other cinema: DAMON PACKARD'S 'NAUSICAA' + 'MU' DVD LAUNCH

Danger, Danger! In the flesh, all of it, the legendary Damon Packard descends upon our Bay Area idyll with a shopping cart full of both old and new works! The Bay Area premiere of his half-hour 'Nausicaa: Tales of the Valley of the Wind' composes an experimental love-letter to the spiritual world of Hayao Miyazaki, refiguring the anime into lush live-action scenes with period costumes, horses, swordplay, and, er...puppets. PLUS a choice selection of his other rarely-seen shorts, Including 'Blade Runner II' and 'Roller Boogie III.' Damon will additionally christen (with complimentary champagne for all!) the launch of the DVD edition of his tour-de-force performance in Craig Baldwin's 'Mock Up on Mu,' unspooling his favorite chapter and a behind-the-scenes glimpse that's part of the disc. Co-star Kal Spelletich is also on hand with his dynamic dueling robot, whilst keyboardist Doug Katelus works between the gallery's kinetic-art fracas and the big-screen 16mm imagery of another Japanese folk-meme, 'Gamera, the Flying Turtle.' *$6.66.