Janis Ian: Breaking Silence at Real Art Ways

“Really an extraordinary film.” – FilmWeek

“…moving and intimate look at her (Janis Ian) life and genius as a musical storyteller. Kudos to director Varda Bar-Karfor crafting a documentary as direct and uncompromisingly honest as its subject.” – In Their Own League

100% on Rotten Tomatoes

In 1965, Janis Ian, a 14-year-old singer-songwriter from New Jersey, wrote “Society’s Child” about an interracial relationship. Recorded and released a year later, the song launched Ian’s career, but its subject matter ignited controversy, even resulting in death threats. The fallout plunged Ian into an emotional tailspin–and yet a few years later she emerged from the ashes with an even bigger hit, “At Seventeen.”

Over six decades, Janis Ian gained 10 Grammy nominations in 8 different categories, saw her song “Stars” recorded by such luminaries as Nina Simone and Cher, and overcame homophobia, misogyny, and a life-threatening illness to produce an indelible body of work that continues to draw audiences around the globe.

Featuring Janis Ian, Joan Baez, Jean Smart, Arlo Guthrie, Lily Tomlin, and Tom Paxton, among other icons.

“A gorgeous drama with an open, aching heart.” – RogerEbert.com

“Because writer-director Sarah Friedland’s debut finds so much depth in its subjective approach to memory loss, it loses much of its stigma and discovers wonder in its place.” – AV Club

“Familiar Touch” reveals itself to be less about the agonies of change than in the concessions we make to feel closer to our loved ones and ourselves.” – The NYT

98% on Rotten Tomatoes

Ruth (Kathleen Chalfant), a retired cook, prepares breakfast in her sunny and cozy kitchen — a dish she seems to have made many times before, although small and puzzling errors now punctuate her comfortable routine. When her son (H. Jon Benjamin) arrives to dine with her, she mistakes him for a suitor.

Their “date” takes them to an assisted living facility, which Ruth does not remember that she had previously selected for herself. Among her fellow memory care residents, Ruth feels lost and adrift, certain she has found herself somewhere she does not belong.

As she slowly begins to accept the warmth and support of care workers Vanessa (Carolyn Michelle) and Brian (Andy McQueen), she finds new ways to ground herself in her body, even as her mind embarks on a journey all its own.

Writer-director Sarah Friedland’s coming-of-old-age feature compassionately follows the winding path of octogenarian Ruth’s shifting memories and desires while remaining rooted in her sage perspective.

We are adding showtimes for a 2nd weekend (August 9 & 10) due to popular demand. Get your tickets fast – these screenings do sell out.

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“Neither too “oy vey” nor “Weekend at Bernie’s” but steeped in the best aspects of both Jewish and black comedy, “Bad Shabbos” is a treat any night of the week.” – The San Francisco Chronicle

90% on Rotten Tomatoes

With an ensemble cast starring Jon Bass, Meghan Leathers, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Ashley Zukerman, Milana Vayntrub, Theo Taplitz, Catherine Curtin, John Bedford Lloyd, David Paymer and Kyra Sedgwick.

An engaged interfaith couple is about to have their parents meet for the first time over a Shabbat dinner when an accidental death gets in the way.

“With “Friendship,” DeYoung hasn’t just called his audience to look at how they approach their own relationships; he’s created a film that men can see together that demands a discussion afterward.” – Salon.com

“It suggests not just a subversion but a putrefaction of the Ruddy-comedy genre — a portrait of male loneliness so totalizing, and so scarily close to the bone, that laughs and screams all but bleed together.” – Justin Chang, The New Yorker

‘Friendship’ Review: Are Men OK? Read the full NYT review here.

Suburban dad Craig falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor, as Craig’s attempts to make an adult male friend threaten to ruin both of their lives.

(The latest release from A24)

98% on Rotten Tomatoes

“Splicing together real archival video, fake documentary footage about the making of a fake biopic, and real conversations with the present-day band, Pavements is delightfully chaotic.” – NPR

“Though Pavement is the star and the performers in its orbit are all in supporting roles, “Pavements” is distinguished by cinematic artistry that’s as distinctive as it is personal.” – The New Yorker

“Part spoof and part serious, the film is about mythmaking as much as it is about music. The result is delightfully destabilizing.” – Read the full New York Times review here.

Pavements is a movie about Pavement the band—among other things.

The latest film from acclaimed director Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell) is a documentary that may or may not be entirely true, may or may not be totally sincere, and may or may not be more about the idea of the band—or any band—than a history of the short-lived, passionately loved, commercially marginal Nineties American alternative group Pavement.

This unconventional film about a highly unconventional band incorporates a stage musical, rock biopic, gallery exhibition, archival footage, and contemporary observational footage to create a film as irreducible, uncharacterizable, and entertaining as the band and its music.

Anchored by Pavement’s slacker-sage-sphinx, Stephen Malkmus, the film features performances by Joe Keery, Jason Schwartzman, Tim Heidecker, Kathryn Gallagher, Michael Esper and Zoe Lister-Jones, and editing by nonfiction innovator Robert Greene (Procession).

“There’s pleasure in much of this excess, in seeing how Coogler takes his imaginative detours and the fluidity with which he draws from past, present, myth and speculative fiction, including in a masterpiece of a sequence in which men and women from across history — traditional dancers and B-boys among others — converge at the juke joint. There’s great horror in this world, in the fields haunted by slavers and in a mean little house where a Klansman’s white hood and robes sit on a bed belonging to a mean little man. Yet the joy here is louder, and it resounds in every whoop and thundering stomp.” – The New York Times

“It’s both a wildly ambitious meditation on American history and a rip-roaring good time.” – Slate

97% on Rotten Tomatoes

The New York Times Critic’s Pick

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

“As emotionally effective as it is formally brilliant, it draws on a trove of material — both fiction and nonfiction — that Jia began shooting in 2001 while working on another movie.” – The New York Times

“A mesmerizing film about the sweep and swirl of life, love, and the relationship between yesterday and today.” – The Daily Beast

98% on Rotten Tomatoes

The New York Times Critic’s Pick

An enduring but fragile love story shared by Qiao Qiao and Guao Bin, set in China, from the early 2000s to the present day. One day, a restless Guao Bin leaves without any notice to try his luck in another province. Qiao Qiao decides to go looking for him.

“It’s the warmth of Gladstone’s presence that leaves a lasting impression and endows this remake…with a whisper of something authentically new.” – Justin Chang, The New Yorker

The New York Times Critic’s Pick

From Director Andrew Ahn comes a joyful comedy of errors about a chosen family navigating cultural identity, queerness, and family expectations.

Frustrated with his commitment-phobic boyfriend Chris and running out of time, Min proposes: a green-card marriage with their friend Angela in exchange for her partner Lee’s expensive IVF. Elopement plans are upended, however, when Min’s grandmother surprises them with an extravagant Korean wedding banquet.

Starring Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen, and Youn Yuh-jung, The Wedding Banquet is a poignant and heartfelt reminder that being part of a family means learning to both accept and forgive.

“Wes Anderson returns with another intricately designed film, and an inquiry into the meaning of goodness.” – NYT

Wes Anderson’s latest release is a stylized espionage comedy-drama following Anatole “Zsa-Zsa” Korda (Benicio del Toro), a flamboyant European industrialist and arms dealer. After surviving a series of assassination attempts, Korda seeks to secure his legacy by appointing his estranged daughter, Sister Liesl (Mia Threapleton), a novice nun, as his heir. Together with Bjørn (Michael Cera), a Norwegian entomologist, they navigate a complex web of international conspiracies, rival tycoons, and revolutionary forces. Set in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Phoenicia during the 1950s, the film blends Anderson’s signature visual style with themes of redemption, legacy, and the complexities of familial relationships.

At the height of summer, 18-year-old Cécile (Lily McInerny) is languishing by the French seaside with her handsome father, Raymond (Claes Bang), and his girlfriend, Elsa (Naïlia Harzoune), when the arrival of her late mother’s friend, Anne (Chloë Sevigny), changes everything. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of their surroundings, Cécile’s world is threatened and, desperate to regain control, she sets in motion a plan to drive Anne away with tragic consequences.

An adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s unforgettable coming-of-age novel by the same title, Durga Chew-Bose’s Bonjour Tristesse masterfully captures the complexity of relationships between women and how they wield influence over one another’s fates.

“Catherine Deneuve doesn’t just play Bernadette Chirac in ‘The President’s Wife’—she rewrites the part history forgot.” – Rex Reed, Observer

The woman behind the man, Bernadette Chirac (Catherine Deneuve), arrives at the presidential Elysée Palace in 1995, frustrated and cast off by her newly elected husband, Jacques (Michel Vuillermoz). Having always worked in his shadow to help his ascent to the presidency, Madame Chirac now fully expects to get the place in the political elite that she believes she deserves.

In Léa Domenach’s whip-smart feature film debut based on true events, Madame Chirac’s rise from invisible political spouse to major media figure–as calculated as it was inevitable–is chronicled with equal parts reverence and wit, driven by Deneuve’s wryly memorable central performance.

We are hosting a one-time screening of this film, based on the inspiring true story of Afghanistan’s first all-girl robotics team.

“…the film is a beam of light — about math, science and the ability of girls to achieve — arriving at a moment when not only the Taliban continues to aggressively deny girls an education in Afghanistan, but also science in our own country is taking a hit. We can all use some light.” – Variety

In a nation (Afghanistan) where educating girls is seen as rebellion, a visionary woman dares to teach young minds to dream. When their innovation draws global attention, their success sparks hope and opposition. As threats loom, their courage ignites a movement.

Adapted from Jane Austen’s timeless masterwork, PRIDE & PREJUDICE brings a modern sensibility to one of the greatest love stories of all time.

In this adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel, Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) lives with her mother, father and sisters in the English countryside. As the eldest, she faces mounting pressure from her parents to marry. When the outspoken Elizabeth is introduced to the handsome and upper-class Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), sparks fly. Although there is obvious chemistry between the two, Darcy’s overly reserved nature threatens the fledgling relationship.

Agathe, hopelessly clumsy yet charming and full of contradictions, finds herself in desperate singlehood. Her dream is to experience love akin to a Jane Austen novel and her ultimate aspiration is to become a writer. Instead, she spends her days selling books in the legendary British Bookshop, Shakespeare & Co, in Paris.

Invited to the Jane Austen Writers’ Residency in England, she must confront her insecurities to finally fulfill her ambition of becoming a novelist and put an end to wasting her sentimental life.

“The comedy manages to be at once an odd-couple bromance, a showcase for Key’s uproarious woolgathering, a quite respectable musical event, a meditation on grief, and an achingly nostalgic look at the harmonies we carry with us through life.” – NPR

“…effective character study that deserves your attention.” – Boston Globe

97% on Rotten Tomatoes

THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND follows Charles (Tim Key), an eccentric lottery winner who lives alone on a remote island and dreams of getting his favorite musicians, McGwyer Mortimer (Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan) back together.

His fantasy becomes a reality when the bandmates and former lovers accept his invitation to play a private show at his home on Wallis Island. Old tensions resurface as Charles tries desperately to salvage his dream gig.

“Upon first glance, Jeremy Workman’s Secret Mall Apartment tells a bizarre story about artists who created and lived in an apartment in their local mall. But at its core, the film offers unique insights into gentrification, consumerism, and the impermanence of art.” – The Austin Chronicle

Imagine living rent-free in a mall for four years—hidden in plain sight, just beyond the food court. That’s what a group of artists pulled off in the early 2000s. Director Jeremy Workman brings their astonishing true story to the screen in Secret Mall Apartment.

Workman—an Emmy-nominated, Academy Award-shortlisted, SXWS Jury Grand Prize-winning director and filmmaker—has edited multiple Oscar montages and Lifetime Achievements tributes and has featured some of his films on Netflix.

Produced by actor and fellow filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg, Secret Mall Apartment chronicles the covert creation of a fully functional living space inside a Rhode Island mall, a subversive experiment in urban squatting and artistic rebellion.