Blog

  • Installation In Progress

    carolyn mason - window june 05

    New MFA graduate, Carolyn Mason (Mills College), returns to build an installation gone awry in ATA’s front window. Paint rollers grow big and extra fuzzy or spawn growths like fungus. A mop grows large, creating a mess. Tools that are supposed to clean, maintain and control go out of control.

  • Bike Night at the Movies

    Breaking Away (1979)

    Like bikes? We sure do! Come out and enjoy many different kinds of cycling movies, some full-length, some just mix of shorts. There will be popcorn and frosty beverages available for your viewing pleasure. See you at the movies! January 12th is our friend Spencer’s birthday. Birthday cake will be provided. Come celebrate the birthday with us!

    Movie Shown: Breaking Away (1979)

    Plot Summary (from IMDB):
    Dave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his 3 friends, the comical Cyril, the warm hearted but short-tempered Moocher, and the athletic, spiteful but good-hearted Mike. Now, Dave enjoys racing bikes and hopes to race the Italians one day, and even takes up the Italian culture, much to his friends and parents annoyance. While meanwhile, the 4 friends try to break away from their townie, Indiana reputation while fighting with nearby college snobs.

    More information from Wikipedia:
    Breaking Away is a 1979 film which tells the story of a group of local boys from Bloomington, Indiana who put together a bicycle racing team to compete against teams from Indiana University. It stars Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie and Paul Dooley. The movie was written by Steve Tesich and directed by Peter Yates.

    It won the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Barbara Barrie), Best Director, Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score and Best Picture.

  • Truth Seekers (second screening)

    A series of films that explore the search for understanding, whether of war, hunting or the nature of community. Using a documentary interview with a young Bosnian immigrant as her soundscape and hand-painted animation as her pallet Sheila Sofian allows the viewer to experience the violence and tragedy one boy’s family endured in A Conversation with Haris. With dignity and maturity beyond his 11 years Haris recounts his life and the family members he lost Standing at Ground Zero . (SF Premiere, by Chris Willging) uses one mans experiences during World War II to create a stirring story of war, accountability and humanity. Warren Kreml was only a teenager when he was drafted; through his retelling of the events he experienced and through the use of archival footage the viewer is taken on a journey through Nagasaki just after the atomic bomb was detonated. With haunting original music and the calm and thoughtful words of one soldier turned pastor, Standing at Ground Zero is an honest and intimate story of transcendence and forgiveness. The Hunter’s Guide by Kerry Hustwit documents the age-old ritual of hunting in a stunningly shot, meditative documentary thatreveals the beauty, the horror and the camaraderie of hunting. Cinema verité footage of hunting and images of the hunter painting delicate portraits of his prey are intercut with audio interviews of the filmmaker’s father as he talks about his love of this “sport” and his daughter’s history of trying to deter him from his passion. Hustwit’s film is an attempt to understand her father’s obsession and explore this ceremonial act of killing. Right Road Lost by Victoria Gamburg chronicles the life of Phil Rios and his history and participation as a soldier in the Vietnam War and as a National Guardsman in the Persian Gulf. Using photos from his own collection Rios tells the chilling story of an operation in the Persian Gulf. “We were going in there to kick out an evil person and restore democracy,” but what happened would haunt him for years to come.

    For more info,
    MadCat Film Festival
    www.somaglow.com/madcat
    415 436-9523