Cinematheque Film Schedule

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United States | 1972 | Francine Parker

In 1971, at the height of Vietnam War protests, Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, and a troupe of entertainers traveled across America and Southeast Asia presenting an anti-war musical-comedy revue to GI’s. The FTA Tour was the Left’s raw rejoinder to Bob Hope’s rah-rah USO tours. Needless to say, the military establishment was not amused, and this filmed record of the show was largely suppressed. “FTA” stood for many things: Free Theatre of America, Free the...

Denmark | 2020 | Christina Rosendahl

This new biopic relates the little-known true story of Henrik Kauffmann, Denmark’s ambassador to the U.S. during WWII. On 4/9/40, when the Danish government surrendered to Nazi Germany, Kauffmann was living in Washington, DC and declared himself the only true representative of a free Denmark. He began working actively to undermine Hitler. Cleveland premiere. Some subtitles. 110 min. The Good Traitor, a Cinematheque streaming exclusive, can be viewed online from 3/5 thru at least...

United States | 2020 | Herb Stratford

The rise, fall, and resurrection of the father of the American Arts and Crafts movement is chronicled in this new film. Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) designed and manufactured furniture, published The Craftsman magazine, and founded Craftsman Farms—a progenitor of the farm-to-table movement The movie limns Stickley’s life via interviews, archival materials, and a close examination of his most iconic works. Cleveland premiere. 68 min. Gustav Stickley, a Cinematheque streaming exclusive, can be viewed online from...

Belgium, France | 2018 | Quentin Dupieux

This deranged delight from the cult director of Rubber and Deerskin riffs on 1970s police procedurals. A late-night interrogation of a witness at a local precinct house soon takes a series of bizarre, absurdist turns. Benoît Poelvoorde (Man Bites Dog) stars. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. 73 min. Keep an Eye Out, a Cinematheque streaming exclusive, can be viewed online from 3/5 thru at least 3/25 via the link below. Doing so supports the Cinematheque. Screening fee...

France, United States | 2020 | Alan Adelson, Kate Taverna

In this new documentary, two courageous women—one in America, one in France—crusade to stop the use of Agent Orange, the toxic chemical sprayed as a defoliant during the Vietnam War and still employed by the American timber industry today. After decades of struggle and tragic personal losses, these two are leading a worldwide movement to hold accountable the manufacturers of this poisonous herbicide that leaves a legacy of deformities, disabilities, disease, and death. Cleveland...

United States | 2020 | Elizabeth Lo

This remarkable, largely wordless documentary follows Zeytin, a stray dog living in Istanbul, where she shares the streets with other homeless canines—and some Syrian refugees. An understated allegory of freedom and invisibility, compassion and care. “Both the ultimate love letter to dogs and a multifaceted moral inquiry into humanity…Virtuosic.” –Variety. Cleveland premiere. 72 min. Stray, a Cinematheque streaming exclusive, can be viewed online from 3/5 thru at least 3/25 via the...

Germany | 2018 | Kyra Steckeweh, Tim van Beveren

When Leipzig pianist Kyra Steckeweh realized that her repertoire consisted almost exclusively of music composed by men, she began searching for pieces written by women. Her research in archives, libraries, and publishing houses quickly brought to light a variety of remarkable piano pieces that have been buried by history and rarely performed. In this film, she discusses the music and lives of three of her discoveries—France’s Mel Bonis and Lili Boulanger and Germany’s Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel—all...

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United States | 2020 | Ephraim Asili

An African-American man who inherits his grandmother’s West Philadelphia house (and her culturally rich book and record collection) decides to turn it into a socialist collective for Black artists and activists. Shot in the bold primary colors of Godard’s La Chinoise, this scintillating new comedy honors generations of pioneering Black writers, musicians and radicals (including Philly’s 1980s liberation group MOVE) while also showing that forging political consensus ain’t easy. “A joyous celebration of Blackness. The...

Norway | 2019 | Pål Øie

The latest high-concept disaster movie from Norway, arriving in the wake of The Wave (2015) and The Quake (2018), tells of a tank truck explosion that traps Christmas travelers in a tunnel filling fast with toxic smoke. Oh, and a raging blizzard outside the tunnel is hindering the arrival of first responders. On the plus side, it’s happening pre-pandemic. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. 104 min. The Tunnel, a Cinematheque streaming exclusive, can be viewed online...

Canada | 2019 | Podz (Daniel Grau)

This Sicilian mafia drama is set apart from so many others by two things: it takes place in French-speaking Canada (specifically Montreal) and the godfather is played by veteran Italian actor/writer/director Sergio Castellitto. Based on a true story, this exciting crime film has a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “A saga that’s never dull.” –NY Times. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. 143 min. Mafia Inc, a Cinematheque streaming exclusive, can be viewed online from 3/12...

Hong Kong | 2019 | Jill Li

As we learned from the events of January 6, democracy is a fragile thing. That message is reiterated in this award-winning documentary epic that was shot over eight years in a southern Chinese fishing village. The film chronicles a grassroots democratic movement, begun in 2011, that ousted local officials who were illegally selling villagers’ land. But the elected officials who replaced them soon succumbed to corruption themselves. “Engrossing, revealing, and bittersweet…Sweeps the viewer into...

Canada, France, Senegal | 2020 | Philippe Lacôte

Ivory Coast’s official submission for this year’s Oscar for Best Int’l Feature Film is one of the 15 movies shortlisted for the prize. It’s a West African update of Scheherazade in which a new arrival at a massive Ivorian prison must spin an absorbing tale, lasting until dawn, to avoid being killed by his fellow inmates. Channeling his griot aunt, the young pickpocket-turned-fantasist weaves a spellbinding account of a legendary outlaw. The epic story...

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Northeast Ohio is deeply embedded in the DNA of Cherry, the first non-MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) feature film in a decade by native Clevelanders Anthony and Joe Russo. Based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Cleveland author Nico Walker, Cherry is not only set in Cleveland, it was also shot here. The movie’s screenplay was co-written by Angela Russo-Otstot, the Russo brothers’ sister (and another Clevelander). The film, which stars Tom Holland as an ex-Army medic...

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France, Italy | 1960 | Georges Franju

In this surrealistic nightmare directed by the co-founder of the Cinématheque Française, a mad surgeon (Pierre Brasseur) kidnaps beautiful young women and then tries to transplant their faces onto his daughter who was disfigured in a car crash. “The most austerely elegant horror film ever made.” –Pauline Kael. With Alida Valli and Edith Scob. Cleveland revival premiere. Subtitles. 90 min. Eyes Without a Face, a Cinematheque streaming exclusive, can be viewed online from 3/19 thru...

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