During my years of teaching film appreciation classes at the Flint Institute of Arts, no course attracted as high an attendance as the one I led on the cinema of Alfred Hitchcock. While Hitchcock (amazingly) won no competitive Academy Awards during his half-century career, “The Master of Suspense” did win the respect of the film-going public – and the admiration of filmmakers like François Truffaut.
In 1966, Truffaut – the French New Wave master who directed Jules et Jim, Day for Night, Fahrenheit 451, among others – turned a week-long bout of interviews with his idol into a highly influential book-length study titled, Hitchcock/Truffaut. It ought to be read by anyone who loves film, and not surprisingly, the book has inspired a new documentary, also titled Hitchcock/Truffaut, which the FIA will present April 29 through May 1.
The film – lauded as a “must-see” by Entertainment Weekly – includes many classic clips, sound excerpts of original interviews, and newly filmed comments by standout directors such as Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Peter Bogdanovich, James Gray, and Wes Anderson. There’s more than just talking heads to look at over the movie’s 79 minutes.
Hitchcock may not have been favored by Oscar, but the FIA’s Friends of Modern Art film series starts this month showing the winner of the most recent Academy honor for best foreign language feature (set for screening April 1-3): Hungary’s Son of Saul, about a concentration camp inmate assigned to burn the corpses of his own people, who must confront his relationship to his estranged son.
The FIA is also showing two of the other Best Foreign Film Oscar nominees: Colombia’s Embrace of the Serpent, on April 8-10, and the French-Turkish saga Mustang, on April 22-24.
In between, on April 15-17, are the official programs of the latest Oscar nominees for best animated and live-action shorts. Check FlintArts.org for a schedule of titles and presentation times.
There are two additional screenings this month. On April 7, the museum’s “Best of FOMA” series will offer the 1971 black comedy Harold and Maude. And on April 26, the FIA and the Flint Jewish Federation are presenting the inspirational documentary Jon Imber’s Left Hand, about a skilled painter’s efforts to triumph over ALS, as a “teaser” to the Karen Schneider Jewish Film Festival of Flint, coming in May.
For movie show times and information on all events at the FIA, visit FlintArts.org or call 810.234.1695.
