May 3 at 7PM
Webster Student Film Festival

This year’s selection of recent work from Webster’s talented film and video students proves to be even better than the last. A broad representation of genre and theme, the program is a strong showcase of some the School of Communication’s brightest minds. Curated by the Webster Film & Video Society. Admission is free.

May 6 at 7PM
At The Death House Door (Steve James & Peter Gilbert, 2008, USA, 100 min.)

The newest film from Steve James & Peter Gilbert, the creators of Hoop Dreams, tells the story of Reverend Carroll Pickett, who served from 1982-95 as chaplain on Texas’s busy death row. Rev. Pickett, originally a supporter of the death penalty, counseled 95 inmates and accompanied them to their executions. Based on audiotapes made by Rev. Pickett, the film focuses on one particularly troubling execution, that of Carlos DeLuna, whom Rev. Pickett believed at the time to be innocent and whose case for innocence was bolstered posthumously by an investigation by reporters from the Chicago Tribune. The film also focuses on the effect capital punishment has on the mental health of those whose positions require them to carry it out. Presented by Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty (www.moabolition.org).

Although unconfirmed at the time of publication, co-director Peter Gilbert has been invited to participate in a panel of local death penalty activists for questions, discussion and refreshments following the film.

May 7 at 8PM
Part of Strange Brew: Cult Films at Schlafly Bottleworks.
Repo Man (Alex Cox, 1984, USA, 92 min)

In what has been called the greatest punk rock movie ever made, Emilio Estevez stars as Otto, a grocery store stock boy who is drawn into a rewarding career as a repo man and the impending doom of a mysterious Chevy Malibu headed his way. A clumsy, loud and artful critique of 80s consumer culture, the film features great performances by Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton and Sy Richardson, and a killer soundtrack by Iggy Pop, Fear, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Suicidal Tendencies.

Presented in the lively atmosphere of Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Avenue, Maplewood MO. There is ample parking and great beer on tap!

Special Admission $4.00

May 10 & 11 at 8PM
Contempt (Le Mépris) (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963, France/Italy, 103 min.)

Jean-Luc Godard's subversive foray into commercial filmmaking is a star-studded Cinemascope epic. Starring Michel Piccoli as a screenwriter torn between the demands of a proud European director (played by legendary director Fritz Lang), a crude and arrogant American producer (Jack Palance), and his disillusioned wife, Camille (Brigitte Bardot) as he attempts to doctor the script for a new film version of The Odyssey. In French, German, Italian and English with English subtitles.

Brand new 35mm scope print!

May 8 at 7:30PM
Three Mothers (Shalosh Ima'ot) (Dina Zvi-Riklis, 2006, Israel, 106 min.)

Nominated for nine Israeli Academy Awards, Three Mothers is actually the story of three sisters - triplets. While they have careers, husbands and children, they remain bonded to each other throughout their lives. No sacrifice is too great for one of the sisters. The multigenerational saga of the Hakim triplets is told in flashbacks recorded on video to explain the family myths and secrets to the younger generation. The sisters come together on their sixtieth birthday, as they await a kidney for one of the sisters. The film is deftly crafted by director Dina Zvi-Riklis, real life daughter of Rose, the portrayed triplet who is a talented singer. While it is the story of the Hakim family, Zvi-Riklis claims it is not a biography but rather a “recount of a winding, emotionally charged relationship between three sisters who stuck together and sacrificed their husbands and children for their love for each other, because they had no other way.” In the end, Rose concludes, “We were better sisters than we were mothers.” In French, Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles

Analysis by Sylvia Ginsparg, PhD

May 15 at 7:30PM
Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del fauno) (Guillermo del Toro, 2007, Mexico/Spain, 112 min.)

Described by one critic as “an epic, poetic vision in which the grim realities of war are matched and mirrored by a descent into an underworld populated by fearsomely beautiful monsters.” The film is set in civil war-torn Spain, young Ofelia enters a world of unimaginable cruelty when along with her pregnant mother, moves in with her new stepfather, a tyrannical military officer. Retreating from reality into her own imagination, Ofelia discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother. But soon these imaginative escapes begin to blur the lines of experience, as Ofelia finds herself at the tipping point in a vivid battle between the whimsical and the nightmarish; between good and evil. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Analysis by Jacqueline Langley, PhD

May 22 at 7:30PM
Bourne Ultimatum (Paul Greengrass, 2007, USA, 115 min.)

Winner of three Academy Awards, this film picks up where The Bourne Supremacy left off, with Bourne once again racing around the globe, desperate to uncover the secrets of his identity. The government's most wanted amnesiac super-spy returns in this thrilling third installment in the Jason Bourne franchise. Having just lost his girlfriend and only companion, his search for answers is now fuelled by much more than his own self-preservation. He quickly discovers that the government conspiracy runs far deeper than he realized, and so begins a riveting, action-packed game of cat and mouse with the CIA. The film juxtaposes themes and images of governmental surveillance, torture and the psychological manipulation of personality with those of human desire, memory and deep unconscious strivings.

Analysis by M. Ann Simmons, PhD, M.S.W.

May 16 – 18 at 8PM
Hell On Wheels (Bob Ray, 2007, USA, 90 min.)

Hell on Wheels takes a from-the-trenches look at the dizzying clash of athleticism, exhibitionism, egos, business, and politics that is modern-era roller derby. A group of hard-hitting Texas women overcome obstacles in resurrecting and revamping the sport, only to find internal strife ripping the fledgling organization apart. Two leagues emerge from the clash, and what follows ignites an international roller derby revival. Shot over a five-year period by Bob Ray (Rock Opera) and Werner Campbell, Hell on Wheels is edited by the award winning Conor O’Neill (Murderball, Word Wars) and features original music by …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead.

Sponsored by Arch Rivals Roller Girls.

May 20 at 7PM
American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999, USA, 122 min.)

American Beauty is the story of Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey), a suburban father who snaps when he becomes disgusted with his stale, repetitive existence. On a whim, Lester quits his job and begins a regression into young adulthood, lifting weights, smoking pot, doing nothing, and discovering the overflowing sexuality of his 16-year-old daughter's best friend, Angela (Mena Suvari). His wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), has her own midlife crisis of sorts, with the area Real Estate King (Peter Gallager). And his daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is pursued by Ricky (Wes Bentley), the mysterious boy next door who carries a video camera around with him at all times. When Ricky's militaristic father, Colonel Fitts (Chris Cooper), discovers something potentially horrifying on one of his tapes, and when Carolyn's rage for Lester's actions boils over, the time bomb finally explodes. Presented by the Mental Health Association of Greater St Louis.

May 23, 24 & 25 at 8PM
Lynch (blackANDwhite, 2007, USA/Poland, 84 min.)

A film that gives us a rare glimpse into the fascinating mind of the man who created such visionary classics as Eraserhead, Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Wild At Heart, The Elephant Man and more, Lynch is compiled from over two years of footage. An intimate portrait of Lynch's creative process as he completes his latest film, Inland Empire. We are with him as he discovers the beauty in ideas, leading us on a journey through the abstract, which ultimately unveils his cinematic vision. The film reveals Lynch not only as one of the most original and compelling directors of contemporary film, but also as an artist who continues to explore and experiment in countless mediums. His enthusiasm is infectious; inspiring us to tap into the well of creativity that Lynch believes we all have.

Screens with

Eraserhead (David Lynch 1977, USA, 89 min.)

Defying easy explanation, Lynch’s debut feature (which took him five years to film whilst a resident at the AFI) is a dark, nightmarish meditation on fatherhood and the collision of lonely, decaying industrial and organic worlds. Featuring a deadpan absurdist performance by Jack (John) Nance and extraordinary photography by Fredrick Elmes, the film was an instant success on the midnight movie circuit, and launched David Lynch into the cinematic stratosphere as one of the most visionary and inimitable directors in the world.

Brand new 35mm print!

May 30, 31 and June 1 at 8PM
Last Year at Marienbad (L'Année dernière à Marienbad) (Alain Resnais, 1961, France/ Italy/ West Germany/ Austria, 94 min.)

Unavailable on video for many years, Resnais' “cinematic puzzle”, is a beautiful exploration of the formal possibilities of film. Shot in Cinemascope by Sacha Vierny, the movie is a riddle of seduction that leaps between a present and past that may not even exist, let alone converge. Giorgio Albertazzi is an unnamed sophisticate attempting to convince a similarly nameless woman (Delphine Seyrig) that they met and were romantically involved a year ago in the same enormous, baroque European hotel. Hypnotic and dreamlike, the film is a surrealist parody of Hollywood melodrama, a high-fashion romance with a dark, alien underbelly. In French with English subtitles.

Brand new 35mm scope print!

June 4 at 8PM
Part of Strange Brew: Cult Films at Schlafly Bottleworks.
Caveman (Carl Gottlieb, 1981, USA, 91 min)

Ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, Barbara Bach and Shelley Long band together in this parody (??!) from the 80s. Prehistoric life is tough for poor, lovesick Atouk (Starr). As the smallest and weakest caveman of his tribe, he is unable to win the heart of the beautiful Lana (Bach) and is banished from the cave by Lana's mate, Tonda, the hulking chief of the tribe. Forced to wander the ancient wilderness, Atouk meets a variety of unlikely allies who, after hearing his story, want to help him get back in with his clan. And before Atouk knows it, he's the chief of his own tribe of misfits

Presented in the lively atmosphere of Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Avenue, Maplewood MO. There is ample parking and great beer on tap!

Special Admission $4.00

June 5 at 8PM
Shadow of a House (Allie Humenuk, 2007, USA/Cuba, 74 min.)

After escaping from Castro's regime, Abelardo Morell emerges as a world- renowned photographer. 40 years later, his return to Cuba uncovers the deepest layers of a man who must confront the past or forever live his exile. Filmed for more than seven years, Abelardo Morell's mysterious artistic process is divulged; creating an urgent narrative that skips across time and space.

Screens with

The Ville (Amy Bench, 2007, USA, 17 min.)

In its heyday, The Ville neighborhood was rich with notable people and institutions: it was the place to be for any black St. Louis resident. Alongside contemporary and archival images, 16 year-old Jermaine and 80 year-old Kathryn reflect on living there today and why survival is more real to them than history. A quiet contemplation of race, identity, fear, and acceptance in today's urban American landscape.

June 12 at 8PM
A Snowmobile For George (Todd Darling, 2007, USA, 97 min.)

Join the filmmaker as he motors across America in search of what drives environmental policy at the Bush White House. Fired up by a question over a used snowmobile in the Sierra Nevada, he visits Yurok Indians in Northern California, cowboys in Wyoming, and Wall Street workers in New York City. Delivered with a dry sense of humor, the filmmaker discovers the personal cost of deregulation and--thanks to his snowmobile--uncovers a sophisticated political strategy.

Q&A with director Todd Darling follows the screening.

June 19 at 8PM
Oh My God! It’s Harrod Blank (David Silberberg, 2007, USA, 90 min.)

Tracing the adventures of filmmaker and art-car maven Harrod Blank (director of Wild Wheels, and son of legendary doc maker Les Blank), the film chronicles Harrod from adolescence to adulthood and beyond! From his youth growing up in the woods with chickens, to his current multi-faceted career as creator and head of the national art-car movement, we witness the sacrifices he makes to pursue his vision. Unique by any standard, Blank uses his creative energy to subvert what he sees as society's mass-produced mentality.

June 26 at 8PM
Carny (Alison Murray, 2008, USA, 90 min.)

A look at the Carnival as both pop culture and sub-culture of Americana, Carny captures the colorful world of the midway at county fairs but also goes behind the bright lights and whirling twirling rides into the elusive world of the carnival worker. Accompanying the images are tender and raunchy interviews with the carnival workers. The carnival emerges as its own living, breathing entity, which can be a transient creator of nostalgic romance for the towns in which it sets up the temporary midway of rides and games, or providing a place of refuge and escape for both those who follow its lead and those who eagerly await its arrival. This is a unique view of a seemingly ageless American pastime.

Q&A with cinematographer Virginia lee Hunter follows the screening.

June 6, 7 & 8 at 8PM
Shotgun Stories (Jeff Nichols, 2007, USA, 92 min.)

Shotgun Stories tracks a feud that erupts between two sets of half brothers following the death of their father. At the beginning of the film, we find Son, Boy and Kid as grown men. The three brothers’ lives progress and their futures play out, but their past inevitably comes to claim them. Following a dispute at their father’s funeral, a feud begins to simmer between these sons and the new young men their father has raised. It is an anger that has always rested uncomfortably in the background of their lives. However now, it is a thing that will rise up to overtake them all. Set against the cotton fields and back roads of Southeast Arkansas, these brothers discover the lengths to which each will go to protect their family. A superbly shot southern gothic tale, Jeff Nichols’ debut feature represents a welcomed new voice in American cinema. Produced by David Gordon Green (George Washington, All the Real Girls, Snow Angels) the lyric and simple story feels both entirely new and reminiscent of 1970s cinematic sensibilities.

June 13, 14 &15 at 8PM
Bab’aziz – The Prince The Contemplated His Soul (Nacer Khemir, 2005, Tunisia/Iran, 98 min.)

A visual poem of incomparable beauty, this masterpiece from director Nacer Khemir (Wanderers of the Desert) begins with the story of a blind dervish named Bab’Aziz and his spirited granddaughter, Ishtar. Together they wander the desert in search of a great reunion of dervishes that takes place just once every thirty years. With faith as their only guide, the two journey for days through the expansive, barren landscape. To keep Ishtar entertained, Bab’Aziz relays the ancient tale of a prince who relinquished his realm in order to remain next to a small pool in the desert, staring into its depths while contemplating his soul. As the tale of the prince unfolds, the two encounter other travelers with stories of their own. Filled with breathtaking images and wonderful music, Nacir Khemir has created a fairytale-like story of longing and belonging, filmed in the enchanting and ever-shifting sandscapes of Tunisia and Iran. In Arabic and Persian with English subtitles.

June 20, 21 & 22 at 8PM
Brave New West (Doug Hawes-Davis & Drury Gunn Carr, 2008, USA, 80 min.)

In 1989 Jim Stiles began publishing the politically-progressive “Canyon Country Zephyr” in the heart of conservative Mormon Utah. Now recognized as one of the best independent papers in the West, “The Zephyr” combines humor, history, honesty and artistry in its coverage of issues. Brave New West is a profile of Stiles and the land and people that are his passion. Inspired in part by Edward Abbey’s infamous “environmental terrorist” novel The Monkey Wrench Gang”, Stile’s efforts with The Zephyr have stirred controversy throughout the west, on both sides of the political devide. With the motto, “Clinging Hopelessly to the Past”, Stiles and “The Zephyr” may not mean the Old West of uranium mining and road-building but they cringe at the idea of the New West - a land of condos, paved roads, spandex-wearing bikers, and Olive Garden restaurants.

June 27, 28 & 29 at 8PM
Still Life (Sanxia haoren) (Zhang Ke Jia, 2006, China / Hong Kong, 111 min.)

Winner of the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival 2006, Still Life is an empathetic portrait of those left behind by a modernizing society and, as in director Jia Zhang-ke’s earlier films (Platform, Unknown Pleasures, The World), it is a unique hybrid of documentary and fiction. Great changes have come to the town of Fengjie due to the construction of the Three Gorges hydro project: Countless families that had lived there for many generations have had to relocate to other cities. Fengjie’s old town, which has a 2000-year history, has been torn down and submerged forever, but its new neighborhood hasn’t been finished yet. In Still Life, such life-changing choices face both Sanming, a miner traveling to Fengjie in search of his ex-wife of sixteen years, and Shen Hong, a nurse who has come to Fengjie to look for her husband who she hasn’t seen in two years. Both Sanming and Shen will find who they’re looking for, but in the process they too will have to decide what is worth salvaging in their lives and what they need to let go of. In Mandarin with English subtitles.

July 3 at 8PM
I Shot Jesse James (Sam Fuller, 1949, USA, 81 min.)

After years of crime reporting, screenwriting, and authoring pulp novels, Samuel Fuller made his directorial debut with the lonesome ballad of Robert Ford (played by Red River’s John Ireland), who fatally betrayed his friend, the notorious Jesse James. At once modest and intense, I Shot Jesse James is an engrossing pocket portrait of guilt and psychological torment, and an auspicious beginning for the maverick filmmaker.

July 10 at 8PM
Pickup on South Street (Sam Fuller, 1953, USA, 80 min.)

Petty crook Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) has his eyes fixed on the big score. When the cocky three-time convict picks the pocketbook of unsuspecting Candy (Jean Peters), he finds a haul bigger than he could have imagined: a strip of microfilm bearing confidential U.S. secrets. Tailed by manipulative Feds and the unwitting courier’s Communist puppeteers, Skip and Candy find themselves in a precarious gambit that pits greed against redemption, Right versus Red, and passion against self preservation. With its dazzling cast and Fuller’s signature raw energy and hardboiled repartee, Pickup on South Street is a true film noir classic. Archival 35mm print.

July 17 at 8PM
Underworld, U.S.A. (Sam Fuller, 1961, USA, 99 min.)

In this hard-boiled gangster noir, fourteen-year-old Tolly Devlin sees four hoods beat his father to death. Twenty years later, the killers have risen to the top of the crime syndicate and Tolly (Cliff Robertson) has a plan for revenge. As gritty and brutal as only Fuller could fashion. Archival 35mm print. Not available on DVD!

July 24 at 8PM
Shock Corridor (Sam Fuller, 1963, USA, 101 min.)

Seeking a Pulitzer Prize, a reporter has himself committed to a mental hospital to investigate a murder. As he closes in on the killer, madness closes in on him. Writer, director, and producer Samuel Fuller proves himself by one of America’s most passionate cinematic craftsmen as he masterfully charts the uneasy terrain between sanity and dementia. Archival 35mm print.

July 31 at 8PM
The Big Red One (Sam Fuller, 1980, USA, 162 min.)

This episodic retelling of the exploits of the American First Infantry Division during World War II focuses on the squad's sergeant (Lee Marvin) and four of the soldiers. They struggle to survive campaigns from North Africa in November 1942, to Czechoslovakia in May 1945, along the way participating in the invasion of Sicily and the D-Day invasion and freeing a lunatic asylum and a concentration camp. Cut in half (!) on its original release, Fuller’s tour de force, based largely on his own experiences, has been reconstructed to its original epic glory.

July 2 at 8PM
The Incredible Shrinking Man (Jack Arnold, 1957, USA, 81 min)

Part of Strange Brew: Cult Films at Schlafly Bottleworks.
Although a big budget CGI fueled Hollywood remake is on the way this summer, the original existential sci-fi film, starring Grant Williams in the title role (AKA Scott Carey), still manages to thrill. While catching some rays on his brother's yacht, Carey is enveloped by a mysterious dark cloud. Soon after, he discovers that he's getting thinner-and smaller. Despite the assuring attitude of his family doctor, Williams is losing an inch's worth of height with each passing day. Before long he is forced to live in a dollhouse – which, let’s face it, is kind of a drag. As his plight continues, bad 50s science is no match for his rapid dwindling. Cool visual effects created by Roswell A. Hoffmann (It Came From Outer Space, The Birds)

Presented in the lively atmosphere of Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Avenue, Maplewood MO. There is ample parking and great beer on tap!

Special Admission $4.00

July 5 & 6 at 8PM
The World According To Shorts (Various Artist, 2002-06, various countries, 90 min.)

The six films in this internationally acclaimed program are intended to reflect a diversity of visions in contemporary short filmmaking and include a broad range of styles and genres, from animation to fiction to semi- documentary and experimental. Between them, the films have been honored with numerous awards from all over the world. The films: La Perra (Dir. Hugo Maza, Chile); We Have Decided Not to Die (Dir. Daniel Askill, Australia); United We Stand (Dir. Hans Petter Moland, Norway); Antichrist (Dir. Adam Guzinski, Poland); The Old Woman’s Step (Dir. Jane Malaquias, Brazil) Ring of Fire (Dir. Andreas Hykade, Germany). More information on each title is available at www.webster.edu/filmseries

July 11, 12 &13 at 8PM
Frownland (Ronald Bronstein, 2007, USA, 106 min.)

A self-described "troll from under the bridge," the painfully awkward Keith Sontag spends his days selling coupons door-to-door and his evenings trapped in a squalid apartment situated in some particularly hellish outer ring of New York. With the most basic elements of human communication a struggle, Sontag lurches through an uncaring city, attempting to aid a suicidal friend, evict an unctuous roommate, and simply attain some measure of self-respect. With Frownland, Bronstein has made a bold and bracing film that is both a savage black comedy and a ragged love letter to an earlier era of independent film. Both the film and its singular hero are raw, confrontational, and, finally, unforgettable.

July 18, 19 & 20 at 8PM
The Unforeseen (Laura Dunn, 2007, USA, 88 min.)

When upstream development threatens a fragile limestone aquifer and Austin, Texas’s picturesque Barton Springs, a naturally spring-fed swimming hole, the community fights back. In the conflict that ensues, we see in miniature a struggle that today plays out in communities across the country. Featuring interviews with Robert Redford, Willie Nelson, the iconic Texas Governor Ann Richards, internationally acclaimed environmentalist Wendell Berry and many others, The Unforeseen is a powerful meditation on the American dream, the forces of unchecked development and an intricate tale of personal hopes, victories and failures; and of debates over land, water and the public good. Produced by Redford and Terrence Malick.

July 25, 26 & 27 at 8PM
Alexandra (Aleksandra) (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2007, Russia/France, 92 min.)

In a desolate, sun-scorched corner of the world, an elderly woman has come to see her beloved grandson, a young officer stationed at a remote military outpost. With the enemy just beyond the compound, she wanders the barracks, observing the routines of military life, before making a sudden trip to the outlying countryside. Featuring a mesmerizing performance by Russian opera legend Galina Vishnevskaya, Alexandra is a viscerally powerful new film from the great Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark, Father and Son). In Russian and Chechen with English subtitles.

August 6 at 8PM
Part of Strange Brew: Cult Films at Schlafly Bottleworks.
Watermelon Man (Melvin Van Peebles, 1970, USA, 97 min)

Van Peebles often overlooked satire on race in 1970s America tells the story of an extremely bigoted white man who wakes up black. The film that preceded Van Peebles much-lauded Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is ripe with edgy cultural critique, biting observations and serious humor. Although there was talk of both Alan Arkin and Jack Lemmon starring, Van Peeble cast African-American actor Godfrey Cambridge who plays the initial role of racist Jeff Gerber in "whiteface".

Presented in the lively atmosphere of Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Avenue, Maplewood MO. There is ample parking and great beer on tap!

Special Admission $4.00