WE GROWN NOW: Last Day Thursday, May 16th

Watch Trailer Director: Minhal Baig
Cast: Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson

In 1992 Chicago, as Michael Jordan solidifies his legacy as a champion, the story of two young boys growing up in Cabrini Green begins — they may become legends in their own right. Wide-eyed and imaginative best friends, Malik and Eric wander the city, seeking to escape the banalities of school and the hardships of growing up in public housing. Their seemingly-unbreakable bond is challenged when tragedy shakes their community just as they are learning to fly.

Starring newcomers Blake Cameron James and Gian Knight Ramirez, this new film from writer/director Minhal Baig has already won the Changemaker Award at TIFF and the Audience Choice for Best New US Feature award at the Chicago International Film Festival.

 

 

 

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Running Time: 103 MIN103 MIN
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It’s a resolutely poetic, at times even golden-hued portrait of lives unafraid to hope amid growing despair.

Robert Abele
Los Angeles Times
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WICKED LITTLE LETTERS: Last Day Thursday, May 23rd

Watch Trailer Director: Thea Sharrock
Writer(s): Jonny Sweet
Cast: Olivia Coleman, Jessie Buckley,

Olivia Coleman (The Crown) and Jessie Buckley (I’m Thinking of Ending Things) team up for a British black comedy set amid the UK’s suffragette movement during the 1920’s. Full of hijinks, plot twists, and fantastic acting from a stellar cast, this fun film shows what happens when a friendship is put to the test!

From filmmaker Thea Sharrock (Call the Midwife) and comedian Jonny Sweet, Wicked Little Letters is the perfect breath of hilarious fresh air that lets its two leads off the leash to do what they do best.

 

 

 

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Running Time: 100 MIN100 MIN
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PRIDE AT THE ATHENA

This June, celebrate Pride with a new and exciting film series — I LOVE GAY 90’S.

We are going back in time a few decades…to the GAY 90’s! Cellphones were only for the rich and Ellen was about to make history with her 1997 “The Puppy Episode”. It was a different world and there was much less representation of LGBTQ+ identities in Hollywood. But the 90’s were a pivotal time that paved the way for representation in the mainstream. Our series features titles that empower LGBTQ+ characters, and changed the landscape of cinema for good.

“This series is DA BOMB!”

“I didn’t get tix yet. MY BAD!”

“Did you know there will be some PHAT raffle prizes?”

“I’m gonna be looking FLY!”

Put on your best 90’s gear and join us for trivia, raffles, drinks and a really fab movie party!

This series is sponsored by Ohio University Pride Center, Ohio University Women’s Center, Ohio University Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Women of Color in Athens, City of Athens, College of Fine Arts, Arts for OHIO and the Ohio Arts Council.

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THE PEOPLE’S JOKER

Watch Trailer Director: Vera Drew
Cast: Vera Drew, Kane Distler, Nathan Faustyn, Phil Braun

The DC Comics universe, improv comedy, and gender identity all collide in this wild coming-of-age supervillain parody from Emmy-nominated filmmaker Vera Drew!

Vera is a gender-questioning youth growing up in Smallville, Kansas in a dystopic world overseen by Batman. They’re a huge fan of improv comedy and hope to someday join the cast UCB Live, a comedy troupe whose show is a big hit. When they finally grow up and move to the big city of Gotham, Vera gets a shot at becoming part of the team. However, a computer designates them as a male Joker and puts limits on the type of comedy they are permitted to enact. This prompts Vera to join up with other outlaw comedians to try and start their own troupe. An encounter with “Mr. J”, a transgender comedian, leads Vera to finally recognize that she has the power to buck the system and identify as a transgender woman.

With its humble beginnings as a crowd-funded enterprise, The People’s Joker has become a smash hit among critics and audiences who have praised its creative approach to dealing with transgender issues. Vera Drew serves as co-writer, director, editor, and star of this weirdly entertaining and educational film with a supporting cast of improv comedy greats that includes Tim Heidecker, Maria Bumford, and Bob Odenkirk.

 

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Running Time: 92 MIN92 MIN
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A blasphemous Molotov cocktail of a movie, with a unique and valuable point of view. And it’s hilarious, too!

Katie Rife - Polygon
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CHALLENGERS: Last Day Thursday, May9th

Watch Trailer Director: Luca Guadagnino
Writer(s): Justin Kuritzkes
Cast: Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, Mike Faist

In the game of tennis, “love” means something a bit different than what we’re used to. This is especially evident in CHALLENGERS, the latest film from visionary Italian director Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Suspiria). Zendaya stars as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy-turned-coach who comes up with a novel strategy to break the losing streak of her tennis pro husband who has to face his former best friend (and Tashi’s former boyfriend) in an important match: A love triangle!

Guadagnino’s films are known for their steamy sensuality, and this film is no exception — Zendaya’s performance in this romantic thriller has been hailed by critics as one of her best and bravest roles. With a cast rounded out by Josh O’Connor (The Crown) and Mike Faist (Panic), and a soundtrack featuring new music from NIN’s Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Challengers is sure to be the grand slam of the summer!

 

 

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Running Time: 131 MIN131 MIN
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LA CHIMERA: Last Day Thursday, May 23rd

Watch Trailer Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Writer(s): Alice Rohrwacher
Cast: Josh O'Connor, Yile Vianello, Isabella Rosellini,
Language: Italian - English Open Captions

Arthur is a disgraced British archaeologist who returns to his beloved Tuscany after a stint in prison for the unenviable crime of grave-robbing. Although he has a mysterious talent for using a divining rod to find ancient artifacts buried beneath the soil, he isn’t necessarily looking to return to his previous occupation. Rather, his melancholy homecoming is more the product of not having anything better to do and the fact that the Italian country side feels most like home to him. Plus, his dreams are haunted by visions of the woman who stirs his heart and who he’s somehow lost earlier in his life. Arthur soon discovers that what he is truly searching for will require an excavation through the layers of his sordid past to uncover the lost treasure of love.

Josh O’Connor (The Crown) stars in this very magical and very real romantic drama written and directed by Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher. And, award-winning cinematographer Hélène Louvart’s camera work – which has been a feature of films from directors like Wim Wenders, Claire Denis, and Jacques Doillon – adds lots of depth to this enchanting period piece set in the 1980’s.

 

 

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Running Time: 130 MIN130 MIN
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REMEMBERING GENE WILDER

Watch Trailer Director: Ron Frank
Cast: Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks, Alan Alda, Carol Kane, Rain Pryor

For nearly three decades, the comedic genius of Gene Wilder unfailingly brought laughs to millions of movie-goers. His filmography reads like a list of some of the all-time greatest comedies of the 1970’s and 80’s, with highlights like The Producers, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask), Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and Silver Streak. Moreover, the characters that Gene played often transcended mere comedy as he was able to imbue them with a genuine likeableness and compassion.

Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Ron Frank’s thoughtful documentary Remembering Gene Wilder is a fitting tribute to one of Hollywood’s brightest stars, examining Wilder’s life on stage and screen, his personal relationships with people like Gilda Radner and Richard Pryor, and his post-film career as an Emmy-winning TV star, novelist, and painter. The world may never see a talent like Wilder’s again, and this touching film will serve to keep his memory freshly in the minds of people for generations to come.

 

 

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Running Time: 92 MIN92 MIN
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This adoring documentary... offers ... a welcome reminder that those emotionally unpredictable but essentially decent souls Wilder often played got their authenticity from being, at heart, a lot like him.

Bill Newcott - The Saturday Evening Post
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EVIL DOES NOT EXIST

Watch Trailer Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Writer(s): Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Cast: Hitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa

Takumi and his daughter, Hana, live in a small rural village in the forest near Harasawa, Japan. A single-parent, Takumi makes ends meet by doing odd jobs like chopping firewood and hauling well water for his local neighbors. Father and daughter enjoy a happy life of contentment amid the unspoiled landscape of the mountains and lakes near their home, a landscape where nature is permitted to simply exist with minimal impact from humans. The serenity of this peaceful environment comes under threat, however, with the imminent arrival of  Playmode, a company from urban Tokyo which intends to build a “glamping” campsite for city tourists—a plan that will have disastrous consequences for the ecological health and cleanliness of the humble community.

The latest film from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car), Evil Does Not Exist has been recognized by audience and critics for its continuation of Hamaguchi’s trajectory as a director to pay attention to. The film’s theme — a small community striving against the unconscionable corporate profit-motive — is timely and relatable in this age where protecting the last vestiges of Nature has never been more paramount.

 

 

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Running Time: 106 MIN106 MIN
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THE BEAST

Watch Trailer Director: Bertrand Bornello
Writer(s): Bertrand Bornello
Cast: Léa Seydoux, George MacKay

In a not-too-distant future where emotions are viewed as a threat to the social order, a young woman, Gabrielle, attempts to eradicate her strong feelings by purifying her DNA in a machine that connects with her past lives. She later meets a young man named Louis and feels drawn to him as though they’ve known one another before. As the story unfolds through 3 separate eras – 1910, 2014 and 2044 – Gabrielle comes face-to-face with her fate, a set of circumstances that heretofore have seemed to be lying in wait for her – like a “beast in the jungle.”

The Beast (Fr. La Béte) mixes sci-fi, romance, and drama to put an ultra-modern spin on the Henry James novel, The Beast in the Jungle, which served as an inspiration for the screenplay. Directed by Bertrand Bornello, the film stars Léa Seydoux and George MacKay.

 

 

 

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Running Time: 146 MIN146 MIN
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WIDOW CLICQUOT

Watch Trailer Director: Thomas Napper
Cast: Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge, Sam Riley

Haley Bennett (Cyrano, Hillbilly Elegy) offers up a soaring performance as “Madame Barbe-Nicole Clicquot” who becomes a young widow (“veuve” in French) and single mother with the unexpected death of her husband François. As Napoleon begins to flex his imperial power across the European continent, the widow Clicquot inherits control of her husband’s company, which involves not only banking and trade, but also the production of champagne. Placing her focus solely on making (and perfecting) this highly coveted beverage, Barbe-Nicole’s ambition, patience, and persistence ultimately leads her to develop innovative techniques that have withstood the test of time and establish the Veuve Clicquot champagne empire that is still revered for its quality to this day.

Based on the New York Times bestselling biography, this film from director Thomas Napper tells the true story of woman who, faced with unenviable odds, perseveres in an industry dominated by men and a world dominated by draconian laws to become a major icon of 19th-century Europe.

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Running Time: 90 MIN90 MIN
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