In Before Midnight, we meet Celine and Jesse 9 years on. Almost 2 decades have passed since that first meeting on a train bound for Vienna, and we now find them in their early 40’s in Greece. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story.

Nine years after the conclusion of Before Sunset, Jesse and Celine live in Paris as a couple, parents to twin girls conceived when they got together. Jesse is also struggling to maintain his relationship with his teenage son, Hank, who lives in Chicago with Jesse’s (now) ex-wife and who, after spending the summer with Jesse and Celine on a Greek island, is being dropped off at the airport to fly home. Jesse has continued to find success as a novelist, while Celine is at a career crossroads, considering a job in government. As with Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, director Richard Linklater shares screenwriting credits with his two leads, Julia Delpy and Ethan Hawke. 

Spy on us, and we’ll spy on you!

OPENS JUNE 7TH! THE EAST, a suspenseful and provocative espionage thriller from acclaimed writer-director Zal Batmanglij and writer-actress Brit Marling, stars Marling as former FBI agent Sarah Moss.  

Moss is starting a new career at Hiller Brood, an elite private intelligence firm that ruthlessly protects the interests of its A-list corporate clientele. Handpicked for a plum assignment by the company’s head honcho, Sharon (Patricia Clarkson), Sarah goes deep undercover to infiltrate The East, an elusive anarchist collective seeking revenge against major corporations guilty of covering up criminal activity. Determined, highly-trained and resourceful, Sarah soon ingratiates herself with the group, overcoming their initial suspicions and joining them on their next action or “jam.” But living closely with the intensely committed members of The East, Sarah finds herself torn between her two worlds as she starts to connect with anarchist Benji (Alexander Skarsgård) and the rest of the collective, and awakens to the moral contradictions of her personal life.

The film that started a cinematic zombie revolution forty-five years ago plays in 35mm for our July Nitehawk Nasty presentation of Night of the Living Dead.

What can be said about George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead? Not only did it give birth to the modern notion of what a ‘zombie’ is and provided a socio-political context in which we can view the zombie (and horror film as a genre) but it is also one of the most important films of the 20th century. A true case of underground filmmaking capturing the current climate, Night of the Living Dead shows what happens when seven strangers wind up in a barnhouse during the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. And while the dead are rising, it’s the alive ones they really have to worry about. With one of the most devastating endings in cinema, Night of the Living Dead is not just a film to see on the big screen but also one that demands repeat viewings. Come celebrate its 45 years of relevance with Nitehawk this summer!

Part of the Nitehawk Nasties signature series.

If you like a little sex with your comedy and your bikinis high cut, then our July Nitehawk Naughty presentation of the 80s flick Hardbodies is just for you!

When three divorced men on a vacation in California realize that they’re fancy beach house and cars can’t get them the one thing they want (to get laid!), they hire a young man known for his way with the ladies. In exchange for his ‘dialog’, he gets to stay at their fabulous abode but when this playboy actually falls for a girl, well, then things get a little nutty. With its cheesy one-liners, Valley Girl speak, big hair, boom-boxes, and outlandish hijinx, Hardbodies epitomizes 1980s sex-comedies.  and is best to see late night on the big screen.

The Invader (NY premiere organized by Filmmaker Mag) and the short Play House are part of the Northside Film Festival. There will be a Q&A after the screening with Nicoloas Provost.

Amadou, a strong and charismatic African man, is washed up on a beach in southern Europe. Fate leads him to Brussels where, full of optimism, he tries to make a better life for himself. Exploited by traffickers, his daily life is slowly drained of hope, until he meets Agnès, a beautiful and brilliant businesswoman. She is seduced by his charm and force of character, while he projects all his hope and dreams onto her. The illusion quickly shatters, and Agnès breaks all contact with Amadou, who little by little sinks into destructive violence, struggling with his inner demons.

Play House (Brandon LaGanke, 2012, 10 Mins). The only thing keeping Harold’s family bound is his unconditional love for them. Starring Larry Petersen, Angela Pierce, John Reese, Gianna LePera and Megan Mann.

Part of the Northside Film Festival, Go Down Death includes a Q&A with Aaron Schimberg after the film with and after-party in Nitehawk’s downstairs bar. Playing before Go Down Death, is the short film Black Metal.

Go Down Death is a wry, sinister realization of a strange new universe, a cross-episodic melange of macabre folktales supposedly penned by the fictitious writer Jonathan Mallory Sinus. An abandoned warehouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, stands in for a decrepit village haunted by ghosts, superstition, and disease, while threatening to buckle under rumblings of the apocalypse. Soldiers are lost and found in endless woods; a child gravedigger is menaced by a shape-shifting physician, a syphilitic john bares all to a young prostitute, and a disfigured outcast yearns for the affections of a tone-deaf cabaret singer. Highlighted by offbeat narrative construction, stunning black-and-white 16mm cinematography and immaculately detailed production design, Go Down Death is a distinctively original film informed by American Gothic, folk culture and outsider art.

Playing before Go Down Death is the short film Black Metal (2013, 9 minutes): After a career spent mining his music from the shadows, the actions of one fan create a chain reaction for the lead singer of a black metal band. Directed by Kate Candler and starring Jonny Mars, Heather Kafka. Presented by IFP and NoBudge Films.

Part of the Northside Film Festival, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm is a 1968 experimental docu-drama film written, directed, and conceived by African-American film director and documentarian William Greaves. Playing before Symbiopsychotaximplasm: Take One is the BFC Short film, Leal.

As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop’s deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface.

Frank is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store, but his life changes when young artist Anna appears asking for his help with her new exhibition. As their friendship develops and Frank’s obsession escalates, it becomes clear that she has unleashed a long-repressed compulsion to stalk and kill. A 21st century Jack the Ripper set in present day L.A., MANIAC is a re-boot of the cult film considered by many to be the most suspenseful slasher movie ever made – an intimate, visually daring, psychologically complex and profoundly horrific trip into the downward spiralling nightmare of a killer and his victims.

Part of the Northside Film Festival, The Look of Love includes the BFC short, Gawking Red, and a closing party after the film in Nitehawk’s downstairs bar.

The Look of Love tells the true story of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond. A modern day King Midas story, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him.

Part of the Northside Film Festival, the Kopfstand screening includes the BFC short film, Unstrung.

In Kopfstand, Markus Dorn (Christoph Waltz) does not get along with his mother. When an argument between then escalates and she calls the police, Markus refuses to cooperate. He is sent to a mental institution, where they administer unnecessary electroshock treatment.

Presented by The L Magazine.