FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Margot Gerber

323/461-2020, ext. 115

July 16, 1999

AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE’S INDEPENDENT FILM SHOWCASE THE ALTERNATIVE SCREEN PRESENTS

TWO NEW INDEPENDENT FILMS IN AUGUST

The LA PREMIERE of SLEEP (August 12)

The LA PREMIERE of THE BASEMENT AND THE KITCHEN (August 26)

HOLLYWOOD – The American Cinematheque’s THE ALTERNATIVE SCREEN: A FORUM FOR INDEPENDENT FILM EXHIBITION & BEYOND... presents two new independent feature films in July. On Thursday, August 12th at 7:30 pm is the LA PREMIERE of Peter Calvin’s SLEEP (103 min.), a beautifully photographed, highly original, restless journey into the feverish nightscapes of Los Angeles that focuses on four hipsters with various sleep disorders. The short film "Two Forms" (4 min.), a sensual study of two hands that plays with our expectations of gender, from director Shanti Thakur, will precede the feature. On Thursday, August 26th at 7:30 PM is the LA PREMIERE of David Fickas’ THE BASEMENT AND THE KITCHEN (98 min.), a quirky sci-fi thriller with a comic twist that centers around a young man who is haunted by dreams that some would say result from an insane paranoia… but then again maybe Lloyd has suffered a trauma of an unearthly nature. X-FILES fans will relate THE BASEMENT AND THE KITCHEN is co-presented with the IFP/West’ Festival Buzz series. A short film TBA will preced the feature. All filmmakers are scheduled to appear in-person at their respective screenings subject to their availability. All screenings are at the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood (between Las Palmas Ave. & McCadden Place).

SLEEP: Thursday, August 12th at 7:30 PM

Peter Calvin’s stunningly photographed, restless journey into the feverish

nightscapes of Los Angeles follows four Beverly/Fairfax area hipsters with

assorted sleep disorders: Jonny (Casey Peterson), an insomniac; Cass (Ames

Ingham), a sleepwalker; Sam (Bonnie Dickinson), a

narcoleptic; and Steve (Tim Innes), a compulsive sleeper. Sometimes

analytical, sometimes abstract and always amply laced with ironic humor, the

film maneuvers through a netherworld of sound and imagery -- weaving

together narrative sequences, interviews with doctors, sleep lab footage,

text, and hypnotically beautiful visual passages -- that all combine to

create a fluid, dreamlike landscape, by day or night. Narration reminiscent

of that found in an early Peter Greenaway "documentary" adds yet another

layer to this meditation on human consciousness. "The ability to weave such

disparate elements into a seamless feature is what makes SLEEP satisfying

and marks Calvin as a filmmaker to watch." (INDEPENDENT FILM & VIDEO

MONTHLY) "The result is both sexy and smart, gripping and atmospheric,

transcendent and pop." (NY Underground Film Festival) Peter Calvin will

appear for discussion following the screening. Plus, Shanti Thakur’s "Two

Forms" (4 min.). This erotic show of two hands, photographed in extreme,

sensual close-up, explores notions of gender through simple gestures and

rich imagery which is reminiscent of the photography of Weston. Evocative

and multi-layered, the film plays with oppositions: sound and silence, text

and image, volume and void, light and dark, right and left, male and female,

fragment and whole, and tension and release.

Writing for the VILLAGE VOICE, Gary Dauphin called the film "Engaging…"

while the NEW YORK PRESS commented that it is, "Bizarre and haunting… It’s

punk Wim Wenders." Writing for INDIEWIRE, Aaron Krach wrote, "SLEEP is a

film keeping me awake at night. Calvin creates a stunning experimental

feature, mainly because he accumulated enough striking visuals to match his

numerous ideas."

LA based filmmaker Peter Calvin is available for interview. Screening

cassettes are available for press preview. Also, color prints and press

kits. Call 323.461.2020, ext. 115 or 116 for press materials

THE BASEMENT AND THE KITCHEN (98 min.): Thursday, August 26th at 7:30 PM

This evening’s Alternative Screen showcase is Co-presented with the IFP/West’s Festival Buzz Series. David Fikas wrote, directed and acts in this quirky

sci-fi thriller with a comic twist. Lloyd Proffit has spent the past nine

years holed up in his basement, terrified of the outside world. Haunted by

dreams of a mysterious past, Lloyd insists that there is more to his

paranoia than a vivid imagination. There is a conspiracy going on. Is his

therapist a party to it? His mother? His neighbor and childhood friend Traci

is the only person he trusts even one iota. She is drawn into his madness.

She has no reason to believe… until she stumbles onto the secrets hidden in

the next room. X-FILES fans will relate. The film was a hit at the 1999 Seattle international Film

Festival. Director David Fickas will appear for discussion following the

screening.

In MOVIEMAKER magazine, Kathleen McGinnis wrote, "Director David Fiickas

has craftily composed a delightfully paranoid story of crisis, control and

ultimate faith for his feature film debut. …easily marks Fickas as a new

talent to watch."

LA based filmmaker David Fickas is available for interview. Screening

cassettes are available for press preview. Also, black & white prints and

press kits. Call 323.461.2020, ext. 115 or 116 for press materials.

Ticket giveaways are available to all broadcast programs in the LA area or

through websites. Please call for details.

The Alternative Screen: A Forum For Independent Film Exhibition And

Beyond..., the American Cinematheque’s on-going series focusing on

independent and new forms of cinema was created to serve the public as well

as the independent film community in Los Angeles by providing a year-round

venue for independent feature films that have not yet secured wide

commercial distribution. Whatever the ALTERNATIVE SCREEN offers from month

to month, it promises to be provocative, innovative and fiercely

independent. Select Alternative Screen alumni include THE BIBLE & GUN CLUB,

HABIT, STAR MAPS and THE LAST BIG THING.

The Alternative Screen takes on-going submissions for consideration of

fiercely independent work in all genres. Please send a 1/2" tape to: Margot

Gerber, The Alternative Screen, c/o American Cinematheque, 1800 N. Highland

Avenue, Suite 717, Hollywood, CA., 90028. Include a SASE if you would like

your tape returned. Inquiries should be directed to 323.461.2020, ext. 115.

Short films should be sent to the attention of Andrew Crane.

For information regarding the Alternative Screen or any other American

Cinematheque event, please call (323) 466-FILM. THE PROGRAM IS SUBJECT TO

CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.