Movies Explore the Mind in Academy Double Feature

Beverly Hills, CA — “Persona” and “Being John Malkovich” will screen as a double feature of psychological explorations on film to be presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday, July 20, at 7 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The program, which coincides with the ongoing exhibition “Movies on the Mind: Psychology and Film since Sigmund Freud” in the Academy’s Fourth Floor Gallery, will begin with Ingmar Bergman’s “Persona” (1966). The film tells the haunting story of a nurse, Alma (Bibi Andersson), who cares for an actress, Elisabeth (Liv Ullmann) who despite being healthy, has withdrawn to the point of being mute. Alma soon discovers that her mute patient’s mind and personality are subsuming her own.

At 8:30 p.m. “Being John Malkovich” (1999) will take the screen. Director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman (both of whom received Academy Award® nominations, along with actress Catherine Keener) teamed up in this comedy-drama-fantasy that imagines the discovery of a portal into the mind of actor John Malkovich (playing himself). Craig (John Cusack), a puppeteer who is working at a dull office job in Manhattan, joins with his co-worker Maxine (Keener) to sell 15-minute trips into Malkovich’s brain, until their moneymaking scheme is discovered.

Ticketholders will be able to take advantage of special evening hours for “Movies on the Mind,” an interactive multimedia exhibition that presents dozens of film clips, posters, photographs and staged environments examining psychology and film. The Fourth Floor Gallery will be open prior to the screenings, from 5 to 7 p.m., and also following the first screening, from 8:30 to 11 p.m. Regular viewing hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Please note the Academy will be closed over the Labor Day weekend. “Movies on the Mind” will close on Sunday, September 16.

Tickets to “Persona” and “Being John Malkovich” are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. A single ticket will admit individuals to both features. Tickets also may be purchased online at www.oscars.org/events. There are no minimum order requirements and no transaction or processing fees. Tickets may be purchased online until noon PDT on the day of the event.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Seats are unreserved. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Free parking is provided in the garages located at 8920 and 9025 Wilshire Boulevard. For additional information, call (310) 247-3600.