Cinefamily in Chantal Akerman tribute
Oct
31
2015
The honoring of a highly respected filmmaker, Belgian-born Chantal Akerman (1950 – 2015), who died October 5 in Paris, apparently by her own hand at age 65 — a sad occurrence. The Cinefamily will screen Akerman’s chef d’ouevre, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce-1080 Bruxelles, which when premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1975, ...
Koehler on Cinema: A great movie week
It’s pure coincidence that this is one of the best opening weeks for new movies in Los Angeles in recent memory. Not only are “The Lego Movie,” “In Bloom” and “The Last of the Unjust” all essential viewing—along with “A Field in England,” the latest brilliant black comedy from director Ben Wheatley and writer Amy ...
Koehler on Cinema: Clips
Two of the year’s most interesting film series are either underway or just about to launch, and for no clear reason, the local Los Angeles arts media is ignoring both. Already underway since last weekend is LACMA’s “The Golden Age of Mexican Cinema,” a 13-film survey of the work of the great Mexican cinematographer Gabriel ...
Koehler on Cinema: Clips
A week’s run of the deliriously cataclysmic and violent “Drug War” by Johnnie To is simply not enough. But Cinefamily, bless ‘em, has it through Sept. 26. It’s easily the best of the week’s new releases—and certainly one of the year’s most essential movies. To’s incredible achievement in action mise-en-scene must be seen to be ...
Koehler on Cinema: Clips
Filmmaking team Allison Anders and Kurt Voss have been programming and producing the Don’t Knock the Rock film festival in Los Angeles for over a decade, with Cinefamily providing a steady home base after years of vagabonding around town. Focused (pure rock n’ roll, usually at the margins, with a taste for the overlooked and ...
Fabulous: Gary Lucas to accompany Spanish “Dracula” @ Cinefamily
Jul
19
2013
The uncannily talented virtuoso guitarist Gary Lucas keeps coming up with amazing projects. The latest to arrive in Los Angeles is Gary’s guitar-plus accompaniment of “Dracula” (1931)—not the Tod Browning/Bela Lugosi blood-sucking variety, but “Dracula”‘s Spanish-language doppelganger. Unbeknownst to many film fans, a second, alternate, version of “Dracula” was filmed at Universal, by night, using ...
Koehler on Cinema: L’avventura
When asked last year by Sight & Sound magazine, the venerable film journal of the British Film Institute that publishes a once-per-decade list of the best films of all time (from polls of critics, filmmakers, scholars and programmers), to contribute my own list, it was a struggle. Where to place one of the Anthony Mann/James ...
Gary Lucas’s “scary magical Jews” terrify in “Der Golem” @ Cinefamily 1
Grammy-nominated Gary Lucas, whom Rolling Stone calls “one of the best and most original guitarists in America,” performed his well-traveled and exceedingly harrowing score to “Der Golem,” the brilliant 1920 silent horror exemplar of German expressionism. The sold-out performance took place earlier this evening at The Cinefamily on Fairfax Avenue — speaking of ghostly Jewish ...
Cinefamily mashes Rowlands, Cassavetes, Mingus
Closing evening of Cinefamily’s month-long Cassavetes retrospective features live appearances and performances — plus a screening of A Woman Under The Influence. The evening features: Film and video rarities of Cassavetes at work A panel discussion with Bo Harwood (Cassavetes film composer & sound engineer/editor), Richard Upper (art department on A Woman Under The Influence ...