The Seattle Art Museum salutes Gay Pride Month with three outstanding films on June 13, 20 and 27 that explore the gay image in mainstream cinema. In Gods and Monsters, Ian McKellen portrays the aging James Whale, director of Frankenstein, whose eye for male beauty remains undimmed. Directed by Bill Condon, 1998, with Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave. In color, 105 min.
Watch the trailer:
June 27, 2008
7:30 p.m.
Plestcheeff Auditorium
$7 for everyone, sold day of show at the auditorium, cash only.
Judith Ralitzer (Fanny Ardant) is a writer suffering from a bad case of writer’s block while trying to come up with her new book. However, she might be able to draw some ideas from her own life when she meets a stranger (Dominique Pinon) and an abandoned woman (Audrey Dana) who are both part of a real-life mystery.
This actor had quite the legacy in the nascent years of film. Check him out at his finest– only twelve bucks a pop for these films unavailable elsewhere!
————
June 2, 2008: When the Clouds Roll By (1919);
June 9, 2008: Mark of Zorro (1920);
June 16, 2008: Robin Hood (1922); June 23, 2008: The Gaucho (1927)
Seattle Arts & Lectures and Seattle International Film Festival present: John Waters
Tuesday, June 3, 2008, at 7:30pm
The films of cultural juvenile delinquent John Waters see beauty and truth in trailer-trash junkscapes and the outrageous, disgusting doings of polite society’s outcasts. From his earliest movie, Hag in a Black Leather Jacket (1964), to Pink Flamingos (1972) to Fruitcake (currently in production), his work has been driven by an us-versus-them, hip-versus-square dynamic in which being bad is good and the minority outsiders who embrace their “neuroses and obsessions” are the cool ones who emerge as winners. Over the past four decades, Waters has been a cinematographer, film editor and composer. He has written and directed 16 films, acted and appeared in 100 films and TV shows, published eight books, and exhibited his photography worldwide. Join Seattle Arts & Lectures, SIFF, and the smiling man with the pencil-thin mustache for an original talk and an unforgettable evening.
Note: Also on June 3, as part of the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival, John Waters will be presenting a revival of his comedy, Cecil B. Demented, at the Egyptian Theatre. Tickets can be purchased HERE.
Ticket Information:
For tickets, visit www.benaroyahall.org or call 206-215-4747.
Tickets are available at the following levels:
Divine - $100 (includes a fabulous after-party with John Waters at the W Hotel (purchasers at this level should expect a separate invitation for the after-party in the mail from Seattle Arts & Lectures approximately 2 weeks before the lecture))
Mink Stole - $50
Beehive - $35
Polyester - $25
Jonathan Beller (Critical English; Visual Studies, Pratt Institute) considers the failures of realism to provide figures for the current politico-cultural conjuncture in the Philippines at a variety of aesthetic and analytic levels, including representational style, genre, experience, and medium. Beller explores the confluence of the vertiginous changes brought about by globalization, and the intensification of contradiction in the domain of official politics as the current regime struggles to manage the ongoing crisis of the Philippine State.
Since the end of Apartheid in April 1994, the new South African government has been struggling to remedy years of inequity, particularly regarding substandard education. Testing Hope: Grade 12 in the new South Africa chronicles the lives of young people facing their future in the evolving democracy of South Africa. The film follows four students – Babalwa, Noluyanda, Mongamo and Sipho – at Oscar Mpetha High School in Nyanga township, just outside of Cape Town, as they work towards their crucial Matric exams which one student calls “the decider.”
Every grade 12 student in South Africa is required to take a series of Matric exams based on the subjects they study. These exams determine access to higher education, jobs, and future success. High results can help students gain entry to university, but most students in Nyanga, if they pass, simply receive a school-leaving certificate, the equivalent of a high school diploma.
While this is the Nyanga of a new South Africa, many vestiges of apartheid remain – poverty is entrenched, many students live in shacks, and family structures are dramatically changed by the impact of HIV-AIDS. Despite a promise of opportunity, 52 percent of people aged 16 to 25 are unemployed. Testing Hope follows the students as they prepare for the exams, which they believe will determine their future. What hangs in the balance if students pass Matric and what awaits those who do not? How do they achieve their dreams in a country where so many obstacles remain?
UW Professors will be giving introductions to the films, which will really help ground the fiction in the francophone issues and polemics of the 21st century. Check out film descriptions and times at: http://staff.washington.edu/stromj/festival/
Free admission for UW students!
————–
The French Graduate Student Association is proud to present the 1st annual French and Francophone film festival here at the University of Washington. This film series has been structured to explore several key issues surrounding ethnicity, multiculturalism and identity in the postcolonial francophone world.The diegesis of the films selected work through issues of generational and cultural divide (Le Grand Voyage), national identity (10th District Court), immigration and immigration policy in Europe (Hop), suburban culture and the use of language in identity constructs (L’esquive), ethnic and religious tolerance (La Petite Jerusalem) and institutionalized racism in the workplace (The Glass Ceiling).
Suzanne is charming but she is a mother snowed under by obligations. With her puppet shows, the classes she teaches and the two children, Simon and Louise, that she has been raising alone since their father left, she hasn’t got a minute to herself. To help her, she takes in a young Taiwanese babysitter, Song Fang, who is a student at Paris University. On his way home from school, Simon, who is 7 years old, leads her through the streets and cafés of his neighborhood. Soon, Song Fang and Simon share an imaginary world: a strange red balloon follows them, even in the exhibition space of the Musée d’Orsay. While Suzanne is caught up in a court case involving her tenant downstairs, who refuses to leave, every day, Son Fang becomes more important in her life. In the end, it is Song Fang’s Asian perspective that helps Suzanne get to grips with her life.
Based on the short-film and children’s story-book, this film might of interest to film-goers interested in Hsiao-hsien Hou’s work.
Varsity Theatre
University Ave.
7:10 & 9:30pm showings this week
Tickets at: fandango.com
“Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson” -Documentary, USA-
This quintessential documentary gives extra dimension to counterculture hero Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, the creator of “gonzo” journalism. Focusing on Thompson’s heyday—with home movies, interviews with friends and foes, and unprecedented access to previously unpublished works—the film is entirely narrated by the words of Thompson himself read by Johnny Depp.
Playing at:
Egyptian Theatre
May 23, 2008
May 26, 2008
The SIFF is under-way and over the next few weeks I will be posting films that may be of interest to ArtsLinkers. Of course, the whole schedule is available here: http://www.siff.net
———-
“Cafe de Los Maestros”
-Documentary, Argentina-
Award-winning composer Gustavo Santaollala (Brokeback Mountain) takes us on a journey into the heart of Argentina’s world famous tango, introducing veterans from the golden age of the ’40s and ’50s as they prepare for a memorable concert at Buenos Aires’ renowned Teatro Colón.
Playing at:
SIFF Cinema
May 23, 2008
May 26, 2008
Purchase tickets here: http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=27381&FID=64
artsl
Alli
jessimay
mystery.
Location: The Paramount Theatre / 911 Pine Street / Seattle, WA 98101
driven by an us-versus-them, hip-versus-square dynamic in which being bad is good and the minority outsiders who embrace their “neuroses and obsessions” are the cool ones who emerge as winners. Over the past four decades, Waters has been a cinematographer, film editor and composer. He has written and directed 16 films, acted and appeared in 100 films and TV shows, published eight books, and exhibited his photography worldwide. Join Seattle Arts & Lectures, SIFF, and the smiling man with the pencil-thin mustache for an original talk and an unforgettable evening.
This quintessential documentary gives extra dimension to counterculture hero Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, the creator of “gonzo” journalism. Focusing on Thompson’s heyday—with home movies, interviews with friends and foes, and unprecedented access to previously unpublished works—the film is entirely narrated by the words of Thompson himself read by Johnny Depp.
