|
Cinemateca Jul 10 thru Jul 14 First Annual LGBT+H Film Festival José Luis’s Pick and Tips: This week we are supporting the Sexual Diversity Festival with a selection of films. The tips: In order to be able to provide the best viewing experience, the show times for some movies may be adjusted to accommodate their length. Be sure to check the schedule carefully. Also, please remember the new ticket price of 50 pesos. Discount cards are 400 pesos for 10 shows. On Monday after 4pm buy your tickets for any selection of the week. Don’t take the risk of being locked out! Nos vemos en el Cine…. Mad Hot Ballroom (2005) Monday, July 10, 3pm English, 120 minutes Director: Marilyn Agrelo Ballroom dancing goes from lame to cool for a group of New York City public school kids in this insightful documentary. The film follows a group of 11-year-olds as they learn to dance old-school styles including the merengue, rumba, tango, foxtrot and swing. Candid interviews capture the kids’ initial reluctance at learning ballroom dance and their transformation into serious competitors determined to win a citywide competition. A Home at the End of the World (2004) Monday, July 10, 5:30pm English with Spanish subtitles, 96 minutes Director: Michael Mayer Pulitzer Prize-winning author (for The Hours) Michael Cunningham’s earlier novel about a troika of close friends who enter into an unconventional living arrangement gets deft treatment. Boyhood pals Bobby (Colin Farrell) and Jonathan (Dallas Roberts) both love the same woman (Robin Wright Penn), but in different ways (Jonathan is gay). Undaunted, they all try to make a life together—and even have a baby—in 1980s New York. Cultural Matinee Baraka (1992) Tuesday, July 11, 12pm English, 96 minutes Director: Ron Fricke The relationship between humans and their environment is the subject of this mesmerizing visual study from Ron Fricke, the cinematographer and editor of Koyaanisqatsi. The images, which Fricke gathered from 24 countries, range from the daily devotions of Tibetan monks and whirling dervishes to a cigarette factory and time-lapse views of the Hong Kong skyline. Diverse world music accompanies the visuals. It's My Party (1996) Tuesday, July 11, 3pm Director: Randal Kleiser English with Spanish subtitles, 110 minutes This bittersweet film stars Eric Roberts as Nick, a gay man with AIDS who learns he’s contracted a terminal brain disease. Nick decides to throw himself a two-day farewell party, where friends and family (including Margaret Cho, Bronson Pinchot, Marlee Matlin and Roddy McDowall) gather to offer their good-byes—the most touching of which comes from Nick's former mate, Brandon (Gregory Harrison), who left Nick when he learned he had AIDS. Bioneers Series feature film Paul Hawken and Wanjiri Mathai Peace, Justice, and the Environment, followed by conversation cafe Tuesday, July 11, 5pm Doña Herlinda and Her Son (Doña Herlinda y su hijo, 1985) Wednesday, July 12, 5pm Director: Jaime Humberto Hermosillo Spanish with English subtitles, 90 minutes From south of the border comes a sexy comedy of social mores and deceptions. Doña Herlinda (Guadalupe del Toro) is a wealthy widow from Guadalajara, Mexico, who has long tolerated the unconventional relationship of her son Rudolfo (Marco Antonio Trevino) and his “significant other,” Ramón (Arturo Meza). She even invites Ramón to live with them. But the complications turn hilarious when Rudolfo asks an open-minded young lady to marry him. Torch Song Trilogy (1988) Thursday, July 13, 7:30pm English with Spanish subtitles, 120 minutes Director: Paul Bogart This film adaptation of Harvey Fierstein's Tony Award-winning Broadway play traces 10 years (1971-81) in the life of middle-aged homosexual Arnold Beckoff (Fierstein himself). The film is, by turns, a riotously funny and poignant story of an aging drag queen and his attempts to connect with someone … anyone! Co-stars Anne Bancroft as Fierstein's shrewish mother and Matthew Broderick in one of his first movie roles. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) Friday, July 14, 4pm English, 95 minutes Director: John Cameron Mitchell After a botched sex-change operation, East German glam rocker Hansel (John Cameron Mitchell) becomes Hedwig and travels across the United States with a stage show, following her ex-boyfriend (and former band mate) and telling her life story. Hedwig's offbeat show slays audiences -but in diners not clubs. Mitchell also wrote and directed the comedy, which won at the Sun which won at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for several Independent Spirit Awards. Peace, justice and the environment The second film of the Bioneers summer series features talks by two speakers. The first speaker is entrepreneur Paul Hawken, one of the most influential thinkers and activists of our time. A compelling speaker, Hawken shares his thoughts on where we stand at this crucial juncture of history. He is the author of the classic Ecology of Commerce and co-author of Natural Capitalism. The second speaker is Wanjira Mathai, member of the famous Green Belt Movement of Kenya and now a respected member of government. Her work in reforestation and community restoration is one of the most successful ecological models in Africa. The Green Belt movement has been characterized by women’s leadership since Mathai’s mother founded it 30 years ago. Wanjira Mathai carries on the tradition. The film, one hour in length, costs 50 pesos and is shown on Tuesday, July 11, at 5pm in the Santa Ana Theatre. It is followed by optional participation through conversation in the Santa Ana Café. Bioneers summer Film Series, Paul Hawken and Wanjira Mathai Tuesday, July 11, 5pm, Teatro Santa Ana, Insurgentes 25, 50 pesos Meditation Center’s Dharma film series The Meditation Center opens its summer/fall Dharma film series Thursday, July 13, with a 5:30pm showing of Vajra Sky over Tibet. This stunning and very moving film, narrated by a nephew of the Dalai Lama, takes the viewer on a pilgrimage through the sacred landscape of this still very isolated and exotic Himalayan kingdom. A beautiful travelogue, the film is at heart a tribute to the Tibetan people struggling against enormous odds to maintain the Buddhist practice around which their lives are centered. A haunting soundtrack features legendary Tibetan singers and musicians and a harmonic chant score by David Hykes. The film was directed by John Bush and lasts 87 minutes. The theme of the summer/fall film series is Nonduality. Often, Nonduality is referred to simply as non-separateness, but defining the Nondual, by nature ungraspable, would be impossible even if all teachers and traditions could agree on exactly what it is. Instead, most experiencers of that subtle reality, which lies beyond or beneath all mind states and the ego experience, resort to hints such as the Guest, the Mystery, That, the Open Secret, not this/not that, your own true nature, or your original face before you were born. According to Roy Whenary, “We do not need to search in order to find our true Being. We already are it, and the mind which searches for it is the very reason we cannot find it.” The exploration of Nonduality will continue July 27 with Adyashanti: When Truth Takes Over and continue August 10 with Sogyal Rinpoche: Relying on Pure Consciousness; August 24 with Gangaji: The Moment of Choice; September 7 with Ani Tenzin Palmo: The Nature of the Mind; September 21 with Eckhart Tolle: Living a Life of Inner Peace; October 5 with Sogyal Rinpoche: Undistracted Mind; and October 19 with Adyashanti: The Undivided Self. All showings are at 5:30pm. The Meditation Center is located at Callejón Blanco 4, near Quebrada. A 20-peso donation is suggested to help cover film purchase costs. Please come early to ensure a seat, because the meditation hall is not large. Meditation Center Film Series, Vajra Sky over Tibet Thursday, July 13, 5:30pm, Meditation Center, Callejón Blanco 4, 20 pesos |