Kids' programming and eccentric artists fill Cornell Cinema screens

Cornell Cinema and the Ithaca Youth Bureau present the winter portion of the IthaKid Film Festival, a semiannual series of unusual children's film programming, from Feb. 5 through March 5. All programs are held at 2 p.m. Saturdays in the Willard Straight Theatre on campus.

A program of delightful animated and live-action shorts about baking kicks off the festival Feb. 5, with co-sponsor Ithaca Bakery providing complimentary treats. Follow the yellow brick road to the "Sing-a-Long Wizard of Oz," with a costume contest, prizes and complimentary prop bag, Feb. 12. A spellbinding glimpse into the world of insects, "Microcosmos," shows Feb. 19. "Monkey Business," a hysterical trip on the high seas with the Marx Brothers, screens Feb. 26. The Pixar-animated masterpiece "The Incredibles" closes out the festival March 5.

All the programs, except the "Sing-a-Long Wizard of Oz," are offered for the low price of $3 for adults and $2 for kids 12 years and younger ("Oz" tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for kids 12 and under).

"In the Realms of the Unreal: The Mystery of Henry Darger," which introduces viewers to a janitor's mysterious opus discovered only after his death, will screen at Cornell Cinema Feb. 3 and 8. Courtesy of Cornell Cinema

Also this month Cornell Cinema celebrates a group of brilliantly eccentric artists -- Henry Darger, Charles Bukowski, Guy Maddin, Jonathan Caouette and Werner Herzog -- who have created work of remarkable depth and power. Five new films present windows into the fascinating lives and art of these men. "In the Realms of the Unreal: The Mystery of Henry Darger" introduces viewers to a janitor's mysterious opus, discovered only after his death: a 15,000-page novel titled The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What Is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, as caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, complete with gorgeous and disturbing illustrations. It will screen Feb. 3 and 8. "Bukowski: Born Into This" gives insight into the poet laureate of the dive bar and shows Feb. 10 and 15. "Cowards Bend the Knee" is Maddin's devilish 10-episode, possibly autobiographical peep show. See it Feb. 17, 18 or 22. "Tarnation," Caouette's enthusiastically reviewed, distinctly autobiographical microscope on his relationship with his mother, plays Feb. 24, 25 and 26. Finally, "Incident at Loch Ness" stars Herzog as himself, searching for the truth behind the Loch Ness Monster and, eventually, the truth behind the film; it plays March 3 and 4. All screenings are in the Willard Straight Theatre. Tickets are $6 general admission, $4.75 students and seniors, and $4 for Cornell graduate students and kids 12 and under.