Wexner Arts March/April 2010 : Page 4

onScreen MARCH 4–6 Friends of the region’s thriving GLBT community are invited to join us for Out@Wex. The weekend-long cinemat- ic celebration features special events that include a visit from filmmaker Su Friedrich,our annual Out@Wex party, and the world premiere of Reid Farrington’s multimedia play Gin & “It” (see the onStage pages for details). Eyes Wide Open (Haim Tabakman, 2009) THU, MAR 4 | 7 pm More than one taboo is broken in Eyes Wide Open. Set within Jerusalem’s extremely orthodox Jewish community, the story focuses on Aaron, a young married butcher who lives devoutly with his wife and four sons. His identity is turned inside out when he finds himself drawn to a handsome, 20-ish outsider (played by Israeli heartthrob Ran Danker). Tabakman’s debut feature offers a bitter-r sweet commentary on the incompatible claims of romantic expression and religious orthodoxy. (90 mins., video) Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (Multiple directors, 1977) SAT, MAR 6 | 2 pm Widely considered the first feature-length documentary on gay and lesbian identity,Word Is Out presents the lives and struggles of 26 diverse individuals. Period figures including John Burnside, Sally M. Gearheart, and Harry Hay offer perspec- tives that challenge common stereotypes of the time. (135 mins., video) Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement (Susan Muska & Gréta Ólafsdóttir, 2009) SAT, MAR 6 | 4:30 pm From the codirectors of The Brandon Teena Story comes Edie & Thea, a delightful and moving docu- mentary portrait of a lesbian couple who, after 42 years together, are about to be married. The couple, who met in the 1960s,were tireless activ- ists for feminist and lesbian issues. The filmmakers stress their optimism, good humor, and devotion, even while being denied the basic right to wed. (61 mins., video) INTRODUCED BY DIRECTOR SU FRIEDRICH Hide and Seek(1996) Seeing Red(2005) FRI, MAR 5 | 7 pm “Su Friedrich’s films are beautiful and moving evocations of the complexities of lesbian desire.”—Judith Mayne, Distinguished Humanities Professor of French, Ohio State Since the late 1970s, Su Friedrich has been produc- ing remarkably personal and challenging films about being a woman born into postwar America. Tonight the filmmaker and Princeton University professor shares two of her most acclaimed shorts along with comments about her work and career. Stay after the films for the annual Out@Wex Party. Out@Wex Party Fri,Mar 5 | 7–9:30 pm Café Come just for the party, or make it a night and stop by before the theater production Gin and “It” (see the onStage pages for details) or before or after tonight’s films. Praised by Yvonne Rainer as “A Girl’s Own Story for lesbians,” Hide and Seek is a daring exploration of lesbian adolescence in the 1960s, cutting between staged sequences of a confused 12-year-old girl with documentary footage of grown women trying to figure out how they ever got from there to here. (63 mins., 16mm) Equally engaging is Seeing Red, in which Friedrich responds to a profound professional crisis by channeling her thoughts and anxieties into a formally inventive, intensely personal video diary. The New York Times notes it is “sometimes bracingly expressive, sometimes serenely beautiful.” (27 mins., video) The Country Teacher (Bohdan Slama, 2008) FRI, MAR 5 | 9:15 pm Cosponsored by BRAVO, Equality Ohio, HRC Columbus Steering Committee, KaleidoscopeYouth Center, Ohio State’s GLBT Alumni Society, Ohio State’s Multicultural Center, and Stonewall Columbus. From the Czech Republic, The Country Teacher follows Petr, a quiet, studious gay man who impulsively leaves cosmopolitan Prague to take a job teaching science in an unfamiliar rural village. His natural aloofness is quickly eroded when he develops a serious crush on his landlady’s teenage son. (113 mins., 35mm) OUT@WEX (CLOCKWISE) THE COUNTRY TEACHER (Bohdan Sláma, 2008) Image courtesy of Film Movement SPRING FEVER (Lou Ye, 2009) Image courtesy of Strand Releasing DROOL (Nancy Kissam, 2009) Image courtesy of Strand Releasing EYESWIDE OPEN (Haim Tabakman, 2009) Image courtesy of New American Vision SpringFever(Lou Ye, 2009) SAT, MAR 6 | 7 pm A thorn in the side of China’s film censors, direc- tor Lou Ye got around the five-year ban on him by registering his latest film, Spring Fever, as a Hong Kong–French coproduction. As with Summer Palace, Lou is remarkably graphic in depicting his char-r acter’s romantic entanglements. Here he focuses on a married man having a gay affair that his wife threatens to expose. Shot clandestinely in Nanjing, it’s an evocative look at the persistence of desire. (116 mins., 35mm) Drool(Nancy Kissam, 2009) SAT, MAR 6 | 9:15 pm First-time director Nancy Kissam’s Drool, which premiered at least year’s Outfest in Los Angeles, has been described as “part Thelma & Louise and part Little Miss Sunshine.” Starring Laura Herring (Mulholland Falls) and Jill Marie Jones (Girlfriends) and set in the South during hurricane season, the frenetic comedy follows the two women as they take to the road—along with two kids and a corpse—after the elimination of a particularly repulsive husband. (88 mins., video) FILM FESTIVAL

On Screen

FILM FESTIVAL Friends of the region’s thriving GLBT community are invited to join us for Out@Wex. The weekend-long cinematic celebration features special events that include a visit from filmmaker Su Friedrich, our annual Out@Wex party, and the world premiere of Reid Farrington’s multimedia play Gin & “It” (see the onStage pages for details). Eyes Wide Open More than one taboo is broken in Eyes Wide Open. Set within Jerusalem’s extremely orthodox Jewish community, the story focuses on Aaron, a young married butcher who lives devoutly with his wife and four sons. His identity is turned inside out when he finds himself drawn to a handsome, 20-ish outsider (played by Israeli heartthrob Ran Danker). Tabakman’s debut feature o$ers a bittersweet commentary on the incompatible claims of romantic expression and religious orthodoxy. (90 mins., video) INTRODUCED BY DIRECTOR SU FRIEDRICH Hide and Seek (1996) Seeing Red (2005) “Su Friedrich’s films are beautiful and moving evocations of the complexities of lesbian desire.” Since the late 1970s, Su Friedrich has been producing remarkably personal and challenging films about being a woman born into postwar America. Tonight the filmmaker and Princeton University professor shares two of her most acclaimed shorts along with comments about her work and career. Stay after the films for the annual Out@Wex Party. Praised by Yvonne Rainer as “A Girl’s Own Story for lesbians,” Hide and Seek is a daring exploration of lesbian adolescence in the 1960s, cutting between staged sequences of a confused 12-year-old girl with documentary footage of grown women trying to figure out how they ever got from there to here. (63 mins., 16mm) Equally engaging is Seeing Red, in which Friedrich responds to a profound professional crisis by channeling her thoughts and anxieties into a formally inventive, intensely personal video diary. The New York Times notes it is “sometimes bracingly expressive, sometimes serenely beautiful.” (27 mins., video) The Country Teacher From the Czech Republic, The Country Teacher follows Petr, a quiet, studious gay man who impulsively leaves cosmopolitan Prague to take a job teaching science in an unfamiliar rural village. His natural aloofness is quickly eroded when he develops a serious crush on his landlady’s teenage son. (113 mins., 35mm) Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives Widely considered the first feature-length documentary on gay and lesbian identity, Word Is Out presents the lives and struggles of 26 diverse individuals. Period figures including John Burnside, Sally M. Gearheart, and Harry Hay o$er perspectives that challenge common stereotypes of the time. (135 mins., video) Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement From the codirectors of The Brandon Teena Story comes Edie & Thea, a delightful and moving documentary portrait of a lesbian couple who, after 42 years together, are about to be married. The couple, who met in the 1960s, were tireless activists for feminist and lesbian issues. The filmmakers stress their optimism, good humor, and devotion, even while being denied the basic right to wed. (61 mins., video) Spring Fever A thorn in the side of China’s film censors, director Lou Ye got around the five-year ban on him by registering his latest film, Spring Fever, as a Hong Kong–French coproduction. As with Summer Palace, Lou is remarkably graphic in depicting his character’s romantic entanglements. Here he focuses on a married man having a gay a$air that his wife threatens to expose. Shot clandestinely in Nanjing, it’s an evocative look at the persistence of desire. (116 mins., 35mm) Drool First-time director Nancy Kissam’s Drool, which premiered at least year’s Outfest in Los Angeles, has been described as “part Thelma & Louise and part Little Miss Sunshine.” Starring Laura Herring (Mulholland Falls) and Jill Marie Jones (Girlfriends) and set in the South during hurricane season, the frenetic comedy follows the two women as they take to the road—along with two kids and a corpse—after the elimination of a particularly repulsive husband. (88 mins., video) SATURDAYS IN MARCH Retrospective: Jerry Lewis After starring in successful comedies with crooner Dean Martin in the 1950s, Jerry Lewis went solo, starring and ultimately directing himself in a series of films that continue to divide critics, enthusiastically embraced by some and coolly dismissed by others. This series features a selection of Lewis’s best movies as director/actor, allowing you to form your own opinion about a filmmaker many consider one of the screen’s great comedic geniuses. For further insights, check out Chris Fujiwara’s new book titled Jerry Lewis, available in the Wexner Center Store. Special thanks to May Haduong at Academy Film Archive for assistance with this series. The Nutty Professor (1963) The Bellboy (1960) The film that confirms Jerry Lewis as a comic auteur for many, The Nutty Professor is his singular take on the Jekyll and Hyde story. When a mild-mannered scientist drinks one of his own potions, he transforms into the suave but overbearing Buddy Love—perhaps an impersonation of one-time partner Dean Martin. (107 mins., 35mm) In The Bellboy, his first film as a director, Lewis plays the title character, bumbling and stumbling with brio through one setup after another. Remarkably, it was shot at Miami Beach’s Fontainebleau Hotel by day, while the tireless comedian performed stand-up there at night. (72 mins., 35mm) The Ladies Man (1961) The Patsy (1964) In The Ladies Man, a recently dumped Lewis hopes to cheer up by taking a job in a house filled with gorgeous women. Lewis built a four-story cutaway “dollhouse” to stage his intricate sight gags, a strategy used later by French filmmaker Jacques Tati in Playtime. (95 mins., 35mm) A management team desperately needs to find a new meal ticket In The Patsy. After their star comedian dies in a plane crash, they turn to the bellboy of their hotel (Lewis) and try to fabricate a star. As critic Chris Fujiwara remarks, it’s “Lewis’s most meticulously directed film, and one of his most ambitiously conceived.” (101 mins., 35mm) The Errand Boy (1961) The Family Jewels One of the great Hollywood parodies, The Errand Boy stars Lewis as a window washer who’s hired by Paramutual Studios to spy on their back lot and learn where their money goes. Lewis is a walking disaster zone, and the resulting mayhem serves up a hilariously satirical look at studio filmmaking. (92 mins., 35mm) In The Family Jewels, a newly orphaned 10-year-old must choose one guardian from six uncles in order to receive a vast inheritance. She’s driven from uncle to uncle (all played by Lewis) by the beloved family chau&eur (also Lewis) in a gag-filled attempt to find the right match. (99 mins., 35mm) CONTEMPORARY SCREEN Home (Ursula Meier, 2008) PRECEDED BY Hotel Roccalba (Josef Dabernig, 2008) THU(FRI, MAR ')('* | # $% As casually odd as it is unsettlingly funny, Home features Isabelle Huppert and Olivier Gourmet (of the Dardenne brothers’ films) as a couple living in a ramshackle house at the very edge of a derelict highway. In French-Swiss director Ursula Meier’s feature debut, a unique take on the road movie, the characters don’t move at all—that is, until a construction crew shows up to set their home in motion. (98 mins., 35mm) Screening first is Austrian director Josef Dabernig’s Hotel Roccalba, a wryly perplexing short about the residents of what may or may not be an Italian Alpine hotel. (10 mins., 35mm) VISITING FILMMAKER Deborah Stratman O’er the Land (2009) Borrowing its title from a phrase in our republic’s anthem, Deborah Stratman’s O’er the Land takes a bracingly refracted survey of America’s landscape and obsessions. Stratman interacts with Mexican border guards, Revolutionary War reenactors, gun-toting families, football teams, and finally a military jet pilot who lived through a 45-minute, hurricane-bu&eted parachute descent from his plane. The film screened at last year’s Sundance and Rotterdam film festivals. Stratman, a past Wexner Center residency artist, shot part of O’er the Land in and around Columbus, including one sequence filmed at a high school football game in Hilliard, and edited the work at the Wex. (52 mins., 16mm) O’er the Land is preceded by three shorts known collectively as The Paranormal Trilogy. (10 mins., 16mm and video)

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