NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. 24. The Pacific. Even Wrestlemania. All events that I suggested for our new big screen at a/perture. But what are we premiering with? The spring return of Glee. No doubt, this is going to be a fun show. Maybe we'll even encourage singing along, but we see who really wears the pants in the programming. At least she picked the best new comedy on TV. April 13th, 9 pm, our doors will be open to all to come watch the show for FREE! Acapella songs in surround sound! Jane Lynch larger than life in your face! Our awesome concession area open for your enjoyment! Sounds like a win to me, but space is limited, so we'll let people in on a first-come basis.
Jake really wanted us to show Yo Gabba Gabba as the first show, but Muno has been too busy brainwashing Lawren into buying a new car and riding bulls in Vegas. He found some time to say hey to your author, though.
Thank goodness we're showing North Face and Terribly Happy to bring up the testosterone levels a little next week.
I thought Spring was here until I woke up this morning. I guess Phil really was right this year. We still have to wait a few more days. According to the weather forecast, by April 1 we should be able to retire our jackets until next Fall. Along with warm weather, flowers, pollen, weeding (ugh)....April also means the 12th annual RiverRun International Film Festival. An 11 day celebration of film right here in Winston-Salem. We've mentioned this before, I know, but we are so excited to be a venue for the fest this year. Obviously, since we have just opened, we've never done anything like this before and so we have no idea what to expect as far as logistics and operations are concerned. We do however, know what to expect as far as the film program is concerned. This year's lineup includes more than 120 films from 33 countries. RiverRun brings to town films that you may never have the opportunity to see again, yes, I mean even on Netflix.
So to help get everyone in the mood, a/perture is going to be screening four great films over the next few weeks. What do these films have in common? They are all small indy films, they are not "Made in the USA," and they are films that have all enjoyed great festival exposure around the world. These are some really great films that a/perture wants to be able to continue to bring to town...so come see some of them so that we CAN!
1.) Fish Tank (now playing until April 1)...there were several films about young girls coming of age that were released in 2009. Precious and An Education (one of our favs) may come to mind. Fish Tank falls in this category, but is in a league of its own. This little British indy is tough and dirty and the language may be offensive to some ears, but it is realistic and brilliant. It won the 2010 BAFTA award (which is Oscar's British cousin). The acting by newcomer Katie Jarvis will blow you away. If you need another opinion check out the review of this film in the LA Times...
2.) Terribly Happy (April 2-8)...is a Danish film, how many of those have you seen? In one line - it is a thriller about a Copenhagen cop who moves to a small town after suffering a nervous breakdown. If you like the Coen Brothers films this should be right up your alley. Other critics have seen a similarity to the classic Western genre. Check out the trailer.....
3.) North Face (April 2-8)... is a German film and about just what its title suggests...mountain climbing. Based on a true story about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps. Set in 1936, as Nazi propaganda urges the nation's Alpinists to conquer the unclimbed north face of the Swiss massif - the Eiger. It just sounds daunting and really dangerous...the Eiger...
4.) The Girl on the Train (April 9 - 13)... is a French film and c0-stars the legendary Catherine Deneuve (don't you just love how her name rolls off your tongue?). The film is centered on a young woman who claims she was the target of an anti-Semitic attack and the subsequent media sensation it creates. This film is inspired by a much-discussed real event that took place in Paris a few years ago....
Our next blog will feature info on a special event we are hosting at a/ptr on April 13...stay tuned.
I can't get Das weisse Band (said in a German accent) out of my head for some reason. I think maybe it is the whole "v" sound for the "w" that is so fun to imitate. We opened Das weisse Band, for you anglophiles, The White Ribbon, on Friday and have had a solid weekend so far. Our q&a and book signing with Peter Brunette on Friday evening was fantastic. The event drew a sold-out crowd with over 2/3 sticking around afterwards to gab about the film (which according to Peter is a great stat).
And trust me there is so much to discuss with this film. I really have to thank Peter for a great evening and hopefully we can twist his arm to come back for another q&a in the future. Peter has also written a book on Michael Haneke, so if you do come see The White Ribbon and want to learn more about this intriguing director you should pick up a copy. a/perture bought one and we are still gushing over the sweet comment Peter signed in ours, "To the necessary a/perture cinema with gratitude."
In other news, we are getting ready to play venue for RiverRun in just a few short weeks. For those of you who want to see what sorts of films this year's fest is bringing to town, we invite you to come to a/perture on either Thursday, March 25 or Monday, March 29 @5:45pm for a sneak peek. RiverRun has put together a great clip reel that highlights this year's festival films. Trust me, after you see it, you will be very very excited. Check out this recent news clip if you still need convincing. BTW - this is an absolutely FREE admission event.
Yesterday's weather was such a tease...but I really do think Spring is almost here. Stay tuned for more announcements.
If you've noticed that the past few blogs haven't been as funny or well written (who am I kidding, she does everything better than me), it's because your normal author has been licking his wounds after another Oscar beating. My desire to be able to say "I told you so" when the unexpected happens always wins out over sensibility, and I'm testing that again over the next month with my NCAA tournament bracket picks. Can you say Minnesota in the Elite Eight? Lawren's winning again after the early session, but she always starts out strong and flames out like a Hollywood marriage (too soon for Jesse and Sandra?). But I am getting to take advantage of one of the perks of being a part owner of a movie theater - late Wake Forest - Texas game on the big screen. Let's hope a change of venue will change the Deacons' luck (sorry Sadie).
Another awesome thing about co-owning a movie theater? Getting people who actually know about movies to explain what you just saw. Friday March 19th (tomorrow night) at 8pm, director of the film studies program at WFU and film critic for The Hollywood Reporter (could you have a cooler job) Peter Brunette will be here to dissect The White Ribbon. As the author of a book on director Michael Haneke, we'd venture to say he's got a good handle on things. And if any of you saw Funny Games, and were like me, you'll need to talk to someone after having your mind absolutely scrambled. To get in the mood to watch a German film, we're serving special concessions - sorry, no brats or spanferkel - but we do have a German bier (Gordon Biersch Marzen) and vine (or wine - J. Christoph Reisling).
So put on your lederhosen, practice your yodeling, and come on down!
So last night we co-sponsored, along with skirt! winston-salem, a screening of the award-winning documentary Indestructible to a packed s/tudio 1. For those of you who don't know, Indestructible is a film about ALS. It is moving and tragic and yet leaves you inspired. ALS (many of you might know it by its other name Lou Gehrig's Disease) is a neuro-degenerative disease that kills 90% of its victims within 5 years. There is no cure.
It is so cool to be able to write that our little screening raised over $560 to contribute to the ALS Film Fund. The ALS Film Fund is committed to educating, inspiring and invoking change for the future benefit of ALS patients worldwide. Not only did we do some fundraising, but we offered an opportunity for ALS patients, loved ones and the community at large to participate in a q&a following the screening. The q&a featured the perspective of a doctor, patient and loved one and I really think that it was a great source of information and support for those who participated.
I hope that as a/perture grows and we become further entwined in the community, we can continue to host such wonderful and worthy events!
we have been busy getting ready for spring and all the things that warmer weather entails...so this blog is just full of all sorts of announcements:
1.) we now offer coffee and hot tea to compliment our other tasty concessions. yes, we missed the winter, but coffee is also a great source of caffeine so it is a great product all year long...
2.) for those who have been waiting patiently, we now offer GIFT CERTIFICATES!!!! Just in time for Easter baskets...they make a perfect compliment to Peeps.
3.) we now have pre-screen advertising for sale (or trade). what a great way to promote your business or event or to just tell everyone how awesome you are. send us an email for more details. 4.) our web server was hacked, but it is now back up and running. take that SarBoT511. thanks to all of you who called in or sent emails to let us know...we appreciate you looking out for us! 5.) RiverRun is only one month away. The films and schedule will be announced this Monday, so bookmark RiverRun
6.) we had a bunch of winners in the Oscar shorts contest who will now get to enjoy a discounted popcorn and one lucky winner who gets a Becket membership in the a/v society. His response was "woo-hoo" and we love to hear that!
7.) we have DirecTV! Now not only can we show films here, we can also show the occasional live special event...who knows what we have up our sleeves...maybe a Lost finale event or a Glee! party or some live World Cup games this summer.
that's it for now. but promise we have more in the works...
There's a annual challenge in the Desai household every year around this time, and I don't think I've ever come out ahead as we become prognosticators for the Oscars. Maybe this year's winner will get a free date night at the movies. Ha.
Well, we're going to let you see how crappy (in my case) or awesome (in Lawren's case) we do. And maybe by making it public, the tide will turn and I'll actually win. Highly doubtful though.
We'll have some winners on our hands after the Oscars for the shorts after tomorrow night. Check back soon to see who our winners were! Just to let you all know, the most popular pick for animated short was Logorama and for live action was Miracle Fish. Good luck to everyone, especially me because I'll need it.
