The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

The next presentation of Kevin Smith’s SMoviola will take place during the upcoming New York Film Festival with a celebration of the cult hit THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION featuring the film’s star Peter Weller, John Lithgow and additional guests. The festival also released the lineup of filmmakers set for NYFF’s celebrated HBO Films® Directors Dialogues and the complete lineup of films for the 15th edition of the film festival’s Views From the Avant-Garde series.

Returning to the Film Society after a special screening of VALLEY GIRL during the launch of the new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, Kevin Smith’s SMoviola will now be a continuing series of appearances by the popular filmmaker and film personality during which he will take a look at a classic, and personally beloved film, with the filmmakers and stars of the film.

Directed by W.D. Richter, THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION (1984) stars Peter Weller as an adventurer/surgeon/rock star who leads a band of men known as the Hong Kong Cavaliers versus nefarious alien invaders from the 8th dimension. Featuring a formidable cast including Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd as well as Russian comic Yakov Smirnoff and musician Billy Vera, the film was a made-to-order cult hit from its debut onward. The film will screen at the Walter Reade Theater on Saturday, October 15 at 7:30PM with Smith leading a discussion about the film with Weller, Lithgow and others following the screening.

The popular HBO Films® Directors Dialogues returns to the New York Film Festival with a new home, the state-of-the-art Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (144 West 65th Street). The Directors Dialogues pair a director with a journalist as they discuss the filmmaker’s career, views on their own approach to making movies as well as the current state of the art of filmmaking. This year’s lineup will feature an eclectic group of filmmaking visionaries including the documentary directing duo of Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (PARADISE LOST 3: PURGATORY), New York indie iconoclast Abel Ferrera (4:44 – LAST DAY ON EARTH), filmmaker and video artist Julia Loktev (THE LONELIEST PLANET) and German filmmaking auteur Wim Wenders (PINA).

Julia Loktev will be joined by Melissa Anderson (NYFF Selection Committee and contributor, The Village Voice) in conversation on Sunday, October 2 at 3:00PM.

Abel Ferrera will be joined by Dennis Lim (NYFF Selection Committee and Editor, Moving Image Source & Freelance Critic) in conversation on Tuesday, October 11 at 6:00PM.

Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky will be joined by Eugene Hernandez (FSLC Digital Strategies Director and former IndieWire Editor-in-Chief) in conversation on Thursday, October 13 at 6:00PM.

Wim Wenders will be joined by Scott Foundas (NYFF Selection Committee, FSLC Asociate Program Director and contributing editor, Film Comment) in conversation on Sunday, October 16 at 12:00PM.

For its 15th year, Views from the Avant-Garde returns with an expanded edition, presenting four nights of New York and world premieres from the frontiers of innovative moving-image making. Curated by Mark McElhatten and Gavin Smith, the program’s highlights include films by such notables of the experimental film world as James Benning, Kevin Jerome Everson, George Kuchar, and NYFF favorite Ben Rivers, as well as a first-time screening at NYFF of work by Daniel Eisenberg. The program also includes the return of the 3D film artists, OpenEndedGroup (following a screening of their work this summer during the launch of the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center), as well as the anticipated screening of JOHN ZORN: A FILM IN 15 SCENES, which features four different film interpretations of a list of shots (or “score”) provided by Zorn.

Gavin Smith, editor-in-chief of Film Comment, said “In our 15th edition of Views From the Avant-Garde, we have seen the program double in size due to the continuing expansion of work being made by experimental film artists and the growing demand for this kind of cinema. What is particularly exciting about this lineup is that it literally includes the work of five generations of filmmakers.”

Screening Schedule for VIEWS FROM THE AVANT-GARDE

Friday, October 7
Location: FRANCESCA BEALE THEATER
12:30PM
Screening program: The Soul and the Stem
Total running time: 99min

SENORA CON FLORES (Woman with Flowers) (1995/2011) 15min
Director: Chick Strand
Country: U.S./Mexico
(preservation print from the Academy Film Archives)
JAN VILLA (2010) 20min
Director: Natasha Mendonca
Country: India/U.S.
THE SOLE OF THE FOOT (2011) 34min
Director: Robert Fenz
Country: U.S/Israel/Chile/France
CORRESPONDENCE (2011) 30min
Director: Robert Fenz
Country: U.S./India

3:15PM
Screening Program:  Ben Rivers
Total running time:  66min

SACK BARROW (2011) 21min
Country: U.K.
SLOW ACTION (2010) 45min
Country: U.K.

5:45PM
Screening Program:  Bitches Brew
Total running time:  107min

POSTHASTE PERENNIAL PATTERN (2010) 3min 39sec
Director: Jodie Mack
Country: U.S.
BABOBILICONS (1982) 16min
Director: Daina Krumins
Country: U.S.
(new 35mm preservation by the Academy Film Archive)
YOU ARE NOW RUNNING ON RESERVE BATTERY POWER (2011) 11min
Director: Jessie Stead
Country: U.S.
HULL (2011) 7min 32sec
Director: Tara Merenda Nelson
Country: U.S.

From JHANA AND THE RATS OF JAMES OLDS (2011):
Director: Stephanie Barber
Country: U.S.
Telephone Call 1min 
Billy and the Magician 3min 18sec
Little Kitten 42sec
Zero Buoyancy 4min 53sec
Romance Novels 1min 4sec

A PARTY RECORD PACKED WITH SEX AND SADNESS (2011) 10min 11sec
Director: Bobby Abate
Country: U.S.
PRAXIS 8 – 12 SCENES (2010) 25min
Director: Dietmar Brehm
Country: Austria
TASTE TEST (2011) 2min 30sec
Director: Andrew Lampert
Country: U.S.
BITCH-BEAUTY (2011) 7min
Director: MM Serra
Country: U.S.

8:45PM
Screening Program:  Ladders and Tracks
Total running time:  104min

BERLIN TRACKS 18h00-20h00 (2011) 2min 7sec
Director: Shiloh Cinquemani
Country: U.S./Germany
(k)now (t)here (2011) 8min 50sec
Director: Hey–Yeun Jang
Country: U.S.
SUBWAY (2011) 7min 40sec
Director: Angela Ferraiolo
Country: U.S.
VILLAGE, SILENCED (2011) 4min 56min      
Director: Deborah Stratman
Country: U.S.
SNAKES AND LADDERS (2011) 3min
Director: Katherin McInnis
Country: U.S.
LONGHORN TREMOLO (2010) 16min
Director: Scott Stark
Country: U.S.
LAND FILLL (2011) 8min 52sec
Director: Jennifer Reeves
Country: U.S.
BARREN (2010) 2min
Director: Katherin McInnis
Country: U.S.
BACK VIEW (2011) 17min
Director: Vincent Grenier
Country: U.S.
THE TOY SUN (2011) 33min
Director: Ken Kobland
Country: U.S.

Location: WALTER READE THEATER
1:00PM
UPENDING (2011) 65min
Director: OpenendedGroup
Country: U.S.
(digital 3-D)

3:30PM
SEEKING THE MONKEY KING (2011) 40min
Director: Ken Jacobs
Country: U.S.

5:30PM
Screening Program:  Ernie Gehr
Total running time:  88min

CRYSTAL PALACE (2002-11) 28min
Country: U.S.
THANK YOU FOR VISITING (2010) 12min
Country: U.S.
MIST (2010) 9min
Country: U.S.
ABRACADABRA (2009) 39min
Country: U.S.

8:30PM
Screening Program:  George Kuchar
Total running time:  87min

LINGO OF THE LOST (2010) 37min 45sec
Country: U.S.
EMPIRE OF EVIL (2011) 50min
Country: U.S.

Saturday October 8
Location: FRANCESCA BEALE THEATER
11:15AM
Screening Program:  Cabinet of Curiosities
Total running time:  82min

BETWEEN GOLD (2011) 10min 42sec
Director: Jonathan Schwartz
Country: U.S.
TIN PRESSED (2011) 6min 23sec
Director: Dani Leventhal
Country: U.S.
FIFTEEN AN HOUR (2011) 6min
Director: Kevin Jerome Everson
Country: U.S.
TABLEAUX VIVANTS (2011) 10min 20sec
Director: Vincent Grenier
Country: U.S.
CURIOUS LIGHT (2011) 4min 12sec
Director: Charlotte Pryce
Country: U.S.
FORMS ARE NOT SELF-SUBSISTENT SUBSTANCES (2010) 22min
Director: Samantha Rebello
Country: U.K.
THE MATTER PROPOUNDED, OF ITS POSSIBILITY OR IMPOSSIBILITY, TREATED IN FOUR PARTS (2011) 13min
Director: David Gatten
Country: U.S.

From JHAMA AND THE RATS OF JAMES OLDS (2011):
Director: Stephanie Barber
Country: U.S.
Miniatures 2min    
Degas 58sec
The Eclipse 33sec

RANSOM NOTES (2011) 4min
Director: Kelly Egan
Country: Canada
CONJUROR’S BOX (2011) 4min
Director: Kerry Laitala
Country: U.S.

1:45PM
Screening Program:  Looking Through A Glass Onion
Total running time:  89min   

PASSAGE UPON THE PLUME (2011) 6min 46sec
Director: Fern Silva
Country: U.S.
SHAYNE’S RECTANGLE (2011) 5min 4sec 
Director: Dani Leventhal
Country: U.S.
LINE DESCRIBING YOUR MOM (2011) 5min 50sec
Director: Michael Robinson
Country: U.S.
GOSSIP ON THE WATER (2011) 8min 19sec
Director: Bobby Abate
Country: U.S.

From JHANA AND THE RATS OF JAMES OLDS
Director: Stephanie Barber
Country: U.S.
Tatum’s Ghost 3min 45sec

THE DEATH OF THE GORILLA (1966) 16min
Director: Peter Mays
Country: U.S.
(new restoration by the Academy Film Archive)
BY FOOT-CANDLE LIGHT (2011) 9min
Director: Mary Helena Clark
Country: U.S.
A LAX RIDDLE UNIT (2011) 9min
Director: Laida Lertxundi
Country: Spain
SOUNDING GLASS (2011) 7min
Director: Sylvia Schedelbauer
Country: Germany
THE EVIL EYES (2010) 18min
Director: Bobby Abate
Country: U.S.

4:15PM
VOLUPTUOUS SLEEP (2011) 95min
Director: Betzy Bromberg
Country: U.S.

7:15PM
Screening Program:  Jerome Hiler & Nathaniel Dorsky
Total running time:  54min

WORDS OF MERCURY (2011) 25min
Director: Jerome Hiler
Country: U.S.
THE RETURN (2011) 27min
Director: Nathaniel Dorsky
Country: U.S.

9:30PM
Screening Program:  John Zorn: A Film in 15 Scenes
Total running time:  97min 

15 SCENES: 254 SHOTS (2011) 15min
Director: Gobolux
Country: U.S.
WELL THEN THERE NOW (2011) 19min 30sec
Director: Lewis Klahr
Country: U.S.
BARE ROOM (2011) 31min 33sec
Director: Joey Izzo
Country: U.S.
ARCANA (2011) 33min
Director: Henry Hills
Country: U.S./Austria

Location: WALTER READE THEATER
11:00AM
Screening Program:  Jean-Marie Straub
Total running time:  66min

LOTHRINGEN! (1994) 20min
(co-directed with Danièle Huillet)
Country: France
UN HÉRITIER (2011) 20min
Country: France/South Korea
L’INCONSOLABLE (2011) 15min
Country: France
SCHAKALE UND ARABER (2011) 11min
Country: Switzerland

1:15PM
STUDIES FOR THE DECAY OF THE WEST (2010) 80min
Director: Klaus Wyborny
Country: Germany

4:00PM
Screening Program:  Daniel Eisenberg: The Unstable Object
Total running time:  83min

LESS AND LESS/TOUJOURS MOINS (2010) 14min
Director: Luc Moullet
Country: France, 2010
THE UNSTABLE OBJECT (2011) 69min
Country: U.S./Germany/Turkey

6:45PM
Screening Program:  Kevin Jerome Everson
Total running time:  82min

QUALITY CONTROL (2011) 70min 42sec
Country: U.S.
THE PRICHARD (2011) 11min 18sec
Country: U.S.

9:45PM
Screening Program:  George Kuchar
Total running time:  87min

LINGO OF THE LOST (2010) 37min 45sec
Country: U.S.
EMPIRE OF EVIL (2011) 50min
Country: U.S.

Sunday October 9
Location: FRANCESCA BEALE THEATER
12:00PM
Screening program: The Soul and the Stem
Total running time: 99min

SENORA CON FLORES (Woman with Flowers) (1995/2011) 15min
Director: Chick Strand
Country: U.S./Mexico
(preservation print from the Academy Film Archives)
JAN VILLA (2010) 20min
Director: Natasha Mendonca
Country: India/U.S.
THE SOLE OF THE FOOT (2011) 34min
Director: Robert Fenz
Country: U.S/Israel/Chile/France
CORRESPONDENCE (2011) 30min
Director: Robert Fenz
Country: U.S./India

2:45PM
Screening Program:  Jerome Hiler & Nathaniel Dorsky
Total running time:  54min

WORDS OF MERCURY (2011) 25min
Director: Jerome Hiler
Country: U.S.
THE RETURN (2011) 27min
Director: Nathaniel Dorsky
Country: U.S.

5:30PM
Screening Program:  Ladders and Tracks
Total running time:  104min

BERLIN TRACKS 18h00-20h00 (2011) 2min 7sec
Director: Shiloh Cinquemani
Country: U.S./Germany
(k)now (t)here (2011) 8min 50sec
Director: Hey–Yeun Jang
Country: U.S.
SUBWAY (2011) 7min 40sec
Director: Angela Ferraiolo
Country: U.S.
VILLAGE, SILENCED (2011) 4min 56min      
Director: Deborah Stratman
Country: U.S.
SNAKES AND LADDERS (2011) 3min
Director: Katherin McInnis
Country: U.S.
LONGHORN TREMOLO (2010) 16min
Director: Scott Stark
Country: U.S.
LAND FILLL (2011) 8min 52sec
Director: Jennifer Reeves
Country: U.S.
BARREN (2010) 2min
Director: Katherin McInnis
Country: U.S.
BACK VIEW (2011) 17min
Director: Vincent Grenier
Country: U.S.
THE TOY SUN (2011) 33min
Director: Ken Kobland
Country: U.S.

8:15PM
Screening Program:  The Red and The Black
Total running time:  86min

RIVER RITES (2011) 11min 30sec
Director: Ben Russell
Country: U.S./Suriname
SHADOW, SEED, SPAGYRIC (2011) 5min 12sec
Director: David Baker
Country: U.S.
PERIL OF THE ANTILLES (2011) 5min 51sec
Director: Fern Silva
Country: U.S.
A PREFACE TO RED (2010) 6min
Director: Jonathan Schwartz
Country: U.S./Turkey
PROTOCOL (2011) 1min 15sec
Director: Lina Rodriguez
Country: Canada/Colombia
IMPERCEPTIHOLE (2011) 14min 37sec
Director: Lori Felker & Robert Todd
Country: U.S.
LIGHT LICKS: BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON: I WANT TO PAINT IT BLACK (2011) 12min
Director: Saul Levine
Country: U.S.
THIRD LAW: N KEDZIE BLVD. (2011) 7min 10sec
Director: Mike Gibisser
Country: U.S.
SLOW BURN (2011) 19min 46sec
Director: Jesse Cain
Country: U.S.

Location: WALTER READE THEATER
1:00PM
Screening Program:  Virgin Springs
Total running time:  86min

BAPTISMAL STICKS AND STONES (2011) 6min 50sec
Director: April Simmons
Country: U.S.
DEVILS GATE (2011) 20min
Director: Laura Kraning
Country: U.S.
TWICE REMOVED (2011) 11min
Director: Leslie Thornton
Country: U.S.
RICKY (2011) 11min
Director: Janie Geiser
Country: U.S.
SILENT SPRINGS (2011) 12min 57sec
Director: Erin Espelie
Country: U.S.
GAZETTE (2009) 4min 12sec
Director: Eliénore de Montesquiou
Country: Russia/Estonia
KUDZU VINE (2011) 19min 52sec
Director: Josh Gibson
Country: U.S.

3:30PM
THE PETTIFOGGER (2011) 65min
Director: Lewis Klahr
Country: U.S.

6:00PM
Screening Program:  John Zorn: A Film in 15 Scenes
Total running time:  97min 

15 SCENES: 254 SHOTS (2011) 15min
Director: Gobolux
Country: U.S.
WELL THEN THERE NOW (2011) 19min 30sec
Director: Lewis Klahr
Country: U.S.
BARE ROOM (2011) 31min 33sec
Director: Joey Izzo
Country: U.S.
ARCANA (2011) 33min
Director: Henry Hills
Country: U.S./Austria

9:00PM
TWENTY CIGARETTES (2011) 99min
Director: James Benning
Country: U.S.

Monday October 10
Location: FRANCESCA BEALE THEATER
11:00AM
Screening Program:  Cabinet of Curiosities
Total running time:  82min

BETWEEN GOLD (2011) 10min 42sec
Director: Jonathan Schwartz
Country: U.S.
TIN PRESSED (2011) 6min 23sec
Director: Dani Leventhal
Country: U.S.
FIFTEEN AN HOUR (2011) 6min
Director: Kevin Jerome Everson
Country: U.S.
TABLEAUX VIVANTS (2011) 10min 20sec
Director: Vincent Grenier
Country: U.S.
CURIOUS LIGHT (2011) 4min 12sec
Director: Charlotte Pryce
Country: U.S.
FORMS ARE NOT SELF-SUBSISTENT SUBSTANCES (2010) 22min
Director: Samantha Rebello
Country: U.K.
THE MATTER PROPOUNDED, OF ITS POSSIBILITY OR IMPOSSIBILITY, TREATED IN FOUR PARTS (2011) 13min
Director: David Gatten
Country: U.S.

From JHAMA AND THE RATS OF JAMES OLDS (2011):
Director: Stephanie Barber
Country: U.S.
Miniatures 2min    
Degas 58sec
The Eclipse 33sec

RANSOM NOTES (2011) 4min
Director: Kelly Egan
Country: Canada
CONJUROR’S BOX (2011) 4min
Director: Kerry Laitala
Country: U.S.

1:30PM
Screening Program:  Aurand/Muñoz/Sami
Total running time:  76min

VILLATALLA (2011) 21min 59sec
Director: Jeannette Muñoz
Country: Switzerland/Chile/Italy
A YEAR/EIN JAHR (2011) 12min
Director: Renate Sami
Country: Germany
YOUNG PINES/JUNGE TIEFERN (2011) 43min
Director: Ute Aurand
Country: Germany/Japan

3:45PM
Screening Program:  Looking Through A Glass Onion
Total running time:  89min   

PASSAGE UPON THE PLUME (2011) 6min 46sec
Director: Fern Silva
Country: U.S.
SHAYNE’S RECTANGLE (2011) 5min 4sec 
Director: Dani Leventhal
Country: U.S.
LINE DESCRIBING YOUR MOM (2011) 5min 50sec
Director: Michael Robinson
Country: U.S.
GOSSIP ON THE WATER (2011) 8min 19sec
Director: Bobby Abate
Country: U.S.

From JHANA AND THE RATS OF JAMES OLDS
Director: Stephanie Barber
Country: U.S.
Tatum’s Ghost 3min 45sec

THE DEATH OF THE GORILLA (1966) 16min
Director: Peter Mays
Country: U.S.
(new restoration by the Academy Film Archive)
BY FOOT-CANDLE LIGHT (2011) 9min
Director: Mary Helena Clark
Country: U.S.
A LAX RIDDLE UNIT (2011) 9min
Director: Laida Lertxundi
Country: Spain
SOUNDING GLASS (2011) 7min
Director: Sylvia Schedelbauer
Country: Germany
THE EVIL EYES (2010) 18min
Director: Bobby Abate
Country: U.S.

6:30PM
Screening Program:  Paul Clipson Super 8 performance
Total running time:  70min   
CHORUS (2009/2011) 8min
Country: U.S.
COMPOUND EYES NO. 1-5 (2011) 27min
Country: U.S.
LIGHT FROM THE MESA (2010) 7min
Country: U.S.
CHORUS (2009/2011) 8min
Country: U.S.
(16mm version)
MORPHOLOGIES (2011) 20min
Country: U.S.

8:45PM
Screening Program:  Bitches Brew
Total running time:  107min

POSTHASTE PERENNIAL PATTERN (2010) 3min 39sec
Director: Jodie Mack
Country: U.S.
BABOBILICONS (1982) 16min
Director: Daina Krumins
Country: U.S.
(new 35mm preservation by the Academy Film Archive)
YOU ARE NOW RUNNING ON RESERVE BATTERY POWER (2011) 11min
Director: Jessie Stead
Country: U.S.
HULL (2011) 7min 32sec
Director: Tara Merenda Nelson
Country: U.S.

From JHANA AND THE RATS OF JAMES OLDS (2011):
Director: Stephanie Barber
Country: U.S.
Telephone Call 1min 
Billy and the Magician 3min 18sec
Little Kitten 42sec
Zero Buoyancy 4min 53sec
Romance Novels 1min 4sec

A PARTY RECORD PACKED WITH SEX AND SADNESS (2011) 10min 11sec
Director: Bobby Abate
Country: U.S.
PRAXIS 8 – 12 SCENES (2010) 25min
Director: Dietmar Brehm
Country: Austria
TASTE TEST (2011) 2min 30sec
Director: Andrew Lampert
Country: U.S.
BITCH-BEAUTY (2011) 7min
Director: MM Serra
Country: U.S.

Location: WALTER READE THEATER
11:30PM
Screening Program:  Jean-Marie Straub
Total running time:  66min

LOTHRINGEN! (1994) 20min
(co-directed with Danièle Huillet)
Country: France
UN HÉRITIER (2011) 20min
Country: France/South Korea
L’INCONSOLABLE (2011) 15min
Country: France
SCHAKALE UND ARABER (2011) 11min
Country: Switzerland

1:45PM
SEEKING THE MONKEY KING (2011) 40min
Director: Ken Jacobs
Country: U.S.

3:00PM
THE PETTIFOGGER (2011) 65min
Director: Lewis Klahr
Country: U.S.

5:00PM
Screening Program:  Virgin Springs
Total running time:  86min

BAPTISMAL STICKS AND STONES (2011) 6min 50sec
Director: April Simmons
Country: U.S.
DEVILS GATE (2011) 20min
Director: Laura Kraning
Country: U.S.
TWICE REMOVED (2011) 11min
Director: Leslie Thornton
Country: U.S.
RICKY (2011) 11min
Director: Janie Geiser
Country: U.S.
SILENT SPRINGS (2011) 12min 57sec
Director: Erin Espelie
Country: U.S.
GAZETTE (2009) 4min 12sec
Director: Eliénore de Montesquiou
Country: Russia/Estonia
KUDZU VINE (2011) 19min 52sec
Director: Josh Gibson
Country: U.S.

7:30PM
TWO DAYS AT SEA (2011) 86min
Director: Ben Rivers
Country: U.K.

Location: ELINORE BUNIN MUNROE AMPHITHEATRE
Daily Friday October 7-10
Open to the general public, with no admission charge. Each film will be repeated across the four days in groupings and individual rotations several times a day.

Films will include the following (in alphabetical order):

ARMOIRE (Four Parts) (2007-2011) 9min 5sec
Director: Vincent Grenier
Country: U.S.
JOHN KRIEG EXITING THE FALK CORPORATION IN 1971 (2011) 71min
Director: James Benning
Country: U.S
PICTURE TAKING (2011) 9min 30sec
Director: Ernie Gehr
Country: U.S.
SOFT PALATE (2010) 3min 10sec
Director: Martin Arnold
Country: Austria
SELF CONTROL (2011) 1min 56sec
Director: Martin Arnold
Country: Austria
TRADERS LEAVING THE EXCHANGE, A GUARD AND THE STREET (2011) 15min
Director: Les Leveque
Country: U.S.

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