Film Screenings Include Two Area Premieres

Bucknell University's Film/Media Series Tuesday series resumes Jan. 20, with the area premiere of National Gallery, Fred Wiseman's behind-the-scenes portrait of London's National Gallery.

The film begins at 7 p.m. in the Campus Theatre, located at 413 Market St. in Lewisburg. Admission is $2.

In National Gallery, Wiseman documents the work of docents decoding the great canvases of Da Vinci, Rembrandt and Turner; visits with the museum's restorers as they use magnifying glasses, scalpels and Q-tips to repair an infinitesimal chip; and attends administrative meetings in which senior executives politely battle with younger ones who want the museum to become less stodgy and more welcoming to a larger cross-section of the public.

Co-sponsored by the Bucknell Department of Art and Art History, National Gallery will be introduced by Bucknell Art History Professor Christiane Andersson.

"In February, we have another Lewisburg-only release of an important new documentary. Maidan, Russian director Sergei Loznita's film about the recent Ukrainian upheaval, will be shown Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.," said Rebecca Meyers, academic film programmer at Bucknell.

The Tuesday Series (admission: $2) includes Days of Heaven, directed by Terrence Malick (Jan. 27); History is Made at Night, directed by Frank Borzage (Feb. 10); and The Singing Blacksmith, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer in a restoration print (Feb. 24).

Bucknell Provost Mick Smyer will introduce the film Duck Soup on Feb. 17. Directed by Leo McCarey, the political satire stars the Marx Brothers and Margaret Dumont.

Free movies
The University's Film/Media Screenings includes two free weekly film series shown at the Campus Theatre, located at 413 Market St. in Lewisburg. These series offer world-class projection of classic and contemporary cinema, including many titles that are not available on home video and several which will be presented on 35mm film and on restored or newly struck prints.

Free films are shown Mondays at 7 p.m. as part of the Introduction to Film/Media course and Fridays at 2 p.m. as part of the Documentary and Avant-garde film course.

The Introduction to Film/Media series begins Monday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m. with Rembrandt's J'Accuse. Director Peter Greenaway suggests Rembrandt's 1641 masterpiece is a revelation of murder.

Other films in the Introduction to Film/Media series include The Grand Budapest Hotel, directed by Wes Anderson (Jan. 26); The Limey, directed by Steven Soderbergh (Feb. 2); Gravity, directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Feb. 9); and The Maltese Falcon, directed by John Huston (Feb. 23.)

The Documentary and Avant-garde Film series begins Friday, Jan. 16, at 2 p.m. with Sans Soleil. Director Chris Marker traveled between Japan, Africa and Iceland to create his masterpiece portrait of late 20th-century civilization. The film will be preceded by Eureka, directed by Ernie Gehr.

Other films in the Documentary and Avant-garde film series include Hospital, directed by Frederick Wiseman, followed by Deux Ex, directed by Stan Brakhage (Jan. 23); Ornette: Made in America, directed by Shirley Clarke, followed by New York Eye and Ear Control, directed by Michael Snow (Jan. 30); A Married Couple, directed by Allan King, playing with Critical Mass, directed by Hollis Frampton (Feb. 6); Fireworks, directed by Kenneth Anger, followed by Paris is Burning, directed by Jennie Livingston and Downs are Feminine, directed by Lewis Klahr (Feb. 13); Point of Order!, directed by Emile de Antonio, followed by Light is Waiting, directed by Michael Robinson (Feb. 20); and Forest of Bliss, directed by Robert Gardner, followed by A Depression in the Bay of Bengal, directed by Mark LaPore (Feb. 27).