With the start of the new year comes new prospects and even more films. With the successful run of the fall series in North Hollywood, one thing you should do this year is buy your KCET Cinema Series season passes early, to ensure that you are able to attend the event!

The Fall NoHo KCET Cinema Series came to an end on December 18, 2012 with a screening of the highly anticipated "Les Miserables." The screening was followed by a Q&A with one of the stars of the film, Eddie Redmayne, who portrays Marius.

KCET Cinema Series producer Michele Garza is heading over to the Santa Fe Film Festival this week. She'll be sharing her impressions of the festival and the films!

Film: "'Wolf Dog Tales"

The Santa Fe Film Festival is committed to featuring New Mexico independent filmmakers. I particularly enjoyed "Wolf Dog Tales," a short animated film by director Bernadine Santistevan, who draws from her experience of growing up in rural New Mexico to create an imaginative and instructive tale. Inspired by Navajo sand paintings, the animated artwork was created by Igor, an Emmy Award-winning artist.  

First time director Dustin Hoffman joined KCET Cinema Series host Pete Hammond at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences earlier this week after a screening of his film, "Quartet."

"LES MISÉRABLES"
Q&A with co-star Eddie Redmayne
December 18, 7 PM
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
5220 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood

It's been a spectacular season of film at the KCET Cinema Series and we're topping it all off with a closing night treat: the highly anticipated "Les Misérables" from Academy Award-winning director Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech")!

The internationally beloved musical based on the 1862 French novel by Victor Hugo gets the silver screen treatment once again for this star-studded effort. Starring Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, a French peasant imprisoned for 19 years for stealing bread, and Russell Crowe as Inspector Javet, the police inspector who makes it his life's mission to recapture the escaped Valjean, the visually stunning and emotionally powerful "Les Misérables" is also graced by the vocal and thespian talents of stars Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, and Helena Bonham Carter. "Les Misérables" is out in theaters on December 25th.

Co-star EDDIE REDMAYNE, who plays Marius in "Les Misérables" and whose breakout role in last year's "My Week with Marilyn" earned him a BAFTA 'Rising Star' nomination, joins host Pete Hammond for a Q&A after the screening!

Want to win a FREE pair of passes to the screening? Answer the following trivia question correctly for your chance: Which actor within the esteemed "Les Misérables" cast is the only Oscar winner in the bunch? [Winner chosen at random among correct answers; contest ends 12/17 at 5:00 PM] Click here for contest rules.

Please note: screening is FULL. No walk-ins will be accepted.

KCET Cinema Series producer Michele Garza is heading over to the Santa Fe Film Festival this week. She'll be sharing her impressions of the festival and the films!

Film: "The Cardboard Bernini"

Six years in the making, director and producer Olympia Stone's insightful feature-length documentary, "The Cardboard Bernini,"  follows the work of artist James Grashow as he conceives, builds, and ultimately plans the demise of his monolithic cardboard fountain. Inspired by Italian sculptor Bernini's Trevi Fountain, each element of the piece is carefully sculpted from masterfully cut cardboard. We are held captive as we watch on screen the powerful figures of Neptune and the charging horses, gain strength and life. Grashow's sculpture is meant to represent the fragility of life and his own morality as a man and artist. Olympia Stone takes us on a well-planned journey through the artistic process, which she knows well as the daughter of Allan Stone, the famed New York City gallery owner and art collector.

The Screen Actors Guild Award nominations were released this morning and many of the films nominated were featured in the KCET Cinema Series. The KCET Cinema Series screens films before their local theatrical release, and as you can gather from the list below, it is the go-to event for anyone who wants to watch some of the best films of the year. Here's a list of nominated films with links to our photo galleries, audio Q&A's and previews.

First time director Dustin Hoffman joined KCET Cinema Series host Pete Hammond at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences after the screening of his film "Quartet."

KCET Cinema Series producer Michele Garza is heading over to the Santa Fe Film Festival this week. She'll be sharing her impressions of the festival and the films!

Film: "Now, Forager"

A food lover's dream, and perhaps a botanist's dream as well, "Now, Forager," a film by filmmakers Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin is beautifully shot with stunning images of wild mushrooms and the lush woods of the Northeast. The two central characters, a husband and wife team of wild mushroom foragers and experts on the topic of mushroom species, draw us into their nomadic and spartan lifestyle, and the difficulties in a trying to keep a marriage alive while following this unique life path. The husband's passion for wild mushrooms ultimately destroys the marriage and the wife discovers her talents as a professional chef. The film reveals a world that most of us know nothing about, a world more delicious than sautéed creminis, morels, and chanterelles. The film was a hit at New York's Gotham Independent Film Festival and garnered Cortlund and Halperin recognition as breakthrough new directors.

During a post-screening Q & A with Cortlund, we learn that the film is rooted in his own family's history in wild mushroom foraging and love of gourmet food. Playing in film festivals and theaters worldwide. Definitely worth your time to visit the film website.

Visit KCET Food to meet some real-life foragers in the video series, "California Foraging."

"QUARTET"
Q&A with director Dustin Hoffman
December 11, 7 PM
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
5220 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood

One of Hollywood's greatest acting legends tries his hand at filmmaking from the other side of the lens for the first time in this week's KCET Cinema Series. "Quartet," a comedy about four aging opera greats, marks the directorial debut of two time Academy Award-winning actor Dustin Hoffman.

Led by powerhouse veterans Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, and Pauline Collins, "Quartet" follows the antics of the colorful Beacham House, an English retirement home for classical musicians. In the weeks leading up to the home's yearly Verdi concert, the house and many of its tenants are sent abuzz with the arrival of opera diva Jean Horton (Smith), but none more so than her three former singing partners (Courtenay, Connolly, and Collins), also residents at the home. Egos, emotions, history, and high notes collide as the residents work to ensure the show does indeed go on. Also starring Michael Gambon, "Quartet" is out in theaters December 28th.

Extra special guest DUSTIN HOFFMAN returns to the KCET Cinema Series after this Tuesday's screening for a Q&A with host Pete Hammond!

Want to win a FREE pair of passes to the screening? Answer the following trivia question correctly for your chance: In what popular early '90s fairy-tale film do Dustin Hoffman and Maggie Smith both appear? [Winner chosen at random among correct answers; contest ends 12/10 at 5:00 PM] Click here for contest rules.

Don't have season passes? Please call (747) 201-5800 for non-member inquiries. Doors open at 6:00 PM, film starts at 7 PM.