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APRIL 2005FILM Assisted Living @ Roxie Friday, April 1 -
Thursday, April 7 ASSISTED LIVING follows 27-year-old Todd through his final day of work as a janitor at a nursing home. Todd smokes pot frequently on the job, which allows him to enjoy the surreal environment of the assisted living facility. He also breaks the monotony of his days with entertaining—and extremely unprofessional—diversions involving the residents: he rides through the halls in borrowed wheelchairs; he plays pool and Scrabble with them; he even “plays God” on the telephone, giving residents the illusion of speaking to their departed loved ones in heaven. But however much these activities cheer the seniors, Todd’s behavior angers the staff and undermines the policies of the home. It is ultimately Todd’s interactions with Mrs. Pearlman—a beautiful resident who longs for a visit from her son—that jeopardize his job. Mrs. Pearlman, who is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, has difficulty distinguishing the real world from her memories of it. As her odd friendship with Todd develops, she begins to mistake the janitor for her son. When Todd in turn begins to assume the role, he rediscovers his own humanity and instigates a transformation for them both. Double Dare @ Roxie
Friday,
April 15 - Thursday, April 21 Double
Dare is a double-barreled, action-packed documentary about two Hollywood
stuntwomen, Jeannie Epper and Zoë Bell. They have been set on fire, thrown off
buildings, dragged by wild horses and hit by cars. As Hollywood stuntwomen,
they are the anonymous, blue-collar heroines of film and television, taking the
hits that make actors into stars. They stand in for the rare female
action-hero, the typical "damsel in distress," and everything in
between. Double Dare explores the lives of Jeannie and Zoë, the stunt doubles
for Wonder Woman and Xena: Warrior Princess, as they face the challenges of a
dangerous and male-dominated profession. The real women behind these two
world-famous icons are at drastically different crossroads in their lives. One,
a grandmother, struggles with the aging process and Hollywood's dearth of older
female roles; the other, a young woman, is brash and unaware of the history
that has preceded her in this notoriously macho field. When Jeannie becomes a
mentor for Zoë, these two women from opposite sides of the world and opposite
ends of their careers find a way to survive in the industry together. The film
follows Jeannie and Zoë’s daily struggles to stay employed, stay thin and stay
sane-- against the backdrops of Xena, Wonder Woman, 6 Feet Under, and Quentin
Tarantino's Kill Bill. It features interviews with Steven Spielberg, Quentin
Tarantino, Lucy Lawless and Lynda Carter. Double Dare is directed by Amanda
Micheli who received an Academy Award, the IDA award and a national PBS
broadcast for her first film, Just for the Ride. Directed, photographed and
produced by Amanda Micheli. "Mascot on the Run"Four years in the stalling...17,000 miles traveled and it's
pretty much as Comedian Michael Capozzola tells the tale of a 12 week
nationwide road trip Friday, April 15, 2005. 8PM $5 Artists'
Television Access Political Stuntmen
SAT. 4/16: THE YES MEN +
Mike Bonanno of The Yes Men dons suit-and-tie to
properly pitch a business plan built on pranks, parodies, and impersonations. These
reality-hackers have passed as some of the world's most powerful corporate
criminals -- most notably of the WTO -- at conferences, on television, and on
the Web, in order to "correct" their identities. The program includes
their recent Dow Chemical hoax, their "Smokey the Log" campaign, and
last year's feature doc by Chris Smith, Dan Ollman, and Sarah Price. Enemy
Combatant Radio DJs provide the audio-collage ambience for this $6 fundraiser
for the Critical Art Ensemble's ongoing legal defense. Other Cinema @ ATA 992 Valencia 8:30pm $5 Pxl Vision
SAT. 4/23: PXL THIS FEST As you probably know by now, PXL videos are
recorded on audiocassette in a $100 toy camera. Their grainy, ghostly, and
glitch-ridden texture provides a funky, punky B/W platform for first-person
essays that profit from a proximity to subject and a distinctly minimalist
look. In the 14th iteration of this legendary annual event, LA-based Gerry
Fialka brings his inspiring media-ecology initiative to this appreciative niche
in NorCal. Highlights include 9-year-old Juniper Woodbury's My Magic
Eightball, King Kukulele's Fish, Fruits & Nuts, Michael
Possert's PXL Piñata, Eli Elliott's MJ Dong, Robert Dobbs'
Outer Rings, Paolo Davanzo's Wonder, plus two new works from those
crazy Craig brothers. McLuhan's tetrads pepper the pre-show patter, amidst
platters of popping corn and the singing Williams sisters. Other Cinema @ ATA 992 Valencia Sat 8:30pm $5 LOST FILM FESTIVAL 2005 TOURThis
years tour breezes into A.T.A with an exciting emotional array of
political documentary shorts that guarantee to inspire . "The
horrible stupid stunt which resulted in his untimely death" by
THE YES MEN." Pie fight " by SAM GREEN /CHRISTAIN BRUNO. Thursday,
April 21, 2005. 8PM $5 Artists' Television Access "GAPERS
GONE WILD" SUPER
TIGHT RIDERS! THE
MOST EXTREME MOVIE EVER MADE "This Movie is an Snow boarding adventure of epic
gaper proportions . Crazy skiing that makes Warren
Miller films look retarded. Jumping crashing twisting adventure
.Watch while gapers take to the slopes in paradise. Come out and
enjoy the craziness. "Gapers Gone Wild runs approximately 41
minutes. After the film Special musical guests
"The Mathematicians" will perform. Sunday, April 24, 2005. 8PM $5 Artists'
Television Access The Abortion Diaries @ ATA Join Penny Lane, award-winning documentary filmmaker, in viewing her new work-in-progress.This event will be an intimate and informal viewing, with lots of space for feedback and Q&A. The Abortion Diaries is an hour-long (color, DV) documentary about women's experiences with abortion since Roe v. Wade. Despite abortion being safe, legal, and incredibly common (1.3 million women in the U.S. will have one this year), there is a great deal of stigma surrounding the experience. Lane began this project after her own abortion 3 years ago. Initially, she didn't talk to anyone about it, and went through most of the experience in silence and secrecy. When she began to speak about it months later, she found that almost everyone she knew had had an abortion. How had this never come up, even amongst close friends? She began to imagine how much less traumatic, terrifying, and shaming her abortion would have been had she had their stories to access beforehand.For this documentary, Lane interviewed approximately 30 women about their abortions, ranging from age 19 to 54, from Virginia to Brooklyn. They are mothers or childfree, professors and students, artists, subway workers, military and doctors. Some speak of their abortions in only positive terms, feeling it was clearly the best thing they could have done in the situations they were in. Others express deep spiritual crises about their choice. Still others just feel plain stupid for having gotten pregnant in the first place. What they all share is an understanding of the issue of abortion from a perspective you almost never hear brought up in the "debate": that of those women who choose abortion. The rough cut includes 12 of these stories, woven together to form a complex, moving, and at times surprisingly funny portrait of the issues modern women face with regards to sex, love, motherhood, medical technologies, and their own bodies. Friday, April 29, 2005. 8PM $5 Artists'
Television Access Analog AvatarsSAT. 4/30: MOOG + HANS GRÜSEL'S
KRÄNKENCABINET Indubitably, in the field of electronic music, Bob
Moog must rank as America's greatest living maverick inventor. The beloved mad
scientist who brought forward the synthesizer that bears his name is seen here
in Hans Fjellestad's hour-plus portrait. Also interviewed are Jean-Jacques
Perrey, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, DJ Spooky, Mix Master Mike, and many more.
Opening the evening is an electrifyingly live performance of an original
composition by the dark-carnivalesque Hans Grusel and his puppentroupe,
krankin' up three generations of those marvelous Moog machines. 6 bux cheap! Other Cinema @ ATA 8:30pm Hal
Hartley's Friday, April 29 -
Thursday, May 5 "The Girl from Monday
embodies maverick filmmaker Hal Hartley's signature use of a calculated
aesthetic and frank dialogue. It may surprise die-hard fans with its sexual
explicitness and playful tone. Hartley himself calls it a "fake sci-fi
movie," but in keeping with his reputation, he has loaded The Girl from
Monday with provocative ideas. A creature drops into the ocean from a distant
constellation called Monday. She inhabits the body of a stunningly beautiful
girl and begins a search for her friend, whom she expects is in trouble. The
world, as it exists, is in turmoil. It is after the "great
revolution," and prominent executive Jack Bell is not eager to turn her
in. He is struggling with his own demons after helping orchestrate the
dictatorship of the new city-state and establishing the Human Value Reform Act.
Citizens are now a public offering on the stock exchange: each time they have
sex and remain unattached, their value increases. Paralleling this future world
to our own fills The Girl from Monday with irony. The film's "special
effects" consist in the fact that it is sexy, fun, and exhilarating. But
don't think you can escape without thinking."-- John Cooper, Sundance Film
Festival. The Girl From Monday includes Sabrina Lloyd from the new hit CBS show
"Numbers," Bill Sage, Leo Fitzpatrick, Tatiana Abracos, and Edie
Falco. Written & Directed by Hal Hartley. DV. USA. 2005. Runnting time: 84
mins. Showtimes: Nightly at 6:00, 8:00 & 10:00. Additional Wed, Sat. &
Sun matinees at 2:00 & 4:00. |
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