Five years ago, Iranian-born Canadian photographer-turned-director
Eileen Yaghoobian started making a movie about the underground
rock-poster scene. Having frequently visited gigposters.com, a comprehensive guide to
indie-rock artwork, she wanted to know the stories behind the punk and
post-punk images she saw. “I love the way the posters twist pop culture
and take something from the golden era of America and regurgitate it on
a rock poster,” she says. “I wanted to make a movie about the dialogue
that lives in the posters. That’s what drives the film.” Visiting 30
different states and shooting 250 hours of footage, she tracked down
everyone from iconic poster- maker Frank Kozik to Lightning Bolt’s
Brian Chippendale (Cleveland’s Derek Hess gets a shout-out too) for
Died Young, Stayed Pretty. The movie provides a
Slacker-type overview of a scene still burgeoning, despite a
downturn in the music industry. If you go to the movie’s website,
diedyoungstayedpretty.com,
you’ll also see six very different posters for the film itself that you
can purchase. The film shows at 7:30 p.m. Friday, September 24, and at
9:40 p.m. Saturday, September 26, at the Cleveland Institute of Art
Cinematheque (11141 East Blvd., 216.421.7450, cia.edu/cinematheque). Yaghoobian
will answer questions after both screenings. Tickets: $8.

The Akron Civic Theatre (182 S. Main St., 330.253.2488, akroncivic.com) is hosting another
red-carpet movie event: Hattie Larlham Presents Hollywood. This
time around, it features movie memorabilia. Richard John of Hood and
Hoover Jewelers will display his Silver Screen Collection of
costumes and jewelry worn by Mae West, Mitzi Gaynor, Carol Channing,
Judy Garland, Liberace and Cher. Terry Moir from the Trapper Jack in
the Morning radio show hosts the event, and there will be a cocktail
reception. It starts at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, September 26. Tickets are
$75.

It’s a little-known fact that before John Ewing took over as
director at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, he was
director of the Canton Film Society from 1975-1983. This month, Ewing
pays tribute to that time by screening a couple of the movies he showed
in his Canton days at the Cinematheque: Frank Capra’s The
Strong Man (Sept. 24 and 27) and the Soviet comedy
Volga-Volga (Oct. 1 and 4), both of which will
screen in new 35mm prints. Tickets: $8.

jniesel@clevescene.com

This article appears in Sep 23-29, 2009.

Jeff has been covering the Cleveland music scene for more than 25 years now. On a regular basis, he tries to talk to whatever big acts are coming through town. And if you're in a local band that he needs to hear, email him at jniesel@clevescene.com.