ยEmotional Realism,ย todayยs program at the Aurora Picture Show, has the kind of artsy-fartsy title that usually just sounds smart without actually telling you anything. In this case, though, the show, curated by Canadian multimedia artists Emily Vey Duke and Cooper Battersby, could not have been better named. ยEmotional Realismย includes four shorts from the world of experimental filmmaking that are bare-boned emotionally raw.
A Mother to Hold is African-American filmmaker LaToya Ruby Frazierยs intense portrait of her drug-addicted mother. Rebecka is documentary-maker Miriam Bรคckstrรถmยs profile of famed Swedish actress Rebecka Hemse, which politely but steadily tries to go beyond Hemseยs rehearsed public persona. 5 More Minutes is performance artists Dena DeCola and Karin Wandnerยs playacting, in which one attempts to spend an afternoon with her deceased mother, an experiment that spirals into a dizzying display of love and despair. And In My Language, by an autistic young woman named Amanda Baggs, tries to display the perspective of an autistic person using a voice synthesizer and on-screen text. 8 p.m. 800 Aurora Street. For tickets and information, call 713ย868ย2101 or visit www.aurorapictureshow.org. $6.
Sat., Feb. 23, 8 p.m., 2008
This article appears in Feb 21-27, 2008.