Haute Highlights

The Civil Wars

This is not by any means a history lesson — at long last, we’ve escaped the days of AP U.S. History — but instead a folk-meets-country musical sensation on the rise.

Composed of Joy Williams and John Paul White, the fantastic folk duo elicits simple acoustics, beautiful harmonies and emotive lyrics that speak to listeners with their honesty and simplicity, inciting praise from the country princess herself, Taylor Swift.

In an ambiguous address to a potential lover, for example, “To Whom It May Concern,” Williams and White harmoniously croon, I’ve missed you / But I haven’t met you / Oh but I want to / How I do.

This is only a mere representation of the emotional depth and beautifully simplistic acoustics, also found in notable tracks “Poison & Wine” and “Falling,” spread abundantly throughout the pair’s first full length album, Barton Hallow.

The Civil Wars — a true folk sensation to be reckoned with — will perform at The Wiltern Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $20 and are available on Ticketmaster.

Argentine Film Festival

In 2010, Argentina brought us the beautiful, post-modern love story, The Secret in Their Eyes, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

One year later comes a new celebration of Argentine cinema.

Thursday marks the start of a cinematic and cultural event — Argentina New Cinema 2011.

This 10th annual festival, held at the Egyptian Theatre, will feature modern hits such as My First Wedding on Thursday night, Aballay! and No Return on Friday night and The Student and The Finger on Saturday night.

Most notable is the screening of Fernando Spiner’s Aballay!, which is Argentina’s official Oscar submission for 2011’s Best Foreign Language Film.

Moreover, directors Ariel Winograd (My First Wedding), Fernando Spiner (Aballay!) and Sergio Teubal (The Finger) will make appearances — act now and get your tickets to see these Argentine sensations in person.

Tickets are available on the Egyptian Theatre’s website with general admission running for $11.

“How Los Angeles Invented the World”

Functioning as a complement to the Getty’s “Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980,” Zocalo Public Square will be hosting “How Los Angeles Invented the World.”

The event, which will be a half-day conference for talking heads, will take place in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium at the Getty Center, and will explicate how and why the world at large has become so obsessed with L.A. culture.

Topics will include everything lifestyle, from music to film. Subjects will feature specifically historical points of interest, such as L.A. natives The Beach Boys and the various depictions of Los Angeles in art, photography and cinema.

The event’s goal is to shed the cultural spotlight on a city purportedly bereft of culture.

Contrary to that vapid misconception, Los Angeles is full of astounding and inspiring art. Check out the Getty Center on Nov. 20 to get your weekly dose of culture.

Early check-in is recommended — free with reservations at  www.getty.edu.

David Sedaris

Bookworms and comedy fans unite and rejoice — the best of both worlds is coming to Northridge.

This Sunday at 7 p.m., the notorious David Sedaris, without a doubt one of America’s funniest authors, will be making his way to the Valley Performing Arts Center for a reading.

Currently on tour, reading from his most recent collection Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, Sedaris is sure to enthrall audiences with his quirky turns of phrase, vividly inappropriate imagery and ridiculous but satisfying stories.

Whether you’re already a fan of Sedaris or not, you won’t want to miss out on this opportunity to catch him on this leg of his tour. As a bonus, Sedaris often uses his audiences as subconscious workshoppers for his writing — meaning he might test out new material or re-read some of his funniest classics.

Tickets for the event can range from $25-$75 and can be purchased at

www.valleyperformingartscenter.org.