El gran calavera [The Great Madcap] (Luis Buñuel, 1949)
May
31
Lobbycard. DP: Ezequiel Carrasco.
“Had I the time to keep a diary, I’d use that time to better effect; sleeping on the veranda”
吾輩は猫である [Wagahai wa neko de aru / I Am a Cat] (Kon Ichikawa, 1975)
May
30
Hug Your Cat Day
The cat and his master, teacher Sneaze. DP: Kōzō Okazaki.
A pet for National Hug Your Cat Day (USA) *
– The cat
A school teacher's house cat observes and comments his household's going-ons as a microcosm of Japan's paradoxical Meiji period. The second adaptation of Sōseki Natsume's 1900s satirical novel.
* The event falls on June 4
Les félins [Joy House / The Love Cage] (René Clément, 1964)
May
14
Barbara Hill (Lola Albright) going through Marc Borel's (Alain Delon) passport, which states Marc's date of birth as May 14. On Barbara's desk several curiosities, including a shrunken head in a glass case. DP: Henri Decaë.
Maratón [The Marathon] (Ivo Novák, 1968)
May
5
1945
Karla (Jana Brejchová) and Ruda (Jaromír Hanzlík). DP: Václav Hanuš.
حاجی واشنگتن [Hajji Washington / Haji Washington] (Ali Hatami, 1983)
Apr
30
George Washington – 1789
The ambassador and guest in the embassy. The guest, a white cowboy peeling peanuts, leisurely rests on a Persian rug with a hookah by his side. The ambassador recites from a book, with his chaii within reach (via). DP: Mehrdad Fakhimi.
The White House, or set in Washington, DC, in commemoration of the first inauguration of George Washington in 1789.
Hajji Hossein-Gholi Noori was Iran's first ambassador to the United States in 1889. Stuck in DC, homesick, and without any US-based Iranians to serve, he slowly unravels
“We broke up on April's fools day, so I took it as a joke. I'm willing to humor her for a month.”
重慶森林 [Chung Hing sam lam / Chungking Express] (Wong Kar-Wai, 1994)
Apr
28
8:59
A flipclock. It's April 28, a Friday, and 8:59 pm. DPs: Christopher Doyle & Wai Keung Lau.
– He Zhiwu, Cop 223
“We split up on April Fool's Day. So I decided to let the joke run for a month. Every day I buy a can of pineapple with a sell-by date of May 1. May loves pineapple, and May 1 is my birthday. If May hasn't changed her mind by the time I've bought thirty cans, then our love will also expire.”
重慶森林 [Chung Hing sam lam / Chungking Express] (Wong Kar-Wai, 1994)
Apr
28
freebie: April
Eating pineapple, expiration date May 1. DPs: Christopher Doyle & Wai Keung Lau.
A film set in April.
– He Zhiwu, Cop 223
“I'm dead as a doornail
Though very high strung
I can make loud noises
Though I have no lung”
The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood (Andy Jones + Michael Jones, 1976/1986)
Apr
17
Constitution Act, 1982
Faustus Bidgood, President. DP: Michael Jones.
A film set in Canada on the date the Constitution Act, 1982 was enforced. The rights of the Indigenous peoples remain undefined up to today.
Clerk Faustus Bidgood dreams of becoming the president of Newfoundland and lead the province to secede from Canada.
Newfoundland's first and only all-Newfoundland film. It took ten years to complete.
Les demoiselles de Rochefort [The Young Girls of Rochefort] (Jacques Demy, 1967)
APr
10
Siblings Day
Sisters Delphine and Solange Garnier mid-song, played by real-world sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac. DP: Ghislain Cloquet.
Siblings as main characters for Siblings Day (USA/Canada)
– Delphine & Solange
“Moscow in flames, missiles headed toward New York. Film at eleven.”
The Kentucky Fried Movie (John Landis, 1977)
Apr
9
11:42 A.M.
Scratched-up film stock showing an arid landscape with ISLE OF LUCY APRIL 9, 11:42 A.M. in bold red letters superimposed over it. DP: Stephen M. Katz.
– newscaster