 SILVER
SCREEN CLUB PREVIEW
THE HOLY GIRL
AREGENTINA 2004 DIRECTOR: LUCRECIA
MARTEL
JUNE 6 MON 7 PM GUILD THEATRE
It's astonishing to see such a coolly knowing dramatization
of the thrumming sexuality of teenage girls drawn in equal
parts to religious fervor and erotic mischief. Amalia, a moody,
moony, and only semi-holy girl, is a droopy parochial-school
student who comes alive when a stranger rubs up against her
in a crowd. The culprit happens to be a prestigious doctor.
It's his ironic bad luck that he is staying in the hotel run
by Amalia's divorcee mother while attending a medical convention.
Inflamed by a kind of warped love and the sheer adventure
of it, the pious-perverse girl begins to stalk her molester
with a clammy ardor. Is she trying to save him or seduce him?
The promise of Martel's brilliant debut, LA CIENAGA (screening
@ NWFC July 8 & 9), is more than fulfilled with this provocative
second feature.Åh-New York Film Festival. (106
mins.) Thanks to HBO Films.
Admission limited to Silver
Screen members and their guests.
 MAD
HOT BALLROOM
US 2004 DIRECTOR: MARILYN AGRELO
JUNE 7 TUES 7 PM Whitsell Auditorium
Suggesting SPELLBOUND meets STRICTLY BALLROOM, MAD HOT BALLROOM
is a charming and inspiring look inside the lives of New York
City school kids (age 11) on a journey into the world of ballroom
dancing—a new and unexpected arena where they discover
home truths about attitude, movement, style, commitment—and
life. Told from the candid, sometimes hilarious perspective
of the boys and girls themselves, Agrelo winningly chronicles
their transformation from typical urban kids to “ladies
and gentlemen” as their school teams aim towards a final
citywide competitions in rumba, tango, meringue, and swing.
Thanks to Paramount Classics. Admission is limited to Silver
Screen members and their guests.
(105 mins.)
top 
 BEYOND
THE SEA
US/CUBA 2003 DIRECTOR: LISANDRO PÉREZ-REY
JUNE 11 12 SAT 7 PM, SUN 7 PM
Guild Theatre
It began with a bus crashing through the gates of an embassy
in Havana and unraveled into one of the most dramatic episodes
in the history of human migrations. As Fidel Castro briefly
allowed Cubans to leave the island, nearly 130,000 of them
left their homeland in an unrelenting stream of vessels bound
for America. 25 years later, the personal stories surrounding
the Mariel Boatlift continue to resonate with an energy that
can only be described as surreal and powerful. Weaving together
these riveting stories along with rare historical images and
footage from present-day Cuba, BEYOND THE SEA recreates this
“explosion of 1980,” a crisis that shook the very
foundations of Cuban as well as American society. “Impressive
both for effectively documenting the scope of the exodus and
for capturing its participants’ disparate tales, it
manages to be at once historically elucidating and personally
compelling.”—VARIETY.
(80 mins.)
top
 LOS
ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF
US 2003 DIRECTOR: THOM ANDERSEN
JUNE 17 18 19 FRI 7 PM, SAT 7 PM, SUN
7 PM Whitsell Auditorium
“Movies bury their traces, choosing for us what to watch,
then moving on to something else. They do the work of our
voluntary attention, and so we must suppress that faculty
as we watch. But what if we watch with our voluntary attention,
instead of letting the movies direct us? If we can appreciate
documentaries for their dramatic qualities, perhaps we can
appreciate fiction films for their documentary revelations.”—Thom
Andersen. Andersen’s wickedly observant essay about
the way the city of Los Angeles is represented in the movies
sharpens our awareness of film elements sometimes taken for
granted. His playful and endlessly fascinating historical
analysis surveys both well-known films (CHINATOWN, DOUBLE
INDEMNITY, BLADE RUNNER, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL ...) and rarer
finds (THE EXILES, MESSIAH OF EVIL, BUSH MAMA, KILLER OF SHEEP...),
creating a journey that is both nostalgic and insightful.
Andersen charmingly interjects his own perceptions as a Los
Angeles native, enriching this epic and comprehensive historical
tour with visits to famed locations and a fascinating examination
of the relationship between the city in fact and the city
on celluloid—not just how “Hollywood” distorts
Los Angeles, but how the city allows its history, geography
and politics to be defined by the movies in which it has starred.
(169 mins.)
top
OPEN
SCREENING: POLITICS
DIRECTORS: VARIOUS
JUNE 23 THUR 7 PM Whitsell
Auditorium
We live in especially contentious times. For this summer’s
open screening we though we focus on works with a point of
view—any and all films and videos related to politics:
local, national or global. Films will be screened on a first
come, first served basis with no curatorial influence or bias.
If you have something you would like to show, reserve your
screen time by contacting Andrew Blubaugh: andrew@nwfilm.org
top
 TROPICAL
MALADY
THAILAND 2004 DIRECTOR: APICHATPONG WEERADETHAKUL
JUNE 24 25 26 FRI 7 PM, SAT 7 PM, SUN
7 PM Whitsell Auditorium
Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival,
TROPICAL MALADY confirms maverick director Weeradethakul (BLISSFULLY
YOURS, PIFF 04), as one of the most prominent young directors
in an emerging Thai New Wave. A lyrical and mysterious “memoir
of love and darkness,” the film is in two enigmatic
parts. In the first, a young soldier from Bangkok meets a
boy in the country and a playful friendship soon intensifies
into overwhelming erotic love. But soon the soldier finds
himself alone as his lover strangely vanishes into the night.
In the second film, a young soldier ventures into the dense,
nocturnal rainforest tracking a mysterious man-beast, a quest
that becomes increasingly hallucinatory as the roles of hunter
and hunted become blurred. The relationship between the two
stories/films is ambiguous. The second may be a completion
of the first, or perhaps its contradiction. However one interprets
the relationship, Weeradethakul displays an original and visually
striking cinematic sensibility that is as hypnotically seductive
as it is allegorically challenging.
(120 mins.)
top
BEST OF THE NORTHWEST
FILM & VIDEO FESTIVAL
DIRECTORS: VARIOUS
JULY 7 8 THUR 7 PM, FRI 7 PM
Whitsell Auditorium
The Film Center’s annual “Best of the Northwest
Film & Video Festival” touring program brings the
most engaging and engrossing new media work from Oregon, Washington,
Idaho, Montana, Alaska and British Columbia to all corners
of the country, increasing the awareness of truly independent
cinema in venues ranging from movie palaces to microcinemas,
in cities and towns large and small. This year’s tour
features 10 new films by Portlanders Matt McCormick, Chel
White, Ryan Jeffery and other regional artists. Come discover
what audiences from the Juneau Underground Motion Picture
Society to the Detroit Film Center are lining up to see.
(90 mins.)
top
 THE
SWAMP
ARGENTINA 2001 DIRECTORS: LUCRECIA MARTEL
JUL 9 10 SAT 7 PM, SUN 7 PM Whitsell
Auditorium
February in the north of Argentina can be uncomfortably hot
and humid. Bodies become sluggish and sticky, and tensions
rise. Mecha is in her 50’s, with four accident-prone
teenagers, a husband who dyes his hair and the tedious problem
of sullen servants. Nothing that a few drinks can’t
cure. Tali is Mecha’s cousin. She has four noisy small
children. Her husband loves his house, loves his kids, and
loves to hunt. Mecha and her family spend their summers at
a country estate whose glory has long faded, and where the
two families, reunited by an accident, will attempt to survive
a summer from hell. With uncompromising talent, Martel’s
accomplished film brilliantly depicts the decadence of the
Argentine middle-class. ‘A remarkable debut.”—The
NEW YORK TIMES. “The triumph of LA CIÉNAGA lies
in Martel’s way of fashioning the kind of ensemble performance
that draws us in by convincing us we’re watching behavior,
not acting.”—BOSTON GLOBE.
(102 mins)
top
MICROCOSMOS:
THE FILMS OF RYAN JEFFERY
DIRECTOR: RYAN JEFFERY
JULY 14 THUR 7 PM Whitsell
Auditorium
Ryan Jeffery has emerged as one of Portland’s most ambitious
and innovative filmmakers. His elaborately constructed films
and installations emphasize color, rhythm and atmosphere,
and feature close collaboration with musicians, including
the multimedia band Adelaide, of which he is a founding member.
Says Jeffery, “I’m intrigued with the worlds that
a film can create where things have their own logic, and creating
something that strikes an emotional reaction in a similar
manner that a piece music or a painting can.” Tonight’s
screening will include all of Jeffery’s short films
and music videos, live performances with Ethan Rose, and the
first episode of THE CROWN, a multi-part narrative film revolving
around a man who gains omnipotence and is faced with a series
of ethical dilemmas. Admission is free with tuition to MUSIC
TO MY EARS see page 8 for details).
top
 THE
MAN WHO COPIED
BRAZIL 2003 DIRECTOR: JORGE FURTADO
JUL 15 16 17 FRI 7:30 PM, SAT 7:30 PM,
SUN 7 PM Whitsell Auditorium
A sweetly quirky work of magic realism that tells a story
of love, art, robbery and photocopying. André is a
bored copy machine operator in the small town of Porto Alegre
who leaves work every night to return home and draw comic
book art, where his artistic fantasies transport him to a
perfect world where he has a beautiful wife and lots of money.
He also peeps out his bedroom window into the home of Sílvia,
an 18-year-old clothing store salesgirl who lives with her
father. At first André simply fantasizes about the
pretty Sylvia, until he witnesses something terrible which
forces him to act. Accompanied by his co-worker Marinês
and her boyfriend Cardosa, André schemes to save Silvia
and become rich acting out his artistic fantasies. Furtado’s
fanciful blend of fantasy and comedy creates a distinctive
cinematic vision that is propelled by a lively Brazilian soundtrack
and a first-class ensemble cast.
(124 mins.)
top
 29TH
YOUNG PEOPLE’S
FILM & VIDEO FESTIVAL
DIRECTORS: VARIOUS
JULY 16 SAT 2 PM Guild Theatre
The Film Center’s annual YOUNG PEOPLE’S FILM &
VIDEO FESTIVAL celebrates the creativity and talents of students
who are using video, animation and multi-media to share their
ideas and concerns with the rest of the world. Today’s
program features the winning entries from students from grades
K-12 in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and Utah,
shorts dramas, documentary animated works for selected for
their originality, artistic merit, technical achievement and
persuasiveness.
Join us for an animated afternoon of young cinema. The program
also includes presentation of the Service to Young Filmmakers
Award and announcement of this year’s winners of the
Northwest High School Screenwriting Competition. Special thanks
to Festival sponsors Comcast and the Adams Foundation.
[
more >> ]
top
FRANCISCO
SÁNCHEZ: PACO DE LUCÍA
SPAIN 2001 DIRECTOR: DANIEL HERNANDEZ
JULY 20 WED 8 PM Guild Theatre
Heralded as a child prodigy at age 16, guitarist Paco de Lucía
has stayed true to his flamenco roots while attempting to
expand the tradition with bossa nova, jazz, and modernist
leanings. Hernandez’s captivating documentary traces
his life story while showcasing his genius as a performer,
both solo and in collaboration with other master musicians
such as Carlos Santana, Chick Corea, and Camerón de
la Isla. Presented in association with the Portland Flamenco
Festival, July 19-24.
(92 mins.)
top
 THE
FILMS OF CAT SOLEN
DIRECTOR: CAT SOLEN
JULY 21 THUR 7 PM Whitsell Auditorium
— Visiting Artist
Portlander Cat Solen’s filmmaking style, which includes
a variety of animation techniques as well live action, combines
a fairy tail-like innocence with dark underpinnings. Her eclectic
talent has attracted a variety of high-profile collaborators,
including musician Connor Oberst aka Bright Eyes), and artists
Anne Wilson and Shawn Decker, whose installation piece created
with Solen, ERRANT BEHAVIORS, has been exhibited at the Chicago
Art Expo and Art Basel Miami. Tonight’s screening will
include her past work, including MILK (2002), in which every
day activities are made quietly disheartening, and BOWL OF
ORANGES (2004), in which two lovers are animated with felt,
as well as the premiere of her new music video for Bright
Eyes, featuring Evan Rachel Wood and Terrence Stamp. Admission
is free with tuition to MUSIC TO MY EARS
top
 FLAMENCO
SPAIN 1997 DIRECTOR: CARLOS SAURA
JULY 21 THUR 8 PM Guild Theatre
Regarded by many as the quintessential flamenco film Saura’s
soulful and sexy performance piece combines dazzling dance
pyrotechnics with the cinematic virtuosity of master cinematographer
Vittorio Storaro. A brief introduction traces the history
of flamenco, then the film then launches into an unbroken
series of electrifying dance numbers, performed by over 300
of Spain’s leading flamenco artists. Set in an abandoned
train station in Seville, Saura creates striking visual settings
that range from black-on-white austerity to brilliant color
to dramatic chiaroscuro. Presented in association with the
Portland Flamenco Festival, July 19-24.
(100 mins.)
top
 FUNNY
HA HA
2002 DIRECTOR: ANDREW BUJALSKI
JULY 22 23 24 FRI 7 PM, SAT 7 &
9 PM, SUN 7 PM Guild Theatre
Anyone who has, or is, negotiating their way through their
20’s to find a presumable “adult” life will
appreciate Bujalski’s eye and ear for the universal.
His fresh, quietly amusing, “romantic comedy”
follows young college graduate Marnie as she interacts with
her friends and roams and suffers through Boston in search
of a temp job and a permanent boyfriend. Much in the spirit
of the early films of John Cassavetes (SHADOWS) and Richard
Linklater (SLACKER), Bujalski's characters and awkward, this-can’t
be-happening-reality have an unerring naturalism that rivets
as it stirs “been there” recognition. “Bujalski
lingers on life’s quietly uncomfortable moments, like
when you run out of conversation on a date and there’s
nothing left to do but just look at each other. It’s
rich material and Bujalski renders each stilted conversation
perfectly, with every “Um” and “Ah”
in exactly the right place.”—Los Angeles Film
Festival. “Compared with Bujalski’s characters,
the ones in most other movies look and act like robots on
autopilot.”—Ray Carney, author of “Cassavetes
on Cassavetes.” Andrew Buljaski is scheduled to attend
the Saturday screenings.
(89 mins.)
top
 QUEEN
OF THE GYPSIES: A PORTRAIT OF CARMEN AMAYA
US 2003 DIRECTOR: JOCELYN AJAMI
JULY 22 FRI 9 PM Guild Theatre
Carmen Amaya (1913–1968) transformed the art of Flamenco
dance. From humble beginnings in a Barcelona gypsy slum, by
her early teens, patrons were throwing plates and shattering
china in appreciation after the great guitarist “Sabicas”
(Augustin Castellon) introduced her at the Villa Rosa. By
1941, already a film star, she had begun touring the US where
Carnegie Hall patrons threw mink alongside the roses. She
moved to Hollywood where, despite being limited to stereotypical
roles, she became the first Roma to gain international stardom.
Weaving electrifying performance footage and music, along
with interviews with scholars, family members, fellow artists
and friends, Ajami celebrates the life of an astonishing legend.
Presented in association with the Portland Flamenco Festival,
July 19-24.
(81 mins.)
top
 TANGO
SPAIN 1998 DIRECTOR: CARLOS SAURA
JULY 27 WED 7 PM Guild
Theatre
Saura is the maestro of tales where the drama is as much on
as off the dance floor. Here he explores that most erotically
precise of choreographed forms—the tango. Mario Suarez
is a gifted artist in the midst of a mid-life crisis instigated
by his wife’s departure. Determined to exorcise his
demons, Mario throws himself into the making of a dance film—an
obsession only distracted by his interest in one of his investor's
mistress. With this spare plot line, Saura and cinematographer
Vittorio Storaro craft a sumptuous visual spectacle featuring
electric dancing by some of the tango’s finest, including
Julio Bocca and Carlos Copes—offering a broad cultural
window into the spirit and history of Spanish dance culture.
Tonight’s screening will be introduced by musician and
composer Lalo Schifrin, who wrote the score for the film.
A four-time Grammy winner and six-time Oscar nominee, Schifrin
has scored dozens of films and television productions ranging
from MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, COOL HAND LUKE and DIRTY HARRY to
BULLITT, RUSH HOUR and ACE VENTURA. Schifrin will be in Portland
July 30-31 for two concerts at Chamber Music Northwest of
his newest tango-inspired work for a sextet in which he plays
piano with CMNW artists and bandoneonist Nestor Marconi, featured
in TANGO.
(112 mins.)
top
 CINÉVARDAPHOTO
FRANCE 2004 DIRECTOR: AGNÈS VARDA
JULY 29 30 31 FRI 7 & 9 PM, SAT
7 & 9 PM, SUN 7 PM Whitsell Auditorium
In the process of earning her regard as one of the cinema’s
great artists, Agnès Varda has produced dramatic features,
quasi-musicals, ciné-poems, essay films and documentaries.
Her interest in the power of the image resonates throughout
all of her works, and in CINEVARDAPHOTO she brings together
three of her short films which explore photographs and their
meanings in different contexts over a period of forty years.
“In my films, I always wanted to make people see deeply.
I don’t want to show things, but to give people the
desire to see.”—Agnès Varda. FEATURING:
YDESSA, THE BEARS AND ETC. . . (2004). Varda, intrigued by
an exhibition of wall to wall old photographs, each containing
a teddy bear, flies to Toronto to meet the curator Ydessa
Hendeles. What seems a simple concept reveals itself to be
a multilayered metaphor for the 20th century. ULYSSES (1982).
A photograph she took of a young boy, a dead goat and a naked
man on a beach near Calais in 1954 becomes the focus of an
exploration of the nature of memory and time. HI TO THE CUBANS
(1963), finds Varda returning from Cuba with 1800 photographs,
the basis of a vibrant, joyful, amusing documentary which
not only serves as a memorable microcosm of Cuba four years
after Castro came to power, but also pumps to the rhythm of
the cha-cha-cha. “A work of great charm and bold aesthetic
impurity. . .wild exuberance and overwhelming sadness.”—J.
Hoberman, VILLAGE VOICE
(89 mins.)
top
SCREEN 360:
FILMS FOR CHILDREN OF THE WORLD
DIRECTORS: VARIOUS
AUGUST 6 SAT 11 AM & 2 PM
Guild Theatre
We are pleased to present two programs organized by Catapult
Productions featuring international films that offer young
viewers a special window on the world. The films will be shown
in their original languages with English subtitles.
Admission: $5 adults; $3 children. These programs
is suitable for ages 9 and up.
11 AM -
VITAMIN W
LUCIA (GERMANY 2003) DIRECTOR: FELIX GÖNNERT
Felix Gönnerts masterful animation of pigtailed Lucia
as she toddles through the hospital where she's being treated,
will delight viewers of all ages. (9 mins.)
HEDGE OF THORNS (NORWAY 2002) DIRECTOR:
ANITA KILLI
This timeless cut-out animation conveys the story of a war
that separates two playmates. When father comes home,
his child asks, ÅgDaddy, did you kill the war?Åh
(13 mins.)
BAZI [the PLAY] (IRAN 2004) DIRECTOR: GHOLEMREZA
RAMEZANI
Life is hard if you are four years old anywhere in the world
and you have to play alone while your mother works. Soraya
loves her toys but has stretched her imagination and her mother's
patience as far as it goes-she simply wants a playmate. Then
a ball flies over the wall and a voice follows. (60 mins.)
2 PM - WHO'S THE DREAMER
FLIEGEN TO FLY (GERMANY/US 2004) DIRECTOR: CM
KAVANAUGH
Ever had a flying dream? Ever wonder when you first started
becoming the grown-up you are today? A 10 year-old girl,
enchanted by her flying dreams, devotes her life to coming
as close to flying as she possibly can. (19 mins.)
POLLEKE (The Netherlands, 2003)
11 year-old Polleke has grown
up in neighborhood of mixed cultures and lifestyles living
together but is confused when her crush on her childhood friend
results in conflict. (95 mins.)
top
 EL
LEYTON
CHILE 2002 DIRECTOR: GONZALO JUSTINIANO
AUG 11 14 THU 7 PM, SUN 7 PM
Guild Theatre — Cinema Tropical
One of Chile’s most celebrated filmmakers, Justiniano
masterfully navigates through the borders of comedy and tragedy
in this lively drama where a love triangle disrupts the quiet
life of a small fishing village on the Pacific coast. Handsome
Leyton is a carefree bon vivant; a womanizer who is especially
popular among ladies whose husbands can’t satisfy their
sexual desires. Nothing like Leyton, his best friend and partner,
Modesto, is a hardworking fisherman obsessed with progress.
A tragic triangle unravels as Modesto marries beautiful young
Marta, who longs for the sexual satisfaction Modesto is incapable
of providing and Leyton happily fulfills. Outstanding performances,
a charming setting and a sardonic sense of humor make this
tale of lust, friendship and murder a compelling and highly
enjoyable film. “The rhythms of the film are as lulling
and resonant as the tides its characters clock their days
by.”—TIME OUT.
(95 mins.)
top
|
