FILM KITCHEN. In honor of “women’s month,” the March program for the monthly screening of short films and videos will feature local women artists who are who are also members or faculty at Pittsburgh Filmmakers and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.
The films include two comic works by the S’nS Twins: “Donut With Sofia: The Donut Box” and “Farm Life,” which riffs on found-footage “lost in nature” thrillers like The Blair Witch Project. (Here, the protagonist is lost in the “apple field.”)
Also seeking laughs are the short animated films from Danielle Kogan. “The Soy” explores why soy milk gets a surcharge in coffeeshops, and what unintended consequences might occur from legislating a fix. Check in with those once-hardworking bloodsuckers with “Leeches in a Jar”; times are tough. Sing along with “Work to Do Today,” and ponder bigger questions in “The Creation ‘Myth.’”
The candy-colored, pop-kitschy slightly surreal “Coisa Bela,” by Sofia Caetano questions both the standards of beauty and how much investment (time and money) is needed toward being “beautiful.” In the 12-minute film, we see a young woman journey to a salon each day, to literally get her face on. (It’s clear that women are required to make more effort, though men here are not exempt from primping.) But a blind date, set up by one of the salon workers, proves an illuminating venture.
Kirsi Jansa finishes up her Sustainability Pioneers series, with this look at new Frick Environmental Center, which was designed from the start to be a model for green building, including innovation in conserving water and energy. Jansa interviews Mayor Bill Peduto, a fervent advocate of moving Pittsburgh toward long-range sustainability goals, even as the Trump administration pulls the United States out of the Paris climate accord. The issue of “climate melancholia” is addressed, with an eye toward shifting folks out of inaction. “Finding Our Power” is the 10th and final short film in the series.
And finally, what’s a rat to do, especially one that was a streetwise-Pittsburgh rat, cruising the Strip and catching films at the Manor, now that he’s an at-home “fancy rat”? Crystal Fortwangler investigates in the wry “A Rat’s Crib.”
7 p.m. reception; 8 p.m. screening. Tue., March 13. Melwood Screening Room, 477 Melwood Ave. Oakland. $5 (includes pizza, popcorn and drinks). filmmakers.pfpca.org
