Category: Features

October 15, 16, 22, 23 at 6:30 pm at the IU Fine Arts Theater Little Girl is the moving portrait of 7-year-old Sasha, who loves ballet, dolls and dresses and has always known that she is a girl, despite the fact that she was born male. Sasha’s family has recently accepted her gender identity, embracing their daughter for who she truly is while working to confront outdated norms and find affirmation in a small community of rural France. Realized with delicacy and intimacy, Sébastien Lifshitz’s documentary poetically explores the emotional challenges, everyday feats, and small moments in Sasha’s life. 88 min • France • Not Rated • In French with English subtitles “Critic’s Pick! — The New York TimesExtraordinary, Illuminating and Moving.” –The Guardian

Tickets: only $8

Covid Protocols: Filmgoers must be vaccinated and must show proof of vaccination. This includes IU students, faculty and staff. (You can photograph your vaccination card and show it to us on your phone.) Filmgoers must wear masks in the theater. Seating will be capped at 35% of capacity. Where Are Films Shown?     Where Can I Park for free on Campus?     Any other Questions? Send an email to editor@TheRyder.com

October 1, 2, 8 and 9 at 7:30 at the IU RTV Theater

This stunning debut drama, set in colorful, chaotic Lagos, the former Nigerian capital, is made by twin brothers, Arie and Chuko Esiri. The film traces the journeys of two distantly connected strangers—Mofe, an electrician dealing with the fallout of a family tragedy, and Rosa, a hairdresser supporting her pregnant teenage sister—as they each pursue their dream of starting a new life in Europe.

NIGERIA   2021   110 MINS.   IN NIGERIAN ENGLISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

CRITIC’S PICK! -The New York Times

October 1, 2, 8, and 9 at 8:30 at the IU Fine Arts Theater

Francois Ozon’s gorgeous period piece … When Alexis capsizes off the coast of Normandy, David comes to the rescue and soon opens the younger boy’s eyes to a new horizon of friendship, art, and bliss. David’s worldly demeanor and Jewish heritage deliver an ardent jolt to Alexis’s traditional, working-class upbringing.  Their relationship is soon rocked by a romantic oath that transcends life itself. (2021 / France / 100 min)

Tickets: only $8

Where Are Films Shown?     Where Can I Park for free on Campus?     Any other Questions? Send an email to editor@TheRyder.com

Covid Protocols: Filmgoers must be vaccinated and must show proof of vaccination. This includes IU students, faculty and staff. (You can photograph your vaccination card and show it to us on your phone.) Filmgoers must wear masks in the theater. Seating will be capped at 35% of capacity.

Our print edition is back! You can pick up a copy of our Sept issue at many local restaurants and shops. Don’t want to wait that long? Here is a copy of our digital edition.

You can watch In Balanchine’s Classroom right here!

IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM takes us back to the glory years of George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet through the remembrances of his former dancers and their quest to fulfill the vision of a genius. Opening the door to his studio, Balanchine’s private laboratory, they reveal new facets of the groundbreaking choreographer: taskmaster, mad scientist, and spiritual teacher. Today, as his former dancers teach a new generation, questions arise: what was the secret of his teaching? Can it be replicated?

Filled with never before seen archival footage of Balanchine at work during rehearsals, classes, and in preparation for his most seminal works, along with interviews with many of his adored and adoring dancers and those who try to carry on his legacy today, this is Balanchine as you have never seen him, and a film for anyone who loves ballet and the creative process.

Funded in part by the IU Jacobs School of Music.

Tickets: only $8

Where Are Films Shown?     Where Can I Park for free on Campus?     Any other Questions? Send an email to editor@TheRyder.com

Covid Protocols: Filmgoers must be vaccinated and must show proof of vaccination. This includes IU students, faculty and staff. (You can photograph your vaccination card and show it to us on your phone.) Filmgoers must wear masks in the theater. Seating will be capped at 35% of capacity. ALSO SCREENING IN OUR VIRTUAL THEATER: DAYS

Sept 24 and 25 at 6:45 at the IU Fine Arts Theater Last Chance! Sunday, Sept 26 at 5:15 at the IU Fine Arts Theater

Dubbed “America’s Doctor” by The New Yorker, Dr. Fauci has become America’s most unlikely cultural icon, with his signature blend of scientific acumen, candor, courage and integrity in the face of COVID-19. At times he’s surprisingly funny. He’s been affectionately spoofed by Oscar winner Brad Pitt and memorialized by Fauci fans who’ve put his face on everything from coffee mugs to candles. He’s a tireless and effective communicator who has captured hearts and minds across the nation and around the world for his willingness to speak truth to power during an unprecedented pandemic. But less is known about the journey that led him to where he is today. (2021 / 105 min)

Fauci is screening in just a handful of theaters. We were chosen primarily because of IU’s nationally recognized stance on vaccination and mask mandates.

Tickets: only $8
Where Are Films Shown?     Where Can I Park for free on Campus?     Any other Questions? Send an email to editor@TheRyder.com

Covid Protocols: Filmgoers must be vaccinated and must show proof of vaccination. This includes IU students, faculty and staff. (You can photograph your vaccination card and show it to us on your phone.) Filmgoers must wear masks in the theater. Seating will be capped at 35% of capacity.

Sept 12 at 6:45 pm at the IU Fine Arts Theater

Poland’s submission to the 2021 Academy Awards has been compared to Twin Peaks!

On a gray, foggy morning outside a large Polish city, a masseur from the East named Zhenia enters the lives of the wealthy residents of a gated community. With his hypnotic presence and quasi-magical abilities, he is able to get a residence permit and starts plying his trade. The well-to-do residents in their cookie-cutter suburban homes seemingly have it all, but they all suffer from an inner sadness, some unexplained longing. The attractive and mysterious newcomer’s hands heal, and Zhenia’s eyes seem to penetrate their souls. To them, his Russian accent sounds like a song from the past, a memory of simpler times. Directed by Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert (2021; Poland; 113 min)

Tickets: only $6

Covid Protocols: Filmgoers must be vaccinated and must show proof of vaccination. This includes IU students, faculty and staff. (You can photograph your vaccination card and show it to us on your phone.) Filmgoers must wear masks in the theater. Seating will be capped at 35% of capacity. Where Are Films Shown?     Where Can I Park for free on Campus?     Any other Questions? Send an email to editor@TheRyder.com

Friday, Sept 10 at 8:30 in Bryan Park – Free!

The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together—a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when optimistic Officer Judy Hopps arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde, to solve the mystery. (2016 / 108 min)

Zootopia is brimming with silly slapstick humor and terrific one-liners — and yes, some simple yet valuable lessons about tolerance and prejudice and learning to embrace our differences. –Chicago Sun-Times

You can watch DAYS right here, right now, in our virtual theater

Although we are once again showing films in person, on campus, we will continue to add films to our calendar that will screen in our virtual theater.

The great Taiwanese filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang has been directing exquisite examinations of alienation, isolation, and the fleeting beauty of human connection featuring his muse, Lee Kang-sheng, for decades. His latest film, DAYS, will undoubtedly stand as one of his best, sparest, and most intimate works. Lee once again stars as a variation on himself, wandering through a lonely urban landscape and seeking treatment in Hong Kong for a chronic illness; at the same time, a young Laotian immigrant working in Bangkok, played by Anong Houngheuangsy, goes about his daily routine. These two solitary men eventually come together in a moment of healing, tenderness, and sexual release. Among the most cathartic entries in Tsai’s filmography, DAYS is a work of longing, constructed with the director’s customary brilliance at visual composition and shot through with profound empathy. 

Among the most striking evocations of the quiet anguish of loneliness that any form of cinema can offer. — Glenn Kenny, The New York Times

Pure rapture. A full body massage for the soul.— Jonathan Romney, Film Comment