Recent Stories with tag northwest film forum

Regina Spektor's Live in London concert movie gets screened in just 15 U.S. cities this weekend, and the Northwest Film Forum is the Seattle venue, with just one showing on Sunday at 8 p.m. It's just $5, so if you missed her Paramount show--All night, between songs, it had been "Regina, I love you!", "Regina, I love you more than that first girl!", and a baritone howl of "Regina, I want to have your babies!" Spektor, in contrast, traveled imperturbably from song to song, though the "babies" brought her up short. "All tour," she said, "it's been babies. I guess...thanks?"--you can make up for lost time. The live album hits on November 22. Consequence of Sound has the track lists.

Who remembers 1983 anymore? Sandwiched uncomfortably between 1982 and 1984, it never really got the respect it deserved, even at the time. But if anything can sum up that year, I think it has to be Styx's concept album Kilroy Was Here. This is where that "domo arigato, Mr. Roboto" thing came from. And if you've ever thought to yourself, "Don't let it end," then the album has a track just for you.

Tonight at 8 p.m.--ah, one brief night only!--Northwest Film Forum is screening the concert documentary Kilroy Was Here, along with the short video the band created to get you up to speed on this futuristic war against rock, and the poofy-haired rebels who will give The Majority For Musical Morality the fight of their censorious lives.

Sadly, that was not the case for the actual band--one fan says the album "put the final nails in the coffin of Styx." From today's vantage point, we are in a rare position to appreciate the artistry of the work, which is why the Western Bridge Gallery's Eric Fredericksen will introduce the movie. Then--and only then--Styx will rock the night once more.

Quand on tombe amoureux, il est toujours quelque chose d'étonnant, comme si l'on demandait un Coca, est ils ont remporté un éléphant enfantin.  

Non, ja'i dit "Coca!" vous criez, mais le petit animal se balance déjà sur un bal. Qu'est-ce qu'on peut faire mais le donner un cacahuète? Après avoir vu Le Projet français hier soir, je suis un fou d'amour à six. Six. Je n'ai pas des chaussures pour ça. Je suis un homme simple, franc, d'une taille bourgeoise.

C'était comme une coupe de champagne envahissait le nez de mon coeur. Irréstistible! Je me suis trouvé dan la rue, dansant sous la pluie, plein de bisous. Je n'écrit pas maintenant hors de l'esprit de l'escalier mais de l'ascenseur rompu qui sursaute entre des etages. En plus, l'ascenseur peut être rempli de singes--les bonobos, en effet--qui portent les lunettes de soleil et ont en train de prendre un bain moussant.

It's probably useless to try to explain The French Project (tonight and tomorrow at the Film Forum). Michael Upchurch calls their show "The New New Wave" "sublimely silly, and sometimes simply sublime." The Stranger's French intern says they are "conceptuel," and "I enjoyed it so much that I would return there every single night if I could."

I will say this. If you are the sort of person who listens to "Awesome," drops in at On the Boards, and sees films at the Northwest Film Forum...then you have your tickets already in hand, and can't wait. And let me make it clear: While this isn't in many ways a demanding show, requiring undue rigor--there are songs from Popeye and Pete's Dragon--it's mostly in French and German, which is why I annoyed you with all that French at the outset. It's true the accents and pronunciation are variable.... (more)

If only because attendance at the Northwest Film Forum's Vincent Moon retrospective has been appallingly far from sold out, here's another reminder that it continues tonight through Thursday and your life will be incomplete and wasted without making at least one viewing. The clip above, filmed with David Moore this winter in New York, is slightly "more cinematic" than many of Moon's early films while still capturing the joy of musicmaking and the wonder of spectating.

It's not incredibly related to this evening's Mogwai-related double feature of Burning and Adelia I Want To Love, but it is awfully pretty. As much as I love the Paris-based takeaway shows, his recent travelogue work is somehow even more lyrical and enchanting.... (more)

Tonight's program at NWFF includes a collection of these short films, including many that have not yet appeared online. The director will be present to help guide the musical travelogue and answer questions. I dropped in on his workshop yesterday afternoon and was thoroughly charmed; I'm hoping that tonight's presentation leaves plenty of time for conversation, too.

 

• TAKE AWAY SHOWS: EXPANDED CINEMA. 8:00 pm, $6-9. (NWFF)

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That's the subject line of an email I received yesterday, promoting a tweetup this Monday morning with the monumental German director/intellectual madman himself. Ostensibly, it's an event to drum up interest in First Look Studios' upcoming DVD release of My Son My Son What Have Ye Done, Herzog's collaboration with David Lynch, which played at the Northwest Film Forum this spring.  But really, this is an opportunity to throw your thoughts at Werner and get one of his trademark dry-witted replies.  Animal-related questions encouraged, for sure.

Herzog will respond in real-time to questions tweeted to the First Look Studios' Twitter account, @1stlookstudios, with his responses posted on the First Look Studios' YouTube channel. Though Herzog himself is not a member of Twitter, his persona is quite popular on the social network, as seen through the popular trending topic #WernerHerzogvsChuckNorris, where users weigh in on who is tougher, Werner Herzog or action star Chuck Norris.

Tweeting to Werner commences Monday morning, so send your questions @1stlookstudios by August 23rd at 9:45 a.m. PDT.  Full press release after the jump.... (more)

To fans of emerging bands, particularly of artists whose skyrocketing careers mean that each subsequent tour is likely to take place in a venue less intimate than the one before, the immediacy of these films is a revelation that inspires held breath and exploding hearts. With their distillation of musical experiences to their most pure and creative, they are consistently among the best things on the internet.

Starting Friday evening, the Northwest Film Forum dedicates an entire week to the work of Vincent Moon (real name, Mathieu Saura), bringing the director to town to talk about his movies, conduct a workshop on music filmmaking, and to film some Seattle bands in takeaway shows of their own. As someone known to breathlessly await the arrival of the next installation from La Blogotheque, I have similarly been eagerly anticipating this series since it was first announced.... (more)

The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle screens at the Northwest Film Forum from August 13 to 19, a homecoming for the David Russo film, which was produced with the aid of the Forum's Start-to-Finish Program, and includes the music of "Awesome" and animation by Russo and Dutch animator Rosto. Director Russo will be attending the screenings.

It joins the semi-august company of quirky indie succès de Sundance films, like Robinson Devor's Police Beat and Lynn Shelton's Humpday. (Paste Magazine said, "Little Dizzle is a triumph, and exactly the kind of film Sundance was created to discover and promote.") Play spot-the-local and give yourself points for Matt Smith, Sean Nelson, and John Osebold, among others.

This weekend the Safdie Brothers, Josh and Benny, were in town for their new film Daddy Longlegs, currently showing at the Northwest Film Forum.  During their time here, they also taught a class entitled "Emotionally Sloppy: A Crash-Course in Cinema of the Gut," which gives you a window into what the film is like--mumblecore meets Cassavetes in its loose, shaggy style and an emphasis on exploration of character over plot.  Taking place in a quasi-timeless New York City, the Safdies' second feature is a semi-autobiographical look at a dad, played by Ronald Bronstein, who is wildly incompetent but brings a lot of chaotic fun to his two grade school-aged sons' lives during the two weeks of the year when he has custody. 

The SunBreak has three pairs of tickets to Daddy Longlegs to give away during the rest of its Northwest Film Forum run.  We'll be drawing three winners on Tuesday at noon. Enter below for your chance to win.... (more)

Laura Poitras' film The Oath won a documentary award at Sundance for its portrayal of two men's involvement in the War on Terror: Abu Jandal, a Yemeni taxi driver who was Osama Bin Laden's bodyguard, and his brother-in-law, Salim Hamdan, Bin Laden's driver who you might know from a little court case called Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. 

Poitras explores the divergent roads these men's lives took through interviews with the cagey Jandal, whose political views changed post-9/11, and Hamdan's letters written from Guantanamo Bay. I talked to Laura during SIFF—the first part of the interview is here. The Oath is following up its SIFF showings with a run at the Northwest Film Forum, through Thursday. 

An interesting topic that comes up in your film is the conflict between the old members of Al Qaeda versus the newer ones. They have different goals, different ideals, and different ideas of who is staying true to Islam and who isn't. We tend to view Al Qaeda as monolithic and paint the entire organization with a broad brush.

We do, the general public does, but the people working intelligence don't. And I think that it is important to recognize the difference between the younger and older generations. It's interesting that [Abu Jandal] is being threatened by the younger generation, by—in a sense—his own people. And I think that teaches us a lot about the inner workings.

Your film also takes a look at The Dialogue Committee [a kind of terrorist rehab], which is a movement you never hear about, with the idea that that jihadis can be reformed. It's also interesting to see Abu Jandal as terrorist turned family man, where he's just a dad and a taxi driver, but he also has this history, and he's still talking to men about jihad.

I found it pretty compelling…. It's the fact that people get older. I think that there is something about family and responsibilities that has its inherent de-radicalizing effect. So it's a combination of that, being in prison, and then having The Dialogue. Everything kinda contributed to him turning away from the tactics [of terrorism]. ... (more)

Laura Poitras' film The Oath won a documentary award at Sundance for its portrayal of two men's involvement in the War on Terror: Abu Jandal, a Yemeni taxi driver who was Osama Bin Laden's bodyguard, and his brother-in-law, Salim Hamdan, Bin Laden's driver who you might know from a little court case called Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. 

Poitras explores the divergent roads these men's lives took through interviews with the cagey Jandal, whose political views changed post-9/11, and Hamdan's letters written from Guantanamo Bay. The film's final SIFF screening is today at SIFF Cinema at 4:30 p.m., but don't worry, The Oath will be back in town for a week at the Northwest Film Forum in June. I spoke with Laura yesterday, and here's part one of that interview. The rest will run before the NWFF screenings.

How did you meet Abu Jandal in the first place?  I know you were in Yemen, but did you just get in his taxi? 

It's not that good of a story, but it was by accident. I was asked if I wanted to meet Hamdan's family, and I said sure, expecting it would be his wife and kids, and it was also Abu Jandal. I had my camera on me and I turned it on. He was talking to a lawyer and I filmed it. It doesn't happen every day that you meet someone who has so much charisma. It was jawdropping. I mean, how is it possible that I'm sitting in a room with this guy and he drives a taxi cab? Why is this guy free and all those other guys aren't?

Jandal is such an interesting character. At times it's difficult to read him--how much of what he's saying is true, how much is boasting, how much is just propaganda. How did you negotiate that territory?

That was the challenge of working with somebody who is so trained, so charismatic, so smart, and so savvy. So that became really what the story's about: this character where you think you get him and then you're given more information and you understand him differently. Jonathan Oppenheim, the editor, and I just calibrated what we perceived to be the viewer's reaction to him. We knew that there would be whole waves of subtext of "Holy shit! Who is this guy, what is he doing free, and what is she doing with him?" And then there's questions of "Is he recruiting? Is this propaganda? What's his agenda?"... (more)

locust's "crushed" at Velocity Dance Center, part of a huge weekend of performance in Seattle. Photo by Gabriel Bienczycki.

Last week in The Stranger, choreographer KT Niehoff took Brendan Kiley to task for...well...a number of things. I have my own thoughts on the issue overall to share shortly, in a different story, but what I can totally agree with him about is his complaint that, "I don't understand why dance companies don't coordinate their schedules better—for months, next to nothing will happen, then BAM!" As someone who covers a lot of dance, I wouldn't go as far as "next to nothing," but scheduling coverage—particularly of one- or two-week shows—is a constant hassle, and not just with dance. If Brendan thought late April was looking busy, I have no idea what he's going to do this weekend.

First up, it's the closing weekend of the aforementioned Niehoff's company Lingo, whose A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light is finishing an unusually and delightfully long run at ACT Theatre (Thurs-Sat., tickets $18). Again, I'll have more to say about this tomorrow, but the response of audiences has generally been far more passionate than any of the reviews have let on. Not everyone has loved it, I'm sure, but plenty of people have expressed astonishment at the show. The culmination of a three-month, four-part experiment exploring the relationship between dancers and audiences, Glimmer places its audience in a party environment, complete with a live band, to radically shift the perspective on the choreographic exploration of interpersonal relationships explored throughout. That's a bad description, I'm sure, but I haven't seen it (being out-of-state at the moment), and I really regret that. If you're in Seattle, be sure to avoid my fate and buy your tickets now.... (more)

Either you're interested in a movie directed by Werner Herzog and produced by David Lynch, or you're not. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done is the first collaboration between the two weirdo auteurs, and it shows.  For the Lynch fans, yes, there is a midget; for the Herzog fans, yes, there are odd interactions with animals (in this case, flamingos and ostriches) and a long tracking shot of a can of oatmeal rolling into the street. 

The film is loosely based on Mark Yavorksy's murder of his mother with a three-foot-long antique saber, which seems to have been inspired by the Greek tragedy of Orestes.  But Herzog and Lynch are less concerned with the murder itself--here the protagonist is called Brad McCullum, played by the nearly-ubiquitous, talented dog-faced actor Michael Shannon--than with the why of the killing.  As such, most of the film is told in flashback, as San Diego detectives (played by Willem Dafoe and Michael Pena) interview McCullum's friends and loved ones (Chloe Sevigny and Udo Kier) to get some insight into what would make a man commit such a psychotic act.  As it's a Herzog-Lynch film, there's no clear answers (though hanging out with hippies in Peru plays a part), but the journey is a wack-a-doodle, lovely, lonely one.

 

• My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done plays at the Northwest Film Forum today through next Thursday at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.  Tix are $9 GA/$6 members, $4.50 GA/$3 members on Monday.

Times are tough for everybody, especially in the arts.  Between the Northwest Film Forum's fundraising last summer to close a $70K budgetary gap and 4Culture's current funding strife--not to mention KEXP's pledge drive that ended earlier this month and KING FM's announcement that they are also shifting to a listener-supported model--it seems like every local business or organization at all affiliated with the arts has a cup out.  Well, add one more to that list: Columbia City Cinema.  Move over, Haiti:

For the last few months we have been in a state of undeclared Chapter 11 holding creditors and lenders at bay, trying to figure out solutions. We've danced our way of trouble and imminent closure several times but we're running out of options. Use any metaphor you want: We've hit the iceberg and we're going down. We've avoided checkmate a dozen times but we're running out of moves. We're almost out of gas. There are no more rabbits to pull out of the hat. You get the idea. We are in endgame unless something happens to turn the game around....

Send money. The good news is we don't need a lot. We just need a little from a lot of people. We believe in the power of many. We're trying to raise $20,000. That much will catch us up, pay the rent, keep the doors open and carry us through to the big summer movies that begin in May, when we can breathe again. The bad news is we need it now, today, from all of you or survival is iffy. We are the perfect poster child example of a neighborhood cinema in need.

Of course, big-hearted gift-givers will derive personal benefit from their donations.  Yes, you get to keep the theater in the neighborhood, for the good of the entire community, but there's also the promise of bogus stock options and a deed for virtual land--suitable for framing! The full text of owner Paul Doyle's plea after the jump.

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Amy O'Neal and Ellie Sandstrom in "too," this Thurs.-Sat. at NW Film Forum. Photo courtesy of amyo/tinyrage.

"Also, I'm really fascinated with ninja lore. Like a lot of people," said Amy O'Neal, and we both started to chuckle. Having just watched Ellie Sandstrom and her rehearse at the Northwest Film Forum, where O'Neal's dance piece too will be the second installment in their new "Live at Film Forum" series (this Thurs.-Sat.; tickets $12-$15), we had retreated to Caffe Vita to talk over coffee, and were getting sidetracked discussing In the Fray, the solo dance piece O'Neal will be debuting at this year's Northwest New Works Festival.

While she offered the cerebral description of the show as being "about how we create fictitious fights with our self," she had politely gone on to explain how the movement was coming out of her longstanding interest in fighting (though she admits to never actually having gotten into a fight), boxing (which she was "obsessed with" for two years), and, of course, ninjas.

"A lot of times, when I'm dancing or teaching, I'm imagining dancing with swords, or having some sort of imaginary foe that you're dancing with," she said. "A lot of times, I'll be like, 'Okay, this leg comes over here'"—she mimed something swinging toward her head—"'imagine someone's kicking over your head and you have to duck that. Imagine the ninja stars coming at you, you have to get down to the floor or that thing is going to stick you in the head.' I'll use things like that in class so that people will do something, they'll put themselves in a scenario so that something's at stake."... (more)

For the past week, the Northwest Film Forum has been running 45365, a "poetic" non-narrative feature about small-town Ohio that's more in the vein of Koyaanisqatsi than your standard documentary.  Now things stay small-town, but get a little more conventional at the NWFF with October Country.  The debut collaboration of filmmakers Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher, the film is a look at three generations of a dysfunctional family in Ilion, New York. 

These are small-town, working-class people, and it shows, with Mountain Dew and Newports acting as signifiers.  Grandfather Don never got over Vietnam and has shut out everyone else, including his wife Dottie; daughter Donna got knocked up young and dated a string of abusive men; oldest daughter Daneal followed in her mother's tracks, while her youngest, Desi, just thinks all the women in her family are "retarded," though it's not clear she'll escape the cycle either.  Meanwhile, Don's estranged sister Denise is a witch (literally) and spends most of her time talking to ghosts in the cemetery or decorating her house with unicorns and wizards (ditto).  What is never mentioned is that director Donal Mosher is Don and Dottie's son too.... (more)

The promoters for the third Isle of Wight pop festival in 1970 thought they'd build a bit on their successful draw of 150,000 the previous year. They got 600,000 or more. Despite the three-pound entrance fee for a weekend concert with Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Miles Davis, Procol Harum, Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell, hordes camped out on a bluff overlooking the festival, watched for free, and occasionally set things on fire.

35-year-old Leonard Cohen was one of the last acts, roused in the middle of the night, and wearing what look like pajamas under his trench coat. Murray Lerner's live footage is more in the way of a concert film than a documentary, though he cuts away briefly to get context from Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and Kris Kristofferson. The best thing would be to see it in a crowded theater, savoring all the hits Cohen had come up with before 1970, enveloped in a darkness that is both the beginning and end of something. Leonard Cohen Live at the Isle of Wight, 1970: Friday, March 12, 9 p.m., Saturday March 13, 9 p.m.

Also opening Friday at the Forum is Bill and Ross Turner's mesmerizing 45365, named after the Zip code of a small Ohio town. Too improvisationally loose for "documentary" to sum up, the film has been called a "symphony," "tapestry," and "mosaic." The camera dogs its way around town, sniffing out what's interesting. Although it's frequently distracted from following this or that person (the judge running an election campaign, a police officer out on call, doings in the barber shop, an alcoholic with one foot on and off the wagon), the camera in its detours through town keeps stumbling upon community epiphanies that anyone who's fled to the big city will remember keenly. It's noteworthy that in a town where everyone knows everyone else's business, one of the most cutting things you can do is not refer to someone by their name. 45365: Friday, March 12-Thursday, March 18 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

The Red Riding Trilogy is the British TV adaptation of David Peace's book series about power and corruption in Northern England in the context of several true-crime sprees (including that of the Yorkshire Ripper). Peace's four books have been turned into three episodes: 1974, 1980, and 1983. Why 1977 was skipped we'll never know.

Each episode runs about an hour and a half, featuring a different director and medium. 1974 was shot on 16mm by Julian Jarrold; 1980 was shot on 35mm and has more of a documentary feel, thanks to Man on Wire director James Marsh; 1983 was shot using a Red digital camera by Anand Tucker. After running on Channel 4 a year ago, they're getting the big screen treatment on this side of the pond.

There's recurring characters across the series, and like The Wire--though it's by no means as good as The Wire, duh--the focus is on the frustrations of conducting a police investigation, the frustrations of being a journalist, and the frustrations of living in an economically depressed area. And like The Wire, the Red Riding Trilogy badly needs some subtitles. I can barely understand your "English," Leeds!... (more)

Much like Joe Camel and smoking, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's 1948 film The Red Shoes has corrupted generations of young people by giving them the idea to become dancers. The romance! The beauty! The ruined bodies, lack of steady pay, and short career that leaves you with few options other than to become a yoga instructor! Well, I may be being hyperbolic (actually I'm not), but whatever the case, the film's a gorgeous classic, wrapping the story of a young ballerina making it big around Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale about an enchanted pair of ballet slippers. There are three more chances to see it this week at the Northwest Film Forum--if you can get tickets at the door. They're sold out online.

Back in November, I attended a wonderful short film festival called Couch Fest. Tomorrow, they will be holding a 90-minute screening of their best films at Northwest Film Forum.

The premise of Couch Fest is pretty simple: a few brave souls open up their homes to a slew of random strangers and show a series of short films. They vote for their favorites and sit next to each other in awkward silence or sharing timid conversations. Every hour, the strangers leave and a new batch strolls in.

For socially chilly Seattle, the festival is quite a departure from the stereotypical norm. Even this native Washingtonian found himself chatting with strangers about the short animation that just blew our minds or the awesome one-minute film of a lion roaring. For some reason, sharing a couch in a stranger's house (or garage) with a bunch of other strangers makes us a little less estranged.

To get a taste of how awesome this festival is (minus the couches), stop by the Northwest Film Forum at 1515 12th Ave, this Sunday at 3 p.m. Admission is free.

The documentary New Brow, showing for one more night at the NWFF (7 p.m., 9 p.m.), is an enjoyable if somewhat amateurish fan letter to the Juxtapoz scene. Shot on cheap-looking digital video with tinny sound quality (or maybe it was NWFF's system?), this series of effusive artist testimonials about why they like their own work features copious footage of their distinctive and weird paintings, short and funny cameos by the movement's primary stars--particularly Robert Williams, hilarious and ornery as always--and brief appearances by local luminaries Kirsten Anderson of Roq La Rue, Larry Reid of Fantagraphics, and Seattle's best porcelain weapons manufacturer Charlie Krafft.... (more)

"Oh -- Seattle" by Paul Swortz from The SunBreak Flickr pool.

Okay, Seattle, this is it: You have roughly 60 hours in which to complete your shopping before Christmas is all over you. We know there's someone you haven't figured out what to get yet, and there's surely someone who's slipped off your list that you're going to remember Wednesday at 8 p.m. and freak out. So The SunBreak--with the help of some knowledgeable friends--is here to help: this is our desperate, last-minute gift guide of the more or less local variety. Support local businesses and take all that pesky thinking out of holiday shopping!

A Cinematic Gift That Keeps on Giving Plenty of films are made in the Great Northwest these days, and plenty of them suck. The easiest way to become familiar with what's worthwhile and what's best forgotten in terms of local (and non-local) cinema is by becoming a member of the Northwest Film Forum. NWFF is a member driven collective that does more than pretty much anyone else to support film in the Northwest, as well as bringing the best independent films to town. Membership starts at $40 a person (or $70 for a couple), and gets you great discounts to shows, as well as lets you help support the cinematic arts in the region. (Jeremy M. Barker)

Just Plain Nuts Holmquist Hazelnuts are absolutely delicious hazelnuts grown in Lynden, Washington. Available at the Pike Place Market and several Farmers' Markets. (Rachael Coyle)

Mariners Merch After a few years in the wilderness of mediocrity (or worse), the Mariners are looking like contenders again. Hit Safeway or a  Mariners Team Store for Mariner gift cards your M's fan friend can buy tickets and gear with; or go balls out and put a deposit down on a 16-game plan. (Seth Kolloen)

Chocolates Falling in the delicious territory between completely useless and entirely practical (you do need calories, even if they're near-empty), chocolate makes a good gift for just about everyone on your list. An obvious and elegant choice is the Obama-endorsed Fran's, where the gray and smoked salt caramels is a classic minimalist delight. At this point, their website looks overloaded; so last minute purchases will need to be made in person. For the more ecologically conscious sweet tooth, look no further than Theo the country's only organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate factory. They have single origin bars, inspired artistic truffles, chipotle sipping chocolate, and even a vegan option or two. Order online or sample the goods in their Fremont factory. (Josh C. Bis)

Rock Musics I'd happily recommend any of my favorite albums of 2009: Curse Your Branches by David Bazan (questions about the reason for the season); Listen to the Thunder by The Maldives (best paired with The Moondoggies Don't Be A Stranger and a bottle of whiskey); and a personal favorite, one of the most underrated local albums of 2009: Space Between The Maps by The Ironclads (for fans of complex character-driven pop songs). (Abbey Simmons, SoundontheSound.com)... (more)

With this week being so wet and dark, it seems like a good time to take a trip to South America, via our good friends at the Northwest Film Forum.  They're currently showing two movies made in the other America to the south. While the films have different locales, formats, and time periods, they do have one thing in common: they like to take it sloooooooooooowww.

If you miss the warm weather, soak up the sun with the restored print of Margot Benacerraf’s 1959 black-and-white "tone poem" documentary Araya.  It's a look at twenty-four hours in a small Venezuelan village dependent on the sea for its fish and salt.  There's a lot of back-breaking work (you will come to understand the true meaning of "back to the salt mines"), which means a lot of tan shirtless hunks of men.  As always, the village's men may do the majority of the manual labor, but the ladies still bear the brunt of the work.  While a man may have to put the nets in the ocean at night, pull them out in the morning, and untangle the fish, a woman has to then take those fish to another village, sell them, come home, nurse her baby, take care of the household chores, and feed her tired and hungry husband.  It just ain't fair. 

Meanwhile, there's no sweating in Lisandro Alonso's Liverpool, because he's made a narrative feature with non-professionals in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, right near the tip of Argentina.  Alonso's process is almost more interesting than his films (see the making-of video below): he goes to a place he finds intriguing with his tiny crew, he meets the locals, and he convinces them to be in a movie. There's very little by way of script, which is to say there's very little by way of story.  Liverpool is more of a feeling--loneliness, isolation, um...being cold.  Both films invite the viewer to see these disparate, exotic landscapes for themselves, not to do the hard work, but to discover if it's as brutal there in real life as it is in the movies.  I want to go to (both of) there.

• Araya and Liverpool both show at the Northwest Film Forum tonight at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.  Tickets are $9 non-NWFF members, $6 members.