REEL ARTISTS FILM FESTIVAL 2011

It is that time again!

I was very excited to learn that the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD) is hosting the 3rd Annual Reel Artists Film Festival this weekend. And once again, very sad to find out it is on while I am out of town :-(

From their catalogue of films being shown, three jump out as ones I would love to see.

On Thursday, March 24 at 9 pm is Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child. The description reads: though Jean-Michel started out as a graffiti artist, he quickly rose to fame in 1980s New York creating distinctive paintings and befriending icons like Andy Warhol and Deborah Harry. However, trouble soon took hold and he died suddenly at 27. This movie uncovers the mystique of both the artist and the man. To see the trailer click here.

Movie poster

On Saturday, March 26 at 7 pm is Winds of Heaven: Emily Carr, Carvers and Spirits of the Forest. The description reads: Winds of Heaven is an impressionist, luminous exploration of the solitary life of one of Canada's most celebrated and irrepressible painters, Emily Carr. It takes viewers on a lyrical journey into the brooding mystery and beauty of Carr's paintings, and highlights her connections to the First Nations People and the Northwest Coast of British Columbia. To see the trailer click here.

Cedar
1942
Emily Carr

On Sunday, March 27 at 2:30 pm is The Colour of Your Socks: A Year With Pipilotti Rist. The description reads: the movie accompanies the Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist around the world, shows her at work in her studio in Zurich as well as at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Since she won the Duemila Prize at the Biennale di Venezia in 1997, Pipilotti Rist is an internationally recognized and renowned artist. For the first time, she lets a documentary filmmaker into her world, providing insight into her creative process, the development of projects and the collaboration with her team. Watch the movie trailer by clicking here.

Rist, 1996 installation "Sip My Ocean"

Admission to all films is free.

The movies will be shown in the Stanford Perrott Lecture Hall, ACAD on the SAIT campus. 1407 14 Avenue NW, Calgary.

This posting describes only 3 of the 14 films being shown. There are also workshops happening over the week. Go! Go! Be cultured!!!

For the catalogue of the entire festival click here.

REEL ARTISTS FILM FESTIVAL

I was very excited to learn that the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD) is hosting the Reel Artists Film Festival at the end of this month. Very sad to find out it is on while I am out of town :-(

From their catalogue of films being shown, three jump out as ones I would love to see.

The first is on Friday, March 26 at 9:15 PM - Yayoi Kusama: I Love Me. The description reads: Director Takako Matsumoto takes us into the world of Yayoi Kusama, a polka-dot loving artist recognized internationally. This film captures Kusama's creative process as she completes a series of 50 large monotone drawings. As her work develops, one witnesses the essence of her art as it wells up in the conflict between life, death, and love - sometimes quietly and sometimes just the opposite. Her firm self-confidence and dignified spirit allows viewers to enter Kusama's world, where there is never a dull moment.

Kusama
The Galaxy, 1994


On Saturday, March 27 at 4:30 PM - Takao Tanabe: A Work of Art. The description reads: Takao Tanabe has been an important figure in Canadian art for over 60 years, contributing immensely to landscape traditions in contemporary Canadian paintings. Born in British Columbia in 1926, Tanabe studied in Europe, the United States, and Japan. This film chronicles Tanabe's life from internment on Canadian soil during WWII to beginning painting during the early days of abstract expressionism to working through his current practice. Now in his early '80s, Tanabe is direct and articulate, giving the audience a true sense of the man behind a remarkable body of work.

Tanabe
Low Tide, 1989


And on Sunday, March 28 at 2:30 PM - Chuck Close. The description reads: Chuck Close has been best known as a re-inventor of portraiture. As we hear this articulate and affable man discuss his personal journey, we also watch him create a self portrait. Numerous interviews with his subjects - friends, artists, and family who discuss their own work and life in relation to his - make clear how far this artist has transcended categories like realism, process and abstraction. Throughout, the profound influence Chuck close has had on his generation of art becomes undeniable.

Close
self portrait, 1997

Admission to all films is free.

The movies will be shown in the Stanford Perrott Lecture Hall, ACAD on the Sait campus. 1407 14 Avenue NW, Calgary.

This posting describes only 3 of the 13 films being shown. There are also workshops happening over the week. Go! Go! Be cultured!!!

For the catalogue of the entire festival click here.