Brooklyn PeterJay SharpBuilding BAM RoseCinemas Academy 30 LafayetteAvenue Pressand Promotions of BrooklynNY 11217-1486 Molly B. Gross Music Telephone:718.636.4100 718.636.4129 x3 Fax:718.636.4179 [email protected] News Release BAMcinematek Presents The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival, February 17-22, Featuring a Selection of Black Independent Films from Around the World

For the fourth consecutive year, the ADFF brings the best films from their recent festival to BAM

The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival is part of Diverse Voices at BAM presented by Time Warner Inc.

Brooklyn, January 18, 2006--From February 17-22, BAMcinematek, the repertory film program at BAM Rose Cinemas, in collaboration with The African Diaspora Film Festival, presents The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival. This one-week series showcases twelve feature films, and several short films, that enjoyed critical and popular acclaim during the thirteenth annual African Diaspora Film Festival, representing black filmmaking from five continents and an extraordinary range of subjects and artistic approaches.

Created in 1993 by the husband and wife team of Reinaldo Barroso-Spech and Diarah N'Daw­ Spech, the ADFF has long been delighting audiences with U.S. and world premieres of independent films, including features, documentaries, animation, and shorts. The New York Times applauds the Spechs' "international sensibilities" and their penchant for promoting work such as 2002's series favorite, the animated Kirikou and the Sorceress.

"The ADFF is a bridge," say the Spechs, "between diverse communities looking for works that cannot be found in other festivals, and talented and visionary filmmakers and works that are part of the African Diaspora." ADFF's ultimate ambition is to see an "informed and talented community come together to exchange ideas and strategies for improving our respective worlds." "The black cinema experience in the U.S. has traditionally been very incomplete," explains N'Daw-Spech. "A lot of films that come from Hollywood present a very limited vision of what the black experience is. Our goal is to present quality products and expand that vision through film." "Films can play a role beyond that of just entertaining people," says Barroso­ Spech, "and they can lead to more than just education, they can lead to redemption."

more...

BAMRose Cinemas The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival, 2

About The Best of the ADFF Films

A highlight of The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival is Tsotsi (2005), a deeply affecting South African film about a young gang leader who winds up caring for a young child in the sprawling ghettoes of Johannesburg. The film has already garnered much acclaim, winning the audience award at the Toronto Film Festival 2005 and the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival 2005. Tsotsi has also been selected as South Africa's official selection for Best Foreign Film at the 2005 Academy Awards. The Hollywood Reporter remarks that director "Hood's filmmaking is accomplished, Lance Gewer's cinematography exceptional and there are fine performances throughout, especially by Chweneyagae as the memorably tortured young Tsotsi." The film will screen on February 19 and 22. Another South African film features in the series, Boy Called Twist, is a retelling of Dickens' classic novel Oliver Twist. This screens on February 17 and 18.

The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival also features a strong line-up of documentaries, including Faces of Change (2005), which plays February 18 and 21. In the film an international group of grassroots activists go behind the camera in order to tell their stories-an opportunity denied to them due to their gender, race, ethnicity or social status. The film was the winner of the ADFF 2005 Public Award for the Best Film Directed by a Woman of Color. After each screening there will be a Q&A with the film's director. Other notable documentaries include The Importance of Being Elegant (2004) (February 19 and 20), a documentary that follows Papa Wemba, the legendary Congolese singer living in exile in Paris; and Nina Simone, Love Sorceress (2000) (February 18 and 21 ), which captures a 1976 Paris concert by the singer.

On February 17 is an African American Shorts Program that includes three films: Squirrel Man, Rubber Soles, and All Falls Down. Also on February 17 is an Afro-Latino Program that consists of the short Mexican documentary African Blood (2004) as well as the classic Cuban feature Maluala (1979). On February 18 and 20 there is a showing of two Brazilian films, feature-length Radio Favela (2002), and the short silent Soul in the Eye(l974).

Three more films in the series will feature Q&As. First, director John Eisler will be present to discuss his informative documentary Slave Reparations: The Final Passage on February 17. Then following screenings of Arthur! A Celebration of Life (2005), a drama about the life of tennis great, activist, humanitarian, and author Arthur Ashe, director Joe James's partners Sonny Howard and Terry Cyrus will be on hand (February 19 and 21 ). Actress Mireille Metellus, featured in the film On the Verge of Fear, will be at BAM for a Q&A after the film's screening on February 19. The film tells the story of a 15-year---old boy's coming of age in 1971 Haiti. Film Threat.com has described the On the Verge of Fear as "certainly one of the tastiest coming-to-self films to radiate the big screen in years." The film will also screen on the last day of the series, February 22.

The complete schedule for The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival follows.

BAM Rose Cinemas "offers one of the most civilized movie-going experiences in the city," according to The New York Times. General admission tickets to BAM Rose Cinemas are $10. Tickets are $7 for students 25 and under (with valid I.D. Monday-Thursday, except holidays) seniors, and children under twelve, and $6 for BAM Cinema Club members. Tickets are available at the BAM Rose Cinemas box office, by phone at 718.777.FILM (order by "name of movie" option), or online at www.bam.org. For more information, call the BAMcinematek hotline at 718.636.4100 or visit www.bam.org.

more .. TheBest of the AfricanDiaspora Film Festival,3

The Best ofthe African Diaspora schedule

Friday, February 17

Friday, February 17 at 2pm African American Shorts Program (50 min total)

Squirrel Man, (2005), 20 min, U.S. Directed by Jeffrey Lynn Shepherd After being bitten by a squirrel, an elderly jazz musician believes he is a super hero. These powers inspire him to fight crime in his neighborhood, which unexpectedly leads to the mending of his broken relationship with his son.

Rubber Soles, (2005), IO min, U.S. Directed by Christine Turner An I I-year-old music collector trades in his prized soul records when he falls for a 13-year-old girl with a nice jump-shot.

All Falls Down (2005), 20 min, U.S. Directed by David Koepp Being a New York City teenager involves constant negotiation of the subway system and of relationships. This is the story of three guys who meet three girls on their daily commute. It involves rejection, attraction, and missed connections. In the end, each has a better sense of what they want from love and how to get home again.

Friday, February 17 at 4:30pm Saturday, February I 8 at 9: 15pm Boy Called Twist (2004), 115 min, South Africa Directed by Tim Greene A mother dies in childbirth in the middle of nowhere. Fearing blame, the locals bury her in an unmarked grave and drop the baby at a rural orphanage. So begins the incredible life of a little boy called Twist. Based on Dickens' classic novel Oliver Twist, this South African version takes us into the world of the colored population of Cape Town and exposes the viewer to the harrowing tale of a street kid in search oflove, identity, roots, understanding, and family. Variety writes Boy Called Twist "retains the vitality of the Victorian adventure story admirably ... Jarrid Geduld wonderfully engaging in the title role."

Friday, February 17 at 7pm Afro-Latino Program (120 min total)

African Blood, (2004), 25 min, documentary, Mexico, in Spanish with English subtitles Directed by Roberto Olivares Mexican identity is assumed as the fusion between indigenous and European cultures. However, this definition excludes a key component: African blood. This documentary will bring the viewer closer to these forgotten roots, through testimonies, reflections, and powerful cultural expressions made by our brothers and sisters who live in the Costa Chica region, in the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero. These are the people who carry this great legacy: the Afro-Mestizo, or Afro-Mexican culture. Their struggle to strengthen and claim their own identity adds to the wide diversity of cultures in Mexico, 1, magazine writes, "the Olivares film is a marvelously complex and anecdotal cultural documentary about the traditional Afro-Mexican communities."

Maluala, (1979), 95 min, Cuba, in Spanish with English subtitles Directed by Sergio Gira! Maluala, a powerful film by Sergio Gira), the dean of Afro-Cuban cinema, takes us to a Palenque, a settlement of escaped slaves hidden somewhere in Cuban's eastern mountains. The story tells of the survival of the Palenque and its leadership against the attacks and intrigues of the Spaniards. A classic.

more ... The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival, 4

Friday, February 17 at 9:30pm The Dinner (1997), 85 min, U.S. Directed by Bernie Casey Veteran actor Bernie Casey makes his debut as a writer and director with this allegorical drama. Three prominent and prosperous African American men meet at an expensive restaurant for dinner. Brother Man (Doug Johnson) is a well-known jazz musician, Young Brother (Wren T. Brown), a well-heeled businessman, and Good Brother (Casey), a U.S. Senator who enjoys a profitable sideline as an art dealer. They enjoy a meal discussing the powerfully destructive impact of "the System" on Black America and how to prosper despite it. Shown with short Slave Reparations: The Final Passage*, (2004), 28 min, U.S., documentary Directed by John Eisler Mis-education and lack of understanding in both the black and white communities hurt the current slave reparations movement. That is the message of this new documentary, which provides historical background on the current controversial movement. The film answers the most common arguments against the payment of reparations to African Americans through interviews with some of the movement's most prominent proponents, including Prof. Manning Marable, Dr. Alvin Poussaint, Rev. Herbert Daughtry, Richard E. Barber, and others. * A Q&A with director will follow the screening

Saturday, February 18

Saturday, February 18 at 2pm* Tuesday, February 21 at 6:50pm* Faces of Change (2005), 80 min, U.S., documentary, in English, French, Tamil, Portuguese, and Bulgarian with English subtitles Directed by Michele Stephenson Grassroots activists go behind the camera to find a voice denied to them because of their social, racial, gender or ethnic background. They live in five different countries, but they share the common trait of being members of a marginalized group. Their cameras show strikingly similar vistas of broken-down homes, dust, and threadbare clothing to demonstrations of profound social inequity. Recorded from within the communities, the videos capture the hopes and dreams that echo each other across the five countries. Faith and perseverance embody this courageous work of patience and dedication by filmmaker Michele Stephenson, who wove together these testimonies to make a powerful film for change. Winner: ADFF 2005 Public Award for the Best Film Directed by a Woman of Color * A Q&A with director will follow the screening

Saturday, February 18 at 4:30pm Monday, February 20 at 9:15pm Radio Favela (2002), 92 min, Brazil, in Portuguese with English subtitles Directed by Helvecio Ratton Based on a true story, Radio Favela is a music-driven tale of young heroes rising from an urban ghetto to popular recognition. From impoverished surroundings, four young boys from the Favelas (slums) in Rio de Janeiro dream of setting up a radio station that will resonate with the voice of the voiceless, and express their reality and music. The radio gains a huge following with upfront denunciation and spontaneous language. Soon, the police try to shut it down. Will be shown with the short Soul in the Eye (1978), 8 min, Brazil, silent Directed by Zozimo Bulbul Soul in the Eye is a short silent film that pays homage to the legacy of Africans in Brazil. One of the early works of Zozimo Bulbul, the renowned Afro-Brazilian actor/filmmaker.

more... The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival, 5

Saturday, February 18 at 6:50pm Tuesday, February 21 at 9: 15pm Nina Simone, Love Sorceress (2000), 75 min, France, documentary, in English and French with English subtitles Directed by Rene Letzgus This rarely seen document of a 1976 Paris concert captures Simone's breathtaking singing and mercurial behavior, as she creates something ofa performance art piece. The riveting "High Priestess of Soul" conflates classical, jazz, blues, folk, pop, and soul music-inspiring the most freewheeling among us.

Saturday,February 18at9:15pm Boy Called Twist (2004), 115 min, South Africa See Friday, February 17 for description

Sunday, February 19

Sunday, February 19 at 2pm* Tuesday, February 21 at 4:30pm* Arthur! A Celebration of Life (2005), 80 min, U.S. Directed by Joe James Arthur! a Celebration of Life takes us on a spiritual journey about the tennis great, activist, humanitarian, and writer, Arthur Ashe. It gives us the opportunity to learn about the icon 37 years after he won the U.S. Open. The Arthur Ashe story is told using a soundtrack that includes songs by such artists as Grammy award winner Alicia Keys and Dink Entertainment's Angels VOP (Voices of Praise) male singing trio. * A Q&A with producers Sonny Howard and Terry Cyrus will follow the screening.

Sunday, February 19 at 4:30pm Monday, February 20 at 4:30pm The Importance of Being Elegant (2004), 70 min, U .K./France, documentary, in French with English subtitles Directed by George Amponsah and Cosima Spender Set to the soundtrack of Papa Wemba's extraordinary music, this outrageous, funny, and eye-opening film depicts the underground world of a flamboyant African cult. As the camera follows Papa Wemba, the legendary Congolese singer living in exile in Paris, the audience discovers a world of music, life in exile, and fashion. The Village Voice notes, "the film astutely exposes the frayed ends in Wemba's mink-stole ideology."

Sunday, February 19 at 6:50pm* Wednesday, February 22 at 4:30pm On the Verge of a Fever (Le gout des jeunes JU!es) (2004 ), 88 min, Quebec-Canada/Haiti, in French with English subtitles Directed by John L'Ecuyer Against the backdrop of poverty, fear and the brutal dictatorship in Haiti in I 971, On the Verge of a Fever tells the story ofFanfan, a 15-year-old boy who just wants to experience life for himself with his streetwise friend Gege. Having lived a sheltered life with his protective mother, Fanfan experiences a bizarrely terrifying incident involving a Tonton-Macoute (member of President Duvalier's feared private police force). As a resu It, he decides to hide out at his beautiful neighbor's house for the weekend. There, he is trapped between his fear of being caught and the fulfillment of his deepest fantasy. Montreal Film Journal writes, "obviously heartfelt and effectively evocative ofa time and a place." * A Q&A with actress Mireille Metellus will follow the screening.

more ... TheBest of theAfrican Diaspora Film Festival, 6

Sunday, February 19 at 9:30pm Wednesday, February 22 at 6:50pm Tsotsi (2005), 94 min, South Africa Directed by Gavin Hood Based on the book by acclaimed author and playwright Athol Fugard, this deeply affecting film traces six days in the life of a young gang leader who steals a woman's car-unaware, in his panic, that her baby is in the back seat. Orphaned at an early age and forced to survive by his wits alone, caring for the infant taps into reservoirs of humanity that surprise even Tsotsi. Pumping with the high energy of Zola's Kwaito music and told from an African perspective, Tsotsi is an extraordinary contemporary portrait of ghetto life in the sprawling Johannesburg townships. Deviating from Fugard's material that was set during Apartheid to the present, Hood has crafted a singular story of hope and redemption, the triumph of love over rage. "Tsotsi emerges as being among the finest films ever to come out of Africa. It is a brilliant, jolting and altogether powerful blast of energy and emotion," states Film Threat.com. Official Selection of South Africa for Best Foreign Language Film -Academy Awards 2005 Audience Award-AF! Los Angeles International Film Festival 2005 and Toronto Film Festival 2005

Monday, February 20

Monday, February 20 at 4:30pm The Importance of Being Elegant (70 min) See Sunday, February 19 for description.

Monday, February 20 at 6:50pm Desamores (2004), I 08 min, Puerto Rico, in Spanish with English subtitles Directed by Edmundo H. Rodriquez Afro-Puerto Rican detective lsabelo is hired to discover who is responsible for a horrendous massacre in San Juan. As he starts his investigation, he is quickly thrown into a web of intrigue and manipulation beyond his imagination.

Monday, February 20 at 9:15pm Radio Favela (2002), 92 min, Brazil, in Portuguese with English subtitles Saturday, February 18 for description.

Tuesday, February 21

Tuesday, February 21 at 4:30pm* Arthur! A Celebration of Life (80 min) See Sunday, February 19 for description *A Q&A with producers Sonny Howard and Terry Cyrus will follow the screening.

Tuesday, February 21 at 6:50pm* Faces of Change (80 min) See Saturday, February 18 for description *A Q&A with director will follow the screening.

Tuesday, February 21 at9:15pm Nina Simone, Love Sorceress (75 min) See Saturday, February 18 for description

Wednesday, February 22

Wednesday, February 22 at 4:30pm On the Verge of a Fever (88 min) See Sunday, February 19 for description. more ... The Best of the African DiasporaFilm Festival,7

Wednesday, February 22 at 6:50pm Tsotsi (94 min) See Sunday, February 19 for description.

Wednesday, February 22 at 9:15pm Masai: Rain Warriors (2005), 94 min, France/Kenya, Massai with English subtitles Directed by Pascal Plisson The film follows a group of young warriors who have been chosen to kill the lion-god responsible for the drought in their village. A beautiful story of initiation, friendship, teamwork, and sacrifice, it is set on the vast ochre savannah of Kenya.

Other related BAM programming:

DanceAfrica 2006, May 26-28 BAM's longest running performance series-and one of America's largest and most vibrant celebrations of African and African American dance, music, film, and culture-continues with the 29 th annual DanceAfrica festival. Under the artistic direction of Founding Elder Chuck Davis, DanceAfrica 2006 Legacy: African Dance in our World will include a multitude of events including dance performances at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House featuring the song and dance ensemble Peru Negro, Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn, Universal African Dance & Drum Ensemble, and the BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble, the popular outdoor DanceAfrica Bazaar, a sculpture exhibition in the BAMgarden (between Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street at St. Felix Street), a film series at BAM Rose Cinemas, and an African dance party at BAMcafe with live music.

Credits The Best of the African Diaspora Film Festival is part of Diverse Voices at BAM presented by Time Warner Inc.

Leadership support for BAMcinematek is provided by The Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust. BAM Rose Cinemas are named in recognition of a major gift in honor of Jonathan F .P. and Diana Calthorpe Rose. BAM Rose Cinemas would also like to acknowledge the generous support of the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, The Estate of Richard B. Fisher, James Ottaway, Jr., Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Bloomberg, and Trollback & Company. Additional support is provided by Steiner Studios, Criterion Collection, and The Grodzins Fund.

BAMcinematek would like to offer special thanks to Diarah N'Daw-Spech and Reinaldo Barroso-Spech/ArtMattan Productions.

General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafe, and Shakespeare & Co. BAMshop are located in the Peter Jay Sharp Building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn's only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafe, operated by Great Performances, also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. A $21 three-course dinner at BAMcafe is available Friday-Saturday for BAM Rose Cinemas ticket holders (day of screening only). BAMcafe is open Friday-Saturday from 5pm-closing. Additionally, BAMcafe is open two hours prior to all Howard Gilman Opera House and Harvey Theater performances.

Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue; D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush A venue Bus: 825, B26, B41, B45, B52, 863, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit www.bam.org. #### Brooklyn Peter Jay Sharp Building BAM RoseCinemas Academy 30 Lafayette Avenue Pressand Promotions of Brooklyn NY 11217-1486 Molly B. Gross Music Telephone: 718.636.4100 718.636.4129 x3 Fax: 718.636.4179 [email protected] News Release

BAMcinematek Presents Some Kind of Horror Show, March 6-30

A Q&A with director John Landis will follow the screening of Innocent Blood and Thriller on March 16

BAM Rose Cinemas (30 Lafayette Ave.) Tickets: $10 per screening for adults $7 for students 25 and under (with valid I.D. Monday-Thursday, except holidays), seniors, children under twelve, and BAM Cinema Club members Tickets available by phone at 718.777.FILM (order by "name of movie" option) Call 718.636.4100 or visit www.bam.org

Brooklyn, February 6, 2006-From March 6-30 BAMcinematek, the repertory film program at BAM Rose Cinemas, presents Some Kind of Horror Show. This year, BAM's annual horror festival offers a selection of the lost, the forgotten, and the rarely screened. Included are films by directors such as George Romero, Nicholas Roeg, Michael Mann, Tod Browning, and Dario Argento. Filmmaker John Landis will join the audience for a Q&A on March 16 following the screenings of his film Innocent Blood and Thriller, both being screened on 35 mm film.

The series kicks off on March 6 with Dario Argento's third feature film, Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971 ). "A spine-tingling sequence of a doomed, blackmailing servant trapped in a park at dusk is superb and typifies Mr. Argento at his chilling best," writes The New York Times. In the film a mysterious stranger stalks a rock drummer. Next up on March 7 is Michael Mann's The Keep ( 1983 ). The film is set during the Second World War as a group of German soldiers unleash evil within a mysterious castle. Z Magazine says, "somewhere on the border between genius and lunacy there is one gorgeously bizarre movie - The Keep." On March 8 is Eye of the Cat ( 1969), in which an army of cats protects a rich invalid from people trying to steal her money. It is playing in a double bill with A Reflection of Fear (1973), directed by noted cinematographer William A. Fraker. The Dunwich Horror (1970), an adaptation ofan H.P. Lovecraft story, is on March 9. Kaneto Shindo's Kuroneko (1968), the director's follow-up to Onibaba, plays March 13 and 14. John Landis' Innocent Blood (1992) screens along with Landis' landmark Michael Jackson music video Thriller (1982) on March 16, both on 35mm. Innocent Blood is a vampire movie that revisits the horror and comedy mix of the director's

more ...

BAMRose Cinemas Some Kind of Horror Show, 2 earlier American Werewolf in London. Time Out London remarks "Landis brilliantly captures a carnal craving laced with blood lust and dangerous eroticism." Director John Landis will at BAM a Q&A following the screening. On March 20 is Tod Browning's Mark of the Vampire (1935), in which the director gently parodies the vampire genre with stars Bela Lugosi and Lionel Barrymore. Chicago Reader says it's "one of the classics of the horror genre, [an] extremely clever and surprising film." Mark of the Vampire is screening with Jean Painleve's Le Vampire, his short documentary on vampire bats (scored to Duke Ellington) and Intimate Interviews: Bela Lugosi, an recently restored interview with Bela Lugosi from 1931.

Senses of Cinema describes The Witches (1990), Nicholas Roeg's adaptation ofRoald Dahl's book that plays March 21, as "one of the strangest children's films ever made." The New York Times comments "as it turns out, Mr. Roeg is just the right match ... a fanciful film for savvy children and a witty well-made movie for their parents ... As in his best films, here Mr. Roeg is a master of capturing the slightly off kilter sense of an apparently normal world." Swinging London slasher film Twisted Nerve (1968), with Hayley Mills being stalked by a young man feigning mental retardation, screens March 22. One of the showings will feature a Cinemachat with film critic Elliot Stein.

On March 27 is George A. Romero's vampire film, Martin (1977). The film is also showing as part of our Morris & Movies series, in which the renowned choreographer Mark Morris selects a few of his favorite films. Morris will be present to introduce one of the screenings. Chicago Reader says of Martin that it's Romero's "artiest effort, and in some respects his most accomplished work .... Despite the usual amounts of gore, this is a surprisingly tender, ambiguous, and sexy film." Masahiro Shinoda's Demon Pond (1979), a mystical Japanese ghost story, screens on March 28. My Bloody Valentine ( 1981 ), a slasher film set in a Canadian mining town, plays March 29. The series closes on March 30 with The Witch (1952), a Finnish Gothic thriller that was initially banned in the US.

BAM Rose Cinemas "offers one of the most civilized movie-going experiences in the city," according to The New York Times. General admission tickets to BAM Rose Cinemas are $10. Tickets are $7 for students 25 and under (with valid I.D. Monday-Thursday, except holidays), seniors, children under twelve, and BAM Cinema Club members. Tickets are available at the BAM Rose Cinemas box office, by phone at 718.777.FILM (order by "name of movie" option), or online at www.bam.org. For more information, call the BAMcinematek hotline at 718.636.4100 or visit www.bam.org.

Some Kind of Horror Show schedule All films are screening in 35mm.

Monday, March 6 at 6:50, 9: 15pm 4 Flies on Grey Velvet (Quattro Mosche di Velluto Griglio) (1971), I 04min Directed by Dario Argento With Michael Brandon, Mimsy Farmer Hunky rock drummer Brandon has got it all, until he realizes a mysterious stranger is stalking him. But his attempt to take matters into his own hands ends badly and bloodily. This is Argento's third feature, and his genius is already evident, particularly in the visceral and gruesome murder scenes. 4 Flies on Grey Velvet shows "the complex constructions of cinematic time and space normally associated with art cinema." -Senses of Cinema There will be an opening night party sponsored by The Onion after the 6:50pm screening.

Tuesday, March 7 at4:30, 6:50, 9:15pm The Keep (1983), 96min Directed by Michael Mann With Scott Glenn, Ian McKellen During World War II, a group of German soldiers occupy a mysterious Romanian castle filled with an ominous evil that preys on unwanted guests. Mann's second feature shows off his eye for detail. The film features music by Tangerine Dream.

more .. Some Kind of Horror Show, 3 Wednesday, March 8 at 7pm Two Screams for the Price of One: Horror Double Feature Eye of the Cat (1969), 102min Directed by David Lowell Rich With Eleanor Parker, Gayle Hunnicutt A young man and his girlfriend plot to murder a wealthy, cat-loving aunt. There is only one drawback to the plan, the man has an extreme fear of cats. Thus the couple embarks on killing the cats one by one in order to get to the aunt, a task that proves far more difficult than expected. The film boasts the talents of two Hitch cock collaborators, Psycho's screenwriter Joseph Stefano, and Ray Berwick, who trained the birds in The Birds. "A nicely extravagant tale of horror."- Time Out London A Reflection of Fear ( 1973), 89min Directed by William A. Fraker With Robert Shaw, Sally Kellerman Legendary cinematographer Fraker (whose resume includes Close Encounters of the Third Kind) creates a classic gothic melodrama, where a young woman enters a world of lies and murder when her long-estranged father returns home unexpectedly.

Thursday, March 9 at6:50, 9:15pm The Dunwich Horror (1970), 90min Directed by Daniel Haller With Sandra Dee, Dean Stockwell Haller, an old hand and production designer from many Roger Corman horror films, takes the helm for this adaptation ofan H.P. Lovecraft story. Stockwell borrows the Necronomicon (Book of the Dead Names, popularly believed to be a sorcerer's spell-book) from a university library and takes it and Sandra Dee home for some experiments, with less than pleasant results. The film is largely a comment on the 60s battle between the establishment and the counterculture. Filmed shortly after the infamous Charles Manson murders, the events in the film have a slight resemblance to those crimes.

Monday, March 13 and Tuesday, March 14 at 6:50, 9:15pm Kuroneko (1968), 99min, in Japanese with English subtitles Directed by Kaneto Shindo With Kichiemon Nakamura, Nobuko Otowa In feudal Japan, a woman and her mother are brutally beaten and killed by rampaging samurai. Years later, their spirits haunt the same area, killing indiscriminately. Shindo's follow-up to Onibaba is a beautiful, stylish example of the Japanese horror film and feline legends, with eccentric Cinemascope compositions lending an edge of uneasiness to the proceedings.

Thursday, March 16 at 7pm* Innocent Blood (1992), l 12min Directed by John Landis With Anne Parillaud, Robert Loggia Landis is the proverbial underrated auteur; here he revisits the sex, horror, & comedy mix of American Werewolf in London with this smart, funny, but deeply sad film about a modern-day vampire who feeds only on those who deserve it. "Teens and genre fans should eat up John Landis' latest mix of horror and camp comedy. They will 'ooh' at the various gross-out scenes and nifty special effects, 'aah' at the film's sensuality and Anne Parillaud's easy nudity, and savor the numerous in-jokes and horror references, from cameos by other goremeister directors to clips from various late-show staples."-Variety Screening with Thriller (1983), 13min Directed by John Landis With Michael Jackson A rare chance to see Michael Jackson's famous music video on the big screen in a 35mm print. * A Q&A with director John Landis will follow the screenings.

more ... SomeKind of HorrorShow, 4 Monday, March 20 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:15pm Mark of the Vampire (1935), 60min Directed by Tod Browning With Lionel Barrymore, Bela Lugosi Browning gently parodies the horror genre he helped create in this atmospheric vampire flick. Notable is the gleeful, scenery-chewing battle between notorious hams Barrymore and Lugosi. "A real touch of class is present in James Wong Howe's magnificent photography, not to mention Carole Borland's stunning apparition as a vampire."-Time Out London With Le Vampire (1939), 9min Jean Painleve's scientific examination of Vampire Bats, with a score by Duke Ellington and Intimate Interviews: Bela Lugosi, 7min A recently restored conversation with the Count himself from 1931. Print courtesy of UCLA Film and Television Archive.

Tuesday, March 21 at 4:30, 6:50, 9: 15pm The Witches (1990), 9lmin Directed by Nicholas Roeg With Anjelica Houston, Jasen Fisher, Rowan Atkinson One of the most successful Roald Dahl adaptations to date, this is a deliriously disturbing film about a coven's convention at a seaside hotel, and the young boy and grandmother who grow wise to their plot. With main characters turned into mice for much of the film, Jim Henson's creature shop steps up with some remarkable visual effects and puppetry. "[Roeg] almost always expresses a twisted, sinister sensuality in his films, and in this one that sensibility expresses itself in his willingness to let the child-mice face some of the real dangers of their predicament. The Witches is an intriguing movie, ambitious and inventive, and almost worth seeing just for Anjelica Huston's obvious delight in playing a completely uncompromised villainess."-Chicago Sun-Times

Wednesday, March 22 at 4:30, 6:50*, 9:30pm Twisted Nerve (1968), l l 8min Directed by Roy Boulting The first British splatter movie, this controversial thriller reunites the director and stars of the hit comedy The Family Way, but in much darker circumstances. The score is by the great Bernard Hermann, world-famous for his music for Hitchcock's films. Leo Marks, author of the screenplay, also wrote the script for Michael Powell's masterpiece Peeping Tom. "A compelling study of a warped young psychopath ... [Boulting] manages to bring some brooding menace into his direction, woven with some neat dialog and brash humor."-Variety * A Cinem achat with film critic Elliot Stein will follow the 6:50pm screening

Monday, March 27 at 6:50*, 9:30pm Martin (1977), 95min Directed by George A. Romero With John Amplas In this thinking man's vampire film, Romero plays with audience expectations and vampire mythology with a story of a young man who may or may not be a true bloodsucker. Making great use of Pittsburgh locations, an amateur cast, and his usual black humor, Romero creates a truly unsettling film about sexuality, blood, and the roles we all play. "A dazzling opening sequence ... Romero plays fascinating games with myth and reality as he balances traditional vampire lore against medically certifiable psychosis. Fundamentally a quite serious movie, relevant to contemporary personality problems and stresses, but shot through with a wicked streak of black humor ... Romero makes stunning use of his Pittsburgh locations to crate a desolate suburban wasteland." -Time Out London * An introduction by choreographer Mark Morris will precede the 6:50pm screening. This film is also a part of series of films selected by Morris as a part of his company's 25 th Anniversary programming.

more... Some Kind of Horror Show, 5 Tuesday, March 28 at 4:30, 6:50, 9: 15pm Demon Pond (1979), 123min, in Japanese with English subtitles Directed by Masahiro Shinoda Demon Pond is not a horror film as much as a mystical Japanese ghost story. A professor, while searching for his missing friend, discovers a mysterious, drought-stricken village next to a pond. He soon discovers that the village bell must be struck three times a day to prevent the spirit in the pond, the Dragon Princess, from flooding the village and killing its inhabitants. Shot on exquisite sets and anchored by an amazing supernatural score, Demon Pond is directed by Masahiro Shinoda, "a major luminary in that Japanese generation that includes Oshima and Imamura .... remarkable."-Z Magazine

Wednesday, March 29 at 6:50, 9:15pm My Bloody Valentine (1981), 9lmin Directed by George Mihalka After miners die in an accident while their supervisors are enjoying a Valentine's Day dance, the sole survivor avenges their death by cutting out the hearts of his bosses, and promising the same will happen again if another Valentine's Day dance is held. Twenty years later the early-80s teens decide to go ahead and plan another dance with particularly violent and hazardous results. This is a classic, and rarely seen, low-budget horror film that also inspired the name for the seminal cult band from late 80s Britain.

Thursday, March 30 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:15pm The Witch (Noita palaa eliimiiiin) (1952), 80min, in Finnish with English subtitles Directed by Roland Hallstrom For the second year in a row we are pleased to present a Gothic thriller from Finland. A group discovers a grave with a stake in the corpse, which soon transforms into a curvaceous brunette. She wants what she has been missing for 300 years, and causes a good degree of trouble in the process. Initially banned in the U.S. because of nudity, this vintage print features a few, although not all, scenes of offending nipples blacked out, seemingly with a felt-tip marker.

Leadership support for BAMcinematek is provided by The Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust. BAM Rose Cinemas are named in recognition ofa major gift in honor of Jonathan F.P. and Diana Calthorpe Rose. BAM Rose Cinemas would also like to acknowledge the generous support of the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, The Estate of Richard B. Fisher, James Ottaway, Jr., Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, The Ford Foundation, Time Warner Inc., Bloomberg, and Trollback & Company. Additional support is provided by Steiner Studios, Criterion Collection, and The Grodzins Fund.

BAMcinematek would like to offer special thanks to John Landis, Marilee Womack/WB, Paul Ginsburg/Universal, Marie Bonnel/French Cultural Services, NY, Martine Boutrolle/French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paris, Susanne Holzman/Columbia Repertory, Tim Lanza/Douris Corp, Todd Wiener/UCLA, Barry Allen and Chase Schulte!Paramount, Kenji Sato/foho, Philippe Cevassu and Annabel Dashwood/Connaissance du Cinema, John Herron/Canal+ Image UK, Jessica Wolfson, Paul Lovelace, Martina Palaskov Begov, and David Schwartz.

General Information

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafe, and Shakespeare & Co. BAMshop are located in the Peter Jay Sharp Building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn's only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafe, operated by Great Performances, also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. A $21 three-course dinner at BAMcafe is available Friday-Saturday for BAM Rose Cinemas ticket holders (day of screening only). BAMcafe is open Friday­ Saturdayfrom 5pm-closing. Additionally, BAMcafe is open two hours prior to all Howard Gilman Opera House and Harvey Theater performances.

more.. Some Kind of Horror Show, 6 Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue; D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush A venue Bus: 825, B26, B41, 845, 852, 863, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit www.bam.org.

#### Brooklyn Peter Jay Sharp Building BAM Rose Cinemas Academy 30 LafayetteAvenue Pressand Promotions of Brooklyn NY 11217-1486 Molly B. Gross Music Telephone: 718.636.4100 718.636.4129 x3 Fax: 718.636.4179 [email protected] News Release BAMcinematek Presents Israel on Film, April 1-4

Series includes different portraits of the nation of Israel from past fifty years including films by Chris Maker, Susan Sontag, and Otto Preminger

Israel on Film is part of Culture Complex: Steinhardt Jewish Heritage Festival at BAM, presented in partnership with Judy and Michael Steinhardt

BAM Rose Cinemas (30 Lafayette Ave.) Tickets: $10 per screening for adults $7 for students 25 and under (with valid l.D. Monday-Thursday, except holidays), seniors, children under twelve, and BAM Cinema Club members Tickets available by phone at 718.777.FILM ( order by "name of movie" option) Call 718.636.4100 or visit www.bam.org

Brooklyn, March 3, 2006-From April 1-4 BAMcinematek, the repertory film program at BAM Rose Cinemas, presents Israel on Film. This series looks at different portraits of the nation of Israel from past fifty years, encompassing everything from documentaries about Ariel Sharon, to the epic Exodus (1960), to a film about punk rock Jewish rebellion, to a look at the lives of both black Jews in Israel and Orthodox lesbians. Many special guests will participate in Q&As including documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles and writer Phillip Lopate. This series is part ofBAM's Culture Complex.· Steinhardt Jewish Heritage Festival that includes a complementary music program in the BAMcafe.

The series kicks off on April 1 with a double bill of documentaries about Ariel Sharon, Ariel Sharon (2003) and How I Learned to Overcome My Fear and Love Arik Sharon (1997). The former traces the life and times of Sharon from his time as a soldier through his rise to Prime Minister. How I Learned to Overcome My Fear and Love Arik Sharon was made on the eve of the 1996 elections and sees filmmaker Avi Mograbi-whose most recent film, Avenge but one of my Two Eyes, screened in last year's New York Film Festival-trying to interview Sharon while examining the conflicted feelings that Sharon's hard-line policies inspire in him. Also on April 1 is French ethnologist Maurice Dores' documentary, Black Israel (2003), which looks at the lives of several Caribbean, African, and African-American Jews residing in Israel or the U.S.

more ...

BAMRose Cinemas Statesof Israel,2 On April 2 there is a documentary double bill of films examining the difficult roles of women in Israeli society: Keep Not Silent- Orthodykes (2004), a film which looks at the lives of orthodox lesbians in Israel, and Sentenced to Marriage (2004), in which two women attempt to navigate the orthodox courts in order to get divorces.

Chris Marker's Description of a Struggle, in which the filmmaker ruminates on Israel at the turn of the 60s, screens April 2. Film Comment describes the film as "a remarkably beautiful, even enthusiastic movie. Israel may never have a more glorious travelogue. The poetic voiceover annotates a mosaic oflovingly framed postcard images." Critic and author Phillip Lopate will also participate in a discussion of Marker's work.

The series also boasts two classic Hollywood films, The Juggler ( I 953) and Exodus. Edward Dymytrk's The Juggler stars Kirk Douglas as a Holocaust survivor who relocates to Israel. Due to his horrific experiences he finds himself unable to deal with a return to society. It screens on April 1. Otto Preminger's Exodus, which screens April 2, dramatizes the founding of the state oflsrael, and stars Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint. Chicago Reader comments "intelligence applied exactly where it is most rare: in the lavish star-studded epic ... makes fine use of dovetailed points of view in describing the birth pains oflsrael."

Documentary Jericho's Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land (2005), a look at Israel's punk rock scene, and their engaging discussions on Israeli life, plays on April 3. The Toronto Eye Weekly says," ... these punks are among the brightest (and certainly most outspoken) of their generation. Their insights serve as a great primer to contemporary Israeli life. On April 4 the series closes with Susan Sontag's personal cine-essay Promised Lands (1974). Time Out London remarks "this personal essay about contemporary Israel reflects much of the same passion and intelligence to be found in [Sontag's] non-fictional prose."

BAM Rose Cinemas "offers one of the most civilized movie-going experiences in the city," according to The New York Times. General admission tickets to BAM Rose Cinemas are $10. Tickets are $7 for students 25 and under (with valid l.D. Monday-Thursday, except holidays), seniors, children under twelve, and BAM Cinema Club members. Tickets are available at the BAM Rose Cinemas box office, by phone at 718.777.FILM (order by "name of movie" option), or online at www.bam.org. For more information, call the BAMcinematek hotline at 718.636.4100 or visit www.bam.org.

Israel on Film schedule

Saturday, April 1 at 2pm, and Tuesday, April 4 at 4:30, 9:30pm Ariel Sharon (2003), 56min Directed by Paul Jenkins Ariel Sharon documents the life and times of one of the most fascinating and controversial figures in Israeli history, as told by friend and foe, through interviews and newsreels. Tracing Sharon's career from soldier to Prime Minister, this film explains the key events that forged his political life. With How I Learned to Overcome My Fear And Love Arik Sharon (1997), l l 7min Directed by Avi Mograbi On the eve of the '96 Israeli elections, Mograbi makes an attempt to interview Sharon. Yet Mograbi, a committed left-winger, is more interested in the conflicted feelings hard-line Sharon inspires in him. As both these films predate the settlement pullouts and Sharon's recent stroke, it is interesting to revisit the temperament of the country before Sharon became a more beloved figure in Israel.

Saturday, April 1 at 4:30pm The Juggler (I 953), 84min Directed by Edward Dmytryk With Kirk Douglas, Milly Vitale In one of the first Hollywood movies to deal explicitly with the newly founded Jewish state, Douglas plays a Holocaust survivor. After relocating to Israel, he finds himself struggling to return to society, crippled by flashbacks. A forerunner to such films as The Pawnbroker, The Juggler includes Douglas in a magnificent, more... States of Israel, 3 scaled-back performance that is a far cry from his usual robust heroics. "Edward Dmytryk's well-coordinated direction does an excellent job of selling the erratic character of the juggler ... The camerawork of Roy Hunt tlows freely over the Israel countryside, giving an authentic, almost documentary flavor to the story."-Variety

Saturday, April I at 6:50pm* A Journey to Jerusalem (1968), 58min Directed by Michael Mindlin, Jr. With Leonard Bernstein, Issac Stern A Journey to Jerusalem was filmed by the Maysles Brothers, Richard Leacock, and others in a newly peaceful Jerusalem in the weeks after the Seven Day War, as Bernstein prepares to conduct Mahler's Resurrection Symphony on Mt. Scopus. Bernstein is clearly moved to be in the Holy Land and many lyrical montages are cut to the sounds of his rehearsals. Even the great Adolph Green, cracking wise, turns up. *A Q&A with documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles will follow this screening.

Saturday, April I at 9:30pm Black Israel (2003), 88min Directed by Maurice Dores Black Israel tells the stories of Caribbean, African, and African-American Jews that call either Israel or the U.S. their home. From Nigeria and Lagos, young men travel to study with the dream of returning home to start a synagogue. Others have moved to start a new Jewish-based community, and a soy-food business, in Israel; while in Harlem a congregation of Ethiopian Jews practice their interpretation of the laws of Israel.

Sunday, April 2 at 2pm Exodus ( 1960), 208min Directed by Otto Preminger With Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint Adapted from Leon Uris' bestselling novel by Dalton Trumbo-who had been recently rescued from the blacklist-Exodus fills a big canvas with its portrait of the founding of the state of Israel. The cast plunges into their roles with gusto, while Preminger clearly relishes his chance to work on such a large scale. Exodus is "a dazzling, eye-filling, nerve-tingling display of a wide variety of individual and mass reactions to awesome challenges and, in some of its sharpest personal details, a fine reflection of experience that rips the heart." -The New York Times

Sunday, April 2 at 6:50pm Keep Not Silent - Orthodykes (2004), 52min Directed by Iii! Alexander Orthodox lesbians in Jersulem, including a mother often and a rabbi's daughter, experience a patticular brand of alienation as they struggle to exist in a world they value, but which considers them to be sinners. Keep Not Silent - Orthodykes won the Best Documentary award at the Israeli Academy Awards. With Sentenced to Marriage (2004 ), 65min Directed by Anat Zuria This documentary follows two women seeking divorces in Israel, as they navigate their way through the courts, a process based on orthodox religious law, and an experience that proves to be alternately humiliating and absurd.

Sunday April 2 at 9:30pm* Description of a Struggle ( 1960) Directed by Chris Marker Marker, cinema's great essayist-poet, ruminates on an Israel only a few years removed from the European genocide. Marker's thoughts and notions flow freely - in one moment he is struck by a zoo exhibit posted with Biblical passages, in another he observes a young Israeli girl who will "never be Anne Frank." Description of a Struggle won the Golden Bear for best documentary at the 1961 Berlin Film Festival. "It begins and ends on a vitally important note, contemplating the potential for strife between Arabs and Israelis. "To become but another nation implies a right to the selfishness of nations," a narrator says. "Perhaps the greatest injustice which weighs

more ... Statesof Israel,4 upon Israel is the denial of the right to be unjust."-The New York Times *A Q&A with writer Phillip Lopate will follow this screening.

Monday, April 3 at 4:30, 6 :50*, 9:30pm Jericho's Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land (2005), 75min Directed by Liz Nord In a place with such palpable tension over established notions of religion, sexuality, occupation and war, this dissenting young voice provides a source of well-rounded, thoughtful discussion of modern Israel. * A Q&A with Steve Lerner, Director of Photography will follow this screening.

Tuesday, April 4 at 6:50pm* Promised Lands (1974), 87min Directed by Susan Sontag Promised Lands is a film in search of the "signs" of Israeli life: scorched corpses on an abandoned battlefield, sandbags in shopping districts, the crossroads at Prophet & Paratrooper Streets. Without narration but with an unflinching camera-eye, Sontag introduces us to the soldiers, doctors, and writers who have found" ... the other side of Auschwitz." * This is a Free Screeing that will be introduced by Marie Nesthus, Donnell Media Center, New York Public Library

Credits The Steinhardt Jewish Heritage Festival at BAM is presented in partnership with Judy and Michael Steinhardt. Additional support is provided by Sam Spiegel Foundation.

Leadership support for BAMcinematek is provided by The Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust. HIP & Freelancers Union are major sponsors for BAMcinematek. BAM Rose Cinemas are named in recognition ofa major gift in honor of Jonathan F.P. and Diana Calthorpe Rose. BAM Rose Cinemas would also like to acknowledge the generous support of the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, The Estate of Richard B. Fisher, James Ottaway, Jr., Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, The Ford Foundation, Time Warner Inc., Bloomberg, and Trollback & Company. Additional support is provided by Steiner Studios, Criterion Collection, and The Grodzins Fund.

BAMcinematek would like to offer special thanks to Lori Fried/First Run Icarus Films, Michael Schlesinger & Susanne Holzman-Jacobson/Sony Pictures Repertory, Michael Chaikin & Laura Coxson/Maysles Films, Andrea Traubner/Filmakers Library, Liz Nord, Steve Lerner, Phillip Lopate, Christie George & Olivia Newman/Woman Make Movies, Sharon Delano, Meir Russo/Jerusalem Cinematheque, Marie Nesthus, and John Gore & Michael Diekmann/Donnell Media Center.

General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafe, and Shakespeare & Co. BAM shop are located in the Peter Jay Sharp Building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn's only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafe, operated by Great Performances, also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. A $21 three-course dinner at BAMcafe is available Friday-Saturday for BAM Rose Cinemas ticket holders (day of screening only). BAMcafe is open Friday-Saturday from 5pm-closing. Additionally, BAMcafe is open two hours prior to all Howard Gilman Opera House and Harvey Theater performances.

Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue; D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush A venue Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit www.bam.org.

#### Brooklyn Peter Jay Sharp Building BAM Rose Cinemas Academy 30 LafayetteAvenue Pressand Promotions of Brooklyn NY 11217-1486 Molly B. Gross Music Telephone: 718.636.4100 718.636.4129 x3 Fax: 718.636.4179 [email protected] News Release BAMcinematek Presents Village Voice: Best of 2005, April 6-23

The series features Best Films and Best Undistributed Films of 2005 from the The Village Voice Take 7 Film Critics Poll

Rare screenings of undistributed films including the New York Premiere of Tsai Ming-liang's The Wayward Cloud, Seijun Suzuki's Princess Raccoon, and Aleksandr Sokurov's The Sun

Brooklyn, March 10, 2006-From April 6-23 BAMcinematek, the repertory film program at BAM Rose Cinemas, presents Village Voice: Best o/2005, a series of selections from the prestigious The Village Voice Take 7 Film Critics Poll. The weekly newspaper's annual poll enlists film critics from across the country to pick not only the best films of the year, but also outstanding undistributed works. Celebrating its sixth anniversary this series gives audiences another chance to catch these superb films. This year there is a strong showing of Asian work, including Voice favorites Tsai Ming-liang and Hou Hsiao-hsien, as well as two works from indie-film minimalist Andrew Bujalski. Reflecting The Village Voice's tradition of championing films of great artistic merit, the series fits perfectly with BAM Rose Cinemas' mission to present the finest domestic and international cinema. All descriptions are courtesy of The Village Voice, except where noted.

The series kicks off on April 6 with Masahiro Kobayashi's undistributed film Bashing (2005), directly inspired by Japanese volunteer workers who were taken hostage in Iraq, and the reaction they received upon return to Japan. Next up on April 7 is the first of two films by Andrew Bujalski, Funny Ha Ha (2003), which Variety calls "a beautifully observant and wholly unpretentious film with roots ... in Cassavetes ... " Claire Denis' The Intruder, which The New York Times calls a "magnificent enigma," screens on April 8. The film is inspired by philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy's short book on his heart transplant.

Alexandr Sokurov's portrait of emperor Hirohito, The Sun (2005), screens April 9. The BBC comments that "Sokurov succeeds in putting a very human and all-too vulnerable face to one of the 20 th century's most notorious leaders." This screening is a rare chance to view The Sun, as it is still seeking U.S. distribution. On April 12 is The Far Side of the Moon (2003), directed by and starring theater director Robert LePage and based on his stage play. [LePage has also

more ...

BAMRose Cinemas Village Voice.·Best of 2005, 2 directed the following productions at BAM: Seven Streams of the River Ota (Next Wave 1996), Elsinore (Next Wave 1997), and Geometry of Miracles (Next Wave 1999)]. The New York Post describes The Far Side of the Moon as "a masterclass in turning a talky, one-man play into a visual delight." After one of the screenings there will be a Cinemachat with film critic Elliott Stein.

The fourth in director George A. Romero's series of zombie films, Land of the Dead (2005), is on April 13. The Chicago Sun-Times remarks "it's good to see [Romero] back in the genre he invented with Night of the Living Dead, and still using zombies not simply for target practice but as a device for social satire." The film is screening along with Jo Dante's shoti zombie film Homecoming (2005), in which soldiers that died in Iraq rise from the dead in order to vote out the commander in chief that sent them to war based on a lie. Film critic Dave Kehr remarks that "Dante has created a political parable with genuine emotional force as well as glinting moral clarity ... may prove to be a kind of turning point in what has become America's studiously empty popular culture - a film that is proudly, fotihrightly, engaged in the reality of the present moment."

On April 14 is Mutual Appreciation (2005), the second film in the series by Andrew Bujalski, who will be at the BAM Rose Cinemas for a Q&A following this screening. Variety writes "if John Cassavetes had directed a script by Eric Rohmer, the result might have looked and sounded like Mutual Appreciation." Bujalski's film will open in New York this fall, making this a rare opportunity to see it in the meantime. In its New York debut Tsai Ming-liang's The Wayward Cloud (2005), which Time Out London describes as "a witty, insightful and typically idiosyncratic continuation ofTsai's earlier features," screens on April 15. On Sunday April 16 is Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder (2003), a police procedural based on South Korea's first serial-killer case. The New York Times comments that it "is such a taut, effective thriller it's a shame you have to read subtitles to gauge just how good a movie it is."

Cafe Lumiere (2004), directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien as a tribute to Yasujiro Ozu, screens on April 21. The Chicago Tribune comments "both Hou and Ozu excel in evoking the poetry of everyday life, and, as a tribute from one great filmmaker to another, Cafe Lumiere should richly satisfy devotees of both artists." On April 22 is another film from Hou Hsiao-hsien, Three Times (2005), that presents three different love stories, using the same leads, set in three different time periods.

Seijun Suzuki's undistributed Princess Raccoon (2005), which stars Zhang Ziyi, screens April 23. The Hollywood Reporter says "dipping into an assortment of musical genres, this pop-opera fairy tale from veteran Japanese filmmaker Seijun Suzuki has a whimsical appeal. .. with an abundance of delightful visuals." The series closes April 26 with The Proposition (2005), an Australian western that is written and scored by Nick Cave. Variety remarks that "performances, right down to mangy-looking bit-patters, are exemplary ... Acknowledging genre forbears from classic American to Euro varieties, [The Proposition] is slave to none ... [it is] the first genuine, blood-and-thunder Aussie Western."

BAM Rose Cinemas "offers one of the most civilized movie-going experiences in the city," according to The New York Times. General admission tickets to BAM Rose Cinemas are $10. Tickets are $7 for students 25 and under (with valid 1.0. Monday-Thursday, except holidays) seniors, children under twelve, and BAM Cinema Club members. Tickets are available at the BAM Rose Cinemas box office, by phone at 718.777.FILM (order by "name of movie" option), or online at www.bam.org. For more information, call the BAMcinematek hotline at 718.636.4100 or visit www.bam.org.

Village Voice: Best of 2005 schedule

Thursday, April 6 at 6:50, 9: 15pm Bashing (2005), 82min, in Japanese with English subtitles Directed by Masahiro Kobayashi With Fusako Urabe, Nene Otsuka, and Takayuki Kato "Directly inspired by the cases of Japanese volunteer workers in Iraq who were taken hostage and freed-only to find themselves ostracized and blamed back home in Japan ... Masahiro's film centres on Yuko, a young woman

more ... Village Voice.·Best of 2005, 3 who finds her community, her ex-boyfriend and finally even her father and stepmother turning against her."­ Tony Rayns, Vancouver International Film Festival

Friday, April 7 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9:30pm Funny Ha Ha (2003), 89min Directed by Andrew B ujalski With Kate Dollenmayer, Mark Herlehey, and Andrew Bujalski "Most of the ha-ha's in Funny Ha Ha are not exactly funny: Andrew Bujalski's debut feature is foremost a squirming comedy of recognition. This Boston ultra-indie-which Bujalski wrote, directed, edited, and co­ starred in-slouches through the blurry limbo of post-collegiate existence, a period at once ephemeral and cruelly decisive." -Dennis Lim

Saturday, April 8 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9: I 5pm The Intruder (L'lntrus) (2004), 120min, in French with English subtitles Directed by Claire Denis With Michel Subor, Katia Golubeva, Gregoire Colin, and Beatrice Daile "Denis's most poetic and primal film to date is a dying man's long goodbye, a final accounting of a guilty conscience, a premonition of the hereafter. Loosely inspired by philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy's existential musings on his own heart transplant, this is a fearless filmmaker's boldest experiment yet, a direct line from her unconscious to yours."-Dennis Lim

Sunday, April 9 at 4:30, 7pm The Sun (Solntse) (2005), 110min, in Japanese with English subtitles Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov With Issei Ogata, Robert Dawson, and Kaori Momoi "Sokurov brings his dictator trilogy to an unexpected conclusion with this intimate portrait of Emperor Hirohito (Issey Ogata) at the moment where he has to surrender his divinity. When he emerges from his room, the emperor reminds the American G.I.s of Charlie Chaplin; his nightmares seem to presage Godzilla." -J. Haberman

Wednesday, April 12 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:30pm The Far Side of the Moon (La Face cachee de la lune) (2003), 105min Directed by and starring Robeti LePage With Anne-Marie Cadieux and Marco Poulin "This richly witty dramatic comedy produced, written, directed by, and starring Quebecois theater director Lepage, is a veritable cosmos of ideas. His film is an exploration of duality-of the two-faced moon, of two estranged brothers, and of the United States and the Soviet Union, who raced each other to conquer the moon." -Elliott Stein Cinemachat with Elliott Stein after 6:50pm screening.

Thursday, April 13 at 6, 9pm Land of the Dead (2005), 93min Directed by George A. Romero With Simon Baker, Dennis Hopper, John Leguizamo, and Asia Argento "Far stronger than Spielberg's post- Sept 11 War of the Worlds ...Romero's post-apocalyptic vision only came into its own with Hurricane Katrina. Suddenly, the movie's images of fire, flood, looting, evacuation, and shotiages were abundantly present in Bush's America-if not yet the exploding heads and gooey entrail­ chawing." -J. Haberman Preceded by Homecoming (2005), 55min Directed by Joe Dante With Dexter Bell, Beverley Breuer, and Wanda Cannon

more ... Village Voice. Best of 2005, 4 "In an election year, dead veterans of the current conflict crawl out of their graves and stagger single-mindedly to voting booths to eject the president. The dizzying high point of Showtime's Masters of Horror series, Dante's galvanic, cathartic movie is one of the most important political films of the Bush II era. The zombies do not represent-but are-the unseen costs of this futile war."-Dennis Lim

Friday, April 14 at 7pm* Mutual Appreciation (2005), 110min, this special screening is courtesy of Goodbye Cruel Releasing Directed by Andrew B ujalski With Justin Rice, Rachel Cleft, and Andrew Bujalski "Starring Justin Rice of the indie-rock band Bishop Allen as a new-to-Brooklyn indie rocker, Mutual Appreciation is no less uncomfoiiably precise in its view of passive-aggressive slacker mating rituals than Bujalski's debut, Funny Ha Ha. No other filmmaker working today stares down quaiier-life ambivalence with this degree of empathy or brutal clarity."-Dennis Lim * A Q&A with director Andrew Bujalski will follow the screening.

Saturday, April 15 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9: l 5pm The Wayward Cloud (Tian bian yi duo yun) (2005), l 12min, New York Premiere in Mandarin & Japanese with English subtitles Directed by Tsai Ming-liang With Kang-sheng Lee, Shiang-chyi Chen, and Yi-Ching Lu "Body obsessed, The Wayward Cloud is Tsai extreme, with a water sh01iage, hardcore sex, and kitschy musical numbers. Now a porn actor, Tsai regular Lee Kang-sheng is humping in the apartment above his old friend and new love Chen Shiang-chyi. Par for the course, Tsai forges something touching out of very little, bringing the film to quite the head."-Mark Peranson

Sunday, April 16 at 3, 6, 9pm Memories of Murder (Salinui chueok) (2003), 129min, in Korean with English subtitles Directed by Bong Joon-ho With Kang-ho Song, Sang-kyung Kim, and Roe-ha Kim "A police procedural like no other, [the film] has the epic aura of a sociographic novel, but you won't see a less pretentious movie this year. Set in 1986 and loosely based on what's been called South Korea's first serial-killer case ... lt's an altogether remarkable piece of work, deepening the genre while whipping its skin off." -Michael Atkinson

Friday, April 21 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9: 15pm Cafe Lumiere (Kohfjiko) (2004), 108min, in Japanese with English subtitles Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien With Hitoto Yo and Asano Tadanobu "Dedicated to Yasujiro Ozu, the exquisitely understated Cafe Lumiere is, in some ways, Hou's melancholy rumination on the traditional Japanese family that was already in decline a half-century ago, when Ozu made his most celebrated domestic dramas. Cafe Lumiere is slow and quiet, with plenty of activities, mainly the eating of meals, that unfold in real time. Its perverse eloquence lies in the way in which most things remain unsaid." -J. Hoberman

Saturday, April 22 at 7pm Three Times (Zui hao de shi guang) (2005), 120min, opens April 26 at the IFC Center Directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien With Chen Chang, Mei Di, Chang Chen, Shu Qi, and Su-jen Liao "Hou Hsiao-hsien presents the same romantic couple in a trio of historically charged situations-a Kaohsiung billiards parlor in 1966, a Dadaocheng brothel in 19 I I, and a Taipei rock club in 2005."-J. Hoberman "A triptych on Taiwanese time, love, and communication, Hou's fi Im can be read as a gloss on his own cinematic development, with each section recalling a different Hou hit. It's also a triumphant return to history­ both his nation's and his own."-Mark Peranson

more ... VillageVoice. Best of 2005, S Sunday, April 23 at 3, 6, 9pm Princess Raccoon (Operetta tanuki goten) (2005), 111 min, in Japanese & Mandarin with English subtitles Directed by Seijun Suzuki With Zhang Ziyi, Jo Odagiri, Hiroko Yakushimaru, and Mikijiro Hira "A self-mocking operetta whose song styles range from Nippon-ized Jacques Brel-ishness to 70s album rock, set on deep-dish-Dada ballet sets that are regularly subsumed by digital mythopoeia and headlong design nuttiness. It's a movie unlike any other ever made by an octogenarian. Any ambivalence about Princess Raccoon's 'success' has to be reckoned against Suzuki's insurrectionary resilience and his nearly half a century of movies that speak in their own unique visual tongue."-Michael Atkinson

Wednesday, April 26 at 7pm The Proposition (2005), 104min, this special screening is courtesy of first Look Media Directed by John Hillcoat With Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Danny Houston, and Emily Watson "Nick Cave and longtime cinematic collaborator John Hill coat reunite for this grisly tale of outback outlaws that's straight out of Cave's Murder Ballads. The full-throated troubadour pens and scores this sun-soaked horse opera about two barbarous brothers (Guy Pearce and Danny Huston) pitted against each other in the Australian badlands by lawman Ray Winstone." -The Village Voice

Credits

Leadership support for BAMcinematek is provided by The Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust. HIP and Freelancers Union are major sponsors for BAMcinematek. BAM Rose Cinemas are named in recognition of a major gift in honor of Jonathan F.P. and Diana Calthorpe Rose. BAM Rose Cinemas would also like to acknowledge the generous suppoti of the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, The Estate of Richard B. Fisher, James Ottaway, Jr., Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, The Ford Foundation, Time Warner lnc., Bloomberg, and Trollback & Company. Additional support is provided by Steiner Studios, Criterion Collection, and The Grodzins Fund.

BAMcinematek would like to offer special thanks to Dennis Lim, Pascale Ramonda/Celluloid Dreams, Gareth Tennant/The Works, Tetsu Ohsaki/Dentsu Tee Inc., Marisa Kesalica and Joey Calista/Wellspring, Andrew Bujalski and Houston King/Goodbye Cruel Releasing, Lucie Kalmar/Wild Bunch, Andrew Chang/TLA Releasing, Michelle Panzer, Harris Dew and Ryan Werner/lFC, Paul Ginsburg/Universal, David Shultz and Brooke Ford/First Look Media, and Ed Arentz/Palm Pictures.

General Information

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafe, and Shakespeare & Co. BAMshop are located in the Peter Jay Sharp Building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn's only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafe, operated by Great Performances, also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. A $21 three-course dinner at BAMcafe is available Friday-Saturday for BAM Rose Cinemas ticket holders (day of screening only). BAMcafe is open Friday-Saturday from 5pm-closing. Additionally, BAMcafe is open two hours prior to all Howard Gilman Opera House and Harvey Theater performances.

Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue; D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush Avenue Bus: 825, B26, B4 l, 845, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 7 I 8.636.4100, or visit www.bam.org.

#### Brooklyn PeterJay Sharp Building BAM Rose Cinemas Academy 30 LafayetteAvenue Pressand Promotions of Brooklyn NY 11217-1486 Molly 8. Gross Music Telephone:718.636.4100 718.636.4129 x3 Fax: 718.636.4179 [email protected] NewsRelease BAMcinematek Presents The Films of Mikio Naruse, April 27-May 10

Phillip Lopate at BAM for a Q&A and book signing on April 28

BAM Rose Cinemas (30 Lafayette Ave.) Tickets: $10 per screening for adults $7 for students 25 and under (with valid LO. Monday-Thursday, except holidays), seniors, children under twelve, and BAM Cinema Club members Tickets available by phone at 718.777.FILM (order by "name of movie" option) Call 718.636.4100 or visit www.bam.org

Brooklyn, March 29, 2006-From April 27-May 10 BAMcinematek, the repertory film program at BAM Rose Cinemas, presents The Films of Mikio Naruse, a series of films by the filmmaker Time Out New York calls "Japanese cinema's most overlooked great director." Alongside Ozu and Mizoguchi, Naruse was one of the great stylists in Japanese cinema. Identified by Kurosawa as his favorite director, Naruse examined the territory of realist, humanist dramas, seemingly similar to Ozu's milieu, but steeped in a looser visual style and an even more bittersweet sense of melancholy. This is a rare chance to explore the work of this underappreciated master, as his films have rarely screened in the United States. Artforum says that Naruse's films "celebrate, without extravagance, the lives of ordinary people struggling for something better than the hand fate has dealt them. Performed with quiet certainty by superb actors, shot and edited with a sure and restless hand, they raise the ordinary and even the sordid to a quality near sublime." The Films of Mikio Naruse was organized by James Quandt from the Cinematheque Ontario in association with The Japan Foundation.

The series kicks off on April 27 with Wife! Be Like a Rosel (1935), the first Japanese sound film to be distributed in North America. It is a quietly humorous film in which a young office worker attempts to reconcile her estranged parents. Film Comment remarks that "Naruse brings a biting lyricism worthy of John Ford." Next on April 28 is Sound of the Mountain (1954), which was Naruse's favorite of all his films. Senses of Cinema says that it is "possibly Naruse's most perfect entry in his preferred genre of shomin-geki (films about the daily lives of the lower classes), possessed of a measured pace and a melancholy, lyrical undercurrent. .. here we also find some ofNaruse's most inspired mise-en-scene." Phillip Lopate will be at BAM for a Q&A and book signing of American Movie Critics: An Anthology From the Silents Until Now (2006) after the 6:50pm screening. The marital drama Repast (1951 ), starring Setsuko Hara as a dissatisfied Osaka housewife, screens April 29. Susan Sontag remarks that "the style is classical, more ...

BAMRose Cinemas The Films of Mikio Naruse, 2 unobtrusive ... as compelling as anything by (Ozu, Mizoguchi, and Kurosawa] ... Hara, never more lovely, gives one of her greatest performances here ... she has a greater range of emotions than I've ever seen from her - it's an eye-opening performance."

On April 30 is Mother (I 952) which authors Donald Richie and Joseph Anderson call "one ofNaruse's best films" in their book The Japanese Film: Art and Industry. It is about a struggling single mother and her three children. Anzukko (1958), in which a father attempts to find the right suitor for his daughter, is on May 2. Chicago Reader says Late Chrysanthemums (1954), which screens May 4, is "Naruse's masterpiece." The film is based on three stories by feminist writer Fumiko Hayashi, and concerns the friendship between several former geishas reaching middle-age and facing the future. The New York Times remarks, "Late Chrysanthemums is an extraordinarily elegant and somber work ... Naruse's vision is mercilessly anti-romantic, and though he appreciates the fortitude of each of his principal characters, he never sentimentalizes them."

Naruse's first film in color and widescreen, Summer Clouds (1958), screens on May 5. L magazine comments that Naruse 's "approach to melodrama ascends to Sirkian heights of expressiveness." On May 6 is Naruse' s most commercially successful film, Floating Clouds (1955), in which a woman determinedly follows her lover despite full knowledge of his weakness and instability. Chicago Reader comments, "Naruse's visual style [in Floating Clouds] is austere to the point of invisibility; his meanings are contained in his actors' faces and in his distinctive dovetailing of dramatic incidents, a narrative pattern that allows his characters no rest, but affords a strange peace in its constancy." The Village Voice calls When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960) "the last classic of Japanese cinema's pre-New Wave golden age ... among the most sublime cinematic treatments of that sector of the service industry politely referred to as 'bar hostesses."' The film, which Film Comment remarks is "the supreme triumph of Scope filmmaking," screens on May 7.

On May 8 is Her Lonely Lane (1962), a film based on the life of Fumiko Hayashi, the novelist whose work Naruse so frequently adapted for the screen. Phillip Lopate describes Hideko Takamine's performance as "probably her greatest." Flowing (1956), which details the decline of a geisha house, is on May 9. Chicago Reader says that "the largely female cast ... comprises an extraordinary ensemble, and Tanaka especially, as the self-effacing housemaid, is remarkable ... a great film, not to be missed." The series closes on May 10 with Scattered Clouds ( 1967), Naruse's final film, and a full-blown melodrama that The Village Voice says has "Sirk-saturated colors."

BAM Rose Cinemas "offers one of the most civilized movie-going experiences in the city," according to The New York Times. General admission tickets to BAM Rose Cinemas are $10. Tickets are $7 for students 25 and under (with valid l.D. Monday-Thursday, except holidays) seniors, children under twelve, and BAM Cinema Club members. Tickets are available at the BAM Rose Cinemas box office, by phone at 718.777.FILM (order by "name of movie" option), or online at www.bam.org. For more information, call the BAMcinematek hotline at 718.636.4100 or visit www.bam.org.

The Films o(Mikio Naruse schedule Descriptions courtesy of James Quandt/Cinematheque Ontario All films directed by Mikio Naruse and in Japanese with English subtitles

Thursday, April 27 at 6:50, 9:15pm Wife! Be Like a Rose! (Tsuma Yo Bara No Yo Ni) (1935), 74min With Sadao Maruyama, Tomoko Ito, Schiko Chiba, and Yuriko Hanabusa A landmark: the first Japanese sound film to be distributed in North America. The bittersweet, quietly humorous story of a young office worker who attempts to reconcile her estranged parents-a refined but eccentric haiku poetess and her laborer husband who deserted her to live with his ex-geisha mistress-Wife! is uncharacteristic Naruse in some respects: It has a "happy ending" (s01t of), but the acerbic tone, the generosity towards often traduced types (the hardworking mistress), and the insights into the obscure hurts and stifling nature of family life are all classic Naruse. "One ofNaruse's best films."-Phillip Lopate

more ... The Films of Mikio Naruse, 3 Friday, April 28 at 6:50*, 9: 15pm Sound of the Mountain (Yama no oto) (1954), 94min With Setsuko Hara, So Yamamura, Ken Uehara, and Yoko Sugi Naruse himself said of this film, "This is one of my all-time favorites. I love this picture." Ozu regular Setsuko Hara is luminous as desperate housewife Kikuko, unhappily married to philandering cad Shuichi (Ken Uehara). Often alone, Kikuko finds herself spending more and more time with her kindly and considerate father-in-law Shingo (So Yamamura, in a superb performance), and a close, complex, and affectionate relationship develops between them. Sound of the Mountain is a work of great subtlety and accomplishment that showcases the underrated, understated gifts of this masterful director. *Q&A and book signing of American Movie Critics: An Anthology From the Silents Until Now with author Phillip Lopate

Saturday, April 29 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9: 1Spm Repast(Meshi) (1951), 96min With Ken Uehara, Setsuko Hara, Yukiko Shimazaki, and Yoko Sugi A poignant marital drama, Repast casts Ozu regular Setsuko Hara (who also appears in Sound of the Mountain) as an Osaka housewife. Increasingly dissatisfied with her childless marriage to poorly-paid salary man Hatsunosuke (Ken Uehara), the arrival of her husband's niece brings the crisis in her marriage to a head. "One of [Naruse's] finest works ... Superb psychological description with a minimum of plot and maximum of nuance, the kind of woman's film Ozu tried to make in his 1952 The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice but he could not surpass Naruse."-Audie Bock

Sunday, April 30 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9: 15pm Mother (Okasan) (1952), 98min With Kinuyo Tanaka, Kyoko Kagawa, Masao Michima, and Akihiko Katayama Pre-eminent actress Kinuyo Tanaka is known for her appearances in many of Japanese cinema's greatest masterpieces, including major works by Mizoguchi, Ozu, and others. She also made several important films with Naruse, including Mother, one of the director's most celebrated achievements. The film features Tanaka as a widow with three children struggling to maintain the dry cleaning business left by her late husband. The story is told from the point of view of her eldest daughter, played by Kyoko Kagawa in what noted film historian Donald Richie has described as "one of the most sensitive teenage performances in the Japanese cinema."

Tuesday, May 2 at 7pm Anzukko (1958), 108min With So Yamamura, Shizue Natsukawa, Kyoko Kagawa, and Isao Kimura Male characters in Naruse aren't all weak, callow, manipulative, violent, drunken, or feckless, or combinations and variations thereof. In this powerful portrait of a marriage gone wrong, So Yamamura, already famous from appearances in films by Ozu and Mizoguchi, plays the kindly, concerned father ofa "modern" young woman who rejects suitor after suitor until she falls for a young veteran - that is, until a childhood friend, a writer who expected to marry her, intervenes, telling tales about the veteran so that he can instead become her husband. "One ofNaruse's favorite final shots."-Donald Richie

Thursday, May 4 at 6:50, 9: l 5pm Late Chrysanthemums (Bangiku) (1954), IOl min With Haruko Sugimura, Sadako Sawamura, Chikako Hosokawa, and Yuko Mochizuki One ofNaruse's pantheon films, this character-driven tale of four retired geishas is based on three stories by Fumiko Hayashi, the feminist writer who was the director's favorite. Haruko Sugimura heads the cast as hard­ bitten, cynical Kin, who long ago abandoned men for her new passion: money. The reappearance of ex-lover Seki, with whom she once contemplated double suicide, fails to melt Kin's cold heart, but when a letter arrives from Tabe (Ken Uehara), another old flame, she begins to get her romantic hopes up. Naruse's dramatic touch is characteristically subtle, detailed, observant and poignant.

more ... The Films of MikioNaruse, 4 Friday, May 5 at 6, 9pm Summer Clouds (Jwashigumo) (1958), 130min With Chikage Awahima, Michiyo Aratama, and Kumi Mizuno Summer Clouds was the director's first film in color and in widescreen, and his first depiction of rural life. Its theme, however, is pure Naruse: a woman trapped by social conditions or circumstances. Single mom Yae (Chikage Awashima), a war widow, manages a small farm with her difficult mother-in-law. When Okawa (Isa Kimura), a married reporter for a Tokyo newspaper, comes to interview Yae about recent agrarian reforms, the two begin an ill-advised affair. The film's use oflandscape is breathtaking; its social backdrop is the rapid change in postwar Japan brought about by land reform and dizzying economic growth.

Saturday, May 6 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9:30pm Floating Clouds (Ukigomo) (1955), 123min With HidekoTakamine, Masayuki Mori, Mariko Okada, and Chieko Nakakita A tragic tale of amour Jou set in the ruins of postwar Tokyo; Floating Clouds is ranked by many as Naruse's pinnacle achievement, and was his greatest popular success in Japan. The film features a magnificent lead from actress Hideko Takamine (she is to Naruse what Toshiro Mifune is to Kurosawa). Takamine plays Yukio, a typist who served with the Japanese forces in French Indochina. Returning home, she seeks out Tomioka, the engineer she had an affair with at the front. "Filled with an eroticism not often seen in Naruse's films, though its thesis, that love is an illusion, is common to most of the director's other pictures."-Donald Richie

Sunday, May 7 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9: l 5pm When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (Onna ga kaidan o agaru toki) ( 1960), 110min With Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori, Reiko Dan, and Tatsuya Nakadai Reminiscent ofMizoguchi's Street of Shame, the film is set in Tokyo's neon-lit bar district of Ginza, where widowed bar hostess Keiko (Hideko Takamine) is at a crossroads: entering her thirties, and aware that she can't depend on her charms for much longer. "[A] magnificent 1960 melodrama. An elegant essay in black-and-white CinemaScope and tinkling cocktail jazz, this tale ofa bar hostess's attempt to escape her lot could give heartbreak lessons to Fassbinder and Sirk."-J. Hoberman

Monday, May 8 at 7pm Her Lonely Lane (Horoki) (1962), 124min With Hideko Takamine, Kinuyo Tanaka, Daisuke Kato, and Akira Takarada Considered one of the finest late Na ruses and a model of film biography, Her Lonely Lane features remarkable performances by Hideko Takamine-Phillip Lopate calls it "probably her greatest performance" - and Kinuyo Tanaka as mother and daughter living from hand to mouth in 20s Tokyo. Based on the life and career of Fumiko Hayashi, the novelist whose work Naruse adapted to the screen several times, Her Lonely Lane traces her bitter struggle for literary recognition in the first half of the twentieth century.

Tuesday, May 9 at 7pm Flowing (Nagareru) (I 956), l 17min With Kinuyo Tanaka, Isuzu Yamada, Hideko Takamine, and Mariko Okada Kinuyo Tanaka plays meek Rika, an aging housemaid who joins the employ of a struggling Tokyo geisha house. Unfolding from Rika's clear-eyed perspective, the film recounts the geishas' effo1ts to maintain traditional standards-and resist the temptation to resort to prostitution-in the face of mounting financial pressures. "There is little solemnity and no moral earnestness in Naruse's films ... Naruse's first craft was comedy and-as with Ozu before him-its lesson was never forgotten."-Donald Richie

Wednesday, May 10 at 4:30, 6:50, 9: l 5pm Scattered Clouds (Midaregumo) ( 1967), 107min With Yuzo Kayama, Yoko Tsukasa, and Mitsuko Mori Naruse's last film and a wonderful final testament. Naruse ends his career with a full-bodied melodrama about a pregnant woman left widowed when her husband is killed in a traffic accident. The driver, Mishima, is found innocent but feels so responsible that he pursues the widow, offering financial assistance which she rebuffs.

more .. TheFilms of MikioNaruse, 5 "One of his strangest and strongest. It is eerie to see how well his style worked inside the mode of the late Sixties ... though it is only Naruse's old song: that people keep scheming to get a little of what they want in a world designed for unhappiness."-Phillip Lopate

About Mikio Naruse

Mikio Naruse (born 1905) was a multiple award-winner and a commercially successful director in Japan. Despite this, he remains virtually unknown in this country. Although in some regards his films resemble those of his contempories Ozu, Mizoguchi and Kurosawa, Naruse's work contains a vision of humanity that is much darker than any of theirs. He himself said, "From the youngest age 1 have thought that the world we live in betrays us.

This thought remains with me." Usually featuring female leads, his work shows a deep empathy and understanding of women. His characters often face adversity with little semblance of hope, and armed only with an ability to endure harsh realities against the odds, something rarely softened by sentimentality or falsely upbeat endings. Naruse was born in Tokyo and was the youngest of three sons. Despite great success at elementary school his family's poverty bought an end to his education and he was enrolled in a technical school. Soon after Naruse graduated his father died, leaving Naruse little choice but to find work, which he did at the Shochiku studio as a prop man. Slowly he rose through the studio's ranks, finally getting a chance to direct after working for several years as an assistant director.

It was during the 1950s that Naruse reached his peak, working primarily in the Shom-geki genre. His films more often than not feature proud, willful, and self-aware women who seek out dignity under desperate circumstances, only to be disappointed. Despite the bleak prospects presented them they forge on, acknowledging their fate and yet still struggling against it. The Washington Post says of his characters that "they have no money, so they're forced to take up unseemly jobs. And no matter how hard they work to better their lives, patriarchal society continues to regard them with disdain and abuse them ... [However] there's more to his movies than just despair. These women are plucky fighters, stubbornly committed to the task of trying their damnedest anyway. Few filmmakers of either gender have created such unsentimentally heroic women."

The somewhat downbeat mood ofNaruse's films did little to endear him to his superiors at Toho, the studio where he made most of his films. As a result of this, they refused to submit his films to European festivals such as Cannes and Venice, something that helps explain Naruse's relative obscurity in the West. It was through those festivals that most Japanese filmmakers gained attention and popularity outside of Japan.

Credits

Leadership support for BAMcinematek is provided by The Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust. HIP & Freelancers Union are major sponsors for BAMcinematek. BAM Rose Cinemas are named in recognition ofa major gift in honor of Jonathan F.P. and Diana Calthorpe Rose. BAM Rose Cinemas would also like to acknowledge the generous support of the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, The Estate of Richard B. Fisher, James Ottaway, Jr., Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, The Ford Foundation, Time Warner Inc., Bloomberg, and Trollback & Company. Additional support is provided by Criterion Collection and The Grodzins Fund.

BAMcinematek would like to offer special thanks to James Quandt/Cinematheque Ontario, for organizing this touring series, The Japan Foundation for providing the new 35111111prints, Marie Suzuki /The Japan Foundation, Tokyo, Keiji Shona and Kristopher Kersey/ The Japan Foundation, NY, Kenji Sato/Toho International, Sarah Finklea/Janus Films.

General Information

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafe, and Shakespeare & Co. BAMshop are located in the Peter Jay Sharp Building at 30 Lafayette A venue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn's only movie house dedicated to first-run independentand foreignfilm and repertoryprogramming. BAMcafe, operated by GreatPerformances, also featuresan more .. The Films of Mikio Naruse, 6 eclectic mix of spoken word and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. A $21 three-course dinner at BAMcafe is available Friday-Saturday for BAM Rose Cinemas ticket holders ( day of screening only). BAMcafe is open Friday-Saturday from 5pm-closing. Additionally, BAMcafe is open two hours prior to all Howard Gilman Opera House and Harvey Theater performances.

Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, 8 to Atlantic Avenue; D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette A venue Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush A venue Bus: B25, 826, B41, 845, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit www.bam.org.

####