Events & Activities
Film & Performance
Film
Movies at a museum? We may not have popcorn, but Phoenix Art Museum screens thought-provoking movies with themes that may directly relate to our current exhibitions or collections. Screenings are followed by related discussion, often led by topic experts. Starting at 1pm on selected Sunday afternoons, movies are free of charge. Seating is available on a first come, first serve basis.
Tina in Mexico
October 5, 1pm
This film follows the tumultuous and epic story of Tina Modotti: a revolutionary, bohemian spirit, renowned photographer and intimate companion of Edward Weston. It weaves archival footage, photographs, the murals of Diego Rivera and lyrical reenactments to conjure the political, artistic and intimate spaces of their lives in Mexico during the 1920s. Introduction and discussion by Phoenix College’s Dr. Cecilia Rosales.
Co-presented by the Museum’s Latin American Art Alliance. Runtime: 60 minutes.
The Maltese Falcon
October 12, 1pm
Hard-drinking private eye Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) sleuths the backyard of San Francisco in search of an elusive black bird statuette while evading the setups of three disparate miscreants: the duplicitous Brigid, the perfumed Mr. Cairo, and the scheming Fat Man. John Huston's brilliant directorial debut is aided by first-rate performances, excellent camera work, as well as the director's acute attention to detail while shooting the film. Based on the crime novel by Dashiell Hammett. 3 Academy Award Nominations including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Sydney Greenstreet), and Best Screenplay.
"Mr Huston gives promise of becoming one of the smartest directors in the field". The New York Times
"This is one of the best examples of actionful and suspenseful melodramatic story telling in cinematic form". Variety
"With its dark, complex plotting, stark black-and-white photography, concentration on the baseness of man, and a cynical mood sustained to its still shockingly grim conclusion, this is the prototypical film noir". Channel 4 Films
This program is planned in conjunction with The Big Read, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. They are sponsored in partnership by the West Valley Arts Council, the Maricopa County Library District and Phoenix Art Museum. For more information and a complete schedule, please visit westvalleyarts.org. Runtime: 101 minutes.
Hungarian Modernists
October 26, 1pm
To celebrate two artists with works on display in Art for the Cure™, join us for two short experimental films by László Moholy-Nagy and a short documentary on the life and work of photographer André Kertész.
Adult content. Co-presented by No Festival Required
Runtime: 60 minutes.
Awareness in the Fourth Dimension
November 18, 7pm
This documentary considers artist Louise Nevelson, creator of the Museum’s Royal Tide V, using intimate images of her in the process of creating her art and persona. Through her own words, and through the words of those who knew her intimately, the film presents a fresh look at how Nevelson's ground-breaking art redefined sculpture in the 20th century. Introduced by ASU’s Claudia Mesch, Ph.D.
Presented by the Museum’s Contemporary Forum; sponsored by Bentley Gallery/Bentley Projects.
Runtime: 56 minutes.
The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyám
November 30, 1pm
Kamran is a 12 year old boy in the present day who discovers that his ancestor is the 11th Century Mathematician, Astronomer, Poet of Persia, Omar Khayyám. The story has been passed down in his family from one generation to another, and now it is his responsibility to keep the story alive for future generations. The film takes us from the modern day to the epic past where the relationship between Omar Khayyám, Hassan Sabbah (the original creator of the sect of Assassins) and their mutual love for a beautiful woman separate them from their eternal bond of friendship. Filmed almost entirely on location in Samarkand and Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
In1859 Khayyám’s poetry encapsulated in the "Rubaiyát" was translated by British poet Edward FitzGerald and was later revised and expanded. Elihu Vedder created the first illustrated version of the Rubaiyát in 1884. There have been roughly 300 illustrated editions published since. It has been translated into more than 70 languages, second only to the poetry of Shakespeare.
The film was an Official Selection at the 2005 Moscow International Film Festival. In 2006, it received two prestigious Golden Lioness Awards for Excellence in Directing and Costume Design from the World Academy of Arts, Literature and Media in Budapest, Hungary.
Director Kayvan Mashayekh and Michelle Milosh, production designer, introduce the film and answer questions after the screening.
"visually stunning" San Francisco Chronicle
"gorgeous to watch" Washingston Post
"a touching story" LA Times
Co-presented by No Festival Required. Runtime: 95 minutes.
1000 Journals
February 23, 1pm
A shared obsession links thousands of people around the world to the 1000 Journals Project. What began as a handcrafted "message in a bottle" is now a burgeoning global online and offline community that represents an astonishing cross-section of characters and cultures.
It all started with 1000 blank books, released into the world in the summer of 2000 by Someguy, a San Francisco artist. Someguy's instructions, stamped inside each journal, are simple: "This is an experiment and you are part of it. Add anything you like, then pass it on."
Some people found a journal, or got it from a friend or stranger. Some wrote in them, others doodled, pasted in photographs, or added artworks. Some kept them. Some passed them on. Australia, Canada, Denmark, Croatia, Singapore… Scans of journal pages are uploaded to the project's website, where thousands of people have signed up to receive one. There are no rules, and no one monitors these journals and their movements. And yet, they are connecting people worldwide, provoking and inspiring them.
In September 2003, one of the 1000, number 526, returned to Someguy, filled. What happened to the other 999? This film tells their stories. 1000 Journals shares their worldwide journeys across borders and barriers of personal, political, societal, and cultural nature, and chronicles the self-governed collaboration of thousands of random people who have added to this global "message in a bottle."
Shot on all the continents the journals themselves have traveled, this film reveals the beauty and power of the filled pages, interwoven with delicate portraits of people whose lives they touched.
Co-presented by No Festival Required.