One of Our Favorites
If you haven’t made your plans yet, do so. The Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival happens Nov. 9-13. There are more than 100 American and international features, documentaries and shorts to see, including a few notable locals. Save Nov. 11 for director Michael Oates, maker of “The Storm of ’62,” and his new Delaware documentary “An Evolving Legacy: Delaware’s Coastal Act” about Russell W. Peterson’s landmark legislation to protect our precious coast line. “Legacy” is featured as part of the festival’s Regional Showcase. Other area films and directors include James Diehl’s popular “Vanishing Voices” about local World War II vets on Nov.12. On Nov. 13 see Wilmington filmmaker Paul Mento’s “Howard Pyle & the Illustrated Story” about the history, work and rise of one of our very best artists. Alison Bagnall of Philly sets her latest film, “The Dish and the Spoon,” in Rehoboth Beach. See it Nov. 12, then hear her discuss her experience after the screening. Baltimore filmmaker Richard Chisolm takes a look at his own school district and a desire to move toward better cafeteria food in his film “Cafeteria Man,” which shows Nov. 13. And don’t forget Veterans Day. On Nov. 11 at 11:11 a.m., the CAMP Rehoboth Chorus will honor local vets with a concert of tunes from the 1940s. See it in the bog tent behind Movies at Midway, where all films will be screened. The concert shows that there’s more to the festival than film. See for yourself. For more, visit rehobothfilm.com, or call 645-9095 ext. 1.
A Family Affair
This doesn’t happen every day: Dr. Mehdi Jadali, his mother, Hayedeh Morovati, and his uncle Dr. Shah Morovati will exhibit together at Gallery 919 Market Nov. 4-25. Jadali started art lessons at 16, experimenting with a variety of media. At 25 he started using color pencil on paper, and today, 20 years later, it remains his favorite medium. He is a surgeon at Christiana Hospital. Hayedeh Morovati started painting at age 73, after the death of her husband. She uses watercolor and gouache and has participated in solo and group exhibits in Iran. She splits her time between Iran and the United States. Shah Morovati is a self-taught watercolorist who has been painting since high school in Tehran, mainly landscapes, seascapes and florals. He has been a surgeon in Delaware since 1967. An opening reception will be held Friday, Nov. 4, 4:30 p.m.-8 p.m. at 919 N. Market St., Wilmington. The gallery is free and open daily 7 a.m.-6p.m. For information, call 229-3266.
The Founding Father of Funk
Fans of funk, here’s one for you: The Meters Experience, featuring Meters founder and guitarist Leo Nocentelli, on Thursday, Nov. 10. Nocentelli has played blues, jazz and more with and for the best in the business, including Bobby Womack, Bonnie Raitt, Mavis Staple, Etta James, Stevie Wonder and other Motown greats like The Temptations and The Supremes. The list goes on and on, which is why he was honored with a Grammy for lifetime achievement in 2001. But his greatest legacy will perhaps be the syncopated rhythms he perfected with The Meters on such great tunes as “Cissy Strut” and “Look-Ka Py Py.” This is a New Orleans classic. Visit queen.worldcafelive.comfor tickets and one cool video.
Meanwhile, Right Up the Street…
Trumpeter-composer Ambrose Akinmusire visits The Grand Opera House as part of a multimedia tribute to jazz great Miles Davis, The Miles Davis Experience, also on Nov. 10. The show aims to capture the sound and mood of jazz in the 1950s through the music of Davis and his so-called Blue Period with Blue Note Records. Akinmusire, of The Los Angeles Times’ 2011 Faces to Watch, plays over projections of vintage photos and film clips narrated by a Beat-style poet. It’s real gone, daddy. For more, visit thegrandwilmington.org. The show is presented as part of the Clifford Brown Year Round series of concerts.
Looking Forward
Clear Space Theatre Company presents “Broadway Rhythms” at The Schwartz Center for the Arts in Dover on Nov. 18. The Rehoboth-based performers will perform selections from 10 great American musicals, including “Show Boat,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Cabaret.” It’s not the same old song and dance. Visit schwartzcenter.com.
