Schedule of Events

Schedule of Events:

<<January 2010

[February 2010]

Come watch beautiful images dance upon a screen in your own neighborhood! Shows begin promptly @ 8PM and are $5 (unless otherwise noted). EPFC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Sell your TV and come to the cinema.

ECHO PARK FILM CENTER THANKS THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS
AND SCIENCES FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE EPFC THURSDAY NIGHT MICROCINEMA SERIES. http://www.oscars.org

REMIX CULTURE February Filmmaking Workshops for Youth – Feb 6, 13, 20, 27 - 1 – 4 PM
Remix Culture invites local youth between the ages of 12 and 19 to examine the ways contemporary access to new media technology creates new ways of participating in and redefining our culture. Students will watch and discuss a variety of topical work and then create their own short films exploring connections between media, culture and community. This free 4-week workshop begins Saturday, February 6; all instruction, materials and equipment provided by EPFC. Instructor: Carla Orendorff. Class size is limited; please call or email to reserve a spot.

Tuesday, February 2 – CINEMA SPEAKEASY; SHORT FILM WORKSHOP – 7:30 PM
We had such a good time at our last short film workshop that we’ve decided to do it again, this time with two spanking new short films to critique. So, we’ve invited a few really good filmmakers to showcase their most recent work, hot off the presses and ready for scrutiny. Unleash your inner pundit and join our discussion leaders, Cinema Speakeasy’s Saskia Wilson-Brown & Georgi Goldman, as they guide us through this critical exercise. Just be sure to come prepared to give good constructive feedback. And hey, no haters.
February’s special instructions
·       Show up on Tuesday February 2nd, at 7:45PM
·       Show up to the right place: Echo Park Film Center (1200 N. Alvarado St. 90026)
·       Bring a bottle of something you wanna drink and share, $5, and a shifty look in your eyes.
All American Tooles (M. David Melvin, 21 min.) centers around a new mom who thinks she sees her 1 1/2 year old son do bizarre things in the baby monitor at night. Her husband is terrified she’s losing her mind and takes drastic measures. It’s a sort of a “funny twilight zone” about how people in our culture are easily played by their fears. In Procession (Beth Spitalny, 17 min.), with their relationship kept a secret due to their Jewish-Orthodox religion, Shayna can’t grieve when her boyfriend passes away suddenly. Unable to fathom the idea of letting her first love ‘go’, Shayna stows away in her boyfriend’s hearse with the hope to bide some time and find some closure. This becomes difficult when she comes face-to-face with Tim, a grumpy hearse driver who’d rather be alone with the dead than with a ball-of-emotions teenager. These two strangers from very different worlds end up sharing a journey much greater than either one could have ever imagined. More info: www.cinemaspeakeasy.com

Thursday, February 4 – EVE AND JOSH PRESENT: FILMS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP - 8 PM
Eve LaFountain, the new EPFC Operations Manager, and Josh Lee, the new documentary teacher, host an evening of Films About Friendship from around the world! Downtown jewel heists, boat rides in the Bay of Bengal, explorations through the woods and graveyards of western Massachusetts; requiems for friends lost and animations by friends found; a cinematic celebration of films from the early 21st century! Featuring "Picturing India" (2007), a documentary that follows Akshay Mahajan, one of India's prominent bloggers and photojournalists, as he and the filmmaker travel through the country's biggest cities and some of its poorest regions capturing images and discussing the vibrant, beautiful and sometimes disturbing circumstances of the lives of India's rural and urban working class; "Bon Pour le Coeur" (Super 8 2005) and "Ten Steps to the Inevitable" (16mm 2006), two films set to the acoustic bass incantations of the late, great Devin Risley; "The Wanderers in Wonderment" (16mm 2007), a stop motion animation with handmade characters who wander into the sunset; and the premiere of "Path of Shadows" (2009), a gritty Crime-Drama set in Los Angeles, exploring themes of personal and cultural alienation for two young immigrant brothers whose divergent paths have been reunited by the prospects of a daring jewel heist. All these films and more by Eve, Josh and friends living in Los Angeles. FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE!

Sunday, February 7 – INTRO TO FINAL CUT PRO: 1 – 5 pm
Calling all interested adults (ages 20+) looking to learn the beauty and grace of digital editing! All equipment and materials provided by EPFC. Class limited to 6 students; tuition is $60/$50 members.

Thursday, February 11 – MOCK UP ON MU - 8 PM
A radical hybrid of sci-fi, spy, Western, and even horror genres, Craig Baldwn’s Mock Up On Mu cobbles together a feature-length “collage-narrative” based on (mostly) true stories of California’s post-War sub-cultures of rocket pioneers, alternative religions, and Beat lifestyles. Pulp-serial snippets, industrial-film imagery, and B- (and Z-) fiction clips are intercut with newly shot live-action material, powering a playful, allegorical trajectory through the now-mythic occult matrix of Jack Parsons (Crowleyite founder of the Jet Propulsion Lab), L. Ron Hubbard (sci-fi author turned cult leader), and Marjorie Cameron (bohemian artist and “mother of the New Age movement”). Their intertwined tales spin out into a speculative farce on the militarization of space, and the corporate take-over of spiritual fulfillment and leisure-time. More info: http://www.othercinema.com/ FILMMAKER CRAIG BALDWIN IN ATTENDANCE!

Thursday, February 18 – LEFT BANK FILM NIGHT – 8PM
A night of tribute to the Left Bank offshoot of French New Wave cinema. Featuring Chris Marker's 1962 short experimental Film "La Jetee" (which later inspired Terry Gilliam's "Twelve Monkeys") and pioneering director Agnes Varda's 1965 "Le Bonheur." Curated and introduced by Rena Durrant, with Q&A to follow.

Friday, February 19 – FIG TREES – 8 PM
“Fig Trees is an extremely challenging work, absolutely innovative, both politically and aesthetically. The film scene needs this urgently: to develop the language of film, to give it a foundation and a background.” Wieland Speck, Berlinale. Fig Trees (2008) is Canadian filmmaker John Greyson’s masterful indictment of the pharmaceutical industry and AIDS policy in Canada and South Africa. Using a whirlwind of biting opera, a perverse countdown of Top-40 AIDS songs, a singing squirrel, and the patron saints of amputees, leather and soldiers, Greyson weaves together the true stories of two prominent AIDS activists, Canadian Tom McCaskell and South African Zackie Achmat. In this breathless, fantastical melange, the activists sing opera, Gertrude Stein celebrates the completion of her 1928 play Four Saints in Three Acts, and as always, Greyson turns a wicked, sharp eye on the intersection of politics, history and community. A lyrical, profoundly effective film, Fig Trees won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary at the 2009 Berlinale. Canadian filmmaker and activist John Greyson has long made daring, aggressively political work that is both provocative and funny. Often incorporating song and history, Greyson works in layered forms of narrative, essay and documentary to ignite our curiosity and celebrate the ways that history contradicts itself. Greyson’s films gnash their teeth at machinated government and a complacent public in a call to action that deftly sparks laughter as often as outrage. Previous films include the lush, haunting LIILES (1996), the AIDS-musical ZERO PATIENCE (1993), as well as URINAL (1998), PROTEUS (2003), UNCUT (1997) and many short works. Greyson will join us fresh from the 2010 Berlinale, where he screens his newest film COVERED. FILMMAKER JOHN GREYSON IN ATTENDANCE!

February 20 – 3RD ANNUAL GI JOE FEST – TWO SCREENINGS: 7 PM and 9 PM
The GI JOE STOP MOTION FILM FESTIVAL is the nation's first festival dedicated to screening works by stop-motion artists who use GI Joe figures (12", 8" -sigma 6- and 3 ¾ sizes) as main characters or “actors.”GI JOE Film Festival highlights up and coming filmmakers, as well as masters of the craft and has already attracted award winning films in the past years. Under the direction of festival president Gio Toninelo, the GI JOE FEST has became one of the hottest and fastest growing stop-motion festivals in the country! More info: http://www.gijoefest.com/

February 21 – GI JOE STOP MOTION WORKSHOP – 1 – 5 PM
Learn how to make your own GI Joe Stop Motion Animation! Jeff Gurwood (winner of GI JOE FEST 2007) will lead participants on a very broad view of stop-motion, from storyboards to the final product. All materials and supplies provided. Tuition: $20. Space is limited; call or email to reserve a spot.

Wednesday, February 24 –- CONSCIENTIOUS PROJECTOR PRESENTS TAKING CHANCE - 7 PM
The Silver Lake Chapter of Neighbors for Peace and Justice returns with their Conscientious Projector film series featuring thought-provoking films and community discussion. This month’s feature, Taking Chance, chronicles one of the silent, virtually unseen journeys that takes place every day across the country, bearing witness to the fallen and those who, literally and figuratively, carry them home. A unique non-political film about the war in Iraq, the film pays tribute to all of the men and women who have given their lives in military service as well as their families. More info: http://www.neighborsforpeaceandjustice.org/
http://www.hbo.com/movies/taking-chance/index.html#/movies/taking-chance/synopsis.html

Thursday, February 25 – SISTER AIMEE DVD RELEASE PARTY - 8 PM
Please join us for the dazzling premiere of SISTER AIMEE: THE MUSICAL! In the big dreams/small budget Depression-era tradition of “Hey kids, let’s put on a show!” this free EPFC youth filmmaking class introduced three dozen students ages 12 - 19 to the musical genre as they learned about one of Echo Park’s most dynamic historic figures. “Sister” Aimee Semple McPherson (1890 – 1944) was a pioneering evangelist and media sensation in the 1920s and 1930s who presented religion as a form of popular entertainment. Angelus Temple, the 5300-seat home of the Foursquare Church built by McPherson in 1923, still stands right around the corner from the Film Center at the edge of Echo Park Lake. Students created original sets, costumes, songs and choreography in bringing the story of Sister Aimee to the silver screen. Project made possible in part by grants from the California Council for the Humanities and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. This event is FREE and open to the general public... Q& A and refreshments to follow screening. EVERYONE WELCOME! FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE!

Saturday, February 27 – HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESITVAL SHOWCASE – 7:30 PM
HollyShorts is an organization devoted to showcasing the best and brightest short films from around the globe, advancing the careers of filmmakers through screenings, networking events, and various panel and forums. The HollyShorts Film Festival showcases the top short films produced 30-minutes or less. $10 admission for this event. Refreshments provided. FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE! More info: www.hollyshorts.com

Sunday, February 28 – INTRODUCTION TO SUPER 8 CINEMATOGRAPHY & HAND PROCESSING – NOON – 5 PM
This workshop includes basic camera operation, shooting techniques and hand-processing. No previous filmmaking experience necessary; all equipment and materials provided by EPFC. Instructor: Rick Bahto. $75/$60 EPFC members.

BECOME A FILM CENTER FAN ON FACEBOOK AND GET ALL THE DIRT OF SCREENINGS, PROGRAMS AND SPECIAL EVENTS!

AND DON’T FORGET OUR CINEMA BLOG AT http://www.echoparkfilmcenter.blogspot.com/

MAKE A MOVIE IN 2010…IT’S FUN AND EASY AT EPFC!
WE HAVE CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY…
GO TO WWW.ECHOPARKFILMCENTER.ORG AND WWW.FILMMOBILE.ORG FOR MORE INFO!

Come watch beautiful images dance upon a screen in your own neighborhood! Shows begin promptly @ 8PM and are $5 (unless otherwise noted). EPFC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Sell your TV and come to the cinema.

ECHO PARK FILM CENTER THANKS THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS
AND SCIENCES FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE EPFC THURSDAY NIGHT MICROCINEMA SERIES. http://www.oscars.org

REMIX CULTURE February Filmmaking Workshops for Youth – Feb 6, 13, 20, 27 - 1 – 4 PM
Remix Culture invites local youth between the ages of 12 and 19 to examine the ways contemporary access to new media technology creates new ways of participating in and redefining our culture. Students will watch and discuss a variety of topical work and then create their own short films exploring connections between media, culture and community. This free 4-week workshop begins Saturday, February 6; all instruction, materials and equipment provided by EPFC. Instructor: Carla Orendorff. Class size is limited; please call or email to reserve a spot.

Tuesday, February 2 – CINEMA SPEAKEASY; SHORT FILM WORKSHOP – 7:30 PM
We had such a good time at our last short film workshop that we’ve decided to do it again, this time with two spanking new short films to critique. So, we’ve invited a few really good filmmakers to showcase their most recent work, hot off the presses and ready for scrutiny. Unleash your inner pundit and join our discussion leaders, Cinema Speakeasy’s Saskia Wilson-Brown & Georgi Goldman, as they guide us through this critical exercise. Just be sure to come prepared to give good constructive feedback. And hey, no haters.
February’s special instructions
·       Show up on Tuesday February 2nd, at 7:45PM
·       Show up to the right place: Echo Park Film Center (1200 N. Alvarado St. 90026)
·       Bring a bottle of something you wanna drink and share, $5, and a shifty look in your eyes.
All American Tooles (M. David Melvin, 21 min.) centers around a new mom who thinks she sees her 1 1/2 year old son do bizarre things in the baby monitor at night. Her husband is terrified she’s losing her mind and takes drastic measures. It’s a sort of a “funny twilight zone” about how people in our culture are easily played by their fears. In Procession (Beth Spitalny, 17 min.), with their relationship kept a secret due to their Jewish-Orthodox religion, Shayna can’t grieve when her boyfriend passes away suddenly. Unable to fathom the idea of letting her first love ‘go’, Shayna stows away in her boyfriend’s hearse with the hope to bide some time and find some closure. This becomes difficult when she comes face-to-face with Tim, a grumpy hearse driver who’d rather be alone with the dead than with a ball-of-emotions teenager. These two strangers from very different worlds end up sharing a journey much greater than either one could have ever imagined. More info: www.cinemaspeakeasy.com

Thursday, February 4 – EVE AND JOSH PRESENT: FILMS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP - 8 PM
Eve LaFountain, the new EPFC Operations Manager, and Josh Lee, the new documentary teacher, host an evening of Films About Friendship from around the world! Downtown jewel heists, boat rides in the Bay of Bengal, explorations through the woods and graveyards of western Massachusetts; requiems for friends lost and animations by friends found; a cinematic celebration of films from the early 21st century! Featuring "Picturing India" (2007), a documentary that follows Akshay Mahajan, one of India's prominent bloggers and photojournalists, as he and the filmmaker travel through the country's biggest cities and some of its poorest regions capturing images and discussing the vibrant, beautiful and sometimes disturbing circumstances of the lives of India's rural and urban working class; "Bon Pour le Coeur" (Super 8 2005) and "Ten Steps to the Inevitable" (16mm 2006), two films set to the acoustic bass incantations of the late, great Devin Risley; "The Wanderers in Wonderment" (16mm 2007), a stop motion animation with handmade characters who wander into the sunset; and the premiere of "Path of Shadows" (2009), a gritty Crime-Drama set in Los Angeles, exploring themes of personal and cultural alienation for two young immigrant brothers whose divergent paths have been reunited by the prospects of a daring jewel heist. All these films and more by Eve, Josh and friends living in Los Angeles. FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE!

Sunday, February 7 – INTRO TO FINAL CUT PRO: 1 – 5 pm
Calling all interested adults (ages 20+) looking to learn the beauty and grace of digital editing! All equipment and materials provided by EPFC. Class limited to 6 students; tuition is $60/$50 members.

Thursday, February 11 – MOCK UP ON MU - 8 PM
A radical hybrid of sci-fi, spy, Western, and even horror genres, Craig Baldwn’s Mock Up On Mu cobbles together a feature-length “collage-narrative” based on (mostly) true stories of California’s post-War sub-cultures of rocket pioneers, alternative religions, and Beat lifestyles. Pulp-serial snippets, industrial-film imagery, and B- (and Z-) fiction clips are intercut with newly shot live-action material, powering a playful, allegorical trajectory through the now-mythic occult matrix of Jack Parsons (Crowleyite founder of the Jet Propulsion Lab), L. Ron Hubbard (sci-fi author turned cult leader), and Marjorie Cameron (bohemian artist and “mother of the New Age movement”). Their intertwined tales spin out into a speculative farce on the militarization of space, and the corporate take-over of spiritual fulfillment and leisure-time. More info: http://www.othercinema.com/ FILMMAKER CRAIG BALDWIN IN ATTENDANCE!

Thursday, February 18 – LEFT BANK FILM NIGHT – 8PM
A night of tribute to the Left Bank offshoot of French New Wave cinema. Featuring Chris Marker's 1962 short experimental Film "La Jetee" (which later inspired Terry Gilliam's "Twelve Monkeys") and pioneering director Agnes Varda's 1965 "Le Bonheur." Curated and introduced by Rena Durrant, with Q&A to follow.

Friday, February 19 – FIG TREES – 8 PM
“Fig Trees is an extremely challenging work, absolutely innovative, both politically and aesthetically. The film scene needs this urgently: to develop the language of film, to give it a foundation and a background.” Wieland Speck, Berlinale. Fig Trees (2008) is Canadian filmmaker John Greyson’s masterful indictment of the pharmaceutical industry and AIDS policy in Canada and South Africa. Using a whirlwind of biting opera, a perverse countdown of Top-40 AIDS songs, a singing squirrel, and the patron saints of amputees, leather and soldiers, Greyson weaves together the true stories of two prominent AIDS activists, Canadian Tom McCaskell and South African Zackie Achmat. In this breathless, fantastical melange, the activists sing opera, Gertrude Stein celebrates the completion of her 1928 play Four Saints in Three Acts, and as always, Greyson turns a wicked, sharp eye on the intersection of politics, history and community. A lyrical, profoundly effective film, Fig Trees won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary at the 2009 Berlinale. Canadian filmmaker and activist John Greyson has long made daring, aggressively political work that is both provocative and funny. Often incorporating song and history, Greyson works in layered forms of narrative, essay and documentary to ignite our curiosity and celebrate the ways that history contradicts itself. Greyson’s films gnash their teeth at machinated government and a complacent public in a call to action that deftly sparks laughter as often as outrage. Previous films include the lush, haunting LIILES (1996), the AIDS-musical ZERO PATIENCE (1993), as well as URINAL (1998), PROTEUS (2003), UNCUT (1997) and many short works. Greyson will join us fresh from the 2010 Berlinale, where he screens his newest film COVERED. FILMMAKER JOHN GREYSON IN ATTENDANCE!

February 20 – 3RD ANNUAL GI JOE FEST – TWO SCREENINGS: 7 PM and 9 PM
The GI JOE STOP MOTION FILM FESTIVAL is the nation's first festival dedicated to screening works by stop-motion artists who use GI Joe figures (12", 8" -sigma 6- and 3 ¾ sizes) as main characters or “actors.”GI JOE Film Festival highlights up and coming filmmakers, as well as masters of the craft and has already attracted award winning films in the past years. Under the direction of festival president Gio Toninelo, the GI JOE FEST has became one of the hottest and fastest growing stop-motion festivals in the country! More info: http://www.gijoefest.com/

February 21 – GI JOE STOP MOTION WORKSHOP – 1 – 5 PM
Learn how to make your own GI Joe Stop Motion Animation! Jeff Gurwood (winner of GI JOE FEST 2007) will lead participants on a very broad view of stop-motion, from storyboards to the final product. All materials and supplies provided. Tuition: $20. Space is limited; call or email to reserve a spot.

Wednesday, February 24 –- CONSCIENTIOUS PROJECTOR PRESENTS TAKING CHANCE - 7 PM
The Silver Lake Chapter of Neighbors for Peace and Justice returns with their Conscientious Projector film series featuring thought-provoking films and community discussion. This month’s feature, Taking Chance, chronicles one of the silent, virtually unseen journeys that takes place every day across the country, bearing witness to the fallen and those who, literally and figuratively, carry them home. A unique non-political film about the war in Iraq, the film pays tribute to all of the men and women who have given their lives in military service as well as their families. More info: http://www.neighborsforpeaceandjustice.org/
http://www.hbo.com/movies/taking-chance/index.html#/movies/taking-chance/synopsis.html

Thursday, February 25 – SISTER AIMEE DVD RELEASE PARTY - 8 PM
Please join us for the dazzling premiere of SISTER AIMEE: THE MUSICAL! In the big dreams/small budget Depression-era tradition of “Hey kids, let’s put on a show!” this free EPFC youth filmmaking class introduced three dozen students ages 12 - 19 to the musical genre as they learned about one of Echo Park’s most dynamic historic figures. “Sister” Aimee Semple McPherson (1890 – 1944) was a pioneering evangelist and media sensation in the 1920s and 1930s who presented religion as a form of popular entertainment. Angelus Temple, the 5300-seat home of the Foursquare Church built by McPherson in 1923, still stands right around the corner from the Film Center at the edge of Echo Park Lake. Students created original sets, costumes, songs and choreography in bringing the story of Sister Aimee to the silver screen. Project made possible in part by grants from the California Council for the Humanities and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs. This event is FREE and open to the general public... Q& A and refreshments to follow screening. EVERYONE WELCOME! FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE!

Saturday, February 27 – HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESITVAL SHOWCASE – 7:30 PM
HollyShorts is an organization devoted to showcasing the best and brightest short films from around the globe, advancing the careers of filmmakers through screenings, networking events, and various panel and forums. The HollyShorts Film Festival showcases the top short films produced 30-minutes or less. $10 admission for this event. Refreshments provided. FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE! More info: www.hollyshorts.com

Sunday, February 28 – INTRODUCTION TO SUPER 8 CINEMATOGRAPHY & HAND PROCESSING – NOON – 5 PM
This workshop includes basic camera operation, shooting techniques and hand-processing. No previous filmmaking experience necessary; all equipment and materials provided by EPFC. Instructor: Rick Bahto. $75/$60 EPFC members.

BECOME A FILM CENTER FAN ON FACEBOOK AND GET ALL THE DIRT OF SCREENINGS, PROGRAMS AND SPECIAL EVENTS!

AND DON’T FORGET OUR CINEMA BLOG AT http://www.echoparkfilmcenter.blogspot.com/

MAKE A MOVIE IN 2010…IT’S FUN AND EASY AT EPFC!
WE HAVE CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY…
GO TO WWW.ECHOPARKFILMCENTER.ORG AND WWW.FILMMOBILE.ORG FOR MORE INFO!