Summer is upon us. While this time of year is generally
devoted to films with say, a more “popcorn” vibe to them, the independent scene
has some really interesting films to offer as well.
As always, go to our Future page for any additions:
Dior and I –
Opening May 22nd
This documentary follows Raf Simons of the Christian Dior
fashion house, with a privileged behind-the-scenes look at the creation of his
first haute couture collection. This film shows the strength of a unified
vision and using that to bring together a large group of creative, and
opinionated, artists.
Iris – Opening May
29th
Continuing the fashion theme, we will be screening the last
film of famed documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, perhaps most famous for his
film “Grey Gardens.” This is a touching and funny look at Iris Apfel, a
93-year-old style guru.
Remake: Movie Posters Based on the Films of the Coen
Brothers Auction & Sale
May 29th, 7pm $5
For Cinema Center’s spring fundraiser, we asked local
artists to create an original movie poster of their favorite Coen brothers
film. Prints of the posters will be for sale, and a signed and numbered, framed
edition will be auctioned. Local band the Snarks take the stage at 9pm. The
evening concludes with a screening of the film “Barton Fink.” Bravas food truck
will be on site for the event.
About Elly –
Opening June 5th
This film from “A Seperation” director Asghar Farhadi was
actually filmed in Iran in 2009, but it is just now finding wide distribution.
It follows the lives of a group of middle class Iranians and how the mysterious
disappearance of one of their friends impacts them all.
Slow West –
Opening June 12th
More and more revisionist westerns are coming out of the
indie scene, and this one looks particularly interesting with comparisons to
Wes Anderson and the Coen brothers. Michael Fassbender stars as a bodyguard to
a 16-year-old Scottish boy looking for his true love in the American west.
I am Big Bird: The
Carroll Spinney Story– Opening June 19th
It is amazing for anyone to hold a job for more than 45
years, but what makes Carroll Spinney even more interesting is that at
80-years-old, he has no intention of taking off the giant, yellow Big Bird
suit. This documentary follows its subject from his bullied childhood to
children’s public television icon.
I didn’t come to love movies in the theater. After the first memorable experience I had in
the theater (seeing “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home”), I was hooked and couldn’t
wait to go back. But, it was at home, like so many kids who grew up in the ‘80s
and ‘90s, where the love story between film and me began.
Sometimes I describe my dad as an early adopter, but in
retrospect I think he was a bit of a collector/hoarder of new technology. When
most people were waiting for VHS (or Betamax) to drop to a somewhat affordable
price, my dad brought home the RCA Video Disc Player. Here is a fun commercial
for the device:
Now that isn’t a Laser Disc player. That’s an actual analog
home video player, not all that different than vinyl records. The discs could
only hold an hour’s worth of a movie on each side, so either the discs had to
be edited or they had to be put on multiple discs. I still remember walking
around my house with the double disc set of “The Ten Commandments,” holding
them like the title tablets. Sometimes there was a title card to flip the disc
at the halfway point of movie, sometimes the film just stopped mid-scene.
The video discs weren’t available at many stores, so often I
had to hunt for them with my dad, who would take me in the backroom
of electronic stores (this was before Best Buy or even when other department
stores started carrying tech products), where either a haphazard display space
was made, or there would be a sort of swap meet with other cinephiles, trading
and selling their favorite movies on the off chance you happened to have a copy
of the second disc of “The Godfather.”
My mind goes straight back to those places if I
get a whiff of ozone bouncing off of a concrete floor. Or if I come across a
really interesting DVD stand at a flea market.
Eventually, the home video wars were won, for a time, with
VHS beating both the limited Video Disc and the superior Betamax. The
portability and affordability of VHS created a whole new industry, home video,
and soon every film release was sold in stores months after it left the
theater, creating a whole secondary market for film exhibition.
It didn’t take long for trips to the video rental store
(another new phenomenon made possible because of VHS), to become a favorite
activity of mine. When my dad and I went to electronic stores to scavenge, buy or
barter Video Discs, it was sometimes a bit of a dark and dingy experience, but
our video rental store, Video Stop on Hobson Road off of East State, was bright
and filled with covers on the video tape boxes jammed with images and colors.
And there were the cardboard displays. They were so cool. So
many kids I grew up with did not become acquainted with Freddy Krueger from the
“Nightmare on Elm Street” films, our parents would never allow us to watch them,
but we learned about him from the larger than life displays in the horror
section of the rental store. I’m pretty sure the stories we made up in our
heads were far scarier than the movies turned out to be.
Recently on the public radio magazine show “Here & Now,”
a film historian was describing a program at the Yale University library where
a massive archival project is underway of VHS tapes. Are they archiving
forgotten silent films or something from the French New Wave only available in
VHS? Heck, no. They are preserving grindhouse horror and exploitation films
with titles like “Cellar Dweller” and “Shock ‘Em Dead.” You can hear the story and learn about the
project here:
Horror films typified the VHS format, and also gave rise to
the new distribution system – straight to video. Grabbing attention with
scandalous cover that had off kilter fonts and bold colors, the video rental
store was the last stop for many of these straight to video films. These were
movies that many artists had poured their soul and creativity into, spending
countless hours in production, and were not given a chance in theaters because
of marketability concerns or budget restraints.
But they found new life in the video rental stores. I
remember being at Delmar Video, which is still in operation in Fort Wayne, and stopping
cold in my pre-kindergarten tracks at a huge display that mimicked the cover of
the horror film “Ghoulies,” complete with an enormous toilet and the ghoulie
sticking its head out. It was both shocking and funny, and I am sure that one
image has embedded itself into my psyche and planted the seed that would
eventually turn into my sense of humor.
Even though the home video market as a whole is waning, and
the video rental store is all but extinct, it always makes me smile when I see
how all the ways it stills has an impact on other film lovers.
Just look at the poster for the critically lauded horror
film “It Follows,” which Cinema Center is opening at 11:59pm tonight.
It's perfect. This is just the kind of poster that would be up at
the register at Video Stop, or there would be a mini postcard size version
given to customers with their receipt. Sure the film itself was influenced by
great horror films from the ‘70s and ‘80s, but it also evokes that feeling of
joyous discovery, looking at something that you might not understand and are
probably too young to see, and to want to take it home even more because of
that. VHS gave me that feeling, and I am forever trying to recapture it. At
least I can look at this poster and delight in the fact that it appears David
Robert Mitchell, the director of “It Follows,” is doing the same thing.
Jonah Crismore is Cinema Center’s executive director and
battles an addiction to physical media.
Oscar fever is spreading now that the nominations have been
announced, and it is only going to get worse in February. All the films
nominated for Academy Awards can be found here: http://oscar.go.com/nominees.
Here is what we have scheduled for February, and don’t
forget to go to the Future page for additions:
Women Make Movies
Starting January 30th, in partnership with the
IPFW Women’s Studies Program, we are having a 3-day, free film festival
highlighting movies from all around the globe about women, made by women
filmmakers. For a complete “Women Make Movies” line-up, check out the Events
page.
Opens January 30th-February
1st
Two Days, One Night
Marion Cotillard was a surprise Oscar nomination for Best
Actress this year for her portrayal of a woman desperate to regain employment
in this French film. The film created a lot of buzz and garnered praise at last
year’s Cannes Film Festival.
On February 20th, come celebrate the movies with
Cinema Center at our annual Oscar Party fundraiser. Food will be provided by JK
O’Donnell’s, beer and wine will be available for sale, and excellent local
selections for the silent auction will ready for your bids! The night will
conclude with a special screening of Oscar favorite “Boyhood.”
Oscar Pary – February
20th, starts at 6pm
Boyhood
In honor of its recognition by the Academy, we are bringing
back “Boyhood” for a special limited engagement. The film screens as part of
the Oscar Party on February 20th, and will continue through Oscar
night on February 22nd.
Opens February 20th
and plays through February 22nd
...and don't forget Inherent Vice is opening tonight!
Quite a bit has been written regarding the supposed death of
the foreign language film market. The reasoning behind this is very complex,
with those singing dirges for foreign film pointing out everything from the
American audience doesn’t like to read subtitles, to countries that were once
movie-rich like France and Italy, have stopped rolling camera because generous
government subsidies have dried up leaving many projects unfunded.
Since it is true that foreign language films are having a
harder time getting on screens in the United States, I am really excited that
Cinema Center is premiering the Swedish black comedy “Force Majeure,” starting
today.
As a film community, we must come out and support movies
from all over the globe, it not only makes us more film literate, but also
allows for us to see stories and issues from wholly new perspectives.
In honor of tonight’s opening of “Force Majeure,” I have put
together a short list of fairly recent foreign language films that everyone
should check out on Netflix, where anyone can see that foreign film is very
much alive and well:
Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)
This Mexican film about two young men who go on a road trip
with an older woman helped usher in a renaissance of Latin American filmmakers,
as well as explode the careers of director Alfonso Cuaron, and star Gael Garcia
Bernal.
City of God (2002)
Growing up as a quiet, creative individual has the potential
to make anyone an outsider, but in this film, it can be dangerous. Rocket is an
aspiring photographer in one of Rio de Janeiro’s most dangerous slums and is surprised
as anyone when he discovers his camera is both a salvation from the drug lords,
and his possible escape from poverty.
Fallen Angels (1995)/ Days of Being Wild (1990)
Three words: Wong Kar Wai. In 2001, he directed one of the
greatest films of all time – “In the Mood for Love.” These earlier films are
both beautiful, and extremely original, in their own right, and show off a talent
that was just on the cusp of his greatest masterpiece.
“ Force Majeure” opens January 9th at 6:30pm.
Jonah Crismore is Cinema Center’s Executive Director and can't think of any witty quips.
