cinema | independent film & video 7 nights a week 
Admission:Film Fieldtrips Available for School Groups
Schedule subject to change. Call 860.232.1006 to confirm.
2 for 1 on Monday & Tuesday with the GHAC Let*s Go! Arts Card
Directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Kama Sutra)
We begin in 2011 in Lahore. At an outdoor café a Pakistani man named Changez (Riz Ahmed) tells Bobby (Liev Schreiber), an American journalist, about his experiences in the United States. Roll back ten years, and we find a younger Changez fresh from Princeton, seeking fortune and glory on Wall Street. The American Dream seems well within his grasp, complete with a smart and gorgeous artist girlfriend, Erica (Kate Hudson). But when the Twin Towers are attacked, a cultural divide slowly begins to crack open between Changez and Erica. Changez’s dream soon begins to slip into nightmare: profiled, wrongfully arrested, strip-searched and interrogated, he is transformed from a well-educated, upwardly mobile businessman to a scapegoat and perceived enemy. With time, he begins to hear the call of his own homeland. Taking us through the culturally rich and beguiling worlds of New York, Lahore and Istanbul, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a story about conflicting ideologies where perception and suspicion have the power to determine life or death.
(USA, 128 mins, In English)
"If there ever was a time to see The Reluctant Fundamentalist, that time is here and now." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"The tense dialogue between East and Post post-9/11 is turned into a tense, often gripping duet between a young Muslim professor and American reporter." - Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter
Mon. 5/20: 1:30pm*, 5:00pm, 7:40pm
Tues. 5/21: 5:00pm, 7:40pm**
Wed. 5/22: 5:00pm, 7:40pm
Thurs. 5/23:
5:00pm, 7:40pm
Sat. 5/25: 2:30pm
Sun. 5/26: 2:30pm
*Matinee Monday
1pm refreshments, 1:30pm screening, discussion after
**Post-film discussion after 7:40pm screening
"Molly's Theory of Relativity" is a sexy, funny, surreal, and devastating portrait of a beautiful twenty-eight-year-old astronomer who, having unexpectedly lost her job, is poised to make perhaps the first reckless decision of her life. Her story unfolds during an eighteen hour period, on Halloween. Providing counsel on the fateful day are her husband, her father-in-law, three deceased relatives, a precocious nine-year-old trick-or-treater, her grandfather from Minot, North Dakota, and a six year old neighbor, who may or may not be imaginary. “Molly’s Theory of Relativity” is about the economy, and how we value what we do for a living, to ourselves and to 6 others. It’s observes the unbreakable bonds of family, and posits the notion that death is merely a relative thing.
(USA, 102 mins, In English)
"'Molly's Theory of Relativity' shows how our parents live inside us, and how our relationships with them continue to evolve even after they're gone." - Stephen Holden, New York Times
Fri. 5/24: 7:20pm*
Sat. 5/25: 7:20pm*
Sun. 5/26: 7:20pm
Mon. 5/27: 7:20pm
Tues. 5/28: 7:20pm
Wed. 5/29: 7:20pm
Thurs. 5/30:
7:20pm
*Post-film Skype with director Jeff Lipsky on Friday & Saturday.
Malcolm and Sofia, two determined teens from the Bronx, are the ultimate graffiti-writers. When a rival gang buffs their latest masterpiece, they must hatch a plan to get revenge by tagging an iconic NYC landmark, but they need to raise $500 to pull off their spectacular scheme.
Over the course of two whirlwind, sun-soaked summer days, Malcolm and Sofia travel on an epic urban adventure involving black market spray cans, illicit bodegas, stolen sneakers, a high wire heist, and a beautiful, rich girl’s necklace that is literally their key to becoming the biggest writers in the City.
(USA, 81 mins, In English)
"Adam Leon has created something unique and current, with affectionate nods to New York films of the past." - Sheila O'Malley, Chicago Sun-Times
"Want a bracing alternative to the usual Hollywood swill? Try Gimme the Loot, a fresh, funky jolt of filmmaking joy." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"A warm and wonderfully discursive slice-of-life story, with an emphasis on language and local color and a great feel for the longings of working-class adolescents." -Scott Tobias, NPR
Fri. 5/24: 5:30pm
Sat. 5/25: 5:30pm
Sun. 5/26: 5:30pm
Mon. 5/27: 5:30pm
Tues. 5/28: 5:30pm
Wed. 5/29: 5:30pm
Thurs. 5/30:
5:30pm
A subjective documentary that explores the numerous theories about the hidden meanings within Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining (1980). The film may be over 30 years old but it continues to inspire debate, speculation, and mystery. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments. Together they’ll draw the audience into a new maze, one with endless detours and dead ends, many ways in, but no way out.
(USA, 102 mins, In English)
"Room 237 is an act of uncommon devotion to cinema, embracing the notion that movies are best defined by what happens to us as we watch them - how our own beliefs and experiences dictate our interpretation of what we've seen and heard." -Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times
"A thrilling testament to the fact that art is - and should be - open to interpretation." - Scott Tobias, NPR
"What's attractive about Room 237 is how it demands that we look more closely at films, and think about motives and subtexts." -Dave Calhoun, Time Out
Fri. 5/31:
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All work and no play makes Academy Award-winner Jack Nicholson (As Good As It Gets, Batman), the caretaker of an isolated resort, go way off the deep end, terrorizing his young son and wife Shelley Duvall (Roxanne). Master filmmaker Stanley Kubrick's (Full Metal Jacket, 2001: A Space Odyssey) visually haunting chiller, based on the bestseller by master-of-suspense Stephen King ("The Stand," "Carrie," "The Shawshank Redemption"), is an undeniable contemporaryClassics. Newsweek Magazine calls this "the first epic horror film," full of indelible images, and a signature role for Nicholson whose character was recently selected by AFI for its' 50 Greatest Villains.
(USA, 146 mins, In English)
"It's magic, pure and simple." - Bob Mondello, NPR
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Saturday, June 1 | 7:30pm
[BUY TICKETS]
BRIGHTON
A man's journey to the south coast of England becomes complicated when a tourist's dangerous promise changes both of their lives.
-- followed by feature presentation --
Dir. Virginie Despentes, 2011, France, 87 min, in French with English subtitles
Gloria and Frances shared an intense, sexual and emotional relationship which began in a psychiatric hospital, from which they ultimately ran away to experience all the sex, drugs and rock-n-roll offered during the punk rock years. Then life pushed them apart. Fast forward 25 years: Gloria is an erratic recovering alcoholic, alone, homeless and jobless. Frances is a successful and respected TV host, with a gay husband who married her to keep up appearances. What will transpire between them when they meet up again by chance after so many years? Will the fire between them reignite or burn them down? This is a film for anybody who has ever wondered about the possibility, or wisdom, of trying to recapture their first love.
[Sweet Reception follows the film @ Real Art Ways]
[watch the trailer]
Friday, june 7| 9:00pm
[BUY TICKETS]
flamingo pride
Dir. Tomer Eshed, 2012, Germany, 6 min
The film’s protaganist is the only straight flamingo in a gay flock, he falls in love with a lady stork and has to make a bold move to prove his intentions.
-- followed by feature presentation –
Dir. Malgorzata Szumowska, 2012, Poland, 102 min, in Polish with English subtitles
Adam is a Catholic priest who discovered his calling as a servant of God at the relatively late age of 21. He now lives in a village in rural Poland where he works with teenagers with behavioral problems who fight and yell abuse. He declines the advances of a young blonde named Ewa, saying he is already spoken for. However, celibacy is not the only reason for his rejection. Adam knows that he desires men and that his embrace of the priesthood has been a flight from his own sexuality. When he meets Lukasz, the strange and taciturn son of a simple rural family, Adam's self-imposed abstinence becomes a heavy burden. Winner, 2013 Best Feature Film Teddy Award
[watch the trailer]
BURN is an action-packed documentary about Detroit, told through the eyes of Detroit firefighters.
But BURN isn't just about Detroit firefighters. It's about all national first responders, whose budgets are on the chopping block. It's about the people you hope will make it to YOUR house when there's a fire.
Produced & Directed by Tom Putnam & Brenna Sanchez
Executive Producers Denis Leary & Jim Serpico ("Rescue Me," Apostle)
A portion of proceeds from the wide release will go to the Leary Firefighters Foundation to purchase much-needed gear for Detroit Firefighters.
**This film contains adult language, themes and brief nudity. Not recommended for children under 13.
$15 online tickets here.
$20 tickets at the door.
Ricky Jay is a world-renowned magician, author, historian and actor (often a mischievous presence in the films of David Mamet and Paul Thomas Anderson) -- and a performer who regularly provokes astonishment from even the most jaded audiences. Deceptive Practice traces Jay's achievements and influences, from his apprenticeship at age 4 with his grandfather, to such now-forgotten legends as Al Flosso, Slydini, Cardini and his primary mentors, Dai Vernon and Charlie Miller. Featuring rare footage from his 1970s TV appearances (doing 3-card Monte with Steve Martin on The Dinah Shore Show) and told in Jay's inimitable voice, this is a remarkable journey inside the secretive world of magic and the small circle of eccentrics who are its perpetual devotees.
"It's magic, pure and simple." - Bob Mondello, NPR
"Well structured and dynamically edited, Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay relies on the famed magician himself to wax autobiographical with his usual charm, humor and panache." -Ronnie Scheib, Variety
"Unsurprisingly, Mr. Jay proves a hugely entertaining guide, and as generous about his professional inspirations as he is reticent about his own life." - Manohla Dargis, New York Times
(USA, 88 mins, In English)
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Workshopped with a group of teens from The Bronx over the course of 3 years, Michel Gondry's The We and The I gives an inside look into the dynamics, drama and hilarity that emerge on a real-time bus ride through The Bronx on the last day of school.
"The We and the I neither scolds nor sentimentalizes its young characters. Instead the film invites viewers, of whatever age, to immerse themselves in the chaos, glee and heartache of a long ride home on the last day of school." - A.O. Scott, New York Times
"At its finest and most affecting, The We and the I is a window onto youth's forever moments ..." - Michelle Orange, Village Voice
(USA, 103 mins, In English)
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Playing Monthly LATE SHOWS
sATURDAY, jUNE 15
OH HI!
The best terrible movie ever is booked for monthly late shows at Real Art Ways.
This cult experience has been described as "so amazingly bad it's [spooning] great." It's about a happy-go-lucky banker who sees his world fall apart when his friends begin to betray him one by one.
Like Rocky Horror and other midnight movies, The Room is chock-full of communal rituals. Cinematic audience-participation is not required but who doesn't like to throw spoons in a cinema?
Not sure of the call-backs? We've got you covered. Check out this link and pay attention for a pre-film run down craziness.
"As someone who's watched more bad movies than you can imagine, I'm mostly immune to the so-bad-it's-good aesthetic, though I can see how, viewed in a theater at midnight after a few drinks, this might conjure up its own hilariously demented reality." -J.R. Jones, Chicago Reader
(2003, USA, 99 mins)
It's 1971 and communes and new religions are on the rise. The Source Family are an "Aquarian tribe," a secretive but outlandish group of 140 beautiful young people who stroll Los Angeles in colorful robes, devotees of "Father Yod," a controversial restaurateur-turned-spiritual leader with fourteen wives and his own psychedelic rock band. The Family lives in a mansion and operates a popular restaurant on the Sunset Strip, serving vegetarian cuisine to musicians and movie stars, pioneering a national trend. But their radical lifestyle instigates the authorities. Their demise is dramatic and painful, but Yod's spirit lives on.
(USA, 91 mins, In English)
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Loosely based on Ángel Parra's memoirs of his mother Violeta Parra, the film offers a multi-faceted and lyrical portrayal of an influential figure in world music and complex cultural icon of Chile's history. Violeta Parra's revival of Chilean traditional music galvanized a socially and politically committed pan-Latin American folk music movement, the "nueva canción," and became a reference for other Latin American artists committed to their national legacies.
(Chile/Argentina/Brazil, 110 mins, In Spanish with English subtitles)
"A rare Chilean film that doesn't mention either the Allende or Pinochet regimes, Violeta Went to Heaven is a love letter to a lost 20th-century goddess. It's hard to resist her." - Michael Atkinson, Time Out New York
"With its clarity and depth, Gavilan's singing is as good as her acting." - Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times
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The sublime Barbara Sukowa reteams with director Margarethe von Trotta (Vision, Rosa Luxemburg) for her brilliant new biopic of influential German-Jewish philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt. Arendt's reporting on the 1961 trial of ex-Nazi Adolf Eichmann in The New Yorker-controversial both for her portrayal of Eichmann and the Jewish councils-introduced her now-famous concept of the "Banality of Evil." Using footage from the actual Eichmann trial and weaving a narrative that spans three countries, von Trotta beautifully turns the often invisible passion of thought into immersive, dramatic cinema. An Official Selection at the Toronto International and New York Jewish Film Festivals, Hannah Arendt also co-stars Klaus Pohl as philosopher Martin Heidegger, Nicolas Woodeson as New Yorker editor William Shawn, and two-time Oscar Nominee Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs) as novelist Mary McCarthy.
(Germany, 113 mins, In German with English subtitles)
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Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill is pulled into an unexpected journey as he chases down the hidden truth behind America's expanding covert wars.
(USA/Afghanistan/Iraq/Kenya/Somalia/Yemen, 90 mins, In English)
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Two bartenders try to achieve their dreams through bartending. An injured Marine turns his goals to becoming a principal bartender at the best cocktail bar in the world. A young man leaves his white-collar job to buy the corner bar in his hometown years later he struggles to keep afloat. The bar is three deep and the bartenders are in the weeds at the greatest cocktail party since before Prohibition. Hey Bartender is the story of the rebirth of the bartender and the comeback of the cocktail. Featuring the world's most renowned bartenders and access to the most exclusive bars in New York with commentary from Graydon Carter, Danny Meyer and Amy Sacco.
(USA, In English)
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A roller coaster mix of drama and comedy, the Sundance Film Festival Short Films program is a 99-minute collection of eight short films from the 2013 edition of the Festival. Vibrant storytelling highlights the group, including fiction, documentary and animation, with five award-winners. With no rules, the short film serves as a proving ground for young filmmakers to make their mark and for established filmmakers to take risks in story and style.
THE DATE
Short Film Jury Prize: International Fiction
Tino’s manhood is put to the test in front of two women when he has to host a date for Diablo, the family’s stud cat.
(Jenni Toivoniemi, Finland, 8 min)
WHIPLASH
Short Film Jury Prize: US Fiction
An aspiring drummer enters an elite conservatory's top jazz orchestra.
(Damien Chazelle, USA, 18 min)
SKINNINGROVE
Short Film Jury Prize: Non-Fiction
Photographer Chris Killip shares unpublished images chronicling time spent among the fiercely independent residents of a remote English fishing village.
(Michael Almereyda, USA, 15 min)
UNTIL THE QUIET COMES
Short Film Special Jury Prize
Shot in the Nickerson Gardens housing projects in Watts, Los Angeles, this film deals with themes of violence, camaraderie and spirituality through the lens of magical realism.
(Kahlil Joseph, USA, 4 min)
IRISH FOLK FURNITURE
Short Film Jury Prize: Animation
In Ireland, old hand-painted furniture is often associated with hard times, with poverty, and with a time many would rather forget. In this animated documentary, 16 pieces of traditional folk furniture are repaired and returned home.
(Tony Donoghue, Ireland, 9 min)
THE EVENT
Love and a severed foot at the end of the world.
(Julia Pott, USA/United Kingdom, 4 min)
JONAH
When two young men photograph a gigantic fish leaping from the sea, their small town becomes a tourist attraction in this story about the old and the new.
(Kibwe Tavares, Tanzania/United Kingdom, 23 min)
K.I.T.
A guilt-ridden, but well-intentioned, yuppie goes to great lengths to prove she is a decent person.
(Michelle Morgan, USA, 16 min)
Full program = 99 minutes
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Two mysterious women seek refuge in a run-down coastal resort. Clara meets lonely Noel, who provides shelter in his deserted guesthouse, Byzantium. Schoolgirl Eleanor befriends Frank and tells him their lethal secret. They were born 200 years ago and survive on human blood. As knowledge of their secret spreads, their past catches up on them with deathly consequence.
(UK/USA/Ireland, 118 mins, In English)
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The film showcases the richness of Mexican music both young and old, from traditional music to pop rock and rap blended with interviews from Diego Luna, Lila Downs and many more leading personalities. The result is an inspiring and often funny musical road trip through modern day "Mexicanity", which resonates globally.
(Mexico, 98 mins, In Spanish with English Subtitles)
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Available films:
Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks
Mighty Times: The Children's March
A Place at the Table
Resolved
Bloods and Crips: Made in America
Favela Rising
Read film descriptions and find out more about our Education Programs here.
Contact Adrienne Brown at 860.232.1006 x129 for more information.
Made possible with the support of Real Art Ways Members, Travelers Foundation, the George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation, the Fund for Greater Hartford, the Maximilian E. & Marion O. Hoffman Foundation, Inc., The Ellen Jeanne Goldfarb Memorial Charitable Trust, and Lincoln Financial Foundation.
