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East
3rd Street, between Avenues A and B (closer to A) * New York City * USA |
This
film is sponsored by BHFF™ SKIES
ABOVE THE LANDSCAPE (dir. Nenad Djuric, 85 mins, 2006) * 35mm print Fri Dec 1 7pm - buy tix |
Winner
– Special Jury Award, 10th Sofia International Film Festival Bosnian director Nenad Djuric’s postwar Bosnian comedy – a breezy, rib-tickling story about the clash of cultures – is a charmingly innocent love story set in a country that no longer wishes to dwell on recent atrocities. At the top of a rugged Bosnian mountain, young shepherd Mehmed patiently watches over his cows and lovingly carves the figure of a woman in a piece of wood. Almost on cue, a novice paraglider unexpectedly falls from the sky. Deborah speaks only French and he speaks only Bosnian, but they tentatively communicate, and she accepts the hospitality offered by Mehmed’s mom: a bed and a meal of “mountain-style” tripe. Love soon bridges the cultural divide, and the story develops into a series of hilarious escapades showcasing the beautiful landscape and local sounds. Director Nenad Djuric, producer Almir Sahinovic, and members of the cast will attend. |
|
EASY RIDER (dir. Dennis Hopper, 90 mins, 1969) 35mm print Fri Dec 1 11pm
- 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. |
|
AS
THE CALL, (dir. Keir Moreano, 71 mins, 2005) Sat Dec 2 7:15pm - buy tix |
"Surprising.
. . affecting. . .sees the slivers of hope that can still brighten the
darkest of places, that hears the echoes that occasionally respond to
the world's calls for help." "Moving
. . . polite but unflinching. . ." "Vietnam
has never been rendered so beautifully tragic as in Keir Moreano's AS
THE CALL, SO THE ECHO." AS THE CALL, SO THE ECHO tells the story of an American surgeon who volunteers in a poverty stricken hospital in central Vietnam. When a woman with a deadly cancer is presented to him, he must struggle to save her life, fighting to overcome a language barrier, limited equipment, and his deepest fears. |
|
DEATH OF A PRESIDENT (2006) (dir. Gabriel Range, 90 mins, 2006) Sat Dec 2 11pm
- buy
tix
not to be confused with DEATH OF A PRESIDENT (1978), written by Boleslaw Michalek and Jerzy Kawalerowicz, and directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz. |
"Easily
the most dangerous and breathtakingly original film I have encountered
this year." "Every
thinking person should see DEATH OF A PRESIDENT." "[Comes
at] these issues in a provocative way, but they're still worth discussing,
aren't they?" "I've
only seen the trailer, but from what I've seen I can tell you DEATH
OF A PRESIDENT is as tasteless as it is obscene." "I
think it's despicable." Winner of the International Critics' Prize at the Toronto Film Festival, DEATH OF A PRESIDENT is conceived as a fictional TV documentary broadcast in 2008, reflecting on a monstrously despicable and cataclysmic event: the assassination of President George W. Bush on October 19th, 2007. The "documentary" combines archival footage and carefully composed interviews, presented in a respectful and dignified manner. It is exciting and questioning, and it offers viewers a riveting story, creating a provocative political thriller that reveals larger truths. But the film doesn't advocate violence; rather, it shows the pernicious effects of violence The film opens with ferocious energyas frenetically edited archival footage thrusts us into a raging crowd of protesters, waiting for President Bush's procession. The President is portrayed as a sympathetic and likable man-beloved by those close to him and charming to his followers. As the President gives a patriotic speech inside a hotel, the demonstrators' fury increases to the breaking point. The tension mounts until the horrible instant where the President is assassinated. After the assassination, the film shifts into the style of a mystery, and follows the FBI's hunt for the assassin. All the suspects are interviewed except one-the Syrian man who is convicted and put on death row. There is much circumstantial evidence against him. But is he guilty of the crime? Or does his Middle Eastern origin provide a convenient excuse to label the death of the President as an Act of Terror? Director Gabriel Range previously used the device of a "retrospective documentary" in his celebrated 2003 film "The Day Britain Stopped," about a chain of events that led to a breakdown of the country's transport system and nearly a hundred fatalities. Both of these films have been acclaimed for the technical virtuosity with which they combine archival footage and filmed scenes to create disturbingly real visions of catastrophes. (text from Newmarket Films) |
|
Chicago City Limits First Sundays Comedy Films First Sundays Sun Dec
3 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. |
| Monster
Monday! SHEITAN (dir. Kim Chapiron, 90 mins, 2005) Showing from Digital Video Mon Dec 4 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 |
“[Vincent
Cassel] is magic on screen…an unpredictable mass of demented energy.” “Frankly
fantastic…needs to be seen to be believed.” “Deeply
disturbing…a brutal and horrifying experience.” On
Christmas Eve, a group of young guys meet two gorgeous girls who invite
them to spend the weekend in the country, where they meet Joseph (Vincent
Cassel, Ocean’s Twelve, Irreversible), a creepy, unkempt man whose
pregnant wife remains hidden in the large house. That evening, what
begins innocently as Christmas dinner turns into disturbing conversations
about sex, satanic possession, and incest. Joseph’s behavior becomes
increasingly erratic and the young friends realize their host has made
a pact with the devil and all hell is about to break loose. |
|
OPERATION LYSISTRATA (dir. Michael Patrick Kelly, 70 mins, 2006) Tues Dec
5 7pm The Tuesday, December 5 show 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. Sponsored by Harpoon India Pale Ale, Radeberger Pilsner, and Woodchuck Cider. |
In January 2003, Kathryn Blume and Sharron Bower, organized readings of the ancient Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, as a protest of the imminent preemptive war on Iraq. Originally conceived as a local event, however, over the course of only a few weeks, word of the Lysistrata Project quickly gained momentum and became a worldwide happening for peace. On March 3, 2003 nearly 1,100 simultaneous productions of Lysistrata were performed in 59 countries around the globe. OPERATION LYSISTRATA documents two women who transformed their individual aspirations for peace into a movement which allowed the global community to share in their vision, using grassroots activism, conflict resolution, community building and the role of art in a functioning democracy. The play and the Project are about strong women who organize others in their communities to bring an end to a senseless war (or to prevent the start of one in our modern case). Suggested donation $10 at the door---first come, first served. Judith Malina founder of The Living Theatre and Robin Eublind from Billionaires for Bush will do a brief Q&A with the director after the screening on the 5th. Actresses Kathleen Chalfant and Ellen McLaughlin will will do a brief Q&A with the director after the screening on the 13th. |
|
HERMANAS (dir. Julia Solomonoff, 88 mins, 2005) Weds
Dec 6 9pm - buy
tix |
"The
ghost of 1970s Argentina haunts 1980s Texas in “Hermanas”
(“Sisters”), a perceptive and beautifully acted drama from
the Argentine director Julia Solomonoff." Natalia and Elena Levin, two sisters forced to separate as teenagers in 1975, right after Natalia’s militant boyfriend Martin was disappeared by the military dictatorship, reunite in 1984 in a country foreign to both of them. Natalia, who has been living in exile in Spain, travels to visit Elena, who has just moved to suburban Texas with her husband and son. It’s been nine years since they’ve seen each other and Natalia arrives eager to rebuild the ties of family love that she has missed so much. When she finds out that Elena has brought along the manuscript of their deceased father’s last novel, Natalia reads it with anticipation that soon becomes trepidation – the unpublished novel unveils the story of their family during the dictatorship. Despite her painful memories of Argentina, she starts asking herself and everybody around her more and more questions about the past – and about Martin. Who betrayed him? What really happened to him? Unresolved questions and troubling memories force tension between the sisters as they attempt to face the truth about their past. Exploring the secrets and silences of a family and a society that lived under a decade of fear, complicity with the dictatorship and concealment, Solomonoff debuts with a compelling story in a film that shines with exceptional performances by Valeria Bertuccelli and Ingrid Rubio. |
|
Doors Art Foundation
presents CELESTIAL
BODY (dir. Lukas Nola, 85 mins, 2001) showing from DVD Thurs Dec 7 7pm - buy tix A Cultural Thursdays program. At 7pm on the First Thursday of the month, the Doors Art Foundation presents a film from Croatia. Other Thursdays at 7pm often feature programming presented with other ethnic and cultural groups. |
The Doors Art Foundation presents films from Croatia The story takes place during the war in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. During an exchange of prisoners, one of the prisoners with amnesia, Jakov Ribar, separates from his group and wanders off to a forest through a minefield. This unusual man full of kindness and innocence begins his journey through the horrors of war with a goal to help people. First he meets an isolated Croatian soldier Johnny, then Lucija, a teacher in an orphanage and home for mental patients, and then a commander who has returned to Croatia from the Foreign Legion. On his journey, Jakov participates in an air battle, encounters a group of prisoners kept by a Yugoslav army major and finally disappears in the endless armbands of the river Neretva.
|
|
(dir. Jacques
Tourneur, 95 mins, 1957) |
Dr. Holden (Dana Andrews), a psychologist knowledgeable about the occult, is dismayed by a friend's strange death, leading him to investigate a demon-worshipping cult in England. But the leader of that sect, Prof. Karswell (Niall MacGuinness), resists Holden's inquiries by calling up an actual demon to fight the good doctor. Can Holden hold his own in a battle of good vs. evil? Based on the M.R. James short story "Casting the Runes," the film is considered to be one of the true classics of the horror genre, relying heavily on the power of suggestion to create a heavy atmosphere of fear and dread. The famous, much-debated monster was added by the studio against Tourneur's wishes. This original, uncut version is known as NIGHT OF THE DEMON. [synopsis adapted from RottenTomatoes.com] |
|
DEATH OF A PRESIDENT (2006) (dir. Gabriel Range, 90 mins, 2006) Sat Dec 9 11pm
- buy
tix
not to be confused with DEATH OF A PRESIDENT (1978), written by Boleslaw Michalek and Jerzy Kawalerowicz, and directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz. |
"Easily
the most dangerous and breathtakingly original film I have encountered
this year." "Every
thinking person should see DEATH OF A PRESIDENT." "[Comes
at] these issues in a provocative way, but they're still worth discussing,
aren't they?" "I've
only seen the trailer, but from what I've seen I can tell you DEATH
OF A PRESIDENT is as tasteless as it is obscene." "I
think it's despicable." Winner of the International Critics' Prize at the Toronto Film Festival, DEATH OF A PRESIDENT is conceived as a fictional TV documentary broadcast in 2008, reflecting on a monstrously despicable and cataclysmic event: the assassination of President George W. Bush on October 19th, 2007. The "documentary" combines archival footage and carefully composed interviews, presented in a respectful and dignified manner. It is exciting and questioning, and it offers viewers a riveting story, creating a provocative political thriller that reveals larger truths. But the film doesn't advocate violence; rather, it shows the pernicious effects of violence The film opens with ferocious energyas frenetically edited archival footage thrusts us into a raging crowd of protesters, waiting for President Bush's procession. The President is portrayed as a sympathetic and likable man-beloved by those close to him and charming to his followers. As the President gives a patriotic speech inside a hotel, the demonstrators' fury increases to the breaking point. The tension mounts until the horrible instant where the President is assassinated. After the assassination, the film shifts into the style of a mystery, and follows the FBI's hunt for the assassin. All the suspects are interviewed except one-the Syrian man who is convicted and put on death row. There is much circumstantial evidence against him. But is he guilty of the crime? Or does his Middle Eastern origin provide a convenient excuse to label the death of the President as an Act of Terror? Director Gabriel Range previously used the device of a "retrospective documentary" in his celebrated 2003 film "The Day Britain Stopped," about a chain of events that led to a breakdown of the country's transport system and nearly a hundred fatalities. Both of these films have been acclaimed for the technical virtuosity with which they combine archival footage and filmed scenes to create disturbingly real visions of catastrophes. (text from Newmarket Films) |
|
ThePan.org: Sun Dec 10 7pm - buy tix filmmakers & special guests will attend! This
is a Sunday Shorts program. |
The Public Address Network presents : PANesthesia Are you experiencing heart palpitations, over stimulation, overachieving, overeating? Had too much television, too much text messaging, too much 'too much'? The PAN has just the thing for you. PANesthesia , a 58 minute presentation of short videos will sooth and relax even the most anxious of minds. Tonight we say - forget your troubles c'mon get happy! PANesthesia may not be the cure, but it will certainly numb the pain, at least momentarily.
The Public Address Network is a media arts collective which develops
and distributes short videos from artists and performers from all over
the world. ThePan.org video podcast
was featured, this year, in Wired magazine. |
|
EASY RIDER (dir. Dennis Hopper, 90 mins, 1969) 35mm print |
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. |
|
HAXAN (dir. Benjamin Christensen, 77 mins, 1922 / 1968) * 35mm print Mon Dec 11 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 |
featuring narration by William S. Burroughs An terrifying assault on the eyes, Benjamin Christensen's 1922 documentary is a landmark film of witchery, possession, and sadism. Originally released under the Swedish title HAXAN, this eerie, unusual film experience uses seven chapters to illustrate a history of myths and beliefs regarding the occult. The film uses animation, creature effects, nightmarish sets, reenactments of satanic rituals and intense sexual imagery to weave a tale that ranges from being darkly humorous to severely disturbing. The print we will show runs 77 minutes. Voice over narration by William S. Burroughs and a score by Jean-Luc Ponty in this cut only strengthened the film's status as a cult classic. [synopsis adapted from RottenTomatoes.com]
|
| Tuesdays
@ 7 Tues Dec 12 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. Sponsored by Harpoon India Pale Ale, Radeberger Pilsner, and Woodchuck Cider. |
A night of video art from Hunter College's graduate arts program. A selection of work created in the past year by current students and alumni. This is a special opportunity to see quality video that cuts across the spectrum of styles and techniques currently being employed and developed. |
|
OPERATION LYSISTRATA (dir. Michael Patrick Kelly, 70 mins, 2006) Weds Dec 13 6:45pm The Tuesday, December 5 show 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. Sponsored by Harpoon India Pale Ale, Radeberger Pilsner, and Woodchuck Cider. |
In January 2003, Kathryn Blume and Sharron Bower, organized readings of the ancient Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, as a protest of the imminent preemptive war on Iraq. Originally conceived as a local event, however, over the course of only a few weeks, word of the Lysistrata Project quickly gained momentum and became a worldwide happening for peace. On March 3, 2003 nearly 1,100 simultaneous productions of Lysistrata were performed in 59 countries around the globe. OPERATION LYSISTRATA documents two women who transformed their individual aspirations for peace into a movement which allowed the global community to share in their vision, using grassroots activism, conflict resolution, community building and the role of art in a functioning democracy. The play and the Project are about strong women who organize others in their communities to bring an end to a senseless war (or to prevent the start of one in our modern case). Suggested donation $10 at the door---first come, first served. Judith Malina founder of The Living Theatre and Robin Eublind from Billionaires for Bush will do a brief Q&A with the director after the screening on the 5th. Actresses Kathleen Chalfant and Ellen McLaughlin will will do a brief Q&A with the director after the screening on the 13th. |
 |
|
|
AUTOMATONS (dir. James Felix McKenney, 83 mins, 2006) Weds
Dec 13 9pm - buy
tix Thurs
Dec 14 9pm - buy
tix Fri Dec
15 9pm - buy
tix Sat
Dec 16 9pm - buy
tix Sun
Dec 17 9pm - buy
tix Mon
Dec 18 9pm - buy
tix Tues
Dec 19 9pm - buy
tix Weds
Dec 20 9pm - buy
tix Thurs
Dec 21 9pm - buy
tix Fri
Dec 22 9pm - buy
tix
|
"Mesmerizing
. . . Robot radness achieved!" "Ed
Wood, the notorious director of PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and GLEN OR
GLENDA, has risen from the dead and returned to filmmaking as James
Felix McKenney." "a
chiaroscuro love child of ERASERHEAD and TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE." "Enormously
endearing. . . " "AUTOMATONS
is a smart, thought-provoking tale equipped with the moody ambience
and intellectual integrity of a classic episode of THE OUTER LIMITS.
That's high praise indeed." ".
. . Has quite a bit of contemporary political commentary layered into
it — when the robots aren’t busy fighting explosively or
dismembering the last humans on a ravaged Earth . . . a kind of WAITING
FOR ROBOT, if Samuel Beckett’s tale had involved warring machinery." "unexpectedly
mesmerizing. . . as is true with all the great experiments in camp,
the frills don't matter when there are firm — and fascinating
— ideas behind them." "The
beautiful indie sci-fi film AUTOMATONS is a troubling vision of things
to come. Enough to make you think, worry and pray." "The
robot action is often much more riveting than similar scenes in movies
with many times the budget and technical sophistication." This
is how humanity dies.
A low-tech effects film about starring
Angus Scrimm, Brenda Cooney, Somewhere in the distant future, The Girl is alone. She is the last of her people, the others having died in a generations-long war that she continues to fight with the assistance of a group of antiquated robot helpers and soldiers. Her only connection to her long-dead people is a collection of recorded journal entries made by the scientist who cared for her as a baby. His is the only friendly human face she’s ever seen. The regular transmissions from her enemy leader are always filled with threats and taunts. The girl responds to these invasions by an attack of her own, carried out by her mechanical soldiers on the contaminated surface where no human can survive. Men started this war. The machines will finish it. |
|
|
|
Doors Art Foundation
presents I
LOVE YOU (dir. Dalibor Matanic, 83 mins, 2006) showing from 35mm Thurs Dec 14 7pm - buy tix A Cultural Thursdays program. At 7pm on the First Thursday of the month, the Doors Art Foundation presents a film from Croatia. Other Thursdays at 7pm often feature programming presented with other ethnic and cultural groups. |
The Doors Art Foundation presents films from Croatia Kreso has it all - youth, money and a gorgeous successful girlfriend. His job is the dream job of all Croats that have grown up in the era of new capitalism - he is a copywriter in a marketing agency. At the same time, Kreso also has nothing. He and his girlfriend are weighed down by work and they do not spend enough time with each other, while his friends, a once innocent group of high school students, are now a bunch of useless dudes in frenzied search of loose women, alcohol and drugs. One day, after having committed a drunk-driving accident that had lead to one woman’s death, and after receiving a blood transfusion, Kreso finds out that he is HIV- infected. His life changes overnight. His girlfriend leaves him, he is fired from his job and his friends abandon him. Kreso is left all alone and begins to take revenge. |
|
THE WITCHMAKER (dir. William O. Brown, 97 mins, 1969) showing from 35mm Fri Dec 15 10:45pm - buy tix |
THEIR FORM IS HUMAN BUT THEY HAVE CROSSED OVER. IS THIS SEX AFTER DEATH? THE WITCHMAKER - From the people that brought you A BOY AND HIS DOG and BROTHERHOOD OF SATAN comes this obscure Witchcraft shocker. A paranormal researcher takes a group of people deep into bayou country which also happens to be the setting for several ritualistic murders. Luther the Berserk is loose in the Louisiana bayou. He is convening the spirits of evil. He is seeking lovely female flesh. |
|
(dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 101 mins, 2006) showing from 35mm |
Winner of the prestigious Fipresci Award at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, CLIMATES is internationally acclaimed writer-director Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s sublime follow-up to his Cannes multi-award winner DISTANT. Beautifully drawn and meticulously observed, the film vividly recalls the cinema of Italian master Michelangelo Antonioni with its poetic use of landscape and the incisive, exquisitely visual rendering of loneliness, loss and the often-elusive nature of happiness. During a sweltering summer vacation on the Aegean coast, the relationship between middle-aged professor Isa (played by Ceylan himself) and his younger, television producer girlfriend Bahar (the luminous Ebru Ceylan, Ceylan’s real-life wife) brutally implodes. Back in Istanbul that fall, Isa rekindles a torrid affair with a previous lover. But when he learns that Bahar has left the city for a job in the snowy East, he follows her there to win her back. Boasting subtly powerful performances, heart-stoppingly stunning cinematography (Ceylan’s first work in high definition) and densely textured sound design, CLIMATES is the Turkish filmmaker’s most gorgeous rumination yet on the fragility and complexity of human relationships. |
|
ASSMONSTER: (dir. Bill Zebub, 96 mins, 2006) Mon Dec 18 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 |
Starring actress Gina Lynn This is a comedy about a guy who watches an awful DVD-R that was made by one of those fake directors who sell their crap at horror conventions and decides that he too will make a bad movie and sell it for $30 a copy. Bill Zebub and others in person. Bill Zebub was inspired by early John Waters movies. |
| 3rd
I NY and Alwan for the Arts Collaborative Monthly Film & Video Series HOLIDAY
SPECIAL SCREENING: Tues Dec 19 7pm - buy tix (dir. Gurinder
Chadha, 2001, USA, 109 min) 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. Sponsored by Harpoon India Pale Ale, Radeberger Pilsner, and Woodchuck Cider. |
Just in time for to have a laugh before your own inevitable Holiday Season family drama, join us for a presentation of the Multicultural Holiday Comedy Classic WHAT'S COOKING. Followed by free holiday gift raffle & pizza /beer reception. Starring Joan Chen, Alfre Woodard, Mercedes Ruehl, Julianna Margulies, and Kyra Sedgwick In LA's Fairfax district, where ethnic groups abound, four households celebrate Thanksgiving amidst family tensions. In the Nguyen family, the children's acculturation and immigrant parents' fears collide. In the Avila family, Isabel's son has invited her estranged husband to their family dinner. Audrey and Ron Williams want to keep their own family's ruptures secret from Ron's visiting mother. In the Seelig household, Herb and Ruth are unwilling to discuss openly their grown daughter's living with her lesbian lover, Carla. Around each table, things come to a head. A gun, an affair, a boyfriend, and a pregnancy precipitate crises forcing each family to find its center. Director
Gurinder Chadha (of "Bend it Like Beckham" fame), herself
an Indian woman born in Africa , rasied London, and married to a Japanese-American,
deftly escalates the tension in each group such that the dysfunction
at each Thanksgiving table spirals out of control at the same rate,
culminating in an unexpected bridge between the cultures. WHAT'S COOKING
is clever and enormously entertaining, as long as it doesn't happen
to you. The fact that such or similar situations are likely commonplace
in America's melting pot makes the film all the more reflective of a
shared humanity. Kudos to Ms. Chadha for a thoroughly engaging movie
equal to, if not better than, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING. 3rd i NY events are made possible in part through public funds from the Fund for Creative Communities / New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program, administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. |
|
Ho ho ho . . . OH NO! Celebrate the holidays with an army of axe-murdering Santas, holiday witches, and evil elves! |
|
GOODBYE 20th CENTURY (dir. Darko
Mitrevski Fri Dec 22 7:15pm - buy tix
|
a
film about the merry Santa Claus "Like
an insane comic book come to life." "I
don't get it. . . incomprehensible." This
post-apocalyptic tale conveys the hardship and misery the world endures
after global destruction and turmoil has taken their toll. It's 2019,
and the immortal Kuzman is desperately trying to determine his destiny,
in turn, figuring out a way to die. He's remorseful of his sinful incestuous
behavior. During his journey through time, the mockery of the 20th century
unfolds and we discover how our world will eventually come to its catastrophic
end. As it turns out, the "merry" Santa Claus 2000, goes on
a frenzied rampage; his wrath leaving mercy on no one. He demolishes
our world, and those who survived this tragedy were sentenced to immortal
life in the post-apocalyptic ruins of the 20th century. |
|
ELVES (dir. Jeffrey Mandel, 89 mins, 1984) * projected from a bad video transfer Fri Dec 22 10:45pm - buy tix |
Satanic
rituals, Nazi scientists, Horny teenagers, Drowned Cats . . . Merry Christmas! A young woman discovers that she is the product of an Evil Nazi experiment involving selective breeding and demonic elves, an attempt to create a race of supermen. She and two of her friends are trapped in a department store with both elves and neo-Nazis. Their only hope is Dan Hagerty, who portrays a homeless, recovering alcoholic ex-con ex-cop, currently trying to hold down a job as a department store Santa Claus. |
|
SANTA SMOKES (dir. Till Schauder & Chris Valentien, 81 mins, 2003) Sat Dec 23 7pm - buy tix |
In this magical tale, an unsuccessful actor, Johnny Jones (Till Schauder a.k.a. Terror), takes the only part he can get - as Santa Claus handing out flyers in New York's Christmas frenzy. Hating this unwanted "lead role", Santa punches, steals and smokes his way through Manhattan. But everyone deserves a moment of luck, and so even this malevolent St. Nick eventually meets his Angel (Kristy Jean Hulslander). In a fabulous Christmas romance, Johnny Jones, a timely asphalt cowboy full of illusions, experiences his own "Miracle on 34th Street."
|
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SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (dir. Charles E. Sellier Jr., 85 mins, 1984) * 35mm print Sat Dec 23 10:45pm - buy tix |
Banned in Finland! Poor
Ricky -- as a child he saw his parents slaughtered by a psychotic murderer
in a Santa Claus suit, and then he had to go into an orphanage run by
a sadistic nun. Now he's grown-up and out in the world, with his first
real job... doing guess what? Playing good old Saint Nick! Those little
boys and girls just better watch out... cause Santa Claus is coming
to town.
|
| Vicious Christmas * Sunday Shorts RACIST CHRISTMAS CARTOONS Sun Dec 24 5:15pm - buy tix This is a Sunday Shorts program. Early evenings on many Sundays, the Pioneer presents programs of short films. |
Come
to the Pioneer for an assortment of Christmas cartoons and ridiculous
short movies about Santa. Okay, we admit that not all of these films
are actually racist Christmas cartoons, but some of them are, and boy
oh boy, isn't that enough for you? What, were you attracted to this
synopsis because you're a racist? What's your problem? Do you just watch
movies that make you feel superior to other people? What kind of theater
do you think we are? |
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(dir. Bob Fosse, 124 mins, 1972) * 35mm print Mon Dec 25 4pm - buy tix |
CABARET FOR CHRISTMAS! STARRING LIZA MINELLI AND JOEL GREY Bob
Fosse (Academy Award for Best Director, 1972, 124 min) Liza Minnelli
(Academy Award for Best Actress), Joel Grey (Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actor) and Michael York lead this great story about decadent
1930's Berlin. Life inside and outside the Kit Kat Klub is brilliantly
told through the clever blend of story and musical numbers, as the outside
world of Nazi politics grows into a brutal force, slowly affecting everyone. |
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CHRISTMAS
EVIL (dir. Lewis Jackson, 100 mins, 1980) * 35mm print Tues Dec 26 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. Sponsored by Harpoon India Pale Ale, Radeberger Pilsner, and Woodchuck Cider. |
Naughty or nice? Because of a boyhood trauma during Christmas, a man remains slightly obsessed with the holiday for the rest of his life, becoming a toy maker and keeping track of which children are naughty and nice. After learning of his company's corporate greed he snaps and goes on a killing spree dressed as Santa. Director Lewis Jackson in person with his own 35mm print! Followed by beer and pizza reception. Come give Lewis your worst Christmas presents!
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|
(dir. Douglas
Sirk, 79 mins, 1949) Fri Dec
29 7pm - buy
tix presented in association with a_film_by, an online forum for the discussion of "film as art, from an auteurist perspective" |
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(dir. Fred F.
Sears, 77 mins, 1956) |
A
frustrated big-band promoter runs into rock-and-rollers Bill Haley and
the Comets at a small-town dance. He quickly becomes their manager and,
with the help of Alan Freed, hopes to bring the new sound to the entire
country. But will a conniving booking agent, with a personal ax to grind
with the manager, conspire to keep the band from making the big time?
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Pioneer Theater
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