Don Hertzfeldt’s heartfelt animated films come to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center July 12. Also opening is “Taking Venice,” a documentary highlighting the true story of how the 1964 Venice Biennale was rigged.
Continuing is “Kinds of Kindness.”
Returning to theaters for the first time since 2012, “It’s Such a Beautiful Day” has been hailed by critics and audiences alike as one of the best animated films of all time. Painstakingly blending traditional hand-drawn animation and experimental optical effects, the film follows stick figure Bill’s struggle to put together his shattered psyche. Hertzfeldt’s newest animated film “Me” is a 22-minute musical odyssey about trauma, technology, and the retreat of humanity into itself.
The double feature is not rated and is showing through July 18
“Taking Venice” uncovers the true story behind rumors that the U.S. government and a team of high-placed insiders rigged the 1964 Venice Biennale — the Olympics of art — so their chosen artist, Robert Rauschenberg, could win the Grand Prize.
At the height of the Cold War, the U.S. government is determined to fight Communism with culture. The Venice Biennale, the world’s most influential art exhibition, becomes a proving ground in 1964. Alice Denney, Washington insider and friend of the Kennedys, recommends Alan Solomon, an ambitious curator making waves with trailblazing art, to organize the U.S. entry. Together with Leo Castelli, a powerful New York art dealer, they embark on a daring plan to make Robert Rauschenberg the winner of the Grand Prize. The artist is yet to be taken seriously with his combinations of junk off the street and images from pop culture, but he has the potential to dazzle. Deftly pulling off maneuvers that could have come from a Hollywood thriller, the American team leaves the international press crying foul and Rauschenberg questioning the politics of nationalism that sent him there.
“Taking Venice” is not rated and is showing July 18.
A triptych fable, “Kinds of Kindness” follows a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman alarmed that his wife, who was missing at sea, has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability and destined to become a spiritual leader.
The film, which features Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe, shows through July 18. It is rated R for strong/disturbing violent content, strong sexual content, full nudity and language.
Learn more about the films, including show times and ticket availability.
