Downtown Albuquerque’s KiMo Theatre (423 Central NE) will play host to a special Tugg screening of the sci-fi comedy Lazer Team on Thursday, Jan. 28, from 8:30 to 10:15pm. Lazer Team is the work of pioneering online studio Rooster Teeth, makers of the longest-running web series in history, “Red vs Blue.” Back in 2014 Rooster Teeth smashed crowdfunding records, raising $2.6 million to make Lazer Team on IndieGoGo. In the film a quartet of small-town losers stumbles across an alien crash site containing an otherworldly battle suit. With each dude now attached to part of the suit, our protagonists must learn to work as one in order to save humanity. Tickets are $12.50 and are available now through tugg.com.
Idiot Box: Sembene! In Santa Fe
Local film figure Jason Silverman clearly isn’t satisfied simply serving as the programming director of the CCA Cinematheque up in Santa Fe—a position he’s held since 2004. He was also the artistic director of the late, great Taos Talking Pictures festival and served as a staff member of the Telluride Film Festival. Now the guy has turned filmmaker on us, cowriting and codirecting the cinema-centric documentary Sembene! The film is about the father of African cinema, Ousmane Sembene, who—despite having a limited education and spending most of his life as a manual laborer—taught himself how to read, write and make movies. The Senegalese filmmaker ultimately turned out 13 shorts and features, including the award-winning 2005 drama Moolaadé before his death in 2007. Silverman’s documentary portrait has played in more than 30 film festivals worldwide and was nominated for a Grand Jury prize at Sundance and both the Golden Camera and Golden Eye awards at Cannes Film Festival. Now Sembene! is making its New Mexico premiere. There will be a gala screening on Friday, Jan. 29, at 7pm at the Lensic Center for the Arts (211 W. San Francisco) in Santa Fe. Silverman and his cowriter-codirector Samba Gadjigo will be there to introduce the film. Tickets are $100 if you want to attend the VIP pre-film reception or $20 priority seating and $15 reserved seating if you just want to see the film. Proceeds go to benefit the Center for Contemporary Arts. You can get those tickets in advance by going to tickets.ticketssantafe.org.
Idiot Box: Act Out
You have until midnight on Saturday, Jan. 30. to submit your headshot, acting resume and 120-second video audition to the New Mexico Film Foundation’s 2016 Actors Showcase. The five best people in each category (17 and under, beginner, intermediate and professional) will be selected to perform a monologue live on stage during the Actors Showcase on March 26 at the South Broadway Cultural Center. A committee of professional judges (casting directors, talent agents, etc.) will choose the best actor from each category and prizes will be awarded. Plus, you’ll be able to show off your talents to a wide range of professionals involved in our state’s film industry. For a complete list of rules and submission information, go to nmfilmfoundation.org/nmff-actor-showcase.
