Bryn Mawr Film Institute: March 2012 at a Glance

This month at the will feature two panel discussions with filmmakers, as well as a number of arts events and a new French film series.

BMFI's Public Relations Manager Devin Wachs tells us what to expect: 

Swept Away: The Films of Lina Wertmuller (Four Wednesdays: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. March 7, 14, 21 and 28)

This film course is about an Italian filmmaker who rose to prominence in the 1970s. Taught by Maurizio Giammarco, this course will look at both Wertmuller's more popular films like Swept Away and Seven Beauties and also at some of her lesser known works like Ciao and Professore. To register, call 610-527-4008, ext. 106, or register on BMFI's website. Classes are $125 for non-members and $100 for members.

Looney Tunes Shorts (11 a.m. Saturday, March 10, 17, 24, 31)

This month's Kids Matinee series features on popular Looney Tunes short films. The Tasmanian Devil, Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote make appearances, among other classics. Each week's screening features six different shorts.

Pater (11 a.m. Saturday, March 10)

A new film series, Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, begins this week opposite the Kids Matinee series with Pater. All of the films in the series were released within the last year, and most have not gotten a huge release in the states. Pater is a satire about a fictional French president and prime minister.

Live Simulcast: Le Corsaire (11 a.m. Sunday, March 11)

Performed by the Bolshoi Ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, this ballet follows the adventures of a Greek girl and a pirate.

2012 Summer Filmmaking Workshop Open House (6 p.m. Monday, March 12)

The open houses are free for prospective participants in the summer filmmaking workshop to meet the instructor and get a sense of the program. The summer filmmaking workshop is open to students entering the ninth through 12th grades, who, over six weeks in the summer, collaborate to make a short film. Last summer’s group, , is still working together to make movies. 

Live-Delay Simulcast: La Boheme (7 p.m. Tuesday, March 13)

This Puccini classic, in Italian with English subtitles, will be simulcast from the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

Five Friends (7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 14)

This panel discussion will feature both the director and the main subject of this documentary about male friendship, looking at a man and his relationships with his five closest friends. The documentary explores Elbert Hubbard's quote: “My father always used to say that when you die, if you’ve got five real friends, you’ve had a great life.” The panel, which is co-sponsored by Widener University's Women and Gender Studies program, will also feature local therapists and scholars.

Dogtooth (11:30 p.m. Friday, March 16)

In a continuation of BMFI's Late Show series, this Greek movie was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2011 Academy Awards. The film is about a family where the children have been cloistered in their estate without any outside contact, and is in Greek with subtitles.

The Screen Illusion (11 a.m. Saturday, March 17)

This French film, in BMFI's Rendez-Vous with French Cinema series, is a modern take on Pierre Corneille’s classic 17th Century tragicomedy L’Illusion Comique.

Talk Cinema (10 a.m. Sunday, March 18)

Film industry expert Harlan Jacobsen selects and screens up-and-coming movies before their theatrical release. The films are always a surprise and are followed with a discussion led by local film critics and scholars. 

The Comedy of Errors (1 p.m. Sunday, March 18; 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 21)

This National Theatre production is a contemporary look at Shakespeare's famous tale of mistaken identity.

Live Simulcast: Romeo and Juliet (3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 22)

London's Royal Ballet with be performing Kenneth MacMillan's choreography from the Royal Opera House as it has been done more than 400 times since its 1965 premiere.

The Last Screening (11 a.m. Saturday, March 24)

This French film, in BMFI's Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, is a gory psychological thriller set in a movie theater and involves a cinema production analyst and theater manager whose cinema is about to close down.

Gustavo Dudamel Conducts (1 p.m. Sunday, March 25)

This concert will be performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker and will feature soprano Ana Marie Martinez.

My Lovely Sister (7 p.m. Sunday, March 25)

This 2011 film involves a love triangle between Rahma, her rude husband and the ghost of her sister. Tickets are only available through the Israeli Film Festival website. Tickets cost $12 for general admission and $10 for BMFI members.

The Destiny of Lesser Animals (7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 27)

This panel will feature a Q-and-A with local filmmaker Deron Albright about a feature film he filmed on location in Ghana. The movie stars Yao B. Nunoo as a police detective who gets deported and goes on an investigation to get documentation to return to the states.

Head (11:30 p.m. Friday, March 30)

This movie in BMFI's Late Show series was made by the Monkees in 1968, and was co-written by Jack Nicholson. The psychadelic film involves a number of skits and unusual cameos.

Moon Child (11 a.m. Saturday, March 31)

In BMFI's Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, this movie is about a doctor who tries to help a 13-year-old boy with a rare skin disease that doesn't allow him to go out in the sun.