Uncommon times call for uncommon films: join us in saluting First Run Features

Let’s face it: sometimes we get tired of seeing the same-old multiplex blockbuster, clutching our corporate coffee-chain coffee, before returning to our apartment filled with whimsical, and flimsily constructed Swedish furniture that all looks the same (even those of us who work at the Film Society!). On these days we hunger for something different, something with grit, something not beholden to invisible but powerful corporate interests.

And those are days we should celebrate the fact that a first-class independent distributor like First Run Features still exists. Boasting a current catalogue of films treating such wide-ranging subjects as burlesque, the incredible true story of the alliance between evangelical Christians and Israel, the first election in a Chinese school, investigations of the Khmer Rouge and Mongolian ping pong, world cinema certainly is a richer place with First Run Features in it.

This week, let’s take a moment to pause and enjoy the truly provocative and iconoclastic with such gems from the past 30 years such as:

• We Were So Beloved: If you want to take a different, yet altogether moving look at the survivors of the Holocaust, don’t miss this deeply felt portrait of a German-Jewish enclave in Washington Heights. Sunday August 30 and Tuesday September 1.
• 49 Up: The classic series of films that launched countless imitators finds triumph and tragedy in its seventh and final installment. See it Sunday August 30 or Monday, August 31.
• Before Stonewall: Before June 1969, the West Village bar was just a bar. But on a pivotal night when a group of patrons decided to demand their right to live as they pleased without fear or repercussion, it became a part of history.  Relive that powerful moment on Monday, August 31, with a special panel discussion afterward.

Get inspired, get energized and get indie with these spectacularly provocative and stimulating films.

Explore posts in the same categories: on @ the walter reade, what's on

Tags: 49 Up, Before Stonewall, First Run Features, Michael Apted, We Were So Beloved

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