OK- so odds are you've probably seen something about the Center for 
Documentary Studies and their "25 and Under" exhibition (extravaganza is 
a better word) by now. What is it? A juried photography exhibition, a 
film series, a documentary film and video "happening", and quite frankly 
one of the most exciting things to happen around here in some time. I
apologize for the weird word-wrapping, file conversions are a pain, what
can I say. With no further ado...

25 and Under/Photographers:

A local juried exhibition at the CDS (directions are at the bottom) of 
photographs from the DoubleTake/Norton book "25 and Under/Photographers". 
The opening reception is on Friday, January 24 and features a 
presentation by the A/V geeks on photography, optics, and most 
importantly, eyeballs. Lots of eyeballs. If you've seen the A/V geeks 
before, you know what to expect: the best of high-school educational 
films culled from Skip's secret archive. Music by Friend Side Monkey- you 
probably heard the Polycarp remix they did, but expect good "trip-hop" or 
whatever the silver backpack set is calling it these days. In other 
words, a good time will be had by all. 5-7 PM at the CDS.
As for the exhibition, I only gave the book a cursory glance the one time 
I actually saw it, but I was really struck by the work of Tracey Chiang, 
who does these great B&W portraits which are then scratched to the point 
of being almost unrecognizable as human.  Text is added, and it's just 
all exactly, precisely what you want it to be (or at least what I want it 
to be, which is messy and unpredictable). The exhibition runs until March 
3. 

25 and Under/Filmmakers:

Presented in coordination with Duke's Freewater Presentations. I cannot 
speak highly enough of either the CDS or Freewater so I'm just going to 
jump right in to the films. All these films were made by directors when 
they were twenty-five or younger, of course.  Admission is $3 or free 
with Duke ID. All films are shown at 7 and 9:30 in the Griffith Film 
Theater, part of the Bryan Center.

Here's some of my recommendations:
Tue Jan 21: "Citizen Kane" and "Hearts of Age".  Orson Welles takes on 
William Randolph Hearst, the corrupting effects of wealth and power, and 
yellow journalism in what is probably one of the most influential films 
in American film history.  "Hearts of Age" is a 5 minute short Welles did 
in 1934 as a teenager.

Tue Feb 4: "Meshes of the Afternoon", "Dada in the Afternoon", "Styx" and 
the films of Joanna Priestley. Maya Deren's "Meshes of the Afternoon" was 
made in 1943, and if there was a canon of experimental film it would be 
an unthinkable offense to omit it.  A surreal tale of innocence and 
identity on a warm San Francisco afternoon. Sean Uyehara and Garrett 
Savage poke fun at Deren's legacy with their parody, "Dada in the 
Afternoon". You wouldn't get the joke if you saw it now, but after seeing 
"Meshes" you'll understand. Trust me. I don't know anything about the 
other stuff, so there. Get the program and look it up yourself.  

Tue Feb 11: "Two Men and a Wardrobe" and "Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?". 
"Two Men and a Wardrobe"- two men emerge onto a deserted beach carrying a 
battered wardrobe. As they wander about the city, they encounter various 
difficulties arising from their refusal to part with the wardrobe, and 
eventually they return to the sea. Beautifully photographed, it's a 
surprisingly powerful film with a really pointless plot. "Why Does Herr 
R. Run Amok?" is early Fassbinder.

Tue Feb. 18: "The Big Shave" and "Duel". "The Big Shave"- if every "Brat 
Pack" filmmaker had to have their "THX-1138", this is Scorsese's. A man 
shaves. And shaves. And shaves. It's six minutes of agony. "Duel" is 
Spielberg's first film. What if that trucker who's been tailing you for 
the past hour suddenly decided to do something about it? Terror on and 
off the highway.

Tue Mar 4: "Straight out of Brooklyn". I don't know anything about this 
one, except that it's by Matty Rich, it's "the story of an African 
American family caught in a cycle of futility", and I've heard it's good.


Tue Mar 11: "Battleship Potemkin". If you don't take advantage of this 
rare opportunity to see "Potemkin" on film, you're an idiot. Period. 
Eisenstein's classic re-telling of mutiny in 1905 Czarist Russia. It's a 
big movie, and you really should see it, and I could talk for hours about 
why but I'm just going to say that if you were only going to watch one 
movie I recommended I'd want it to be this one.

Other events that are happening soon:

The Second Annual Documentary Film and Video Happening, Feb 28-Mar 1

(I assume these are all free)
Feb 28, 8 PM: "Twitch and Shout", a 1994 documentary by Laurel Chiten 
about Tourette's Syndrome. Wesley Willis fans take note: although he 
doesn't appear, I'm sure you'll get the same pleasure out of laughing at 
the mentally handicapped with this film that you do from Mr. Willis. 
Screening to be held in the Griffith Film Theater.

Mar 1: 9 AM to 12:30 PM: various film and video workshops on East Campus. 
Does anybody have any more info on this? I don't. Sounds fun.

2:30 - 5 PM: screening of local documentaries. Submissions are being 
accepted until Jan. 17, so you've still got time. Again, I just know it's 
somewhere on East Campus.

8 PM: The Main Event. Ross McElwee will be showing his 1995 film, "Six 
O'Clock News". He directed "Sherman's March", its 'sequel', "Time 
Indefinite", "Charleen", and others. McElwee will be there to answer 
questions afterward. I don't know anything about the film except that 
it's Ross McElwee, which is all I need to know. Location TBA, although I 
imagine it'll either be Page Auditorium or Griffith again.

Southern Circuit

(Admission to Southern Circuit films is free)
Tue Jan 28: "The Gate of Heavenly Peace", directed by Richard Gordon. "A 
three-hour documentary examining the cultural and historical dimensions 
of the 1989 Chinese 'democracy movement'". Gordon will be present for 
discussion afterward. In Page Auditorium at 8 PM.

Tue Feb 25: "Where the Rivers Flow North", directed by Jay Craven. From a 
novel by Howard Frank Mosher; "set in Vermont in 1927, it depicts the 
story of one logger's unwillingness to accept change in the wilderness 
landscape." Craven will be there. Location and time are the same as the 
aforementioned.

For more info on "25 and Under" call the CDS at (919)660-3663. For more 
info on the Film and Video Happening call Chris Sims at the CDS, 660-3664 
(ask him about his Snapple xmas lights, but don't tell him I told you). 
For more info about the Southern Circuit stuff, call the Duke Film and 
Video office at 684-4130. There's a web site for this whle thing at
http://www.duke.edu/doubletake/cds/gallery/25/. The CDS is on W. Pettigrew
St., right off Swift Ave.

Y'all, I cannot tell you how exciting this is. Stuff like this is what 
makes me glad I don't have to move to New York or San Francisco to live 
in a vibrant, active film community. Yahoo!

Bo