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La dolce vita (Federico Fellini, 1960)
Mar
15
National Shoe The World Day
Various characters lose their shoes in Fellini's hedonistic La dolce vita, most famously Anita Ekberg after entering a freezing Fontana di Trevi with paparazzo Marcello Mastroianni.
“I like lots of things. But there are three things I like most: love, love, and love.”
– Sylvia
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The Whole Shootin' Match (Eagle Pennell, 1978)
Feb
23
Diesel Engine Day
Frank (Sonny Carl Davis) and Loyd (Lou Perryman) attempt to fix the diesel motor that keeps their polyurethane business afloat. DP: Eagle Pennell.
“Now this is a real good one Loyd, you want me to get in a business I can't even pronounce the name of? Poly-whatcha-doodle-all-day?”
– Frank
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Hroch [The Hippo] (Karel Steklý, 1973)
Feb
15
World Hippo Day
A poster for Hroch, showing a beautifully dressed woman in an animal enclosure feeding a hippopotamus what appears to be a consecrated wafer. A TV camera in the back records it all. DP: František Uldrich.
In this political satire criticising Czechoslovakia's “normalisation” period, a journalist learns about bank employee Bedrich Hroch, who – while attempting to determine how much #gold the local #zoo's hippopotamus' needs for a tooth replacement – is swallowed by the animal.
With the man happily residing inside the creature, his journalist friend hatches a plan to use the “talking hippo” for political means .
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Sur un air de Charleston [Charleston Parade] (Jean Renoir, 1927)
Feb
14
Parisian savage Catherine Hessling and African explorer Johnny Hudgins exploring each other's alien ways. DP: Jean Bachelet.
“I have finally discovered my ancestors' traditional dance.”
– Johnny Hudgins
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Françoise Durocher, Waitress (André Brassard, 1972)
Feb
9
freebie: Customer Service Day
23 actresses and one person in drag play the part of Québécois waitress Françoise Durocher in seven monologues.
“One grilled cheese, two slices of toast, two coffees. One pepper steak no chili and a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Two glasses of milk. One plate of spare ribs. A chicken in a basket with three cups of honey. One lean smoked meat sandwich with pickles and mustard. One two-cream coffee and two club sandwiches. Two clubs.”
– Françoise Durocher
Watch the short on the NFB website.
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Zéro de conduite: Jeunes diables au collège [Zero for Conduct] (Jean Vigo, 1933)
Jan
24
International Day Of Eduction
The students on a rooftop, saluting as if part of an army. DP: Boris Kaufman.
“War is declared! Down with monitors and punishment! Long live rebellion! Liberty or death! Hoist our flag on the school roof! Stand firm with us tomorrow! We'll bombard them with rotten old books, dirty tin cans, smelly boots and all the ammo piled up in the attic! We'll fight those old goats on commemoration day! Onward!”
– Tabard, one of the students
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Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie [The Saragossa Manuscript] (Wojciech Jerzy Has, 1965)
Jan
22
Dzień Dziadka
Alfonse Van Worden (Zbigniew Cybulski) on set with the clapper loader next to him. DP: Mieczysław Jahoda.
“That very night I found myself in totally different circumstances.”
– Don Roque Busqueros
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Alice's Restaurant (Arthur Penn, 1969)
Jan
13
Stephen Foster Memorial Day
Arlo (Arlo Guthrie, son of legendary folk musician Woody) jams with his film-dad Pete Seeger. DP: Michael Nebbia.
A songwriter as the lead.
“This song is called 'Alice's Restaurant', and it's about Alice. And the restaurant. But Alice's Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant, that's just the name of the song. And that's why I called the song 'Alice's Restaurant'.
– Arlo Guthrie, intro to “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” (1967)
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Le Pétomane du Moulin Rouge [The Fart Maniac] (1900)
Jan
7
National Pass Gas Day
Flatulist Joseph Pujol blowing out a candle with his derrière.
Witness the world famous pétomane shot on location at the Moulin Rouge (and amazingly not at Edison's Black Maria), as saved for prosperity by Edison Studios. The large trumpet-like contraption that can be seen on the left, the Edison Kinetophone, also present in The Dickson Experimental Sound Film (William Dickson, 1894/95), recorded the sound on a cylinder, that then could be played back in synch with the picture.
The original audio recording that accompanied this film is lost; do check your attic.