Film festival previews spring showings

Fresh and original independent film, documentaries, world cinema, new media and the work of Wisconsin filmmakers all will be featured this spring at the Wisconsin Film Festival.

A public program of the Arts Institute, the Wisconsin Film Festival is slated Thursday, March 29, through Sunday, April 1.

Downtown Madison festival venues include the Orpheum and Majestic theaters and the Madison Art Center. On campus, the festival will unspool at the Memorial Union Play Circle and the UW Cinematheque.

The full schedule will be announced Wednesday, Feb. 28. Tickets go on sale Thursday, March 1. Ticket packages and tickets for individual screenings will be available. Advance package sales run March 1-28. Individual tickets go on sale March 16-28. If available, remaining tickets will be sold at the door.

Here are some highlights so far:

Light in the East: New Asian Cinema
By turns kinetic and lyrical, fast-paced and atmospheric, the new East Asian cinema blends artistic ambition with energetic entertainment. With “Light in the East,” the 2001 Wisconsin Film Festival brings to Madison some of the finest new films from the world’s most vibrantly creative cinema. “Light in the East” was curated in collaboration with Tony Rayns, the London-based filmmaker, critic and Asian cinema expert who also programs East Asian film for the prestigious Vancouver, London and Rotterdam film festivals. As part of the series, Rayns will give a talk on East Asian cinema and present his most recent film, a portrait of the Korean director Jang Sun-Woo.

A Well Spent Life: The Cinema of Les Blank
Acclaimed documentarian Les Blank appears in person to present the Academy Film Archive restorations of his one-of-a kind films. From American popular music to gap-toothed women to megalomaniacal German directors, Blank reminds us what a strange and fascinating world we live in.

“A Well Spent Life” will include the classic Les Blank documentaries: “Gap-Toothed Women” (1987); “Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers” (1980); “In Heaven There Is No Beer?” (1984); “Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe” (1979); “The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins” (1969); Texas songster Mance Lipscomb in “A Well Spent Life” (1971).

D.FILM 2001 World Tour
The Wisconsin Film Festival presents the Midwest premiere of the D.FILM Digital Film Festival 2001 World Tour, the world’s largest showcase of digitally created movies and the first to be presented at the Cannes Film Festival (1999).

Highlights include premieres of a film by graffiti artist “Futura 2000; Destroying America,” the most ambitious skateboard film ever created starring Eric Estrada, Tony Hawk and Ming Tran, and excerpts from “This is What Democracy Looks Like,” a documentary on the 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization riots compiled from footage shot with digital camcorders by more than 100 volunteers.

Wisconsin’s Own Filmmakers
Once again, Wisconsin filmmakers shine in the “Wisconsin’s Own” programs, featuring feature films, documentaries, and shorts in juried competitions. The “Wisconsin’s Own” competition, supported by the Wisconsin Film Office, is for nonstudent filmmakers with Wisconsin ties. Prizes will be awarded in categories for best narrative feature, best documentary, best experimental/multimedia, and best short (narrative or animated).