Screening Room: Mods & Rockers Film Festival

The Mods & Rockers Film Festival returns to the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian and Aero theaters for its 12th annual outing, this year celebrating the work of Oscar-winning documentarian Murray Lerner (“From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China”).

Opening the four-day retrospective Thursday evening at the Egyptian is a 40th anniversary salute to the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, the largest rock fest of that era and site of the last major performances by Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison. Murray captured all the atmosphere and music of that famed event in his film “Message to Love,” which will screen along with the L.A. premiere of his 2004 documentary, “Miles Electric,” featuring Miles Davis’ performance at the Isle of Wight. There will be a discussion between films with Lerner, Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of the Doors, Keith Emerson of Emerson Lake & Palmer and Glenn Cornick of Jethro Tull, whose bands were on the bill at the festival.

On tap for Friday is Lerner’s 2009 film “The Moody Blues: Threshold of a Dream” and Dianna Dilworth’s 2010 documentary, “Mellodrama: The Mellotron Movie.” Moody Blues cofounder Mike Pinder will be on hand along with Murray and Dilworth.

The third night of the festival, Saturday, celebrates the 40th anniversary of the last time friends and rivals Hendrix and the Who ever shared a bill with screenings of 2002’s “Jimi Hendrix: Blue Wild Angel” and 2004’s “The Who: Listening to You.”

The festival wraps up Sunday evening at the Aero with the L.A. premiere of Lerner’s 2009 doc ” Leonard Cohen: Live at the Isle of Wight,” as well as 2007’s “ Bob Dylan: The Other Side of the Mirror” and Lerner’s Oscar-nominated 1967 film, “Festival,” which chronicles the Newport Folk Festival. https://www.modsandrockers.com

Also at the Aero

Actor Michael Sheen is perhaps best known for his portrayals of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his starring turn as David Frost on the stage and in Ron Howard’s Oscar-nominated 2008 drama “ Frost/Nixon.” But on Thursday evening, he’ll be talking about his role as famed comedian Kenneth Williams when the Aero Theatre screens his 2006 film “Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa!” as well as one of the popular British “Carry On” comedies in which Williams appeared, 1969’s “Carry On Camping.”

On Friday at the Aero, French superstar Romain Duris will be on hand to talk about his career in between screenings of his 2005 hit “The Beat That My Heart Skipped” and the 2006 drama “In Paris.” https://www.aerotheatre.com

The avant-garde

The Academy Film Archive has been conserving and restoring works of avant-garde cinema since 1992, and on Saturday, the Archive and Los Angeles Filmforum present “The Cross Revolves at Sunset: Recent Restorations of Experimental Film From the Academy Film Archive” at UCLA’s Film and Television Archive’s Billy Wilder Theater. https://www.cinema.ucla.edu

A ‘found’ Ford film

“Upstream,” a 1927 John Ford film that was considered lost for decades, will have its “re-premiere” Wednesday at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The film is being presented under the academy’s “Lost and Found” series banner.

“Upstream” is one of 75 silent films discovered last year at the New Zealand Film Archive and repatriated to the United States earlier this year. A live trio will perform music composed by Michael Mortilla. Also screening will be an advertising trailer that includes the only known footage still surviving from Ford’s 1929 film “Strong Boy.” https://www.oscars.org

susan.king@latimes.com