Screening:
Matt Porterfield

Matt Porterfield’s Putty Hill is a delicately composed feature film set in a close-knit, working-class suburb of Baltimore. A fictional tale that slips in and out of documentary modes, the film takes place in the aftermath of a young man’s death, following his friends and acquaintances as they ready for his funeral and wake, which finally takes place at a local bar. The characters are all portrayed by young non-actors, playing versions of themselves, at times speaking with the director as if being interviewed. Porterfield and his performers create a rich and unsentimentalized portrait of lives lived on the hard edge of economic reality, and of relationships made more tenuous in the face of existential uncertainties. Putty Hill is a collective coming-of-age film, depicting a generation that finds itself on the cusp of adulthood in a time that presents few options for the future.

SCREENING TIMES
May 2, 3, and 5
12, 2, and 4 pm
May 4
2, 4, and 7 pm
May 6
12 and 2 pm

PROGRAM
Putty Hill, 2011
HD video, color, sound; 87 min.
Courtesy Cinema Guild

Screenings are free with Museum admission. Admittance is on a first-come, first-seated basis until capacity is reached. Late admittance is strongly discouraged, so please arrive early.