Man with a Movie Camera

Experience the 1929 silent film masterpiece Man with a Movie Camera, with an original live score performed by acclaimed musical ensemble, Montopolis!

Also featuring an original live score performance for the hilarious 1920 short comedy, The Scarecrow, starring Buster Keaton!

The Under Pressure Food Truck will be here from 6pm – 10pm!

The landmark 1929 silent “ciné-poem,” Man with the Movie Camera, remains an exhilarating, one-of-a-kind movie experience.  Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov’s virtuosic, rule-breaking “City Symphony” offers a dazzling kino-eye portrait of a day in the life of a large Soviet city.   Merging three different cities (Kharkiv, Odesa, and Kyiv, Ukraine) into one, and orchestrating his images of urban life and labor with what can accurately be described as a syncopation of ecstasy, Vertov produced a work that quickly became a cornerstone of the international avante-garde.  Revered as a visual masterpiece and widely considered to be one of the greatest documentaries ever made, Man with a Movie Camera was ranked ninth in Sight & Sound’s 2022 Greatest Films of All Time poll.

Montopolis is an Austin-based musical ensemble that performs live scores to silent films at cinemas throughout the U.S.  Montopolis composer/pianist Justin Sherburn’s joyful, original score for Man with a Movie Camera, which has been called “stunning and transcendent” by The Austin Chronicle, celebrates the beauty and resilience of Ukraine’s people, and aims to inspire American audiences to support the country in its time of need.  The grandson of Romanian immigrants, Sherburn (whose Ashkenazi family name is Shapiro), has a personal investment in the history and culture of Eastern Europe. His original score incorporates indie rock, extended techniques, and traditional Ukrainian folk melodies, and he says the work is “an exercise in the power of music to undermine a film’s intention.”

Man with a Movie Camera was commissioned by the Soviet regime under Joseph Stalin to showcase the might of industry in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa. The composer’s romantic score transforms a nationalistic propaganda film into a celebration of the human spirit, emphasizing the humanity of the Ukrainian people over the industrial prowess of the Soviet Union.  Man with a Movie Camera gives historical context to the current Russian invasion, and lays bare the costs of the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.

Montopolis has partnered with relief organization Bird of Light Ukraine to raise awareness of the refugee crisis in Ukraine. The organization has built a humanitarian supply line that sends millions of dollars of goods to the hardest hit parts of Ukraine.   Donations for Bird of Light will be accepted in the lobby at every screening on the tour, and a portion of the proceeds from the entire tour will be donated to support their effort.

Man with a Movie Camera (Dir. by Dziga Vertov, 1929, Soviet Union, silent, 68 mins., Not Rated)

The Scarecrow (Dir. by Edward C. Cline & Buster Keaton, 1920, USA, silent with English intertitles, 18 mins., Not Rated)