Starring: Isaiah Lehtinen, Romina D’Ugo, Krista Bridges, Percy Hynes White

Join The Future of Film is Female for a preview screening of Chandler Levack’s ode to teenage cinephilia, I LIKE MOVIES! To make an additional $10 donation to The Future of Film is Female, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

Burlington, Ontario, 2003. Hyper-ambitious teenage cinephile Lawrence Kweller (Isaiah Lehtinen) dreams of attending film school at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. In order to raise the hefty tuition fee, he gets his dream job at the local video store, Sequels. Wracked with anxiety about his future, Lawrence begins alienating the most important people in his life – his best friend Matt Macarchuck (Percy Hynes White), his single mother Terri (Krista Bridges) – all while developing a complicated friendship with his older female manager, Alana (Romina D’Ugo). As graduation looms ever closer, a series of painful realizations force Lawrence to realize that he is a pretentious asshole.

Starring: Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Helen Martin, Darrel Heath, Tracey Cherelle Jones

Print courtesy of the Sally Cruikshank and Jon Davison Collection at the Academy Film Archive

Innocent young Black man Ashtray (Shawn Wayans) is forced to move into a tough Los Angeles slum with his family, including his oddly streetwise, pot-smoking grandma (Helen Martin). Before long, Ashtray’s nuclear-armed gangster cousin Loc Dog (Marlon Wayans) introduces him to a bizarrely comic crime underworld. Luckily, Ashtray falls for urban poet Dashiki (Tracey Cherelle Jones), and she convinces him to go straight — but he must deal with her manic ex-boyfriend Toothpick (Darrel Heath).

Starring: Christopher Augustine, Jeannette Dilger, Dick Glass, Gayle Davis

Join The FOFIF for a screening of Grindhouse Releasing’s 4K restoration of HOLLYWOOD 90028! To make an additional $10 donation to The Future of Film is Female, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

Christina Hornisher’s only feature, HOLLYWOOD 90028, features Mark, a young photographer, who travels to Hollywood hoping to make it as a cameraman in the movie business. Unfortunately, the only jobs he can find are shooting porn “loops” for a sleazy producer. Depressed and increasingly delusional, he begins to take out his frustrations on pretty young women he meets–by strangling them.

HOLLYWOOD 90028 received limited release as an exploitation film after it was completed in 1973 and was later re-distributed under the titles THE HOLLYWOOD HILLSIDE STRANGLER, TWISTED THROATS, and INSANITY. This screening is the New York Premiere of the new 4K restoration from Grindhouse Releasing.

Starring: Vera Drew, Lynn Downey, Kane Distler, Griffin Kramer, Nathan Faustyn

Arrive early for the custom preshow created by director Vera Drew!

In the absurdist autobiographically-inspired dark comedy, a painfully unfunny aspiring clown (Vera Drew as Joker the Harlequin) grapples with her gender identity while unsuccessfully attempting to join the ranks of Gotham City’s sole comedy program in a world where comedy has been outlawed. Uniting with a ragtag team of rejects and misfits, Joker the Harlequin forms an illegal anti-comedy troupe that puts her on a collision course with the devious caped crusader controlling the city.

Starring: Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Barry Primus, Bernie Casey, John Carradine, Victor Argo

Martin Scorsese’s second feature, a Roger Corman production replete with signature sex and violence, Boxcar Bertha is set in the Depression-era South, deep in the midst of railroad construction. Orphaned when her aviator father dies in a crash, Bertha (Barbara Hershey) rides the rails looking for kicks, eventually assembling a gang of misfits who resort to crime by necessity. Bertha’s easy smile while pulling off holdups is in contrast to her lover/co-conspirator Big Bill Shelley (David Carradine), whose motivation is a sort of protest of worker exploitation. What could have been a knock-off Bonnie and Clyde turns out to be an invigorating effort from an already-obviously talented Scorsese, containing hints of his career-spanning fascinations.

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

This month’s Sunday on Fire presents a propulsive showcase for one of comedy’s greatest all-timers (he acts! he fights! he writes! he directs! he drips preposterous strings of snot out his nose!). A stone cold classic from Hong Kong’s (if not the world’s) greatest comic filmmaker, it’s a savage, bittersweet tribute to the magic of movies, bad acting, big guns, and John Woo. It also marks the screen debut for an actress who would go on to become one of the biggest stars in Hong Kong, delivering a delightfully filthy performance as a hooker with a heart of gold and a mind in the gutter. We’re not telling you the title until it appears onscreen but by the time this movie is over, that title will be carved in your heart.

Starring: Kôji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Yumi Asô, Aoi Yamada, Arisa Nakano

Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.

Starring: George Segal, Elliott Gould, Ann Prentiss, Gwen Welles

Carefree single guy Charlie Waters (Elliott Gould) rooms with two lovely prostitutes, Barbara Miller (Ann Prentiss) and Susan Peters (Gwen Welles), and lives to gamble. Along with his glum betting buddy, Bill Denny (George Segal), Charlie sets out on a gambling streak in search of the ever-elusive big payday. While Charlie and Bill have some lucky moments, they also have to contend with serious setbacks that threaten to derail their hedonistic betting binge.

Starring: Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz

On their way to an afternoon on the lake, husband and wife Andrzej (Leon Niemczyk) and Krystyna (Jolanta Umecka) nearly run over a young hitchhiker (Zygmunt Malanowicz). Inviting the young man onto the boat with them, Andrzej begins to subtly torment him; the hitchhiker responds by making overtures toward Krystyna. When the hitchhiker is accidentally knocked overboard, the husband’s panic results in unexpected consequences. This was the first feature directed by Roman Polanski.

Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Dunn, Ethan Suplee, Kevin Corrigan

When a massive, unmanned locomotive roars out of control, the threat is more ominous than just a derailment. The train is laden with toxic chemicals, and an accident would decimate human life and cause an environmental disaster. The only hope of bringing the train to a safe stop is in the hands of a veteran engineer (Denzel Washington) and a young conductor (Chris Pine), who must risk their lives to save those in the runaway’s path. Inspired by true events.