Cinema Revival: A Festival of Film Restoration returns to the Wexner Center for the Arts February 20–24 

Complete program details—events are free where noted: 

Film Treasures from The Ohio State University Libraries 
Thu Feb 20 | 4:30 PM | FREE 

Introduced by Ohio State Libraries’ Tim Lanza, audiovisual preservation and digitization lead, and Sarah Hartzell, audiovisual preservation and digitization specialist  

The Ohio State University Libraries’ Special Collections are estimated to hold tens of thousands of historic audiovisual items—many original or unique. In this spotlight on the work of the library’s audiovisual preservation and digitization lab, you'll see works that have been digitized through an ongoing collaboration to extend the lifespan of these items and increase access for educational use. The program includes short films and excerpts about Columbus artist Elijah Pierce, computer animation pioneer Charles Csuri, footage of astronaut Alan Shepard following the first manned flight into space by an American, rare Antarctic expedition footage from the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center, and more. (Program approx. 75 mins., DCP) 

Personal Belongings 
(Steven Bognar, 1996)  
Thu Feb 20 | 7 PM 

Steven Bognar in person  

The first feature-length documentary from the codirector of the Oscar-winning American Factory is a moving story from his own family, told against the backdrop of Eastern Europe’s political history. Personal Belongings charts the odyssey of Steven’s father, Bela Bognar, a freedom fighter in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution who is adjusting to life in the American Midwest. The film follows the elder Bognar as he prepares to return to Eastern Europe for the first time in 40 years and the fallout this decision has on his family. (63 mins., DCP) 

Hollywood in the News: Fox Movietone Newsreels 
Fri Feb 21 | 4:30 PM | FREE 

Introduced by Daniela Currò, director of the Moving Image Research Collections at University of South Carolina 

Before televisions became a fixture in homes, newsreels allowed movie audiences to keep up with news and pop culture. The Fox Movietone News Collection at the University of South Carolina Libraries contains 11 million feet of film documenting the national and global politics and culture from the first half of the 20th century. This program offers newsreels that document three decades of classic films, glamorous stars, and unforgettable events from Hollywood's Golden Age. (Program approx. 75 mins., DCP)  

High Art 
(Lisa Cholodenko, 1998)  
Fri Feb 20 | 7 PM 

Introduced by Sheilah ReStack, artist and Dr. Viola K. Kleindienst Professor in Visual Arts, Queer Studies, and Women’s & Gender Studies at Denison University 

The first feature by Lisa Cholodenko (Laurel Canyon, The Kids Are All Right), High Art is a milestone in American independent filmmaking and for lesbian representation on screen. It follows Syd (Radha Mitchell), an ambitious junior editor trying to work her way up at a respected photography magazine. After a chance meeting with Lucy Berliner (Ally Sheedy), a renowned and reclusive photographer who has stopped making work, and her addict girlfriend Greta (Patricia Clarkson), Syd sees a career opportunity. But she’s unprepared for becoming immersed in Lucy’s life, which is lived at the edge. (101 mins., 4K DCP) 

Back From the Ink: Restored Animated Shorts 
Sat Feb 22 | 12:30 PM  

Back From the Ink is the first ever curated restoration of historically significant animated shorts from the golden age of the 1930s and 1940s. This new restoration project was completed through an unlikely collaboration between Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation and animator, director, and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. Highlights of the program include Betty Boop in So Does an Automobile, the charming George Pal Puppetoon Wilbur the Lion, Fleischer Studios’ surreal The Fresh Vegetable Mystery, and much more. (51 mins., DCP) 

The Greeks Had a Word for Them 
(Lowell Sherman, 1932)  
Sat Feb 22 | 2 PM 

Introduced by Heather Linville, head of the Library of Congress Moving Image Section 

Featuring rare costume work by Coco Chanel, this bubbly comedy from Hollywood’s daring pre-code era stars Joan Blondell as one of three former showgirls who pool their limited resources to rent a luxury apartment in New York. Their shared goal? To set themselves up by landing a rich man—by any means necessary. (79 mins., 4K DCP) 

Winter Kept Us Warm 
(David Secter, 1965)  
Sat Feb 22 | 4 PM 

Introduced by David Marriott, cofounder of Arbelos Films and Canadian International Pictures 

One of the first queer films at the Cannes Film Festival, Winter Kept Us Warm focuses on the relationship between a popular senior at the University of Toronto, and the shy freshman he takes under his wing. Both young men have girlfriends, but new feeling develops as their friendship grows–a scenario that director David Secter had to keep ambiguous due to the era in which it was made. But when viewed today, the tension is undeniable. The filmmaker's work here helped pave the way for other Canadian queer filmmakers such as John Greyson, Bruce LaBruce, and Patricia Rozema. (81 mins., 4K DCP) 

Cinema Revival Reception 
Sat Feb 22 | 5:30 PM | FREE  

Stay after Winter Kept Us Warm–or come early for The Spook Who Sat by the Door–for an opportunity to mingle with fellow film enthusiasts and Cinema Revival guests in the lower lobby. Complimentary appetizers and a cash bar will be available, and the galleries and The Box will be open for viewing the Wex’s spring 2024 exhibitions, featuring installations and videos by artists Nancy Holt and Maria Hupfield. 

The Spook Who Sat by the Door 
(Ivan Dixon, 1973) 
Sat Feb 22 | 7 PM 

Introduced by Doris Nomathandé Dixon, daughter of the filmmaker, and Heather Linville, head of the Library of Congress film archives  

Actor-turned-director Ivan Dixon (Hogan’s Heroes) adapts Sam Greenlee’s explosive novel about a white senator up for reelection who hopes to curry favor with Black voters by creating a program to recruit African American agents into the CIA. The program, of course, is rigged to keep the applicants out—but one perseveres: Dan Freeman (Lawrence Cook). An undercover Black nationalist, he plans to take what he learns from his training back to his inner-city Chicago neighborhood and use it in the fight for liberation and freedom. (102 mins., 35mm) 

The Walking Dead 
(Michael Curtiz, 1936) 
Sun Feb 23 | 12:30 PM 

Introduced by Heather Linville from the Library of Congress  

Five years after playing Frankenstein’s monster, Boris Karloff comes back from the dead again in this horror-gangster mashup from the director of Casablanca. Framed for murder by gangsters, Karloff’s John Elman is executed by electric chair before evidence appears to exonerate him. A scientist who wants to test out his plan to revive the dead takes Elman’s corpse for his experiment. And when it works, Elman arises with a thirst for vengeance. (66 mins., 35mm) 

Lifeboat  
(Alfred Hitchcock, 1944) 
Sun Feb 23 | 2pm   

By confining an entire film to one watery location, Alfred Hitchcock turns a small boat into a powder keg. A group of survivors of a ship sunk by a German U-Boat find themselves stranded at sea, along with a suspicious crew member of the enemy sub. Tensions mount as alliances shift and a power struggle ensues as food and water dwindle. Based on a story by John Steinbeck, the film stars Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, and Walter Slezak, and was restored by Walt Disney Pictures in association with The Film Foundation, with special thanks to Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. (97 mins, 4K DCP)  

The Sealed Soil 
(Khak-e sar bé mohr, Marva Nabili, 1977) 
Sun Feb 23 | 4 PM  

The earliest surviving feature to be directed by an Iranian woman, The Sealed Soil follows a young woman living in a poor village who must prepare to move her household after a state-directed construction project is announced. Her life is one of repetitive monotony, made more insufferable by her family’s desire for her to submit to an arranged marriage. A tale of quiet feminist resistance, the film has never screened legally in Iran, and Nabili had to smuggle the footage out of the country to finish editing it in the US. (90 mins., 4K DCP) 

Camp de Thiaroye 
(Ousmane Sembène, 1988) 
Mon Feb 24 | 3:30 PM | FREE 

Banned in France for more than a decade, this winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1988 Venice Film Festival reveals the largely untold history of the Thiaroye Massacre, which took place in French Senegal in 1944. After hundreds of Senegalese soldiers were drafted by France to fight the Nazis, the conscripts were met not with gratitude, but endured harassment, poor rations, and only a portion of the pay they were promised. Preeminent Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene evokes the sense of injustice that led to an explosive act of resistance, followed by tragedy. (154 mins., 4K DCP)