The circle of art

Works by Paradise Valley High School students exhibited at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts

We’ve been taking our kids to Scottsdale Center for the Arts since they were tiny, seeing everyone from Mandy Patinkin (who’ll return come early February) to Mikhail Baryshnikov. I remember seeing Kristin Chenoweth’s tiny little feet, decked out in delicate sparkly shoes, poke out from behind a lush velvet curtain before it opened for a performance following spectacular renovations made to the Virginia G. Piper Theater. It never occured to me I might one day walk in her shoes.

Student artwork created through the Cultural Connections Through the Arts program in Scottsdale

Truth be told, my feet would need a lot more rhinestones to even come close. Still, I was honored to take the stage at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday evening. Not to perform, of course, but to moderate a film screening that’s part of New York film critic Harlan Jacobson’s Talk Cinema series. I long ago traded microphone for pen, so the prospect of speaking before a crowd again felt rather daunting. In the end, of course, they had to pry that baby right out of my hands.

Student works created with Valley artist and musician Tom Cooper

The evening before I’d attended a presentation by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in that same theater. Wednesday evening the venue presents “Close Encounters With Music,” which a lovely gentleman I met after Tuesday’s film screening told me he’d be attending. I’m proud to live in the city that’s home to Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art and oodles of additional arts and culture offerings.

Works created by students in Jody Cruse’s art class at Paradise Valley High School

It’s starting to feel like maybe I should just set up a cot in the lobby (preferably near the gift shop). Each time I’m at the center, I make time to enjoy student works exhibited inside the young@art gallery — and often find additional works by young artists in other parts of the venue. Most recently, I enjoyed a collection of acrylic works painted on circular panels — which has me musing about the circle of art completed with my on-stage adventure.

Acrylic on panel works by Paradise Valley High School Art I students

The beautiful thing about circles, of course, is that they have no ending. I’ll be back, in audience member mode, for the next Talk Cinema screening — being moderated by Jacobson the second Tuesday in January. And I’ll share my review of “Quartet,” a film with roots in a real retirement home for opera singers and other performance artists, once the film is released in Valley theaters. For now, I’m off to muse about what a film about retired writers might look like.

— Lynn

Note: Artwork featured in this post was created by students in Jody Cruse’s Art I class at Paradise Valley High School — who worked with Valley artist, curator and philanthropist Tom Cooper through the Cultural Connections Through the Arts program — for an exhibit titled “The Beauty of Balance.”

Coming up: Art meets travel, Musings on teaching ballet, Drive-by exhibit?

Lift me up

Tyme Khleifi (L) and Avri Levitan playing Ross Birrell’s “Lift Me Up For I Am Dying” in Berlin. Photo from ASU Museum in Tempe.

Our daughter Jennifer, who studies cultural anthropology at ASU in Tempe, recently asked what I thought of the film “La Rafle,” which dramatizes a roundup of Jews living in Paris during the Holocaust. “It has a happy ending,” I told her. There’s nothing happy about recounting the horrors of the Holocaust, but too many people shy away from films on the subject for fear they’ll see only cruelty and death.

I should have explained instead that the film has a “hopeful” ending. There are survivors, including children. And there are people who risked their own lives, and those of family members, to fight evil with courage and compassion. Reflecting on the Holocaust is an act of remembrance and a call to action. Individuals can make a difference, even in the face of mass murder. It’s one of many insights conveyed by “La Rafle” filmmakers.

“La Rafle” is currently showing at Harkins Theatres Camelview 5 in Scottsdale

I’m hoping to see two additional films with Jewish themes this week, both on ASU’s Tempe campus. Tonight ASU Jewish Studies is screening “The Miracle of Purim,” which imagines an anti-semitic Catholic with Jewish ancestry, who learns he’ll receive an inheritance only if he returns to his Jewish roots.

“The Miracle of Purim” is part of ASU’s current “Polish-Jewish Film Series.” Tonight’s 7pm screening in Cottonwood Hall (room 103) at Barrett, The Honors College, also features a discussion with faculty members Daniel Gilfillan and Anna Cichopek-Gajraj. The film was made in Poland, is directed by Izabella Cywinska, features English subtitles and runs just 57 minutes.

ASU Art Museum presents the premiere of Ross Birrell’s short film “Duet: Lift Me Up For I Am Dying” through Saturday, Nov. 24. The museum, always closed on Sundays and Mondays, will be closed Nov. 22 and 23 for the Thanksgiving holiday — so you have just Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday of this week to see it. The film runs continously during museum hours, and museum admission is free.

“Life Me Up For I Am Dying” was composed by Birrell using the last spoken words of poet English romantic poet John Keats. The film “Duet” combines separate individual performances of the piece by Palestinian violinist Tyme Khleifi and Israeli violinist Avri Levitan. Each plays a different tempo, so the combination results in dissonance imbued with the possibility of harmony.

Folks who plan ahead can mark their calendar now with dates for next year’s Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival, taking place at three Harkins Theatres — Camelview 5 in Scottsdale, Crossroads 12 in Chandler and Arrowhead 18 in Peoria — Sunday, Feb. 10 to Sunday, Feb. 24.

Additional Jewish film festivals taking place next year include the New York Jewish Film Festival (Jan.) and the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (July/Aug.). Learn more about Jewish films by visiting The National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis University in Massachusetts.

— Lynn

Note: GPJFF films for 2013 were originally listed incorrectly in this post–so watch for updates as 2013 film titles are confirmed.

Coming: Lightning strikes in Scottsdale, Journalist faces ethical dilemma

Flicks and felines

Once upon a time, “Riverdance” was all the rage — but nowadays “Catdance” is taking center stage. Fresh Step Litter is holding a nationwide search for scripted short films about cats — and sending five winners to the first ever “Catdance Film Festival” in Park City, Utah come January 2013.

You can see The Immigration Paradox this month at FilmBar in Phoenix

Folks who favor films about people have plenty of choices this month at FilmBar in Phoenix, which presents “age 21 and over” screenings of “Electoral Dysfunction” and “The Imposter” this week and an “all ages” screening of “The Immigration Paradox” later this month.

Film buffs ages 21 + can hit FilmBar for their choice of several November screenings of “Side by Side,” a documentary produced by Keanu Reeves that explores the shift from photochemical to digital filmmaking. The film features interviews with directors, cinematographers, film students, producers, technologists, editors and exhibitors.

The “Sedona Jewish Film Festival” continues through Nov. 7 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre — where you can also see the “Globe on Screen” presentation of “Doctor Faustus” (Nov. 9) and the “National Theatre Live” presentation of “Timon of Athens” (Nov. 18). The 2013 “Sedona International Film Festival” takes place Feb. 23-March 3.

“The Loft Cinema Film Fest,” which features shorts, documentaries and other films from around the world, takes place in Tucson Nov. 8-15. The venue holds a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its third screen on Nov. 9 and celebrates its 40th birthday on Nov. 15. “Play It Again 2012: Great Hits by University of Arizona Filmmakers” takes place Nov. 14.

The Arizona State University School of Theatre and Film presents several film-related events, including “The ASU Student Film Festival” (April 29 and 30, 2013), “Capstones” screenings of student film works at the end of each semester, and “Hollywood Invades Tempe” screenings and discussions. Other schools at ASU also present film screenings.

“Hollywood Invades Tempe” on Nov. 8 features a screening of “The Dark Knight” with ASU alumni Hamilton Sterling, a sound effects and lighting designer who’s worked on films including “The Dark Knight,” “Men in Black,” “Gangs of New York,” “The Tree of Life” and “There Will Be Blood.”

You can see Stephen Sondheim’s Company this month at Phoenix Art Museum

The Phoenix Art Museum continues its film offerings with a Nov. 10 screening of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” featuring the New York Philharmonic, and presents “Smoke Signals” — which seeks to “demythologize the American Indian” — on Nov. 18.

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts continues the “Talk Cinema” series,  featuring film festival selections chosen by film critic Harlan Jacobson and post-screening discussions with guest moderators, on Nov. 13. Additional screenings take place on Dec. 11, Jan. 8, Feb. 5, March 19, April 16 and May 7. Links to featured films go up on the center’s website just a few days prior to each screening.

Harkins Theatres supports several film festivals each year, so folks who favor such things should “save the date” for early 2013 offerings that include “The Jewish Film Festival” and “Deadcenter Film Festival” in February and “The Phoenix Film Festival” in April.

Harkins Theatres and Emerging Pictures present film series dedicated to concerts, sporting events, classic movies and opera/ballet. Upcoming “Opera and Ballet in Cinema Series” selections include “Swan Lake” performed by the Royal Ballet (Nov. 6), “La Cenerentola – Cinderella” (Dec. 16) and “The Nutcracker” performed by the Bolshoi Ballet (Dec. 18).

Fathom Events presents “The Metropolitan Opera LIVE” series, which includes upcoming broadcasts of “The Tempest” (Nov. 10), “Aida” (Dec. 15) and other works. They’re also presenting several historic concerts from groups like Led Zeppelin (Nov. 13) and Bon Jovi (Nov. 27).

Studio Movie Grill in Scottsdale presents concerts, charitable events and other alternative programming through the “SMG with a Twist” series. A concert by “The Doors” hits the Scottsdale movie theater Nov. 6 and 7.  Studio Movie Grill also presents special screenings of family-friendly films for children with special needs, including “Wreck-It Ralph” on Nov. 10.

You’ll find additional film offerings at local community colleges, museums, libraries and performing arts venues — plus PBS, the Sundance Channel and other television venues. Naturally the family cat, Pinky, is holding out for a Catdance channel.

— Lynn

Coming up: Art meets athletics

Declaration of War

I’m beginning to understand the logic behind heading to “Talk Cinema” films at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts without knowing what they are. “Talk Cinema” is a monthly film screening featuring works selected by New York film critic Harlan Jacobson, and many of its subsribers choose to attend each month not knowing his selection.

But I always peek first, just like I did when Christmas presents called my name from under the tree as a very young child. The venue posts a link with information on the film just days before it’s screened, for those of us who like to look. I expected to watch a war film after seeing that the January selection was titled “Declaration of War,” and I did.

But “Declaration of War” doesn’t recount a battle of countries or ideas. Instead, it’s the tale of two French parents tackling their young son’s brain tumor. I wasn’t feeling particularly perky Tuesday night before heading out to the screening, and expecting to be hit with a depressing flick made it harder to get up and go. But something in the movie’s poster signaled it might be more joyous than morose.

And I was curious, having seen one of our own children battle cancer, about how another family’s struggle might look different from our own. Many in the audience spoke after the film of feeling incredibly sad while viewing it, but I felt quite the opposite — because the boy expected to die before he could start school instead becomes a cancer survivor. And despite the family’s tragedy, their lives are filled with simple joys that others facing less trying times often have a hard time mustering.

“Declaration of War” was written by Valerie Donzelli and Jeremie Elkaim, the parents at the heart of the film, and directed by Donzelli. Both were working actors in France prior to creating and starring in this film, which premiered during critics week at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and was submitted by France for the foreign-language film Oscar. Donzelli was also writer, actor and director for a 2009 film called “The Queen of Hearts.”

Their characters in “Declaration of War” are young parents named Romeo and Juliette. As the film opens, we hear two oddly similar  but jarring sounds — the beat of club music and the drumming sound of an MRI machine in action. Their time with one quickly shifts to time with the other, hasted cinematically by quick, rough shots using a Canon 5D camera and pulsating music that drives them quickly from the diaper stage to diagnosis — from feeling inept within the walls of their home to being empowered inside hospital corridors.

In the film, infant son Adam (César Desseix) seems perfectly normal at birth. Once home, he cries nearly non-stop — something parents and professionals chalk up to being overfed or getting new teeth until other problems emerge. The 18-month old can’t balance to walk and begins vomiting for no apparent reason. Eventually a doctor spots something suspicious, and orders the test that launches the couple’s journey into childrearing and cancer.

Our first look at Adam comes quite early in the film, when he’s eight years old and played by the couple’s own son, Gabriel Elkaim. Jacobson says it frees the viewer to follow the film’s sometimes wild ride rather than fretting throughout about the boy’s possible death. Gabriel survives cancer but the couple’s romantic relationship, conveyed in the film by singing to and with one another, does not — though they continue to parent and work together.

Jacobson shared his film expertise during a talk-back session after the screening, noting that box office sales in France rose last year as box office sales in the U.S. sagged. Despite higher ticket sales, he says, our box office revenues fell by 12%. 

Apparently Americans don’t have much appetite for foreign films. “If you like  foreign films,” quiped Jacobson, “you’re part of the one percent.” About 1/3 of foreign film revenues in the U.S. are earned in New York City, he says. Hence my daughter’s delight in seeing movies in Manhattan weeks before they open in Arizona.

The current “Talk Cinema” series at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts includes four more screenings — on Feb. 7, March 20, April 17 and May 8. Tickets for students (with current student I.D.) are just $10. There’s no popcorn, and the crowd is remarkably quiet, making for a lovely low-cal evening enjoyed alone or with friends.

— Lynn

Note: Click here to learn about a Scottsdale-based organization called Students Supporting Brain Tumor Research, which presents their 2012 Phoenix/Scottsdale walk-a-thon on Sun, Feb. 12.

Coming up: Celebrating MLK the arts & culture way

Get reel!

The Tucson Jewish Community Center presents the 2012 Tucson International Jewish Film Festival Jan. 12-21 at the JCC Auditorium in Tucson. Their “Fabulous Faygeleh LGBT Film Series,” featuring three films, takes place Jan. 22. The festival’s opening film, “The Round Up” (“La Rafle”) is being screened at Tucson’s Loft Cinema.

The Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival presents “Get Reel with Director Bryan Singer” Jan. 14 at the Chandler Center for the Arts — which benefits the Holocaust and Tolerance Museum and Education Center currently being developed by the East Valley Jewish Community Center.

The “Desperado LGBT Film Festival” takes place Jan. 27-29 at the Paradise Valley Community College Center for the Performing Arts.  A couple of short films and panel discussions are free. Proceeds from ticketed screenings and events support LGBTQA scholarships.

The 2012 Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival takes place Feb.12-26 at three Harkins Theatres in the Valley — Scottsdale Camelview, Chandler Crossroads and Peoria Arrowhead. It features 11 films, for diverse audiences, that “offer a wealth of Jewish life, culture, humor and drama.”

The Sedona International Film Festival takes place Feb. 18-26, and will feature more than 145 films. Peter Bogdanovich, the son of immigrants who fled Nazi Germany, will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award during a special ceremony at the Sedona Performing Arts Center — followed by a screening of his “Last Picture Show” and a Q & A session featuring both Bogdanovich and Glenn Scarpelli.

The Prescott Film Festival takes place July 18-22. It’ll feature work by Arizona filmmakers in celebration of the state’s centennial, plus films from the U.S. and abroad. Details about free workshops and ticketed events will be released as festival dates draw near.

Watch for film screenings at local museums (including the Phoenix Art Museum), performing arts venues (including the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts), public libraries and other arts & culture destinations. And don’t forget to film your own kiddos now and then — family film festivals are the most fun by far!

— Lynn

Coming up: A guest blogger shares his “Wicked” ways

Arts & culture — festival style

Valley Youth Theatre (pictured above, performing Annie) is scheduled to perform at 4:05pm during Saturday's Herberger Theater Center Festival of the Arts

I’m heading out Saturday to enjoy the Herberger Theater Center “Festival of the Arts,” a one-day festival in Phoenix featuring music, dance, theater, visual art and film. It takes place from 1-5pm, which means I have plenty of time to coffee and catch up on other things ahead of time.

The festival is $5 (free for those under 12), but I’m taking a little extra cash along too so food vendors can feel the love. Think hots dogs, gourmet tacos and more. I’ll be visiting vendor booths, enjoying performances both indoor and out, and exploring the work of more than a dozen featured artists.

Folks who attend with children can enjoy the festival’s “Kids Zone,” featuring various art and science activities, demonstrations, play areas and more. Think Free Arts of Arizona and the Arizona Science Center. Even the APS Clowns are joining the fun.

The Arizona Jewish Theatre Company All Rights Reserved teen improv troupe is scheduled to perform at 2:55pm on Saturday at the Festival of the Arts

It looks like there will be about two dozen vendor booths, where you can meet all sorts of artists and those who love them. Theater groups doing the booth thing include Arizona Broadway Theatre, Arizona Jewish Theatre Company, Arizona Theatre Company, Grand Canyon University, the Scottsdale Community College Theatre Arts Program and Spotlight Youth Theatre.

I love the fact that several hail from parts other than downtown Phoenix so you can get a feel for the true breadth and depth of Valley art offerings. This is a great way to chat with folks who offer programs for children and gather information about their camps and such. (Yes, you should also watch for the 2012 Raising Arizona Kids Magazine Camp Fair.)

The Arizona Girl Choir is one of several arts organizations who will have a booth at Saturday's Herberger Theater Center Festival of the Arts

Dance groups joining the vendor booth fun include Arizona Youth Ballet, Center Dance Ensemble and Scorpius Dance Theatre. Music will be well represented too — thanks to the Phoenix Boys Choir and Arizona Girl Choir. Also keep an eye out for various art studios and others who offer family-friendly fare (like bobbles for wayward hair).

Several of the folks noted above will also perform at some point during the event on one of the Herberger Theater Center’s many stages. As will plenty of other groups — the Dance Shoppe Performance Company, EPIK Dance Company, Grand Canyon University Dance Ensemble, Theater Works and more.

An outdoor stage will feature music by the Bald Cactus Brass Band, Chicks with Picks and Take Cover! Porangui and String Serenade will perform inside Bob’s Spot, a lovely lounge adjacent to the Herberger Theater Center’s upstairs art gallery.

Performers who participate in the Herberger’s “Lunch Time Theater” series will also be on hand to entertain you. Think New Carpa Theater, Grey Matters Productions, Annie Moscow and Friendly People Productions. Sounds a bit like a smorgasbord, only sexier somehow.

Theater Works is scheduled to perform a scene and song from The King and I at 2:20pm during the Herberger Theater Center's Festival of the Arts

Film shorts run a little later than other festival offerings, starting at 4pm on The Kax Stage and wrapping up at 6pm. They’ll be introduced by emcee Ricky Faust, who will facililate Q & A sessions between films.

If critical body parts don’t give out (for me this means feet and knees), I might also hit the Rainbow Festival taking place Oct 1 & 2 from 10am-6pm at historic Heritage Square. It’s a “free admission street fair that celebrates the diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.” The event features “an international food court, artists, vendors and entertainment.”

If your city or town is offering festival-style fare with arts and culture flair, please comment below to let our readers know.

— Lynn

Note: The “Arizona Humanities Festival: Stories of Us” takes place Sat, Oct 22 from 10am-6pm at Civic Space Park in Phoenix. The festival features storytelling, children’s activities, author readings, dance performances, live music and film screenings. Info at www.azhumanities.org.

Coming up: Festivals featuring multicultural fare

Photos from organization Facebook pages

Celebrate women’s art!

Today marks the 100th annual  “International Women’s Day” — which celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women.

It’s a lovely excuse to pause for a moment (or more) to reflect on the role of women in our personal and collective histories — and to enjoy an online collection of artworks by women from around the globe.

The “Global IWD Arts Initiative” features works by diverse women who aim to “inspire, challenge, entertain and provoke thought from a gender angle.”

Click here to enjoy some of their paintings, sculpture, photographs, drawings, sketches, collages and more — as well as stories written by women with diverse voices.

“International Women’s Day” is also a perfect reminder that women artists in our own neighborhoods and local communitiesare are doing remarkable things — and deserve our support.

The Arizona Women’s Theatre Company presents their 5th annual “Pandora Festival” May 20-22 at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts — for which auditions are being held Sat, April 9, from 1-5:30pm.

The festival is focused on new works — which are presented as “staged readings.” This year’s festival will be the first to include the works of women playwrights within and outside of Arizona.

Arizona Women’s Theatre Company describes itself as “the only theatre in Arizona to focus on women playwrights and directors.” They specialize is producing “contemporary, provocative, thought-provoking plays written by women.”

But what about those among us who dream of dramaturgy? The Arizona Women’s Theatre Company presents a dramaturgy workshop as part of this year’s fastival. “Developing New Plays-Dramaturgy: Its Meaning and Uses” takes place Sat, April 30, from 1-4:30pm in Scottsdale.

The workshop will be led by Laurie Brooks, an award-winning playwright and fiction author — and is open to “invited playwrights, directors and actors involved in the festival.”

I’m intrigued by not only her young adult title, “Selkie Girl,” but also the names of several of her plays — including “Everyday Heroes,” “The Lost Ones, “Atypical Boy,” and “Brave No World.”

I saw the Arizona School for the Arts theatre arts department perform Brooks’ “The Wrestling Season” several years ago, and will be enjoying Brooks’ work again as ASA students present her play titled “Triangle” April 29-May 1 at the Phoenix Theatre Little Theatre.

We all work our art in different ways. Still, there’s one thing many of us have in common — an abiding gratitude for the many women who connect us to the past, enrich us in the present, and pull us forward towards the future.

— Lynn

Note: Click here to learn more about an independent film titled “Pushing the Elephant,” which airs later this month on PBS as part of its “Independent Lens” series. The film follows Rose Mapendo, a mother of 10 who escaped from the Democratic Republic of Congo during the late 1990s. Click here for information on screenings in Tucson and other cities.

Coming up: Seeing red in Arizona, Immigration takes the stage