7 Days and 7 Nights

Russian Fantastik Cinema

Russian cinema has an inspired tradition of fantastic filmmaking, drawn equally from modern technology and ancient folkloric traditions, and resulting in a treasure trove of cult classics that remain sadly unknown to American audiences. Beginning with the pioneering animation of Ladislaw Starewicz, through the silent classics “Aelita: Queen of Mars” and “A Spectre Haunts Europe” and on through Vasili Zhuravlev’s early talkie “Cosmic Voyage,” science fiction and fantasy have remained important presences throughout the history of Russian filmmaking. In the cold-war era and then throughout the age of Sputnik and beyond, sci-fi elements dominated. More than a decade before “2001,” visual-effects pioneers Pavel Klushantsev and Mikhail Koryukov created stunning visions of man’s voyage to outer space in such films as “The Heavens Call” and “Planet of Storms,” drawing upon the latest technical advances to present a highly detailed (and optimistic) view of space exploration. And in 1962, Kazansky and Chebotarev’s charming “The Amphibian Man,” a cross between Jules Verne and Hans Christian Andersen, became one of the biggest smash hits in Soviet history. A great deal of imagery from these astonishing works did end up Western screens—albeit mauled beyond recognition. Enterprising U.S. producers like Roger Corman purchased Japanese and Soviet sci-fi films at bargain prices, and gave them to up-and-coming American directors (Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Bogdanovich) to re-fashion into drive-in fodder. This series examines the history of Russian Fantastik, with rare screenings of these films as well as an encore showing of Aleksandr Ptushko’s delightful “Ruslan and Ludmila” in a brand new print, Aleksandr Rou’s classic adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s Christmas story “Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka,” the new version of Richard Viktorov’s 1982 “To the Stars by Hard Ways,” Karen Shakhnazarov’s remarkable, black comic meditation on Soviet history during the perestroika era, “Zero City, ” and Nochnoy Doznor’s 2004 epic tale of good versus evil, “Night Watch.” Walter Reade Theater, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza. $10 at 212-496-3809 or tickets.filmlinc.com. Through Aug. 24.

Equality Playwrights Festival

Given all the social and cultural barriers that are imposed on us, how do we breakthrough and make connections? Find ourselves? Accept who we are? What are the risks and consequences? The festival consists of four commissioned plays that revolve around diversity issues of cultural significance; this season focuses on 21st century gender identity issues. Robert Askins’ absurdist spin on the U.S. Military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy “Clean Living,” directed by Steven Ditmyer, is set in an Army barracks, where two men try to uncover the sexuality of a third; Joe Byers’ “Veils,” directed by Gregory Simmons, explores an American soldier’s experience in a war-torn Middle-Eastern country and his first sexual encounter with a local woman; Stuart Harris’ “Onna Field,” directed by Carlos Armesto, is about a top student and resident artist at Sidehill Boys School in West Omaha whose F in gym and concerned gym coach threaten to prevent him from being admitted to a high-ranking design school in Chicago; and Jorshinelle Taleon-Sonza’s “Cold Flesh,” directed by Adam Fitzgerald, follows a newly-emigrated Filipino woman investigating significant people in her late husband’s life in America to reconstruct the man she knew versus the man he has supposedly become. Presented by Diverse City Theater at Clurman Theatre, 410 W. 42nd St. $18 at 212-279-4200 or ticketcentral.com. Through Aug. 26.

Opera And Slavery

Mozart’s unfinished opera “Zaide”—a tragic romance originally set amidst the clash of cultures between Christian and Muslim slaves in the Ottoman Empire—comes to the 2006 Mostly Mozart Festival in the U.S. premiere of a new, modern staging by director Peter Sellars. This new production of “Zaide” is one of four Lincoln Center commissions for the 40th anniversary Mostly Mozart Festival and 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth that seek to explore the great composer’s connections to today’s world. There will be a series of pre-opera discussions that relate to the theme of contemporary slavery evoked in Sellars’ production. All three discussions will include Sellars and Kevin Bales, President of Free the Slaves, in addition to a guest speaker each night. The discussions are free to all “Zaide” ticket holders and will begin one hour prior to curtain. Friday’s pre-show talk will include Mabel Tso, Community Outreach Coordinator for the Anti-Trafficking Collaborative, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). Saturday’s talk welcomes freelance journalist John Bowe. Frederick P. Rose Hall, Tonight and tomorrow at 7 p.m. $35, $45, $65, $75 at 212-721-6500 or lincolncenter.org.

SAT.AUG. 12