Cooper Hoffman stars as Elliot, a naive young man who lands a dream job for an iconic and provocative artist, Erika Tracy (played by Olivia Wilde). As Elliot’s job becomes more involved, his fantasies for Erika begin to come true as she embraces him as her sexual muse. Elliot soon finds himself out of his depth, however, as Erika takes him on a journey more profound than his wildest imaginings — a journey into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal and murder.
Winner of the Camera d’Or Award at Cannes – given to the best “first” feature film – this tenderly-crafted film about the loss of childhood is sure to garner much praise for Iraqi writer/director Hasan Hadi!
Set in 1990’s Iraq, The President’s Cake follows 9-year-old Lamia who has been specially selected to bake a cake for The President’s birthday. As Lamia and some companions winds their way through the rough urban environment surrounding her – an environment of coarseness, suspicion, and turmoil – in a search for the basic elements to make the birthday cake, the challenges they face end up strengthening their sense of humanity in a world where there seems to be not much left.
105 MIN
Tony is a biographical comedy-drama about one of the food world’s most incredible personalities and greatest losses – Chef and writer Anthony Bourdain.
Starring newcomer Dominic Sessa, and based partly on Bourdain’s famous memoir Kitchen Confidential, this film takes us back to the summer of 1976 and Provincetown, MA when Bourdain takes a summer job, begins at the bottom of the culinary totem pole, and discovers the thrilling grind of life in the restaurant kitchen…a thrill that would change his life forever.
106 MIN
For more info about the Colson Whitehead visit, click the link below:
Ohio University Libraries Presents: Colson Whitehead
About the film
Elwood, a young African-American boy, is coming of age in Florida during the 1960’s Jim Crow era. Even in the midst of the tense racial attitudes that were dividing society at that time, Elwood’s future appears bright: he is awarded an opportunity to attend an HBCU’s honor’s program tuition-free. While hitchhiking to class, however, Elwood is picked up by a man driving a stolen car and the two are pulled over by the police. Elwood is unfairly arrested as an accomplice, and his hopeful trajectory through life is forever changed as he is transferred to a segregated reform school – The Nickel Academy – which is notorious for is brutal abuse of black students. He meets and befriends Turner, another student, and the two learn to rely on each other to make it through the tough environment even though their ideas about how black people should integrate into white society are very different.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead about the infamous “Dozier School”, and written and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker RaMell Ross, Nickel Boys uses the unique approach of presenting the visual narrative of the film through the first-person perspective – in other words, through the eyes of the protagonists. The film has also been nominated for and won several prestigious awards on the film festival circuit for its script, cinematography, and direction.
Special thanks to the following organizations for sponsoring this event: Ohio University Honor’s Tutorial College, Cutler’s Scholars, University Libraries, and the Ohio U English Department
140 MIN
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Director: Aldo Salvini
Cast: Haydee Cáceres, Bruno Balbuena, Sergio Velasco
This event will include a panel discussion
About the film
This inventive sci-fi/fantasy film – selected as Peru’s entry for Best International Film at the Academy Awards in 2023 – is the story of “M”, an elderly homeless woman who drifts through life as a lonely shadow crossing the same geography every day. Her days are spent day-dreaming about her past life until a chance encounter with an ant prompts her to share her world with the tiny, insignificant insect…A world made of nostalgic memories and a dark presence that haunts her. Soon thereafter, a strange being – a “mechanical angel” – arrives to help her get her life on better footing. Evoking the sense of abandonment and mental anguish that homeless people suffer, Moon’s Heart is an extraordinarily touching film featuring an unforgettable performance by lead actress Haydeé Cáceres.
The Spanish Film Club series was made possible with the support of the OHIO School of International Studies and Languages (SISAL), Sigma Delta Pi (National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society), Pragda, SPAIN arts & culture, and the Secretary of State for Culture of Spain.
80 MIN
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Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Cast: Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, Joshua Leonard
About the film
Three film students looking to make a documentary take a road trip to rural Maryland in order to investigate and interview residents about an alleged local myth centered on an entity known as “The Blair Witch”. Their efforts point them to a hermit who, fifty years ago, was reported to have kidnapped and murdered children deep in the forest. Beyond just being a grim story, the students learn more about the dark and mysterious character of the woods – more murders, disappearances, strange occult figures…in essence, the locals believe the forest to be cursed. When curiosity gets the better of the trio, they set out to explore the woods and see for themselves what secrets lie among the trees. What they discover is a force more dark than they could ever imagine.
About the speaker
Travis Eskins is a graduate student in the Film Studies program at Ohio University. He was born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia, where he studied Film and English Literature at Marshall University. His work is focused on depictions of labor movements in film, especially those from the Appalachian region. He is currently teaching a course on films set in Appalachia. Travis will be discussing The Blair Witch Project’s influential role in modern film history and connecting it to the local legend of the Mothman through the concepts of Commemoration and Folklore-ization of actual events.
This series is sponsored by the Ohio Honors Program, University Libraries, College of Health Sciences and Professions, The Department of Social and Public Health, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, OU School of Film, and The Office of Signature Academic Experiences.
81 MIN
Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser stars as Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower in this new epic war drama that delves deep into the tension and high-stakes involved in the crucial 72-hour period just before the invasion of Normandy during WWII. As Ike and his general staff are finalizing plans for one of the greatest military operations in history, everything hinges upon the weather. While the military commanders carry a heavy load, the real burden rests on British meteorologist Capt. James Stagg (played by Andrew Scott) who is tasked with predicting what the skies will have in store for a maneuver that will surely lead to mass casualties and ultimately decide the fate of the free world!
100 MIN
Director Michael Sarnoski offers up a gritty and thrilling re-telling of one of the world’s most famous heroes of legend in this new film from A24 Studios!
Stripping away the traditional mythology surrounding Robin Hood, and inspired by a 17th-century ballad that darkly tells of the story of the hero’s death, and instead allows Hollywood heavyweight Hugh Jackman to portray Hood as an aging, cutthroated criminal who is wrestling with his own mortality, his past choices, and the legacy he chooses to leave behind.
123 MIN
Kris, a queer filmmaker, is tasked with rebooting a long-running horror film franchise known as Camp Miasma. In the process, she becomes obsessed with finding the reclusive actress who played the final girl in the original film so that she can be cast in the new installment. What initially starts as a tender professional relationship soon begins to spiral into a frenzied psycho-sexual bloodlust.
Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, this exciting new slasher film – Winner of the Queer Palm Award at Cannes – stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.
106 MIN
“Cells and Sunshine Laws: The Importance of Public Records to Innocence Work” with special guest speakers:
Laurese Glover, OIP Exoneree
Lorenzo Vasquez, OIP Exoneree
Kay Anderson, Executive Director of the Northwest Ohio Innocence Clinic
Pierce Reed Esq., Director of Policy and Engagement, Ohio Innocence Project
Joanna Sanchez, Esq., Staff Attorney, Exoneration Project
Tuesday, October 28th at 7:00 p.m.
Admission is FREE and open to the public – Tickets are required for entry*
*Tickets will be available to claim in-person in our lobby during normal business hours leading up to and on the evening of the event
Wrongful Conviction Day 2025 will be hosted by the OIP (Ohio Innocence Project), OIPU (Ohio Innocence Project University chapter) and the CLJC (Center for Law Justice and Culture). It will be featuring multiple guest speakers who will be traveling to Ohio University to share their experiences surrounding wrongful conviction, the effects that wrongful conviction and imprisonment have on those accused, and those close to the accused, and the work that organizations such as the OIP are doing to reverse and prevent instances of wrongful conviction from occurring in the State of Ohio.
Southeast Ohio's Premier
Art House Theater
Est. 1915
