The Joy of Life; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Screening Room December 3, 2009

When:
Thu, Dec 3 & Sat, Dec 5: 7:30 pm: Parade by Jacques Tati

Sun, Dec 6: 2:00 pm: Om Shanti Om by Farah Khan

Thu, Dec 10: 7:30 pm: It’s A Gift by Norman Z. Mcleod

Sat, Dec 12: 7:30 pm: That’s Entertainment III by Various Directors

Sun, Dec 13: 2:00 pm: Hoppity Goes to Town (aka Mr. Bug Goes to Town) by David Fleischer

Thu, Dec 17: 7:30 pm: Short Films by Curt McDowell

Sat, Dec 19: 7:30 pm: Holiday FREE Surprise Screening!

Sun, Dec 20: 2:00 pm: Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas—Uncut!

What:
The Joy of Life
Dec 3–20, 2009
For many, the holidays can be the most depressing time of the year. It doesn’t have to be this way. This series seeks to remedy the holiday blues with this massively entertaining series of films about fun, laughter and joy - in short, the love of life.

Parade
By Jacques Tati
Thu, Dec 3 & Sat, Dec 5: 7:30 pm
Ostensibly nothing more than a series of circus acts hosted by Jacques Tati and performed for a family audience, Parade is in fact a brilliantly conceived spectacle which blurs all distinctions between performers and audience, accomplished acrobats and children at play. Offering gloriously funny visual gags that flow beautifully from one act to another – including several of his most famous pantomimes – Parade is the perfect stage for Tati’s comic genius. (1974, 89 min, 35mm)

Om Shanti Om
By Farah Khan
Sun, Dec 6: 2 pm
If you’re new to the world of Bollywood, this is absolutely the perfect film to start with – blasted full of color, music and dancing, and a love story big enough for ten films. He (Om) was a film extra in the 70s. She (Shanti) was a film superstar of the 70s. He was her biggest fan, and she was his biggest inspiration. He was madly in love, and she was ready to give up everything she had for love. He felt betrayed in life, she felt betrayed in love, and so begins the saga of Om Shanti Om. One of the most popular Bollywood films of all time, more than 40 well-known stars appear in the film, including thirty in one song alone. (2007, 162 min, 35mm)

It’s a Gift
By Norman Z. McLeod
Thu, Dec 10: 7:30 pm
W.D. Fields is not exactly the first person who comes to mind when you think of happiness, but he was without question a comic genius and the master of subtle understatement. It’s a Gift is widely considered his best film, the story of the long-suffering Harold Bissonette, his nagging wife and his endlessly annoying children. The film really is about the search for a happy life – but a life spent alone, at peace and away from the chaos of everyday life. (1934, 73 min, 35mm)

That’s Entertainment III
By various directors
Sat, Dec 12: 7:30 pm
This amazing compilation of clips from MGM musicals outdid the first two installments by coming up with fascinating, unseen new material (excluded numbers from Singin' in the Rain, The Band Wagon, Cabin in the Sky, The Harvey Girls, Easter Parade). Other highlights are some terrific dancing by Eleanor Powell (alongside production footage on split screen revealing how one number was done), Astaire and Rogers in the credits sequence of The Barkleys of Broadway, a very funny grudge match between Keel and Betty Hutton in Annie Get Your Gun (virtually unseen for almost half a century), and, strictly as a camp item, the most grotesque Joan Crawford number imaginable from Torch Song, with Crawford in blackface. (Chicago Reader) (1994, 113 min, 35mm)

Hoppity Goes to Town (aka Mr. Bug Goes to Town)
By Dave Fleischer
Sun, Dec 13: 2:00 pm
Decades before A Bug’s Life, there was this attempt to show life from a bug’s perspective, presented here in a newly restored 35mm print. A group of bugs — including a grasshopper named Hoppity, a bee named Mr. Bumble, and Mr. Bumble’s daughter Honey — find their homes threatened when humans start littering and invading their grassy neighborhood. Meanwhile, duplicitous C. Bagley Beetle enlists the help of his two henchmen in convincing Honey to be his wife. Stunning hand-drawn animation, a unique pastel color palette, and songs by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser combine to create an exceptional work. (1941, 78 min, 35mm)

Short Films by Curt McDowell
Thu, Dec 17: 7:30 pm
"Curt was curt, cute, controversial, and not celibate,” wrote his former friend and collaborator George Kuchar. McDowell (who died in 1987) was a key San Francisco underground filmmaker, and his work is rarely revived. Many who knew Curt spoke of his irresistible love of life, people and, mostly, sex. Bawdy, funny and sometimes explicit, his work is infused with joy and fearless intensity of raw emotion. This program of some of his best short films will hopefully expose new audiences to this extraordinary artist.

Holiday Free Surprise Screening!
Sat, Dec 19: 7:30 pm
We’re not announcing the title of this free event, let’s just say this musical extravaganza is the greatest, grooviest, wildest, most exciting beat blast to ever pound the screen!

Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas—Uncut!
Sun, Dec 20: 2:00 pm
This beloved classic is the heart-warming story of Ma Otter and her son who both secretly enter a talent contest to win money for each other’s Christmas presents. They are challenged by the Riverbottom Gang and their rowdy hard-rock band, The Nightmare. This is a very rare special version, which contains all of the Kermit the Frog scenes edited out of the DVD release! The program also includes a delightful selection of highlights from other Christmas specials. (1977, approx 75 min, digital video)

Who:
Films filled with JOY!

Where:
The Joy of Life – 701 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94103 – YBCA Screening Room

Public Info:
415-978-2787 or ybca.org

$8 regular; $6 students, seniors, teachers & YBCA members

Enjoy same-day gallery admission for all YBCA presented films!

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