Museum of the Moving Image Announces Jan-March Exhibits

Museum of the Moving Image advances the public understanding and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media. It does so by collecting, preserving, and providing access to moving-image related artifacts, screening significant films and other moving-image works, presenting exhibitions of artifacts, artworks, and interactive experiences, and offering educational and interpretive programs to students, teachers, and the general public.

FILM SERIES AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS

First Look
January 6–15, 2012
The Museum introduces a brand-new showcase for inventive, groundbreaking international cinema. Thirteen features and seven short films—most New York premieres—will screen over two weekends, many accompanied by personal appearances. Titles include Chantal Akerman’s Almayer’s Folly (Opening Night: January 6), Johnnie To’s Life Without Principle, Philippe Garrel’s That Summer, and Christoph Hochhäusler’s The City Below. The series was programmed by Dennis Lim, editor of Moving Image Source; Rachael Rakes, Assistant Film Curator; and David Schwartz, Chief Curator.

Cinema Eye Honors
January 10–11, 2012
Preceding the Cinema Eye Honors Award Ceremony for Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking on January 11, Cinema Eye Honors and HBO Documentary Films will present a preview screening of Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory with directors Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky in person (January 10).

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Special Screening: Nothing But a Man
Monday, January 16, 2012
Michael Roemer’s 1964 film Nothing But a Man is a unique and devastatingly powerful depiction of black life in 1960s Alabama, centered on the struggles of a railroad worker and his schoolteacher wife. Despite being a festival hit upon its completion in 1964, the film was unable to attain distribution, and was all but forgotten until it was finally given a DVD release and added to the National Registry in 1993.

In Darkness with Agnieszka Holland in person
Monday, January 16, 2012
Moving Image and the Polish Cultural Institute New York co-present a special screening of director Agnieszka Holland’s new film In Darkness, about a Polish sewer worker who hid Jews in the sewer system during the occupation of Lvov, followed by a conversation with the director.

David Cronenberg
January 21–February 12, 2012
This comprehensive retrospective of David Cronenberg’s films includes all of his features, plus some rarely screened short films and a conversation with the director (January 21). The series, which traces his career from his experimental films and horror and science fiction movies to his recent literary adaptations, is presented with support from the Canadian Consulate General, New York. Films include: They Came from Within (a.k.a. Shivers) (1975), Rabid (1977), Fast Company (1979), The Brood (1979), Scanners (1981), The Dead Zone (1983), Videodrome (1983), The Fly (1986), Dead Ringers (1988), Naked Lunch (1991), M. Butterfly (1993), Crash (1996), eXistenZ (1999), Spider (2002), A History of Violence (2005), and Eastern Promises (2007). The following short films will be shown: Transfer (1966), From the Drain (1967), Stereo (1969), Crimes of the Future (1970), Camera (2000), and At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World (2007).

Reelabilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival
February 11–12, 2012
The Museum partners with the nation’s largest festival dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities. Titles include The Straight Line (France, 2011), Musical Chairs (U.S., 2011), Mabul (Israel, 2011), and Mourning (Iran, 2011).

The Films of Jan Svankmajer
February 17–25, 2012
Four features and a program of short films by Czech animator Jan Svankmajer will be presented, with support from the Czech Center New York. While Svankmajer’s films are dreamlike and imaginative, they are also rooted in physical reality—often using household objects as his subjects. Selections include his darkly surreal Lewis Carroll adaptation Alice and the satire of bourgeois morality Conspirators of Pleasure. (Note: Surviving Life: Collages by Jan Svankmajer will be on view in the Amphitheater Gallery through February 26.)

Barbara Stanwyck Double Feature
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Barbara Stanwyck was one of Hollywood’s most compelling stars, exuding keen intelligence, alluring beauty, and a sharp sense of humor; she was also the highest-paid female movie star in the 1940s. Her art and life are explored in the new book Barbara Stanwyck: The Miracle Woman (2012, University Press of Mississippi) by Dan Callahan. Callahan will introduce screenings of The Lady Eve (1941) and Forty Guns (1957) on February 19; and sign books in between screenings in the Museum store.

Two by Chantal Akerman
Sunday, March 4, 2012
The Belgian filmmaker and artist, who emerged in the 1970s as one of the most significant contemporary directors, will be present for a conversation with screenings of two films: News from Home (1977) and The Captive (2000). She is in New York City this year to teach at the City University of New York.

Geoff Dyer on Tarkovsky, Cinema, and Life
Sunday, March 11, 2012
The incredibly versatile author and novelist Geoff Dyer is known for his novels (Paris Trance; Jeff in Venice, Death in Veranasi), his essay collections (Otherwise Known as the Human Condition), his genre-defying books of observation-reportage (Yoga for People Who Can’t Be Bothered to Do It), and his column in The New York Times Book Review. On the occasion of Dyer’s latest book Zona, about his obsession with Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker, the Museum will present a conversation with Dyer and a screening of Tarkovsky’s The Mirror (1975).

Hong Sang-soo
March 17–23, 2012
Underlying the complexity of South Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s work is a profound sense of humor and a fondness for deeply flawed protagonists, characters who muddle through despite their hapless attempts at romantic intimacy. He has been compared to such French New Wave directors as Eric Rohmer and Jean-Luc Godard; but Hong stands alone as a true original. Five of his best films will be presented in this retrospective, presented in collaboration with The Korea Society. They include his career-launching romance The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well, Woman on the Beach, Night and Day, Like You Know It All, and the most recent Oki’s Movie.

Jim Henson Screenings and Programs
Ongoing through March 4, 2012
In conjunction with the exhibition Jim Henson’s Fantastic World (which has been extended through March 4), the Museum presents weekly screenings and events, many accompanied by special guest speakers. Programs include screenings of Muppet Show episodes, workshops by professional puppeteers, an Oscar-Day Muppet Movie marathon, Heather Henson leading a Muppet Movie Sing-a-long, and a special program to mark the end of the exhibition.

See It Big!
Ongoing through March 17, 2012
In celebration of the one-year anniversary of the Museum’s reopening, the successful See it Big! series will continue to present the best prints of beloved classics in the Museum’s beautiful main theater. Titles include Manhattan; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; The Sound of Music; Forty Guns; North by Northwest; The Mirror; and Touch of Evil.

Fist and Sword
Ongoing
The Museum’s monthly martial arts showcase, curated by Warrington Hudlin, will feature a preview screening of Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire, starring mixed martial arts sensation Gina Carano (January 19); Klitschko, a portrait of the world-famous boxer brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko (February 19); and District 13: Ultimatum, the sequel to the French parkour blockbuster (March 10).

The Museum will also present preview screenings that will be announced as they are scheduled. On February 24, at 7:00 p.m.: The Salt of Life (Gianni e le donne). Dir. Gianni Di Gregoria, 2011.

ON VIEW IN THE GALLERIES

Jim Henson’s Fantastic World
EXTENDED through March 4, 2012
The work of the internationally renowned puppeteer, filmmaker, and television pioneer is explored in this Smithsonian traveling exhibition which features more than 120 artifacts, including drawings, storyboards, props, video material, and fifteen iconic original puppets of such characters as Kermit the Frog, Rowlf, Bert, and Ernie. The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive series of special screenings, personal appearances, and workshops.

Behind the Screen
Ongoing
Behind the Screen, the Museum’s core exhibition, features more than 1,400 historical artifacts, art works, video clips, and interactive experiences that show how moving images are made, marketed, and exhibited.

Surviving Life: Collages by Jan Svankmajer
Through February 26, 2012, in the Amphitheater Gallery.
The installation consists of 50 collages made during the production of the film Surviving Life (2010), revealing the gentle surrealism and whimsical humor behind Svankmajer’s artistry. In conjunction with the exhibition, a 50-minute compilation of short films by Svankmajer will be shown continuously in the Video Screening Amphitheater. A series of films by Svankmajer will also be shown February 17 through 25 in the Main Theater.

Persona Performa Panorama (2011, Ming Wong)
Through April 1, 2012, in the Museum lobby
As part of his site-specific theatrical event Persona Performa, Ming Wong created a 50-foot long video panorama that features 24 actors playing 24 “personas” fused together in action and image, inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s film Persona.

Tracking Happiness and Other Works by Mircea Cantor
March 3–May 6, 2012, in the Amphitheater Gallery
Winner of the prestigious Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2011, Romanian-born artist Mircea Cantor’s works are concerned with the paradoxical issues of memory, history, oppression and hope. Four video works—Tracking Happiness, Zooooooom, The leash of the dog that was longer than his life, and I decided not to save the world—and two series of drawings by Cantor will be on view, presented with support from the Romanian Culture Institute New York. The artist will introduce a program of his short films on March 3, followed by a reception.

MUSEUM INFORMATION
Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday, 10:30 to 8:00 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Holiday hours: The Museum will be open 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the following Mondays: January 16 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day), and February 20 (President’s Day).
Film Screenings: Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays, and as scheduled.
Museum Admission: $12.00 for adults; $9.00 for persons over 65 and for students with ID; $6.00 for children ages 3-18. Children under 3 and Museum members are admitted free. Admission to the galleries is free on Fridays, 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Tickets for special screenings and events may be purchased in advance by phone at 718 777 6800 or online.
Location: 36-01 35 Avenue (at 37 Street) in Astoria.
Subway: M (weekdays only) or R to Steinway Street. Q (weekdays only) or N to 36 Avenue.
Program Information: Telephone: 718 777 6888; Website: movingimage.us