Indie Films May 13-20

WHAT WE BECOME, THE CURSE OF SLEEPING BEAUTY, THE ASIAN CONNECTION, KILL ZONE 2 START EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENTS AT ARENA CINEMA HOLLYWOOD ON MAY 13

            What We Become. Written and directed by Bo Mikkelsen. Produced by Sara Namer. From IFC Midnight. Color, 2016, Denmark, 85 minutes, not rated. Horror/Thriller. Starring Mille Dinesen, Marie Hammer Boda, Troels Lyby, Mikael Birkkjaer, Ole Dupont and Benjamin Engell. A family of four is quarantined in their home as a virulent strand of the flu spreads into town and they are forced to the extreme to escape alive.

            "The acting is superb...This is definitely something they should be proud of."---Heaven of Horror

            The Curse of Sleeping Beauty. Directed by Pearry Reginald Teo. Written by Teo, Josh Nadler and Everette Hartsoe. Produced by Teo and Ehud Bleiberg. From XLRator Media. Color, 2016, USA, 89 minutes, not rated. Fantasy/Mystery. Starring Ethan Peck, India Eisley, Bruce Davison, Natalie Hall, James Adam Lim and Scott Alan Smith. Thomas Kaiser inherits an ancestral mansion that has been in his family for generations - only to learn that he has also inherited an ancient curse stemming back to the Crusades. He struggles to awaken the beautiful Briar Rose, held captive in a terrifying netherworld.

            The Asian Connection. Directed by Daniel Zirilli. Written by Zirilli, D. Glase Leonard and Tom Sizemore. Produced by Damiano Tucci. From Momentum Pictures. Color, 2016, Thailand, 90 minutes, rated R. Action. Starring Steven Seagal, Michael Jai White, Pim Bubear, Damon Whitaker, Ron Smoorenburg and Sahajak Boonthanakit. Two American expatriates, Jack and Sam, unwittingly steal a drug lord's money when they rob a series of banks in Southeast Asia and become the target of the gang's vengeance. When Sam is killed, Jack turns to the love of his life, Pom, and the couple becomes a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde that takes the fight to the gang.

            Kill Zone 2. Directed by Pou-Soi Cheang. Written by Lai-Yin Leung and Ying Wong. Produced by Paco Wong and Wilson Yip. From Well Go USA Entertainment. Color, 2016, China/Hong Kong, 120 minutes, not rated. Action/Crime. Starring Tony Jaa, Wu Jing, Simon Yam, Zhang Jin, Louis Koo and Ken Lo. Undercover cop Kit (Wu Jing) becomes a junkie in order to catch Mr Hung (Louis Koo), the mastermind behind a crime syndicate. The stage is set for a showdown...

                Winner- Hong Kong Film Awards; Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.

            "Its thunderous, blistering action will leave you breathless."---Kung Fu Kingdom

            May 13- May 19, 2016.  Contact venue for show times.  Admission: $12 each feature..  Information:  (323) 306-0676. Online ticketing:  http://arenascreen.com

            At Arena Cinema Hollywood, 1625 N. Las Palmas Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028. Discounted parking is available with validation at lots adjacent to the venue and across the street. Arena Cinema is Hollywood's new home for independent films, powered by Voltaire Media.  Ranked among Top 5 Indie Movie Theatres in Los Angeles by CBS2.

            Starting the week of May 6, Arena Cinema Hollywood inaugurates a series for the summer of outdoor film screenings in its courtyard. For more information, go to http://arenascreen.com or call  (323) 306-0676.

Los Angeles Filmforum presents

The Death Film

on Sunday May 15

LOS ANGELES, May 2 - As a companion/sequel to Los Angeles Filmforums May 8 program The Birth Film, The Death Film will feature a selection of American experimental films dealing in various modes and moods with the subject of death and dying, including films by Barbara Hammer, Martha Colburn, Stan Brakhage, Vanessa Renwick, Gus Van Sant, and more.

Perhaps the bottom-line absolute most unifying factor in our disparate lives, the subject of death has also been handled by countless artists in countless media since the dawn of humanity.  Death provokes such a radical multiplicity of feelings across contexts that a grouping of films on the subject should perhaps do the same.  The films in this program range from irreverent celebration to sober confrontation, from empathic projection to abstract rumination, and many points in between.  

Mike Henderson, Barbara Hammer, and Dorothy Wiley approach death with gestures of confusion and empathy, while Standish Lawder and Martha Colburn deliver playful yet ominous entries on the subject.  Vanessa Renwick and Gunvor Nelson confront death and dying head-on, with poetry and unflinching sobriety, Gus Van Sant and Robert Nelson pay loving and humorous tribute, and Stan Brakhage suggests a sad but sweet memorializing form of expression.

Program approximately 75 minutes.

What: The Death Film  

When: Sunday, May 15, 7:30pm.

Where: At the Spielberg Theatre at the Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90028

or at the door.