Austin Film Society Announces March/April 2020 Film Program
MEDIA CONTACT
Brady Dyer, Communications Manager
brady@austinfilm.org
AFS Announces March/April 2020 Programming
Includes Lucrecia Martel’s Salta Trilogy, a series exploring Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s life and legacy in cinema, World Cinema Classics featuring the Three Colours Trilogy (Blue, White, and Red), New French Cinema Week, a special program of film work by legendary land artist Nancy Holt, and much more.
AUSTIN, TX—Austin Film Society announces its March and April calendar featuring our signature programs, special events and screenings, and a new, diverse lineup of films that filmgoers can only see at the AFS Cinema. This spring’s highlights include:
For our Essential Cinema Series this March, AFS presents Lucrecia Martel’s Salta Trilogy—a series of films that catapulted the Argentinian writer-director to the forefront of Latin American cinema. Collectively known as The Salta Trilogy, we will be presenting all three films: La Cienaga, The Holy Girl, and The Headless Woman. Dr. Gerd Gemünden, film historian and author of the new book Lucrecia Martel, joins us for an introduction and discussion following the screening of The Headless Woman on April 9.
April’s Essential Cinema will focus on Gabriel Garcia Márquez and the Latin Cinematic Imagination—a closer look at the legendary Colombian writer’s life in cinema and his work’s cinematic reverberations. Coinciding with a major exhibition on Márquez at the Harry Ransom Center this spring and an accompanying film series at the HRC, our series will explore the author’s many connections to the world of film throughout his life as a collaborator and screenwriter, and include screenings of The Exterminating Angel, Time to Die, and Birds of Passage, in addition to a fourth film TBA. The Harry Ransom Center will kick off the series at their location with a screening of Fitzcarraldo, hosted by Márquez’s son Rodrigo García, on March 1.
In March, our World Cinema Classics series will feature the Polish-French trilogy Three Colours by acclaimed director Krzysztof Kieślowski. The trilogy consists of three films named after the colors of the French flag, and thematically modeled on the three tenets of the French national motto: Blue (“Liberté”), White (“Égalité”) and Red (“Fraternité”). The triple-feature will screen on March 29, with individual screenings of each film the week before.
World Cinema Classics also includes Akira Kurosawa’s samurai epic Yojimbo, widely regarded as one of his best collaborations with actor Toshiro Mifune, and an action film that has set the tone for this genre; Taste of Cherry, the Palme d’Or winning film from late-Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami; and Animation at War, a two-part series of animated films from around the world made by the observers, combatants, and survivors of war, introduced by UT professor Donna Kornhaber.
April 23-26, AFS will present its annual New French Cinema Week in partnership with the Premiers Plans Festival of Angers, showcasing a selection of award-winning Francophone films by new directors from Africa and Europe. The full program will be announced in March.
This spring AFS will partner with KUT on April 19 for a screening of Armando Iannucci’s (HBO’s Veep and Avenue 5) In the Loop—a political satire about the lead-up to the U.S.’s Invasion of Iraq. After the film, join us for a special discussion with KUT hosts and reporters including Jennifer Stayton and Ben Philpott. And in partnership with The Contemporary Austin, we will present two programs of the distinct film work of legendary land artist Nancy Holt, on the occasion of her sculpture Time Span joining the permanent collection at the museum’s Laguna Gloria park.
The Best of Fests series will feature selections from this past year’s festival circuit: the coming-of-age feature and Independent Spirit Nominee Premature, directed by Rashaad Ernesto; Kantemir Balagov’s Beanpole, winner of Best Director, Cannes Un Certain Regard; and Driveways, directed by Andrew Ahn, also nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.
Additional highlights this season include: a new restoration of the famed animated film Son of the White Mare featuring a live score by Holodeck Records electronic artists at the April 17 screenings, part of our Lates series; and the seminal 1973 British cult-horror film The Wicker Man, part of our Evergreens series, with a special screening and May Day party on May 1.
The full March/April 2020 calendar announcement continues below.
Ticket prices range from $9 to $11.25, with discounts for AFS members. Special pricing is noted if applicable.
For a complete list of film screenings and special events, please visit www.austinfilm.org.
High resolution images and a PDF of the calendar can be downloaded HERE.
AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY MARCH AND APRIL 2020 CALENDAR
World Cinema Classics
Three Colours
Krzysztof Kieślowski, Poland, 1993, 1994, DCP, 291 min.
Krzysztof Kieślowski’s trilogy—named for the three colors of the French flag—explores the country’s mores of “liberty, equality and fraternity” through a series of crises in the lives of its varied protagonists. Screening as a marathon on March 29 with select individual shows the week before.
Three Colours: Blue
Krzysztof Kieślowski, Poland, 1993, DCP, 100 min.
March 22, March 29
The trilogy begins with a tragedy. Julie (Juliette Binoche) opens herself up to the world around her, looking for answers after experiencing her worst nightmare: the death of her husband and child. This visually stunning masterpiece, featuring one of Juliette Binoche’s best performances, is also Kieślowski’s most heart-wrenching film.
Three Colours: White
Krzysztof Kieślowski, Poland, 1994, DCP, 92 min.
March 23, March 29
A darkly comic revenge tale that brings up European inequality with a light touch. A Polish man marries a French angelic beauty (Julie Delpy) and moves to Paris, only to have the marriage, and subsequently his life, completely come apart.
Three Colours: Red
Krzysztof Kieślowski, Poland, 1994, DCP, 99 min.
March 24, March 29
Kieślowski’s focus on remarkable human connections crescendos in the complex masterwork RED, the final film in the trilogy and Kieślowski’s final work as a director. A woman (Irène Jacob) makes a distressing discovery about her neighbor after accidentally running over a dog.
Yojimbo
Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1961, 35mm, 110 min.
March 1, March 7, March 8
The dynamic duo of director Akira Kurosawa and star Toshiro Mifune make their special magic in this exciting story of a samurai who hires himself out to two warring factions with the aim of destroying both. A practical blueprint for the modern action film.
Taste of Cherry
Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1997, DCP, 98 min.
April 13, April 18
The Palme d’Or winning film from the late-Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami follows its protagonist who, while planning his own suicide, tries to find someone to bury his body afterward. A contemplative film of ideas that finds new ways to surprise audiences with every viewing.
Animation at War Part 1
March 28
Join us for this two-part global array of animated films made by the observers, combatants, and survivors of war, curated and introduced by Donna Kornhaber, author of the new book Nightmares in the Dream Sanctuary: War and the Animated Film, published by the University of Chicago Press.
Animation at War Part 2
April 4
Join us for this two-part global array of animated films made by the observers, combatants, and survivors of war, curated and introduced by Donna Kornhaber, author of the new book Nightmares in the Dream Sanctuary: War and the Animated Film, published by the University of Chicago Press.
Partner Screenings
Water Texas Awards Screening
April 7
The Texas Water Foundation’s “Water, Texas” film contest challenged filmmakers to make a 10-minute film answering the question “What’s your water story?” See the contest’s award-winning films and increase your own Texas water awareness during this special screening.
In the Loop
Armando Iannucci, UK, 2009, Digital, 105 min.
April 19
We are joined by special guests from KUT for this screening of Armando Iannucci’s always-relevant comedy about the American ramp-up to the Iraq War as observed by British diplomats and staffers. After the film we will have a special discussion with KUT reporters and hosts including Jennifer Stayton and Ben Philpott.
Time Span: The Works of Nancy Holt
Visionary artist Nancy Holt and her contributions to land art and film are the focus of this series, organized in honor of her sculpture Time Span entering the permanent collection of The Contemporary Austin’s Laguna Gloria. Commissioned for Laguna Gloria in 1981, Time Span is a site-specific, kinetic sculpture focusing a specific spot on earth into view at a precise time each year. A foundational land artist, Holt was also an ambitious filmmaker interested in perspective and vision. The films she made with her husband and collaborator Robert Smithson prior to his untimely passing, and her subsequent solo works, will be presented with guest introductions at two special AFS Cinema screenings. Presented in partnership with The Contemporary Austin. Thanks to the Holt/Smithson Foundation
Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson: Film Works
April 1
Featuring collaborative short films by the visionary land artists and filmmakers Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson. Nancy Holt and her collaborator/husband Robert Smithson are known for their foundational works of land art in the American west, including Spiral Jetty (Smithson) and Sun Tunnels (Holt) among others. This screening looks at a selection of their collaborative film works, including The Making of Amarillo Ramp among others. The program will be introduced by Dr. Ann Reynolds, Professor of Art History at UT Austin and author of Robert Smithson: Learning from New Jersey and Elsewhere.
Nancy Holt: Sun Tunnels and other shorts
April 5
Three of artist Nancy Holt’s films exploring the act of looking, exploring and creating. Special introduction by editor DeeDee Halleck and Lisa LeFeuvre, Director of the Holt/Smithson Foundation.
After the program, The Contemporary Austin invites the community to visit Laguna Gloria for the annual celebration of Nancy Holt’s sculpture, Time Span, to experience how the steel wheel casts a shadow around its plaque in the earth and brings into focus the park in springtime. The shadow appears at 3PM, a gathering at the sculpture just prior will include remarks from former curator who commissioned the project in 1981, Annette DiMeo Carlozzi and Lisa LeFeuvre.
Remembering Andrew Shapter: The Teller and the Truth
March 31
Kind, curious, and charismatic are some of the words that come to mind when we remember independent filmmaker Andrew Shapter, a beloved member of Austin’s film community who passed away in 2019. This screening of his 2014 documentary exploring the mysteries and legends surrounding a missing person case will be followed by a gathering of friends who will share memories of Andrew and his work.
MODERN MASTERS
Synonyms
Nadav Lapid, France, 2019, DCP, 123 min.
March 22, March 25
A young Israeli settles in Paris, determined to adopt a new identity and shed his previous life by adopting a new language. A bold and inventive cultural critique, and examination of eurocentrism.
NEWLY RESTORED
Come and See
Elem Klimov, Soviet Union, 1985, DCP, 142 min.
March 7, March 8, March 10
The war movie to end all war movies. There has never been a movie quite like Come and See, a poetic masterpiece of the brutality and horrors of war. Not for the faint of heart but essential viewing for all cinema lovers.
NEW FRENCH CINEMA WEEK 2020
Our annual showcase of new Francophone cinema discoveries from around the world returns April 23-26. Save the date for revelatory films from up-and-coming directors, in-person filmmaker Q&As, member events, and more!
Essential Cinema: Lucrecia Martel’s Salta Trilogy
One of the most vital and exciting voices in modern cinema, writer-director Lucrecia Martel made her feature film debut in 2001 with La Cienaga, set in her home province of Salta, Argentina. Together with her two subsequent films, The Holy Girl and The Headless Woman, it forms the troika of thematically unified films we refer to as The Salta Trilogy. We revisit all three of these works and welcome a special guest, Gerd Gemünden, author of the new critical study Lucrecia Martel from the University of Illinois Press, for a special introduction and discussion to accompany the final film in the series, The Headless Woman.
La Cienaga
Lucrecia Martel, Argentina, 2001, 35mm, 103 min.
March 26
Lucrecia Martel’s first film depicts a middle-class family in Argentina as it slides further and further into malaise and distrust. Psychologically probing and minutely observed, this made Martel a filmmaker to watch.
The Holy Girl
Lucrecia Martel, Argentina, 2004, 35mm, 110 min.
March 30
The second film in Lucrecia Martel’s Salta Trilogy returns to the town of La Cienaga. This time we follow a pair of very religious teenage girls as new realities of sexuality and power intrude upon their lives.
The Headless Woman
Lucrecia Martel, Argentina, 2008, 35mm, 87 min.
April 9
Lucrecia Martel returns to the Salta region of Argentina for the final film in the eponymous trilogy. This time, a minor car accident sends a woman reeling into a spiral of socially-charged doubt.
Essential Cinema: Gabriel Garcia Márquez and the Latin Cinematic Imagination
To coincide with the Harry Ransom Center’s major exhibition on Gabriel Garcia Márquez this spring, AFS presents a special series exploring the legendary Colombian writer’s life in the cinema. Márquez intended to become a filmmaker, attending film school in Italy, and working as a film critic prior to publishing his first novel. He was motivated by the possibility that Latin American filmmakers would emerge globally to tell their own stories from their unique traditions. After becoming a novelist, Márquez continued his life in cinema—collaborating with filmmakers as a screenwriter and having his stories adapted for the screen, as well as encouraging the next generation of Latin filmmakers, through his efforts with the Cuban film school and beyond. In this series, we look at Márquez through his life in film—his inspirations, collaborations, and legacy in cinema. The first part of this series will be presented at the Harry Ransom Center, beginning March 1. Visit The Harry Ransom Center for more details.
The Exterminating Angel
Luis Buñuel, Mexico, 1962, 95 min.
April 8
Buñuel’s film attacking the Mexican bourgeoisie presents the anti-colonialist themes that Márquez would later explore. Buñuel’s skill with visual metaphor finds reflection in Márquez’s signature magical realism.
Time to Die
Arturo Ripstein, Mexico, 1966, 90 min.
April 22
Gabriel Garcia Márquez wrote the short story that master Mexican filmmaker Arturo Ripstein adapted to screen as a western-style thriller, about a former gunman and the vengeful family of one of his victims.
Birds of Passage
Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra, Colombia, 2018, 126 min.
April 30
Garcia Márquez’s Erendira was a major inspiration for last year’s award-winning film about a gang war among rural indigenous tribes in Colombia.
EVERGREENS
Fantastic Planet
René Laloux, France, 1973, DCP, 72 min.
March 22, March 25, March 27, March 28
The visionary animated sci-fi about the interplay between two futuristic societies on the planet Ygam. Thought-provoking and mind-expanding.
Sullivan’s Travels
Preston Sturges, USA, 1941, DCP, 91 min.
April 10, April 14
Writer-director Preston Sturges’ masterpiece is not only a prime example of golden-age Hollywood comedy, it is a philosophical meditation on the importance of comedy in all our lives. Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake lead the cast.
The Wicker Man
Robin Hardy, UK, 1973, DCP, 87 min.
April 28, April 29, May 1, May 2, May 6
In this cult classic—literally—a puritanical policeman investigates a young girl’s disappearance from a bizarre Scottish island village in which nothing is as it seems. Join us Friday, May 1 for a May Day party
LATES
Celia
Ann Turner, Australia, 1989, DCP, 103 min.
March 6, March 7
When a young girl loses her sense of reality in the midst of the red scare in 1950s Australia, the terror that goes bump in the night can’t compare to the horror in her head. Quick, the The Hobyahs are coming. New restoration.
Singapore Sling
Nikos Nikolaidis, Greece, 1990, Digital, 111 min.
March 27, March 28
While searching for his lost lover, a private detective stumbles upon a mother-daughter duo for whom murder is a familial trait. Godfather of the “Greek Weird Wave” Nikos Nikolaidis ratchets up the insanity in this frenzied, high-contrast noir-gy of vulgarities befitting its shocking tagline: The Man Who Loved A Corpse.
Son of the White Mare
Marcell Jankovics, Hungary, 1981, DCP, 90 min.
April 12, April 15, April 17-19, and April 21
In this cosmic swirl of sound and color of psychedelic proportions from Hungarian animator Marcell Jankovics, a white mare goddess gives birth to three sons who must embark on an epic journey to the gates of the Underworld to restore order to the universe. The two Friday night (April 17) shows feature a live score from Holodeck Records electronic artists. Presented in partnership with End of Ear and Holodeck Records.
All About Lily Chou-Chou
Shunji Iwai, Japan, 2001, DCP, 146 min.
April 10, April 11
Angst is a pop tune for the teenage fans of Lily Chou-Chou, a ‘Björk-like chanteuse’ whose loyal fandom lose themselves in cult-like chat rooms devoted to the mysterious goddess in this turn-of-the-millennium masterpiece from Shunji Iwai (Hana and Alice).
DOC NIGHTS
The Infiltrators
Alex Rivera, Cristina Ibarra, USA, 95 min.
April 19, April 20, April 21
This Sundance Film Festival award-winner uses an innovative blend of documentary footage and re-enactments to show us the heroic efforts made by a network of undocumented young people to infiltrate a sleazy, for-profit detention center in which the detainees are being systematically denied their rights. Suspenseful and uplifting.
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Story
Matt Wolf, USA, 87 min.
March 2, March 4
Marion Stokes was a radical communist, a fabulously wealthy recluse, a visionary savant about media and culture, and an African American woman. She also recorded 30 years of the 24-hour-a-day news cycle on more than 70,000 VHS tapes. This is her story.
NEWLY RESTORED
Madchen in Uniform
Leontine Sagan, Germany, 98 min.
April 15, April 18
In this shocking feature that B. Ruby Rich calls “the first truly radical lesbian film,” a headstrong teenage girl arrives at an all-girl boarding school fraught with sexual tension and disturbs the balance of the power relationships between teachers and students.
History of Television
Charlie’s Angels with Amanda Reyes
March 23
Television pioneers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg ushered in an all-new era of crime television with the phenomenally popular Charlie’s Angels, which debuted in 1976. Over the course of five seasons it looked at society through an especially flattering funhouse mirror. Author and scholar Amanda Reyes joins us for this special screening of two episodes of the series along with an informative and opinionated discussion about its merits and importance.
HOMO ARIGATO
Bound
Lana and Lilly Wachowski, USA, 1996, DCP, 109 min.
April 7, April 11
The Wachowski’s debut film is a hard-boiled neo-noir with an unconventional (for Hollywood) female-female love story at the center. Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon are iconic as the lovers.
BEST OF FESTS
Premature
Rashaad Ernesto Green, USA, 2019, DCP, 86 min.
April 11, April 12
This thrillingly well-observed vision of first love and coming-of-age set in contemporary Harlem features an incandescent lead performance from Zora Howard as a young poet whose summer before college is marked by many life changes. Independent Spirit Award nominee.
Beanpole
Kantemir Balagov, Russia, 2019, DCP, 130 min.
March 1, March 4
Winner of Best Director, Cannes Un Certain Regard. In the aftermath of World War II in Leningrad, a young nurse struggles with uncontrollable temporary paralysis, a remnant of unnamed war trauma. Soldiers begin to return from the front, and though the war has ended, it still has more cards to play.
Driveways
Andrew Ahn, USA, 2019, DCP, 83 min.
April 27, April 29
Phenomenal actress Hong Chau plays Kathy, a penny-pinching single mother of a young boy, charged with cleaning out her estranged sister’s home after her untimely death. A journey of two outsiders in small-town America becomes a powerful and poetic story about family, friendship and acceptance. Independent Spirit Award nominee.
Guest Events
First to be Eaten: Ramblings of a Bit Player
April 19
The AFS Cinema is honored to welcome back the actor and raconteur Sonny Carl Davis for his acclaimed live stage monologue. First to be Eaten: Ramblings of a Bit Player takes you through Davis’ long and distinguished career with humor and insight.
Family Style
Charles Chaplin, USA, 1921, 35mm, 68min.
March 28
The great cinema clown Charlie Chaplin made this, his first feature film, in 1921 after years on the stage and in short films. In it, his signature character, the Little Tramp, adopts an orphan and suffers the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Chaplin’s magic shines through even today for audiences of all ages.
ABOUT AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY
Founded in 1985 by filmmaker Richard Linklater, AFS creates life-changing opportunities for filmmakers, catalyzes Austin and Texas as a creative hub, and brings the community together around great film. AFS supports filmmakers’ career leaps through grants, support services, and professional development programs. Austin Studios, a 20-acre production facility, attracts, and grows the creative media ecosystem. Austin Public, a space for our city’s diverse mediamakers to train and collaborate, provides many points of access to filmmaking and film careers, and offers youth programming. The AFS Cinema is an ambitiously programmed, non-profit arthouse cinema with broad community engagement. By hosting premieres, special events, and the Texas Film Awards, AFS shines the national spotlight on Texas filmmakers while connecting Austin and Texas to the wider film community. AFS is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. To learn more about the AFS Cinema or about Austin Film Society’s mission visit: www.austinfilm.org and follow @AustinFilm on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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