AUG 2013 Special Events at Bamcinématek

AUG 2013 Special Events at BAMcinématek

The Wall Street Journal is the title sponsor for BAMcinématek and BAM Rose Cinemas.

AUG 1 at 7:30pm THE BLUES ACCORDIN’ TO LES BLANK Documentarian Les Blank, an idiosyncratic ethnographer of the offbeat and unknown, passed away in April at age 77. In over 40 docu-essays he explored subterranean micro-cultures (Cajuns, gap-toothed women), the outlandish exploits of fellow filmmaker Werner Herzog, food (including a hymn to garlic), and, a subject especially near and dear to him, music and musicians. This program includes the world premiere of a new 16mm restoration of The Sun’s Gonna Shine (1969), Blank’s stunning and elegiac short on Lightning Hopkins’ reminiscences of his youth that ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax called “one of the three most important films on the South.” Also screening in restored 16mm prints are The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins (1968), a celebration of the renowned Texas bluesman that captures his music and musings with remarkable intimacy, and A Well Spent Life (1971), one of Blank’s most moving documentaries (and Kurt Vonnegut’s favorite movie) about Texas sharecropper turned blues guitar great Mance Lipscomb. Blank’s son Harrod Blank and Academy Film Archive preservationist Mark Toscano will appear for a Q&A following the screenings. Presented in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Additional Les Blank programs screen at the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International on July 30 and the Museum of the Moving Image on August 2.

AUG 1 at 8pm Sneak Preview David Gordon Green’s PRINCE AVALANCHE Green in person! With Paul Rudd, Emile Hirsch. Wedding the lyricism of his early work like George Washington and All the Real Girls with the goofball sensibility of more recent films like Pineapple Express, David Gordon Green’s latest is a low-key, existential buddy comedy in which brothers-in-law Alvin (Rudd) and Lance (Hirsch) spend a summer working as highway maintenance workers in the desolate, forest fire-charred backwoods of Texas. Shot through with subtle mysticism, Prince Avalanche achieves unexpected grandeur thanks to the rapturously shot landscapes and a haunting score by Explosions in the Sky. BAMcinématek presents this special sneak preview with Green in person for a Q&A following the screening. Opens August 9 through Magnolia Pictures.

AUG 9 at 8pm Free Outdoor Screening Bobbito Garcia & Kevin Couliau’s DOIN’ IT IN THE PARK In New York City, pickup basketball is not just a sport—it’s a way of life. There are 700-plus outdoor courts and an estimated 500,000 players, the most loyal of which approach the game as a religion and the playground as their church. Doin’ It in the Park lovingly reveals the voices of playground legends, NBA athletes, and most importantly the common ballplayer who always looks forward to calling “next” game at their local schoolyard. Co-directors Bobbito Garcia and Kevin Couliau visited 180 courts throughout the city’s five boroughs to create their debut documentary, traveling to a majority of the locations by bicycle and carrying camera equipment and a ball in their backpacks. The film’s title refers as much to the subject matter as it does to the method of filmmaking, providing an unprecedented perspective on urban America’s most popular, and accessible, free recreation. This free outdoor screening is held at Putnam Triangle Plaza (Fulton

St. and Grand Ave.) and features Garcia (aka Kool Bob Love) in person performing a DJ set from 6 to 8pm. Presented in conjunction with FAB FRIDAYS and in partnership with FAB Alliance, Rooftop Films, and BAM Community Affairs.

AUG 17 at 3, 6, 8:45pm Marathon + Sneak Preview THE THREE FLAVOURS CORNETTO TRILOGY Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost in person at a sneak preview of The World’s End! Director Edgar Wright reunites with stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for a marathon screening and a sneak preview of the final installment of the uproarious Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (also known as the Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy). The trilogy began with Shaun of the Dead (2004—3pm), an instant cult classic send-up of George Romero’s zombie gore-fests, and Hot Fuzz (2007—6pm), a blood- spattered spoof of every American action movie, from Lethal Weapon to Point Break to Bad Boys II. Their latest is The World’s End (8:45pm), in which Gary (Pegg) reunites his buddies for a marathon pub-crawl, until an alien invasion suddenly leaves the entire fate of mankind hanging in the balance. Wright, Pegg, and Frost will appear in person for a Q&A following the screening.

For press information, please contact Lisa Thomas at 718.724.8023 / [email protected] Gabriele Caroti at 718.724.8024 / [email protected]