Films Now Showing
In this compelling new film, award-winning director Morgan Neville shines a spotlight on the untold true story of the backup singers behind some of the greatest musical legends of the 21st century. Triumphant and heartbreaking in equal measure, the film is both a tribute to the unsung voices who brought shape and style to popular music and a reflection on the conflicts, sacrifices and rewards of a career spent harmonizing with others. These gifted artists span a range of styles, genres and eras of popular music, but each has a uniquely fascinating and personal story to share of life spent in the shadows of superstardom. Along with rare archival footage and a peerless soundtrack, the documentary boasts intimate interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger and Sting to name just a few. However, these world-famous figures take a backseat to the diverse array of backup singers whose lives and stories take center stage — finally. DIR Morgan Neville; PROD Gil Friesen, Caitrin Rogers. U.S., 2013, color, 90 min. RATED PG-13
AFI Member passes accepted.
"For the first time since the original release, this 70mm print was struck from new printing elements made from the original camera negative. This is a true photochemical film recreation. There are no digital tricks, remastered effects, or revisionist edits. This is the unrestored film — that recreates the cinematic event that audiences experienced fifty years ago." – director Christopher Nolan
With 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, director Stanley Kubrick redefined the limits of filmmaking and cemented his legacy as one of the most revolutionary and influential film directors of all time. Originally released in 70mm Cinerama roadshow format following the film's world premiere on April 2, 1968, at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C., 2001 ignited the imaginations of critics and audiences alike and its impact continues to resonate to this day. Stanley Kubrick's dazzling, Academy Award®-winning achievement is a compelling drama of man vs. machine, a stunning meld of music and motion. Kubrick (who co-wrote the screenplay with Arthur C. Clarke) first visits our prehistoric ape-ancestry past, then leaps millennia (via one of the most mind-blowing jump cuts ever) into colonized space and ultimately whisks astronaut Bowman (Keir Dullea) into uncharted space, perhaps even into immortality. "Open the pod bay doors, HAL." Let an awesome journey unlike any other begin.
DIR/SCR/PROD Stanley Kubrick; SCR Arthur C. Clarke, from his short story "The Sentinel." U.S., 1968, color, 142 min plus one 20-min intermission. NOT RATED
No passes accepted.
In Pablo Berger's (BLANCANIEVES, TORREMOLINOS 73) dark comedy, Carmen (Maribel Verdú, PAN'S LABYRINTH, Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN) and Carlos (Antonio de la Torre, MARSHLAND, THE MOTIVE) are an ordinary couple from Madrid — she's a devoted homemaker and he's a construction worker who lives and breathes for Real Madrid. When the pair attend their nephew's wedding, Carmen's cousin Pepe (José Mota, HELLBOY II) sees a chance to demonstrate his amateur hypnosis act — with Carlos as the guinea pig. As Carlos and Pepe step onstage, an unwanted spirit crashes the show. Nominated for eight Goya Awards in 2017, Berger's comic fantasy is a genre-hopping, fun-filled, absurdist cinematic ride. Official Selection, 2017 Toronto and London film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Pablo Berger; PROD Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé, Mercedes Gamero, Mikel Lejarza. Spain, 2017, color, 96 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. RATED R
No AFI Silver Member passes accepted.
[TIERRA FIRME]
After his sleeper-hit debut feature 10,000 KM, Carlos Marques-Marcet returns with a similarly bittersweet testament to love and its vagaries. Eva (Oona Chaplin, GAME OF THRONES, TABOO, the upcoming AVATAR sequels) and Kat (Natalia Tena, 10,000 KM, GAME OF THRONES, the HARRY POTTER franchise) are a couple coming to terms with the death of their cat when Kat's close friend Roger (David Verdaguer, 10,000 KM, SUMMER 1993) comes to stay. Space is tight on their London houseboat, and Eva is not happy to have the gregarious, womanizing Roger impinging on their space. But then she hits on a plan that will bind the three of them, and sets about its execution with a renewed sense of purpose. This fresh and funny rom-com boasts an impressive central performance from Chaplin, and a delightful cameo from her real-life mother Geraldine. (Note adapted from BFI London Film Festival.) Accolades: Winner, Best Non-Catalan Language Film and Best Male Lead (David Verdaguer), 2018 Gaudí Awards; Best Film, 2018 Seville European Film Festival; Official Selection, London, Rotterdam and SXSW film festivals. DIR/SCR Carlos Marques-Marcet; SCR Jules Nurrish; PROD Tono Folguera, Sergi Moreno, Sophie Venner. Spain/UK, 2017, color, 111 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Silver Member passes accepted.
Jean Simmons is simultaneously sexy and creepy as a Los Angeles heiress who will do anything to get the man she wants. In this case, it's ultimate noir hero-chump Robert Mitchum, who blithely believes he can handle his unhinged paramour's electrifying passion. Otto Preminger directs this doomed romance with an almost suffocating precision, creating what Jean-Luc Godard hailed as one of the 10 best Hollywood films ever. (Note courtesy of Film Noir Foundation.) DIR/PROD Otto Preminger; SCR Frank S. Nugent, Oscar Millard, Ben Hecht, from the story by Chester Erskine. U.S., 1953, b&w, 91 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Angélica is an aspiring fashion designer in New York City, and the only daughter of parents in a mixed-race marriage. When her father, Wilfredo, suffers a stroke, she returns to Puerto Rico. But instead of being welcomed with open arms by her white mother, Angeles, she is met with hostility. Wilfredo's death will force Angélica to reckon with her identity and to re-evaluate her relationship with her mother, her family and her current boyfriend. With this feature debut, Marisol Gómez-Mouakad tackles a subject matter rarely explored in Puerto Rican cinema. (Note courtesy of the Chicago Latino Film Festival.) Official Selection, 2017 Curaçao IFFR, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, New Latino and Chicago Latino film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Marisol Gómez-Mouakad. Puerto Rico/Mexico, 2016, color, 95 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
At age 14, Toronto school friends Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. They meant it. Their band Anvil went on to become the demigods of Canadian metal, releasing one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982's "Metal on Metal." The album influenced a musical generation, including Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, that went on to sell millions of records. But Anvil's career took a different path — straight to obscurity. Director Sacha Gervasi has concocted a wonderful and often hilarious account of Anvil's last-ditch quest for elusive fame and fortune. (Note courtesy of Abramorama.) DIR/SCR Sacha Gervasi; PROD Rebecca Yeldham. Canada, 2008, color, 80 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
[L'ARMEE DES OMBRES]
Jean-Pierre Melville's adaptation of Joseph Kessel's quasi-autobiographical French Resistance novel was derided by left-leaning critics as being hopelessly reactionary when first released in the politically tumultuous France of 1969. Decades later, critical reappraisal and a long-overdue U.S. release in 2006 by Rialto Pictures have established it as one of the director's greatest films. Lino Ventura manages the Marseille resistance network, in constant danger of detection by the Gestapo and Vichy police forces, and the code of strict discipline demanding no mercy when it comes to informers, no matter the circumstance. His work puts him and new recruit Jean-Pierre Cassel in contact with members of the Paris cell, including Simone Signoret and Paul Meurisse, and even a secret mission across the channel to de Gaulle and the Free French in London. When one of their inner circle is arrested, the members undertake a series of increasingly dangerous missions to free him. DIR/SCR Jean-Pierre Melville, from the novel by Joseph Kessel; PROD Jacques Dorfmann. France/Italy, 1969, color, 145 min. In English, French and German with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Director Khalik Allah freely alternates between photography and cinema, traveling the streets, creating portraits that tremble with life. In BLACK MOTHER, Allah explores his mother's home country, Jamaica, and invokes its beautiful, resilient and rebellious spirit. Constructed out of a series of fleeting yet indelible interactions with the country's residents, the film is a dazzling audiovisual symphony that speaks to the island's current state: its relationship with pain, outsiders, child-rearing, colorism, sex work, nature and God. As he builds relationships with strangers, Allah reconnects with his grandfather William Case, whose wisdom and blessings are woven into the film's intricate soundscape. BLACK MOTHER is rooted in deep-seated, ground-level observation, and yet also reaches for the sky, offering prayers that rattle the soul with their compassion and conviction. (Note courtesy of Cinereach.) Official Selection, 2018 True/False, New Directors/New Films and Sarasota film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Khalik Allah; PROD Leah Giblin. U.S./Jamaica, 2018, color, 77 min. In English. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
BLOOD AND STEEL: CEDAR CREST COUNTRY CLUB is an engaging and heartfelt skateboarding documentary from director Michael Maniglia documenting the convergence of the punk rock scene and underground skateboarding at the Cedar Crest Country Club — a remote country club in Centreville, VA, where a legendary skate ramp became a mecca in the 1980s. The film marries a wealth of rare and gripping archival footage with interviews with skating legends and punk rockers alike from Tony Hawk and Bucky Lasek to Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) and Michael Derks aka Balsac the Jaws of Death (Gwar). DIR/SCR/PROD Michael Maniglia; PROD Frank Scheuring. U.S., 2017, color, 78 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
[BOB THE GAMBLER]
Ex-con bank robber Bob (dapper Roger Duchesne) has been straight for 20 years, making a living as a professional gambler in his beloved Montmartre neighborhood. But a stretch of bad luck now has him looking to make a big score after all these years. Tipped off by a croupier friend about the vault timetables at the Deauville casino, Bob organizes a crew of professionals to meticulously plan a heist. But a funny thing happens at the casino on the night of the heist: Bob places a bet, and wins. And wins. And wins. The film features stylish visuals from ace cinematographer and Nouvelle Vague stalwart Henri Decaë. DIR/SCR/PROD Jean-Pierre Melville; SCR Auguste Le Breton; PROD Serge Silberman, Roger Vidal. France, 1956, b&w, 98 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Thanks to their sweary rants about modern England, Nottingham duo Sleaford Mods have been called "the voice of Britain" by their fans, "Britain's angriest band" by the Guardian and "the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band" by Iggy Pop. Jason Williamson, a former chicken factory worker, benefits adviser and father of two; his bandmate, beat-maker Andrew Fearn; and their manager Steve Underwood, avant-garde bedroom label owner and former bus driver, have won over fans with their brutally honest lyrics and DIY ethos. Christine Franz's official documentary feature follows them on their two-year journey from Sherwood to chart success. BUNCH OF KUNST tells the story of three guys taking on the music business on their own terms. (Note courtesy of Magnetfilm.) DIR/SCR/PROD Christine Franz. Germany, 2017, color, 103 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
One of Mexico's most highly regarded works of political cinema, CANOA: A SHAMEFUL MEMORY reimagines a real-life incident that had occurred just eight years before its release, when a group of urban university employees on a hiking trip were viciously attacked by residents of the village of San Miguel Canoa, who had been manipulated by a corrupt priest into believing the travelers were communist revolutionaries. Director Felipe Cazals adopted a gritty documentary style to narrate the events in Canoa while referencing the climate of political repression that would lead to the massacre of student protesters in Mexico City shortly thereafter. The resulting film is a daring commentary on ideological manipulation, religious fanaticism and mass violence, as well as a visceral expression of horror. (Note courtesy of Janus Films.) DIR Felipe Cazals; SCR Tomás Pérez Turrent; PROD Roberto Lozoya. Mexico, 1976, color, 115 min. In Spanish and Nahuatl with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake of CAPE FEAR may have improved on some aspects of J. Lee Thompson's 1962 original, but, with all due respect to Robert De Niro, Robert Mitchum's performance as the ex-con Max Cady uses his natural cool and subtle insolence to create a unique screen villain, one possessing a laidback menace. His unhurried, I-don't-give-a-damn attitude makes him the perfect foil to upright — and uptight — Gregory Peck, the DA who sent him to jail. When Cady finally makes his move for revenge it's violent in the extreme, but until then he makes rooting for the bad guy fun. DIR J. Lee Thompson; SCR James R. Webb, from "The Executioners" by John D. MacDonald; PROD Sy Bartlett. U.S., 1962, b&w, 106 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
When his income as a fisherman proves woefully insufficient to cover his son's school fees, Kevin (Warren Brown, BYZANTIUM) turns to human smuggling to raise the desperately needed funds. Kevin finds that he's good at this dangerous yet profitable vocation — good enough to trust himself with smuggling his own girlfriend and her son to the U.S. But when faced with having to abandon refugees at sea, far from Miami's shore, Kevin is suddenly forced to reassess his responsibilities. Inspired by true events, CARGO examines the world's refugee crisis from a very local perspective. The largest Bahamian film project to date, this latest feature from native filmmaker Kareem J. Mortimer (CHILDREN OF GOD) is a thrilling, vital call for empathy in troubled times. (Note courtesy of Miami International Film Festival.) Winner, Amnesty International Human Rights Prize, 2017 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival; Official Selection, 2017 Miami, Urban World and Trinidad and Tobago film festivals. DIR/SCR Kareem J. Mortimer; PROD Kristie Lutz, Nicole Sylvester, Trevite Willis, Alexander Younis. Bahamas, 2017, color, 112 min. In English. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Barbadian director Shakirah Bourne (PAYDAY) and British producer Melissa Simmonds (BIGGA THAN BEN, JACKED) re-imagine William Shakespeare's beloved comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in this enchanting contemporary Caribbean rom-com. Set in modern day Barbados, the film mixes Shakespearean language with Barbadian dialect amid lush tropical imagery for a Caribbean take on a comic classic. Theseus (Aden Gillett, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE) and Hippolyta (newcomer Sonia Williams) are returning nationals, arriving back in Barbados to be married during Crop Over. Using the island's folklore, cultural history and landscape, and portraying mixed-race relationships using a Barbadian and British cast, the film's Caribbean setting is the perfect backdrop for this tale of mysticism and chaos on the night before the Midsummer celebrations. (Note adapted from East End Film Festival.) Winner, Best Drama, 2018 National Film Awards UK; Best UK Feature, 2017 London Independent Film Festival; Best Screenplay, LA Independent Film Festival; Official Selection, 2017 Barbados Independent, London Independent, LA Independent and East End film festivals.DIR/SCR Shakirah Bourne, from the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare; PROD Lynette Eastmond, Melissa Simmonds. UK/Barbados, 2017, color, 82 min. In English. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[CAMPEONES]
Spain's biggest box office hit of 2018 stars Javier Gutiérrez (MARSHLAND, THE MOTIVE) as Marco, a hotshot assistant coach in Spain's top basketball league with a serious attitude problem. When a drunken car accident causes him to lose his job and his girlfriend in quick succession, Mario ends up in court. The sentence? Community service and the worst possible punishment he can imagine — coaching "Los Amigos," a team of intellectually disabled players, none of whom have ever touched a basketball. With patience, dedication and plenty of good humor, "Los Amigos" teach Marco what it really means to be a team player. Javier Fesser (CAMINO) delivers a "comedic slam dunk" (The Hollywood Reporter) with this feel-good take on the sporting underdog tale. Official Selection, 2018 Seattle International Film Festival. DIR/SCR Javier Fesser; SCR David Marqués; PROD Gabriel Arias-Salgado, Álvaro Longoria, Luis Manso. Spain, 2018, color, 124 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Silver Member passes accepted.
Chef Albert Adrià wants his restaurants to surprise, stir emotions and, of course, entertain — like any great film. He views each of his dramatically different eateries — an experimental cocktail bar, a taqueria, a vermouth bar, a tapas bar, a Japanese-Peruvian restaurant — as if he is a film auteur experimenting across genres. In 2014, despite being awarded an impressive number of Michelin stars, the extremely modest chef felt that he still had not created his CITIZEN KANE. That is because for more than two decades, he labored as the pastry chef under the leadership of his older brother, head chef Ferran, at elBulli, considered one of the greatest restaurants in history. Now with his newest creative endeavor, Enigma, on the horizon, chef Adrià hopes to finally step out of his brother's shadow and reimagine the entire dining experience from the ground up. Featuring mouthwatering dishes and heightened kitchen drama, CONSTRUCTING ALBERT is an intimate journey through the world of a true culinary visionary. (Note courtesy of Palm Springs International Film Festival.) Official Selection, 2017 San Sebastián Film Festival, 2018 Palm Springs, SXSW, Guadalajara, Buenos Aires and Hot Docs film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Laura Collado; DIR Jim Loomis. Spain/Estonia, 2017, color, 82 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
After 10 years living as an expat in the United States, Asori Soto decides to return to his homeland of Cuba in search of the missing flavors of his childhood. Thus begins a journey to discover culinary traditions long thought lost due to the hardship that Cuba survived after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Through nine stories, Soto traverses the present culinary landscape of Cuba and provides a glimpse into what the future may hold, visiting every province in the country to sample a rich culinary legacy that demands to be preserved. Paragons of Cuba's characteristic adaptability and creativity, the film's subjects — which include an artist-turned-restauranteur and nuclear physicist-turned-fisherman — create mouth-watering meals with ingredients like coconut milk, cacao, lobster and river shrimp. Until now devoid of franchises and the fraught agricultural practices that often come with a place at the global economic table, Cuba is undergoing a period of sweeping change, making the preservation of its culinary heritage a priority — and making CUBAN FOOD STORIES a must-see. (Note adapted from Miami International Film Festival.) Official Selection: 2018 Berlin, Miami, Seattle and Newport Beach film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Asori Soto. U.S./Cuba, 2018, color, 82 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
At the height of his powers with CHAPPELLE'S SHOW, Dave Chappelle joined forces with Erykah Badu, The Roots, Jill Scott, Yasiin Bey, Kanye West, Lauryn Hill and more for a celebration in the streets of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Interspersed with comedy sketches and musical performances, Chappelle personally invited the neighbors to get down to the sounds of soul and hip-hop and raise a joyous ruckus. Collaborating with director Michel Gondry, Chappelle took cues from the landmark '70s concert film WATTSTAX to create a hybrid concert/comedy doc with a heavy dose of jokes and quirk. DIR Michel Gondry; SCR/PROD Dave Chappelle; PROD Mustafa Abuelhija, Julie Fong, Bob Yari. U.S., 2005, color, 103 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
"All right, all right, all right." It's 1976, and the last day of school at Robert E. Lee High School. Upperclassmen alternately terrorize and fraternize with the freshmen through a day of hazing and partying, a gonzo rite of passage on the way to summer vacation and — perhaps — a taste of freedom. Richard Linklater's stoner epic features an amazing ensemble cast of young actors, including Matthew McConaughey in his screen debut, Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, Milla Jovovich, Adam Goldberg and an unbilled Renée Zellweger. DIR/SCR/PROD Richard Linklater; PROD Sean Daniel, James Jacks. U.S., 1993, color, 102 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
The one-liners fly as fast as political fortunes fall in this uproarious, wickedly irreverent satire from Armando Iannucci (VEEP, IN THE LOOP). Moscow, 1953: When tyrannical dictator Joseph Stalin drops dead, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to be the next Soviet leader. Among the contenders are the dweeby Georgy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor), the wily Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi) and the sadistic secret police chief Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale). But as they bumble, brawl and backstab their way to the top, just who is running the government? Combining palace intrigue with rapid-fire farce, this audacious comedy is a bitingly funny takedown of bureaucratic dysfunction performed to the hilt by a sparkling ensemble cast. Also starring Paddy Considine, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, Olga Kurylenko, Michael Palin and Andrea Riseborough.
DIR/SCR Armando Iannucci; SCR David Schneider, Ian Martin; PROD Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Kevin Loader. UK/Canada/France/Belgium, 2018, color, 107 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
Double Feature: DOS MONJES [TWO MONKS] with SALÓN MÉXICO (1949)
DOS MONJES [TWO MONKS]
The beginning of sound cinema in Mexico in the early 1930s saw the birth of a strange new genre that might reasonably be called "Mexican Gothic." DOS MONJES remains one of the most significant and representative early works of this genre. The film tells the story of two monks who are embroiled in a complex psychological struggle for the love of the same woman, and of their eventual unravelling. The influence of German Expressionism is evident in the film's moody, nuanced use of black and white and the photography of celebrated Mexican photographer Agustín Jiménez, which together create a strange, distorted atmosphere. French surrealist and writer André Breton was reportedly taken with the film, which he saw during a visit to Mexico, dubbing it a "bold and unusual experiment." (Note courtesy of Il Cinema Ritrovato.) DIR/SCR Juan Bustillo Oro; SCR/PROD José Manuel Cordero; PROD José San Vicente, Manuel San Vicente. Mexico, 1934, b&w, 85 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
Followed by:
SALÓN MÉXICO (1949)
Películas de cabareteras (dance hall films) is a specifically Mexican film genre, involving working-class women forced to earn a living as prostitutes, and their relations to the men who abuse them. This was director Emilio Fernández's first entry in the genre that began with SANTA (1932) and LA MUJER DEL PUERTO (1935), but it would not be his last. Mercedes works at a large dance hall, Salón México (made famous by Aaron Copland's suite), where she wins a dance contest with her partner, Paco, who keeps all the money. Desperate because she is secretly putting her kid sister through a private boarding school, she steals the money, leading to tragic results. The melodramatic plot had been around the block, but this is Mexican film noir, and style is everything. Gabriel Figueroa's haunting images and chiaroscuro lighting culminate in an homage to Fritz Lang's DESTINY (1921) with Mercedes' stairway to heaven. As in all noirs, she cannot escape her fate. (Note courtesy of UCLA Film and Television Archive.) DIR/SCR Emilio Fernández; SCR Mauricio Magdaleno; PROD Salvador Elizondo. Mexico, 1949, b&w, 95 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Join us on Mumm-orial Day weekend for a double feature of pharaonic proportions!
THE MUMMY (1932)
The mother — ahem "mummy" — of all mummy movies is Karl Freund's 1932 horror classic, starring monster maestro Boris Karloff in the titular role. When Egyptian mummy Im-Ho-Tep (Karloff) is accidentally revived after 3,700 years, it is revealed in a flashback that he was a high priest, embalmed alive for trying to revive his true love after she had been sacrificed. Alive again, he sets out on an obsessive and deadly quest to find his lost love. THE MUMMY remains a masterpiece not only of the genre, but of all time. (Note adapted from Universal Pictures.) DIR Karl Freund; SCR John L. Balderston, from the story by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer; PROD Carl Laemmle, Jr. U.S., 1932, b&w, 73 min. NOT RATED
Followed by:
BUBBA HO-TEP
PHANTASM director Don Coscarelli turned to his talents to the mummy genre in this larger-than-life horror caper about Elvis Presley, JFK and an ancient Egyptian mummy with murderous intentions. Let us explain. Living out his days in an east Texas nursing home, Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) has switched identities with an Elvis impersonator before his "death" and missed his chance to switch back. When he discovers that a mummy called Bubba Ho-Tep (Bob Ivy) has been feasting on the souls of fellow nursing home residents, Elvis teams up with Jack (Ossie Davis), a fellow patient who claims to be John F. Kennedy, to fend off the malevolent force. DIR/SCR/PROD Don Coscarelli, from the story by Joe R. Lansdale; PROD Jason R. Savage. U.S., 2002, color, 92 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
Ernest R. Dickerson's (THE DEUCE, TREME, THE WIRE) adaptation of the prize-winning novel by Curaçaoan writer Frank Martinus Arion looks at a high-stakes game of dominoes, where the players confront their lust, desperation, rage and remorse — with deadly consequences. Set in Curaçao, DOUBLE PLAY follows Dr. Ostrik Fiel's return to his childhood home, and the haunting memory of fateful events that transpired when he was a young boy. Forty years earlier, over a long-standing game of dominoes, the destinies of four men and two women are revealed through a tale of love, loss and deadly betrayal. Starring Colin Salmon, Alexander Karim, Isaach De Bankole, Melanie Liburd, Lennie James and Louis Gossett, Jr. (Note adapted from Urban World Film Festival.) Official Selection, 2017 Curaçao IFFR and Urban World Film Festival. DIR Ernest R. Dickerson; SCR Evan Jones, Alaric Smeets, from the novel by Frank Martinus Arion; PROD Lisa Cortes, Gregory Elias. Curaçao/U.S., 2017, color, 130 min. In English and Papiamento with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Newly arrived in El Dorado, gunfighter John Wayne discovers his old friend Robert Mitchum is now the sheriff in town. Wayne has come to work for a cattle baron (Edward Asner), but sours on the job after he's asked to run a family off their land. Gravely wounded after a scrape with the clan, Wayne heads back to El Dorado to aid Mitchum, who, brokenhearted since being jilted by his showgirl lady friend, has become "a tin star with a drunk pinned on it." Great comedic chemistry between Wayne and Mitchum enlivens Howard Hawks' late-career capper, which borrows heavily from his still-recent RIO BRAVO (screenwriter Leigh Brackett jokingly called it "THE SON OF RIO BRAVO RIDES AGAIN"). With James Caan, Arthur Hunnicutt and Charlene Holt. DIR/PROD Howard Hawks; SCR Leigh Brackett, from the novel "The Stars in Their Courses" by Harry Brown. U.S., 1967, color, 126 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
[EL ABRAZO DE LA SERPIENTE]
At once blistering and poetic, the ravages of colonialism cast a dark shadow over the South American landscape in EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT, the Academy Award®-nominated third feature by Ciro Guerra. Filmed in stunning black-and-white, SERPENT centers on Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and the last survivor of his people, and the two scientists who, over the course of 40 years, build a friendship with him. The film was inspired by the real-life journals of two explorers, Theodor Koch-Grünberg and Richard Evans Schultes, who traveled through the Colombian Amazon during the last century in search of the sacred and difficult-to-find psychedelic yakruna plant. (Note courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories.) DIR/SCR Ciro Guerra; SCR Jacques Toulemonde Vidal, from the diary by Theodor Koch-Grunberg and Richard Evan Schultes; PROD Cristina Gallego. Colombia/Venezuela/Argentina, 2015, b&w, 125 min. In English, Cubeo, Huitoto, Wanano, Tikuna, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Catalan and Latin with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
[IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND]
Screening solo on June 2 and as a Double Feature with LA OTRA on June 5
Considered by many critics to be one of the best movies of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, this captivating film noir features Arturo de Córdova as an unscrupulous fake clairvoyant who swindles wealthy women using the information that his wife, a hairdresser in a beauty parlor, provides him. But his life takes an unexpected turn when he tries to blackmail beautiful widow Leticia Palma and falls in love. This would be one of Palma's last roles before her short career was sabotaged, according to the actress, by movie producer Oscar Brooks when she refused to become his mistress. Palma's performance was highly praised, as was Alex Phillips' crisp black-and-white cinematography. Not surprisingly, the movie was nominated for 11 Ariel Awards and won eight: Best Picture, Direction, Actor, Cinematography, Original Story, Editing, Production Design and Sound. (Note courtesy of UCLA Film and Television Archive.) DIR/SCR Roberto Gavaldón; SCR Luis Spota, José Revueltas; PROD Óscar J. Brooks, Felipe Mier. Mexico, 1951, b&w, 90 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
In the first half of the 1970s, Robert Mitchum reached a new peak, the end of which came with this nostalgic, neon-lit adaptation of Raymond Chandler's second Philip Marlowe novel. The film has its charms — not the least of which is a cameo appearance by crime writer Jim Thompson as Charlotte Rampling's husband — but Mitchum is the one who gives the film its secret force, as if he were confronting the end of both his leading-man identity and the world that formed him as a star with bravery and grace. (Note courtesy of Film Society of Lincoln Center.) DIR Dick Richards; SCR David Zelag Goodman, from the novel by Raymond Chandler; PROD Jerry Bruckheimer, George Pappas. U.S., 1975, color, 95 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
This unique documentary takes a deep dive into the life of Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, a professional musician who abandoned his trumpet and his family to live the clandestine life of an armed revolutionary in the fight for Puerto Rican independence. Along the way, Ojeda Ríos became a mythical figure, driven underground. FILIBERTO draws upon personal interviews, as well as electronic wire-taps and photographic surveillance to explore how the FBI's hunt for Ojeda Ríos ended in his controversial, bloody death. (Note courtesy of Habanero Films.) Official Selection, 2017 Havana Film Festival New York. DIR/SCR/PROD Freddie Marrero; SCR Ray Figueroa, Tito Román Rivera. Puerto Rico/Venezuela, 2017, color/b&w, 75 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Reverend Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke) is a solitary, middle-aged parish pastor at a small Dutch Reformed church in upstate New York on the cusp of celebrating its 250th anniversary. Once a stop on the Underground Railroad, the church is now a tourist attraction catering to a dwindling congregation, eclipsed by its nearby parent church, Abundant Life, with its state-of-the-art facilities and 5,000-strong flock. When a pregnant parishioner (Amanda Seyfried) asks Reverend Toller to counsel her husband, a radical environmentalist, the clergyman finds himself plunged into his own tormented past, and equally despairing future, until he finds redemption in an act of grandiose violence. From writer-director Paul Schrader (TAXI DRIVER; AMERICAN GIGOLO; AFFLICTION) comes a gripping thriller about a crisis of faith that is at once personal, political and planetary.
DIR/SCR Paul Schrader; PROD Jack Binder, Greg Clark, Gary Hamilton, Victoria Hill, David Hinojosa, Frank Murray, Deepak Sikka, Christine Vachon. U.S., 2017, color, 113 min. RATED R
No passes accepted.
Southern Indiana, 1862: Gary Cooper is the patriarch of the Birdwells, a Quaker farming family working hard to maintain their faith amid worldly temptations, and adhere to pacifism despite the encroaching Civil War. Cooper's strong-willed, fiercely religious wife Dorothy McGuire wants what's best for her children, which does not include daughter Phyllis Love marrying a Union officer, nor son Anthony Perkins enlisting in the Army, nor her youngest boy Richard Eyer feuding with the family's pet goose. But the Birdwells' beliefs are put to the test after the Confederate Army invades their land. Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival, William Wyler's FRIENDLY PERSUASION earned six Oscar® nominations — including a Best Screenplay nomination for its unnamed screenwriter, the blacklisted Michael Wilson. The stirring score is by Dimitri Tiomkin. DIR/PROD William Wyler; SCR Michael Wilson, from the novel "The Friendly Persuasion" by Jessamyn West; PROD Robert Wyler. U.S., 1956, color, 137 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Archival 35mm print courtesy of UCLA Film & Television Archive
World-weary Robert Mitchum, a career criminal with a wife and two kids, struggling to make ends meet in the suburbs, contemplates ratting to the cops after getting pinched for driving a truck full of stolen whiskey. Director Peter Yates (BREAKING AWAY, BULLITT) displays great command for the details, whether it's the taut procedural of a bank heist or fly-on-the-wall observations of criminals in their milieu, with the local color of 1970s Boston providing a particularly piquant backdrop. And Mitchum — struggling with his dilemma, defeated but sardonic to the end — gives perhaps the most affecting performance of his brilliant career. DIR Peter Yates; SCR/PROD Paul Monash, from the novel by George V. Higgins. U.S., 1973, color, 102 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
With his romantic and slyly funny GODARD MON AMOUR, Michel Hazanavicius (Academy Award®-winning director of THE ARTIST) once again affectionately transports moviegoers back to a unique time and place in cinematic history: France, in the late 1960s. Actress Anne Wiazemsky (Stacy Martin) finds herself juggling political protests and artistic challenges in her married life with renowned filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard (Louis Garrel). As her country undergoes enormous cultural change, so, too, does Anne's dynamic with her husband. GODARD MON AMOUR is a story of both real love and reel love.
DIR/SCR/PROD Michel Hazanavicius, from the book "Un an après" by Anne Wiazemsky; PROD Florence Gastaud, Riad Sattouf. France/Myanmar/Italy, 2017, color, 107 min. In French, English and Italian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No passes accepted.
This electrifying journey through the public and private worlds of pop culture mega-icon Grace Jones contrasts musical sequences with intimate personal footage, all the while brimming with Jones' bold aesthetic. A larger-than-life entertainer, an androgynous glam-pop diva, an unpredictable media presence — Grace Jones is all these things and more. Sophie Fiennes' documentary goes beyond the traditional music biography, offering a portrait as stylish and unconventional as its subject. Taking us home with her to Jamaica, into the studio with longtime collaborators Sly and Robbie and backstage at gigs around the world, the film reveals Jones as lover, daughter, mother and businesswoman. But the stage is the fixed point to which the film returns, with eye-popping performances of "Slave to the Rhythm," "Pull Up to the Bumper," "Love is the Drug" and more. Jones herself has said that watching the film "will be like seeing me almost naked," and indeed, Fiennes' treatment is every bit as definition-defying as its subject, untamed by either age or life itself. (Note courtesy of Kino Lorber.) Official Selection, 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. DIR/SCR/PROD Sophie Fiennes; PROD Shani Hinton, Katie Holly, Beverly Jones. Jamaica/UK/Ireland, 2017, color, 115 min. In English and French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
This acclaimed adaptation of Michael Anthony's 1967 novel, set in 1952 in a remote coastal village in Trinidad, explores the lasting impact of young love and loss. Shell is a young man blindly pursuing the affection of two girls. Despite his feeble father's advice, he follows a kindhearted Indian planter to work on his plantation along the river, in hopes of wooing the man's daughter, Rosalie. When he falls for Joan, a sweet, sensible girl from the city, a love triangle ensues. Shell learns bittersweet lessons of life and love that will define his manhood and alter his future forever. Official Selection, 2017 Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados film festivals, 2018 Film Fest DC. DIR Michael Mooleedhar; SCR Dawn Cumberbatch, from the novel by Michael Anthony; PROD Christian C.P. James. Trinidad and Tobago, 2017, color, 102 min. In English. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Salty Marine Robert Mitchum and nun Deborah Kerr are marooned on a small Pacific island during WWII, battling the elements and each other until they have to put their heads together to outwit an expedition of Japanese soldiers. The pairing of Kerr with Mitchum — the Scottish beauty's favorite leading man — produced terrific screen chemistry, and an Oscar® nomination for Kerr. DIR/SCR John Huston; SCR John Lee Mahin, from the novel by Charles Shaw; PROD Buddy Alder, Eugene Frenke. U.S., 1957, color, 108 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
HOMELANDS is the culmination of a year-long project in which four acclaimed British urban musicians returned to their cultural roots, connecting with their homelands to create and produce new music. Mercury Music Prize nominee Terri Walker travelled to Jamaica and double MOBO Award winner Shakka visited Dominica, while grime artists Diztortion and Saskilla headed to Suriname and Senegal, respectively. This groundbreaking documentary produced by Punch Records follows each artist as they travel alone, only accompanied by a small film crew, to explore the roots of their sound and their cultural identity. The result is a fascinating story of cultural genealogy studded with rocking and rousing musical interludes. (Note courtesy of BFI.) Official Selection, 2017 Third Horizon Caribbean Film Festival. DIR/SCR/PROD Jaha Browne, Tara Manandhar. Dominica/Jamaica/Netherlands/Senegal/Suriname/UK, 2017, color, 73 min. In English. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[MI QUERIDA COFRADÍA]
Marta Díaz de Lope Díaz's debut feature is a hilarious screwball comedy that presents a fresh perspective on female empowerment. Carmen (Gloria Muñoz, THE FLOWER OF MY SECRET), a devout Catholic woman, is about to be chosen leader of her local religious guild. But it all goes up in smoke when her biggest rival is chosen instead: Ignacio (Juan Gea), a ridiculous, arrogant man who is also hell-bent on demoting her from her post. After an unfortunate "accident," Ignacio is left unconscious in the bathroom and Carmen is forced to keep him hidden in her home while she receives a series of unexpected visitors. What at first seems like a terrible predicament could turn into Carmen's chance to fulfill her dream. (Note courtesy of Film Factory.) Winner, Best Supporting Actress (Carmen Flores) and Audience Award, 2018 Málaga Film Festival. DIR/SCR Marta Díaz de Lope Díaz; SCR Zebina Guerra; PROD Sergi Casamitjana, Gervasio Iglesias, Aintza Serra. Spain, 2018, color, 90 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Silver Member passes accepted.
A portrait of a renegade artist breaking down barriers to find love and redemption, HOWL follows the young Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) on an imaginative ride through the creation of the prophetic masterpiece that rocked a generation, the poem "Howl." Meanwhile, in a San Francisco courtroom, "Howl" is on trial. Prosecutor Ralph McIntosh (David Strathairn) sets out to prove that the book should be banned, while suave defense attorney Jake Ehrlich (Jon Hamm) argues fervently for freedom of speech and creative expression. The proceedings veer from the comically absurd to the passionate as a host of unusual witnesses (Jeff Daniels, Mary-Louise Parker, Treat Williams and Alessandro Nivola) pit generation against generation and art against fear in front of conservative Judge Clayton Horn (Bob Balaban). (Note adapted from Oscilloscope Laboratories.) DIR/SCR/PROD Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman; PROD Elizabeth Redleaf, Christine K. Walker. U.S., 2010, color, 85 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
Tamer El Said's ambitious debut feature tells the fictional story of a filmmaker from downtown Cairo played by Khalid Abdalla (GREEN ZONE, THE KITE RUNNER, THE SQUARE, UNITED 93) as he struggles to capture the soul of a city on edge while facing loss in his own life. Shot in Cairo, Beirut, Baghdad and Berlin during the two years before the outbreak of revolution in Egypt, the film's multi-layered stories are a visually rich exploration of friendship, loneliness and life in cities shaped by the shadows of war and adversity.
DIR/SCR/PROD Tamer El Said; SCR Rasha Salti; PROD Khalid Abdalla. Egypt/Germany/UK/United Arab Emirates, 2016, color, 118 min. In Arabic with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No passes accepted.
Twelve-year-old Jeffrey has the responsibilities of an adult, working as a windshield washer on the busy streets of Santo Domingo to help his mom make ends meet at home. But he has big plans to become a reggaeton singer. In collaboration with his older brother Jeyson, he composes and records songs about his neighborhood, his way of life and his dreams for the future. In her debut documentary feature, director Yanillys Perez highlights the resilience and dynamism of her subject. We watch as Jeffrey looks for customers, tries to avoid turf wars with other windshield washers, spends time at home with his family and climbs his special tree — a tree to which he often speaks of his hopes for a better life. JEFFREY captures a real-life story of a boy trying his best to turn his dreams into reality. (Note adapted from Toronto International Film Festival.) Winner, Discovery Award, 2016 Toronto International Film Festival; Official Selection, 2017 Toronto, Göteborg, Miami and Cleveland film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Yanillys Perez; PROD Thibaud Billiard. Dominican Republic/France, 2016, color, 78 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
The dark comedy/thriller follows the misadventures of Doc and Zoe, two hitmen in Port-au-Prince who have been hired to deliver an unknown package. All they know is that their job comes with three essential rules: never stop the car, never roll down the windows, never open the trunk. While on their mission, they stumble upon a dog at a crossroads. What happens next and what they decide to do will change their path irreversibly. (Note adapted from Muska Film.) Winner, Innovation Award, 2017 CaribbeanTales International Film Festival and Indie Spirit Special Recognition Award, 2018 Boston International Film Festival; Official Selection, 2017 Caribbean Tales, Trinidad and Tobago, African Diaspora, Third Horizon Caribbean film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Bruno Mourral; SCR Jasmuel Andri; SCR/PROD Gilbert Mirambeau, Jr. Haiti/U.S., 2017, color, 50 min. In Haitian Creole with English subtitles. NOT RATED
Preceded by short film
PAPA MACHETE
Haitian farmer Alfred Avril is one of the last remaining masters of tire machèt, the martial art created by enslaved Haitians to fight Napoleon's armies. Teaching about the practical and spiritual value of the machete — both a weapon and a farmer's key to survival — Avril provides a link between his country's past and its present. (Note courtesy of Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.) DIR Jonathan David Kane; SCR Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, Keisha Rae Witherspoon; PROD Joey Daoud, Richard Patterson. Haiti/U.S., 2014, color, 11 min. In English, Haitian Creole and French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Just before her 18th birthday, amid the political conflict between Colombia and Nicaragua, Keyla's father Breggie is lost at sea. What has happened to him? Where is his body? Colombian filmmaker Viviana Gómez Echeverry studies the tension between dream and reality on an ostensibly paradisiacal Caribbean island in this promising debut. As Keyla is looking for her father, she receives an unexpected visit from his ex-wife and her son Francisco, Keyla's half-brother. When Keyla and Francisco discover a pirate's treasure map belonging to their father, the pair embark on a search for their lost father and the hidden riches he'd been chasing. KEYLA is the first-ever fiction feature shot in Providence Island, in the Colombian Caribbean. (Note adapted from Curaçao IFFR.) Official Selection, 2017 Curaçao IFFR, Warsaw and CaribbeanTales film festivals. DIR/SCR Viviana Gómez Echeverry; PROD Raquel Imedio García. Colombia, 2017, color, 87 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[THE OTHER ONE]
Screening solo on June 3 and as a Double Feature with EN LA PALMA DE TU MANO on June 5
In this noirish crime drama, Dolores del Río plays identical twins: María, a poor manicurist who leads a life of hardship, and Magdalena, who married the wealthy man María once loved. When the estranged sisters meet again at the funeral of Magdalena's husband, María begins to wonder how her life would be if she were in her sister's place. Del Río had enjoyed a successful film career in Hollywood during the '20s and '30s, before returning to her native Mexico in the '40s and becoming one of the country's most beloved stars. LA OTRA is the first feature she made under her own production company, Mercurio, and the first collaboration between Roberto Gavaldón and writer and political activist José Revueltas, who worked on 11 more movies together. Almost two decades later, in 1964, Paul Henreid directed the American remake DEAD RINGER, starring Bette Davis. (Note courtesy of UCLA Film and Television Archive.) DIR/SCR Roberto Gavaldón; SCR José Revueltas; PROD Mauricio de la Serna. Mexico, 1946, b&w, 98 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
[LAS LEYES DE LA TERMODINÁMICA]
Mateo Gil (REALIVE) takes romantic chemistry to a whole new level with this audaciously imaginative spin on the rom-com formula, pitting a love-struck science savant against the mind-boggling cosmi-comic dictates of love and physics. Set in Barcelona, THE LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS tracks the tumultuous romance between Manel (Vito Sanz, MARIA [AND EVERYBODY ELSE]) and model-turned-actress Elena (Berta Vázquez, PALM TREES IN THE SNOW), and their friends Pablo (Chino Darín, THE QUEEN OF SPAIN) and Eva (Vicky Luengo, BORN). Gliding seamlessly back and forth through space and time, the film takes us on a whirlwind tour of seduction and ecstasy, heartbreak and regeneration, balancing scenes of romantic bedazzlement with witty commentaries from science experts on the gravitational pull exerted by the object of one's desire. (Note adapted from Miami Film Festival.) Winner, Grand Jury Prize and Best Director, 2018 Miami Film Festival; Official Selection, 2018 Málaga Film Festival. DIR/SCR Mateo Gil; PROD Francisco Ramos. Spain, 2018, color, 100 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Silver Member passes accepted.
[THE RED CIRCLE]
"Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, drew a circle with a piece of red chalk and said: 'When men, even unknowingly, are to meet one day, whatever may befall each, whatever the diverging paths, on the said day, they will inevitably come together in the red circle.'" Like LE SAMOURAÏ, Jean-Pierre Melville opens LE CERCLE ROUGE with an apocryphal Eastern quotation of his own devising, and proceeds to skillfully orchestrate the random trajectories of three men into something that takes on the weight of existential fate. Alain Delon, just out of the slammer, starts settling scores and preparing for his next robbery; prisoner Gian Maria Volontè escapes custody of police officer André Bourvil and makes a daring escape from a moving train; and alcoholic ex-cop Yves Montand momentarily regains his pride and sobriety when called upon to perform as a professional, even if this time it's in a criminal enterprise. "Melville blends the Chandleresque world of his own devising with gritty French reality. With its taut silent robbery sequence, his movie gestures backwards to RIFIFI, and with Montand's specially modified bullets it anticipates Frederick Forsyth's DAY OF THE JACKAL and the contemporary techno-thriller." – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian. DIR/SCR Jean-Pierre Melville; PROD Robert Dorfmann. France/Italy, 1970, color, 140 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
With his customary restraint and ruthless attention to detail, director Jean-Pierre Melville follows the parallel tracks of French underworld criminal Gu (the inimitable Lino Ventura), escaped from prison and roped into one last robbery, and the suave inspector, Blot (Paul Meurisse), relentlessly seeking him. The implosive LE DEUXIÈME SOUFFLE captures the pathos, loneliness and excitement of a life in the shadows with methodical suspense and harrowing authenticity — the film also contains one of the most thrilling heist sequences Melville ever shot. (Note courtesy of Janus Films.) DIR/SCR Jean-Pierre Melville, from the novel by José Giovanni; PROD André Labay, Charles Lumbroso. France, 1966, b&w, 144 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Serge Reggiani gets out of the slammer and back into the game, settling an old score and throwing in with a crew on a major heist. But the cops, seemingly tipped off, catch him in the act. Was there a squealer (un doulos, in French underworld slang)? While Reggiani stews in jail, his fellow gangsters eye one another suspiciously, including safe-cracker Jean-Paul Belmondo, nightclub owner Michel Piccoli and high-roller Jacques De Léon. A major critical and commercial hit, the film is famous for a nearly nine-minute-long take wherein police captain Jean Desailly grills Belmondo as the mobile camera swoops, swirls and surveys 360 degrees around their intense exchange. DIR/SCR Jean-Pierre Melville, from the novel by Pierre Lesou; PROD Georges de Beauregard, Carlo Ponti. France, 1963, b&w, 108 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
"There is no greater solitude than that of the samurai unless it is that of the tiger in the jungle... Perhaps..." – Bushido, "Book of the Samurai." Perhaps the cultiest of Jean-Pierre Melville's films, LE SAMOURAÏ features Alain Delon giving a sphinxlike performance as Jef Costello, a quirkily obsessive hitman who is single-mindedly devoted to his profession. After his most recent job leaves behind some loose ends, which greatly displeases his employers, Jef attempts to puzzle out what went wrong and what his employers ultimately want. The influence of LE SAMOURAÏ can be found across dozens of later films, including explicit homages in films by John Woo, Walter Hill, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jim Jarmusch, Johnnie To and Pang Ho-Cheung. DIR/SCR Jean-Pierre Melville; SCR Georges Pellegrin, from the novel by Joan McLeod; PROD Raymond Borderie, Eugène Lépicier. France/Italy, 1967, color, 103 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
[LÉON MORIN, PRÊTRE]
A village in France, during the occupation: jaded widow Barny (Emmanuelle Riva, HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR) walks into the local church to taunt young priest Léon Morin (Jean-Paul Belmondo, BREATHLESS) for persisting in useless fantasies during times of hopelessness and misery. To her surprise, he offers a sympathetic ear and compassionate counsel. What follows in the ensuing days is an extraordinary sustained dialogue between two spirited individuals — provocative, persuasive, even seductive — played out in a treacherous and deadly world. As the Nazi occupiers become ever more aggressive, they both risk having deep secrets exposed. DIR/SCR Jean-Pierre Melville, from the novel by Béatrix Beck; PROD Georges de Beauregard, Carlo Ponti. France/Italy, 1961, b&w, 117 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Food is nourishment, food is pleasure, food is comfort — and food is also history, culture and memory. This delectable documentary from Miami artist and filmmaker Dudley Alexis explores the depths of significance to be digested in joumou, a traditional pumpkin-based soup consumed in Alexis' native Haiti every Haitian Independence Day, which also happens to be New Year's Day. The ritual preparation of joumou is an emblem of freedom for Haitians, redolent of Revolutionary ideals, emancipation and victory. Join Alexis on this personal journey as he returns to Haiti to investigates joumou, its meanings — and its culinary delights. (Note adapted from Miami International Film Festival.) : Official Selection, 2017 Miami and Santa Barbara film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Dudley Alexis; SCR Shahilia Reid; PROD Ludlow Bailey. Haiti/U.S., 2017, color, 70 min. In English, Haitian Creole and French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Winner of the John Cassavetes Award at 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards, Spanish-born filmmaker Antonio Méndez Esparza's (AQUÍ Y ALLÁ) compassionate gaze turns to the everyday life of an African-American family in northern Florida, and their struggle to stay afloat in a society that marginalizes them. Regina (Regina Williams) lives with her teenage son, Andrew (Andrew Bleechington), and her four-year-old daughter, Ry'nesia (Ry'nesia Chambers). As a single working mom, having a life beyond her job at the diner and her kids is difficult, especially as Andrew rejects any men who enter her life. Méndez Esparza's observational style and use of nonprofessional actors fosters a naturalism that brings home the complex relationship between mother and son. Set against the backdrop of the Trump presidential election, LIFE AND NOTHING MORE is a resonant statement about race, class and gender. (Note adapted from Toronto International Film Festival.) Winner, John Cassavetes Award, 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards; FIPRESCI Prize and SIGNIS Award, 2017 San Sebastián International Film Festival; Official Selection, 2017 AFI FEST presented by Audi, Toronto, Miami, Mill Valley, Chicago and Tokyo film festivals, 2018 Film Comment Selects and Glasgow film festivals. DIR/SCR Antonio Méndez Esparza; PROD Pedro Hernández Santos. Spain/U.S., 2017, color, 114 min. In English. NOT RATED
No AFI Silver Member passes accepted.
[MUCHOS HIJOS, UN MONO Y UN CASTILLO]
Spanish actor Gustavo Salmerón steps behind the camera to capture the winsome eccentricities of his extraordinary mother Julita, who had three dreams: having lots of kids, owning a monkey and living in a castle. Drawing upon material compiled over many years and on many formats, Salmerón's feature directorial debut is a winsome, freewheeling family portrait, which won the 2018 Goya Award for Best Documentary. The fundamental dynamics of the Salmerón clan will resonate, while their eccentricities — especially those of its larger-than-life matriarch Julita — will astonish and delight. Basking in Julita's inexhaustible playfulness, her unabashed attraction to all manner of objects and her boundless love for her kin, Salmerón has created a boisterous, hilarious, profoundly affectionate film that penetrates the core of what it means to hold on to a sense of wonder. (Note adapted from Toronto International Film Festival.) Best Documentary, 2018 Goya Awards; Grand Prix for Best Documentary, 2017 Karlovy Vary Film Festival; Best Documentary, 2017 Hamptons International Film Festival; Special Jury Mention, Best Documentary, 2017 Camden International Film Festival; Spotlight Award, 2017 Cinema Eye Honors; Official Selection, 2017 Toronto, San Sebastián and London film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Gustavo Salmerón; SCR Raúl de Torres, Beatriz Montañez. Spain, 2017, color, 90 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Silver Member passes accepted.
In LUCÍA, Humberto Solás has interpreted the theme of the 100-year struggle in an entirely novel way to create an epic in three separate episodes — each centered around a woman called Lucía, which takes place in different periods of Cuban history corresponding to the three stages of Colonialism, Neocolonialism and the Socialist Revolution. The three episodes present us with "Lucías" of different social classes. According to Solás: "Women's role always lays bare the contradictions of a period and makes them explicit: LUCÍA is not a film about women, it's a film about society." (Note courtesy of the Cannes Film Festival.) DIR/SCR Humberto Solás; SCR Julio García Espinosa, Nelson Rodríguez; PROD Raúl Canosa, Camilo Vives. Cuba, 1968, b&w, 160 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
Restored by Cineteca di Bologna in association with ICAIC at L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory. Restoration funded by Turner Classic Movies and The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project. Special thanks to Bundesarchiv.
AFI Member passes accepted.
In 1845, three families traverse the Oregon Trail on their way to fertile lands, led by Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood), a wilderness guide whose supposed expertise might be a tall tale. When they lose their way in barren Indian country, willful Emily Tetherow (Michelle Williams) casts aside the subservient role she's been forced into as a wife on the trail to challenge Meek's authority. By realizing that the Cayuse Indian the men take captive may be their only salvation, she averts tragedy. MEEK'S CUTOFF is an aesthetic triumph and a vital intervention into our gendered histories of the American West. With Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano and Will Patton. DIR Kelly Reichardt; SCR Jonathan Raymond; PROD Elizabeth Cuthrell, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani, David Urrutia. U.S., 2010, color, 104 min. RATED PG
AFI Member passes accepted.
One of the first Cuban films to achieve significant success abroad, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea's intimate and densely layered MEMORIES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT is a landmark work of the country's cinema. Left behind by his wife and family in the aftermath of the Bay of Pigs, the bourgeois intellectual Sergio (Sergio Corrieri) passes his days wandering Havana and idly reflecting, his amorous entanglements and political ambivalence gradually giving way to a mounting sense of alienation. With this adaptation of an innovative novel by Edmundo Desnoes, Gutiérrez Alea developed a cinematic style as radical as the times he was chronicling, creating a collage of vivid impressions through experimental editing techniques, archival material and spontaneously shot street scenes. The film stands as a biting indictment of its protagonist's disengagement, and an extraordinary glimpse of life in post-revolutionary Havana. (Note courtesy of Janus Films.) DIR/SCR Tomás Gutiérrez Alea; SCR Edmundo Desnoes, from his novel; PROD Miguel Mendoza. Cuba, 1968, b&w, 97 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Co-written by Oren Moverman and Alessandro Camon, THE MESSENGER is a powerful and tender story about a returned war hero making his first steps toward a normal life. In his first leading role, Ben Foster (HELL OR HIGH WATER) stars as Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army officer who has just returned home from a tour in Iraq and is assigned to the Army's Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow officer Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) to bear the bad news to the loved ones of fallen soldiers, Will faces the challenge of completing his mission while seeking to find comfort and healing back on the home front. When he finds himself drawn to Olivia (Samantha Morton), to whom he has just delivered the news of her husband's death, Will's emotional detachment begins to dissolve, and the film reveals itself as a surprising, humorous, moving and very human portrait of grief, friendship and survival. (Note adapted from Oscilloscope Laboratories.) DIR/SCR Oren Moverman; SCR Alessandro Camon; PROD Mark Gordon, Lawrence Inglee, Zach Miller. U.S., 2009, color, 113 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
Searching for her roots, Asha returns to her family's home on a rural coconut plantation in Trinidad. Despite racial taboos, her aunt's admonitions, political turmoil and mysterious hauntings from ancestral spirits, Asha embarks on a forbidden relationship with Roger, a young fisherman who shares her desire to look beyond the physical world. With strong performances and a sense of wonder that blurs the lines between real and fantastic, superstition and truth, living and dead, Vashti Anderson's directorial debut is a love story to the rich culture of a changing Trinidad. (Note courtesy of LA Film Festival.) Official Selection, 2017 Los Angeles, Urbanworld and Third Horizon Caribbean film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Vashti Anderson; PROD Maite Artieda, Shlomo Godder, Richard Kim, Patricia Ramdeen. U.S./Trinidad and Tobago, 2017, color, 93 min. In English. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Álvaro (Javier Gutiérrez, CHAMPIONS, MARSHLAND) dreams of being a writer — a true artist, and not a hack like his bestselling-author wife, Amanda (María León, MARSELLA, THE SLEEPING VOICE). When he catches her cheating on him right outside their home, Álvaro decides to leave Amanda and quit his boring job as a notary clerk so he can dedicate his life to the written word. Enlisting the help of his writing professor (Antonio de la Torre, ABRACADABRA, MARSHLAND) and the love of his building's gossipy doorwoman (Adelfa Calvo, MARSHLAND), Álvaro begins to insinuate himself into the lives of his neighbors, pulling strings to instigate drama in the lives of those around him and create the basis for a good story. (Note adapted from Toronto International Film Festival.) Winner, Best Lead Actor (Javier Gutiérrez) and Best Supporting Actress (Adelfa Calvo), 2018 Goya Awards; FIPRESCI International Critics' Award, 2017 Toronto International Film Festival; Official Selection, 2017 San Sebastián, Busan and Seville European film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Manuel Martín Cuenca; SCR/PROD Alejandro Hernández, from the novellas "The Tenant" and "The Motive" by Javier Cercas; PROD Mónica Lozano, David Naranjo, José Nolla, Gonzalo Salazar-Simpson, Alex Zito. Spain, 2017, color, 112 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Silver Member passes accepted.
The only film directed by the great actor Charles Laughton, THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER has enjoyed cult status across six decades. Blending the frightening mythological power of the Brothers Grimm fable with Southern Gothic creepiness, it's the story of two children guarding their dead father's stash of stolen money from a seemingly benevolent but secretly malicious preacher, played with unhinged gusto by Robert Mitchum. With expressionistic lighting effects and memorably stylized, even psychedelic art design, it's a marvel to look at, and Mitchum, usually the paragon of cool, here gives a flamboyantly over-the-top performance as the psychotic villain. DIR Charles Laughton; SCR James Agee, from the novel by Davis Grubb; PROD Paul Gregory. U.S., 1955, b&w, 92 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
NUYORICAN BÁSQUET tells the dramatic story of Puerto Rico's 1979 National Basketball Team, whose players were mainly born or raised in New York. After battling their way to the finals of the XIII Pan American Games, the players faced the U.S. team in a historic matchup. Twelve athletes, almost all of whom had honed their skills playing one-on-one games of Nuyorican street ball on the basketball courts of New York, transformed into the hope of the Puerto Rican people at the height of the Cold War. Featuring Raymond Dalmau, Georgie Torres, Charlie Bermúdez and Néstor Cora, among others, this multifaceted documentary shows the influence of the Nuyoricans on Puerto Rican basketball, interweaving the history of the sport, the diaspora and the complex roads of Puerto Rican identity to invite reflection on what it means to be Puerto Rican today. (Note courtesy of Filmes Filigrana.) Official Selection, 2018 Miami International Film Festival. DIR/SCR Ricardo Olivero Lora, Julio César Torres; PROD Freddie Marrero Alfonso. Puerto Rico/U.S., 2017, color, 108 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
[LOS VIEJOS]
What is old age? What are all these years? These questions, posed by a charismatic elderly vocalist named Zaida, permeate Rosana Matecki's poetic, compassionate and wise documentary. THE OLDIES follows Zaida, Bringuez and Cándido — all residents of Santa Clara, Cuba — as they struggle to stay passionately engaged in life and art at an age when simple tasks can be challenging. The film brims with warmth and intimacy: Zaida singing while cooking, Bringuez playing "Summertime" on the saxophone, Cándido examining his collection of antique photographs. Zaida explains that she has been performing for 58 years, yet every time feels like the first time, "because to truly sing you have to surrender yourself." Surrender to THE OLDIES and discover what it means to greet every day, every year, every passage of life, with curiosity and grace. (Note courtesy of Miami Film Festival.) Official Selection, 2018 Miami International Film Festival. DIR/SCR/PROD Rosana Matecki; PROD Giorgia Lo Savio. Cuba/U.S./Venezuela, 2018, color, 93 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
In Jamaica, before ska, reggae and dancehall, there was mento. This is a history of Jamaica's first commercially popular music, which emerged in the 19th century and peaked with the worldwide popularity of Trinidadian Calypso. Stylistically unique, mento is the original sound of Jamaica. The film includes rarely seen vintage footage from the 1950s and '60s, interviews from leading authorities on mento and performances by more contemporary bands that have kept the spirit of mento alive. (Note courtesy of Bilmon Productions.) Official Selection: 2017 CaribbeanTales Film Festival. DIR/SCR Richard Elgood; PROD Bill Monsted, Aida Yohannes. Jamaica/U.S., 2017, color/b&w, 59 min. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
At the age of 85, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. But without a definitive Ginsburg biography, the unique personal journey of this diminutive, quiet warrior's rise to the nation's highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her biggest fans — until now. Featuring interviews with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Jane and James Ginsburg, Clara Spera, Gloria Steinem, Nina Totenberg, Lilly Ledbetter, Sharron Frontiero and Stephen Wiesenfeld, Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik, Bill Clinton, Ted Olson, Judge Harry Edwards, Senator Orrin Hatch, Eugene Scalia, Bryant Johnson and more. RBG is a revelatory documentary exploring Ginsburg's exceptional life and career from Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and co-produced by Storyville Films and CNN Films.
DIR/PROD Julie Cohen, Betsy West. U.S., 2018, color, 97 min. RATED PG
No passes accepted.
Ex-con Robert Mitchum wants to start all over again, out West with his son, Tommy Rettig. They run into Marilyn Monroe, who's looking for her no-account husband (Rory Calhoun). The quests flow together on the fatefully named river, with director Otto Preminger bringing his theatrical sensibility to the nuanced plot and symbolic staging. Shot on location in the Canadian Rockies, Preminger's first attempt at widescreen aesthetics was the first CinemaScope Western. "Somehow it embraces more," he said. "We see more widely, and it fits into long takes better." DIR Otto Preminger; SCR Frank Fenton; PROD Stanley Rubin. U.S., 1954, color, 91 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
In a farmhouse basement on the Iowa countryside, eccentric collector Mike Zahs makes a remarkable discovery: the showreels of the man who brought moving pictures to America's heartland. Among the treasures: rare footage of President Teddy Roosevelt, the first moving images from Burma and a lost relic from magical-effects godfather Georges Méliés. These are the films that introduced movies to the world. And they didn’t end up in Iowa by accident. The old nitrate reels are just some of the artifacts that belonged to William Franklin Brinton. From thousands of trinkets, handwritten journals, receipts, posters and catalogs emerges the story of an inventive farmboy who became America's greatest barnstorming movieman. As Zahs uncovers this hidden legacy, he begins a journey to restore the Brinton name that takes us to The Library of Congress, Paris and back for a big-screen extravaganza in the same small-town movie theater where Frank first turned on a projector more than a century ago. By uniting community through a pride in their living history, Zahs embodies a welcome antidote to the breakneck pace of our disposable society. SAVING BRINTON is a portrait of this unlikely midwestern folk hero, at once a meditation on living simply and a celebration of dreaming big.
DIR/SCR/PROD Andrew Sherburne; DIR/SCR Tommy Haines; SCR John Richard. U.S., 2017, color, 90 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
[QUE HORAS ELA VOLTA?]
A fresh take on some classic themes and ideas, THE SECOND MOTHER centers around Val (Regina Casé), a hard-working, live-in housekeeper in modern-day São Paulo. Val is perfectly content to take care of every one of her wealthy employers' needs, from cooking and cleaning to being a surrogate mother to their teenage son, whom she has raised since he was a toddler. But when Val's estranged daughter Jessica (Camila Márdila) suddenly shows up, the unspoken but intrinsic class barriers that exist within the home are thrown into disarray. Jessica is smart, confident and ambitious, and refuses to accept the upstairs/downstairs dynamic, testing relationships and loyalties and forcing everyone to reconsider what family really means. (Note adapted from Oscilloscope Laboratories.) DIR/SCR/PROD Anna Muylaert; PROD Fabiano Gullane, Débora Ivanov, Gabriel Lacerda. Brazil, 2015, color, 112 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
TO BE A RENEGADE
This short documentary gives an intimate and comprehensive look at the past, present and future of Trinidad and Tobago's famed BP Renegades Steel Orchestra. Touching on the violent beginnings of pan, through the era of change, to its present state as a positive influence on the community, the film explores the history of the instrument through the stories of some of its most famous players. (Note courtesy of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.) DIR/SCR/PROD James O'Connor. Trinidad and Tobago, 2017, color, 45 min. In English. NOT RATED
Screening with:
TO BE AN ALL STAR
Trinidad and Tobago is more than a people, place and culture. It is an inexplicable energy. TO BE AN ALL STAR captures the euphoria of possibly the biggest moment in the 2017 Trinidad and Tobago Carnival — when the Massy Trinidad All Stars steel band won the Big Band Panorama finals. (Note courtesy of the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival.) DIR/SCR/PROD Mario Faggion. Trinidad and Tobago, 2017, color, 20 min. In English. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Robert Mitchum's extraordinary, Oscar®-nominated performance as the stoic, exhausted and quietly beleaguered Lieutenant Walker in this adaptation of correspondent Ernie Pyle's dispatches from the war in Europe made him a star. Director William Wellman, himself a WWI vet, and producer Lester Cowan closely collaborated with Pyle (played by Burgess Meredith, who was serving in the Air Force at the time) to make a film that was true to the life of the WWII soldier — the absolute exhaustion, the endurance of terror and shock and loss, the spells of boredom and the camaraderie. The result is a film built like a ballad, unlike any other of its era. (Note courtesy of Film Society of Lincoln Center.) DIR William A. Wellman; SCR Leopold Atlas, Guy Endore, Philip Stevenson, from the dispatches by Ernie Pyle; PROD Lester Cowan. U.S., 1945, b&w, 108 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr play husband-and-wife nomadic sheepherders in 1920s Australia, a couple who've led and loved a footloose life but who now want to settle down on their own homestead — assuming Mitchum can leave behind his rambunctious ways. Mitchum and Kerr's natural, knowing way with one another, not to mention their earthy sexual chemistry, make them one of the movies' more believable screen couples. Peter Ustinov — former sea captain, current gentleman tramp — is along for the ride. DIR Fred Zinnemann; SCR Isobel Lennart, from the novel by Jon Cleary; PROD Gerry Blattner. UK/U.S./Australia, 1960, color, 133 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Jonathan Demme's classic — dubbed "the first buddy movie about women" by Roger Ebert — stars Silver Spring native Goldie Hawn (who also served as producer) and Christine Lahti (Oscar®-nominated for her performance) as women who take jobs at an aircraft factory during WWII and become good friends. Hazed by the plant's macho veterans, they quickly learn to support, see and think for themselves differently. Reportedly inspired by Demme's grandmother, who worked a factory swing shift during WWII, Hawn's Rosie the Riveter-esque character is a reminder of the role WWII played in transforming the workplace and instigating the women's liberation movement of the mid-20th century. The film's stellar supporting cast is anchored by Kurt Russell as the factory heartthrob, Ed Harris as Hawn's deployed husband and Fred Ward as Lahti's on-and-off beau. DIR Jonathan Demme; SCR Nancy Dowd, Bo Goldman, Ron Nyswaner; PROD Jerry Bick. U.S., 1984, color, 100 min. RATED PG
No passes accepted.
Given access to film the Rolling Stones during the recording sessions for the album "Beggar's Banquet," the newly politicized Jean-Luc Godard alternates long takes of the band jamming, rehearsing and recording "Sympathy for the Devil" with staged tableaux demonstrating America's rising Black Power movement. Provocative in its juxtapositions, the film is endlessly open to interpretation, and a unique time capsule of both the Stones and Godard, in his incipient radicalism and turning away from narrative cinema. DIR/SCR Jean-Luc Godard; PROD Michael Pearson, Iain Quarrier. UK, 1968, color, 100 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
This film was a personal project for Robert Mitchum, who — in addition to starring in, writing and producing the picture — even composed and sang the title song, which became a radio hit. As a proud Tennessee bootlegger, he must contend with both the feds and the mobsters who want a piece of his action. Full of thrilling car chases, memorable characters and plenty of local color, THUNDER ROAD enjoyed enormous and enduring popularity throughout the South, becoming a drive-in classic. DIR Arthur Ripley; SCR James Atlee Phillips, Walter Wise, from the story by Robert Mitchum; PROD Robert Mitchum. U.S., 1958, b&w, 92 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
[TIEMPO DE MORIR]
Jorge Martínez de Hoyos returns to his hometown after serving 18 years in prison for the murder of Enrique Rocha. Although he killed in self-defense, rumors circulated in town during his absence that the victim was killed in cold blood. De Hoyos wants to rebuild the life he was denied with his old lover, Marga López, but Rocha's sons have sworn to avenge the murder of their father. This classic Mexican neo-Western was the first realized screenplay of Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez and legendary Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes. Under the direction of Arturo Ripstein, TIME TO DIE represents one of the earliest examples of New Mexican Cinema and one of the most accomplished Mexican films from the 1960s. (Note courtesy of Film Movement.) DIR Arturo Ripstein; SCR Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes; PROD Alfredo Ripstein, César Santos Galindo. Mexico, 1966, b&w, 90 min. In Spanish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted
15th Anniversary
Pablo Berger's hilarious debut feature is set in 1973 Spain — Francisco Franco is still in power, and Alfredo Lopez (Javier Cámara, SEX AND LUCIA, TALK TO HER) and his wife Carmen (Candela Peña, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER) are struggling to make ends meet. When the couple agree to make their own Super 8 erotic "educational" films to be sold in Scandinavia, however, their fortunes change overnight. Unbeknownst to them both, Carmen becomes a porn star in the Nordic world, and when a Danish crew flies in to help Alfredo make an Ingmar Bergman-inspired feature film called TORREMOLINOS 73, the pair find themselves pursuing careers in "show business." But Carmen is also eager to have a baby, and slowly the tension between the artist and his muse grows. TORREMOLINOS 73 also stars Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (AFTER THE WEDDING, A ROYAL AFFAIR, ROGUE ONE) in a breakout role. (Note adapted from First Run Features.) DIR/SCR Pablo Berger; PROD Tomás Cimadevilla, Mohamed Khashoggi. Spain/Denmark, 2003, color/b&w, 91 min. In Spanish and Danish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Silver Member passes accepted.
Robert Mitchum reunited with director William Wellman (THE STORY OF G.I. JOE) for a different kind of movie, based on a Walter Van Tilburg Clark novel, about a homesteading family in northern California snow country whose livestock is being destroyed by a roaming mountain lion. Wellman and his DP William Clothier (THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE) worked out a stark visual design, keeping everything — sets, costumes, makeup and exteriors — in black-and-white tones, with the exceptions of one scarlet hunting jacket and one yellow scarf. They also shot on location at Mt. Rainier, where 30-foot snowdrifts made for the most arduous and exhausting shoot of Mitchum's career. (Note courtesy of Film Society of Lincoln Center.) DIR William A. Wellman; SCR A.I. Bezzerides, from the novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark; PROD Robert Fellows, John Wayne. U.S., 1954, color, 102 min. NOR RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Co-presented by the Art Deco Society of Washington
4K Restoration
In TRANSATLANTIC, an ocean crossing becomes the premise for an early experiment in multiple story lines, anticipating MGM's 1932 drama GRAND HOTEL. At the center of events is Edmund Lowe, a professional thief who allows the greatest haul of his career to slip through his fingers because of an old, unspecified obligation toward his intended victim's wife (Myrna Loy). Drawing on the talents of cinematographer James Wong Howe and Oscar®-winning art director Gordon Wiles, director William K. Howard takes advantage of a closed shipboard setting to create an amazing array of deep focus effects, climaxing in a chase through the ship's cavernous engine room. This major pre-Code rediscovery has been newly restored, yielding a full sense of the film for the first time in 80 years. (Note adapted from Il Cinema Ritrovato.) DIR/PROD William K. Howard; SCR Guy Bolton, Lynn Starling. U.S., 1931, b&w, 78 min. NOT RATED
No passes accepted.
Digitally restored by MoMA with funding provided by The Film Foundation, The George Lucas Family Foundation and The Celeste Bartos Preservation Fund.
Like every other episode in the life of Bob Dylan, the "born again" period that supposedly began with the release of "Slow Train Coming" (1979) and ended with "Shot of Love" (1981) has been endlessly scrutinized in the press. Less attention has been paid to the magnificent music he made. This very special film consists of truly electrifying video footage, much of it thought to have been lost for years and all newly restored, shot at shows in Toronto and Buffalo on the last leg of the '79–'80 tour (with an amazing band: Muscle Shoals veteran Spooner Oldham and Terry Young on keyboards, Little Feat's Fred Tackett on guitar, Tim Drummond on bass, the legendary Jim Keltner on drums and Clydie King, Gwen Evans, Monalisa Young, Regina McCrary and Mary Elizabeth Bridges on vocals) interspersed with sermons written by Luc Sante and beautifully delivered by Michael Shannon. More than just a record of some concerts, TROUBLE NO MORE is a total experience. (Note courtesy of Film Society of Lincoln Center.) DIR/SCR/PROD Jennifer Lebeau. U.S., 2017, color, 60 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
In June of 1964, hundreds of college students eager to join the civil rights movement traveled to Mississippi, starting what would be known as Freedom Summer. That same month, two groups of young men — made up of musicians, college students and record collectors — also traveled to Mississippi. Though neither group was aware of the other, each had come on the same errand: to find an old blues singer and coax him out of retirement. Thirty years before, Son House and Skip James had recorded some of the most memorable music of their era, but now they seemed lost to time. Finding them would not be easy. There were few clues to their whereabouts. It was not even known for certain if they were still alive. And Mississippi, that summer, was a tense and violent place. With hundreds on their way to teach in freedom schools and work on voter registration, the Ku Klux Klan and police forces of many towns vowed that Freedom Summer would not succeed. Churches were bombed, shotguns blasted into cars and homes. It was easy to mistake the young men looking for Son House and Skip James for activists. Finally, on June 21, 1964, these two campaigns collided in memorable and tragic fashion. In telling this remarkable story, TWO TRAINS RUNNIN' revisits an important moment when America's cultural and political institutions were dramatically transformed. In an era of renewed attention on police brutality and voting rights, the movie is even more pointed and relevant today. Narrated by Common and featuring the music of Gary Clark, Jr. (Note courtesy of Abramorama.) DIR Samuel D. Pollard; SCR/PROD Benjamin Hedin. U.S., 2016, color, 80 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
[A COP]
After memorably playing criminals for Jean-Pierre Melville in the iconic films LE SAMOURAÏ and LE CERCLE ROUGE, Alain Delon played a cop for the director's final film, UN FLIC. Richard Crenna is a Parisian nightclub proprietor with a booming sideline in robbery and gangsterism. Delon is a police detective who frequents Crenna's night spot, to keep tabs on the suspicious figure's coming and goings, and to make time with Crenna's alluring mistress, Catherine Deneuve. DIR/SCR Jean-Pierre Melville; PROD Robert Dorfmann. France/Italy, 1972, color, 98 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
The legendary "black Woodstock" film WATTSTAX, Mel Stuart's documentary of the epochal 1972 concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, features incendiary performances by Isaac Hayes, Albert King, Rufus and Carla Thomas, the Staple Singers, the Emotions, the Bar-Kays and other greats of soul, R&B and gospel, plus biting humor from a then-little-known Richard Pryor. But WATTSTAX is more than a concert film. It also captures a heady moment in mid-1970s, "black-is-beautiful" African-American culture, when Los Angeles' black community came together just seven years after the Watts riots to celebrate its survival and a renewed hope in its future. After suffering years of neglect due to rights issues, Stuart's landmark concert film can now be seen in its restored, remixed and rightful state, including the long-missing finale of Isaac Hayes performing "Theme from SHAFT" and "Soulsville." DIR/SCR/PROD Mel Stuart; PROD Larry Shaw. U.S., 1973, color, 103 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
Wendy (Michelle Williams, in an acclaimed performance) is traveling north with her dog Lucy toward Alaska, where a well-paying job awaits her, when her car breaks down in a small town. Already barely making ends meet, she's devastated by this setback; drifters at the edge of town threaten her and locals treat her with indifference. It's bad enough that she's stuck, and struggling to keep herself fed, but somehow the worst of it all is the worry that she won't be able to take care of Lucy, her constant companion, the one being for whom she feels responsible. DIR/SCR Kelly Reichardt; SCR Jonathan Raymond; PROD Larry Fessenden, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani. U.S., 2008, color, 80 min. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.
A classically trained musical genius, chart-topping chanteuse and Black Power icon, Nina Simone is one of the most influential, beloved, provocative and least understood artists of our time. Onstage, she was known for utterly free, rapturous performances, earning her the epithet "High Priestess of Soul." But amid the violent, day-to-day fight for civil rights, she struggled to reconcile artistic ambition with her fierce devotion to a movement. Director Liz Garbus sensitively explores the constant state of opposition that trapped and tortured Simone — as a classical pianist pigeonholed in jazz, as a professional boxed in by family life, as a black woman in racist America — and in so doing, reveals a towering figure transcending categorization and her times. The film stays true to Simone's subjectivity by mining never-before-heard tapes, rare archival footage and interviews with close friends and family. Charting Simone's musical inventiveness alongside the arc of her Jim Crow childhood, defining role in the Civil Rights Movement, arrival at Carnegie Hall, self-imposed exile in Liberia and solitary life in France, this astonishingly intimate yet epic portrait becomes a nonfiction musical — lush tracks and riveting story resonating inextricably. (Note courtesy of Sundance Film Festival.) DIR/SCR/PROD Liz Garbus; PROD Amy Hobby, Jayson Jackson, Justin Wilkes. U.S., 2015, color/b&w, 101 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
This Technicolor Western, adapted from a novel by Tom Lea, stars Robert Mitchum as an expat mercenary who fled to Mexico at age 14 after avenging his father's murder. When he's hired by a cruel Mexican governor (Pedro Armendáriz) to carry out an arms deal that takes him to Texas, his refusal to help hunt Apaches puts him in conflict with a U.S. Army major (Gary Merrill) — and into the orbit of the major's unhappy wife (Julie London). Mitchum's layered performance as a reluctantly violent man at a moral crossroads, caught between two national identities, is the heart of Robert Parrish's elegiac, cerebral Western, exquisitely shot by Alex Phillips and Floyd Crosby. (Note courtesy of Film Society of Lincoln Center.) DIR Robert Parrish; SCR Robert Ardrey, from the novel by Tom Lea; PROD Chester Erskine. U.S./Mexico, 1959, color, 98 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
When FIFA selected Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup, the petroleum-rich country used its vast wealth to begin constructing state-of-the-art stadiums and facilities utilizing 1.6 million migrant workers. THE WORKERS CUP follows a group of these men — from India, Kenya, Nepal and Ghana — who, stuck in isolated camps, working arduous hours for unlivable wages, eagerly escape into a corporate-sponsored "workers' welfare" soccer tournament of their own. While the tournament amounts to little more than a marketing ploy for those at the top, the laborers embrace the rare opportunity to let loose, compete and prove themselves bona fide soccer champions. Through an empathetic lens, Adam Sobel showcases the collective willpower and humanity of men who refuse to allow trying circumstances to sink their one shot at winning a tournament in the very stadiums they've sacrificed so much to construct. (Note adapted from Sundance Film Festival.) DIR/SCR Adam Sobel; PROD Rosie Garthwaite, Ramzy Haddad. UK, 2017, color, 92 min. In English, Nepali, Malayalam, Twi, Ga, Hindi and Arabic with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No passes accepted.
AFI Conservatory alumna Andrea Arnold's (AMERICAN HONEY, FISH TANK) WUTHERING HEIGHTS is an excitingly fresh and distinct take on the classic novel by Emily Brontë. An epic love story that spans childhood well into the young adult years, the film follows Heathcliff, a boy taken in by Earnshaw, a benevolent Yorkshire farmer. Living in Earnshaw's home, Heathcliff develops a passionate relationship with the farmer's teenage daughter, Catherine, inspiring the envy and mistrust of his son, Hindley. When Earnshaw passes away, the now-grown characters must finally confront the intense feelings and rivalries that have built up throughout their years together. (Note adapted from Oscilloscope Laboratories.) DIR/SCR Andrea Arnold; SCR Olivia Hetreed, from the novel by Emily Brontë; PROD Robert Bernstein, Kevin Loader, Douglas Rae. UK, 2011, color, 129 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Former private-eye Harry Kilmer (Robert Mitchum) knows a lot about Japan — and the gangsters who keep an iron grip on its gambling, prostitution and protection rackets. He knows there's a right way to approach the brutal underworld. And he knows there's one thing powerful mobsters respect: greater power. Powered by a team of Hollywood heavy-hitters — writers Paul Schrader (TAXI DRIVER) and Robert Towne (CHINATOWN) and director Sydney Pollack (OUT OF AFRICA) — and a supporting cast including Ken Takakura (BLACK RAIN), Brian Keith (THE PARENT TRAP) and Kishi Keiko (EARLY SPRING), this haunting East-meets-West neo-noir has risen to the status of cult classic. (Note adapted from Warner Bros.) DIR/PROD Sydney Pollack; SCR Paul Schrader, Robert Towne. U.S./Japan, 1974, color, 112 min. In English and Japanese with English subtitles. RATED R
AFI Member passes accepted.