Screen scene: Local film news

QUIET ON SET: Silent film stars Buster Keaton (pictured, in a still from The General) and Harold Lloyd will be the focus of an Asheville Film School weekend seminar. Photo courtesy of Kino Video

• Pack Memorial Library continues its monthly Afternoon Anime film screenings Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 5 p.m., with Metropolis. Directed by acclaimed animator Rintaro, the 2001 film is an adaptation of the 1927 Fritz Lang classic. In this version, Kenichi and his uncle Shunsaku Ban investigate the mystery behind robot girl Tima. The screening will be held in the library’s Lord Auditorium, and popcorn and drinks will be served. Free and open to the public, ages 13 and older. avl.mx/250

• During winter break, students at Western Carolina Film School completed the Christmas Teen Project. Over the course of four days, the cast and crew invested four hours of hands-on training with filmmaking equipment, four hours of storyboarding and making the shot list and shooting order, seven hours of shooting on location and a full day of editing. Once on location, the students received minimal assistance from instructors and made made all creative and logistical decisions themselves. The resulting three-minute short The First Time, as well as bloopers from the shoot and a montage of behind-the-scenes photos, are available for viewing onlineavl.mx/24z

• The January film series at the North Asheville library will be “Set in the South Pacific, but filmed in Hawaii.” Upcoming offerings include Donovan’s Reef (Saturday, Jan. 16), None But The Brave (Saturday, Jan. 23) and the 1979 version of King Kong (Saturday, Jan. 30). The films begin at 2 p.m. in the library’s meeting room. Free and open to the public. avl.mx/251

Asheville School of Film is offering a weekend seminar from 1-5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, and Sunday, Jan. 17, on silent film legends Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. The course will be led by guest instructor, renowned author and film historian Frank Thompson, who moved to Asheville from Los Angeles last summer. Thompson will use photographs, film clips and rare footage to explore Keaton’s and Lloyd’s greatest moments as performers and directors, examining the precision and athleticism of their gags and the borderline mechanical intricacy of their filmmaking techniques. Registration is $60 and may be paid online or at the door. avl.mx/252

• In an effort to showcase the work of local filmmakers, Grail Moviehouse has launched The Screening Room as part of the Filmmaker’s Playground initiative, a set of resources that partners/co-owners Steve White and Davida Horwitz hope will help the Asheville film community get work made and seen. Visual artists with a film, video, trailer, music video, commercial project or other production work are invited to send in their creation via the website’s Submit pageavl.mx/253

Send local film news to ae@mountainx.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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