Werner Herzog Dreams in 3-D

Werner Herzog has directed the perfect film for those who despise 3-D. In Cave of Forgotten Dreams, he uses 3-D as a  true cinematic technique to enhance and support his content, unlike most Hollywood blockbusters in which 3-D is merely a gimmicky spectacle to distract the audience from sophomoric stories or dull animation. Cinema Chicago held a special screening of Cave of Forgotten Dreams on Tuesday of this week, April 19, but I was lucky enough to see it at the Sarasota Film Festival earlier in the month.

Fasten Your Seat Belts: Remembering Bette Davis

 

This week would have marked Bette Davis’s 103^rd birthday, and she deserves our attention and respect. If she were alive today, she would demand it. Independent and fiery, Davis considered herself an artist, honed her craft, and fought for better roles long before method actors made those quests a given for any serious thespian. And, she did this in the 1930s and 1940s, an era when studios controlled the images and careers of their stars. During the Golden Age, most actors were under long-term contracts, forced to appear in films selected for them by their studios, and guided in their off-screen lives by press agents and studio bosses. Davis tried to sue her studio, Warner Bros., to wrangle some creative control over roles and directors, but like every other actor who tried this—save one—she lost in court (after all, Hollywood is a company town).

Well-Versed in More Than Movies

The other week Facets sent out a call (via Facebook, Twitter, and our This Week at Facets newsletter) requesting the aid of any willing wordsmiths among our supporters. The Community TechKnowledge Foundation's Heart and Soul Grant Award Program was offering up to $10,000 in funds, and all an organization had to do to apply was submit a four-to-eight-line poem describing their work and mission.

Our deep thanks to all who responded to the call! Regardless of the grant money, it means a great deal to us to read expressions of Facets' goals and programs that capture the powerful meaning these activities have for us. We wanted to share this experience with our blog readers by recognizing the best of the submissions here. Enjoy!

Happy April Fool's Day from Facets!