Radical reinvention: That’s what Meg Booth, chief executive officer for Society for the Performing Arts, sees in this time when artists and audiences must stay separate to stay safe.
At the MFAH’s Houston Iranian Film Festival, now in its 26th year, the seats are always full. The festival, established by the MFAH and Rice Cinema, runs Jan. 18-26, with screenings at both venues and at Asia Society Texas Center.
Once identified as the oldest microcinema in the Southwest, founded by then-MFAH Core Fellow Andrea Grover and situated in a church-turned-screening venue on Aurora Street in Houston’s Heights neighborhood, Aurora Picture Show has since grown into a full-fledged media arts center.
Houston Cinema Arts Festival artistic director Richard Herskowitz mentioned early on in the festival that immersive cinema may be the one of the few ways to get away from our habit of constant distraction. Two days after the election, I needed all the distraction that I could get, which is perhaps why the VR Gallery became my go to refuge during the 2016 HCAF, which ran Nov. 10-17, 2016.
On a sunny May afternoon, I found myself spellbound, watching Houston Ballet principals Yuriko Kajiya and Connor Walsh rehearse the very first meeting between Giselle and Albrecht.
The Evelyn Rubenstein JCC of Houston presents the 12th Houston Jewish Film Festival, with 27 films over 16 days, March 5-20, 2016, at various venues, including the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC, the MFAH, Holocaust Museum Houston, Sundance Cinemas and Congregation Beth Jacob in Galveston.