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APRIL 2007

Sunday Shorts

Chicago City Limits First Sundays Comedy Films

First Sundays

Sun Apr 1 7pm - buy tix
Sun May 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.

Visit the First Sundays website

Feature presentation

HEADSPACE

(dir. Jethro Senger, 85 mins, 2005)

Sun Apr 1 9pm - buy tix
Mon Apr 2 9pm - buy tix
Tues Apr 3 9pm - buy tix
Weds Apr 4 8:40pm - buy tix
Fri Apr 6 8:40pm - buy tix

“A global journey of sight & sound wrapped around the electronic music party scene…”

Rotterdam Film Festival, 2007

HEADSPACE, an 85-minute documentary, was filmed in ten countries over the course of three years and brings us to the mystical land of electronic music parties and the people creating them. The film is a multi-sensory journey stemming from years of dance music evolution, delivering the stories of those encapsulated by the scene.

A cosmic voyage filled with superstar and underground DJ’s, side-trips with characters of the night, and a soundtrack comprised of over 20 top electronic musicians will open your soul as a dedicated search for THE PARTY will explain why the sounds have captured the global heart.
Headspace the Movie

“Headspace represents a five-year journey of traveling the globe attending clubs, raves, festivals and parties across 10 different countries, and then cutting through over 150 hours of footage to crystallize a storyline that is more visual experience than historical lecture.” – BPM Magazine

Headspacemovie.com

Monster Monday!
Fangoria presents

SEVERANCE

(dir. Christopher Smith, 90 mins, 2006)

showing in 35mm

Mon Apr 2 6:30pm - buy tix

This is a "Bizarro Monday" program. Every Monday, 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.

Working nine to five is a real killer --
but teambuilding holidays can sometimes be even worse.

Starring Danny Dyer and Laura Harris

A coach lurches out of the hustle and bustle of Budapest and heads towards the mountainous border. Aboard are seven employees of the international weapons manufacturer Palisade Defence, global suppliers of innovative weaponry for the past 75 war-torn years. The lucky group are being treated to a team-building weekend at the company's newly built luxury spa lodge by their president, George Cinders.

But things quickly go awry as the colleagues find themselves faced with the chop when their corporate weekend is sabotaged by a deadly enemy. Forget office politics, only the smartest will survive this bloody office outing.

Sunday Shorts

Chicago City Limits First Sundays Comedy Films

First Sundays
Best of Show

Tues Apr 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.

The April 3rd show is a celebration of the past 5 years of First Sundays, featuring our favorite movie from each year, as well as a short by Victor Varnado and one by Jay Stern.

The lineup includes:

Tongues & Taxis - by Mike Overbeck

Strindberg & Helium - by Erin Bradley and Eun-Ha Paek

The Old Negro Space Program - by Andy Bobrow

Fits & Starts - by Tim Rassmusen and Vince DiMeglio

Available Men - by David Dean Bottrell

And other selected super treats!

Diggnation of the Silver Screen

Weds Apr 4 7pm - buy tix

Special event followed by beer and pizza reception for ticket holders.

Presented in assocation with the NY / NJ Diggnation Meetup Group

Diggnation is a weekly tech/web culture show based on the top digg.com social bookmarking news stories. Join us for a screening of the latest episode of Diggnation, followed by a free beer and pizza reception for ticket holders!

We expect this to sell out - buy tickets in advance!

A Journey of Dmitry Shostakovich

(dir. Oksana Dvornichenko and Helga Landauer, 75 mins, 2006)

Except as indicated, screenings are in English.

Fri Apr 6 7:10pm - buy tix
Sat Apr 7 7:10pm - buy tix
Tues Apr 10 9pm - buy tix

"A fascinating spectacle!"
- Village Voice

"Critic's Pick"
- New York Magazine

World Theatrical Premiere

Dmitry Shostakovich, the greatest composer of the 20th century, remains one of its biggest mysteries. The nine chapters of A JOURNEY OF DMITRY SHOSTAKOVICH are framed by nine days of the last round-trip journey of the composer's life: a trip on a Soviet ocean liner to the United States. The film is narrated primarily in words of Shostakovich's letters and diaries, which sharply contrast with the propaganda movies shown on board the ship, as the twentieth century itself weaves myth and reality. Never-before-seen archival fragments of the composer's life--newsreel footage, photographs, letters, and personal memoirs--provide a unique perspective on issues of the artist versus the state, and truth versus survival. In contrasting official truth with personal truth, the film offers insight into the mystery of how Shostakovich was able to penetrate, through his music, the ironclad curtain and deeply affect Western audiences. Shostakovich's music, full of dark sarcasm and glory, lyricism and sorrow, laughter and melancholy, plays the leading part throughout the film.

BEHIND THE MASK

The Rise of Leslie Vernon

(dir. Scott Glosserman, 92 mins, 2006)

Sat Apr 7 10:40pm - buy tix
Sun Apr 8 9pm - buy tix
Mon Apr 9 9pm - buy tix

Jason, Freddy, Michael Myers. We All Need Someone To Look Up To.

"If Christopher Guest ever turned his attention to psycho killers instead of folk singers and dog breeders, this is exactly the sort of movie he would make...That close-up of naked breasts couldn't be more satirical."
- Jeannette Catsoulis, NEW YORK TIMES

"A gift to horror fans."
- CHUD.com

"It reinvents the genre with style, substance, and scares."
- Tony Timpone, FANGORIA

On the surface Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel) seems like your average, small-town, nice guy. He's has goals, ambition and aspirations to follow in the footsteps of his long-time heroes Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees and be the world's next great psycho-slasher. A true self-promoter, Leslie gives documentary filmmaker Taylor Gentry (Angela Goethals) and her crew exclusive access to his life as he plans and executes his next great reign of terror over the sleepy town of Glen Echo, all the while deconstructing the conventions and archetypes of the horror genre for them.

ROUGE

Oh Jesus Oh Jesus, I'm Coming . . . Again!

Sun Apr 8 5:30pm
admission is free, although as with any service worth its salt, the collection plate will be passed

Announcing the premiere of Rouge, a series of multi-media kaleidoscopic rides through the heart and psyche of a man, a lover, a poet, a faggot, an anarchist, an existential phenom. The first installment, "Oh Jesus Oh Jesus, I'm Coming . . . Again!" will be presented as a special Easter "Service" conducted by the creator of Rouge, Laughlin Artz, in collaboration with renowned artist and fellow protagonist Vincent Gagliostro. Nothing is sacred. Adults only.

SECRET LIFE OF SARAH SHELDON

(dir. Annette Ashlie Slomka, 110 mins, 2006)

Mon Apr 9 6:30pm - buy tix

www.slossthemovie.com

This is a "Bizarro Monday" program. Every Monday, 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.

“one of the most original takes on the mad scientist theme in horror history.”
- Heidi Martinuzzi, pretty-scary.net

“If I would have seen this movie before we met Annette, I would probably be scared of her … this woman is f%$^*&% insane!”
- Creepy Kentuckian & Uncle Bill from deadpit.com

An edgy, provocative thriller that combines the arousing themes of casual sex and bodily manipulation with the horrors of mutilation, mutation, and misdirected good intentions.

Sarah Sheldon, an intense and one-time medical school student discharged for improper and unauthorized use of human cadavers begins to conduct unorthodox experiments in her make-shift lab in the bowels of her apartment with the assistance of her lab partner Alex and Jenny, a young, unassuming sociopath with a taste for the macabre.

Sarah’s unbalanced obsessions with over-population have germinated into an unhealthy preoccupation with societies crumbling morals and the promiscuous dregs that frequent the bars.

Through the use of the implanted devices, Sarah and her two conspirators embark on a pursuit of their own. Ensnaring unsuspecting people they meet at the bars and secretly sterilizes them during sexual intercourse.

When the male version of the device mounted to Alex malfunctions, killing Cherrie instead of sterilizing her, it plunges Sarah’s already teetering mental state into a spiral down to the depths of psychosis in a search for answers and a new vital partner to join her extreme experimental obsessions.

Sunday Shorts

The Reeler Presents

The Journal of Short Film:
NYC Series

Sun Apr 8 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.

The Reeler Presents: films from The Journal of Short Film made by New Yorkers.

Nine films—including narrative, documentary, and experimental work—demonstrate the depth and breadth of NYC filmmaking.

Interviews with filmmakers to follow.

“intriguingly open-minded” -The Washington Post

1. Brian Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky, GOD PROVIDES, 8:30, v.7
Shot in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina this unexpected short examines faith and inexplicable loss in the American South.

2. Josh Safdie, WE’RE GOING TO THE ZOO, 14:40, v.6
Driving to the zoo, a young woman and her little brother pick up an unconventional hitchhiker.

3. Marie Losier, ELECTROCUTE YOUR STARS, 8:00 v.3
A dream-portrait in which American Underground legend George Kuchar tells stories of extreme weather and how not to kill the actors.

4. Ian Olds, BOMB, 14:00, v.7
An offbeat love story set on the edge of an old Air Force bombing range.

5. Natalie Frigo, FIRST LADIES, 1:30, v.6
In FIRST LADIES, the focus of news footage is altered, addressing alternate histories disregarded due to implicit cultural structures.

6. Joel Fendelman, BAND OF SISTERS, 8:00, v.4
A group of 1.15 million women and men march through Washington, D.C., in the largest march in U.S. history.

7. Paul Karlin, WHY I DON’T GO TO THE MOVIES, 7:00, v.4
The force of romantic obsession and the doldrums of life with a goddess lead to a strange vow.

8. J.J. Adler, FINAL LAP, 11:50, v.2
A sleepy American suburb. A mysterious car roars around the block each night. Tom Bickerton, 15, watches and waits.

9. Peter Sillen, GRAND LUNCHEONETTE, 5:00, v.5
This film documents the final days of Fred Hakim’s unforgettable 42nd Street lunch counter.

Tuesdays @7

Dancers,
Monsters,
and Dogs:

A Collection of Shorts by Kat Fitzgerald

Tues Apr 10 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.

Attention Artstars!

Featuring Reverend Jen, Reverend Jen Jr., Moby, the Wowz, the New York Howl, Brer Brian, the O’Debra Twins, Third Rail Projects, and Aprella.88

A collection of short films shot, edited, and/or directed by Kathleen Fitzgerald. Featured videos will include dance films created with Third Rail Projects; music videos for Moby, the Wowz, Brer Brian, and the New York Howl; and an assortment of miscellaneous shorts involving trolls, zombies, vampires, anthrax, and more.

Feature presentation

ROCK THE BELLS

(dir. Casey Suchan and Denis Henry Hennelly, 103 mins, 200)

Weds Apr 11 9pm - buy tix
Thurs Apr 12 7pm - buy tix
Thurs Apr 12 9pm - buy tix
Fri Apr 13 9pm - buy tix
Fri Apr 13 11pm - buy tix
Sat Apr 14 7pm - buy tix
Sat Apr 14 9pm - buy tix
Sat Apr 14 11pm - buy tix
Sun Apr 15 7pm - buy tix
Sun Apr 15 9pm - buy tix
Mon Apr 16 9pm - buy tix
Tues Apr 17 9pm - buy tix
Weds Apr 18 9pm - buy tix
Thurs Apr 19 7pm - buy tix
Thurs Apr 19 9pm - buy tix
Fri Apr 20 9pm - buy tix
Fri Apr 21 11pm - buy tix
Mon Apr 23 9pm - buy tix
Tues Apr 24 9pm - buy tix

View the trailer

STARRING:
THE WU-TANG CLAN
Redman, Dilated Peoples, MC Supernatural, Sage Francis, Eyedea + Abilities, Chali 2na and DJ NuMark

"Outright exhilarating!"
- PREMIERE magazine

“A paean to indie ingenuity . . . appealing to devotees and the uninitiated alike.”
- VARIETY

“Wait-to-pee entertaining.”
- Cinematical

"A Gimme Shelter-like conclusion that keeps you on the edge of your seat. "
- FILMMAKER Magazine

A definitive document of contemporary Hip Hop culture, Rock The Bells is the story of the 2004 Rock The Bells festival in San Bernardino, California, which featured the last ever performance of all founding members of the Wu Tang Clan.

Personifying the fierce independence and Do-It-Yourself spirit of the Hip Hop generation, entrepreneur Chang Weisberg puts everything (his reputation, his sanity, his family, his mortgage) on the line for his impossible dream of reuniting genre superstars and notorious no-shows The Wu-Tang Clan.

Furiously paced and rich with multiple narratives, Rock The Bells follows Weisberg and his guerilla production team as they fight for the arrival of all nine Wu-Tang members, battle broken equipment and overwhelmed security, attempt to control the riotous crowd in the over-heated, overcrowded venue and deliver the history-making show they have promised.

The film also features performances by Redman, Dilated Peoples, MC Supernatural, Sage Francis, Eyedea + Abilities, Chali 2na and DJ NuMark. Rock The Bells is directed and produced by Casey Suchan and Denis Henry Hennelly, the team behind Hip Hop documentary hits Beef, Beef 2, Thug Angel, and The Freshest Kids.

Cinekink presents

THE LINE BETWEEN

(dir. Jonathan Marten, 24 mins, 2006)

VICE AND CONSENT

(dir. Howard Scott Warshaw, 56 mins, 2006)

Fri Apr 13 7pm - buy tix

Special screening followed by beer and pizza reception.

VICE AND CONSEN
Audience Choice Award, Best Documentary / CineKink 2006
When straight-laced Meg is pulled inside the how-to BDSM video she has rented, she moves from voyeur to participant in an 'Alice in Wonderland' journey through the world of fetish.

THE LINE BETWEEN
Audience Choice Award, Best Documentary / CineKink 2006
The candor, wit and wisdom of such prominent, long-standing members of the BDSM community as Midori, Jay Wiseman, Janet Hardy, Race Bannon, Cleo Dubois and Michael Blue, help shatter some popular myths about BDSM practice and its practitioners, looking instead at the gifts of intimacy that lie within.

MERCY

(dir. Patrick Roddy, 85 mins, 2006)

Mon Apr 16 7pm - buy tix

This is a "Bizarro Monday" program. Every Monday, 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.

"Visually stark and severe, a very good film."
- Roger Corman

“The performance from Gary Shannon is a revelation!”
- Bloody-Disgusting.com

MERCY follows ex-con John Mercy who yearns for a new start in idyllic Montana, but must first complete his parole. The transition from prison life is not easy, with an unsympathetic parole officer determined to send him back. But as John begins to settle into his new life on the outside, a mysterious woman begins to follow him and finds her way into his dreams, creating nightmares with devastating consequences. After the first nightmare, John wakes missing a tooth. His nightmares disrupt his life, leading him down a destructive path that threatens his parole, sanity and dream for a new start.

Thai Takes 3: