Essential Event Info
W H A T :

  • It’s All About L-O-V-E
    In honor of Valentine's Day, CWC offers a collection of Romantic Shorts that celebrate love, romance and relationships, with films from the USA, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway. Total running time: 80 minutes


    • W H E N :

  • B U L L E T I N    Art Museum closed Feb 14 due to the weather. Films are rescheduled for one screening only, FRIDAY, FEB 16, 8:30 PM. Tickets for the 6:30 and 8:30 screenings on Feb 14 will be honored on Friday Feb 16 at 8:30.


    • W H E R E :

  • Cincinnati Art Museum, 953 Eden Park Drive, Eden Park/Mt. Adams.
  • Easy Access, Free Parking
    click for Directions & Map


    • T I C K E T S :

  • Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for Art Museum members and students with valid ID.

    $6 tickets are ONLY available online, by phone, at the Museum, and at the door subject to availability.

    ADVANCE TICKETS:

  • ON-LINE

  • tollfree 1-877-548-3237

  • at the Art Museum


    • ...and at these locations
    ($8 tix only, cash only),
    click each location below for a map:

  • Clifton-Ludlow Ave. -
    Sitwell's Coffee House
    513 281 7487


  • Mt. Lookout Square -
    Lookout Joe Coffee Roasters
    513 871 8626


  • Northside-Hamilton Ave -
    Shake It Music & Video
    513 591 0123


    • Tickets will also be available at the door, if not sold out in advance.



    Dinner and a Movie
    While there are many excellent dining establishments close to the Art Museum (Mt. Adams, Walnut Hills, Downtown), you might want to explore the opportunity to enjoy a special Valentine's Day Dinner and our Romantic Short Films all under one roof at the Museum:

    A Night Out with Your Valentine

    The Art Museum is staying open late this Valentine's day so you and your heart's desire can enjoy dinner, programs and live music.

    The Valentine's Dinner Package will include an elegant three-course meal inspired by Daveed's, a bottle of wine, live jazz and classical guitar, a commemorative photograph in the galleries and tours through the collection. The package costs $100 per couple and Art Museum members will recieve a 10% discount.

    You can arrange a dinner seating to compliment CWC film screenings at 6:30 and 8:30 PM. To make reservations call (513) 639-2347.


    Stills
    ON THIS PAGE:   |   Advance Tickets    |   About the Films    |   Dinner & A Movie    |   Programming Notes    |   Contest Winners    |  
    Click here for online tickets Marry Me!
    ← click here
    to order tickets



    I t ' s   A l l
    A b o u t
    L - O - V - E
       
    ... and sex and romance and relationships too!!

    Demented duos, unlikely triangles and middle-aged squares in love ... in a delightful assortment of quirky, comedic & heartwarming Romantic Shorts!

    With a run time of 80 minutes, this hand-picked selection of short films will fit perfectly into your Valentine's Day plans. And with two screening times (6:30 and 8:30) you can do drinks or dinner before or after the films!

    Please join us for a light-hearted cinematic adventure (with some serious, touching, moments) including award-winning films from New York City, California, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway.

    Parents' Note: These films are Not Rated. There is brief violence and femaile nudity in TRANSIT and several other films contain spoken references to love-making, but nothing gratutitous or objectionable. All told, the content is milder than that seen on the Fox or WB television networks or Desparate Housewives. Would probably assign PG-13 as oposed to PG, because of adult themes.


    About the Films


    Last Hand Standing   Paul Cotter, UK/USA, 2003, 7:30

    A paean to the uncertain course of love. Sometimes, what you're shooting for is not really what you want ... so do you walk away, or what?

    Director's Guild of America, New York City, world premiere
    Palm Springs International Short Film Festival
    Florida International Film Festival
    Rome International Film Festival
    AFI Fest, Los Angeles, special screening
    Seattle One Reel Film Festival, special screening


    Rules of Love   Bruno Coppola, USA, 2002, 17:00

    Set in the 1960s, this is the story of a love triangle between two lovers who face a formidable obstacle - their Church. Will they choose each other or obey the rules that would keep them apart?

    Bruno Coppola lives in London and has worked in film, theatre, radio and music in the US, England and throughout Europe. Credits include Assistant Director to David Fincher (music videos), music producer in Italy for his cousin Francis ("Godfather III"), and for three years chief radio drama writer at the BBC World Service in London ("Crisis" and "Mazen"). His short "Rules of Love" was shot in Los Angeles. More recently, Bruno's "Stuff That Bear!" has won 15 awards at more than 65 festivals in 12 countries; and his feature script "Madhouse Nudes" was chosen by IFFCON as one of the top 40 most promising independent feature projects in the world.

    Selected in the Top Ten in the Turner Classic Shorts Section of the London Film Festival
    Winner, Best Short, DC Independent Film Festival, Washington D.C.
    Winner, Best Short, Alaska Panhandle Film Festival
    Winner, Silver Open Award, Cotswold Film Festival
    Winner, Best of the Fest, Manchester Short Film Festival
    Winner, Film of the Day at the International Festival do Algarve in Portugal


    TRANSIT   Piet Kroon, The Netherlands, 1997, 10:00

    A brilliant and inspired, lushly animated film about the perils of adultery, TRANSIT presents a classic nineteen-twenties love tragedy as a mystery for the audience to unravel. The story is told in seven separate sequences, each in its own distinctive graphic style, reminiscent of the period. Under the direction of Piet Kroon, each sequence was animated by a different artist. The animators, most of them filmmakers in their own right, were cast on the basis of their work and their stylistic and atmospheric genius. With the director and the animators working from London, Cardiff, Amsterdam, Los Angeles and the south and north of France, the production demanded a highly structured organization and many intercontinental deliberations. There is no dialogue, but a stunning and evocative score by Julian Nott. The story plays out in reverse chronological order - think "Memento" meets "Waking Life." TRANSIT deserves the full attention of the viewer, but this investment is richly rewarded with a uniquely and beautifully crafted story.

    Winner, Grand Prize, Cinanima, Espinho Portugal
    Winner, Best Animation - Short, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
    Winner, Grand Prize, World Animation Celebration, Pasadena CA
    Winner, Best Animation Between 5 and 15 Minutes, World Animation Celebration, Pasadena CA
    Nominated, Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Short Subject, The Annie Awards
    Nominated, Best Animated Short Film BAFTA Film Award, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, London
    Nominated, Cartoon d'Or, Cartoon Forum, Europe


    Modern Life   Dean Mermell, USA, 1999, 6:00

    What to do when dual-career young professionals are too busy and too tired for love and intimacy? A cautionary tale about the dangers of losing one's spirit to a dot com world... this silent homage to Buster Keaton is built on a ragtime piano piece by William Bolcom called "The Graceful Ghost".

    Dean Mermell is a digital filmmaker, video editor, writer, and media content provider. He has been a contributing editor to Digital Video Magazine and has published numerous articles in Videography, AV Video, Creative Planet, and RES magazines. He also writes for web-based magazines 365Broadcast and Equip.com, and is a regular monthly columnist for Adobe.com

    Winner, Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival


    Kom   Marianne Olsen Ulrichsen, Norway, 1995, 5:00

    By way of a woman's erotic recollections of her youth, this film tells of a life-long (and still strong) love between a man and a woman. With impressive use of flashback and visual devices to show the passage of time, Kom chronicles a young woman's determination to make her own choices, with heart-warming results. Arguably one of the best five-minute-and-under short films ever made.

    Best Debut Film, Aspen FilmFest, USA
    Best Short Film, Cinema delle Donne, Torino, Italy


    The Last Supper   Jeremy Boxer, USA, 1998, 12:00

    A group of friends dining in a New York restaurant decide to play a joke on one of their own by tricking him into thinking he has won the lottery, with shocking results. The script was mostly improvised by the actors and in the final scene, only one member of the cast knew how the story ends...

    Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival, 1998


    My Parents   Neele Leana Vollmar, Germany, 2003, 18:00

    Lydia and Erhard, both in their early fifties, have been together for more than 25 years. Their marriage seems fizzled out, they sleep in separate rooms and daily routine has long ago overtaken spontaneity and romance. Daughter Marie has met the young man of her dreams and he wants to get to know her parents, which wouldn't be so bad had Marie not told him that her oh-so-square parents were still madly in love, cool, tolerant, and the contrary to petty bourgeois. ... What do you do when your very hip boyfriend wants to meet your decidedly square parents?

    Neele Leana Vollmar was born in 1978 in Bremen. A student at the Film Academy Baden-Wuerttemberg, her films include: the shorts Wattenmeer (1999), Zu Zweit (1999), Eine Reise (2000), Sans une parole (2001), Weiss (2001), Tote Fische schwimmen oben (2002), and My Parents (Meine Eltern, 2003).

    Winner, Audience Award, Best Short Film, AFI Fest, Los Angles
    Winner, Audience Award, Brest European Short Film Festival
    Winner, Bronze Moon of Valencia Short Film, Cinema Jove - Valencia International Film Festival
    Winner, Audience Award, International Competition, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival
    Winner, Canal+ Award, International Competition, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival
    Winner, Fernand Raynaud Award, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival
    Winner, Best European Short Film, Créteil International Women's Film Festival
    Winner, Best New Director Award, Hof International Film Festival
    Winner, Eastman Award, Hof International Film Festival
    Winner, Best Student Film, Aspen Shorts Fest
    Winner, Public Award, Brussels International Film Festival
    Winner, Audience Award, Hamburg International Film Festival
    Winner, Centaur Prize, St. Petersburg International Film Festival
    Winner, Jury Award & Citizen's Choice, Puchon International Film Festival
    Winner, Best Short Film, Barcelona International Film Festival
    Winner, Studio Hamburg Newcomer Award
    Winner, Best Film, Badalona International Film Festival

    PHOTO CONTEST
    TICKET WINNERS


    For your choice of the 6:30 or 8:30 screening of "It's All About L-O-V-E" ... Romantic Short Films on Valentine's Day, February 14. Contact Tim to arrange for tix at Will Call.


    Whoa! Can't believe we stumped you! No one could identify the woman (Julia Migenes), but a few were correct on the other questions.

    WINNERS from the Tuesday screening of Army of Shadows

    4 tix: Sante Matteo, with three out of four - Placido Domingo, Carmen, Francesco Rosi.

    2 tix: Dale Hodges, with two out of four - Placido Domingo, Carmen

    0 tix, but most amusing answers: David Logan (Dale's compadre), with zero out of four - Mel Gibson, Carmen Miranda, Diamonds in the Dust


    WINNERS from the Wednesday screening of Army of Shadows

    2 tix: Lynn Ledford, with two out of four - Placido Domingo, Carmen

    2 tix: Jason Rankin, with two out of four - Placido Domingo, Carmen





    PROGRAMMING NOTES
    by Tim Swallow



    I chose the films for Valentine's Day with several thoughts in mind. Thematically, they should all address L-O-V-E, and in one way or another include elements of romance or relationships or sexuality. Secondly, good international films - the German, Dutch and Norwegian works - add worthwhile perspective to the mix.

    Most important, the films should be individually superior and offer a unique story or perspective AND they should work very well together. Most of the L-O-V-E films are long-time personal favorites and I would rate all but one as an 8 or better on a 10 scale.


    Kom is just about the best short under 5 minutes I've ever seen, for several reasons: Its construction - only one word of spoken dialog and the impressive conveyance of the passage of time through external devices and flashbacks. The messages - that a woman can take control of her life, as well as the film's celebration of fidelity and longevity in relationships. And thirdly, the film's wholesome celebration of sensual intimacy as a life-long component of love and relationship.

    With no disrespect to the mega-budget animations from the likes of Pixar, I believe that TRANSIT is one of the most original and well-executed independent animated shorts ever made. Unlike many of the formulaic (and somewhat mindless) creations from the big studios, this film raises the intellectual bar - one must pay attention when watching. Using seven different artists to produce the seven different chapters was brilliant, as was the choice of different illustration styles for each chapter. That TRANSIT successfully plays out in reverse chronological order is another plus. And using mystery to express themes including the ultimate cost of lust and adultery adds irony to the mix of comedy and romance present in the other films. Think of it as Memento meets Waking Life!

    The Last Supper is superior also. The everyday people and slice-of-life storyline are deceptive. Starting out like a soap (it could be you or me sitting at the dinner table) the storytelling is enhanced by the director's decision to ask the cast to improvise dialog, and the film gathers tension as it goes. Revealing the ending to only one actor was a stroke of genius - the shock on the other cast members' faces was genuine. BTW, this was a low/no budget student film.

    Working couples these days have little time for private lives or intimacy, which is the theme addressed by Modern Life. Dean Mermel, who plays the piano as well as directs, skillfully evokes a tribute to silent films and Buster Keaton.

    Bruno Coppola's Rules of Love brings home tensions within the Catholic Church that affect far more people than the Vatican would have us think, forcing the viewer to choose between empathy and disdain.

    Another excellent and highly original work, My Parents uses humor to convey the lack of communication and intimacy when marriages stagnate, and shows how connections - communicative, emotional, intellectual and sexual - can be rebuilt.

    Last Hand Standing is the lightest film of the bunch, a 6 or 7 out of 10 (which isn't bad, seeing that mainstream fare struggles to reach a 5), and humorously shares the outcome of a sudden shift from materialistic to romantic/personal focus.


    Holding the length to 80 minutes and offering two screening times of 6:30 and 8:30 will allow folks to combine the films with the interpersonal experience of their choice - be it dinner, drinks or just plain conversation, or perhaps something more intimate ...

    In all, the Valentine's Day films comprise a sweet little package that virtually guarantees that everyone will find reason for laughter, warm reminiscence and further conversation.