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Guest curator Soumyaa Kapil Behrens and Oddball Films present an
evening of films filled with passionate duels and screen gods and goddesses of
years past. Cuddle
up for an intriguing selection that will let you indulge in the visual nature
of cinema and desire. Some highlights include coming of age shorts like the
classic Skaterdater (1965) winner of the Palm d’Or at Cannes Film Festival in 1966 and
The Magic Tree (1970) by Gerald McDermott that weaves an animated folktale of secrets and
desire from the Congo. The
Fable of He and She (1974) by animator Eliot Noyes Jr. sweetly re-tells the age-old “battle of the
sexes” story between the fictional hardimars and mushamels. The Art of Film: Love Goddesses (1968) documents the history
and evolution of the female sex symbol in Hollywood with famous faces like
Dietrich, Garbo, and the original vamp, Theda Bera. The guys get their turn with 1960’s movie trailers from
films like Easy Come, Easy Go (1967) and the James Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967). Jennifer Jones succumbs to the ultimate
crime of passion in the heat of the desert in an excerpt from the feature
Western, Duel in the Sun (1946) with Brazilian, Mexican and Russian dancing
shorts rounding out the night! Ole!
Date: Friday, February 3rd at 8PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street,
San Francisco
Admission: $10.00
Limited Seating RSVP to programming@oddballfilm.com or 415-558-8117Featuring:
Skaterdater
(1965, color)
This awesome coming of age short is a must see. Winner of Cannes Film Festival short
film prize in 1967, this film has no dialogue but rather uses the visual to,
ahem-erect, a story about a boy who skateboards with his friends until he can’t
take his mind off a girl on a bike. Directed by Noel Black (who went on to direct the cult feature “Pretty Poison”), Skater Dater has developed a strong following both for it’s amazing skateboarding and it’s surf-inspired Davie Allen and the Arrows soundtrack. Shot near Torrance, CA and features the Imperial Skateboard Club. One of the first skateboard films, it
was also nominated for an Academy Award and won several other prizes. 
Duel In
The Sun (1946, b/w)
Originally
shot in Technicolor, Jennifer Jones plays a sweaty and sexy heroine with a gun
torn between two men. Written and
produced by David Selznick and directed by King Vidor, the film garnered
Academy Award nominations for Jones and Lillian Gish. Salacious, on screen and off, it was heavily censored for
sexuality and it broke up the marriages of Jones and Selznick who had an affair
with each other during the film.
In the last scene, Jones seeks out the man she loves and hates for the
last time.
The Art of Film: Love
Goddesses (1968, b/w) - excerpt
This multi-part series explores the evolution of the
sex symbol in Hollywood and world factors that influenced these transformations
of desire. Includes film clips
from rarely seem films and archival footage from each film/world era. Part one features many of the greats
starting with silent film and Lillian Gish. Divas Mae West, Gloria Swanson, Theda Bera, Greta Garbo and
Marlene Dietrich, and more appear in this episode produced by Janus Films! 
Movie Trailers (1967, color)
This set of trailers recall film
spoofs and films that maybe should have been spoofs. With guys that make us smile for one reason or another like
Elvis Presley, Peter Sellers and Jason Robards and cheeky girls we still envy
like workout queen and movie star Jane Fonda, remember these films that never
won any awards but still got our blood going!
The Fable of He and She (1974, color)
Eliot Noyes Jr.
gained recognition via Academy Award nomination for his first animated
work made at Harvard University, “Clay” (1965-pictured above).
From there he went on to push the genre with many more clay-mated works
that reflect compassion toward humanity.
This short depicts the hardimars and the mushamels, clay species who
suffer from gender-typed bias. As
they separate from each other and learn to do the things they once thought
undoable, both kinds learn an important lesson. Adorable, funny and engaging, this film is a great journey
into sexual politics with a nice squishy center.
The Magic Tree (1970, color)
Gerald McDermott, an award winning
filmmaker and children’s picture book author, animates this folk story from the
Congo with unusual shapes and shades of red. A young boy, rejected, stumbles upon a secret and beautiful
life but can he resist sharing this newfound joy with his family left behind? It is a charming and strangely moral
film.
Mexican Hat Dance, Brazilian
and Russian Dances (19--) b/w
This energetic short illuminates
on of the original forms of showing desire, the dance! With three succinct numbers from all
over the world, this short celebrates the passion, fun and stories told through
cultural dances.
Curator Biography
Soumyaa Kapil Behrens
is a filmmaker based in San Francisco.
Behrens is currently directing MY GARBAGE, MY NEIGHBORHOOD, a documentary film
on the eviction and transformation of one of the oldest recycling centers in
San Francisco located in Golden Gate Park. She is also producing the feature film, BEYOND
REDEMPTION, an anti-conventional western with women as unlikely heroes. Behrens teaches film locally and has an
MFA in Cinema Production from San Francisco State University.