Reel World

Poetic Picture—On Thursday, January 15, The National Hispanic Cultural Center will continue with its ongoing Spanish Film Series. The film this week is the 1988 film Lorca: Muerte de un Poeta. Originally shot as a Spanish mini-series, the film concentrates less on Lorca's renowned poetry and more on his role during the Spanish Civil War. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. The screening is free and open to the public and starts at 6:30 p.m. The NHCC is located at 1701 Fourth SW.

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music—If you can lip synch the entire cast album of West Side Story, you might want to consider checking out the University of New Mexico Continuing Education Program's upcoming “Musicals in Film” class. The class will compare classic “oldies” with modern musicals to see how tastes have changed (or not) over the decades. With movies like Moulin Rouge and Chicago reviving interest in song-and-dance cinema, the time is ripe for such an entertaining academic undertaking. The class meets from 1-4 p.m. on Tuesdays, January 20-March 16, at UNM Continuing Education (1634 University Blvd. NE). Cost for the class is $85. For more information, call 277-6320 or visit the website at dce.unm.edu.

We've Been Tromatized—Big thanks to The Guild Cinema, Burning Paradise, BookWorks and Alibi for their help in bringing Troma Films president Lloyd Kaufman to town last weekend. Thanks, also, to all the rabid Tromaniacs who showed up to greet Mr. Kaufman, get books and videos signed by him and to devour his unique cinematic offerings such as Terror Firmer. The weekend was an absolute blast and an unqualified success. Since Lloyd is off this weekend at the Fifth Annual Tromadance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, we should take this opportunity, to congratulate Albuquerque filmmakers Phil Gunn, David Valdez and Dan Gutierrez for getting their computer-animated short “Kung-Fu Kitties” into this year's Tromadance. The screening will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at Brewvies Cinema Pub. (You can find out more info at www.tromadance.com).

Guild Goings-On—Speaking of The Guild Cinema, the theater's new owners, Kief Henley (founder of Albuquerque arts org Basement Films) and Peter Conheim (a filmmaker who works for the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley) have taken over daily operations at the venerable Nob Hill venue. The duo hopes to perform some minor upgrades on the theater and bring a more diverse schedule of classic and modern films to town. Check out their new website (www.guildcinema.com) for updated info. Good luck, guys, and thanks for keeping movies independent in Albuquerque!