Thinking Outside the Multiplex

by MIKE MACCOLLUM

Who knew that November was such a big time of the year for film festivals of various sorts in Indiana?  I certainly didn’t – but a surprising number of festivals take place this week and next around the state.  The Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival is this weekend, and Muncie’s Harvest Moon Film Festival continues on Friday and Saturday,  while The Other Side of Paradise Short Film Festival may hit Indy on November 17 (see the “Theatrical Holdovers…” section below) – and one other film festival and an anime convention/celebration are set for next weekend (see “Next Week and Beyond” section).  For all of the news on the (smallish this week) number of limited-release films hitting Indiana theaters this weekend, and the theatrical holdovers and special screenings throughout the state, read on below….

NEW LIMITED-RELEASE THEATRICAL FILMS OPENING IN INDIANA THIS WEEK - For showtimes and directions to many of the theaters and other venues in the Indiana listings, follow the links in the “Outside the Multiplex: Moviegoing in the Hoosier State” section of the sidebar.

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day – After this sequel (to a film that was barely given a theatrical release) opened a few weeks ago, I noticed that it had a very strong per-theater average, and wondered if and when it would expand elsewhere.  The expansion starts this weekend, as it turns out, and the ShowPlace 16 in Schereville is the only theater in the state (as far as I know) to get the film – so far, at least.  If the strong box office returns continue, however, we might get to see this crime drama on theater screens in central Indiana; only time will tell….

An Education – Nick Hornby wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of Lynn Barber’s book; Lone Scherfig (Italian for Beginners) directed, and Emma Thompson, Alfred Molina, Olivia Williams, and Rosamund Pike are all in the cast.  Reviews for this film – which starts Friday at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis – seem to have been very positive, overall.

(Fun fact: By sheer coincidence (or so I would assume), four of the seven movies now playing at the Keystone Arts – Amelia, Bright Star, Coco Before Chanel, and An Education – were directed by women.  I suspect that this a high water mark for female directors at this theater – or any other theater in the state, for that matter; can anyone out there confirm that?)

Pirate Radio – Four Indianapolis-area theaters – the AMC Castleton 14 and Kerasotes ShowPlace 16 and IMAX in Indianapolis, the Regal Village Park 17 in Carmel, and the Goodrich Hamilton 16 with IMAX in Noblesville – will be showing this comedy from Love, Actually writer/director Richard Curtis.  Four theaters in the area is my (flexible) upper limit for inclusion of a title on a list of “limited release” openings, especially since so many other theaters around the state (too many of them to list here, in fact) also will be showing Pirate Radio.  Since I was a regular listener to US pirate stations in the ‘70s and ‘80s, however, I might have shown this one a bit of favoritism and mentioned it here even if it had opened on five screens in the Indy area; plus, I liked Love, Actually (and Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill) well enough, so I figured why not….

Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire – This film seems likely to make a lot of money, and will no doubt be going into wide national release sometime soon.  It opens this Friday at theShowPlace 16 in Schererville and the ShowPlace 12 in Hobart.  As of now, it is also scheduled to start Friday, November 20, at the Keystone Arts, UA Eagle Highlands 10, ShowPlace 12 at Traders Point, and one other “ShowPlace 12” (either Glendale or Washington Square; the website doesn’t say which one) in Indianapolis – but I suspect that another theater or two will be added to that list by next Friday.

THEATRICAL HOLDOVERS, FILM FESTIVALS, REVIVAL SCREENINGS, AND OTHER SPECIAL SHOWINGS IN INDIANA THIS WEEK -

Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani – This occasionally amusing, cartoonishly over-the-top Bollywood comedy will be shown at 9 PM this Friday and Saturday at the Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis.

Amarcord – Fellini’s classic film will be shown at the University of Notre Dame’s Browning Cinema on Sunday, November 15, at 3 PM.

Bliss – A recent Turkish film about a family contemplating a so-called “honor killing” following a tragic incident involving their daughter, Bliss will be shown this weekend in Bloomington courtesy of The Ryder Magazine and Film Series.

Bright Star­ – Continues for another week at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis; also showing through Tuesday at the Cinema Center @ Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne.

Cane Toads: An Unnatural History – This 1988 documentary on the introduction of cane toads to Australia – and their subsequent population explosion there – will be shown this weekend in Bloomington courtesy of The Ryder Magazine and Film Series; click on their link at the right of this page for more information.

Coal Country – The Buskirk-Chumley Theater will have the Bloomington premiere screening of this documentary about the hardships for Appalachian families caused by mountaintop removal coal mining – and about coal power in the US in general – at 2 PM on Sunday, November 15.  The event also features the national release party for an accompanying CD Coal Country Music, with live performances by several of the musicians featured on the CD.

Coco Before Chanel – Continues for another week at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne’s Cinema Center.

The Damned United – Continues for another week at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis.

Departures – IU’s Fine Arts building in Bloomington will have showings of this film – which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film – again this weekend, courtesy of The Ryder Magazine and Film Series.

Dinosaurs Alive! 3D – This 2007 film will be showing again this week at the IMAX Theater at the Indiana State Museum in downtown Indianapolis.

Film Reading Kathrine Calahan – According to a few Google searches, this event is a reading for parts in a film to be directed by Ms. Calahan; it will take place on Tuesday, November 17, from 8 to 10 PM at the Earth House Collective in Indianapolis.  I decided to include an entry for this event because the Earth House site itself has just the title for the event, and the date and time, with no explanation of what it involves.  I thought it might be some sort of seminar/discussion/whatever on how to “read” a film, based on the title – and I thought that others out there might be just as confused.

Food, Inc. – The Lotus Petal Cinema in Nashville will show this well-done documentary on Tuesday, November 17, at 6 and 8 PM.  It is also showing at 7 PM on Thursday, November 19, at the Earth House Collective in Indianapolis.

Friday the 13th Scary-Oke Night – Nippers II Grill and Tap in Carmel will have a screening of the film Friday the 13th at 4 PM on…. Friday the 13th; this will be followed by karaoke at 10 PM.  As for which version of the film will be shown – and how exactly the time between the end of the film and the start of the karaoke will be filled – that I do not know; your best bet would be to call the venue itself for more of that sort of info.

Ghost Stories 3 – Continues at the Lotus Petal Cinema in Nashville through Monday, November 16.

Good Hair­ – Continues for another week at the Merrillville 10 in Merrillville; also showing through Tuesday at the Cinema Center @ Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne.

Harvest Moon Film Festival – This festival of films and filmmakers “celebrating the Midwest” (per the event’s site) started Thursday night in downtown Muncie, and continues there through Saturday.  As of Thursday night, I couldn’t find the titles of any films showing in this festival on its official site; this may have changed since then – or maybe I just wasn’t looking in the right place; you might want to check out the festival’s site yourself, to see if more info has been added (or if I just couldn’t find it in the first place).

Homeless for the Holidays – Continues through Wednesday at the Rave Jefferson Pointe 18 in Fort Wayne, with one showing a day (at 7:20 PM).

The Hurt Locker – Kathryn Bigelow’s suspenseful, well-done film about an Army bomb squad in Iraq starts Friday at the Georgetown 14, the Cinemark Movies 8 Washington Market, the Cinemark Movies 8 in Greenwood, and the Kerasotes Cinema 10 in Richmond.

Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival – The Indianapolis Museum of Art and IUPUI’s Campus Center are the sites for this film festival, which takes place from Friday through Sunday.  One of the feature films showing on Saturday, Hannah Free, recently opened at several theaters across the US.  For a complete list of titles and show times, follow the link to the festival’s site.

IOUSA – This documentary on the national debt crisis will have a “Film Forum” showing (whatever that means; the web site doesn’t say) at the Earth House Collective in Indianapolis on Monday, November 16, at 7 PM; admission is free.

Is Anybody There? – Michael Caine stars in this drama/comedy, which starts on Thursday, November 19, at the Lotus Petal Cinema in Nashville.

Lewis and Clark: The Great Journey West – This 2002 film will be showing again this week at the IMAX Theater at the Indiana State Museum in downtown Indianapolis.

The Limits of Control – Jim Jarmusch’s film starts on Thursday, November 19, at the Lotus Petal Cinema in Nashville.

L’Opera de Paris: Eugene Onegin – Dmitri Tcherniakov’s staging of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s opera – as performed by the Paris Opera – will be screened at 1 PM on Sunday, November 15, at the Rave Jefferson Pointe 18 in Fort Wayne.

Mall of America and 0% Down – These two short films by Josephine Meckseper will be shown simultaneously (on different walls of the same gallery) at the Indianapolis Museum of Art through February 7, 2010.

My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure – The Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis will have daily showings of this children’s film at 1 and 2 PM this week; it will also be shown at 1 and 2 PM on Saturday and Sunday at the Studio 10 in Shelbyville, and at 11:45 AM on Saturday and Sunday at the Rave Jefferson Pointe 18 in Fort Wayne.

The Nutcracker – This production of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s ballet was filmed at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater in 2007; it will be shown at 7 PM on Thursday, November 19, at the Rave Jefferson Pointe 18 in Fort Wayne.

Omer Fast: The Casting – This fourteen minute, four channel video installation continues at the Indianapolis Museum of Art through March 14. The piece intercuts excerpts from the artist’s conversations with a soldier about to leave for his second tour of duty in Iraq with footage of actors mimicking the dialogue.

The Other Side of Paradise – As with The Sighing Hours below, here’s another event (or two) which may or may not be making an appearance in central Indiana this week.  The comedy film The Other Side of Paradise is apparently going on a cross-country screening tour, and at each stop, the showing of the film will be preceded by a presentation of the best short film submitted to the accompanying film festival’s site from the city/state/region in which that screening takes place.  Well, the site for the film festival says that there is supposed to be a stop in Indianapolis on November 17, but does not give the exact location or time.  And on the site for the film itself, no Indianapolis screening was mentioned as of Thursday evening, at least as far as I could tell.  I sent a message to the site on Wednesday night asking if the film would be showing in Indy; as of Thursday evening, I had not received a reply.

The Perfect Gift – Continues for another week at the Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis and the Studio 10 in Shelbyville.

Poto Mitan – Director Mark Schuller will be present at a screening of this documentary on Monday, November 16, from 3 to 4:30, in room CE 405 of IUPUI’s Campus Center.  The film focuses on five women in Haiti who face extremely difficult working and living conditions as a result of economic globalization – until their collective action brings about change.  This screening is open to the public, and there will be no admission charge.

The Rape of Europa – This excellent documentary on Nazi efforts to loot the art treasures of Europe will be shown at 6:30 and 9:30 PM on Friday, November 13, and Saturday, November 14, at the University of Notre Dame’s Browning Cinema.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show – Showing once again at 10 PM this Saturday at the Georgetown 14 in Indianapolis.

Rooster’s Breakfast­ – The Indianapolis Museum of Art’s Toby Theatre will have a showing of this English-subtitled film from Slovenia at 7 PM on Thursday, November 19.  The IMA’s page says that the film has elements of both a comedy and a thriller, and notes that Rooster’s Breakfast won a number of awards (like the Audience Award and prizes for Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay) at the 2007 Slovenian Film Festival.

A Serious Man – Holds over for another week at the Keystone Arts in Indianapolis; also starts Friday at the Cinema Center in Fort Wayne (which will have a discussion of the film following the 4 PM Sunday screening).

The Sighing Hours – The Indianapolis premiere of the feature-length film of the new opera of the same name – which was written and performed by a group called the Floating Men – may or may not take place at the Irving Theater this Saturday at 2 PM.  I’m not certain, because while the event is on the Irving’s official site, when you click on the “buy tickets” link for that event, it takes you to a site called “eventbrite” that does not mention the film, as far as I can tell – and the myspace page for the opera (see link above) mentions an event in Nashville, TN, on November 19, but again says nothing about an Indianapolis event.  If you are interested in seeing this film of an opera described on its myspace page as “part sex farce, part love story, and part supernatural chiller,” you might want to try calling the Irving at 356-3355 to see what is going on here.

Singin’ in the Rain – Elkhart, Indiana’s Jean Hagen is one of the stars of this classic musical comedy from 1952, which is why this is part of the “Hoosiers in Hollywood” series at the Central Library’s Clowes Auditorium.  The screening will take place on Sunday, November 15, at 2 PM, and will be preceded by a discussion with David Smith, who wrote the book Hoosiers in Hollywood.  As far as I can tell, there is no charge for admission.

Still Walking – Director Kore-Eda Hirokazu’s family drama will be shown at the University of Notre Dame’s Browning Cinema on Thursday, November 19, at 6:30 and 9:30 PM.

Thomas & Friends: Splish, Splash, Splosh – This children’s film will be shown at1 PM on Saturday and Sunday at the Rave Metropolis 18 in Plainfield.

Tosca – The University of Notre Dame’s Browning Cinema will have an encore screening of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Puccini’s tragic love story at1 PM on Friday, November 13.

Turandot -  Franco Zeffirelli and the Metropolitan Opera collaborated on this production of Puccini’s last work, which will have an encore screening at the UA Galaxy 14, AMC Castleton Square 14 and the Kerasotes ShowPlace 16 and IMAX in Indianapolis, the Goodrich Hamilton 16 with IMAX in Noblesville, and eleven other locations across the state on Wednesday, November 18, at 6:30 PM; it is also showing at 1 PM on Saturday, November 14, at the University of Notre Dame’s Browning Cinema.

The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Encore Event­ – Fathom Events will have another encore of this showing of the film (and other related content, such as a short film which documents how L. Frank Baum’s book was turned into the 1939 film) at 6:30 PM on Thursday, November 17, at the AMC Castleton Square 14 and the Kerasotes ShowPlace 16 and IMAX in Indianapolis, the Goodrich Hamilton 16 with IMAX in Noblesville, and ten other locations across the state.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND – As noted above, Precious – Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire is scheduled to start at the Keystone Arts (and three other area theaters) on November 20.  Another film that had been on the Keystone Arts’ site as an 11/20 opener, Gentlemen Broncos, was not anywhere to be found on the theater’s page as of Thursday evening – so it’s booking has been postponed or cancelled, apparently.  Also, the Keystone Arts recently added Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist to their page; they say it is scheduled to open there on December 4.  (The same date for an Indianapolis opening has been on the film’s official US site for a while now.)

The manoranjaninc.com site says that three Indian films will be showing at the Georgetown 14 next week: Kurbaan (in Hindi, with English subtitles), Raaj, the Show Man (in the Kannada language, and apparently not subtitled in English), and the “super-hit” Malayalam-language film Puthiya Mugham (The New Face), which also does not seem to have English subtitles.  Go to the manoranjan site for more info.

And speaking of the G14: That theater’s weekly e-mail says that they will be going back to first-run movies on November 20.  Who knows how long this will last – through the Christmas season, or beyond?  In any event, I wish them luck with whatever they try; this is one of the few theater’s in the city to show any sort of creativity whatsoever in their bookings.

Anime Crossroads – I don’t know if this annual convention – which will take place November 20 through 22 at the Marriott East in Indianapolis – will feature any movie screenings; I couldn’t find any listed on the event’s site, for whatever that’s worth.  According to the home page for the event, however, it is a celebration of “eastern animation, Japanese culture and music,” so I thought it would be appropriate to mention it here.

The Wet Your Pants Comedy Film Festival – The inaugural edition of this festival will get under way at noon on Saturday, November 21, at the Community Playhouse at Clay Terrace in Carmel.  It is presented by Stick Figure Pictures and the National Kidney Foundation, and will raise money for the NKF while showing indie comedies from across the US.

The Ryder’s site now says that they will have one showing of the documentary Kicking It – which is about people around the world training to compete in the 2006 Homeless World Cup, a street soccer competition – on Saturday, November 21, at 7:30 PM.  Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to several groups working to alleviate poverty and homelessness in the Bloomington area.  The Ryder also will be showing 35 Shots of Rum – a film unlikely to get shown on a big screen of any sort elsewhere in Indiana – starting on December 4.

The family film Homeless for the Holidays recently added a notice on its web page that the film will be “coming soon” to the Rave Metropolis 18 in Plainfield, but there’s no exact start date for the film there as of yet.

On a different note entirely, After Dark’s Horrorfest did not play at any Indiana theaters – at least not any in central Indiana – in 2009, much to my displeasure… although since most of the movies in the previous two Horrorfests were pretty bad, maybe that wasn’t such a tragedy after all.  In any event, I recently noticed that the site for the 2010 Horrorfest is now up, and some of the eight films in this year’s fest have been announced; maybe it’s just me – and/or hope triumphing over experience – but I think that three or four of these movies sound promising.  Anyhow, if you want the 2010 Horrorfest to play in Indiana, go to the site, scroll down the page a bit, and click on the “register for updates” link.  When you do so, you will be entering your zip code (along with other info) – and the folks at After Dark may well be using this info to decide which cities will rate theatrical screenings of the 2010 ‘fest.  Here’s hoping that at least one theater in Indiana makes the cut (so to speak) this time….