Surreal city: Where to see David Lynch this month

The Eraserhood (and beyond) is alive with the sounds of David Lynch. The director, musician and athletic wear designer will be honored in Philadelphia this fall through a number of retrospectives — in both film and art — as well as discussions and tributes. I hope you're ready, I have a definite feeling it will be a place both wonderful and strange.

The trunk of this Lynchian tree, "David Lynch: The Unified Field," the definitive retrospective at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (118 N. Broad St.), officially opens on Saturday Sept. 13. The first stateside, major museum exhibition for Lynch, the show is composed of about 90 paintings and drawings as well as early short films that will be on display through Sunday, Jan. 11.

If you're one of the lucky souls who managed to get into the sold out members-only talk on Friday, Sept. 12, expect an hour-long conversation between Lynch and the exhibit's curator, Dr. Robert Cozzolino, at 7 p.m. as a part of the Members-Only Preview that same night.

After the Q&A, doors open for the public preview, where the rest of us can see the PAFA alumnus' rarely seen work, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Now to the related programming:

PhilaMOCA (531 N. 12th St.) for the third time features its "Eraserhood Forever" exhibit, a collection of work inspired by none other than Lynch, running until Saturday, Sept. 27. It opens with a free reception on Friday, Sept. 5 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and closes with an all-out extravaganza on Saturday, Sept. 27 with Lynch-themed musicians (like Mock Suns and Resistor) and burlesque, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Another body of Lynch's work, compiled out of inspiration by the PAFA retrospective, "David Lynch: When Emerging" shows at the Robert LaPelle Galleries (122 N. 3rd St.) Wednesdays through Sundays until Sunday, Sept. 28. Early works of a young Lynch (who actually worked for LaPelle in the '60s) are on display from noon until 6 p.m.

The Bryn Mawr Film Institute (824 W. Lancaster Ave.) is showing a selection of Lynch's films — "The Elephant Man" (Tuesday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m.), "Blue Velvet" (Wednesday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m.) and "Mulholland Drive" (Wednesday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m.) — along with a sold-out conversation with Lynch, moderated by film critic Carrie Rickey (Saturday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m.). If you're in the mood for some additional info about either any of the showing films get there by 6:30 p.m. for a pre-screening chat. (You should probably pre-register for these chats first, though.)

The Philadelphia Film Society's tribute to the man of the month(s) features screenings of and insightful chats about "Lost Highway" (Wednesday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m. preceded by a — you guessed it — sold out Q&A with Lynch), "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" (Wednesday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m.), "Inland Empire" (Wednesday, Sept. 24, 7 p.m.) and "Dune" (Wednesday, Oct. 1, 7 p.m.), all taking place at the Prince Music Theater (1412 Chestnut St.). Other little goodies include an outdoor viewing of "Elephant Man" on Thursday, Oct. 9 at the PHS  Pop Up Garden (1438 S. St.) at 7 p.m. and a "From the Vaults" feature at this year's Philadelphia Film Festival in late October.

Prior to the exhibit's preview, Lynch makes another public appearance at the Free Library of Philadelphia's Central Branch (1901 Vine St.) with curator Dr. Robert Cozzolino for (yet again) another sold-out discussion and meet and greet on Thursday, Sept. 11 at noon.

After you get a peek at the exhibit's preview on Friday, Sept. 12, PhilaMOCA is hosting the official opening after-party at 9 p.m. with a set from New York City's DJ and performance artist a place both wonderful and strange: a blending of Twin Peaks/David Lynch audio with clips from "The Missing Pieces," cut footage from the 1992 prequel film "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me."

On Wednesdays, Sept. 17 and Sept. 24, view the Philadelphia premiere of French film, "The Dreamlife of David L.," the ultimate fanfic of what French moviemakers envisioned Lynch's time at PAFA to be like. Catch one of the two showtimes on at PhilaMOCA, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. both days.

To round things out, three Lynch-selected classics, "Sunset Boulevard" (Saturday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m.), "Lolita" (Thursday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m.) and "Mon Oncle (Friday, Nov. 7, 7 p.m.) as well as a curated collection of films exemplifying the "Lynchian aesthetic," will screen at International House Philadelphia (3701 Chestnut St.) for the David Lynch Selects Series. (Wait 'til the new year for the latter.)