
Programmed by Matt Wolf and Joseph A. Berger
Documentary filmmaker Matt Wolf’s portrait of the actor, comedian, and artist Paul Reubens—better known as Pee-wee Herman—premiered this past spring on HBO to great acclaim. Before his passing, Reubens gave Wolf a list of his favorite films—ones he loved and ones that influenced his most famous creation. This summer, we’re honored to host screenings of many of these films in collaboration with Wolf and film programmer Joseph A. Berger. Featuring intros by Paul Reubens’ friends and collaborators, this wide-ranging series offers a fascinating glimpse into the creative mind of the beloved entertainer.
Featuring a screening of Wolf’s full two-part HBO documentary, Pee-wee as Himself, with a live Q&A
Documentary filmmaker Matt Wolf’s portrait of the actor, comedian, and artist Paul Reubens—better known as Pee-wee Herman—premiered this past spring on HBO to great acclaim. Before his passing, Reubens gave Wolf a list of his favorite films—ones he loved and ones that influenced his most famous creation. This summer, we’re honored to host screenings of many of these films in collaboration with Wolf and film programmer Joseph A. Berger. Featuring intros by Paul Reubens’ friends and collaborators, this wide-ranging series offers a fascinating glimpse into the creative mind of the beloved entertainer.
Featuring a screening of Wolf’s full two-part HBO documentary, Pee-wee as Himself, with a live Q&A
Leadership support for
BAM’s strategic initiatives provided by:
Leadership support for
BAM Access Programs provided by
the Jerome L. Greene Foundation
Leadership support for
BAM programming provided by:
Leadership support for
BAM’s strategic initiatives provided by:
Leadership support for
BAM Film provided by
The Thompson Family Foundation
Major support for programs in
the Lepercq Cinema is provided by
The Lepercq Charitable Foundation
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Film
Pee-Wee as Himself
Thu, Sep 4, 2025
Pee-Wee as Himself
Thu, Sep 4, 2025Matt Wolf’s revelatory documentary is an intimate portrait of the late great Paul Reubens—better known as Pee-wee Herman. -
Film
Female Trouble
Sep 5—Sep 10, 2025
Female Trouble
Sep 5—Sep 10, 2025John Waters’ shocking and astonishingly funny cult-classic takes fame-lust and crime-worship into unimaginable terrain. -
Film
Nashville
Sep 5—Sep 6, 2025
Nashville
Sep 5—Sep 6, 2025Following 24 characters through five days in the country-music capital, Robert Altman's 1975 epic presents a complexly textured portrayal and critique of American obsessions with celebrity and power. -
Film
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Sep 5—Sep 7, 2025
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Sep 5—Sep 7, 2025Tim Burton’s first feature film was a bona fide pop-culture phenomenon following Pee-wee Herman on a quest to recover his beloved and iconic red bicycle. -
Film
Playtime
Sep 5—Sep 9, 2025
Playtime
Sep 5—Sep 9, 2025Jacques Tati’s hapless, old-world alter ego Monsieur Hulot traverses Paris in this quintessential medley of sight gags and precise physical comedy. -
Film
A Face in the Crowd
Sep 6—Sep 11, 2025
A Face in the Crowd
Sep 6—Sep 11, 2025Reubens’ all-time favorite film, Elia Kazan’s political satire follows the rise and fall of Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes, a media sensation with a hunger for fame. -
Film
Some Like It Hot
Sep 6—Sep 10, 2025
Some Like It Hot
Sep 6—Sep 10, 2025Billy Wilder’s classic crime-comedy is set in the prohibition era and stars Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe. -
Film
You Can't Take it With You
Sep 6—Sep 11, 2025
You Can't Take it With You
Sep 6—Sep 11, 2025Frank Capra’s charming romantic comedy about munitions heir Tony, Jr. (Jimmy Stewart), who meets his fiancé’s mischievous, oddball family. -
Film
Pollyanna
Sun, Sep 7, 2025
Pollyanna
Sun, Sep 7, 2025Hayley Mills stars in this beloved 1960 Disney film about the spirit of positivity and resilience, which thematically influenced the second Pee-wee feature, 1988’s Big Top Pee-wee. -
Film
A Star is Born (1937)
Sun, Sep 7, 2025
A Star is Born (1937)
Sun, Sep 7, 2025The first of five versions of Cukor’s What Price Hollywood?, this 1937 classic follows farm girl Esther as she moves to Hollywood and becomes an overnight box office sensation, but at what cost? -
Film
A Star is Born (1954)
Sun, Sep 7, 2025
A Star is Born (1954)
Sun, Sep 7, 2025George Cukor returns to his What Price Hollywood? story, this time adapting the screenplay for Judy Garland and James Mason. -
Film
All About Eve
Sep 8—Sep 11, 2025
All About Eve
Sep 8—Sep 11, 2025Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s classic tells the age-old tale of a diva whose spotlight is usurped by an ambitious ingénue, starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, and George Sanders. -
Film
The Misfits
Sep 8—Sep 9, 2025
The Misfits
Sep 8—Sep 9, 2025Marilyn Monroe’s final, and finest, performance soars in this devastating romance, directed by John Huston and written by Monroe’s then-husband Arthur Miller. -
Film
S.O.B.
Mon, Sep 8, 2025
S.O.B.
Mon, Sep 8, 2025An all-star cast invades Blake Edwards’ outrageous satire of the Machiavellian exploits of Hollywood dealmakers. -
Film
A Place in the Sun
Tue, Sep 9, 2025
A Place in the Sun
Tue, Sep 9, 2025Theodore Dreiser’s novel An American Tragedy serves as the basis for this drama about an impossible love triangle, starring Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor. -
Film
Women in Revolt
Wed, Sep 10, 2025
Women in Revolt
Wed, Sep 10, 2025A clique of “women’s libbers” viciously satirize the mainstream feminist movement while upending all established codes of gender in Paul Morrisey’s undershown countercultural triumph. -
Film
Desperate Living
Aug 31—Sep 4, 2025
Desperate Living
Aug 31—Sep 4, 2025A rich housewife murders her husband with the help of her maid and the two find refuge in Mortville until they run into the tyrannical Queen Carlotta, in this provocative, punkish John Waters comedy.