10.09.09

Tilda Swinton to Attend 2009 Cinema Arts Festival Houston

The Worlds of Tilda Swinton showcases four cinematic works by the talented actress, producer, director and writer

(HOUSTON, TX October 9, 2009) – Academy Award-winner Tilda Swinton will make several appearances at the 2009 Cinema Arts Festival Houston in celebration of her many artistic achievements as an actress, producer and writer, as well as her passionate commitment to the cinematic arts. The Worlds of Tilda Swinton is a series of events that includes three screenings of Swinton's films: Derek, Teknolust and a special sneak preview of her latest independent feature. On closing night of the Festival, in conjunction with Swinton's 8 ½ Foundation, Swinton will introduce an outdoor screening of The Red Shoes in Discovery Green, Houston's downtown park, preceded by a live performance by the Houston Ballet.

"Tilda Swinton's commitment to working with innovative artists, from Derek Jarman to Lynn Hershman, and to building audiences for challenging cinematic art, has inspired us in launching our Festival," said Richard Herskowitz, Cinema Arts Festival Houston curator.

Cinema Arts Festival Houston, set for November 11–15 at cultural locales throughout Houston's downtown and Museum District area, is a vibrant multimedia arts festival breaking out of the confines of the movie theater through live music and film performances, outdoor projections, interactive video installations and more. The Festival is sponsored by the Houston Cinema Arts Society. The full Festival program, including the names of many other celebrated actors and artists attending, will be announced on October 14.

To showcase Swinton's roles as actress and producer, the Festival is pleased to present a sneak preview of Swinton's latest production. The film illustrates Swinton's move away from the Hollywood mainstream towards focusing her acting and producing efforts in support of independent film's urgent new voices, the film will be shown at the Brown Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston on Saturday, November 14 at 6:45 pm. Swinton will be joined by the film's director, an exciting new talent, for a discussion after the screening.

Representing Swinton's dedicated work as a creative accomplice of avant-garde artists, the 2008 feature documentary Derek will be shown Sunday, November 15, at 1 pm at the Brown Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Swinton wrote and narrated the screenplay of this documentary tribute, directed by Isaac Julien, about the legendary painter and filmmaker Derek Jarman. Following the screening, Swinton will join Festival curator Richard Herskowitz for a conversation about Jarman's legacy.

Swinton's connection to Jarman dates back to the beginning of her film career when she was a stage actress and a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Jarman cast her as Lena in Caravaggio (1986). Jarman, a painter, gay activist and visionary film director, among other things, was to become her mentor and she his muse (although she has said he needed "no muse but himself"). Swinton ultimately performed in seven of Jarman's feature films.

Continuing the Festival's commemoration of Swinton's acting talent and alliance with innovative voices, Teknolust honors Swinton's longstanding partnership with another cutting-edge artist: Lynn Hershman Leeson, who will join Swinton in Houston for this event. The featured artist in last year's Cinema Arts Festival Houston preview event, where she showed clips from some of her collaborations with Swinton, Leeson has emerged as one of Swinton's most frequent creative partners.

"Lynn Hershman Leeson's universe is the super-radical and unstoppably empowered kindergarten of all our wildest dreams: where no limit exists to our optimism and our curiosity, where even our intellects can bask in glee and play," Swinton says. "Working alongside her is one of the true delights of my life."

Of all their films together (including Conceiving Ada, Strange Culture and Curing the Vampire), Teknolust is the one that has been growing in cult film status. It continues the feminist exploration of new technologies present in their other works, and it gives Swinton a chance to cut loose (literally, in an unforgettable dance of three Swintons) in multiple roles. Teknolust plays Sunday, November 15 at 3:30 pm at the Brown Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Swinton and Leeson.

Finally, in recognition of Swinton's work as co-founder of the 8 ½ Foundation, The Worlds of Tilda Swinton series culminates with a grand finale event entitled "The Ballerina Cinema of Dreams," combining dance, film and Swinton at Discovery Green in Downtown Houston on Sunday, November 15 at 6 pm. "We're calling our closing night event the 'Ballerina Cinema of Dreams,' in honor of Tilda's own annual film festival, originally held in the Ballerina Ballroom in Nairn, Scotland," said Herskowitz.

The event will begin with an exhilarating performance by Houston Ballet II, featuring Garrett Smith's Den III, an exciting and edgy work set to the music of Tielman Susato, Stanton Welch's energetic early work Blue, set to music by Antonio Vivaldi, and the extravagant love story Raymonda choreographed by Marius Petipa. Then, Swinton will introduce attendees to the film The Red Shoes, the 1948 film that has inspired countless dancers.

The 8 ½ Foundation was founded by Swinton and her friend Mark Cousins, former director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, after Swinton's son Xavier asked what people dreamt about before films were invented. The Foundation celebrates children's "cinematic birthday" by sending them a free film from the Foundation's Web site on their 8 ½ birthday. The goal is to introduce children to the wondrous world of cinema with films like The Red Shoes and instill at a young age an appreciation of challenging, classic and recent non-commercial films, mostly rare and international films of which they may never have heard.

"We wanted to inaugurate a cinema birthday for children because we believe that 8 ½ is the most perfect age to fall in love with cinema," Swinton said. "I mean the really wide cinema that is possible to find in the age of DVD."

Although several Festival programs and components are free, including the screening of The Red Shoes at Discovery Green, buying Festival Passes, Badges and/or tickets is the most cost-effective way to explore all that the Festival has to offer, particularly the full Tilda Swinton series.

Several different types of ticketing options are available:

• $50 Festival Passes grant access to all regular Festival screenings (excluding opening, Friday and Saturday night MFAH and Warehouse Live events)
• $250 Festival Badges provide access for all screenings, educational panels and performances
• $500 Patron Passes provide access for the screenings, education panels, performances, special events and opening/closing receptions
• Individual tickets for the screenings and educational panels are also available at $6 for Matinees and $10 for evenings

The full Festival program, including the names of other celebrated actors and artists attending, will be announced and online ticket sales will begin on October 14 on the Festival Web site, www.cinemartsociety.org.

Tickets and Festival merchandise also can be purchased at the Festival's official headquarters, located at the historic Alabama Theatre, 2922 South Shepherd, Houston, TX 77098.

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About Houston Cinema Arts Society and Cinema Arts Festival Houston
Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) is a non-profit organization created in 2008 under the direction of a dedicated task force with the support of Houston Mayor Bill White and the leadership of Franci Crane to organize and host Cinema Arts Festival Houston, a ground-breaking and innovative film and multimedia arts festival featuring art by and about artists and celebrating the vitality and diversity of the arts in Houston and enriching the city's film and arts community. HCAS is funded in part by grants from the Crane Foundation, City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance and the City of Houston Convention and Entertainment Facilities Department. Cinema Arts Festival Houston will debut in Houston November 11 – 15, 2009.