One Day Only: From Badlands to Sea!

Please forgive the prolonged absence, but, well, hey. My best intentions have found little to no quarter in this two-front war, but there is this: Saturday, April 26, promises two must-see film events in New York. Both have tickets on sale now, and neither have anything to do with a certain high-profile festival hijacking NYC film culture from its festering base in a triangle below Canal Street.

Wait, where was I? OK: First up on Saturday afternoon, Sissy Spacek and executive producer Ed Pressman will visit IFC Center for a special screening and discussion of Terrence Malick's Badlands. The theater snagged a studio archive print of Malick's debut, starring Spacek and Martin Sheen as young lovers (based on Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate) on a crime spree across the Midwest. The show is at 1:05; tickets are $15, and as far I know (i.e. I just bought one) they're still available.

Later that night the Walter Reade Theater is hosting a benefit screening of Glory at Sea!, whose filmmaker recently incurred a few thousand bone fractures and many times more dollars' worth of medical bills in a car accident before Glory's premiere at SXSW. Tickets for this one are also going fast; they're technically pay-what-you-can, but don't be a cheapskate -- Zeitlin needs your help, and by all accounts the film is something to behold. The Reeler will proudly represent at this one too, so I'll know if you punk out. Follow the jump for more information about the program and film, and clear your schedule for the 26th.

Rooftop Films
& Court 13 present
"Glory at Sea!"
As a fundraiser for injured director Benh Zeitlin

Sat., April 26, 10:30pm
Walter Reade Theater
at Lincoln Center, NYC
Tickets: $10, $25, $50, $100.

In 2005, the Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund awarded a grant to Benh Zeitlin and Court 13 Pictures for their 25-minute film "Glory at Sea," an inspiring and astonishing epic re-telling of the Orpheus myth, set in post-Katrina New Orleans. You can read about the film here.

Unfortunately, while on the way to the premiere of the film at SXSW, a driver (without car insurance) rear-ended the vehicle Benh was in, putting Benh in bed for the next several months with a dislocated hip, a shattered pelvis and two sprained ankles.

Not having health insurance at the time of the accident, Benh and the future of Court 13 are in dire financial trouble, and we are reaching out to the community for financial support. All proceeds from this fundraiser will go toward the arduous and expensive process of getting Benh walking, and soon charging toward making another epic down in New Orleans, this time a feature film.

On Saturday, April 26, we will host the New York Premiere of this amazing film, and also screen the world premiere of Benh's adorable short film, "I Get Wet." Tickets are pay what you can at a set, sliding scale (there's no difference in seating or other options, you just choose to donate more or less). If you would like to make a larger donation, or if you can't make it, but would like to donate, please visit www.court13.com and click DONATE.

If you want to support the cause but do NOT plan to attend, please do NOT buy a ticket. Make a donation through the link above so we can save that seat for someone who can come.

"GLORY AT SEA" Fundraiser
Saturday, April 26, 10:30pm
at The Walter Reade Theater
at Lincoln Center
North side of West 65th St.,
btwn. Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues, one flight up on the upper level.
Buy Tickets

And don't just take our word for it that the film is amazing. It won the Wholphin Award for best short film at SXSW, and the following people have all written glowingly about it:

+ Michael Tully at IndieWire
+ Spencer Parsons at Austin Chronicle
+ David Lowery at Spout Blog

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Posted at April 22, 2008 6:51 PM