Museums Breathe New Life into Documentaries. indieWire cites the Walker’s film program and specifically, our upcoming presentation of Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait
My cinema-scholar hero and friend, David Bordwell, has a blog! He and his partner, Kristin Thompson, have been posting their observations on film and art there. It was always a pleasure to work with and learn from them both, and I’m thrilled to able to do so again from afar. Check it out! Be sure to take a look at Kristin’s post on Snakes On a Plane.
Silverdocs lauds Demme. Jonathan Demme will be honored for his documentary work in the upcoming Silverdocs festival. He is currently working on new films about Jimmy Carter and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Variety reports.
Cam Archer’s Wild Tigers I Have Known, premiered locally at the Walker’s Queer Takes program last June, has been acquired by IFC Films for their First Take program that releases films in theaters and to their on demand platform simultanesously. Hopefully, this will make it to a local screen. Keep an eye out for the film on February 28.
Queer Takes will be returning this June with another slate of challenging, innovative and exciting work in Queer Cinema.
Film is Dead, says David Lynch. I can’t say i agree, but i haven’t seen Inland Empire yet. Reported by AFP via indieWire.
The Winners of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival have been announced. Manda Bala took the top prize.
ReverseBlog reviews Colossal Youth, which was presented at the Walker in October, and graced top ten lists of critics worldwide.
Wow. Seeing Fireworks, Rabbit’s Moon, Scorpio Rising and Kustom Kar Kammandos restored was like seeing them for the first time. For the people who were at this sold out event, I think there is no denying how special the night was. Listening to his stories left me in awe at the life Dr. Anger has lived. Indeed, at the presentation at the Walker Cinema on Friday night I think the audience was just as enchanted, if not more so, with Dr. Anger’s storytelling as they were with the restored 35mm prints of his films. Thank you Dr. Anger.
It is hard to imagine seeing Fireworks in 1947, which still seems so bold and shocking. To quote Anais Nin who saw the film at the time “At someone’s house I was shown [Anger's] film Fireworks. The sadism and violence revolted me, but the film has power and is artistically perfect. It has a nightmare quality. Everyone had mixed feelings, horror and recognition of Kenneth Anger’s talent.” That talent is still easy to see today.
This Sunday’s New York Times had an interesting article by A. O. Scott (”The World is Watching. Not Americans.“) lamenting the lack of foreign film appreciation here in the U.S. To quote the article: “The movies are out there, more numerous and various than ever before, but the audience – and therefore box-office returns and the willingness of distributors to risk even relatively small sums on North American rights – seems to be dwindling and scattering.” As much as I like to join in on any doomsday proclamation and wax poetically about the way things used to be, I wonder if things are all that bad. 
Until I win the lottery and build my own multiplex and start playing films for myself, I don’t think I will ever be satisfied with what sees screen time in the Twin Cities. However, I do think the Twin Cities is blessed with a small group of smart and scrappy (and, yes, somewhat beleaguered) independent film organizations. At the heart of A. O. Scott’s article are the foreign films topping many critic’s lists for 2006 such as The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and Pan’s Labyrinth. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu had a two-week stint at the Parkway, and while I’m sure no records were broken for viewership, astute Twin Cities cineastes saw this film. As for 
Pan’s Labyrinth, look for records to be broken: I stood in line with everyone else this weekend to see this film at the Uptown theater. (When I enquired about their weekend business, the ticket seller said that on opening night they had sold out, which hadn’t happened at the Uptown for three years. Two points for foreign language films!) Once agian, from the article: ” If you have seen Three Times or L’Enfant – to name two other hits of the 2005 Cannes Festival that came and went here in the blink of an eye last year despite choruses of critical praise – then you can perhaps feel the flush of specialness that comes from belonging to an exclusive coterie.” Yes! I do feel that flush! Three Times had four screenings at the Walker in September and L’Enfant 
played at Landmark’s Edina Theater for a week. Furthermore on the flush of specialness: “All the more if you are familiar with the festival-only titles on some critics’ lists of undistributed movies, like Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Syndromes and a Century or Pedro Costa’s Colossal Youth.” While I am holding out for a screening of Regis alumn Weerasethakul’s Syndromes and a Century, I am feeling a particularly exclusive coterie flush about Colossal Youth that screened at the Walker in October.
No, it’s not all that bad, but the reality of the market is pointed out in an IndieWire article: “So far, in 2006, less than 10 films have crossed the $1 million mark, but here’s an even more startling statistic: Of the more than 100 foreign-language films released so far this year, less than a quarter have broken $100,000 in ticket sales. (In 2005, by comparison, about half of the 128 foreign-language titles released made well over $100,000.)” Wow. If nothing else, this is a plea to support those smart and scappy programers, where ever you are. The exclusive coterie is there…waiting for you.
To say I am looking forward to this would be an understatement. I’ve been a fan of Anger’s work for years, and I’m thrilled that he will grace the Cinema stage at the Walker again for the first time in over 25 years, mere days before his 80th birthday. Needless to say, Dr. Anger has countless incredible stories about his life, work, and the history of Cinema. As if that isn’t enough, he will be presenting the new 35mm UCLA restorations of Fireworks, Rabbit’s Moon, Scorpio Rising, and Kustom Kar Kommandos. We will also be showing Invocation of My Demon Brother, a recent gift to the Walker’s Edmund R. Ruben Film and Video Study collection from Sally Dixon. This will be a night to remember. Do not miss it! I would recommend buying tickets in advance as they are going quickly.
An Evening with Kenneth Anger. Friday, January 26, 7:30
The Films of Kenneth Anger volume 1 DVD was released yesterday (and will hopefully hit the Walker Shop’s shelves by the week’s end. However, seeing these films projected from 35mm prints in the Cinema will no doubt remind you of why seeing actual film projected in a theater setting is unparalleled. The color, scale, power, and intensity of these films will be immediately apparent. Do not miss your chance to see them.
To whet your appetite and give you a hint of what these restorations will offer, take a look at the trailer for the DVD:
The New York Times reviewed the upcoming Kenneth Anger DVD. As exciting as it will be to finally have these films more widely available, you do not want to miss your chance to see these restored 35mm prints on the big screen in the Cinema at the Walker on Friday. Dr. Anger will be present. It will be a spectacular evening.
Fox Searchlight has picked up the worldwide rights to Waitress, the final film written and Directed by the late Adrienne Shelly. indieWire reports.
Am I the only one that finds it a bit funny that Variety actually posted a review of the Academy Award nominations announcement.
