Category — Film Series

Wednesday, April 1 | 8:30pm | $5

The Bridge is excited to welcome the infamous filmmaker, archivist and curator Craig Baldwin to our Spring Series!

As a filmmaker since the 1970’s, as well as the founder and head of San Francisco’s Other Cinema, Baldwin has made a career out of digging up and appropriating the forgotten and preposterous corners of American popular culture; everything from monster movies and educational films to conspiracy theories and secret historical figures have been given new life my Baldwin’s swirling phantasmagoric amalgamations. He’s also recieved notoriety for his 1995 documentary “Sonic Outlaws,” which detailed the legal battles that the band Negativland faced with their U2 parody, kicking of an ongoing and unresolved discussion over copyright issues and creators rights in new media culture.

You may have seen his film “Mock Up on Mu” or his program “Space Brothers and Others” at the 2008 Virginia Film Festival; now’s your chance to catch Craig in person as he presents a culture-jamming interventionist art happening at The Bridge, with some scenes from his documentary “Sonic Outlaws,” selections from the new Negativland DVD, a ‘greatest hits’ mashup, and more! Don’t miss it.

Thursday, February 19th | 7pm | $5

The Bridge is proud to present Kaspar Collins’ recent documentary My Name is Albert Ayler, as part of our Audio February series of events.

The prophetic free jazz saxophonist Alber Ayler, who today is seen as one of the most important innovators in jazz, was obsessed with his radical music and by the thought that people would one day understand it. In his own words, “If people don’t like it now, they will.”

“Kasper Collin’s My Name Is Albert Ayler documents the mystical sax screamer from childhood to his eerie early death — an unsolved drowning in the East River at the age of 34. Cribbing interview material first heard on Revenant’s blazing Holy Ghost box set, Ayler narrates in snippets of wispy, awestruck drawl. Interviews with snare splitter Sonny Murray and the exceedingly badass Gary Peacock shed light on a laundry list of Ayler’s earthly troubles — money, potential psychosis, his brother’s nervous breakdown, and a Yoko-ish marriage — which somehow coexisted with his glowing, seraphic tunes. The clincher is an interspersed reel of ecstatic European tour footage that will vaporize your bones.” -Marc Gilman

Thursday, February 12th | 7pm at The Bridge PAI | $5 admission

For our third annual Valentine’s-themed film screening, Matt Marshall returns to The Bridge to perform a live accompaniment to Harold Lloyd’s 1924 full-length comedy Girl Shy.

In this film, Lloyd — now considered second only to Chaplin and Keaton among silent comedy aficianados — plays the stuttering nebbish of the title, who writes a love-making handbook that makes him a laughingstock among his peers. Initially scared off from his romance with Jobyna Ralston, he soon gains his confidence, but then has to rush to intercept her wedding in a scene-stealing, heart-stopping climax of jaw-dropping stunts. For the film’s live score, pianist Matt Marshall will be joined by Trenley Anderson on clarinet, and Kelly Hatfield on viola.

Come join us at The Bridge for a fun-filled and romantic screening (part of our Audio February series of events), and let the mirth of yesteryear melt your icy heart.

Thursday, December 18, 2008 | 7pm | Free!

As a special X-mas present from The Bridge to you, we present the legendary 1964 anti-classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. It’s just as awful as fruitcake, but much more interesting!

This deliciously stupid film offers 81 minutes of skull-poundingly awful delight, in which the King of Mars attempts to kidnap Santa Claus in order to appease his Martian children Girmar and Bomar. As one poster boasts, “SEE: the Martians Kidnap Santa! Santa’s North Pole Workshop! The Fantastic Martian Toy Factory! Earth Kids Meeting with Martian Kids! Space-ship Journey from Earth to Mars! Santa Turn Mars-Robot Into a Mechanical Toy!” What they don’t mention is Milton Delugg’s infectiously catchy theme song “Hooray for Santy Claus,” nor do they mention the tremendously unconvincing Polar Bear suit.

This film truly does walk the thin line between charming low-fi incompetence and cringe-inducingly poor show-business decisions of yesteryear. You may need a lot of egg nog to recover from this one. But aren’t the Holidays about suffering through endearingly terrible experiences together?

In the spirit of seasonal generosity, this screening is free.

Thursday, November 20 at 7pm

In association with our allies at the Appalachia-based Appalshop program, The Bridge is proud to present Elizabeth Barrett’s documentary Stranger with a Camera.

In 1967m Canadian filmmaker Hugh O’Connor visited the mountains of Central Appalachia to document poverty. A local landlord, who resented the presence of filmmakers on his property, shot and killed O’Connor, in part because of his anger over the media images of Appalachia that had become icons in the nation’s War on Poverty.

Filmmaker Elizabeth Barret, a native of Appalachia, uses O’Connor’s death as a lens to explore the complex relationship between those who make films to promote social change and the people whose lives are represented in such media productions. Through first-person accounts of the killing and the perspective of three decades of reflection, Stranger With a Camera leads viewers on a quest for understanding – a quest that ultimately leads Barret to examine her own role as both a maker of media and a member of the Appalachian community she portrays.

Friday, Sept. 19th at 8pmSean’s at it again!! This outdoor Drive-In screening event will showcase excerpts from Samoheyl’s new DVD collection of puppet films: The Whale and Thrift Store Odyssey – Two Stories, along with an array of other fine things – including; hand sculpted cars, a one-of-kind concession stand, films by other friends and more.

Sean has expressed that “It would be cool if maybe people even wore pajamas and brought teddy bears and blankets. Maybe we could all sleep in the parking lot and tell ghost stories. ” So grab those PJ’s and a friend and get yourself down to the Bridge this Friday night!

A $5 Suggested Donation – is likely to accompany this experience.

Wednesday, October 22 and Thursday, October 23 at 7pm each night

A World held together by Anarchy and Chaos. A Society run by an Empire of Crime. The Inheritor of Moriarty and Fantomas, the Grandfather of Drs. No and Evil and Kaizer Soze. A master of disguise and telepathic hypnosis. A Man who aims to burn the world and rule its ashes. DR. MABUSE! A film so brazenly revealing of the hypnotic power of evil that Goebbels banned it and confiscated the prints. We await the coming of the Dawn of Darkness.

A character that Fritz Lang (M, Metropolis) came back to three times over the course of 40 years, Dr. Mabuse first appeared in this 1922 silent film. The evil puppeteer manipulating people to their will, creating a network of mayhem and chicanery through unwitting agents. This super-villain seizes on the weak and leverages their poverty and weak minds to build a society of malevolence that is often hard to see as different from present day politiccs…

The Bridge Fall Film Series continues with another seasonally-appropriate silent horror film, complete with an original score! Due to the length of the film, we’ll break this first part of the Mabuse cyle into it’s original two parts:

Mabuse the Gambler: An Image of the Time (Oct. 22)
Inferno: the People of the Time (Oct. 23)

Both evenings will feature an all-new film score, performed live by Charlottesville-based electronics/jazz musician Jonathan Zorn!

For more information about the film series posters, or to download a printable version, click here.

Thursday, October 9th at 7pm

The Fall Film Series gets off to a horrifying start with this screening of the 1925 silent film horror classic The Phantom of the Opera, featuring live accompaniment by Matt Marshall.

The Phantom of the Opera stars the legendary Lon Chaney, Sr., “Man of a Thousand Faces,” in a career-defining role. His groundbreaking, self-applied make-up shocked 1920’s audiences, reportedly causing them to scream or faint at the moment of the Phantom’s unmasking. This highly influential film paved the way for the great Universal Horror films of the 1930’s, and is a well-respected horror classic in it’s own right; it’s the perfect way to kick-off the Halloween season.

The film will have a live score performed by Matt Marshall, renowned for his regular performances at the Scottsville Victory Hall Theater; Marshall also teaches Film and Music courses for UVA’s Continuing Education School, and is the founder of the Reel Music Ensemble.

Please remember that our Fall screenings begin at 7pm rather than at 8:00; admission remains a $5 suggested donation.

For more information about the film series posters, or to download a printable version, click here.

Thursday, November 6, 2008 | 7pm | Free

In a screening co-sponsored by the Charlottesville-Albemarle Health Department, The Bridge PAI will screen a segment of the documentary Unnatural Causes this November, as part of a community awareness campaign regarding health disparities.

Unnatural Causes was produced by California Newsreel in order to draw attention to the root causes of health and illness and to help reframe the debate about health in America, particularly with regard to economic and racial issues. The seven-part documentary series criss-crosses the country, investigating findings that are shaking up our conventional understanding of health. In particular, Episode 2: When the Bough Breaks, specifically addresses how racial disparities affect birth outcomes, which is clearly relevant given recent data on racial health issues here in Charlottesville, especially concerning infant mortality.

The 30-minute video will be followed by an informative discussion, accompanied by handouts and relevant information. This event is free and open to the public.

Thursday, August 28 at 6pm

Bring the kids, or embrace your own inner child, for our screening of kid-friendly short films on August 28th! We’ll enjoy classic Fleischer Brothers cartoons from the golden age of 1930’s animation, films made specifically for children by two of our favorite experimental filmmakers Rudy Burckhardt and Robert Breer, as well as animation by local youth from the Lighthouse Studio… and a few other surprises.

In addition to the films, Shaun Cullen, a Charlottesville folk singer and songwriter, will be performing a selection of new and classic rock songs for kids.

PLEASE NOTE that this screening will begin at 6pm, rather than 8:00pm. We’re trying not to keep anyone out past their bedtime.