Reel Indie

Movies in your local indie theaters.

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Apex Short Film + Music Video Festival. The Screening Room is hosting the sixth Apex Short Film + Music Video Festival, which features short films from around the world, as well as a red carpet photo shoot and Q&A panels with filmmakers from across the Southwest. Selections from this year's festival include "Withorwithout" a home-invasion-horror meets music video starring Milla Jovovich; "Sunrise" about a city couple rebuilding their relationship during a stay in a hippie village; "The Bag" about a father on his way to his daughter's birthday party, who discovers a taxi at an abandoned gas station with hundreds of thousands of dollars in the trunk; and "New Bronx" about a girl's crush on a boy becoming an obsession. 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22. 127 E. Congress St. $8. For more information, visit apexfest.org.

The Cat Video Fest 2020. We get it: there's a lot of videos of cats being weird and funny on the internet. But sometimes there are too many to sort through. Well, curation is coming your way in the form of the Cat Video Fest, hosted by the Loft Cinema. This collection of some of the most noteworthy cats on the net includes approximately 100 videos. A portion of ticket sales from these screenings will benefit the Hermitage No-Kill Cat Shelter & Sanctuary and HOPE Animal Shelter. Now that's a cause worth going "pss-pss-pss" at! 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26. 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. $10.

Mike Wallace is Here. This documentary tells the story of the legendary reporter and host of 60 Minutes, who interrogated the 20th century's biggest figures in his 50+ years on the air. Not only does it show his reporting style, but tells the story of the humble beginnings of 60 Minutes. This screening is part of the Loft Cinema's "Journalism on Screen" series, and includes a post-film discussion with Andy Rosenthal, the former assistant managing editor of The New York Times. Noon to 2:15 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23. 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. $8. 

Wild and Scenic Film Festival. This touring film festival highlights a selection of films celebrating nature, and ranging from "love of wild places to social justice and scientific discovery." This screening at the Loft Cinema is a fundraiser for Tucson's first-ever Climate Jubilee, and also includes several Arizona environmental organizations working on conservation-oriented issues. These films, both gorgeously shot and covering gorgeous subjects, showcase how the natural world is worth celebrating, and certainly worth defending. This is a rental of The Loft Cinema, presented by Defenders of Wildlife. 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23. 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. $11.

Killer of Sheep. Regarded as a masterpiece of independent cinema, this 1978 drama was edited, shot, written, produced and directed by Charles Burnett and submitted as his Master of Fine Arts thesis. Without a traditional plot or character arcs, Killer of Sheep remains a highlight of the "L.A. Rebellion" film movement, wherein several young, black filmmakers at UCLA depicted racial and social problems with inspiration from European arthouse cinema. This showing at The Screening Room is the final night of their Black Renaissance Film Series. 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24. 127 E. Congress St. $7. 

A Lizard in a Woman's Skin. The University of Arizona's Cinematopia film club is finishing their month-long celebration of Giallo, the artsy, moody Italian horror genre, with a screening of a 1971 classic. The Lizard in a Woman's Skin is a surreal thriller in which the daughter of a respected politician suffers from erotic and often violent hallucinations. Featuring a score by the incomparable Ennio Morricone, this blends several genres into a left-field, psychedelic mystery. Cinematopia will also be screening a pre-show of Giallo movie trailers before the film. 7 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25. Located on the UA campus in the Harvill building at 1103 E. Second St., room 104. Free.

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