Taos Take Two—While the famed Taos Talking Picture Film Festival is dead and gone, in-state film lovers can rest assured in the fact that the First Annual Taos Picture Show has risen from the ashes to replace it. The festival, although brand new, is loaded with familiar faces. Taos County Film Commissioner and director of the Taos Mountain Film Festival, Jonathan Slator has climbed on board as the Taos Picture Show's inaugural festival director. Kelly Clement and Jason Silverman, who served as program director and artistic director of the late, lamented TTPIX, have joined up to help program this year's event. Right now, it looks like 14 films will be included in the April 1-4 event. Local film fans will be pleased to note that two made-in-New Mexico films will be among the offerings. Blind Horizon, a thriller starring Val Kilmer and Neve Campbell, and Thief of Time, the newest Tony Hillerman mystery starring Wes Studi and Adam Beach, will both be screened at the festival.
Passes for the four-day event will go on sale beginning Monday, March 15. Coincidentally, that's the same day that the full schedule will be posted on-line. You can get information on everything by logging on to www.taospictureshow.com. Individual tickets ($10 each) will be sold at the Taos Center for the Arts, which is also where all the screenings will take place. You can reach the box office at (505) 758-2052, and you can get general festival information by calling (505) 751-3658.
Reel World
Rebellious Cinema—An event being dubbed “The Upper Rio Grande Movie Rebellion” is now accepting VHS or DVD films up to 30 minutes in length. All movies must be shot in New Mexico by New Mexicans. Short movie entries will be viewed at the “indigenous movie rebellion” that will take place during the Taos Picture Show Festival, April 1-4. For more information call 255-1991. Entries can be sent to: “The Digital Filmmaking Institute, 146 Washington SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108.”
Reel World
Premier Pics—Madstone Theaters is kicking off its second Premier Pic Series beginning this Friday. The six-week series is aimed at bringing six cutting edge films that have made waves in the film world, but have yet to be released in Albuquerque. Each film will run for one week only, so get out there quickly. Films include the Palestinian romance Rana's Wedding, the rafting documentary The Same River Twice, the sci-fi musical The American Astronaut, the Japanese animated drama Tokyo Godfathers, the French mystery The Flower of Evil and the Brazilian crime documentary Bus 174. Log on to www.madstonetheaters.com for more info.
