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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARTINO UNSTRUNG FEATURED IN MARCH FOR “NIGHT OF INDEPENDENT FILM”
Film Follows Jazz Icon’s Journey to Recover from Brain Surgery and Reclaim Himself
On March 19, 2014, the Hidden River Film initiative will screen
Martino Unstrung as part of its Night of Monthly Film series. The film will show at 7 p.m. at Reading Movies 11 & IMAX at 30 North Second Street, Reading, PA.
Pat Martino, a regular at the annual Berks Jazz Fest, is widely regarded as a jazz legend. In 1980, he moved his belongings from California to Philadelphia to live with two complete strangers: his parents. As a young jazz guitar virtuoso, he had achieved near legendary status during the 60s and 70s, before being diagnosed with a life-threatening brain condition. Surgery had saved his life but wiped his memory. Back in his childhood home, family and friends rallied to try to coax him back to being the great artist he had been. He could not dispute the evidence; the face in the mirror was the same as the one on the record sleeves but it meant nothing to him. Amnesia had ripped selfhood from his brain and rendered his life meaningless. He was nobody.
Director Ian Knox and Neuropsychologist Paul Broks travel America in search of the soul of the legendary jazz guitar great Pat Martino. Broks explores the nature of memory, self, creativity and the mysterious brain mechanisms underlying the construction of personal identity. What is the self? How much change can it survive? Pat Martino is an unlikely American hero whose moving story holds meaning for us all.
A discussion facilitated by local film buffs Harry Serio and Al Walentis will follow the screening.
Adult tickets are $8 and will be sold online and at the door. Student tickets are $5 and will be available at the door only. For additional ticketing information, please visit www.BerksArts.org
The Hidden River Film initiative chose to screen
Martino Unstrung in March as a prelude to the 24th annual Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest, which runs from Friday, March 28, through Sunday, April 6. The festival includes over 40 ticketed events at six venues throughout Reading and Wyomissing. Local restaurants, pubs and churches will host an additional 70 events throughout Berks County. Visit www.BerksJazzFest.com for the full festival line-up.
The mission of Berks Arts Council is to cultivate, support, and promote the arts in our community through collaboration, education, and presentation. In addition to the Hidden River Film initiative and Berks Jazz Fest, Berks Arts Council presents The Art of Jazz, the Bandshell Concert Series, Fast Lane Art, and the Pagoda Awards, administers the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts Re-Granting Program, and provides art exhibition and marketing opportunities for member artists. Visit www.BerksArts.org for more information.
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Media Contact:
Karen Haver, Executive Director
P: 610-898-1930
F: 610-898-1932
Karen@BerksArts.org
P.O. Box 854
Reading, PA 19603
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