• Carolina Cinemas’ Directors Series continues with free screenings upstairs in the Cinema Lounge, celebrating a filmmaker’s work on his or her birthday. Featured artists and films through the end of June are Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men; Network) on Thursday, June 25; Paul Thomas Anderson (The Master: Boogie Nights) on Friday, June 26; Krzysztof Kieslowski (The Three Colors Trilogy: Red, White and Blue) on Saturday, June 27; and Victor Erice (The Spirit of the Beehive) on Tuesday, June 30. Call 274-8811 for showtimes.
• Registration is now open for the Asheville School of Film‘s two-week intensive summer course designed specifically for teenagers. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 3, through Friday, Aug. 7; and Monday, Aug. 10, through Friday, Aug. 14, students will gain filmmaking experience and learn about various career opportunities available in the film industry.
During the film camp, students will direct, shoot and edit a short script of the group’s choosing. The students will then screen their film on Saturday, Aug. 15, 9 a.m.-noon at Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co. on Merrimon Avenue and receive a digital copy of the film to keep. The course costs $495. A $99 deposit is due by Friday, July 3, with the remainder to be paid on the first day of class.
• Recent Swannanoa transplant Dan Florio is the inventor of the free RunPee app for iPhone and Android. The app informs users of the best times during a movie to excuse themselves for a restroom break without missing important scenes. It has been endorsed by Hugh Jackman, Hank Azaria, Rashida Jones and Stephen Fry.
New movies are added every week on opening day or earlier with a list of carefully selected peetimes, each of which is prioritized so that viewers can get the most of their moviegoing experience. Limited-release titles aren’t often included, but nearly all wide releases are. While viewing a movie, Floria or someone from his team — his mother Ginger Gardner, sister Christene Johnson, Los Angeles-based film critic Shanee Edwards and occasionally his niece Danielle Johnson — look for one to four scenes between three and five minutes that don’t contain crucial plot twists, notably exciting action or standout humor. Summaries of these stretches are provided so that viewers may read them before seeing the film or during the trip to the restroom and not be lost when they return to their seats. Floria’s wife, Jill, reads over all of the peetime synopses and gives them a final polish before they’re published.
The RunPee app also has a few extra features, such as letting users know if there’s a bonus scene or gag reel during or after the end credits, an email alert when a film comes out on DVD and a synopsis of the first three minutes of most moves in case viewers are running late to the screening.
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Feel free to contact the Asheville School of Film via toll free 1-844-AVL-FILM, or ashevilleschooloffilm@gmail.com. You can join the Facebook event for the teen program at facebook.com/ashevilleschooloffilm, and Like the page to stay tuned for future film programs and classes!