this week in film and television

JOURNEY INTO BUDDHISM: DHARMA RIVER

DHARMA RIVER begins John Bush’s Yatra Trilogy at the Asia Society on April 23 (photo by John Bush / Direct Pictures)

THE YATRA TRILOGY: DHARMA RIVER (John Bush, 2004)
Asia Society
725 Park Ave. at 70th St.
Friday, April 23, free, 6:45 (free tickets available beginning at 6:00)
212-517-asia
www.journeyintobuddhism.com
www.asiasociety.org

In conjunction with the exhibition “Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art,” the Asia Society is presenting John Bush’s Yatra Trilogy, three films that journey to sacred Buddhist locations, revealing little-known, seldom-seen sites to Western audiences. The free series begins April 23 with DHARMA RIVER, in which Bush, who will introduce the screening, travels to remarkable temples and shrines in Laos, Thailand, and Burma. He uncovers treasures in Wat Po in Bangkok, Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai, Swedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, and Pak Ou Cave and Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang, among other stops. Bush’s narration places the fascinating iconography in proper Buddhist context, avoiding oversimplification while not getting too deep into the intricacies of the different philosophies in each country. His trip along the Mekong River is particularly memorable. From 1970 to 1972, Bush studied Buddhism in India, first spending several months learning vipassana meditation in a Burmese monastery, so DHARMA RIVER is, for him, “a flowing revelation linking a personal past with an intimate present.” The film is accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack by David Hykes with the Harmonic Chant Choir. The trilogy continues April 30 with PRAJNA EARTH (2005) and concludes May 7 with VAJRA SKY OVER TIBET (2006); the Asia Society is free on Friday nights from 6:00 to 9:00, so there should also be time to pay quick visits to the exhibitions “Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art” as well as “Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea.”

THE NEWSPAPER PICTURE: WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS

Dana Andrews stars as a cynical reporter in Fritz Lang’s WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (courtesy Photofest)

WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (Fritz Lang, 1956)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
Friday, April 23
The Newspaper Picture series continues through May 6
212-727-8110
www.filmforum.org

When media magnate Amos Kynes (Robert Warwick) dies, his son Walter (Vincent Price) takes over despite Amos’s greatest fears. Walter decides that whoever gets a scoop on the Lipstick Killer will become his number two man, so the backstabbing race is on among sleazy wire service chief Mark Loving (George Sanders); managing editor Jon Day Griffith (Thomas Mitchell), who’ll do just about anything for a story; and Harry Kritzer (James Craig), who thinks the best way to get the job is from the bed of Walter’s wife (Rhonda Fleming). Throw in cynical television journalist Ed Mobley (Dana Andrews) and hot-to-trot columnist Mildred Donner (Ida Lupino) and you have another one of Hollywood’s terrific newspaper pics. Director Fritz Lang pulls no punches; the film is filled with plenty of sexual undertones (and overtones), and Kynes himself is a take-off of Charles Foster Kane, the glistening K atop his New York City skyscraper reminiscent of the K atop Xanadu’s front gate.

WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS is screening on April 23 in a double feature with Boris Ingster’s 1940 film noir STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR, starring Elisha Cook Jr. and Peter Lorre, as part of Film Forum’s “The Newspaper Picture,” which continues through May 6 with such films as HIS GIRL FRIDAY (Howard Hawks, 1940) on April 24, MEET JOHN DOE (Frank Capra, 1941) on April 26, FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (Alfred Hitchcock, 1941) on April 29, and ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (Alan J. Pakula, 1976) on May 6.

WHAT MATTERS MOST?

Joe Berlinger’s CRUDE: THE REAL PRICE OF OIL is part of special ecoartspace Earth Day celebration on April 21

Joe Berlinger’s CRUDE: THE REAL PRICE OF OIL is part of special ecoartspace Earth Day celebration at Exit Art on April 21

Exit Underground
475 Tenth Ave. at 36th St.
Wednesday, April 21, 5:00-9:00
Gallery open Tuesday – Saturday through April 28
Suggested donation: $5
212-966-7745
www.ecoartspacewhatmattersmost2010.blogspot.com

Exit Art is currently hosting special ecoartspace programming through April 28 in its Underground gallery, focusing on the exhibit “What Matters Most?” which consists of earth-friendly art from more than 275 artists. On April 21, a trio of events will pay tribute to Earth Day, with eco-artist Jackie Brookner reading from URBAN RAIN at 7:00 and Elizabeth Thompson presenting information about the Buckminster Fuller Challenge Award finalists at 8:00, but things kick off at 5:00 with a screening of Joe Berlinger’s CRUDE: THE REAL PRICE OF OIL. The exhibit concludes on April 28 with a benefit auction and party ($35-$150).

CRUDE: THE REAL PRICE OF OIL (Joe Berlinger, 2009)
www.crudethemovie.com
Documentarian Joe Berlinger has a way of making a strong impact with his films — which include BROTHER’S KEEPER, PARADISE LOST, and METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER — and his latest is no exception. In CRUDE: THE REAL PRICE OF OIL, Berlinger heads to Ecuador to detail the “Amazon Chernobyl” case, centering on a 1993 class-action lawsuit brought by thirty thousand indigenous people who live in the rainforest and claim that their land and water are contaminated by years of illegal dumping by Texaco-Chevron, leading to severe illness and death for many in their community. Ecuadorian attorney Pablo Fajardo and American consulting attorney Steven Donziger go face-to-face with Chevron attorneys Diego Larrea and Adolfo Callejas, who argue that any wrongdoing was done by PetroEcuador’s takeover of the oil fields in 1992. As such high-profile people as Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa and Rainforest Foundation cofounder Trudie Styler get involved, the fight heats up, but there’s still no end in sight for the sixteen-year-old lawsuit. Berlinger does an excellent job of presenting both sides of the story, even though the bulk of the evidence continues to build for one side.

TRIBECA DRIVE-IN

Mat Hoffman will take to the air onscreen and in person at special Tribeca Drive-In presentation

TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
World Financial Center Plaza
April 22-24, free
Doors open at 6:00, activities at 6:30, films at approximately 8:15
www.tribecafilm.com

This year’s free Tribeca Drive-In features three films on successive nights outside at World Financial Center Plaza. On April 22, live performances by salsa bands, a dance contest, and salsa lessons will precede a screening of Francisco Bello and Tim Sternberg’s 2009 documentary, THE SPIRIT OF SALSA, about New Yorkers who take salsa classes at the Santo Rico Dance School. On April 23, a waterfront carnival accompanies Penny Marshall’s endearing comedy BIG, starring Robert Loggia, Elizabeth Perkins, and Tom Hanks about a boy inside a man’s body. And on April 24, Jeff Tremaine’s THE BIRTH OF BIG AIR, which looks at BMX competitor Mat Hoffman, will feature BMX demos before and after the movie, including a live stunt by Hoffman himself.

IMMIGRANT HERITAGE WEEK

immigration

Multiple locations
Most events free
Through April 21
www.nyc.gov/immigrants

The seventh annual Immigrant Heritage Week continues through April 21 with numerous, mostly free events across the city. Art exhibitions include “Our Heritage Through Fashion: A Showcase of NYC’s Russian-Speaking Designers” at the Russian American Foundation, “Photographs of the Mexican Immigrant Community of Staten Island” at Snug Harbor, “Art Without Borders” at El Taller Latino Americano, “Immigrant Women United in Art” at Centro Civico Cultural Dominicano, “Impractical Hats: Indie Crafts Reinvent Everyday Gear” at the Bronx Council on the Arts, “LibertyNeighborhoodStory” at the A.I.R. Gallery, “Immigrant Trail Painting” at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, and a photo exhibit of “Non-Native New Yorkers” at the Statue of Liberty. On April 20 at 6:00 at the International Center in New York, a group of Tibetan immigrants will discuss their work in “Ancient Art in a Modern City,” while on April 21 at 6:00, the Greek Museum will host “In Search of the American Dream: The Greeks of New York.” Also on Wednesday, “Voices of Liberty” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage invites visitors to share their own personal stories. In addition, there will be family programs at several branches of the New York Public Library.

At NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, the Havana Film Festival will feature New York and U.S. premieres (April 19-20), DCTV will present the Oscar-nominated documentary THE BETRAYAL (April 19), and the Turkish Cultural Center will celebrate “New York Sufi Night with Rumi” through film, performance, and poetry readings (April 20). There will also be film screenings and/or theatrical productions at the YMCA, the Maysles Cinema, the Alwan Foundation, and the CUNY Graduate Center and live dance and/or music at Michael Mao Dance, the American Composers Orchestra’s Langston Hughes Branch, and the Djoniba Dance and Drum Centre as well as a host of walking tours.

NY’s GREENEST

Rod Tryon and Anthony Cappetto will create one of their “Koi Pond” 3-D paintings as part of downtown Earth Day celebration Rod Tryon and Anthony Cappetto will create one of their “Koi Pond” 3-D paintings as part of downtown Earth Day celebration

BATTERY PARK CITY CELEBRATES THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF EARTH DAY
Multiple locations
Through April 25
Most events free
www.batteryparkcity.org

Battery Park City is honoring the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day with a battery of special events at numerous downtown locations through April 25, with many of the events free. There will be climate change workshops at the Mercy Corps Action Center, bird watching and drawing at the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman reading at Poets House, family programming at the Skyscraper Museum, and arts and crafts and more at the Battery Park City branch of the New York Public Library. The World Financial Center will be home to a pair of Earth Day-related exhibitions, Suzanne and Mathilde Husky’s “Forest” (through May 12) and Rod Tryon and Anthony Cappetto’s “Koi Pond” (April 20-25), in addition to daily 3-D drawing programs and open houses and workshops. The National Museum of the American Indian will feature daily film screenings and a “Native Views on Sustainable Foods” lecture on April 22, while on April 25 the Museum of Jewish Heritage will host “The Earth Day Worm Disco” children’s concert with ShirLaLa and a series of earth-friendly workshops.

INSIDE MEDIA

Edie Falco will discuss Nurse Jackie’s bedside manner and more at the Paley Center

Paley Center for Media
25 West 52nd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Suggested contribution: $10 adults, $5 children under fourteen
212-621-6600
www.paleycenter.org

While Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’s and Elvis Mitchell’s “The Black List Project” continues at the Paley Center through May 1, featuring scenes from their third documentary and photographs of a wide range of successful African Americans, the institution formerly known as the Museum of Television and Radio will be hosting a series of very special events, with tickets going very fast. In collaboration with Food for Thought Productions, the Paley Center is in the midst of a three-month series of live staged afternoon readings ($65, followed by a Q&A and a reception); coming up is Arthur Miller’s sister, Joan Copeland, reenacting scenes from her brother’s plays (April 21) and Len Cariou taking on Thornton Wilder and Dorothy Parker (April 26), with future shows dedicated to Tennessee Williams’s IN THE BAR OF A TOKYO HOTEL (May 5) and A. R. Gurney’s LOVE LETTERS (June 17). The cast of THE GOOD WIFE gathers together on April 21 ($25, 6:30), while THE BIG BANG’s Jim Parsons will have the stage all to himself on May 4 ($15, 6:30). On April 26, prima ballerina Cynthia Gregory interviews choreographer Eliot Feld about his career ($25, 7:00), on April 27, actor and photographer Joel Grey will talk about television (don’t forget he was on BUFFY) and more ($35, 6:30), and on April 28, Harry Potter audiobook reader and Broadway star Jim Dale will present “Jim Dale: Still Carrying On,” previewing his new one-man show ($30, 6:30). We’re most excited about “Paging Jackie” ($25, 7:00), in which star Edie Falco and the executive producers behind Showtime’s excellent NURSE JACKIE will screen a sneak-peek episode and take the audience behind the scenes of this unusual, entertaining drama. And looking further ahead, Jimmy Fallon will get into the late-night wars on May 27 ($25, 7:30).