Categories
Issues and Actions

Your Suggestions For Today’s Film Institutions Are Needed

I was asked by the New York Times to contribute to a think piece on how to improve the  Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Ted Hope, chief executive of Fandor, a film-streaming service and former San Francisco Film Society executive director, recalled his first encounter with the organization: a showing of the Coen brothers’ “Blood Simple” at the New York Film Festival. “I was so excited to be in such a beautiful room with so many people who seemed to love cinema as much as me,” he said. “I want every program to recreate that excitement, and it comes from providing context, community and a sense of event — something both fleeting and permanent.”

Categories
Truly Free Film

Film Society of Lincoln Center and Hope for Film presents : Indie Night Screening Series – KID-THING – TONIGHT, Tuesday July 17 @ 8:00 pm

Dear film friends,

This is sort of urgent.

Good films don’t get seen. Let’s face it, the system is not working. Every summer I experience that same sensation: “there just aren’t any movies that I really want to see”. My 80 year old mom just went to see MOONRISE KINGDOM for the second time because there was nothing else to see. She does not live in NYC… but you do. You have entertainment & culture economies relatively based on choice & super-abundance (versus scarcity & control).

You can vote for the culture you want with your dollars. Simple acts have surprising results. What would happen if we refused to keep supporting a bland corporate culture based on test-marketing, remakes, and pat emotional response engineering? What if we demanded a cinema that still surprised us, took risks, and aimed for something a little more complicated and complex? Well, I for one think it would make the world a better place.

So I write to you now, for that reason. Don’t let the heat get to you. Come out tonight (Tuesday) and see a good bit of bad behavior told with a desire to learn and not prove, with an empathy for people despite their faults, and a love for the absurdity that lingers in truth. Support indie film. Keep indie alive and help it thrive. We can build it better together.

I have been putting a lot of work in to my hopes that all I say above is true. I scour through DVDS and links searching for the best that indie has to offer. The Zellner Brothers’ KID-THING is just that. They are flying in to our town to speak to you about it. How often can one due their duty but have fun doing it? Well tonight you can.

Read about what I said about this film here.

Order tickets: www.filmlinc.com/films/on-sale/kid-thing
Like KID-THING on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/KID-THING/191535430930013
Check out the website: www.kid-thing.com
You can see another collaboration between the Zellners & Aguirre on this music video here: www.vimeo.com/7201463

See you Tonight, Tuesday July 17th at 8:00 PM at the Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Q&A after the film with the filmmakers!

Tuesday, July 17
8:00 PM
Elinor Bunin Monroe Film Center
144 W. 65TH St
New York, NY 10023

This night is made possible by the continued support of our sponsors: Royal Bank of Canada & Fandor. Thank you!

Please mark your calendars for upcoming Indie Night screenings:
Wednesday, August 1, 2012, 8 PM: FRANCINE
Wednesday, September 5, 2012, 8 PM
Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 8 PM
Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 8 PM
Wednesday, December 19, 2012, 8 PM

Most sincerely, and forever hopeful about film,
Ted

Categories
Truly Free Film

Film Society of Lincoln Center and Double Hope Films presents : Indie Night Screening Series – KID-THING – Tuesday July 17

Dear Film Friends,

This month’s cinematic mystery is: “What allows for a great and truthful performance by a child?” I recognize that it is not an easy question to answer, beyond “I know one when I see one.” The good news is I know you will see one when you come next Tuesday to see The Zellner Bros. KID-THING at “Indie Night” — the monthly screening series I curate at The Film Society Of Lincoln Center. Sydney Aguirre delivers an incredibly cool, intense, and outright miraculous performance as Annie, the kid at the center of this “thing”.