Arts Fuse critics select the best in music, dance, and film that’s coming up this week.

By The Arts Fuse Staff

Film

Provincetown Film Festival and Emerson Student short showcase
October 17, 7:00 p.m.
Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, MA
October 18, 1:00 p.m.
Emerson College’s Bright Family Screening Room, Boston, MA

More than a dozen of the most acclaimed student short films from the 15th Provincetown International Film Festival will be screened in two venues. Having curated student films for several years for this festival, I can attest to their remarkable quality. This is a nice opportunity for film students in the Boston area to see what’s happeing around the globe. There will be a panel discussion on how to submit, market, and get your film ready for film festivals on the 18th with networking.

Labour in a Single Shot
October 22, 6:00 p.m.
Goethe-Institut Boston, MA

German video artists Harun Farocki and Antje Ehmann together with twenty-five local film students and independent filmmakers are shooting short films “in a single shot” all around Boston from October 9 – 22, 2013. The rules are: two minutes, one shot, no cut. The subject of investigation is “labour”: paid and unpaid, material and immaterial, rich in tradition or altogether new. The Boston workshop has a special focus on the representation of intellectual work. The workshop in Boston/Cambridge is part of a series of workshops held by Farocki and Ehmann in fifteen cities worldwide. Hundreds of short films on the theme, “Labor” are the result of a worldwide Goethe-project “Labour in a Single Shot“.

Rhode Island Horror Film Festival
October 17-20
Various locations, Providence, RI

This fringe film Halloween season festival describes itself as “56 films, 19 countries, 4 running days, 1 opening night spooktacular”. They also have a popular two-day H.P. Lovecraft Walking Tour presented in collaboration with the RI Historical Society, a Date-Night of Horror, and a Forum that looks behind the scenes of making horror films in the Ocean State featuring Steven Feinberg.

See schedule or call for the complex schedule and array of (often adult only) films!

An Evening with Geoff Edgers
October 18th, 7:00 p.m.
Boston University, College of Communication, 640 Commonwealth Ave, Room 101, Boston, MA

Following his documentary, Do It Again, in which he attempted to convince the Kinks to reunite, Boston Globe arts and entertainment reporter Edgers was hired by the Documentary Channel for a self-starring series called Edge of America where he ” immersed himself in American subcultures”. Gerald Peary brings Edgers in to discuss his work, show clips, and discuss anything else that might come up.

Free admission and open to all.

I Used to Be Darker
October 18-20
Brattle Theater, Cambridge, MA

Matt Porterfield’s (Putty Hill) latest film is a sensitive and naturalistic portrait of a family unraveling. When Taryn, a teenaged Northern Irish runaway, seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore she finds that they have problems of their own. Kim (Kim Taylor) and Bill (Ned Oldham) are trying to handle the end of their marriage gracefully for the sake of their daughter Abby (Gross), just home from her first year of college. The film features musical performances from singer-songwriter Kim Taylor who will be present at the Friday 7:30 show.[Arts Fuse review]

Free Fall (Freier Fall)
October 20, 11:00 a.m.
Coolidge Corner Theater, Brookline, MA

Another film in a German in a series curated by the The Goethe-Institut Boston.

On a weekend police-training course, Marc meets fellow officer, Kay, and begins to develop feelings for him. Kay is spontaneous and a little illicit, which is not Marc’s day-to- day life. Back at home though, Marc thinks nothing of it-until Kay is transferred to his unit. Torn between his love for his pregnant girlfriend Bettina and the rush of a completely new experience, his life spins increasingly out of control. (SFFilm Festival)

Arlington International Film Festival
October 23-27
The Regent Theater, Arlington, MA

Indeed there is a Festival in Arlington dedicated to “developing, promoting, and increasing multicultural awareness and understanding.” The Festival also stresses the importance of the artistic and educational value of film. Producers and directors of all ethnicities as well as local artists are especially encouraged. The Festival offers a unique opportunity for local high school students to showcase their talent- in film and graphic art. See schedule for their unique line up of films and event.

As I Lay Dying

Directed and co-written by James Franco (with Matt Rager), the film adaptation of the Faulkner novel also stars Tim Blake Nelson, Danny McBride, Logan Marshall-Green, and Ahna O’Reilly. It was originally slated to open theatrically on Sept. 27, but instead, Millenium will release the film directly on iTunes on October 22, and on VOD/iVOD and DVD on November 5.

— Tim Jackson

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Dance

Ice:Dance by Ice Theatre of New York
October 19, 7:30 p.m.
Skating Club of Boston, 1240 Soldiers Field Road , Boston, MA

It’s not really winter until you lace up your skates but the Ice Theatre of New York roadtests its Big Apple gala in a special event that includes choreography by ballet great Edward Villella and US Men’s Champion Ryan Bradley.

Fall is Rising
October 18-19, 8:00 p.m.
The Dance Complex, Cambridge, MA

Having gotten a fresh start with Peter DiMuro as its new Executive Director and plans for improvements that go way beyond much-needed coats of paint, The Dance Complex presents its teaching artists in a showcase that ranges from modern to contact improvisation, highlighted by dancing by flamenco “elder statesman” Ramon de los Reyes with his now grownup son Nino.

Armitage Gone! Dance
October 18-20
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA

Karole Armitage has grown far beyond her “punk ballerina” days. This weekend’s engagement includes Rave, an exuberant anthology of international dance forms where her company is supplemented by gifted dancers from the Boston Conservatory in bright body paint. I’ll be asking this brainy dance maker questions about her career and working process half an hour before each performance, so plan to come early.

Suzanne Bouffard & Ryan Casey: Ostinato!
October 22, 7:00 p.m.
Lily Pad, Cambridge, MA

Tall Boston tapper Ryan Casey and Suzanne Bouffard, who has brought tap “conversations” back to their rightful night club settings, will be listening hard and dancing harder to the sounds of jazzmen Jon Hazilla and Gilson Schachnik.

And further afield…

OTRO TEATRO by luciana achugar
October 23, 7:00 p.m.
The Whittemore Theater, Marlboro College, 2582 South Road, Marlboro, VT

Set in the ruins of a collapsed theatre, award-winning Uruguayan choreographer achugar’s newest work-in-progress is described as “a dark rite of passage from destruction to rebuilding.” Free but reservations strongly recommended.

— Debra Cash

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World and Roots Music

Terakaft
October 18
Pedrito Martinez Group
October 19
Vieux Farka Toure
October 23
Johnny D’s, Somerville, MA

The large number of shows presented by World Music at Johnny D’s this fall have allowed some marquee acts to shine in an intimate setting. Last month’s dance party with Bassekou Kouyate and Ngona Ba was one of the shows of the year. Expect a similar vibe when Malian masters Terakaft and Veiux Farka Toure bring their desert blues sounds for separate shows this week. Terakaft are the rawer, new-generation musicians from the Toureg people, the same nomadic tribe that Tinariwen and Bombino hail from. Toure is the son of the late guitar master Ali Farka Toure and a formidable front man on his own. Percussionist and Cuban expat Martinez has made a lot of fans in New York with his sleek Afro-Latin combo. This year he released two albums, the flamenco influenced Rumba De La Isla and an eponymous disc which highlights the versatile quartet he’ll be bringing to Boston.

Roberto Cassan and John Muratore
October 20
Arts at the Armory Café, Somerville, MA

The smartly-curated Café Chamber Music Unclassified series continues with this impressive accordion and guitar duo. Muratore has performed with many of Boston’s top classical ensembles, but when he teams up with Italian accordionist Cassan everything from tango to jazz is on the menu.

Lindi Ortega
October 22
Café 939 at Berklee, Boston, MA

If Iris DeMent had a goth daughter she’s probably write and sing the kind of macabre country tear-jerkers that Canadian songwriter Ortega specializes in. Her new album Tin Star has a number of apparently autobiographical references to her struggles trying to make it in Nashville – the title track is an ode to those who “don’t get no fame, no name in lights…no Billboard hits, no sold out nights” while the life of a troubadour is celebrated in “Gypsy Child.” Then there’s “Lived and Died Alone” the tale of a loner who hangs out in graveyards, not honky tonks. It’s a powerful release from an artist who is especially compelling live.

Rodrigo Costa Felix and Marta Pereira daCosta with Catarina Avelar
October 24
Johnny D’s, Somerville

The fado tradition of sorrowful Portuguese ballads is most famously associated with female divas. But men can sing fado as well, as proven by Felix, who will be joined by master guitarist daCosta. This is the Boston date of a six-night New England tour, which proves how strong the region’s Portuguese Diaspora is.

— Noah Schaffer

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Classical

Benjamin Britten’s Centenary
Presented by Opera Brittenica
October 18, 20, and 22, 7:30 p.m.
YMCA Theater, Cambridge, MA

There isn’t any shortage of Britten in the US or Europe this year, as the classical music world celebrates the 100th birthday of England’s greatest composer since Henry Purcell. The newly formed Opera Brittenica delivers one of the few staged operatic performances in the area with a production of Britten’s 1946 “chamber opera” The Rape of Lucretia. Performances are free but require a reservation.

Mozart, Ligeti, and Sibelius
Presented by the Discovery Ensemble
October 20, 3:00 p.m.
Jordan Hall, Boston, MA

The city’s most exciting chamber orchestra begins its sixth season with a typically eclectic program, beginning with Mozart’s stormy D minor Piano Concerto (with Shai Wosner) and ending with Sibelius’s bleak Symphony no. 6. In between comes György Ligeti’s eerie, otherworldly Melodien. Courtney Lewis conducts.

Mark-Anthony Turnage premiere and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde
Presented by the Boston Symphony Orchestra
October 24-26, 8:00 p.m.
Symphony Hall, Boston, MA

With the Adés concert and Charles Dutoit’s dates, this is one of the four most intriguing programs on the BSO’s calendar. Conductor Daniel Harding makes his BSO debut, leading the first US performances of Turnage’s Speranza, a piece whose title translates as “hope.” Mahler’s song cycle-cum-symphony, Das Lied von der Erde, concludes the evening.

— Jonathan Blumhofer

Boston Early Music Festival presents Sarasa Ensemble
October 18, 8:00 p.m.
First Church in Cambridge, Cambridge, MA

The ensemble will present the music of Luigi Boccherini, including his Stabat Mater, with the superb soprano, Dominique Labelle. There will be a pre-concert talk with Forrest Larson of the MIT Lewis Music Library at 7:00 p.m.

Celebrity Series presents Yuja Wang
October 18, 8:00 p.m.
New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, Boston, MA

On Friday, Celebrity Series presents pianist Yuja Wang in a terrific program of Prokofief: Piano Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 28; Chopin: Piano Sonata No 3 in B minor, Op. 28, Nocturne No. 1, Op. 27, and Ballade no. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47; and Stravinsky: 3 Scenes from “Petroushka.”

Blue Heron
October 19, at 8:00 p.m.
First Church in Cambridge, Cambridge, MA

The fabulous Renaissance vocal choir performs Robert Jones’s Missa Spes nostra, Nicholas Ludford’s Ave cujus conceptio and Robert Hunt’s Stabat Matter at First Church in Cambridge. Free.

Beethoven Chamber Series
October 20, 4:00 p.m.
Emmanuel Church, Boston, MA

Emmanuel Music presents Beethoven Chamber Series with Brett Hodgdon, piano; William Hite, tenor, Heidi Beaun-Hill, violin; David Russell, cello, and Randall Hodgkinson, piano. They will perform Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D after Symphony No. 2, Op. 36; Violin Sonata No. 9 “Kreutzer” and “An die ferne Geliebte,” Op. 8.

James David Christie
October 20, 4:00 p.m.
Harvard Memorial Church, Cambridge, MA

The excellent organist, James David Christie, head of the Organ Department at Oberlin, gives a recital at Harvard’s Memorial Church. Free.

— Susan Miron