Screen scene: Local film news

THE LIFE AQUATIC: Yun Lin, left, and Show Lo star in Stephen Chow's "The Mermaid." The second highest-grossing film in Chinese cinema history will be screened at Pack Memorial Library to celebrate the Chinese New Year on Feb. 16. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

• The Liston B. Ramsey Center for Regional Studies at Mars Hill University, 100 Athletic St., Mars Hill, screens The Ralph Stanley Story on Thursday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. Herb E. Smith’s 2000 documentary on the bluegrass legend is the first film in the Ramsey Center’s Reel Appalachia film series. It will be followed by a Q&A with Gary Reid, author of The Music of the Stanley Brothers. Free. mhu.edu

Freeburg Pianos, 2314 Asheville Highway, Hendersonville, continues its Legends of Music film series — curated by local jazz pianist Michael Jefry Stevens — on Thursday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. with Johnny Mercer: The Dream’s on Me. Bruce Ricker’s 2009 documentary is executive produced by Clint Eastwood and takes a comprehensive look at the life and music of the acclaimed singer-songwriter. Among the film’s interviewees are Julie Andrews, Tony Bennett and Blake Edwards. $10 suggested donation. freeburgpianos.com

Pack Memorial Library, 67 Haywood St., celebrates the Chinese New Year with a screening of Stephen Chow’s The Mermaid on Friday, Feb. 16, at 1 p.m. Free. avl.mx/250

• Columbus Public Library, 1289 W. Mills St., Columbus, continues its Academy Award Film Series on Friday, Feb. 16, at 3 p.m. with a screening of Get Out. Free. polklibrary.org

• On Sunday, Feb. 18, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Asheville School of Film, 45 S. French Broad Ave., offers Financing and Distributing the Independent Feature Film. The one-day intensive course will be led by Josh Overbay and details each step in the process of getting a film funded and ultimately distributed. The class costs $75, or $60 for ASoF alumni. ashevilleschooloffilm.com

• In an event rescheduled from November, the Weaverville Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville, will screen Land of Mine on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. Local film aficionado Roy Turnbaugh will introduce and discuss the 2015 Danish feature about a group of young German POWs forced to clear a beach strewn with land mines under the watch of a Danish officer who slowly learns to appreciate their plight. Free. avl.mx/3yr

• On Tuesday, Feb. 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m., MountainTrue and the Green Riverkeeper will host a screening of RiverWebs at The Purple Onion, 16 Main St., Saluda. Freshwater Illustrated‘s documentary about river ecosystems and the science that explores them follows the life and work of the late Dr. Shigeru Nakano as he attempted to understand how streams and forests depend on each other. A presentation on monitoring stream quality in Western North Carolina will follow the film, along with a Q&A with the Green Riverkeeper, MountainTrue’s water quality administrator and some current Stream Monitoring Information Exchange volunteers. Free to attend. purpleonionsaluda.com

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About Edwin Arnaudin
Edwin Arnaudin is a staff writer for Mountain Xpress. He also reviews films for ashevillemovies.com and is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) and North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA). Follow me @EdwinArnaudin

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