Tim Burton, Big Eyes, starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz.
Photo: courtesy the Weinstein Company.

As Art Basel in Miami Beach draws ever closer, excited fair-goers are on the look-out for details about the popular annual event.  Now that you know where you’re going to stay (see “Where To Stay During Art Basel in Miami Beach“), and what gallery booths you want to visit (see “Art Basel in Miami Beach 2014 Boasts an Intimidating 267 Galleries“), it’s time to start thinking about which of the just-announced 80 films and videos in the fair’s popular Film sector that you want to watch.

Curated for the fourth year by David Gryn, director of London’s Artprojx, this year’s Film embraces the theme of playfulness. Serving as the headliner is Tim Burton’s Big Eyes, selected by Zurich collector This Brunner, a curator for Film in Miami Beach since 2002 for a special screening at the Colony Theater on Friday, December 5. Starring Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams, the feature-length film tells the true story of artist Margaret Keane, whose husband claimed the credit for her paintings of adorably wide-eyed children (see “Amy Adams Plays Margaret Keane in Tim Burton’s New Artist Biopic“).

The rest of the program is drawn from Art Basel’s participating galleries. Featured artists will include Martin Creed, Laure Prouvost, and Mark Wallinger, with a tribute to the late Harun Farocki, who died in July. Among the highlights will be Charles Atlas’s 1986 film Ex Romance, paired with a Miami-themed edit of Wipeout XL, by Parker Ito; creep hand-drawn animations by Atsushi Kaga; and Resounding (Infrared), a scientific 2014 piece by Susan Hiller. Dance in film will be explored through the work of Dara Friedman, Rashaad Newsome, and Babette Mangolte.

The works will be presented in outdoor screenings each night at SoundScape Park, preceded with sound works by Larry Achiampong, Jennie C. Jones, Stephen Vitiello and Raed Yassin. This year will for the first time feature a film viewing room at the Miami Beach Convention Center, free to all ticketed Art Basel guests.

Gryn will also participate in the fair’s Salon programming, giving the talk “Playfulness: Artists as Online Gamers, Surfers, and Armchair Digital Revolutionaries,” based on a series of films he curated for the fair with artist Tabor Robak on the theme. The talk, which also features Robak and artist Rachel Rose, and is moderated by curator Chrissie Iles, takes place Friday, December 5, at 2:00 PM.

Art Basel in Miami Beach will be on view December 3–7, 2014.