It used to be that movie-lovers interested in seeing the
latest independent and foreign film titles in a theater had to live in New York
or Los Angeles. Everyone else was pretty much out of luck unless they had an
art house theater nearby willing to do the legwork involved with bringing these
less commercial films to their local audiences. And unfortunately, not every
city was lucky enough to have such wonderful places.
Thankfully, Rochester has long been home to some great
independent movie theaters. Sure, Netflix, streaming, and on demand video
services have leveled the playing field by allowing anyone to access smaller
films with the touch of a button, but still, nothing can beat the feeling of
experiencing a movie with an audience hungry for something different. Being
surrounded by a crowd of like-minded individuals can increase your viewing
enjoyment immeasurably; there’s a reason that almost none of my fondest
movie-watching experiences involve me sitting alone in my living room.
On Saturday, September 24, two of Rochester’s local art
houses will participate in the first-ever Art House Theater Day, a nationwide
holiday celebrating these beloved institutions and everything they do for the
culture of a city. In honor of what is basically my new favorite holiday (don’t
worry Halloween, you still hold a special place in my heart), The Little (240
East Avenue) and the Dryden (900 East Avenue) will screen special programming
for the occasion.
The Dryden will be showing “Greendale” at 8 p.m. Part of the
“Bernard Shakey = Neil Young” series, the musician
and independent filmmaker directs this small-scale musical look into the lives
of a fictional California town of Greendale. Shot on Kodak Super 8, the film is
a handcrafted, micro-budget work of passion, exactly what you want from your
independent movies.
Meanwhile, just down the road, The
Little will present an entire lineup of films all day long, which showcase the
breadth of programming that art house movie theaters can offer. The fun begins
at 12 p.m. with “A Town Called Panic,” Belgian filmmakers StรฉphaneAubier and Vincent Patar’s
oddball comedy about the misadventures of Cowboy, Indian, and Horse. The entire
thing is acted out by little toy plastic figures, and it’s delightful.
Things continue on in fantastical fashion at 3 p.m. with
Terry Gilliam’s fairy tale adventure, “Time Bandits,” about a boy who joins up
with a band of time-traveling dwarves. This is Gilliam we’re talking about, so
the story’s wacky, imaginative, and just a little bit dark.
At 7 p.m. you can catch the music documentary “Danny Says,” which
focuses on music manager, publicist, executive, journalist, and author Danny
Fields, who played a pivotal role in the rock scene of the late-20th century by
working with acts like The Doors, Cream, Lou Reed, Nico, Judy Collins, the
Stooges, MC5, and the Ramones. Bop Shop Records will also be on hand for record
giveaways and a special introduction for the film. A live-stream Q&A is
also scheduled to follow the screening.
The Little closes out the
celebration with a screening of the fancy new restored version of the 1979
horror flick “Phantasm” at 9:30 p.m. In this cult classic, a teenage boy faces
off against a mysterious grave robber known only as the Tall Man and his
arsenal of deadly weapons, including the film’s iconic silver sphere, capable
of some nasty deeds.
In addition to the four film screenings, The
Little is planning film-related giveaways and special promotions throughout the
day. For complete details on each theater’s events, visit thelittle.org and
eastman.org/dryden-theatre. And if you want more
details about Art House Theater Day itself, head on over to
arthousetheaterday.org.
This article appears in Sep 21-27, 2016.
