New York City may get all the new releases first, but there’s a lot more to the film culture here than just what’s in the mainstream theaters! Every week we bring you the top 5 cinematic events to check out.
1. DVD Dead Drop (Museum of the Moving Image)
Astoria’s museum has an exhibition that celebrates the moving image in perhaps its most surreptitious form — burned onto a DVD. German artist Aram Bartholl has embedded a disc drive into the side of the museum, so that if you bring a blank disc, you’ll get a surprise burned onto it to enjoy in the pleasure of your home. The exhibit is ongoing, but the DVD’s content changes every few weeks. The current collection is called “Best of Fach & Asendorf Gallery,” so don’t miss it. (Ongoing, 24 hours a day)
Photo: Matt Spevack
2. The Navigator (Nitehawk Cinema)
American comic actor Buster Keaton did some of his best stunts in this 1924 comedy about a wealthy man who impulsively proposes to his neighbor Betsy, then after her rejection decides to go ahead with his romantic honeymoon anyway. Except he accidentally boards a boat with Betsy’s father on board — and he’s being held hostage — and Betsy winds up there, too. Bonus: You’ll be treated to a Little Rascals short beforehand. (Sat-Sun, February 16-17 at 12:15 p.m.)
3. The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (IFC Center)
This documentary seeks to “disassemble the facade of an ordinary man leading an ordinary existence” — interviewing the actual ordinary folks who surrounded serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer as he went on his hidden killing sprees. We’re not sure what’s creepier: The interviews with the medical examiner, police, and Dahmer’s neighbor, or actual archival footage. (Fri-Sat, February 15-16 at midnight)
4. Valentine’s Day Massacre (Anthology Film Archives)
Sneering at the other saps in NYC celebrating Valentine’s Day with lame prix fixe dinners? Take your significant other — or yourself if you’re going solo this year — to Anthology Film Archives’ unique double feature. We Won’t Grow Old Together is the brutally violent tale of a dysfunctional on-again, off-again couple, while Modern Romance tracks one man’s quest to reverse his decision to break up with his girlfriend. (Thurs-Sun, February 14-17 at various times)
5. Artist Talk: The Laramie Project Cycle (BAM)
Fifteen years ago, in 1998, Matthew Shepard was murdered for being gay. Two years later, Moisés Kaufman presented his documentary play The Laramie Project, drawn from interviews with Shepard’s family and friends as well as public figures like Westboro Baptist Church’s Reverend Fred Phelps. In this sit-down at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Kaufman talks with Matthew’s mother Judy Shepard about her son’s legacy and their ongoing fight for social justice. (Saturday, February 16 at 12 p.m.)
