5 things to do this weekend, including a film screening and an evening of lute music

This weekend’s lineup of events leans toward the adventurous. For those looking to experience daring, live performance, a production featuring dancers soaring through space opens on Thursday. Other highlights from Greater Boston’s creative offerings include a bold film festival showcasing the projects of young, queer and trans directors. And Somerville will host an experimental opportunity for artists of different backgrounds to join forces and make new works. See our recommendations below.

Presented by ArtsEmerson, choreographer Rebecca Lazier and sculptor Janet Echelman teamed up to create “Noli Timere,” a “soaring aerial performance” during which eight performers glide over and within a net sculpture that has been suspended above the ground. The production, held at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, bridges contemporary dance and circus art. “Noli Timere” has been staged with original music brought to audiences by Canadian composer Jorane and aims to demonstrate how individual changes in an environment can affect an entire world. Tickets start at $27.50.

The Peabody Essex Museum hosts the Panorama Queer and Trans Film Festival, which celebrates the work of emerging filmmakers under the age of 30 from around the globe. This year’s theme is “Resilient Creations,” drawing from the idea of finding survival and hope in the face of oppression. The schedule includes “Sapphic Shorts” on Saturday, which will highlight films like “One Floor Away” about a bond between two young women in a big city. It also offers “Panorama After Dark” horror films, spotlighting flicks like “Dinner Party,” which probes questions of gender, identity and sexuality, shown later that afternoon. On Sunday, Panorama’s creative director Mac Allen, Queer Videography’s Ilan Kapra and Jasper Lior, featured filmmaker Aaron Hwang and other festival filmmakers will gather for a panel on queer filmmaking. Friday’s program is free, while entry to the festival on Saturday and Sunday is included with museum admission.

Lute player Paul O’Dette is one of the artistic directors of the Boston Early Music Festival, and this Saturday, he will make his first solo appearance in the organization’s annual concert series in over 26 years. At the First Church in Cambridge, he will share music from recently discovered manuscripts from the 1590s compiled by Orazio Albani da Urbino, a nobleman who studied the lute. These writings include works by Lorenzino Tracetti, a virtuosic Italian musician, and Vincenzo Pinti, a composer who earned the title “Knight of the Lute.” For those who cannot make it to the event, a virtual premiere of the concert will be available to stream Feb. 13-27. Tickets to the in-person show start at $30. [Explore our winter arts guide for more classical music performances.]

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For artists looking to experiment and improvise, the Somerville Arts Council has organized MEET, a series where creatives can get together to collaborate. Participants will pick the kind of “space” that they’d like to create in — sonic, visual or embodiment (focused on the body) — and their names will be dropped into a hat. Participants will be divided into duos, trios and quartets, and the groups will work alongside each other to produce an eclectic performance. MEET v9 will run from 6-9 p.m. at SomArt Space @ the Hive (561 Windsor Pl.). Artists do not need to pay to participate, and attendance is pay what you can.

“The Testament of Ann Lee” is the true story of Ann Lee, the founding leader of the religious sect known as the Shakers, played in the film by actress Amanda Seyfried. Navigating an emotional journey through “ecstasy and agony,” Seyfried portrays Lee’s intrepid movement to build a utopian community, while upholding values of gender and social equality. Following a screening at the West Newton Cinema, Babson College film professor Julie Levinson moderates a panel with Christopher Evans, professor emeritus at Boston University’s School of Theology, and Margaret Lamberts Bendroth, historian of American religion and former executive director of the Congregational Library and Archives. Tickets cost $20.

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