AFS Cinema Announces Its November/December 2025 Program Calendar
October 9, 2025, AUSTIN, TX— The Austin Film Society announces its November and December 2025 calendar featuring a new, diverse lineup of films from around the globe that filmgoers can only see at the AFS Cinema. The full calendar of signature programs, special screenings and events can be found at www.austinfilm.org.
The Austin Film Society will present a new series of Essential Cinema from November 18–December 20 called Nope to Nazis, which will focus on films that were made in critical response to Nazism. Kicking off the series is Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (November 18 and 22) with the legendary comedian playing dual roles as a Hitler-like leader and a Jewish barber experiencing his reign of tyranny. Following on November 25 and 29 will be the American premiere of Went the Day Well? in a new 4K restoration, an adaptation of a Graham Greene story about Nazi troops disguising themselves to hide in a quaint English town. The Hitler Gang will then screen in 35mm on December 2 and 6, depicting the rise of Nazism with historical accuracy and a cast of look-alikes. As a finale to the series, the AFS Cinema will show Casablanca in 35mm from December 16–20, the timeless love story of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman stuck in the titular WWII outpost.
AFS will feature cinematic programming leading up to and during the winter holidays. From December 21–31, the Austin Film Society will bring back its annual series Home for the Holidays, a collection of non-traditional holiday films shown especially for those who stay in Austin to celebrate. François Ozon’s 2002 film 8 Women — showcasing performances by French icons Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Béart and others — will be shown in 35mm from December 21–25. Following this on December 22–25 is The Thin Man, the boozy Dashiell Hammett adaptation starring William Powell and Myrna Loy. Then, on December 23, AFS will show Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (the Japanese film about WWII POWs starring David Bowie) in 35mm, followed by an encore screening, which will be digitally projected on December 25. From December 26–31, the series will conclude with a new 4K restoration of Billy Wilder’s The Apartment, starring Jack Lemmon and Texas Film Hall of Fame honoree Shirley MacLaine. AFS will also show a new restoration of Edward Yang’s Taiwanese family drama Yi Yi on December 26–31, which was part of the cinema’s Home for the Holidays series in 2023. In addition to these films, the Austin Film Society will also show the low-budget holiday horror classic Silent Night, Deadly Night as a part of its Fright Club series on December 18 and 22.
AFS returns with another edition of New French Cinema Week from November 20–23. The annual festival brings Austin audiences award-winning selections and festival favorites from across the French-speaking world, many of which have yet to be distributed in the US. The festival is programmed and presented in partnership with France’s leading festival for first films — the Premiers Plans Festival of Angers, France, which is Austin’s sister city. For one of its first US screenings, this year’s festival kicks off with the Cannes Critics’ Week 2025 jury prize winner Nino with director Pauline Loquès in person. More details will be released soon. See the full lineup below or at austinfilm.org/french.
The Austin Film Society will host numerous special events in the coming months. On November 12, the musical act Invincible Czars will perform a live score of Rupert Julian’s 1925 version of The Phantom of the Opera, starring Lon Chaney in the title role. Austin Community College’s department of philosophy, religion, and humanities will host a special panel conversation on November 13 following a screening of Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man. The panel, moderated by Professor Jean Lauer, will include a discussion of existentialism, epistemology, and representation in relation to Western films. There will also be an encore screening of the film on November 17 that will not include a panel. Local nonprofit label Spaceflight Records will present a special screening of Space is the Place on December 12, a film co-written by and featuring the music and philosophies of jazz artist Sun Ra. The screening will begin with a live performance by the Golden Dawn Arkestra, a local band inspired by the legacy of Sun Ra’s music.
As a part of its effort to exhibit and celebrate 35mm film prints, AFS will show the following films in this format:
- The Hitler Gang (12/2, 12/6)
- Casablanca (12/16–12/20)
- Silent Night, Deadly Night (12/18, 12/22)
- 8 Women (12/21–12/25)
- Wonderland (12/22, 12/23)
- Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (12/23, with an encore digital presentation on December 25)
The full November/December lineup continues below, and a complete list of all film screenings announced to date and special events are on the AFS website at austinfilm.org. Ticket prices range from $11 to $13.50, with discounts for AFS members. Special pricing is noted if applicable.
AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER CALENDAR
ESSENTIAL CINEMA: NOPE TO NAZIS
The very real world horrors perpetuated by the Nazis are not a matter to be trivialized or made into light entertainment, but the resilience of spirit deployed in opposition to these monsters is a fit subject for popular narrative. The films in this series show us several different attitudes toward resistance to authoritarianism, racism, and fraudulent populism in the service of the rich and powerful. From the scathing satire of Chaplin’s THE GREAT DICTATOR to John Farrow’s canny use of gangster film tropes in THE HITLER GANG, this series depicts some highlights of the contemporaneous cinematic response to Hitler and his fellow mediocrities.
THE GREAT DICTATOR
Charlie Chaplin, USA, 1940, DCP, 125 min.
11/18, 11/22
Even before America’s entry into World War II, Charlie Chaplin had Hitler’s number. Here, he plays dual roles as a European strongman and a simple Jewish barber who observes his reign of terror. Chaplin financed this film with his own money, as many financiers were worried about offending the thin-skinned dictator. True to form, Hitler banned this film.
WENT THE DAY WELL?
Alberto Cavalcanti, UK, DCP, 1942, 92 min.
11/25, 11/29
A British wartime propaganda classic. In a rural English village — the kind of place where the vicar peddles his bicycle from house to house and the butcher knows the families’ orders before they come in — a special Nazi infiltration squadron, disguised as British soldiers, is quartered. The idea is that these soldiers will be the advance guard of a land invasion. Unless, that is, the picturesque locals discover the plot and fight back with every tool at their disposal, repelling the insidious plot. New 4K restoration.
THE HITLER GANG
John Farrow, USA, 35mm, 1944, 88 min.
12/2, 12/6
The story of Nazism’s rise is a tale of brutality and strategic victimization of the weaker elements of society. In fact, it is almost like a mob movie. And that is the angle John Farrow takes in this film. We see the rise of Hitler and his minions through the prism of a Cagney gangster film. Chilling, effective, and (yikes) relevant. In 35mm.
CASABLANCA
Michael Curtiz, USA, 35mm, 1942, 102 min.
12/16–12/20
It really is a perfect film. In the French colonial outpost of Casablanca, miles away from the guns of WWII but subject to Hitler’s command, an American nightclub owner (Humphrey Bogart) sees an old flame (Ingrid Bergman) again, but the Nazi-led forces that are driving the world apart threaten to extinguish the fire. In 35mm.
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
The holidays are a period of travel for many of us as we venture to far-off homes and hearths. For some of us, though, Austin is our home, and we are staying home for the holidays. With that in mind, we are presenting some of our favorite holiday classics on the big screen.
8 WOMEN
François Ozon, France, 35mm, 2002, 115 min. In French with English subtitles.
12/21–12/25
Eight women. One murder. Who killed Papa? “A confectionary pastiche of 1950s melodramas, 1960s musicals, and Hitchcockian thrillers at their most psychosexual” (The New York Times), this deliciously twisted whodunit stars a veritable who’s who of French cinema — Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Béart, and more — in a love letter, poison-penned by François Ozon (SWIMMING POOL) and Marina de Van (IN MY SKIN). In 35mm.
THE THIN MAN
S. Van Dyke, USA, DCP, 1934, 91 min.
12/22–12/25
William Powell and Myrna Loy star as one of the screen’s most effervescent couples as they navigate a Christmas in New York and try to solve a murder in this adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s sly, gin-soaked novel. Pure fun.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE
Nagisa Ôshima, UK/Japan, 1983, 35mm, 123 min. In English and Japanese with English subtitles.
12/23, 12/25
In this narrative departure from cinematic provocateur Nagisa Ôshima’s earlier works, he tells the story of four men in a Japanese POW camp during World War II. David Bowie stars as a recalcitrant prisoner whose experiences in the camp trigger memories of earlier guilt. In 35mm.
Screening in 35mm on Tuesday, December 23, with an encore DCP presentation on Thursday, December 25.
THE APARTMENT
Billy Wilder, USA, 1960, DCP, 125 min.
12/26–12/31
Always a keen observer and deflator of American mores, Wilder found his dream couple in Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Lemmon plays a young and ambitious office worker who, in the hopes of currying favor from his higher-ups, lends his apartment to corporate execs for romantic trysts with their mistresses. At the same time, he becomes more and more attached to the elevator operator Fran Kubelik (MacLaine). When these two aspects of his romantic and work life begin to conflict, he finds himself in a real quandary. A near-perfect film, romantic and world-weary in equal proportions. New 4K restoration.
BIG SCREEN CLASSICS
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
Charles Laughton, USA, 1955, DCP, 92 min.
12/10–12/18
A high-contrast cinematic fairy tale that delights and, let’s face it, terrifies every new generation that sees it. The one and only film directed by the great actor Charles Laughton stars Robert Mitchum as a sanctimonious “man of the cloth” who pursues a pair of orphaned children for their wealth. Adapted for the screen by James Agee and co-starring Lillian Gish and Shelley Winters.
WORLD CINEMA CLASSICS
A CHINESE GHOST STORY
Ching Siu-tung, Hong Kong, 1987, DCP, 98 min. In Cantonese with English subtitles.
12/5, 12/6
Imagine a joke-a-minute Hong Kong swordplay comedy wrapped in a frenetic ’80s horror movie with a credible love story along for the ride. Can’t be done, right? Wrong. One of the most crowd-pleasing popular entertainment films of the golden age of Hong Kong Cinema. Produced by the great Tsui Hark.
A CHINESE GHOST STORY II
Ching Siu-tung, Hong Kong, 1990, DCP, 104 min. In Cantonese with English subtitles.
12/6, 12/10
Leslie Cheung and Joey Wong are back in a film that pushes the tone and pace of the first film into an even higher level with more scares, more special effects, and even more fun. You don’t need to watch part one to enjoy this one.
A CHINESE GHOST STORY III
Ching Siu-tung, Hong Kong, 1991, DCP, 104 min. In Cantonese with English subtitles.
12/7, 12/14
One hundred years after the events of the first two films, the spirit of evil has returned to life, and a different protagonist (Tony Leung Chiu-wai!) must contend with the seductive evil that will not die. The fun continues, and if you haven’t seen the first two, don’t worry — you’ll catch up.
WONDERLAND
Michael Winterbottom, UK, 35mm, 1999, 103 min.
12/22, 12/23
Three sisters navigate life and love on the eve of Guy Fawkes Night: Nadia seeks romance through the personals, Debbie struggles with single parenthood, and expectant-mother Molly faces uncertainty in this moving drama from Michael Winterbottom (THE TRIP), set to the elegant melancholy of Michael Nyman’s piano. In 35mm.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Jean Cocteau, France, DCP, 1946, 93 min. In French with English subtitles.
12/27–12/30
We throw the term “magic” around quite a lot in relation to cinema. Jean Cocteau’s fairy tale adaptation really earns the descriptor with its filigree of silvery tones and its gorgeously surreal love story. This is poetry on celluloid.
NEWLY RESTORED
FOUR NIGHTS OF A DREAMER
Robert Bresson, France, DCP, 1971, 80 min. In French with English subtitles.
11/26–12/3
An artist in search of the girl of his dreams finds her in the form of a suicidal young woman he saves from diving off the Pont Neuf. Moved by compassion, he attempts to reunite her with her former lover — his altruism concealing his true feelings. Robert Bresson freely adapts Dostoevsky in this understated masterpiece.
VIRIDIANA
Luis Buñuel, Spain, DCP, 1961, 90 min. In Spanish with English subtitles.
11/29–12/1
A novice’s faith is put to the test by a corrupt uncle and a ragtag group of beggars who push the limits of her selflessness. Banned in Spain and denounced by the Vatican, VIRIDIANA is an irreverent, masterful sacrilege from Luis Buñuel.
JU DOU
Zhang Yimou, China/Japan, DCP, 1990, 95 min. In Mandarin with English subtitles.
12/13–12/17
Gong Li is JU DOU, a young woman trapped in an oppressive, impotent marriage to the owner of a dye mill in rural China. Seeking an escape, she begins a passionate affair with her husband’s nephew, leading to the birth of a son, raised as the heir of her sadistic husband. A landmark of Chinese cinema from Zhang Yimou (RAISE THE RED LANTERN, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS). Free Member Monday — free admission for all AFS members on Monday, December 15.
BARRY LYNDON
Stanley Kubrick, USA/UK, DCP, 1975, 184 min.
12/20–12/24
Kubrick’s elegant, epic adaptation of Thackeray’s novel about an amoral Irish social climber (Ryan O’Neal) in 18th-century Europe has grown in esteem over the years as audiences continue to discover it. The film’s technical brilliance — it was shot largely by candlelight — has tended to overshadow its unique brand of humor, which is a delight.
YI YI
Edward Yang, Taiwan/Japan, 2000, DCP, 173 min. In Mandarin, Min Nan, Hokkien, Japanese, and French with English subtitles.
12/26–12/31
The final film by Taiwanese master Edward Yang (A BRIGHTER SUMMER DAY, TAIPEI STORY). This is a story of love and familial connections between a father, his teenage daughter, and his young son over the course of a few months. Yang’s extraordinary gift for cinema and sensitive approach to love and connection elevate it into a great work of the screen.
DOC NIGHTS
MISTRESS DISPELLER
Elizabeth Lo, China/USA, 2024, DCP, 94 min. In Mandarin and English with English subtitles.
11/29–12/3
Filmmaker Elizabeth Lo pulls back the sheets on the clandestine world of cheaters in her Venice Film Festival award-winning documentary, which follows a woman in China who hires a professional to go undercover, confronting her husband’s betrayal in a last-ditch effort to salvage their relationship and save their marriage.
THE LIBRARIANS
Kim A. Snyder, USA, 2024, DCP, 92 min.
12/14, 12/17
Throughout the nation, an organized wave of parental and religious groups have sought to ban books that reflect diverse cultural perspectives under the banner of moral propriety. This new documentary follows several librarians around the country who are fighting back against these censorship efforts.
BEST OF THE FESTS
SUNFISH (& OTHER STORIES ON GREEN LAKE)
Sierra Falconer, USA, 2025, DCP, 87 min.
11/3, 11/5
Described by writer-director Sierra Falconer as “what it feels like to be home, and what it feels like to leave,” this debut feature burns as hot as a summer day with the lives of Green Lake, Michigan, residents converging across four luminous vignettes during a passing season. A charming anthology film, executive produced by Joanna Hogg (THE SOUVENIR I & II). Free Member Monday — free admission for all AFS members on Monday, November 3.
PAPER CUTS
LATE SPRING
Yasujirō Ozu, Japan, DCP, 1949, 108 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
11/1, 11/2
In post-war Japan, Noriko, a young professional, lives with her widowed father. To prompt her to marry, he pretends to consider remarriage, hoping it will encourage her to choose a suitor. This screening is paired with Noriko Smiling, film critic, novelist, and essayist Adam Mars-Jones’ ode to Ozu’s “still limber and elusive” classic.
Featuring a post-film discussion and a pop-up shop on Saturday, November 1. Noriko Smiling by Adam Mars-Jones is available for purchase at Alienated Majesty Books, in-person or online.
LATES
LOOKING FOR AN ANGEL
Akihiro Suzuki, Japan, 1999, DCP, 61 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
11/7, 11/8
Akihiro Suzuki’s LOOKING FOR AN ANGEL begins with the disappearance of a young gay porn actor and unfolds into a haunting, blue-drenched meditation on grief, lust, and memory across Tokyo and Kochi — evading labels with radical, poetic freedom. New restoration.
ANGEL’S EGG
Mamoru Oshii, Japan, DCP, 1985, 71 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
11/19–11/24
Two lost souls — a boy with a gun and a young girl guarding a large, precious egg — roam the ghostly ruins of an underwater city haunted by shadows. A legendary collaboration between illustrator Yoshitaka Amano (Vampire Hunter D) and director Mamoru Oshii (GHOST IN THE SHELL), newly restored and available in cinemas nationwide for the first time.
SPACEFLIGHT PRESENTS
SPACE IS THE PLACE with the Golden Dawn Arkestra
John Coney, USA, 1974, DCP, 85 min.
12/12
Preceded by a live set from the Golden Dawn Arkestra. From beyond the galactic cosmic ray bombardment of Earth, seizing your synapses to synthesize a new state of mind, comes Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Myth-Science Solar Arkestra to offer new pulsations, an “alter-destiny” to those Brothers and Sisters who care to free themselves of human sensations.
QUEER CINEMA: LOST & FOUND
BYE BYE LOVE
Isao Fujisawa, Japan, 1974, DCP, 85 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
11/4
FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES meets BONNIE AND CLYDE when a nihilistic drifter crosses paths with an enigmatic, gender-fluid shoplifter. “Pure snot-nosed anti-establishment indie heaven” (The Village Voice), this freewheeling journey through 1970s Japan anticipates “the transgressive New Queer Cinema movies of Gregg Araki and Gus Van Sant” (Metrograph).
Screening with a video introduction by Queer Cinema: Lost & Found programmer Elizabeth Purchell.
FRIGHT CLUB
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT
Charles E. Sellier Jr., USA, 1984, 35mm, 85 min.
12/18, 12/22
It seems unbelievable now, but when this low-budget slasher movie was released, it became a national flash point thanks to its depiction of a Santa-garbed killer. The film was whispered about in dark tones: had permissiveness gone far enough? Does the First Amendment protect this kind of thing? Meanwhile, it’s a hilariously ramshackle and very amusing piece of work. Maybe you’ll be scared. Maybe you’ll be shocked. You’ll definitely laugh a lot. In 35mm.
ACC’s Department of Philosophy, Religion, and Humanities Forum
DEAD MAN
Jim Jarmusch, USA, 1995, DCP, 120 min.
11/13, 11/17
Our screening of Jim Jarmusch’s sparse and powerful Western on November 13 will be followed by a post-film discussion with Austin Community College professors Antonio Ramirez and Matt Kliewer from the Department of Philosophy, Religion, and Humanities. The panel, moderated by Professor Jean Lauer, will invite conversation about the film’s themes as they pertain to existentialism, epistemology, legacies of the Western and revisionist Western, and Indigenous representation. Please note: there will only be a panel discussion after the screening on November 13. The November 17 show will just include a screening of the film.
LIVE SCORE
Invincible Czars: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Rupert Julian, USA, 1925, DCP, 78 min. Silent with English intertitles and live music score.
11/12
The group Invincible Czars have become synonymous with the best and most creative live musical accompaniments to silent classics. Their latest work, which they will perform live on our stage, is the culmination of years of work. Finally, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is being given Czar Treatment. This is the original starring the man of a thousand faces, Lon Chaney, as the “ghost” who haunts the catacombs underneath the Paris Opera House and falls in improbable love with the company’s ingénue.
NEW FRENCH CINEMA WEEK 2025
See the full lineup for the annual festival at austinfilm.org/french.
Opening-Night Film: NINO
Pauline Loquès, France, 2025, DCP, 97 min. In French with English subtitles.
11/20
Director Pauline Loquès joins us in person for one of the first US screenings of her debut feature, which is now a critically-acclaimed box office hit in France. NINO tells the story of three important days in the life of a young Parisian man after he receives a critical diagnosis. Jury prize winner of Cannes Critics’ Week 2025. “A gem of delicacy and finesse” (Première Magazine).
THE GIRL IN THE SNOW
Louise Hémon, France, 2025, DCP, 97 min. In French and Occitan with English subtitles.
11/21
At the end of the 19th century, a young primary school teacher travels to a remote Alpine region to establish the first school in an ancient mountain town. As new, worldly views collide with the villagers’ culture and elaborate mythology, a natural disaster divides the town. Louise Hémon’s debut feature takes the audience on a surprising ride and powerfully confronts the spectre of gender and sexuality in cultural mythmaking. A selection of the 2025 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight section. A pre-recorded Q&A with Louise Hémon will follow the screening.
THE TIES THAT BIND US
Carine Tardieu, France, 2025, DCP, 106 min. In French with English subtitles.
11/22
In this beautifully sophisticated and affecting drama about redefining family, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi delivers a profound performance as a single, fiercely independent intellectual who becomes embroiled in the neighbors’ family tragedy.
GHOST TRAIL
Jonathan Millet, France/Belgium/Germany, 2025, DCP, 106 min. In French, Arabic, English, and Turkish with English subtitles.
11/22
A timely and heart-wrenching thriller based on the actual experiences of Syrian refugees, GHOST TRAIL tells the story of Hamid, a young Syrian man part of a clandestine network attempting to locate and persecute Syrian war criminals in Europe. Nominated for two César Awards.
NEW FRENCH SHORTS
Various, DCP, 120 min. In French with English subtitles.
11/23
Our program of short films presents this year’s top Francophone festival favorites in a variety of genres and styles.
THE LITTLE SISTER
Hafsia Herzi, France/Germany, DCP, 106 min. In French with English subtitles.
11/23
A heart-pounding tale of desire and self-restraint from actor-turned-director Hafsia Herzi. Star Nadia Melliti won the best actress prize at Cannes 2025 for her performance as Fatima, the youngest sister in an Algerian-French household who begins to discover her queer identity.
About Austin Film Society
Founded in 1985 by filmmaker Richard Linklater, AFS creates life-changing opportunities for filmmakers, catalyzes Austin and Texas as a creative hub, and brings the community together around great film. AFS supports filmmakers towards career leaps, encouraging exceptional artistic projects with grants and support services. AFS operates Austin Studios, a 20-acre production facility, to attract and grow the creative media ecosystem. Austin Public, a space for our city’s diverse mediamakers to train and collaborate, provides many points of access to filmmaking and film careers. The AFS Cinema is an ambitiously programmed repertory and first run arthouse with broad community engagement. By hosting premieres, special events, and the Texas Film Awards, AFS shines the national spotlight on Texas filmmakers while connecting Austin and Texas to the wider film community. AFS is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
