Introduced by Billy Miller
Bob Mizer (1922 - 1992) was an American photographer, publisher and filmmaker who was known for pushing societal boundaries in his work. He would go on to build a veritable empire from his photographs and films with the Athletic Model Guild (AMG) studio,producing thousands of titles. Tonight, curator and writer Billy Miller (Straight to Hell) presents and contextualizes this survey of clips from Mizer's groundbreaking films, compiled in conjunction with Dennis Bell of the Bob Mizer Foundation.
By John Cassavetes
Ben Gazzara brilliantly portrays gentlemen’s club owner Cosmo Vitelli, a man dedicated to composure and self-possession. When he runs afoul of a group of gangsters, Cosmo is forced to commit a horrible crime in a last-ditch effort to save his beloved club and his way of life. Suspenseful and idiosyncratic, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie is a riveting examination of desperation and masculine identity. (1976, 135 min, 35mm)
Presented by Bradford Nordeen
This afternoon, we investigate the flipside of masculinity, with a program of short experimental film and video that explores and explodes normative roles of femininity and gender. With work that spans five decades, these artists queer female subject space via drag tactics, narrative juxtaposition and overt performativity, with styles ranging from masquerade to mythic, performance document to exposé video zine.
By Michael Thomas Director in person
One of the highlights of our summer “Smut Capital of America” series returns, this time with the director in person presenting his own uncut, pristine Kodachrome print. It’s a gritty tale of a bisexual hustler who’ll go to bed with any man or woman who offers him enough money and sexual kicks. Using both sexploitation and art-film aesthetics, Meat Rack is an essential and compelling artifact of pre-hardcore adult cinema. (1968, 70 min, 16mm)
By Joonas Berghall & Mika Hotakainen
In the warmth of the sauna, naked Finnish men cleanse themselves both physically and mentally. We meet men of all walks of life in many different saunas, and hear their touching stories about love, death, birth and friendship. Steam of Life reveals the men's naked souls in an exceptionally personal and poetic way. We’re pleased to present the full and uncut version of this remarkable documentary. (2010, 84 min, digital)
Presented by Albert Steg
Before VHS players and then the internet rendered hardcore pornography ubiquitous and banal, American stag films, often produced and exhibited illegally and viewed almost exclusively by men, held considerable power to shock, entertain, arouse and educate. Tonight's program, a series of short subjects from the 1920s through the 1960s, will show that they still retain this power. At times drolly amusing, at others appallingly misogynistic, the films are always 100% American and can be usefully viewed as transgressive cinematic monologues suppressed by the moral standards of their day.
By Zachary Levy
One of the most poignant American documentaries in years, Strongman tells the intimate story of Stanley "Stanless Steel" Pleskun, who can lift dump trucks and bend pennies with his bare hands, but who struggles to transcend his chaotic New Jersey home life and the toll of his advancing age. The film strips back the layers of muscle to reveal something universally human and quietly dignified about the vulnerabilities in all our lives. (2009, 113 min, digital)
By David Fine Director in person
Basketball is much more than a game in this high-energy documentary about an Iraqi women’s team. For the young players, most of whom had never been allowed to play any sport, it is a blissful release from the realities of a war-torn nation. They come from all ethnicities and sects—Arab, Kurd, Christian, Sunni, Shiite—but the joy they discover in playing and the deep love they come to feel for the young American man who coaches them reveals an Iraq we do not see on the news. (2011, 82 min, digital)
By Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega
When two young friends visit an Austin bookstore to hear a talk on upcoming protests at the 2008 Republican National Convention, they are approached by a charismatic local activist ten years their senior, who quickly becomes their mentor. Six months later, they cross a line that radically changes their lives. The result: eight Molotov cocktails, multiple domestic terrorism charges, and a high-stakes entrapment defense. A dramatic story of idealism, crime, and betrayal, Better This World goes to the heart of the “War on Terror” and its impact on civil liberties and political dissent in the United States after 9/11. (2011, 93 min, digital)
Jaap Blonk in person
Dutch artist Jaap Blonk is a self-taught composer, performer and poet renowned for his powerful stage presence and exuberant approach to improvisation. Recently, a renewed interest in mathematics has led the artist to explore the possibilities of algorhythmic composition in the creation of works which fuse music, visual animation and poetry. Tonight, Blonk presents a very rare performance/projection program featuring live presentations of original graphic scores, live tracks to silent films, an interpretation of Man Ray’s composition Lautgedicht (1924), and examples of Blonk’s solo videos and “interactive animations.”
By Juan José Lozano and Hollman Morris Impunity documents a highly controversial trial against Colombian paramilitary leaders accused of killing thousands of civilians. When the political and economic interests in the paramilitary war are uncovered, however, the process comes to an abrupt halt, leaving the victims’ families wondering whether they will ever know the truth surrounding the deaths of their loved ones, and whether they will be able to fight the perpetrators’ impunity. (2010, 85 min, digital)
By Ali Samadi Ahadi The Green Wave brings us into the world of ordinary Iranian citizens who risked their lives during the Green Revolution of 2009 in the hopes of a better future. Interweaving online posts, video footage caught by those present, animated sequences, and extensive interviews, the film is an artistic portrait of modern political rebellion, an exposé of government-sanctioned violence, and a vision of hope that continued resistance may galvanize a new future not just for Iran but for the region as a whole. (2010, 80 min, digital)
By Léa Pool
Breast cancer has become the poster child of cause-related marketing campaigns. Countless people walk, run and shop for the cure. Each year, millions of dollars are raised in the name of breast cancer, but where does this money go and what does it actually achieve? Outraged and incendiary, Pink Ribbons, Inc. shows how the devastating reality of breast cancer has become obfuscated by a shiny, pink story of success. (2011, 98 min, digital)
