Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen

This latest entry in the Monsterverse franchise follows up the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong with an all-new cinematic adventure, pitting the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence — and our own. The epic new film will delve further into the histories of these Titans, their origins, and the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Katy M. O’Brian, Ed Harris, Dave Franco, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov

From Director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.

Starring: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash, Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald, Nick Offerman

While grappling with tremendous personal tragedy, Isabel sets herself on a path of global investigation and discovery. Despite the colossal scope of her project, she finds beauty and bravery while crafting one of the defining American books of our time.

Things go awry when an author and his wife welcome a pregnant woman into their home, with plans to adopt her baby.

Starring: Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen, Janne Hyytiäinen, Nuppu Koivu

Award-winning filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre, The Other Side of Hope) makes a masterful return with Fallen Leaves, a timeless, hopeful and ultimately satisfying love story about two lonely souls’ path to happiness – and the numerous hurdles they encounter along the way.

Set in contemporary Helsinki, and shot through with Kaurismäki’s typically playful, idiosyncratic style and deadpan humor, this tender romantic tragicomedy is a timely reminder of the potency of movie-going from one of cinema’s living legends. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Murray, David Hyde Pierce, Emma Thompson, Michael Wincott, Martin Short

The legendary “loot of a thousand worlds” inspires an intergalactic treasure hunt when 15-year-old Jim Hawkins stumbles upon a map to the greatest pirate trove in the universe in Walt Disney Pictures’ thrilling animated space adventure, Treasure Planet.

Based on one of the greatest adventure stories ever told – Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” – this film follows Jim’s fantastic journey across a parallel universe as a cabin boy aboard a glittering space galleon.

Starring: Celeste Yarnall, Michael Blodgett, Sherry Miles, Gene Shane, Jerry Daniels, Sandy Ward, Paul Prokop

The Future of Film is Female celebrates Valentine’s Day with a special screening of Stephanie Rothman’s THE VELVET VAMPIRE (restored by the Academy Film Archive). Also screening is the short film, HOW TO CATFISH YOUR EX. To make an additional $10 donation to The Future of Film is Female, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

In the seclusion of a sun-drenched desert estate, a young married couple are seduced by a hip, deceptively beautiful, centuries-old vampire whose dream-inducing spell undermines their bond of heterosexual desire. Made by female genre pioneer Stephanie Rothman, The Velvet Vampire was released as a double-feature on the exploitation market by producer Roger Corman, who was said to be disappointed by its ambitious artfulness. From a contemporary perspective, the film is appreciated by scholars such as Adam Lowenstein, who praises it for “refiguring how we imagine the relation between women and horror…around the subjects of gender, sexuality, embodiment, [and] surrealism….”

HOW TO CATFISH YOUR EX, 2023 (14 min)
Directed by Madeline Mack, Written by Mach and Julie Balefsky
A neurotic, heartbroken young woman searches for closure by convincing a friend to catfish her ex-boyfriend on a dating app.

NoBudge is happy to present a new program of twelve short films from a group of emerging indie filmmakers mostly based in New York. This edition explores a range of unusual relationships and questionable behavior that finds its characters in modes of scheming and rationalizing. A mix of drama, comedy, and animation, the program moves between naturalistic, strange, absurd, and provocative. Eight of the films are premieres and each director will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A and Afterparty.

NoBudge is an online platform spotlighting the best in low-budget indie filmmaking. “One of the best places to sample what’s happening in low-budget cinema worldwide,” says Glenn Kenny of The New York Times. Its mission is to provide a supportive home for emerging indie filmmakers working with limited resources and without major industry connections, and to be a trusted discovery platform.

Ola Ola
Director Adesola Thomas present.
One evening in Brooklyn, two queer Nigerian cousins have a meditative evening after one returns from a tumultuous party.
(9 min)

Angel Wings and Open Wounds
NYC Premiere
Director Mathilde Hauducoeur present.
Maud, 13 and devilishly charming, is the leader of her group of girlfriends in the 7th grade. When she abuses her power during a game, her friends turn against her.
(13 min)

Rumpelstiltskin
Director Ethan Fuirst present.
A filmmaker compares his love life to the Rumpelstiltskin fable.
(8 min)

Telling George
U.S. Premiere
Directed by Fergus Campbell.
Anton writes to George about isolation at his uncle’s castle-mansion-faux-mountain estate.
(2 min)

Wise Words
NYC Premiere
Director Samuel Centore present.
After hearing a priest’s uncanny sermon to “help the strippers,” Peter decides to focus all his energy on a birder named Maude.
(15 min)

A Men
NYC Premiere
Director Ava Burka present
A young Jewish woman does not know the mourner’s kaddish. She is also sleeping with a lot of sadistic catholic men.
(5 min)

Oh Man Magdalena
U.S. Premiere
Director Ryan Wagner present.
Magdalena runs out of things to talk about with her therapist.
(8 min)

Francesca
U.S. Premiere
Actor Francesca D’Uva present.
Francesca practices a wedding speech for her sister’s wedding.
(6 min)

Telling George Again
U.S Premiere
Directed by Fergus Campbell.
Anton writes to George about spending New Year’s at his uncle’s fantastical castle-canyon-modernist complex.
(2 min)

Normal Guys
Brooklyn Premiere
Director Michael Rees present.
Will channels his genius into a money-making scheme, meanwhile, Kyle commits a faux pas at the park.
(9 min)

Scotty’s Vag
Director Chaconne Martin-Berkowicz present.
On the night of a sorority hazing event, a college freshman learns just how far she’s willing to go to impress an older girl.
(16 min)

The Event
Co-director Hugo De Sousa present.
It’s 2 AM and Vince just wants to know why his best friend hasn’t watched his short film yet.
(11 min)

Warning: Images are not from the movies we’re showing. Trust us, you can’t imagine what we’re showing!

This Sunday on Fire delivers a two-fisted, high caliber exploitation flick from one of Hong Kong’s (and Hollywood’s) most famous filmmakers before he became famous. This director’s name has become an adjective, and here’s your chance to see him before he got polished up and put on a shelf, delivering a raw, uncompromising “men on a mission” movie that punches you in the face with dynamite fists.

Shot in Thailand, where the stunt crew used real bullets and real explosives in a lot of the action sequences, you’ll gasp when you learn that no one died during the making of this film, because they sure seem to come close. The grue strewn carnage nestles next to scenes of wakka-wakka comedy, but the end result is tougher than old leather and meaner than a junkyard dog. We’re not telling you the title of this one until it’s too late, so fasten your seatbelt, put on your flak jacket, and get ready to get fragged.

Starring: Steve Guttenberg, Jami Gertz, Shelley Long, Kyle MacLachlan, Mädchen Amick

Gus (Steve Guttenberg) is a live-action Ziggy who transforms into an overconfident, mulleted New Zealand biker named Lobo Marunga. In between, the Gutte is his usual charming self while his pesky sister (romance novelist Shelley Long) attempts to give him a Down Under makeover in this misguided romantic comedy starring a repurposed Mad Max costume.

Can Guttenberg pass as a legitimate Vegemite lover? Will the “Gusbuster” get his buster dusted by reluctant reporter Jami Gertz? All will be revealed at this pre- (possibly anti-) Valentine’s Day screening!