
Programmed by Conor Williams
At a time when authoritarianism has once again gained a grip on world politics, this series of films—which includes masterpieces from great artists of cinema alongside unsung gems given another chance—can hopefully serve as a reminder that cinema has long been a medium through which we have the power and the responsibility to fight back against fascism. These works share a particular sense of humor. Unafraid to poke fun at nationalism, militarism, capitalism, and many other -isms, the films curated here are meant to provoke laughter, but also thought—and direct action.
At a time when authoritarianism has once again gained a grip on world politics, this series of films—which includes masterpieces from great artists of cinema alongside unsung gems given another chance—can hopefully serve as a reminder that cinema has long been a medium through which we have the power and the responsibility to fight back against fascism. These works share a particular sense of humor. Unafraid to poke fun at nationalism, militarism, capitalism, and many other -isms, the films curated here are meant to provoke laughter, but also thought—and direct action.
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
Duck Soup
Aug 29—Sep 1, 2025
Duck Soup
Aug 29—Sep 1, 2025When the new dictator of Freedonia brings the nation to a halt with his lateness and insults, tensions with neighboring Sylvania mount until war is declared in this outrageous Marx Brothers comedy. -
Film
The Great Dictator
Aug 29—Sep 4, 2025
The Great Dictator
Aug 29—Sep 4, 2025In his first pure talkie, Charlie Chaplin gives one of the most profound performances ever put to screen, offering both a cutting caricature of Adolf Hitler and a sly tweaking of his own comic persona. -
Film
To Be or Not to Be
Aug 29—Sep 1, 2025
To Be or Not to Be
Aug 29—Sep 1, 2025In Ernst Lubitsch's audacious black comedy, Jack Benny and Carole Lombard are the stars of an acting troupe embroiled in a Polish soldier’s efforts to track down a German spy during the Nazi occupation. -
Film
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Aug 30—Sep 2, 2025
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Aug 30—Sep 2, 2025Recounting the adventures of legendary concierge Gustave H. and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend, The Grand Budapest Hotel is Wes Anderson’s most visually brilliant work. -
Film
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Aug 30—Sep 2, 2025
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Aug 30—Sep 2, 2025In this pitch-black Cold War satire from director Stanley Kubrick starring the brilliant Peter Sellers in three roles, a mentally unstable US Air Force general orders a nuclear bomb attack on Russia. -
Film
Porco Rosso
Aug 30—Sep 1, 2025
Porco Rosso
Aug 30—Sep 1, 2025A world-weary flying ace turned bounty hunter, whose face has been transformed into that of a pig by a mysterious spell, confronts a band of sky pirates in this aerial fantasy from Hayao Miyazaki. -
Film
Starship Troopers
Aug 30—Sep 4, 2025
Starship Troopers
Aug 30—Sep 4, 2025Courageous soldiers are dispatched to a desolate system for a showdown between species in Paul Verhoeven’s dazzling sci-fi satire, now appreciated as a darkly insightful commentary on US imperialism. -
Film
BlacKkKlansman
Aug 31—Sep 3, 2025
BlacKkKlansman
Aug 31—Sep 3, 2025Determined to make a difference, the first African American detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department sets out to infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux Klan in a Spike Lee film based on a true story. -
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. -
Film
Love & Anarchy
Aug 31—Sep 3, 2025
Love & Anarchy
Aug 31—Sep 3, 2025A freckled Italian farm boy allies himself with the women of a brothel in an attempt to assassinate Benito Mussolini in Lina Wertmüller’s wild tragicomedy, a powerful statement on the terror of fascism. -
Film
The Organizer
Sep 2—Sep 3, 2025
The Organizer
Sep 2—Sep 3, 2025Marcello Mastroianni stars in Mario Monicelli’s revolutionary comedy about class warfare in late 19th-century Italy, a beautiful and moving ode to the power of the people brimming with humor and honesty.