Film Series. The 10 narrative films and documentaries in this series, each engaging digital processes, range from traditional forms to radically new approaches to filmmaking.
Screenings
Friday, May 24, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 25, 7:30 p.m.
Dancer in the Dark
Friday, May 31, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 1, 7:30 p.m.
Timecode
Friday, June 7, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 8, 7:30 p.m.
The Gleaners and I
Friday, June 14, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 15, 7:30 p.m.
Promises
Friday, June 21, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 22, 7:30 p.m.
Waking Life
Friday, June 28, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 29, 7:30 p.m.
The Anniversary Party
Friday, July 5, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 6, 7:30 p.m.
Buena Vista Social Club
Friday, July 12, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 13, 7:30 p.m.
The Adventures of God
(Subject to change)
Friday, July 19, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 20, 7:30 p.m.
The Celebration
Friday, July 26, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 27, 7:30 p.m.
The Lady and the Duke
(Subject to change)
Film Series
Electro-Celluloid
May 24-July 27, 2002
During the past 20 years, video has played an increasing part in many
aspects of feature film production, and recent advances in digital
technology have exponentially accelerated this process. For some
filmmakers, digital technology has provided conveniences of time, money,
and maneuverability in achieving images and sound that evolve from
traditional celluloid films. For other filmmakers, these new means for
recording and manipulating image and sound have inspired a rethinking of
what a film might look like and sound like, and how it might invite new ways
of storytelling and new vivisections of the human psyche. Since the early
1980s, there has been an increasing stream of violent, star-studded actions
films using computer-generated imagery, but these are not the only responses
to digital technology. The 10 narrative films and documentaries in this
series, each engaging digital processes, range from traditional forms to
radically new approaches to filmmaking.
Dancer in the Dark
Friday, May 24, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 25, 7:30 p.m.
Set in 1964 Washington State, Dancer in the Dark is the story of Selma
(pop-star Björk in a heartbreaking performance), a Czech immigrant and a
single mother working in a rural factory. Her salvation is her passion for
extravagant song-and-dance numbers found in classic Hollywood musicals
(realized in several fantastic choreographed sequences). Selma also harbors
a sad secret: she is losing her eyesight, and her son stands to suffer the
same fate if she can't put away enough money to secure him an operation.
When a desperate neighbor falsely accuses Selma of stealing his savings, the
drama of her life escalates to a tragic finale. The film's use of digital
imagery is consistent with von Trier's association with the Dogma filmmaking
movement and its insistence on directness and spontaneity. With Catherine
Deneuve.
(Denmark/USA, 2000) 140 min.
Directed by Lars von Trier
http://www.tvropa.com/channels/dancerd
Timecode
Friday, May 31, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 1, 7:30 p.m.
With four images simultaneously visible on the screen, Timecode shows the
unfolding of four different overlapping and intertwining storylines, all of
which satirize the sordid business of Hollywood moviemaking. This highly
unconventional digital film was shot in real time with no edits after the
opening credits. "Your eyes do the editing, not the film," says director
Figgis. The excellent ensemble cast's precisely timed, improvised
performances allow the fascinating story to emerge from the wonderful
commotion. With Salma Hayek and Holly Hunter.
(USA, 2000) 93 min.
Directed by Mike Figgis
http://www.spe.sony.com/movies/timecode
The Gleaners and I
Friday, June 7, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 8, 7:30 p.m.
Painters François Millet and Vincent van Gogh immortalized France's gleaner
culture in several famous masterpieces. Agnes Varda, the "Grande Dame of
the French New Wave," uses her digital video camera to construct an
intimate, updated portrait of this same culture. Her picaresque document
investigates the reasons people of many different social backgrounds
choose to sift through discarded materials, forming a metaphor for Varda's
own filmmaking process. "The Gleaners is a protest film that's part social
critique, part travelogue, but always an unsentimental celebration of human
resilience."-L.A. Weekly
(France, 2000) 82 min.
Directed by Agnes Varda
In French with English subtitles
http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/current/gleaners/gleaners.html
Promises
Friday, June 14, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 15, 7:30 p.m.
Rather than focusing on political events, Promises features seven children,
between the ages of 9 and 13, in a compelling human portrait of the Israeli
and Palestinian conflict. The film draws viewers into the hearts and minds
of Jerusalem's children, giving voice to those captured by the region's
hatreds as well as those able to transcend them. The children speak
directly and without self-censorship, offering dramatic, emotional, and
sometimes hilarious insights into what it's like to grow up in the charged
and complex city of Jerusalem. The intimacy made possible by video
technology is essential to this powerful film. Promises was nominated for a
2001 Academy Award for best documentary feature.
(USA, 2001) 106 min.
Directed by B.Z. Goldberg & Justine Shapiro
In English, Arabic, and Hebrew with subtitles
http://www.promisesproject.org
Waking Life
Friday, June 21, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 22, 7:30 p.m.
Director Linklater (Slacker) shot Waking Life on consumer video cameras with
live actors and then applied an unusual and stunning new digital animation
technique to create the bizarre fantasy world of a young man seeking to
discern the absolute difference between reality and dreams. His inner
journey brings him into contact with a host of inhabitants from his
subconscious, each with a different theory to explain life's profound
mysteries.
(USA, 2001) 97 min.
Directed by Richard Linklater
http://www.wakinglifemovie.com/#
The Anniversary Party
Friday, June 28, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 29, 7:30 p.m.
For maximum efficiency during the 19 days of production, The Anniversary
Party was shot quickly and inexpensively on digital video. The story
involves Joe (Alan Cumming), a successful novelist, and his wife Sally
(Jennifer Jason Leigh), a famous Hollywood actress, who invite a neurotic
mix of famous and not-so-famous friends over for a party to celebrate their
sixth anniversary. Sally and Joe have only recently reconciled after a
separation, and the strain in their relationship reveals itself as the party
progresses. "It's not a party until something gets broken." The result is
truly a night to remember. With Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Kline.
(USA, 2001) 115 min.
Directed by Jennifer Jason Leigh & Alan Cumming
http//www.theanniversaryparty.com
Buena Vista Social Club
Friday, July 5, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 6, 7:30 p.m.
Director Wenders employed high-definition video to make this wonderful and
poetic documentary inspired by the popular, award-winning record album of
the same title. Through candid interviews with many great legends of Cuban
music and beautifully recorded performances, the film stands as a testament
to music's ability to transcend life's difficulties. Wenders interweaves
the musicians' biographies with glimpses of modern Cuba, capturing a lost
culture that is suddenly, unexpectedly revived for audiences in Havana and
around the world.
(Germany, USA, France, & Cuba, 1998)105 min.
Directed by Wim Wenders
In Spanish with English subtitles
http://www.bvsocialclub.com
The Adventures of God
Friday, July 12, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 13, 7:30 p.m.
Program subject to change
Subiela's "metaphysical thriller" continues his exploration of the
supernatural, blurring the boundaries between reality and nightmare. A man
and a woman are trapped in what seems to be a dream unfolding in the
labyrinthine corridors and mysterious rooms of a spacious 1930s hotel by the
sea. The man remembers nothing of his past or how he came to the hotel, but
two men accuse him of a crime committed elsewhere. As he and the woman
search for answers, they fall in love and together are pushed to
extraordinary measures to find the true nature of their existence. Using
digital technology in this film rich with big ideas, bold, surreal images
and Dadaist spirit, Subiela has created another surprising and fantastical
meditation.
(Argentina, 2000) 90 min.
Directed by Eliseo Subiela
In Spanish with English subtitles
The Celebration
Friday, July 19, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 20, 7:30 p.m.
This was the first film to receive Dogma 95 "certification" after director
Vinterberg took the infamous "Vow of Chastity," pledging to dispense with as
much cinematic artifice as possible. The Celebration's electrifying story
takes place at a Danish country manor house during an annual family
gathering to honor patriarch Helge on his birthday. While making a toast to
his father, the eldest son reveals a dark secret that will forever change
his family. A magnificent script, powerful acting and documentary-style
digital cinematography combine to create a thoroughly unsettling sensation
of realism. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.
(Denmark, 1998) 105 min.
Directed by Thomas Vinterberg
In Danish and English with subtitles
The Lady and the Duke
Friday, July 26, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 27, 7:30 p.m.
Program subject to change
At 81, Eric Rohmer enters the digital age with The Lady and the Duke, a
delightful companion piece to his earlier Marquise of O., with its ironic
play on character shaped by environment. Shooting before a blue screen,
Rohmer sets the violent socio-political upheaval of the French Revolution in
a heavily stylized milieu composed of 18th-century paintings and
hand-painted sets. This is the world as seen by Scottish expatriate Grace
Dalrymple Elliott (Lucy Russell)-courtesan to princes, staunch friend of the
monarchy, brave anachronism. Rohmer teases us into seeing revolution as a
form of extreme rudeness or breach of taste. Adroitly mixing melancholy with
absurdity, The Lady and the Duke celebrates the imagination's power to make
and unmake worlds.
(France, 2002) 125 min.
Directed by Eric Rohmer
In French with English subtitles
Admission
Admission to CMA Cinema is $6; $5 for students, senior citizens, and
Carnegie members; and $2 for CinéClub members.
Support
General support for the exhibitions and programs at Carnegie Museum of Art
is provided by grants from The Heinz Endowments and the Pennsylvania Council
on the Arts.
Department of Film and Video programs are supported in part by the
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds Foundation,
and Dr. Lila Penchansky.
Carnegie Museum of Art
Located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh and
founded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1895,
Carnegie Museum of Art is nationally and internationally recognized for its
distinguished collection of American and European works from the sixteenth
century to the present. The Heinz Architectural Center, part of Carnegie
Museum of Art, is dedicated to the collection, study, and exhibition of
architectural drawings and models. For more information about Carnegie
Museum of Art, call 412.622.3131 or visit our web site.
Carnegie Museum of Art
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Pittsburgh