FALL PREMIERES
The latest and greatest in global cinema comes to Madison with the second edition of the UW Cinematheque’s Fall Thursday-night Premieres series. Join us each week for early or exclusive looks at the most exciting films being created today from all corners of cinema, ranging from major new works by arthouse icons, invigorating debut features, and the year’s most beloved documentaries. Think of Premieres as the fall edition of our Wisconsin Film Festival, and the UW Cinematheque as Madison’s home for the very best in contemporary cinema. This series was made possible by a generous donation from an anonymous cinephile. (MK)
- Thu., Aug. 31 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
Winner of the Silver Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, the latest from contemporary master Petzold (Phoenix, Transit) mines creative and romantic insecurities. Looking to overcome his writer’s block, a novelist accompanies his friend to his family’s seaside vacation house. But upon arrival, they find a young woman already staying there (Petzold regular Paula Beer). As love triangles—both requited and unrequited—develop, smoke from encroaching wildfires begins to cloud the vacation town’s skies. “Absorbing, barbed, and frequently funny” (Los Angeles Times). “A tonic for moviegoers tired of nice, squishable, likable, relatable dull and dull characters. (Manohla Dargis, The New York Times). (MK)
- Thu., Sep. 7 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
Cera stars as a poker addict returning to his hometown in this characteristically offbeat and perceptive dramedy from the director of Person to Person. As he reconnects with his two sisters in the house they grew up in, the siblings revert to their childhood language of inside jokes and make-believe—and their accompanying long-buried grudges. Building on a trifecta of bravura performances from Cera, Gross, and Asteroid City’s Lillis, the film’s apparently lowkey amiability builds to a bounty of funny, raw, and resonant revelations about family relationships. (MK)
- Thu., Sep. 14 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
This shocking, riotous comedy pushes the envelope to the point of breaking wide open. In a merciless self-parody, director Silva is creatively moribund and popping pills in Mexico City. He retreats to a notorious gay nude beach, where amid the bacchanal he encounters an obnoxious influencer (Firstman in a similarly mocking self-portrait) eager to participate in—and finance—a new project. Suffice it to say, things go seriously awry. Wildly unpredictable, absurdly despairing, and never less than totally outrageous, Rotting in the Sun is a culmination of the themes Silva has explored in films like The Maid, Crystal Fairy and the Magic Cactus, and Nasty Baby. Presented with the support of Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies at UW Madison (UW LACIS). (MK)
- Thu., Sep. 21 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
A radiant Léa Seydoux stars as a Parisian single mom juggling a complicated family life and a passionate new affair in this exquisitely moving slice-of-life. Over 8 features in 15 years, writer/director Hansen-Løve has risen to become one of France’s great auteurs, and this impeccably crafted heartbreaker ranks among her best films yet. “Rich and resonant… as palpable and alive as a gust of summer air rustling the tree along the Seine” (Indiewire). “Quietly miraculous… an immensely satisfying collaboration that finds both auteur and star further solidifying their spots among the greats of their respective fields” (The Hollywood Reporter). (MK)
- Thu., Sep. 28 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
A dad and step-dad attempt to bond with their 13 year-old son Branson on a weekend getaway in this drolly hilarious take on modern masculinity. Constantly looking to one-up each other and impress their disinterested son, the two dads squabble in hushed tones over life lessons ranging from grill etiquette to puberty. Marrying the improvised bickering of Curb Your Enthusiasm with the laid-back tranquility of Joe Pera Talks With You, this is the kind of absurd comedy that can pull off having a full-grown adult play the adolescent Branson. “Endlessly quotable and unexpectedly poignant” (Screen Slate). “Perfect, comedy gold” (Screen Anarchy). (MK)
- Thu., Oct. 5 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
Five twentysomethings-- an overlapping mix of old friends, flames, and distant relatives—convene at a chilly Michigan lake house for a weeklong getaway. Faced with ample downtime and a steady supply of weed and booze, the group is left to reckon with their collective millennial malaise. Elegantly staged with each scene unfolding in an unbroken master shot, Linh Tran’s preternaturally confident and wise debut feature is all the more remarkable for being produced with fellow students at DePaul University. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival. “Insightful and genuine… a launchpad for a major career” (rogerebert.com). Director Linh Tran will join us in person to discuss Waiting for the Light to Change. Presented as part of the 2023 Asian American Spotlight, with the support of Asian American Studies at UW-Madison. (MK)
- Thu., Oct. 12 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
A former translator for the US government, Afghan immigrant Donya now spends her days in a Bay Area fortune cookie factory. Tasked with authoring the fortunes herself, Donya begins sneaking her personal thoughts into the cookies, casting them out into the world like messages in a bottle. This unusual and poignant look at the immigrant experience features a strong supporting cast including The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White and On Cinema’s Gregg Turkington. A deadpan comedy shot in rich black-and-white, Fremont is an accomplished and welcome throwback to the 1980s classics of Jim Jarmusch and Aki Kaurismaki. (MK)
- Thu., Oct. 19 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
Filmed over 13 years, this astonishing portrait of a young painter searching for her artistic voice won the grand prize at IDFA, the world’s most prominent documentary festival. Born into a bohemian Parisian theater company, Apolonia Sokol runs the gauntlet of the male art world—from the prestigious Beaux Arts academy (where she is told her personality is more interesting than her paintings) to the ruthlessly capitalist Los Angeles collectors’ market. A feminist reckoning with art world paternalism, Apolonia, Apolonia is itself as much a testament to resilience and the artistic spirit as the remarkable woman at its center. (MK)
- Thu., Oct. 26 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
On a class trip to Washington, D.C., senior Lillian (Ryder) runs away, getting into and out of trouble up and down the East coast. Along the way, she takes up with a variety of patriotic misfits played by a game cast that includes Red Rocket’s Simon Rex, Ayo Edebiri, and Jacob Elordi. Having shot features for the Safdies, Alex Ross Perry, and numerous others, cinematographer Sean Price Williams has long been a key player in contemporary independent cinema. His much-anticipated directorial debut is a button-pushing, freewheeling picaresque through America’s activist underbelly. “Fun and hot, smart and dumb, a total blast” (The Film Stage). (MK)
- Thu., Nov. 2 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
In an Estonian forest lush and verdant enough for a postcard, a group of women gather at a handcrafted lakeside sauna. Enveloped in the smoky darkness, they share their deepest thoughts and desires, the surrounding woods ringing with their laughter and tears. Shot primarily in ethereally beautiful close-ups, this soulful documentary is as restorative as a cleanse. "The small, smoky, steamy miracle of this film is how it creates something so intangible, so lyrical, from the absolutely elemental: fire, wood, water and lots of naked female flesh" (Variety). (MK)
- Thu., Nov. 9 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
The iconic poet Nikki Giovanni is given a suitably lyrical and unconventional film portrait, which won the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Approaching her eighth decade with every bit of her mischievous wit and lacerating acuity intact, Giovanni makes for a memorably prickly and vivacious documentary subject, refusing to be pinned down. Co-directors Brewster and Stephenson take an expansive approach, melding archival and contemporary footage with impressionistic interludes towards a full rendering of this American iconoclast. (MK)
- Thu., Nov. 16 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
Tired of their dead-end jobs, a pair of workaday bank employees embark on a robbery that will take years to pay off. But after they split up to await their jackpot, their lives continue to intersect in strange ways. Captivating even as it thoroughly subverts the typical heist movie tropes, this beguiling shaggy-dog caper grows deeper the further it digresses from its central crime. One of the most unanimously acclaimed films at this year’s Cannes, The Delinquents is a philosophical look at the price of freedom. Presented with the support of Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies at UW Madison (UW LACIS). (MK)