by Bailey White
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Museum of Modern Art is beginning its fall season with an underground film series.
Beginning Sept. 17, the museum will show a selection of movies and documentaries on Wednesday nights in its lobby-level, 125-seat theater.
“I chose films that challenge our notions of the world around us,” said Tim Massett, director of film programs at JMoMA. “The films may have an unusual perspective on a particular subject or a structure that’s very different than what most viewers are used to. The purpose is to broaden Jacksonville’s perspective on what is cinema.”
Jane Craven, president and CEO of JMoMA, agreed.
“The series fits into our mission in that they’re visual art produced after 1945 and the museum takes a multi-cultural approach to the work it exhibits,” she said. “We looked for films that were extremely creative and risk taking, but also reflected the many cultures that make up the world today.”
The first film, “Russian Ark”, is a look at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The 90-minute film was done with one steady tracking shot. Other selections include a documentary on the Weather Underground, a group of several hundred men and women who tried to violently overthrow the American government during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the influential French director Jean-Luc Goddard’s film, “Band of Outsiders.”
These are not the films you’ll find in your local video store.
“I love a blockbuster as much as the next person, but that’s not all that exists,” said Massett. “There is another world of films out there that don’t get seen very often, usually because of economics.”
Massett has been screening underground movies in Jacksonville at his Riverside venue, The Pit, a place that includes an old wheelchair and a grungy love seat as part of its seating and whose walls are lined with stacks of film canisters.
“I learned a lot about film while living in San Francisco and in Austin, Texas, where I helped start the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema,” he said. “I programmed and ran projection.”
He also organized for silent films with new live scores by Austin musicians, and arranged movie screenings that featured comedians live in the audience who provided running commentary on the film being shown.
“I admired the type of films he was bringing to Jacksonville and liked that he was willing to take a risk on what audiences would like,” Craven said on her desire to work with Massett. “And we’ve already decided to expand the program with an additional four films that will be shown in March.”
The film series, which is being sponsored by Comcast and the Independent Film Channel, begins Sept. 17 at 7 p.m. with a showing of “Russian Ark.” Films are $5 for members and $6 for non-members. Admission to the museum is free on Wednesday evenings. A complete list of films is at www.jmoma.org.