MEDIA CONTACT: Judy Moore at 847-491-4819 or jkm229@northwestern.edu

January 25, 2005

Block Cinema to Screen British, Animated and Highly Visual Films

EVANSTON, Ill. --- This winter, Block Cinema -- a collaboration of Northwestern University’s School of Communication and the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art -- will screen several new film series that focus on great British films, animation and production design.

Nearly 50 full-length and short films will be screened through March 11 in the James B. Pick and Rosalyn M. Laudati Auditorium, the Block Museum’s 150-seat facility at 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. The films begin at 8 p.m. or as noted below.

Block Cinema also will be the site of the world premiere of Northwestern student writer/director Jon Lefkovitz’s film “Movie Boy” (7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Jan. 28). “Movie Boy” is a bittersweet coming-of-age story about passion, youth and the love of movies. It features Winnetka resident Eastman Presser as 13-year-old Frank Pollack, who decides to make his own Alfred Hitchcock-style murder mystery “Zombie” after receiving a camcorder for his Bar Mitzvah. Lefkovitz will host a question-and-answer session after the 7 p.m. screening.

In addition, a number of Northwestern faculty members and guest speakers will introduce films and lead discussions afterward.

• Great British Film: From the British Film Institute Series. In a partnership with the British Film Institute, Block Cinema will present an overview of monumental British films from the past 80 years. The series includes quintessential works from renowned directors including David Lean’s “Great Expectations” (Jan. 26), Michael Powell’s “A Matter of Life and Death” (Feb. 3) and Tony Richardson’s “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” (March 9). The series also will showcase director Anthony Asquith’s work from the 1920s, a neglected chapter of film history recently discovered by the British Film Institute and celebrated with beautifully restored 35 mm prints. Two of Asquith’s silent films -- “Underground” (Feb. 9) and “Cottage on Dartmoor” (Feb. 16), combine technical skill with storyline melodramas of love and rage. Both will have live piano accompaniment by David Drazin. The British focus of this series intersects with the Block Museum’s “The Beauty of Life: William Morris and the Art of Design” exhibition (Jan. 21 through March 13) on view in the Main Gallery and Print, Drawing and Photography Study Center.

Animation Freakout! Programmed by students of the University’s Film and Project Society (FPS), “Animation Freakout!” runs the gamut from the experimental moving pictures of Harry Smith and Stan Brakhage to plot-driven modern classics such as “The Triplets of Belleville” (March 4). Proving that not all animation is for children, the eerie disjunction of

Jan Svankmajer’s “Alice” (Jan. 21) is juxtaposed with the royal presence of “Princes Mononoke” (Feb. 25). Nathan Juran’s “The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad” (Feb. 18) is not animation; it is “Dynamation.” This is the term that special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen created for his unique process of stop-motion animation (usually of monsters) mixed with live action (usually of men with swords). Block Cinema also, for the first time, will screen an animated short before each feature film.

Production Design. Extraordinary art direction guides this series, inspired by the Block Museum’s William Morris exhibition. Art direction, also known as production design, crafts a movie’s particular style and atmosphere, leaving a subtle, but indelible impression. Behind the marquee names, motion picture making is a daunting collaborative process that demands the contributions of scores of people. The winter Block Cinema series celebrates the work of art directors and production designers who often toil unrecognized including Albert d’Agostino of Jacques Tourneur’s 1942 film “Cat People” (Feb. 23) or the visual lavishness of Tim Burton’s “Batman” (March 10).

As a special treat, at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, an Eastman Kodak representative will demonstrate Kodak’s motion picture stock line, particularly the new Vision2 series of negative emulsions, and answer questions about film technology. Audience members will learn what distinguishes one film stock from another and the effects of stock choice on the visual character of the film. This free event is sponsored by the Northwestern chapter of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).

General Block Cinema admission is $6; or $4 for a WildCard, Block Museum membership or student identification. Special events are $10. A season pass is $20. Tickets are available 30 minute prior to show time. For more information call (847) 491-4000.

For detailed information about all the Winter 2005 films go to www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/education/nufilms.html.