Category: Features

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Sept 2 and 3 at 7:30 • Sunday, Sept 4 at 4:15 and 7:30 • IU Radio & Television Theater

Antoinette, a schoolteacher, is looking forward to her long planned summer holiday with her married lover Vladimir, the father of one of her pupils. Their plans are upended, however, when Vladimir’s wife books a surprise hiking trip in the picturesque Cévennes mountains in the South of France. Completely unversed in the ways of the wilderness, the spurned Antoinette impulsively decides to follow them, and once paired with an unlikely companion – an obstinate but evidently wise grey donkey named Patrick – discovers much, much more than she bargained for.

Locations     Free Parking     What else is Showing this Month?     Contact Us      Subscribe to our Newsletter Sept 2, 3, 9 and 10 at 8pm • Sunday, Sept 4 and Sunday, Sept 11 at 3:45 and 7pm • IU Fine Arts Theater A sensitive, insightful coming-of-age tale set at an idyllic school in Lebanon’s mountains on the eve of a looming invasion. The film unfolds over a single day in 1982 and follows an 11-year-old boy’s relentless quest to profess his love to a girl in his class. As the invasion encroaches on Beirut, it upends the day, threatening the entire country and its cohesion. Within the microcosm of the school, the film portrays a society torn between its desire for love and peace and the ideological schisms unraveling its seams. Filmmaker Oualid Mouaness was inspired by his childhood memories during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. (100 minutes) Listen to the NPR review

Bring a blanket. Bring a snack. Bring the dog. It’s time for our summer Under the Stars film program in Bloomington’s parks.

Locations     Free Parking     What else is Showing this Month?     Contact Us      Subscribe to our Newsletter

Bring a blanket. Bring a snack. Bring the dog. It’s time for our summer Under the Stars film program in Bloomington’s parks.

Saturday, August 6 in Bryan Park – An Evening with Tom Roznowski followed by The Grapes of Wrath  WFIU Porchlight host, singer/songwriter Tom Roznowski, will perform from 8-9pm. Then at 9:45, John Ford’s classic film, The Grapes of Wrath, will be shown. Henry Fonda stars as Tom Joad, the iconic itinerant ex-con leading his large family down Highway 66 in search of work and a better life in California, The Grapes of Wrath—one of American literature’s great politically liberal books adapted by a famously conservative auteur—stands as perhaps Ford’s most powerfully compassionate movie.

There are more fun films this summer in the park...

Friday, September 16 in Bryan Park – Encanto (2021) – Rated PG – Dusk
A lot happened at the Oscars this year, so you could be forgiven for forgetting about Encanto’s win for Best Animated Film. Here then is your chance to see (and hear) what the fuss is all about on a lovely summer evening in the park! Encanto is the enchanting story of a multigenerational Colombian family and their teenage daughter who possesses magical powers. Encanto features an incredible, Oscar-nominated score and fantastic original songs that you can overshare on social media!

Saturday, October 1 in Switchyard Park  – Ghostbusters (1984) – Rated PG – Dusk
You know the theme song, you know the legendary cast: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Sigourney Weaver. You know the plot: three parapsychologists lose funding from their parent university and decide to go into the business of removing ghosts in New York City. At one point the demigod Zuul shows up in all its stop-motion animated glory! You’ve undoubtedly seen Ghostbusters before, but this time watch it under the stars and quote your favorite lines.

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July 22, 23, 29 and 30 at 8pm • Sunday, July 24 and 31 at 4:45 and 7pm • IU Radio & Television Theater • Purchase Tickets

We’ve all had a chance to experience Croatia’s beautiful Adriatic coastline in Game of Thrones. But it looks even more beautiful in Murina. And no one loses their head (at least not literally).

Seventeen-year-old Julija spends her days with her strict father Ante, diving for eel (the “murina” of the title) and watching other teens party on a nearby yacht. She longs for independence but is unsure how to achieve it, until the arrival of the rich and mysterious Javier seems to offer a way out.

Equal parts fiery feminist outcry and stirring coming-of-age drama, the Murina announces director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović as a major new talent in world cinema.

94 minutes • in Croatian with subtitles

July 15, 16, 22 and 23 at 7:30pm • Sunday, July 17 and 24 at 4:15 and 7:30 • IU Fine Arts Theater • Purchase Tickets

“Hello, bookstore,” is how Matthew Tannenbaum has answered the phone at his Lenox, Massachusetts independent shop every day since 1976. Tannenbaum’s passion for stories runs deep. Charming, avuncular and eccentric, he is a man surrounded by great literature, friendly neighbors, and tree-lined streets in a town where time seems to have stood still.

Documentarian A.B. Zax captures the sensibility of dedicated readers for whom a bookstore is a tiny piece of paradise, a Brigadoon where one savors great words and ideas merely by browsing its wares. Hello, Bookstore is a magical beatnik gem, a valentine to human creativity of both the literary and entrepreneurial kind. When the pandemic renders bookstores off-limits, Tannenbaum needs to regroup, and Zax’s story becomes even more inspiring. 86 minutes

Compelling and heartwarming. Worthy of Hollywood magic created by Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart.” – Thomas Farragher, The Boston Globe

presented in part by Morgenstern’s Bookstore and Village Lights Bookstore (in Madison, Indiana)

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July 8 and 9 at 8pm • Sunday, July 10 at 4:30 and 7:30 • IU Radio & Television Theater • Purchase Tickets

Some directors make movies; others cast spells.

Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton stars as Jessica, a Scottish expatriate orchid farmer living in Bogotá, Colombia. One morning at daybreak, she hears a loud, unidentifiable sound. The noise, which only Jessica seems to hear, carries a foreboding beauty that is part of the surrounding landscape. Unable to escape it, Jessica wanders through the jungle, trying to discover its origin.

Memoria is one of the year’s most anticipated arthouse films, from the extraordinary mind of Cannes Film Festival winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Memoria sidesteps easy categorizations; to call it science fiction would be simplistic. The film’s distributor (NEON) has announced that Memoria will only be shown in theaters; it will never be released on any streaming service or home video.

In English and Spanish with subtitles • 136 min

There’s something uniquely intense about hearing an entire audience remain utterly still during a movie’s transporting final minutes, afraid to cough or squeak their seat’s rusty springs or even breathe too loud, for fear of breaking the spell. Memoria inspires that kind of rapture. – The A.V. Club

Weerasethakul’s imagination is philosophical and speculative, and in style he is more a poet than a fabulist, at home in the gaps between our various ways of making sense of the world. The remnants of ancient civilizations and the chaos of a modern life, the flickerings of supernaturalism, science fiction and the literary speculations of Jorge Luis Borges illuminate Jessica’s journey. Critic’s Pick! – The New York Times

Here’s a link to an interview with Tilda Swinton and filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

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June 17, 18, 24 and 25 at 7:30 • Sunday, June 19 at 4:30 • Sunday, June 26 at 4:30 and 7:30 • IU Radio & Television Theater • Purchase Tickets

Transplanting the work of graphic novelist Adrian Tomine from the U.S. to France, Palme d’Or–winner Jacques Audiard (Dheepan) dives into the mores of modern love. A series of overlapping characters and stories begins with Émilie, a young woman hooks up with the first roommate she finds to supplement her income. Meanwhile, young Nora is mistaken for an online sex worker, Amber Sweet (Jehnny Beth, of the post-punk band Savages), and gets in touch with her, only to unexpectedly develop a connection. Casual sex, webcams, and fluidly intertwining relationships are all explored in this unsparing but nonjudgmental portrait of young Parisians in and out of love and lust.

France • French, Mandarin, and English with English subtitles • 105 minutes • Shot in striking black-and-white

Everything looks beautiful in Paris, 13th District, especially the different skin tones and gorgeously entangled bodies of its lovers. CRITICS PICK! –The New York Times

This foursome’s lives intersect in consistently THRILLING and surprising ways, –The Telegraph

Audiard, Mysius and Sciamma, along with their FANTASTIC CAST, create an ENCHANTING and SEDUCTIVE story told through an intimate group of relationships. This beautiful and simple story of young love and finding one’s self through love is one of the most romantic and sexiest films of 2022. –Collider

pictured above: legendary bookseller Sylvia Beach and James Joyce

Thursday, June 16 at 8pm at the IU Fine Arts Theater; Sunday, June 19 at 8pm at the IU Radio & Television Theater

Purchase Tickets

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Ulysses. James Joyce’s novel takes place over a 24 hour period in Dublin on June 16th. In Bed with Ulysses is the story behind the writing, publishing, and censoring of one of the most important novels of the modern era. One hundred years later, the censors are at it again.

The movie lets fresh air into “Ulysses” like a gust from the Irish Sea. – The New York Times

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June 10, 11, 17 and 18 at 8pm • Sunday, June 12 and 19 at 4pm and 7pm • IU Fine Arts Theater • Purchase Tickets

A family speeds through the Iranian desert toward the Turkish border: Where are they going? Why is mom paranoid about being followed? Is the dog acting funny? At the wheel is the family’s brooding elder son, with an over-attentive polestar mother riding shotgun, her husband immobilized in the back seat (his leg in a cast) losing a battle of wits with his younger son – whose rascally energy keeps everyone both entertained and exasperated. First-time filmmaker Panah Panahi is the son of Jafar Panahi and apprenticed with the legendary Kiarostami. He makes his debut with a film that’s playfully new, both visually and tonally, yet resonant of the masterful tradition from which he descends. 93 MINS • IRAN • IN PERSIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

THE QUIET, LOW-KEY MASTERPIECE OF THE YEAR. This Iranian film about a family on a mysterious road trip is funny, tragic, moving and a near-perfect debut movie.
– David Fear, Rolling Stone 

A THRILLING and MYSTERIOUS revelation from Iran… a love story, a tragicomedy, and a triumph.
– Richard Brody, The New Yorker

“CRITIC’S PICK! A storytelling style that is at once clear and elusive. What makes HIT THE ROAD so memorable and devastating is the way it explores normal life under duress… That invisible cruelty make the tenderness and good humor of this movie all the more precious, and almost unbearable.”
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Locations     Free Parking     What else is Showing this Month?     Contact Us      Subscribe to our Newsletter Bring a blanket. Bring a snack. Bring the dog. It’s time for our summer Under the Stars film program in Bloomington’s parks. 

Saturday, May 28 in Bryan Park – Knives Out (2019) – Rated PG-13 – Dusk
It’s time for a murder mystery in the park! Director Rian Johnson brings a murderers’ row of movie stars to Knives Out, including Chris Evans, LaKeith Stanfield, Ana de Armas, Toni Collette, and many more! This also includes Daniel Craig’s truly unforgettable Southern accent. And lets not forget the theme of that Stones’ song over the closing credits–appropriate for a movie in a park. Knives Out pays tribute to Agatha Christie-style whodunits and even puts its own twist on the genre.

There are more fun films this summer in the park…

Friday, June 17 in Rev. Butler Park – Sing 2 (2021) – Rated PG – Dusk
Where else can you find the voice talents of Matthew McConaughey, Halsey, Reese Witherspoon, and Bono in one film? Sing 2 has a star-studded, jam-packed, eclectic cast. Koala Buster Moon is back with a bunch of his other fun animal friends to find reclusive aging rock star lion Clay Calloway. They sing! Obviously! But this endearing sequel gives you even more catchy songs to look up too many times on YouTube.

Friday, July 15 in Switchyard Park – A League of Their Own (1992) – Rated PG – Dusk
Baseball and cinema go together like… baseball and hotdogs. Baseball movies just work, and A League of Their Own is one of the best! Featuring an All-Star Team of ‘90s starters like Madonna, Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell, Lori Petty, and Tom Hanks. Enjoy a nice evening in the park with this awesome movie, and find out if there’s allegedly any crying in baseball (there’s not)!

Friday, September 16 in Bryan Park – Encanto (2021) – Rated PG – Dusk
A lot happened at the Oscars this year, so you could be forgiven for forgetting about Encanto’s win for Best Animated Film. Here then is your chance to see (and hear) what the fuss is all about on a lovely summer evening in the park! Encanto is the enchanting story of a multigenerational Colombian family and their teenage daughter who possesses magical powers. Encanto features an incredible, Oscar-nominated score and fantastic original songs that you can overshare on social media!

Saturday, October 1 in Switchyard Park  – Ghostbusters (1984) – Rated PG – Dusk
You know the theme song, you know the legendary cast: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Sigourney Weaver. You know the plot: three parapsychologists lose funding from their parent university and decide to go into the business of removing ghosts in New York City. At one point the demigod Zuul shows up in all its stop-motion animated glory! You’ve undoubtedly seen Ghostbusters before, but this time watch it under the stars and quote your favorite lines.