Fests and events, 3/28. Right coast edition.

"If the underground is defined not only by economic status but aesthetic opposition to mainstream culture, where are the escape routes in a mainstream culture that instantly commodifies and co-opts?" asks Nathan Lee. Previewing the New York Underground Film Festival (tonight through April 3), he never quite answers that one, and admits as much, but as mjr blogs for Reverse Shot, "Viva, the NYUFF's opening night (tonight) film, surely makes a good case that the current crop of underground directors are more interested in retro DIY rather than untrodded field mines of creativity." Which isn't to say mjr agrees with Lee: "There exist countercurrents inside countercurrents, and the NYUFF is diverse and rich enough to provide more substantial fare beyond the accessible, palatable 'works of homage, pastiche, and appropriation' Lee has chosen to focus on and which, yes, remain the underground's easiest sources of amusement and targets of criticism. Trust me, there's more, and better."

For the Reeler's preview, Elena Marinaccio talks with festival co-director Mo Johnston.

Back in the Voice, Elliott Stein hosts a roundtable chat on Film Forum's three-week series of B Musicals. Jessica Freeman-Slade previews the series for the Reeler and talks with Bruce Goldstein, Film Forum's director of repertory programming.

Besides Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Climates, most of what's on offer at the Boston Turkish Film Festival, opening tomorrow and running through May 13, is "a look at what the Turkish cineplexes might be showing and a reflection, perhaps, of what’s on the collective mind of Turkish culture," notes the Phoenix's Peter Keough. "The details and the trappings may differ from standard Middle American fare, but many of the themes remain familiar."

Posted by dwhudson at March 28, 2007 1:20 PM