Yuletide comes early this year with the recent premiere of the film Christmas on Mars. Starring, written and directed by Wayne Coyne — one of the brains behind The Flaming Lips — the movie is homage to the golden age of sci-fi and Dada-esque surrealism.
Although it has been in various states of production for close to a decade, the movie — shot in Coyne’s Oklahoma City home with DIY set-production — is finally finished, fully cut and edited, and receiving a limited off-beat release in art-houses and other non-traditional venues across the country. Check out the dates below to see if and when the film will be screened in your area.
Diehard Flaming Lips fans have been anticipating the movie’s theatric release for some time now, with teasers and unofficial working cuts having been screened on and off at film festivals and after-parties over the last several years.
Besides featuring new and unheard music from the long-running Oklahoma psychedelic trio, Christmas in Mars contains cameo appearances from SNL’s Fred Armisen, Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse and a host of freaks both well-known and obscure.
The movie has already opened to rave reviews at New York’s KGB Theater, which features the Zeta Bootis Mega Supersonic Super-Sound Surround System, designed by the band especially for the event. The complicated lo-fi THX-like contraption will also be used at screenings in other select markets.
Check in on the band’s MySpace page as well as distributor Cinema Purgatorio’s Facebook profile and Web site to stay up to date on any and all upcoming screenings and events.
New York, New York: The KGB Complex's Kraine Theater
Austin, Texas: Original Alamo Drafthouse, starts October 11
San Antonio, Texas: Alamo Drafthouse, starts October 19
Nashville, Tennessee: The Belcourt, October 11-14
Dallas, Texas: Landmark Inwood Theater, October 17-18
Whitewater, Wisconsin: Theatres of Whitewater, October 17
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin: Geneva 4, October 18
Orlando, Florida: Enzian Theatre, October 18
West Bend, Wisconsin: Paradise Theatre, October 19
Madison, Wisconsin: The Orpheum, October 21-24
Waterville, Maine: Railroad Square Cinema, October 24
Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Brattle, October 31-November 9
Omaha, Nebraska: Film Streams / Ruth Sokolof Theater, October 31
San Francisco, California: The Roxie, October 31-November 2
Bremen, Indiana: Bremen Theatre, November 5
Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Cinematheque, November 8-9
Columbus, Ohio: Landmark Gateway Theater, November 14-15
Denver, Colorado: Landmark Esquire Theatre, November 14-15
Seattle, Washington: Northwest Film Forum, November 21-22
Hartford, Connecticut: Real Art Ways, November 21-23
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Landmark Uptown Theatre, November 22
Tucson, Arizona: The Loft, December 5-11
Chicago, Illinois: The Music Box, December 5-6
Bellingham, Washington: Pickford Cinema, December 5-6
St. Louis, Missouri area: Webster University Film Series, December 12-14
Albuquerque, New Mexico: The Guild, December 19-20
DVD release happenings:
Kansas City, Missouri: Screenland, November 22-23
Jacksonville, Florida: Fuel in Five Points, November 27
Roanoke, Virginia: Grandin Theatre, December 14-15