NEW HOMES FOR MOVIES

The Aurora Picture Show (www.aurorapictureshow.org) is moving to their very own, very cool space at 2442 Bartlett on June 1. It’s the former home of artist Molly Gochman (who is hosting her final event there on 5/11) and is the site where they’ve screened their “Extremely Shorts” festivals the last few years. Their plan is to continue their fine, on-the-road programming but on a smaller scale while increasing in-house screenings and expanding the base of offerings like their summer camps and artist workshops. Film curator Marian Luntz will make an appearance with APS to talk about Robert Frank (5/2), and former APS directress Andrea Grover will paddle over from Long Island for “The Boat Show” (5/12). They round out the month with a “Scoot-In” show (5/19) featuring films by and about bikers and scooterists at Sesquicentennial Park. · The Contemporary Arts Museum (www.camh.org) has transformed their lower gallery into a movie theater during the run of CINEPLEX (on view through 7/8); free screenings will take place every Thursday at 7:30pm. · The film “The Tree of Life” is the focus of “Eternal Paradox,” a class (5/5) and screening (5/4) at the Jung Center (www.cgjunghouston.org). Jungian analyst Diana Heritage leads the class.

 

JACK BLACK AND OPERA

I adore Jack Black so can’t wait to see his turn as a small town Texas boy-turned-murder suspect in the comedy (based on a true tale!) “Bernie,” a collaboration with Texans Richard Linklater, Skip Hollandsworth and Matthew McConaughey, opening 5/4 at Landmark River Oaks Theatre (www.landmarktheatres.com). RO is also screening “Darling Companion” (5/4) with Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline and “First Position” and “Sound of My Voice” (5/18). · The College of the Mainland (http://www.com.edu/

arts-culture/film-series.php) has an ongoing “Great Film Series” and this month they’re showing “Metropolis” (5/4). Fathom Events (www.fathomevents.com) continues their very cool one-night shows of special films with the MET’s “La Traviata” (5/2); “Mayweather Cotto” (5/5); Wagner’s “Dream” (5/7); “Das Rheingold”/Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” (5/9); “The American Life LIVE!” (5/10); and “Die Walküre”/Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” (5/14). · Check the Rice Cinema schedule (http://www.ricecinema.rice.edu/Events.aspx) for the monthly Houston Green Film Series’ (www.houstongreenfilms.org) screening of films about the environment and green living shown on the second Tuesday of every month at the Rice Media Center. Speaking of Rice Cinema, I’m happy to report that the inaugural presentation of Mountainfilm on Tour in Houston (www.mountainfilm.org/houston) made a big splash and filled the house at the Media Center at the end of March. Founders Jack and Shushana Castle say, yep, it’ll be back bigger and stronger next year. The festival is a selection of films presented in past years by Mountainfilm in Telluride (www.mountainfilm.org).

CARS AND KIDS

May brings the Houston Art Car Parade (5/12) and a screening of the fab doc “Art Car: The Movie” (www.artcarthemovie.com) at Discovery Green (5/11). · The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (www.mfah.org) celebrates Mother’s Day with a screening of the classic adult romp “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice” (5/11) proving that mamas still want to have fun! They’re also host to the annual Houston Palestine Film Festival (www.hpff.org) which has films from 5/12 – 5/19; check online for the specific screenings. And it’s an exciting time for Alex Luster: His film “Stick ‘Em Up” screens at the MFAH 5/4 – 5/6 with a special youth screening on 5/5. · Speaking of youth screenings, the Houston Public Library is hosting their annual “Reel Teen Film Festival” (http://mfah.org/ films/houston-public-library-reel-teen-film-festival-201/) on 5/31. This month’s “Community Cinema” (www.houstonpbs.org/events/community-cinema.html) entry is an inspiring film about the determination of a 300-pound wrestling woman, Strong (5/16).

COMMUNITY CINEMA

War is hell and this month’s “Community Cinema” (www.houstonpbs.org/events/community-cinema.html) film makes that very clear. Hell and Back Again is the story of U.S. Marine Sergeant Nathan Harris, 25, who led a unit in Afghanistan until he was wounded in battle. He returned home to his devoted wife to fight pain, addiction and the terrifying normalcy of life at home. The film screens April 18, 7pm at Rice Media Center (www.ricecinema.rice.edu) and is presented by HoustonPBS (www.houstonpbs.org) and Documentary Alliance (www.documentaryalliance.org). Sundance Cinemas Houston (www.sundancecinemas.com) brings even more indie and small films with “Screening Room Calendar” a program of rotating weekly films. This month’s program includes Natural Selection (3/30-4/5); Young Goethe in Love (4/6-4/12); Salt of Life (4/13-4/19); and This is Not a Film (4/20-4/26). And they’re wrapping up their National Theatre of London film season with She Stoops to Conquer on April 7 at 12:30pm and April 9 at 7pm. Over in the historic Heights, 14 Pews (www.14pews.org) kick’s off this month with a film focusing on the Rwanda genocides, Kinyarwanda, on April 6 and 7 at 7pm; on April 20 at 7pm, they’re screening Man on a Wire – the story of Philippe Petit who danced on a wire illegally rigged between the Twin Towers; and Rejoice and Shout is being screened on April 27 at 7pm, a film chronicling 200 years of gospel history.

 

MFAH

The Aurora Picture Show (www.aurorapictureshow.org) folks have come up with yet another clever idea – pop-up cinema in their backyard! They commissioned  the New York-based art collaborative MTAA starting with “Brainstorming, Beer and BBQ” on 4/11 and then the construction of the cinema in time for the Menil Community Arts Festival on 4/14 and an 8pm screening. MFAH (www.mfah.org) is bringing back popular film fest, “Latin Wave: New Films from Latin America,” on April 26-29 as well as what sounds like a fascinating film, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, two weekends only (4/13 and 4/2). It’s the story of Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef, who is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. The “45th Annual WorldFest Houston International Film Festival” (www.worldfest.org) – takes place at  the AMC Studio 30 at 2949 Dunvale; check their website for the final schedule. Landmark River Oaks Theatre (www.landmarktheatres.com) has booked Coriolanus, starring Ralph Fiennes as the controlling Roman general who was ousted by his citizens, and The Deep Blue Sea, a story of a woman’s aching and overwhelming desire for love. Their midnighters this month are Footloose (4/6-4/7); The Room (4/13); The Rocky Horror Picture Show with live cast (4/14); House/Hausu (4/20-4/21) and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (4/27 and 4/28).

 

HMNS

Super Happy Fun Land (www.superhappyfunland.com) is hosting a benefit film screening for Treat ’Em Right Rescue (www.treatemright.org) on 4/15, 5pm – not sure what they’re screening, but the cause is good. Houston Museum of Natural Science (www.hmns.org) has several films onscreen – all 3D – Space Junk; Flying Monsters; Ultimate Wave; and Tornado Valley.  Donny Osmond is baaack and looks younger than, well, when he was young. He’s leading audiences in a sing-a-long version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat on 4/4, 7pm; check www.fathomevents.com for tickets and more info. The film should be fascinating on so many levels, ahem. Texas Monthly staff writer Skip Hollandsworth has teamed up with Richard Linklater on Bernie (opening wide on 4/29) – it’s the story of assistant funeral director Bernie Teide, who is accused of murder – a convenient crime, considering his occupation. We bid farewell this month to film critic and film lover extraordinaire Regina Scruggs, who is moving to Arkansas to become the Program Director of KLRE-FM, the University’s radio station. Congrats!

ROAD TRIPPIN’ IS FUN

Once again, my friends at the Aurora Picture Show (www.aurorapictureshow.org) are road trippin’ it. Their first stop is Flickerlounge at DiverseWorks Artspace, with films by Marina Zurkow and Daniel Shiffman through 4/21. Then it’s Market Square for the “49th Ann Arbor Film Festival Tour” (3/2, 6pm) and finally, the Menil Collection Lawn for “Cinematic Graphite” (3/23, 8pm). This year’s 8th annual Houston Jewish Film Festival (www.erjcchouston.org/filmfest) has increased venues and now includes 14 Pews; the Holocaust Museum Houston; the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Studio Movie Grill at CityCentre. It’s onscreen 3/6-3/18, so check their website for the full list of offerings.  14 Pews (www.14pews.com) has a full slate of films this month, including Charlie Chaplin’s Gold Rush (3/5, 7pm) and the charming-sounding Happy Happy (3/23, 7:30pm).

 

MAIS OUI!

Magnifique! This month folks around the world – and Houston – will celebrate “Le Mois de la Francophonie” (“French Cultures Festival”) and in honor of this special event, the French Alliance (www.afdehou.org) and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (www.mfah.org) have teamed up to bring back their “Five Funny French Films” series – check www.francophonie-texas.org for deets. Yippee! Animation will be rolling across the screen at the MFAH when they show “The Best of Ottawa International Animation Festival” on 3/16, 7pm & 3/18, 5pm. They’re also screening the documentary Come Back, Africa (3/3, 7pm; 3/4, 5pm; 3/9, 7pm), in which the graphic horrors of the apartheid South African government were secretly captured on film. One of their Jewish Film Fest entries is Mary Lou (3/11, 3pm), about an Israeli drag queen (who knew?!); it’s being presented in conjunction with QFest (www.q-fest.org) and Friends of Ernie (www.ernieontv.com). I’m super happy because Super Happy Fun Land (www.superhappyfunland.com) finally has a screening I can tell you about – DoggieWoggiez! PoochieWoochiez! (3/2) . Check them out, I promise you’ll have a good time in their funky little space.

 MANNERS AND ELECTRIC CARS

The Community Cinema series (www.houstonpbs.org/events/community-cinema.html) offers free sneak preview screenings of upcoming documentaries that will air on “Independent Lens” on PBS. Locally, HoustonPBS (www.houstonpbs.org), Rice Media Center (www.ricecinema.rice.edu) and the Documentary Alliance (www.documentaryalliance.org) team up for these offerings; this month we get to learn more about something I’m very interested in with the film Revenge of the Electric Car (3/21, 7pm). Sundance Cinemas Houston (www.sundancecinemas.com) is going strong and apparently we Houstonians like the reserved seats thing since many of their screenings fill up! They’re continuing their series of  National Theatre of London plays onscreen; this month features Shakespeare’s fabulous “The Comedy of Errors” (3/17, 12:30pm and 3/19, 7pm). Cross-pollination is happening this month when Musiqa (www.musiqa.org) presents “Crossings” on 3/31, 7:30pm, an evening of chamber music performed by Musiqa and special guest, Music from the Copland, complementing films picked out by Aurora Picture Show staff. The College of the Mainland is presenting an ongoing free Great Films Series (http://www.com.edu/arts-culture/film-series.php) and this month’s pick is Operation Petticoat (3/2, 7pm in the LRC Auditorium). I’m going to wrap up my column with a plea for manners. At a recent Rice Cinema screening, I experienced four noisy customers who had brought in their own popcorn AND soda cans, all of which became a secondary soundtrack to the film The Wizard of Oz (no, says director Charles Dove, food and drink aren’t allowed). When I told them 4 times to be quiet…and they weren’t, I was peeved. Just as peeved as I am at theatre texters. Please, please leave your bad manners at home so we can all enjoy movies on the big screen! It’s a shared experience I refuse to let go of, even if I have to kick some butt along the way.

By Sarah Gish

PLAYING WITH CINEMA It’s February and what always pops into my mind this month is “Black History Month.” Not everyone buys into it being just a month: You can meet Shukree Hassan Tilghman, a 29-year-old African American filmmaker, who is on a cross-country campaign to expand our study of black history in this month’s pick for HoustonPBS’s “Community Cinema” (www.communitycinema.org) series, presented in conjunction with Documentary Alliance (www.documentaryalliance.org). More Than a Month airs 2/22, 7pm, at Rice Cinema (www.film.rice.edu) and Mr. Tilghman will be in attendance. The Landmark River Oaks (www.landmarktheatres.com) has a fine lineup of midnighters – The Theatre Bizarre (2/3-2/4), The Room (2/10) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (2/11) – and be sure to catch their special one-night-only event: the opera film, 3 Superstars in Berlin, on 2/1. Sundance Cinemas Houston (www.sundancecinemas.com) is also hosting special limited presentations this month – their new series of projected shows from the National Theatre of London features a screening of the play Traveling Light (2/13, 7pm and 2/18, 12:30pm).

LOVE and MUSIC My Heart Is an Idiot caught my eye, since it’s the month of l-o-v-e. It’s screening on 2/9, 7:30pm at the River Oaks Theatre and is part of this month’s schedule by the Aurora Picture Show (www.aurorapictureshow.org). This romantic documentary captures the road-tripping lifestyle of author, filmmaker, contributor to radio show “This American Life” and editor/publisher of FOUND Magazine Davy Rothbart who looks for love in all places. Prior to the screening, he’ll be presenting a special mini love-themed live performance. (This is the guy who made a “masturbation movie” so who knows what will happen!) It’s also time for APS’s annual “Soul Nite!” films at the El Dorado Ballroom on 2/24, 7pm; curator Peter Lucas will be in attendance and you’ll get to boogie to James Brown, Sam & Dave, Barbara Lynn, Rufus Thomas, Wilson Pickett and many more. Studio Movie Grill (www.studiomoviegrill.com) at City Centre (where the old Town and Country Mall was) has a couple of great art films this month: 3 Superstars in Berlin (2/1, 7pm) and ReGeneration (2/16 and 2/23, 8pm), a documentary with five of the most influential electronic producers/DJs in music today – Mark Ronson, DJ Premier, The Crystal Method, Pretty Lights and Skrillex. Grab your teens for that one!

MUSEUMS, FESTIVALS and AWARDS The Health Museum (www.thehealthmuseum.org) gets up close and personal with humans in Planet You 3D, a collaboration with the Museum of Science, Boston – catch it on the hour, every hour. Down the street, “Surprise Cinema!” is still happening at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (www.mfah.org). This month’s “surprise” film will unroll on 2/10 and 2/11. Other films they are unrolling are El Bulli: Cooking in Progress (2/3 and 2/4, 7pm); The Mummy (the1932 film is a perfect complement to the Museum’s King Tut show and it’s unrolling on 2/3 and 2/4 at 9pm) and Le Havre (2/18, 1pm and 7pm and 2/19, 5pm). If you saw Richard Linklater’s 1991 film Slacker, you’ll love Slacker 2011, a stream-of-consciousness chronicle by 24 of Austin’s top filmmakers (2/17, 7pm). Live and Become (2/20, 7pm) is the Menil Collection Director Josef Helfenstein’s choice for “Movies Houstonians Love.” It’s the story of an Ethiopian boy relocated to Israel during Operation Moses. And down yet another nearby street, the 19th annual “Iranian Film Festival” returns to Rice Media Center (www.ricecinema.rice.edu) February 3-5. The Houston Film Critics Society held their annual “Awards Show” at the MFAH last month; among the winners were The Descendants (Best Picture), I Saw the Devil (Best Foreign Film) and Your Highness (Worst Film). Both Mary Lampe, Executive Director of SWAMP (www.swamp.org), and Hunter Todd, Executive Director of Worldfest (www.worldfest.org), were given Outstanding Achievement awards. Congrats to my two friends!

ART FILMS ARE GOOD FOR THE SOUL…TAKE A FRIEND TO ONE.

By Sarah Gish

Yikes! It’s 2012…the year the Mayans and Nostradamus say will end it all. I prefer to shine a positive light – the world ain’t ending, ya’ll – it’s just a new beginning for us! I am knocking on wood and hoping that part of our new world is a strong economy and in my magical crystal ball, I see Houston’s small businesses leading the way down the green brick road. Since I focus on the film faves of notable Houstonians each January, this year I turned to successful small biz retailers.

Thankfully, Denise Welling of Body Mind & Soul sees this year as a spiritually positive one so it’s no surprise that she loves the 1947 film The Bishop’s Wife. “The story is quite simple: a bishop (David Niven) prays for help in building a grand cathedral while trying to satisfy the needs of the demanding patron who is backing the project. An angel by the name of Dudley (Cary Grant) arrives in answer to his prayer, but shows him that what he really wants is not a cathedral, but a deeper relationship with his wife, Julia (Loretta Young). This movie is beautiful to me on so many levels – the most obvious is that you get help from a higher source when you ask for it and that sometimes what you think you want is not what you are truly yearning for.”

Danish woman Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) is darn sure she yearns to leave her womanizing husband in Debbie Scholl’s favorite movie, Out of Africa (and who wouldn’t, when cute Denys Finch-Hatton, played by Robert Redford, is waiting for her?!). The owner of FUNdamentally Toys says, “I’m attracted to the movie because of Blixen’s strength and courage and her diplomacy and her passion, all of which are mixed with a deep love and respect for Finch-Hatton. Filmed in Kenya, the photography is breathtaking and the musical score punctuates the intensity of events as they unfold.”

“One of my favorite films ever is a documentary called Seamless,” says Chloe Dao, fashion designer and owner of Lot 8 boutique. “It’s about well-known designers, including Proenza Schouler and Doo-Ri Chung, who were competing to win the CFDA award in 2005. I love this film because it shows the nitty-gritty part of fashion and the brutal reality. You can have tons of press and celebrities wearing your clothes and still be in debt. The film shows some of the personal and private struggles of very talented designers that I relate to. It lets me know I am not alone. I would recommend this film to all aspiring fashion designers or anyone who is interested in that industry.”

The most surprising film choice I ran across?
Lucy Chambers, book maven and Editorial Director at Bright Sky Press, would put on a boxing mask for Jack Black’s hilarious Nacho Libre. It just goes to show you: you can’t judge a book girl by her cover.

Happy 2012 and may your light shine bright all year long!

SURPRISE ME, BABY

What a fun idea: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (www.mfah.org) Film and Video Curator Marian Luntz has cleverly scheduled a “surprise” film to unroll 12/16-17 at 7pm and 12/18 at 5pm! Their other films this month take us to France (“Rohmer x 2” series of Eric Rohmer films from 12/9-11) and Taiwan (“Spotlight on World Cinema” series running from 12/2-4). They wrap up the holidays with Being Elmo (12/27-31), a doc on Kevin Clash, creator of the red-topped cutie. Dovetailing nicely with that, Studio Movie Grill (www.studiomoviegrill.com) is screening The Muppets as their special needs film on 12/3, 11am. Also on 12/3, Stitched (www.stitchedfilm.com), the lovely film about quilters, is screening at the Central Library at 2pm. The holidays always feature feel-good movies – and this year’s winner (in my mind anyway) is We Bought a Zoo, based on the book We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo and the 200 Zoo Animals that Changed Their Lives Forever. It’s coming out 12/23 “to a theatre near you.”

BRAINS AND WAR

Bring your brain to this month’s ever-provocative Cinema Bomar (www.cinemabomar.org) screening – it’s on 12/28 at Domy Books and features short films that include hostile stick figures being told that big business is best and an 89-year-old man that has been building a castle in Ohio for 50+ years (Orange Show creator Jeff McKissack’s long lost bro?). Women and war is the subject of Lioness, this month’s pick for HoustonPBS’s “Community Cinema” (www.communitycinema.org) series on 12/14, 7pm at Rice Cinema (www.film.rice.edu). The Landmark River Oaks (www.landmarktheatres.com) will be screening The Skin I Live In; The Descendants; Like Crazy; and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (check with the theatre for showtimes). Their “Midnight Madness” series this month is the classic Home Alone (12/2-3); Rocky Horror Picture Show (12/10 only) and “Santa’s Cool Holiday Film Festival,” featuring Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (12/16-17).14 Pews (www.14pews.org) has two films this month: The Interrupters (12/2) – a film by Hoop Dreams director Steve James about “Violence Interrupters” who work to stop the spread of violence by treating it as an infectious disease – and The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu (12/16-18).

TUBE-OFF TOURNAMENT

Finally, YouTube being utilized well on the big screen! The Aurora Picture Show (www.aurorapictureshow.org) has turned their annual holiday party (12/15 at the El Dorado Ballroom) into a “Tube-Off Tournament” – the audience picks a theme and two contestants face off to find the most bizarre, funny, festive or heartfelt videos and present them to the audience in a series of fast-paced rounds complete with stopwatches and a huge gong. I’ll be there for sure. And in honor of holiday travel, APS brings us “The Only Way to Fly” with Skip Elsheimer and his A/V Geeks 16 mm educational collection of flying films, appropriately screening at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum on 12/3. If you haven’t been out to that very cool site, I recommend it! It’s on the grounds of the original Hobby Airport and is a great example of well-preserved art deco architecture. As you are reading this, the Sundance Cinema (www.sundancecinemas.net) will have been open for a few weeks. I hope that my fellow moviegoers are adjusting to the reserved seating and the ticket amenity fee while enjoying the gorgeous, woodsy beauty of this new theatre that has been completely redesigned and refurbished just for us. I can’t think of a better holiday present for film lovers in this city!

SUNDANCE IS HERE AND HOME IS AT DIVERSEWORKS

Partnerships in the film community abound this month and we’ve got a couple of film festivals on board. So mark your calendars now and get out there to support our town’s theatres. But first: Big news this month is that the new Sundance Cinemas Houston (www.sundancecinemas.com) in Bayou Place is scheduled to open on November 23, just in time for Thanksgiving films (and they promise a full bar and restaurant, yippee!). We are only the third market for Sundance, after San Francisco and Madison. I can’t wait to enter the doors of that beautiful theatre once again! DiverseWorks keeps rocking it with their “Flickerlounge” series through 12/17; this month they’ll have a series of short films and music videos by filmmaker Braden King. It’s co-presented by the Aurora Picture Show (www.aurorapictureshow.org) and the films explore the nostalgic feeling of home. Speaking of the Aurora Picture Show, they’re teaming up with the Houston Cinema Arts Society to present Braden King and his multi-platform motion picture HERE as part of the Cinema Arts Festival Houston from November 10-12. The alternative film and video scene of San Fran is the topic of the “Radical Light Book Tour and Screening Series” sponsored by the Aurora and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (www.mfah.org) at the MFAH on 11/20, 2pm and 5pm.

FAVE FILMS AND OUTDOOR FUN

Mary Lampe picked one of my fave films, Wim Wender’s Wings of Desire, for this month’s “Movie Houstonians Love” series at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (www.mfah.org). Also on at the MFAH will be “Spotlight on World Cinema: Korea”; the revival of The Man Who Fell to Earth with the very excellent alien, David Bowie; and the premiere of One Lucky Elephant. Cinema Bomar (www.cinemabomar.org) heads to trippy, druggy San Francisco with Drugs in the Tenderloin on 11/30 while over at 14 Pews (www.14pews.org), they’ve got lots of happenings, including Semper Fi: Always Faithful (11/4 & 11/5) and “Science on Screen” films (11/21) as well as From My Cold Dead Fingers, a new play by my crazy friend Joel Orr that’s onstage 11/11-11/19. HoustonPBS continues their fab “Community Cinema” (www.communitycinema.org) series on 11/30, 7pm, at Rice Media Center with We Still Live Here, on 11/30, 7pm – it’s the story of linguist Jane Little Doe’s revival of the Wampanoag language more than a century after the last native speaker died. For outdoor film fun, head to Miller Outdoor Theatre (www.milleroutdoortheatre.org) on 11/5, 7:30pm, for their “Sing-A-Long Movies” series with Grease (Rockin’ Rydell Edition) and to Discovery Green (www.discoverygreen.com) for Toy Story 3 (11/3, 7pm) and The Cameraman (11/4, 7:30pm), accompanied by Loreta Kovacic on a Houston Piano Company (www.houstonpianocompany.com) piano.

FILM FESTS

The Cinema Arts Festival Houston (www.cinemartsociety.org) is back for its third terrific year and had a great lineup of films at press time, with more to be procured by creative director Richard Herskowitz. The fest will have screenings at various venues around town and will kick off on 11/9 with the regional premiere of Downtown Express, the story of the colliding worlds of classical and raucous music – the film’s main character, Russian-American violinist Phillipe Quint, will perform while the director, David Grubin, will also be in attendance for a q-and-a. The Festival will close out on 11/13 at 7pm with the premiere of Art Car: The Movie at Miller Outdoor Theatre; filmmakers Ford Gunter and Carlton Ahrens will also be in attendance as will gobs of art cars. Rice Media Center (www.ricecinema.rice.edu) is host to the “Festival of Contemporary Films from India,” (chaocenter.rice.edu/filmfestival.aspx) organized by the Chao Center for Asian Studies, from 11/4-11/6. Directors Moinak Biswas and Shalini Usha Nair will be in attendance and the festival pays tribute to Mani Kaul, avant garde filmmaker from India, who passed away in 2011. His film In Two Minds will be screened on 11/5, 7pm. All films are subtitled in English and admission is free. And it’s time again for the Annual Jewish Book and Arts Fair (http://www.erjcchouston.org/arts/39th-annual-jewish-book-arts-fair/) which runs 10/30-11/13 and features several films including “Grace Paley: Collected Shorts” about the American-Jewish short story writer, activist and poet.

By Sarah Gish

FALL = GHOSTS
Ah, October! Cooler weather and horror films! The Landmark River Oaks (www.landmarktheatres.com) has a full lineup of gross-out films: Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (9/30 & 10/1); Human Centipede II, The Full Sequence (10/7 & 10/8 and 10/14 & 10/15); The Nightmare Before Christmas (10/14 & 15); Zombie (10/21 & 10/22); and the tried and true Rocky Horror Picture Show for Halloween weekend (10/28 & 10/29) while Miller Outdoor Theatre (www.milleroutdoortheatre.com) is screening the classic Lon Chaney, Jr. 1941 film, The Wolfman (10/31, 7:30pm). ● 14 Pews (www.14pews.org) is celebrating their one year anniversary on October 15 with a party at the chic Heights home of Board member Leann Mueller. Tickets are $100 and get you lots of entertainment that night (think Puppet Pizzazz and St. Arnold’s beer) as well as entry to two members-only events in November and December. The 14 Pews schedule is full this month: They kick it off on October 1 with a performance by the Angelus Harp Ensemble and then onscreen will be Tony & Janina’s American Wedding (10/7 & 10/8); The Boy Mir (10/8 & 10/9); King Corn (10/14); The Swell Season (10/19-10/23); Buck (10/21 & 10/22); and Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone (10/26-10/28).

GREEN AND WILD
If you can’t handle the late hour of the midnight screening of The Nightmare Before Christmas at the River Oaks, catch it at Discovery Green’s (www.discoverygreen.com) “Scream on the Green” event on 10/29, 6pm, where they’ll have the film, a costume contest, prizes, music and more. They’re also screening Rio (10/28) and Charlie Chaplin shorts with KUHF-FM (10/14), which will be accompanied live by Loreta Kovacic on a piano courtesy Houston Piano Company (www.houstonpianocompany.com). ● “Donald Moffett: The Extravagant Vein” is on view at the Contemporary Arts Museum (www.camh.org) – his paintings of landscapes and political themes incorporate film and video in unique ways. ● Adventure awaits at the Houston Museum of Natural Science (www.hmns.org), which has the IMAX® films Born To Be Wild (the story of love between humans and animals) and Sea Rex (an underwater journey to the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods) and from October 7-9, the Bayou City Inspirational Film Fest (www.bciff.com) is in town.

BIKERS MIX WITH FASHION
Studio Movie Grill (www.studiomoviegrill.com) is hosting a free special needs screening of Dolphin Tale (10/1, 11am) and their SMG $1 movie classic this month is, appropriately, Evil Dead (10/20, 7:30pm). ● The Aurora Picture Show (www.aurorapictureshow.org) folks are taking a teeny break of sorts by putting a hold on screenings to host their “11th Annual Aurora Award Dinner” on 10/27, 6:30pm. It’s chaired by John Guess, Jr. at the home of Jim McAlister; the award this year will go to pioneer video and performance artist Joan Jonas. Shady Tavern Ice House is hosting the Rockers vs. Mods (http://rockers-vs-mods.com/) for screenings the last Wednesday of each month; this month they’ve chosen On Any Sunday (10/26). ● The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (www.mfah.org) has been selling out screenings on a regular basis – this is great news, so be sure to get there early! This month they are kicking off their seventh season of “Movies Houstonians Love” with fashion designer Alexandra Knight’s favorite flick, Bill Cunningham New York, screening one time only on 10/24, 7pm. They’re getting into the ghoulish season with two Halloween-inspired films, Kuroneko (10/28-30) and The Strange Case of Angelica (10/29-30). ● Rice Media Center (www.ricecinema.rice.edu) has Being There (10/1); Throne of Death (10/5), which is part of the “Festival of Contemporary Indian Cinema”; and Deaf Jam (10/19), which is part of HoustonPBS’s “Community Cinema” series and the “Our Image Fall Film and Arts Celebration” (www.ourimagefest.com) on 10/21. ● And finally, Rob Arcos, former owner of MOVIES! The Store, has been selected as the Theatre Manager for the new Sundance Cinemas at Bayou Place, scheduled to open next month. I can’t wait to see where Rob will take us!

By Sarah Gish

GOD’S BUSINESS

 

 

 

 

 

 

God is a young, ambitious theology entrepreneur trying to solicit his first client, a hard-headed man by the name of Abraham. So opens This is Sodom, the second installment in the three-part “Summer Israeli Film Series,” presented by the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest and the Jewish Community Center of Houston (www.jcchouston.org). As the film unrolls, we get a peek into the imagined last week of history’s most infamous “City of Sin”! This is Sodom is onscreen at the JCC on 7/20, 7:30pm. · The not-yet-built Houston Museum of African American Culture (www.hmaac.org) and Our Image Film and Arts (www.ourimagefest.com) present “The 2011 HMAAC Film Series” which features screenings on the last Thursday of the month through 10/27/11. All screenings are scheduled for 7pm and are free and open to the public. This month’s installment is The Trials of Darryl Hunt on 7/28, 7pm, at S.H.A.P.E. Community Center, 3815 Live Oak Street.

 

 

 

SPACEY FUN

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’ve been hankering for old biker movies, Rockers vs. Mods (rockers-vs-mods.com/) has got you covered: the last Wednesday of each month, you can sidle up to the bar at Shady Tavern Ice House in the Heights and get Lone Star Specials and an outdoor screening. This month’s pick: I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle on 7/27 at 7:30pm. · Switching gears, Landmark Theatres (www.landmarktheatres.com) is opening its 19th-century Chinese drama, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan on 7/22; Miller Outdoor Theatre (www.milleroutdoortheatre.com) is screening 2001: A Space Odyssey on 7/1, 8:30pm; and Rave Motion Pictures (www.ravemotionpictures.com) is scheduled to open Devil’s Double on 7/29. · The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (www.mfah.org) turns its lens on Bill Cunningham, “photographer and Schwinn-riding cultural anthropologist,” and his films on 7/8, 7/15 and 7/22, as well as on life in the 1840s with Meek’s Cutoff, screening 5 nights this month. For the lowdown on kids’ summer film fun, check out www.thesummerbook.com/gishpicks/gishpicks_060111.htm#summer.

 

 

 

QFEST IS HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m thrilled to announce that QFest (www.q-fest.org), Houston’s GLBTQ Festival is celebrating its “Queerceañera” (15th anniversary!) from 7/28 – 8/1 with a showcase of shorts and features from around the world and screenings at Rice Media Center (film.rice.edu/Events.aspx) and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (www.mfah.org), as well as an outdoor screening at Discovery Green (www.discoverygreen.com) on 7/30 of the Olivia Newton-John/Gene Kelly/ELO musical, Xanadu. The short schedule is packed with two special presentations including a 20th-anniversary screening of acclaimed director Todd Haynes’ audacious feature debut, Poison, and tributes to both legendary filmmaker Kenneth Anger (co-sponsored by the Aurora Picture Show, the MFAH and SWAMP) and legendary leading lady Elizabeth Taylor. On August 1, festival director Kristian Salinas has organized a special tribute to the Festival’s founders (which includes yours truly) and the closing night screening of fun new comedy, Violet Tendencies. Congrats, QFest! · Catch “Stan Vanderbeek: The Culture Intercom” at the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston (www.camh.org) before it is whisked away on 7/10. Vanderbeek is known for his pioneering efforts in animation art, video collage, multiscreen projections, multimedia happenings and computer art. And on 7/14, 6:30pm, check out their “Video Jam,” co-presented by the Aurora Picture Show (www.aurorapictureshow.org).

 

 

 

· Lastly, I have a correction: I apologize for listing the Mitchell Center for the Arts’ website incorrectly in last month’s column; it’s actually www.mitchellcenterforarts.org. Now you have no excuse!

 

 

 

By Sarah Gish