News

Fans of Independent and International Film Nationwide, please take note of this very important press release. I’ve always prided Boston as being a place where small, art-house films could be found in abundance. Well that could one day soon change radically, as this notice plainly warns. The Brattle Film Foundation has long been a partner of the Chlotrudis Society in its mission and purpose. Learn more about the Brattle Film Foundation’s Legacy Campaign. Please spread this news around to any fans of cinema that you know.

Last Monday, the Brattle Film Foundation (BFF), the nonprofit organization that programs and operates the Harvard Square’s landmark cinema, the Brattle Theatre, announced the most important fundraising effort in its 52-year history. The PRESERVE THE BRATTLE LEGACY CAMPAIGN is a two-year fundraising effort that is necessary to sustain repertory film programming at the Brattle. The Phase One goal is to raise $400,000 by the end of 2005; the Phase Two goal is to raise another $100,000 by the end of 2006. If BFF is not successful at meeting the goals set by Phase One of the campaign, BFF will be forced to cease operations at the Brattle Theatre, effectively ending the 52-year legacy of repertory film programming at the Brattle. The Brattle Theatre has outlasted most arthouse cinemas in the country. While landmarks like St. Mark’s and Bleeker Street in New York closed their doors long ago, the Brattle has survived. Of the Brattle’s current situation, Creative Director Ned Hinkle had this to say: ‘Repertory film programming at the Brattle simply cannot survive without significant community support. Our current challenges can only be overcome with the involvement of community members who want to keep the tradition of film programming alive at the Brattle Theatre.’

What are those challenges? The Brattle has experienced the same drop in attendance that has been plaguing cinemas over the past several years. Meanwhile, costs related to operating the Brattle Theatre have increased by 30%. Government, corporate, and foundation funding for cultural organizations have diminished. Furthermore, BFF and the Brattle are feeling the pinch of the changes in Harvard Square’s make-up. With a number of prominent storefronts empty, including Wordsworth Books, the Brattle’s surroundings have lost much of their draw as a vibrant, independent destination.

It is with these challenges in mind that BFF launches its PRESERVE THE BRATTLE LEGACY CAMPAIGN. If Cambridge’s only independent cinema is to remain open, this campaign must be successful. Just as a ballet company or a museum must be subsidized by donations, so must repertory film programming at the Brattle. By definition, ticket sales are an inconsistent and unreliable source of income. Every other independent repertory cinema in the country relies heavily on public and donation support to solidify their budgets. BFF board president Mike Bowes says, ‘We cannot sustain and further our repertory programming tradition, or stay in business for 52 more years, without major local investment.’

Board member Siobhan O’Riordan continues, ‘We are running more than just a movie theater, we are operating a community landmark, a historical legacy, and a cornerstone of American film history. The Brattle Theatre’s strong reputation for artistic quality, nationally-recognized film programming and enthusiastic audiences, are vital, but without deeper community commitment and greater financial support, it is not enough.’

Repertory film programming at the Brattle Theatre holds personal meaning for many members of the community. Ned Hinkle is hopeful that the Brattle community will come together in response to the crisis. ‘If ticket sales alone can’t support us then we hope the larger community of Brattle patrons and film lovers will. And honestly,’ says Hinkle, ‘that only seems appropriate since we are a non-profit organization presenting films for the benefit of the community.’

The PRESERVE THE BRATTLE LEGACY CAMPAIGN’s goal, in addition to financially stabilizing the BFF’s programs, is also to increase community engagement in Cambridge’s nationally renowned Brattle Theatre and secure the Foundation’s efforts to maintain the quality and consistency of creative film programming at the theater. Phase One will get BFF out of debt, fund an expanded marketing budget, and support the development of more community programs. Phase Two will move BFF to the next level as an organization, enabling the Foundation to work towards goals created by the strategic plan that BFF is currently developing.

There will be many opportunities for the community to be involved in the campaign. There will be a movie watch-a-thon, a special members-only drive, house parties hosted by Brattle supporters, as well as continued solicitations for direct donations from local businesses, foundations, and individuals. BFF is organizing a gala benefit event with a world-renowned filmmaker and a series of musical event fundraisers. Executive Director Ivy Moylan explains: ‘It is our hope that through raising awareness of the community asset that the Brattle Theatre has become year after year and screening after screening, we will be able to reach, if not exceed, our goals for the year.’

The BFF is committed to carefully curated programming, driven by presenting films based on quality, diversity and cultural value not by garnering high-ticket sales. Nationally, virtually every similarly programmed, independent cinema is in crisis, and those that are not rely heavily on community support to balance their budgets or are part of a larger nonprofit with access to deep pockets, like a university or museum. ‘The only way that our peers throughout the country are making it is through significant community support,’ says Hinkle.

The BFF believes that viewing film is a community as well as personal experience. Many of the directors that the Brattle Theatre is famous for introducing to greater Boston never wished for their films to be screened on television or on a computer. Their expectation was that their films would be seen in an auditorium on a large screen with an audience of strangers surrounded by the sounds and feel of a traditional movie theatre. It is exactly this type of movie-going experience that the Foundation is working to retain. The Brattle Theatre’s legacy of repertory film programming will not continue without significant and immediate community support.

About The Brattle Theatre

The Brattle Theatre began its foreign and repertory film programming in 1953, helping to define repertory cinema in the US. The Brattle is the oldest continuingly operating art house in the Boston area and one of the last single screen theatres showing repertory film in the US. Widely known for reviving such classics as Casablanca and holding the US premieres of films by Ingmar Bergman, Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and David Lynch, among others, the Brattle’s programming has made many undeniable contributions to film culture.

About The Brattle Film Foundation

Since 2001, the Brattle Film Foundation has built upon the Brattle Theatre’s reputation by introducing the Boston community to new films by internationally acclaimed directors such as Wim Wenders, Michael Haneke, Benoit Jacquot, Guy Maddin, and Ken Loach, as well as work by emerging talents such as Richard Kelly, Alexander Sokurov, Tsai Ming-Liang, Carlos Reigadas, and Lukas Moodyson, The Foundation has also welcomed screenings in many local festivals including our own New England Animation Bash and Boston Fantastic Film Festival, as well as serving as a founding location for the Independent Film Festival of Boston. The Brattle Film Foundation is the first 501(c)3 organization to operate the theater space.

National Audience Trends

Hollywood is currently experiencing its worst attendance in 20 years. (AP)

The number of moviegoers dropped nationwide in 2003 (down 4%), 2004 (6%), and 2005 (8% to date). (New York Times/Boston Globe)

Recent Associated Press-AOL poll reported that 73% of Americans prefer to watch movies at home. (Boston Globe)

DVD Sales and Rentals increased 676.5 percent. (Boston Globe)

Internet use increased 76.6 percent. (Boston Globe)

Video game use increased 20 percent. (Boston Globe)

Hello Everyone,

Trying to get back to normal for our Chlotrudis Monday Night at the Movies this week, although it is a holiday for some… Columbus Day. So why don’t you come joing us at the Kendall Square Theatre for the 7:20 p.m. show of MIRRORMASK. Director Dave McKean and screenwriter Neil Gaiman made their names on the Sandman comic book in the 1980’s. Now they have teamed up for a darkly fantastic film. Join us beforehand for dinner!

Famed graphic novelists Neil Gaiman (screenwriter) and Dave McKean (director) combine their talents to create a dazzling, imaginative creation that resembles a cross between LABYRINTH and Alice in Wonderland, but is entirely original. Helena (Stephanie Leonidas), a 15-year-old girl in a family of circus entertainers, often wishes she could run off and join real life. After a fight with her parents, her mother (Gina McKee) falls dangerously ill and Helena is convinced she is to blame. She dreams she is in a strange, doomed land with opposing queens, bizarre creatures and masked inhabitants, and only she can restore the balance by finding the MIRRORMASK.

Here’s another fine example of just how lucky we are in Boston to have the Brattle Theatre. This weekend, the Brattle presents the area premiere of TROPICAL MALADY, a gay-themed romance wrapped around a Thai folk legend involving a shaman with shapeshifting abilities! Where else could you see a film like that nowadays? TROPICAL MALADY plays Friday – Sunday at the Brattle. You might want to check this one out! And for a very important message from the Brattle, watch you Chlotrudis e-mail, or check out their webpage.

You’re all so lucky! The delightful, French, sex farce COTE D’AZUR has been held over for another week at the Kendall Square Cinema, so don’t waste this special opportunity to see it. The pitch perfect film stars Gilbert Melkhi from Lucas Belvaux’s TRILOGY and doesn’t hit a wrong note in its frothy comedy. If you’re looking for a fun way to spend 90 minutes in the theatre, you’ve found your film!

That’s it for this week.
See you at the movies!

Playing this week, October 7 – 13.

Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
Special Engagement – Area Premiere!
Tropical Malady (Fri. – Sun.)
Special Event
Cries from the Border (Sat. & Sun.)
Greta Garbo Centennial Celebration
Anna Karenina (Mon.)
Ninotchka (Tue. & Wed..)
Grand Hotel (Tue & Wed.)
The Third Annual Boston Fantastic Film Festival!
Opening Night Selection – New England Premieres!
Creep (Thu.)
Izo (Thu.)

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
Thumbsucker
Proof
The Aristocrats
Operation: Dreamland (Mon., Wed., & Thu.)
30th Annual New England Film & Video Foundation
Cuba Mia: Portrait of an All-Woman Orchestra (Fri.)
Walking the Line (Fri.)
Edge of Darkness: Dark Warrior (Fri.)
Chaos & Order: Making American Theatre (Sat.)
Reflections: Short Documentaries (Sat.)
Fences & Fingernails (Sat.)
You Are Alone (Sat.)
King of Punk (Sat.)
The Crocodile River: One Man’s Journey (Sun.)
The Gay Marriage Thing (Sun.)
Still We Ride (Sun.)
Streets of Wonderland (Sun.)
Awake (Sun.)
The Man Who Couldn’t (Sun.)
Progressions: Narrative Shorts (Mon.)
Imagination: Shorts (Mon.)
Short Shorts (Mon.)
Kung Fu for Kids
Thrilling Bloody Sword (Fri.)
Monkey War: New Pilgrims Through the West (Sat.)
New England Student Video Festival (Tue.)
The Allston Skirt Gallery Presents:
Bob Dylan Mix Tape (Tue.)
Brookline Booksmith Presents:
Chris Eliot in person with Cabin Boy (Wed.)
Filmmakers from the West Coast: Rebecca Baron (in person) (Thu.)

FEI Theatres
Capitol Theatre, Arlington
Grizzly Man
Junebug
March of the Penguins
Broken Flowers

Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge
Mikio Naruse: A Centennial Tribute
Late Chrysanthemums (Fri.)
Repast (Fri.)
Floating Clouds (Sat.)
Lightning (Sat.)
Flowing (Sun.)
Sound of the Mountain (Sun.)
A Wanderer’s Notebook (Mon.)
Yearning (Mon.)
Film Architectures
High Treason (Tue.)
Metropolis (with live piano accompaniment) (Wed.)
In The Trenches: Filming World War I
Hell’s Angels (Tue.)
Imagining the City
Sunrise (with live piano accompaniment) (Wed.)
Harvard LBGT Film Series
Hairspray (Wed.)

Hollywood Hits Theatre, Danvers
Everything is Illuminated
Oliver Twist
Proof
Broken Flowers
March of the Penguins

Landmark Theatres
Kendall Square, Cambridge
C’d’Azur
Cr’as
El Crimen Ferpecto
Mirrormask
Seperate Lies
Everything is Illuminated
The Constant Gardener (Ineligible)
Thumbsucker
The Aristocrats

Embassy Cinema, Waltham
Thumbsucker
Proof
The Aristocrats
Separate Lies
Broken Flowers
March of the Penguins

Loew’s Harvard Square, Cambridge
A History of Violence (Ineligible)
Good Night, and Good Luck
Green Street Hooligans
Proof

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Cuba on Film
I Am Cuba (Fri. & Sat.)
I Am Cuba: the Siberian Mammoth (Fri. & Sat.)
The Films of Mikio Naruse
Summer Clouds (Sat.)
The Whole Family Works (Sun.)
Flowing (Thu.)

The Newburyport Screening Room, Newburyport
Junebug

BU CINEMATHEQUE RETURNS

Screenings are at 7 pm in room B-05 of the Communication Building, 640 Comm.Ave., Boston. Public transportation: the “B” Boston College Green Line, one stop beyond Kenmore Square.

Thursday, October 6-AN EVENING WITH BOB WHITE. In the decades since a BU graduate student, White, a Simmons College professor, has become Boston’s most prolific animator, with a stream of hilarious, wildly inventive, sometimes steamy, one-man cartoons. The Boston Globe has praised his recent output as “a cyberpunk orgy, full of monster robots, neo-Godzillas, and nymphet heroines (a la Japanese animation).” At BU, White will screen old and new, from cel animation to flip-books to computer-generated works.

Thursday, October 20-AN EVENING WITH MEL STUART. The LA-based veteran filmmaker has produced prize-winning documentaries on poets, photographers, and politicians, including classic TV looks in the 1960s on the election campaigns of John F. and Robert Kennedy. Amazingly versatile, Stuart is also the director of the great and original, Gene Wilder-starring Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), which, this evening, he’ll show and discuss.

Friday, October 21-A SECOND EVENING WITH MEL STUART- Here’s another side of Stuart, the socially-concerned documentarian. Tonight: Stuart appears for a too-rare screening of Wattstax (1973), a thrilling, invigorating concert film of the “Black Woodstock,” when America’s finest African-American musical talent’Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, etc,’joined on stage with Richard Pryor and Jesse Jackson after the so-called “Watts Riots” to bring spirit and hope back to a ravaged LA.

Thurday, October 27-AN EVENING WITH JEFF DOWD- Yes, it’s “the Dude” himself, in person, the wild-and-funny LA troubleshooter for independent films whom his friends, the Coen Brothers, borrowed when creating Jeff Bridges’s slacker, “the Dude,” for The Big Lebowski(1998). The already “cult” screwball movie will be shown, and introduced by the mesmerizing Dowd, an American original.
(Tonight’s program will be at 7 pm at the Photonics Auditorium, 6 St. Mary’s Street, Room 206.)

Friday, October 28-A PRE-CODE EVENING WITH TOM DOHERTY- Professor Doherty, head of the film program at Brandeis University, is an expert on the racy, uninhibited movies produced in Hollywood prior to the strictures and censorship of the 1934 Production Code. Tonight, Doherty presents the eye-popping W.C. Fields short,”The Dentist,” and then, in 35mm, the newly discovered uncut 1933 Baby Face, a studio classic, in which, says Leonard Maltin, “speakeasy bartender Barbara Stanwyck sleeps her way, floor by floor, to the top of a N.Y.C. office building.”

Michael R. Colford
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, President

This link has been circulating around the web, and I’ve already forwarded it to a few members: it’s a mock trailer for a certain well-known horror film, brilliantly re-edited to look like a heartwarming romantic comedy. It’s hilarious, but also more than a little satirical, and not far off from some trailers that horribly misrepresent what they’re promoting.

For instance, you may remember the one for TURTLES CAN FLY, a harrowing film about Iraqi children traumatized by war, made to look like a saccharine, whimsical romp for the whole family! Or the upcoming PARADISE NOW. Click here, scroll down, and check out the original “international” trailer vs. the North American one. Maybe Warner Independent believes we’ll only go to see a Palestinian suicide bomber drama if it’s the feel-good flick of the Fall.

My favorite trailers are those that remain true to the film’s spirit and show you what it’s about without giving too much away (like the one for THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE).

What are some other films you’ve seen that were nothing at all like their trailers?

Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks once again to all our generous donors:

DAHN YOGA Somerville, HARBOR SWEETS, the Boston Film School, the BOSTON LATINO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, the NEW ENGLAND FILM & VIDEO FESTIVAL, LIONS GATE HOME ENTERTAINMENT, the LYRIC STAGE, Chlotrudis members Beth Caldwell and Hilary Nieukirk, the PROVINCETOWN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, the AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATRE, the CHARLES HOTEL, the BOSTON JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL, the THEATRE OFFENSIVE and its Out on The Edge Festival, the INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL OF BOSTON, the LANDMARK THEATRE in Kendall Square, TOSCANINI’S ICE CREAM, the Film Program of the MUSUEM OF FINE ARTS, FILM MOVEMENT, MARIO’S SALON, the BELGIAN TRUFFLE HOUSE, CIBELINE, JIMMY TINGLE’S OFF-BROADWAY THEATRE, SAUCE restaurant, BALL SQUARE FINE WINE & LIQUORS and last but not least, doing double duties as donor and host, the COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE.

Monday night’s silent auction items are available for preview and online bidding! Go visit our Mewsings blog for a list of our silent auction items and find out how you can support Chlotrudis by bidding for some fabulous items online! The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film presents its 2nd Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser in conjunction with its 6th Annual Short Film Festival. The festivities take place on Monday night, 7:30 p.m. at the Coolidge Corner Theatre where 10 short films will compete for the Best Chlotrudis Short Film of the year. As an added treat, we will also present the U.S. premiere of Canadian filmmaker (and Chlotrudis favorite) Don McKellar’s latest short films. To find out more about the films in competition, visit our Film Festival page.