FRIDAY:
>> This weekend is filled to the brim with events surrounding the 2007 Urban Film Series tour just in time for Black History Month. Dozens of short and feature-length films addressing the black experience are being screened at Regal Cinema Gallery Place, many with panel discussions following. There’s a bevy of established and rising talent to see, but our pick for Friday has to be a conversation and book-signing with the Wizard’s own center and poet Etan Thomas, 5:30 to 6:50 p.m. Saturday focuses on issues of family, history and the direction of urban film making. At 9 p.m. event organizers, filmmakers, actors and other industry types will gather at Bohemian Caverns to enjoy “special guest DJs” as well as late-night brunch, a feature we heartily wish would become a D.C. tradition. Tickets range from $10 to $55 for individual events and can be purchased in advance online.
>> Virginia Opera’s production of Handel’s Agrippina comes to the Washington area this weekend. Well, almost: as close as the George Mason Center for the Arts in Fairfax. Composed when Handel was only 24, it was his first real success in the field of opera. The story is set in the sex-crazed and back-stabbing milieu of ancient Rome, with the Empress Agrippina’s scheme to have her son Nero ascend to the throne after the death of his father, Claudius. The cast includes Sujung Kim (Agrippina), Jane Redding (Poppea), and countertenor David Walker (Ottone). February 9, 8 p.m.; February 11, 2 p.m. Tickets: $44 to $90.
SATURDAY:
>> The bombardment of diamond commercials can only mean one thing: Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us. If you didn’t go to Jared, the Washingtonian is here to save your ass with their comprehensive VDay guide, including some nice restaurants that still have open reservations, a guide for the top restaurants that will charm the pants off your sweetie, and even a list of events for those of you prone to vomit just a little at the sign of canoodling couples. Enjoy!
>> When we told you about the DC Shorts Festival last September, one commenter lamented, “Problem is, for every decent short, you have to wade through a dozen navel-gazing examples of ‘auteurs’ reading their hospital charts and calling it ‘poetry.'” Problem solved! The Best of DC Shorts Show plays this weekend, airing the hot numbers from last years festival. Get tickets for either the Friday or Saturday night 7 p.m. showing at the United States Navy Memorial theater.
>> Stop by the Govinda Gallery in Georgetown to witness the birth of punk in pictures. In college, photographer Susie J. Horgan worked in a little ice cream shop under the watchful eye of manager Henry Rollins. Her front row seat to the emerging punk movement gives us a gallery of the iconic hardcore bands like the Dead Kennedys and Black Flag in the exhibit Punk Love. Both Rollins and Ian MacKaye feature prominently. Open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
SUNDAY:
>> End your weekend with some modern dance — actually, modern, hip-hop, jazz, ballet and African dance at the performance of Black Expressions: Dance Place. Howard University professor and well-renowned choreographer Princess Mhoon Cooper will share the stage with Christal Brown, a longtime member of Urban Bush Woman. Buy tickets online for the Saturday 8 p.m or Sunday 4 p.m. showing.
>> Catch this Sunday’s installment of the National Gallery of Art’s ongoing film series. Through February they’re showing the influential works of director Jacques Rivette, one of the founders of the French New Wave movement. At 4 p.m. find yourself immersed in his version of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, moved to France, and see his improvisational actors tell this story of class conflict.
