NOIRVEMBER AT SPECTACLE

NOIRVEMBER AT SPECTACLE returns (for those who celebrate), beginning at 7pm and going all the way through the darkest hours of the evening, through shadow and fog, join us, as we bid the bleak month of november goodbye with dimmed lights and a foreboding crescent.

There will be a special 16mm screening at midnight, so mark your calendars and get lost in this year’s lineup of jam-packed paranoiac delirium.

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7pm – ?? ????????? ?????

Noirvember kicks off with a hidden gem penned by one of the top-10 best-selling fiction writers of all time

8:30pm – ????? ?? ??? ?????

a rare ensemble jazzy film noir

10:00pm – ????? ??? ?? ????

An offbeat and criminally unseen b-film directed by a certain public enemy number one, in his sole directorial effect

MIDNIGHT  in 16mm – ???? ??? ????? ??? ?? ????? 

A special 16mm film noir treat for all desperate delinquents in attendance

1:30am ???? ?????

Starring George Raft in this pulpy clandestine b-film treasure

SIMPLE TOWN AT SPECTACLE

ONE NIGHT ONLY!

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10 – 10 PM

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After the hilariously terrifying SCARY TOWN experience in October, Spectacle is pleased to host SIMPLE TOWN for another special event.

On November 10th, Simple Town will be screening a retrospective of their video work, to trace the evolution of the their performance style across the different genres of video they’ve worked in– from parody, to grotesque clown, horror, and narrative film.

Simple Town is a Brooklyn-based comedy group that makes film and live performance. Their work has appeared on Adult Swim, Comedy Central, and Short of the Week.

Simple Town is Ian Faria, Caroline Yost, Sam Lanier, Felipe Di Poi & Will Niedmann. Ian directs; Felipe, Caro, Sam and Will perform.

Program selection includes:

MY DAILY ROUTINE
2017, 3 min
A house of influencers battle for attention.

ON MY HEAD A HARD HAT
2018, 4 min
An office worker escapes his life through a construction worker fantasy

QUARTET
2019, 6 min
A slapstick piece about a classical music quartet of grotesques.

TOWN MEETING
2019, 7 min
A village of peasants have a town meeting.

BIG EFFECTS
2020, 6 min
A village of peasants discover exercise.

CREEK TIME
2020, 6 min
A village of peasants struggle to find the right balance of work and leisure.

THE LONG WIND
2020, 6 min
A village of peasants tries to avoid the town idiot.

LA PISCINA
2021, 12 min
A foreign traveler is invited into the home of a strange family for a day.

FILM DIARY NYC OPENING NIGHT: PARADISE LOST

ONE NIGHT ONLY!

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12 – 7:30 PM w/ Q&A (This event is $10)

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FILM DIARY NYC is a festival of diary films, home movies, and personal documentary. The festival’s Opening Night at Spectacle will feature a diverse section of new films that represent innovation in this mode of personal cinema, and one rarely screened diary film by legendary underground filmmaker Nick Zedd.

There will be a Q&A panel with filmmakers in-attendance after the screening.

Opening Night selection includes:

PHOTO WEBSITE VIDEO EXPORT v2
Dir. Justin Mariano, 2022
USA, 3 min
In English

IN RETROSPECT
Dir. Ji Stribling, 2022
USA, 3 min
In English

ZION
Dir. Jard Lerebours. 2022
USA, 3 min
In English

LOST IN HER HAIR
Dir. Pegah Pasalar, 2022
Iran, 6 min
In Persian w/ English subtitles

FATHER, CAN’T YOU SEE I’M BURNING?
Dir. Grant Conversano, 2022
USA, 14 min
In English

SEASONS / PATTERNS
Dir. James Edmonds, 2020
Germany, 10 min
No spoken language

FUSIL CONTRA LA GENTE
Dir. Alejandro Hinestroza, 2022
USA, 3 min
In English

DOUBLE WHAMMY!
Dir. Tristen Ives, 2021
USA, 4 min
In English

THE NIGHT IS DRUNK WHEN WE SUFFER
Dir. RS Magtaan, 2022
Philippines, 6 min
In Tagalog w/ English subtitles

THANK YOU FOR THE DREAMS
Dir. Lucky Marvel & Dennis Tobin, 2022
USA, 5 min
In English

AS/IS
Dir. Natasha Woods, 2022
USA, 11 min
In English

MY MIRROR
Dir. Marcelese Cooper, 2022
USA, 5 min
In English

LOVE
Dir. Valentina Rosset, 2021
USA, 4 min
In English

PARADISE LOST
Dir. Nick Zedd, 2022
USA & Mexico, 4 min
Silent

ACID MOTHERS REYNOLS: LIVE & BEYOND

ACID MOTHERS REYNOLS: LIVE & BEYOND
dir. Alejandro Maly, 2020
Argentina, 84 min
In English & Spanish

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29 – 7:30 PM w/ Q&A (This event is $10)
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3 – MIDNIGHT
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11 – 7:30 PM
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20 – 10 PM

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While on a 2017 Latin American tour, Japanese psych legends Acid Mothers Temple invited Argentinian cult provocateurs Reynols to share a stage with them for their Buenos Aires stop. What followed showcased the wide-ranging talents of the two unique bands: wild rock, reflective soundscapes, hypnotic drones, and more. ACID MOTHERS REYNOLS captures these one of a kind musicians reflecting on life and creativity, collaborating in the studio, and–of course–-ripping it up on stage.

This program will kick-off with a special screening + Q&A with Anla from Reynols on 11/29, with regular screenings to follow throughout the month of December.

WICKED WORLD

WICKED WORLD
Dir. Barry J. Gillis, 1991
USA, 103 min
In English

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4 – 10 PM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 – 10 PM
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17 – 10 PM
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26 – MIDNIGHT

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CAN YOU HANDLE THE VIOLENCE? CAN YOU STOMACH THE HORROR? WILL YOU BE ABLE TO STOP THE NIGHTMARES?

Grant Ekland is a dirty cop, with a checkered past that endlessly haunts him. The love of his life was murdered by a serial killer named Harold who slaughtered a countless number of humans in the city of Toronto, Canada, before he was finally locked up and sent to a mental institution. Now many years later, Harold is set to be released back into society, and Ekland hopes for a final showdown with his arch enemy. Nightmares clash into a brand new reality, as Ekland faces a host of problems and obstacles that he himself must overcome, if he ever hopes to face the murderous serial killing madman, and set his own inner demons free.

LOVE GOD

LOVE GOD
Dir. Frank Grow, 1997
USA, 82 min
In English

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5 – 7:30 PM w/ Q&A (This event is $10)
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8 – 10 PM
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13 – 5 PM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23 – 7:30 PM

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In 1996, the budget crunched city of New York is forced to eject one third of its mental patients out into the world, leaving LaRue and his cancerous “Chronic Reading Syndrome” to fend for himself, unsupervised. He finds shelter at the derelict Love Hotel with a tourettic philosophizing roommate, a germaphobe crime scene cleaning neighbor, and her mute gum chewing daughter, Helen. In the midst of a mental health crisis, the city also finds itself terrorized by Dr. Noguchi’s escaped prehistoric Trematode God Worm that turns prey into mutated sex demons.

The first live action film to be shot and edited in digital, Frank Grow’s LOVE GOD may be the greatest lost classic of 90’s underground horror-comedy-romance ever. Each known copy along with its licensing have been missing for 20 years, leaving LOVE GOD languishing in obscurity since its 1997 Sundance debut. Until now. Beyond Basket Case, Beyond Tetsuo, Beyond Troma, Beyond Love itself. Let Frank Grow’s LOVE GOD prove that you are not crazy.

Join us 11/5 for a special screening + Q&A with filmmaker Frank Grow.

Screens with:

BLOOD PUMPERS RACING CLUB
Dir. Frank Grow, 1991
USA, 5 min
In English

“Monster Fire Baby” by the Blood Pumpers Racing Club was a Hyper-Mega Supercharged monster sex performance – complete with the world’s first (as far as I know) live burning-monster baby birth! Performed at WildChild Productions in downtown San Diego sometime in 1991. The all-star cast consisted of 16 performers divided into 4 teams, the team members all wore custom uniforms labelled with a number and a color. This is a short edit of the performance that was made to accompany an installation piece for Lollapalooza’s traveling art tent.

WE ARE THE STRANGE

WE ARE THE STRANGE
Dir. M dot Strange, 2007
USA, 88 min
In English

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5 – MIDNIGHT
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11 – 10 PM
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14 – 7:30 PM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23 – 10 PM

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WE ARE THE STRANGE, the first feature of director, editor, and animator M dot Strange could best be described as… Strange (shocked emoticon). Tirelessly handcrafted in his own self-minted style of “str8nime”, which meets somewhere between Jan Svankmajer, sneaking into the 18+ Anime section at Sam Goody, PlayStation 2 cut scenes, and Mountain Dew flavored sleepovers watching Invader Zim. These are your most intense adolescent Hot Topic OC nightmares come true.

On a quest for ice cream, outcasts Blue and eMMM the doll boy set off on an adventure to Stopmo City. Joined by the mysterious marauder Rain, our heroes soon find themselves in a battle between good and evil against the sinister HIM and his army of monsters.

BAD CHANNELS

BAD CHANNELS
Dir. Ted Nicolaou, 1992
USA, 88 min
In English

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3 – 10 PM
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 – 7:30 PM
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20 – 7:30 PM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30 – 7:30 PM

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Bad Channels is a lost and forgotten science fiction treasure, originally released in 1992. The film features an alien who kidnaps a group of females by taking over a radio station.

Part comedy, part rock n’ roll sci-fi adventure, bad channels tells the story of KDUL, Superstation 66, which is run by a notorious dj who was fired from their previous post – but instead of playing a variety of music, he just plays polka! The town of the radio station is strange and uncanny, while working at the station, an alien in a UFO appears and conquers the radio station. They force the women they see to be in a music video and shrink them with their powers. It’s a race to stop these aliens from shrinking all the women on planet earth. Can the women of the world be saved? You will have to watch and find out!

CAROLEE SCHNEEMANN: SELECTED PERFORMANCES AND VIDEO ART (1964-2010)

CAROLEE SCHNEEMANN: SELECTED PERFORMANCES AND VIDEO ART (1964-2010)
Dir. Carolee Schneemann, 1960s-2000s
USA, 100 min
In English

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 – 7:30 PM
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12 – 10 PM
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22 – 7:30 PM
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27 – 5 PM

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Spectacle Theater x Carolee Schneemann Foundation are pleased to present Carolee Schneemann: Selected Performances and Video Art (1964-2010); a program featuring 9 films spanning her entire career. Theater goers will get to see a very rare overview of the iconic video art and performances she produced from the 1960s to the 2000s.

It is said that by 1964, Schneemann “took control of the means of production and did not turn back.” She used all types of materials, objects, mediums, and modes of flesh to develop her work. Known for visceral and taboo performances during the late 20th century, Carolee’s art paved the way for generations of feminist artists across all mediums. As a member of the Judson Dance Theater, an experimental avant-guard collective located in Greenwich Village, Carolee documented her performances using film, created kinetic painting-sculptures and video art on topics such as gender, the body, desire, political disasters, and war. She often felt a hyper-sense of inspiration from everyday life, world events, and objects outside her studio.

Her art has been exhibited in the following institutions and galleries: Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt, and MoMA PS1, New York (2017); The Merchant House, Amsterdam (2015); Artist’s Institute at Hunter College, New York (2015); G Gallery, Kunstverein Toronto (2014); Musée departemental d’art contemporain Rochechouart (2014); MUSAC, Léon, Spain (2014); Carolee Schneemann: Body Politics—the first major exhibition since her weather in 2019—is at the Barbican Art Gallery, London until January 2023.

Program includes the following works:

MEAT JOY
Dir. Carolee Schneemann, 1964
USA, 11 min
In English

Comprised of three performances, “Meat Joy” is one of Carolee’s most notable performances during the 1960s wave of feminist performance art. It is a kinetic theater performance; she uses the body and skin as material to communicate and revel in sacred erotic energy.

BODY COLLAGE
Dir. Carolee Schneemann, 1967
USA, 4 min
Silent

Using the body and array of paper as material, this performance is a “movement event” in which Schneemann transforms and emboldens her nude self as a living, moving collage.

SOUVENIR OF LEBANON
Dir. Carolee Schneemann, 1983
USA, 6 min
In English

An experimental video art piece about the geopolitics of Lebanon’s Civil War in the 1980s.

FRESH BLOOD
Dir. Carolee Schneemann, 1983
USA, 11 min
In English

A video compiled of various performances about the nexus between menstruation, unconscious drives, and body politics.

CATSCAN
Dir. Carolee Schneemann, 1988
USA, 13 min
In English

A lingering, haunting-like performance which evokes ancient Egyptian rituals surrounding the death of a cat which Schneemann uses to affect the spectators’ perception of grief, mourning, and communication via dreams.

ASK THE GODDESS
Dir. Carolee Schneemann, 1991
USA, 8 min
In English

A performance that incorporates audience participation in which she answers questions related to the body, sexuality, and the psyche.

INTERIOR SCROLL — THE CAVE
Dir. Carolee Schneemann, 1995
USA, 8 min
In English

The body, in this performance, functions as a source of knowledge. In this work, a powerful piece of text emerges from the vulva and is read out loud in a ritual set in a cave.

VULVA SCHOOL
Dir. Carolee Schneemann, 1995
USA, 7 min
In English

Schneemann performs with puppets in a dialogue about post-modernism, feminism, and Marx.

AMERICANA I CHING APPLE PIE
Dir. Carolee Schneemann, 2007
USA, 17 min
In English

A timed-based performance essay that deconstructs the apple and apple pie, paired with a lecture about paganism, patriarchy, and gendered advertising using non- conventional cooking tools.

JOHNNY CORNCOB

JÁNOS VITÉZ (JOHNNY CORNCOB)
Dir. Marcell Jankovics, 1973
Hungary, 74 min
In Hungarian w/ English subtitles

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5 – 5 PM
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8 – 7:30 PM
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16 – 7:30 PM
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21 – 10 PM

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Hungary, 1845: at the age of 22, revolutionary poet and journalist Sándor Petőfi published a fairytale of great length, János vitéz (lit. “John the Valiant”). The story – part romance, part fantasy, part resistance fervor – emboldened Hungarian hearts both young and old as the country struggled for independence from the Austrian Empire. Petőfi would perish only a few years later (debatably, in the Battle of Segesvár, or on a death march to Siberia) but not before producing even more politically impactful work. His writing is to this day considered Hungarian national treasure.

Unsurprisingly, János Vitéz has seen multiple interpretations since its initial release. In the early 1970s, Jankovics and Pannonia Film Studios were commissioned to produce this version of the story as Hungary’s very first animated feature film. It too was well received by youth and adult audiences in Hungary, taking a great many visual cues from George Dunning’s Yellow Submarine.

The titular Johnny is a shepard, who shares a pastoral love with the washerwoman Iluska. A curse cast on their love (by Iluska’s stepmother) causes Johnny to lose his herd of sheep, which sends him searching across a war-torn landscape. He gains renown as a soldier only to return home to the news of his lover’s demise. He wanders dejectedly, pursuing multiple adventures in aimless vengeance of his lost love, which eventually bring him to a conclusive surprise beyond the shores of an uncrossable ocean.