Nobody in their right mind would suggest that making a movie is easy. There are so many levels to moviemaking — the writing, the casting, the shooting and editing and sound and music and so on — that it’s a wonder any of them ever come off decently, never mind becoming classics. But any film, whatever the trials of its making, faces another big hurdle after the fact: distribution. Without it, it can be awfully hard for a filmmaker to get their work in front of the public’s eyes.
Things have gotten a lot better in the last few years; I’ve written here before about how the revolution of digital projection has changed the movie booking game. But even with those strides, it can still be difficult for directors to find a screen that isn’t someone’s laptop. (The flip side of that digital revolution is that it’s also a lot easier to make films, so competition for screen space is stronger than ever.) This week, a three-day film festival comes to the Valley to showcase a variety of under-seen or undistributed films that deserve a wider audience.
PubX, as the festival is known, is a randomly recurring pop-up event that partners with unusual venues to show their selections. This time around, films will be screening mostly at the 13th Floor Music Lounge, at JJ’s Tavern in Florence. Whenever possible, filmmakers will be on hand to chat about their work. For the full schedule, head over to pubxfest.com; in the meantime, here are just a few highlights of what will be lighting up the silver screen this weekend.
Things kick off on Thursday at 8 p.m. with a free outdoor show of Girl Walk // All Day at Hadley venue The Quarters. Director Jacob Krupnick’s 2011 film is a wonderfully over-the-top tale of a group of dancers who slither, gyrate, and jump their way across the landscape of New York City. Set to “All Day,” an album by mash-up musician Greg Gillis (stage name Girl Talk), the film takes an idea that could have worn thin quickly and instead, by sheer exuberance and honest joy, turns it into an affirmation.
On Friday, look for Patrick Wang’s The Grief of Others, a tale of a terrible loss and the rebuilding of a family that follows in its wake. The film is based on the novel by Leah Hager Cohen, who will be on hand to talk about the story. And in the 7 p.m. slot on Saturday, director Laura Colella will come to Florence to introduce her 2014 film Breakfast with Curtis. A lighthearted story about generations colliding — aging bohemian Syd teams up with his homeschooled neighbor Curtis to make a series of video podcasts — it comes by its eccentricities honestly: the cast members are mostly non-actors playing thinly veiled versions of themselves.
Also this week: On Sunday and Wednesday, Hadley’s Cinemark theater showcases two musical comedies from two very different musical eras. First up is John Landis’ 1980 R&B fueled The Blues Brothers, starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues. The pair gets the band back together — things went quiet while Jake was in the slammer — to save the orphanage that was their childhood home, but to make their reunion show they’ll need to outrun not only the cops and a group of neo-Nazis, but also a country-and-Western band looking for revenge. If you’re a fan of music history, keep your eyes open for a Who’s-Who of legendary names (James Brown, Aretha Franklin, John Lee Hooker, and many more) in supporting roles.
The theater follows up that performance with a screening of Pitch Perfect 2, which picks up the story of a rag-tag college a cappella group that comes together to find success. As the sequel gets underway, their highest high — performing for the President — quickly heads south when one member inadvertently exposes herself to the Commander-in-Chief. To keep their status at school and win back the right to perform, they enter a high-stakes worldwide competition that no American team has ever won. Anna Kendrick (Into The Woods) and Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids) star.•
Jack Brown can be reached at cinemadope@gmail.com.
