on a host of economic and environmental problems. Over the next four years, almost 1,500 people would be arrested for using their bodies as human shields to prevent military exercises.

On May 1, 2003, the Navy ceased all testing and training on the island. The Navy’s departure, while a huge victory, was only the first step in a complicated process of demilitarization, decontamination and development of a community long assaulted by the US and perennially neglected by the Puerto Rican government. VIEQUES: WORTH EVERY BIT OF STRUGGLE documents the David and Goliath-like story of the residents of Vieques and the peaceful transformation of a community against enormous odds.


NOT FOR SALE

(dir. Yael Bitton, 65 mins, 2002)

Thurs Aug 18 7pm - buy tix

Statement by filmmaker Yael Bitton:

NOT FOR SALE documents life on my block, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. . .from the bulldozing of Esperanza Community Garden, to the cracking floor in a basement apartment next door.

The film tells the story of old-timers on the block, going about their daily lives amid gentrification. They tell their memories of what used to be an immigrant lower-class neighborhood. All around, new residential buildings go up, catering to young, white, professional singles, eating away the remaining space of this older and mostly Puerto Rican community.

As the private and the political conflate and inform each other, the film addresses universal questions of home, land, and (in)security. Different portraits make up an interlocking and personal narrative so that a place, a time, a culture, voices and dreams reveal themselves in an intimate manner.

NOT FOR SALE explores a microcosm where disparate men and women strive to maintain a sense of identity, roots and space as the larger social fabric is being dismantled to serve global economy.


A STATE OF MIND

(dir. David Gordon, 94 mins, 2005)

Fri Aug 19 5pm - buy tix
Sat Aug 20 2:30pm - buy tix
Sun Aug 21 12:15pm - buy tix
Tues Aug 23 5pm - buy tix
Thurs Aug 24 5pm
- buy tix

"a rare and often chilling glimpse into the culture of North Korea."
- NY TIMES

"One leaves the film with the Twilight Zone sense that the place isn't quite the hellhole prior reports have suggested."
- Ed Park, VILLAGE VOICE

A STATE OF MIND follows two North Korean schoolgirls and their families in the lead up to the Mass Games — the biggest and most elaborate human performance on earth — and in the process reveals more of North Korea than ever before.


MANHATTAN CONFIDENTIAL

(dir. Milo Savage, 82 mins, 1995)

Fri Aug 19 7pm - buy tix

Nine love affairs over seven years with one destination

MANHATTAN CONFIDENTIAL is a newly-discovered East Village treasure about nine clandestine, interlocking love affairs that take place in Manhattan over seven years (1986-1993), which pit “old” New York against “new” New York. It is a city epic composed of the secret history of Manhattan as told by the nameless dead. MANHATTAN CONFIDENTIAL draws inspiration from the work of Arthur Schnitzler, in this case, LA RONDE.


PALINDROMES

(dir. Todd Solondz, 100 mins, 2004)

Sat Aug 6 6pm - buy tix
Fri Aug 19 10:45pm - buy tix
Weds Aug 31 7pm - buy tix

Writer / director Todd Solondz has made his reputation by creating a gallery of suburban icons of ostracism: think Dawn Wiener from WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE, Dr. Maplewood from HAPPINESS, and Consuelo from STORYTELLING. In his latest film PALINDROMES, we find the work of a more mature artist who is clearly savoring the profound flavor of moral complexity.

PALINDROMES is a fable of innocence: 13-year-old Aviva Victor wants to be a Mom. She does all she can to make this happen, and comes very close to succeeding, but in the end her plan is thwarted by her sensible parents (Ellen Barkin and Richard Masur). So she runs away, still determined to get pregnant one way or another, but instead finds herself lost in another world, a less sensible one, perhaps, but one pregnant itself with all sorts of strange possibility. Like so many trips, this one is round-trip, and it’s hard to say in the end if she can ever be quite the same again, or if she can ever be anything but the same again.


AS SMART AS THEY ARE

(dir. Joe Pacheco, 63 mins, 2004)

Sat Aug 20 6pm - buy tix

view trailer

Featuring:
One Ring Zero * Rick Moody * Paul Auster * Dave Eggers * Myla Goldberg * Jonathan Lethem * McSweeney's * and more

AS SMART AS THEY ARE documents the collaboration between One Ring Zero, a band whose unique sound combines unconventional instruments with unorthodox techniques, and an ensemble cast of award-winning writers who each contributed original lyrics.

One Ring Zero’s founding members, Joshua Camp and Michael Hearst, first established their literary ties while performing the live musical score for an off-Broadway production written by novelist Clay McLeod Chapman. After moving to New York, the duo discovered a curious unmarked store in Brooklyn that doubled as an office for McSweeney’s Publishing. In addition to selling an odd assortment of products ranging from small rubber cubes to lumberjack supplies, the peculiar storefront also doubled as the venue for a weekly literary reading series which brought a variety of both burgeoning and established writers to the tiny space.


HOWL!

Festival of East Village Arts

The Pioneer proudly serves as the main venue of the Film and Video section of Howl!

Howl main website

special advance screenings

A Night with Robert Downey, Sr.

Mon Aug 22 7pm - buy tix

Join Robert Downey, Sr., for a special conversation and presentation.

The Gary Ray Show

Tues Aug 23 7pm - buy tix

An evening of short films featuring Gary Ray, East Village icon and owner of the mid-80s club Darinka. Films will include “Tourist Season!” (1989) and the brand new “I Remember You Now. . .” starring Gary Ray and Deborah Harry. Gary Ray will be on hand, and we also hope to welcome Ms. Harry and others featured in and behind the making of the films.

BIRD IN THE SKY

(dir. Robert Flanagan, 75 mins, 2005)

Weds Aug 24 7pm - buy tix

An East Village extravaganza! A local labor of love, BIRD IN THE SKY depicts a young man's spiritual struggle on the streets of New York City. Rob has been given a second chance to right the wrongs of his street-wise past. He must perform a miracle. His fate lies in his love for Kay, a woman in search of her lost child, and his holy conviction he can relieve her grief by miraculously bringing back the little girl. The line between good and evil, between crime and miracle, is crossed only by those willing to face God.

LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH STREET

FOURTH WORLD PREMIERE!

(dir. Jacob Burckhardt & Royston Scott, 38 mins, 2004)

Plus special bonus:

BLIPS

(dir. George Kuchar, 1979)

Weds Aug 24 9pm - buy tix

If Cecil B. DeMille met Jack Smith, John Waters, and Ed Wood Jr., the fruit of their collaboration might be LOUIS THE FOURTEENTH STREET.

Cuckolded king Louis the Fourteenth Street vows vengeance on his murderous second wife Mary Antoinette. A beautiful princess imprisoned in a dungeon, a lusty wet nurse, a charming Greenish Blonde Prince, a bleeding royal ghost, and a voracious guillotine round out the cast of this experimental, color saturated, digital scary fairy tale of a featurette.

More information, and a trailer, at: www.louisthefourteenthstreet.com

WITH SPECIAL ADDED CO-HIT
A rare viewing of GEORGE KUCHAR's hidden masterpiece


BLIPS (1979)
George Kuchar writes:
"An enigmatic movie that's like an enigmatic enema. This black and white 16mm film was made when I was in the midst of tackling the UFO enigma and it¹s influence on those who become involved in the mystery. To one of the actors in the movie the whole damn picture was a mystery but after a second viewing he told me that he understood it!

"So good luck.

"Marion Eaton, the star of another film I was involved with (THUNDERCRACK!) has a juicy role in the film and broke all her rules of thespian propriety by hitting the bottle before performing. This was because she was shoved into the part without previous preparation as to character development and other niceties given to actors on the stage. So she decided, "to hell with it!" and shed her professional trappings along with some garments also. She later went on to more wide screen movies featuring Renee Zellweger and Vincent D¹Onofrio (also Morgan Fairchild, Bruce Cambell and that Mexican beauty, Salma Hayek. I continued making several more movies exploring the UFO subject but this was the first in the series, I believe."

Aldo Tambellini:

Revisiting the
Lower East Side
of the 60s

Thurs Aug 25 7pm - buy tix

 

 

 

 

A program celebrating the work of East Village film- video- and multi-media maker Aldo Tambellini. Titles will include:

“News report”
Rare archival television footage of the “art scene” in the Lower East Side in the 60s with interview of Aldo Tambellini at the Black Gate Theatre on 2nd Avenue and 10th Street about his pioneering video work. This has been transferred to digital format. Visual archival material will be available for display.

“Aldo Tambellini TV Media Pioneer-‘Minus One’”
1969-An electronic, fast paced live edited, mix-media program commissioned, produced and broadcast on Channel 25 in New York City. The tape has been converted to be projected in digital format.

“MOONDIAL,” A Jud Yalkut Movie
Described by the Anthology Film Archives as “an intensified yet lyrical filmic concentration of the Electromedia Theater event by Aldo Tambellini, with Mary MacKay dancing the choreography by Beverly Schmidt, and original music by Calo Scott. A film that combines in-camera superimposition with frame-by-frame compositional shooting techniques.” This multi-media performance was presented at The Dom and at The Bridge Theatre, St. Mark’s Place. Related archival materials will be available for display in lobby. This version is in a 16 mm film.

“6673”
As Aldo was making a copy of his first videotape made at the Black Gate, his theatre in 1966, Aldo saw test patterns and other electronic images which immediately interested him. He made his second videotape using these images then he added sound by manipulating an oscilloscope which also distorted the images and used his voice to produce a kind of sound poetry which can be heard in the segment to be shown. The tape was later reprocessed at Public Access Television, Channel 13, NYC, in 1973, using the Paik-Abe Synthesizer and the tile became “6673.” The copy to be shown is in digital format. Visual archival material will be available for display.

NO PICNIC

(dir. Philip Hartman, 84 mins, 1987)

Thur Aug 25 9pm - buy tix
Fri Aug 26 9pm - buy tix
Sat Aug 27 9pm - buy tix
Sun Aug 28 9pm - buy tix
Mon Aug 29 9pm - buy tix
Tues Aug 30 9pm - buy tix
Weds Aug 31 9pm - buy tix

Starring David Brisbin * Steve Buscemi * Luis Guzman * Richard Hell

Brand New Print!

Macabee Cohen's heyday as a rock musician is past history. Now his gig is to supply records to NYC jukeboxes and collect money for his boss. Mac's beloved neighborhood, Mahnattan's lower east side, is in turmoil: tenants on rent strike, buildings vanishing, real estate speculators moving in and new faces spreading like the plague. Mac's own life is in turmoil too. His girlfriend has left to join the airforce, his neighbor wants to marry him to obtain a green card, his brother travels about the country on a sexual sojourn, sending only postcards, and his father has left his mother for a younger man. It didn't look to be a great summer.

Luis Guzman Event

Fri Aug 26 7pm - buy tix

Luis Guzman in person!

Clayton Patterson Presents. . .

Fri Aug 26 10:40pm - buy tix

A program of films with local film and photo guru Clayton Patterson

ALPHABET CITY

(dir. Amos Poe, 85 mins, 1984)

Fri Aug 26 midnight - buy tix

An 80s East Village classic!

Amos Poe in person

At 19, they gave him the streets. Tonight, they're going to take them back. A New York City drug dealer decides to get out of the business, but has to flee from mobsters.

Projected from video.

L.E.S. IS MORE

(dir. Chris Rael, 2005, approx 80 minutes)

Sat Aug 27 5pm - buy tix

Work in progress - sneak preview

Raelian Cabaret & The Howl! Festival Present THE L.E.S. IS MORE MUSIC FESTIVAL at the Living Room, August 2004. Highlights from Chris Rael's & Jennifer Gilson's 40-band curation at The Living Room during Howl! '04. One song each from approx. 20 innovative veteran Downtown artists, approx. 75-80 minutes. Composed in high quality video & audio, L.E.S. IS MORE won a national public access award for performance programming.

TAIL END OF A DREAM

(dir. Chris Rael, 2005, approx. 80 minutes)

Sat Aug 27 7pm - buy tix

Work in progress - sneak preview


A kaleidoscope of performance video and creative montages featuring legendary Downtown Indo-pop band Church of Betty in a dazzling array of formats and settings, from rock band to chamber ensemble to world pop orchestra with belly dancers.

YOUR PROGRAM OF PROGRAMS

(dir. Kestutis Nakas, 55 mins, 1982)

Sat Aug 27 10:30pm - buy tix

YOUR PROGRAM OF PROGRAMS is a compilation of highlights from Kestutis Nakas' 1983 Manhattan Cable TV program. Not seen since its original broadcast over twenty years ago, the program includes rare footage of dozens of New York artists and performers near the beginnning of their "East Village" careers. Ann Magnuson, John Sex, Kenny Scharf, Tseng Kwong Chi, John Kelly, Tom Rubnitz, Stuart Sherman, Bill Raymond, Linda Hartinian, Brenda Bergman, Frieda, Merle Ginsberg, Ilona Granet, Ron Van Lieu, Omar Shapli, Nicki Paraiso, Hovey Burgess, Katherine Tambini, Kai Eric, Alex Del Lago, Henry Ferree and a host of others known and unknown appear in this black and white "fake Da Da" time capsule.

SELL OUT

(dir. Lola Rocknrolla, 85 mins, 2005)

Sat Aug 27 midnight - buy tix

A comedy about four friends who take turns losing their moral fiber, desperately trying to make it big from little roots on the Lower East Side.

directed by Lola Rock'N'Rolla (DRAGZILLA)

Stars G-Spot(Greg Siebel), Heidi Sjursen, Gina Volpe, World Famous *BOB*, Micheal Formika Jones, Lloyd Kaufman and many more

The Open Road

presented by Dennis Nyback

Sun Aug 28 2:30pm - buy tix

What is the myth and reality of America's long love affair with the automobile? This program contains both and it's only a ninety minute ride at 36 feet per minute. The myth includes carefree vacations, the joy of hitch hiking, long haul trucker warriors of the road, carefree bikers on their hogs, leaving the driving to Greyhound, and more. The reality includes being busted for drunk driving, becoming one of the fifty thousand a year who die in a horrible wreck, ending up a quadriplegic after a ride on a Harley, and road rage turning a mild mannered milquetoast into a vengeful maniac.


Movies include:
One For the Road (c1963) - Mechanized Death (c1961) - Hitch Hiking - The Road to Rape (1978) - Motorcycle Safety (c1970)

COUNTER CONVENTION

(dir. Christopher Flaherty, 103 mins, 2004)

Sun Aug 28 4:30pm - buy tix

The Week New York Roared! See all the protests you missed! Featuring appearances by and interviews with Ring Out, Reverend Billy, Billionaires for Bush, GOP delegates, the NYPD, Donna Lieberman (NYCLU), Jello Biafra, Triumph ("the insult comic dog"), The Missile Dick Chicks, Greene Dragon, Vietnam Veterans Against The War, the Vigil for the Fallen, an Alien, The World's Longest Unemployment Line, Randi Weingarten (UFT), Axis of Eve, and the people of the City of New York as themselves.

Produced by Kim Pratt and directed by Christopher Flaherty, COUNTER CONVENTION: A FREE NEW YORK SPECIAL is a documentary video featuring highlights of some of the many protests against the Republican National Convention that erupted throughout Manhattan in New York City between August 28 and September 2, 2004.

The First Light Series

(dir. Alex Harsley, 100 mins, 2004)

Sun Aug 28 7pm - buy tix

  • Kayako Sakoh as Dark
  • Kaori Iko as the Illegitimate Child
  • Chris Brandt reading excerpts from John Locke's essay Concerning Human Understanding

Videographic montage of director's interest in the unified field theory and theory of relativity using natural light found and repletion expound upon director's contention with duality form and content.


THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY

(dir. Robert Margolis & Frank
Matter, 85 mins, 2004)

Tues Aug 30 7pm - buy tix

"The bitterly funny dialogue, plus Margolis' naivete, bullheaded determination, and total lack of responsibility, all add up to a package reminiscent of Robert De Niro's psychotic stand up from The King of Comedy."
- The Onion, New York-Minneapolis

Co-director Robert Margolis stars as Robert, an actor who may or may not be himself in this intense and often hilarious film about acting, aging and the dark side of ambition. Filmed over 18 months, a documentary crew follows Margolis obsessively from one failed audition to another, recording in raw detail his every humiliation and small triumph as he searches for that elusive perfect role that will catapult his career into the next level.

More information, and a trailer, at www.definitionofinsanity.com


CALL ME MALCOLM

(dir. Joseph Parlagreco, 90 mins, 2004)

Weds Aug 31 5pm - buy tix

One man's struggle with love, faith, and gender identity

CALL ME MALCOLM is a documentary about a 25 year-old transgender seminary student, and his struggle with faith, love and gender identity.

As the film begins, so does Malcolm’s final summer vacation from seminary. He is unemployed, uncertain about his future as a minister, unrecognized as Malcolm by his parents and without a “love” in his life.

Malcolm sits at the edge of the Grand Canyon, just as he sits at the precipice of his future. With what identity will he serve his parishioners? How will the world perceive him? Can his family learn to accept him? Who will love him?

And so begins a journey of faith. A road trip across America. An effort to connect, to understand, to witness.


Pioneer Theater

Calendar-style schedule - Pioneer Theater front page

Directions to the theater - Press materials