Around Town: Vietnamese and Italian film, plus the artistry of Michael Scroggins and William Eggleston
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The UCLA Film & Television Archive begins its ‘New Voices From Vietnam’ film retrospective Friday evening at the Billy Wilder Theater with ‘Bi, Don’t Be Afraid,’ the directorial debut of Phan Dang Di, who will appear at the screening. Saturday afternoon’s documentary film program features ‘Mother and Daughter,’ ‘Thanh Cong Ward’ and ‘Grandfather and Grandson.’ The evening program features ‘Dog Day’ and ‘Floating Lives,’ the latter film directed by Nguyen Quang Binh and starring former ’21 Jump Street’ regular Dustin Nguyen, both of whom will be on hand. On Sunday, ‘The Moon at the Bottom of the Well,’ directed by Nguyen Vinh Son, will screen; the filmmaker will appear in person for a discussion following the screening.
On Wednesday, the action moves to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater as the academy salutes noted Vietnamese director Dang Nhat Minh. There will be a conversation with the filmmaker hosted by Phil Robinson, followed by a screening of his 2000 drama, ‘The Guava House.’ www.cinema.ucla.edu/
To coincide with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s current exhibition ‘William Eggleston: Democratic Camera — Photographs and Video, 1961-2008,’ the museum’s film department is presenting ‘A Tribute to William Eggleston: Photography and Film,’ which begins Thursday with a screening of the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock classic, ‘North by Northwest,’ starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint. The film’s use of color influenced the artist’s approach to color photography.
On tap for Friday are Jim Jarmusch’s 1989 ‘Mystery Train’ and the rarely screened 1986 faux documentary ‘True Stories,’ directed by Talking Heads’ frontman David Byrne. Saturday evening there is a free panel discussion on the relationships among film, photography, color and influence, followed by a free screening of Harmony Korine’s 2009 comedy, ‘Trash Humpers.’ www.lacma.org
The second annual ‘California State Parks Starring in Hollywood Films’ festival kicks off Saturday afternoon at the Paramount Theater on the Paramount lot with an autograph signing by Billy Dee Williams, a screening of ‘Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi,’ which will be followed by a Q&A with Mark Hamill. The lineup also including a screening of the movie ‘MASH’ and a Q&A with its star Elliott Gould, which will be followed by two episodes of the TV series ‘MASH,’ plus a Q&A with several people involved with the CBS series, including director Charles S. Dubin, co-creator Gene Reynolds and producer Burt Metcalfe.
Sunday’s offerings at the Darryl F. Zanuck Theater on the 20th Century Fox lot are ‘Spartacus,’ with an introduction by archivist Robert O’Neil, and ‘Planet of the Apes,’ with a Q&A with actor Lou Wagner and makeup artist Daniel Striepeke. www.calparks.org/join/events/second-annual.html
Screenwriter Larry Karaszewski (‘Ed Wood’) presents the full-length 1969 European version of Gillo Pontecorvo’s ‘Queimada’ on Thursday at the American Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. A truncated version of this historical drama set in the Caribbean starring Marlon Brando was released in the U.S. as ‘Burn!’
The Los Angeles Filmforum presents ‘Michael Scroggins: What Are you Looking For?’ on Sunday evening at the Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre. A pioneer in animation performance and video art for nearly 40 years, Scroggins was also a member of the light-show group the Single Wing Turquoise Band and has been a teacher at CalArts since the late 1970s. Scroggins will talk about his career and offer a world premiere of his latest work. www.lafilmforum.org
Additionally, the American Cinematheque hosts ‘Cinema Italian Style 2010,’ which opens Tuesday at the Egyptian with ‘The First Beautiful Thing,’ Italy’s official submission for the foreign-language Oscar. Director Paolo Virzi and actress Micaela Ramazzotti will appear at the screening. Wednesday’s double bill at the Aero includes ‘Kiss Me Again’ and ‘The Double Hour.’ The director and star of ‘Kiss Me Again’ — Gabriele Muccino and actor Pierfrancesco Favino — will appear in person. www.americancinematheque.com
The Canadian heavy-metal band Anvil will participate in a Q&A Thursday at the Regent Theatre in downtown Los Angeles after a screening of their award-winning documentary, ‘Anvil! The Story of Anvil.’ www.landmarktheatres.com
Actress Helen Slater is scheduled to appear Saturday at the Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theatre for a screening of the 1985 cult film ‘The Legend of Billie Jean.’ Cinefamily is also promising a secret bonus feature. www.cinefamily.org
Academy programmer Randy Haberkamp offers his annual look back at films of a century ago Monday at the Linwood Dunn Theater. The evening celebrating the films of 1910 will be presented on a 1909 hand-cranked Powers Model 6 Camergraph picture machine restored and operated by Joe Rinaudo. Michael Mortilla will supply live accompaniment. Though the evening sold out, there will be a stand-by line. www.oscars.org
Hollywood Heritage’s latest ‘Evening @ The Barn’ on Wednesday presents animation historian Jerry Beck, who will discuss the history of Looney Tunes. But that’s not all, folks! He will be screening a selection of Looneys as well as signing his latest book, ‘The 100 Greatest Looney Tune Cartoons.’ www.hollywoodheritage.org
— Susan King
