Buffalo Rising Online

Oct 14th 2008, 4:56pm By Elena Cala Buscarino

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery will host the Aurora Theatre’s new film series Aurora at the Albright, beginning this Friday, October 17th, with a screening of Mansfield Park.

Best of all, Patricia Rozema, the film's writer and director will be present to discuss Mansfield Park after the screening. Paul Brown, owner of the Aurora Theatre and the producer of this series said, "Tricia happens to be an associate of mine, and people who make movies want them seen. It's a chance for them to show off history." He added, "In my humble opinion, Mansfield Park is the best Jane Austen adaptation, ever."

Brown, an award-winning independent filmmaker and television producer stated that his wife and partner, Barbara Tranter, made a film with Rozema in 1999 entitled When Night is Falling.

Of the series, Brown said, "It's fun to bring movies of quality--that may go through here quickly or never be released here--and bring the people involved with the films." Each of the films in Brown and Tranter's series will be accompanied by an individual involved in the making of the film for discussion purposes.

“The opportunity to collaborate with the fine people at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery is exciting, and bringing filmmakers to our community will help expand our understanding of films and the ideas behind them.”

Curator of Education Mariann Smith will give a brief talk at 6PM about art related to the theme of the film, followed by Brown's introduction of Rozema and the film at 7. Admission is free for members, $4 non-members.

The series will continue on one Friday night per month at the Gallery through April, and audiences will have a second opportunity to see the films on Saturdays at the Aurora Theatre, East Aurora, New York, starting at noon. Each screening will be followed by a discussion with the directors, writers or editors who made the films.

In fact, the December film, Breakfast with Scot was produced by Brown. "It's the first time the NHL has ever given their approval to a movie with a gay theme," Brown said.

When asked how he came up with the idea for this series in conjunction with the Albright Education Department, Brown said it was "an example of how all things stem from one mother. My mother has a B & B at Niagara on the Lake and was bragging about me to another woman who happens to be Director of Advancement at the Albright. So here we are, thanks to Dorothy Brown and Elaine Pyne."

November 14, 2008
Film: The Red Violin (François Girard, 1999, 131 minutes)
Special Guest: Producer Niv Fichman
Talk: Through Space and Time—Artworks and their Paths through History

Future films: Dec. 12, Breakfast with Scot
Jan. 23, Long Day’s Journey into Night
Feb. 20, The Sweet Hereafter
Mar. 20, Eastern Promises
Apr. 17, Manufacturing Landscapes