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FRIDAY

The monkey has loomed large in cinematic history since its earliest days—at least since the 1897 short The Mischievous Monkey (though that animal was actually portrayed by a human acrobat). Since then, onscreen monkeys have gone from adorable comic foils (Bedtime for Bonzo, Every Which Way But Loose) to scourge of the human race (12 Monkeys, 28 Days Later) to a combination of the two (Dunston Checks In). However, there is no telling whether the medium will withstand the simian assault proffered by the 48 Hour Film Project’s National Film Challenge, which provided the theme “a monkey, animate or inanimate” to dozens of filmmakers who produced eight-minute-or-shorter movies over one weekend in early October. The results are being shown at Artomatic as Monkey Hour, and organizers promise that “monkeys will be on the premises.” Watch out for banana peels when Monkey Hour screens at 8:30 p.m. in Room 416 at Artomatic, 800 3rd St. NE. Free. (202) 285-5166. (Mike DeBonis)