THU 8/25
When director Lisandro Pérez-Rey was 5 years old, Fidel Castro opened Cuba's harbors, and 130,000 Cubans fled to Miami. This six-month-long event in 1980 was known as the Mariel Boatlift, chronicled in the opening scene of Scarface and elsewhere. Twenty years later, Pérez-Rey began researching and piecing together his own film, Beyond the Sea. But his is an 80-minute documentary, not a 170-minute bloodbath. See it Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Norma & William Horvitz Auditorium at the Museum of Art (1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale).
At 3 p.m. on Saturday, check out Pérez-Rey's other beat-filled documentary, The Cuban Hip-Hop Factory. The film follows two rap groups that come together to revolutionize the Cuban music scene. The rappers are taken from their shacks and whirled away to the United States for a life-altering tour, meeting rap superstars along the way. Hip-hop on the little island is different from in the United States; what started as mere breakdancing morphed into a full-blown cultural movement. In 2002, the Cuban government formed the Cuban Rap Agency, the official state program that serves as both a record label and magazine. Imagine the Department of Motor Vehicles -- but with phat beats.
Both films are free. Call 954-525-5500, or visit www.moafl.org. -- Jake Smith
Free Flicks
Help! it's Shrek 2!
FRI 8/26
There's a movie showing this weekend starring some big-name, adult-oriented comics, and it's not The Aristocrats. It's Shrek 2, the animated flick that features Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, and John Cleese, showing at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Old School Square (51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach, 561-243-7922). It's your average tale of a king who hires a sword-fighting cat to slay the ogre (literally) who married his daughter -- sort of like Meet the Parents, comic book-style.
If you're more into Beatles than ogres, check out Saturday's 8:15 p.m. screening of Help! at Huizenga Plaza (corner of Andrews Avenue and Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, 954-525-3456). The 1965 comedy caper puts the Fab Four in the center of an international chase, all because of some bling. Hmm... maybe it's time for a remake. Give 50 Cent the lead role -- he already has all the props. -- Jason Budjinski
Bio Art
Organics are best
THU 8/25
Kenneth Huff may work in digital media, but he's no mere pixel-pusher; Huff is a certified artist -- and a fine one, at that. Creating what he dubs "three-dimensional organic constructions," Huff brings his digitally created compositions to life as sculptures and video pieces, mixing the fields of art, math, and science the way so-called traditional painters mix acrylics. The exhibit "Kenneth Huff: Organic Discoveries," which opens Thursday at Broward Community College's Fine Arts Gallery (3501 SW Davie Rd., Davie), is a collection of prints (like 2002.7, pictured here) and "time-based works" shown as video projections. It's like visiting an art museum and a planetarium at once. Huff's exhibit runs through September 22. Call 954-201-6984. -- Jason Budjinski
Multimedia Mania
THU 8/25
There's more than just the usual solo exhibit on display at Art Expressions (1212 NE Fourth Ave., Fort Lauderdale). Now through September 30, the gallery offers works by a handful of local artists, from paintings like Cristobal Sanchez's Angel in Paris (pictured) to Linda Fleischman's Male and Female Head Sculptures. The gallery's got more media types than a journalists' convention. Call 954-527-7700. -- Jason Budjinski
