Jess Weixler and Adam Pearson in Aaron Schimberg's Chained For Life
Premiering on March 6
Murina
Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, Croatia, Brazil, USA, Slovenia, 2022
Set on a remote island along the Croatian coast, this Cannes Camera d’Or winner follows 17-year-old Julija (Gotham Breakthrough winner Gracija Filipović), who spends her days diving for eel with her domineering father and dreaming of an escape from her provincial life. The arrival of a rich and mysterious family friend may offer a way out, if it doesn’t portend something more sinister.
Identifying Features
Fernanda Valadez, Mexico, Spain, 2020
Magdalena has lost contact with her son after he took off with a friend from their town of Guanajuato to cross the border into the U.S., hopeful to find work. Desperate to find out what happened to him—and to know whether or not he’s even alive—she embarks on an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous journey to discover the truth in Fernanda Valadez’s lyrical award winning slow burning film.
Premiering on March 13
Seven Chances
Buster Keaton, US, 1925
Presented in a new restoration, this masterpiece showcases Buster Keaton’s genius for super-sized slapstick. “Seven Chances” tells the story of an eligible young bachelor who must marry by 7:00 p.m. in order to receive a $7 million inheritance. A newspaper announcement provides him with more fiancées than he can handle, setting in motion the most epic and surreal chase sequence of Keaton’s career.
Sherlock Jr
Buster Keaton, US, 1925
This dazzling comedy presented in a new restoration has never looked better. “Sherlock Jr.” is a brilliant deconstruction of the filmmaking process. Buster Keaton stars as a movie theatre projectionist who dreams of becoming a super-sleuth, and, in one breathtaking sequence, literally steps into the screen to bring his fantasies to life. As Conan Doyle's master detective, he snoops out discoveries.
The General
Buster Keaton, US, 1924
Buster Keaton’s “The General” is not simply one of the greatest silent comedies ever made, it is one of the greatest films of any era. In restaging the true story of one man’s journey behind enemy lines to reclaim his captured locomotive during the Civil War, Keaton stages a series of complex chases, using lumbering trains as comedic props, making “The General” a truly breath-taking experience.
Premiering on March 20
The Falling Star
Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel, France, Belgium, 2024
An official selection of the Telluride and Locarno Film Festivals, the latest caper from Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon ("Lost in Paris", "The Fairy") filters the language of film noir through their characteristically colorful palette to create a series of deceptively minimalistic set pieces that recall the best of Jacques Tati and Buster Keaton.
Chained for Life
Aaron Schimberg, US, 2019
In Aaron Schimberg’s brilliantly oddball tragicomedy, Jess Weixler plays a movie star “slumming it” in an outré art-horror film being shot in a semi-abandoned hospital. Cast opposite her is a gentle-natured man with a severe facial deformity (Adam Pearson, “A Different Man”). As their relationship evolves, questions arise around cinematic notions of beauty, representation, and exploitation.
Premiering on March 27
Babylon
Franco Rosso, UK, 1980
Franco Rosso's incendiary “Babylon” follows a young dancehall DJ (Brinsley Forde, frontman of landmark British reggae group Aswad) in South London as he pursues his musical ambitions, battling fiercely against the racism and xenophobia of employers, neighbors, police, and the National Front. Fearless, unsentimental, yet tempered by the hazy bliss of a blistering reggae and lovers rock soundtrack.
The Rocket
Kim Mordaunt, Australia, Laos, Thailand, 2013
Winner of awards at the Berlin and Tribeca Film Festivals, this blazingly original drama tells the story of 10-year-old Ahlo, who is declared cursed after a family tragedy. He finds friendship with an orphaned girl and her eccentric James Brown loving uncle as they travel across Laos to enter a lucrative but dangerous Rocket Festival, hoping to prove his worth and secure a new home.