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FILM SERIES

Both Sides of the Camera: Actor/Directors

 
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Apr 28—May 11, 2023
 
   
 
 
 
 
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Part of Film

Spanning the entire history of cinema, this series brings together a powerhouse lineup of films from around the world where the director is their own star. It’s a celebration of moviemaking titans across the ages, featuring silent comedians who built the basics of film grammar like Charlie Chaplin and Mabel Normand; polymath-artists like Orson Welles and Spike Lee; actors that wanted to expand their art like Jackie Chan, Robert Townsend, and Barbara Loden; and independent iconoclasts like John Cassavetes, Cheryl Dunye, and Wendell B. Harris, Jr.


 
PAST EVENTS
Touch Of Evil
Film
Touch of Evil
 

Orson Welles gives a show-stopping performance in this delightful thriller.

Fri, Apr 28, 2023
 
 
Out Of The Blue
Film
Out of the Blue
 

Dennis Hopper is a bad dad just home from prison in his hurricane-force domestic tragedy.

Fri, Apr 28, 2023
 
 
 Do The Right Thing
Film
Do The Right Thing
 

Racial tensions run high in the streets of Bed-Stuy in Spike Lee’s landmark Brooklyn classic.

Sat, Apr 29, 2023
 
 
Police Story
Film
Police Story
 

Jackie Chan’s breathtaking martial-arts comedy about a rogue Hong Kong police inspector.

Sat, Apr 29, 2023
 
 
Play Time
Film
PlayTime
 

Jacques Tati’s old-world alter-ego traverses Paris amid sight gags and physical comedy.

Sun, Apr 30, 2023
 
 
Defending Your Life
Film
Defending Your Life
 

Albert Brooks makes comedic gold out of the meaning of one man’s life—and what comes next.

Sun, Apr 30, 2023
 
 
 Hollywood Shuffle
Film
Hollywood Shuffle
 

Comedian Robert Townsend takes aim at Hollywood in this wildly inventive satire.

Sun, Apr 30, 2023
 
 
Mabel Normand
Film
Mabel Normand Program
 

Unjustly overlooked today, Normand was one of the silent era’s most popular, gifted comedians.

Mon, May 1, 2023
 
 
 Cairo Station
Film
Cairo Station
 

Youssef Chahine’s acclaimed populist drama is propelled by one man’s dangerous obsession.

Tue, May 2, 2023
 
 
Yentl
Film
Yentl
 

Barbra Streisand made history with this musical about a Jewish woman’s quest for education.

Tue, May 2, 2023
 
 
Sherlock Jr
Film
The Kid + Sherlock Jr
 

Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton show off their emotional, technical, and comedic brilliance.

Wed, May 3, 2023
 
 
American Me
Film
American Me
 

Edward James Olmos traces one man’s journey from East LA to Folsom Prison—and back again.

Wed, May 3, 2023
 
 
Fox Friends
Film
Fox and His Friends
 

Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s heart-shattering portrait of queer romance in 1970s West Germany.

Fri, May 5, 2023
 
 
King Lear
Film
Kung Fu Hustle
 

Martial arts meets Looney Tunes in Stephen Chow’s dazzling action-comedy.

Fri, May 5, 2023
 
 
 Rules Of The Game
Film
The Rules of the Game
 

Jean Renoir’s mix of farce and melodrama is considered one of the best films ever made.

Sat, May 6, 2023
 
 
Firework
Film
Fireworks
 

Takeshi Kitano’s Venice prize-winning masterpiece blends domesticity and operatic violence.

Sat, May 6, 2023
 
 
 Love Streams
Film
Love Streams
 

The final, searing masterwork from John Cassavetes follows two siblings thrown together.

Sat, May 6, 2023
 
 
King Lear
Film
King Lear
 

Jean-Luc Godard plays his own version of a Shakespearean fool in this fascinating work.

Sat, May 6, 2023
 
 
Watermelon Woman
Film
Watermelon Woman
 

New Queer Cinema icon Cheryl Dunye on Black lesbian identity and the movies.

Sun, May 7, 2023
 
 
Bridges Of Madison County
Film
Bridges of Madison County
 

Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep shine in this romance about a fleeting, profound connection.

Sun, May 7, 2023
 
 
Nutty Professor
Film
The Nutty Professor
 

Jerry Lewis showcases his talents in this story of a bumbling professor and his alter-ego.

Sun, May 7, 2023
 
 
Je Tu Il Elle
Film
Je tu il elle
 

Chantal Akerman’s first narrative feature is a landmark investigation of female subjectivity.

Sun, May 7, 2023
 
 
New Leaf
Film
A New Leaf
 

Elaine May is a nerdy heiress in one of the funniest—and darkest—comedies of the 70s.

Mon, May 8, 2023
 
 
Chameleon Street
Film
Chameleon Street
 

A brilliant acid comedy about a conman from Wendell B. Harris Jr. explores Black alienation.

Mon, May 8, 2023
 
 
Divine Intervention
Film
Divine Intervention
 

Elia Suleiman offers a darkly comic, piercing vision of life in his hometown of Nazareth.

Wed, May 10, 2023
 
 
 Wanda
Film
Wanda
 

Barbara Loden’s experimental neo-realist milestone follows a working-class woman adrift.

Wed, May 10, 2023
 
 
Let The Bullets Fly
Film
Let the Bullets Fly
 

Jiang Wen faces off against Chow Yun-fat in this wildly inventive action spectacle.

Thu, May 11, 2023