Powered by
Movable Type 3.2ysb5-20051201

« AirHogs Edge Cats in Singles-Fest | Main | Chamber Of Commerce Places First in Three State Wide Competitions »

Uptown Theater to Host Lois Weber Film Festival

Films directed by women will fill Grand Prairie’s historic Uptown Theater, 120 E. Main Street, July 24-30, during the Lois Weber Film Festival. In addition to films, the festival will present activities that examine the role of female directors in the past and present. Guest speakers and special events will highlight each evening. Students from the Grand Prairie Arts Council's Summer in the Arts Program will be involved through a film residency, art camp and music camp.

The festival begins at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 24, with a reception at the Uptown Theater and continues through Saturday, July 30; film screenings begin at 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Screenings will include short films and feature-length motion pictures including:

  • Cleo Madison’s 1916 silent short “Eleanor’s Catch”
  • Lois Weber’s 1921 feature “The Blot”
  • Cynthia Salzman Mondell’s documentary “Sisters of ’77” about the first National Women's Conference in Houston
  • “The Dixie Chicks: Shut Up And Sing” directed by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck
  • “Twilight” directed by Catherine Hardwicke
  • “The Hurt Locker” directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the 2010 Oscar Best Picture winner
  • “Winters’ Bone” directed by Debra Granik, a 2011 Academy Awards Best Picture nominee
  • “The Kids Are All Right” directed by Lisa Cholodenko, a 2011 Academy Awards Best Picture nominee
The Grand Prairie Memorial Library is the home of the Lois Weber Film Collection. The one-of-a-kind collection of historical and contemporary films directed by women contains more than 250 feature films and documentaries from the era of silent movies to today.

Lois Weber, for whom the collection is named, began as an actress at the Gaumont Film Company in 1905, and directed her first short feature in 1911. By 1916 she was Universal Studios’ highest-paid director. Unafraid to reflect her convictions in her work, she examined social issues such as corruption, politics, birth control and capital punishment. Movie archivist and author Anthony Slide has described Weber as “certainly the most important female director the American film industry has known.”

Festival tickets will be available at the Uptown box office by calling 972-237-8786, or purchase online at www.artsgp.com. A one-day ticket is $6. A full-week festival ticket package is $36. When you purchase at the box office and show your Grand Prairie library card, save $2 off a one-day ticket, and $16 off a festival ticket package. Library cards are available at each Grand Prairie Library, and are free to both residents and non-residents.

For more information contact Peter Sime, Circulation Librarian – Grand Prairie Memorial Library: 972-237-5705. The festival is brought to you by the City of Grand Prairie Library Department, Grand Prairie Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts and the Uptown Theater.

Source: Grand Prairie Arts Council

Posted on July 4, 2011 12:56 AM |


Hosting by Yahoo!