February 12, 2026, AUSTIN, TX— The Austin Film Society announces its March and April 2026 calendar featuring a 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.

Throughout April, the Austin Film Society will present a new Essential Cinema series, co-presented with the Austin Asian American Film Festival (AAAFF). The series, called Adrift on the Other Side of the World: Early Films by Jia Zhangke, showcases four works by the critically acclaimed Chinese auteur. On the heels of Zhangke’s decades-spanning self-reflective Caught by the Tides (which screened at the AFS Cinema in May of 2025), the Austin Film Society and AAAFF have chosen to showcase his films from the ’90s and early 2000s that explore youth culture and the place of young people in Mainland China. Kicking off the series on April 7 and 11 is the 16mm-shot Xiao Wu (1997), followed by Unknown Pleasures (2002) on April 14 and 18, the two of which are part of the director’s “Hometown Trilogy.” On April 21 and 25, the Austin Film Society will present The World (2004), which follows a dancer and a security guard in a surreal theme park. The series will conclude with Still Life (2006) on April 28 and May 2, which won the Golden Lion award for Best Film at its 2006 Venice Film Festival premiere.

The Austin Society will also bring back its beloved Noir Canon series with three iconic classics. Screening from March 20–25 in 35mm will be Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil, starring the legendary director alongside Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh. Also screening in 35mm will be The Big Sleep on March 28–April 1, starring Humphrey Bogart as Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe alongside Lauren Bacall in a blackmail plot. On April 10 and 15, this latest edition of the series will conclude with Gun Crazy, co-written under a pseudonym by the award-winning Dalton Trumbo.

The Austin Society will host several partnered series and events throughout March and April. The 9th Annual Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase will visit the AFS Cinema on March 2, offering a program of seven short films about the U.S.-Mexico border experience made by female filmmakers. This year’s screening will be followed by a Q&A with Jackie Iyari Barragan of Femme Frontera. On April 2, the Austin Film Society will partner with the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute (MACRI) and MonteVideo to present Latina Spring: Salón de Cortos for Women’s History Month. The event will showcase award-winning shorts from across the world — including An Uncertain Future by AFS Grant-supported filmmakers Chelsea Hernandez and Iliana Sosa — with a post-screening discussion moderated by AFS’s Senior Manager of Filmmaker Support Sharon Arteaga. For its recurring Paper Cuts series with partners Alienated Majesty Books, AFS will screen Abbas Kiarostami’s story of a funeral proceeding, The Wind Will Carry Us, on March 8, which will be paired with a written collection of interviews with the filmmaker, Conversations with Kiarostami, conducted by Iranian film expert Godfrey Cheshire. Following this on April 19, the series will include the Arthurian tale Lancelot Du Lac by Robert Bresson paired with the filmmaker’s own book, Notes on the Cinematograph. Both screenings will feature a post-film discussion and pop-up book shop in the AFS Cinema lobby. For the National Evening of Science on Screen on March 24, the AFS Cinema will partner with Science on Screen® (an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation) to screen Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop followed by a post-film panel discussion with robotics experts.

The Austin Film Society will host special guests and filmmakers at several screenings in March and April. On March 4, AFS will present a special screening of In the Hand of Dante with the film’s director, the Oscar®-nominated 2026 Texas Film Hall of Fame honoree Julian Schnabel. The film connects two parallel stories across the 14th and 21st centuries — that of author Nick Tosches and Dante Alighieri, both of whom are played by Oscar Isaac. The film will also screen on March 2 without the filmmaker in attendance. Then, on March 6, AFS Cinema will show the long-lost Texas-shot action film Riverbend with a host of special guests: the film’s director, Sam Firstenberg (American Ninja); actors Margaret Avery (Oscar® nominee, The Color Purple), Julius Tennon (Dazed and Confused, Lonesome Dove) Alex Morris (Baskets, Radio Golf) and Vanessa Tate-Goodrich (Walker, Texas Ranger); and Michael Dennis of Reelblack Renaissance, who handled the film’s restoration. The Austin Film Society also announces the return of its annual AFS Doc Days non-fiction film festival on April 30–May 3, which will include brand-new documentaries and appearances by the filmmakers behind them. The full festival lineup will be announced in late March.

As a part of its effort to exhibit and celebrate 35mm film prints, AFS will show the following films in this format:

• Touch of Evil (March 20–March 25)
• The Big Sleep (March 28–April 1)
• Down by Law (March 30–April 4)

The full March/April 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 MARCH/APRIL CALENDAR 

Download image stills.

ESSENTIAL CINEMA: ADRIFT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD: EARLY FILMS BY JIA ZHANGKE

Co-presented by the Austin Asian American Film Festival. 

As young filmmakers struggled to make their mark on China’s dysfunctional 1990s film industry, Jia Zhangke’s 16mm debut feature XIAO WU (1997) emerged like a shooting star from the independent scene, casting light on the country’s neglected interior and putting Jia’s obscure hometown of Fenyang on the cinematic map. The subsequent UNKNOWN PLEASURES (2002) and THE WORLD (2004) looked to the urban landscapes of Datong and Beijing and the Golden Lion-winning STILL LIFE (2006) to the upheavals wrought by the Three Gorges Dam. But the importance of home — and its changing significance in an era where rootedness is increasingly the exception rather than the rule — has never left Jia’s penetrating gaze. With these four early features, Jia charted a course of constant inquiry and exploration that culminated in 2024’s decades-spanning “self-retrospective” CAUGHT BY THE TIDES.

XIAO WU

Jia Zhangke, Hong Kong/China, 1997, DCP, 108 min. In Mandarin and Jin Chinese with English subtitles.
4/7, 4/11
A 16mm production featuring nonprofessional actors shot without state approval, Jia Zhangke’s breakout follows a disillusioned pickpocket who finds himself empty‑handed in the new market economy. But as a romance blossoms between him and a sex worker, he begins to wonder: does love hold more value than money?

UNKNOWN PLEASURES

Jia Zhangke, China/Japan/France/South Korea, 2002, DCP, 113 min. In Mandarin and Jin Chinese with English subtitles.
4/14, 4/18
Friends and street kids Bin Bin (Zhao Weiwei) and Xiao Ji (Wu Qiong), members of the “birth control generation,” idolize Quentin Tarantino and find escape in karaoke bars, clinging to their dreams until a chance encounter with Qiao Qiao (Zhao Tao) and her thug boyfriend shatters their routine and sends them into the unknown. A look at a new China, shot entirely on digital video. 

THE WORLD

Jia Zhangke, China/Japan/France, 2004, DCP, 134 min. In Mandarin and Jin Chinese with English subtitles.
4/21, 4/25
Just outside of Beijing lies The World, a surreal theme park featuring wondrous replicas of iconic monuments, where tourists roam, and a dancer (Zhao Tao) and a security guard (Cheng Taishen) tessellate in a riveting simulation of modern globalization. 

STILL LIFE

Jia Zhangke, Hong Kong/China, 2006, DCP, 108 min. In Mandarin, Sichuanese, and Jin Chinese with English subtitles.
4/28, 5/2
A miner and a nurse arrive in Fengjie, a town upended by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, to search for long‑lost spouses. As the old neighborhood disappears and a new one rises in its place, both must decide what to reclaim from their pasts and what to leave behind.

NEWLY RESTORED

THE RAZOR’S EDGE

Jocelyne Saab, Lebanon/France, 1985, DCP, 102 min. In Arabic and French with English subtitles.
3/1, 3/9
From pioneering documentarian Jocelyne Saab comes her narrative feature debut, a story of a chance connection set against the ruin of the Lebanese civil war, formed between Samar, a teenage girl and refugee, and Karim, a middle‑aged artist. New 4K restoration. 

SOMERSAULT

Cate Shortland, Australia, 2004, DCP, 106 min.
3/8, 3/11
Long before Hollywood came calling, Cate Shortland, Abbie Cornish, and Sam Worthington made their names in this deeply affecting coming-of-age story, sensitively attuned to the ache of growing up. A little gem, “frank and visceral, exuding an unexpected innocence” (The Los Angeles Times). New 4K restoration. 

WORLD CINEMA CLASSICS

WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES

Béla Tarr/Ágnes Hranitzky, Hungary, 2001, DCP, 145 min. In Hungarian with English subtitles.
4/13, 4/17
Chaos and unrest simmer when a mysterious traveling circus descends upon a desolate Hungarian town. Comprised of just 39 atmospheric black-and-white shots, Béla Tarr (SÁTÁNTANGÓ) crafts a hypnotic parable of social collapse, complete with a freakishly large stuffed whale and nightmarish dread. Free Member Monday — free admission for all AFS members on Monday, April 13.

 

8 1/2

Federico Fellini, Italy, 1963, DCP, 138 min. In Italian with English subtitles.
4/27, 4/29
Fellini’s surreal comedy portrait of a famous, suave director (Marcello Mastroianni) — whose creative touch eludes him as he attempts to finish a film — created a sensation and spawned a movie genre of its own.

THE NOIR CANON

TOUCH OF EVIL

Orson Welles, USA, 1958, 35mm, 111 min.
3/20–3/25
Long exiled from Hollywood, Orson Welles returned to make this adaptation of a tawdry pulp novel about bordertown corruption and produced a masterpiece. With Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, and Welles himself. A great film. In 35mm.

 

THE BIG SLEEP

Howard Hawks, USA, 1946, 35mm, 116 min.
3/28–4/1
Howard Hawks’ perverse adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel stars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in a detective story so convoluted that even Chandler couldn’t figure it out. With dialogue like this, you won’t care about the plot either. In 35mm.

 

GUN CRAZY

Joseph H. Lewis, USA, 1950, DCP, 87 min.
4/10, 4/15
This Joseph H. Lewis noir about a doomed romance between two beautiful young criminals has struck existential chords with each succeeding generation of movie lovers. An underground classic.

DOC NIGHTS

BILLY PRESTON: THAT’S THE WAY GOD PLANNED IT

Paris Barclay, USA, 2024, DCP, 105 min.
3/7–3/11
A master entertainer who could sing, dance, and play the organ better than just about anyone ever, Billy Preston left his native Texas and took the world by storm. Through archival materials and interviews, his story is finally told in all its contours by the people who knew him best.

 

SHUFFLE

Benjamin Flaherty, USA, 2025, DCP, 81 min.
3/23, 3/28
This documentary, winner of the Grand Jury Prize at SXSW, tells a maddening story of the drug rehab industrial complex, through which thousands of people pass every year. It is an enormously profitable industry but one that seems to have little therapeutic value in the long term. More than an issue film, this is also a white-knuckle portrait of some of the people who take the ride through rehab again and again for illegal kickbacks from the agents of the facilities. Free Member Monday — free admission for all AFS members on Monday, March 23, with director Benjamin Flaherty in attendance. An AFS-supported film.

 

TEENAGE WASTELAND

Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, USA, 2025, DCP, 110 min.
3/31, 4/4
In 1996, in a sleepy Upstate New York town, the local high school begins offering a video journalism class. But instead of the expected stories about the cheerleading squad, the teens uncover a toxic waste disposal scandal that rocks the local government. This acclaimed new doc follows the story and revisits these remarkable student journalists and their teacher. Previously screened at AFS Doc Days 2025 as MIDDLETOWN.

 

MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS PART 1: LAST AIR IN MOSCOW

Julia Loktev, USA/Russia, 2024, DCP, 324 min. Presented in two installments. In Russian and English with English subtitles.
4/5: Chapters 1-3, 198 min.
4/12: Chapters 4-5, 128 min.
This riveting multi-part documentary follows a group of mostly female independent journalists in Russia as Vladimir Putin’s government closes ranks in preparation to invade Ukraine. While media independence was always fraught, this film documents the journalists as they are denounced as foreign agents and as their lives are imperiled. Be aware that this is not a soothing, comforting story. Chapters 1–3 presented on Sunday, April 5, and Chapters 4–5 presented on Sunday, April 12. 

 

YOU GOT GOLD: A CELEBRATION OF JOHN PRINE

Michael John Warren, USA, 2025, DCP, 90 min.
3/28, 3/29
Two years after the legendary John Prine’s death from COVID complications, a star-studded ensemble of his friends and admirers took to the stage at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to tell stories about the great song-poet and to sing his songs together. This emotionally rich concert film stars Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Tyler Childers, Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Jason Isbell, and Bob Weir.

BIG SCREEN CLASSICS

DOWN BY LAW

Jim Jarmusch, USA, 1986, 35mm, 107 min.
3/30–4/4
Jim Jarmusch’s second feature stars Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni as a trio of cellmates in a New Orleans jail who decide to break out. A perfect concoction of the trio’s conflicting comedic styles, Jarmusch’s deadpan delivery, and the cinematography of the great Robby Müller. In 35mm.

 

A SERIOUS MAN 

Joel and Ethan Coen, USA, 2009, DCP, 105 min.
4/15–4/20
For many people, this Coen Brothers film seemed like a strange anomaly in their filmography when it was released. No major stars. A baseline of Jewish mysticism. As time marches on, however, it becomes apparent that this odd film is a skeleton key to the Coens’ other work. Fred Melamed’s Sy Ableman is one of the great characters in the Coen’s gallery of memorable figures.

MODERN MASTERS

MAGELLAN

Lav Diaz, Portugal, 2025, DCP, 164 min. In multiple languages with English subtitles.
3/19, 3/21
Lav Diaz’s panoramic telling of the conquests of Portuguese circumnavigator and conqueror Ferdinand Magellan stars Gael García Bernal as the title figure in an acclaimed, multifaceted performance. Taking visual inspiration from Renaissance paintings, it is also a visual spectacle.

 

FRIGHT CLUB

FREAKS

Tod Browning, USA, 1932, DCP, 64 min.
4/6, 4/12
Tod Browning’s notorious carnival shocker has become a part of outsider culture through the ministrations of The Ramones and others who have adopted the battle cry of the so-called “freaks” against the morally execrable “normals.” The story is simple: a strong man and a beauty queen treat a group of sideshow performers terribly and live to regret it. Banned for years. An important work of cinema.

 

LATES

A NEW LOVE IN TOKYO

Banmei Takahashi, Japan, 1994, DCP, 113 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
3/20, 3/21
Set in ’90s Tokyo, this kinky follow-up to TOKYO DECADENCE follows Rei, a theater-loving S&M worker, and Ayumi, a call girl cohabiting with her boyfriend. Candid and cheeky, it reflects the ever-evolving perspectives on sex, love, and freedom of a new generation of women. Featuring photographs by Nobuyoshi Araki, who also contributed to the screenplay. New restoration.

 

NADJA

Michael Almereyda, USA, 1994, DCP, 93 min.
3/27–4/1
Shot in lush 35mm and glitchy Pixelvision, pulsing to a soundtrack of Portishead and My Bloody Valentine, and spiked with deadpan humor, NADJA absolutely oozes cool. Michael Almereyda’s remix of the Dracula myth follows vampire twins Nadja (Elina Löwensohn) and Edgar (Jared Harris) in the wake of their father’s death at the hands of Peter Fonda’s Dr. Van Helsing. Executive‑produced by David Lynch (who also appears in a cameo), this is pure ’90s arthouse vampirism: seductive, strange, and eternal. New 4K restoration. 

 

HAUSU 

Nobuhiko Obayashi, Japan, 1977, DCP, 91 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
4/3–4/8
From Nobuhiko Obayashi (HIS MOTORBIKE, HER ISLAND), spotlighted in last year’s Kadokawa Superstar program, comes an avant-garde teen-appeal ghost story that employs nearly every film technique possible in a phantasmagoria of ghostly psychedelia. Guaranteed to thrill and delight even the most jaded filmgoer. 

 

STEP ACROSS THE BORDER 

Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel, Germany, 1990, DCP, 90 min.
4/10, 4/11
A 90‑minute improvisation on life, music, and image featuring Fred Frith, John Zorn, Arto Lindsay, the band After Dinner, Iva Bittová, Larry Wright, Jonas Mekas, and Robert Frank captured in streets, hotel rooms, transit systems, and on stages from New York to Tokyo and everywhere in between. A music doc? Think again. This avant-garde experience from Nicolas Humbert and Werner Penzel is a “documentary” in name only. New 4K restoration.

 

CARNIVAL IN THE NIGHT

Masashi Yamamoto, Japan, 1981, DCP, 109 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
4/17, 4/18
Motherhood has never been so punk. Masashi Yamamoto’s gritty 16mm jishu‑eiga sees single mother Kumi (Kumiko Ohta) hand her kid over to her ex and descend into a dark underground of squatters, hustlers, and explosives hobbyists for one last hurrah. A cry from the gutter from the director of ROBINSON’S GARDEN and WHAT’S UP CONNECTION in a new 2K restoration. 

 

PAPER CUTS

THE WIND WILL CARRY US 

Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1999, DCP, 118 min. In Persian with English subtitles.
3/8
In a secluded village, an elderly woman at the center of a funeral ceremony stubbornly clings to life, much to the chagrin of a film crew who have traveled from Tehran to document the proceedings. A wry drama layered with poetic allusions characteristic of the best from director Abbas Kiarostami.
Featuring a post-film discussion and a pop-up shop on March 8. This film’s book pairing, Conversations with Kiarostami by Godfrey Cheshire, is available for purchase at Alienated Majesty Books, in-person or online.

 

LANCELOT DU LAC 

Robert Bresson, France, 1974, DCP, 85 min. In French with English subtitles.
4/19
Bresson brings his signature minimalism to the Arthurian legend, stripping away the spectacle of the Grail quest as he turns his eye toward the torment of the knights as they return “without the Grail, which is to say the absolute, God” (Bresson). New 4K restoration. Featuring a post-film discussion and a pop-up shop on April 19. This film’s book pairing, Notes on the Cinematograph by Robert Bresson, is available for purchase at Alienated Majesty Books, in-person or online.

 

QUEER CINEMA: LOST AND FOUND

THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE 

Robert Aldrich, USA/UK, 1968, DCP, 138 min.
3/25
An aging lesbian actress (Beryl Reid) explodes into hysteria when faced with the prospect of being written out of the soap opera that made her a household name and the disintegration of her longtime relationship with a younger woman in Robert Aldrich’s adaptation of the hit play. Famously given an X rating solely for its lesbian subject matter — despite featuring no explicit sex or nudity — THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE is a fascinating example of both Hollywood homophobia and exquisite camp.  

 

CONFESSIONS OF A CONGRESSMAN

Eloy de la Iglesia, Spain, 1978, DCP, 107 min. In Spanish with English subtitles.
4/19
A hustler finds himself falling for the closeted Marxist politician he’s been hired to seduce by fascists in this groundbreaking drama from Spanish genre-cinema master Eloy de la Iglesia. One of the first openly gay films to be made after the fall of the Spanish dictatorship — and while homosexuality was still illegal — CONFESSIONS OF A CONGRESSMAN is a searing indictment of the hollowness of “democracy” that has been unavailable in the U.S. for decades.  

 

NATIONAL EVENING OF SCIENCE ON SCREEN®

ROBOCOP

Paul Verhoeven, USA, 1987, DCP, 103 min.
3/24
The National Evening of Science on Screen® this year is something very different. Paul Verhoeven’s ROBOCOP is, in addition to being a violent action film, a fantastic social satire about command and control, with an emphasis on automated systems of policing. Lo and behold, the world is colliding with what had seemed an outlandish scenario. We will welcome a post-screening panel of robotics experts to consider the implications, both mechanical and ethical. An initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

 

PARTNER EVENTS

9TH ANNUAL FEMME FRONTERA FILMMAKER SHOWCASE

Various, 85 min.
3/2
The Femme Frontera Filmmaker Showcase is a celebration of short films made by women filmmakers from the U.S.-Mexico border region and from around the world whose stories challenge perceptions about women, border communities, immigrants, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and other underrepresented communities. Featuring a special post‑screening Q&A with Jackie Iyari Barragan, co-director and Showcase Tour Coordinator of Femme Frontera. 

This program includes the following short films:
AT DUSK I KISS YOUR BODY BURNT
Directed by Victor “Yayo” Meza

COLOR CIELO (THE COLOR OF SKY)
Directed by Cristal Gonzalez Avila

SUPER HIGH: A PERIOD PIECE
Directed by Bianca D. Lambert

TERNURA RADICAL
Directed by Celina Galicia

SER BRUJA (TO BE A BRUJA)
Directed by Carolina Erives

YO MATE A LUCCA (I KILLED LUCCA)
Directed by Ana Moreno Hernandez

WHEREVER THAT MAY BE
Directed by E.N. Cole  

 

LATINA SPRING: SALÓN DE CORTOS

Various, 72 min.
4/2
Presented by the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute (MACRI) and MonteVideo. Featuring a post‑screening Q&A moderated by filmmaker and AFS Senior Manager for Filmmaker Support Sharon Arteaga. The Mexican American Civil Rights Institute (MACRI) and MonteVideo celebrate Women’s History Month with LATINA SPRING, a curated selection of inspiring films by Latina and Indigenous women directors. This collection of award-winning shorts features selections from France, Mexico, and the United States.

This program includes the following short films: 

AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Chelsea Hernandez & Iliana Sosa, 2017, USA, 11 min.

MORENITA
Diana Valencia & Gabriela Ortega, 2024, Mexico, 8 min.

COMO SI LA TIERRA SE LAS HUBIERA TRAGADO
Natalia Leon, 2025, France, 13 min.

KUSI SMILES
Sisa Quispe, 2024, Peru, USA, 15 min.

THERE’S A DEVIL INSIDE ME
Karina Lomelin Ripper, 2024, USA, 15 min.

TIGUERONAS
Imani Celeste, 2025, USA, 14 min.

SPECIAL SCREENING

IN THE HAND OF DANTE 

Julian Schnabel, UK/USA/Italy/Chile, 2025, DCP, 103 min. In English and Italian with English subtitles.
3/2, 3/4
With Julian Schnabel in person at the March 4 screening. Oscar-nominated® director Julian Schnabel uses the life and the novel of writer Nick Tosches as a jumping-off point for a story taking place in both the 14th and 21st centuries, as Nick Tosches and Dante Alighieri’s parallel stories are interwoven and connected by Oscar Isaac’s singular performance.

“In the struggle for perfection in art, our lives may be less than perfect — even plagued with failure — but everything that exists outside the work of art doesn’t exist. The goal is to become the poem. Dante and Nick achieved that. I’m still working on it. Everything I really have to say is in my art.” —Julian Schnabel 

 

RIVERBEND

Sam Firstenberg, USA, 1989, DCP, 101 min.
3/6
Join us for the Texas premiere, accompanied by a special post-film Q&A with director Sam Firstenberg; actors Julius Tennon, Alex Morris, Vanessa Tate-Goodrich; and Michael Dennis of Reelblack Renaissance. A long‑lost classic of Black independent cinema returns. Led by Steve James in his first starring role and Margaret Avery in a compelling performance following her Oscar®‑nominated turn in THE COLOR PURPLE, this Texas-shot film follows three Vietnam veterans who spark an uprising against a racist Southern sheriff. Blending Blaxploitation grit with the moral force of SEVEN SAMURAI, this newly rediscovered work — restored to its brilliance from the original 35mm interpositive under the supervision of director Sam Firstenberg — is ready for a new generation.

 

DOC DAYS 2026 

April 30–May 3
Save the date for AFS’s annual festival of new documentary cinema, returning April 30–May 3. The event features some of the most exciting new voices and visions in non-fiction, with filmmakers in attendance.