2012 Houston Cinema Arts Festival Announces 10 New Films
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2012 HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES 10 NEW FILMS
Diverse Art Forms and Featured Guests Revealed
HOUSTON – The 2012 Houston Cinema Arts Festival (HCAF) today unveils10 additional Houston premieres. All highly acclaimed productions depicting and representing the literary, performing and visual arts, these 10 films offer a tantalizing taste of the 4th annual festival program, scheduled from Nov. 7-11, 2012. The final slate, including the Levantine Cinema Arts Award recipient and the festival’s opening night attraction, will be announced publically on Oct. 23rd and released online on Oct. 24th.
“These selections represent the best new films about the arts that I have gathered for our arts-loving audiences after a year of scouting film festivals around the world,” explained Richard Herskowitz, Artistic Director for HCAF.
Representing literature are two documentaries that examine the lives of two very different writers – Iceberg Slim, pimp turned author, and James Joyce, one of the most influential writers of the 20th century and author of Ulysses.
Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp
Executive produced by Ice-T, this documentary by Jorge Hinojosa examines the legendary life of Iceberg Slim, notorious pimp and author of seven groundbreaking books. His autobiography has deeply influenced writers, rappers, and filmmakers.
Director Jorge Hinojosa will present his documentary and take part in a Question and Answer session following the screening.
In Bed With Ulysses details the provocative story of how James Joyce’s acclaimed and challenging novel came into existence. The film examines many people and places involved in the novel’s creation, but also visits with notorious characters from the narrative itself, including Molly Bloom, played by Kathleen Chalfant.
Representing the visual arts are films showcasing photography, painting and commercial art:
Beauty Is Embarrassing tells the irreverent and inspiring story of visual artist and raconteur, Wayne White. White found success as one of the creators of Pee-wee’s Playhouse and later achieved success as a painter, including a well-received show at Rice Gallery.
The subject of the documentary, the legendary Wayne White, will accompany the screening.
A visual feast suitable for all ages, Le Tableau is an animated tale where characters from an unfinished painting go in search of their creator and their true colors. A truly poetic work, Le Tableau operates on multiple levels, exploring themes of intolerance and self-discovery.
In this unconventional documentary, outspoken photographer Bert Stern pulls no punches in revealing himself, his loves, and his fall from grace. Filmmaker Shannah Laumeister uncovers not only Stern, but also their unique long-term relationship.
The performing arts films represented at the 2012 Houston Cinema Arts Festival include music, dance and theater in the following selections:
Less than a year before Merce Cunningham’s death at 90, he traveled with his company to the Rainbow Quarry in Minnesota for the final performance of his magnum opus, Ocean. The performance was filmed by Cunningham’s longterm collaborator, visual artist Charles Atlas.
Winner of the Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Jury Prize at this year’s festival, Andrés Wood’s unconventional biopic about famed Chilean folksinger Violeta Parra captures the passion, the contradiction and the talent of her extraordinary life.
Winner of the Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear, Caesar Must Die is the latest offering from Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. Inventive and beautifully composed in black and white, the film centers around a prison production of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. The actors are, in fact, convicted criminals.
Two other notable films that will be included in the festival line-up include two foreign documentaries – one on comic art and the other on culinary art:
Eric Khoo’s animated telling of the life and work of Japanese comic-book artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi, author of the internationally acclaimed graphic novel, A Drifting Life, interweaves adaptations of five of his manga stories with autobiographical segments narrated by Tatsumi himself.
MUGARITZ BSO
For several years, musician Felipe Ugarte has studied the culinary formulas of Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz of Spain’s acclaimed Mugaritz restaurant. Knowledge about the history and ingredients of each dish is transformed into music. The results are captured in this stunning film exploring the avant-garde in both fields.
HCAF has now announced more than 25 of its programs, including the following titles and guests:
– A Simple Life to be accompanied by producer-screenwriter Roger Lee;
– Shirley Clarke’s The Connectionand Ornette: Made in America;
– Supereverything* with The Light Surgeons who are in Houston from London;
– A Suitcase Full of Chocolateaccompanied by its Director/Producer, Lincoln Mayorga;
– Famed Mexican documentarian, Lourdes Portillo, who will present Corpus: A HOME MOVIE FOR SELENA, Al Mas Alla, and other films;
– Going Up The Stairs: Portrait of an Unlikely Iranian Artist;
– Poetry of Resilience/The Poetry Deal;
– KanZeOn with Director, Neil Cantwell;
– And films and installations by Stacey Steers, Phil Solomon, Vanessa Renwick, and J.J. Murphy.
The fourth annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival is scheduled to take place from Nov. 7 – 11, 2012. Houston Cinema Arts Festival, a major program of Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS), capitalizes on the city’s status as an international art city, collaborating with many of Houston’s museums, art centers, theaters, and cultural institutions. Works are shown not only in traditional theatrical venues but also via interactive video installations, live music and film performances, and outdoor projections. Past festivals have featured guests such as Isabella Rossellini, Tilda Swinton, John Turturro, Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Alex Gibney, and Shirley MacLaine. The 2011 festival drew tens of thousands of film enthusiasts and art lovers spread among over 40 screenings and events.
In addition to the art installations and films announced here, HCAF 2012 will announce its exciting roster of premieres, guest artists, and multimedia installations in the coming weeks. A current schedule is available on the HCAS website at http://cinemartsociety.org/cinema-artist-festival-houston. The complete program, including major new releases and special guests, will be unveiled on Oct. 23, 2012 at Hotel ICON, located at 220 Main Street in Downtown Houston. Passes for single and multiple days are available on the HCAS website at http://cinemartsociety.org. The full program schedule and individual tickets to the 2012 Houston Cinema Arts Festival will be available on the HCAS website on Oct. 24, 2012.
ABOUT THE HOUSTON CINEMA ARTS SOCIETY
Houston Cinema Arts Society is a non-profit organization created in 2008 with the support of former Houston Mayor Bill White and the leadership of Franci Crane. HCAS organizes and hosts the annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival, a groundbreaking and innovative arts festival featuring films and new media by and about artists in the visual, performing and literary arts. The festival celebrates the vitality and diversity of the arts in Houston and enriches the city’s film and arts community. HCAS sponsors include the Crane Foundation, a grant from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Levantine Entertainment, Houston First Corporation, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Champion Energy Services, Amegy Bank of Texas, The Brown Foundation, Inc. and others. The project is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Texas Commission on the Arts. The 2013 Houston Cinema Arts Festival was held Nov. 6-10. For more information, please visit HCAS at www.cinemartsociety.org.