Ionarts Film Agenda

HIRSHHORN MUSEUM OF ART:
For films off the beaten path this week, we start with the free screening of Terry Gilliam's new film, Tideland, this Thursday (October 5, 7 pm) at the Hirshhorn. Based on the novel by Mitch Cullin, the movie delves into the imagination of a young girl (Jodelle Ferland) and her talking Barbie doll heads, while her father (Jeff Bridges) remains "on vacation," shooting up in an abandoned farmhouse. Terry Gilliam will introduce his movie in person.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS:
On Tuesday and Wednesday evenings (October 3 and 4), the NMWA will host the D.C. Asian Pacific American Film Festival with early screenings at 6:30 pm of groups of recent short films, leading up to 8 pm screenings of two feature-length movies: Sita, a Girl from Jambu, Kathleen Man's "narrative documentary" about a street performance describing a Nepalese girl sold into sexual slavery, and Kieu, Vu T. Thu Ha's film based on the Vietnamese epic poem, Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu). Tickets: $5.

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART:
As part of Borderless Sounds, a film series devoted to Swiss documentaries, the NGA will give a free screening of A Tickle in the Heart on Saturday (October 7, 4:30 pm), Stefan Schwietert's 1996 documentary about the Epstein Brothers of Brooklyn, kings of klezmer. On Sunday (October 8, 4:30 pm), it will show Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel's Step across the Border (1990), a look at the work of experimental composer Fred Frith. Look for a cameo appearance by John Zorn, one of the winners of this year's MacArthur Foundation genius grants. It will be followed by a bonus screening of Stefan Schwietert's Das Alphorn, a documentary about the past and present lives of the legendary instrument of Switzerland, the alpine horn.

AVALON THEATER:
I should have mentioned this before, but a recent film by Patrice Chéreau, Gabrielle, opened at the Avalon on Friday. It stars Isabelle Huppert and Pascal Greggory.

E STREET CINEMA:
Opening on October 6 at E Street is the latest installment by a team of British filmmakers, 49 Up. Director Michael Apted has interviewed the same group of English children, first when they were seven years old and every seven years after that up to this movie, when they are 49. The trailers looked fascinating. Also opening this Friday is John Cameron Mitchell's latest feature, Shortbus, about the participants in a weekly quasi-artistic, orgiastic salon. Mitchell's previous film, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, should tell you all you need to know.

AFI SILVER THEATER:
At the AFI in Silver Spring, the Pedro Almodóvar Retrospective continues this week, with screenings of La ley del deseo (1987, The law of desire), with Antonio Banderas (October 6 to 9); La Flor de Mi Secreto (1995, The flower of my secret); and Carne tremula (1997, Live flesh), with Penélope Cruz. The latter two close on October 5. Also at AFI, the XVII Washington Latin American Film Festival continues through October 8.