Music Hall Historic Theater Announces July Screenings

There's no better way to beat the heat of summer than by viewing a great film in the cool comfort of the Music Hall Historic Theater on Chestnut Street, or in the Loft on Congress Street. Continuing the Music Hall tradition of singular cinema, July screenings span a wide range, including indies, international films, and documentaries exclusive to the Seacoast.

Film Matters in July features Fed Up on Thursday, July 17 at 7pm at the Historic Theater- a new documentary about food and health in America from Katie Couric, Laurie David (Oscar winning producer of An Inconvenient Truth) and director Stephanie Soechtig. Fed Up is billed as "the film the food industry doesn't want you to see". The screening will be followed by a discussion panel featuring notable UNH professors as well as local authors. July's Wildcard feature, Thursday, July 24 at the Historic Theater, is also a documentary, a film about Ultrarunning (running distances longer than a marathon) made by local filmmakers of Hammer & Saw Films, titled 100: Head/Heart/Feet. The film will be followed by a panel discussion featuring the runner/subject of the film and the filmmakers.

Plus, July cinema features actors ranging from Emma Roberts to Woody Allen and from Marion Cotillard to Jeremy Renner-and one of the classic musicals of all time-An American in Paris. Programming Coordinator Chris Curtis says, "There are many exciting films to see at The Music Hall in July. Come join us in one or both of our air-conditioned venues. Get out of the heat and get into some great on-screen stories!"

The Music Hall Season Sponsors: The River House Restaurant; Carey & Giampa, Realtors; Residences at Portwalk Place

July Films

Extraordinary Cinema: Locke

R, 85, UK

July 1, 7pm • Historic Theater

Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) has worked diligently to craft the life he has envisioned, dedicating himself to the job that he loves and the family he adores. On the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, Ivan receives a phone call that sets in motion a series of events that will unravel his family, job, and soul. All taking place over the course of one absolutely riveting car ride.

"Moment by moment, with a twitch, a shudder, a look, it's Mr. Hardy who movingly draws you in, turning a stranger's face into a life" - New York Times

Extraordinary Cinema: Finding Vivian Maier

NR, 83, US

July 2-3, 7pm • Loft

Who is Vivian Maier? Now considered one of the 20th century's greatest street photographers, Vivian Maier was a mysterious nanny who secretly took over 100,000 photographs that went unseen during her lifetime. Maier's strange and riveting life and art are revealed through never-before-seen photographs, films, and interviews with dozens who thought they knew her.

"An aptly obsessive study of obsession"

Variety

Evening Sponsor: Drift Contemporary Art Gallery

Extraordinary Cinema: Watermark

PG, 92, Canada

July 5, 8, 7pm • Loft

Watermark is a feature documentary that brings together diverse stories from around the globe about our relationship with water: how we are drawn to it, what we learn from it, how we use it and the consequences of that use. Shot in stunning ultra high-definition and full of soaring aerial perspectives, this film shows water as a terraforming element and the scale of its reach, as well as the magnitude of our need and use.

"These exceptionally gifted filmmakers are simply best at the long view of the human species and its impact." - Boston Globe

Extraordinary Cinema: Palo Alto

R, 100 mins, US

July 11, 15-17, 7pm • Loft

Shy, sensitive April (Emma Roberts) is a popular soccer player and frequent babysitter for her single-dad coach, Mr. B. (James Franco). Teddy (Jack Kilmer) is an introspective artist whose best friend and sidekick Fred (Nat Wolff) is an unpredictable live wire with few filters or boundaries. A directorial debut by Gia Coppola based on the short stories by James Franco.

"Astutely observed, full of fine performances." - Wall Street Journal

Film Matters: Fed Up

PG, 92 mins, US

July 17, 7pm • Historic Theater

For the past 30 years, everything we thought we knew about food and exercise is dead wrong. Fed Up is the film the food industry doesn't want you to see. From Katie Couric, Laurie David (Oscar winning producer of An Inconvenient Truth) and director Stephanie Soechtig, this Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winner might change the way you eat forever. The discussion panel with Dr. Joanne Burke, UNH Clinical Associate Professor and Director of UNH Dietetic Internship Program; Dr. Gale Carey, Professor, UNH Department of Molecular, Cellular, & Biomedical Sciences; Kathy Gunst, Award-winning cookbook author, chef, gardener, forager, writer and teacher; Dr. John Carroll, UNH Professor of Natural Resources; Dr. Abigail Carroll, food scholar and historian and author of Three Squares: The Invention of the American Meal will follow the film.

"Poised to be the Inconvenient Truth of the health movement." - LA Weekly

Evening Sponsor: Exeter Hospital

Film Matters Series Sponsors: Allergy Associates of New Hampshire; Rudi's Portsmouth; Portsmouthnh.com; NH Gazette; RAM Printing

Extraordinary Cinema: Fading Gigolo

R, 90 mins, US

July 18, 22-23 7pm; July 20, 4pm • Historic Theater

Fioravante (John Turturro, who also wrote and directed) decides to become a professional Don Juan as a way of making money to help his cash-strapped friend, Murray (Woody Allen). With Murray acting as his "manager", the duo quickly finds themselves caught up in the crosscurrents of love and money.

"As a filmmaker, Turturro evokes a sense of this community that's surprisingly nuanced and rich." - Washington Post

Extraordinary Cinema: We Are The Best!

NR, 102 mins, Sweden (subtitled)

July 18-20, 7pm • Loft

Lukas Moodysson's adaptation of his wife Coco's graphic novel about three young misfits growing up in early '80s Stockholm. Klara and her best friend Bobo are 13-year-old rebels looking for a cause. Despite having no instruments-or discernible musical talent-the two put all their energy into forming an all-girl punk band, recruiting their shy, classical guitar-playing schoolmate Hedvig as the third wheel.

"What we have here is an exhilarating blast of a movie, full of heart but still punk rock...loud, crude, socially irresponsible and totally irresistible." - Rolling Stone

Wildcard Movie: 100: Head/Heart/Feet

NR, 104 mins, US

July 24, 7pm • Historic Theater

The documentary follows Ultrarunner Zak Wieluns as he attempts to run The Vermont 100 Endurance Race. The film focuses on Zak's intensive training regiment and its impact on his relationships, while exploring the reasons he was singularly dedicated to completing the race, one of the original 100 mile runs in the USA. Post-film panel includes Zak Wieluns and the filmmakers.

Extraordinary Cinema: The Immigrant

R, 120 mins, US • Historic Theater

July 26, 4pm; July 26-27 7pm; July 29-31, 7pm

Two sisters, immigrants to New York from their native Poland in search of the American dream, face both the charming but wicked and the hope for a brighter future. Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner star in the latest from writer-director James Gray (Two Lovers).

"This rich, beautifully rendered film boasts an arrestingly soulful performance from Marion Cotillard." - Variety

Left Bank Cabaret Film: An American in Paris (1951)

PG, 113 mins, US • Loft

July 31, 7pm

One of the greatest, most elegant, and most celebrated of MGM's 1950's musicals, with Gershwin lyrics and musical score, lavish sets and costumes, tremendous Technicolor cinematography, and a romantic love story set to music and dance. Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron star in this winner of 6 Oscars, including Best Picture.

"The real reasons to see An American in Paris are for the Kelly dance sequences, the closing ballet, the Gershwin songs, the bright locations..." - Roger Ebert

Left Bank Cabaret Series Sponsor: That Event Co.

For More Information
For more information on all shows, films, and events, go to www.themusichall.org/calendar

Tickets
Tickets for all July films and HD broadcasts are on sale now.

About The Music Hall
The Music Hall is a performing arts center featuring curated entertainment from around the world in two theaters in its downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire campus - one, a landmark 1878 Victorian theater, designated an American Treasure for the Arts by the National Park Service's Save America's Treasures Program, the other the intimate Music Hall Loft around the corner, recently named "best performing arts venue" by Yankee Magazine and the recipient of the NH AIA award for design excellence.

With acclaimed signature series like Writers on a New England Stage - a partnership between The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio - and the Intimately Yours music series, we bring top authors and artists to both stages. Also, HD broadcasts from The Metropolitan Opera and the National Theatre of London as well as extraordinary cinema fill both screens almost every night of the year.

This dynamic arts center urges patrons to Explore + Learn via master classes, post film panel discussions, and matinees for children. An anchor cultural organization in this historic working seaport, The Music Hall is one of downtown Portsmouth's biggest employers and largest contributors to the regional economy: The Music Hall and its patrons contribute $7 million annually to the local economy through show and visitor related spending.

Innovative in its outlook, the organization is community oriented and committed to making the Seacoast flourish. The Music Hall is a 501(c)3 nonprofit managed by a professional staff with the assistance of a volunteer board. Though global in the scope of its artists and programs, The Music Hall operates independently with the support of 3,000 members, 300 corporate partners and 58 community partners. Welcoming more than 100,000 patrons (including 20,000 children) each year from the tri-state area and beyond, The Music Hall is the region's center for the performing arts, literature and education...easy to get to, impossible to forget. An American Treasure celebrating 135 years.

Web: www.TheMusicHall.org | Twitter: @MusicHall | Facebook: /musichall |

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"The crown jewel of Portsmouth's cultural scene" - Yankee Magazine

"The beating cultural heart of New Hampshire's seacoast" - Boston Globe