March 4-7 only: See THE WORLD'S END & METROPOLIS For Free!

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

Beginning Thursday, March 4 at 7 p.m. through Sunday, March 7 at 7 p.m., the UW Cinematheque, in collaboration with the UW Madison Division of the Arts Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program, will present a special free view-at-home double feature of The World’s End and Metropolis. The program was specially curated by current Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence Litza Bixler.

THE WORLD’S END (UK, 2013, 109 min., Directed by Edgar Wright) Fast approaching middle age and hoping to recapture the excitement of a legendary evening from his youth, the perpetually irresponsible and immature Gary King (Simon Pegg) rounds up four old school buddies: Andy (Nick Frost), Oliver (Martin Freeman), Steven (Paddy Considine), and Peter (Eddie Marsan). The group’s mission to re-create a debaucherous and never completed pub crawl in their small British hometown is potentially thwarted by the realization that the citizens in the village have been replaced by a mysterious, non-human species that our heroes eventually refer to as “blanks.”

Following Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007), the third feature in director Wright’s genre-blending trilogy of acclaimed comedies (each co-written with leading man Pegg) is a hilarious and action-packed sci-fi satire featuring a uniquely collective villain. In order to make the comically creepy “blanks” visually memorable, director Wright once again recruited frequent collaborator Litza Bixler to choreograph the movements of the performers.

METROPOLIS (Germany, 1927, 149 min., Directed by Fritz Lang) With this science fiction epic, Lang brought to the screen one of the most ambitious and iconic movies ever made. The story takes place in a city of the future, in which slaves toil underground for a ruling class that lives above in an urban utopia. Amidst this setting, two young idealists hope to unite the workers and bring the two worlds together while a mad scientist’s robotic creation threatens to topple Metropolis.

Lang's prescient vision of an urban world in disarray was restored to its original premiere length when over 20 minutes of footage missing for over 80 years was discovered in South America! Metropolis, in its various versions, has still remained the most iconic of all movies about futuristic cities gone to hell. This Cinematheque-at-home presentation will allow viewers to experience Lang’s complete vision. The director employs specific and rhythmic choreography of both performers and moving machine parts, a stylistic touch that has been a continual inspiration for artist Litza Bixler, who personally selected Metropolis for this presentation.

Both movies will be available for viewing beginning Thursday, March 4 at 7 p.m. To receive instructions on how to view both movies for free, send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and simply remember to include the code BIXLER in the subject line. No further message is necessary. Both movies will be available through Sunday, March 7 at 7 p.m.

On a new episode of our Cinematalk podcast our special guest is Litza Bixler, choreographer, filmmaker, movement director, visual artist and screenwriter. She has produced work on stage, screen, and art galleries and has been a working artist and educator since 1995. Her work in feature films includes contributions to three movies directed by Edgar Wright, Shaun of the Dead (2004), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010, and The World’s End (2013). She also served as choreographer for the 2014 jukebox musical Walking on Sunshine and the 2014 salsa dance comedy Cuban Fury starring Nick Frost, Rashida Jones, and Chris O’Dowd.  Bixler is currently Interdisciplinary Artist-in-Residence in UW Madison’s Division of the Arts’ Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program. The program brings innovative artists to UW Madison’s campus to teach semester-long, interdepartmental courses and to publicly present their work for campus and community audiences. The program is funded through the university’s Office of the Provost. The spring 2021 Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program is presented by the UW Madison Division of the Arts and hosted by the Dance Department with Professor Li Chiao-Ping as lead faculty. Co-sponsors include the Art Department and Department of Communication Arts.

Listen to Litza Bixler on Cinematalk below, or subscribe through Apple Podcasts.

Cinematalk Podcast #31: FAUNA, with Nicolas Pereda

Thursday, February 25th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

As a listening companion to the LACIS and Cinematheque presentation of Fauna, this episode of Cinematalk features our Mike King in discussion with the movie's writer, director, and editor, Nicolas Pereda. Pereda's work has been the subject of more than 30 retrospectives worldwide in venues such as Anthology Film Archive, Pacific Film Archive, Jeonju International Film Festival and TIFF Cinematheque.  Fauna premiered at the 2020 Toronto Film Festival, and has gone on to play the New York, San Sebastian, and Los Cabos Film Festivals. Listen to Cinematalk below or subscribe to Cinematalk through Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Fauna is presented with the support of UW Madison’s Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program (LACIS).

LACIS Presents FAUNA - See it for Free!

Thursday, February 25th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

UPDATE: We have reached our limit of free views of Fauna. You can still listen to our podacst with Nicolas Pareda here on our blog.

Beginning February 25 at 5 p.m., the Cinematheque continues its free view-at-home series with Nicolas Pareda’s Fauna, a witty and playful new movie from Mexico that earned critical acclaim at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Fauna is presented with the support of UW Madison’s Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program (LACIS), as is our ongoing return Cinematheque-at-Home engagement of Fernanda Valadez’ Identifying Features. 

FAUNA (Mexico/Canada, 2020, 70 min., Spanish with English subtitles, Directed by Nicolas Pereda) In a run-down Mexican mining town, Luisa brings her boyfriend Paco home to meet her family. They’re both actors, and the visit grows increasingly (and hilariously) awkward as Luisa’s father becomes fascinated by Paco’s minor role in a television phenomenon. Fauna’s exploration of performance deepens as the film reinvents itself halfway through, reconfiguring its characters into a mystery plot set at a nearby hotel. Scenes and characters begin to repeat and revise each other’s earlier incarnations, creating a deadpan mindbender that grows more entrancing with each beguiling detour, and invites a parallel universe of interpretations (Mike King).

“Lyrical, haunting, and at times extraordinarily funny… melted and then reconstituted my movie-addled mind” (The Globe & Mail).

“Uniquely profound and sometimes hilarious, Fauna is one of Pereda’s most memorable, enjoyable, and poignant works” (The Gate).

For a limited time, the Cinematheque is offering an opportunity to view Fauna at home for free. To request a viewing of Fauna, send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and simply remember to place the word FAUNA in the subject line. No further message is necessary. Fauna is presented with the support of UW Madison’s Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program (LACIS).

 

On a new episode of Cinematalk, the official Cinematheque podcast, our guest is Nicolas Pereda, the writer, director, and editor of Fauna. His work has been the subject of more than 30 retrospectives worldwide in venues such as Anthology Film Archive, Pacific Film Archive, Jeonju International Film Festival and TIFF Cinematheque.  Fauna premiered at the 2020 Toronto Film Festival, and has gone on to play the New York, San Sebastian, and Los Cabos Film Festivals. Listen to Mike King talk with Nicolas Pereda here on our blog, or subscribe to Cinematalk through Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

See a Restoration of Sembene's MANDABI for Free!

Thursday, February 18th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

UPDATE (3/9/21): Our licensing period for Mandabi has expired. The movie is now available to watch for subscribers to the Criterion Channel.

Beginning February 18, the Cinematheque is proud to present a new restoration of Mandabi (1968), written and directed by Senegalese filmmaker and author Ousmane Sembene, a major pioneer of African cinema.

MANDABI (Senegal, 1968, 91 min., Wolof & French with English subtitles). The second feature from Sembene, one of African cinema’s foundational artists, is a deceptively simple tale of greed and corruption, as well as a devastating satire of bureaucracy. In Senegal, unemployed  Ibrahima Dieng (Makhouredia Gueye) is the recipient of a 25,000 francs money order from a nephew in Paris. Even though our hero’s attempts to cash the order are consistently thwarted by his community’s bureaucratic elite, that does not stop loan-seeking neighbors from descending upon him. While he is bounced around from one government office to another, his own family’s spending spirals out of control.

Adapting his own short novel, Sembene followed-up his feature debut Black Girl with this bitterly funny and ironic milestone. Available only in inferior viewing copies for decades, we are proud to present Mandabi in a newly restored version available for viewing-at-home for a limited time. In order to watch Mandabi at home for free, send  an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and simply remember to include MANDABI 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 the Return of IDENTIFYING FEATURES!

Thursday, February 18th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

Thanks to the support of UW Madison’s Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program (LACIS), we are pleased to announce a return view-at-home engagement of the acclaimed and award-winning Mexican movie Identifying Features.

IDENTIFYING FEATURES (SIN SEÑAS PARTICULARES, Mexico, 2020, 94 min., Spanish with English subtitles) tells the story of Magdalena, (Mercedes Hernández), who hasn’t heard from her son Jesús in the two months since he left their small village to cross the border into the U.S. Joined by the recently deported Miguel (David Illescas), Magdalena leads a desperate search for her son, whom the authorities believe to be dead, into some of the most violent and remote territories of present-day Mexico. Crossing rugged landscapes by foot and trying to elude countless armed bandits, Magdalena and Miguel’s odyssey offers an unflinching view of a current, harrowing crisis. Identifying Features is a chilling and artfully told thriller that marks the auspicious feature-length directorial debut of Fernanda Valadez, whose boldly pronounced style includes suspenseful and fluid long takes, a thought-provoking use of focus, and a precision eye for point-of-view and composition. Valadez' co-screenwriter, co-producer, and co-editor is Astrid Rondero, and the filmmakers' talents also include a humanistic touch that bestows characters with an inner life, allowing us to believe they exist beyond the frames of the movie.

“Impressive in many ways, from its strong naturalistic performances to the vivid sense of dislocation and vulnerability felt by the principal characters in dangerous or unfamiliar surroundings” (Variety).

"Signals an exciting arrival by a much-needed voice" (Hollywood Reporter).

Beginning February 18, the Cinematheque is providing limited opportunities to view Identifying Features at home for free. To receive access, send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and simply include the code LACIS in the subject line. No further message is necessary. This view-at-home presentation is presented with the support of UW Madison's Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies Program (LACIS).

On a recently recorded episode of our Cinematalk podcast, special guests Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero talk with the Cinematheque’s Jim Healy about Identifying Features. The filmmaking duo won the Special Jury Award for Best Screenplay at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival where Identifying Features also captured the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic category. Listen below or subscribe to Cinematalk on Apple Podcasts.

See Sundance Prize-winning YALDA for Free!

Thursday, February 11th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

UPDATE: Our view-at-home licensing period for Yalda has expired. Please visit our blog to see which new movies are currently on offer.

The Cinematheque-at-Home series continues this week with Yalda, A Night for Forgiveness, a provocative and suspenseful drama that won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

YALDA, A NIGHT FOR FORGIVENESS (Iran | 2020 | 89 minutes | Farsi with subtitles)

Director: Massoud Bakhshi | Cast: Sadaf Asgari, Behnaz Jafari, Babak Karimi

Live from Tehran, a young woman who has been sentenced to death for murdering her husband recalls the details leading up to her crime on the nation’s most popular TV reality show. Since Iranian law allows for the victim’s family to forgive her and spare her life, the fate of Maryam (Sadaf Asgari) will be decided by Mona (Behnaz Jafari), her husband’s daughter from a previous marriage. In front of millions of viewers during Yalda, the winter solstice celebration, Maryam and Mona discover that forgiveness can be difficult as they relive the past.

Unfolding almost entirely within the confines of a TV studio during the live broadcast, writer/director Massoud Bahkshi demonstrates an exciting and rigorous control over his material that yields a breathtaking series of intense and provocative moments. Yalda is Bahkhsi’s second feature film and the winner of the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

“A clever, suspenseful exposé of Sharia law. There is really much to enjoy in this paradoxical but grippingly paced film” (Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter)

For a limited time, the Cinematheque has a limited number of opportunities to view Yalda at home for free. To receive access, send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and simply remember to include the word YALDA. 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 #30: A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX, with Rodney Ascher

Thursday, February 4th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

Our first episode of Cinematalk for 2021 makes a great supplement to the Cinematheque's showcasing of A Glitch in the Matrix. Glitch director Rodney Ascher talks with the Cinematheque's Jim Healy about how he put his new movie together and simulation theory’s relationship to cinema history and sci-fi literature. Rodney joined us in person at the 2013 Wisconsin Film Festival to present a program of his unique short movies and the Madison Premiere of Room 237, his much-acclaimed exploration of fan theories attempting to decode the hidden meanings of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. He spoke with us from his home in Los Angeles during a busy time when his movie has its online premiere and is opening in virtual cinemas around the country. Listen below, or subscribe to Cinematalk through Apple Podcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts.

See Rodney Ascher's A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX For Free!

Thursday, February 4th, 2021
Posted by Jim Healy

UPDATE: We have reached our limit of free views of A Glitch in the Matrix that were licensed from the movie's distributor, Magnolia Pictures. Thank you for making this presentation such a success! The movie is available for a rental price here. 50% of the proceeds from rentals go to support future free Cinematheque programming. And our podcast with Rodney Ascher is still available for free listening here!

While the Cinematheque’s theatrical venues remained closed, our free Cinematheque-at-home series resumes on Friday, February 5 with an exciting new release fresh from its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this week!

A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX (USA | 2021 | 105 min.)

Director: Rodney Ascher 

Are we all just characters in someone else’s video game? Could it be that we are living in a computer-simulated universe? Swallow the red pill and take a deep and fascinating dive into the rabbit hole that is simulation theory in the new feature-length movie from Rodney Ascher, director of Room 237 and The Nightmare., A Glitch in the Matrix provides the compelling testimonials of several avatar-shrouded real people, along with commentary from more established experts like Nick Bostrom, Emily Pothast, and cartoonist Chris Ware, to explore existential questions of personal identity and free will. With his own singular style, Ascher launches his investigation with a 1977 lecture from legendary sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick and playfully mixes in game footage and movie clips (from The Matrix and several other Hollywood products) to further illustrate how and why so many have come to doubt their everyday reality. Glitch ultimately ventures into serious, sometimes disturbing territory, to examine morality and social responsibility in a present-day world where even basic human interactions have become poisoned by media consumption and conspiracy theories.

“A Glitch in the Matrix adapts to the internal logic of its echo chamber until it starts to sound pretty convincing on its own terms. If you’re not already one of the diehards convinced we’re living in a simulation, this movie might actually get you there” (Eric Kohn, Indiewire).

Beginning Friday, February 5, the Cinematheque has a limited number of opportunities to view A Glitch in the Matrix at home for free. To receive access, send an email to info@cinema.wisc.edu and simply remember to include the word GLITCH in the subject line. No further message is necessary.

Our Cinematalk podcast has also returned with a brand new episode featuring acclaimed director Rodney Ascher, director of A Glitch in the Matrix and Room 237, in conversation with the Cinematheque’s Jim Healy. You can listen here on our blog or subscribe to Cinematalk on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Cinematalk Podcast #29: DETERMINED

Thursday, December 10th, 2020
Posted by Jim Healy

In conjunction with the Cinematheque's presentation of the powerful new documentary Determined, this episode of Cinematalk features our own Ben Reiser moderating a lively panel of five women who together have spent the past seven years determined to tell the story of Determined. Producers Therese Barry-Tanner, and Eileen Littig, Director Melissa Godoy, Sound person Shawndra Jones, and one of the subjects of the film, Karen McElwee, all sat down to talk with Ben via Zoom for an engaging and informative discussion about the making of this remarkable film.

Listen to this episode of Cinematalk below or subscribe through Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Cinematalk Podcast #28: THE RABBI GOES WEST, with Amy Geller and Gerald Peary

Thursday, December 10th, 2020
Posted by Jim Healy

As a bonus to the Cinematheque's presentation of The Rabbi Goes West, this episode of Cinematalk features the Cinematheque's Ben Reiser in discussion with the husband and wife filmmaking team behind the compelling new documentary. 

Gerald Peary is the director of the documentary features For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism (2009) and Archie's Betty (2015). He also appeared in the cast of Andrew Bujalski’s Computer Chess and he has frequently appeared in person at the Wisconsin Film Festival to present his work. Gerry received a Ph.D. in Communications from the UW Madison in 1977 and in addition to being a filmmaker has had a long career in film criticism and journalism with his work appearing in The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and many other publications.

Amy Geller’s award-winning productions include PBS's The War That Made America (2005), For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism (2009), and The Guys Next Door (2016), which she co-directed. Her work has been broadcast on television and screened at prestigious film festivals around the world. She served as the Artistic Director of the Boston Jewish Film Festival and teaches production courses at Boston University.

Listen to Cinematalk below, or subscribe through Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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