It's been a long, strange trip for indie filmmaker Gary Hustwit. The guy started out working at the SoCal-based SST Records in the early '80s back when the label had seminal acts like Sonic Youth, Black Flag and the Meat Puppets on its roster. From there, he got into book publishing, running his Incommunicado Press out of a San Diego warehouse. He took the company to New York, renting a space next to the avant-jazz club Tonic for a short time. After a brief stint at Salon.com, Hustwit turned to filmmaking. In 2007, he delivered Helvetica, a documentary about typography and graphic design that coincided with the font's 50th anniversary. Now, he's promoting his latest venture, Objectified, a documentary about the people who design manufactured objects. It features interviews with designers Karim Rashid, Jonathan Ive and Dieter Rams. Hustwit will introduce the film at a special screening at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 7, at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque (11141 East Blvd., 216.421.7450). Tickets: $20.
The Cedar Lee Theatre's (2163 Lee Rd., 216.321.5411) "Hi-Def Hitch" series was so successful last month, the theater extended its run by adding screenings of the filmmaking master's best-known movies. "We had a great reaction for April, and that's why we brought back the top four," says Cleveland Cinemas' Director of Marketing David Huffman. "So it's no big surprise that more people came to see Psycho than Topaz. But overall, we were very pleased with the attendance." The theater is hoping to bring in more old movies restored to high-definition quality. "When you play an older print, you just don't know how many splices have been in it and if it has scratches," says Huffman. "These had that digital clarity to them and looked really, really good." You can catch Psycho at 7:15 p.m. Thursday, May 7.
Registration is now open for the 48 Hour Film Project, which gives filmmaking teams in 70 different cities 48 hours to create a short film. The films will show on August 5 and 6 at the Cedar Lee Theatre. Go to 48hourfilm.com/cleveland for more information on how to sign up.
In honor of the film's 55th anniversary, the Cedar Lee Theatre will screen a hi-definition print of Akira Kurosawa's Samurai Seven. The film opens Friday, May 8, for an exclusive one-week run.
