UW Cinematheque Returns! Summer Screening Series Begins June 30 at 4070 Vilas

Friday, June 11th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

After a nearly 16-month hiatus, big screen movies are making their comeback at the UW Cinematheque’s regular venue, 4070 Vilas Hall! Beginning Wednesday June 30, the Cinematheque will commence six weeks of free screenings beginning with Leo McCarey’s Make Way for Tomorrow, a classic tearjerker that was originally scheduled for April 2020. The summer lineup includes canonized comedies, action blockbusters, international thrillers, contemporary gems from Asia, the complete American works of French superstar Jean Gabin, a three-film salute to Charles Bronson in honor of his centennial, and more! 

Summer programming will take place on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings and all feature films will be screened from original or archival 35mm prints. Admission, as always, is free and open to the public. Seating will be limited and socially distanced according to current UW-Madison policies. When possible, additional showtimes have been added to accommodate more viewers. 

You can view the entire summer calendar here.

See you at the Cinematheque!

Cinematalk Podcast #36: Emir Cakaroz

Thursday, April 29th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

In conjunction with the Cinematheque's presentation of Emir Cakaroz' "Paths to Home" trilogy, this episode of our Cinematalk podcast features Cakaroz in a talk with the Cinematheque's Ben Reiser about the trilogy and exploring one’s roots through the art of cinema.

Born and raised in Istanbul, Emir Cakaroz received his MFA in film from the UWM Peck School of the Arts, where is currently an Associate Lecturer in Film, Video, and Animation. In the "Paths to Home" trilogy, Cakaroz casts his gaze on his family, and in particular, his mother and father, approaching their stories – emigrating from Bulgaria to Turkey, being treated as outsiders, suffering with illness and loneliness, surviving and passing along traditions both sacred and domestic – from unique and intimate angles. Cakaroz wields a sly, deadpan sense of humor, and his trilogy paints a complicated, nuanced, and sometimes contradictory portrait of the family unit and his place within it. Though each of the three pieces vary wildly in form and tone, seen together they form a cohesive whole, an unforgettable deep dive into what makes Cakaroz the man and filmmaker that he is.

Listen below or subscribe to Cinematalk through Apple Podcasts.

See Milwaukee Filmmaker Emir Cakaroz' "Paths to Home" Trilogy for Free!

Thursday, April 29th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

While our campus theatrical venues remain closed, the Cinematheque concludes our series of movies you can watch at home for free with a presentation of Emir Cakaroz’ “Paths to Home” trilogy.

The 2021 Wisconsin Film Festival (May 13-20) is just around the corner, and Milwaukee-based filmmaker Cakaroz has been a familiar presence at the Festival since 2011 where his short video, Oil Wrestling, had its world premiere. In the ensuing years, Cakaroz has been back many times, with screenings of One Money (WFF 2014), Riverwest Film & Video (WFF 2018) and a stint as a Golden Badger juror in 2019.

Born and raised in Istanbul, Cakaroz received his MFA in film from the UWM Peck School of the Arts, where he is currently an Associate Lecturer in Film, Video, and Animation. In the “Paths to Home” trilogy, Cakaroz casts his gaze on his family, and in particular, his mother and father. Cakaroz approaches the details of his parents’ lives – emigrating from Bulgaria to Turkey, being treated as outsiders, suffering with illness and loneliness, surviving, and passing along traditions both sacred and domestic – from unique and intimate angles. Cakaroz wields a sly, deadpan sense of humor, and his trilogy paints a complicated, nuanced, and sometimes contradictory portrait of the family unit and his place within it. Though each of the three pieces vary wildly in form and tone, seen together they form a cohesive whole, an unforgettable deep dive into what makes Cakaroz the man and filmmaker that he is. Wisconsin Film Festival has also hosted screenings of the three shorts that now comprise the “Paths to Home” trilogy: Two Photographs (WFF 2013), Revza (WFF 2016) and Dad’s Apple (WFF 2020) and we are delighted to share them with you now as one complete package.

TWO PHOTOGRAPHS (2012 | Turkey, USA | 8 min. | Director: Emir Cakaroz) Applying voiceover narration to the title objects, Two Photographs tells the story of the filmmaker’s parents and their emigration from Bulgaria to Turkey.

REVZA (2016 | USA | 47 min. | Director: Emir Cakaroz) Cakaroz returns to his native Turkey to spend some quality time with his mother. What emerges is a singularly intimate portrait of their relationship, as well as her life alone. Clear-eyed and moving, Revza is filled with sequences in which the mundane becomes mesmerizing.

DAD’S APPLE  (2019 | USA |16 min. | Director: Emir Cakaroz |Cast: Emir Cakaroz, Rafael Cakaroz) Emir Cakaroz completes his “family” trilogy with a stylistically bold memory piece in which Cakaroz portrays his father, and Cakaroz’s son, Rafael, plays young Emir.

For instructions on how to see all of the “Paths to Home” trilogy at home for free, send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and remember to include TRILOGY in the subject line. No further message is necessary.

Plus, on a new episode of our Cinematalk podcast, Emir Cakaroz talks with the Cinematheque's Ben Reiser about the trilogy and exploring one’s roots through the art of cinema. Listen below or subscribe to Cinematalk through Apple Podcasts. 

Stay healthy and safe. We value your support for the Cinematheque and we look forward to being able to watch movies with you soon in the proper cinematic settings of 4070 Vilas Hall and the Chazen Museum of Art.

Cinematalk Podcast #35: Frank V. Ross

Thursday, April 22nd, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

As a supplement to the Cinematheque's free presentation of three features by independent filmmaker Frank V. Ross, this episode of our Cinematalk podcast features the Cinematheque's Mike King talking with Ross about his movies and career. Listen to this episode below or subscribe to Cinematalk through Apple Podcasts.

See a Frank V. Ross Triple Feature for Free!

Thursday, April 22nd, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

While our campus theatrical venues remain closed, the Cinematheque is continuing our series of movies you can watch at home for free with a triple feature by Midwest-based independent filmmaker Frank V. Ross: Audrey the TrainwreckTiger Tail in Blue, and Bloomin Mud Shuffle. The latter two titles were selections of past editions of the Wisconsin Film Festival and all three movies are available to watch at home for free through May 6 only.

Plus, on a new episode of our Cinematalk podcast, Frank Ross talks with the Cinematheque's Mike King about these three selections and his career in cinema. You can listen below or subscribe to Cinematalk through Apple Podcasts.

AUDREY THE TRAINWRECK (2010 | USA | 85 min. | Directed by Frank V. Ross | Cast: Anthony J. Baker, Alexi Wasser, Nick Offerman) Ron and Stacy are in the grind. Working unfulfilling jobs in the Chicago suburbs, they are frustrated with their day-to-day lives, but also too worn out and into their respective grooves to do anything drastic about it. But after meeting through an internet dating site, these two find in each other someone who speaks their language. Writer/director Frank V. Ross’s funny, acerbic, and scrappy gem has only grown more potent in the decade since its premiere at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival. (Mike King) “[A] scruffy, tender but very funny romance... Ross is something of an indie Robert Altman, with his huge cast of characters and plaited strands of dialogue, and he has a sharp and comic eye for intimacy, domesticity, and practicality. Ross’s images, for all their apparent casualness, display a rare and delicate wit and whimsy. The movie is a treasure” (Richard Brody, The New Yorker).

TIGER TAIL IN BLUE (2012 | USA | 80 min. | Directed By Frank V. Ross | Cast: Frank V. Ross, Rebecca Spence, Megan Mercier) A bracingly honest depiction of a young working-class marriage, Tiger Tail in Blue examines what happens when romance gives way to routine. Struggling writer Chris (played by writer/ director Frank V. Ross) waits tables at night, which puts him at opposing schedules with his new wife Melody, a teacher. Typical marital issues (bills, mostly) are compounded by the fact that the two rarely see each other and are often arguing when they do. As Chris spends more time away from his wife, he develops a workplace crush on a female coworker named Brandy. In a Buñuelian twist, Melody and Brandy are both played by the same actress, Rebecca Spence… until, at a crucial moment, they aren’t. Spence’s dual performances are truly remarkable — at first, you may not even recognize that she is playing both parts. At times caustic, at times melancholy, and at times very funny, these scenes from a marriage are never less than true to life. Featuring a rare film score by John Medeski, Tiger Tail in Blue is “One of the best indie films to surface in the past year” (J.J. Murphy, jjmurphyfilm.com). Nominated for the “Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You” at the 2012 Gotham Independent Film Award. (Mike King)

BLOOMIN MUD SHUFFLE (2015 | USA | 75 min. | Directed by Frank V. Ross | ​Cast: James Ransone, Alexia Rasmussen, Alex Karpovsky) Lonnie’s life hasn’t changed much in the 16 years since he graduated high school. Still painting houses, still drinking too much, still hanging out with the same old friends (including Alex Karpovsky of Girls, naturally hilarious as always). As far as he can see, his only hope for the future lies in taking his physical relationship with coworker Monica (a fantastic Alexia Rasmussen) to the next level. A recent college graduate and out of his league, Monica clearly views the older, down-on-his-luck Lonnie as a temporary fling, but he’s more invested. Writer/director Frank V. Ross makes films in and about the blue collar Chicago suburb where he himself lives, capturing the nuances of the working class that are too often absent from contemporary independent cinema. Produced by low-budget stalwart Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies, Happy Christmas), Bloomin Mud Shuffle is a gritty gem that wrings hard-earned humor out of tough circumstances. Ross’s seventh film includes strong performances from lead James Ransone (Tangerine), Natasha Lyonne (Orange is the New Black) and Rebecca Spence (star of Ross’s Tiger Tail in Blue), and a score by John Medeski of Medeski Martin & Wood. (Mike King)

To receive instructions on how to see all three Frank V. Ross movies at home for free, send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and simply remember to include the word ROSS in the subject line. No further message is necessary.

Stay healthy and safe. We value your support for the Cinematheque and we look forward to being able to watch movies with you soon in the proper cinematic settings of 4070 Vilas Hall and the Chazen Museum of Art.

See Two Brilliant Found Footage Movies at Home for Free!

Wednesday, April 14th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

UPDATE: We have reached our limit of free views of Just Don't Think I'll Scream and There Are Not Thirty-six Ways of Showing a Man Getting on a Horse. Thank you for making this presentation such a success! 

While our campus theatrical venues remain closed, the Cinematheque is continuing our series of movies you can watch at home for free with two fascinating selections: Frank Beauvais' Just Don't Think I'll Scream and Nicolás Zukerfeld's There Are Not Thirty-six Ways of Showing a Man Getting on a Horse. Both selections use existing footage from other movies to tell new stories and examine the power of cinema. Just Don't Think I'll Scream is another excellent title originally selected for the 2020 Wisconsin Film Festival and There Are Not Thirty-six Ways was an official selection of the 2020 New York Film Festival.

JUST DON'T THINK I'LL SCREAM (NE CROYEZ SURTOUT PAS QUE JE HURLE | 2019 | France | 75 min. | French with English subtitles | Directed by Frank Beauvais) “I watched over 400 films between April and October 2016. This footage comes from them.” So begins Frank Beauvais’s astonishing feature debut, a found footage memoir refracting seven tumultuous months of life through an unceasing fusillade of movie clips. With Knausgaardian candor, Beauvais narrates the story of his break-up; his father’s death; his life in provincial Alsace, France; and above all, his all-consuming cinephilia, which accelerates as personal calamity and world events (from the Bastille Day attack in Nice to Prince's passing) lead him further inward. The film’s rapid, wildly imaginative montage toggles between film snippets largely obscure and hard-to-place: a Pre-Code dame here, a giallo knife plunge there, an aside on all the Soviet films cluttering his hard drive, John Carpenter’s Christine, etc. Just Don’t Think I’ll Scream offers an incisive, full-bore exploration of all the ways obsessive movie watching can bleed into one’s personal life, and vice versa. (Zachary Zahos)

THERE ARE NOT THIRTY-SIX WAYS OF SHOWING A MAN GETTING ON A HORSE (NO EXISTEN TREINTA Y SEIS MANERAS DE MOSTRAR COMO UN HOMBRE SE SUBE A UN CABALLO | 2020 | Argentina | 63 min. | English and Spanish with English subtitles | Directed by Nicolás ZukerfeldPure pleasure for cinephiles, this illuminating essay film examines the oeuvre of the classic Hollywood director Raoul Walsh. The first half is a briskly edited catalog of clips from Walsh’s films, locating parallel actions and reactions from across Walsh’s fifty-year career. The second half delves into correctly attributing the quote that forms the film’s lengthy title, pursuing this academic grind with the intrigue of a detective story. Argentine filmmaker Nicolás Zukerfeld’s witty ride through film history has been praised by Artforum as an “exhilarating voyage through academia and film scholarship… a wildly edited, unabashed paean to classic Hollywood cinema.” (Mike King). 

For a limited time beginning April 15, the Cinematheque has a limited number of opportunities to watch both Beauvais and Zukerfeld's movies at home for free. PLEASE NOTE: There Are Not Thirty-six Ways of Showing a Man Getting on a Horse is not available for viewing outside the U.S. To receive instructions, send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and simply remember to include the word MOVIES in the subject line. No further message is necessary.

Stay healthy and safe. We value your support for the Cinematheque and we look forward to being able to watch movies with you soon in the proper cinematic settings of 4070 Vilas Hall and the Chazen Museum of Art.

LACIS Presents THREE SUMMERS - See it for Free!

Wednesday, April 7th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

While our campus theatrical venues remain closed, the Cinematheque is continuing our series of movies you can watch at home for free with another excellent title originally selected for the 2020 Wisconsin Film Festival, Sandra Kogut's comedy-drama from Brazil, Three SummersThree Summers is presented with the support of UW Madison’s Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program (LACIS).

THREE SUMMERS (TRÊS VERÕES | 2019 | 94 min. | Portuguese with English subtitles | Directed by Sandra Kogut) Madá is the middle-aged caretaker for a handful of beachfront villas owned by a wealthy Rio de Janeiro family. During three consecutive summers — 2015 to 2017 —Madá attempts to open her own business while tending to her privileged and not-always-so-kind employers. Later, she becomes a bystander in a major money-laundering scandal, and eventually launches a whole new career. Director & co-writer Sandra Kogut's keenly observed comedy-drama authentically captures the rhythms of daily life and the genuine struggles of working-class people, especially in relation to their pampered employers. A great deal of the credit for the energy and humor of Three Summers must be given to Regina Casé for her funny, charismatic, and very real performance as Madá, a clever and big-hearted character who reminds us that optimism and shrewd judgement are sometimes the most valuable currencies. Case won the award for Best Actress at the 2019 Rio de Janeiro Film Festival.

“Kogut's script allows gentle comedy to seep into her observations of the resilience of those working in the service of others” (Caitlin Quinlan, Cinema Scope).

For a limited time beginning April 8, the Cinematheque has a limited number of opportunities to watch Three Summers at home for free. To receive instructions, send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and simply remember to include the word LACIS in the subject line. Three Summers is presented with the support of UW Madison’s Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program (LACIS).

Stay healthy and safe. We value your support for the Cinematheque and we look forward to being able to watch movies with you soon in the proper cinematic settings of 4070 Vilas Hall and the Chazen Museum of Art.

See SHIVA BABY for Free!

Wednesday, March 31st, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

UPDATE: We have reached the free viewing limit for Shiva Baby. This Cinematheque selection is "SOLD OUT". 

While our campus theatrical venues remain closed, the Cinematheque is continuing our series of movies you can watch at home for free with Emma Seligman's acclaimed new comedy Shiva Baby.

SHIVA BABY (USA | 2020 | 77 min. | Directed by Emma Seligman) Sitting shiva (the Jewish equivalent of attending a wake) can be painful enough, but when Danielle (Rachel Sennott), a bisexual law student/sex worker discovers that the guests of the shiva she is attending with her parents also include her current “sugar daddy” as well as her secret ex-girlfriend, the tension may be just too much to bear. Emma Seligman’s astonishingly accomplished feature directorial debut is a master class in cringe comedy that continually ratchets up the tension in clever, believable, and sometimes surreal ways. Shiva Baby will make Jews and Gentiles alike howl with laughter while squirming in expertly crafted discomfort (Ben Reiser).

“Having grown up in a tight-knit Jewish community herself, Seligman tightly orchestrates it all with loving cultural specificity and nuance, working her satirical muscles to a thrilling extent.” – Tamris Laffly, Variety

Shiva Baby unfolds almost entirely in real time, and between the intensity of its presentation, its distinctively Jewish milieu, and its near-fetish for anxiety-inducing social encounters, Seligman’s feature-length directorial debut could make for an interesting double bill with Uncut Gems. “ – David Robb, Slant

For a limited time beginning April 1, the Cinematheque has a limited number of opportunities to watch Shiva Baby at home for free. To receive instructions, send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and simply remember to include the word SHIVA in the subject line.

Stay healthy and safe. We value your support for the Cinematheque and we look forward to being able to watch movies with you soon in the proper cinematic settings of 4070 Vilas Hall and the Chazen Museum of Art.

 

See 2020 WFF Selection BALLOON for Free!

Thursday, March 25th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

UPDATE: We have reached the free viewing limit for Balloon. This Cinematheque selection is "SOLD OUT". 

While our campus theatrical venues remain closed, the Cinematheque is continuing our series of movies you can watch at home for free with another superb international drama that was originally selected to screen at the 2020 Wisconsin Film Festival, Pema Tseden's marvelous Balloon.

BALLOON (China | 2019 | 102 min. | In Chinese and Tibetan with English subtitles | Director: Pema Tseden)

It’s the early 1980s in rural Tibet, where three generations of a shepherd family live at the crux of tradition and modernity. Balloon’s playful sensibility is evident from the start: its very first images are glimpsed through the hazy sheen of an inflated piece of latex being playing with by two brothers, unaware that the “balloon” they discovered in their parents’ bedroom is actually their last condom. Practically, this omen isn’t so funny, as China has recently instituted its one-child policy, and the family can’t afford the penalty of having another. The coincidental timing of a sudden death and an unplanned pregnancy exposes them to a profound moral dilemma between the Buddhist belief in reincarnation and China’s restrictive family planning laws. Director Pema Tseden has achieved global stature as Tibet’s most acclaimed filmmaker, but at home he is also known as an accomplished author. This novelist’s sensibility shines through in Balloon, as social and ethical pressures combine to rupture a previously content family. (Mike King). A selection of the 2019 Venice Film Festival and the 2020 Wisconsin Film Festival. 

"Beautiful, funny, and tragic… both a gorgeously intimate family drama and an idiosyncratic artistic statement flecked with humor and sorrow” (Variety).

Balloon is now available to view at home for a limited time. To receive instructions on how to view the movie, send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and simply remember to include the word BALLOON in the subject line. No further message is necessary.

Stay healthy and safe. We value your support for the Cinematheque and we look forward to being able to watch movies with you soon in the proper cinematic settings of 4070 Vilas Hall and the Chazen Museum of Art.

Cinematalk Podcast #34: THE MARKSMAN, with Screenwriter Danny Kravitz

Thursday, March 18th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

Tying-in to the Cinematheque's free presentation of The Marksman, this episode of Cinematalk features the Cinematheque's Jim Healy in conversation with screenwriter Danny Kravitz, who co-wrote The Marksman with Sun Prairie, WI resident Chris Charles. A former student of film within our Department of Communication Arts and graduate of UW Madison, Danny Kravitz spoke to us from his home in Chicago, where he teaches screenwriting at Columbia College. 

Listen to this episode of Cinematalk below or subscribe through Apple Podcasts.

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