Camera as Truth Detector in Tribune Theater’s ‘Vision Verite’ Film Series

“Vision Verite,” the Tribune Theater’s fledgling experimental film and video series, is a new slant on cinema verite .

The monthly program, continuing tonight at the small playhouse known for staging original, often quirky dramas by local writers, is designed to “cover the spectrum from slices of life to the thoroughly personal and out-there,” said organizer Gerry Fialka.

“It’s important to look at things grounded in reality; that’s why we like to show cinema verite ,” he said. “Documentaries have gone off in another direction, like ‘Hoop Dreams,’ but we want to make sure the smaller documentaries get attention.

“Then there’s where the ‘vision’ [in ‘Vision Verite’] comes in. We want to show the work of visionaries. They’re like Toto in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ pulling the screen away so you can see what’s really going on in life.”

Though the 4-month-old series tends to offer work by movie makers from Los Angeles and beyond, Fialka said he hopes to tap into Orange County soon. He recognizes that intriguing films are being made here, from garage studios to the video and movie departments at Orange Coast College and Chapman University.

“The word-of-mouth hasn’t spread enough, so we haven’t been receiving any [Orange County] submissions,” Fialka said. “We hope that changes, because we want to give everybody, including O.C. filmmakers, a forum. All they have to do is give us a ring and then send it in.”

Another reason “Vision Verite” has focused on Los Angeles artists is that Fialka lives in Venice, where he runs a similar program, “Documental,” at the Midnight Special bookstore. Steven Lamprinos, one of the folks behind the Tribune Theater, saw “Documental” and asked Fialka to do the same in Fullerton.

“They’ve really been committed, I mean, my hat’s off to the Tribune,” Fialka said. “This has been a nonprofit thing. In fact, I think they’re losing money, but they’re sticking with it.”

Tonight’s eclectic, 2 1/2-hour program will open with segments from three shorts (“Henry Miller at Home,” “Medical Marijuana Day” and “Modern Living”) created by members of Venice-based Camnet, a group dedicated to documentaries made with a camcorder.

Up next is Carlos Palazio’s eight-minute “B.D.,” which focuses on the famous Black Dahlia murder. Three animated shorts (“Flamingo Splendour,” “Argument” and “Moving On”) by Steven Belfer will follow. Ahrin Mishan and Nick Rothenberg’s “Bui Doi, Life Like Dust,” a 29-minute piece on the life of a young Vietnamese American gang member, is next.

The evening ends with “Falling Lessons,” Amy Halpern’s 64-minute montage of more than 200 human and animal faces. The Venice resident said she has tried to reveal the emotional richness of our expressions while commenting on the importance of connecting with one another.

“This is really a movie about eye contact and what that communicates,” she explained.

“We all crave that link, and it starts with making eye contact. This is really a film about seeing. I think people want to see unusual images, not just the pap they see in movie theaters. They can see the unusual in ‘Falling Lessons.’ ”

* “Vision Verite” continues at 7 p.m. today at the Tribune Theater, 116 1/2 Wilshire Ave., Fullerton. $2. (714) 525-3403.