Advance Screenings and Visiting Filmmakers Highlight the Cleveland Museum of Art's July and August Film Schedule

CLEVELAND (June 23, 2010) – Those still contemplating their plans for a summer vacation can look to the Cleveland Museum of Art's July and August film schedule to travel the world. The summer series includes films set in the ancient worlds of Greece, Rome and Egypt, a nod to the museums collections of art from these regions, which are returning to view this summer for the first time in more than five years. On the weekends, viewers can see a wide range of new films, nine of which are Cleveland premieres.

The lineup includes two special advance screenings (Centurion and Agora) and two visiting filmmakers with ties to Cleveland — Carl Kurlander, screenwriter of St. Elmo's Fire and writer/producer of Saved by the Bell, who'll participate in a panel discussion following a screening of his film My Tale of Two Cities, and William T. Conway, producer and co-screenwriter of Spoken Word.

All films will be shown in the museum's Morley Lecture Hall, located at 11150 East Boulevard in University Circle. Admission prices to museum films are $9 for the general public; $7 for museum members, seniors 65 and over, and students; or one museum film series voucher. Vouchers are sold in books of 10 and cost $70 for the general public, $60 for museum members.

Tickets are available through the online box office at www.ClevelandArt.org, in person or via telephone at 888-CMA-0033. Parking is available in the museum's attached garage.

The schedule of films features:

July Films

The Art of the Steal
Friday, July 2, 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Don Argott. This polemical documentary recounts the many efforts to move the multi-billion dollar Barnes Foundation art collection from its longtime home in Merion, Pa., to downtown Philadelphia — against the explicit wishes of its founder, the late Dr. Albert C. Barnes. (USA, 2009, color/black and white, Blu-ray, 101 min.)

SPECIAL ADVANCE SCREENING
Centurion
Wednesday, July 7, 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Neil Marshall, with Michael Fassbender and Dominic West. This special sneak preview of the new action film from the director of The Descent is a bloody historical epic in which Roman legionnaires battle Pict tribesmen during their second-century conquest of Britain. Adults only. Cleveland premiere. Screening courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. (Britain, 2010, color, 35 mm, 97 min.)

The Mighty Uke
Friday, July 9, 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Tony Coleman and Margaret Meagher. This globe-trotting new documentary traces the history and recent revival of the humble ukulele, which many around the world are turning to for musical expression. (Canada/France/Israel/Japan/New Zealand/USA/Britain, 2010, color, DVD, 76 min.) www.mightyukemovie.com

SPECIAL ADVANCE SCREENING
Agora
Wednesday, July 14, 6:30 p.m.
Directed by Alejandro Amenábar, with Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella and Oscar Isaac. The new film by the director of The Others and the Oscar-winning The Sea Inside is set in fourth-century Roman Egypt. The mathematician and astronomer Hypatia deals with the rise of Christian fundamentalism and the destruction of the Library of Alexandria. "A visually imposing, high-minded epic … consistently spectacular." – Variety. Cleveland premiere. Screening courtesy of Abramorama. (Spain, 2009, color, in English, 35 mm, 126 min.)

FILMMAKER IN PERSON
My Tale of Two Cities
Friday, July 16, 6:45 p.m., and Sunday, July 18, 1:30 p.m.
Directed by Carl Kurlander, with Richard Florida, Franco Harris and Teresa Heinz Kerry. Carl Kurlander, a Hollywood screenwriter and TV producer who grew up splitting his time between Cleveland Heights and Pittsburgh, recently moved back to Pittsburgh and shows how the once-moribund "Steel City" has resurrected itself. Kurlander will answer questions after both screenings, on Friday as part of a panel discussion that also includes Tamera Brown of Positively Cleveland and Ivan Schwarz of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission. Cleveland premiere. "A story of come-backs and coming back." – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (USA, 2008, color, DVD, 85 min.) www.mytaleoftwocities.com

Jason and the Argonauts
Wednesday, July 21, 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Don Chaffey, with Todd Armstrong and Honor Blackman. Ray Harryhausen's peerless stop-motion special effects bring gods and monsters to life in this mythic adventure about Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece. Music by Bernard Herrmann. (Britain, 1963, color, 35 mm, 104 min.)

The Exploding Girl
Friday, July 23, 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Bradley Rust Gray, with Zoe Kazan. Zoe Kazan (granddaughter of Elia) is superb in this low-key account of a lonely epileptic young woman who does some soul-searching while home on a break from college. "Despite its title, The Exploding Girl is an oddly tranquil experience." – The Philadelphia Enquirer. Cleveland premiere. (USA, 2009, color, Blu-ray, 79 min.) www.oscilloscope.net

Gladiator
Wednesday, July 28, 6:15 p.m.
Directed by Ridley Scott, with Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. A Roman soldier turns gladiator in this "sword and scandal" epic that won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor. Rated R. (Britain/USA, 2000, color, 35 mm, 155 min.)

Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee
Friday, July 30, 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Shane Meadows, with Paddy Considine. In this scrappy new comedy from the writer-director of This Is England and Somers Town, an embittered roadie tries to engineer a big break for a rapper friend. "Charming." – Variety. Cleveland premiere. (Britain, 2009, color, DVD, 71 min.) www.ifcfilms.com/films/le-donk-scor-zay-zee

August Films

Medea
Wednesday, Aug. 4, 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Lars von Trier, with Kirsten Olesen and Udo Kier. This visually stunning version of Euripides' famous tragedy — about a wrathful woman who punishes the lover who abandons her — is based on a never-filmed script by the great Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer. Some regard it as von Trier's best film. (Denmark, 1988, subtitles, DVD, 76 min.)

Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies
Friday, Aug. 6, at 6:30 and 7:45 p.m.
Directed by Arne Glimcher, with Chuck Close, Adam Gopnik, Julian Schnabel and Martin Scorsese. This new documentary looks at how the turn-of-the-20th-century technological revolution — specifically the birth of aviation and cinema — influenced Cubist artists including Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Cleveland premiere. (USA, 2008, color, Beta SP, 62 min.) www.arthousefilmsonline.com

Aida
Wednesday, Aug. 11, 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Clemente Fracassi, with Sophia Loren (singing voiced by Renata Tebaldi) and Luciano Della Marra (singing voiced by Giuseppe Campora). Set in ancient Egypt, this colorful film version of Verdi's famous opera about a military commander's love for an Ethiopian princess was one of the earliest attempts to bring grand opera to the screen. Unsubtitled, but with periodic English narration. (Italy, 1953, color, 35 mm, 95 min.)

Only When I Dance
Friday, Aug. 13, 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Beadie Finzi. Two poor, young teenagers living in one of Rio's most violent slums pursue their dream of becoming professional ballet dancers. "A real life Billy Elliot." – Tribeca Film Festival. "Inspirational" – The New York Times. Cleveland premiere. (Brazil/Britain, 2009, color, subtitles, DVD, 78 min.) Preceded at 7:00 p.m. by Tiffany Ann Laufer's 14-minute reverie The Acorn Penny (USA, 2009), a locally made movie shot partly at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Laufer will introduce her film and answer questions after the feature. www.filmmovement.com; www.theacornpenny.com

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Wednesday, Aug. 18, 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Richard Lester, with Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Michael Crawford and Buster Keaton. The director of A Hard Day's Night turns Stephen Sondheim's musical spoof about a freedom-seeking Roman slave into a manic comedy spectacle. (USA/Britain, 1966, color, 35 mm, 99 min.)

PRODUCER AND SCREENWRITER IN PERSON
Spoken Word
Friday, Aug. 20, 6:30 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 22, 1:30 p.m.
Directed by Victor Nunez, with Kuno Becker, Miguel Sandoval and Rubén Blades. In the new film from the director of Ruby in Paradise and Ulee's Gold, a spoken word poet returns to his poor New Mexico hometown to attend to his dying father but falls into a toxic lifestyle that threatens his life and career. Co-producer and co-screenwriter William T. Conway, originally from Cleveland, answers questions after both screenings. "Kinetic and emotionally resonant." – Variety. Cleveland premiere. (USA, 2009, color, Blu-ray, 116 min.) www.spokenwordmovie.com

Land of the Pharaohs
Wednesday, Aug. 25, 7:00 p.m.
Directed by Howard Hawks, with Jack Hawkins and Joan Collins. William Faulkner co-wrote this lavish historical drama centered on the building of the Great Pyramid. (USA, 1955, color, 35 mm, 106 min.)

Lbs.
Friday Aug. 27, 6:45 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 29, 1:30 p.m.
Directed by Matthrew Bonifacio, with Carmine Famiglietti. A 300-pound Italian-American young man flees New York City (and his mother's fattening cooking) to hide out in the country and conquer his obsession with food. Co-writer and star Famiglietti shed more than 100 pounds during the extended production of this offbeat coming-of-age story. "Inspirational." – Time Out New York. Cleveland premiere. (USA, 2004, color, DVD, 99 min.) www.lbsthemovie.com

About The Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 40,000 objects and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. Currently undergoing a multi-phase renovation and expansion project, it is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, performing arts and art education. Admission to the museum has been free since its founding charter.

The Cleveland Museum of Art has a membership of nearly 25,000 households and is supported by a broad range of individuals, foundations and businesses in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. The museum is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Additional support comes from the Ohio Arts Council, which helps fund the museum with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. For more information about the museum, its holdings, programs and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit www.ClevelandArt.org.
Movie stills and DVD screeners are available (dependent upon film). Please contact Christa Skiles, 216-707-6898, or cskiles@clevelandart.org, to request images or screeners.