Art Films are not unexpected in Santa FeBy Madelyn Miller, the travelladySanta Fe is home to the artistic, the new age, the edgy. So you would only expect to find a funky selection of films like these there. The Yogis of Tibet Film Center Playdates: Since the invasion of Tibet over 50 years ago, China has systematically destroyed the Tibetan culture. One of the most profound losses is the tradition of the great master yogis. The entire system that supported these fascinating mind masters has been inexorably dismantled and eliminated. To record these mystical practitioners for posterity, the filmmakers were given permission to record heretofore secret demonstrations and to conduct interviews on subject matter rarely discussed. This profound historical, spiritual and educational film will someday be the last remnant of these amazing practitioners. The Yogis of Tibet is the initial offering in a new once-a-month series at the Film Center, examining Buddhist teachings, philosophies and folkways in Tibet and elsewhere. Watch for announcements of further offerings, including a special program on July 6, coinciding with the 70 th birthday of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Producers/Directors: Phil and Jo Borack Balto III: Wings of Change This heartwarming family film features the vocal talents of Sean Astin, Keith Carradine, Jean Smart and Kathy Najimy. Action-packed and filled with heroism and humor, Balto III: Wings of Change has been hailed as “the perfect family film” by Parenting Magazine critic Bruce Kluger. Playing on a double-bill with Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Chuck Jones’ 1975 cartoon version of Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale. Narrated by Orson Welles, it’s the story of a young mongoose that protects a British family from two hideously evil cobra snakes lurking in the gardens of their estate in the jungles of India. The animated short runs 30 minutes, giving the program a total running time of 109 minutes. This KIDS FIRST! Film Club selection is presented free of charge to children 12 and under accompanied by a paying adult. Made possible through the generosity of Los Alamos National Bank. Oscar Alemán: A Swinging Life Film Center Playdates: JazzTimes Magazine considered him one of the ten most underrated guitarists in the history of jazz. He astounded Louis Armstrong, and Duke Ellington tried to lure him away from Josephine Baker, who cherished him as the best member of her orchestra. He fled from Hitler and rejected Juan Peron's attempts to get him to play at his public functions. During the golden age of the tango, he attracted multitudes with his outstanding jazz. Of mixed indigenous and Spanish blood, born in the land of tango, Oscar Alemán (1909-1980) was one of the greatest guitarists in history, but that cannot define him. To classify him as a “jazz guitarist” is to restrict him even more. He was a showman who excelled at playing the guitar and interpreting jazz, because that was the kind of music he loved and what best suited his style. That is what led him to be a protagonist of the Parisian music scene in the 1930s and one of the outstanding figures of Argentine performance for decades. This film documents Aleman's exciting life and the tragic family history he had to overcome while it recaps the story of popular music in the 20th century. Salute to Grant Taylor Meet Grant Taylor, one of Santa Fe’s most prolific and accomplished cameramen and editors, who has contributed enormously to the success of several locally-produced documentaries. He is currently editing a new documentary feature, Cinderellas of Santa Fe, directed by Vanessa Vassar. Taylor will share his insights and trade secrets in a talk copiously illustrated by clips from his own work as well as other examples of outstanding film & video work. Vanessa Vassar will join him to give a director’s perspective on working with him. This special presentation is offered free of charge to Film Festival/Film Center members. General admission prices apply for other patrons. Star Dreams Enchanting, awe-inspiring and enigmatic, Star Dreams is a 77-minute documentary presenting the story of one of the most mysterious phenomenon of our time - Crop Circles. Since the early 1980s, these images have appeared overnight in grain crops, fields of flowers, sand, and most recently in ice circles. Director/Producer Robert Nichol, a veteran Canadian filmmaker, outlines the basic understandings of top crop circle researchers, investigates the overall assumption of hoaxing, balls of light and "sacred site connection," and presents UFO theories from “Croppies” [crop circle followers] as well as farmers who have seen designs mysteriously appear overnight on their properties. Star Dreams explores the diversity of the phenomenon, and speculates on how the circles are using sacred geometry and advanced mathematics to deliver a message to humanity. Toronto Star entertainment reporter Susan Walker wrote, “What is undeniable is the beauty and precision of the formations seen in the film. Close up, they appear to be created in a uniform fashion, with bent-over stalks swirled into patterns that can include dozens of elements.” Nichol, who lives in Gibson’s Landing in British Columbia, will attend the two back-to-back screenings on June 27. He has more than 25 film credits as a director, producer and cinematographer, among them, The Mask and The Drum, A WarStory, November and Fisherman’s Fall. Separate admission prices will apply for this special presentation. SANTA FE WON'T LET HER GO! “(This) must-see Nina Simone concert video … is called Love Sorceress, but, frankly, the prevailing emotion is something spookier. You can almost smell the brimstone wafting from her piano in this bewitching show, which is from Paris in 1976. By then, Simone, (who died in 2003), had left America for Liberia and, later, France, eager to escape from the problem of race in America, where she'd been an active, vociferous force in the civil rights movement. By the 1970s, she felt there was no reason to stay and struggle, telling the press in 1998 that she had "paid a heavy price for fighting the establishment." This isn't to say that the fight left her. Her music had always been wounded, proud and angry, even when, in a song like "The Desperate Ones," her voice barely rose above a whisper. This Paris show has a corresponding nonmusical drama. What makes this show such a spectacular curiosity is the way its star gives you a little bit of everything: It's a recital exploded into a piece of psychodramatic theater. The concert is about as unclassifiable as the woman and her music… Like Tina Turner in "Proud Mary," Simone never did anything nice and easy. Love Sorceress, musically scant as it is, seems definitive in the department of Simone's ever-changing moods. The sorcery is obvious: You'll leave spellbound, although more than once you might wonder what love's got to do with it. -- Wesley Morris, Boston Globe Beat Angel This poetically inspired film chronicles the “afterlife” of writer Jack Kerouac, who comes back to Earth 30 years after his death to pass on the flame of creativity that still burns bright within him. Underscored by a bebop jazz rhythm and accented by the muddy hues of dimestore pulp novel book covers, the film follows a former writer and ex-Kerouac devotee who takes the opportunity of the 30 th anniversary of Jack’s death to debunk the legend to anyone who’ll listen. But the spirit of the Beat message is reborn when the man himself arrives on the scene and becomes the living embodiment of bop spontaneous prose. Intertwining both narrative and documentary elements, the film contains the best description of Kerouac’s writing philosophy I’ve ever heard and some interesting performances by random poets. Director/Producer/Cinematographer: Randy Allred Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids Animated adventures based on the best-selling children’s book series by David Kirk. We open with a couple of shorts from Nickelodeon’s forthcoming ACloudy Day in Sunny Patch collection, due for release on DVD later this summer. For our feature presentation, we offer the original 49-minute Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Kids animation, released by MGM Kids in 2003. Spring has arrived with five bundles of joy for Miss Spider (Brooke Shields) and Holley (Rick Moranis). Now, with Snowdrop, Pansy, Spinner, Wiggle and Squirt, there’s never a dull moment around the web. But when Squirt tries to reunite a lost chicken egg with its mother, Miss Spider and Holley must hatch a daring plan to rescue him and his new friends…before they all become chicken feed. This KIDS FIRST! Film Club selection is presented free of charge to children 12 and under accompanied by a paying adult. Made possible through the generosity of Los Alamos National Bank. Piano Blues In assembling his epic documentary series on the Blues, Martin Scorsese has relied on directors who know their subject and I can’t think of any major filmmaker better qualified to give us a history of Piano Blues than Clint Eastwood. Ever since his first film as director - Play Misty For Me - Eastwood has used music scores which have been heavily reliant on jazz/blues and often piano based. Sometimes this is made a vital part of the film – the songs by Johnny Hartman in The Bridges of Madison County for example – and sometimes, as in the recent Lennie Niehaus score for BloodWork, it’s simply a central part of the background and atmosphere. But Eastwood’s love of the music goes back to his childhood and he has been playing the piano since he was a young boy, making money in a nightclub while he was at college. Indeed, such is his reputation among jazz/blues musicians that he was granted an “After Hours” concert at Carnegie Hall during the early nineties. In this 90-minute journey through the history of 20th Century piano blues, Eastwood states that “I’ve always felt that Jazz/Blues were a true American art form, perhaps the only original American art form that we have,” which is a nice sentiment and one which has some validity – although he has also said exactly the same thing about the Western in the past and I agreed with him then too. But his enthusiasm for the genre is infectious as he interviews a group of blues piano players, starting with the great Ray Charles, and asks about how they got started with their careers and who their biggest influences were…. More social background would certainly have been welcome. But it’s not as if there isn’t enough here to keep you watching. How could it be less than entertaining with the vast range of clips and the interviews – which also feature the likes of Dr John, Marcia Ball, Pinetop Perkins – who must be even older than Clint - and Jay McShann. It’s the love of music which explodes out of everyone involved in this documentary that makes it so much fun to watch and you’ll be tapping your feet long after(wards)…. Adam & Steve We launch our new weekly Fabulous Thursdays series with this crowd-pleasing comedy from the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival, where it premiered before a packed audience of 1,500. Fabulous Thursdays, curated by Aaron Leventman and G. Sterling Zinsmeyer, will offer sneak previews of the latest gay and lesbian-themed titles, combined with select classic titles, many of them twinbills. Thirtysomething? Recovering addict? Suck at relationships? Gay, former-goth? No, this is not a self-help ad-it is Adam Bernstein. In 1987, Adam and his fat fag-hag Rhonda walked into Danceateria, but instead of finding black-clad mopers and Bauhaus, they encountered glitter-covered, barely clad dancers and the Human League. That's when shy Adam met outgoing Steve. A few bumps of coke later, the couple moved their flirting from the dance floor to the bedroom, but what starts out as a hot night falls prey to the somewhat unattractive side effect coke has on Steve. (Let's just say it wasn't the kind of bodily fluids Adam was expecting to clean up). Thus begins the hilarious, raunchy, fun-filled saga that is Adam & Steve. It picks up almost 20 years later, when our titular duo have another chance encounter, without either of them realizing they have met before. Character actor Craig Chester, in his feature writing and directing debut, leaps to leading man as Adam. He has spiked his romantic comedy with slapstick shticks reminiscent of Buster Keaton and Lucille Ball, and then tossed in one-liners that you will be reciting long after the end credits roll. Chester and Malcolm Gets (Steve) have a natural onscreen chemistry that rivals their straight Hollywood counterparts. Scene-stealers Parker Posey and ex-Saturday Night Live dervish Chris Kattan as Adam and Steve's best friends, respectively, add their remarkable comic timing to this good-time farce. Director/Screenwriter: Craig Chester Please note: The Film Center at Cinemacafe is the new home of the Santa Fe Film Festival, a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization. Offering year-round film screenings and educational programs tailored for youths and film professionals, the Film Center is located in the St. Michael’s Village West Shopping Mall at 1616 St. Michael’s Drive. Visit the Santa Fe Film Festival Web site at www.santafefilmfestival.com or call (505) 988-7414 to find out about other upcoming movies, workshops and special programs in the weeks and months ahead. Except where otherwise noted, admission prices are $8 for the general public, $7 for seniors and full-time students, and $6 for festival/Film Center members. Annual membership dues start as low as $35. Drop by the Film Center to join and lend your support. What to do Between MoviesWHERE TO STAY The Inn of the Five Graces Inn on the Alameda, Bishop’s Lodge Resort and Spa La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa Inn of the Anasazi Inn and Spa at Loretto WHERE TO EAT BEST VIEW OF THE CHEFS WITHOUT THEIR CLOTHES ON 1. Order Online: www.taoscooking.com BAR WITH THE BEST VIEW BEST SUNDAY BRUNCH BEST GUACAMOLE BLACK BOOK FOR CHOCOLATE LOVERS (maybe I should say dark semi-sweet brown book) Gourmet Fudge and Wedding Favors Bumble Bee’s Baja Grill 505-820-2862 Try anything baked by Katalyna Weil. She does a mean cowboy crunch and Mexican espresso brownies. I love the cowgirl kisses Kakawa Chocolate House, Mark Sciscenti, Chocolate connoisseur, Pasty chef and Certified Herbalist. 505-438-3402. sunsilver@earthlink.net FAVORITE FLAVORS OF SANTA FE RANDOM THOUGHT WHAT TO DO GET A MASSAGE The Bishop’s Lodge Resort and Spa Avanyu Spa 10,000 Waves, 505-982-9304. Indulge in an outdoor massage while nimble fingers soothe out any stress. Call ahead because this is a very popular place. If you are adventurous, have an underwater Watsu massage. SHOP FOR ART AND COWBOY BOOTS Minkay Andean Art The Turquoise Trail leads to Hotel Santa Fe... GREAT TIMES TO VISIT Souper Bowl Project Wine and Chile festival Annual Santa Fe Market, a free public celebration of the colorful arts, crafts, jewelry and cultures of Native Americans and the American Southwest. Usually the first weekend in April GREAT GUIDEBOOKS LET’S GO ADVENTURE GUIDE SOUTHWEST USA 2003 Ski America and Canada has the best and most detailed overview of Santa Fe from a winter tourist/skier/snowboarder's perspective. MORE ABOUT NEW MEXICO MOON HANDBOOKS NEW MEXICO FOR MORE INFORMATION BEST FREEBIE BEST WAY TO GET THERE Santa Fe Hotels on Yahoo Travel |
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