What's On at ACMI: Wednesday 21 to Tuesday 27 September 2016

Presented in Partnership with MUMA
ART + FILM screening + Skype with artist - Amie Siegel: DDR/DDR
Monday 26 September
acmi.net.au/art-film
ART+FILM is ACMI's free monthly program that showcases short and feature-length films by leading Australian and international artists. In September ART+FILM looks at Amie Siegel's feature film essay DDR/DDR, a non-fiction investigation of cultural memory in former East Germany. Siegel weaves a history of surveillance techniques and technologies through interviews with psychoanalysts, former Stasi employees and a former East German group of Native American sympathisers and excerpts from surveillance videos and GDR feature films. Interrogating film itself as a tool of observation, surveillance and propaganda, Siegel does not exempt herself, or her art, from film's capacity for exposing and being exposed. The screening of DDR/DDR will be followed by a Skype conversation with the artist.
ART + FILM Tickets: FREE, registrations essential

Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (18+)
Opens Thursday 22 September. Exclusive Limited Season.
acmi.net.au/ mapplethorpe
Exploring one of the most complex and provocative figures in 20th Century photography, Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures looks at the life and work of Robert Mapplethorpe who achieved notoriety for photos depicting sex, gay sadomasochism and nudity in New York City's hedonistic art scene from the late 60s through to the 80s. Following screenings at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals, along with its recent Australian premiere at Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), ACMI Cinemas screen the first full Melbourne season, exclusively from Thursday 22 September. Co-directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato use their unrestricted access to Robert Mapplethorpe's archives to create the first feature-length documentary since the artist's death in 1989. American Senator Jesse Helms famously condemned his work with four words: -look at the pictures'. While Mapplethorpe's work still remains contentious to this day, he is credited with transforming photography into a fine art form. The film features interviews with Mapplethorpe's former lovers, family members, and collaborators. Interviewees include Debbie Harry, Fran Leibowitz and Brooke Shields – and the artist's youngest brother, Edward Mapplethorpe, who worked as his assistant.
Tickets: Full $17, Concession $13, Members $10

Weiner (M)
Opens Thursday 1 September - Exclusive Limited Season
acmi.net.au/weiner
ACMI brings the political documentary Weiner to the big screen in an exclusive Melbourne season – hot on the heels of fresh developments in the life of democratic congressman Anthony Weiner. The critically acclaimed stranger-than-fiction tale of political fodder and contemporary morality won Best Documentary at Sundance 2016 and subsequently enjoyed sold out sessions at the Melbourne International Film Festival and Sydney Film Festival. Anthony Weiner was a political figure on the rise when a -sexting' scandal forced a humiliating resignation. Two years later, he ran for New York City mayor, betting that his ideas would trump his indiscretions. With unprecedented access, Weiner takes us inside this fascinating political comeback-turned-meltdown.
Tickets: Full $17, Concession $13. Member $10

Beauty and the Beast (La belle et la bête) screens as part of ACMI's Seniors' Cinema program (M)
Saturday 17 to Monday 26 September
acmi.net.au/seniors-cinema
Screening as part of ACMI's ongoing Seniors' Cinema film program Beauty and the Beast (La belle et la bête) follows the youngest daughter of an impoverished merchant who sacrifices her freedom to spare her father. Christophe Gans' visually ravishing adaptation of the eighteenth century French fairy tale features the stunning Léa Seydoux (Farewell, My Queen) as Belle, Vincent Cassel (Black Swan) as the Beast, and Andre Dussollier (Un Coeur en Hiver) as Le Marchand. Thierry Flamande's production design and Christophe Beaucarne's cinematography are glorious – with similar attention lavished on the film's sumptuous sets and costumes.
Tickets: Seniors $7, Members $6, Non Seniors $13

Presented by the Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australia
Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australia (CaSFFA) 2016

Wednesday 14 to Friday 23 September
acmi.net.au/casffa-2016
The 2016 Czech and Slovak Film Festival of Australia (CaSFFA) takes place at ACMI from Wednesday 14 to Friday 23 September, and includes a pick of several of the greatest film adaptations of Czech and Slovak literature. The program weaves together beloved fairy tales brought to life, films based on graphic novels, and a screen program augmented by art, poster exhibitions, panels, and workshops. "Text and Texture", is the theme for the 4th annual festival, which draws  inspiration from Melbourne (2008) and Prague's (2014) shared status as 'UNESCO Cities of Literature" with UNESCO Melbourne and Prague City of Literature Offices being official partners of the 2016 festival. CasFFA also co-presents the Melbourne Cinematheque session on Wednesday 14 September (for more information on the Melbourne Cinematheque visit acmi.net.au/cinematheque)
Tickets: Full $18, Concession $15, Member $14