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Find out what films, events and series are currently on the slate at the Michigan Theater. Also check out our other series and programs:
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PINA - IN 3-D
Special ticket prices apply - Adults $13; Students, Children, Seniors and Veterans $11; Members $10.50; and Matinee $10
Now playing.
 “In both theatrical environments and open-air ones, with Wenders paying close attention to the geometrics as well as the psychology of the movement, Pina is the best possible tribute to Bausch, and to adventurous image-making.”
— Chicago Tribune
"Dance, dance, or we are lost." Pina Bausch's final words summarize her life and provide the inspiration for acclaimed director Wim Wenders' (Wings of Desire, Buena Vista Social Club) breathtaking tribute to the legendary choreographer. Bausch and her Tanztheater Wuppertal elevated dance into brilliantly subversive new expressive realms, and in this exhilarating film Wenders captures the raw, heart-stopping intensity of the movement and in stunning 3D transforms it into a transcendent cinematic experience. An official selection of the Berlinale, Telluride, Toronto and New York film festivals, and now Germany's official entry for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Pina features interviews with and performances by Bausch's beloved original company members, and offers an indelible image of an artist who went the full distance in her uncommonly rich creative life.
106 minutes. Rated PG. German, French and other languages with subtitles.
 Official Website Trailer
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Watch this year's Oscar-Nominated Short Films for live-action, animated and documentary categories before the 84th Academy Awards ceremony on February 26th.
Animated: 79 minutes; Live Action 107 minute; and Documentary: 130 minutes.
 "Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
Every Sunday, it's the same old routine! The train clatters through the village and almost shakes the pictures off the wall.
In the church, Dad dreams about his toolbox. And of course later Grandma will get a visit and the animals will meet their fate.
Canada. 9 minutes.
 "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, this film is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation) the directors present a hybrid style of animation that harkens back to silent films and MGM Technicolor musicals. Morris Lessmore is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.
USA. 17 minutes.
 "La Luna" Enrico Casarosa
La Luna is the timeless fable of a young boy who is coming of age in the most peculiar of circumstances. Tonight is the very first time his Papa and Grandpa are taking him to work. In an old wooden boat they row far out to sea, and with no land in sight, they stop and wait. A big surprise awaits the little boy as he discovers his family's most unusual line of work. Should he follow the example of his Papa, or his Grandpa? Will he be able to find his own way in the midst of their conflicting opinions and timeworn traditions?
USA. 6:53 minutes.
 "A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
When a New Yorker walks past a chicken on his morning stroll, we are left to wonder which one is the real city slicker.
UK. 7 minutes.
 "Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
Calgary, 1909. An Englishman moves to the Canadian frontier, but is singularly unsuited to it. His letters home are much
sunnier than the reality. Intertitles compare his fate to that of a comet.
Canada. 14 minutes.
SHORT FILMS (LIVE ACTION)
 "Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
When Damian is forced to serve as an altar boy at an important mass in his local parish he faces a difficult choice:
conform to the status quo or serve an extended ban from his passion in life, football.
Ireland. 11 minutes.
 "Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
A German couple adopts in Kolkata an Indian orphan. Their child suddenly disappears and they realize that they are partof the problem.
Germany/India. 21 minutes.
 "The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
The Shore is the uplifting story of two boyhood best friends divided for 25 years by the tumult of "The Troubles". When Joe returns home to Northern Ireland, his daughter Patricia brings the two men together for a reunion, with unexpected results. What happened all those years ago? Can old wounds be healed? The answer is both hilarious and moving. The Shore is about one of the small personal reconciliations that coincide with a national reconciliation.
Northern Ireland. 30 minutes.
 "Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
A neurotic inventor creates a time machine, only to get caught up traveling around yesterday.
USA. 11 minutes.
 "Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar Witzø
When seventy-year-old Oskar is told that he has only six days left to live, he wants to put things right with his brother who
lives in New Jersey. Inger, a public “death angel” is sent out to help Oscar through his remaining days. A huge horn stands at the edge of the sea, built by the brothers when they were kids. Will its sound cross the Atlantic?
Norway. 25 minutes.
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
 "Incident in New Baghdad" James Spione
U.S. Army Specialist Ethan McCord recalls the tragic incident in Iraq that triggered his debilitating post-traumatic stress disorder and altered his view of the war.
 "Saving Face" Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
A British-Pakistani plastic surgeon works to help women who have been injured in acid attacks, while his patients struggle to come to terms with the aftermath of their disfigurement.
 "The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement" Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
In the days leading up to Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 election, a former civil rights activist looks back on the early days of the movement.
 "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen
In the wake of the devastating tsunami in Japan, the people of the region hardest hit by the disaster draw a measure of hope from the annual cherry blossom season as they fight to rebuild their lives.
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World Happy Day and Practice How present
HAPPY: THE MOVIE
Featuring a post-screening panel/audience discussion.
Playing Saturday, February 11 at 12:00 PM.
February 11 is World Happy Day.
Tickets $10; advance tickets available at www.ticketweb.com or by calling 866-468-3401.
Does money make you HAPPY? Kids and family? Your work? Do you live in a world that values and promotes happiness and well-being? Are we in the midst of a happiness revolution?
Roko Belic, director of the Academy Award nominated “Genghis Blues” now brings us Happy, a film that sets out to answer these questions and more. Taking us from the bayous of Louisiana to the deserts of Namibia, from the beaches of Brazil to the villages of Okinawa, Happy explores the secrets behind our most valued emotion.
On World Happy Day - February 11, 2012 - thousands of people will join together in communities across the globe to experience the film HAPPY and begin their journeys toward healthier, and happier lives.
World HAPPY Day inspires action for increasing happiness in our own lives and in the world. A growing body of research shows that happy people are healthier and live longer. They are more likely to care for the environment and less likely to commit crimes or go to war. Happy people help others more often... and are more likely to find creative solutions. Increasing happiness benefits us as individuals and communities in infinite ways and is a goal worth sharing.
HAPPY is the winner of numerous awards and is the latest film from Academy Award nominated director Roko Belic.
Join us for this worldwide event!
For more information visit www.worldhappyday.com or www.practicehow.com.
*Note: Due to some mature content, this film is not recommended for children under 13.
Official Website
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Huron Hills Church and World Vision present
JOURNEY TO JAMAA
Playing Sunday, February 12 at 7:00 PM.
Free and open to the public.
 This award-winning short film will transport you from experiencing extreme poverty to hope through the eyes of two children from Uganda. Free and open to the public.
For more information visit www.huronhills.org.
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 First time director Sam Jones documents the making of Wilco's fourth studio Album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Named after the Wilco song that is featured on it, the album strays from the Alt-country that made them famous. Jones' desire was to document the creative work in the album's production, and he seems to have found a bit more, including band members departing and a conflict with Reprise record company. This is a true documentary of art versus money-driven media conglomerates.
2002. 92 min.
Trailer
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Directed by Fred Zinnemann and based on the novel of the same name by James Jones, the film is set in Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Ernest Borgnine, Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed, the film won eight Academy Awards out of 13 nominations, including for Picture, Best Director, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra) and Supporting Actress (Donna Reed).
1953. 118 minutes.
Trailer
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The Fair Housing Center of Southeastern Michigan presents
THE BARBER OF BIRMINGHAM
Wednesday, February 15 at 7:00 PM.
Free and open to the public.
In celebration of the Fair Housing Center's 20th Anniversary, the evening’s program includes a screening of the award-winning short documentary, as well as a panel discussion with the film’s director/producer Robin Fryday, Director of the Civil Rights Activists Committee in Birmingham, Alabama, Shirley Gavin Floyd, and FHC Cooperating Attorney John Obee.
The Barber of Birmingham produced and directed by Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin, documents the story of James Armstrong, a WWII veteran and an original flag bearer for the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” march from Selma to Montgomery, who for half a century ran a voter education program out of his barbershop. Armstrong was the catalyst in initiating the 1957 class-action lawsuit to integrate area schools after wanting to enroll his sons in the all-white Graymont Elementary school. Despite threats to his life and home, his two sons were the first to integrate the school. Speaking to his dedication to the cause, and to his persistence in the fight for equal rights, he’s quoted as saying “Dying isn’t the worst thing a man can do. The worst thing a man can do is nothing.”
For more information visit www.fhcmichigan.org.
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 Come sing along with Ariel and the Little Mermaid gang at the Michigan Theater! This fun film event will feature a costume parade, goodie bags and prize giveaways!
Living under the sea just isn't enough for young Ariel, who dreams of life above the water's surface. Defying her father, King Triton, the mermaid princess emerges from the deep blue to rescue the shipwrecked Prince Eric, falling hopelessly in love. But, in order to discover her "happily ever after," she must make a deal with the evil sea witch, Ursula. Racing against time, it's up to her best pal Flounder and crusty caretaker Sebastian to help her convince the dashing prince that she can become part of his world.
Academy Award winner for best original score and best original song ("Under the Sea"), as well as two Grammys and two Golden Globes.
83 minutes. Rated G.
Official Website Trailer
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 Filmmaker Grant Gee speaks with now-deceased Factory Records founder Tony Wilson; legendary producer Martin Hannett; surviving Joy Division band members Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, and Peter Hook; and the late Ian Curtis's Belgian lover Annik Honoré in order to offer a vivid snapshot of the fleeting moment in time when Manchester's Joy Division changed the face of modern music. Born in the bleak landscape of industrialized Manchester - a city that once thrived as a center of 19th century manufacturing but was far removed from its halcyon days by the time the band was founded - Joy Division combined the energy of punk rock with the anger and alienation of their generation to stunning effect. When he wasn't pouring every ounce of his personal energy into penning poetic lyrics for a band that seemed to thrive on chaos, volatile frontman Ian Curtis supported his family by working in the civil service as an Assistant Disablement Resettlement Officer.
In 1980, as the band was set to embark on their first-ever North American tour, Curtis took his own life at the age of 23. In addition to offering the remarkable story of Joy Division as told by the very people who were privileged enough to have been there at that crucial moment in musical history, filmmaker Grant Gee's film also offers a meditation on the city that was struggling to reinvent itself following a devastating collapse. While Curtis's widow Deborah does not appear onscreen, text from her biography Touching from a Distance appear as a constant reminder of her presence in the talented musician's brilliant but fleeting life.
Rated R. 2007. 93 min.
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 A new sensation at the age of 109, Georges Méliès's historic touchstone film A Trip to the Moon (1902) will be screened in its original hand-colored version direct from its recent re-premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this May.
A recently discovered original color print was in poor condition and underwent delicate work to rescue and digitize the elements. In 2010, a complete restoration was launched and carried out at Technicolor Los Angeles. An original soundtrack was composed by the French band Air to accompany this masterpiece. A Trip to the Moon's restoration was carried out by Lobster Films, the Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema and the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema Heritage.
1902. 8 min.
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The series concludes with Robert Gardner's feature documentary Forest of Bliss, which played at the 24th Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1986. This landmark and influential documentary film has recently been restored and will be screened on a new 35mm print on loan from the Harvard Film Archive.
Tickets $10 general; $7 students/seniors/Michigan Theater members; $5 AAFF members. More information and advance tickets at: aafilmfest.org
These films are not rated and may contain mature content.
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 Controversial rap star Eminem makes his acting debut in this hard-edged urban drama, inspired in part by incidents from the musician's own life. Jimmy Smith (Eminem), known to his friends as Rabbit, is a young man trying to make his way out of the burned-out shell of inner-city Detroit. Rabbit's entire life has been a hard climb, and it certainly hasn't gotten any easier lately; Rabbit has just been dumped by his girlfriend, forcing him to move back in with his emotionally unstable mother, Stephanie (Kim Basinger), and he's getting along especially poorly with Stephanie's new boyfriend. Rabbit has a factory job that's tough, demeaning, and doesn't pay especially well, and he's convinced his skills as a rapper are his only real hope at a better life. Rabbit makes music with a crew of DJ's and MC's who call themselves Three One Third, among them his close friend Future (Mekhi Phifer), but his status as a white kid making music in a predominantly African-American community and culture is extremely intimidating, and after Rabbit freezes up in the midst of an MC battle, he's convinced he's missed his chance and that he's doomed to lead a marginal life as a factory rat for the rest of his days. With the help of his friends, and his new girlfriend Alex (Brittany Murphy), Rabbit struggles to work up the courage and the confidence to take one more shot at making his dream a reality. 8 Mile was shot on location in Detroit; the name refers to 8 Mile Road, a thoroughfare along the city's perimeter which effectively separates the middle-class suburban neighborhoods from the lower-class inner-city. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
110 min. Rated R - strong language, sexuality, some violence and drug use.
Trailer
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 Directed by Albert and David Maysles, the film chronicles The Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour, which culminated in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert.
The documentary is associated with the Direct Cinema movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Rather than investigating a subject matter through such documentary techniques as interviews, reconstruction and voiceover, Direct Cinema simply records events as they unfold naturally and spontaneously — like a fly on the wall.
1970. 91 Minutes. Rated R.
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 In one of the most certifiably eccentric musical events of the late 20th century, German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen designed and executed the concept of having four members of a string quartet playing an original piece by Stockhausen in four separate helicopters, all flying through the air simultaneously. The sound was then routed to a central location and mixed together; the work premiered, in turn, at the 1995 Holland Festival. Frank Scheffer's film Helicopter String Quartet depicts the behind-the-scenes preparations for this event; Scheffer also conducts and films an extended conversation with Stockhausen in which the creator discusses the conception and execution of his composition and then breaks it down analytically.
This screening is co-presented with the University Musical Society Renegade Series in partnership with the Michigan Theater, in collaboration with the U-M Museum of Art.
Advance tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets.
Ann Arbor Film Festival website
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Slow Food Huron Valley presents
AMERICAN MEAT
Playing Saturday, March 10 at 8 PM.
Featuring a post-screening panel discussion.
 American Meat makes its Michigan debut on Saturday, March 10, at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. The film, an official selection of Food Day 2011, explains our current industrial meat system, and shows the feedlots and confinement operations, not through hidden cameras but through the eyes of the farmers who live and work there. The story shifts to Polyface Farms, where grass-based farmer Joel Salatin is leading the burgeoning local-food movement of farmers, food advocates, chefs and everyday folks who promise to change the way meat reaches the American table. Following the film, there will be a panel discussion with local farmers, food advocates, environmentalists and Graham Meriwether, the director of American Meat who grew up in Ann Arbor.
More information at:
www.americanmeatfilm.com
www.slowfoodhuronvalley.com
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 An Official Selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Boy Interrupted tells the heartbreaking story of Evan Perry, a 15-year-old boy who took his own life after a lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder. The film recounts Evan's life and death in the words of his parents, filmmakers Hart and Dana Perry, and others who knew him. His suicide sent his parents looking for answers from experts, friends and family members, as well as from the reams of video they'd taken of Evan through the years. Illustrating how one family deals with loss and grief, this moving film confronts the stigma associated with mental illness and suicide among children.
Bipolar Disorder is a chronic brain illness marked by extreme and impairing changes in mood, energy, and behavior. The average suicide rate of children and adults suffering from Bipolar Disorder is 10 to 20 times that of the general population.
The Prechter Bipolar Research Fund's goal is to find better treatments, individualized solutions, and, ultimately, a cure for Bipolar Disorder.
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 The documentary explores the enigmatic life and music of Harry Nilsson in an attempt to answer the question, "Who is Harry Nilsson?" The film includes new and archive audio and film including interviews with Robin Williams, Yoko Ono, Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Ray Cooper, the Smothers Brothers, and Micky Dolenz. Who is Harry Nilsson? uses promotional films, music videos, and home movies; segments from the unreleased documentary made during the recording of Son of Schmilsson (Did Somebody Drop His Mouse?); and excerpts from Nilsson's rare TV appearances in his BBC specials, the "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour", "Playboy After Dark", and in an episode of "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir". Written by Roger Smith
2006. 117 min.
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 Portrait of the artist as a young man. In spring, 1965, Bob Dylan, 23, a pixyish troubador, spends three weeks in England. D. A. Pennebaker's camera follows him from airport to hall, from hotel room to public house, from conversation to concert. Joan Baez and Donovan, among others, are on hand. It's the period when Dylan is shifting from acoustic to electric, a transition that not all fans, including Baez, applaud. From the opening sequence of Dylan holding up words to the soundtrack's "Subterranean Homesick Blues," Dylan is playful and enigmatic.
1967. 96 min.
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 Tom Dowd & the Language Of Music profiles the extraordinary life and legendary work of music producer/recording engineer Tom Dowd. Historical footage, vintage photographs and interviews with a who's who list of musical giants from the worlds of jazz, soul and classic rock shine a spotlight on the brilliance of Tom Dowd, whose creative spirit and passion for innovative technology helped shape the course of modern music.
A long-time engineer and producer for Atlantic Records, Tom Dowd was responsible for some of the most important R&B, rock, and jazz records ever made. In his own words, he relates how he went from working on the Manhattan Project, while still high school age, to recording some of the greatest music ever made over the last half of the 20th Century. In the film, Tom introduces the audience to many of his closest friends, who happen to be some of the most talented recording artists and executives the music industry has ever known. Interviews with these recording industry icons tell the story of this humble genius, and recount the recording sessions and technical achievements that altered the course of contemporary music forever.
Filmmaker Mark Moormann premiered this independently produced feature-length documentary at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and internationally at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. It has screened at festivals around the world to overwhelmingly enthusiastic audiences and widespread critical acclaim.
1967. 96 min.
Official Website Trailer
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 During the late 1960s the Grande Ballroom stood as the epicenter of the Detroit rock music scene that spawned bands such as Iggy & The Stooges, Alice Cooper, The Frost, SRC and more. The Grande experience also inspired British acts such as Led Zeppelin, Cream, Rod Stewart and Pink Floyd, many of whom dreaded having to follow a blistering opening set by the MC5, considered to be the Grande’s house band. Conceived by a young Michigan radio talk-show host named Russ Gibb, who felt that the faded 1930s dance hall would be the perfect venue to rival both west and east coast music scenes, the Grande entered rock legend as the stage where The Who first performed Tommy in America. Louder than Love documents the creative and revolutionary frenzy of Detroit in the 1960s with rare archival footage and interviews by surviving musicians, and explores the now abandoned theater haunted by this legacy.
Official Website Trailer
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 Blank City tells the long-overdue tale of a disparate crew of renegade filmmakers who emerged from an economically bankrupt and dangerous moment in New York history. From the late 1970's through the mid 80's, when the city was still a wasteland of cheap rent and cheap drugs, these directors crafted daring works that would go on to profoundly influence the development of independent film as we know it today.
Directed by French newcomer Céline Danhier, Blank City weaves together an oral history of the "No Wave Cinema" and "Cinema of Transgression" movements through compelling interviews with the luminaries who began it all. Featured players include acclaimed directors Jim Jarmusch and John Waters, actor-writer-director Steve Buscemi, Blondie's Debbie Harry, hip-hop legend Fab 5 Freddy, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, photographer Richard Kern as well as Amos Poe, James Nares, Eric Mitchell, Susan Seidelman, Beth B, Scott B, Charlie Ahearn and Nick Zedd. Fittingly, the soundtrack includes: Patti Smith, Television, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, The Contortions, The Bush Tetras, Sonic Youth and many more.
2010. 94 min.
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 The first concert film of the rock & roll era, Monterey Pop is an invaluable record of some of the major musical figures of the late 1960s. The organizers of the Monterey International Pop Festival, held June 16-18, 1967, wisely chose to record the proceedings on film for commercial distribution. Even if some of the festival's big acts - The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, and Buffalo Springfield - didn't make the final cut for various reasons, the roster of performers who did reads like a who's who of the era: Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin), Simon & Garfunkel, and The Mamas and the Papas (that group's leader, John Phillips, was one of the festival's principal organizers). The festival's "international" tag is well-earned by one performer in the film: Ravi Shankar, whose final-day performance was one of the festival's highlights and closes the movie on an exuberant note. Though the festival seemed to be anticipating nearby San Francisco's Summer of Love, the film chooses to concentrate on the musical performers, with only brief intimations of the burgeoning counterculture. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi.
1968. 73 min.
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 Jazz on a Summer's Day is a priceless record of the 1958 Jazz Festival at Newport, Rhode Island. It just doesn't get better than this. We see Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Dinah Washington, Chuck Berry, Thelonious Monk, Gerry Mulligan, George Shearing, Jack Teagarden, Sonny Stitt, Chico Hamilton, Anita O'Day and Big Maybelle, so we'd stay glued to the screen even if the film was poorly made. But it isn't: director Bert Stern not only does a masterful job of filming these imperishable greats at their very best, but he manages to make the whole enterprise fascinatingly fluid and thoroughly cinematic. Even non-jazz buffs will be exhilarated by Jazz on a Summer's Day. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
1959. 85 min.
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