Houston Is So Hot!
Saturday, August 24, 7:30PM
Members-Only Reception at 6:30PM
Location: Aurora Picture Show, 2442 Bartlett
Aurora Members Free with RSVP; Non-Members $10 SOLD OUT
Aurora Picture Show brings the heat with a screening of homegrown short films by some of the Houston's hottest filmmakers and video artists. Join Aurora for "Houston Is So Hot!" on Saturday, August 24 at 7:30PM at Aurora Picture Show (2442 Bartlett Street) for a selection of short films curated by Aurora Curator Mary Magsamen that represent the talent of Houston.
Houston's diverse cultural landscape is ripe for the pickin' and that is just what we are going to do for the hot month of August! This screening will feature local artists and filmmakers exploring all genres of video and film. Cool down in our air conditioning with a margarita courtesy of Tequila Herradura and enjoy some hot shorts. Filmmakers include Ivete Lucas, Tish Stringer, Bill Daniel, Chris Nelson, Alex Luster, Stephanie Saint Sanchez, Madsen Minax and others.
This "Cultural Binoculars" screening is made possible thanks to the support of The Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation. Special thanks to Tequila Herradura for their support of this program.
Selected films in the program include:
Montrose Rollerblade Dancer by Alex Luster
Everyday around 6pm as rush hour traffic slowly rolls through the intersection of Montrose & Allen Parkway, a mysterious dancing rollerblader appears. Film school student, Juan Carlos of Spain says he's been dancing at this same intersection for 15 years. Exercise and entertaining himself is what got him started but he's quickly realized that his rolling dance moves have been uplifting for Houston drivers. He says he carries about 1,000 songs with him, everything from cumbia to salsa, disco and sometimes rap.
Explode With Happy by Tish Stringer
A girl gang on bikes finds some trouble on a hot Houston day. Music video for "Explode With Happy, Man" by Annie and the Bang Bang, a Minneapolis based rocking band.
Cartwheels by Gabriela Trzebinski
A cat called Fatfat was the central theme around an afternoon of filmmaking during the 80's. This now digitized Super 8 footage shows both friends and myself showing off our greatest cartwheels. Over 33 years I've slightly adjusted the piece and in retrospect, the playful storyline now acts as a passing chronicle of the lives of those that participated. A few of these friends are no longer alive and so it's meaning has become more poignant over time.
Displacement by Alonso Tapia
This video is an examination on feeling of lost and displaced from one's home. As childhood fades and as adulthood looms closer and closer, an overwhelming anxiety has set in as the reality of adulthood unfolds. I've moved three times in the last three years and an overwhelming sense of dislocation and displacement has become very prevalent in my life. This video is an exploration of a sense of place, one that I am trying to find within experimental film.
Plumeria Spider by Lyndsay Bloom
2012, hand processed 16mm film transferred to HD video, color, silent
Kiss by Lyndsay Bloom
2012, hand processed 16mm film transferred to HD video, b&w, silent
Butthole Surfers, Houston, 1987 by Bill Daniel
"I arrived at the Maceba Theater with one 100ft roll of Tri-X in a Beaulieu 16mm camera with a variable speed electric motor that would also run in reverse. As I filmed during the show I ran the roll of film forward and backward to make multiple exposures, controlling exposure by varying the running speed. So the film's composition (except for a few inclusions of black leader to stretch the film to match the length of the later-added soundtrack) was all done in-camera during the course of the performance."
-Bill Daniel
Light Bouquet by Architects of Cinema
Light Bouquet is a three minute film created by the Architects of Cinema. Based in Houston, TX, Architects of Cinema is an ongoing collaboration between Sandy Ewen, Chris Nelson and Y.E.Torres. The threesome creates sound and light, in live performance and digital film, grounded in the language of improvisation. They use an array of techniques and tools, including belly dance, prepared electric guitar, DSLRs, found metal percussion and multi-layered slide projection.
Untitled by Malik Walden
This video was created as part of the Aurora Picture Show and American Festival for the Arts Film Scoring Summer Camp. Music composed by Matt Toffoletto.
Without You I'm Nothing by Maureen McNamara
The rhythm of life and love--fragile stuff, filled with terror and triumph, madness and mindfulness. We are complicated beings and we work so hard to make it all seem effortless and grace-filled. I have an obsessive fear of losing, not my own life, but the lives of my loves...and they push me to the edge by living their own lives out loud.
Revise/Disguise by Madsen Minax
Revise/Disguise is an experimental animation that tells the after story of breasts post embodiment - a conversation in nightmare/fantasy and necessity/desire.
Trailer for Kilometre 0, Life in the Shadow of Notre Dame by Miri Wilkins
Kilometre 0 is an intimate journey of discovery featuring an ensemble of vignettes portraying the well-known proprietors of the Hotel Esmeralda and Shakespeare & Company, as well as other distinguished writers, poets and intellectuals that have been magnetically drawn to this corner in Paris and have loved and lived in the shadow of Notre Dame.
Ex-Votos by Ivete Lucas
After experiencing a shootout in her neighborhood, Anayansi, a pregnant teenager, fears that she will lose her child. Hoping for a miracle, her mother takes her on a pilgrimage to the festival of Saint Francis. As their journey merges with thousands of travelers from across Mexico, they must face the reality of her condition and escape the confines of tradition if she is to survive.
Trep Music Video by Proud Pony International
A vision of a modern relationship.
Floating: Suspended in Dance by John Carrithers
This short film explores how we use our bodies for creative expression with dancer Courtney Jones. It was shot with a Phantom Flex high speed camera at frame rates up to 1500 frames per second. Filming the dancer's movements at such high speeds reveals another layer to her creative expression and allows us to see the beauty within a fraction of a second that is normally invisible to us.
Remodeling by Alyssa Stephens
In her video, Remodeling, Alyssa Stephens explores the realm of young-adulthood and enacts scenes provoking feelings of indifference and absurdity. Engulfed in the ideas of domestication and fiscal responsibility, Stephens critiques the disconnect between her childhood enthusiasm and her current state of flux.
The Last Roar: Requiem for a Video Store by Stephanie Saint Sanchez
Filmmaker and former video store clerk Saint Sanchez gives a proper send off to Houston's own indy video store Audio Video Plus where she worked for 8 glorious years in this mad musical romp. RIP AVP 198?-2013
Aurora Picture Show Members Only Pre-Screening Reception
Saturday, August 24 from 6:30-7:15PM
at Aurora Picture Show, 2442 Bartlett Street
Membership at Aurora Picture Show has it's rewards, including access to exclusive events, free admission to regular screenings and discount on merchandise and education programs. This month, we have two members only events. If you are not a current member of Aurora Picture Show then please consider joining or renewing today.Aurora Picture Show members are invited to join us for a pre-screening reception with filmmakers from this screening of local talent behind the screen where we will have special tequila tastings courtesy of Tequila Herradura. This is free to members but RSVP is required. (We are no longer accepting reservations for this event as it is SOLD OUT.)
