St. Petersburg Times Pop Music Critic Sean Daly and Charley Belcher of Good Day Tampa Bay host Curtain Call, a sneak peek at the Mahaffey's upcoming season of entertainment. In addition to the event announcements, take a backstage tour or sample tantalizing hors d'oeuvres from local hotspots like Bella Brava, Pacific Wave, Tangerine Restaurant, Central Avenue Seafood, Parkshore Grill, 400 Beach, Cafe Alma and more. Thu., Sept. 24, 6-8 p.m., Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S., St. Petersburg, free, mahaffeytheater.com.
St. Pete Poet Laureate Peter Meinke (not to mention author of CL's own "Poet's Notebook") reads from and signs the newly-released, 35th anniversary edition of Lines of Neuchatel, which includes illustrations by his wife, Jeanne Meinke, a new essay and six new poems. Thu., Sept. 24, 7 p.m., Inkwood Books, 216 S. Armenia Ave., Tampa, inkwoodbooks.com.
This week's installment in the Global Lens Film Series is Songs from the Southern Seas, hailing from Kazakhstan by director Marat Surulu. The story of two friendly families comes to symbolize the tenuous history of Kazakh-Russian relationships when the fair-skinned Russian couple give birth to a decidedly darker-complected child. Years of hidden suspicion are revealed, only to be resolved by a twist of irony -- and fate. Visit studio620.org for more info. Thu., Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m., The Studio@620, 620 Firt Ave. S., St. Petersburg, $8, $5 students and seniors.
The University of Tampa Film Society hosts the Black Box Film Festival, a showcase of the year's best student-directed films complete with a plethora of panel discussions and workshops with film industry professionals from across the country. Highlights include a lecture on the pitfalls of indie filmmaking (and how to avoid them) with The Reel Truth author Reed Martin; a presentation by the EXTREME stunt and driving team; and a screening of National Campus Movie Festival winner Sarah Wilson's latest flick. The fest also secured an advance screening of Touching Home, starring Ed Harris and Robert Forester, which sees nationwide theater distribution in April 2010. Brothers Logan and Noah Miller, the co-producers, directors and actors of Touching Home (which also screens at Muvico BayWalk), lead a free "Guerrilla Filmmaking" workshop in conjunction with the Sunscreen Film Festival, and the dynamic movie-making duo are on hand to answer audience questions and sign copies of Either You're In…Or You're In the Way, their book documenting the whole crazy ride, from Hollywood nobodies to a silver screen debut with Oscar-nom actors on board. (Pictured: Noah Miller (left), Ed Harris and Logan Miller in Touching Home. Photo by David Moir) Black Box Film Festival, Sept. 24-26, University of Tampa, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, utampa.edu, contact [email protected] for complete schedule of events; Guerilla Filmmaking workshop and Touching Home BayWalk screening, Fri., Sept. 25, Muvico BayWalk 20, 151 Second Ave. N., St. Petersburg, 5:15 p.m. workshop, 7 p.m. screening, book signing to follow screening, touchinghomemovie.com. –Franki Weddington
