Expanding the Frame: Journeys @ the Walker, 1/21 - 2/28

This week the Walker Art Center will launch its annual five week "Expanding the Frame" film series, which "brings together works that challenge the form and structure of conventional cinema; the unusual approaches taken by these filmmakers provide a fresh and profound take on the universal as they journey into the unknown."

This year's series, Journeys, features a handful of area premieres and appearances by directors, including Ellen Kuras, whose Oscar-nominated documentary, The Betrayal (Nerakhoon), was #6 on my documentary list last year. That film will also screen, leaving you with no excuse if you haven't seen it yet (it's been on PBS and has played here theatrically at least twice already). Prior to last year's Oscar nomination for her directing debut, Kuras had made a career as a cinematographer for directors including Martin Scorsese, Julian Schnabel, Michel Gondry, and Spike Lee - should be a fascinating discussion.

Films are screened in the Walker Cinema and tickets remain impressively affordable at $8 a piece, or $6 for Walker members (you can also buy a five-pack for $18/$24). Here is the complete schedule (clips and trailers can be viewed in a neatly compiled post on the Walker's film blog):