Screen scene: Local film news

CLOSING TIME: The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center winds down its exhibition on artist Jacob Lawrence with a Jan. 10 screening of short films about the painter and fellow artist/instructor Jean Varda. Pictured are Lawrence and his wife, Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence. Photo by Beaumont Newhall, courtesy of the Western Regional Archives

• The Midweek Matinees series continues at the Saluda Community Library, 44 W. Main St., Saluda, on Wednesday, Jan. 9, at noon with Lizzie, and on Wednesday, Jan. 16, with Mission Impossible: Fallout. The films will also be shown in the ongoing Film Fridays series at the Columbus Public Library, 1289 W. Mills St., Columbus, during which complimentary popcorn will be provided. Lizzie will be shown on Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. and Mission Impossible: Fallout on Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. Free. polklibrary.org

• On Thursday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m., the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, 120 College St., screens a trio of short documentaries. The selections are Jacob Lawrence: The Glory of Expression, about the life and work of the titular painter, featuring narration by Ossie Davis; Uncle Yanco, a profile of artist Jean Varda, who was on the BMC faculty during the summer session of 1946; and Martha Colburn’s film commissioned for the exhibition, Between Form and Content (closing Saturday, Jan. 12), which reflects on Lawrence’s work. Exhibition co-curator Julie Levin Caro will lead a post-film discussion. Free for BMCM+AC members and students with valid ID. $8 for nonmembers. blackmountaincollege.org

• Designed to allow viewers to use film as their window into the minds and culture of Israel, the monthly Israeli Film Series — a collaboration between Grail Moviehouse, 45 S. French Broad Ave., and the Asheville Jewish Community Center — continues Sunday, Jan. 13, at 2 p.m. with The Ancestral Sin. The 2017 documentary examines the Jewish Agency’s social housing project of the early 20th century, during which questionable means were used to convince primarily Sephardic and Mizrahi immigrants to settle in destitute parts of Israel. A discussion will follow the film. Tickets are $8 and available online or at the Grail box office. grailmoviehouse.com

HealthCare for All WNC and People for Healthcare for Everyone co-host a screening of Big Pharma: Market Failure on Sunday, Jan. 13, at 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville, 2021 Kanuga Road, Hendersonville. The 2017 documentary explores high drug prices in the U.S. and their impact on the public, businesses and the economy. The film will be followed by a discussion with experienced health care professionals. Free. uufhnc.org

• The Weaverville Library, 41 N. Main St., Weaverville, hosts a Foreign Film Night screening of Sweet Country on Tuesday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. The 2018 Australian western takes place on the Northern Territory frontier in the 1920s and centers on an elderly aboriginal farmhand who goes on the run, pursued by a posse, after shooting a white man in self-defense. Commentary will be provided by local film aficionado Roy Turnbaugh. Free. avl.mx/3yr

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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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