Release Date: July 17, 2008

National Gallery of Art Summer 2008 Film Series Goes from Kabul to Kubrick

Washington, DC—The National Gallery of Art’s summer films include a series offered in conjunction with the exhibition Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul, a continuation of Envisioning Russia: Mosfilm Studio, and collections from Michelangelo Antonioni, Stanley Kubrick, and Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira. All films are presented in the East Building Concourse Large Auditorium.

Programs are free of charge but seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Doors open approximately 30 minutes before each show. Programs are subject to change. For current information, visit our Web site: www.nga.gov/programs/film or call 202.842.6799.

Afghanistan on Film
July 4, 18, 20
August 1, 3, 8, 9, 15, 23, 24, 30, 31
September 6
During the past decade the world's filmmaking community has shown a heightened interest in Afghanistan, often transporting crews and cameras across the globe to film the cities and ancient landmarks in an effort to record, reveal, and romanticize the country. This series of films, organized in association with the exhibition Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul, brings together a variety of nonfiction, semi-fictional, and documentary works, along with short subjects and television films. A program of recent experimental video by Afghan and Afghan-American artists illuminates both the breadth and the beauty of the country's artistic legacy.

The Giant Buddhas
July 4 at 12:00PM

The Kite Runner
July 18 at 2:30PM

New Video Art from Afghanistan
July 20 at 4:30PM

Osama
preceded by Mon Kabul
August 1 at 2:30PM

Standing Up
August 3 at 4:30PM

View from a Grain of Sand
preceded by Kabul Girls Club
August 8 at 2:30PM

The Beauty Academy of Kabul
August 9 at 12:00PM

Kandahar
August 15 at 2:30PM

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame
August 23 at 12:00PM
August 24, 31 at 11:30AM
August 30 at 2:00PM

Earth and Ashes
September 6 at 2:30

Michelangelo Antonioni: The Italian Treasures
July 19, 25, 27
August 2, 10, 16, 17, 24
Michelangelo Antonioni (1918–2007), the consummate modernist who converted the language of cinema into contemporary forms, was hailed on his death last July as "the most modern and controversial artist of his generation." Antonioni began as a critic, collaborated on scripts with the neo-realists, and directed his first feature, Cronica di un amore, in 1950. It was in the mid-1950s that he realized his own unique expression with Il grido. Subsequently, the world learned of that expression with the release of the much maligned L'avventura in 1960, arguably the most debated film of all time and today regarded as one of the most influential. This eight-part retrospective of Antonioni's most important Italian films (he began to work outside Italy after releasing Deserto rosso in 1964) is presented through the assistance of Luca Verdone; Sergio Toffetti; Laura Argento; Cineteca Nazionale, Rome; and the Italian Cultural Institute, Washington. Prints are from the British Film Institute and Cineteca Nazionale.

Michelangelo Antonioni
Luca Verdone in person
July 19 at 2:00PM

I vinti (The Vanquished)
July 19 at 4:30PM

La Signora senza camelie (Lady without Camellias)
July 25 at 2:30PM

Le amiche (The Girlfriends)
preceded by Gente del Po (People of the Po)
July 27 at 4:30PM

Il grido (The Outcry)
August 2 at 1:00PM

L'avventura (The Adventure)
August 2 at 4:00PM
August 10 at 4:30PM

La notte (The Night)
August 16 at 4:30PM

L'eclisse (The Eclipse)
August 17 at 4:30PM

Deserto rosso (Red Desert)
August 24 at 4:30

Stanley Kubrick: Two Views
July 26
July 26 marks the eightieth birthday of Stanley Kubrick. To observe the occasion, two well-known film scholars, Robert Kolker and James Naremore, will review the director's contributions through a focused dialogue based on two of Kubrick's landmark films. A new restoration of Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is followed by his last and most enigmatic work, Eyes Wide Shut. Robert Kolker edited Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey: New Essays (2006) and James Naremore is author of On Kubrick (2007).

Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
July 26 at 1:30

Eyes Wide Shut
July 26 at 3:45

Manoel de Oliveira, Portuguese Marvel
August 16, 23, 30, 31
September 7, 13, 14, 21, 27, 28
Born one hundred years ago in Oporto, Manoel de Oliveira embodies the last of the great twentieth-century auteurs. Today he is still making cinema of profound depth and candor with a style that is recognizable but never repetitive. During the last two decades he has released, on average, one film a year. All of this suggests that, at age 100, he has achieved critic Edward Said's definition of an artist who refuses to go gently into the night, "a restless sensibility, turning out works of unresolved contradiction." Thanks to the Embassy of Portugal, Instituto Camões, Cinemateca Portuguesa, ICA, Lusomundo, Antonio Pedroso, Florence Almozini, João Bénard da Costa, BAM Cinematek.

Aniki Bóbó
preceded by Douro, faina fluvial (Working on the Douro)
August 16 at 12:00

O Pão (The Bread)
followed by The Painter and the City
August 16 at 2:00

Benilde ou a Virgem Mãe (Benilde, or the Virgin Mother)
August 23 at 2:30

A Divina Comédia (Divine Comedy)
August 30 at 4:30

Amor de Perdição (Doomed Love)
August 31 at 2:00

Belle Toujours
followed by Belle de Jour
September 7 at 4:00

O Dia do Desespero (Day of Despair)
September 13 at 12:30

O Convento (The Convent)
September 14 at 4:30

Inquietude (Anxiety)
September 21 at 4:30

La Lettre (The Letter)
September 27 at 12:30

Viagem ao Princìpio do Mundo (Voyage to the Beginning of the World)
September 27 at 3:00

Um Filme Falado (A Talking Picture)
followed by Cristòvão Colombo – O Enigma (Christopher Columbus, The Enigma)
September 28 at 4:00

From the Archives: 16 at 12
May 6, 13, 20, 27
June 3, 10, 17, 24
July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
August 5, 12, 19, 26
September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Tuesdays at noon will feature unusual historical films in 16 mm from the National Gallery's film department, including artists' portraits and exceptional educational films on topics from prehistory to the present. Now considered an endangered format, these 16 mm prints are sometimes unique copies.

The Incised Image
May 6, 13, 20, 27 at 12:00

Glassmakers of Herat
June 3, 10, 17, 24 at 12:00PM
August 5, 12, 19, 26 at 12:00

Helen Frankenthaler—Toward a New Climate
July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 at 12:00

A Glimpse of de Kooning
September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 at 12:00

Retour à May 1968
May 4, 17, 18, 24
This May marks the fortieth anniversary of the notorious “May ’68” social revolution in France. It was a period of student unrest, activism, boycott, rebellion, and mayhem that set off changes in French society later felt around the world. These four films evoke, in ways both reflective and raw, the exhilaration and remonstration that marked May 1968.

May Fools
May 4 at 4:30

Tout va bien
May 17 at 3:00

Regular Lovers
May 18 at 4:00

To Die at Thirty
May 24 at 2:00

Envisioning Russia: Mosfilm Studio
June 1, 8, 14, 21, 29
July 5, 6, 11
The largest and most influential film studio in Russia, Mosfilm first opened its doors in Moscow in the early 1920s. From historical epics to musicals, propaganda films, and enduring classics by directors such as Mikhail Kalatozov, Mikhail Romm, Larisa Shepitko, and Andrei Tarkovsky, Mosfilm's contributions to film history have been beyond compare. Notable productions include Sergei Bondarchuk's monumental War and Peace, the most expensive film ever made, and Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, arguably the greatest film of all time. A selection of ten Mosfilm archival features from the 1920s through the 1950s is presented in June. More films from the 1960s through the present day will be shown in July, concluding with the 2007 Moscow International Film Festival grand prize winner. Organized in association with Envisioning Russia curators Alla Verlotsky and Richard Pena. A presentation of Seagull Films and the Film Society of Lincoln Center in cooperation with Concern Mosfilm. Special thanks to Karen Shakhnazarov.

Tractor Drivers
June 1 at 4:30

The Thirteen
June 8 at 4:30

The New Moscow
June 14 at 4:00

The Russian Question
June 21 at 2:00

Carnival Night
June 21 at 4:00

The Cranes Are Flying
June 29 at 2:00

The Letter Never Sent
June 29 at 4:30

I Walk Through Moscow Streets
July 5 at 12:30

Jazzman (We Are Jazz)
July 5 at 2:30

Uncle Vanya
July 6 at 2:00

The Ascent
July 6 at 4:30

July Rain
also Courier
July 11 at 2:30

Gabriel Figueroa: Master of Light and Shade
June 7, 14, 15, 28
The central cinematographer of Mexico's golden age of cinema, Gabriel Figueroa (1907–1997), played a key role in establishing the nation's visual heritage. A brilliant master of chiaroscuro, he developed a unique style based on his principle of “curvilinear perspective” that merged the latest Hollywood technique with the pictorial art of Mexican muralists Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and Rufino Tamayo. Figueroa's commitment to Mexican national identity and his country's social issues remained firm: “My art has Mexican nationalism engraved everywhere.” He broke new ground and left an indelible mark on cinematography around the world. The Gallery's presentation of six restored 35 mm prints is made possible through the cooperation of the Mexican Cultural Institute and Filmoteca de la UNAM. Special thanks to Ivan Trujillo, José Manuel Garcia, Linda Lilienfeld, and Pablo Gutierrez Fierro. An exhibition of Figueroa's work at the Mexican Cultural Institute, 2829 16th Street NW, Washington, DC, will take place from November 2008 through January 2009. Gabriel Figueroa: Cinematographer is composed largely of still photographs, posters, and archival documents and is one of the most comprehensive retrospectives ever of the work of this Mexican artist.

Enamorada
June 7 at 2:00PM

La Perla (The Pearl)
June 7 at 4:00

Nazarín
June 14 at 2:00

Another Dawn (Distinto Amanecer)
June 15 at 4:00

Macario also Days of Autumn
June 28 at 3:00