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The Jean Cocteau Cinema is Back, baby, And You Might Wanna Go
For those of us who relied upon the Jean Cocteau Cinema (418 Montezuma Ave., (505) 466-5528) in ye olden days to see movies like High Fidelity, Life is Beautiful and Spirited Away, it’s very cool to know the Railyard movie theater has reopened after renovations last month. Of course, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you almost certainly know that Game of Thrones author/celebrated ultra-nerd George “Really Rad” Martin bought the theater in 2013, right around the time we all thought it would ne’er show a film again. Since then, it’s been a hub for all kinds of movie and non-movie things, like House of the Dragon screenings, midnight film series—including Back to the Future!—drag shows, comedy, podcast recordings, live music and so on. Soon, too, we’ll all reportedly be knocking back drinks in the forthcoming Milk of the Poppy bar that’ll open in the building around the back of the theater and, if you’re middle aged, you’ll be pumped to know there are two screenings of 1984′s The NeverEnding Story at 7 pm, Friday, March 3 and Saturday, March 4. Though one could argue that observing a horse drown in a swamp is a tough watch, it’s a classic, right? In addition, Video Library’s Lisa Harris pops by every Monday evening at 6:30 pm to show movies. Plus: the theater’s new seating is far more comfortable than it once was. Visit jeancocteaucinema.com.
It’s Cool When Kids Make Movies
Meanwhile, at the recent Film Prize Junior New Mexico competition (filmprizenm.com), Española 6th-grader Zaiden Lopez of McCurdy Charter School took home the Best Middle School Drama award for his reportedly stirring film Blue Heron. Lopez’s film was one of 167 submitted from across 80 schools statewide, and he worked out his storyboards and conceptual stuff with a little help from Moving Arts Española, a nonprofit arts education org aimed at youths. Film Prize Junior began during the 2016-2017 school year as an offshoot of the Louisiana Film Prize fest, which itself was founded in 2012 by filmmaker Gregory Kallenberg. The New Mexico iteration for youths kicked off in 2021 and its sponsors include Meow Wolf, the Stagecoach Foundation, the Institute of American Indian Arts and others.
CCA Hearts lee Chang-Dong
Filmmaker Lee Chang-Dong’s most excellent 2010 film Poetry is headed to the Center for Contemporary Arts starting Friday, May 3, and it is quite good. If you see that one and are longing for another film from Lee, please note that May 3 also finds CCA starting a run of his 2018 thriller Burning, in which a young man meets a friend of a friend who has the sort of hobby that’ll make everyday people freak the eff out.
Madrid Film Festival is looking for a few good films
Starting Wednesday, May 8, the Madrid Film Festival wants to see your movies. Yes, fledgling filmmaking fans—you, too, could get your short in this most excellent gathering slated for this September, but you’ll have to act fast if your movie isn’t already in the can. Well, fast-ish, anyway, as the deadline for submissions is Wednesday, July 31. Note, too, that submissions must be 15 minutes or shorter.
Fest organizers will hold a special BINGO fundraiser for the fest on that same Wednesday (7-10 pm, Mine Shaft Tavern, 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid. (505) 473-0743), so that’s fun and cool and probably there’ll be beers there. Founded in 2018 by Doug Speers, Andrew Wice and Joe West (yes, that Joe West), the Madrid Film Fest has grown to be a pretty nifty little offering out there in the tiny town of Madrid. Will you wind up getting results from the Spanish film fest of the same name if you look this thing up online? Probably! Will that stop you? Heck, no! In fact, just go around the other one altogether and visit madridfilmfestival.org directly to learn about what’s up, how you can enter and what kind of spoils might go to the victors. Spoils spoiler? There are at least a couple $500 prizes, including for the prestigious Palme d’Coal. Ooh, la la! So get shooting.
You Should Watch This Fool on Hulu Real Quick—No Joke
Even though streaming platform Hulu went and did the stupidest thing of all time by canceling the show This Fool—a biting and absurdist bit of brilliance steeped in Chicano culture from standup comic Chris Estrada—you can still watch the thing any old time you like, and you should do that ASAP. Why bring this up in a section about New Mexico film and television, you ask? Turns out Estrada is a headliner at the forthcoming CloudTop Comedy Festival in Santa Fe running May 9-12 (cloudtopcomedy.com). SFR will run an interview with Estrada in about a week or so, too, so check in when the time comes but, in the meantime, watch This Fool, if for no other reason than the monologue about LinkedIn passwords from star Frankie Quiñones (What We Do in the Shadows) might be the funniest bit in recent memory.
Frankly, It’s Franklin
When you learn a pair of local writers have a miniseries on Apple TV+ about Benjamin Franklin’s time in Paris, and that Michael Douglas both produced and starred in it and that actor Noah Jupe plays Franklin’s grandson, you reactivate that account and watch. The aptly-titled Franklin from Santa Fe writers Howard Korder and Kirk Ellis is getting rave reviews, too—especially among period costume fans. Ellis is no stranger to the historical miniseries, having written a number of episodes of 2008′s John Adams on HBO.