Get a jump on your Oscar pool with this opportunity to see the films nominated in the Documentary Short category, in advance of the Academy Awards ceremony on February 24. The nominees are: Inocente Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine   Kings Point Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider   Mondays at Racine Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan   Open Heart Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern   Redemption Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill   Click here for information on each film (scroll about halfway ... more info

Special guests: Bishop Rance Allen, Yolanda Adams, and others* The documentary Music Majors chronicles the rise to fame of the innovative Rance Allen Group (RAG), one of the most explosive groups to emerge from the legendary Stax Records label in the 1970s. The group's hits—including "Ain’t No Need of Crying," "I Belong to You," and their cover of the Temptations’ "Just My Imagination"—placed them among soul legends such as Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes. The Rance Allen Group is often credited with establishing the ... more info

Enter the auditorium at any time: The 75-minute film screens twice, back-to-back, on each date. Entry is free with general museum admission.  MFAH Members always receive free general admission. For tickets to the exhibition "Picasso Black and White," click here. Unavailable for more than a decade, The Mystery of Picasso is one of the greatest documentaries on art ever made. The film received the Prix du Jury at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, and the French government declared the film a ... more info

Director Jenalia Moreno in attendance* Special ticket prices apply! General admission is $10. MFAH members, members of the Houston Cinema Arts Society, members of the Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP), students with ID, and seniors receive a $2 discount. Cosponsored by the Houston Cinema Arts Society. Stitched is a fun-filled documentary capturing the enormity of the quilting world with more than 21 million quilters in the U.S. alone. The film follows three quilters racing to complete their entries for the ... more info

Introductory remarks by Alison Greene, MFAH curator of Contemporary Art and Special Projects  In 1989 the MFAH presented the landmark exhibition Czech Modernism: 1900–1945, which inspired the current exhibition New Formations: Czech Avant-Garde Art and Modern Glass from the Roy and Mary Cullen Collection. Hej Rup!, featuring the comic duo George Voscovec and Jan Werich, was among the many films screened as part of the original exhibition. In the late 1920s and 1930s, these Czech burlesque entertainers were leaders of The Liberated, a theater group that became ... more info

Get a jump on your Oscar pool! Attend this screening for an opportunity to see some of the 2011 nominees for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in advance of the February 26 Academy Awards ceremony. The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement Directed by Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin (USA, 2011, 25 min.) In the days leading up to Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 election, a former civil rights activist looks back on the early days of the movement. Incident in ... more info

A reception to meet the filmmaker, Bruno Wollheim, follows the screening. DVDs of the film will be available for purchase. Filmed over three years, this documentary is an unprecedented record of a major artist at work. It captures David Hockney’s return from California to paint his native Yorkshire, England: outside, through the seasons, and in all weathers. David Hockney: A Bigger Picture tells the story of a homecoming and offers up a revealing portrait of what inspires and motivates today’s greatest living British-born artist. "An unqualified, ... more info

The MFAH is pleased to cohost a film screening and discussion in conjunction with the Menil Collection exhibition The World Is Not My Home: Danny Lyon Photographs and Houston's FotoFest 2012 Biennial. Program ► Screening of The Abandoned Children (Los niños abandonados), a powerful 1975 documentary about Colombian street children, directed by photographer Danny Lyon. Click here to view a trailer for the film. ► Discussion with Lyon; MFAH curator Anne Wilkes Tucker; and Menil curator and exhibition organizer Toby Kamps. Admission is free. more info

The MFAH, in collaboration with filmmaker Carroll Parrott Blue and the University of Houston, welcomes celebrated Afro-Cuban filmmaker Gloria Rolando to Houston. This program features a conversation with both of them, along with film scholar Margarita de la Vega Hurtado, and includes a screening of Rolando's latest film: 1912, Breaking the Silence (Voces para un silencio). About the filmmaker The primary focus of Gloria Rolando’s work is the African diaspora in the Caribbean. Originally trained in art history, she transitioned to filmmaking ... more info

Many of the award winners from this annual contest will be screened, with filmmakers in attendance. Houston Public Library annually solicits entries from teens throughout the greater Houston area, with work submitted in categories including narrative, documentary, animation, and teen health, among others. Turn out and support these talented young auteurs! more info

Ten years after leaving Apple, the late Steve Jobs agreed to an hour-long interview for Triumph of the Nerds, a TV series about the birth of the personal computer. Only a part of the 1995 conversation was used in the series, and the remainder was thought lost until the recent discovery of a VHS copy. The interview features Jobs at his most charismatic, discussing his pioneering days with Steve Wozniak. Jobs also talks frankly and sadly about his own forced departure ... more info

Alarmél Valli is one of India’s most iconic dancers and choreographers. Internationally acclaimed for her distinctive dance style—classical yet contemporary, precise yet poetic—Valli has performed in major festivals and theaters worldwide. The new documentary LĀSYA KĀVYA: The World of Alarmél Valli features footage of Valli’s graceful gestures, complemented by insights from experts on Indian dance who illuminate the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual contexts within the performances. LĀSYA KĀVYA won India’s 2012 national award for best film on art and culture. Meet Alarmél Valli when she visits the ... more info

Live piano accompaniment by Joseph Li, Shepherd School of Music, Rice University Houston Grand Opera sets the silent film alongside Puccini’s heartbreaking operatic score for a unique presentation of story, film, and music. This version of La Bohème is not based on the libretto of Puccini’s opera, but goes back to that work’s source: Henri Murger’s 1851 French stories Scènes de la vie de bohème (Scenes from Bohemian Life). Lillian Gish (Mimi) and John Gilbert (Rodolphe) star in the (considerably cleaned-up) ... more info

A reception in the museum galleries follows the ceremony. The Houston Film Critics Society comprises print, broadcast, and Internet film critics. As award season heats up nationally, members of the HFCS present their own awards for top achievements in 2012. Along with this year’s Texas Independent Film Award, a Humanitarian award goes to the late Adam Yauch, and a Lifetime Achievement Award goes to actor Robert Duvall (not attending). This event is free, but free tickets are required. For more information, ... more info