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Independent Cinema without Excuses |
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East
3rd Street, between Avenues A and B (closer to A) * New York City * USA |
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DEATH OF A PRESIDENT (2006) (dir. Gabriel Range, 90 mins, 2006) Mon Jan 1 9pm
- 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 energy as 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) |
|
WALKABOUT (dir. Nicolas Roeg, 100 mins, 1971) Mon Jan
1 9pm - 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 |
Nicolas Roeg's solo directorial debut is a haunting, unconventional narrative film that presents a bleak vision of civilized life as arid and unrewarding. Abandoned in the Australian outback, two young white children (Jenny Agutter and Roeg's son Lucien) stumble upon an adolescent Aborigine (David Gulpilil), who is performing a "walkabout." In this ritualistic six-month journey, the boy must learn to survive by himself in the imposing desert. Communication is a problem, although more for the girl than for her little brother, who still has a child's ability to communicate simply and directly. The two teenagers fail to connect for a variety of reasons, mostly due to the girl's lack of interest in a culture that is unfamiliar and different from her own. Ultimately, the differences become too much to bear, resulting in a tragic conclusion that adds an even more somber denouement to Roeg's already grim vision. Based on the novel by James Vance Marshall, WALKABOUT is a powerful commentary on pastoral simplicity versus cosmopolitan clutter, and features stunning cinematography from Roeg. [synopsis from RottenTomatoes.com] |
|
written by Henri-Pierre Roche, Francois Truffaut, and Jean Gruault Weds Jan 3
6:50pm - buy
tix |
Beautiful New 35mm print JULES AND JIM is an intense, beautiful, enigmatic film about the lifelong friendship between two writers--French novelist Jim (Henri Serre) and Austrian children's author Jules (Oskar Werner)--and their mutual love for the eccentric Catherine (Jeanne Moreau). With artful black-and-white imagery, the story begins in 1920s Paris when Jules and Jim first meet and become friends. As young single men, they gallavant about Paris, chasing women or studying ancient art, always animated, curious, and charming. When they meet the equally energetic Catherine, whose impulses range from dressing up as a man to taking midnight plunges into the Seine, their circle is complete. But when World War II erupts, with Jules and Jim fighting on opposite sides, everything changes. Jules marries Catherine before going off to battle. After the war, they settle into a quiet existence in the French countryside. But Catherine is restless and unfaithful. Jim reunites with his oldest and closest friends, and Catherine makes room for him in their house, asking him to move in and become her lover. Jim complies, as he wants nothing more than to please his friend Jules, who agrees to the plan. From there, the film's sweeping photography and wonderfully philosophical scripting tightens as the tale becomes even more complicated. Even its darkest moments, JULES AND JIM is movingly alluring as the friendship between the two men paints a meaningful portrait of human understanding and compassion. Like the similarly themed TWO ENGLISH GIRLS, the film is based on a novel by Henri-Pierre Roché. |
Doors
Art Foundation presents I
LOVE YOU (dir. Dalibor Matanic, 83 mins, 2006) showing from 35mm Weds Jan 3
9pm - buy
tix |
"Unusually
perceptive . . . haunting . . . as much about the loss of a generation
as the redemption of an individual." "The
innovative Two Boots Pioneer Theater kicks off 2007 with a shocking drama
from Croatia, I LOVE YOU." 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. |
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WALKABOUT (dir. Nicolas Roeg, 100 mins, 1971) Thurs Jan 4 6:50pm - 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 |
Nicolas Roeg's solo directorial debut is a haunting, unconventional narrative film that presents a bleak vision of civilized life as arid and unrewarding. Abandoned in the Australian outback, two young white children (Jenny Agutter and Roeg's son Lucien) stumble upon an adolescent Aborigine (David Gulpilil), who is performing a "walkabout." In this ritualistic six-month journey, the boy must learn to survive by himself in the imposing desert. Communication is a problem, although more for the girl than for her little brother, who still has a child's ability to communicate simply and directly. The two teenagers fail to connect for a variety of reasons, mostly due to the girl's lack of interest in a culture that is unfamiliar and different from her own. Ultimately, the differences become too much to bear, resulting in a tragic conclusion that adds an even more somber denouement to Roeg's already grim vision. Based on the novel by James Vance Marshall, WALKABOUT is a powerful commentary on pastoral simplicity versus cosmopolitan clutter, and features stunning cinematography from Roeg. [synopsis from RottenTomatoes.com] |
|
(dir. Tony Gayton, 77 mins, 2006) Fri Jan 5 7pm - buy tix |
Two
Headed Cow started in 1986 as a simple black and white road movie about
The Flat Duo Jets, a hard core rockabilly band fronted by the legendary
singer/guitarist Dexter Romweber. The film followed Dexter and his drummer
Crow from Chapel Hill, North Carolina to Savannah, Georgia, documenting
their shows and exploits along the way. Due to financial and other considerations,
the movie was never completed. |
 |
|
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AUTOMATONS (dir. James Felix McKenney, 83 mins, 2006) Fri Jan
5 10:40pm - 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. |
|
|
|
DEATH OF A PRESIDENT (2006) (dir. Gabriel Range, 90 mins, 2006) Sat Jan 6 10:40pm
- 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 energy as 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 Jan
7 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. |
|
THE SLACK SHACK (dir. Nicholas Nigro, 60 mins, 2006) Mon Jan 8 7pm - buy tix This is a "Bizarro Monday" program. Every Monday at 7pm the Pioneer presents the finest (and trashiest) in horror, sci-fi, freakshow, exploitation, martial arts, genre, b-movies, z-movies, and just plain weird stuff |
When college student Mitch Murphy is forced to move in with his friend Spink at The Slack Shack, he is ill-prepared for the unique insanity that infests the house and its strange inhabitants, including an alcoholic hobo, a vegan pagan lesbian, and a pair of ever-feuding lovers. This film contains the entire Slack Shack experience: All 12 episodes and 11 commercials showcasing the unique products from the universe of The Slack Shack. |
|
(dir. Jason Maran, 92 mins, 2006) Tues Jan 9 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. |
"There is no more painful death . . . than death by cheese-grater!” There exists a secret religious brotherhood dedicated to battling the forces of evil. Claude wants nothing more than to be a member of this order. To prove his worth he must find a missing priest – a grizzled warrior whose body and soul may be in grave danger. With his faith as both defense and weapon, Claude embarks on a bizarre and horrifying quest that will end in a blood-bath of insanity, witchcraft and cannibalism. |
|
written by Henri-Pierre Roche, Francois Truffaut, and Jean Gruault Weds Jan 10 6:50pm - buy tix |
Beautiful New 35mm print JULES AND JIM is an intense, beautiful, enigmatic film about the lifelong friendship between two writers--French novelist Jim (Henri Serre) and Austrian children's author Jules (Oskar Werner)--and their mutual love for the eccentric Catherine (Jeanne Moreau). With artful black-and-white imagery, the story begins in 1920s Paris when Jules and Jim first meet and become friends. As young single men, they gallavant about Paris, chasing women or studying ancient art, always animated, curious, and charming. When they meet the equally energetic Catherine, whose impulses range from dressing up as a man to taking midnight plunges into the Seine, their circle is complete. But when World War II erupts, with Jules and Jim fighting on opposite sides, everything changes. Jules marries Catherine before going off to battle. After the war, they settle into a quiet existence in the French countryside. But Catherine is restless and unfaithful. Jim reunites with his oldest and closest friends, and Catherine makes room for him in their house, asking him to move in and become her lover. Jim complies, as he wants nothing more than to please his friend Jules, who agrees to the plan. From there, the film's sweeping photography and wonderfully philosophical scripting tightens as the tale becomes even more complicated. Even its darkest moments, JULES AND JIM is movingly alluring as the friendship between the two men paints a meaningful portrait of human understanding and compassion. Like the similarly themed TWO ENGLISH GIRLS, the film is based on a novel by Henri-Pierre Roché. |
|
EVER SINCE THE WORLD ENDED (dir. Calum Grant & Joshua Atesh Litle, 78 mins) Weds
Jan 10 9pm - buy
tix
|
EVERYONE ON EARTH IS DEAD. EXCEPT FOR A FEW HUNDRED PEOPLE IN SAN FRANCISCO. "Ingeniously
written and photographed . . .a remarkably three-dimensional, speculative
chronicle of what life might be like if the world's population was reduced
by about 90% . . . a reminder that pragmatic, logical, and honest examination
of human behavior fuels storytelling "vision" just as well
as extravagant production values and bold pictorial strokes. Arguably
better. . . bears more than a passing resemblance to Rod Serling's equally
harsh yet homey futures . . . heartbreaking, spellbinding, and frighteningly
real." "[a]
fascinating record of remembrance and reconstruction . . . Effects are
all the more special for being minimal: a decaying Golden Gate bridge,
a decomposing ship listing in the harbor." "A
meditation on the end of the world and an indictment of the unsustainable
lifestyle we enjoy today." "a
smart post-apocalyptic outing . . .like LORD OF THE FLIES on Quaaludes,
and it gets under your skin more horrifyingly than many bigger-budgeted
films of apocalypse-themed dread." EVER SINCE THE WORLD ENDED is a character-driven “social science fiction” film about life after the end of the world. Twelve years after a devastating plague emptied the world of people, two San Francisco filmmakers traverse the nearly deserted City with a camera and a microphone. On a journey that will carry them far beyond the city limits and into the wilderness beyond, they begin to uncover the secrets of their new world. In a series of encounters and interviews with a handful of fellow survivors, they explore the harsh realities of life after civilization, revealing the day-to-day struggles for survival, the shifting moral imperatives, and the deep ideological rifts in a fledgling community trying to chart a way forward. At
once epic and intensely personal, the film explores the strange and
often humorous ways that people cope with devastating loss, the impatience
of the younger generation with their elders’ apparently baffling
customs, and the new sexual politics that results from a catastrophic
loss of population. Through the words of a ragtag collection of survivors,
EVER SINCE THE WORLD ENDED is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic
look at society, humankind’s hopes for the future, the legacy
of history, and the tough choices facing everyday people struggling
to build a community on a large and lonely planet. |
|
TV: (dir. Sam Maccarone, 2006) Thurs Jan
11 11pm - buy
tix Tickets: $15 / $13 |
A celebration of the ever increasing depravity of television in our society-- it's a channel surfing adventure through the most utterly ridiculous spoofed television programming and commercials. Starring Steve-O and Preston Lacy |
|
(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. |
|
(dir. Joe Cultrera, 96 mins, 2006) Sun Jan 14 6:30pm - buy tix |
"As
successful on a cinematic level as it is as reportage." How does a film about Catholic clergy abuse not descend into depression? It helps when the victim doesn't act like one but uses his own intellect and humor to fight back. Unlike any other look at this topic, Hand of God is a poetic and provocative tale of one survivor and his family. Beyond the headlines, statistics and ecclesiastical spin, filmmaker Joe Cultrera grounds the story of his brother Paul in the details of their Sicilian-American Catholic upbringing. From baptism to abuse; silence to dialogue; resignation to action, the film follows one person's internal and external journey from potential priest to scathing critic. |
| Monster
Monday! DRIFTWOOD (dir. Tim Sullivan, 90 mins, 2006) Mon Jan
15 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 |
Professional
Wrestler (and Actor) Diamond Dallas Page in person! HAUNTED BY DEATH. BEATEN BY LIFE. NO ONE ESCAPES THE PAIN Riddled with guilt over the loss of his rock star older brother, 16 year old David Forrester (Ricky Ullman) becomes obsessed with death, leading his misguided parents to send him to Driftwood, an "Attitude Adjustment Camp for Troubled Youths" run by the sadistic Captain Doug Kennedy (Diamond Dallas Page) and his brutal young henchman, Yates (Talan Torriero). Once there, David becomes haunted by the spirit of Jonathan (Connor Ross), a former inmate who met a mysterious end; a mystery whose resolution could very well be David's only way out. . . . . . . . Produced by Mike Richardson (SIN CITY, HELL BOY, ALIEN VS PREDATOR) for DARK HORSE INDIE as part of his production deal with IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT, DRIFTWOOD features some of the top young talent on the scene today. Heading this cast of up and comers are Ricky Ullman (PHIL OF THE FUTURE) and Talan Torriero (MTV’s LAGUNA BEACH), both bravely playing against type, along with World Champion Wrestler turned actor (DEVILS REJECTS) and Yoga guru, Diamond Dallas Page, portraying the truly evil mastermind behind DRIFTWOOD. Rounding out the cast are seasoned vets David Eigenberg (SEX AND THE CITY), Lin Shaye (SNAKES ON A PLANE), Marc McClure (SUPERMAN), Jeremy Lelliott (7TH HEAVEN), Russell Sams (RULES OF ATTRACTION) and John Walcutt (GHOST WHISPERER). Assisting behind the scenes , a stellar roster of Hollywood pros took a leave of absence from the studio system to get down and dirty once again with this independently funded and minded project, among them producers Bob Engelman (BLADE, THE MASK), Barry Levine (DETROIT ROCK CITY) and Bud Smith (THE EXORCIST, TO LIVE and DIE IN LA), cinematographer Steve Adcock (2001 MANIACS, DEADWOOD), editor M. Scott Smith (THE CROW), composer William Ross (LADDER 49, YOUNG BLACK STALLION) and Warped Tour favorites Tad Jacobs and Bobby Alt who formed the super group Split Window to write and perform the end title rocker SET ME FREE. |
| 3rd
I NY and Alwan for the Arts Collaborative Monthly Film & Video Series OUT OF STATUS (dir. Pia Sawhney, Sanjna Singh, 70 mins, 2005) Tues Jan 16 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. |
Official
Selection Rotterdam Before 9/11, there was an implicit understanding between the INS and immigrant communities that people who had applications pending to legalize their status could reside in the country until an application was approved. After 9/11, and for South Asians and Arabs, the rule changed. The Muslim community, today, is alone among the vast immigrant population to face such targeted enforcement. Out of Status follows four families whose lives were permanently altered, when a member was secretly detained or deported. Carma, an American with two children, sees her husband, Akram deported to Egypt. Their family has now been separated for two years. Two days after 9/11, Salem, a Pakistani-American, is charged with stealing a rental car and jailed in solitary confinement for 40 days. Hakim, an Algerian, faces the possibility of separation from his wife (a legal resident) and child for complying with a government program to register Arabs. The Rahmans, who are staying in a shelter upstate, wait to gain asylum in Canada. They, along with 15,000 other Pakistanis, leave New York rather than face deportation. Through focusing on individuals who are discriminated against by national security measures, this film helps the audience experience the fear of speaking out and see current policy through their eyes. |
|
Dear fellow movie lovers: I am devastated to announce that we will not be screening BILLY STRAYHORN: LUSH LIFE this January 2007. I was stunned, dismayed, and distraught to learn that the film's music rights have not been completely cleared. The producer has given me a statement, which you can read here. I apologize, personally, for any wasted time you spent accommodating our intended screenings. Through the fire, Ray
Privett p.s. If BILLY STRAYHORN: LUSH LIFE reappears on the Pioneer schedule somewhere down the road, I will personally look into and evaluate all rights issues. |
|
(dir. Elizabeth Puccini, 103 mins, 2005) Thurs Jan
18 6:45pm - SOLD OUT |
“Bursting
with philosophical questions about identity and choice . . . [actress
Madchen] Amick delivers the dramatic goods.” “A
powerful debut… achieves a lyrical grace spiked with the majesty
of emotional failure.” “Provocative
and perceptive… entertains while exploring the deep-seated emotions
we dare not express.” "Interesting
people, great dialogue, philosophical and personal with a surprising
end." In this poignant psychological drama set on a small New England island, Benjamin, a painter living a cloistered existence in the woods of Vermont, pays a rare visit to his childhood friend Walt and his wife Rachel. Benjamin is surprised to discover the tension in Walt’s marriage, while Walt is equally surprised to find Benjamin in a crisis over his painting. A run-in with friends sets in motion a chaotic weekend in which everyone must decide what they really want in life and what they’re willing to do to get it. |
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AUTOMATONS (dir. James Felix McKenney, 83 mins, 2006) Fri Jan 19 10:40pm - 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. |
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Animation, Avant-Garde, and Experimental Films A group of films presented with the Cinewomen NY group Tues Jan 23 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 group of films presented with the Cinewomen NY group ANIMATION Directed
by KATERINA ATHANASOPOULOUS EXPERIMENTAL:
MACHINIMA-- AVANTE-GARDE
FILMS: EXPERIMENTAL:
INTERACTIVE MOVIES FOR C.A.V.E.s |
|
(dir. Douglas
Sirk, 79 mins, 1949) Weds Jan
24 9pm - buy
tix
|
Directed by Douglas Sirk * Co-written by Samuel Fuller "Essential
viewing for fans of Mr. Fuller and Mr. Sirk." "even
with . . . third-party meddling, SHOCKPROOF bears the mark of the master
of melodrama and the lord of the lurid." "a
babes-and-bullets B-picture, a standard of the late 1940s . . . a unique
window into the passions of both Fuller the pulp dramatist, and Sirk,
the master of domestic melodrama." "An
auteurist epiphany but the main thing is that, for a disposable entertainment,
SHOCKPROOF has an intensity that sticks to the mind—yours, mine,
or Richard Hamilton's." Read review by Bilge Ebiri * See related artwork by Richard Hamilton Sam Fuller and Douglas Sirk never met, but their audacious personalities compete for center stage in this 1949 Columbia thriller, directed by Sirk from Fuller's original script (which was modified by co-producer Helen Deutsch, much to Sirk's displeasure). Probation officer Cornel Wilde (named "Griff," like so many other Fuller heroes) takes charge of beautiful paroled killer Patricia Knight (Wilde's real-life wife), installing her in his blind mother's home to keep her away from her gangster boyfriend John Baragrey. The ensuing romantic and criminal complications put the couple on the run from the law, and divide the upright, moralistic Wilde against himself. Showing the beginnings of the massed, imbalanced compositional style that characterizes Sirk's later films, SHOCKPROOF inspired British artist Richard Hamilton to create an acclaimed series of paintings, based on a still photo of Knight. presented in association with a_film_by, an online forum for the discussion of "film as art, from an auteurist perspective" |
Doors
Art Foundation presents ALONE (dir. Lukas Nola, 81 mins, 2001) showing from video Thurs Jan 25 7pm - buy tix |
Production
company: Alka Film The story is based on the relationship of three people with a question is it love possible after the tragedy which they experienced. They are trying to rebuild their lives after the tragic event. |
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(dir. Sabu Quinn, 96 mins, 2006) Sat Jan 27 7pm - buy tix |
A man desperately searches for a missing woman. But when he finds her, does she want to be found? Doug Friedman, Natia Dune, James Murray Arnold, Christy Meyer Geoff Wyman is about to turn 30. But 30 means he should grow up and get a real job because working at The Chicken Shack won’t cut it forever. Freshly dumped by his girlfriend, he moves to Queens, NY, and life in a boring bachelor's pad. That is, until the day he hooks up his phone and . . . ring! But that first call is for Annie Danilov.
The phone company reassigned her old number too quickly. As Geoff is
bombarded with calls for Annie, his imagination explodes. Who is she?
Where is she? And why is one creepy caller so desperate to find her?
The police don't care, and the calls won't stop. Not until Geoff finds
Annie. But does she want to be found? |
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FRATERNITY MASSACRE AT HELL ISLAND (dir. Mark Goshorn Jones, 80 mins, 2006) Mon Jan 29 7pm - buy tix This is a "Bizarro Monday" program. Every Monday at 7pm the Pioneer presents the finest (and trashiest) in horror, sci-fi, freakshow, exploitation, martial arts, genre, b-movies, z-movies, and just plain weird stuff |
A pledge must battle homophobia and a killer clown during his Fraternity’s Hell Night. A comedy with Bloodshed!! Tyler Farrell as Jack * Billie Worley as John * Kaleo Quenzer as Tommy * Corie Ventura as Sarah * Michael Gravois as Roger A pledge must battle homophobia and a killer clown during his fraternity’s hell night. Several people at Felix University have motives for killing the brothers and pledges of Zeta Alpha Rho, but now someone is dressed as a crazed clown and is actually killing them off one by one at the haunted river park island. Jack must stop the clown and find the courage to come out of the closet by sunrise. It’s a Comedy with Bloodshed!! |
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Tues Jan 30 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. |
Rev. Jen Goes to the Movies! (an evening with the Patron Saint of the Uncool, featuring movies by and starring Reverend Jen) - Reverend
Jen’s Really Cool Neighborhood (directed by Rev. Jen) And much, much more!!! |
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(dir. Michael Knowles, 100 mins, 2005) Weds Jan 31
9pm - buy
tix |
"Room
314 sticks to your memory like a troubling dream." "…
the audience remains captivated by the multiple set-ups that unfold slowly,
sincerely, dramatically." How many stories can one hotel room tell? Watch as five couples in different stages of their relationships reveal what they really want to each other. Starring Sarah Bennett (Fast Track), Joelle Carter (High Fidelity, Inconceivable, Wonderland), Matthew Del Negro (Chelsea Walls, The West Wing, Beautiful People), Michael Knowles (Sex And The City, The Babysitters), Michael Laurence (Airplane!, Love God), Jennifer Marlowe, Michael Mosley (Swimmers, Kidnapped), Robyn Myhr, Todd Swenson, Monique Vukovic Written and Directed by Michael Knowles. Produced by Laura Knight and Michael Knowles. Executive Producer: John Ramos.
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