Arts Listings

75 YEARS AGO 

“Berkeley: 75 Years Ago,” an exhibit at the Berkeley History Center at the Veterans Memorial Building, will run from 1-4 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays through March. 1931 Center St. 848-0181. 

‘PALESTINE BLUES’ 

Filmmaker Nina Sinnokrot will show and discuss “Palestine Blues,” a documentary examining the repercussions of Israel’s Security Wall and settlement expansion, at 7 p.m. Friday at the California Theater, 2113 Kittredge St. $6-8. 

BLACK SUIT BLUES 

The Oakland East Bay Symphony will present the West Coast premiere of “Black Suit Blues” at 8 p.m. Friday at Oakland’s Paramount Theater. Written by local composer Nolan Gasser, “Black Suit Blues” is based on a poem by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. about the impact of the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr. The work, which draws heavily on blues and gospel styles, depicts the intense emotions following King’s assassination. $20-$62. Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway, Oakland. www.oebs.org. 

CLASSICAL HOLLYWOOD IN RUINS 

Film critic David Thomson believes something strange and fascinating was going on with the movies toward the end of the 1950s and he wants your help in figuring just what it was. Thomson hosts “A Thousand Decisions in the Dark,” a film and discussion series, at Pacific Film Archive Thursday nights through Feb. 22. The series began last night with Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil and continues next week with Hitchcock’s Vertigo. 2575 Bancroft Way. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu.