Fall Moving Image features Films by Sky Hopinka, Paul Anton Smith, Norah Shapiro, Anne De Mare, Frederick Wiseman, Gary Hustwit and D.A. Pennebaker

Sky Hopinka: The Centers of Somewhere Screening and Artist Talk
Thursday, September 13, 7 pm
Walker Cinema, Free

“Because who we are is intrinsically defined by who we are not. Because conversations about identity are more necessary—and more dangerous—than ever.”–Sky Hopinka, The Centers of Somewhere, Walker Reader Artist Op-Ed, 2018.

Milwaukee-based filmmaker Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk/Pechanga) focuses on the interconnections between his indigenous homeland, language, and identity, weaving family traditions together with a new generation’s perspective. Often ethnographic in tone, Hopinka’s rigorously composed and thickly layered films create maps of dreams and memories, pushing against personal boundaries and making cultural connections.

Following a screening of his short films, Hopinka will discuss his practice and recent Artist Op-Ed The Centers of Somewhere with Bentson Archivist and Assistant Curator Ruth Hodgins and Managing Editor Paul Schmelzer. Artist Op-Eds is a series of commissioned opinion pieces examining the thinking of artists as citizens and change-makers.

Post-Screening Reception
Bockley Gallery, 9–10pm, Free
After the screening and discussion, there will be a drinks reception with Sky at Bockley Gallery, where there is a three-channel installation of his work Fainting Spells.

View:
Trailer
Artist website

Paul Anton Smith’s Have You Seen My Movie?, 2016. Photo courtesy the filmmaker.

Have You Seen My Movie?
Filmmaker in Conversation: Paul Anton Smith

Friday, September 14, 7 pm
Saturday, September 15, 2 pm
Walker Cinema, $10 ($8 Walker members)

“A feast for film fans.” —British Film Institute

Told entirely with found footage, Have You Seen My Movie? is a love letter to the magic and power of cinematic experiences shared by strangers in the dark. Using iconic and obscure scenes of film-viewing from over a thousand movies spanning 80 years, director/editor Paul Anton Smith turns the camera back on the audience to reveal all of the romance, mystery, and mayhem of our collective imaginations. 2016, DCP, UK/Canada, 136 min.

Both programs will be introduced by the director. A conversation with Paul Anton Smith with Senior Curator, Moving Image, Sheryl Mousley follows Saturday’s screening.

View:
Trailer

TWIN CITIES PREMIERES: DOCUMENTARIES ON CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
TIME FOR ILHAN, CAPTURING THE FLAG, AND MONROVIA, INDIANA

Norah Shapiro’s Time for Ilhan, 2018. Photo credit: Chris Newberry. Photo courtesy The Film Sales Company.

Time for Ilhan
Directed by Norah Shapiro

Friday, September 21, 7 pm *SOLD OUT
Saturday, September 22, 2 & 7pm
Friday, September 28, 7pm
Saturday, September 29, 2pm
Walker Cinema, $10 ($8 Walker members)

“When we have new voices in the room, we’re able to dream and we’re able to make big changes.” —Ilhan Omar

Capturing the dramatic journey of one of America’s brightest political stars, Time for Ilhan follows 34-year-old Ilhan Omar from the campaign trail to the Minnesota House of Representatives. Running on a platform of social justice and advocating for the right of all to have a voice, Omar is the first Somali American and first black Muslim woman elected to a state legislature in the US. 2018, DCP, 89 min.

The sold-out screening on Friday, September 21 will be introduced by director Norah Shapiro and the film’s subject, Representative Ilhan Omar.

Both screenings on Saturday, September 22 will be introduced by the director Norah Shapiro. A panel discussion moderated by NBC-affiliate KARE 11 news anchor Jana Shortal follows the 2pm screening that day.

View:
Trailer

Anne De Mare’s Capturing the Flag, 2018. Photo courtesy the artist.

Cinema of Urgency: Capturing the Flag
By Anne de Mare

Thursday, October 18, 7pm
Walker Cinema, Free

Friday, October 19, 7pm
Saturday, October 20, 2pm
Walker Cinema, $10 ($8 Walker members)

“Through their work on this one day, we see just what’s involved in protecting the cornerstone democratic principle of “one person, one vote.” —Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

This is what voter protection looks like. Three months before the 2016 election, a tight-knit volunteer group travels to North Carolina to legally observe and assist voters. Their experiences during that long day at the polls serves as both warning and call to action to protect and participate in the right to vote. Deeply personal, often surprising perspectives prove that the big idea of American democracy can be defended by small acts of individual citizens. 2018, DCP, 76 minutes.

On Thursday, stay for a post-screening discussion with the director Anne de Mare, producer Laverne Berry, one of the film’s voter protection volunteers, and Nasser Mussa, Minnesota’s Director of Voter Outreach.

View:
Trailer

Frederick Wiseman’s Monrovia, Indiana, 2018. Photo courtesy Zipporah Films

Monrovia, Indiana
By Frederick Wiseman
Premiere

Friday, November 2, 7pm
Saturday, November 3, 7pm
Walker Cinema, $10 ($8 Walker members)

“Mr. Wiseman is an artist. His shots are carefully composed and painstakingly edited into assemblages that reveal the layers and patterns of experience. His movies are not raw transcripts of reality, but artifacts and representations, at once abstract and laden with content.” —The New York Times

Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman’s ode to small town rural America explores a farming community, Monrovia, IN, illustrating how values like community service, duty, spiritual life, generosity and authenticity are formed, experienced and lived along with conflicting cultural stereotypes. The film is an immersive and nuanced portrait of today’s rural, mid-American way of life featuring Monrovia’s town meetings, schools, churches, barber shops, café counters, and front porches against the constant backdrop of U.S. agricultural production. 2018, DCP, 143 minutes

Gary Hustwit’s Rams, 2018. Photo courtesy the artist.

DESIGN + FILM

Rams
By Gary Hustwit
Friday, November 9, 7pm Saturday, November 10, 2pm
Walker Cinema, $10 ($8 Walker members)

“If I had to do it over again, I would not want to be a designer. There are too many unnecessary products in this world.” – Dieter Rams

For over fifty years, Dieter Rams’ designs have influenced the way most of today’s consumer products look and function. His ‘Ten Principles of Good Design’ champion simplicity, honesty, and restraint. A new documentary portrait by Gary Hustwit (Helvetica, Urbanized, Objectified) features Rams ruminating on his life, work, and visions for the future. His philosophy goes beyond design to address environmental consciousness, decluttering, and living just with what you need. Original music by Brian Eno. 2018, DCP, approximately 80 minutes.

Post-screening discussion with Gary Hustwit and Walker Design Director Emmet Byrne after Friday’s screening.

View:
Trailer
Artist website

Read more:
Curbed with Gary Hustwit

Bob Dylan in D. A. Pennebaker’s Dont Look Back, 1967. Photo courtesy Janus Films.

Dont Look Back
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker
Saturday, November 24, 2pm
Sunday, November 25, 2pm
Walker Cinema, $10 ($8 Walker members)

“But even 48 years after its release, and well into Dylan’s current phase of relative transparency, D.A. Pennebaker’s Dont Look Back retains something of a forbidden quality”—Slant Magazine

Dont Look Back is a candid, cinéma vérité look at Bob Dylan on his 1965 concert tour of England. Pennebaker’s camera captures him in performances, interviews, parties, and arguments. Along for the ride are Joan Baez, Donovan, Alan Price, and Allen Ginsberg, who presents the lyrics of “Subterranean Homesick Blues” flash-card-style at the beginning of the film. 1967, DCP, 95 min.

View:
Trailer

Read more:
The Guardian review
TIME review

Leslie Thornton’s They Were Just People 2016 Photo courtesy Ruben/ Bentson Moving Image Collection

MOVING IMAGE EXHIBITION

Platforms: Collection and Commissions
Thursday, November 15, 2018–Sunday, October 6, 2019

Artist Talk with filmmaker Leslie Thornton
Thursday, November 15, 7pm
Walker Cinema, Free

Established and emerging, historical and contemporary. Platforms: Collection and Commissions is a different kind of moving image exhibition, displaying work across multiple interfaces—from the palm of your hand to the wall of the gallery. The show highlights key works from the Walker’s collection juxtaposed with new commissions by 12 international contemporary artists. Every seven weeks, a new grouping will be rotated into the space, encouraging viewers to return and experience yet another new perspective. These commissions will also be available online.

Between 2014 and 2018, the Walker commissioned this series to respond to the influence and inquiry of leading artists and filmmakers in the Ruben/Bentson Moving Image Collection. The new works bridge generations: the contemporary artists create a piece inspired by the work of a specific predecessor. The dynamic initiative weaves together production, scholarship, distribution, and archival research.

MORE FILMS

For more films, visit the Bentson Mediatheque. The Bentson Mediatheque is a free self-select cinema experience unique to the Walker. Choose from more than 300 titles from the Ruben/ Bentson Moving Image Collection or view one of the featured playlists. Hours are Tuesday – Sunday, noon till museum close. Always free

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