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BLUE SUNSHINE is Montreal¡¯s newest psychotronic film centre, and as you've probably guessed, is named after the seminal 1976 film by Jeff Lieberman. Somewhere at the junction of trash and art, we¡¯re an intimate space devoted to the relentless enjoyment of good, weird cinema in all its forms - through production, exhibition, educational programs and publications. We are the new home of the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies where established horror writers, directors and programmers/curators can offer their experience to a young generation of horror fans through workshops and masterclasses.
BLUE SUNSHINE est le tout nouveau centre de cin¨¦ma psychotronique de Montr¨¦al. Comme vous l¡¯avez probablement devin¨¦, il fut nomm¨¦ d¡¯apr¨¨s le film phare de Jeff Lieberman de 1976. Quelque part entre l¡¯art et la b¨ºtise, nous sommes un espace intime d¨¦vou¨¦ ¨¤ l¡¯appr¨¦ciation continue de bon cin¨¦ma bizarre sous toutes ses formes ¨C ¨¤ travers des productions, des expositions, des programmes ¨¦ducatifs et des publications. Nous sommes le nouveau chez-soi pour le Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, o¨´ des ¨¦crivains, r¨¦alisateurs et programmeurs/conservateur peuvent offrir leur exp¨¦rience ¨¤ une jeune g¨¦n¨¦ration de fans d¡¯horreur ¨¤ travers des ateliers et des cours de ma?tres.
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Upcoming Events:
RUBIN & ED - psychedelic derangement with Crispin Glover!
2011-11-18, 20:00 - 22:00
Rubin & Ed is too weird for words and definitely, "More psy?che?del?ic fun than a bar?rel of mon?keys on mush?rooms!" Rubin (Crispin Glover) lives in a motel managed by his mother, along with his dead watermelon-eating cat named Simon (who¡¯s corpse he keeps in the freezer), and spends his time dreaming of a love affair with bikini poster pinup girl. When Mom takes away his stereo, Rubin is forced out into the world, meets a would-be yuppie named Ed, and the two drive into the Utah West Desert to find an appropriate place to bury the cat. An absurd, deranged, way-off-kilter classic from Trent Harris (The Beaver Trilogy).
Read more ¡­ RUBIN & ED - psychedelic derangement with Crispin Glover!
Miskatonic Institute: ECHOES FROM THE SLEEP ROOM: MEDICAL TERROR IN CANADIAN HORROR CINEMA
2011-11-19, 2011-11-19 - 2011-11-20
This course taught by visting instructor Paul Corupe (of Canuxploitation.com) will explore how Canadian horror cinema has tapped into national anxiety over historical incidents of physical and psychological torture, including the Duplessis Orphans and the MK-ULTRA Project. From deadly doctors and mind control to unauthorized surgical procedures and patient revenge, we will discuss how medical terror has become one of the defining themes of Canada's horror films.
Read more ¡­ Miskatonic Institute: ECHOES FROM THE SLEEP ROOM: MEDICAL TERROR IN CANADIAN HORROR CINEMA
Peter Watkins' THE WAR GAME - 16mm Print!
2011-11-19, 20:00 - 22:00
Made for the BBC, then banned by the BBC, The War Game is Peter Watkins' (Privilege, Punishment Park) Academy Award-winning, fictional, worst-case-scenario docu-drama about the effects of a nuclear holocaust in England. Forty-five years since its production, it remains one of the most disturbing and convincing films about the devastating consequences of nuclear war. 16mm Print!
Read more ¡­ Peter Watkins' THE WAR GAME - 16mm Print!
Miskatonic Institute: THE "TERROR" FILMS OF VAL LEWTON
2011-11-23, 2011-11-23 - 2011-12-14
With the popularization of ¡°auteur theories¡± very few producers get to carry the mantle of auteur, which is usually reserved for directors. Val Lewton is an exception. The nine horror films that Val Lewton produced for RKO studios between 1942 and 1946¡ªincluding Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), The Seventh Victim (1943), and Isle of the Dead (1945)¡ªare traditionally described as indicative of a decidedly non-sensationalist, even poetic approach to the horror film. It is the visionary quality of the films under Lewton¡¯s collaborative guidance that we will explore in this course. We will also look at Lewton¡¯s output in the context of film noir and the ¡°woman¡¯s film¡± immensely popular at the time, and influential on Lewton¡¯s brand of 40s horror.
Read more ¡­ Miskatonic Institute: THE "TERROR" FILMS OF VAL LEWTON
HERE WE COME: HIP HOP IN THE GDR - East German B-Boys!
2011-11-24, 20:00 - 22:00
In the early '80s, not even the Berlin Wall could stop the western Hip Hop movement being discovered by the youth of the communistic state. Inspired by the U.S. film Beat Street, teenagers like Magic Meyer, Beatschmidt and others started practicing brand new styles and powermoves, copying and improvising steps and customizing their clothing. The film reviews the movement from its roots to performances on some of East Germany's largest stages.
Read more ¡­ HERE WE COME: HIP HOP IN THE GDR - East German B-Boys!
Trash Palace Presents: DEADLY EYES - 16mm Print!
2011-11-25, 20:00 - 22:00
A killer rat movie directed by genre stalwart Robert Clouse (Enter the Dragon), Deadly Eyes' rats (or more accurately, dachshunds in disguise) are feeding off steroid-laced grain, growing to uncomfortable size and murderously attacking the humans of Toronto - including "special guest star" Scatman Crothers (The Shining, Coonskin)! Deadly Eyes is canuxploitation to the max!
Read more ¡­ Trash Palace Presents: DEADLY EYES - 16mm Print!
Trash Palace presents: THE FILMS OF LOTTE REINIGER - including: THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED!
2011-11-26, 20:00 - 22:00
A remarkable, pioneering talent, Lotte Reiniger (1899¨C1981), was a force well ahead of her time, who¡¯s undisputed masterpiece The Adventures of Prince Achmed hails as the oldest surviving animated feature film. Reiniger invented the silhouette animation technique utilized in the film; cardboard cutouts and thin sheets of lead were carefully manipulated under a camera, creating the effect of smoothly animated shadow puppets. Plays with: The Art of Lotte Reiniger (1953¨C1971), a short documentary, along with rare Reiniger 16mm short films!
Read more ¡­ Trash Palace presents: THE FILMS OF LOTTE REINIGER - including: THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED!
THE KIDS ARE UNITED - Sham 69, The Jam, Ultravox, The Pirates and Penetration at 1978 Reading Rock Festival! 16mm Print!
2011-12-01, 20:00 - 22:00
An extremely rare document of the 1978 Reading Rock Festival, featuring interviews and performances by Sham 69, The Jam, Ultravox, The Pirates and Penetration. Interviewees Jimmy Pursey (Sham 69) and the Jam¡¯s frontman Paul Weller are presented as opposite ends of the punk spectrum, with Pursey the real anchor of the film ¨C the young utopian working-class punk who famously breaks down in tears as thousands of them chant in unison ¡°if the kids are united...we will never be divided...¡± Very rare 16mm Print!
Read more ¡­ THE KIDS ARE UNITED - Sham 69, The Jam, Ultravox, The Pirates and Penetration at 1978 Reading Rock Festival! 16mm Print!
LET ME BE YOUR BAND - One-Man Band documentary! With live performance by BLOODSHOT BILL!
2011-12-08, 20:00 - 22:00
Twist and stomp through the kooky world of One-Man-Bands! Let Me Be Your Band spotlights infamous One-Man-Rockabilly-Wild-Man, Hasil Adkins, and other solo, misfit innovators Bob Log III, Washboard Hank, the Lonesome Organist, the Mysterious Asthmatic Avenger, and many more! Featuring a special live performance by Montreal¡¯s #1 One-Man-Band, BLOODSHOT BILL!
Read more ¡­ LET ME BE YOUR BAND - One-Man Band documentary! With live performance by BLOODSHOT BILL!
High for the Holidays: GO ASK ALICE - 16mm Print!
2011-12-16, 20:00 - 22:00
Alice takes LSD and flips out! Based on the bestselling novel, this is the true story of a shy teenage girl who, in an attempt to be popular, hangs out with the wrong crowd and is sucked into an odyssey of sex and drugs! In no time at all Alice goes from being a "nice girl" to comfortably fitting in with drug pushers, pimps and prostitutes. Co-starring William Shatner, Robert Carradine, Julie Adams and MacKenzie Phillips!
Read more ¡­ High for the Holidays: GO ASK ALICE - 16mm Print!
Blue Sunshine¡¯s Annual CHRISTMAS TV TRASH PARTY!
2011-12-17, 18:00 - 23:59
Blue Sunshine's Christmas TV Trash Party - Where You Don¡¯t pay to Get In...You Pay to Get out! Join us for a 6-hour overload of rare retro Xmas TV specials, movies and ephemera in our very own Holiday Wonderland! It¡¯s a party! Drop in anytime!
Read more ¡­ Blue Sunshine¡¯s Annual CHRISTMAS TV TRASH PARTY!
MELLODRAMA: THE MELLOTRON MOVIE!
2012-01-05, 20:00 - 22:00
A documentary exploring the rising and falling fortunes of the Mellotron - the first musical keyboard to "sample" the sounds of other instruments - from its birth in a California garage in the 1950s, through its dominance on concert stages in the 1970s, and its almost religious cult of followers in the 2000s. Featuring interviews with members of The Beach Boys, The Moody Blues, The Zombies, King Crimson, Yes, Cheap Trick, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Opeth, Goblin, Maroon 5, ?nglag?rd, Fabio Frizzi and more!
Read more ¡­ MELLODRAMA: THE MELLOTRON MOVIE!
Peter Bogdanovich's SAINT JACK - 16mm Print!
2012-01-06, 20:00 - 22:00
After a three-year filmmaking absence, Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show) returned with this dark tale of an American expatriate pimp, based on a novel by Paul Theroux and shot entirely on location in Singapore. Ben Gazzara is simply mesmerizing as Jack Flowers, the perennial operator determined to set up a business of his own, but gradually realizing that his territory and way of life are being challenged. An unexpectedly touching and revealing character study set against the lurid backdrop of the Singapore underworld. Rare 16mm Print!
Read more ¡­ Peter Bogdanovich's SAINT JACK - 16mm Print!
BLESS THE BEASTS AND CHILDREN - 16mm Print!
2012-01-07, 20:00 - 22:00
Six troubled adolescent misfits find themselves unwillingly caught up in the redneck culture of a summer camp advertising "Send us a boy, we'll send you a cowboy." Shocked after witnessing the massacre of captive buffalo by the camp leaders, the boys vow to liberate the rest of the herd and thus save the majestic beasts from certain death. The Carpenters¡¯ Oscar-nominated title song resonates throughout this rarely-screened film by Stanley Kramer. 16mm Print!
Read more ¡­ BLESS THE BEASTS AND CHILDREN - 16mm Print!
H?XAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES - WITH LIVE SCORE BY THE MONTREAL NINTENDO ORKESTAR!
2012-01-13, 20:00 - 22:00
The Montreal Nintendo Orkestar is an avant-electronic duo composed of French sound experimentalist Alb¨¦rick (.cut) and local artist Stephen Cibo, who use two Nintendo DS videogame units run through a variety of guitar pedals and effects processors to conjure up a brooding cinematic soundscape. In 2010, the duo produced (for POP Montreal) an original score for the still-shocking 1922 horror/documentary, H?xan - Witchcraft Through The Ages. Blue Sunshine is proud to present a rare follow-up performance of this haunting blend of sound & image on Friday the 13th!
Read more ¡­ H?XAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES - WITH LIVE SCORE BY THE MONTREAL NINTENDO ORKESTAR!
PUPPET - A history of American puppetry, from children's theatre to high art!
2012-01-14, 20:00 - 22:00
This feature-length doc interweaves a broad look at the fraught history of American puppetry (its marginalization as children¡¯s theater and its sudden explosion as high art) with an intimate thread following Dan Hurlin, a downtown artist who is creating a complex puppet work about Mike Disfarmer ¨C an eccentric, Depression-era photographer. Outsider art meets one of mankind's earliest forms of theatre in this incredible doc!
Read more ¡­ PUPPET - A history of American puppetry, from children's theatre to high art!
Miskatonic Institute: THEORIZING HORROR
2012-01-18, 2012-01-18 - 2012-02-22
This six week course will examine the recent history of horror theorizing starting in the early-1980s through some of the most influential writings on the genre. From Linda Williams¡¯ essay on women and looking, Barbara Creed¡¯s monstrous-feminine, Tania Modleski¡¯s terror of pleasure, Carol Clover¡¯s final girl, Steven Shaviro¡¯s cinematic bodies, through to Cynthia Freeland¡¯s dread-centred experience of horror, this course will discuss these genre theorists in conjunction with the ¡°major¡± thinkers that influenced them, such as Sigmund Freud, Julia Kristeva, Karl Marx, Laura Mulvey, Gilles Deleuze, and N?el Carroll. Every session will be taught by a different instructor. A film screening will accompany each session.
Read more ¡­ Miskatonic Institute: THEORIZING HORROR
PUNK ROCK - "the seamy underside of the New York rock scene!"
2012-01-19, 20:00 - 22:00
Legendary porn director Carter Stevens delivers the exploitation thrills and plenty of vintage New York PUNK ROCK in this, his first non-XXX film, filmed on location at NY¡¯s legendary Max¡¯s Kansas City and featuring original music from THE STILETTOS (minus singer Debbie Harry, who¡¯d recently joined BLONDIE), THE SQUIRRELS, SPICY BITS and THE FAST!
Read more ¡­ PUNK ROCK - "the seamy underside of the New York rock scene!"
Spaghetti Western / Spaghetti Feast: DEATH RIDES A HORSE - 16mm Print!
2012-01-20, 20:00 - 22:00
Blue Sunshine hosts its first-ever Spaghetti Western/Spaghetti Feast! Free spaghetti with every ticket! Director Giulio Petroni's most essential contribution to the genre that exploded in popularity after Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, Death Rides a Horse stars John Phillip Law (Danger: Diabolik) as a young man who seeks the aid of a renowned gunslinger (Lee Van Cleef) ¨C who has his own score to settle - in getting revenge on the men who killed his family as a child. With a classic Ennio Morricone score! 16mm print!
Read more ¡­ Spaghetti Western / Spaghetti Feast: DEATH RIDES A HORSE - 16mm Print!
Hideo Gosha's THREE OUTLAW SAMURAI - 16mm Print!
2012-01-21, 20:00 - 22:00
Three Outlaw Samurai is Hideo Gosha¡¯s (Sword of the Beast, Goyokin) feature film debut, and he delivers the goods with this rousing mix of elements from Yojimbo and Seven Samurai, served with a fresh dash of attitude and style, and the hack-and-slash action and tragic fatalism to satisfy genre devotees! "The result is cinematic magic, the perfect blend of blood and tears, a film worth watching over and over again."¡ªMike Street, The Asian Reporter
Read more ¡­ Hideo Gosha's THREE OUTLAW SAMURAI - 16mm Print!
THE SENTINEL - 16mm Print!
2012-01-27, 20:00 - 22:00
Nightmarish in its construction and use of dream-logic surrealism, The Sentinel is frightening, cruel, sexual and urgent, and has one of the scariest climaxes in genre-film history - controversial too, for director Michael (Death Wish) Winner¡¯s decision to use real physically deformed people. Underrated in America, the film was a hit in Italy and clearly served as partial inspiration for such pictures as Dario Argento¡¯s Inferno and Lucio Fulci¡¯s The Beyond. 16mm Print!
Read more ¡­ THE SENTINEL - 16mm Print!
THE PLAGUE DOGS Director's Cut + ELECTRIC LITERATURE'S SINGLE SENTENCE ANIMATIONS!
2012-01-28, 20:00 - 22:00
A ONE-NIGHT ANIMATION MINI-FEST! The director's cut (never released in North America) of The Plague Dogs is Martin Rosen's feature-length follow-up to his animated classic Watership Down. This chilling masterpiece screens with a striking collection of animated shorts created for indie book publisher Electric Literature's ¡®Single Sentence Animations¡¯ project, where each of their writers selected a single sentence from their story to be reinterpreted by an animator, with astounding and unexpected results!
Read more ¡­ THE PLAGUE DOGS Director's Cut + ELECTRIC LITERATURE'S SINGLE SENTENCE ANIMATIONS!
Site news:
BLUE SUNSHINE DONATIONS + SPONSOR-A-FILM PROGRAM!
2011-11-13 16:03 by Kier-La Janisse
Blue Sunshine appreciates any and all donations to keep our little film centre going, and there are special perks for those who donate $200 or more. PLUS we've inaugurated our SPONSOR-A-FILM program whereby fans can sponsor a 16mm film screening of your choice!
Read more ¡­ BLUE SUNSHINE DONATIONS + SPONSOR-A-FILM PROGRAM!
BLOODY VALENTINES: HALLOWEEN EDITION! Blue Sunshine's 48 Hour Horror Filmmaking Contest returns - registration now open!
2011-10-29 19:00 by Kier-La Janisse
Blue Sunshine's 48-hour filmmaking contest returns for another round! Filming: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 7pm - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 7pm. Screenings: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29, 7pm & 9pm! SIGN UP TODAY - LIMIT OF 10 TEAMS!
Read more ¡­ BLOODY VALENTINES: HALLOWEEN EDITION! Blue Sunshine's 48 Hour Horror Filmmaking Contest returns - registration now open!
The 40th EDITION of the FESTIVAL DU NOUVEAU CIN?MA is here - free events at the FNC Lab start tonight!
2011-10-13 14:25 by Kier-La Janisse
THE 40th EDITION OF THE FESTIVAL DU NOUVEAU CIN?MA is upon us! Check out these FREE events, running throughout the festival at the FNC Lab. Highlights include: Optical Machines + Operating Theatre (Oct.18) and Zapruder Filmmakersgroup (Oct. 21)!
Read more ¡­ The 40th EDITION of the FESTIVAL DU NOUVEAU CIN?MA is here - free events at the FNC Lab start tonight!
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