In conjunction with the Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh Filmmakers will screen nine mostly recent documentaries about art and one program of experimental art films, through Sat., June 11. All films screen at Harris Theater, Downtown, and are free.
!WOMEN ART REVOLUTION. Quick: Name three well-known women artists. If you stumbled, Lynn Hershman Leeson's film will help explain why. Beginning with the late 1960s, the film -- composed of interviews Leeson has been conducting for decades -- tracks the prevalence of men in all facets of the art world, and the various women-artist-based movements that rose up to fight for inclusion. Watch Congress freak out over Judy Chicago's Dinner Party! (2010, 83 min.). 7:15 p.m. Fri., June 3; 7:15 p.m. Sat., June 4; and 7:45 p.m. Wed., June 8
SECRET MUSEUMS. Does the Vatican really hold the world's largest collection of erotic art? Why were the ancient Greeks cooler about nudity? Who decides what's "artistic" and what's pornographic? Filmmaker Peter Woditsch takes a journey into the world of erotic-art collections, both public and private. Talking-head intellectuals, but with lots and lots of naughty bits! (2008, 77 min.) In English, and various languages, with subtitles. 9 p.m. Fri., June 3, and 5:30 p.m. Sat., June 4
VIEWS ON VERMEER. Twelve people -- from artists and writers to architects and an art dealer -- reflect on influence of the 17th-century Dutch painter. (Hans Pool and Koos de Wilt, 2009, 52 min.) 3 p.m. Sat., June 4, and 6:30 p.m. Mon., June 6
FOLD CRUMPLE CRUSH: THE ART OF EL ANARSUI. The work of the Ghanian-born artist, who converts scrap material (cans, bottle caps) into enormous "tapestries," is profiled. (Susan Vogel, 2010, 55 min.) 4:15 p.m. Sat., June 4, and 6:15 p.m. Sun., June 5
NOTES ON MARIE MENKEN. Martina Kudlacek's doc profiles "the mother of avant-garde film," whose work -- two dozen experimental shorts -- inspired Andy Warhol, Kenneth Anger and Stan Brakhage. (2007, 97 min.) 9 p.m. Sat., June 4, and 4:15 p.m. Sun., June 5
BETWEEN THE FOLDS. If you think origami is just about making paper cranes, think again. This doc looks at the relationship between folded paper, spatial design, higher math -- and yes, aesthetics. (Vanessa Gould, 2008. 56 min.) 3 p.m. Sun. June 5, and 6:30 p.m. Wed., June 8
DESERT OF FORBIDDEN ART. Very often, collections of great art persevere because some committed soul has chosen to safeguard the art, even hide it away. This doc tells the story of Igor Savitsky, who saved 40,000 forbidden pieces of avant-garde art by "hiding" them, away from the Soviet KGB, in an Uzbekistan museum. (Amanda Pope and Tchavdar Georgiev, 2010, 80 min.) In English, and Russian, with subtitles. 7:45 p.m. Mon., June 6, and 8 p.m. Sat., June 11
DIRECT-ON-FILM/OPTICAL PRINTING: SELECTIONS FROM TENTATIVELY A CONVENIENCE'S ARCHIVE. Six experimental shorts selected by the local artist, dating from 1987 through 1997, are screened. 7:30 p.m. Thu., June 9
THE NEW WAVE BY ITSELF. Employing footage shot in 1964, Janine Bazin and Andre Labarthe's film profiles la Nouvelle Vague movement. Filmmakers, including Chabrol, Truffaut, Godard, Varda and others, are interviewed about their works. (2002, 57 min.) In French, with subtitles. 7:15 p.m. Fri., June 10, and 6:30 p.m. Sat., June 11
THE WOODMANS. Both a portrait of photographer Francesca Woodman (1958-81), and her parents -- artists whose lives were profoundly changed by Francesca's death. The elder Woodmans are remarkably candid, challenging what effect their own artistic pursuits may have had on their talented, but troubled daughter. Lots of Francesca's gorgeous and provocative photography and short films are included. (Scott Willis, 2010, 82 min.) 8:30 p.m. Fri., June 10, and 4:45 p.m. Sat., June 11
SKELTYS AND FOLEY: THE JOURNEY OF THE BAND OF DISCOVERY. Nicole Skeltys' doc chronicles two Australian musicians on a road trip through Appalachia. Skeltys will present the film. (2010, 14 min.) 4 p.m. Sat., June 11
