Category — Film Series

Thursday, July 8, 2010 | 8-11pm

Last year, community members assembled for a cookout and the transcendent kitsch of Skatetown USA. Time to do it again with more people, more bonhomie, and a truly frightening movie: The House of the Devil!!

The House of the Devil is a 2009 horror film written, directed, and edited by Ti West, starring Jocelin Donahue, Tom Noonan, and Mary Woronov. It combines elements of both the slasher film and haunted house subgenres while using the “satanic panic” of the 1980s as a central plot element. The film attempts to recreate the style of horror films from the 1970s and 1980s, using similar filming techniques and film technology as those which were used during the era. Unlike other films made in the 1990s and 2000s that attempted to revive the horror genre (for instance, the Scream films), the film does not use satire or irony to convey the story, but plays it straight in order to be as true as possible to the style of the decade’s horror films

In honor of the good faith 80s nostalgia, we will be showing it on VHS (It was the first commercially produced VHS in 6 years!!) People are encouraged to bring grillables, drinks, and their best 80s style.

Reviews of The House of the Devil:

“The film may provide an introduction for some audience members to the Hitchcockian definition of suspense: It’s the anticipation, not the happening, that’s the fun.”
– Roger Ebert

“Ti West’s retro ‘Satan rules!’ thriller The House Of The Devil gets the look and tone of early-’80s horror schlock exactly right.”
– The Onion

“This isn’t just a good throwback satanic thriller – it looks as if it was made during the era of satanist paranoia.”
– San Francisco Chronicle

Thursday, June 10, 2010 | 8pm | $5

The Bridge Film Series is pleased to present a night of avant-garde films made by women, as a continuation of it’s annual Flicks By Chicks screenings. The six short films will provide a glimpse into the contributions made by women to the experimental film community, ranging from the late 1950’s through the present. Most of the films will be shown in their original 16mm format, and Rose Lowder’s “Certaines Observations” will be projected simultaneously through two separate projectors, as intended by the filmmaker. It will be a fun and engaging night of film viewing and audience interaction, with a short introduction to the filmmakers given at the beginning and a time for questions and discussion following the films.

Jane Conger Belson Shimane: Odds & Ends (1959)
Carolee Schneemann: Plumb Line (1968-72)
Cindy Sherman: Doll Clothes (1975)
Rose Lowder: Certaines Observations (1979)
Jennifer Reeves: The Girl’s Nervy (1995)
Jeanne Liotta: Loretta (2003)

Food and drinks will be available. Total running time: approximately 1 hour, including intermission.

Thursday, May 20, 2010 | 8pm | $5

Mario Montez graced first the Bridge screen last June in Jose Rodriquez Soltero’s Lupe, wooing the film crew with his vintage cocktail dresses, laconic humor and gorgeous white cat. This May 20th at 8pm, we’ll give him the top billing he deserves.

When Jack Smith discovered him he was “Rene Rivera”, a Puerto-Rican postal worker living in Manhattan. Taking his name in homage to the Dominican actress Maria Montez, he first appeared on screen in Jack Smith’s Flaming Creatures (1962-63). Later he became Andy Warhol’s first drag superstar, starring in more than ten of his films. Montez was also a favorite of underground theater, appearing regularly in Theatre of the Ridiculous productions by Charles Ludlam, Ronald Tavel and John Vaccaro.

Thursday, April 29, 2010 | 8-11pm | $5

Two years ago, The Bridge Film Series hosted it’s first fusion of poetry and film. This event aimed to take the fear out of poetry. For those who associate poetry with that hushed “poets” voice or with romantic tom foolery, this event takes seriously John Ashbery’s idea that poetry can be something else.

Poetry doesn’t have to be the purple eye of God extolling your soul, it can be a simple process of experience resting and recording. The films range from the ultra-rare Silent movie Money directed by Rudy Burckhardt with intertitles written by artist-poet Joe Brainard to Henry Hills raw document of the L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry movement. In between films, we will hear from current or former Charlottesville poets: published and unpublished, aspiring and accomplished.

Poets: Sam Witt, John Bylander, James Mattise, Hannah Ehrlinspiel.

Films:

Money
1968, 16mm, b&w/so, 45m
Directed by Rudy Burckhardt

A silent screen-type comedy starring Edwin Denby as Hemlock Stinge.

“It deals with old Mr. Stinge, the unlovable billionaire, and many other characters, rich and poor. It shows the luxury and degradation of New York City and the simple fresh air of Maine. The story can’t resist slowing up to look at a girl; it skips a few logical links when it gets too complicated. It is being told by a hard-drinking farmer to his son to inspire him to become a billionaire too. The photography is masterful and draws no attention to itself. The text by Joe Brainard, ditto. The documentary sequences show people and buildings on the kind of real life day when you keep finding comedy wherever you look. Special to Burckhardt is the light touch. The jokes – many small touching ones, others outright gags – are left unexploited and unexplained. The characters are all pretty bad, money is the root of all evil, and they ought not to enjoy themselves but they do anyway. The film is clearly unpretentious, free-wheeling and imaginative.” – Edwin Denby

USAPoetry: Frank O’Hara
1966, 15 min, video
Directed by Richard O. Moore

O’Hara discusses with Leslie his work and the relationship between poets, playwrights, and artists. O’Hara also reads some of his poetry and talks about his friendships with other artists. Filmed on 5 March 1966 at O’Hara’s home and Leslie’s studio in New York City.

Plagiarism
1981, 16mm, color/so, 10min
Directed by Henry Hills

A raw documentary of the New York “language poets” in their milieu, with Bruce Andrews and Charles Bernstein (co-editors of L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E), James Sherry and Hanna Weiner.

Process
1974, 16mm, black and white, silent, 13.5 min
Directed by Eduardo Darino

“This is a film d’montage. The shooting has been completely improvised after two months of rehersals of the film-maker with the New YorkStreet Theatre. The cast directed by Marketta Kimbrell (The Pawnbroker, Judgement at Nuremberg, etc) was perparing one of the last poems of Nobel Prize Chilean Pablo Neruda for their repertory. At the same time, the theatre and the film-crew discussed the possibilities of the film., the characters of the poem and the creative process of each individual actor reaching the latinamerican reality sung by Neruda. The film puts together three narrative lines: the reality, the poem, and the performance with a marvelous editing.” Nino Buono (News Agency Cable)

Thursday, May 20, 2010 | 8pm | $5

Mario Montez graced first the Bridge screen last June in Jose Rodriquez Soltero’s Lupe, wooing the film crew with his vintage cocktail dresses, laconic humor and gorgeous white cat. This May 20th at 8pm, we’ll give him the top billing he deserves.

When Jack Smith discovered him he was “Rene Rivera”, a Puerto-Rican postal worker living in Manhattan. Taking his name in homage to the Dominican actress Maria Montez, he first appeared on screen in Jack Smith’s Flaming Creatures (1962-63). Later he became Andy Warhol’s first drag superstar, starring in more than ten of his films. Montez was also a favorite of underground theater, appearing regularly in Theatre of the Ridiculous productions by Charles Ludlam, Ronald Tavel and John Vaccaro.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010 | 7pm | $5

Corresponding with this month’s Audio March series, this evening’s selection will feature short films by noted minimalist and experimental composers/filmmakers, including:

Robert Nelson’s “Plastic Haircut”
Harry Smith’s “Film No. 3: Interwoven”
Tony Conrad’s “Straight and Narrow”
Storm de Hirsch’s “Peyote Queen”
Jud Yalkut’s “Electronic Fables”
Robert Breer’s “A Man and His Dog Out for Air”

Thursday, March 4, 2010 | 8pm | $5

Murder! Sleepwalking!! Delusion!!! Expressionism!!!!

On the 90th Anniversary of this silent film classic, Matt Marshall and the Reel Music Trio will be performing a live score with accompaniment. It will be a fundraiser for the Bridge Film Series. Keep the films coming with a $5 suggested donation.

Thursday, February 11, 2010 | 7pm | $5

Our annual celebration of St. Valentine’s Day, the Silent Valentines screening isn’t one to miss! We’ll be showing ‘His First Flame’ with Harry Langdon, as well as a nice assortment of slapstick shorts. True love and pratfalls abound!

We hope the movies will warm your heart just as our sweet treats and hot tea will warm you and your special someone! The screening starts at 7pm and it’s $5 at the door.

(Stick around after and we might break out the glue sticks and glitter to make some valentine cards, too!)

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 | 7pm | $5

Widely recognized as the source of the Frankenstein myth, the ancient Hebrew legend of the Golem provided actor/director Paul Wegener with the substance for one of the most adventurous films of the German silent cinema. Our version will feature a score by local composer Jonathan Zorn designed to compliment the delightful eccentricity of Wegener’s sets and actors.

Thursday, October 15, 2009 | PROMPTLY at 7pm, doors at 6:30 | $5

After an early-Autumn hiatus, the Bridge Film Series is back with a screening of four short films related to the month-long Harvest exhibit at The Bridge PAI:

Filmmaker Richard Robinson joins us to present his award-winning film, “The Beekeepers,” after which we’ll show “Leche” and “Mala Leche” by Naomi Uman, and Jud Yalkut’s “John Cage Mushroom Hunting in Stony Point.”

$5 suggested donation. Locally-made snacks and drinks will be available. Doors open at 6:30; screening begins promptly at 7pm. Looking forward to seeing you there!