Cinema Curiosa is a film series dedicated to experimental, archival and uncompromising documentary titles that challenge and enrich.
The 2008-09 Season
Monday, June 1st, 2009, 8:30PM @ The State Theatre
Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars
This gripping film tells the true life saga of six Sierra Leonean musicians who came together to form a band while living in a refugee camp in Guinea. Many of their family and friends were murdered in the war, leaving each of them with physical and emotional scars that may never heal. Despite the unimaginable horrors of civil war, they were saved and brought hope and happiness to their fellow refugees through their music.
Through their unflinching spirit, their powerful stories of survival and their joyful music Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars celebrate the best that is in all of us. As violent conflicts multiply around the globe and the worldwide refugee crisis deepens, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars is a humanizing ode to all the innocent survivors of war whose brutal realities are often dismissed by surface mass media sound bytes.
[Directed by Zach Niles & Banker White - 78min - NR - USA 2005] (IMDB | Website)
"Based on the quality of their performance, the All Stars are well on their way to establishing an identity based as much on skill, imagination and charisma as on their undeniably touching story."
- Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times
"The mind struggles to grasp the idea that tragedy and even horrific brutality can somehow give birth to life-affirming, uplifting music. But there is no better proof of that bittersweet truth than the joyful sounds of Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars..."
- Bernard Perusse, Montreal Gazette
Monday, May 4th, 2009, 8:30PM @ The State Theatre
Woman in the Dunes
An amateur biologist searching for insects by the sea is trapped by local villagers into living with a mysterious woman who spends almost all her time preventing her home from being swallowed up by advancing sand dunes. The woman and the trapped man begin a strange and erotic relationship that stretches over years, as the man's hope for escape dims.
[Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara - 127min - NR - JP 1964] (IMDB | Wikipedia)
A Cinema Masterpiece!
- Time Magazine
Bewitching poetry and power... Passion surges from the screen.
- New York Times
Monday, April 6th, 2009, 6:15PM @ The State Theatre
Blindsight
Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Himalayas, BLINDSIGHT follows the gripping adventure of six Tibetan teenagers who set out to climb the 23,000-foot Lhakpa Ri on the north side of Mount Everest. The dangerous journey soon becomes a seemingly impossible challenge -- made all the more remarkable by the fact that the teenagers are blind.
[Directed by Lucy Walker - 107min - PG - UK 2007] (IMDB | Website)
Just because you lose your sight, doesn't mean you lose your vision.
- Blind climber Erik Weihenmayer
Astonishing... The power to make you re-examine your entire life.
- New York Times
One of the most inspiring films I've ever seen.
- Jeffrey Lyons, NBC/Reel Talk
Monday, March 2nd, 2009, 8:30PM @ The State Theatre
Garbage Warrior
Garbage Warrior is the epic story of maverick US architect Michael Reynolds and his fight to introduce radically sustainable housing. An extraordinary tale of triumph over bureaucracy, Garbage Warrior is above all an intimate portrait of an extraordinary individual and his dream of changing the world.
Imagine a home that heats itself, that provides its own water, hat grows its own food. Imagine that it needs no expensive technology, that it recycles its own waste, that it has its own power source. And now imagine that it can be built anywhere, by anyone, out of the things society throws away. Thirty years ago, architect Michael Reynolds imagined just such a home - then set out to build it.
[Directed by Oliver Hodge - 86min - NR - UK 2007] (IMDB | Website)
"If you create your own electricity, heating and water systems, you create your own politics. Maybe that's what they're afraid of"
- Michael Reynolds
"Garbage Warrior succeeds as more than just a movie"
- TIME OUT NEW YORK
Friday, February 6th, 2009, 8:00PM @ TADL
You See Me Laughin'
In honor of Black History Month, Cimena Curiosa presents You See Me Laughin' at the Traverse Area District Library, 610 Woodmere Ave, Traverse City. Please note that we are showing this film AT THE LIBRARY, -not- at the State Theatre. We will, however, return to the State next month.
You See Me Laughin' is a personal journey into the lives and music of the last of the hill country bluesmen who've kept their music alive on the back porches and in the tiny juke joints of the Mississippi backwoods.
You See Me Laughin' takes us on the road and into the homes of R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, T-Model Ford, Cedell Davis, Johnny Farmer and Asie Payton -- musicians who've labored for the blues tradition despite lives steeped in poverty and violence. The result is a raw, powerful music that is fused with the cultural landscape of its musicians.
[Directed by Mandy Stein - 77min - NR - USA 2002] (IMDB)
Groovy juke joint footage of the late Junior Kimbrough nearly sweats through the screen.
-Laura Singara, the Village Voice
December 1st 2008, 7:30PM
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
A love story set against the historical pageantry and epic legends of medieval Russia (Ukraine).
[Directed by Sergei Parajanov - 99min - NR - Ukraine 1964]
Sergei Paradjanov's extraordinary merging of myth, history, poetry, ethnography, dance, and ritual... remains one of the supreme works of the Soviet cinema, and even subsequent Paradjanov features have failed to dim its intoxicating splendors.
-- Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
In this overwhelmingly beautiful movie, a sad, short, brutalized life is elevated to ecstatic myth.
-- J. Hoberman, Village Voice
Ripples with the force of nature.
-- Dennis Schwartz
October 6th 2008, 7:30PM
Putney Swope
Don't rock the boat -- Sink it!
A late sixties counterculture classic in which the token black man on the executive board of an NYC advertising firm is accidentally put in charge. Renaming the business "Truth and Soul, Inc.", he replaces the tight regime of rich white ad men with his militant brothers. Soon afterwards, however, the power that comes with its position takes its toll on Putney... Totally offensive and completely hilarious!
[Directed by Robert Downey Sr. - 84min - R - US 1969]
September 1st 2008, 7:30PM
The Filth and the Fury
A hard-edged documentary about the irrepressible punk rock band The Sex Pistols.
"The Filth and the Fury" is a shocking, irreverent portrait of the most notorious punk band of all time. It documents the story of the Sex Pistols, charting their rise from the rubbish-filled streets of '70s London through their media crucifixion, their canonization by fans and ultimate implosion on tour.
Myths are debunked, scores are settled and the bands own words are heard for the first time. They let forth enduring fury mixed with a wicked brand of social commentary.
[Directed by Julien Temple - 108min - R - UK/US 2000]
"Electrifying."
-- The New York Times
"This is a warts 'n' all portrayal - there's no dodging both disgust and amusement."
-- Boston Globe
"A great, searching, incendiary chronicle of The Sex Pistols, the razor-hearted visionaries of punk anarchy."
-- Entertainment Weekly
July 7th 2008, 7:30PM
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse
The magic and madness of making Apocalypse Now
Documents the sensational events surrounding the making of 'Apocalypse Now' and Francis Ford Coppola's struggle with nature, governments, actors, and self-doubt. Hearts of Darkness is an unforgettable, unflinchingly honest account of a landmark film that was a miracle in the making.
[Directed by Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, Eleanor Coppola - 96min - R - US 1991]
"Filmmaking has never been documented with more penetration and truth than in Hearts of Darkness."
-- Roger Ebert
"We were in the jungle, there were too many of us, we had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little we went insane."
-- Francis Ford Coppola
"The most engrossing, most revealing film about the making of a movie ever produced."
-- Hal Hinson, The Washington Post
June 2nd 2008, 7:30PM (Smart Commute Week)
Jour de Fête
Jacques Tati's award-winning feature debut is a joyful, dazzling blend of satire and slapstick comedy. Francois (Jacques Tati), a village postman, zips through his rounds on his beloved bicycle -- the old-fashioned way. Jour de Fête is an hilarious exposé of the modern obsession with speed and efficiency, set amidst the rural surroundings of a tiny French village.
[Directed by Jacques Tati - 70min - NR - France 1949]
"Jour de Fête unfolds as if it were a series of Looney Tunes episodes envisioned by Robert Altman."
-- Eric Kohn, New York Press
May 5th 2008, 7:30PM
Heima: a film by Sigur Rós
Last year, in the magic hour of the Icelandic summer, Sigur Rós (Iceland's famous musical group: sweeping, cinematic, chamber rock) returned home to play a series of free, unannounced concerts for the people of there homeland. Heima, which means "at home" presents the viewer with an all-encompassing look at the beauty of Iceland as a segment of a much larger picture, Earth. This film transcends the genre of music documentary and takes it to an entirely new level with beauty that will amaze you!
[Directed by Dean DeBlois - 97min - NR - Iceland]
"The 'Citizen Kane' of music documentaries"
-- IMDB 10/10
"Utterly entrancing, wholly captivating"
-- Mail on Sunday
"So beautiful it's hypnotic; the most beautiful audiovisual experiences of the year."
-- Empire Magazine
April 7th 2008, 7:30PM
Dancing Outlaw
This Award Winning documentary short introduces us to Jesco White the Dancing Outlaw. We meet all three distinct personalities: Jesse a beautiful man, Jesco the Devil himself, and Elvis. He is also "the best mountain dancer in these here parts." Jesco keeps his father's memory alive through Appalachian tap dancing amid the feuds, poverty, ignorance, violence and natural wildness of Boone County, West Virginia.
[Directed by Jacob Young - 30min - NR - US]
"Documentary story telling at it's best and most creative."
-- Howard Rosenberg, L.A. Times
"Dancing Outlaw, It's John Waters meets Tennessee Williams."
-- London Independent
Vernon, Florida
Absurd and endearing, VERNON, FLORIDA is more than just a poignant portrait of an unusual southern town. As Roger Ebert points out, .Morris finds the strangest insights into human nature in the most obvious places, just by letting people talk into the camera. They speak of the most mundane things, and yet in all of them there is an impulse to discover universal truths and deep philosophical insights.. -- David Ansen in Newsweek wrote, "Errol Morris makes films unlike any other filmmaker. 'Vernon, Florida' is the work of a true original. On the surface, it is simply a portrait of several somewhat eccentric residents of a slow backwater town... There's a taste of Samuel Beckett in the film's tone of droll, forlorn hopefulness, and something of Buster Keaton in the spacious frames and exquisitely deadpan comic timing. 'Vernon, Florida' isn't sociology at all, it's philosophical slapstick, a film as odd and mysterious as its subjects."
[Directed by Errol Morris - 56min - NR - US]
"An Unforgettable Film!"
--Roger Ebert
March 3rd 2008
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
His drawing and sketches are exhibited and sold worldwide. Kurt Cobain called him the greatest living songwriter. Beck, Wilco, Sonic Youth and Pearl Jam have all recorded his songs. But beneath Daniel Johnston's success as an artist and musician is an incredible story of genius touched by madness: diagnosed as manic-depressive, Johnston has spent the last three decades of his life in-and-out of mental institutions. Told through a compelling combination of interviews, home movies and performance footage.
[Written/Directed by Jeff Feuerzeig - 110min - PG-13 - US]
"a harrowing, hilarious and ultimately moving new documentary film"
-Jim Faber, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
"The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience. 5 Stars"
-THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"The razor's edge of art and madness."
-John Anderson, NEWSDAY
"4 Stars!"
-Elizabeth Weitzman, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
February 4th 2008 7:30PM
In recognition of Black History Month, Cinema Curiosa, a presentation of the Traverse Area District Library and the State Theatre, is proud to present...
Killer of Sheep examines the black Los Angeles ghetto of Watts in the mid-1970s through the eyes of Stan, a sensitive dreamer who is growing detached and numb from the psychic toll of working at a slaughterhouse.
Frustrated by money problems, he finds respite in moments of simple beauty: the warmth of a coffee cup against his cheek, slow dancing with his wife in the living room, holding his daughter. The film offers no solutions; it merely presents life . sometimes hauntingly bleak, sometimes filled with transcendent joy and gentle humor.
Killer of Sheep was shot on location in Watts in a series of weekends on a budget of less than $10,000, most of which was grant money. Finished in 1977 and shown sporadically, its reputation grew and grew until it won a prize at the 1981 Berlin International Film Festival.
Since then, the Library of Congress has declared it a national treasure as one of the first fifty on the National Film Registry and the National Society of Film Critics selected it as one of the "100 Essential Films" of all time. However, due to the expense of the music rights, the film was never shown theatrically or made available on video. It has only been seen on poor quality 16mm prints at few and far between museum and festival showings.
Now, thirty years after its debut, the new 35mm print of Killer of Sheep, brilliantly restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive, is ready for its long-awaited international release.
[Written/Directed by Charles Burnett - 83min - Unrated - US]
"An American masterpiece, independent to the bone... This may be Mr. Burnett's most radical truth-telling."
-Manohla Dargis, NEW YORK TIMES
"Killer of Sheep is one of the most striking debuts in movie history and an acknowledged landmark in African-American film."
-Terrence Rafferty, GQ
"A masterpiece. One of the most insightful and authentic dramas about African-American life on film. One of the finest American films, period."
-Dave Kehr, INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
"Killer of Sheep represents the highest example of contemporary black American life put on screen because of Burnett's integrity to view it purely, without typical corrupted Hollywood devices."
-Armond White, FILM COMMENT
"Miraculous... hypnotic... the surging power of old blues."
-Michael Sragow, THE BALTIMORE SUN
"At once lyrical and earthbound, tender and brutal, timeless and immediate."
-Sam Adams, PHILADELPHIA CITY PAPER
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Presented by the Traverse Area District Library, Sight & Sound Department
Contact: Aaron Olson, Sight & Sound Dept. Head
610 Woodmere Ave. - Traverse City, MI 49686 - 231.932.8505
Made possible with the support of: The Traverse Area District Library, the Traverse City Film Festival and the State Theatre