Northwest Film Forum Showtimes

American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:13:39 -0800

A devoted son of Holocaust survivors and ardent critic of Israeli foreign policy, the polarizing American political scientist and author Norman Finkelstein has been called a lunatic and self-hating Jew by some, and an inspirational revolutionary by others. Exploring the deeply complex issues at the heart of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, American Radical is the insightful and enraging documentary that follows Finkelstein around the world as he attempts to negotiate a voice among his impassioned critics and supporters. Uncompromising even in the face of his recent denial of tenure at DePaul University, Finkelstein is revealed as a complex and supremely lonely figure whose self-destructive nature often undermines his academic credibility. A guaranteed argument starter, this potent documentary plunges viewers into the psychological and intellectual underpinnings of a vitriolic personality.

"American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein is a cautiously respectful documentary portrait of a political firebrand who presents himself as a beacon of moral truth in the murk of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” —Stephen Holden, New York Times

"With impressive restraint, the fascinatingly thorny American Radical is less interested in the validity of Finkelstein’s ideas—seriously mounted, if inflammatory—and more in the topsy-turvy life of today’s professional academic. Amazingly, that choice doesn’t result in a boring movie.” —Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York

“A fascinating, well-rounded portrait of Finkelstein that simultaneously informs, inspires and infuriates…the filmmakers ride a delicate line, assembling a warts-and-all portrait that shows why Finkelstein is deeply respected and equally reviled.” —Mark Achbar, Director of The Corporation and Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media

Special guest Edward Mast from Palestine Information Project will be in attendance for Q&A after both shows on Thursday, March 11th.
Edward Mast is a playwright and performer whose plays and solo performances have been seen around the US and elsewhere. He has travelled with human rights and arts delegations to Nicaragua, Uzbekistan, Ireland, and elsewhere, and has volunteered with the International Solidarity Movement to End the Occupation (ISM). Currently he volunteers with Palestine Information Project and the Palestine Solidarity Committee - Seattle. With his wife Linda Bevis he created the film version of PALESTINE FOR BEGINNERS, soon to be released in an updated second edition. In 2002, Edward Mast was given a human rights award by the United Nations Association of Seattle.

Watch the trailer...

Showdate(s) Mar 08 - Mar 11

Hillman Curtis Artist Series

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:43:06 -0800

Designer and filmmaker David Hillman Curtis directs this series of beautifully shot short film portraits of notable artists and graphic designers. Together the films present an inspiring tapestry of images, wisdom and the questions asked by all those who create.

Showdate(s) Mar 08 - Mar 10

Entropy: New Shorts & Music Videos

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:44:43 -0800

Creatures, cutouts and colors illuminate the screen in this year’s survey of inventive new short films and music videos from around the globe. Artists from the UK, the Netherlands, France, Japan, Australia, Argentina and around the United States match the originality of their ideas with brilliant uses of photographic, art and animation techniques. Features music by Yeasayer, Grizzly Bear, Ramona Falls, N.A.S.A. and others.

Showdate(s) Mar 08 - Mar 10

Here Come the Waves: The Hazards of Love Visualized

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:45:37 -0800

After the release of The Decemberists’ The Hazards of Love last year, four filmmakers embarked on a special project to take the album to new heights. Guilherme Marcondes, Julia Pott, Peter Sluszka and Santa Maria created animated films to accompany the ambitious and acclaimed song cycle.

We’re pleased to present a special screening of Here Come The Waves in full as part of ByDesign. Presented in association with Flux.

Watch the trailer...

Showdate(s) Mar 11

45365

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:22:27 -0800

An elegiac portrait of goings-on in the middle-American town of Sydney, Ohio, 45365 is a celebration of everyday life, mundane and profound. Directors Bill and Ross Turner, using images of their hometown, construct perhaps the world's first rural symphony, a patient, inquisitive and non-judgmental study of community, lives and landscape. The result is a beautifully simple and affecting film, one that is astute and artistic, and at times reminiscent of a William Eggleston photograph or an Edward Hopper painting. A sense of nostalgia naturally emanates from 45365 as a cinematic tribute to home. But so does a sense of the honesty and integrity of its clear-eyed chroniclers, who lift this little town up and out of the Ohio Valley, locating it firmly on the big blue globe.

Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival.

“Meticulously balancing cinema-verite intimacy and dreamlike reverie, 45365 fashions a seductive, fascinating tapestry of small-town.” —Variety

Check out the trailer...

Showdate(s) Mar 12 - Mar 18

Leonard Cohen Live At The Isle of Wight, 1970

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:18:15 -0800

On August 31, 1970, 35-year-old Leonard Cohen was awakened at 2am and brought onstage to perform at the third annual Isle of Wight Music Festival. An estimated 600,000 people were waiting, energized by a legendary set by Jimi Hendrix. As fellow festival headliners Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson, Judy Collins and others looked on, the Canadian folksinger-songwriter-poet-novelist quietly tamed the crowd with an equally spellbinding mix of songs and stories. Interwoven with Murray Lerner’s (Festival! From Mao To Mozart, Message To Love) live footage, never before shown, are brand-new interviews with Baez, Collins, Kristofferson and others, fashioning a fascinating and timely portrait of the artist as a young man.

Showdate(s) Mar 12 - Mar 13

Lunch Films

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:13:29 -0800

Truly independent films are made from the gut. One day Randy Walker's bought a filmmaker friend lunch. Instead of owing him a lunch in return, he wondered why not make a film for that same money? The two made a napkin contract with “rules” to follow. Now 50 "Lunch Films" have been commissioned (this is the second group of shorts to go on tour). Like a menu, the series has a wide variety of tastes and styles, from languid, real life documents to vibrant fiction to pure art. The lesson here is it’s easy to support a filmmaker, because a little goes a long way!

Films and total cost:
$29.51 made by Nick McCarthy. (aka "Chinese Box", 2009, 10 minutes)
$35.44 made by Kelly Sears. (aka "Jean", 2008, 3 minutes)
$43.43 made by David Fenster and David Nordstrom. (aka "The Call", 2009, 10 minutes)
$26.79 made by Bobcat Goldthwait. (aka "Goldthwait Family Home Movies (Anniversary Edition)", 2008, 7 minutes)
$20.28 made by Sam Green. (aka "Clear Glasses", 2008, 4 minutes)
$48.96 made by Sarah Soquel Morhaim. (aka "All Day All Night", 2008, 3 minutes)
110 zloty made by Aza Jacobs (aka “Letters Real/Names Not”, 2009, 10 min)
$67.50 made by James Graham (aka “Friends”, 2009, 3 min)
$43.05 made by Brent Green. (aka "Weird Carolers", 2009, 4 minutes)
$35.00 made by Braden King. (aka "Home Movie", 2009, 14 minutes)
$41.32 made by Naomi Uman and Lee Lynch. (aka "Tin Woodman's Home Movie #2", 2008, 5 minutes)
$27.73 made by Randy Walker and Jennifer Shainin. (aka "Whiskeypriest 1", 2009, 16 minutes)
$22.07 made by Mike Gibisser. (aka "Springtime Wound Motor", 2009, 10 minutes)
$43.19 made by Tom Barndt. (aka "Offshore Bank", 2008, 4 minutes)

Program: 100 min, and about $528.25.

Showdate(s) Mar 13