A giant projection screen will be suspended between the two towers of the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre for five nights of film screenings this summer, one of the major expansions of the annual Summer Nights at the Ford performance series that runs from mid-June through Labor Day at the outdoor, 1,200-seat Los Angeles County facility in Hollywood.
The films to be shown include the jazz-flavored Mel Stuart-David L. Wolper "WattStax" (Aug. 4), sponsored by the International Documentary Assn. as part of the Hollywood Film Festival, plus four programs of Outfest '99 (July 15-18), the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
World music again dominates the Ford season, with Brazil's famed singer Caetano Veloso returning for two nights (July 3 and 4), his second local appearance in his 30-year career. The widely separated traditions of klezmer and mariachi music come together in a joint concert by Barry Fisher's Ellis Island Klezmer and Mariachi Sol de America de Juan Jose Almaguer (July 11). The summer also promises Albert Torres' Dia de San Juan Salsa Music and Dance Festival (June 26), and Nnamdi Moweta's African Village Music Festival (Aug. 8), featuring the local debut of Congolese rumba singer Madilu "System" Bialu.
In addition, the Ford will host three post-season concerts belonging to the World Festival of Sacred Music--The Americas (Oct. 15-17), a worldwide millennium event.
