Fests and events, 11/12.

"The Scottish actress Tilda Swinton will be President of the International Jury at the Berlinale 2009."

As Mario Ruiz reports at the Huffington Post, Mormans funneled $19 million into the effort to pass Proposition 8, the Californian ballot initiative aimed at banning gay marriage. That's "nearly four out of five dollars raised." And, as you'll have heard, they won. It's likely that you've also heard that calls have been issued for a boycott of the Sundance Film Festival, which, of course, takes place in Park City, Utah. IndieWIRE editor Eugene Hernandez talks with filmmakers and others who find the idea absurd.

The Museum of the Moving Image salutes Ben Stiller tonight. Chief Curator David Schwartz: "So what is behind this constant impulse to satirize show business, to make fun of the industry that provides Stiller's livelihood? The answer, beyond the surface of the sheer entertainment value of his movies (and Stiller's films have earned nearly two billion box-office dollars) is that he sees show business as the perfect arena in which to explore, in amplified form, many of the neuroses of modern life."

"Tonight, the American Cinematheque's 60s-centric Mods and Rockers series will present a 40th anniversary screening of Head, featuring [Peter] Tork and [Davy] Jones, plus other cast and crew members, in person." For the Los Angeles Times, Susan King talks with a few of the players about its making.

Focus on Johnnie To runs at the Australian Center for the Moving Image in Melbourne through Sunday; Michael Bodey talks with To for the Australian. Via Movie City News.

The L Magazine's Mark Asch has some fun telling readers about Pordenone Silent Film Tuesdays at BAM.

Arthur Penn "as once a filmmaker uniquely synchronous to What's Happening, his work a countercultural March of Time." Nick Pinkerton previews an eight-film retrospective at Anthology Film Archives running Friday through November 23. Related: Steve Dollar talks with Penn about Mickey One.

Also in the Voice, Vadim Rizov notes that the New French Films series at BAM, running tonight through Sunday, features "two essential nights of undistributed films," Mia Hansen-Løve's feature debut, All Is Forgiven and Jacques Doillon's Just Anybody. More from the L Magazine's Mark Asch.

The Monks' "hard little pellets of avant-pop would be later considered by some "an early form of heavy metal," though Monks more closely anticipated the likes of the Contortions and Devo," writes Dennis Harvey in the San Francisco Bay Guardian. "Incredibly, they were doing this stuff in 1965." Monks: The Transatlantic Feedback "is a great 60s flashback, as well as a comeback saga of sorts. Original Monk bassist Eddie Shaw will be in attendance at the Red Vic's opening night shows." Friday through Monday.

"On Monday, November 24, I'll be hosting a live interview at the Barbican in London with director Michael Winterbottom, for a special screening of his film Code 46," notes Geoff Manaugh. "This is part of an ongoing series called Architecture on Film, curated by the Architecture Foundation. The purpose of the event is to talk about film and architecture - or, in this case, cities, urban design, memory, science fiction, landscape, globalization and the built environment. As you can see from the list of locations used for the film's production, Code 46 is very well-traveled, stitching together urban - and exurban - environments from London, Shanghai, Dubai, Hong Kong, and even the deserts of Rajasthan."

Filmsight asks Matt Ravier about directing Australia's Possible Worlds: Canadian Film Festival, running November 27 through December 2.

"Bestselling author, heroin addict and all-round beat generation visionary William S Burroughs is to be the subject of two decidedly unseasonal Christmas exhibitions," notes Laura Bennett in the Guardian.

The Independent wraps the Sheffield International Documentary Festival.

Posted by dwhudson at November 12, 2008 1:55 PM