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East
3rd Street, between Avenues A and B (closer to A) * New York City Inside
the Pioneer (blog) |
| AUGUST
2006 |
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HOW DO I LOOK (dir. Wolfgang Busch, 80 mins, 2006) Tues Aug 1 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. |
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THE OUTSIDER (dir. Nicholas Jarecki, 85 mins, 2005) Weds Aug 2 6:30pm - buy tix Nicholas Jarecki, James Toback, and Stu VanAirsdale in person! |
"****
Riveting... Shows the highs and lows of making films outside the system."
"One
of the great documentaries about filmmaking; you'd compare it to HEARTS
OF DARKNESS. . ." Few
American filmmakers of the last 30 years have navigated in and out of
the mainstream as fearlessly as James Toback ( Fingers, Exposed, Black
and White), whose life and work provides the basis for Nicholas Jarecki's
documentary The Outsider. Half making-of documentary and half all-access
biography, The Outsider views Toback through the oversexed, intellectualized,
cosmopolitan prism of his most recent film, When Will I Be Loved--a
spectrum that reflects Toback's compulsions as effectively as it challenges
his colleagues to consider their own. |
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VACATIONLAND (dir. Todd Verow, 104 mins, 2006) Weds
Aug 2 9pm - buy
tix |
Life in picturesque Bangor, Maine, is complicated for Joe, a blisteringly sexy high school senior. Living with his single mother and older sister in a rough housing project, Joe takes a job as a live-in model for Victor, an artist, to save money for art school. While Joe dreams of leaving town, his friend Andrew, a hunky football star and avid shoplifter, is going nowhere. Joe and Andrew, stealing moments here and there from time with their girlfriends, begin to fall in love. When they encounter a shady figure from Joe's past at a local gay bar, the youths decide they must exact revenge so Joe may finally feel free to leave Bangor. This latest unflinching work from Todd Verow (FRISK, ANONYMOUS), semi-autobiographical and deeply personal, questions which points in a person's history will form facets of his identity. |
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? (dir. Rico Speight, 77 mins, 2005) Thurs Aug 3 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
universal order of human affairs is at the dawn of profound change -
globalization has come to mean different things to different people,
WHERE ARE THEY NOW is a welcomed work that helps us understand our global
interdependency…it is a wonderful work." "Honest,
direct, and hard-hitting, WHERE ARE THEY NOW? ought to be mandatory
viewing for anyone interested in contemporary black youth culture globally. One
cannot possibly see this film and not be moved." WHERE ARE THEY NOW?, a new documentary feature on African American and Black South African 'twentysomethings,' reframes the social and political identities of hip-hop generation. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? re-visits the parallel lives of the sixteen remarkable young people first introduced during South Africa's historic transition from apartheid to democracy in the documentary WHO'S GONNA TAKE THE WEIGHT?, which presented poignant portrayals of African American and Black South African sixteen to nineteen year olds, comparing their lives and views and presenting their unique perspectives on South Africa's new democracy. WHERE ARE THEY NOW?, the new stand-alone sequel, spotlights a range of touchy topics, from race to class, to electoral politics, to ebonics and pimp culture, to the issue of opportunities for young people of color in the era of global capitalism. As in the first installment, music is an integral element of the film's style and substance. The conscious rhymes of hip hop MC Talib Kweli filmed live during his 2001 South Africa tour, provide a musical motif for the sequel. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? also introduces to US audiences, the new South African phenomenon of Kwaito, the authentic street music of township youth, which has been referred to as the South African equivalent of hip-hop. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? looks behind the headlines to highlight the critical issues at home and abroad from a unique young adult perspective. In its entirety, WHERE ARE THEY NOW? goes to the core of popular youth culture, uncovering the volatile mix of music, fashion, political apathy, social awareness and risk taking behavior encompassed in the lives of young people everywhere. Edgy and urban, the spunky sequel integrates the sensibility of twentysomethings into a visual tapestry of South African and African American young people speaking forcefully to the issues of their times. |
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A LIFE WITHOUT PAIN (dir. Melody Gilbert, 73 mins, 2005) Fri Aug 4 7pm - buy tix |
What happens when a person can't feel pain? A LIFE WITHOUT PAIN is a documentary that delves into the day-to-day lives of three children who literally can't feel pain. As filmmaker Melody Gilbert follows these families coping with this enormous challenge, we learn that pain is really a gift that no one wants, but none of us can do without. "Only
34 other Americans are living with this same genetic medical mystery." |
Sex, Art, and Psychology GOING UNDER (dir. Eric Werthman, 98 mins, 2004, 35mm print) 18 AND OVER
ONLY. |
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
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DR.
STRANGELOVE (dir. Stanley Kubrick, 93 mins, 1964) 35mm print |
MEMBERS OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION ADMITTED FREE "The most
shattering sick joke I've ever come across." "It's
one of the greatest - and undoubtably the most hilarious - antiwar statements
ever put to film. See it before the world ends." DR.
STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB is Stanley
Kubrick's Cold War masterpiece. Based on the novel RED ALERT by Peter
George, the film is set at the height of the tensions between Russia and
the United States, when all it would take to destroy the world was one
push of a button. And General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) is just
the man to do it. |
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Chicago City Limits First Sundays Comedy Films First Sundays Sun August
6 7pm - 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. Hosted by the illustrious Jay Stern and Victor Varnado. |
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Fangoria presents 39: (dir. Gary Sherman, 96 mins, 2006) Screening from professional quality digital video Mon Aug 7 6:30pm - 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. "You
have probably guessed I'm sort of a video fanatic. . .Maybe video maniac's
a better way to put it. . .I've shot a lot of tape. All my killings.
Want to see some?" |
"Sick!
Really sick!... And I loved it!"
- Guillermo del Toro, film director "Incredibly
intense... Well written... Beautifully directed..." "The style
of this film will be copied for years."
Carroll McKane's DVcams have recorded the deaths of his 36 past victims. His killing room, a makeshift studio, is the set for the murders of two more victims and the torture of a forensic psychiatrist, destined to be his biographer and the killer of his final victim... number 39. In this dark and disturbing film by veteran horror director Gary Sherman (DEATH LINE, DEAD & BURIED), Carroll McKane is a man obsessed with new media. This obsession began as a way to document another of his obsessions, "changing things". For the past ten years, in front of his DVcams, this serial killer has "changed" thirty-six human beings into "debris." Carroll has recently reached a new plateau in his life, one that is common to the pathology of most serial murderers, the "monster within" has to become his ultimate victim. In almost all cases, these individuals either try to get caught, like BTK most recently in Wichita, Kansas, or commit suicide, as is theorized to explain the sudden disappearance of such a notorious killer as Jack the Ripper. But McKane is much too egocentric to either purposely make mistakes or face the possibility of becoming an unidentified, nameless and faceless footnote in criminal history. By using his self-professed skills as a filmmaker, he is making an autobiographical film to tell the world about his crimes and document his demise. He has converted his horrific killing room and crematorium into a makeshift studio complete with lighting and numerous surveillance cameras. Here he records the murders of two more innocent victims and the torture of a prominent forensic psychiatrist he has kidnapped. Carroll's goal is to make the doctor his biographer as well as force him to be the killer of his final victim: number 39. |
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RESILIENCE (dir. Paul Bojack, 96 mins, 2006) Tues Aug
8 7pm - buy
tix This is a Tuesdays@7 program. Every Tuesday at 7pm features special guests presenting their film, and is followed by a beer and pizza reception for ticket holders. |
In a stark Los Angeles motel room, a man named jimmy begins a series of unusual encounters with a call girl. Across town, in the Rampart district, Jimmy's uncle -- Hodge -- struggles to get by in a dank, run-down flat. When Jimmy tries to help his uncle, he unearths a bitter feud between Hodge and his son. Jimmy sets out to ease the hostility between them but in the process, finds himself in a position to prevent one of their murders. What seems like an easy decision turns into an intense moral dilemma when Jimmy realizes he is being dragged down by these men and their rage, with no end in sight. Prevent the murder and Jimmy's trouble's continue; allow the murder and he returns to his normal life. Darkly funny, gritty and harrowing, Resilience takes you into the life of a man torn between adversity and cruelty. |
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BLACK-EYED GIRL (dir. Taylor Toole, 60 mins, 2006) Weds Aug 9 7pm - buy tix |
Transitioning into manhood is proving difficult for Ezra, an irresponsible young carpenter on the island Martha’s Vineyard. His customers don’t respect him and he’s lost the mother of his child to an equally unimpressed new boyfriend. In an attempt to win back his family by making his ex jealous, Ezra strikes up a relationship with Naomi, a mysterious out of towner who appears to be vacationing alone. His plan shows signs of weakness when he begins to develop real feelings for Naomi. Then without warning, two scorned men from Naomi’s past show up with very specific agendas. Ezra’s world is turned upside down as violence erupts and the lives of those he cares for most are put on the line. |
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SATELLITE (dir. Jeff Winner, 100 mins, 2004) Weds
Aug 9 9pm - buy
tix |
"If
there's a better independent date movie out there right now, I haven't
seen it." "Captivating!
Touches a chord." Karl Geary (HAMLET, MIMIC:SENTINEL,HAPPY HERE & NOW) and newcomer Stephanie Szostak (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA) star in SATELLITE from writer, director Jeff Winner (YOU ARE HERE*). An edgy and provocative fable of love reminiscent of BONNIE & CLYDE and TRUE ROMANCE. In this fairy tale thrill ride, Kevin and Ro challenge each other to find meaning in their lives by daring one another to do the things they're most afraid of. They quit their jobs, sell their possessions and steal to make ends meet. As they get closer, their dares, which at first brought them together, threaten to destroy their relationship. A poignant closure brings the film full circle. SATELLITE also stars Pell James (UNDISCOVERED, BROKEN FLOWERS, David Fincher's ZODIAC) and features the music of indie rock sensation Calla ("#1 Band You Need to Know" - Alternative Press). |
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DEEPER THAN Y (dir. Ilona Siller, 60 mins, 2005) Fri Aug
11 7pm - SOLD OUT |
“Fascinating
and richly layered.” “Beautiful
and inspiring movie. . .” “DEEPER
THAN Y is modern-day poetry about being older.” DEEPER THAN Y is a feature length, humorous and touching documentary questioning eight eccentric elderly New Yorkers about relationships, politics, careers, and aging, while they faithfully attend the same water exercise class at the Vanderbilt YMCA. Which one of them will you be at 80? Will you spend your days in “God’s waiting room”, an airless senior community, or embrace an unpredictable varied life in New York City? Will you be writing a script for Steven Spielberg or calculating the exact tip after your early bird special? Will you still slow dance with your wife or sleep in separate bedrooms? After the director of the film taught their water exercise class for two years, her elderly students opened up to her about relationships, pasts, politics, careers, and their insecurities about aging. The result is DEEPER THAN Y, an enlightening, heartfelt, and humorous journey through the lives of seven people, many of whom you might have passed on the street without giving a second look, people who not only impact the realities, fragilities, and humor of old age but also share their enduring hope for human possibility. |
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TAXI DRIVER (dir. Martin Scorsese, 113 mins, 1976) 35mm print |
"Perhaps
the most formally ravishing-as well as the most morally and ideologically
problematic-film ever directed by Martin Scorsese, the 1976 Taxi Driver
remains a disturbing landmark for the kind of voluptuous doublethink it
helped ratify." This
intense film, a hallmark of 1970s filmmaking, graphically depicts the
tragic consequences of urban alienation when a New York City taxi driver
goes on a murderous rampage against the pitiable denizens inhabiting the
city's underbelly. For psychotic, pistol-packing Vietnam vet Travis Bickle
(Robert De Niro), New York City seems like a circle of hell. Driving his
cab each night through the bleak Manhattan streets, Bickle observes with
fanatical loathing the sleazy lowlifes who comprise most of his fares.
By day he haunts the porno theaters of 42nd Street, taking his cues from
the violent vision of life portrayed in these movies. As badly as Travis
wants to connect with the people around him--including Betsy (Cybill Shepherd),
a lovely blonde campaign worker, and Iris (Jodie Foster), a prepubescent
prostitute he tries to save--his attempts are thwarted and his pent-up
rage grows, turning him into a Mohawk-wearing walking time bomb. Scorcese
fills Paul Schrader's screenplay with a tragic realism, brilliantly capturing
the muck and grime of New York City. De Niro, playing the fragile hero,
steps so deep inside his role that the results are deeply frightening.
Bernard Herrmann's haunting score--which turned out to be his last--completes
the urban nightmare. |
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THE COLOR OF OLIVES (dir. Carolina Rivas, 97 mins, 2006) Sat Aug 12 7pm - buy tix |
"The
most peaceful documentary ever to arrive from a war zone. . .a film
about forbearance and isolation and near-mystical connection to the
land." "Reminds
us of the eloquence of understatement." From Mexican director Carolina Rivas and cinematographer Daoud Sarhandi comes this elegant and visually breathtaking new film about the Palestinian experience. The Amer family lives surrounded by the infamous West Bank Wall, where their daily lives are dominated by electrified fences, locked gates, and a constant swarm of armed soldiers. This unique and intimate documentary shares their private world, allowing a glimpse of the constant struggles and the small, endearing details that sustain them. THE COLOR OF OLIVES is an artistic and beautifully affecting reflection on the effects of racial segregation, the meaning of borders and the absurdity of war.
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(dir. Scott Storm, 88 mins, 2006) Sun Aug 13 6:30pm - 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. |
In Ten
Minutes, Everything Can Change A jet-lagged Larry Taylor awakens to find two strangers in his bedroom, and over the next ten minutes, will experience the most terrifying and possibly final moments of his life. But who these strangers are, and what they want, can only be determined by events occuring elsewhere and at the same time. we relive those same ten minutes through the eyes of those connected to what is not a simple home invasion, and with each person, find ourselves propelled closer to the truth. |
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TROMEO AND JULIET (dir. Lloyd Kaufman, 137 mins, 1996) Mon Aug 14 6:30pm - 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. |
Lloyd
Kaufman, Debbie Rochon, and many others in person!
A surprisingly moving retelling of the Bard’s famous romantic tragedy in fine Troma fashion, complete with a Manhattan setting, gratuitous violence, body-piercing, and a hard-driving alternative soundtrack. Winner of the Raindance Audience Award. “Exhilarating!” “Not
Just For Troma Junkies: Tromeo & Juliet is Sexy, Silly, Sweet
and Surreal!” “‘Body
piercing, kinky sex, dismemberment. . .the things that made Shakespeare
great!’ Well, they have a point. I’ll be interested in
seeing that.” |
|
Sunday Shorts The Marie Losier Show! Marie
Presents: Tues Aug 15 7pm - buy tix This is a Tuesdays@7 program. Every Tuesday at 7pm features special guests presenting their film, and is followed by a beer and pizza reception for ticket holders.
|
Franco-American filmmaker, programmer, and goofball Marie Losier presents a torrent of films made by her own friends and enemies! All titles showing from video Olympics,
track field The Existentialist
Sex Without
Glasses Cruel Frederick Food Chain Haunted MOVIE MEMO |
|
(dir. Michael
Winterbottom Weds
Aug 16 7pm - buy
tix
|
"A
wrenching and dismaying account of cruelty and bureaucratic indifference." "Effectively
grueling. Less narrative than experiential in its bias, THE ROAD TO
GUANTANAMO details the 24-7 'processing' of these prisoners, replete
with beatings, stompings, sensory bombardment, cage-like cells, shackles,
and endless, fruitless interrogations. . . one of the most oppressive
accounts of life in a military detention." A riveting docu-drama that serves as a stinging indictment of U.S. military "justice" in an era of ever-increasing scrutiny The post-9/11 climate found the U.S. government resorting to many unorthodox methods to quash the perceived threat from further terrorist attacks. None was more controversial or more headline-grabbing than the detainment camp set up in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which was constructed to imprison and interrogate Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives captured by U.S. soldiers. Prolific British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom (9 SONGS) turns his cameras on the camp with this true story of three innocent British 20-something Muslims who were captured and held at Guantanamo for two years. Winterbottom cleverly marries extensive interview footage with the three men--Asif Iqbal, Ruhel Ahmed, and Shafiq Rasifknown, collectively known as the Tipton Three--with nerve-jarring reconstructive footage of what happened to them. After
traveling to Pakistan for a wedding, the three men set out on an intrepid
exploration of Afghanistan, only to find themselves captured by U.S.
forces who mistook them for members of the Taliban/Al-Qaeda. The footage
of the capture is intense and terrifying, with Winterbottom pulling
some fearsome acting from his leads. But even that pales next to the
reconstruction of their period in Guantanamo, where the men are stripped
of their humanity and treated to brutal inquisition and torture methods,
many of which seem untested and experimental in nature. Sometimes it's
difficult to believe that one human being could treat another this way,
until Winterbottom neatly intersperses more timely reminders from his
interviews with the men themselves, adding further revelations to the
shocking scenes the cast reenacts. Winterbottom mostly shoots on digital
video throughout, and the gloomy, grainy texture of the film is perfectly
used as a mirror of the personal hell these three men went through.
Possibly Winterbottom's best film yet, THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO is must-see
cinema that is likely to leave its audience shaking with rage and despair.
|
Sex, Art, and Psychology GOING UNDER (dir. Eric Werthman, 98 mins, 2004, 35mm print) 18 AND OVER
ONLY. |
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. Samuel Fuller, 99 mins, 1961) 35mm print |
Directed by Samuel Fuller In
the Jacobean revenge drama UNDERWORLD, U.S.A., people must use violent
means to persevere or risk falling prey to the criminal element. This
is exactly the dilemma faced by Tolly. After his father is gunned down
by four thugs, Tolly spends time in an orphanage. There he meets other
problem children and learns how to survive. Ultimately his life degenerates
into a series of trips in and out of jail cells. But these experiences
at least teach him how to thrive amid the living urban debris of gangsters,
on-the-take cops, and fleeting women. He still has one big score to settle,
though. It seems the four men who murdered his father currently have cushy
positions within the gangland hierarchy. Now Tolly has a bullet reserved
for each killer. |
|
EASY RIDER (dir. Dennis Hopper, 90 mins, 1969) 35mm print Sat Aug 19 10:45pm
- buy tix |
A landmark in film history, EASY RIDER blew the studio doors open for more young directors than any film before or since, helping to create the wide-open climate that would lead to the production of many outstanding films in the 1970s. As its director, Dennis Hopper is usually given the lion's share of credit for the film's success, but the revelations of time suggest that the contributions of the late Terry Southern and, to some degree, Jack Nicholson have endowed the film with much of its residual power. Starring
Peter Fonda as Wyatt (alias Captain America) and Hopper as Billy, it traces
the hippie duo's adventures as they mount their seriously chopped hogs
on a journey to find the real America en route to Mardi Gras. In Arizona,
they visit a commune whose members are having a tough time, and in a small
Texas town they're jailed for joining a parade. But they're quickly sprung
by an ACLU lawyer, the quirky, hard-drinking George Hanson (Jack Nicholson),
who accepts their offer to join them on the trip to New Orleans, eager
to visit the best whorehouse in the South. EASY RIDER accurately reflects
the tensions and hostilities of the period, Laszlo Kovacs's photography
is superb, Nicholson is exceptional in his breakthrough role--and the
startling, stunning ending is a shocker. |
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Joe's Shorts Sun Aug 20 7pm - buy tix Pioneer G.M. Joe Ferrelli hosts an extravagant evening of short films, many of them local, some strange, some not strange, all of them terrific! Free for Pioneer Members who pick tickets up before 6:45pm. At 6:45 all remaining tickets will be put on sale. Prizes will be awarded based on audience ballot. First prize will be a $25.00 Two Boots Gift Certificate and 2nd prize will be 2 pairs of Pioneer passes, and third prize will be a pair of Pioneer passes. For participating in this event, each filmmaker will receive complimentary Pioneer Membership for a year.
|
Freedom
of Speech on Trial–Part 1: Geoffrey Blank and the No Police
State Coalition (22 minutes) Cabalerno
(5 min) Directed By: Jarrah Gurrie Brooklyn:
Among the Ruins (13:58 minutes) Directed by: Suzanne Wasserman Times
Square (4 minutes) Directed by Muriel Magenta The
Séance (7 minutes) Directed By: Arun Vaidyanathan ALL
THIS BLUES (15 minutes) Directed By: Sara Newens |
|
DISORDER (dir. Jack Thomas Smith, 103 mins, 2006) Mon Aug
21 6:30pm - SOLD OUT 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. |
Fox Trail Productions presents this chilling psychological thriller written and directed by Jack Thomas Smith. When David Randall (Darren Kendrick) was sent away for a brutal double murder, his claims of innocence and description of a masked killer went ignored. Now, accompanied by the horrific memory of that night, David, a medicated schizophrenic, has returned home, hoping for a new life. But his attempt is failing. The deadly masked figure from David's past has returned. And when David believes that his friend and co-worker, Melissa (Lauren Seikaly), is in danger, he turns to his psychiatrist (Sean Eager) and the local sheriff (Alan Samulski) for help. But their suspicions grow, fearing that David has stopped taking his medication and has slipped into a delusional state. Is David a threat to Melissa and everyone around her? Or does the killer really exist, and is David being set up once again? |
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an evening of films from WOMEN MAKE MOVIES Tues Aug 22 7pm - buy tix This is a Tuesdays@7 program. 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 In partnership with CineWomen NY, Women Make Movies presents a rare screening of films from our archives, including a classic short from pioneering filmmaker Maya Deren; tales of teenage love from Pixelvision auteur Sadie Benning; and three more entertaining shorts on self-image and identity. Women Make Movies is the largest distributor of films by and about women, and is a leading nonprofit organization serving both users and makers of independent women’s film and media. Join WMM staff for a Q&A about Women Make Movies afterwards. Real
Indian (Malinda Maynor, 7 minutes) My
Filmmaking, My Life (Patricia Diaz, 30 minutes) Hair
Piece (Ayoka Chenzira, 10 minutes) Me
and Rubyfruit Program (Sadie Benning, 18 minutes) A
Study in Choreography for the Camera (Maya Deren, 3 minutes) Find
out more about… |
|
internet video in person Exciting stuff is happening in internet video, including among videomakers based in New York City. Certainly, distribution is part of that, in how the internet facilitates immediate and relatively democratic distribution. But internet videomakers are also doing exciting things in representation, collaboration, and reception. Charlene Rule of ScratchVideo.tv, for example, is making an online video journal that is a beautiful and very nuanced poetic diary. ThePan.org nurtures a fascinating, far flung community of videomakers. TheBurg.tv, Man-Hole, and Young American Bodies are all flirting with different permutations on the serial. NYCSR.org approaches civic activism, and TurnHere.com is a sort of travelogue. It goes on and on. In this context we very proudly present “Vloggers Unite!: Internet Video in Person,” a showcase of some very fine work from videomakers currently working primarily in the online video format. Most of these videomakers are local; this is not a global, comprehensive survey. By working with local videomakers, we can present the human and the technical together, and make your experience more exciting than if you simply downloaded the videos. Also, of course, our screen is bigger than your computer or your handheld device, and the resolution is better than a downloaded video. The feature film LOL anchors the “Vloggers Unite!” program in a theatrical run. LOL wasn't made of internet video, though some is integrated. A funny yet prickly comedy, LOL features a group of young men who communicate much better via internet video, text messaging, instant messaging, email, and on and on, than they can face to face. Yet the people behind this film, too, will be at the theater – and you can see for yourself how well they respond to you when they're not just in their fictional mode. Presented with thanks to Kathleen Grace (TheBurg.tv), Charlene Rule (ScratchVideo.tv), Jeffrey Max, Joe Swanberg (LOL / Nerve.com), Mark Harris (Man-Hole), Mica Scalin (ThePan.org), Clarence Eckerson and Jacqueline Arasi (NYCSR.org), Chuck Olsen (Blogumentary), Amanda Congdon and Mario Librandi, Andrew Baron (Rocketboom.com), Kelly Duane (TurnHere.com), Tom Tenney (ToxicPop.com), and many others. Much of the Vloggers Unite! program has now passed. To see the complete list of included events, click here. |
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TheBurg.TV Featuring the world premiere of episode 5! Weds Aug 23 7pm - buy tix |
"Manhattan
is for tools." The smart-asses behind internet sensation "theBurg.tv" trek over the L Train from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to screen episodes and hopefully some out takes from their wildly popular series, and then educate us about life in the Burg. The Burg is an internet sitcom project in twelve-episode seasons, debuting in June 2006 at www.theburg.tv. The Burg’s creators are producer-director Kathleen Grace and screenwriter Thom Woodley. It follows the antics of five twentysomethings living in the neo-hipster capital of the world, the neighborhood of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Trust fund kids pretending to be artists, young movie stars pretending to be regular people, artists, activists and writers pretending to be able to live completely off of credit cards… this once down-and-out neighborhood is now a bonafide scene, and chock full of people pretending to be something else. One thing no one can make up: how downright funny the place is. Each ten-to-fifteen minute episode of The Burg sees its five central characters stumble upon some foolhardy plan, some ridiculous new trend, or some half-baked idea that manages to get the better of them. The `anti-Friends’, The Burg’s edgy, bordering-on-surreal humor of shows like Arrested Development and Family Guy combine with the likable goofiness of modern classics like Saved by the Bell to create a sense of humor irresistable to all but the most jaded hipsters. |
| Vloggers
Unite! LOL (dir. Joe Swanberg, 81 mins, 2006) Weds
Aug 23 9pm - buy
tix |
"LOL
is a stunning mirror on the ways we say things without using words.
[Swanberg] reveals himself to be one of the most emotionally astute
young filmmakers working today." "Go
see this movie! It's funny and original. . .Joe Swanberg gets the most
real, honest performances we've seen since the Duplass Brothers." ".
. .hilarious, hilariously sad, and incredibly prescient." Alex, Tim, and Chris view the women in their lives through the dimensions of a computer screen or the lens of a camera-phone, as they struggle to balance their online fantasies and addictions with the demands of real life. This up-to-the-second feature intimately explores masculinity in the new millennium, a time when young men are trying to decipher the mixed messages of modern relationships and technology. Featuring a nonprofessional cast, video contributions from people all over the world, and original music by lead actor Kevin Bewersdorf, this funny and thoughtful film offers an honest portrait of how the latest tools of communication can either help us click or turn us off. |
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Scratchvideo.TV Fri Aug 25 7pm - buy tix Charlene Rule in person!
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Charlene Rule, the videomaker behind ScratchVideo.TV, the popular online "vlog" (video blog), returns to the Pioneer for another presentation of her beautiful, magnificent short videos. This program presents a compilation of work derived from the videoblog created by Charlene Rule. The website is composed of a wide range of short videos, accompanied by text, that contain fragments, sketches, and moments that traverse the gamut of everyday life. Rule shoots and edits a new short video every few days and has been doing so for over a year now. By making aspects of her life into poetic visual shorts, Rule has composed a cumulative novella of unfinished thoughts that feel more raw, subversive, and alive than a completed autobiography. |
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Jeffrey Max and FatalFarm.com Fri Aug 25 11pm - buy tix Jeffrey Max in person! |
Jeffrey Max- the good-natured and slightly disturbed Pioneer Projectionist - presents an evening of short internet films and other audiovisual anomalies, many of them drawn from his work at FatalFarm.com In this show, we also hope to premiere the world's first ever performance of "Jeffrey-oke." ** Jeffrey is also Editor of the Pioneer's MySpace blog, featuring "Get to Know the Pioneer," which presents a parallel Pioneer universe populated by thousands of non-existent Pioneer employees and customers. |
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Nerve.com presents Young Sat Aug 26 6:30pm - buy tix Joe Swanberg & others in person! |
YOUNG AMERICAN BODIES is an indie soap opera created for Nerve.com. Maggie (Mollie Leibovitz) makes a New Year's resolution to stop being the girl that guys just want to sleep with and not date. Her roommate, Casey (Eve Rounds), tries to help her keep the resolution, but she has her own relationship issues to deal with. Ben (Joe Swanberg), their downstairs neighbor, is nursing a crush on Maggie that makes it impossible for him to consider a relationship with anyone else, while his roommate, Dia (Kris Williams), considers taking her relationship to the next level. Directors Swanberg and Williams previously collaborated on the feature film, KISSING ON THE MOUTH, and bring the same improvised style and frank sexuality to this project. |
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MAN-HOLE (dir. Mark Harris) Sat Aug 26 11pm - buy tix "It's
a great way to kill time at the airport." "Not
nearly as bad as I was afraid it was going to be." "The
best films a $45 production budget can buy." |
"Almost
as gay as INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE." Inspired
by the observation that TV sitcoms suck and that self-help information
about sex is filled with lies, Desperate Comfort Films proudly presents
Man-Hole, a series of 8 minute comedies designed tell the truth, the
whole truth and nothing but the truth. |
| Vloggers
Unite! ThePan.org: Sun Aug 27 7pm - buy tix |
The Public Address Network presents PANtasia Be amazed, confused and mildly annoyed by the wild arrangement of color and sound. PANasia will indulge your senses and confound better judgements. The team that brings you 15 minutes of the most excruciatingly entertaining video online each and every of the week at thepan.org, presents, for the first time ever on the big screen, a 50 minute extravaganza of oddity and awkwardness. PANtasia is a swirling mass of flashing lights and music. As if it emerged from the burbling beaker of a mad scientist, this concoction will leave no one unchanged. At least two of you in the crowd will find true love. The theatre makes no guarantees of your personal safety. No one shall leave disappointed, but none shall be untransformed. Edited by Chris Weagel, with Raymond M. Kristiansen, Daniel Liss, Erik Nelson, Adam Quirk, Mica Scalin, Noah Scalin, Melissa Sherwood, Chris Weagel. Viewers
unanimously agree: |
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Vloggers Unite! "Street
Films" Tues Aug 29 7pm - buy tix This is a Tuesdays@7 program. Every Tuesday at 7pm features special guests presenting their film, and is followed by a beer and pizza reception for ticket holders. |
Street Films of the NYC Streets Rennaisance (www.nycsr.org) attempt to enlighten New Yorkers to the inequality of our city's planning process for pedestrians and bicyclists and open space. Through this series of short films, NYCSR shows NYC communities' stuggles to fight for safer streets, how advocates are raising the public debate and how other cities do better than New York City. Clarence Eckerson, Jr. and others in person!
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(dir. Robert Bresson, 75 mins, 1959) |
"A
masterpiece." "Ultimately
inexplicable, this concentrated, elliptical, economical movie is an
experience that never loses its strangeness." Inspired
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s classic novel CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, Robert
Bresson’s PICKPOCKET tells the story of a man whose attraction
to crime threatens to condemn him forever--spiritually as well as physically.
Michel (Martin LaSalle), a young thief, is caught one afternoon, breaking
his dying mother's heart and shocking his friends. Fortunately for Michel,
the police inspector (Jean Pélégri) is unable to prosecute
him, but the implications nonetheless sour Michel’s once firm
social standing. Trying to straighten his ways, Michel is again drawn
to the criminal world, where under the tutelage of a master pickpocket
he reverts back to thievery. All the while, his conscience nags at him,
in the memory of his deceased mother as well as in the presence of Jeanne
(Marika Green), a beautiful young woman who shows compassion toward
the troubled Michel. Eventually, Michel’s lucky streak ends, forcing
him to find redemption in the most ironic of circumstances. Using his
now-legendary simplistic storytelling style, Bresson is able to elevate
his story to a supremely spiritual state, making for a stunningly powerful
viewing experience. Delivering their lines slowly and somberly, the
actors give the audience even more time for inner reflection, resulting
in a cinematic masterwork. |
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BLOGUMENTARY Weds Aug 30 9pm - buy tix |
".
. .slick and well-researched. (*** out of 4 stars)" "BLOGUMENTARY
is an entertaining and useful look at the blogosphere from the at times
very personal) perspective of a Minnesota documentarian who has definitely
grokked the medium." BLOGUMENTARY playfully explores the many ways blogs are influencing our media, our politics, and our relationships. Personal political writing is the foundation of our democracy, but mass media has reduced us to passive consumers instead of active citizens. Blogs return us to our roots and reengage us in democracy. Shot in candid first-person style by director Chuck Olsen, himself an avid blogger, the film features interviews with influential bloggers including Joe Trippi, Jeff Jarvis, Dan Gillmor, John Hinderaker, Jason Kottke and Meg Hourihan. From the rise of How |
