Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center - California Film Institute

Mary Pickford’s
Sparrows
With Live Piano Accompaniment
Thursday, January 31, 7:00
$12 (CFI members $9)
Film scholar Christel Schmidt will introduce a special screening of screen idol Mary
Pickford’s penultimate silent film, presented in a beautiful 35mm restoration from the
Library of Congress. Considered by business partner Charlie Chaplin to be her finest film,
Sparrows is a “full-blooded melodrama about an intrepid girl who struggles to protect a band
of younger orphans from their wicked captor (Leonard Maltin).” This Dickensian tale boasts
highly stylized sets, including an ominous-looking swamp, and atmospheric cinematography
influenced by German cinema. Screened with live piano
accompaniment, the film will be preceded by the film’s
original trailer and rare outtakes, also from the collection
of the Library of Congress. Director: William Beaudine.
(US 1926) Films approx. 100 min.
Christel Schmidt is the editor of the
newly released Mary Pickford: Queen of
the Movies (co-published by the Library
of Congress and the University Press of
Kentucky). Following the screening she
will sign copies of her book, which will be
available.
2013 Oscar Nominated Short Films
Opens Friday, February 1
Once again the Rafael participates in the national release of short films nominated
for the upcoming Academy Awards. Audiences will have the opportunity to see
the nominated live action and animated shorts prior to the 85th Academy Awards
ceremony on Sunday, February 24, 2013. While we have no indication of the titles
at press time, it‘s likely that several of the films will have already won awards at
international film festivals. Each category will be screened in a separate program,
each requiring separate admission.
Valley of Saints
56 Up
Opens Friday, February 15
Besides his large-scale feature films, director Michael Apted has been the steward of a
remarkable British television series, filming the same 14 individuals (from diverse socioeconomic
English backgrounds) every seven years. The UP series began in 1964, when the
subjects were seven years old, and now Apted revisits them at 56. Every UP film subsumes
the previous ones, therefore contemporary footage of the participants is juxtaposed here
with significant moments from years past. From success to disappointment, from marriage
and childbirth to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life is discussed with them. Roger
Ebert has called the “UP” series “an inspired, almost noble use of the film medium.” (UK
2012) 144 min.
Happy People:
A Year in the Taiga
Opens Friday, February 22
Co-director Werner Herzog takes us on another unforgettable journey into remote and
extreme landscapes with this visually stunning documentary about the lives of indigenous
people in the heart of the Siberian Taiga. There are only two ways to reach the small village of
Bakhtia at the river Yenisei: by helicopter or by boat. There are no telephones, running water
or medical aid, and the locals’ daily routines have barely changed over the last centuries.
Narrated in English by Herzog, the film follows one of the Siberian trappers through all four
seasons of the year to tell the story of a culture virtually untouched by modernity. Directors:
Werner Herzog, Dmitry Vasyukov. (Germany/Russia 2011) 94 min.
Still Moving: Pilobolus at Forty
In Person: Jun Kuribayashi, Dance Captain of Pilobolus
Saturday, February 23, 4:30
Fresh from the recent Mill Valley Film Festival, and screened in
conjunction with the Marin Center performance by Pilobolus Dance
Theatre on February 22, Still Moving: Pilobolus at Forty is a fascinating
documentary on the company that transformed modern dance with
its innovative dance vocabulary. Based in rural Connecticut, Pilobolus
has been a dominant force on the international dance scene amusing,
amazing and astonishing audiences with its breathtaking physicality
that defies what is humanly possible. Jun Kuribayashi, dancer and
Dance Captain of Pilobolus, will answer questions following the
screening. Producer/Director: Jeffrey Ruoff. (US 2012) Film 40 min.
plus discussion.
Presentation by Peter Gleick
Screening: Valley of Saints
Thursday, February 21, 7:00
$12 (CFI members $9)
Peter Gleick, internationally recognized
water expert, will deliver an illustrated
presentation on world water issues,
followed by a screening of the awardwinning
feature film Valley of Saints.
Dr. Peter H. Gleick is co-founder and
president of the Pacific Institute for
Studies in Development, Environment,
and Security in Oakland. His research and
writings address the critical connections
between water and human health,
sustainable water use and international
conflicts over water resources. In 2003
he was named a MacArthur Fellow for
his work, and in 2006 he was elected to
the National Academy of Sciences.
Hailed by critic Anne Thompson as “a
lyrical, beautiful, and satisfying journey
of self-discovery,” Valley of Saints is
a tender drama about Gulzar, a ferry
pilot on Dal Lake in India’s beautiful
Kashmir valley,
who becomes
enlightened about
water pollution
when he meets Asifa, a young woman
conducting environmental research on
the lake. Writer-director Musa Syeed’s
compelling and poetic story was awarded
the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature
Film Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film
Festival, as well as Sundance’s World
Cinema Audience Award. In Kashmiri
with English subtitles. (India 2012) Film
82 min. plus discussion.
This program is part of Science
on Screen, a program pairing film
screenings with lively presentations
by scientific experts. This series is
made possible by a grant from the
Coolidge Corner Theatre and the
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.