Introducing ART ON SCREEN 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
New York, NY—The Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television & Radio) in collaboration with MUSE Film and Television, today announced the full schedule for ART ON SCREEN 2007, a three-day festival of award-winning art docs selected from this year's Montreal International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA). ART ON SCREEN, which runs from November 30 to December 2, 2007, gives New Yorkers the opportunity to see the best of FIFA, as well as meet and interact with a host of international art filmmakers, many of whom will be on hand to introduce their work.
ART ON SCREEN opens with an invitation-only screening of a new and critically acclaimed portrait of the life and work of Phyllis Lambert, renowned Canadian architect and urban activist, directed by Teri Wehn-Damisch. The festival continues over three days with a slate of new and noteworthy films about art that explore a vast range of subjects—from the destruction of the giant Buddhas in Afghanistan (Swiss director Christian Frei's The Giant Buddhas) to a behind-the-scenes look at the Detroit premiere of the opera Margaret Garner, adapted by Toni Morrison from her novel Beloved (French director Mustapha Hasnaoui's Margaret Garner).
The Montreal FIFA has earned international acclaim as the premiere film festival for the arts. Taking place over ten days in March, the 25th FIFA presented 275 productions from 25 countries and attracted more than 30,000 visitors. Following the Montreal showings, the award-winning festival entries tour to other cities in Canada and abroad. For more information: www.artfifa.com.
A complete schedule for Art on Screen 2007 is available at: www.paleycenter.org.
Art on Screen 2007 is made possible with a grant from the Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Foundation and the support of the Canadian Consulate General, the Quebec Delegation General in New York, and the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.
ART ON SCREEN 2007: SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30
Robert Indiana: American Dreamer
Friday, November 30; 12:30 pm
Dir. Eric Breitbart (United States) Prod. MUSE Film & Television
A self-portrait of the iconic LOVE sculpture artist.
Panta Rei
Friday, November 30; 2:15 pm
Dir. Lars Nilssen (Norway)
Champion windsurfer-turned-artist Jan Wanggaard creates his scale model of the solar system, Planet Lofoten, over three years in northern Norway.
The Art of Henry Moore
Friday, November 30; 3:30 pm
INTRODUCED BY Dir. John Wyver (United Kingdom)
A fresh look at arguably the greatest sculptor of the twentieth century.
Invitation-only, special event
Citizen Lambert: Joan of Architecture
Friday, November 30; 7:00 pm
INTRODUCED BY Dir. Teri Wehn-Damisch (Canada, France)
A glimpse into the world of Phyllis Lambert—who will participate in the event—renowned Canadian architect and urban activist.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1
Sigrid & Isaac
Saturday, December 1; 12:30 pm
Dir. Anders Wahlgren (Sweden)
The painters Sigrid Hjertén (1885-1948) and Isaac Grunewald (1889-1946), legends in Swedish art history, are brought to life in this chamber piece of archival and new footage.
The Giant Buddhas
Saturday, December 1; 12:30 pm
Dir. Christian Frei (Switzerland)
In March 2001, the Taliban destroyed two ancient Buddha statues in the Bamiyan valley of Afghanistan, despite universal protests. This essay on fanaticism and diversity, ignorance and identity is told through archival footage and photographs, plus interviews with witnesses.
Car-Men
Saturday, December 1; 2:30 pm
Dir. Boris Paval Conen (Netherlands)
The great Czech choreographer Jiri Kylian created this free adaptation of Carmen for the dance troupe NDT III. This fantastical dance performance was filmed in black and white in a Czech coal mine.
Yves Klein: The Blue Revolution
Saturday, December 1; 2:30 pm
INTRODUCED BY Dir. Francois Levy-Kuentz (France)
The inventor of the monochrome and the happening, Yves Klein (1928-62) was a true prodigy. Today, his radical and visionary work enjoys mythic status. Featuring unreleased archival material, this portrait examines the artist's meteoric career.
Yang Ban Xi: The Eight Model Works
Saturday, December 1; 2:30 pm
Dir. Yan Ting Yuen (China, Netherlands)
Mao meets Busby Berkeley meets hip-hop in this resurgence of revolutionary Chinese opera.
Le Blues de l'Orient [Between Two Notes]
Saturday, December 1; 5:00 pm
INTRODUCED BY Dir. Florence Strauss (France, Canada)
Cairo, Alexandria, Tel-Aviv, Beirut, Damascus, Aleppo, Palmyra... In a world torn apart, these cities have a common legacy: classical Arabic music. From Paris, director Florence Strauss traces the roots of this age-old art form, while shedding light on her own personal history.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2
Milton Rogovin: The Rich Have Their Own Photographers
Sunday, December 2; 12:30 pm
INTRODUCED BY Dir. Ezra Bookstein (United States) Prod. MUSE Film & Television
An exploration of the art and activism of social documentary photographer Milton Rogovin (b. 1909). For more than forty years, he has photographed the homeless, the marginalized, the powerless, and those he considers the "forgotten ones."
Zahara & Urga
Sunday, December 2; 2:15 pm
INTRODUCED BY Dir. Rax Rinnekangas (Finland)
After seeing a strange illumination, a silent boy gains the power of speech. Later, as a photographer, he travels throughout Europe seeking the light that allowed him to speak.
Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film (Parts 1 & 2)
Sunday, December 2 ; Part 1 at 2:30 pm and Part 2 at 4:30 pm
Dir. Ric Burns (United States)
Ric Burns looks at Andy Warhol, with rare archival footage shot by Warhol at the peak of his fame in the sixties.
Margaret Garner
Sunday, December 2; 4:00 pm
Dir. Mustapha Hasnaoui (France)
SPECIAL APPEARANCE by Mezzo-soprano Denyse Graves
A behind-the-scenes look at the Detroit premiere of the opera Margaret Garner, adapted by Toni Morrison from her novel Beloved, which recounts the true story of a nineteenth-century slave and her tragic destiny. Mezzo-soprano Denyse Graves, who sang the title role in the Detroit production, will attend the screening.