UCLA Film & Television Archive and the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Present The Art of Light with Two Screenings: The Natural on Sunday, February 21, at 7 p.m., and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada on Wednesday, February 24, at 7:30 p.m.

This is the sixth consecutive year that the Archive has joined with The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) to celebrate the art of cinematography. In conjunction with the 24th Annual ASC Awards, the Archive will feature films from honorees Caleb Deschanel, ASC (Lifetime Achievement Award) and Chris Menges, BSC, ASC (International Award), as well as discussions of their work.

Screening details are as follows:

Date:Sunday, February 21
Time: 7 p.m.
Film: THE NATURAL
Director of Photography: Caleb Deschanel, ASC
1984 / TriStar Pictures
PROD: Mark Johnson.
DIR: Barry Levinson. Based on the novel by Bernard Malamud.
SCR: Roger Towne, Phil Dusenberry.
EDIT: Stu Linder.
CAST: Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley.

Director Barry Levinson's The Natural is more than a paean to America's two favorite pastimes: baseball and rooting for a comeback kid. It's also an enthralling example of almost purely visual storytelling. Deschanel's Oscar-nominated cinematography bathes the film's meticulous period detail in mythic light, creating iconic images that could play silent without diminishing their emotional punch. 35mm, color, 144 min.

IN PERSON / FEB. 21: cinematographer Eric Steelberg [Up in the Air, Juno, (500) Days of Summer] in conversation with industry journalist Bob Fisher.

Date: Wednesday, February 24
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Film: THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA
Director of Photography: Chris Menges, ASC, BSC
France/US, 2005 / Europa Corp.
PROD: Michael Fitzgerald, Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, Luc Besson, Tommy Lee Jones.
DIR: T. L. Jones.
SCR: Guillermo Arriaga.
EDIT: Roberto Silvi.
CAST: Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Julio César Cedillo, Dwight Yokam, January Jones.

In his directorial debut, Tommy Lee Jones casts the borderland between America and Mexico as the rugged backdrop for the story of a Texas rancher (Jones) who defies the law and the land to keep a promise to a friend. Scripted by Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams), this tale of violence and redemption gets a powerful lift from cinematographer Chris Menges who's insightful lighting underscores the blurred boundaries between good and evil in human nature. 35mm, color, 120 min.

IN PERSON / FEB. 24: cinematographer Chris Menges in conversation with Bob Fisher.

Both screenings will be held at The Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood Village, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024 (corner of Wilshire & Westwood Blvds.).

Advance tickets are available for $10 at www.cinema.ucla.edu. Tickets are also available at the Billy Wilder Theater box office starting one hour before showtime: $9, general admission; $8, students, seniors and UCLA Alumni Association members with ID.

Parking is available at the Billy Wilder Theater. Enter from Westwood Blvd., just north of Wilshire. After 6 p.m. - $3 in the lot under the Billy Wilder Theater. Before 6 p.m. - $3 for the first three hours with Museum validation.

For more information, visi www.cinema.ucla.edu or call 310.206.FILM, or go to www.theasc.com.

Resources:

American Society of Cinematographers (ASC): www.theasc.com