Film
Seventeen New Features
Seventeen acclaimed new feature films show at the museum during the first two months of 2010. Most are exclusive Cleveland-area first-runs, including a special advance screening of Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones (sold out). All movies show in the Morley Lecture Hall. Admission to each program is $8; CMA members, seniors 65 & over, and students $6; or one CMA Film Series voucher. Vouchers in books of 10 can be purchased at the box office for $60, CMA members $50.
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution
Wednesday, February 3, 6:45. Directed by Jean-Paul Jaud. This "cheerfully one-sided film" (New York Times) shows what happens when the mayor of a French village decrees that all lunches in the school cafeteria will be organic and locally grown. "The tone is gentle, the music French, and the food shot so delectably that you can all but smell the freshly baked bread" –Bob Mondello, NPR. Cleveland theatrical premiere. (France, 2008, color, subtitles, DVD, 112 min.)
Defamation
Friday, February 5, 7:00 and Sunday, February 7, 1:30. Directed by Yoav Shamir, with Abraham Foxman, Norman Finkelstein, et al. Does anti-Semitism still exist in civilized Western societies, or is it merely a bogeyman used to promote right-wing Zionism? That’s the provocative premise of this frank, fearless, intelligent, irreverent, but evenhanded new film by a veteran Israeli documentarian. He seeks answers in Israel, Europe, and America. "Will spark long arguments deep into the night among Jewish and non-Jewish viewers alike" –Andrew O’Hehir, Salon. Cleveland premiere. (Israel/Denmark/USA/Austria, 2009, color, subtitles, DVD, 91 min.)
Automorphosis
Wednesday, February 10, 7:00. Directed by Harrod Blank. The new movie by the son of legendary ethnographic filmmaker Les Blank is a delightful look at some eccentrics, visionaries, and free-thinkers who have transformed their automobiles into drivable works of art (e.g., the "Peace Car" covered with eating utensils owned by spoon-bender Uri Geller). Cleveland premiere. (USA, 2008, color, DVD, 77 min.)
Mine
Friday, February 12, 7:00 and Sunday, February 14, 1:30. Directed by Geralyn Pezanoski. New Orleans residents try to reunite with pets they abandoned during Hurricane Katrina in this compelling documentary. Since many of these animals were sent to shelters or adopted by others, there are numerous custody battles. Cleveland premiere. (USA, 2009, color, DVD, 80 min.) Preceded at showtime by John Harden’s 13-min. short film La vie d’un chien (The Life of a Dog, USA, 2005), a take-off on Chris Marker’s La Jetée.
The Horse Boy
Wednesday, February 17, 7:00 and Sunday, February 21, 1:30. Directed by Michel Orion Scott. In this inspiring nonfiction film, a Texas couple journeys to Outer Mongolia to find a shaman whom they believe can heal their autistic six-year-old son, who has an affinity with horses. "An extraordinary journey of the heart and spirit, and a stirring testament to parenthood" –Los Angeles Times. Cleveland premiere. (USA, 2009, color, 35mm, 93 min.)
Filmmaker in Person!
Paradise
Friday, February 19, 7:00. Directed by Michael Almereyda. The ordinary becomes extraordinary in this diaristic film that, according to the New York Times, "is essentially a series of home movies, but home movies of a very high order." Shot over a decade in nine different countries, Michael (Hamlet, Nadja) Almereyda’s new movie contains 44 distinct scenes captured on digital video—from images of children at play to candid moments at a Sonic Youth concert and on the set of Terrence Malick’s The New World. Almereyda will introduce the film and answer questions after the screening. Cleveland premiere. (USA, 2009, color, DVD, 82 min.)
Harmony and Me
Wednesday, February 24, 7:00. Directed by Bob Byington, with Justin Rice and Kevin Corrigan. In this very funny indie comedy, a pathetic sad sack recently dumped by his girlfriend seeks consolation from his friends and family, who are little help. "A finely tuned comedy, complete with precisely scripted jokes and comic set pieces that swerve toward the playfully perverse" –Time Out New York. Cleveland premiere. (USA, 2009, color, Blu-ray, 75 min.)
They Came to Play
Friday, February 26, 7:00 and Sunday, February 28, 1:30. Directed by Alex Rotaru. In this funny, joyous, uplifting documentary, 75 amateur pianists from all over the world and all walks of life, ages 35 to 80, convene in Fort Worth, Texas, to participate in the Fifth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, hosted by the Van Cliburn Foundation. Cleveland premiere. (USA, 2008, color, DVD, 91 min.)
TOP TEN
The following ten movies showing in March and April include nine new documentaries and narratives from around the world (seven of them Cleveland premieres) and one classic. Two will show in the newly renovated Gartner Auditorium, open again after being closed for five years. The rest will show in the Morley Lecture Hall. Unless noted, admission to each program is $8; CMA members, seniors 65 & over, and students $6; or one CMA Film Series voucher. Vouchers, in books of ten, can be purchased at the CMA Box Office for $60, CMA members $50.
The Hand of Fatima
Wednesday, March 3, 7:00.
Directed by Augusta Palmer, with Donovan Leitch and John Giorno. In this very personal documentary that also incorporates animation, Augusta Palmer, daughter of the late rock-music critic Robert Palmer (Deep Blues), goes in search of the father who abandoned her when she was an infant. Her journey takes her to Morocco, where she meets the Master Musicians of Jajouka, a 1000-year-old Sufi trance band with whom her father played during his 1960s–1970s search for ecstasy and enlightenment. Cleveland premiere. USA, 2009, COLOR, BLU-RAY, 75 MIN. THEHANDOFFATIMA.COM
Skin
Friday, March 5, 7:00
Sunday, March 7, 1:30
Directed by Anthony Fabian, With Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), Sam Neill, and Alice Krige. A black girl born to white parents in 1950s South Africa spends much of her young life being shuffled back-and-forth across an arbitrary racial divide. This moving, multiple award-winning film is based on a true case. “One of the best films of 2009.” –Roger Ebert. Cleveland premiere. BRITAIN/SOUTH AFRICA, 2008, COLOR, 35MM, 107 MIN. SKINTHEMOVIE.NET
Milton Glaser: To Inform & Delight
Wednesday, March 10, 5:30 & 7:15
Directed by Wendy Keys. Now in his 80s, the legendary graphic designer who co-founded New York magazine and concocted the “I {heart} NY” logo, is profiled in this “heartening” (The New York Times) documentary. Cleveland premiere.USA, 2009, COLOR, DVD, 73 MIN. ARTHOUSEFILMSONLINE.COM
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
Friday, March 12, 7:00
Sunday, March 14, 1:30
Directed by Emily and Sarah Kunstler, with Harry Belafonte, Alan Dershowitz, Phil Donahue, and Tom Hayden. Though directed by his daughters, this portrait of the legendary, loved/hated civil rights lawyer who defended everyone from the Chicago 8 to Attica inmates to Wounded Knee activists strives to be even-handed. “Both a memoir and a history lesson…Looks back with a combination of love, admiration and bafflement.” –San Francisco Chronicle. Cleveland premiere. USA, 2009, COLOR, BETA SP, 85 MIN. DISTURBINGTHEUNIVERSE.COM
Four Seasons Lodge
Wednesday, March 17, 7:00
Sunday, March 21, 1:30
Directed by Andrew Jacobs. Elderly Holocaust survivors gather for their 26th summer together at a Catskills resort in this unique, life-affirming new documentary. “It may be glib to call this the funniest Holocaust-themed doc yet made, but it’s the truth.” –Time Out New York. Cleveland premiere.
USA, 2008, COLOR, DVD, 97 MIN. FOURSEASONSMOVIE.ORG
Back by Popular Demand!
La Danse – The Paris Opera Ballet
Sunday, March 28, 1:30
Directed by Frederick Wiseman. Veteran documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes an extensive behind-the-scenes look at the Paris Opera Ballet, capturing not only dancers and choreographers, but also costume makers, marketing strategists, and administrators. “One of the finest dance films ever made.” –The New York Times. Cleveland premiere. FRANCE/USA, 2009, COLOR, SUBTITLES, BLU-RAY, 158 MIN.
Special Free Screening!
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Saturday, April 10, 1:30
Gartner Auditorium
Directed by Steven Spielberg, with Harrison Ford and Karen Allen. Celebrate the return of movies to Gartner Auditorium with perhaps the greatest adventure film ever made, which will be shown from a 35mm scope print on Gartner’s 37-foot screen! Globe-trotting archaeologist Indiana Jones vies with pre-WWII Nazi villains for control of the mystical and powerful Ark of the Covenant. Rated PG. USA, 1981, COLOR, 115 MIN.
Home
Wednesday, April 14, 7:00
Friday, April 16, 7:00
Directed by Ursula Meier, with Isabelle Huppert and Olivier Gourmet. Switzerland’s submission for the Best Foreign Film Oscar is a modern fairy tale about an insular family of five whose idyllic lives take a turn for the worse when a busy highway opens adjacent to their isolated property. 92% “fresh” rating on RottenTomatoes.com! Cleveland premiere.
SWITZERLAND/FRANCE/BELGIUM, 2008, COLOR, SUBTITLES, 35MM, 98 MIN. KINO.COM
Special Event! Admission Free!
Yes, Miss Commander!
Sunday, April 18, 1:30
Gartner Auditorium
Directed by Dan Setton and Itzik Lerner. Set at Israel’s Havat Hashomer army base, this new documentary follows a group of at-risk Israeli Defense Forces recruits, some with criminal records, who are led through basic training (and hopefully rehabilitated) by women officers as young as they are. A panel discussion with some of the soldiers featured in the movie will follow the screening. Cleveland premiere. Screening co-sponsored by the Jewish Community Federation; special thanks to Lacey Roth. ISRAEL, 2009, COLOR, SUBTITLES, DVD, 96 MIN.
Bluebeard
Friday, April 30, 7:00
Sunday, May 2, 1:30
Directed by Catherine Breillat. The classic Charles Perrault fairy tale—about an ogre-like nobleman who murders his wives—is given a feminist slant in this alternately funny and chilling new film, a hit at major film festivals throughout 2009. While two sisters living in the 1950s read the story, two other sisters living centuries ago live it. Cleveland premiere. FRANCE, 2009, COLOR, SUBTITLES, DVD, 80 MIN. STRANDRELEASING.COM
CMA at the Film Fest!
The Desert of Forbidden Art Dates & times to be determined. Directed by Tchavdar Georgiev and Amanda Pope. This new documentary tells the amazing story of how penniless Russian artist Igor Savitsky rescued, at considerable personal risk, 40,000 forbidden art works by fellow Soviet artists and created a museum for them in remote Uzbekistan. Narrated by Edward Asner, Ben Kingsley, and Sally Field. Cleveland premiere. (Russia/USA/Uzbekistan, 2009, color, some subtitles, DVD?, 80 min.) Shown as part of the 34th Cleveland International Film Festival, March 18-28 at Tower City Cinemas downtown. Special ticket prices and ticketing info to be determined. For exact playdates and showtimes, go to www.clevelandfilm.org
Seeing Red: An American Indian
Film Series
Seven classic and contemporary films about North America’s indigenous peoples—most directed by current Native American filmmakers—complement the museum’s exhibition “Art of the American Indians: The Thaw Collection.” Screenings marked with an asterisk (*) will be followed by a discussion led by Marie Toledo. All will show in the Morley Lecture Hall and admission to each film is $8; CMA members, seniors 65 & over, and students $6; or one CMA Film Series voucher.
Reel InjunWednesday, March 31, 5:15 & 7:00*
Directed by Neil Diamond, with Adam Beach, Clint Eastwood, Sacheen Littlefeather, and Russell Means. Using interviews and ample film clips, a Cree filmmaker traces the portrayal of North American Indians through a century of cinema. Cleveland premiere. CANADA, 2009, COLOR, DVD, 89 MIN.
Barking Water
Friday, April 2, 7:00
Saturday, April 3, 1:30
Directed by Sterlin Harjo. A terminally ill Native elder is sprung from his hospital deathbed by his ex, who drives him home to reconcile with his estranged grown daughter. This touching road movie by Oklahoma-based Seminole/Creek filmmaker Sterlin Harjo (see also 4/7) combines sentiment with self-discovery. Cleveland premiere. USA, 2009, COLOR, 35MM, 80 MIN. BARKINGWATERFILM.COM
Four Sheets to the Wind
Wednesday, April 7, 5:30 and 7:15*
Directed by Sterlin Harjo, with Cody Lightning. After the death of his father, a shy Oklahoma Native leaves the family nest to venture into the unpredictable world beyond, finding disappointment and love. A neglected gem from Native American independent filmmaker Sterlin Harjo (see 4/2 & 3). Cleveland theatrical premiere. USA, 2007, COLOR, DVD, 81 MIN.
Before Tomorrow
Friday, April 9, 7:00
Sunday, April 11, 1:30
Directed by Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu. Set around 1840 in Canada’s Far North, this powerful film from the producer of The Fast Runner tells of an Inuit elder who spends the summer drying fish on an isolated island with her 10-year-old grandson. But when winter approaches and the clan fails to fetch them, she fears the worst. “Profound, elemental and hauntingly beautiful…Makes an intimate story of endurance into a metaphor for an entire culture.” –Variety. Cleveland premiere.
CANADA, 2008, COLOR, SUBTITLES, 35MM, 93 MIN. BEFORETOMORROW.CA
Older than America
Wednesday, April 21, 6:45*
Friday, April 23, 7:00
Directed by Georgina Lightning, with Adam Beach, Georgina Lightning, Bradley Cooper, Tantoo Cardinal, and Wes Studi. A Native American woman plagued by nightmarish visions seeks their cause. This supernatural thriller—the first movie directed by a longtime Native actor and advocate—tackles the tragic displacement of indigenous people. Cleveland theatrical premiere. USA, 2008, COLOR, DVD, 102 MIN. OLDERTHANAMERICA.COM
In the Land of the Head Hunters
Sunday, April 25, 1:00
Directed by Edward S. Curtis. Famed photographer Edward S. Curtis collaborated with the Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka'wakw) people of British Columbia to create this singular silent movie—the first film with an all-indigenous cast (made eight years before Flaherty’s Nanook of the North)—that weds authentic, but staged, Native American rituals to a melodramatic story about a tribal love triangle. Cleveland premiere of a restored 35mm print from the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
USA, 1914, B&W, SILENT, 35MM, 75 MIN.
Alcatraz Is Not an Island
Wednesday, April 28, 7:00*
Directed by James M. Fortier. The 1969-71 occupation of Alcatraz Island by Native American “Red Pride” activists is recounted with the aid of interviews, vintage film clips, and re-enactments in this fascinating documentary narrated by Benjamin Bratt. Cleveland theatrical premiere.
USA, 2001, COLOR, BETA SP, 69 MIN.
* Screenings marked with an asterisk (*) will be followed by a discussion led by Marie Toledo.