Halloween Hollywood HootenannyOctober 31th

This year SOAPIFF in partnership with the Friends of Olde Downtowne Johnson City and the Johnson City Development Authority is proud to bring you our first annual Halloween Hollywood Hootenanny. What is a Halloween Hollywood Hootenanny you may ask? Well it’s a whole lot of family friendly fun. The Johnson City Downtown Merchants will be open for trick-or treaters; Children Films for all ages will be playing at the Johnson City Library from 11am to 5pm; and “The Vaudvillians” street performers and theatrical group will delight you and your children on the 300 block of East Main Street starting at 4pm.

At 3:30 pm, Registration begins at Everything Under One Woof (318 E. Main Street)
which is sponsoring a pet costume and owner contest that begins at 4pm. There will be a $ 5.00 entry fee for every pet and all of the entry fees will go to the Nibbles and Kibbles Pet Food Pantry that feeds hungry pets in our area Your donations will help keep pets with loving families and out of the shelters, so come to the Hootenanny with your pet in costume and help a family keep their pet in a loving home.

Unique Treasures, located at 232 East Main Street in Downtown Johnson City, is offering a free single card Tarot reading for everyone in costume. For $20 Unique Treasures is offering a full Tarot Card Reading, a portion of which is going to our new annual SOAPIFF Scholarship for a Film Studies student at ETSU. During the month of October Unique Treasures will be showing a scary movie all day, everyday. So come on down to Unique Treasures for a delicious brew, bohemian ambiance, and find unique treasures you wont find any place else.

Thriller Dance off
Gather up all your friends, practice your Zombie moves, and come to the Hootenanny for our Thriller Dance off. Registration begins at 4pm. The dance off begins at 6pm.

the red carpet
From 5:00pm to 6:30pm the red carpet is rolled out and you are invited to come dressed as your favorite celebrity or movie character. Beware of the paparazzi that will be lined up behind the velvet rope just waiting to take your picture for the tabloids. A panel of judges will be on hand to select the winner for best celebrity look a like and best movie character look a like. The winners will be announced after the screening of The Cat & the Canary. Registration begins at 4pm – an open donation to SOAPIFF would be appreciated but is not required to participate in any event. Remember, a portion of all donations goes to our new SOAPIFF Film Studies Scholarship.

7pm Sita Sings the Blues (2008) Directed by Nina Paley- Sita Sings the Blues is a musical, animated personal interpretation of the Indian epic the Ramayana. The aspect of the story that the director focuses on is the relationship between Sita and Rama, who are gods incarnated as human beings, and even they can't make their marriage work.

And then there's the filmmaker’s personal story. “I'm just an ordinary human, who also can't make her marriage work. And the way that it fails is uncannily similar to the way Rama and Sita's relationship fails, inexplicable yet so familiar. And the question that I asked and the question people still ask is, "Why"? Why did Rama reject Sita? Why did my husband reject me? We don't know why, and we didn't know 3,000 years ago. I like that there's really no way to answer the question; that you have to accept that this is something that happens to a lot of humans,” says Nina Paley. If you enjoy this film, and we know you will, please send a donation to the Sita Distribution Project by going to the website: QuestionCopyright.org or you can send it by the US postal service, AKA snail mail. Be sure to mention that your donation is for the "Sita Distribution Project". Like SOAPIFF, This is a 501c3 corporation and is tax deductible.

    QuestionCopyright.org
    Attn: Sita Distribution Project
    P.O. Box 20165
    Stanford, CA 94309-0165
    USA

Annette Hanshaw is the singing voice of Sita and is often confused with her friend Helen Kane, the voice behind Betty Boop, whom she recorded with and did impressions of on stage. She was a superstar in her day; between1926 and 1934 she recorded prolifically. She was known as the “personality girl” even though she hated show business and performing live. Preferring the life of a studio artist, she often improved and let the recording engineers know she was finished by saying “That’s all.” This became her catch phrase and you will hear it at the end of many songs in Sita Sings the Blues.

8:30 The Cat and the Canary (1927) 82 min: and
Live score performed by Phil Pollard and his Band of Humans
This is a true example of German Expressionism on film and the prototype for all future haunted house films; directed by Paul Leni, one of the silent era horror greats, this film is the first of many adaptations of John Willard's 1922 black comedy Broadway smash hit. The Plot: A wealthy old man, Cyrus West, has relatives sitting around waiting for him to kick the bucket so they can inherit. To their surprise he instructs that his will be read 20 years after his death. On the appointed day his eager heirs arrive at his ominous mansion. After reading the will, everything is left to Annabelle West, but only if she is deemed sane. If she isn't, the money and some diamonds go to someone else, whose name is sealed in an envelope. Before the attorney can reveal the identity of her successor to Annabelle he disappears. The first in a series of mysterious events that indicates Annabelle is mentally unstable. Phil Pollard from Richmond, Virginia has composed a new score for this silent horror classic, which will be performed live by the Humans. For those of you who attended the 2007 SOAPIFF Gala, you cannot forget Phil Pollard and his Band of Humans’ new score to Nosferatu (1922) the original Dracula story. SOAPIFF had to bring Phil and his Human’s back to Johnson City; when you hear this band you’ll know why.

Jack Neely of Knoxville’s Metropulse describes The Humans as such: “The name is a coy understatement. These aren't your mother's humans. These particular nine humans wear shiny bathrobes and play ukulele, trombone, flute, mandolin and vibraphone, sometimes clarinet, kettledrum, or didgeridoo. And what they play is a sort of jazz funk to some interesting songs, or recitations, from poetry or American history, done mostly by frontman Phil Pollard, who stands and plays the vibraphone as he recites letters and speeches by Lincoln (including the only danceable version of the Gettysburg Address we've heard lately), with bits of Blake or Plath thrown in for variety.

10:00pm Dishmag.com Peoples Choice Awards
i-Tunes U Awards
Winners of the costume contest.

10:45pm The Bells (1926) 72 min:
Live score performed by The Brock Henderson Trio
The effects in this film are amazing for 1926 and director James Young makes the film visually striking by filling his frame with great detail and constant movement. The Plot: Mathias is an Alsatian innkeeper that is deep in dept to a man who threatens to take his inn away from him and force him and his family into the street. Mathias decides to kill a rich Polish Jew staying at his inn for his gold. Even though he is not a suspect for the crime, Mathias' conscience torments him while the murdered man's spirit propels the innkeeper into insanity by causing the innkeeper to hear the bells that rang as the Pole lay dying. The Polish traveler's brother calls for an inquest and brings with him a sideshow mesmerist supposedly able to read minds. Mathias, as mayor, is called upon to conduct the inquest, but under the intuitive eye of the mesmerist cannot resist the torment of his own conscience. Mathias finally sees the ghost of the traveler and dies in spiritual agony.

Guitarist, Pedal Steel Player and Composer Brock Henderson will perform a live soundtrack he has composed for The Bells with Keyboardist Jason Day and Drummer/Percussionist Phil Pollard. The new score weaves its way musically from classical to world music with hints of country, funk and the unnamable. . University of Tennessee alumni, Brock lived in Brazil performing music in Belo Horizonte and Nova Lima, Minas Gerais and was honored with invitation to teach and start a jazz program at Palacas das Artes in Belo Horizonte. Among many of Brock’s accomplishments is his performances in Field Entertainment for Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus where he played guitar in many varied styles of arrangements to supply a live soundtrack for a 2 - hour show with over 500 performances a year.

This will prove to be a very interesting performance as well as support for the screening of the film. The trio will be performing an eclectic soundtrack with the use of a
variety of instruments, synths and modern sampling technology. This is a
performance you won't want to miss.