Free spring public programs at the Hammer Museum’s Billy Wilder Theater start April 1
Marisa Soto/UCLA Newsroom
This spring, the UCLA Film & Television Archive celebrates moving images past and present with a vast lineup of preserved and restored classics, film noir, independent films and local premieres of award-winning festival entries from around the world, along with tributes and guest appearances by filmmakers and others.
“This season’s programming celebrates storytelling that shifts perspective and reflects our humanity,” said May Hong HaDuong, director of the Archive, a division of UCLA Library. “With moving images that speak to how identity, culture and family are shaped, the Archive invites audiences to gaze at the windows and mirrors of the human experience.”
Screenings are held at the Billy Wilder Theater. All programs are free through June 2023, thanks to a gift from an anonymous donor.
April 1–23
This Woman’s Work: How Gender Shaped Cinema From Behind the Scenes
Focus on Screenwriter Anita Loos
Women have been instrumental to the development of cinema since the dawn of motion picture production, though most traditional histories have done little to highlight their contributions to the labor and artistry of filmmaking. The Archive’s “This Woman’s Work”series shifts the popular approach to film history away from the director’s chair and instead focuses on other key areas of expertise.
The first program in the series highlights the long career of Anita Loos (1888–1981), the first female screenwriter on staff in Hollywood. Loos is best known for penning “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1928) — just one jewel in a dizzying collection of more than 150 screenplays produced by the spirited writer, novelist, actor and memoirist over her six-decade career. This five-night retrospective (April 1, 3, 15, 17 and 23) will feature eight of Loos’ films, all presented on celluloid.
April 2–18
Outfest UCLA Legacy Project Screening Series
The Outfest UCLA Legacy Project is a collaboration between the UCLA Film & Television Archive and Outfest to collect, restore and showcase queer film and video.
Following an April 2 screening of writer-director Ryosuke Hashiguchi’s “Hush!” (Japan, 2021), the Archive on April 18 presents a preview of “Framing Agnes” (Canada, 2022), with its impressive lineup of trans stars — Zackary Drucker, Angelica Ross, Jen Richards, Max Wolf Valerio, Silas Howard and Stephen Ira. The film is fresh off its award-winning turn at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, where it garnered the NEXT Audience Award and the NEXT Innovator Award. Director, writer and producer Chase Joynt, co-director Kristen Schilt and author and historian Jules Gill-Peterson, will appear in person.
April 16–June 5
This program showcases works from the Archive’s extensive holdings, which comprise one of the largest moving image collections in the world. Included in this series will be rarely screened gems presented in original and restored prints.
This spring, the Archive spotlights the groundbreaking Armenian American director Rouben Mamoulian with an April 16 double-feature of “Applause” (1929) and “Love Me Tonight”(1932). Then, on June 5, the Archive screens Taiwanese New Wave master Hou Hsiao-hsien’s “Flowers of Shanghai” (1998).
April 22
Girl Head: Feminism and Film Materiality With Genevieve Yue
The “China girl” or “girl head” is a type of reference image tacked onto the start or end of film reels manufactured by commercial film laboratories since the late 1920s — and continuing in limited use today — to assist lab technicians in properly processing the film.
This program gathers a selection of experimental films that consider the China girl image from various perspectives, highlighting the behind-the-scenes workings of the film industry and the often-marginal role of women in film history. The screenings will be preceded by a talk by film scholar Genevieve Yue, who will discuss her book “Girl Head: Feminism and Film Materiality” (Fordham University Press, 2020) and provide insight, context and interpretation of the films.
April 24–June 12
This ongoing series showcases works from the Archive’s extensive television holdings, including rare and in some cases unjustly forgotten titles, as well as popular programs and important landmarks of the medium.
On April 24, the program explores noir television with three episodes of the detective series “Johnny Staccato” starring John Cassavetes, which ran from 1959 to 1960. The selections, showcasing the star’s intensity as an actor, were also directed by Cassavetes. The evening will include in-person guest Brian Light from the Film Noir Foundation.
On June 12, the Archive’s 70th anniversary celebration of “The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet” features two landmark episodes of one of the most beloved domestic sitcoms of its era (1952–1966), starring the real-life Nelson family. The episodes, both from 1957, will be presented with original commercials and bonus archival footage. Show star Ricky Nelson’s children Sam Nelson and Tracy Nelson will appear in person at the screening.
April 29–May 8
UCLA Celebration of Iranian Cinema
The UCLA Film & Television Archive continues its long tradition of celebrating the best cinema from Iran and the Iranian diaspora with the latest edition of its annual survey of works by Iranian filmmakers past and present. This year’s program includes six premieres and multiple award-winners from festivals around the world, including Venice, Busan and Cannes. All films from Iran are in Persian with English subtitles, except where noted.This program is generously funded by the Farhang Foundation.
For details and screening times, visit cinema.ucla.edu.
May 20–22
UCLA Festival of Preservation 2022
The Archive continues its three-decade–long tradition of sharing its latest preservation and restoration work with Los Angeles audiences.
Over one weekend, the festival will present William Dieterle’s “All That Money Can Buy”(a.k.a. “The Devil and Daniel Webster,” 1941), Abraham Polonsky’s “Force of Evil” (1949), film noir gems, comedies starring Harold Lloyd and Laurel and Hardy, documentary time capsules of the civil rights movement and classic television featuring Ricardo Montalbán, Rod Serling, Betty White and more.
For details and screening times, visit cinema.ucla.edu.
Virtual Screening Room
The Archive’s Virtual Screening Room, launched during the pandemic, will continue to offer online access to a broad spectrum of Archive-curated programs, including “Archiving Gay History,” a co-presentation with the Fowler Museum at UCLA, on June 23. Guests — artist Sadie Barnette, filmmaker Whitney Skauge, Lexi Johnson of the ONE Archives and Faridah Gbadamosi of Outfest — will participate in a conversation moderated by Archive film programmer K.J. Relth-Miller.
For details, updates, registration information and important health guidelines, please visit cinema.ucla.edu.
Schedules and guest speakers subject to change.
