Ostensibly, Heima is a documentary about Icelandic post-rock quartet Sigur Rós. Unlike with most rockumentaries, however, the band only appears in about half of the shots in the film. The rest of the screen time is devoted to the people, animals and foreboding landscape of Iceland (“heima” means “at home” or “homeland” in Icelandic). So it’s not hard to see why Iceland Naturally, a partnership between the Iceland tourist board and a handful of Icelandic…

>> In the early 1970s, Charles Burnett made a film called Killer of Sheep as his MFA thesis film at UCLA, and it became an instant landmark in American cinema. But few people ever got a chance to see it, because the stellar soundtrack included too many classic songs by the likes of Etta James and Dinah Washington to make it affordable to release it into theaters. This week, Washingtonians have a rare chance…

This piece was written by DCist contributor Cynthia Rockwell. Sure, you could bask in the seasonal spirit and check out the classics this weekend, but if you’re looking to escape the incessant holiday cheer, here are a few ideas for cinematic diversion: >>Attention Cate Blanchett fans, we have not one but two films starring the willowy beauty opening this week. First is the slick black-and-white espionage thriller The Good German, Steven Soderbergh’s homage to film…

DCist first told you about Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s documentary film Jesus Camp back in June, when it walked away with the Grand Jury Award from the SILVERDOCS AFI/Discovery Channel Film Festival. Now paired up with Magnolia Pictures, Jesus Camp is currently at Landmark’s E Street Theater and has been making a big splash at box offices all over the country. The film follows a group of evangelical Christian kids from Missouri as they…

Any readers remember walking out of Buzz back in the good days, watching the sun rise over the Capitol? Remember that persistent ringing in your ears — the one caused by heavy bass caused by a John Tab set in the small room or Scott Henry’s Bit o’Honey on the deck? It wasn’t very fun, and as we guzzled Gatorade on the way home we prayed the ringing wouldn’t keep us from sleeping. Imagine if…