April 9, 2026, AUSTIN, TX— The Austin Film Society announces its May and June 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.

In June, AFS will present a new series of Essential Cinema dedicated to the early films of beloved low-budget cult-film director Roger Corman. The series, called The Corman Century (the filmmaker was born in 1926), includes four noteworthy films from the beginning of his career. On June 2 and 6, AFS Cinema will screen the original Little Shop of Horrors from 1960, featuring Jack Nicholson in one of his first on-screen performances. Part of Corman’s “Poe Cycle” of loosely adapted Edgar Allan Poe stories starring Vincent Price, The Masque of the Red Death will screen in 35mm on June 9 and 14. Also presented in 35mm will be Bloody Mama on June 16 and 20, a crime thriller starring Shelley Winters (and an appearance by Robert De Niro, also in one of his first films), based on the success of Bonnie and Clyde, which came out only a few years earlier. Closing out the series from June 23–29 is The Trip, about a man (played by Peter Fonda) taking LSD for the first time.

The AFS Cinema will present Kaizo Hayashi’s Maiku Hama Trilogy in May. After the success of the director’s offbeat mystery To Sleep So As To Dream, Hayashi made three genre-bending noir-style films centered around the character “Maiku Hama” (played by Masatoshi Nagase from Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train), a P.I. who has based his practice out of an old movie house. The first in the trilogy, The Most Terrible Time in My Life (playing May 10 and 13), introduces Maiku Hama in a black-and-white, pop-art caper surrounding the missing brother of a Taiwanese immigrant. For his next case in The Stairway to the Distant Past (May 17 and 20), Maiku Hama is confronted by his past in a film shot in vibrant color. Then, in the final installment of the film trilogy, The Trap (May 24 and 27), Maiku Hama finds himself in hiding as he’s suspected of committing a wave of murders across Yokohama.

Throughout the months of May and June, the Austin Film Society will present several special screenings and events. As previously announced, AFS Doc Days returns on April 30–May 3 with a new program of non-fiction films fresh from the festival circuit. Visit austinfilm.org/docdays for the full lineup of films and special guests. On the heels of Joe Bob Briggs’ series The Last Drive-In going off air (which featured AFS Lead Film Programmer Lars Nilsen in its final season), AFS will host A Weekend with Joe Bob Briggs and Darcy Live on May 29 and 30 with two back-to-back nights of in-person double feature events. On June 12, programmer Stephen Janisse of the Paramount Theatre will co-present Alexander Mackendrick’s Sweet Smell of Success in 35mm, followed by a discussion of the theater’s iconic “Summer Series,” which will be on hiatus this year as the venue undergoes renovations. AFS’s partnered series with Alienated Majesty Books, Paper Cuts, returns with two special screenings. The first, on May 23, will feature a 4K restoration of La Cérémonie and a post-screening discussion with writer and film critic A.S. Hamrah, paired with the book Algorithm of the Night by Hamrah. Then, on June 20, the series will continue with West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty paired with 1970–2018 Interviews with Med Hondo, a collection of conversations with the director of the film. Both Paper Cuts events will feature post-screening discussions and a pop-up book shop in the AFS Cinema lobby.

In May and June, the following films will be exhibited on 35mm film prints:

• McCabe & Mrs. Miller (5/9, 5/12)
• The Masque of the Red Death (6/9, 6/14)
• Sweet Smell of Success (6/12, 6/14)
• Bloody Mama (6/16, 6/20)

The full May/June 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 MAY/JUNE CALENDAR 

Download image stills.

ESSENTIAL CINEMA: THE CORMAN CENTURY 

Roger Corman, who was born in 1926, was a unique figure in American Cinema. He was a mini-mogul, making commercially viable films on low budgets and, in the process, providing crucial on-the-job experience to literally scores of actors, writers, directors, and producers. For the first sixteen years of his career, he both produced and directed his films. Subsequently, he was primarily a producer. This series focuses on some of those early works, each of which embodies different aspects of Corman’s aesthetic profile. From the black-comedic stylings of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS to the sympathetic lysergic strivings of THE TRIP, Corman’s films gave the people what they wanted and documented a memorably mercurial era in American cultural history.

 

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

Roger Corman, USA, 1960, DCP, 70 min.
6/2, 6/6
Before it was a massively popular Broadway musical, this black comedy was best known as the most expeditiously made feature film at that time. The master shots were completed in only two shooting days — with some exterior pickups added later. Why are we still watching this film sixty-five years later? Because it’s very funny, with wonderful performances by Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, and a young actor appearing in one of his first films, Jack Nicholson, unforgettable as a masochistic dental patient.

 

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH

Roger Corman, USA, 1964, 35mm, 90 min.
6/9, 6/14
One of Roger Corman’s signature achievements was his cycle of Edgar Allan Poe adaptations. These are very loose translations of the story material, but the combination of gothic settings, lurid colors, and star Vincent Price were an omnipresent feature in the nation’s drive-ins for a few years. This is the best of these. Made in England, with the assistance of top British technicians (including Nicolas Roeg), it is also the best-looking and possibly most coherent of these amusing shockers. In 35mm. 

 

BLOODY MAMA

Roger Corman, USA, 1970, 35mm, 90 min.
6/16, 6/20
Like so many of his films, this period gangster movie was clearly made by Roger Corman to capitalize on the success of a different hit movie — in this case, BONNIE AND CLYDE. Here, Shelley Winters plays Ma Barker, who employs her killer brood of sons to commit bank robberies with the police in hot pursuit. With Bruce Dern, Don Stroud, and a nearly unknown Robert De Niro. It would be an exaggeration to say this film helped De Niro’s career significantly, but it sure didn’t hurt. In 35mm. 

 

THE TRIP

Roger Corman, USA, 1967, DCP, 85 min.
6/23–6/29
There is a whole subgenre of films about psychedelic drugs and their discontents. Almost all of these films are laughable nonsense, made with the collaboration of police agencies and other unfun people. For THE TRIP, Roger Corman took LSD, had a great time, and set out to depict the experience respectfully. It’s a remarkable film, funny and perceptive. Peter Fonda plays the tripper, with Bruce Dern as his bearded, professorial guide. One of the best movies of the ’60s.

 

THE MAIKU HAMA TRILOGY

Emerging from the wild, genre‑bending energy of 1990s Japanese cinema, Kaizo Hayashi’s Maiku Hama Trilogy reimagines the character of the hard‑boiled detective through a distinctly pop‑art lens. Anchored by the effortless cool of Masatoshi Nagase (star of Jim Jarmusch’s MYSTERY TRAIN) as a private eye working out of a dilapidated Yokohama movie house, the films blend moody American noir, Nikkatsu‑style action, and offbeat comedy into a world where missing dogs, waterfront turf wars, and serial killers coexist — with deadpan charm. Shot in both striking black‑and‑white and bold color palettes, the trilogy stands as a cult landmark of its era, now newly restored and ready for rediscovery.

 

THE MOST TERRIBLE TIME IN MY LIFE

Kaizo Hayashi, Japan, 1993, DCP, 92 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
5/10, 5/13
Launching the trilogy with a mix of black-and-white noir and pop‑art swagger, THE MOST TERRIBLE TIME IN MY LIFE channels the wild energy of Seijun Suzuki and the gumshoe grit of Mickey Spillane. When Maiku Hama saves a Taiwanese immigrant, he’s dragged into a spiraling pan-Asian, brother‑against‑brother gang feud, turning Yokohama’s backstreets into a battleground of divided loyalties — in deadpan style. Featuring special appearances by Shinya Tsukamoto (dir. TETSUO, THE IRON MAN) and Joe Shishido (star of BRANDED TO KILL). 

 

THE STAIRWAY TO THE DISTANT PAST

Kaizo Hayashi, Japan, 1995, DCP, 101 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
5/17, 5/20
The trilogy’s second entry finds Maiku Hama now in full color, without a car, cash‑strapped but undeterred and taking on small‑time cases, including searching for missing dogs, only to land squarely in the middle of a turf war on the Yokohama waterfront. When a famed exotic dancer tied to his past resurfaces, the city’s criminal undercurrents threaten to pull him back into danger. Featuring Shirô Sano (TO SLEEP SO AS TO DREAM) and Eiji Okada (WOMAN IN THE DUNES, HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR). 

 

THE TRAP

Kaizo Hayashi, Japan, 1996, DCP, 106 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
5/24, 5/27
In this trilogy’s final chapter, Masatoshi Nagase (MYSTERY TRAIN, P.P. RIDER) pulls double-duty as a wave of murders leaves Yokohama on edge and Maiku Hama the prime suspect. Forced into hiding, he races to unmask the real killer while evading the city’s increasingly hostile police force. A tense, stylish finish to Hayashi’s delightfully offbeat trilogy. Featuring a special appearance by Joe Shishido (star of BRANDED TO KILL and YOUTH OF THE BEAST) and Tetta Sugimoto (PORNOSTAR). 

 

NEWLY RESTORED

LUMIÈRE, LE CINÉMA!

Thierry Frémaux, France, 2025, DCP, 106 min.
5/26–5/31
Institute Lumière director (and head of the Cannes Film Festival) Thierry Frémaux narrates and provides historical and artistic context for over one hundred short films made by the Lumière Brothers. The films, which are some of the oldest moving pictures in existence, are presented in brand-new restorations. A fascinating look at the nascent art before there were accepted rules or forms.

 

BITTER RICE

Giuseppe De Santis, Italy, 1949, DCP, 108 min. In Italian with English subtitles.
5/28, 5/30
This is the film that broke Italian Neorealism at the domestic Italian box office and had arthouse patrons lining up around the block in the cosmopolitan centers of the world. The great success was partly because of its depiction of poor but honorable female rice-field workers who become entangled in a criminal plot foisted upon them by a charming hood (Vittorio Gassman). But the main part of the appeal was the up-and-coming actress Silvana Mangano as a worker who is seduced by the easy money and easy virtue of the criminal life.

 

DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE FOREST

Satyajit Ray, India, 1970, DCP, 115 min. In Bengali with English subtitles.
6/1–6/6
One of writer-director-composer Satyajit Ray’s best and heretofore least accessible films is back in a new restoration. Four cosmopolitan sophisticates from Kolkata attempt to go “back to the garden” — a popular pursuit in the Age of Aquarius. The quartet finds many of their assumptions about rural/urban divisions (and, importantly, caste divisions) shattered in this breezy but multilayered comedy of manners and self-discovery. Free Member Monday — free admission for all AFS members on Monday, June 1.

 

WORLD CINEMA CLASSICS

TAKE CARE OF MY CAT

Jae-eun Jeong, South Korea, 2001, DCP, 112 min. In Korean with English subtitles.
6/3–6/10
To be free … to find success … to never be apart … When you were twenty, what did you dream of? Five school friends cling to their bond as they face uncertain futures in the port city of Incheon, especially when one girl’s big city ambitions take her to Seoul. Determined not to drift apart, they communally adopt a cat and share caregiving responsibilities, passing it from girl to girl in an attempt to stay connected. But can the promises of youth survive the realities of adulthood? Starring Bae Doona (LINDA LINDA LINDA) and celebrating its 25th anniversary, this female‑written and directed debut sprang from a desire to portray modern women rarely seen on screen. Decades on, it still feels groundbreaking.

 

DAISIES 

Věra Chytilová, Czechoslovakia, 1966, DCP, 76 min. In Czech with English subtitles.
6/6–6/10
Chic floral headpieces, paisley bikinis, gluttonous dinner parties: the world has gone “bad,” and now Marie I and II are going to go “bad” as well. From groundbreaking Czech New Wave director Věra Chytilová comes a gleefully batty, psychedelic rebellion set in a surreal utopia where young women liberate themselves from polite society. Banned upon its release, DAISIES now stands as a free‑spirited, anarchic feminist classic and an ode to girlhood in all its revelry.

 

MEMORIES OF MURDER

Bong Joon Ho, South Korea, 2003, DCP, 131 min. In Korean with English subtitles.
6/20–6/22
A true modern masterpiece and one of the most visionary updates of the crime genre. Bong Joon Ho reimagines the policier with his darkly comic take on a true unsolved Korean murder mystery. 

 

DOC NIGHTS

NATCHEZ

Suzannah Herbert, USA, 2025, DCP, 86 min.
6/19, 6/21
Welcome to Natchez, Mississippi. With its historic plantations, hoop‑skirted docents, and garden clubs, it can feel like a step back into a lovely world for some, but for others, it’s a painful reminder of the past. Caught between antebellum pageantry showcasing the grand estates of the Old South and the legacy of the Forks of the Road slave market, the town finds itself at a crossroads between two American histories.

 

BIG SCREEN CLASSICS

MCCABE & MRS. MILLER 

Robert Altman, 1971, USA, 35mm, 121 min.
5/9, 5/12
Dubbed a beautiful pipe dream of a movie by none other than Pauline Kael, Robert Altman’s revisionist Western follows gambler John McCabe as he partners with opium‑smoking madam Mrs. Miller to build a booming enterprise in the Old West mining town of Presbyterian Church — that is, until big business comes to stake its claim. Stars Warren Beatty and Julie Christie ignite the screen with a sensual heat strong enough to melt the snow off a pine tree, set to the haunting lyricism of Leonard Cohen and captured in the intoxicating cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond. In 35mm. 

 

AMADEUS

Miloš Forman, USA, 1984, DCP, 161 min.
5/22–5/25
Winner of countless awards, including eight Oscars®, AMADEUS is back in a stunning 4K restoration to thrill audiences anew. Starring Tom Hulce as the celebrated genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and F. Murray Abraham in a career-best performance as his highly motivated rival Salieri. Historically detailed, dramatically rich, and funny too, this is one of the great crowd-pleasing works of 20th Century Cinema and a film to be seen (and heard) in the theater.

 

DON’T LOOK BACK

D.A. Pennebaker, USA, 1967, DCP, 96 min.
5/28, 5/31
One of the best music docs and an endlessly fascinating portrait of a young artist at work and play as the culture around him bends to his contours. Bob Dylan, newly psychedelicized, is seen as he tours England. The fans are expecting more of the “Blowin’ In The Wind” Dylan, but they get “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” Dylan. Throughout, Dylan is trying out the persona (enigmatic, cool, tough, poetic, mercurial) that will fascinate the world and form the archetype of bad boyfriends everywhere.

 

MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS

Paul Schrader, USA, 1985, DCP, 121 min. In English and Japanese with English subtitles.
6/11, 6/15
Paul Schrader’s homage to the great, doomed Japanese author Yukio Mishima is told in great, mad, colorful sequences that depict stories from Mishima’s oeuvre and which contrast with the realistic sequences that show the troubled Mishima’s conflicted life and death. A startling, ambitious project that has come to be appreciated as one of the best films of its era.

 

SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS

Alexander Mackendrick, USA, 1957, 35mm, 96 min.
6/12, 6/14
With special guest Paramount Theatre film programmer Stephen Janisse at the Friday screening. With the Paramount Theatre closed for renovations this summer, Janisse joins us to discuss the long-running Paramount Theatre Summer Series and to reminisce about some favorite memories of the iconic downtown institution. Generally, noir films feature protagonists who are cops, detectives, or innocent bystanders caught in a web of crime. SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS is probably the only PR-noir. It takes place in a fast-paced Broadway milieu where reputations are made and destroyed by powerful tastemakers. Burt Lancaster is as good as he has ever been as the newspaper columnist with an agenda. Tony Curtis gives a career-best performance as the press agent who navigates the newsprint sewer better than anyone else. In 35mm.

 

BEST OF THE FESTS

MY FATHER’S SHADOW

Akinola Davies Jr., Nigeria/UK, 2025, DCP, 93 min. In English and Yoruba with English subtitles.
5/9–5/11
The BAFTA award-winning debut feature from British-Nigerian director Akinola Davies Jr. vividly melds autobiographical reminiscences with turbulent historical context as we witness a family’s journey to Lagos with the backdrop of a historic election in 1993. The story, which was written by the director’s brother Wale, shows us the events through the not-quite-comprehending eyes of two brothers, uncertain why their father is taking them on this unexpected trip. Throughout, an understanding dawns for the boys (and the viewer) of the meaning and significance of the events. Free Member Monday — free admission for all AFS members on Monday, May 11.

 

THE HEIGHT OF THE COCONUT TREES 

Du Jie, Japan, 2024, DCP, 100 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
5/25, 5/27
A ring found inside the belly of a fish connects two couples separated by time in Chinese cinematographer Du Jie’s Japan‑set debut. Both ghostly and tender, it transforms sorrow into narrative and offers a deep reflection on the lasting imprint of those we’ve lost.

 

FRIGHT CLUB

PURANA MANDIR

Tulsi Ramsay and Shyam Ramsay, India, 1984, DCP, 175 min. In Hindi with English subtitles.
6/13, 6/17
Even many enthusiasts of Bollywood cinema are unfamiliar with the Ramsay Brothers who are kind of like the Hindi-language equivalent of Sam Raimi, Tobe Hooper, Wes Craven, and George Romero rolled into one. This is a wild one, and one of their biggest hits. There is a family curse. There is a half-man, half-latex monster. There is a terrifying haunted temple. And, since this is a Bollywood film, of course there’s an outstanding music score with song and dance sequences.

 

LATES

DEAD MOUNTAINEER’S HOTEL 

Grigori Kromanov, Soviet Union, 1979, DCP, 93 min. In Estonian with English subtitles.
5/22, 5/23
From the minds behind Tarkovsky’s STALKER comes a sci‑fi noir chiller about a Soviet‑era detective summoned to investigate a murder that has yet to occur, only to find himself stranded in a snow‑capped hotel filled with weird guests and an even weirder mystery, one beyond anything he could have imagined. With a Strugatsky Brothers-penned screenplay, DEAD MOUNTAINEER’S HOTEL blends uncanny happenings with a killer prog‑rock score by Sven Grünberg. New restoration. 

 

ALLEGRO NON TROPPO

Bruno Bozzetto, Italy, 1976, DCP, 75 min. In Italian with English subtitles.
6/5–6/8
You’ve heard of Disney, but what about Prisney? Ladies and gentlemen, you’re about to witness an unforgettable show: animated shorts set to classical music, a film of magic … a fantasia. Bruno Bozzetto fuses slapstick chaos, cheeky animation, and a creaky orchestra to produce a work as irreverent as it is inventive. New 2K restoration.
*Adult audiences only.

 

RUBBER’S LOVER

Shozin Fukui, Japan, 1996, DCP, 91 min. In Japanese with English subtitles.
6/12, 6/13
Like a twisted cousin to the cyberpunk classic TETSUO: THE IRON MAN, Shozin Fukui’s RUBBER’S LOVER is a chaotic, grotesque, and unrelenting eruption from the mind behind 964 PINOCCHIO. When an underground research team abducts unwitting subjects in a bid to unlock their psychic powers, using chemical and sensory overload to push the limits of the body and mind, they usher in a new world where all boundaries are meant to be broken. A visceral piece of extreme cinema on par with SINGAPORE SLING and the works of Gaspar Noé. Not for the faint of heart. Now remastered in 4K. 

 

PAPER CUTS

LA CÉRÉMONIE

Claude Chabrol, France/Germany, 1995, DCP, 111 min. In French with English subtitles.
5/23
A postmistress (Isabelle Huppert) with a taste for other people’s secrets befriends the maid (Sandrine Bonnaire) of a wealthy family whose mail she has been secretly reading. Their friendship, a charged interplay of trust and manipulation, slowly draws out the latter’s hidden, dangerous side. A slow‑burn thriller from Gallic master of suspense Claude Chabrol. 4K restoration. Join us for a special conversation with writer and film critic, A.S. Hamrah, on Saturday, May 23. This film’s book pairing, Algorithm of the Night by A.S. Hamrah, is available for purchase at Alienated Majesty Books, in-person or online.

 

WEST INDIES: THE FUGITIVE SLAVES OF LIBERTY

Med Hondo, France/Algeria/Mauritania, 1979, DCP, 116 min. In French with English subtitles.
6/20
Part historical epic, part Brechtian follies, Mauritanian‑born French director, producer, screenwriter, and actor Med Hondo traces four centuries of French colonialism across the West Indies, Europe, and the Middle Passage, all staged on a wooden slave ship constructed in an abandoned Citroën factory. Featuring a post-film discussion and a pop-up shop on June 20. This film’s book pairing, 1970—2018 Interviews with Med Hondo, is available for purchase at Alienated Majesty Books, in-person or online.

 

QUEER CINEMA: LOST AND FOUND

ONDA NOVA  

Ícaro Martins and José Antonio Garcia, Brazil, 1983, DCP, 103 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles.
5/31
São Paulo, 1983: women’s soccer has just been legalized in Brazil. A rowdy group of young women form the Gayvotas Football Club, quickly rising to fame while confronting the prejudices of a conservative military dictatorship. Banned after its premiere, ONDA NOVA emerges as a defiantly queer and gleefully anarchic sex comedy that still packs a subversive punch (or kick?) all these years later.

 

TALLY BROWN, NEW YORK  

Rosa von Praunheim, West Germany, 1979, DCP, 101 min.
6/21
Cabaret chanteuse, underground film star, and staple of Andy Warhol’s factory, Tally Brown, takes filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim on a tour through the grit and glamour of the city that made her. Showcasing her larger‑than‑life presence and mesmerizing performances — alongside queer cult legends like Holly Woodlawn, Divine, and Taylor Mead —TALLY BROWN, NEW YORK captures a downtown scene now passed into legend.

 

SPECIAL EVENT

A WEEKEND WITH JOE BOB BRIGGS AND DARCY LIVE

5/29
Joe Bob Briggs is back in what will be many people’s first opportunity to see him since he lowered the curtain on his long-running television show The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs. Joe Bob and Darcy the Mail Girl will be at the AFS Cinema for two nights, presenting two very special double features and meeting their fans. Naturally, seating will be very limited, so stay tuned for our on-sale date to purchase tickets.

 

AFS DOC DAYS 2026 

April 30–May 3

This project is supported in part by an Elevate Grant of Austin Arts, Culture, Music, and Entertainment.

 

Thursday, April 30, 6 PM 

WHO MOVES AMERICA

Yael Bridge, USA, 2026, DCP, 87 min.
Featuring producer Yoni Golijov in person.
As 340,000 United Parcel Service workers prepare for contract negotiations that could lead to a strike, younger members of the union turn to the lessons of the 1997 general strike that halted shipping in the United States. This poignant and powerful film about work, organizing, and life viscerally illustrates the dynamism of collective action and the contemporary pressures faced by the American working class. Our Opening Night selection. 

Thursday, April 30, 9 PM

BUCKS HARBOR

Pete Muller, USA, 2026, DCP, 98 min.
Featuring director Pete Muller in person.
In this unforgettable film, director Pete Mueller combines portraiture and ethnography to capture the lives of a few unique characters: men who define themselves by their work in the remote fishing village of Machiasport, Maine. 

Friday, May 1, 5:30 PM 

SHIFTING BASELINES

Julien Élie, Canada, 2025, DCP, 100 min. In English, French, and Spanish with English subtitles.
Canadian filmmaker Julien Élie heads to Boca Chica, Texas, the headquarters of SpaceX, to meet the people who dream of humanity’s next frontier in a town transformed by space exploration. Meanwhile, exceptional scientists around the world warn about the existential impacts of the insatiable space race. This beautifully composed, exceptionally poetic, and engaging film was the winner of a Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC. 

Friday, May 1, 8:30 PM 

CLOSURE

Michał Marczak, Poland, 2026, DCP, 108 min. In Polish with English subtitles.
Featuring director Michał Marczak in person.
In what is certain to become one of the most talked about documentaries of the year, a desperate father faces an interminable quest to find out what happened to his teenage son, who seems to have vanished without a trace. A selection of the Sundance Film Festival and winner of Best Documentary at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. 

 

Saturday, May 2, 1 PM

FANTASTIQUE

Marjolijn Prins, Belgium/Netherlands/France, 2025, DCP, 71 min. In Susu and French with English subtitles.
Fanta is a 14-year-old in Guinea with an incredible talent: she trains as a contortionist with a troupe of renowned acrobats who invite her to try out for an international tour. Torn between family pressures and her dreams, Fanta must light her own path. A joyful, sensitive, and riveting West African coming-of-age story, FANTASTIQUE is a delight for audiences of all ages, including youth who read subtitles well.
*Family friendly.

 

Saturday, May 2, 3:30 PM

THE LAKE

Abby Ellis, USA, 2025, DCP, 88 min.
Featuring special guests in person.
Salt Lake City, Utah, imminently faces an unimaginable environmental catastrophe: the draining of the Great Salt Lake. THE LAKE embeds itself with scientists, government staffers, and politicians who throw themselves into the center of the crisis where religion, land rights, politics, and science collide. Winner of a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

 

Saturday, May 2, 6:30 PM 

AANIKOOBIJIGAN [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild]

Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil, USA/Denmark, 2026, DCP, 80 min. In English and Anishinaabemowin with English subtitles.
Featuring producer Jacque Clark in person.
For many years, Native American repatriation specialists have worked to return ancestral remains that were stolen by Western museums and collectors. This revelatory film tells the tale of this repatriation work, weaving in and centering Native American history, science, and thought from an imaginative and deeply personal point of view. Winner of an audience award at the Sundance Film Festival. 

 

Sunday, May 3, 3 PM 

THE VOYAGE OUT

Barlow Jacobs, USA, 2025, DCP, 99 min.
“A powerful documentary, unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.” — Director Jeff Nichols 

Featuring director Barlow Jacobs, Sean Webley (cinematographer), and film protagonists Marc Warnke, Callie Russell, and Mansal Dento in person. With only pack goats and the gear they can carry, four people head into the Montana wilderness on a guided elk hunt. There, over bonfires and under the open sky, each hunter wrestles with what has driven them into the wild. A feat of 16mm filmmaking, this film explores humanity’s place in nature so profoundly that it feels like a journey into the depths of one’s own mortal soul. 

 

Sunday, May 3, 6 PM

SOUL PATROL

J.M. Harper, USA, 2026, DCP, 100 min.
Featuring director J.M Harper in person.
The Vietnam War’s only all-Black special operations unit reunites to tell their stories for the first time. Entering the war at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, where they endured the double traumas of war and racism, these men hold a piece of that era’s history that is all their own. SOUL PATROL takes a fresh and delicate approach to bringing their memories to life, sharing a critical piece of American history. Winner of the Best Director award at the Sundance Film Festival.