Storaro to Accept Coolidge Award
April 6 in Boston
The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Massachusetts, has planned
a month-long celebration showcasing the work of internationally acclaimed
Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, ASC, AIC.
Last month the Coolidge Corner Theatre announced that Storaro will be
the recipient of the annual Coolidge Award, honoring a selected film
artist whose work advances the spirit of original and challenging filmmaking.
Storaro is scheduled to arrive in Boston to accept the honor at a special
ceremony on Wednesday, Apr. 6 at 8 pm. The gala celebration will include
testimonials from filmmakers and scholars, selected scenes from Storaro's
body of work, live music and dance performances, and the presentation
of the award.
While in Boston, Storaro will participate in related festivities. On
April 7 at 1:30 p.m., the Coolidge has programmed a filmmaker panel, Writing
with Light: A Discussion on Cinematography. Storaro will be joined
by colleagues in the industry to share stories of their artistic choices
and experiences.
Panelists scheduled to participate include documentary filmmaker Albert
Maysles (Grey Gardens) and cinematographers Maryse Alberti (Happiness),
Ed Lachman (Far From Heaven), and Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine
of the Spotless Mind). Bob Fisher, historian/journalist and honorary
member of the American Society of Cinematographers, will moderate.
On the evening of April 7, the Coolidge will screen the 1982 film Reds,
directed by and starring Warren Beatty. Storaro, who won his second Best
Cinematography Oscar for the film, will be in attendance to introduce
the screening and to conduct a question-and-answer session with audience
members.
The Coolidge has programmed several screenings of Storaro's work and
four seminars to precede the awards gala. Moviegoers can indulge in Storaro's
radiant camerawork throughout consecutive Mondays in March when the Coolidge
unspools four classics in their beautifully restored 600-seat Movie House
I, featuring a giant screen and state-of-the-art Dolby digital surround
sound.
It all begins on Monday, March 7, with a new 35mm print of the 1973
classic film Last Tango in Paris. Boasting the combined talents
of Storaro and director Bernardo Bertolucci, this controversial and visually
striking film is a lush and powerful tale of an anonymous erotic attraction
featuring legendary performances from American icon Marlon Brando and
French actress Maria Schneider.
Storaro's visual mastery and diversity extends beyond epic productions.
He has also worked with noted directors on a variety of films that have
become cult classics. The Coolidge has reserved a few midnight slots
and some matinees to showcase this work. On Friday and Saturday, March
25th and 26th director Richard Donner's Ladyhawke will be screened,
a romantic medieval tale of knights and sorcery. Elaine May's Ishtar,
takes the screen on Friday, April 1 (appropriately April Fool's Day),
the notoriously big-budget flop whose "dumb and dumber" humor
between Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman was ahead of its time.
On Saturday, April 2 the Italian horror filmmaker Dario Argento's tense
slasher thriller The Bird with the Crystal Plumage has a rare
screening. Finally, two spectacular dance films from Spanish director
Carlos Saura, Flamenco and Tango, take the screen respectively for matinees
on April 2 and April 3.
Four film seminars are also programmed throughout March, providing Boston
filmgoers an opportunity to learn more about Storaro's pivotal contribution
to world cinema before his arrival. On Wednesday, March 9 Emerson College
professor Peter Flynn leads the seminar Shadows and Light: The Art
of Cinematography, exploring cinematography as a language expressed
with images and light. On Wednesday, March 16, the legacy of such distinguished
directors as Rossellini, De Sica, Fellini, Antonioni, Argento and Bertolucci
is discussed in Cinema Italiano: An Overview of Italian Cinema, led
by Professor Piero Garofalo (author of A Concise History of Cinema in
Italy). On March 23, Professor Jeff Kline (author of Bertolucci's
Dream Loom and I Film di Bertolucci) explores the unique director/cinematographer
relationship with a seminar on Dream Team: Bertolucci and Storaro. And,
on Wednesday, March 30 Boston University professor and filmmaker Colin
Decker conducts the seminar The American View: Coppola & Beatty.
All programs are open to the public and admission to the seminars is
$15 with a reduced $10 Coolidge Members admission (available day of seminar
only).
The Coolidge Award presented to Storaro includes a specially commissioned
inscribed memento and an unrestricted cash award of $10,000. The Coolidge
Corner Theatre is one of the nation's few independently operated movie
theatres, run by the not-for-profit Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation.
In the past few years the Coolidge has won several awards and special
acknowledgements, most notably for a successful capital campaign supporting
upgrades, renovations and a stunning restoration to the theatre's original
Art Deco detail.
The inspiration for the annual Coolidge Award comes from a continued
commitment to celebrate bold filmmaking and a recognition of the Coolidge's
role in building audiences for this work. The focus of the award rotates
annually to highlight the many categories of films that the Coolidge
has championed over the years in its mission to showcase high quality
and diverse programming. The award was launched in 2004, and the inaugural
recipient was Chinese director Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying
Daggers). The complete line-up of events, screenings and ticket
information for the Coolidge Award Ceremony honoring Vittorio Storaro
is posted with updates on the theatre's website, www.coolidge.org.
People are encouraged to buy tickets in advance, which are available
at the theatre box office, or on-line through the website.
For information on programming, call (617) 734-2500, or visit the website
at: www.coolidge.org.
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