This summer, catch a number of foreign, experimental and art films; documentaries; classic cinema and mainstream movies in virtual screening rooms. Support the International Film Series by screening titles straight from the independent distributors who routinely provide campus with interesting movies.
Coming soon: Shirley
Available June 5 Rated R $5.99
Renowned horror writer Shirley Jackson is on the precipice of writing her masterpiece when the arrival of newlyweds upends her meticulous routine and heightens tensions in her already tempestuous relationship with her philandering husband. The middle-aged couple, prone to ruthless barbs and copious afternoon cocktails, begins to toy mercilessly with the naïve young couple at their door.
Coming soon: John Lewis: Good Trouble
Available July 3 Rated PG $12
Using interviews and rare archival footage, John Lewis: Good Trouble chronicles Lewis’ 60-plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health care reform and immigration. Using present-day interviews with Lewis, now 79 years old, Porter explores his childhood experiences, his inspiring family and his fateful meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957.
In addition to her interviews with Lewis and his family, Porter’s primarily cinéma verité film also includes interviews with political leaders, Congressional colleagues and other people who figure prominently in his life.
CatVideoFest 2020
NR Pay what you can
You asked for it, so we delivered! For the first time ever, CatVideoFest is available to screen virtually outside of theaters. Long-time CatVideoFest curator extraordinaire Will Braden has crafted a 45-min "treat" of a reel that includes the very best videos from CVF's illustrious history. We're rolling it out to virtual cinemas all across the country!
Extra Ordinary
Rated R $12
Rose, a sweet, small town driving instructor, is gifted with supernatural abilities, "The Talents," which means she can talk to the spirit world. Rose has a love-hate relationship with her abilities and tries to ignore the constant small-time spiritual requests from locals. But when a washed up rockstar has a sinister plan to sell his soul for renewed success, Rose joins forces with Martin—a client haunted by his deceased wife—to save his daughter, stop a hell hole opening, deliver a baby, save a dying magpie and get rid of Martin's ex-wife so maybe they can fall in love a bit before the whole world collapses.
Hail Satan?
Director Q&A on June 10 Rated R $5
A look at the intersection of religion and activism, tracing the rise of The Satanic Temple: only six years old and already one of the most controversial religious movements in American history. The Temple is calling for a Satanic revolution to save the nation's soul. But are they for real?
Joan of Arc (Jeanne)
In French, NR $12
In the 15th century, both France and England stake a blood claim for the French throne. Believing that God had chosen her, the young Joan leads the army of the King of France. When she is captured, the Church sends her for trial on charges of heresy. Refusing to accept the accusations, the graceful Joan of Arc will stay true to her mission.
Bruno Dumont’s decision to work with a 10-year-old actress re-injects this heroine’s timeless cause and ideology with a modernity that highlights both the tragic female condition and the incredible fervor, strength and freedom women show when shackled by societies and archaic virile orders that belittle and alienate them.
L’innocente
In Italian, 1976, rated R $12
Gabrielle d'Annunzio’s passionate novel is brought to life in the final masterpiece from acclaimed director Luchino Visconti. In late-19th century Italy, Tullio, an insatiable aristocrat, grows bored with his timid wife Giuliana and neglects her for his more exciting mistress, the wealthy widow Countess Teresa Raffo. After learning that Giuliana is having a torrid affair of her own, he becomes tormented by her infidelity and descends into madness.
Stay connected
The International Film Series is regularly recording podcast and video reviews of their featured films, with input from film critics and even a well-known director.
Lucky Grandma
NR $12
Set in New York City's Chinatown, an ornery, chain-smoking Chinese grandma goes all in at the casino, landing herself on the wrong side of luck—and in the middle of a gang war. Lucky Grandma is a dynamic comedy with a stand-out performance by Tsai Chin.
The Painter and the Thief
NR $3.99
Desperate for answers about the theft of her two paintings, a Czech artist seeks out and befriends the career criminal who stole them. After inviting her thief to sit for a portrait, the two form an improbable relationship and an inextricable bond that will forever link these lonely souls.
Spaceship Earth
NR $3.99
Spaceship Earth is the true, stranger-than-fiction, adventure of eight visionaries who in 1991 spent two years quarantined inside of a self-engineered replica of Earth’s ecosystem called BIOSPHERE 2. The experiment was a worldwide phenomenon, chronicling daily existence in the face of life threatening ecological disaster and a growing criticism that it was nothing more than a cult. The bizarre story is both a cautionary tale and a hopeful lesson of how a small group of dreamers can potentially reimagine a new world.
