Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
$8 general, $6 students/seniors, $5 members
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On many a January since 1997, Hallwalls has invited audiences into its cinema for a mid-winter program of film screenings under the title LONG NIGHTS, BRIGHT SCREENS. These have included international films, cult films, and films by artists, the most recent being a screening of Kings of the Sky by Deborah Stratman (who returns to Hallwalls for a gallery exhibition and media residency curated by Carolyn Tennant in May 2014).
For the winter of our 40th year, Visual Arts Curator John Massier has lined up a series of Tuesday night screenings with the torqued title LONG NIGHTS, BRIGHT PARANOIA. He sat down with Hallwalls’ publicist to answer a few questions:
Q: Why should anyone leave their house, not to mention their pajamas, to see a film at Hallwalls in the grim environment of a Buffalo February?
A: I fully support the consumption of media in pajamas. Should anyone arrive attired as such, we’ll welcome them with open arms. Other than that, we think folks still enjoy the communal aspect of a film screened in a cinema from a high def projector with a great sound system. I actually think Hallwalls’ cinema is one of the tiny gems of downtown Buffalo and one of my favorite places to see a film.
Q: Why did you alter the traditional title of this long-running film series?
A: I specifically chose four films I like for shared reasons, having to do with their astute visual elements and their overriding themes of paranoia. At the same times, each film has an iconoclastic visual style and address paranoia from distinctly different directions. Together, I thought they would make a cogent series about this theme, a theme that is, regrettably, perennially topical.
Q: Your first film in the series is Invaders from Mars from 1953. Wouldn’t the more obvious choice from that era have been Invasion of the Body Snatchers?
A: Exactly, but the more obvious choice is perhaps also a more familiar film. Whereas Invaders From Mars, even with its low production values and hokey 1950s dialogue, is a pretty terrific piece that’s perhaps less known to audiences. When I watch it, I am repeatedly struck by how many terrific SHOTS there are in the film. Full credit to director William Cameron Menzies and his cinematographer John F. Seitz for making the most of what they had. It’s a great film for students to see because it’s extremely dynamic within an obviously economical production. The sets are also notable for their ability to enhance the narrative and suggest a surrealist air to the story. It’s a short (78 min) but extremely tasty treat.
Q: Doesn’t this series conflict with Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian’s Buffalo Film Seminar at the Market Arcade, also held on Tuesdays?
A: (laughs) It sure does! But you try finding a weeknight where nothing is going on in Buffalo. We’re exploding with culture! I love and have attended many of Bruce and Diane’s screenings and actually emailed Bruce about the face that I had a short series screening on Tuesday nights. Bruce’s kind reply to me exemplifies the spirit of why it’s great to program cultural events in Buffalo: “No problem at our end. As far as we're concerned, the more choices people have on any given night the better. It contributes to the overall energy, which is in the interest of us all.”
Q: Thanks John, we’ll catch up with you next week about the second film in the series.
A: I’ll be here.