RED STATE CINEMA: RURAL AUTEURS
Representations of rural areas in cinema tend toward the condescending and downright mean. This series will present films made by and about Southern rural artists with unique, individual voices.
POOR WHITE TRASH II BY S.F. BROWNRIGG
Thu, Nov 1, 7:30 pm
Introduced by David Szulkin
Although S.F. Brownrigg's films were marketed with sleazy titles and distributed mostly on the drive-in circuit, they are deeply personal and meticulous Southern Gothic psychodramas. David Szulkin, Brownrigg’s biographer (and author of the stunning Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left), will introduce and discuss the film, a claustrophobic, sweaty tale of a lost woman trapped by an incestuous, murderous backwoods family. (1974, 90 min, 35mm)
BLOOD OF JESUS BY SPENCER WILLIAMS
Sun, Nov 4, 2 pm
A classic example of the “race film” genre by African-American directors and casts, shown and marketed exclusively to an African-American audience. Blood of Jesus is a visionary morality tale about a woman who is accidentally shot to death by her husband. Facing death, she must choose between Hell, represented as urban life, and Zion, represented as pastoral, rural America. Preceded by Pitch a Boogie Woogie (1948), a rare all-blackcast musical short from Greenville, North
Carolina. (1941, 56 min, 16mm; plus short).
CHILD BRIDE BY HARRY REVIER
Wed, Nov 7, 7:30 pm
The most shocking and licentious exploitation film of the 1930s, Child Bride is a grossly fabricated illustration of the illicit ills of child marriage. Down in Appalachia, on Thunderhead Mountain, inbred, uneducated girls are swapped among coarse middle-aged menfolk. The people are portrayed as living in a sequestered world, out of step with modern values and customs. (1938, 62 min, 16mm)
DIRTY COUNTRY BY JOE PICKETT & NICK PRUEHER
Fri, Nov 9, 7 & 9 pm
Meet Larry Pierce: a small-town factory worker and family man who happens to be the raunchiest country music singer in America. Without the time or money to pursue a legitimate career in country music, Larry is content to lead an ordinary life and moonlight as a dirty country singer. But when he is forced into early retirement at his factory job of 30 years, Larry faces an uncertain future. That is, until a young band with dirty songs of its own shows up at his door and offers to take Larry onstage. (2007, 75 min, Digital Betacam)
THE TRUE MEANING OF PICTURES: SHELBY LEE ADAMS’ APPALACHIA
BY JENNIFER BAICHWAL
Sun, Nov 11, 2 pm
A fascinating introduction to the work of renowned photographer Shelby Lee Adams. Born in Eastern Kentucky, Adams has devoted his life to making portraits of families living in Appalachia, usually misrepresented in the media and derogatorily referred to as “hillbillies.” Preceded by the short Mountain Farmer, directed by Shelby Lee Adams and Mimi Pickering. (2002, 71 min, Digital Betacam; plus short).
PHIL CHAMBLISS: THE ARKANSAS AUTEUR
Thu & Fri, Nov 15 & 16, 7:30 pm
Phil Chambliss in person.
What if Fellini had lived in a trailer in rural Arkansas? His films might look something like the work of Phil Chambliss. With the help of friends and his co-workers at the gravel pit, this self-taught ‘folk art filmmaker’ has created, for over 25 years, an alternate reality where deer hunting is the sport of choice and phones only work when under water. These totally unique and often hilarious films depict life in the Arkansas outback and convey a strong sense of place and authentic regional flavor. The programs features Shadow of the Hatchet Man, about a rampaging killer and an inept sheriff, complete with spaghetti western motifs and lesbian overtones; and surprise shorts. The same program is shown each night.
For our November programs, we wish to acknowledge Mike Mashon, Library of Congress; Joe Hunsberger and Todd Wiener, UCLA Film & Television Archive; John London; and Brian Gordon, Nashville Film Festival.
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