Evince Magazine February 2024

Don’t Be Late or You Might Miss the Love of Your Life p5

Page 2 February 2024

Evince Magazine Page 3

February 2024

Content

Be Late 5 Don’t or You Might Miss the Love of Your Life

9 Action!

Inside the

Method of Acting Samantha Overton

by Paul Seiple

7

Collage Inside OWE Arts & Culture

Exhibit: Tina Cornely

by Val-Rae Lindenau

8 February Calender

You 12 Movies Missed from 20 years ago

by Emily Wilkerson

10

The Poet’s Corner Subversion

by Barry Koplen

by Josh Lucia

Stink 14 The Bug Having

11

Valentine Dinner For Four (A Mamie and Solly Dialogue)

Presented by Showcase Magazine CEO / Publisher / Andrew Scott Brooks

Crawled, Crawls On

by Mack Williams

Editorial Director / Paul Seiple editor@evincemagazine.com Contributing Writers Barry Koplen, Linda Lemery, Val-Rae Lindenau, Josh Lucia, Paul Seiple, Mack Williams, Emily Wilkerson

by Linda Lemery

Art & Production Director Demont Design (Kim Demont)

On the Cover: Shay Ayala and Jameel Rashad Austin. Photo by Josh Lucia of Lucia Video.

Finance Manager Cindy Yeatts (1.434.709.7349) cindy@showcasemagazine.com Advertising For ad information contact a marketing consultant listed below.

Lee Vogler Director of Sales and Marketing (434.548.5335) lee@showcasemagazine.com Kim Demont Graphic Design, Marketing (434.792.0612) demontdesign@verizon.net evince\i-’vin(t)s\ 1: to constitute outward evidence of 2: to display clearly; reveal syn see SHOW

Deadline for this and all other stories, articles, and calendar items is Thursday, February 15 at 5:00pm for the April issue. Please send calendar info to demontdesign@verizon.net.

Editorial Policies

Evince is a free monthly magazine about Arts and Culture in Danville and the surrounding area. We reserve the right to accept, reject and edit all submissions and advertisements.

EVINCE MAGAZINE 753 Main St. Suite 3 Danville, VA 24541 www.evincemagazine.com 434.709.7349 © 2024 All rights reserved. Reproduction or use in whole or in part in any medium without written permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited.

Don’t Be Late

or You Might Miss the Love of Your Life

P. 5

Page 4 February 2024

Evince Magazine Page 5

Don’t Be Late

or You Might Miss the Love of Your Life

by Paul Seiple photo by Josh Lucia, Lucia Video

A

shared love of the arts led local creatives and married couple Jameel Rashad Austin and Shay Ayala to a chance meeting. Ayala elaborated, “I’d just moved back to Danville and was looking for photographers in the area, but there weren’t many on the level that I was hoping to find.”

Someone suggested Ayala take a look at some of Austin’s work. “He was definitely what I was looking for. It took us a little while to set up the actual shoot, but when we did, the rest was history.”

Austin added with a smile, “So, on our first photoshoot together, Shay was late. At the time, if you didn’t call and tell me you were running late, I’d leave once 1520 minutes had passed. Well, Shay had reached that point.

I was just about to pack up… that is until I see this little red car speeding into the parking lot.

She apologized, we laughed, and got some pretty dope shots.

The moral of the story is—Don’t be late, or you might miss out on the love of your life.”

He continued, “Our creative outlets definitely allowed us to cross paths and from there, a beautiful partnership was born.”

The couple built a friendship that became the foundation of their relationship.

Since meeting, the couple has added a few collaborative projects in their portfolio. “I honestly would love for us to do more together.” Ayala laughed.

“Our most recent collaboration is baby number 2 coming in August.” Austin matched her laughter. “Yes, our latest workin-progress has been one of my favorite projects.”

Ayala has many outlets to express her artistry. “My favorite medium has always been writing, but lately a lot of my creative energy has been going towards problem solving within the maternal health space.” She never thought this pivot would be a creative endeavor. “But that’s exactly what it has been,” she added. Ayala also uses spoken word as an art-form to create.

Austin shares a love of writing with Ayala, but the camera is his favorite tool. “Whether it’s documenting everyday life or planning and creating a set, photography is my passion.”

Recently, he has delved into acting. “I was in a film called Sheltered, which was written, directed, and filmed by a local movie maker by the name of Delinda Kay.” The movie is available on Tubi and Amazon Prime. Along with acting, Austin has improved at Smokestack Theatre. “I guess you can say I’m enjoying being on both sides of the camera nowadays.”

Many of their creative endeavors cross over organically. But for those that don’t, the couple finds a way to make them work together. Austin noted there are challenges such as availability issues or who will take the lead on a project. “There will always be obstacles. I view these blocks as opportunities to problem solve and strengthen our communication skills,” he said. Ayala added, “We share a lot of the same pursuits, so we

are able to work together as a team on most things. Of course, this also has its cons because we’ve become so intertwined that sometimes neither of us will make a move unless the other is coming along, too.”

Brainstorming is a part of the creative process that helps to keep their relationship strong and exciting. “Often, it happens at 1 am while we are lying in bed. It’s always so mind-blowing to see how we can bounce ideas off of one another, finish each other’s thoughts, and help one another around a creative block. I love it,” Ayala said. Austin added, “Exactly! It’s like one of us starts a thought or idea, and it’s a great idea, but then the other will add a perspective which makes the idea even better. We make each other better in so many ways. Art just happens to be one of them.”

Visit evincemagazine.com for the full interview with Jameel and Shay.

Page 6 February 2024

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Evince Magazine Page 7

Collage

Inside OWE Arts & Culture Exhibit: Tina Cornely

by Val-Rae Lindenau photos courtesy of Tina Cornely

trash, not only as a means of expression, but as a way for these people to earn a little extra money. The organization taught people to reconsider trash as a valuable resource and a free commodity. Her initiative formed a powerful community of women who shared their wisdom and exchanged ideas with other women across the globe. This symbiotic network of women helping women is still ongoing. Tina’s students learned to make yarn out of discarded plastic bags and weave plarn (plastic bag yarn) into rugs, belts, purses, hats, and shoes. Others were taught to make beaded necklaces that kept track of their menstrual cycles—an effective and valuable means of birth control. The inner tubes of old tires could be refashioned into earrings, and food wrappers could be repurposed to make coin purses and bird houses.

A

s a young child, Tina Cornely found beauty in unusual places— discarded and unwanted items.

“My mother used to laugh and tell her friends her firstborn was a flower child.” At school, Tina learned to draw and write poetry, often taking awards in school contests.

Art took a backseat to life, however, when Tina’s parents divorced. Traumatized by the event, she stopped creating.

Rather than express herself via her own art, she began surrounding herself with artists and their work.

Connections and friendships in the professional art world led to job opportunities in museums.

She made a career out of curating, museum administration, and protecting the art of others.

Then, in 2007, her sister died.

That old need to express herself through art was reignited, and she knew that, in order to heal, she would need to honor that need. Since that time, she has not stopped creating. To this day, Tina is still fascinated by what people find no longer useful or of interest. She takes these things— brightly colored telephone wire, discarded textiles, broken pottery—and gives them new life, adding to them, combining them, making them into something new and interesting.

In 2012, Tina formed a nonprofit called Bridging Humanity.

Through this organization, she traveled to impoverished communities around the world and taught people how to make jewelry and art out of

Since arriving in Danville, Tina’s focus has turned once again to her own expression. Her artistic process is a meditative one, she told us. “When you are in ‘the zone’, you are in a meditative state, and you are tapped into your subconscious.” Tina doesn’t plan her pieces in advance, but intuition plays a big role. “I have my tools on my right, and on the other side, I may have broken bits of jewelry. When I’m ready to add to the piece, I reach out

and, without thinking, my left hand guides me to the next item the piece needs. More often than not, what I choose is just the right thing.”

Tina is currently working on a book to document Danville artists of all disciplines and mediums.

The fact that there is a thriving art community in Danville is something that caught her by surprise, and it’s something she feels needs to be celebrated.

If you have an interest in being featured in this book, please email Tina at tinacornely@yahoo. com

OWE Arts & Culture exists to highlight the diverse range of talent among Danville’s creative community and to provide opportunities for that community to come together.

Page 8 February 2024

February

Calendar of Evince

Ongoing

Danville Science Center. Exhibits Stream Into The V.O.I.D, Go!, Water, Various Dome Shows, Creativity Labs. www.dsc.smv.org.

Ruby B. Archie Public Library Programs - Don’t miss the programs offered at the Library. Adult & Tween Arts & Crafts, The Write Stuff, Dig Into Your Device. Genealogy 101, Pop Culture Geek Out Hour, Computers for Beginners, Just Write, Get More from Google, Unrequired Reading – Classics Book Club, Leap Day Vision Boards, Youth Dungeons and Dragons, Storytellers: Creative Writing 101, Knitters Unravelled, Mad Scientists, LEGO Brick Engineers, Little Explorers Storytime, Little Learning Lab, Coding with Cubetto, March Through the Stacks - Black History Month, Life Size Oregon Trail, Random Fandom - Studio Ghibli, Maker Mondays, Barnyard Friends, Book Babies.

Thru March 16

PAA Exhibit. The Gee’s Bend Experience, Antiquity Second Hand: Jonathan Lee & Life’s Journey: Works

by Karen Despot. Piedmont Arts.

276.632.3221.

Thru March 30

Danville Farmers Winter Market.

Sat 9am-1pm. Community Market.

434.797.8961.

February 1

VA-NC Piedmont Genealogical Society Presents: Jarred Marlowe.

Learn helpful tips and hear interesting stories related to genealogy topics.

Ages 18+. Registration required.

2-3pm. Ruby B. Archie Public Library Auditorium. 434.799.5195.

Legal Aid Workshop: Tenant Rights.

Questions and answers workshop.

5:30-6:30pm. Ruby B. Archie Public Library Auditorium. 434.799.5195.

February 1 (thru 23)

Employee Art Show. See the talented works of the Prizery staff. Opening Reception 2/1, 5-7pm. The Prizery, South Boston. 434.572.8339.

February 2

Campfire Friday. Enjoy s’mores, campfire games, and fun stories. 5:30-6:30pm. Ballou Park.

434.99.5150.

Deeper Shade of Blue. Bluegrass music, tight harmony, energetic stage show. 7:30pm. The Prizery, South Boston. 434.572.8339.

Live Music: Open Mic. 6:30-9:30pm.

Factory Street Brewing Co., South Boston.

February 3 (thru 24)

Live Music. 2/3 Blue Drive; 2/9 Mike Warren Duo; 2/10 Craghead; 2/16 The LoOG Valentines; 2/17 Mystic Muse; 2/23 Kelsey Hurley; 2/24 Stomping Ground. 7-10pm. 2 Witches Winery & Brewing Co. 434.549.2739.

February 4 (thru 25)

Live Music. Hosted by Stuart Jennings.

Sundays 2-6pm. 2 Witches Winery & Brewing Co. 434.549.2739.

February 4 (thru March 6)

Exhibit. Black Culture: Past, Present & Future. Opening Reception 2/4 2pm.

DMFAH. See ad page 13.

February 6 (thru 27)

Parks & Rec Outdoors. Wall Warrions 2/6 & 20 5:30-7pm; Tiny Explorers 2/7 10-10:45am; Junior Wall Warriors 2/8 & 22 5:30-7pm; Junior Naturalists 2/13 & 27 5:30-6:30pm. Glenwood Community Center Programs.

434.799.5150.

February 7

Wednesday Club Program. ATDM: The Navy Workforce Training Center in Danville. 3:15pm. Wednesday Club.

434.792.7921.

February 8

Make Some Noise: After-hours Open Mic Series. Grab the mic and express yourself through music, poetry, comedy or spoken word. 7pm.

Piedmont Arts. 276.632.3221.

February 9

An Evening of Music & Dinosaurs.

7pm. Virginia Museum of Natural History. www.vmnh.net

February 10

Harmony Hike Series: Fairy Stone State Park. Enjoy the serenity of a mountain hike with the meditative practice of Qigong. Ages 18+. Meet at City Auditorium. 434.799.5150.

African American Read-In + Family Day. Artists, performers and writers, story time, themed crafts, a public read-aloud and tours of the VMFA Artmobile. 10am. Piedmont Arts.

276.632.3221.

Real to Reel Film Series: “Marshall.” Movie viewing of popular documentaries and biopics with a discussion after the film. 10:30am- 1:30pm. Ruby B. Archie Public Library Auditorium.

434.799.5195.

February 3 & 17

Karaoke. 1/3-Disco Night; 2/17-Mardi Gras Night. Homeplace Vineyard.

434.432.9463.

February 11

Galentine Bash. Refreshments, party games with prizes and the opportunity to make one of several crafts. 2pm.

Main Street Art Collective.

February 12

Movie Trivia Bingo: Valentine’s Edition. 7pm. 2 Witches Winery & Brewing Co. 434.549.2739.

February 13

Live Music: Kyle Foster. 17-9pm.

Crema & Vine.

February 14

Wednesday Club Program.

Romantic Music with the Rainier Trio. 3:15pm. Wednesday Club.

434.792.7921.

Assault on Anglers Race Series.

Take on multiple trails each month while crossing streams, rocks, and roots. $. 6-8pm. playdanvilleva.com.

434.799.5150.

Pop Up Beer Dinner. 6-8pm. 2 Witches Winery & Brewing Co. 434.549.2739.

The Ultimate Love Experience.

Intimate Valentine’s Day affair for couples to enjoy drinks, live smooth jazz love notes by Saxophonist, Jashaun Peele and a culinary dining experience. 7-10pm. Cottontail Weddings & Events.

February 15

Forever Young. Follow one unforgettable group of friends as they discover the greatest hits of all time. 6:30pm. North Theatre. Danville Concert Association. eventbrite.com.

Art Talk with Suellen Coelho.

Discussion of fashion and costume design. 6:30pm. Piedmont Arts.

276.632.3221.

Anniversary and Commemoration of the Crossing of the Dan. 6:30pm.

The South Boston - Halifax County Museum of Fine Arts and History.

434.572.9200.

The Platters in Concert. 7:30pm. The Prizery, South Boston. 434.572.8339.

Sharswood Plantation History Discussion. 6pm. DMFAH. See ad page 13.

Wednesday Club Program. The EBOYZ. 3:15pm. Wednesday Club.

434.792.7921.

Thomas & Friends™: Explore the Rails! Exhibit. Solve a variety of challenges, from simple sorting and shape identification to more complex engineering obstacles, such as completing a train track. Danville Science Center. www.dsc.smv.org.

God’s Storehouse. 434.793.3663.

February 23, 24 & 25

9 to 5 the Musical. Presented by The Prizery Players. 7:30pm/3pm. The Prizery, South Boston. 434.572.8339.

February 24

The Movement. Documentary on Danville’s Civil Rights and panel discussion with local Danville civil rights leaders. 2-5pm. DMFAH. See ad page 13.

February 24

Smokestack Improv. Stand-Up Comedy and Improvisational Sketch Comedy. 7pm. www.thesmokestack. org. (See ad page 6) Cabin Fever Music Series. Funky Bone. Tickets at door. Danville Community Market. 7pm.

434.799.5200.

Live Music: Ray Eanes. 8-11pm.

Golden Leaf Bistro.

February 28

Wednesday Club Program. My Journey presented by Jonathan Scollo. 3:15pm. Wednesday Club.

434.792.7921.

February 29 (thru March 2)

Southern VA Winter Classic Indoor Antique Tractor Pull. 9am-6pm.

Olde Dominion Agricultural Complex.

434.432.8026.

Upcoming March 6

Wednesday Club Program. The Danville-Roanoke Navigation Co. Canal: Past & Present. Presented

by Travis Hackworth. 3:15pm.

Wednesday Club. 434.792.7921.

March 7

Live Music: Mama BriBri and The Stranger. 7:30-9:30pm. Old 97 Tavern.

March 7 (thru 10)

Picasso at the Lapin Agile. 7pm. www.thesmokestack.org. (See ad page 6)

February 16

February 21

February 3

Valentines Pop-up Vendor Market.

Shop a collection of local folks who offer unique hand-made, handcrafted or home-grown products.

9am-2pm. The Barn at Graystone Farm, Reidsville NC. 336.613.3843.

Cabin Fever Music Series. Cat 5 Band. Tickets at door. Danville Community Market. 7pm.

434.799.5200.

Riverview Rotary Valentine Dance.

DJ Larry Stamps, delicious hors d’ouevers, cash bar, photo booth, 50/50 raffle. 7-11pm. Danville Conference Center. 434.709.1084. eventbrite.com.

February 22 (thru 25)

Cutting Horse Show. 8am-5pm.

Olde Dominion Agricultural Complex.

434.432.8026. www.theodac.com.

February 23

Empty Bowles. Enjoy soup, pottery, silent auction & bake sale. 11am-2pm.

March 8 & 9

True Grit Extreme Bull Bash. Bull riding, mini bull riding, barrel racing, and mutton busting. 7:30pm. Olde Dominion Agricultural Complex.

434.432.8026. www.theodac.com.

March 9

Dancing for the Arts. PAA fundraiser with local celebrities in a dance competition. 4pm. Martinsville High School Auditorium. Piedmont Arts.

276.632.3221.

Cabin Fever Music Series. The Bogeys. Tickets at door. Danville Community Market. 7pm.

434.799.5200.

Evince Magazine Page 9

Action!

Inside the Method of Acting Samantha Overton

by Emily Wilkerson photo courtesy of

Smokestack Theatre Co

A

t the spry age of 15, Samantha Overton knew she wanted to pursue performing while playing Mother Abbess in a production of The Sound of Music. Though she had been acting since the age of 8, it was not until this performance that her passion for the theatre was ignited. Overton was born and raised in Axton, Virginia, and is currently a student at Averett University. There she is studying musical theatre and is expected to graduate in May 2024 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

Overton has been in many shows during her time at Averett, such as The Odd Couple, The Play That Goes Wrong, and her favorite—The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Overton played the role of Olive Ostrovsky in this production. She shares that “Olive was one of the first roles I really felt connected to. When I performed something just ‘clicked’ for me. I’ve known musical theatre and performing are things I’ve wanted to do since I was 15, but the role of Olive really set that in stone for me.

That role will always hold a special place in my heart.”

When preparing for characters like Olive, Overton does character research in the script to see what details she can find about them that can help her portray the character the way the playwright intended. Overton tries to “connect their personalities and scenarios to times when things similar have happened in my life so I can connect that emotion to that action.” By combining these two methods, Overton can make sure she stays true to the character, but also makes them her own.

“And through the character you are practicing to portray, you can even learn something new about yourself, too.”

Even those pursuing acting professionally are not immune to stage fright. Overton shares she experiences this phenomenon all the time, but she combats stage fright by “breathing through it and getting the nervous wiggles out.

Surrounding myself and talking with my castmates and the crew before the show really helps

as well.” The bond formed with cast and crew is very important to Overton. In fact, she claims that getting close to those she is working with throughout the rehearsal process is her absolute favorite part of putting on a show.

So much so that it is part of her pre-show routine—ensuring that she spends time to chat and connect with her fellow cast and crew members, even when she is helping backstage and not actually in the show. Making time to do this helps ground her and set the mood for a good show.

For those interested in acting but are worried they may not be good enough, never fear.

Overton believes the most important qualities for an actor to have are “kindness, patience, a drive to learn, and good showmanship.” A willingness to learn can go such a long way and supersede any other quality.

She reminds aspiring thespians to “keep that passion and drive for learning and performing. It may seem frustrating and discouraging at times, but you can do this. You were made for this!”

Page 10 February 2024

THE POET’S CORNER

Subversion

by Barry Koplen photo by Barry Koplen

Backing away, I study you as if a pirate his spoils, his largesse off a lumbering ship foolish for transporting such desirable cargo, a model for a masthead. Aloof, you stare, unafraid as a regal Eurybia set to cast a spell, alter constellations, capture my heart in a whirlpool.

About Barry’s Writing: I spent years finding my style and improving it. That will always remain a challenge. Language must be pertinent, cohesive, and energetic in order to captivate readers. Simple sentences are just as important as longer complex sentences. A well-functioning

vocabulary is essential. So is honesty.

As for poetry, that will always be one of the most challenging of the verbal arts. Poetry writing can humble any writer; knowing that has made me measure myself as a poet by this thought: a poet is only as good as the next poem he or she writes.

Thanks to Eric Chou, an amazing Chinese author (and ‘second’ father to me), I learned the most important lesson about becoming a bona fide writer: writing has to be done every day That has been my golden rule.

Send Barry a note at barry@ evincemagazine.com

Evince Magazine Page 11

Valentine Dinner For Four (A Mamie and Solly Dialogue)

by Linda Lemery

Scene: Mamie is making oatmeal for breakfast. Solly is drinking coffee and holding a file of papers.

M

amie (stirring at the stove): So, Solly, tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and crooked smile, love of my life, what would you like to do for Valentine’s Day? Solly (thumbing through the file): It’s February? Already?

M (frowning): Those are not the words of a man who’s addressing the love of his life.

S (putting down the file): Ma petite chou, we’ve been together for 40+ years, ever since I first said, “I do.” You look the same to me as you did back when I first met you. Exactly right.

M: Tall, svelte, athletic?

S: The Juliet to my Romeo? Or maybe that was somebody else.

M: Neatly sidestepped. And why are you calling me a dog in French?

S: Ma petite chou? It means my little cabbage.

M (turns toward him): Why are you calling me a cabbage?

S (sipping his coffee): It’s French for sweetheart. A term of endearment, a pet name for the love of my life.

M (turning back to the stove): Okay, Cabbage. Back at you in English. Where were we?

S: Despite the attitude, planning a romantic dinner for the four of us.

M (turning off the oatmeal): The four of us? You, me, and our alter egos? Have you been changing your clothes in a phonebooth? I thought those sudden absences were just errands.

S: No, no, ma chou. They were trips to obtain emergency ingredients for holiday dinners.

M: Like for canned whole berry cranberry when I thought I had the real berries in the freezer, but didn’t.

S (putting down his cup): You know how I love your cooking.

M: You squashed it. I couldn’t quite follow it.

music, candles, heart-shaped lights.

S (taking his oatmeal): You’ll squash it next time.

M (prosaically): I do like oatmeal.

But do you know of a single restaurant that welcomes dogs and cats together as guests?

Other than a kennel?

M: Were these the four nuclear members you referred to for a Valentine’s Day dinner?

S: No. They’ll want their own Valentine’s Day. We’ll send them a card.

M: Then who were you referring to going to dinner with, other than moi and toi?

S: Why, le chien et le chat.

M: Yes, I do. Oatmeal’s ready.

And you love holiday dinners.

M: Do you want some brown sugar blend for the oatmeal?

What you said, the dog and the cat in French, right? But dinner out with them?

S: Yes, I do. I’ve said that since the beginning about everything, ma coeur.

S: I’ll take some blend. Dog and cat are our newest household additions.

M (thoughtfully dishing out oatmeal): And I do, too …

Anyway, we invest our hearts in collective holiday meals. The last one was spatchcocked, brined chicken, dressing, cranberry, corn pudding, stuffed acorn squash, and sweet potato and green bean casseroles.

M: We did adopt them recently.

S (stirring blendified oatmeal): They were victims of food insecurity.

M: But I didn’t think we’d take them out to a romantic dinner.

S: They’re still getting used to us.

S: They are our new family.

M (looking at Solly’s hands): Your mind is nearly opaque to me, Solly, but I see a tiny glimmer in its dimly lit tunnels.

S: How so?

M: Perhaps you are asking me in your indirect way to make dinner for us at home.

S: Never would I ask such a thing, ma petite. Good oatmeal, by the way.

M: That file in your hands. Perhaps you’re suggesting takeout.

S (flipping pages): What do you think?

M: Sure. A relaxed dinner at home with enough for leftovers.

According to the veterinarian, the dog needs to lose 2 pounds.

Regular food for them both.

S: You read my mind, ma chérie.

M: We’ve given them a home.

M: You had this idea to begin with, you rascal.

M: Pumpkin pie, by our daughterin-law. Acorn squash, by our son.

S: Having experienced it, they fear desertion.

S (blowing her a kiss): You see how transparent I am?

S: And we squashed the national parks game they brought.

M: But take them out to dinner?

S: And wonderful pies, Dutch apple and pumpkin.

S: This is a holiday about amour:

About the author: Linda Lemery llemery@gmail.com wishes Evince readers Happy Valentine’s Day. She welcomes reader comments.

Page 12 February 2024

“

Movies You Missed

from 20 years ago

by Josh Lucia

The Dreamers (7/10 Rating) Released February 20, 2003 For rent/purchase on all major platforms.

Genre: Drama, History, Sport NC-17: Explicit sexual content 1h 55m If you jumped right into this review and did not read the MPAA rating, I am going to start by stating that this movie is rated NC-17 and earns it for some very explicit sexual content. While not similar films overall, the scenes that lead to this rating remind me a lot of Amazon Prime’s recent trending film Saltburn. If you were uncomfortable with that movie, you’ll find similar moments here.

Still with me? This is a great film from late Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci (Last Tango in Paris, The Last Emperor, Stealing Beauty) Set during the 1968 Paris student riots, the movie follows

a young American cinephile studying in Paris. He befriends a local brother and sister who invite him to stay with them in their grand Paris home while their parents are away for a month.

Full of film references from the silent era and the golden age, the trio mirrors famous scenes throughout the movie as they embrace the freedom of being young and exploring the transition to adulthood together. The backdrop of the Paris student riots provides a reality for both the film itself and its characters. Louis Garrel (Little Women 2019) and Eva Green (Casino Royale, Penny Dreadful) are incredible as twins that may be a little too close.

Michael Pitt manages to keep up and this movie could be a very different viewing experience with a less talented cast. This is Eva Green’s first credited role, but an Academy Award nomination would have been well deserved.

You’ll find yourself uncomfortable at times, but life is uncomfortable and sometimes it can be refreshing to uncover what many of us would rather keep hidden through the characters shown on screen. While you may not relate to the more extreme scenes, you may find yourself remembering a time in your youth before reality set in and you were free to dream. There is an R-Rated version available, but not much is toned down. Either way, if you want to find this Movie You Missed you’ll have to find a physical copy.

Also released in February 2004: Club Dread, Eurotrip, The Passion of the Christ, Miracle , Barbershop 2: Back in Business, 50 First Dates, The Lion King 1 ½, Highwaymen, Twisted (follow @ jlucia85 for these reviews and more)

Evince Magazine Page 13

Join DMFAH for these Upcoming Programs to Honor and Celebrate Black History Month FEB 4 - MARCH 6, 2024 BLACK CULTURE: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE Art Exhibit Opening reception FEB 4 at 2 pm

FEB 16 at 6 pm Sharswood Plantation History Discussion

by Karen Dixon

FEB 24, 2 - 5 pm THE MOVEMENT Documentary on Danville’s Civil Rights and

PANEL DISCUSSION 975 Main Street Danville, VA 24541 434-793-5644

with Local Danville Civil Rights Leaders

Page 14 February 2024

The Stink Bug

Having Crawled, Crawls On

by Mack Williams

hile walking down one hallway of Danville’s First Presbyterian Church on a Sunday a while back, I saw something small and shadowy which stood out against the wall’s white paint.

W

the Lord given this particular variety of bug a most excellent means of defending himself with something which can be described as: “olfactory noxiousness” (there are “the bright and beautiful;” and then, there are “the stinky”).

I dared not touch it, squash it, or even try to find some container in which to safely transport it back outside (as I am wanting to do); for if I had, the bug would have reacted and “stood out” even more: it was a STINK BUG!

And in a Martin Luther state of mind, with paraphrase: “One little bug shall fell them!”

The stink bug walked with a slow, certain step. It seemed self-sure, not like the furtive wolf spider I saw in that same area a while back, snuggled into a crevice between two lengths of molding, a “cleft” in which to “hide” itself (any perceived allusion to the lyrics of an old favorite hymn is “spot on!”).

(Hmmm, a spider, a stink bug, but so far, no ants; however, nothing could top the treatment they’ve already been given in Proverbs 6: 6-11).

The stink bug was so certain of no interference from me that I was able to calmly watch and even notice the order in which it put down each of its six feet in its upthe-wall trek!

The insect felt so assured of my non-intervention, of course, due to

I observed the stink bug prior to the giving of the sermon; but the sermon played a great part in my obtaining meaning from what I had seen on that wall.

Reverend Jackson Weller spoke of the ultimate hopelessness of a life involved with only the physical things. He said those things are lost over time, as is the person who is overly concerned with them. After the decades have sufficiently rolled on, no one remembers him.

Rev. Weller said that a growing relationship with God avoids one winding up being meaningless; and along with that, I think the key is to be “remembered by God,” as was that thief on the Cross, who said “Remember me...”

And concerning that lowly stink bug: Well, we are all “stink bugs come to church”(reeking of “something”), in hopes of having our “shields lowered” ( Star Trek lingo) in order to “commune and

communicate”(sorry, I am, after all, a child of the 1960s).

Following the service, I walked back down that hallway and saw the stink bug was gone.

From where I had last seen it, I imagined it possibly continuing over the expanse of wall where a series of photographs and portraits of the church’s former ministers were once hung but had been removed prior to the wall’s repainting.

Thinking about the bug having walked over the same place once honored by the faces of former pastors made me recall from the 103rd Psalm: “For the wind passeth over it, it vanishes, and its place knows it no more.”

But wait! I’ve put too much on the little stink bug, more than it could ever carry! (I don’t think stink bugs are equipped to really carry anything, anyway, except their smell).

So, I’d best let the bug go its way, without allowing it to pass further “six-legged judgement” upon humanity!

It’s bad enough as it is that “All is vanity!” without bestowing upon the stink bug, the moniker: “Vanity’s Arbiter!”

Evince Magazine Page 15

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