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East
3rd Street, between Avenues A and B (closer to A) * New York City * USA |
| JUNE
2006 |
Brave
New Europe: LONG
KNIVES NIGHT + REPORTING FROM A RABBIT HUTCH Belarus * in Russian and Belarussian subtitled in English Thurs June
1 9pm - buy
tix
Alexander
Lukashenko,
|
". . .makes FAHRENHEIT 9/11 seem tepid and weak . . .a brutal
and brilliant bit of filmmaking." "Indelible
portraits of power's absolute corruption. . .an astonishing diatribe.
. .heaves with disturbing scenes of violence against innocent Belarussians.
. .a primal howl of outrage and disgust." Review by Oleg Sulkin in NOVOYE RUSSKOYE SLOVO "Electrifying!" "Dark,
damning. . .as raw as documentaries get, but under the circumstances,
you should not want it any other way." A ferocious film
in two parts, depicting and severely criticizing the rise and reign of
You have read and seen coverage of the recent “election” in Belarus. You have heard that the election's aftermath pits Russia against the West: Russia has endorsed Alexander Lukashenko's return for a third term, while a rather unified West, including both the European Union and the United States, have called it fraud. You have also heard of rebellion, hunger strikes, and protesters jailed for “hooliganism.” But who is this Alexander Lukashenko? Why is he called “the last dictator in Europe?” What on earth has he done? With fury and agony, LONG KNIVES NIGHT and REPORTING FROM A RABBIT HUTCH approach these questions. Writer / director Victor Dashuk has risked imprisonment and abuse – common for dissidents, as you will see in the films – to depict and attack Lukashenko's rise to authority. The films are raw, vicious, and totally one-sided: there is not a frame of sympathy for Lukashenko in these films. Dashuk is outrageously cynical, attacking Lukashenko himself, but also comparing Belarussians' prostrations before authoritarian leaders with Satanists' prostrations before their dark master. "Long
Knives Night" "Reporting
from a Rabbit Hutch" Banned by Belarussian authorities. The copies to be shown by the Pioneer were smuggled out of the country. Presented with thanks to Zoya Rozin |
|
Flogging
Molly in: (dir. Jim Dziura, 106 mins, 2006) |
Shot over two years and in seven countries, the feature-length documentary WHISKEY ON A SUNDAY is an intimate portrait of the Irish infused rock band Flogging Molly. The film tracks the group of musicians from their bar-band roots to their current success, including footage of the band in the studio, on tour, at home and at their sold-out homecoming performance at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. WHISKEY ON A SUNDAY is an "in-the-pocket" experience with the candid and charismatic Flogging Molly family, set to the driving beat of their thunderous live performances. Brought together through unlikely happenstance and bound by an intense passion and heartfelt belief in what they do, the seven members and their associates provide a good look at how things can be done against the grain. Bucking tradition, industry naysayers and inflexible business models, front man Dave King and crew illustrate their own formula for success: believing in oneself, refusing to be pigeonholed, and rising from humble beginnings to fulfill a dream. WHISKEY ON A SUNDAY includes dozens of candid and rare photographs, archival footage, and several unreleased songs. |
|
24 HOURS ON CRAIGSLIST (dir. Michael Ferris Gibson, 82 mins, 2005) Fri June 2
11pm - buy
tix
|
one
city, one day, one website, no limits “It’s
an absolute blast. . .24 HOURS ON CRAIGSLIST is the ultimate people zoo.” “a whirlwind
tour. . .a colorful mosaic. . .crowd-pleaser. . .engaging. . .zippy. .
.sharp” “Hilarious” “fun
and titillating. . .mesmerizing. . .this film is poignant” You know Craigslist-- it's the secret engine that drives the local economy, the place you likely found your last job, apartment, car, couch, bandmate, dance lesson, bankruptcy attorney or Friday-night date. Everybody's got a Craigslist story, and filmmaker Michael Ferris Gibson came up with an ingenious idea to find a few of them: he set out to document one random day on Craigslist. What he delivers is a rollicking portrait of the urban experience in all its eccentric glory - a cross section of folks doing everything from selling 250 pairs of women's army-surplus pants to everything-they-own (to finance a trip around the world); guys looking for roommates or wives; an Ethel Merman impersonator looking for a back-up band and a strange fellow hoping some hot chicks will show up for his basement sex party. Looking for a support group for your diabetic cat? Need to rent a husband, find a horny poodle, a gay sperm donor or a pre-op transsexual escort? Maybe you need a movie crew (that's right - Gibson's cast, crew and music were all found through Craigslist). Gibson even found what can only be called the Ultimate Craigslist Story, which you've just gotta hear. There may be Craigslists all over the globe at this point, but Craigslist will always be a uniquely American creation, and Gibson's terrific movie is a giddy celebration of total freedom and everything we love and hate about it. Find a date on Craigslist, and come and see it! |
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PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (dir. Peter Weir, 115 mins, 1975) Sat June 3 11pm - buy tix |
February 14th. Somewhere in Australia. Look out! "A
movie that is both spooky and sexy." "A
film of haunting mystery and buried sexual hysteria." Peter
Weir's (TRUMAN SHOW, DEAD POETS SOCIETY) exotic story employs tranquil
surrealism and lush cinematography to explore the interconnected relationships
between nature, eroticism and repression. While out climbing rocks, three
girls from a posh finishing school vanish without a trace. In an attempt
to find them, a geometry teacher climbs the rock and follows them into
oblivion. A young man who has seen the teacher running up the mountain
in a pair of bloomers, decides to spend the night on the rock, in hopes
of finding the girls. But in the morning he is discovered with a wound
on his head and no recollection of what happened. And when one of the
girls later returns she's also wounded and dazed. A truly alluring, enigmatic
film. |
|
Chicago City Limits First Sundays Comedy Films First Sundays Sun June 4 7:15pm - buy tix filmmakers & special guests will attend! This is a Sunday Shorts program. Early evenings on many Sundays, the Pioneer presents programs of short films. |
Part stand-up comedy act, part film festival, part party, 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. |
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HORRORS OF WAR (dir. Peter John Ross and John Whitney, 91 mins, 2006) Mon June 5 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. |
Hitler
unleashes his secret weapons: Starring Jon Osbeck, Joe Lorenzo, C. Alec Rossel, Daniel Alan Kiely Feeling the pressure from Allied advance, Hitler unleashes his secret weapons. Throughout the European theatre of WWII, Lieutenant John Schmidt comes face to face with these "weapons" which terrorize U.S. soldiers fighting the Third Reich. The Office of Strategic Services (The O.S.S., precursor to the C.I.A.) initiates missions behind enemy lines to find the source of these weapons, a mysterious scientist by the name of Dr. Schaltur. Schmidt is joined by Captain Joe Russo and his group of war-hardened GIs who have experienced for themselves the all-too-real horrors of war in battle. Together, they must find the Dr. Schaltur and stop him before Hitler's horrific vision can be fully realized. Part of our ongoing Zombie Parade: A Multi-Cultural Zombie Retrospective. This time, of course, featuring Nazi Zombies. Previous films have featured Yuppie zombies, Afro-Caribbean zombies, Mexican zombies, zombies in prison, and Mormon zombies, as well as the more well-known rural, slow-moving, pale-skinned, dim-witted, middle-class, formerly-Christian zombies. |
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FIVExFIVE NY STATE OF MIND DV PROJECT: The First Three Years Tues June 6 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. |
The VisionFest presents a program of short films. Started in 2001 and formerly known as the Guerrilla Film & Video Festival, VISIONFEST (VF) remains the only exclusively ‘domestic’ film festival on the East Coast. The festival’s tagline of “promoting domestic filmmaking” is best defined by one of the festival’s most influential and significant initiatives: the FiveXFive New York State of Mind DV Project. Each year, five filmmakers (often festival alumni or up and coming filmmakers from the indie scene) are selected by a special Visionfest Committee and are invited to write, produce, and direct a five-minute digital short that is given a “five-day production schedule” and some very specific guidelines (i.e., in 2003, each filmmaker was confined to a specific borough in which to base and shoot the short in; in 2004, each short had to feature five characters dealing with the 2003 NYC blackout and the growing politcal tension based on the aftermath of 9/11; and in 2005, each filmmaker was asked to feature an apple as a primary story prop or element that defined the short’s theme. The finished shorts are always screened with WORLD PREMIERE status on the fifth and final day of the VF event, throughout the course of the festival’s awards ceremony, which has always been a “standing room only” event, and are then sent out to other festivals and markets for other exhbition. |
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MOTORCYCLE (dir. Paul Gordon, 81 mins, 2006) Weds June 7 7pm - buy tix Director Paul Gordon in person! Slamdance
Film Festival 2006 |
"As
slice-of-life movies go, MOTORCYCLE is a generous portion of humanity
and significant gestures." A young man in search of a girlfriend, a female bicycle messenger in search of enlightenment, and a teenage girl weary of small town life—all find themselves riding the same motorcycle. After being dumped by his girlfriend, Chris buys a motorcycle, but finds it to be an unsatisfying replacement for a woman. Ingrid, on her quest for enlightenment, has isolated herself from friends and is unhappy in her job as a bicycle messenger. Upon meeting Chris, Ingrid is fascinated with the motorcycle and the two go on an awkward date to the library. Brandi, a teenager, lives in a small town with her mother and works at a barbecue restaurant. She listens to punk rock and is tired of the town’s un-cool inhabitants who do not understand her. She uses the motorcycle to pursue freedom. |
MindFuck: |
Sex, Art, and Psychology PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS (dir. Bret Wood, 101 mins, 2006) Bret Wood in person June 8-10 Thurs June
8 7pm - buy
tix |
Tales
of Deviance and Forbidden Desire PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS is an atmospheric Victorian fetish fantasia that dramatizes case histories of turn-of-the-century sexual deviance, drawn from the pages of Richard von Krafft-Ebing's notorious 1886 medical text. Among the cases are a sexually repressed man who discovers an unhealthy appetite for blood; a homosexual man who submits himself to a doctor who promises to 'cure' his condition; and a masochist who hires a pair of corseted prostitutes to enact a most peculiar performance. In the final chapter, a woman who has spent her life suppressing her lesbian desires is hired to tutor a sexually curious young woman. These stories are bound together by the thread of an ambitious doctor who not only studies the patients, but uses them as pawns and playthings.
A Kino International Release |
Sex, Art, and Psychology (dir. Brian De Palma, 98 mins, 1976, 35mm print) Fri June 9
11pm - buy
tix Join Carrie
at Plan a special
night with your sweetheart! Who knows what will happen at the end of the
night! |
Brian
De Palma's commercial breakout, based on a novel by Stephen King, helped
launch a whole slew of teen-based horror films, and Carrie the blood-spattered
prom queen has taken her throne in the pantheon of modern American myth.
High school girls played by Amy Irving (in her film debut), P.J. Soles,
and Nancy Allen plot to avenge themselves on ostracized fellow student
and budding telekinetic Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) after they get in
trouble for pelting her with tampons. When they get popular boy Tommy
Ross (William Katz) to be her date for the prom, the stage is set for
some heart-rending cruelty and fiery retribution. De Palma expertly uses
split screens, slow motion, color filters, and tracking shots to imbue
the proceedings with a haunting, allegorical elegance. Piper Laurie plays
Carrie’s mentally ill, devoutly Christian mom; she’s brilliant,
as is Spacek. John Travolta has a memorable pre-SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER role
as one of the girls' beer-guzzling boyfriends. There was finally a sequel
in 1999, as well as a short-lived Broadway musical. |
|
PORNSTAR PETS (dir. Margie Schnibbe, 52 mins, 2005) Sat June 10 7pm - buy tix |
featuring Jessica Drake, Ron Jeremy, Rebecca Lord, Dave Pounder, Shay Sights, Evan Stone, Sunset Thomas, Taylor Wane Three years in the making, PORNSTAR PETS is the spirited and heart warming documentary by Filmmaker Margie Schnibbe. With a clever and witty eye, Ms. Schnibbe's film explores the emotional lives of 22 of the biggest Adult Film Stars through their interaction with various family pets. In PORNSTAR PETS you will see... Ron Jeremy feeds his pet turtle, Cherry, discussing the genealogy of the Turtle species. Teri Weigel keeps a menagerie of dogs, snakes and birds, highlighting the issues of pet travel and grooming. Taylor Wane feeds a Yorkshire Terrier gourmet shrimp, outlining personal stories of Animal Rescue and soaring vet bills. Filmed in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Carson City, PORNSTAR PETS features numerous Adult Film Award Winners, as well as industry legends Ron Jeremy, Taylor Wane and Sunset Thomas... Not to mention 94 family pets; Dogs, Cats, birds, snakes, rabbits, even some ultra-rare Madagascan millipedes. Emergent DVD Label Brink Film launches Margie Schnibbe's seminal documentary, PORNSTAR PETS, in a Collector's DVD Edition. This Edition is packaged with 30 minutes of bonus footage, galleries, and a commentary track voiced by Ron Jeremy and Natalie. |
Sex,
Art, and Psychology Dennis Nyback presents The
Mormon Sunday June 11 7pm - buy tix |
a classic collection of Mormon movies presented by fabled film collector Dennis Nyback Man's
Search for Happiness
1964
Cipher in the Snow 1973
The Mailbox
1977 |
|
Monster Monday! Fangoria presents INSECTICIDAL (dir. Jeffrey Lando, 88 mins, 2005) Screening from digital video. Mon June 12 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. |
"Boobs,
bugs, blood, guts, knives, and a hell of a lot of flesh. What more can
you ask for? [...] flashing nude soapy, skimpy, sleazy, skanky, and
trampy women almost non-stop at every possible occasion [...] Lando
really knows how to direct a damn fine killer bug movie [...] Soon to
be classic line: 'Man eating cannibal girls don't get dates.'"
These girls have a new major ... Survival! Brilliant sorority girl Cami's experiment in insect intelligence goes awry, leaving giant, mutant insects hunting for food in a sorority house - and the only thing to eat is beautiful sorority sisters! The insect horrors increase in size while their source of food shrinks. The girls fight a savage hit and run battle with whatever weapons they can find. But the insects have more on their super-intelligent minds than food. Beautiful Josi becomes a host for more than sorority parties when she is infected with the next generation of mutant insects! Cami and a few survivors survive the night, leaving insect carnage throughout the house. But to deal with a bug problem, you have to kill them ALL ... Starring Meghan Heffern, Rhonda Dent, Samantha McLeod, Shawn Bachynski, and Vicky Huang |
Robert
Altman: Tues June 13 7pm - CANCELLED |
Unfortunately, this event has been postponed. Robert Altman is recovering from the flu, and his doctors have told him not to travel. We do intend to reschedule this event. For those of you who bought tickets, we are in the process of refunding your money, and contacting you to address the issue. Needless to say, I hope, we regret the inconvenience. We wish Mr. Altman a speedy recovery, and many good times ahead. |
|
Project
by Project presents (dir. Yasuaki Nakajima, 72 mins, 2004) Thurs June 15 7pm - buy tix A Cultural Thursdays program. Thursdays at 7pm often feature programming presented with ethnic and cultural groups. |
"Gorgeous,
conveying a world similar to that of Lynch’s ERASERHEAD."
"A surprisingly engaging ride. . . The virtuoso cinematography evokes
a stark, perpetual dawn. . . as an experiment in regressive playfulness,
it delivers nicely, with inspiration coming from Aki Kaurismäki's
JUHA." "Despite
its spasms of brutality and a swerve into the macabre, AFTER THE APOCALYPSE
is, by comparison with more recent films of this type (the "Mad Max"
series), gentle at heart and terribly sincere." Official Selection of over 30 film festivals around the globe AFTER THE APOCALYPSE is a futuristic fable about five survivors trying to make sense of a New World after a devastating urban catastrophe challenges all their human needs. The film is set in a bleak, post-urban landscape in the aftermath of the Third World War. It is a strangely limited environment where a single woman and four men are forced to communicate without words as a result of the destructive gasses from the war. Their pasts were erased by the war, they must recreate their lives individually and collectively. |
Sex, Art, and Psychology GOING UNDER (dir. Eric Werthman, 98 mins, 2004, 35mm print) 18 AND OVER
ONLY. Thurs June
15 9pm - SOLD OUT Fri June
16 7pm - buy
tix Fri June 16
9pm - buy
tix Sat June
17 7pm - buy
tix Sat June
17 9pm - buy
tix Sun June 18
9pm - buy
tix |
Peter, a psychotherapist, and Suzanne, a professional dominatrix, have been meeting once a week for over two years. In the privacy of a dungeon room in an S & M house, Suzanne delicately pierces, prods and ultimately soothes Peter as they engage in sensual dominance and submission reenactments. Peter's wife Pat knows about her husband's other life, but there is an understanding between them; what happens in the dungeon is relegated to the world of fantasy. Peter and Suzanne, undeniably drawn to each other, agree to see each other on the outside. Though Suzanne is clearly ambivalent about any sort of physical intimacy, Peter becomes increasingly obsessed with consummating their relationship. The more Suzanne pulls away, the harder Peter finds it to let go. As they meet in coffee shops, bars and restaurants throughout New York City, Peter remembers the erotic "scenes" between them and the relationship these fantasies have to his past. Written
by Eric Werthman & Jessica Gohlke * Starring Roger Rees & Geno
Lechner
|
|
(dir. Gandulf Hennig, 103 mins, 2005) Thurs June 15 11pm - buy tix |
Director Gandulf Hennig and others in person! FALLEN ANGEL – a documentary by producer/director Gandulf Hennig and co-writer Sid Griffin – provides a revealing account of Gram Parsons’ life and the ongoing influence of his music. Deflating many of the myths that have grown over the years about Parsons’ hedonistic lifestyle, the film retraces the life of this Florida-born, Georgia-raised heir to a million-dollar orange juice fortune through his early days as a musician and his rise as a country-rock icon to his tragic death from an overdose of drugs and alcohol at the age of 26. The documentary features music and performances from Parsons’ groundbreaking career with The International Submarine Band, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, as well as his highly acclaimed solo albums. Also included are interviews with family, friends and fellow musicians telling personal stories about Parsons and discussing his musical legacy. FALLEN ANGEL includes interviews with singer Emmylou Harris, who started her career collaborating with Parsons; fellow Byrd and Burrito Brother Chris Hilman; James Burton, the renowned guitarist in Parsons’ solo band; Parsons’ manager, Phil Kaufman; Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones; and Peter Buck of REM. |
|
(dir. Kenya Cagle, 118 mins, 2006) Sat June 17
4:30pm - SOLD OUT |
She
established a new family for herself & children. A man marries a woman with two children from a previous relationship. After they are together for nearly ten years, the biological father is released from prison and decides to take his family back whether they want to go or not. From Award Winning Producer Kenya Cagle |
Clayton
Patterson presents Sunday June 18 7pm - buy tix Clayton Patterson from the Clayton Gallery and Outlaw Art Museum presents a program of crazy sex madness in short films drawn from the neighborhood.
|
Clayton Patterson from the Clayton Gallery and Outlaw Art Museum presents a program of crazy sex madness in short films drawn from the neighborhood. Penny Arcade is the person who we are recognizing as the guest of honor at this show.. Penny has made amazing contributions in all kinds of creative areas.. but this nights cheer is for her film contributions. . . saving Jack Smiths earthy belonging. . . recently I really enjoyed seeing, at the Pioneer, Penny in the 60's John Vaccaro film. . .Penny was in Warhol movies. . . Penny is one of the main power thrusts behind the amazing Biography Project. . .and more and so on and more. . . filmmakers David Leslie & Larry Fessenden- 2 public service announcements safe sex psa part 1 and part 2 Larry Fessenden- HABIT -- Larry banging a vampire chick in his feature film. M.
M. Serra A Lot of Fun for the Evil One, (1994)
16mm, color, sound,
Jack Waters and Peter Cramer "Occupy My Ass, Not Iraq" Penny
Arcade and Steve Zehentner-- educator Betty Dodson The
segment featured is a work-in-progress biography on artist, author, and
sex educator Betty Dodson, Ph.D. Betty first achieved international recognition
with three ground breaking erotic art exhibitions in the sixties and seventies
before she left the art world to become a feminist activist and public
advocate for women's sexual liberation. Her bold, innovative teaching
methods have been documented in a series of books and videos. Dodson has
a private practice in New York City and maintains an active website: www.bettydodson.com.
Clayton Patterson Elsa Rensaa... Playground... a segment from a night at a Deviant playground on the LES... Philly
Abe...A
five minute scene from Takeaway by Todd |
|
FearsMag.com
presents LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960) get this - in color(!?) (dir. Roger Corman, 70 mins, 1960) Mon June 19 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. |
The classic black (and white) comedy from director Roger Corman - showing in a new colorized version! Heresy or prophecy? Decide for yourself! A classic tale of boy meets girl, plant eats people, featuring Jack Nicholson in one of his first film roles. Seymour's pet plant has an insatiable desire for blood and flesh. As the ruthless plant grows larger and larger with each feeding, so do Seymour's affections for shopgirl Audrey. The madness culminates with Seymour and the bloodthirsty plant in a feeding frenzy of epic proportions. Exhibition format to be determined. |
THE HEALING GARDENS OF NEW YORK (dir. Alexandra Isles, 55 mins, 2006) Tues June 20 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. Except for this one - no beer at the beautiful 6B garden where we'll host our reception. |
Planting seeds, changing lives. "The Healing
Gardens of New York captures the diversity, passion, commitment and creativity
of the gardeners who help make NYC a magical place." "Alexandra
Isles has reached deep into the soul of gardens and gardeners to identify
one of the mystical aspects of gardening – that mysterious interaction
with soil and plants that produces a sense of well-being…" In a city dominated by steel, glass, jackhammers and cranes, the importance of green spaces as a source of stability and emotional well-being is often overlooked. This is the story of gardens created in response to crime, neglect and recidi-vism. They have changed communities and transformed lives, and range from a small concrete triangle in Times Square to a spacious field on Rikers Island. Of those included in the film, two have mentoring programs, one donates its produce to the needy in the community, one gives purpose to marginalized seniors, each of them is a refuge and venue for ingenuity, creativity and spiritual growth. All are vulnerable to the vagaries of politics and the economy, and the goal of the film is to raise awareness about their value in order to protect their future. Followed by a reception at the beautiful 6B garden, with live jazz by the film's composer! (Weather permitting) |
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Cultural Thursdays Lights! Thurs June 22 7pm - buy tix A Cultural Thursdays program. Thursdays at 7pm often feature programming presented with ethnic and cultural groups. |
PUCKER
UP: DER
KISH (THE KISS) (dir. Paul Fischer, 9 minutes: 2004; USA) NY
Premiere A
KISS IS A KISS IS A KISS (dir. Uri Bar-On, 6 minutes: 2003; Israel) HONEY
& BUNNY (dir. Eva Midgley, 10 minutes: 2005; Great Britain) THE
PERSONALS (dir. Keiko Ibi, 37 minutes; 1998; USA) With
a special screening of the classic: |
Sex, Art, and Psychology THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS (dir. Lech Majewski, 103 mins, 2004, 35mm print) Thurs June
22 9pm - buy
tix |
*
Rome International Film Festival * A tale of love, philosophy, eroticism, and art, set in London and Venice, with Bosch's GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS in the background. Claudia is an art historian specializing in the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch. Chris is a maritime engineer writing a dissertation on gondola construction. They share a passion for interpreting the hidden language of symbols. When Claudia discovers she has larynx cancer, she decides to spend her last days in Venice. There, her obsession with the world of Bosch causes her and Chris to make the Garden's visions real. Their perverse, sensual close-ups provide a counterpoint for their appointment with death. |
Sex, Art, and Psychology (dir. Paul Verhoeven, 144 mins, 1995, 35mm print) |
High-strung,
statuesque Nomi Mallone (Elizabeth Berkely) is determined to be a dancer
in Las Vegas, whatever it takes - but she starts out as a stripper. Through
her seamstress roommate (Gina Ravera), Nomi catches the attention of the
voracious bisexual Cristal (Gina Gershon), star of an extravagant pagan
sex show called "Goddess" which plays nightly at the swanky
Stardust Casino. Through Cristal's influence, Nomi gets a chance to audition
for "Goddess" and is soon involved in all sorts of sordid backstage
goings-on, including bitchy dueling with Cristal over Stardust head honcho
Zack (Kyle McLachlan). Maligned by many critics upon its original release,
SHOWGIRLS has since become a true camp classic, revived for midnight showings
and beloved for its decadence, high nudity yield, and outrageously catty
dialogue (courtesy of screenwriter Joe Eszterhas). Its director is Paul
Verhoeven (ROBOCOP, TOTAL RECALL), so one can safely assume SHOWGIRLS'
over-the-top hostility and sexuality is meant to be a satire of American
culture. One of the first big-budget Hollywood movies to be released with
an NC-17 rating, its lack of box office success meant few others would
have the guts to follow. |
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MON ONCLE (dir. Jacques Tati, 1958, 116 mins) 35mm print Sun Jun 25 7pm - buy tix |
Jacques Tati's second feature film and first film in color reintroduces his hilarious Chaplinesque alter ego, M. Hulot. After having followed Hulot on his sun-drenched, foible-filled seaside vacation in MR. HULOT'S HOLIDAY, MON ONCLE finds Tati contrasting Hulot's bohemian provincial home life with the modern, contraption-filled concrete and glass home belonging to his sister and her family, the Arpels, where Hulot's nephew, Gerard, is drowning in boredom. When Hulot comes for a visit, the gadgets get the better of him, in a seamless spectacle of electric switches, slamming doors and malfunctioning accoutrements. Tati shuttles back and forth between Hulot's quaint home of friendly, if mischievous neighbors and music filled provincial café's and the Arpel's surreal and cold ultra modern lifestyle, creating an evocative and whimsical contrast that Tati would develop further in his future masterpieces, PLAYTIME and TRAFFIC. When Mr. Arpel contrives to secure Hulot a position at his rubber tubing factory, Mrs. Arpel simultaneously conspires to fix him up with an eccentric neighbor, Hulot's clumsy and gullible nature lead him into myriad tangles with the Arpels modern lifestyle, climaxing in an intricately absurd garden party. |
Sex, Art, and Psychology NOWHERE MAN (dir. Tim McCann, 80 mins, 2003) Mon June 26 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. |
Man. Woman. Scissors. Debbie Rochon and Lloyd Kaufman in person! "With
all due respect to the oeuvre of John Wayne Bobbitt, NOWHERE MAN might
be the best film ever made about a guy who gets his dick cut off. Tim
McCann's witty video cheapster takes its squirmy premise both at face
value and as deadpan metaphor, folding high-trash theatrics and psychosexual
angst into a sly study of male ego and insecurity. Conrad (Michael Rodrick),
first seen staggering out of a Nyack hospital, is desperately searching
for his fiancée, Jennifer (B-movie scream queen Debbie Rochon),
who, it turns out, is in possession of his penis, apparently severed
during a domestic dispute. Alternating between Conrad's quest to reattach
his member and the buildup to the traumatic snip, NOWHERE MAN systematically
complicates viewer sympathies. Jennifer turned castrating bitch because
of Conrad's abusive rejection, itself the result of a less literal emasculation—the
discovery of an XXX movie she once starred in, alongside black porn
legend Daddy Mac (porn star Frank Olivier). McCann, who directed the
shrewd indie mindfuck Revolution #9 (and obviously loves the Beatles),
is a skillfully precise low-budget operator. The scrappy look and in-joke
casting acknowledge a schlock-flick lineage (Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman
cameos as the doctor bearing bad news), and NOWHERE MAN, despite a tossed-off
ending, is a compulsive bit of meta-exploitation." |
Cinewomen
NY presents Tues June 27 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. |
a program of short films presented by the Cinewomen, NY filmmaker group Orange
Bow Yesterday
in Rwanda Vendetta
Song Working against time, political instability and facing possible retribution for her investigation, Eylem follows a series of word-of-mouth clues, venturing from village to village as she pieces together Guzide's final days and closes in on the identity of her killer. Amazingly, Vendetta Song brings Eylem face to face with one of the men she suspects is her aunt's murderer. It is 30 years later. Can the vendetta finally be laid to rest? |
Sex, Art, and Psychology ROOM (dir. Kyle Henry, 80 mins, 2005) Weds June
28 7pm - buy
tix IFP and Joseph Campbell Foundation members get member rate tickets Thurs June
29 9pm - buy
tix IFP and Joseph Campbell Foundation members get member rate tickets Fri June 30
9pm - buy
tix |
Cannes
Film Festival, Director's Fortnight “Superbly
directed and acted…” “Deeply
compelling…”
A selection at Cannes (Director's Fortnight) and Sundance in 2005, ROOM is the disturbing, surreal story of an overworked Texas woman who cracks under the economic and psychological pressure of supporting her family. Julia (Cyndi Williams, in a stunning, gutsy performance) is barely making ends meet by working at the Paradise Bingo Hall in Houston when she begins having visions of a stark, bleak, mysterious industrial room, accompanied by intense headaches and disturbing blackouts. After waking up from a minor car accident, she robs her employer, abandons her family, grabs a plane, and arrives on the streets of New York City in search of the room itself, haunted by psychic visions that continue to drive her to extreme acts. Austin-based filmmaker Kyle Henry’s first fiction feature, ROOM is a dismal portrait of George Bush's America that evokes the bleak vibe of Todd Haynes' SAFE and the splintered surrealism of FIGHT CLUB. Executive produced by Jim McKay (OUR SONG, EVERYDAY PEOPLE, ANGEL) and musician Michael Stipe. ROOM was nominated for two 2006 Independent Spirit Awards, for Best Lead Actress (Cyndi Williams) and the John Cassavetes Award. Executive Produced by Jim McKay (OUR SONG, EVERYDAY PEOPLE, ANGEL) and Michael Stipe (REM) of C-Hundred Film Corp. Produced by The 7th Floor (MANITO, BLACKBALLED: THE BOBBY DUKES STORY, TWENTYNINE PALMS, CRY FUNNY HAPPY). |
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(dir. John Ford, 93 mins, 1935) Thurs Jun 29 7pm - buy tix
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Edward G. Robinson and Jean Arthur directed by John Ford Although
John Ford's films often included comic elements, he made few that were
pure comedies--THE WHOLE TOWN'S TALKING, starring Edward G. Robinson as
obsequious hardware-store clerk Arthur Jones, is one of them. A man of
almost appallingly regular habits, Arthur hasn't been late for work in
years. Although he has a long-standing crush on his lively coworker Wilhelmina
"Bill" Clark (Jean Arthur), he's unable to tell her how he feels.
While he's having lunch one day, he's arrested by police who mistake him
for mob boss Killer Manion. After his employer clears him, the police
give Arthur a pass identifying him as the non-Killer. As a gimmick, a
newspaper hires the clerk to write a series of articles speculating about
his unruly doppelgänger. The gangster reads the piece, learns about
the pass, and realizes how convenient such a document could be. He pays
the terrified Arthur a visit, extracting the pass and insisting the newspaper
series be devoted to his past exploits before departing for a night of
the usual mayhem. Robinson's career received a huge boost from this deliciously
humorous film, which toys amusingly with his gangster iconography. Not
all is comic, however, as Ford filters the Victorian Jekyll-and-Hyde notion
of a split self into his narrative to suggest Jones's evil twin corresponds
to the darker corridors of the meek clerk's unconscious mind. |
Pioneer Theater
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