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Critically acclaimed and important films

The International Cinema Series presents critically acclaimed and important films from around the world (including independent and artistic American films) almost every week. We show restorations of honored classics as well as contemporary films that have captured the attention of critics at recent film festivals.

Follow us on Facebook for updates to screening regulations.

All screenings will be held in the Dan and Mary Miller Auditorium.
7 p.m.

Spring 2023 Film Schedule

Friday, February 10, 2023, 7 p.m.

The Inspection

Directed by Elegance Bratton (USA, English, 95 min, 2022)

In Elegance Bratton’s deeply moving film inspired by his own story, a young, gay Black man, rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life.

Friday, February 17, 2023, 7 p.m.

The Whale

Directed by Darren Aronofsky (USA English, 117 min, 2022)

From Darren Aronofsky comes The Whale, the story of a reclusive English teacher who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter. Starring Brendan Fraser and based on the acclaimed play by Samuel D. Hunter.

3 Academy Award Nominations: Actor, Supporting Actress, Make Up and Hairstyling

Friday, March 10, 2023, 7 p.m.

EO

Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski (Poland, Polish with English subtitles, 88 min, 2022)

EO, a gray donkey with melancholic eyes and a curious spirit, begins his life as a circus performer before escaping on a trek across the Polish and Italian countryside in a journey marked by absurdity and warmth in equal measure. Legendary filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski directs one of his most free and visually inventive films yet, placing the viewer directly in the heart and mind of the four-legged protagonist.

Academy Award Nomination: International Feature

Friday, March 31, 2023, 7 p.m.

An Elephant on a Spider Web

Directed by Rolando Diaz (Spain, Spanish with English subtitles, 79 min, 2022)

**Director in attendance

A film director in his 70s senses that the sly death is approaching. So he decides to make fun of the life in what will be his last film. To do so, he will use a 109-year-old quixotic old woman, with a desire to die, three young artists.

Friday, April 7, 2023, 7 p.m.

Close

Directed by Lukas Dhont (Belgium, French and Dutch with English subtitles, 88 min, 2023)

Leo and Remi are two thirteen-year-old best friends, whose seemingly unbreakable bond is suddenly, tragically torn apart. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Lukas Dhont’s second film is an emotionally transformative and unforgettable portrait of the intersection of friendship and love, identity and independence, and heartbreak and healing.

Academy Award Nomination: International Feature

Friday, April 14, 2023, 7 p.m.

Dos Estaciones

Directed by Juan Pablo González (Mexico, Spanish with English subtitles, 99 min, 2022)

Winner of a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Dos Estaciones follows iron-willed businesswoman María García (Teresa Sánchez), the owner of Dos Estaciones, a once-majestic tequila factory now struggling to stay afloat. The factory is the final holdover from generations of Mexican-owned tequila plants in the highlands of Jalisco, the rest having folded to foreign corporations. Once one of the wealthiest people in town, María knows her current financial situation is untenable. When a persistent plague and an unexpected flood cause irreversible damage, she is forced to do everything she can to save her community’s primary economy and source of pride.

Friday, April 21, 2023, 7 p.m.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Directed by Laura Poitras (USA, English, 122 min, 2022)

Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is an epic, emotional and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis.

Academy Award Nomination: Documentary Feature

Friday, April 28, 2023, 7 p.m.

Hidden Letters

Directed by Violet Du Feng and Zhao Qing (China, Chinese with English subtitles, 86 min, 2022)

For centuries in China, the once-secret written language of Nüshu was calligraphed on folded fans and handkerchiefs as hidden letters so women could share stories and express solidarity in a repressive era when many women were denied literacy. Confronting patriarchy, two modern women find solace in Nüshu, rediscovering connections between traditional Chinese womanhood and contemporary feminism.

Friday May 5, 2023, 7 p.m.

Human Flowers of Flesh

Directed by Helena Wittmann (Germany/France, French with English subtitles, 106 min, 2022)

The film follows Ida (Dogtooth’s Angeliki Papoulia), who, after a stirring encounter with the French Foreign Legion sets sail with her own corps of five men, none of whom speak the same language, to trace the route of this fabled troop. Their voyage will take them from Marseille to Corsica and finally to Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria, the historical headquarters of the Legion. Along the way, boundaries blur. Life at sea produces a special kind of mutual understanding. A legionnaire of yore makes an about-face.

Meet the Coordinator

Professor smiling

Nick Corrao
Donald R. Eastman III Assistant Professor of Film Studies