Chlotrudis news

The Provincetown International Film Festival, scheduled for June 16-20, enters into its sixth year with another stellar line-up of films, guests and highlights. This year’s program includes fifty-eight new features (32 narratives and 26 documentaries), with 15 countries represented. The annual “Filmmaker On The Edge” award, honoring innovation in filmmaking, will go to director/writer Jim Jarmusch. His most recent release, COFFEE AND CIGARETTES, is gaining widespread critical acclaim as it opens in theatres around the nation. Jarmusch’s cinematic achievements over the past two decades also include STRANGER THAN PARADISE (1984), DOWN BY LAW (1986), MYSTERY TRAIN (1989), DEAD MAN (1995), GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI (1999). His work stands out as a pivotal achievement in the history of independent filmmaking, known for its groundbreaking innovation in storytelling and cinematic style. Previous recipients of the “Filmmaker on the Edge” award at the Provincetown International Film Festival are director Todd Haynes (2003), director Gus Van Sant (2002), producers Ted Hope and James Schamus (2001), producer Christine Vachon (2000), and filmmaker John Waters (1999).

Four festival spotlights are announced.

SAVED!, directed by Brian Dannelly, is chosen as the Opening Night Selection. The upcoming MGM-UA release features a wonderful cast including Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit, Heather Matarazzo, and Mary Louise Parker. An enchanting subversive comedy, the story follows a group of outcasts at The American Christian High School who find an unlikely bond while struggling with homosexuality, teen pregnancy, high school hierarchies, heavenly visions and a love for Jesus.

The Closing Night Selection is director/producer/actor Campbell Scott’s OFF THE MAP. Scott’s most recent directorial achievement is the story of a home-schooled eleven-year-old girl who lives in rural New Mexico with her eccentric, gardening-in-the-nude mother (Joan Allen) and chronically depressed father. When an IRS agent descends on the homestead in order to investigate why they haven’t paid their taxes in seven years, he discovers a family beyond convention, beyond landmarks, and truly mythical.

The Friday Night Spotlight is MARIA FULL OF GRACE, directed by Joshua Marston and starring Catalina Sandino Morena. In a performance that won the Silver Bear as “Best Actress” at the Berlin Film Festival, Morena plays a cunning and gutsy young Colombian woman who risks everything for a brighter future – by swallowing packets of cocaine as a mule in the international drug trade.

Director Angela Robinson’s film D.E.B.S. is the Saturday Night Spotlight this year. Robinson spent the last year turning this festival favorite short film into a feature-length gem — a bubbly, sexy, fun-filled send-up of secret-agent espionage movies, action thrillers, wild parties, and lesbian kitsch.

Other narrative highlights screened include a sneak of the newest Michael Cunningham adaptation, A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD, directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer and starring Colin Farrell, Robin Wright Penn, Dallas Roberts and Sissy Spacek. The French/Italian/Spanish-produced CALLAS FOREVER, starring Fanny Ardant and directed by Franco Zeffirelli will also screen. So will the Sundance-award-winning BROTHER TO BROTHER, director Michael Burke’s THE MUDGE BOY, the stunning Mongolian feature THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL, and the Canadian-U.K. charmer TOUCH OF PINK (starring Kyle Maclaughlan as Cary Grant). Many visiting directors will be announced shortly.

Documentaries also take center stage this year, as the festival spotlights some wonderful achievements. Two films profile historian/political activist Howard Zinn, who will be on hand to make introductions. HOWARD ZINN: YOU CAN’T BE NEUTRAL ON A MOVING TRAIN is a brilliant look into his life and work. In The Corporation, Zinn is joined by colleagues Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore, and others in an amazing expose on the failed dreams of corporate America and widespread irresponsible practices. Ross McElwee’s newest personal journey, BRIGHT LEAVES, explores the relationship between the tobacco industry and his family legacy. DIG! , winner of the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, follows the paths of two promising underground bands. The festival also nods to this year’s landmark decision to sanction same-sex marriage (and what better place to celebrate than in Provincetown, Massachusetts) with timely screenings of TYING THE KNOT, a moving portrait of real-life consequences of marriage discrimination.

In addition to the Filmmaker On The Edge celebrations and multiple premieres and sneak screenings, there are many highlights announced. Special events include the second annual A Night at the Wellfleet Drive-In, featuring the 1956 Vincente Minnelli classic melodrama TEA AND SYMPATHY (hosted by special guest Emanuel Levy, author of the upcoming biography of Minnelli, Painting with Light). Also presented at the Drive-In is a late night screening of the anticipated summer release OPEN WATER, described as a cross between THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and JAWS. This year the classic Sing-a-Long film presentation at Town Hall is THE WIZARD OF OZ. The festival will tribute Filmmaker on the Edge recipient Jarmusch with the annual Award Ceremony Program featuring special guests B. Ruby Rich, John Waters, Christine Vachon and other film industry luminaries to be announced shortly. A retrospective of Jarmusch’s work is also included in the festival line-up.

Continuing for a second year is the Breakfast with… series, which will provide additional opportunities for festival-goers to dine with industry professionals who will discuss aspects of their craft. There will be four “Breakfast with…” programs, one each on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The price of admission will include a continental breakfast, and special guests and topics discussed will be announced shortly.

The well-established Youth and Diversity Film Program, which showcases films that encourage young adults to discuss the concerns of today’s world, continues for a fourth year. Featured in the program are four films. OUR HOUSE is an insightful exploration of what it means to grow up with gay or lesbian parents. Last year’s Chlotrudis nominee for Best Documentary O.T.: OUR TOWN profiles the first theatrical production in over 20 years at the Manuel Dominguez High School. DON’T WORRY, IT WILL PROBABLY PASS is an unencumbered look at three teenaged girls who respond to an ad in an Internet chat room. And, PURGATORY HOUSE, written by and starring 14-year-old Celeste Davis, is a groundbreaking film chronicling the after-life journey of a lonely teen, who has abandoned her life of turmoil in search of unconditional love. The Festival attracts attendees from local high schools and youth outreach programs. This event provides an open and safe forum for young adults to explore the messages behind the films and the feelings they evoke.

Special receptions and parties are scheduled throughout the long weekend. The Opening Night Party offers the first opportunity to meet and greet visiting filmmakers and will be hosted at the Crown & Anchor. Sponsored by Bacardi Limon, the festival kick-off features drinks, delicacies and dancing. As a special bonus, famed style queen Brini Maxwell of The Style Network will be sampling Bacardi cocktails. This year the festival adds a new festivity to the roster, the PIFF Clambake. Co-presented with sponsor Sam Adams Beer, the classic New England clambake will be catered by Sumptuous Foods and features the reggae sounds of Shango Axe and beach volleyball. That event is on Saturday, June 19 at 5:30pm at the beachfront Pied Bar. On Friday, June 18 a special Patron/Filmmaker Reception will be hosted at The Schoolhouse Gallery, and later that evening original programming screens at the HBO Video Party held at Crown and Anchor’s Wave Video Lounge. The Festival closes with a Closing Night Party hosted by the Boatslip with cuisine by Bayside Betsy’s, where the HBO Audience Choice Awards will be presented.

The line-up of films, special events, ticket information, venues, and travel/ accommodation suggestions is listed on the Festival Website at www.ptownfilmfest.org. The sixth annual Provincetown International Film Festival is made possible by the generous support of the Festival’s Presenting Sponsors including American Airlines, Bacardi Limon, HBO, Premiere Magazine, The Advocate, The Boston Phoenix, The New Art Cinemas, The Provincetown Banner, and The Provincetown Visitor Services Bureau. Funding also comes from the National Endowment of the Arts, with additional growing support from numerous community-based businesses. For more information on the Festival visit www.ptownfilmfest.org or call 508-487-FILM.

Hey Everyone!

Not a whole lot of new releases happening this weekend, and since it’s Memorial Day, we thought we’d forgo Monday Night at the Movies this week. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t join us at the movies! This week we’ll be playing catch up by seeing the much lauded (by Chlotrudis members) THE RETURN. In fact, one Chlotrudis member told me that Andrei Zvyagintsev’s Russian psychological thriller is his top film of the year! Another reason to catch THE RETURN is that it’s part of the Brattle Theatre’s Recent Rave series which means Chlotrudis members need only show their membership card to receive a discount! The show screens on Wednesday, June 2 at 7:30. Check out the Brattle’s synopsis:

The Return

Cambridge Premiere!
The Return at 7:30
(2003) dir Andrei Zvyagintsev w/Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronrayov, Konstantin Lavronenko, Natalya Vdovina

Having only just released his feature film debut, filmmaker Andrey Zvyaginstev’s work is already being compared to fellow Russian Andrei Tarkovsky. In THE RETURN, two brothers are raised solely by their mother after their father’s disapperance. One day they return home to find that their father has unexpectedly come back. The two boys and their father go on a fishing trip together, this trip doesn’t turn out to be the bonding experience older brother Andrey hopes for, in fact it is unclear what the father’s intentions are. The mythic journey these characters take together includes many emotions as well as an ending that you won’t anticipate.

And for those of you hardy filmgoers, you can stay for the Recent Raves Double Feature! The Chinese film BLIND SHAFT was a film that we caught last year at the High Falls Film Festival and is definitely worth a look as well. Remember, with a Chlotrudis membership card, you can see BOTH films for the discounted price of one!

If you’ve already seen THE RETURN, you should definitely consider checking out the FREE sneak preview screening of NAPOLEON DYNAMITE at the Harvard Square Theatre at 7:00 p.m. I’ve got a bunch of passes for this show, so Chlotrudis members should let me know as soon as possible if they’re interested. It’s the feel-good movie of the year!

See you at the movies!

Playing this week, May 20-26

Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
Ozu: a Celebration
Late Autumn (Thu.)
Late Spring (Thu.)
Special Engagement!
The Battle of Algiers (Fri – Sun.)
Von Sternberg: Dietrich & Beyond – Co-Presented with the Goethe Institut
The Scarlet Empress (Mon.)
The Devil is a Woman (Mon.)
Sex & Death & God: Controversy on Screen:
Santa Sangre (Tue.)
Recent Raves (Chlotrudis Discount Honored!)
The Return (Wed.)
Blind Shaft (Wed.)

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
Coffee and Cigarettes
Super Size Me
My Architect
Banned in Boston! – Live Burlesque Review (Fri.)
Iceman Cometh (Sat.)

Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge
Beautiful Music: Michel Legrand on Film
A Woman is a Woman (Fri. & Sun.)
My Life to Live (Fri.)
Band of Outsiders (Sat. & Sun.)
Cl’de 5 ‘ (Sat.)
Conservetor’s Choice
Short Shorts (Mon.)
Peter Lorre: A Sinister Centennial
M (Tue. & Wed.)
The Lost Man (Tue. & Wed.)

Hollywood Hits Theatre, Danvers
Super Size Me (starts Fri.)
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (starts Fri.)
The Battle of Algiers (starts Fri.)
Still We Believe: The Red Sox Movie (starts Fri.)
Bon Voyage
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Connie & Carla
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Landmark Theatres
Kendall Square, Cambridge
Bukowski: Born Into This (starts Fri.)
Love Me If You Dare (starts Fri.)
Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (Thu.)
Strayed Cinematography by Agn’Godard!
Games People Play: New York (Thu.)
The Saddest Music in the World
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring
Bon Voyage
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Good Bye, Lenin!
Monty Python’s Life of Brian

Embassy Cinema, Waltham
Strayed Cinematography by Agn’Godard!
Super Size Me
I’m Not Scared (Thu.)
Good Bye, Lenin!
Troy (Just for you Diane!)

Loews Theatres
Copley Place, Boston
Coffee and Cigarettes (starts Fri.)
Super Size Me
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Martin & Orloff (Thu.)
Connie & Carla
Still We Believe: The Boston Red Sox Movie (starts Fri.)
The Passion of the Christ

Harvard Square, Cambridge
A Slipping Down Life (starts Fri.)
Coffee and Cigarettes
Super Size Me
I’m Not Scared (Thu.)
Kill Bill vol. 2

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Inside Out: Stories of Bulimia (Sat.)
Lost Boys of Sudan (Wed.)
French Nouveaux Cineastes
Seaside (Mon.)
Since Otar Left (Thu. – Mon.)
17 fois C’le Cassard (Wed.)
Cinema India!
The Braveheart Will Take the Bride (Thu. & Sat.)
The Speaking Hand: Zakhir Hussain and the Art of the Indian Drum (Fri. & Sun.)
Art on Film
Louvre City (Mon.)
Cinema Tropical
Te Busco (Thu.)
Open House Youth Films
Whale Rider with Animated Artifacts (Mon.)

The Newburyport Screening Room, Newburyport
My Architect (Thu.)
Bon Voyage (starts Fri.)

Michael R. Colford
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, President

Cambridge’s Brattle Theatre and Brookline’s Coolidge Corner Theatre team up June 4-6, 2004 for an all new weekend long festival celebrating the cinematic craft of animation, and featuring works from around the world in all styles: traditional cell animation, computer animation, experimental, stop-motion, and even good ole cartoons.

The centerpiece of the weekend is our Competition Program featuring 15 new animated shorts form all over the world, one of which will be selected at the end of the weekend for the Audience Award based on audience votes cast at the screenings.

Other programs in the First Annual New England Animation Bash include:

* A special panel discussion and best-of screening with Soup2Nuts, the Watertown based animation studio behind the classic series “Dr. Katz” and “Home Movies”
* The best animation from the Rhode Island School of Art and Design
* Johnny Legend’s collection of vintage “Weird Cartoons”
* “God Hates Cartoons”, animation by underground cartoonists Kaz, Tony Millionaire, and Jim Woodring
* Heavy-metal animated feature “The Dominator” (produced by the SciFi Channel)
* “Avoid Eye Contact”, featuring the best of New York’s independent animation
* A special preview of animated shorts from the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival
* “Real Cartoons”, exploring the animated documentary

From family-oriented programs, to award winning classy animation, to disturbing and gross midnite fare, the first annual New England Animation Bash has something for everyone.

Tickets for Animation Bash:

* $9.00 (discount prices available for Coolidge and Brattle Theatre members).
* Midnite shows at the Coolidge – $6.00
* KIDS FIRST! program – $4.00
* Soup2Nuts: Panel $5.00, Screening $7.00, or attend both for only $10.00

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Program Schedule:

FRIDAY, JUNE 4
at the Brattle Theatre
5:30 – REAL CARTOONS: Animated Documentaries
7:30 – COMPETITION SHOW
10:00 – Special Screening – to be announced

at the Coolidge Corner Theatre
10:00 – WEIRD CARTOONS
Midnight – GODS HATES CARTOONS

SATURDAY, JUNE 5
at the Brattle Theatre
5:30 – RISD SPOTLIGHT
7:30 – COMPETITION SHOW
10:00 – GOD HATES CARTOONS

at the Coolidge Corner Theatre
11:00am – KIDS FIRST FILM FESTIVAL Special Kids and Family show
10:00pm ‘ AVOID EYE CONTACT
Midnite ‘ THE DOMINATOR

SUNDAY, JUNE 6
at the Brattle Theatre
6:00 – SOUP2NUTS panel discussion
7:30 – THE BEST OF SOUP2NUTS
10:00 ‘ AVOID EYE CONTACT

at the Coolidge Corner Theatre
noon – COMPETITION SHOW
2:30 – REAL CARTOONS: Animated Documentaries
5:00 – COMPETITION SHOW
7:30 – RISD SPOTLIGHT
10:00 – WEIRD CARTOONS

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Program descriptions:

Featured Program:
THE NEW ENGLAND ANIMATION BASH COMPETITION SHOW
Features 15 new animated shorts from right here in our own backyard to halfway around the world. Personally selected from submissions gathered by the programmers from the Brattle and Coolidge Corner Theatres, these premiere shorts vary from cell animation to computer and stop motion animation, from humorous gags to thoughtful meditations. Viewers of this special competition program will vote for their favorite – which will receive the New England Animation Bash Audience Award to be announced on the final evening of the festival.

AVOID EYE CONTACT: THE BEST OF NYC INDEPENDENT ANIMATION
This over-the-top mix of hilarious animated shorts features over 17 internationally acclaimed films from New York City based animators. Program includes: Mike Overbeck’s sexy stream of consciousness piece “Tongues and Taxis”; the furniture porn stop motion romp “Roof Sex”; Aleksey Budovsky’s toe-tapping animated music video “Bathtime in Clerkenwell”; “Dirdy Birdy”, John Dilworth’s short about a bird who finds his amorous advances violently rejected by a frigid cat; Signe Baumane’s sinful expressions of female sexuality in “Five Fucking Fables”; Jessie Schmal’s Soviet inspired “Sub” (recently featured as an audience pleasing short at the Coolidge before “Triplets of Belleville”); as well as works by legendary animators George Griffin and Academy Award nominee Bill Plympton. www.squarefootagefilms.com

DOMINATOR
This futuristic heavy metal fable is based on the Manga comic strip written by Alan Grant (Judge Dredd) and illustrated by Tony Luke.The year is 2020 AD. CrowCut, an outstandingly endowed all-girl rock trio, discover the fabled ‘Lost Chord’ and accidentally summon Dominator — the Dead God of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Chaos and mayhem ensue, as the satanic master Lord Desecrator is chasing Dominator to retrieve the stolen Key To Hell, along with fellow demons Extricator, Decimator and Lady Violator. Featuring delightfully crude computer animation and more heavy metal clich’than you can shake an amp at, Dominator is an instant camp classic, and includes character voices by horror star Ingrid Pitt, rock singer Dani Filth (Cradle of Filth), and cult director Alex Cox. From PopTwist entertainment: www.poptwist.com

GOD HATES CARTOONS
The first ever show of animated films by the best names in alternative comics today, including Jim Woodring, Tony Millionaire, Kaz, Ivan Brunetti, and many more. Features films like: “Diaper Dyke and Captain Boyfuck” (too sick and twisted even for Spike & Mike; “Cat-Head Theatre”, a star-crossed coupling of felines and Shakespeare; the adventures of the salty, hard drinking sea dogs (er, sea crows and sea monkeys, actually) of Tony Millionaire’s “Maakies”; “Whimgrinder”, a surreal tale starring Woodring’s signature character, Frank; the pubic service notice “Cartoons and You”; and other titles like “Lonely Robot Duckling”, “The Courtship of Sniffy LaPants” and “Gutsman”. www.brightredrocket.com/godhates

THE BEST OF KIDS FIRST! FILM FESTIVAL
From the nation’s leading family film festival – endorsed and suitable for children between the ages of 2 and 15 – comes this collection of animated shorts for the whole family, a special sneak preview of the new KIDS FIRST! Film Club coming to the Coolidge this fall. Titles include shorts based on classic children’s books like the delightful “Pete’s A Pizza” (from Boston-based FabelVision Studios), “Harold and the Purple Crayon”, and “Miss Nelson Has a Field Day”. Also included is the independently made film, “Dottie, The Little Girl With the Big Voice”, a ragtime-tinged tale of a girl with a powerful talent, and “Wombats”, a funky story of teenagers in the future. This special show is only $4 for all, so come and check out this special sneak preview! More details on films: www.kidsfirst.org

REAL CARTOONS: Animated Documentaries
The animated documentary, a collision of two seemingly incompatible genres, takes the viewer on a trip to the mind’s eye of the artist, for a powerful interpretation of real events. This show of animated non-fiction shorts from around the world will features “Abductees”, illustrating the hypnotically recovered memories of people abducted by space aliens; “Bike Ride”, an entertaining free-jazz tale of a simple, heartbreaking journey; “It’s Like That”, by the Southern Ladies Animation Group production of Australia; “Survey”, a photographic tour of South Whales; a glimpse into the world of mind of autistic people with “A is for Autism”; and many more. Curated by Jessica Gidal.

RISD SPOTLIGHT
Many of the best and the brightest animators in New England lurk within the halls of The Rhode Island School of Art and Design. This program features recent award-winning works that feature a potato come to life, tales of beach bravado, a strange world of red things, love between a boy and his tomato, a handmade take on the Noah’s Ark story, a monstrous rap musical, and more. Filmmakers include Christina Spangler, David Zackin, Max Porter, Joey Kan, Paul Wei, Ben Richards, Jeremy Wab, Emily Dodge, Andy Kennedy, Mat Yapchian, Masako Miyazaki, and Sandra Gibson. Curated by Bryan Papciak.

SOUP2NUTS PANEL DISCUSSION: The ins&outs of Soup2Nuts
and THE BEST OF SOUP2NUTS
Soup2Nuts is the award-winning animation production company behind the Peabody Award winning “Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist” (Comedy Central) and the cult classic “Home Movies” (Cartoon Network), as well as a variety of adult and children’s programming.
First, join us for a question-and-answer panel with some of the studio’s animators, art directors, audio editors, and producers responsible for their hit programs. Then, Soup2Nuts showcases some of their greatest work, both old and new. Includes best-of segments from long-running series, shorts, and a number of never-before-aired pilots featuring such comedic talents as Jack Black, David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, and the unaired follow up to Dr. Katz, “Phone Jobs”.

WEIRD CARTOONS
These twisted early animations are guaranteed to surprise, delight and amaze, in a program that is not only a loopy primer on animation history, but an offbeat reflection of western civilization in the early 20th century. Features the world’s very first animator, Emile Cohl’s “Hasher’s Delirium”; Walt Disney’s early oddity “Alice’s Eggplant”; works from Russian animator Wladyslaw Starewicz, including the legendary acid-trip “The Devil’s Ball”; Max Fliescher’s classics “Betty Boop in Crazy Town” and “Cobweb Hotel”; Felix the Cat in “Non-Stop Fright”; Walter Lanz’ un-PC “Scrub Me Mamma With A Boogie Beat”; and many more. Curated by Johnny Legend.

For other details, please visit the theatre websites at www.coolidge.org and www.brattlefilm.org.

There are a couple of films of Chlotrudis-interest being released on video and DVD this week. Most notably, BUBBA HO-TEP, Chlotrudis nominee for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay will be released on Tuesday. Adapting a story by Joe Lansdale, director Don Coscarelli imagines Elvis (that’s Presley, played by genre film superstar Bruce Campbell) as a geriatric waste-case who’s snapped out of his funk when a mummy in cowboy boots starts preying on souls at his Texas rest home. Surely one of the most anticipated DVD releases for many Chlotrudis members.

THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND was in contention in the Best Documentary nomination process last year, but not enough people saw it. Now is your chance. This film was nominated by that other Awards Organization, and looks back at ’60s radicals the Weatherman and their improbable, impassioned bid to take down the government. For those who like their indie films on the epic side, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING, the lengthy conclusion to Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Tolkien’s trilogy, hits the stores on Tuesday. At least the first version does… I’m sure an extended edition will be released in a couple of months.

DVDs have done wonders for beloved television series, and here are a couple of interesting ones being released this week. “Northern Exposure: The Complete First Season” is sure to be a crowd please for many. That first season of gentle, quirky humour focusing on a doctor stuck in a tiny town in Alaska is one of my favorite pieces of television history. Going back a little farther, this Tuesday also sees the release of “The Jetsons: The Complete First Season.” I bet there are a lot of you out there who can sing the entire theme song. “Meet George Jetson…”

The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, MA honors internationally-acclaimed director Zhang Yimou this week. The director will be on hand Wednesday, May 26 and Thursday, May 27 following a month of special screenings, panels, and seminars on his work and filmmaking in China.

The Coolidge Corner Theatre launched a newly established annual award to honor a selected film artist whose work advances the spirit of original and challenging filmmaking. The first Coolidge Award, as it is branded, will be given to Zhang Yimou. The Coolidge Award presented to Zhang includes a specially commissioned inscribed memento and an unrestricted cash award of $10,000.

Born in 1951 in Xi’an, The People’s Republic of China, Zhang Yimou was first brought to the attention of worldwide audiences in 1987 with the release of his first feature, RED SORGHUM. The film, which starred rising actress Gong Li, won several international awards including the coveted Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. Zhang went on to make two subsequent films, JU DOU (1990) and RAISE THE RED LANTERN (1991 – #38 on the Chlotrudis 200 for 2000 list), also starring Gong Li and forming a trilogy which soared them both into an international spotlight.

The director made further headlines when JU DOU and RAISE THE RED LANTERN were banned from his homeland China, but enjoyed huge box office success in the U.S. and abroad. (RAISE THE RED LANTERN opened in the Boston area at the Coolidge Corner Theatre and was the theatre’s highest grossing film to date at the time). Zhang’s background as a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy in 1982, also secured him as a pivotal member of the significant film movement in China known as the “Fifth Generation.” Along with other graduates of the Academy, such as Chen Kaige and Tian Zhuangzhuang, work from Fifth Generation filmmakers broke away from both revolutionary realism and revolutionary romanticism. Instead, this new school of filmmaking ventured into more realistic and human portraits of the Chinese way of life, its people and history. With the releases of such films as THE STORY OF QI JIU (1992), TO LIVE (1994), NOT ONE LESS (1999), THE ROAD HOME (2001), and the most recent HERO (2003, due for U.S. theatrical release this summer by Miramax Films), Zhang continues to challenge restricted notions of Chinese culture and creates a stunning revisionist cinematic aesthetic.

The Coolidge Award Ceremony takes place on Wendesday, May 26 at 8:00 p.m. at the theatre. The centerpiece of the Coolidge Award events, this gala evening toasts Zhang Yimou, who joins us for a rare personal appearance. Included in the ceremony are excerpts from Zhang Yimou’s body of work, a live dance performance with choreographer Ling Chu, and an exhibition from Bow Sim Mark (one of the most respected and influential female martial arts teachers in the world and mother of HERO co-star Donnie Yen). Testimonials from filmmakers and scholars include film critic Charles Taylor and New York Film Festival program director Richard Pena. Don’t miss this landmark event — the presentation of the first Coolidge Award to Zhang Yimou, the world renowned and distinctive cinematic master.

Tickets are still available (and open to the public) at the Coolidge Box Office, 290 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA or by visiting www.coolidge.org. Admission is $25/general admission ($20 for Coolidge Members).

Hello everyone, and welcome to the new web-schedule for Boston independent films! Each week you will find the listings for independent film in the Boston area. In addition, we will announce the Chlotrudis Monday Night Movie of the Week here. Join Chlotrudis members as they see a new indie release each Monday Night. This week, join us at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, Monday, May 24, for the 7:45 p.m. show of Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes. Seventeen years in the making, this film revolves around two of our favorite vices, coffee and cigarettes. And who can resist Cate Blanchett in a luscious dual role as herself and her cousin! And of course, Monday night is Chlotrudis night at the Coolidge. Show your membership card and get a discounted admission!

Coffee and Cigarettes

dir. Jim Jarmusch, w/Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright, Joie & Cinqu’ee, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Alex Descas, Isaach de Bankol’Cate Blanchett, Meg White, Jack White, Alfred Molina, Steve Coogan, GZA, RZA, Bill Murray, Bill Rice, Taylor Mead, 1h36m
Mon, May 24

Legendary indie director Jim Jarmusch (GHOST DOG) brings together his favorite actors for a series of conversations over coffee and cigarettes. From smoky cafes to four star hotels, from coffee breaks to luncheon meetings, these people come together and discussing subjects as diverse as caffeine popsicles, Abbott and Costello, Elvis conspiracy theories, Paris in the twenties, and the use of nicotine as an insecticide. The series started in 1986, when the director brought together the wry comedian Steven Wright and Italian actor Roberto Benigni (then fairly unknown to American audiences, but about to break through as the co-star in Jarmusch’s DOWN BY LAW), for an improvised short of sipping, smoking and chatting. Over the years he continued to make shorts with his favorite actors and cultural icons, each film riffing on the same topics, but with a delightful new wrinkle. Steve Buscemi is a annoying waiter to Joie & Cinqu’ee (all of whom were then appearing in MYSTERY TRAIN); musicians Iggy Pop and Tom Waits meet in a bar, don’t seem to know each other very well, and have little to talk about; Bill Murray drinks coffee straight from the pot as the RZA and GZA (from rap group Wu-Tang Clan) drink tea and discuss healthy living; Cate Blanchett rips it up in a dual role as a movie star meeting her trashy doppelganger cousin; British actors Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan play themselves meeting for the first time, and hilariously vying for psychological dominance; and, in the most recent (and moving) installment, aging underground legends Bill Rice and Taylor Mead sip terrible vending machine coffee backstage at the opera and ruminate on the life they’ve left behind. The charm of COFFEE AND CIGARETTES is not only the eccentric characters, but also Jarmusch’s subtle humanity, using simple gestures, a couple of mundane props, and some conversation to show just how absorbing the obsessions, joys and addictions of life can be.
Official Site

The big news this week is over at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Zhang Yimou is coming to town! That’s right, the heralded Chinese director of such films as Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, To Live, and the upcoming Hero, will be in town to accept the first annual Coolidge Award. Tickets are only $25, $20 for Coolidge members, and Zhang will be on hand on Wednesday night to accept this honor. Unfortunately, the screening of Hero on Thursday night is sold out.

For a change, that’s not the only new release I’ll be trying to catch this week. Strayed is the latest film directed and co-written by Andr”in’Alice & Martin, Wild Reeds). This film also happens to feature the latest work by cinematographer Agn’Godard, who Chlotrudis members got a chance to meet this past March at the 10th Annual Chlotrudis Awards Ceremony. Look for an e-mail from me later in the week if you’d like to come along.

The Brattle Theatre has a special treat this weekend: the Exclusive Engagement of The Big Animal, a charming Polish film co-written by Krzysztof Kieslowski. Sunday Eye Opener attendees got a chance to see this film last fall. Do consider checking it out!

And plenty of great films are still at the theatre: Super Size Me at the Coolidge, and held over for another week at the Kendall is Guy Maddin’s The Saddest Music in the World.

See you at the movies!

Playing this week, May 20-26

Brattle Theatre, Cambridge
Ozu: a Celebration
Early Spring (Thu.)
Exclusive Area Premiere! Screenplay by Krzystztof Kieslowski!
The Big Animal (Fri – Sun.)
Special Engagement
NYC Midnight Movie Making Madness (Sat.)
Von Sternberg: Dietrich & Beyond – Co-Presented with the Goethe Institut:
Shanghai Express (Mon.)
Morocco (Mon.)
Sex & Death & God: Controversy on Screen:
Henry & June (Tue.)
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (Tue.)
Recent Raves (Chlotrudis Discount Honored!)
City of God (Wed.)

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline
Coffee and Cigarettes (starts Fri.)
The Rage in Placid Lake (starts Fri.)
Morlang (starts Fri.)
Super Size Me
Goodbye Lenin (Thu.)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Thu.)
Power Trip (Thu.)
My Architect (Thu.)
Spike & Mike’s Festival of Twisted Animation (Fri. & Sat.)
Once Upon a Time in China 4 (Sat.)
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Zhang Yimou Retrospective Screening: The Turandot Project (Mon.)
COOLIDGE GALA AWARDS CEREMONY
HONORING ZHANG YIMOU (Wed.)

Harvard Film Archive, Cambridge
Beautiful Music: Michel Legrand on Film
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Fri. & Sat.)
The Young Girls of Rochefort (Fri. & Wed.)
Lola (Sat.)
Atlantic City (Sun.)
The Thomas Crown Affair (Sun.)
F for Fake (Mon.)
Eva (Tue.)
The Go-Between (Tue.)
Bay of the Angels (Wed.)
Masterworks of Modern Cinema
And Life Goes On (Mon.)

Hollywood Hits Theatre, Danvers
— starting Friday —
Bon Voyage
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Connie & Carla
Good-bye Lenin!
Godsend

Landmark Theatres
Kendall Square, Cambridge
Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer
Strayed Cinematography by Agn’Godard!
Games People Play: New York
With All Deliberate Speed (Thu.)
The Saddest Music in the World
Young Adam (Thu.)
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring
Bon Voyage
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Good Bye, Lenin!
The Triplets of Belleville (Thu.) *Nominated for a Best Movie Chlotrudis Award!
Monty Python’s Life of Brian

Embassy Cinema, Waltham
Strayed Cinematography by Agn’Godard!
Super Size Me
I’m Not Scared
Good Bye, Lenin!
Intermission (Thu.)
Touching the Void
Troy (Just for you Diane!)

Loews Theatres
Copley Place, Boston
Super Size Me (starts Fri.)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Martin & Orloff
Connie & Carla
Still We Believe: The Boston Red Sox Movie (starts Fri.)
The Passion of the Christ
Intermission (Thu.)

Harvard Square, Cambridge
Coffee and Cigarettes
Super Size Me
I’m Not Scared
Kill Bill vol. 2

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
French Nouveaux Cineastes
Try to Remember (Thu. & Sun.)
Seaside (Wed.)
Since Otar Left (Wed.)
The 20th Annual Boston Gay & Lesbian Film/Video Festival
Cowboys and Angels (Thu.)
No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon (Fri.)
Women’s Short Films (Fri.)
Tipping the Velvet (Sat.)
Don’t You Worry, It Will Probably Pass (Sat.)
Father & Son (Sat.)
Eating Out (Sat.)
Put the Camera on Me (Sun.)
Straight-Jacket (Sun.)
Art on Film
Louvre City (Thu.)
Pavel Jur’k: New Wave Master Rediscovered
Case for a Rookie Hangman (Sat.)
Every Young Man (Sun.)
Cinema Tropical
Bajo California: El limite del tiempo (Thu.)
Te Busco (Sun.)
Youth Films
Animated Artifacts

The Newburyport Screening Room, Newburyport
Goodbye Lenin! (Thu.)
My Architect (starts Fri.)

Michael R. Colford
Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film, President

The sixth annual Provincetown International Film Festival, June 16-20 in Provincetown, will screen more than 50 adventurous, original, independent films. Director and writer Jim Jarmusch is the 2004 Filmmaker on the Edge: his cinematic achievements span 3 decades, from STRANGER THAN PARADISE, winner of the Camera d’Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, to his upcoming release COFFEE AND CIGARETTES. The Festival features sneak previews, intimate gatherings with industry luminaries, parties galore, a Night at the Drive-in, Sing-A-Long WIZARD OF OZ, Youth and Diversity Film Program, and film workshops. Discounted Festival passes are on sale now at www.ptownfilmfest.org or by phone at 508.487.FILM

Several Chlotrudis members will be on hand to report on the festival, hit some parties, review some films, and hopefully spend some time on the beach. If you’re going to be in P-town for the festival, contact us and we’d love to say hello!