An immersive marvel of sonic ethnography, EXPEDITION CONTENT draws on audio recordings made by recent college graduate and Standard Oil heir Michael Rockefeller as part of the 1961 Harvard-Peabody Expedition to Netherlands New Guinea that set up tents among the indigenous Hubula (also known as Dani) people.

In their nearly imageless film, Karel and Kusumaryati document the strange encounter between the expedition and the Hubula people. The work explores and upends the power dynamics between anthropologist and subject, between image and sound, and turns the whole ethnographic project on its head. Named one of the ten best movies of 2022 by The New York Times.

CRITIC’S PICK! “Startling and fascinating… a mind-expanding inquiry on anthropology — how it speaks and for whom — and on cinema itself.” Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“What Expedition Content does so adeptly is to make audible and legible those voices that have been silenced through omission.” Stephanie Spray, Non-Fiction Journal

“Advances the possibility of a purely sonic cinema.” Leo Goldsmith, The Brooklyn Rail

Two children wake up in the middle of the night to find their father is missing, and all the windows and doors in their home have vanished. While they decide to wait for the grown-ups to return, they realize they’re not alone…

HELD OVER! Additional show added on Thursday, Jan. 26!

“The horrors of Skinamarink are in its ability to transport you back to your childhood home and then leave you there. Unattended, abandoned, and lost.” Dread Central

“One of the most unnerving movies I’ve seen in at least a decade.” Sean Fennessey, The Big Picture podcast

“CRITIC’S PICK! Ingeniously evoking a child’s response to the inexplicable, “Skinamarink” sways on the border between dreaming and wakefulness, a movie as difficult to penetrate as it is to forget.” Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

Presented by The Sprocket Society.

The Saturday Secret Matinees blast off with a 15th anniversary season of weekly serial episodes plus secret classic features, all on 16mm film! Save with a series pass!

In the iconic cliffhanger KING OF THE ROCKET MEN (1949), the mysterious Dr. Vulcan is stealing the latest atomic-powered weapons developed by Science Associates, and murdering the scientists! One of them secretly survives and recruits trusted Jeff King to fight back using a cutting-edge rocket suit! Together with reporter Glenda Thomas and a few others, it’s a race against time to stop Dr. Vulcan and his gang of thugs — and their devastating atomic arsenal!

Each week’s episode is paired with a secret feature film. Bi-weekly themes provide clues, but it could be almost anything: thrillers, sci-fi, comedy, art house, a forgotten gem, or a beloved classic.

Jan. 7 & 14: It Came from Planet Blech!
Beloved cheesy sci-fi “classics” from the 1950s, so bad they’re out of this world

Jan. 21 & 28: Swashbuckling Generations
Father and son actors each in their own thrilling tale of swordplay and secret identities 

Feb. 4 & 11: Haunted Avarice
Greed collides with the spirit realm in two art house masterpieces

Feb. 18 & 25: Nuts!
Madcap ‘30s comedy classics, each shown with a comic short

Mar. 4 & 11: Espionage!
Outstanding spy thrillers from the silent and early sound eras

Mar. 18 & 25: Space Epics in Cinemascope
Struggles to survive on hostile planets with hidden secrets. Rare widescreen prints!

CANUXPLOITATION XTRAVAGANZA

Two gorgeous playmate-types named KC and Jo, recently released from prison, are searching for a fresh start out in the bayou. Unfortunately, they soon find out the dockside shack they want to turn into a bed and breakfast is also the favorite party spot for the local bikers in town. KC and Jo wind up in the middle of an unrelenting siege of torment by them good ol’ boys. In between attacks, they find ample time for romance and nude sunbathing…but no one is safe from these horny and idiotic swamp bros, not even their dog. Find out how to turn a bikini top into a Molotov cocktail in this Canuxploitation classic, one night only!

“It remains almost unique among Canadian exploitation films in its audaciously lowbrow vitality… Is it “culture”? Let them reach for their revolver. Does it reflect Canada to Canadians? You be the judge. Is it a near-masterpiece in a mode that doesn’t even believe in masterpieces? Bet your remote on it.” Canuxploitation.com

“These two girls are bad ass and don’t take sh*t from anyone.” 7/10 IMDB reviewer

“No, not that movie where Arnold Schwarzenegger has a baby.” Anonymous, (3 out of 3 found this review helpful)

NEVER RELEASED ON DVD! ONLY $3! ONLY ON VHS!

As class­mates, shy, artistic Sonny (Jeremy Davies) and charming, popular Gunner (Ben Affleck in his first lead role) had nothing to do with one another, but now, in the stifling climate of Eisenhower America, where prejudice and paranoia rule the day, the two young men returning home from the Korean war find in each other the strength to change their lives and futures. Each must choose between the suffocating but familiar comforts offered to them by their mothers and their old flames and friends, or the exciting but uncertain futures represented by a pair of enthralling new romantic prospects (Rachel Weisz, Rose McGowan). Originally released in 1997, director Mark Pellington’s newly re-edited and restored version of his movie completely upends the original cut, hews closer to the source novel, and cements the film as one of the most aesthetically fresh and thematically fascinating films of the 90s, as well as a testament to the ever-evolving possibilities of cinematic rediscovery.

“A terrific, bold and ambitious debut film with electric central performances and a keen eye for detail both visual and narrative. All better, all renewed — do not miss it!” Guillermo Del Toro

Filmmaker in attendance! The Cadence is a 33-minute animated film shot in stop motion by Portland-based artist Luca Dipierro, using marionettes made with paper, bookcloth, and thread. Five years in the making, the film features a soundtrack by freddie Murphy and Chiara Lee. The Cadence tells the story of a boy, lover of silence, and the journey toward his own beginning. It’s a tale made of tales, populated by bizarre characters who enter and exit swiftly, as on a puppet theatre stage: masked children waiting for the last leaf to fall; a moon-faced mother; a vengeful horse; a sorrowful giant; a butcher boar; a hunter hunted; and many more. After the screening, Luca Dipierro and writer Gabriel Urza will discuss the process of making cut-out animation, puppetry, Italian weird folklore and lots more!

Catherine Deneuve’s porcelain perfection hides a cracked interior in one of the actress’s most iconic roles: Séverine, a Paris housewife who begins secretly spending her after­noon hours working in a bordello. This surreal and erotic late-sixties daydream from provocateur for the ages Luis Buñuel is an examination of desire and fetishistic pleasure (its characters’ and its viewers’), as well as a gently absurdist take on contemporary social mores and class divisions. Fantasy and reality commingle in this burst of cinematic transgression, which was one of Buñuel’s biggest hits. In French with English subtitles.

Part of our Love Stinks film series.

“Today, Belle de Jour remains Buñuel’s most recognized film, and while it’s not without its flaws, it’s a radical work that reimagines some of the director’s earlier surrealist impulses and anticipates the work of David Lynch.” Slant Magazine

“A shrewd commentary on the hypocrisy of social relations and sexual politics… A strange and captivating film.” The Guardian

“Buñuel’s handling of color is gorgeous. And the acting is impeccable. …Belle de Jour is, like much of Buñuel’s work, almost icily cold and impersonal but at the same time an oblique and paradoxical testament to love. …Pervading the film…are not the enticements of sensuality but the sadnesses of a society in which love and sensuality are seen too seldom as a unity and too frequently as a mutually destructive tangle.” LA Times

Sailor (Nicolas Cage) and Lula (Laura Dern) are two lovers struggling to remain together even when fate seems intent on keeping them apart. In this case, fate is Lula’s mother, Marietta Fortune (played by Laura Dern’s real-life mother, Diane Ladd). Marietta is a desperate woman who hates Sailor and will do anything to keep him away from her daughter. After Sailor is released from prison for murdering a man in self-defense, he and Lula embark on a sex-filled, rocking road trip, all while being hunted by Marietta’s hired goons and threatened by the grotesquely terrifying Bobby Peru (an unforgettable Willem Dafoe).

Part of our Love Stinks film series.

“Lynch’s kinky fairy tale is a triumph of startling images and comic invention.” Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

“David Lynch doesn’t tell stories as much as he shows hallucinations. Weird, wild, excessive, obsessive, idiosyncratic visions.” Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle

What do you get when you cross karate with gymnastics? GYMKATA, a worldwide sensation that lasted a few milliseconds. But the briefest candle burns brightest.

Three-time world gymnastics champion Kurt Thomas is John Cabot, master of gymnastic martial arts (gymkata!), who has been handpicked to infiltrate the fictional country of Parmistan and play ‘the Game’, a challenge thrust upon every foreigner who visits the country; essentially an endurance race with obstacles while being chased by Parmistan warriors the whole time. If you win, you earn your life and are granted a wish.

Cabot must win the Game and use his wish to install a satellite monitoring station to warn the US in the event of a nuclear attack. After extensive training under a martial arts teacher, a Japanese guru, and the royal Princess Rubali of Parmistan, John Cabot is let loose to play the Game and complete the very straightforward, less-than-deadly obstacle course for the good of humanity in the midst of the Cold War.

“Some of the most preposterous fights ever captured on film ensue with a baby-faced hero who sports an aerodynamic mullet. Also, Thomas does flips as he takes on two roles in an imaginary conversation.” Mark Rahner, Seattle Times

“Now, this movie is garbage, but they get into the action quickly so as to trick us into not noticing it’s garbage. And much of the action consists of Thomas doing standing flips and running flips and basically just flipping around like an idiot. Often he just does a flip past someone and they fall over.” Jeff, Letterboxd

“If you happen across this movie, you must watch it. Gymkata stands as an example of what happens when no one offers a dissenting opinion anywhere in the filmmaking process.” -El Dangeroso, IMDb

Produced by Chicago Film Project (Jennifer Reeder’s KNIVES AND SKIN), this Chicago-made dramedy stars Wendy Robie (TWIN PEAKS) and Steppenwolf Theater Ensemble legend Francis Guinan as the parents of a family at a crossroads. How will the Frank family handle separations, new romances, and empty nesting following the college graduation of Benji (THE WALKING DEAD’s Cameron Scott Roberts), the youngest member of their clan? Time, love, family reunions and online proclivities test all of the characters in this ensemble film. Written and directed by Michael Glover Smith (MERCURY IN RETROGRADE).

“A wickedly funny, occasionally poignant and authentic-to-its-core drama/comedy about three eventful days in the life of a totally relatable extended family.” (***1/2 stars out of four) – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

What if love was a sickness? Or even worse, a cannibalistic impulse that can only be satisfied via utter consumption? Director Claire Denis follows these questions to their gruesome conclusions in this visceral portrayal of an all-consuming desire. When newlyweds Shane (Vincent Gallo) and June (Tricia Vessey) honeymoon in Paris, Shane secretly tracks down renowned neuroscientist Dr. Sémeneau (Alex Descas) and his wife, Coré (Béatrice Dalle), whom Shane once knew and was obsessed with. Coré suffers from a strange and savage sexual affliction, requiring her to be quarantined at all times. Shane quietly suffers from the same malady—a sickness more terrible than anyone can imagine—and can’t help but be drawn to Coré, no matter how deadly the attraction proves to be. In English and French with English subtitles.

Part of our Love Stinks film series.

“Forever cemented in (or relegated to) the cultural annals of New French Extremity, Trouble Every Day contains its own brand of dream-like, drowsy fear—akin to the sensation of waking up in the middle of a hellish nightmare that’s so horrifying, you fall back asleep out of curiosity for just how gruesome it gets.” Natalia Keogan, Paste

“Watching Trouble Every Day, at least if you don’t know what’s coming, is like biting into what looks like a juicy, delicious plum on a hot summer day and coming away with your mouth full of rotten pulp and living worms… Whatever you make of Denis’ movies, she never wants you to leave the theater unmoved or unshaken. She wants to turn you on and mess you up. She wants – there’s no better way to say this – to fuck with your mind. And she’s always going to be the one on top.” Andrew O’Hehir, Salon

In the latest feature from acclaimed director Claire Denis, young American journalist Trish Johnson (Margaret Qualley) is stranded in present-day Nicaragua and falls for an enigmatic Englishman (Joe Alwyn) who seems like her best chance of escape. She soon realizes, though, that he may be in even greater danger than she is. Co-winner of the Grand Prix at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, this adaptation of Denis Johnson’s 1986 novel is a contemporary thriller suffused with political intrigue and languid eroticism, moving entirely to the tactile rhythms of its actors, especially rising star Qualley, who gives a live-wire performance of fervid spontaneity and mercurial passion.

“Denis has crafted a film that syncs your heartbeat to its own intoxicating rhythms: a full-body immersion in uneasy pleasures.” Robbie Collin, The Telegraph

“Although Stars at Noon is set in Nicaragua during the very recent past, it’s another film by legendary director Claire Denis that seems to have been time-warped in from the 1970s or ‘80s, when tough, smart, languorous, handsomely produced, frankly sexual portraits of fascinating but often unlikable adults got made and seen more than occasionally, and played in art house theaters just big enough to envelop the viewer with images and sounds.” Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com

Teenager Simone (Désirée Nosbusch) is seventeen years old and obsessed with a pop star that goes by the name “R” (Bodo Staiger of real-life synth-pop band Rheingold, who also composed the movie’s superb soundtrack). Simone fantasizes about the love she believes is meant to be between her and R. This obsession soon consumes her so thoroughly that it takes over her life, isolating her from everyone. When R comes to town to make a television appearance, Simone is suddenly gripped by a trance-like state, leaving school, friends, and parents behind. She wants nothing more than to love and be loved by R. But when she finally meets her idol face to face and realizes that the reality of their relationship will never live up to her fantasy, she becomes dangerous.

DER FAN is an unsettling treasure of German underground cinema that builds to a shocking climax not easily forgotten. In German with English subtitles.

Part of our Love Stinks film series.

“Der Fan is stylish, twisted, heavy, and absolutely magnetic. Désirée Nosbusch’s turn as Simone is perfect; capturing the emotional essence of being an obsessed teenager.” Annie Choi, Bleeding Skull

“One of the most chilling portrayals of psychotic teenage obsession ever committed to film.” Celluloid Screams Festival

Chaos lurks in every corner of this giddily off-kilter romantic comedy by Paul Thomas Anderson. Struggling to cope with his erratic temper, novelty-toilet-plunger salesman Barry Egan (Adam Sandler, in his first dramatic role) spends his days collecting coupons and dodging the insults of his seven sisters. The promise of a new life emerges when Barry inadvertently attracts the affection of a mysterious woman named Lena (Emily Watson), but their budding relationship is threatened when he falls prey to the swindling operator of a phone sex line and her deranged boss (played with maniacal brio by Philip Seymour Hoffman). Fueled by a baroque-futurist score by Jon Brion, the Cannes-award-winning PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE channels the spirit of classic Hollywood and the whimsy of Jacques Tati into an idiosyncratic ode to the delirium of new romance.

Part of our Love Stinks film series.

“Though it was critically acclaimed and served as a vindication of Sandler’s dramatic chops, it failed to make back its budget at the box office. Time has been kind to Punch-Drunk Love, with plenty of filmmakers including Guillermo del Toro and Bong Joon-ho saying that it’s one of their favorite films. And it’s a great representation of how love can come into your life when you least expect it — as well as an example of how love can better one’s life.” Collier Jennings, Collider

“Punch-Drunk Love is above all a portrait of a personality type. Barry Egan has been damaged, perhaps beyond repair… The film is exhilarating to watch because Sandler, liberated from the constraints of [predictable comedy] formula, reveals unexpected depths as an actor. Watching this film, you can imagine him in Dennis Hopper roles. He has darkness, obsession and power. His world is hedged around with mystery and challenge.” Roger Ebert

It’s the 1980s. Robbie Hart (Adam Sandler) lives in his grandmother’s basement in New Jersey and sings in a wedding band. His dreams of being a rock star are long gone, replaced by a burning desire to find the right girl and settle down. But when his fiancée leaves him standing at the altar, he becomes a wedding planner’s worst nightmare, taking out his bitterness on stage… until his budding relationship with new friend Julia (Drew Barrymore, delightful as ever) lifts his spirits and starts to develop into something more. Too bad Julia is engaged to super douche businessman Glenn Gulia.

Part of our Love Stinks film series.

“A sparkling romantic comedy, the kind of picture that glides by so gracefully and unpretentiously that it’s only upon reflection that you realize how much skill, caring and good judgment had to have gone into its making.” Kevin Thomas, The Los Angeles Times

“Ridiculous and surprisingly likable – sweet, silly and light as a soap bubble.” Stephanie Zacharek, Salon

“Like the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy, it might make you yak, but it tastes pretty good going down.” Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle

Steeped in the bohemian cool of Chicago’s 1990s Black creative scene, LOVE JONES—the smart, sexy, and stylish debut feature of writer-director Theodore Witcher—is a love story for anyone who has ever wondered, ‘How do I know when I’ve found the one?’ Larenz Tate and Nia Long have magnetism and chemistry to burn as the striving, artistically talented twentysomethings, Darius and Nina—he’s a poet, she’s a photographer—who spark over their love of literature and jazz, but whose mutual reluctance to commit to a relationship leaves them both navigating an emotional minefield of confusion, jealousy, and regrets. Velvety cinematography; an unforgettable, eclectic soundtrack; dazzling dialogue; and refreshingly low-key, naturalistic performances by an ensemble cast that also includes Isaiah Washington, Lisa Nicole Carson, Bill Bellamy, Bernadette Speakes, and Leonard Roberts come together in an intoxicating, seductively moody romance that engages both the heart and the mind.

“Love Jones wasn’t a box office hit when it was released back in 1997. Its rather intimate and quiet story of 20-somethings living and working in the big city was lost among the glut of action-thrillers and the dismal revival of the teen slasher. But its dramatic narrative, simple and refined, has endured as one of the most dependable and esteemed love stories entrenched in the hip-hop culture of the past 25 years.” Imran Khan, PopMatters

“Beautiful in its portrayal, exciting in the hope it brings, and perfectly flawed—just like true love.” Tanya Christian, Glamour

A heartwarming and tender portrait of men whose lives have been forever changed by their cats, CAT DADDIES takes us on an inspiring journey all across the United States. These nine “cat dads” come from all walks of life – a firefighter, a truck driver, a Hollywood stuntman, an ad executive turned cat rescuer, a police officer, a software engineer, an actor/Instagram influencer, a school teacher, and an undocumented and disabled immigrant living on the streets of New York City. They couldn’t be any more different, but each of them has a compelling story to tell and they all share an unconditional love for their cats. A refreshing and timely exploration of modern masculinity, CAT DADDIES shows us how being a “cat person” has no gender, and that the unlikely bond between man and cat is here to stay.

“Irresistibly appealing, insightfully observed, beautifully crafted!” Joe Leydon, The Moving Picture Show

“A heartwarming charmer, a balm for the soul.” Leslie Combemale, Alliance of Women Film Journalists

“When a man loves a cat, I am his friend and comrade without further introduction.” Mark Twain