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MFAH Presents Cutting Edge and Classic Films in Five International Film Series in May/ June 2008
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Thursday, April 3, 2008For Immediate Release
MFAH Presents Cutting Edge and Classic Films in Five International Film Series: Latin Wave: New Films from Latin America; Palestine Film Festival; A Celebration of Humphrey Jennings; Best of the Ottawa International Animation Festival; and Korean Cinema Now (and Then)
Houston—The MFAH continues to provide Houston audiences access to important films, showcasing a variety of international film series during May and June.
Thursday through Sunday, May 1 through 4, eight award-winning films from six Latin American nations will be presented during the third annual Latin Wave: New Films from Latin America. In association with Voices Breaking Boundaries, the MFAH will show two films on Saturday and Sunday, May 10 and 11, as part of the second Houston Palestine Film Festival, with additional films screening at Rice Cinema and the Station Museum. On Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and 19, the World War II-era films of Humphrey Jennings, widely considered Britain´s greatest documentary filmmaker, will screen in A Celebration of Humphrey Jennings. On Saturday and Sunday, May 25 and 26, a compilation of cutting edge animation shorts will screen in Best of the Ottawa 2007 International Animation Festival. The spring film season concludes in a series presented from Saturday, May 31 through Sunday, June 15, showcasing contemporary and classic Korean cinema in Korean Cinema Now (and Then).
Additional film programming in May and June includes the French classics Last Year at Marienbad (Fridays, May 9, 16, and 23) and Diva (Fridays, June 13, 20, and 27). Moon Sun Flower Game: A True Fairytale (Friday, May 30), a film about coincidences that spans the continents, will be presented by filmmaker Claus Strigel; and Alice Neel, a fascinating documentary about the great, 20th-century portrait painter, will be introduced by filmmaker Andrew Neel on opening night (Saturdays, June 21 and 28; and Sundays, June 22 and 29). Family Flicks on Target Free First Sundays include a screening of the anime classic, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. (Sunday, June 1)
All films screen in the Brown Auditorium Theater in the MFAH´s Caroline Wiess Law Building, 1001 Bissonnet Street. Film descriptions and a complete schedule can be found below. For more information, the public can call 713-639-7515.
Latin Wave: New Films from Latin America
Now in its third year, Latin Wave is an annual festival at the MFAH that showcases contemporary Latin American cinema, directed by Monika Wagenberg, a widely respected film programmer who divides her time between New York and Buenos Aires. Latin Wave 2008 presents eight award-winning films, five of which represented their nations at the Oscars as nominees for the Best Foreign Film award. "Latin American cinema has recently undergone a major revitalization which took root in Argentina ten years ago and has since grown across the region. The implementation of government incentive programs, the adoption of film laws and the proliferation of film schools have fostered the emergence of this vibrant and distinctive cinema," said Wagenberg. The films, which are all Houston premieres, screen Thursday through Sunday, May 1 through 4, and include La Zona (Mexico), Santiago (Brazil), Silent Light (Mexico), Encarnación (Argentina), Postcards from Leningrad (Venezuela), XXY (Argentina), The Pope´s Toilet (Uruguay), and A Ton of Luck (Colombia); film times will be available on the MFAH web site. A highlight of this intimate festival is the opportunity for audiences to interact with the visiting delegation of filmmakers. This year´s festival opening night party is set for Thursday, May 1, and all screenings are followed by Q&A sessions. Over the course of this five-year partnership with Fundación Proa, with continued sponsorship by Tenaris and Ternium, the MFAH will present more than 40 Latin films from both commercial and independent studios.
Palestine Film Festival
Following an extremely well-attended inaugural edition, the second Houston Palestine Film Festival brings various films to the MFAH, Rice Cinema, and the Station Museum. On Saturday, May 10, at 7 p.m., the MFAH shows Israeli filmmaker Ido Haar´s 9 Star Hotel (Israel, 2007), a documentary that "draws us into the precarious world of young Palestine construction workers scrabbling to survive in and around the Israeli city of Modiin" (New York Times). On Sunday, May 11, at 7 p.m., the MFAH shows filmmaker Paul Smaczny´s documentary, Knowledge is the Beginning (Germany, 2005), telling the story of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, where young musical prodigies from the Arab-Israel Diaspora perform side by side. The Ensemble founder, conductor Daniel Barenboim, believes that the orchestra symbolizes what could be achieved in the Middle East.
A Celebration of Humphrey Jennings
Humphrey Jennings, born 100 years ago, is an important figure in the development of documentary filmmaking. Best known for films made during the World War II era, and widely considered Britain´s greatest documentary filmmaker, Jennings´s films evoke everyday heroism. To mark his centennial, the National Film Archive of the British Film Institute is touring a selection of his best-known films. The series launches on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 17, and the films pay tribute to those in service. Co-sponsored by the Documentary Alliance, A Celebration of Humphrey Jennings showcases the restored prints Fires Were Started (UK, 1943) (Saturday, May 17 at
7 p.m.) and Finest Hour: Film by Humphrey Jennings (UK, 1939-1943). (Sunday, May 18 at 7 p.m.)
Best of the Ottawa International Animation Festival
The Ottawa International Animation Festival is one of the largest, most respected animation events in the world. The museum showcases a compilation of the festival´s 2007 programming, including Tom Brown and Daniel Gray´s award-winning t.o.m. (Wales); Aaron Augenblick´s hilarious Golden Age (USA); Tibor Bancozki´s dark and disturbing Milk Teeth (UK); and Mathew Walker´s humorous John and Karen (UK); along with films from Canada, Japan, Argentina, and Europe. The animation shorts screen on Saturday, May 24 and Sunday, May 25, both at 7 p.m.
Korean Cinema Now (and Then)
Outstanding recent and classic films from Korea are presented to complement the MFAH´s ongoing Korean Art and Culture Initiative, which was launched last December with the opening of the Arts of Korea gallery.
• Woman on the Beach (South Korea, 2006) is directed by Hong Sang-soo, who has been called the "most Frenchified of contemporary Korean directors." The film tells the story of a blasé film director idly pursuing two women at a deserted seaside resort, only to have the balance of power unexpectedly shift. (Saturday, May 31, 9 p.m.; and Friday, June 6, 7 p.m.)
• Kim Tae-sik´s Driving with My Wife´s Lover (South Korea, 2007) is about a meek, middle-aged man who becomes convinced that his wife is having an affair and decides to confront the suspected lover. (Saturday, May 31, 7 p.m.)
• Lee Joon-ik´s The King and the Clown (South Korea, 2006) has been called Korea´s Brokeback Mountain. Two clowns sentenced to death endeavor to amuse the King in a desperate bid for their lives, but the King begins to desire more than a laugh from one of the clowns. (Sunday, June 1, 7 p.m.)
• If You Were Me 2 (South Korea, 2005) is a series of short films about human rights issues, created by South Korea´s National Commission on Human Rights. (Saturday, June 7, 7 p.m.)
• Our School (South Korea, 2007), directed by Kim Myung-joon, is a documentary about third- and fourth-generation ethnic Koreans living in Japan, following students through a year in school as they try to find their place. (Sunday, June 8, 7 p.m.)
• Shin Sang-ok´s classic, A Flower in Hell (South Korea, 1958), is considered a turning point in Korean cinema. The story of two morally ambiguous brothers fighting over a prostitute amid black-market corruption shocked audiences, presenting a bleak look at postwar Seoul. (Saturday, June 14, 7 p.m.)
• The Marines Who Never Returned (South Korea, 1963), a film directed by Lee Man-hee, humanizes marines fighting in the Korean War. (Sunday, June 15, 7 p.m.)
French Classics: Last Year at Marienbad and Diva
Described by the New York Times as "a gorgeous puzzle box of a movie," the new 35mm CinemaScope print of the 1961 film, Last Year at Marienbad (France, 1961), is currently playing the art-house circuit. With lavish costumes (including gowns by Coco Chanel) and lush settings, Marienbad re-plays the same scenario between one man (Giorgio Albertazzi), and his potential lover (Delphine Seyrig), increasing the detail and suspense each time. (Fridays, May 9 at 7 p.m.; May 16 at 7:30 p.m.; and May 23 at
7 p.m.)
With Jean-Jacques Beineix´s first film, Diva (France, 1981), he created the new New Wave and invented the cinéma du look. This critically acclaimed ´80s sensation about a postman obsessed with an opera soprano—full of chaotic chase scenes and dubious characters—can be seen at the museum this June. Diva stars Frédéric Andréi; real-life opera star Wilhelmina Wiggins Fernandez; Richard Bohringer; and Thuy An Luu. (Fridays, June 13 at 7:30 p.m.; June 20 at 7 p.m.; and June 27 at 7 p.m.)
Moon Sun Flower Game: A True Fairytale
Moon Sun Flower Game presents a true-life tale of startling coincidences. The film begins in the past, when Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzad traveled to a leper community in northern Iran to make the award-winning short film, The House is Black (1963). While filming, she met a young boy whose life was affected by the film, and who was spirited out of pre-revolutionary Tehran and taken to Germany. The film then winds its way to Munich, where exiled Iranian poet Hossein Mansouri searches for the boy, and discovers his own roots in the process. Director Claus Strigel, who has co-written and co-directed over 50 award-winning documentaries and feature films with Bertram Verhaag, will introduce the screening on Friday, May 30 at 7 p.m.
Alice Neel
Alice Neel (1900 - 1984) redefined portraiture through stark, sometimes searing, paintings of friends, lovers, family, and famous intellectuals and artists like Andy Warhol. Her colorful and compelling works truthfully portray the gamut of human society in 20th-century New York. The documentary film Alice Neel (USA, 2007), created by the painter´s grandson, captures Neel´s bohemian life. The first screening, on Saturday, June 21 at 7 p.m., will be introduced by filmmaker Andrew Neel. Additional show times are on Saturday, June 28; and Sundays, June 22 and 29; all at 7 p.m.
Family Flick: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
In conjunction with the museum´s Target Free First Sundays in May and June, the film department offers Family Flicks free of charge. Updates on the May selection will be posted on the website. On Sunday, June 1, at 2 p.m., a film by Spirited Away director Hayao Miyazaku will screen. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Japan, 1984) is about a princess who must try to save the Earth from an ecological disaster.
May & June Film Schedule
May
1 Thurs. 2 p.m. Family Flick
time TBD Latin Wave: New Films from Latin America
2 Fri. time TBD Latin Wave: New Films from Latin America
3 Sat. time TBD Latin Wave: New Films from Latin America
4 Sun. time TBD Latin Wave: New Films from Latin America
9 Fri. 7 p.m. Last Year at Marienbad (France, 1961)
10 Sat. 7 p.m. 9 Star Hotel (Israel, 2007) (Palestine Film
Festival)
11 Sun. 7 p.m. Knowledge is the Beginning (Germany,
2005) (Palestine Film Festival)
16 Fri. 7:30 p.m. Last Year at Marienbad (France, 1961)
17 Sat. 7 p.m. Fires Were Started (UK, 1943) (A
Celebration of Humphrey Jennings)
18 Sun. 7 p.m. Finest Hour: Films by Humphrey Jennings
(UK, 1939-1943) (A Celebration of
Humphrey Jennings)
23 Fri. 7 p.m. Last Year at Marienbad (France, 1961)
24 Sat. 7 p.m. Best of the Ottawa International
Animation Festival (various countries, 2007)
25 Sun. 7 p.m. Best of the Ottawa International
Animation Festival (various countries, 2007)
30 Fri. 7 p.m. Moon Sun Flower Game (Germany, 2008),
introduced by director Claus Strigel
31 Sat. 7 p.m. Driving with My Wife´s Lover (South Korea,
2007) (Korean Cinema Now (and Then))
9 p.m. Woman on the Beach (South Korea, 2006)
(Korean Cinema Now (and Then))
June
1 Sun. 2 p.m. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Family
Flick)
7 p.m The King and the Clown (South Korea,
2006) (Korean Cinema Now (and Then))
6 Fri. 7 p.m. Woman on the Beach (South Korea, 2006)
(Korean Cinema Now (and Then))
7 Sat. 7 p.m. If You Were Me 2 (South Korea, 2005)
(Korean Cinema Now (and Then))
8 Sun. 7 p.m. Our School (South Korea, 2007) (Korean
Cinema Now (and Then))
13 Fri. 7:30 p.m. Diva (France, 1981)
14 Sat. 7 p.m. A Flower in Hell (South Korea, 1958) (Korean
Cinema Now (and Then))
15 Sun. 7 p.m. The Marines Who Never Returned (South
Korea, 1963) (Korean Cinema Now (and
Then))
20 Fri. 7 p.m. Diva (France, 1981)
21 Sat. 7 p.m. Alice Neel (USA, 2007), introduced by
director Andrew Neel
22 Sun. 7 p.m. Alice Neel (USA, 2007)
27 Fri. 7 p.m. Diva (France, 1981)
28 Sat. 7 p.m. Alice Neel (USA, 2007)
20 Sun. 7 p.m. Alice Neel (USA, 2007)
Brown Auditorium Theater Box Office
General admission is $7. MFAH members, senior adults, and students with ID receive a $1 discount. Unless otherwise indicated, Film Buffs members are admitted free. Children 5 and under are admitted free. The MFAH Films box office can accept payment by cash, check, and credit cards. Tickets may be purchased in advance. Advance sales are available at the box office, online at www.mfah.org, or at Membership or Visitor Services desks in the Law and Beck Buildings during museum hours. The box office opens at 5:30 p.m. for weekend evening screenings and 30 minutes before the show time for other films.
MFAH Parking
The museum´s parking garage is in the MFAH Visitors Center, located at 5600 Fannin Street at Binz Street (entrance on Binz). Free parking is available in two lots on Main Street, at Bissonnet and at Oakdale.
Cafe Express at the MFAH
Cafe Express, located on the lower level of the Audrey Jones Beck Building, is now serving dinner and lighter fare for evening moviegoers. Each theater ticket purchase
includes a discount coupon for the cafe. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday.
Film Buffs and MFAH Films Sponsorship
Movie lovers can join the MFAH Film Buffs and receive free admission to MFAH films, plus invitations to sneak previews, special events with visiting filmmakers, and lectures by film scholars. For more information, please call 713-639-7531.
The MFAH Film department receives generous funding from Tenaris, Ternium, Consul Général de France ŕ Houston, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, ILEX Foundation, the Lois Chiles Foundation, Franci Neely Crane, Louisa Stude Sarofim in honor of Nina and Michael Zilkha, Dr. and Mrs. A. Behrooz Ramesh, Mr. Monsour Taghdisi, the Consulate General of Spain, McKool Smith in honor of Sam Hesse, Mokaram & Associates, and Ms. Regina J. Rogers.
MFAH Films
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston´s film program is the largest of its kind in the southwestern United States. MFAH first began screening films in the 1930s, and the Brown Auditorium, located in the Caroline Wiess Law Building and designed by Bauhaus architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, opened in 1973. The auditorium immediately distinguished itself by having stadium seating 20 years before such design became the standard for American movie theaters, and because the Caroline Wiess Law Building is one of only two museums designed by this major twentieth-century architect. Marian Luntz, the film program director and curator of film and video at MFAH since 1990, continues the program´s tradition of showcasing a broad range of classic and contemporary Hollywood films, foreign language films, and premieres of independent films—many by local artists. Often, critics, scholars, and filmmakers come to the showings as visiting speakers to give audiences a deeper understanding of movies and moviemaking. In 2005 and 2006, MFAH Films was named "The Best Place to See Vintage Flicks" by the Houston Press.
General Film Information:
713-639-7515, or www.mfah.org.
Media Information:
Frances Carter Stephens, Lynn Feuerbach, Dana Mattice, Megan Whitenton,
713-639-7540 or MFAHPR@mfah.org
High resolution images are available upon request.
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