The Pioneer Theater: When you are hot, you are hot

I know I have been gassing up the Pioneer Theater of late, and I hate to sound like an indiscriminate shill. But the East Village stalwart is following up the raw power of the HOWL! Festival and last week's one-off of The Definition of Insanity with a quick succession of events brimming with potential. To wit:

--This weekend's Evil City Film Festival ("Evil" = East Village… ha, get it?) kicks off tonight with the acclaimed documentary Popaganda: The Art and Crimes of Ron English. Pedro Carvajal's feature explores English's history of "billboard liberation" and myriad other gonzo-guerilla art attacks. Most of the remaining films are scheduled for Otto's Shrunken Head Tiki Lounge and Avenue A's Downeast Arts Center, including a laundry list of shorts, documentaries and music videos.

--Tonight also marks the opening of Alex Shuper's Edge Codes for a one-week run, providing a rarely-seen glimpse into the theory, history and technique of film editing. It sounded sooooo much better just before I wrote that last sentence, but oh well. Oh! I remember why—appearances by Scorsese's right-hand woman Thelma Schoonmaker, George Lucas, Norman Jewison and novelist Michael Ondaatje among many others. I do not know if this doc will do for pasty Avid jockeys what Visions of Light did for cinematography wonks, but I would bet you will learn something you will never forget about the medium you have always loved.

--Saturday at 7 p.m., Film/Video Arts hosts a fund-raiser screening for Maria Pusateri's compelling 9/11 documentary Vito After. The film follows NYPD detective Vito Friscia through the rescue and recovery stages after the New York attacks, during which Friscia and his police colleagues developed the mysterious WTC cough that plagues untold numbers of relief workers to this day. The Reeler broke the film down before its premiere last month in Chicago, and the Pioneer screening is a good chance to catch up with Pusateri before Vito After screens in October's Vermont International Film Festival.

And Luna's Dean Wareham stars in next week's brutal comedy Piggie, but one week at a time, right?