A look at upcoming literary and film events for the 2019-'20 season.
The Rosa Goddard International Film Festival
Wednesdays, Sept. 11-25. All screenings take place at 7 p.m. at The Kentucky Theatre, 214 E. Main St.
This annual celebration of international cinema classics and contemporary films is curated and coordinated by local gift shop and bookstore SQecial Media. This year’s festival features three films by French filmmaker Agnès Varda (1928-2019), in the first time the series has focused on a single director. A photographer first, Varda began making films in 1954, having only seen a handful of films herself. Utilizing a fresh perspective and endless experimentation, Varda made many contributions to modern cinema, photography and visual art, while championing feminism and human rights in her work and life. She established a career of her own long before it was socially accepted for a woman to do so, while simultaneously raising two children with her husband, fellow French director Jacques Demy, until his death from AIDS in 1990.
With a career spanning seven decades, Agnès Varda kept working, making films and challenging expectations until her death this year at the age of 90, always truly engaged, enraged and delighted by the world around her.
“La Pointe Courte.” Sept. 11. This 1955 film – the first by feminist filmmaker Agnès Varda – provided inspiration for the French New Wave that crested several years later. Part neorealism documentary, part avant-garde meditation on relationship and community, “La Pointe Courte” follows a man returning to his hometown with his Parisian wife as they explore their marriage and decide whether to remain together while navigating the comedies and tragedies of small-town life.
This year’s installment of the annual Rosa Goddard Film Festival will present three films by director Agnes Varda (1951-2019) on select Wednesdays in September. Photo furnished
“Clèo from 5 to 7.” Sept. 18. Agnès Varda’s musings on mortality and human connection are seen through the eyes of pop singer Clèo as she wanders through two hours of a Parisian summer in this 1962 film. The film’s focus on a complex female lead and its use of city as character makes it a forerunner of films such as “Run Lola Run” and “Frances Ha.”
“Faces Places.” Sept. 25. Her enchanting next-to-last film (released in 2017) finds Varda in documentarian mode, joined by portraitist/muralist/graffiti artist JR. Together they journey through rural France, hearing stories from and creating intimate large format photos of the people they encounter, present and past. The film was awarded the Lili d’or at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
Kentucky Women Writers Conference
Sept. 19-22 • Carnegie Center • 251 W. Second St. and other venues • (859) 257-2874 •
This year marks 41 years that the Kentucky Women Writers Conference has showcased the talents of female writers, with its annual conference full of workshops, panel discussions and readings for writers seeking inspiration, fellowship and practical advice about the publishing industry. Featured authors at this year’s conference include Chantel Acevedo, Ifa Bayeza, Nicole Chung and others.
In addition to the ticketed conference events, the organization also presents a handful of free community events at various venues, including the following:
Sonia Sanchez Series. Sept. 19. Featuring a reading by novelist and playwright Ifa Bayeza, introduced by Patrice Muhammad. 7 p.m. at the Lyric Theatre.
All You Can Ever Know: An Evening with Nicole Chung. Sept. 20. A reading and book signing by National Book Circle Critics Award finalist Nicole Chung. 7:30 p.m. at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center.
Korean-American queer writer and poet, Franny Choi, will headline and judge the Wild Women of Poetry Slam, Sept. 21 at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center. Photo furnished
Wild Women of Poetry Slam. Sept. 21. Featuring headliner and celebrity judge Franny Choi, a Korean-American playwright and poet. 7:30 p.m. at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center.
Stars of the Commonwealth Literary Reading. Sept. 22. This event will feature readings by Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman, Savannah Sipple and Ashlee Clark Thompson, followed by a Q&A and book signing. 10 a.m. at the Carnegie Center.
Kentucky Great Writers Series
Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning • 251 W. Second St. • (859) 254-4175 • www.carnegiecenterlex.org
Oct. 1, 2019; Feb. 11, April 14 and May 19
The Kentucky Great Writers Series connects authors with readers and writers in the intimate atmosphere of the Carnegie Center, with each author reading for 15-20 minutes from a work of his or her choice. After the readings, the audience will have the opportunity to purchase and have books signed by the authors.
Oct. 1: DaMaris Hill (“A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing”), Andrew Milward (“I Was a Revolutionary”), Misty Skaggs (“Biscuits and Blisters”)
Feb. 11: Jayne Waldrop (“Retracing My Steps”), Nazera Sadiq Wright (“Black Girlhood in the Nineteenth Century”), Katy Yocum (“Three Ways to Disappear”)
April 14: Jeff Worley (“Lucky Talk”), John James (“Broken Frequencies”), Savannah Sipple (“WWJD and Other Poems”)
May 19: Jeffrey Skinner (“I Offer This Container: New and Selected”), Michael Croley (“Any Other Place: Stories”), Carter Sickel (“The Prettiest Star”)
Carnegie Classics: “The Color Purple”
Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning • 251 W. Second St. • (859) 254-4175 • www.carnegiecenterlex.org
Nov. 2, 7-11 p.m.
Carnegie Classics is an annual event themed around a classic work of literature, designed to fully envelop attendees into literary themes and other elements surrounding the work, in a fun, theme-party-type atmosphere. This year’s event focuses on Alive Walker’s “The Color Purple” and will feature pop-up renditions of the Tony-award winning revival by the University of Kentucky Opera and Everett McCorvey, Ph.D., Southern-style food from MiMi’s Kitchen, art from Brianna Armstrong highlighting the African American quilting tradition and more.