Reeling in the Years

To historians, the Florida Moving Image Archive provides a vital, herky-jerky window to the past. To artists, it offers vibrant images that enhance bigger pictures. Barron Sherer, the archive’s curator, has combined the efforts of those who have made use of this invaluable resource in the Rewind/Fast Forward Film Festival, a unique three-day celebration of celluloid. Saturday’s schedule is stuffed with diabolical screenings for die-hard film fans, beginning with preserved clips from the Anthology Film Archives and ending with significant screenings from avant-garde filmmakers who culled material from the archive. “This Saturday is gonna be hard-core, man. I’m gonna shake every person’s hand who shows up,” laughs Sherer.

The festival begins at 7:30 p.m. with the Film & Video Awards Ceremony. Admission to the ceremony is free. This celebration will be immediately followed by a restored Technicolor screening of Barbra Streisand’s Funny Girl. “Nine out of ten people nowadays probably have never seen Technicolor. They’re gonna have hallucinations -- it’s so beautiful,” raves Sherer. Admission costs five dollars. The movie begins tonight at 9:00 at the Colony Theater. Call 305-375-5105, or visit www.rewindfastforward.org.
Fri., July 28