In conjunction with his exhibition Artist’s Choice: Arthur Jafa—Less Is Morbid, Jafa has organized a Carte Blanche film program, a nonlinear survey of his cinematic influences and interests. Presented in pairs, the films’ unexpected juxtapositions of style and content allow audiences to see each work in surprising new ways.
The series begins with Oscar Micheaux’s pre-code Hollywood film Ten Minutes to Live alongside Wong Kar-wai’s Hong Kong New Wave classic In the Mood For Love. Seen together, the films’ urban settings—from Harlem nightclubs and lively avenues of 1920s New York to the public stairways and narrow streets of Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui district—come into sharper focus. Jafa also notes being drawn to the contrasting cinematography of each film, saying, “Wong Kar-wai is so attentive with lighting in these beautifully shot interior scenes…. [W]ith the Micheaux film, it’s almost like he’s got his own glitchy style, but it isn’t on purpose.”
Films will be screened with a ten-minute break in between.
Showtimes:
Nov 20
Ten Minutes to Live: 6:30, In the Mood For Love: 7:45
Nov 24
Ten Minutes to Live: 6:30, In the Mood For Love: 7:45
Ten Minutes to Live. 1932. USA. Written and directed by Oscar Micheaux. With Lawrence Chenault, A. B. DeComathiere, Laura Bowman, Willor Lee Guilford. DCP. 58 min.
花樣年華 (In the Mood for Love). 2000. Hong Kong. Written and directed by Wong Kar Wai. With Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung Man Yuk. In Cantonese with English subtitles. 35mm. 98 min.