Q.2 2018 Smith Rafael Film Center Quarterly by CAFILM

GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI

SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 4:15 IN PERSON: FILMMAKER HAYDN REISS In honor of National Poetry Month, Bay Area filmmaker Haydn Reiss (Rumi: Poet of the Heart) will present and discuss a special screening of his intimate film portrait of one of America’s most celebrated poets. In his singular path from Minnesota farmer’s son to radical anti-Vietnam war activist, and the instigator and mentor of the 1990s “men’s movement,” Robert Bly (who recently turned 91) was one of the first to translate Pablo Neruda and Rumi, and his work with Joseph Campbell led to the unexpected pop culture phenomenon of Iron John. Featured in the film are Gary Snyder, Jane Hirshfield, Mark Rylance, Martin Sheen and others. (US 2015) 81 min. plus discussion.

THE ROYAL BALLET

CARMEN

BERNSTEIN CENTENARY

SUNDAY, APRIL 22, NOON The best-known work by French composer Georges Bizet, and one of the most famous operas in history, this heady combination of passion, sensuality and violence was ahead of its time in 1875, and Bizet did not live to see its ultimate, spectacular success. Staged by Australian director Barrie Kosky and conducted by Jakub Hrusa, this adventurous production stars Anna Goryachova in the title role, with Francesco Meli as Don José, Anett Fritsch as Micaëla and Kostas Smoriginas as Escamillo. This far-from-traditional production features Bizet music not usually included. Sung in French with English subtitles. Anticipated running time is 200 minutes, including intermission. $15 general, $13 seniors/youth, $10 CFI members

& THE POLITICS OF RACE & CLASS IN AMERICA THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 6:30 SPECIAL GUESTS IN PERSON In The Great White Hoax, anti-racist educator and author Tim Wise explores how American political leaders of both parties have tapped into white anxiety, stoked white grievance and scapegoated people of color to divide and conquer working class voters and consolidate power. While Wise’s primary focus is Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, he widens his scope to show how Trump’s charged rhetoric about African-Americans, Latinos and Muslims fits within a longstanding historical pattern of racism and racial scapegoating that goes back centuries in American politics. Director: Jeremy Earp. (US 2018) 72 min. plus discussion. Presented by and benefiting Marin Health & Wellness Center - $25 This is a presentation by Marin Health & Wellness Center. No Rafael passes may be used.

$15 general, $13 seniors/youth, $10 CFI members

OPENS MAY 4 Acclaimed at its debut at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival (under the watchful eye of its subject and star), this crowd-pleasing documentary about US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg casts light on her exceptional life and career. At the age of 85, Ginsburg has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. But many observers don’t know about the unique personal path that this diminutive, quiet warrior pursued before she rose to the nation’s highest court. This entertaining, often humorous portrait of Ginsburg illuminates several key cases that she meticulously pursued in the interest of advancing gender equality. Producers/Directors: Betsy West, Julie Cohen. (US 2018) 97 min

THE YOUNG KARL MARX

THE RIDER

OPENS APRIL 27 After a near-fatal rodeo fall, Brady (Brady Jandreau) is advised never to ride again. However, this gifted young horse trainer and saddle bronc rider will find it difficult to follow doctor’s orders, even with a metal plate in his head. Filming on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (Jandreau is Oglala Lakota Sioux), filmmaker Chloé Zhao crafts her unique drama out of the real lives of her non-professional actors, who include Jandreau’s real father and sister, as well as his friends. As a result, the film has a remarkable authenticity. We can observe what a whiz with the horses Brady really is, and the incidents and relationships ring solidly true. Writer/Director: Chloé Zhao. (US 2017) 103 min

SUNDAY, APRIL 29, NOON This year marks the 100th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth. As a classical composer, Bernstein was eclectic in his influences, drawing on jazz and modernism, the traditions of Jewish music and the Broadway musical, and many of his scores are remarkably well suited to dance. The Royal Ballet honors him with works by three different choreographers, including world premieres from Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon, as well as a revival of The Age of Anxiety, created by Liam Scarlett from Bernstein’s soul-searching Second Symphony, inspired by W.H. Auden’s modernist poem. Anticipated running time is 3 hours, including intermissions.

RBG

THE GREAT WHITE HOAX: DONALD TRUMP

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SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 8:00 A larger-than-life entertainer, an androgynous and glamorous pop diva, an unpredictable media presence—Grace Jones is all these things and more, and filmmaker Sophie Fiennes’ documentary goes beyond the traditional musical biography to offer a portrait as stylish and unconventional as its subject. Including spectacular stage performances of “Slave to the Rhythm,” “Pull Up to the Bumper” and “Love Is the Drug,” among others, the film becomes an electrifying journey through the public and private worlds of this icon, on the road in Paris, Moscow, London, Tokyo and New York, and on a road trip with family members in her native Jamaica. Director: Sophie Fiennes. (UK/Ireland 2017) 115 min

THE ROYAL OPERA

ROBERT BLY: A THOUSAND YEARS OF JOY

MAY 7-10 In 1844, after decades of the Industrial Revolution, 26-year-old journalist and radical Karl Marx (August Diehl) has been exiled from Germany to Paris with his wife Jenny (Vicky Krieps of Phantom Thread), when they meet Friedrich Engels (Stefan Konarske), well-to-do son of a factory owner, whose research has exposed the poor conditions of the English working class. Filmmaker Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) crafts a fascinating and accurate period drama from the history of ideas, as Marx and Engels become “the Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the European left, rock stars for an age of revolution” (A.O. Scott, The New York Times). In French and German with English subtitles. With Olivier Gourmet. Writers: Pascal Bonitzer, Raoul Peck. Director: Raoul Peck. (France/Germany 2017) 118 min

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