1/28/2022

Invention for Destruction/The Syphilis of Sisyphus

Co-presented with the Fabric Workshop & Museum

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FWM and Lightbox Film Center present "Heart's Peelings," an evening of films curated by Artists-in-Residence Mary Reid Kelley and Patrick Kelley, whose exhibition Blood Moon, is currently on view at The Fabric Workshop and Museum.

The Syphilis of Sisyphus

Set in Paris, 1852. A pregnant prostitute Sisyphus powders her nose while extolling the power of cosmetics to “fix” nature’s flaws. Walking the nighttime streets of Paris, she encounters a troupe of travelling entertainers, who, in a sequence of comic imitations ridicule French history. The ludicrous plays rouse Sisyphus to join in a baguette battle, which excites the attention of the Morals Police, who cart her off to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital. Though incarcerated and straightjacketed, Sisyphus solicits the male doctors.  Written and co-directed by Mary Reid Kelley; co-directed, filmed, and edited by Patrick Kelley; drawings, makeup, costumes, and props by Mary Reid Kelley.  (USA, 2011, HD video, 11 min., b&w)

Followed by:

Invention for Destruction 

This eye-popping escapade revolves around a scientist and his doomsday machine—and the pirates who will stop at nothing to gain possession of it. Freely adapting the fiction of Jules Verne, and inspired by Victorian line engravings, Karel Zeman surrounds his actors with animated scenery of breathtaking intricacy and complexity, constructing an impossibly vivid proto-steampunk world. Released abroad at the turn of the 1960s, Invention for Destruction went on to become one of the most internationally successful Czechoslovak films of all time. (Karel Zeman, Czechoslovakia, 1958, 81 min.) In Czech with English subtitles 

Our goal is to ensure your visit to Lightbox is safe and comfortable. As we resume in-person events in the coming months, we will continue to follow the health and safety guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control as well as state and local officials. While preparing to attend a Lightbox program please note the following:

·Lightbox Film Center at University of the Arts is a vaccine-required community, with few exceptions.

·All guests must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and must present proof of vaccination at the box office. CDC-issued vaccination cards are preferred, though photographic proof will also be accepted.

·Masks are required at all times. Visitors are strongly encouraged to wear N95, KN95, KF94 or three-ply surgical masks while on UArts' campus. Cloth masks are still permitted. All masks should fit tight to the face and securely cover the nose and mouth.

·Lightbox will be operating at reduced capacity until further notice.

·Tickets to all screenings must be purchased in advance at https://lightbox-film-center.ticketleap.com/