Programs
BAMcinématek 2013
BAMcinématek presents classic films, premieres, festivals, and retrospectives, with appearances by filmmakers, actors, and critics.
"The four screening rooms nestled into a stately palace on Lafayette Avenue provide a year-round menu of new independent releases and smartly programmed series." —A.O. Scott, The New York Times
Read more about the history of BAMcinématek.

This festival of the most audacious moving-image work from the film and art worlds boasts "the highest revelation-per-event ratios of any festival in New York" (Film Comment).
BAMcinématek named Best Film Series in Time Out’s Best of New York 2013!

This 18-film retrospective is a wild and wired tribute to one of comedy’s most incendiary voices.

This festival of new black cinema returns for its third year with films that redefine the black experience.

Swoon your way through Valentine’s Day with this beloved royalty-gone-wild romantic comedy.

From dreamy romantic comedy to queasy K-horror, we gather the best in recent Korean cinema.

Cher is at her Oscar-winning best in this delightful Brooklyn Heights-set romantic comedy.

We salute the life of beloved Cinemachat host Elliott Stein with a collection of rarities.

This series presents two neglected world cinema masterpieces in eye-opening restorations.

America's leading French film festival!

This series gathers seven rare gems that explore the sounds of North Africa.

Ron Howard's sword-and-sorcery spectacle turns 25 this year.

This retrospective celebrates one of French cinema's greatest actresses at her smoldering best.

Jacques Rivette’s masterful thriller is a hallucinatory cinephilic fever dream.

Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreations) stars in this award-winning, deadpan comedic fable.

The line between heartbreak and derangement is thin in this bold, unsettling film.

The films of Hayao Miyazaki are testaments to the enduring power of animation.

A trio of aliens prowl a day-glo 80s LA in this delightfully goofy cult musical.

Experts explain the connections between movies and science in this ongoing series.

Kitano combines eye-popping violence, deadpan humor, and disarming sincerity.

Douglas Sirk’s amazing melodramas take bourgeois crises to Wagnerian heights.

Two vital new documentaries explore major environmental dilemmas.

A marathon of Malick masterpieces in sublime 35mm.

Buddy Holly goes from Texas teen to 1950s superstar in this appealing biopic.

Straub and Huillet’s take on Kafka’s Amerika is a dystopian anti-capitalist fable.

William Friedkin’s remarkable 70s output captures its era’s volatile spirit.

Bresson, Dreyer, and Truffaut all felt the wrath of the notorious audience at Cannes.

Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, and company wreak havoc in this special family matinee!

Greta Gerwig stars in this endearing, NYC-set homage to the French New Wave.

Discover the best new African films in this cinematic companion to DanceAfrica.

Pop juggernaut Joss Whedon appears in person to discuss his idiosyncratic cult hits.

A unique series of contemporary Russian films, featuring Alexander Sokurov’s Faust.

Bugs, Daffy, and friends return to our screens for more cwaaazy hijinks!

This sharp satire follows a group of infamous teens who burglarize celebrity homes.

This 3D documentary chronicles a surfing duo’s mad quest for Australia’s biggest waves.

New York’s “best independent film showcase” (The New Yorker) presents its fifth annual festival.

Discover the silent films of the world's most famous director in nine new restorations.

Experience classic Hollywood spectacles on the grand Steinberg Screen.

A showcase of the godfather of American independent cinema's work as director and actor.

Sundance Institute presents a day-long educational workshop for filmmakers.


Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch star in this buddy comedy. David Gordon Green in person!

A 3-film tribute to the brilliantly idiosyncratic ethnographer, who passed away this year.

A portrait of Brooklyn’s leading hip-hop chronicler, featuring Q&As with special guests!

This award-winning film brings to life the world of New York City pick-up basketball.

Rediscover four of Chaplin’s poignant and outlandish comedy classics in 35mm.

Commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington with classics and rarities.

Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost appear in person for this special marathon.

A week run of Enter the Dragon, plus five other wing chun classics.

The world-famous film preservationist presents new restorations of silent comedic gems.

This series captures the best in 1970s counterculture coolness and four-wheel acrobatics.

The Ultimate Love Goddess brings her exotic beauty to four rough-and-tumble Westerns.

This Sunday afternoon series offers big-screen classics for pint-sized cinephiles.

Discover the film work of celebrated novelist and journalist Alfred Hayes.

Verteran critic Peter Rainer joins audiences to discuss Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece.

John Waters’ outrageous muse breaks every taboo in these foul and funny films.

This moving documentary captures the life and music of a rising soul star.

Al Pacino stars in one of the best summer-in-the-city films ever.

Author Matthew Buchholz introduces this startlingly imaginative sci-fi classic.

The godfather of American independent cinema returns to BAM by popular demand.

This strikingly lensed rockumentary follows troubadour Bill Callahan (Smog) on tour.

Peter Lorre stars in this classic chiller about a pianist’s severed hand.

Claire Denis’ heady and haunting cannibal film runs for one week in a new 35mm print.

An intimate look at race, education, and black American middle-class life.

Karen Black’s offbeat performances embodied the defiant spirit of 1970s New Hollywood.

This annual weekend of the best puppetry on film returns for its third edition.

Bruce Dern and Karen Black light up the screen together in three gems from the 1970s.

Two films by Norman Mailer, followed by a discussion with his son and biographer.

This Halloween screening of Hitchcock's classic features live music by Morricone Youth.

A contemporary master of Swedish crime cinema joins audiences to discuss his best work.

Acclaimed novelist Martin Amis introduces Roman Polanski's bold take on Shakespeare.

Three provocative comedies, including the New York premiere of Goldthwait's latest.

Critics Nick Pinkerton and Nicolas Rapold introduce this series of unsung cinematic gems.

The first full-career U.S. retrospective of a Czechoslovak New Wave enfant terrible.

BAMcinématek pays tribute to this ever-surprising virtuoso actor.

Some of the most empathetic evocations of childhood by cinema’s favorite auteurs.

The outré, darkly comic films of this radical Russian director are ripe for discovery.

Cannes Best Actor winner Bruce Dern comes to BAM for an in-depth discussion of his career.

Director Spike Jonze introduces his acclaimed new film starring Joaquin Phoenix.

Andrei Tarkovsky’s tense sci-fi classic screens in a rare 35mm print.

Join us for shocking, spooky tales by the most innovative animation artists on the scene.