Doc is a nonegenarian! What better way to celebrate than with a blowout week of amazing films? Join us for a talk with former Doc president and current University president Paul Alivisatos before a screening of Funeral Parade of Roses, an evening of drag cinema (free if you come in drag), Au Hasard Balthazar (which we premiered in Chicago way back), and more! |
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Friday 10/21 at 7:00pm
Akira (1988)
dir. Katsuhiro Otomo
In a post-WWIII Tokyo, a secret military project causes biker gang member Tetsuo to develop telekinetic powers—the same powers used by Akira, a mysterious figure from the past, to annihilate Tokyo 31 years prior. His childhood friend Kaneda infiltrates the military complex to find him, but the Tetsuo he knew is already gone. Haunting, frenetic, and masterfully animated, Akira pioneered cyberpunk and resonated deeply in Japanese pop culture and beyond.
runtime: 124min format: DCP
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Saturday 10/22 at 1:00PM
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
dir. David Lynch
The prequel to Lynch's acclaimed TV series Twin Peaks, Fire Walk With Me chronicles the fateful last seven days of Laura Palmer's life. What could have led to the death of the beautiful homecoming queen and nightshift waitress in the strange town of Twin Peaks? Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) uncovers the horrid, chilling details. Torn apart by critics at release, this twisted tragedy is now considered by some to be Lynch's underrated masterpiece.
runtime: 135min format: DCP
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Saturday 10/22 at 7:30PM
Funeral Parade of Roses (1969)
dir. Toshio Matsumoto
Arthouse, documentary, and '60s Avant-garde come together in Tokyo's queer underworld in this loose adaptation of "Oedipus Rex." Funeral Parade of Roses follows Eddie, a transgender woman (played by Japanese gay entertainer Peter—no last name) through a scrambled timeline and a mounting rivalry at one of Tokyo's gay bars. Both ahead of its time and a product of it, the film is a heady, wild, beautiful, and sometimes grisly gay cinematic experience.
Preceded by a talk with Paul Alivisatos, current University of Chicago president and former Doc president.
runtime: 105min format: DCP
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Sunday 10/23 at 1:00PM
To Sleep With Anger (1990)
dir. Charles Burnett
Charming drifter Harry (Danny Glover) drops in to visit his old friend Gideon (Paul Butler) at his home in South-Central LA. His genteel manner, however, belies a corrupting influence which brings Gideon's family tensions to a rolling boil. Set to a gospel- and blues-infused soundtrack, To Sleep With Anger is an intimate, evocative family drama, painting its themes of religion, family, and duty with both sensitive realism and a deft comedic hand.
runtime: 102min format: DCP
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Sunday 10/23 at 8:00PM
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
dir. Robert Bresson
Impossible as it is to name one film as Robert Bresson’s masterpiece, a compelling case can be made that the title should go to this monument of empathetic filmmaking. Following the titular donkey as he is passed from owner to owner, Bresson turns an unflinching eye to cruelties both big and small. Of all the wonders in this beautifully unadorned film, perhaps the most impressive is the “performance” of Balthazar—never has such a donkey seemed so human.
runtime: 96min format: 35mm
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Friday 10/21 at 9:30PM
Lives: Visible (2018) // The Queen (1968)
dir. Michelle Citron // Frank Simon
Welcome to the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest! Featuring drag performances by the likes of Crystal LaBeija and a cameo from Andy Warhol, The Queen is one of the earliest looks at what would later become New York City ball culture. Sampled by Frank Ocean, reenacted on Drag Race, this documentary is only beginning to re-emerge as an essential piece of American queer culture. Screening will be preceded by Michelle Citron's Lives:Visible, documenting butch/fem life in mid-century Chicago. NOTE: Free admission to all attendees who come in drag.
runtime: 35min, 68min format: Digital, DCP
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Saturday 10/22 at 4:00PM
Marnie (1964)
dir. Alfred Hitchcock
While answers may differ to which is the best Hitchcock movie, it’s difficult to argue against Marnie being the most Hitchcock movie. Tippi Hedren stars as the titular kleptomaniac, whose ruse is found out by her outwardly dashing but controlling boss (Sean Connery). Filled with striking visuals, chilling performances, and sexual perversion hidden under a high-class veneer, Marnie is the Master of Suspense’s bag of tricks at its deepest.
runtime: 130min format: DCP
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Saturday 10/22 at 10:00PM
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
dir. George Romero
THEY WON'T STAY DEAD! Much like Doc Films, George Romero's gruesome ghouls have reanimated to plague the living. In this revolutionary film that brought us the modern zombie flick, a group of strangers are marooned in an isolated farmhouse where they must fend for their lives against the undead. Derided by critics at its release, the film has since become a classic, alongside Duane Jones' role as a hero—a rare casting choice for a Black actor at the time.
runtime: 97min format: DCP
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Sunday 10/23 at 4:00PM
Daughter Rite (1978) // What You Take For Granted (1983)
dir. Michelle Citron
In her pseudo-documentary Daughter Rite, famed Chicago filmmaker Michelle Citron sets the precedent for the documentary genre that some stories become more truthful through narrative retelling. What You Take For Granted combines the real accounts of 40 working women into a fictive narrative about the friendship between two women in traditionally male jobs. A bona fide meta-film, Citron then splices in fictionalized interviews of other working women.
runtime: 53min, 75min format: 16mm
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