Spring 2024
2/19 A Thousand and One (2023, United States, d. A.V. Rockwell) 117 Min R
After being released from prison, Inez kidnaps her son from the foster care system. A Thousand and One follows the pair as they attempt to reclaim their identities and their home in a world that is rapidly changing before them. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, the film has been praised for its spirited performances and the complicated tale of Black motherhood it weaves. Amon Warmann of Empire Magazine said debut director A.V. Rockwell is "one to watch." (language)
2/26 Origin (2023, United States, d. Ava DuVernay) 135 min PG-13
Origin tells the true story of author Isabel Wilkerson as she embarks on the creation of her seminal book, Caste. While learning to cope with personal tragedy, Wilkerson is driven by the killing of Trayvon Martin to examine America’s culture of racism through the lens of the caste system. Academy-award nominee Ava DuVernay (Selma) returns to the director’s chair accompanied by an ensemble cast that includes Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash-Betts, and Nick Offerman. Steph Green of the BBC said “[Origin] unfolds with unpreaching clarity and fierce focus, full of heart and vibrant intent.” (thematic material including racism and violence, disturbing images, language, smoking)
3/4 2023 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour (various countries and directors) 90 min
Sundance Films presents 90 minutes of the best short films of 2023 with work from the US, Canada, France, and Belgium. Seven films (including fiction, documentary, and animation) explore race, identity, love, loss, and family. Per Sundance Films, “The 2023 Short Film Tour program is a sampling of Festival offerings and a testament to the unique storytelling potential that the format holds.”
3/11 Smoke Sauna Sisterhood / Savvusanna sõsarad (2023, Estonia, d. Anna Hints) 89 min NR
The debut feature-length documentary by Estonian director, Anna Hints, Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, is an intimate portrayal of women bonded by their shared emotional blood-letting. Hints captures a group of women who congregate in a sacred smoke-sauna to cleanse themselves of their secrets, trauma, and dirt – literally and figuratively. Sisterhood was nominated for many international festival awards, and was the recipient of a Sundance Film Festival directorial award. Writing for the Observer, Wendy Ide called the film “…an intense watch; at times infectiously hilarious, at others wrenchingly sad… There’s an emotional osmosis at play, in both sauna and cinema alike.” (nudity, talk about sexuality, menstruation, rape)
3/18 The Taste of Things / La passion de Dodin Bouffant (2023, France/Belgium,d. Anh Hung Tran) 145 min PG-13
What happens when two people in love pour their hearts into the dishes they cook? Eugénie has been working for Dodin for over twenty years; the feelings they develop for each other enrich the food they craft in The Taste of Things, a “scantly plotted but utterly captivating love story.” (Guy Lodge, Variety). Winner of the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Director Award in 2023, this delicious and mouthwatering story showcases “food as a vehicle for pleasure". (Robbie Collin, The Telegraph). (some sensuality, partial nudity, smoking)
3/25 The Disappearance of Shere Hite (2023, United States, d. Nicole Newnham) 118 min R
The Hite Report was one of the most controversial books of its time. Exploring and liberating feminine sexuality in a way that had previously never been seen, the book and its author, Shere Hite, were the subject of intense criticism and scrutiny. A new documentary from the award-winning director of Crip Camp (2020 – Nicole Newnham) examines the book's legacy and its author's disappearance from the public eye. Michael Levine of Bust Magazine called the film “An intimate examination of one of the most important feminists of the 20th century.” (sexual material, nudity, some language)
4/8 Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia / : Ernest et Célestine: Le voyage en Charabie (2022, France/Luxembourg, d. Julien Chheng, Jean-Christophe Roger) 70 min NR
Ernest and Celestine return for another animated adventure in A Trip to Gibberitia. When Ernest’s beloved violin is broken, the pair must travel to Gibberitia to get it repaired. But they soon discover that the land known for its love of music has fallen silent. “A unique joie de vivre courses through [the film’s] every meticulously composed frame.” (Ross McIndoe, Slant Magazine).
4/15 All of Us Strangers (2023, United Kingdom/United States, d. Andrew Haigh) 105 min R
When screenwriter Paul returns home after decades away, he discovers that his long deceased parents are mysteriously living in a time-capsule of the day they died. As he rekindles his relationship with his parents, his love begins to grow for a man he’s only just met. All of Us Strangers is the recipient of three British Independent Film Awards, including best director and British film, and has been praised as a “poignant, deeply melancholic exercise… a cosmic inquiry into resolving all that was unsaid through second chances that never were.” (Tomris Laffly, The Wrap). (sexual content, language, some drug use)
4/22 Dream Scenario (2023, United States, d. Kristoffer Borgli) 102 min R
When mild-mannered college professor Paul Matthews suddenly begins appearing in the dreams of millions of strangers, he must learn to deal with his newfound fame. Things take a dark turn when his quirky dream cameos become murderous nightmares. Nicolas Cage returns for another bizarre role in the Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar) produced Dream Scenario. Michael Rechtshaffen of the Hollywood Reporter said “Nicolas Cage has been a lot of things — but he may have never been as flat-out hilarious as he is in Dream Scenario.” (language, violence, some sexual content)
4/29 Bottoms (2023, United States, d. Emma Seligman) 91 min R
When two queer high school seniors start an underground fight club with the intention of meeting girls - especially two cheerleaders they have crushes on - they find themselves in over their heads. David Fear of Rolling Stone called Bottoms “Heathers for this generation.” Sophomore director Emma Seligman was praised for her unique approach to the teen sex comedy, which has garnered numerous film festival nominations. (crude sexual content, language, some violence)