Nara Denning’s “Neurotique” short-film compendium lives up to the dual promises of its title. At the series’ premiere screening and DVD release party, the neurotic and the erotique come to flickering life in her silent-inspired compositions. Neurotique #2, for example, is a very pretty, very funny, very disturbing butterfly revenge fantasy. Fans of dead-bug glam palace Paxton Gate, beware; you will love it. Denning’s careful intertitle innovations catch the exact cadence of the golden age of silent films: “The Collector strives for the … perfect catch.” The filmmaker points out that movies pre-dated their own industry, and were once the exclusive domain of artists. “It is in this style that I strive to speak,” she says. Mister Odom & the Odom Poles, Charith Premawardhana, and Cheeskos Junction provide music.
Sun., Nov. 8, 8 p.m., 2009
