Premiering to wide acclaim in the Midnight section at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the remarkable horror-comedy Buddy, written and directed by Casper Kelly, drew praise from multiple critics like Variety’s Owen Gleiberman, who wrote, “Casper Kelly is a talent to watch…He has a gleefully rich understanding of the inner insanity that can drive pop culture.” Those of us who have seen and loved Kelly’s short form work, like Please Please Pick Up, which screened at the Cinematheque in 2011, and the much adored, almost indescribable Adult Swim classic, Too Many Cooks (2014), have had our eyes on this singular artist for a while. A writer for several animated series, the author of a book of short fiction, contributor of the unforgettable “Cheddar Goblin” sequence in Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy, and the auteur behind Adult Swim’s pair of beautifully bonkers Yule Log movies, Casper Kelly will join us in person December 3-6 to screen Buddy and the first Adult Swim Yule Log. He will also be on hand to introduce a half dozen of his favorite movies; a diverse, exciting selection that Kelly curated himself!
THURS., 12/3, 7 p.m.
Casper Kelly in Person!
BUDDY
USA | 2026 | DCP | 95 min.
Director: Casper Kelly
Cast: Delaney Quinn, Cristin Milioti, Topher Grace
In the first theatrically released feature from the inventive mind of writer/director Casper Kelly, a brave girl and her friends must escape a kids television show. A wild, unpredictable, sometimes blood-soaked horror comedy, Buddy features stellar work from the cast, especially young lead Delaney Quinn, and guest appearances from Patton Oswalt, Michael Shannon, and Keegan-Michael Key as the title character. Casper Kelly will join us in person for a post-screening discussion!
FRI., 12/4, 6 p.m.
SALESMAN
USA | 1969 | DCP | 95 min.
Director: David Maysles, Albert Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
A landmark American documentary from the team that later made Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter, Salesman marks a highpoint in 1960s cinema verité. Aging door-to-door Bible salesman Paul Brennan is followed through his struggles with sales quotas and the somber desperation and frustrations of constant travel. As a study of business and religion, materialism and spiritualism, few non-fiction movies speak with such sensitivity and subtle beauty.
FRI., 12/4, 8 p.m.
ABOUT ENDLESSNESS (OM DET OÄNDLIGA)
Sweden | 2019 | DCP | 78 min. | Swedish with English subtitles
Director: Roy Andersson
Cast: Martin Serner, Tatiana Delaunay, Jan-Eje Ferling
In what he has stated will be his final film, director Andersson concludes a quartet of darkly satirical features, each composed with a number of vignettes that reveal the foibles and limitations of the human race. Using a locked-down camera and deep focus long takes, Andersson delivers a number of random episodes, some poignant, some gag-driven. He also follows a few recurring characters, such as a priest suffering a crisis of faith, an older man who feels slighted by an old classmate, and a couple who embrace each other as they float amongst clouds. All of the brief episodes are filmed entirely on brilliantly detailed sets at Andersson’s private studio.
SAT., 12/5, 2 p.m.
THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES
USA | 1941 | 35mm | 91 min.
Director: Sam Wood
Cast: Jean Arthur, Charles Coburn, Robert Cummings
Looking to bust up union activity at his department store, wealthy tycoon J.P. Merrick (Coburn) goes undercover as a shoe salesman in order to identify the organizers. Soon though, he’s caught up in the lives of his employees, including union ringleader Mary Jones (Arthur), and Merrick forgets his original purpose…until his two identities collide. This hilarious farce will be shown in a restored 35mm print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
SAT., 12/5, 4 p.m.
UNDER THE SKIN
UK, USA, Switzerland | 2013 | DCP | 108 min.
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams, Adam Pearson
In this one-of-a-kind cinematic odyssey from director Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest, Birth), an alien creature takes the form of a woman (Scarlett Johansson) in contemporary Scotland. As this malevolent visitor prowls the streets, various men fall victim to its tantalizing disguise, yet life as a human soon takes its toll. Guided by a disquieting musical score from composer Mica Levi, Glazer’s horrific sci-fi tale features shades of the rigorous formal style employed by Stanley Kubrick. Audaciously experimental, Under the Skin is one of the most acclaimed films of the twenty-first century thus far. (JM)
SAT., 12/5, 7 p.m.
Casper Kelly in Person!
ADULT SWIM YULE LOG
USA | 2022 | DCP | 91 min.
Director: Casper Kelly
Cast: Andrea Laing, Justin Miles, Jessica Fontaine
A cozy two-minute yule log video morphs into a disturbing home invasion horror movie that becomes a supernatural cabin-in-the-woods thriller with a young couple who may be at the mercy of a haunted fireplace! Originally presented on Adult Swim without any announcement or warning, this wild holiday slay ride found immediate appreciation from horror-comedy fans and spawned an equally fun sequel. Yule Log will be preceded by Casper Kelly’s celebrated, hilarious Adult Swim short, Too Many Cooks (2014, 11 min.). Casper Kelly will join us in person for a post-screening discussion.
SUN., 12/6, 12 p.m.
THE DREAMLIFE OF ANGELS
France | 1998 | 35mm | 113 min. | French with English subtitles
Director: Erick Zonca
Cast: Élodie Bouchez, Natacha Régnier, Gregoire Colin
Stars Bouchez and Régnier shared the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival for their raw, deeply compassionate portraits of two young women who develop a friendship on the margins of contemporary France. Refusing easy clichés about youth, the film follows their diverging paths with honesty, capturing both the exhilaration of possibility and the compromises demanded by adulthood. Screening in a rare 35mm print courtesy of the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research, Dreamlife remains one of the great discoveries of 1990s French cinema.
SUN., 12/6, 2:30 p.m.
THE PARALLAX VIEW
USA | 1974 | 35mm | 102 min.
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Cast: Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, Hume Cronyn
Beatty stars as Joe Frady, a journalist obsessed with the assassination of a Kennedy-esque candidate. His investigation leads him to the mysterious Parallax Corporation, which just might be a recruiting organization for assassins. Along with director Pakula’s All the President’s Men, this is a bonafide Hollywood classic of political paranoia. 35mm print courtesy Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research.