Looking for something new to watch? Maybe even interested in doing something that could benefit one of our local cinemas? Indie distributor Kino Lorber and the Wexner Center for the Arts offer you the chance to satisfy both needs.
For the next two weeks, the film that took top honors at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Bacurau, is being made available for streaming by both the independent film distributor and the film center.
The program is called Kino Marquee, a virtual theatrical exhibition initiative launched by Kino Lorber in an effort not only to make their films available to the public, but also, according to their press release, to “enable art house cinemas to serve moviegoers and generate revenue during the coronavirus outbreak.”
The Wexner Center for the Arts is one of only 11 cinemas currently partnering with Kino Lorber on the initiative.
Bacurau would have screened at the Wex this weekend were it not for the epidemic, and the film center is pleased to participate in the initiative that will bring the film to audiences immediately.
The price has been set nationally by Kino Lorber at $12.
“It’ll be available as a Wex partnership for two weeks, kind of like a theatrical release window,” says Chris Stults, Wex’s Associate Curator for Film/Video. “Once you purchase it, it’ll be available to view for five days. It keeps alive that theatrical model while still working for the schedules of insomniacs and morning people! A pretty ingenious solution for this peculiar moment.”
This may not be the last time the Wex and Kino partner to bring new releases directly to Columbus homebound movie viewers.
“I think we’re going to be living in this reality for a while,” says Stults, who believes other Kino Lorber titles may be forthcoming in the same manner. But right now, he’s happy to focus on Bacurau.
“What a barn-burner of a film to kick this one off with,” he says. “I was heartbroken that we weren’t going to be able to show this one. Political outrage + John Carpenter and Udo Kier = sign me up!”
The Wex has also made it possible to watch two of their cancelled programs, Speculative Africa and Retrospective: Agnes Varda, available on their website.
Find a link to Wexner Center for the Arts Presents Bacurau HERE.
Read more from Hope at MADDWOLF and listen to her movie review podcast THE SCREENING ROOM.