The IRL Movie Club presents The Thinking Game

 

The Thinking Game

Sunday, February 2 at 5 PM

 

The Thinking Game chronicles the extraordinary life of Demis Hassabis, a visionary scientist on a relentless quest to solve the enigma of artificial general intelligence (AGI).

 

Directed by Greg Kohs

 

The Thinking Game takes you on a fascinating journey into the heart of DeepMind, one of the world's leading AI labs, as it strives to unravel the mysteries of artificial general intelligence (AGI).

 

Inside DeepMind's London headquarters, founder Demis Hassabis and his team are relentlessly pursuing the creation of AI that matches or surpasses human abilities on a wide range of tasks.

Filmed over five years, the documentary puts viewers in the room for the pivotal moments of this quest, including the groundbreaking achievement of AlphaFold, a program that solved a 50-year grand challenge in biology.

 

The Thinking Game captures the exhilaration of historic breakthroughs like AlphaFold, the crushing weight of disappointment during setbacks, and the unwavering pursuit of knowledge that defines Demis' commitment to scientific innovation. This film invites viewers to witness one of the most important scientific adventures of our time, exploring the potential of AGI to reshape our world

 

What is the IRL Movie Club and How Does it Work?

 

It is an in-person movie club for people to gather regularly, connect with their local community, and together explore trending topics through the lens of independent film. There will be a post-film discussion about each club film.

 

Tickets are $5 and available at Highway 61 Coffeehouse and at the door.

This discounted price includes admission to the show and an optional membership in the IRL Movie Club.

It's a Wonderful Life at the Strand

 

The Christmas spirit has arrived in downtown Vicksburg...

Bitsy Sloan is sponsoring a free showing of this Christmas classic.

 

 

Frank Capra's classic stars Oscar nominee James Stewart as George Bailey, a decent small-town banker who learns what life would have been like if he'd never been born after he unwittingly becomes involved in a mistaken case of bank fraud, which threatens his spirit and tests his will to live until a wise angel compels him to see how his presence has made an incredible impact on the people of Bedford Falls. (That was quite a sentence)

James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi

Come get into the spirit of the season...

And remember if it's cold outside, it will be cold in the Strand, so bring warm clothes, a blanket, mukluks, a sleeping bag, or whatever will help you keep warm.

And...not only is the movie free... 

the popcorn is free!

It is a wonderful life!!!

Saturday, December 21 at 4 PM

Where?

The Strand Theatre

717 Clay Street

Downtown Vicksburg

The African Queen - Bogart and Hepburn at the Strand the Day after Thanksgiving

 

We like to watch a classic film after all that turkey, and this is a true classic directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn in roles they were born to play.

The earthy, drunken captain of a tramp steamer helps the prim and proper sister of a missionary escape Africa after her brother dies. Along the way the pair gets past their differences and fall in love, but must contend with a tenacious German gunboat in order to escape with their lives.

Recently restored in 4k.

Tickets are $9 in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse, and $10 at the door.

And.. the popcorn is free!

Across the Universe at the Strand

Across the Universe

Saturday, November 16 at 7 PM

Strand Theatre

John Roquet presents ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

 

Director, Julie Taymor, uses the music of the Beatles to create a revolutionary rock musical that re-imagines America in the turbulent late-1960s, a time when battle lines were being drawn at home and abroad. When young dockworker Jude (Jim Sturgess) leaves Liverpool to find his estranged father in America, he is swept up by the waves of change that are re-shaping the nation. Jude falls in love with Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), a rich but sheltered American girl who joins the growing anti-war movement in New York's Greenwich Village. As the body count in Vietnam rises, political tensions at home spiral out of control and the star-crossed lovers find themselves in a psychedelic world gone mad. 

 

With a cameo by Bono, Across the Universe is "the kind of movie you watch again, like listening to a favorite album." (Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES)

 

Advance tickets are available for $9 at Highway 61 Coffeehouse. 

 

Tickets at the door will be $10.

 

And please remember the FREE POPCORN!!!

Dr. Jane McAllister film at the Strand

 

 

Photo by David Rae Morris

 

 

Vicksburg, MS – The Dr. Jane Ellen McAllister House Foundation will host a public symposium titled “Shaping the Cultural Environment…A Window on the World,” October 24-25 honoring the life and legacy of educator Dr. Jane Ellen McAllister (1899-1996). The symposium will be held at the Hinds Community College in Vicksburg and celebrates McAllister’s commitment to “the life of the mind” and excellence within and beyond the college classroom.

A highlight of the symposium will be a screening of a documentary film about Dr. McAllister by David Rae Morris entitled “My Mind To Me A Kingdom Is.” The Screening will take place at the Strand Theatre, 717 Clay Street, Vicksburg, Thursday, Oct. 24, at 6:30 p.m.

Admission is free. Seating is first come, first served.

MANHATTAN SHORT returns...

 

 

 

 Film lovers at the Strand Theatre will join over 100,000 film enthusiasts around the world
Saturday October 5

when the 27th Annual MANHATTAN SHORT Film Festival screens at 7 PM.

MANHATTAN SHORT 2024 will screen simultaneously across the world during a one-week period, with the Best Film and Best Actor awards determined by ballots cast by the audiences in each participating venue. By virtue of their selection by MANHATTAN SHORT, each short film is automatically Oscar-qualified.

Introducing the MANHATTAN SHORT Finalists of 2024

The MANHATTAN SHORT finalists hail from nine countries with films from United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Ukraine, Italy, France, Croatia, Australia, Ireland alongside two films from the USA.

These Final Ten Films represent the best short films from among 872 submissions from 74 countries received by MANHATTAN SHORT for 2024, testimony to the enduring vibrancy and creativity of short films worldwide.

The MANHATTAN SHORT Final Ten are:

The Talent (UK), 

I’m Not a Robot (The Netherlands), Mother (Ukraine),

Dovecote (Italy), 

Pathological (USA), 

Alarms (France), 

Favourites (Australia), 

The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (Croatia), 

Room Taken (Ireland), 

Jane Austen’s Period Drama (USA)

All Final Ten short films become Oscar-qualified, meaning they will be automatically eligible for an Academy Award nomination by screening for a week at the Arena CineLounge in Hollywood in the county of Los Angeles from Sep 20 to Sept 26.

You Be the Judge!

Which of these Final Ten short films is the best? That's up to you and a worldwide audience to decide. Cinema-goers across the United States and around the globe will become instant film critics as they are handed a ballot that allows them to vote for the Best Film and Actor. MANHATTAN SHORT is the ultimate audience award that salutes the creative talents of both directors behind the camera and actors in front of it.

Votes will be sent through to MANHATTAN SHORT HQ with the winner announced at ManhattanShort.com on Monday Oct 7, at 10AM EST.

Tickets for MANHATTAN SHORT are $10 and available in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse.

And there's free hand crafted POPCORN...

Where?

The Strand Theatre

717 Clay Street

Downtown Vicksburg

L'Inferno - silent film with live music by Montopolois

Coming to the Historic Strand Theatre 

in downtown Vicksburg 

 

L’inferno + Montopolis = not so Silent Film 

 

Tuesday, October 1 at 7 PM

 

The Halloween season is starting early in downtown Vicksburg with a silent classic horror film accompanied by live music. Tuesday, October 1 the Italian silent classic, L’Inferno will be presented at the Strand Theatre with live original music by Montopolis of Austin Texas. 

 

L’Inferno (1911) is the first feature length horror film ever released.  An adaptation of Dante’s classic journey through hell, this masterpiece of silent film employs elaborate costumes, special effects, and set design to create an awe-inspiring and ethereal world.  The original Montopolis score brings new life to this horror classic with a mix of psych rock, dark wave and terrifying sound effects performed live.  Montopolis is following up their critically acclaimed tour of Man with a Movie Camera which they brought to the Strand in 2022. 

 

About silent films and musical accompaniment, Daniel Boone, film programmer for the Strand, had to say, “silent films were never silent. From the early days, live music was performed to accompany the images. Sometimes written, but often improvised, the music was a complement, a completion of the film. When sound pictures became the norm, the element of live performance at the movies was largely abandoned. There was no need.” 

 

“Not everyone believed sound was the best idea for the movies. The great Alfred Hitchcock thought the art of storytelling inherent in film was hampered by the necessity of recording the actors voices and background sounds. He referred to the new sound films as “photographs of people talking.” Even though most of the “limitations” of sound have been long been eliminated, the potential power of the image in “silent” film remains.” 

 

“Recent years have seen a resurgence in silent films accompanied by live musicans. High profile projects like Carmine Coppola’s orchestral accompaniment to Abel Gance’s Napoleon and Richard Einhorn’s shimmering Voices of Light paired with Dryer’s Passion of Joan of Arc are only two of many examples. At festivals groups like The Alloy Orchestra have performed many scores to films such as Tod Browning’s Dracula, and Paul Fejo’s Lonesome.  And in 2012 a silent film won the Oscar for Best Picture. We’ve a few silents with live music before, and it is experience that everyone should have.” 

 

Montopolis is an indie chamber music group from Austin, Texas that performs the works of composer Justin Sherburn.  Their genre-busting music uses inventive instrumentation to create "stunning and transcendent" (Austin Chronicle) concerts.  Their programs are audience-engaging, multi-media events that combine live music with film and interactive storytelling. The Montopolis musicians include members of the Austin Symphony, Okkervil River, Tosca String Quartet, and the Polyphonic Spree.  

 

The performance will take place at the Strand Theatre at 717 Clay Street. It will begin at 7 PM. Cost is $15 per person. Tickets are available in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse.