Bryn Mawr Film Institute: October at a Glance

October reintroduces the kids' matinee series (which will run through March) with "spooky stories" for Halloween, and continues the "What's Up, Doc?" film series co-sponsored by the Bryn Mawr Hospital. This month at the also includes three new classes, a ballet, several theatrical broadcasts, opera, concerts and a film screening from the Philadelphia Film Festival.

Public Relations Coordinator Devin Wachs tells us what to expect this month:

Esmerelda (11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 9)

This ballet, based on Victor Hugo’s classic "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," is being broadcast live from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The 15th century tale is about a poor gypsy who falls in love with a captain.

1 a Minute (7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11)

A continuation of BMFI’s “What’s Up, Doc?” film series that began , 1 a Minute is a film about cancer that intersperses one woman’s story of breast cancer with interviews with celebrities who have been affected by cancer in some way. The event is free, but attendees have to register by calling 1-866-CALL-MLH. The screening will be introduced by the medical director of ’s Comprehensive Breast Center, Dr. Thomas Frazier, and breast surgeon Dr. Andrea Barrio.

Bollywood Cinema: An Introduction (6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12, Wednesday, Oct. 19, Wednesday Oct. 26, Wednesday, Nov. 2)

This four-week class takes an in-depth look at Bollywood, a powerhouse industry in India that’s been creating a variety of films for such a long time. Cinema in India is incredibly popular with more than 12 million people going to the movies every day. The class explores the 1951 film Awara, Deewaar (1975), DDLJ (1995) and the 2006 film Guru. The class is taught by Priya Joshi, Ph.D., who teaches at Temple University in the Department of English.

One Man, Two Guvnors (7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12)

This theatrical production is broadcast from the National Theatre in London. One Man, Two Guvnors is a riotous comedy about a guy, Francis, who likes food a lot and takes a job working for a small-time hood in Brighton. The problem is that the “guy” he’s working for is really a woman, Rachel, posing as her own dead brother. But Francis also takes a job with Rachel’s boyfriend Stanley Stubbors, who killed Rachel’s brother. The play has been getting rave reviews at the National Theatre in London, and The Guardian has called it one of the funniest shows in the National Theatre’s history.

One-Day Seminar: Silent Cinema (9:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15)

This workshop features four professors from BMFI’s faculty discussing different aspects of silent cinema, with topics such as Buster Keaton, German expressionism, Yasujiro Ozu’s silent films, and race and the First Amendment. Lunch is included.

Corpse Bride (11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 15)

This movie continues the kids' matinee series. In this stop-motion animated Tim Burton film, a man practicing his wedding vows in the woods inadvertently marries a woman who was murdered on her wedding day.

Adriana Lecouvreur (1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19)

Performed at the Royal Opera House in London, this opera is a fictionalized version of an actress in 18th century Paris poisoned by a jealous rival. A love story filled with intrigue and revenge, this should be an exciting event.

Alfred Hitchcock: The Early Years (10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, Tuesday, Oct. 25, Tuesday, Nov. 1, Tuesday, Nov. 8)

This class will take place in Center City at the Gershman Y (401 S. Broad St., Philadelphia) and will be taught by BMFI's Director of Education Andrew J. Douglas. The class goes into some of Hitchcock's better known British films and early American films like Rebecca and Suspicion. The class looks at how Hitchcock developed as a filmmaker and which elements of his work made him famous.

Stranger than Paradise: The Films of Jim Jarmusch (6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, Tuesday, Oct. 25, Tuesday, Nov. 1, Tuesday, Nov. 8)

This four-week class is taught by film critic and author Chris Long and looks at how independent filmmaker Jim Jarmusch really jumpstarted the American independent film movement, emerging in the 1970s. Jarmusch’s second feature film Strangers in Paradise broke a lot of boundaries and helped him to become a key influence in what we think of as independent film today. 

Labyrinth (11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22)

This Jim Henson movie is part of the kids' matinee series and is about a girl who has to rescue her baby brother from a Goblin King by battling her way through his labyrinthine kingdom.

Berliner Philharmoniker: Europa Konzert from Oxford (2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23)

This concert, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, features American cellist Alisa Wilerstein and should be a very interesting event. The concert is being broadcast in HD and will feature songs of Brahms and Wagner. 

Splice (7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25)

This 2009 horror movie is about genetic splicing when two hot-shot genetic engineers decide to push the boundaries and start blending human and animal DNA, but their hybrid creature doesn’t turn out exactly as they thought it would. The film stars Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley. This screening is a part of the “What’s Up, Doc?” film series and will be introduced by a professor at the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research Dr. Janet Sawicki.

Philadelphia Film Festival: Losing Control (7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26)

BMFI will be showing one of the festival films from the Philadelphia Film Festival, Losing Control, which is a romantic comedy about a young scientific genius who needs to learn how to relinquish control when her boyfriend proposes to her.

Hocus Pocus (11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29)

This kids' matinee series film screening is a story about a boy who has to save his sister from three witches who want to use her life force to stay young.

The Kitchen (1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2)

Performed at the National Theatre in London, The Kitchen is a post-war drama set in a West End kitchen in the 1950s. It looks at all the different chefs, waiters and waitresses making grand feasts, with a bit of romance thrown in.