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crawl in their small British hometown is potentially thwarted by the realization that the citizens in the village have been replaced by a mysterious, non-human species that our heroes eventually refer to as “blanks.”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.

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.

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.

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.