Thanks to a reader for sending the word:

The Capitol Riverfront BID is excited to announce its summer 2010 outdoor movie theme – Ultimate Underdogs!
We have set up a survey so people can vote for their top 10 and share suggestions.  Please find the survey HERE.

Movies will begin June 3rd on the giant 35 foot screen at the future site of Canal Park, located at 2nd Street, SE and M Street, SE.  Last year, over 300 people attended the Best of the 80s outdoor movies each week at Tingey Plaza behind USDOT.  This year we’ve moved locations to Canal Park to be closer to the Metro and accommodate more people.  You can see photos from last year’s movies on our flickr page.

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Photo by flickr user lonecellotheory

It was saved last year but NBC Washington is reporting that it needs to be saved again:

“Rauch tells us that HBO — which has traditionally backed the movie event — hasn’t yet determined its 2010 budget. “Hence, our renewed effort to demonstrate how strongly the community supports and loves SOTG,” Rauch told us in an e-mail today.”

You can join the save the screen on the green facebook page here.

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Soccer Boys, originally uploaded by vision.dance.

More info and ticket purchase available here.

“Les Yeux dans les Bleus
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15
7 pm at the French Embassy
Directed by: Stephane Meunier

Les Yeux dans les Bleus is a penetrating documentary following the victorious French
team during the 1998 World Cup. With intimate access to the players, director Stephane
Meunier captures the extremes of emotion that make soccer and its characters so
compelling. He shares their rituals, their doubts, their joys, their exploits and in the end,
their conquest, as if we were with them.
FOR SECURITY REASONS, ALL ATTENDEES MUST EITHER RESERVE SEATS IN ADVANCE OR PRE-PURCHASE TICKETS.

Sons of Sakhnin United & Special Soccer Reading
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16
Events start at 7pm at Busboys and Poets
Directed by: Christopher and Alexander Browne

After becoming the first Israeli-Arab team to win the Israel State Cup in 2004, BNei Sakhnin comes under added pressure. This intense documentary follows the team, based in a small Arab town in northern Israel,as it struggles to survive in the Israeli Premier League amid the ethnic tensions that plague the country.
Unsentimental and careful, Sons of Sakhnin United focuses its lens on both sides of the divide, and does its best to show how the action on the field can transcend the events off it. When Sakhnin captain Abbas Suan is called into the Israeli National Team for an important match against Ireland, the tension is palpable, the outcome bittersweet.
The film will be introduced by director Christopher Browne.”

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The District Rhyme – Teaser 1 from Dave Adams on Vimeo.

Every now and then I need to hear something great like this so I don’t lose my mind. I hope this makes you as happy as it made me. I’ll post updates on the film as it becomes available. From an email:

“I met the people over at Words Beats and Life (wblinc.org) a couple years ago, and did some video work for them, but had always wanted to feature their work in a feature doc about using Hip-Hop to supplement the Education of DC youth.  There are a number of artists in the area who are also school teachers such as Bomani and Asheru (who are both featured in the teaser).  Much of the work is being done in the Columbia Heights area.  One of the WBL campuses is housed at St. Stephens church on Newton, Asheru does a lot stuff over at Bloom on Kenyon, etc.

Long story short, we just want people to be aware of what we are doing so they can follow progress on the website (thedistrictrhyme.com).”

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We’ve touched on this issue a bit in the comment section of previous posts. But I’ve received a surprising number of emails asking why Columbia Heights doesn’t have a movie theater. And Sunday when I was walking downtown I passed the great E Street Cinema (just east of 11th Street, NW) and it made me think about it again. It seems that the E Street Cinema is wildly successful. So I hope I’m not being naive. I’m not saying that Columbia Heights should have a one screen independent theater. But why can’t Columbia Heights have a multi-screen independent theater modeled after the E Street Cinema? It seems like there is a real market out there.

I imagine the theater would attract folks from Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant, Shaw/U Street/Logan Circle, Columbia Heights of course, Park View, Petworth, Brightwood, Brookland, and even Woodley Park/Cleveland Park among other neighborhoods. Is that not enough people to support a movie theater? If you think Columbia Heights could support a movie theater, where could it realistically go? How many screens would be ideal? Could it support a theater that shows independent films like E Street or a more traditional theater like Chinatown/Gallery Place Regal Cinemas?

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From a press release:

“Capture DC Life, an engaging short film contest and viewing event designed to call attention to the visual excitement of the city, is now accepting submissions at www.CaptureDCLife.com through Friday, September 25. The winning films will have their world debut at a premiere party October 8 celebrating the official grand opening of Park Place Apartments at Petworth Metro.

The short films should depict an aspect of life in the Washington, D.C., area as seen through the lens of the filmmaker.

Sponsored by the new Park Place Apartments at Petworth Metro, DC Short Films Festival, On Tap magazine, Ketel One and Stella Artois, the Capture DC Life film contest will award a $1,000 grand prize, a $500 runner-up check, and a special people’s choice prize.

The winners of the Capture DC Life short film contest will be announced the evening of Thursday, October 8, as the highlight of the rooftop terrace grand opening party for Park Place Apartments at Petworth Metro — a 161-unit apartment building located within walking distance from Columbia Heights at 850 Quincy Street, NW.

“We believe that the Capture DC Life film contest will showcase many of the unique and bold aspects we’ve strived for with this project, and that presenting diverse views of DC lifestyle is the perfect match for celebrating the official opening of Park Place Apartments,” said Chris Donatelli, president of Donatelli Development, the Bethesda-based developers of the property, which is managed by Bozzuto Management.

“The apartments represent transit-oriented development at its best, with direct access to Metro and dynamic interiors that reflect the excitement and renewed energy that are the foundation of what is happening in the DC and Petworth neighborhood,” he added.

Capture DC Life film contest guidelines, as well as details on how to RSVP for the October 8 Grand Opening Premiere of Park Place Apartments at Petworth Metro, are immediately available at www.CaptureDCLife.com.”

Full Disclosure: CaptureDCLife is an advertiser on PoP.

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Inglorious Basterds, originally uploaded by simonem151266.

Well, I went into Inglourious Basterds hoping to see the best film of the summer. A number of friends highly recommended it. They are no longer my friends. Now, I’m a huge Tarantino fan. Violence in films doesn’t upset me. And of course, I’m Jewish, so I thought I’d love this film. I could not have been more wrong. I was constantly checking my watch throughout the film. It was utterly boring. There was no character development at all and scarcely any compelling plot. It was just plain boring. And like I said, I really enjoyed Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction and the other Tarantino films.

So help me out – what was the best film of this summer? And for fun, what was the worst?

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conn, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

At the Red and the Black, 1212 H Street, NE. Doors open at 8pm.

From a reader:

“The Red and the Black will host a fund raiser to benefit the production of On Your Mark, Get Set, MOW! – a Tale of Hope, Redemption, and Lawnmower Racing at the Red and the Black on September 2. Performing will be Pup Tent, Olivia Mancini, and Neon. The Red and the Black is at 1212 H Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002. Doors open at 8pm. Proceeds will enable filmmaker Mike Ratel to finish his documentary on lawn mower racing.

Can lives be saved through lawn mower racing? There is a family in Michigan who hope so. Sparta, Michigan is home to a lawn mower racing family who have lost five members of their family to Huntington’s disease, a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder which 200,000 Americans are at risk for. Washington, DC filmmaker Mike Ratel has followed the sport for two years and is currently in production of a documentary film which will tell the story of lawn mower racing and how it is used to raise research funds and awareness of the deadly disease. Every year in Sparta the family organizes a United States Lawn Mower Racing Association (USLMRA) national points race to raise funds for and awareness of the disease. Congressman Bob Filner of San Diego has appeared on camera for the documentary film as he and fellow Californian Brian Bilbray are the sponsors of the Huntington’s Disease Act of 2009 (HR 678) which if passed will eliminate the two year wait that those diagnosed with the disease currently have to wait before they get Medicare benefits. Through the use of interviews with congressmen, health care professionals, and Huntington’s disease advocates the path of the bill will be documented as part of the film. Additionally, medical professionals will provide a clinical definition of the disease and explain what research is underway to bring an end to it.

Entitled On Your Mark, Get Set, MOW! The documentary film is a tale of hope, redemption, and lawn mower racing. Ratel has spent two years traveling to over ten states documenting the sport of lawn mower racing and the community of racers who are involved in the sport. During this time he has discovered that there is much more to the sport than winning and losing. There are racers who have redeemed their lives though the sport and those who have had the satisfaction of using the sport to raise money to fight diseases such as Huntington’s disease.”

Sounds awesome!

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Screen on the Green, originally uploaded by lonecellotheory.

Screen on the green starts tonight with “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. Head to the Mall around 7th Street, the movie will start at sunset. But get there earlier to stake out a good spot. Hopefully the weather cooperates tonight.

And in honor of the 40th anniversary of landing on the moon, Som Records gives us a ridiculously awesome album cover.

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You might want to wander over to Adams Morgan tonight where the out-of-towners will likely be movie stars and not legislative correspondents. Or you might want to avoid the whole neighborhood entirely since the sheer volume of street space taken up by massive trucks, dollies and other movie-making equipment almost guarantees traffic hassles. I’ve stumbled across the no-name-yet Nicholson/Witherspoon/Rudd vehicle in a couple of locations across town – even watched Jack and Paul emote for a few takes across the street from the Scientologists, at Connecticut and R, the other day — but the sheer size of this effort suggests that tonight is going to be a big night. And face it, everyone needs to get through Adams Morgan every now and again, if only to remind themselves why they rarely go there any more, and a Wednesday night with a movie shoot for curbside entertainment beats heck out of a Friday night with rookies puking on the curb.

Ed. Note: I still enjoy going to Adams Morgan from time to time! Here is a list of favorite bars we discussed a couple weeks ago. So, I’ve been getting emails pretty regularly asking why certain areas of AM are closed (including the Duke Ellington Bridge). This is the film I’ve been talking about when I email you back. And in what I’ll call great timing, PoPville flickr user Tyrannous got some great shots of the filming last night.

“reese witherspoon, paul rudd, james L. Brooks on the corner of 18th and columbia ave in front of the starbucks filming a yet to be titled movie.”

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Bueno Vista Social Club, originally uploaded by stapaf.

From an email:

“The NoMa (north of Massachusetts Avenue) Business Improvement District (BID) will host

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Joe’s Real BBQ, originally uploaded by Joshua Mauldin.

When I was a kid I hated BBQs. Once a month we piled into my family

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“I’m raising money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, and the WSC in Columbia Heights was nice enough to sponsor a spinning class with all proceeds going to LLS.”

“We have about 10 short films, free popcorn and happy hour. It starts at 2 and goes until 8pm.”

Mid City studio tours this weekend

http://www.midcityartists.com/

Continues after the jump. Read Full Post

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Screen on the Green, originally uploaded by lonecellotheory.

“Hi PoP!

Do you know any more info on why HBO canceled Screen On The Green this year? As much as I can’t sit in one place for a long time, and have only been able to attend one movie a year for the last two years, I really enjoy it and am sad that it’s not happening.”

DCist reports:

“According to Doninger, the cancellation of Screen on the Green had to do with financial issues involving the premium cable network’s sponsorship of the event.”

This economy is ruining everything! A Facebook page has been created to save the event. But hopefully another generous sponsor will pick up where HBO left off. This was always a great event. Ugh.

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Ed. Note: If you have events you’d like included in the weekend picks please email princeofpetworth@gmail.com.

The Barnett-Aden Collection looks great! From the Informer:

The Barnett-Aden Collection dates back to the 1920’s. If was founded by James Herring, founder of the Howard University Department of Art, and Alonzo Aden, curator of the University’s Gallery of Art, both of whom were collectors of art. In 1943, they opened an art gallery in their Washington, D.C. home, and named it the Barnett-Aden Gallery.

At a time when most African American artists could not exhibit in mainstream museums and galleries, the Barnett-Aden Gallery provided exhibit space for artists to showcase their talents. Artists like John Robinson, Archibald Motley, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, and many others exhibited in the gallery.

The collection is being shown at the Hemphill Fine Arts Gallery located at 1515 14th Street, NW. You can view the exhibit on their Web site here. Exhibit is on display until March 7th.

Regular Gallery Hours
Tuesday – Saturday
10am – 5pm
or by appointment.
Please call 202.234.5601 for more information.

Margarita tasting tomorrow 1-3pm @ Good Libations

From an email:

If you have time stop by for an early afternoon taste of the new Jose Cuervo Silver. Jose Cuervo Especial Tequila Silver, made with Blue Agave, is clear, clean and colorless. Serve chilled for the ultimate smooth silver shot.
For those who feel it maybe too early for shots of tequila we are making Margaritas.

Good Libations -1201 5th St. NW (corner of 5th & M NW) -202.347.1006

Not exactly for the weekend but I wanted to put this on your radar for next week. From an email:

A POWERFUL NOISE Live!
March 5th
Ticket price: $15 – $18 for adults; $12.50 for children

On Thursday, March 5, 2009, CARE will present A POWERFUL NOISE Live
in more than 450 movie theatres nationwide for one night only. The
event will begin with the acclaimed documentary, “A Powerful
Noise,” which follows three women from different countries who
overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to bring lasting solutions
to their communities. Continues after the jump. Read Full Post

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