Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...In conjunction with Life on Mars, the 2008 Carnegie International, Pittsburgh Filmmakers is teaming up with Carnegie Museum of Art for the presentation of a series of popular films from the last 50 years that explore themes of humanization, mechanization, and changes in our world that affect our daily lives.

The series will screen Sunday evenings in August at 8:00 p.m. at the Regent Square Theater, located at 1035 South Braddock Avenue in Edgewood. Admission is $8 for adults, and $6 for seniors, students, and children. Members of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh receive a $2 admission discount to the film series, and members of Pittsburgh Filmmakers receive a $2 admission discount to Carnegie Museum of Art.
 
Aug. 3: 2001: A Space Odyssey
This is the ultimate science-fiction voyage of a man through outer and inner space, through the phases of his own life in time thrown out of whack, to his death and rebirth in an intergalactic embryo. “[Kubrick] made a philosophical statement about man’s place in the universe, using images as those before him had used words, music or prayer. And he had made it in a way that invited us to contemplate it—not to experience it vicariously as entertainment, as we might in a conventional science-fiction film, but to stand outside it as a philosopher might, and think about it.” —Roger Ebert (Stanley Kubrick; UK/USA; 1968; 140 min)

Aug. 10: Brazil
This dark comedy is one of the best films ever made showing how technology might spawn a nightmare society of the future. With nods to both Orwell and Monty Python, it presents a world marred by oppressive automation and towering bureaucracy, and populated by tyrannical guards who strong-arm the lawbreakers. Sam Lowry is a civil servant who uses his imagination to escape. (Terry Gilliam; UK/USA; 1985; 131 min)

Aug. 17: Blow-Up
When a photographer believes he has inadvertently captured a murder on film, he begins to question everything he sees. This masterpiece—the first English language film by Antonioni—is a fascinating look at the ramifications of “recording” reality. (Michelangelo Antonioni; UK/Italy/USA; 1966; 108 min)

Aug. 24: Playtime
In this French comedy classic about a stranger in a strange land, Monsieur Hulot (played by the brilliant Jacques Tati) comes to Paris for an appointment, but the “space age” buildings seem to thwart his every move, and he feels out of place in the modern world. “It directs us to look around at the world we live in, the one we keep building.” —Jonathan Rosenbaum. With subtitles. (Jacques Tati; France/Italy; 1967; 126 min)

Aug. 31: Alphaville
Part science-fiction, part film noir—this French New Wave thriller from one of cinema’s greatest directors is nothing less than a cult classic. Using no special visual effects, Godard crafts a bizarre space-chase across a glass and metal landscape of futuristic Paris—here called Alphaville. This dystopian tomorrow is characterized by alienation, conformity, and a stunningly clinical world. Godard slyly suggests that the future is now. The result is a touching, original film laced with the director’s familiar political and intellectual themes. With subtitles. (Jean-Luc Godard; France; 1965; 100 min)
 
Carnegie Museum of Art
Located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Museum of Art was founded in 1895 by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. One of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, it is nationally and internationally recognized for its distinguished collection of American and European works from the sixteenth century to the present. The Heinz Architectural Center, part of Carnegie Museum of Art, is dedicated to the collection, study, and exhibition of architectural drawings and models. For more information about Carnegie Museum of Art, call 412.622.3131 or visit www.cmoa.org.
 
Pittsburgh Filmmakers and Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
Pittsburgh Filmmakers is one of the largest and oldest independent media arts centers in the U.S. Founded in 1971 to provide media-making tools to artists, Pittsburgh Filmmakers has grown to include an accredited school with over 1500 enrollments per year, three theaters including the only movie theater in downtown Pittsburgh, and the area’s largest annual film event, the 27-year-old Three Rivers Film Festival. In January 2006, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts merged with Pittsburgh Filmmakers. Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ strength in the community is based on its reputation for artistic integrity in its programming and in its ultimate mission, to support local artists. More at www. pghfilmmakers.org.