Wexner Arts March/April 2011 : Page 2

onScreen TICKET INFO 21st-Century Independents After a period of creative dormancy, the once-vital American independent cinema has experienced a resurgence in the past decade. Even though the budgets might be small-to-nonexistent and the names unfamiliar (for now), exciting new artists from all corners of this country have found innovative ways to tell stories we haven’t heard yet and introduce us to people that we’ve never seen on screen before. This series offers the Columbus theatrical premieres of some of the best new and recent truly independent films. Night Catches Us (Tanya Hamilton, 2010) THU, MAR 3 | 7 pm “Mesmerizing! Tanya Hamilton’s first feature is something to cherish. Remember her name. She’s a genuine find. ” — ROLLING STONE In 1976, after years of mysterious absence, Marcus (Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker ) returns to the Philadelphia neighborhood where he came of age in the midst of the Black Panther movement. Writer-director Tanya Hamilton’s distinctive film (10 years in the making) paints one of the most vivid and complex portraits of a black community seen on film in many years. Featuring a propulsive score by the legendary Philly group The Roots. (88 mins., 35mm) INTRODUCED BY MATTHEW PORTERFIELD Seven Songs About Thunder (Jennifer Reeder, 2010) Putty Hill (Matthew Porterfield, 2010) Hamilton (Matthew Porterfield, 2006) FRI–SAT, MAR 11–12 | 7 pm “Extraordinary! If there’s an independent cinema, this is it, and if there’s a new director, here he is.” —RICHARD BRODY, THE NEW YORKER The talented Matt Porterfield is revealing himself as a major new American filmmaker, and here’s your chance to hear his thoughts on two of the films that have made his name. Porterfield introduces the films to start each evening and answers questions between them. Putty Hill , his second feature, tells a simple story—about how a young man’s untimely death unites a fractured family and their struggling Baltimore community—through an exquisite, delicate blend of documentary, fiction, and improvisation (91 mins., video). Hamilton , his debut, offers another assured, memorable portrait of quiet Baltimore lives, this time focused on a young mother and featuring music by Animal Collective. No less a Baltimore expert than John Waters called it, “astonishing in its simple beauty. The real thing.” (65 mins., 16mm) Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (Damien Chazelle, 2009) All the Ships at Sea (Dan Sallitt, 2003) THU, MAR 17 | 7 pm This triple bill begins with Columbus native (and past Wexner Center Residency Award recipient) Jennifer Reeder introducing Seven Songs About Thunder , a short dark comedy shot in her hometown (20 mins., video). The magical Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench builds on the connections between music and romance, pairing a gritty, neorealist style with thrilling, full-fledged musical numbers. A young Boston jazz musician (played by trumpeter Jason Palmer) drifts through a series of romances punctuated by song. (82 mins., video) All the Ships at Sea , from film critic-turned-filmmaker Dan Sallitt, explores doubt, faith, family, and the search for enlightenment through the relationship between two sisters, one a Catholic theology professor and the other a former member of a religious cult. “The dialogue is absolutely wonderful, brilliant, discreet, moving,” says French film-maker Arnaud Desplechin ( Kings and Queens ). (63 mins., video) Littlerock (Mike Ott, 2010) Afterschool (Antonio Campos, 2009) THU, MAR 10 | 7 pm 2nd film 8:35 pm A charming tale of outsiders and discovery, Littlerock follows a pair of sightseeing Japanese siblings who are marooned in the small California town of LittleRock when their car breaks down. The film has won numerous audience and jury awards at international film festivals (as well as a Gotham Award for “Best Movie Not Playing at a Theater Near You”). (84 mins., video) A riveting look at the dark side of youth in the media age, the assured Afterschool sees Robert, a student at an elite East Coast prep school, accidentally capture on camera the horrific deaths of two popular girls. Scott Tobias at The Onion AV Club calls the film, “an essential docu-ment of what it was like to be a young person in the late ’00s.” (107 mins., 35mm) $5 $7 $3 members, students, senior citizens general public children under 12 All events are in the Film/Video Theater, unless otherwise indicated. Film/Video tickets are on sale at the Patron Services Desk on the entrance level of the building. Tickets remain on sale until a half-hour after show times or until the start of the second film of double features. Non–English language films have English subtitles, unless otherwise indicated. All programs are subject to change.

Onscreen

21st-Century Independents After a period of creative dormancy, the once-vital American independent cinema has experienced a resurgence in the past decade. Even though the budgets might be small-to-nonexistent and the names unfamiliar (for now), exciting new artists from all corners of this country have found innovative ways to tell stories we haven’t heard yet and introduce us to people that we’ve never seen on screen before.This series offers the Columbus theatrical premieres of some of the best new and recent truly independent films. Night Catches Us (Tanya Hamilton, 2010) THU, MAR 3 | 7 pm “Mesmerizing! Tanya Hamilton’s first feature is something to cherish.Remember her name. She’s a genuine find.”—ROLLING STONE In 1976, after years of mysterious absence, Marcus (Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker) returns to the Philadelphia neighborhood where he came of age in the midst of the Black Panther movement. Writer-director Tanya Hamilton’s distinctive film (10 years in the making) paints one of the most vivid and complex portraits of a black community seen on film in many years. Featuring a propulsive score by the legendary Philly group The Roots.(88 mins.,35mm) Littlerock (Mike Ott, 2010) Afterschool (Antonio Campos,2009) THU, MAR 10 | 7 pm 2nd film 8:35 pm A charming tale of outsiders and discovery, Littlerock follows a pair of sightseeing Japanese siblings who are marooned in the small California town of LittleRock when their car breaks down. The film has won numerous audience and jury awards at international film festivals (as well as a Gotham Award for “Best Movie Not Playing at a Theater Near You”).(84 mins., video) A riveting look at the dark side of youth in the media age, the assured Afterschool sees Robert, a student at an elite East Coast prep school, accidentally capture on camera the horrific deaths of two popular girls. Scott Tobias at The Onion AV Club calls the film, “an essential document of what it was like to be a young person in the late ’00s.” (107 mins., 35mm) INTRODUCED BY MATTHEW PORTERFIELD Putty Hill (Matthew Porterfield, 2010) Hamilton (Matthew Porterfield, 2006) FRI–SAT, MAR 11–12 | 7 pm “ Extraordinary! If there’s an independent cinema, this is it, and if there’s a new director, here he is.”—RICHARD BRODY, THE NEW YORKER The talented Matt Porterfield is revealing himself as a major new American filmmaker, and here’s your chance to hear his thoughts on two of the films that have made his name.Porterfield introduces the films to start each evening and answers questions between them. Putty Hill, his second feature, tells a simple story—about how a young man’s untimely death unites a fractured family and their struggling Baltimore community—through an exquisite, delicate blend of documentary, fiction, and improvisation (91 mins., video). Hamilton, his debut, offers another assured, memorable portrait of quiet Baltimore lives, this time focused on a young mother and featuring music by Animal Collective. No less a Baltimore expert than John Waters called it, “astonishing in its simple beauty. The real thing.” (65 mins., 16mm) Seven Songs About Thunder (Jennifer Reeder, 2010) Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (Damien Chazelle, 2009) All the Ships at Sea (Dan Sallitt, 2003) THU, MAR 17 | 7 pm This triple bill begins with Columbus native (and past Wexner Center Residency Award recipient) Jennifer Reeder introducing Seven Songs About Thunder, a short dark comedy shot in her hometown (20 mins., video). The magical Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench builds on the connections between music and romance, pairing a gritty, neorealist style with thrilling, full-fledged musical numbers. A young Boston jazz musician (played by trumpeter Jason Palmer) drifts through a series of romances punctuated by song.(82 mins., video) All the Ships at Sea, from film critic-turnedfilmmaker Dan Sallitt, explores doubt, faith, family, and the search for enlightenment through the relationship between two sisters, one a Catholic theology professor and the other a former member of a religious cult. “The dialogue is absolutely wonderful, brilliant, discreet, moving,” says French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin (Kings and Queens).(63 mins., video) Ballast (Lance Hammer, 2008) Beeswax (Andrew Bujalski, 2009) THU, MAR 24 | 7 pm 2nd film 8:45 pm Among the most critically praised independent films of recent years, Ballast tells the powerful, gentle tale of a single mother in the Mississippi Delta struggling to provide for herself and her son. The New York Times called it “a serious accomplishment and a welcome sign of a newly invigorated American independent cinema.” (96 mins., 35mm) Beeswax, a marvelous recent film by Andrew Bujalski(Funny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation), revolves around the personal and professional entanglements of twin sisters Jeanne and Lauren (played by extraordinary newcomers Tilly and Maggie Hatcher). This acutely observed film reveals much about how we depend on our families—the kind we’re stuck with and the kind we build for ourselves. (100 mins., 35mm) Cold Weather (Aaron Katz, 2010) FRI–THU, MAR 25–31 Gateway Film Center “ What the future of independent cinema might look like.”—FILM COMMENT Showing in an exclusive weeklong Wex at Gateway engagement, Cold Weather delightfully updates the detective movie genre.An aimless forensic science graduate moves back to his hometown of Portland, Oregon, and puts his Sherlock Holmes reading to good use when his ex-girlfriend disappears.The smart script by up-and-coming director Aaron Katz sets a classic mystery story within a realistic, mundane environment, and the result is a subtle exploration of friendship. (96 mins., video) Two Gates of Sleep (Alistair Banks Griffin, 2010) Decay of Fiction (Pat O’Neill, 2002) THU, MAR 31 | 7 pm 2nd film 8:30 pm One of the rare American indie films to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Two Gates of Sleep is an astonishing visual achievement. Using almost no dialogue, director Alistair Banks Griffin conveys a mythic, meditative grandeur in this elemental tale of two brothers living in isolation on the Louisiana- Mississippi border and traveling downriver to bury their mother.(78 mins., video) For five decades, veteran filmmaker Pat O’Neill has crafted special effects for bigbudget movies (such as Return of the Jedi and Poltergeist) while also making innovative independent film projects. Decay of Fiction, his longest film to date, is a brilliant, experimental film noir set in the decaying remains of Los Angeles’s now-demolished Ambassador Hotel. (74 mins., 35mm)

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