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April 16, 2020
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
How has this week been for you? I managed to accomplish at least one thing a day--some days even more than one--so, a lot less crying and a lot more doing. Of course, my week was made all the greater by your generosity. On Monday I received a report from Square that after last week's newsletter almost $1,000 in gift cards were purchased. And boy howdy! Gallons of happy tears flowed (how do you like that little bit of "Okie-ism?"). I also heard from the distributor of PHOENIX, OREGON that more than 60 of you rented/purchased the film to watch at home. Thank you for supporting the Clinton and the local, independent filmmaking that we so proudly screen when we are open.
Moving forward, I'm still uncertain about what the future holds for us. Unfortunately, the Small Business Administration has already run out of money. I've got several applications in the queue, but no more will be processed until Congress and the President acts. It's jarring that here, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, we don't have the safety nets we need to support us during this crisis. The numbers of sick and dying keep going up, adequate testing/tracing is not happening, and more than 22 million have filed for unemployment in three short weeks. We are seeing first hand how our piece-meal health care system is wholly inadequate, and how desperately we need universal health care.
As a small business, I am not alone in my pain. Venture Portland reports that Portland is home to 23,000+ neighborhood businesses that provide 300,000+ jobs, the majority of which have been hit hard by closures and limited operations as a result of COVID-19. When will life return to normal? Governor Brown cancelled all schools through the remainder of this school year, so I'm not kidding myself that we will open any time soon. Even given the new White House Guidelines for 'Opening Up America Again,' June 1st might be a stretch for venues and other businesses that can't provide the recommended social distancing requirements.
Sadly, I cancelled our annual fundraiser for Columbia Riverkeeper--the Pete Seeger Birthday Concert and Sing-a-long. I'm brainstorming other ways of bringing it to you via our new virtual reality. And, I will continue to send you links for films to rent/buy that benefit the Clinton, along with other great movie resources for your family.
Since the Clinton is a great place to see/hear great music, I've supported local music magazine Vortex since its inception six years ago. It's celebrating its birthday tomorrow, so join the party and live stream a stellar line-up.
If you, like me, grew up loving folk and blues, Bonnie Raitt has always been a thoughtful interpreter of the genres. So here's one more special link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=mgcfw3BTBIc&feature=emb_logo. In this video, Bonnie sends us a message of hope and pays homage to John Prine, who died last week, a victim of Covid-19. I know many of you share my grief, and while I don't have the words to express it, Bonnie does a pretty good job in this rendition of the song "Home" written by Karla Bonoff, which first appeared on Bonnie Raitt's 1977 album, Sweet Forgiveness.
After my hospitalization in January for suicidal ideation, I've been back in weekly therapy, and thankfully it continues through the magic of Telehealth. We do a lot of visualization and I was prompted to give my anxiety an image. This is what came to me:
Then I was asked to transform it into something else, and I came up with this:
Now, when the anxiety about the future hits (and it does hit several times a day), I turn it from Gritty to Shaggy, and after it licks me in the face, I send it off into the world to play.
Horses at Midnight Without a Moon
--Jack Gilbert - 1925-2012
Our heart wanders lost in the dark woods.
Our dream wrestles in the castle of doubt.
But there's music in us. Hope is pushed down
but the angel flies up again taking us with her.
The summer mornings begin inch by inch
while we sleep, and walk with us later
as long-legged beauty through
the dirty streets. It is no surprise
that danger and suffering surround us.
What astonishes is the singing.
We know the horses are there in the dark
meadow because we can smell them,
can hear them breathing.
Our spirit persists like a man struggling
through the frozen valley
who suddenly smells flowers
and realizes the snow is melting
out of sight on top of the mountain,
knows that spring has begun.
VIRTUAL SCREENINGS THAT BENEFIT CST
AVAILABLE APRIL 17 -- EARTH
BUY A TICKET. WATCH AT HOME. SUPPORT THE CLINTON.
EARTH, virtual theater, starts tomorrow, April 17th, and remains available until April 30. You can pre-order now. Part of the proceeds from each rental will support the Clinton.
EARTH was filmed at seven locations where humans are transforming the planet on a grand scale: Entire mountains being moved in California, a tunnel being sliced through rock at the Brenner Pass, an open-cast mine in Hungary, the world-famous Carrara marble quarry in Italy, a copper mine in Spain, the salt mine used to store radioactive waste in Wolfenbüttel and a Northern Canadian tar sands site where the destruction of indigenous lands threatens local communities.
Geyrhalter contrasts these large scale projects with interviews with the individuals helping to realize them to highlight our fraught struggles for and against the planet.
NEW YORK TIMES CRITIC'S PICK!
“As mesmerizing to watch as it is appalling to think about.”
—Manohla Dargis, New York Times
AVAILABLE WITH CLOSED CAPTIONING!
STILL AVAILABLE -- FANTASTIC FUNGI: The Magic Beneath Us
BUY A TICKET. WATCH AT HOME. SUPPORT THE CLINTON.
When so many are struggling for connection, inspiration and hope, Fantastic Fungi brings us together as interconnected creators of our world.
Fantastic Fungi, directed by Louie Schwartzberg, is a consciousness-shifting film that takes us on an immersive journey through time and scale into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet. Through the eyes of renowned scientists and mycologists like Paul Stamets, best-selling authors Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, Andrew Weil and others, we become aware of the beauty, intelligence and solutions the fungi kingdom offers us in response to some of our most pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges.
VIRTUAL GATHERING on FUNGI DAY!
On April 21st, as we prepare to celebrate our good earth, and all of our efforts to sustain it, discover the magic beneath us on Fungi Day.
The global mycelium network reconnects for a virtual gathering as the Fantastic Fungi team hosts a full day of conversations with Director Louie Schwartzberg, mycologist Paul Stamets, and many special guests including researchers, educators and solutionaries responding to some of our planet’s most pressing environmental and global challenges.
Participation in the virtual gathering is FREE! Just register today at fantasticfungi.com and we’ll send you a link to join the conversation via the platform of your choice.
STILL AVAILABLE -- Phoenix, Oregon
BUY A TICKET. WATCH AT HOME. SUPPORT THE CLINTON.
PHOENIX, OREGON, which was slated to be in theaters March 20, is available to watch from home. From anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, buy a ticket online & the distributor will send you a screening link.
All revenues are shared with the opening-weekend theaters!
About the film:
Defying the haze of mid-life, two friends seize an unlikely opportunity to reinvent their lives, quitting their jobs to restore an old bowling alley and serve the “world's greatest pizza." The film takes a comedic look at the existential crisis many face when trying to find meaning and relevancy at mid-life.
"Walks a gorgeous line between pathos and comedy… with more to say about depression, anxiety, art, friendship and love than any dozen movies I’ve seen in the theater this year."
-Source Weekly
This comedy of midlife reinvention and the redeeming power of friendship, was part of the 2019 Portland Circuit series, and screened at the Clinton on May 17, almost one year ago. I am thrilled to bring it back to our community in another form!
NEW THIS WEEK -- BEANPOLE
BUY A TICKET. WATCH AT HOME. SUPPORT THE CLINTON.
Directed by Kantemir Balagov
Year: 2019
Running Time: 137 minutes
Country: Russia
Language: In Russian with English subtitles
In post-WWII Leningrad, two women, Iya and Masha (astonishing newcomers Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Vasilisa Perelygina), intensely bonded after fighting side by side as anti-aircraft gunners, attempt to readjust to a haunted world. As the film begins, Iya, long and slender and towering over everyone—hence the film’s title—works as a nurse in a shell-shocked hospital, presiding over traumatized soldiers. A shocking accident brings them closer and also seals their fates. The 28-year-old Russian director Kantemir Balagov won Un Certain Regard’s Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for this richly burnished, occasionally harrowing rendering of the persistent scars of war.
AVAILABLE FROM APRIL 17 THROUGH APRIL 30.
NEW THIS WEEK -- 3 Films by Hungarian Master István Szabó
BUY A TICKET. WATCH AT HOME. SUPPORT THE CLINTON.
MEPHISTO -- The 1981 Academy Award-winning Best Foreign Language Film MEPHISTO, by Hungarian master István Szabó, concerns a passionate but struggling actor (Klaus Maria Brandauer) who remains in Germany during the Nazi regime and reaps the rewards of this Faustian pact by finally achieving the stardom he has long craved. Sparkling new 4K restoration by the Hungarian Film Fund.
COLONEL REDL -- Set in the lead up to WWI, Hungarian master István Szabó's Cannes Grand Jury-winning COLONEL REDL charts the rise of Alfred Redl to head of counter-intelligence of the Austro-Hungarian Army. His hidden homosexuality, however, is used against him by enemies of the state, putting both his professional standing and his country's security in dire straits. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in 1985, the third of four such Academy Award nominations Szabó's films earned. Sparkling new 4k restoration by the Hungarian Film Fund.
CONFIDENCE -- 1980's CONFIDENCE was nominated for an Academy Award and Hungarian master István Szabó won Berlin's Silver Bear for Best Director. In World War II-era Hungary, the resistance pairs two unrelated members to act as husband and wife in an effort to stay hidden in plain sight. Will they be able to maintain the illusion without giving in to their growing feelings for each other? Sparkling new 4K restoration by the Hungarian Film Fund.
OTHER MOVIE-VIEWING RESOURCES
With schools closed and everyone home schooling, some film distributors are helping by making some of their content available online.
Breaker has "Life Lessons." This series for primarily high school age students includes:
THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN, based on the best-selling novel by Simon Winchester, reveals the true tale behind the obsession that created the Oxford English Dictionary.
MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED, the documentary about four high schoolers who are voted ‘Most Likely to Succeed’ in 2007. The film follows them for the next ten years, and we have a front-row seat to their life in the 21st century.
NEXT is a documentary about blockchain. Is it a scam or will it change the way our world operates?
Charles Coleman, Facets Cinema Program Director, offers a curated selection of four films you can watch online that won’t be on the front page of most streaming sites.
https://facets.org/blog/exclusive/charles-recommends-4-genre-films-to-watch-now/
WOMEN MAKE MOVIES VIRTUAL FILM FESTIVAL 2020
In March, WMM launched a Virtual Film Festival to commemorate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. However, in response to the demands and circumstances of COVID-19, they have expanded the content of the festival and extended it to run through May 31, 2020. Sign up to watch films by women at no cost! (You'll be joining more than 5000 attendees in 89 countries -- and growing!)
The Bright Lights at Home program provides live conversations with the director of each film. Sign up for their email list and you'll be sent the Zoom link the day of the discussion. Be sure to watch the film before the discussion on Netflix or Hulu.
Thursday, April 23rd – Circus of Books (Available 4/22 on Netflix)
Co-presented with the Boston Women’s Film Festival, Wicked Queer, Globe Docs, Boston Jewish Film, and Boston Underground Film Festival
Directed by Rachel Mason, documentary, English, 92 minutes, USA, 2019.
In 1976, Karen and Barry Mason had fallen on hard times and were looking for a way to support their young family when they answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times. Larry Flynt was seeking distributors for Hustler Magazine. What was expected to be a brief sideline led to their becoming fully immersed in the LGBT community as they took over a local store, Circus of Books. A decade later, they had become the biggest distributors of gay porn in the US. The film focuses on the double life they led, trying to maintain the balance of being parents at a time when LGBT culture was not yet accepted. Their many challenges included facing jail time for a federal obscenity prosecution and enabling their store to be a place of refuge at the height of the AIDS crisis. Circus of Books offers a rare glimpse into an untold chapter of queer history, and it is told through the lens of the owners’ own daughter, Rachel Mason, an artist, filmmaker, and musician. Discussion with director Rachel Mason.
Watch the trailer! Facebook event
Tuesday, April 28th – Cunningham (Available 4/23 on Hulu)
Directed by Alla Kovgan, documentary, English, 93 minutes, Germany, France, USA, 2019
Cunningham traces Merce Cunningham’s artistic evolution over three decades of risk and discovery (1944–1972), from his early years as a struggling dancer in postwar New York to his emergence as one of the world’s most visionary choreographers. The 3D technology weaves together Merce’s philosophies and stories, creating a visceral journey into his innovative work. A breathtaking explosion of dance, music, and never-before-seen archival material, Cunningham is a timely tribute to one of the world’s greatest modern dance artists. Discussion with director Alla Kovgan, Visual & Media Arts professor Shaun Clarke, and Conservatory dance professor Allissa Cardone.
Watch the trailer! Facebook event
Facets, a nonprofit that connects people to independent ideas through transformative film experiences, has put together a special list of films to watch and discuss with your kids (as young as eight). You have a link to where you can watch a film or TV series (2 are free, one can be viewed through Amazon Prime), and then a set of questions for discussion and learning.
IN OTHER NEWS
If you would like to purchase a gift card to use once we are allowed to open, I've got them available through Square. The theater will receive these funds now, and if only 100 people purchase a $10 gift card, I'll have enough to make my loan payments for this month. (Thanks in advance if you want to support us in this way!!!)
If you Instagram--from Venture Portland: Now more than ever, it is crucial to support the small businesses that strengthen the livability and character of the neighborhoods we call home. Show us how you’re safely supporting independent neighborhood businesses with takeout, delivery, donation and other socially distant solutions with #supportsmallpdx! For the next five weeks we’ll pick our favorite weekly posts and send the winners $25 gift cards for their featured business. Enter to win gift cards by following @ventureportland. Use the hashtag #supportsmallpdx every time you post a purchase from a small business. Post often for multiple chances to win! Plus bonus points for cool facemasks! Winners will be announced: 4/20, 4/27, 5/4, 5/11, 5/18
Join DiCaprio and De Niro in a Scorsese Movie: If you donate to the All-In Challenge, which provides food to those in need, you may win a walk-on role in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon, as well as “acting pointers from Marty Scorsese,” “lunch with Leonardo and the cast,” and other things that sound pretty cool like attending the movie premiere.
Yes, I am still plugging my book. A few folks have told me that they are taking some time to read it while they are self-isolating. If you want to join them, you can order a copy from Powell's Online Book Store, Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
It's not enough to have lived.
We should be determined to live for something.
May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.”— Leo Buscaglia
Don't be a stranger. Write until we can meet again.
Kind regards,
Lani Jo
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