The Sound We See: A Vancouver City Symphony

Shot on 16mm by a group of 10 youths, mentored by ex-Vancouverite (and former cub vocalist) Lisa Marr, and accompanied by a live score by Martin Riesle, “The Sound We See” headlines a free evening of locally made shorts, titled Gathering Rhythms, at the Vancity Theatre on Sunday (June 19). Cineworks and the Gathering Place Community Centre are mounting the event, which also includes Marr’s 2005 short “Vancouver Special”. More information is at www.viff.org/.

The Projector: What to see and where to see it

Crash
If High-Rise whetted your appetite for well-appointed perversity, here’s David Cronenberg’s very fine adaptation of J.G. Ballard’s most notorious novel, obligatorily booed and heralded at Cannes when it premiered in 1996. Crash screens at the Rio Theatre on Friday (June 17).

Throne of Blood
The Cinematheque’s superb series Shakespeare 400 continues with this Akira Kurosawa classic, in which Macbeth is transposed to Japan’s medieval era. Throne of Blood gets three screenings starting Friday (June 17), billed with Romeo + Juliet for the first two nights.

Brief Encounter
A digitally buffed-up version of David Lean’s 1945 favourite hits the big screen thanks to Cineplex’s Classic Films series. Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard stiffen their upper lips once more at the Scotiabank Theatre and SilverCity Metropolis starting Sunday (June 19).

When We Were Kings

The Rio Theatre has programmed this timely tribute to Muhammad Ali for next Thursday (June 23). One of the best films of the year when it was released in 1996, Leon Gast’s documentary covers the fabled “Rumble in the Jungle”, when Ali took back his heavyweight title in (then) Zaire after eight rounds with George Foreman—who would be forever changed by the defeat. Norman Mailer and George Plimpton are among the talking heads also no longer with us; James Brown and B.B. King live again in the film’s amazing musical performances.