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ALL ADMISSIONS FREE UNLESS NOTED; DONATIONS ENCOURAGED |
Jonas Mekas once wrote
in one of his Movie Journal columns for The Village Voice:
“It is not my business to tell you what it’s all about. My business
is to get excited about it, to bring it to your attention. I am a raving
maniac of the cinema.” |
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Virginia Film Office
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 Focus
on Virginia Filmmakers: The ThrillbillysThe Byrd Theatre, Midnight, admission $3 Roger Corman inspired the movies of DePalma, Demme, and Coppola, while employing them along the way, and though The Thrillbillys may seem reminiscent of a long-lost drive-in movie memory it’s purely the invention of writer-director Jim Stramel in a homage that’s part White Lightnin’ and part Bonnie and Clyde. When Dodger Cole walks out of jail, she finds a changed world – those hills and hollows where she once ran bootleg whiskey are now pocked with convenience stores and mega-marts. And when the family still is bulldozed to make way for yet another Super-Mart, she unleashes her loyal gang on a moonshine-fueled rampage of revenge to reclaim the South and send those corporate carpetbaggers to Yankee Hell! Action-packed and a powder keg of laughs, The Thrillbillys has previously played the IndieMemphis Festival, Twangfest 5 in St. Louis and was a special presentation at the Microcine Fest in Baltimore. Patterson Hood of The Drive-by Truckers wrote Stramel that “ I loved yer damn movie and you can quote me any damn time you like!” Don’t miss this deep-fried original featuring performances by Angry Johnny, Wes Freed and Erin Snyder (of The Shiners) in Southern living color! Director Jim Stramel will be available for discussion after the screening. |
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As
I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty
Likewise,
the JRFF brings to your attention Mekas’ latest film, As
I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty.
Running nearly five hours long, the film might sound daunting to most.
However, for those who cherish the beauty of everydayness, life’s
simple pleasures – a child’s first steps, afternoons in the
park, lazy mornings in bed, meals with friends – Mekas’ film
is sure to lift up hearts and inspire. As
I Was Moving Ahead has been traveling around the world,
garnering rave reviews in France and Germany (Cahiers du Cinema deemed
it a “radiant monster”). And this year it will be shown at the
Whitney Museum. As Mekas himself says: “It’s the ultimate Dogma
movie, before the birth of Dogma.”
Mekas,
The Filmer
This
program is a sampling of some of the more famous people Mr. Mekas has
known. Zefiro Torna or Scenes from the Life
of George Maciunas (1992, 35 min.) is comprised of footage
of George Maciunas, father of the Fluxus movement, taken between 1952
and 1978. This Side of Paradise
(1999, 35 min.) chronicles the time that Mekas spent with Jackie Kennedy’s
and her sister’s families and children during summers in the late
‘60s and early ‘70s. Happy
Birthday to John Lennon (1996, 24 min.) provides a visual
and audio record of John’s birthday celebration on October 9, 1972
and some other rare footage of John and Yoko from various occasions. Scenes
from the Life of Andy Warhol (1990, 38 min.) chronicles
the great pop artist and the excitement that surrounded him, using the
hypnotic beat of the Velvet Underground as a backdrop. Mr. Mekas will
answer questions after the screening.