Hopefully, you’ll all be watching the Academy Awards telecast this Sunday night out of your pure, unadulterated love for the filmic medium. But honestly, aren’t such contests more exciting when you’ve got a stake in things? Well, the Alibi has teamed up with Regal Entertainment Group to give you a little added incentive this year. Here’s what you need to do: Log on to Alibi ’s Oscar Contest page and register your guesses for the winners in 10 select categories. Then, tune in to the big awards show on Feb. 27. If you get the most winners correct, you win some cool movie action. The grand prize is 24 free Regal movie passes—that’s enough for you and a friend to go see a movie a month for an entire year! Second prize is 16 movie passes, and third prize is five movie passes. You need to register your guesses by 4 p.m. Sunday. Winners will be announced in next week’s paper.
Reel World: Italian Film Festival Italian Film Festival
The fifth annual Italian Film Festival continues this week in Albuquerque. An opening day celebration at the South Broadway Cultural Center kicked it off on Sunday, Feb. 20. Lobo Theater and Guild Cinema in Nob Hill take over the screenings on Thursday, Feb. 24, presenting a full slate of films, both classic and modern, through Saturday evening. Among the selections are Sergio Castellitto’s multigenerational boxing drama Raise Your Head (Alza la Testa) , Gianni Di Gregorio’s endearing family drama Mid-August Lunch (Pranzo di Ferragosto) and Valerio Mieli’s long-term romantic drama Ten Winters (Dieci Inverni) . Everything wraps up on Sunday starting at 1 p.m. with a grand dinner-and-a-movie combo featuring Luchino Visconti’s epic 1963 examination of aristocratic 1860s Sicily, The Leopard (Il Gattopardo). During the film’s intermission, audience members will migrate across the street from Guild Cinema for a multicourse Italian feast at Scalo Northern Italian Grill. Tickets run $8 for individual films and $50 for Sunday’s closing gala. Full schedules are available on the festival’s website. The Italian Film Festival is a benefit for UNM Children’s Hospital.
Reel World: Fofva Funny Fofva Funny
Friends of Film, Video and Arts is getting ready to host its annual Laugh Out Loud Funny Film Fest. This juried festival will select the best and the funniest short films for a special public screening, set to take place April 1 (yes, April Fool’s Day) at Guild Cinema. In addition to the screening, there will be a Q and A with filmmakers and an award ceremony. If you’re interested in submitting your own hilarious short to LOL Fest, you have until Monday, Feb. 28. Contest rules and an application form can be found on the FoFVA website.
