The 48 Hour Film Project hit Albuquerque this past weekend, with teams of filmmakers scrambling to write, direct, edit and premiere short films in just two days. The deadlines are up and the “premiere” part of that cycle is about to come to fruition. As usual KiMo Theatre (423 Central Ave. NW) serves as the venue for the public to view the results of this year’s madcap local filmmaking marathon. Every one of the films shot this year was required to incorporate the same prop (a burrito), the same character (Heath or Heather Torres, fitness instructor) and the same line of dialogue (“As flat as a pancake”). Block A screens Thursday, Aug. 2 at 6pm and features the first 11 shorts. Block B contains the next 10 shorts and screens at 8:30pm. Block C, the final 11 films, gets underway on Friday, Aug. 3, at 7pm. Tickets are $10 for each screening block or $29 for all three. To snag your tickets in advance, go to kimotickets.com. For a look at the teams in each screening block, go to 48hourfilm.com/albuquerque-nm. Following the screening and the judging (the top film will go on to compete nationally), a “Best 48 Hour Films 2018” screening takes over the KiMo on Thursday, Aug. 9 at 7pm. Tickets for that one are $10 as well.
Reel World: Documentary Is Da Bomb Documentary Is Da Bomb
Doctor Atomic, composer John Adams and director Peter Sellars’ groundbreaking opera about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of the atomic bomb, is finally coming to the Santa Fe Opera starting Thursday, Aug. 2. To add extra insight into the production’s local premiere, Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema (3405 Central Ave. NE) is screening the 2007 documentary Wonders Are Many this Sunday, Aug. 5, at 1pm. Directed by Jon H. Else, the film follows the making of this grand modern opera prior to its debut at the San Francisco Opera in 2005. At the same time, the film explores our country’s unnerving 60-year history of nuclear weapons. Else will be on hand to introduce his film and to participate in a post-film Q&A. Admission is $8.
Reel World: Indigenous Cinema Indigenous Cinema
The 6th Annual Native Film Series returns to the El Morro Theatre in Gallup this Friday and Saturday, Aug. 3 through 4. Premieres include Chasing Coral, a documentary about how climate change is affecting our oceans, and Defending the Fire, a nonfiction examination of how Native American warriors have navigated a unique cultural and spiritual path throughout history. Several other films are on the schedule, and two filmmaking workshops for children (ages 8 to 12) are available. For a complete schedule of films, events and times, go to nativefilmseriesnm.com. The El Morro Theatre is located at 207 W. Coal Ave. in Gallup.
