The DIA, in partnership with Spot Lite Detroit and Jerk X Jollof, presents this mid-week After-work mixer and dance party to celebrate the new exhibition James Barnor:  Accra/London A Retrospective.

The DJ will be spinning music infused with high life and afro-rhythms which were popular in Accra and dear to Barnor. The event will also feature live drummers and a West African dance performance, along with food trucks slinging authentic African and African-inspired cuisine.

Mixer:  5:30pm – 8:00pm
Dance Party:  8:00pm – 2:00am

Come early…stay late!

USA/2022—directed by Laura Poitras | 113 minutes

In her essential, urgent, involving new documentary, Oscar®–winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) intertwines two narratives: the fabled life and career of era-defining artist Nan Goldin, and the backlash against the Sackler family, owners of the pharmaceutical dynasty that Goldin stood up to by fighting to hold accountable the drug manufacturers behind the opioid crisis.

Following her own struggle with opioid addiction, Goldin, now 68, who rose from the New York “No Wave” underground of the ‘80s to become one of the great photographers of the late 20th century, became an unyielding activist at art institutions around the world that had accepted millions from the Sackler family.

Illustrated with a rich trove of photographs by Goldin, who engagingly narrates her own story, including her suburban upbringing, the loss of her teenage sister, and her fight against AIDS in the 1980s, Laura Poitras’s latest film is a remarkable, empowering work that stirringly connects tragedy with personal responsibility and artistic expression. Winner, Golden Lion for Best Film, 2022 Venice Film Festival.

“Overwhelming. A towering work of shocking intelligence and still greater emotional power.” –Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire 

China/2024 — directed by Jia Zhangke | 111 min.

The preeminent dramatist of China’s rapid 21st-century growth and transformation, director Jia Zhangke takes his boldest approach yet with the marvelous Caught by the Tides. 

Using footage shot over 23 years,Caught by the Tides is told from the perspective of Qiaoqiao (Zhao Tao) as she wanders an increasingly unrecognizable country in search of her long-lost lover, who left their home city to seek financial prospects. 

At once delicate and narratively breathtaking, Jia’s lyrical new masterwork reminds us of cinema’s unique ability to capture the passage of time and the persistence of change.

Palme d’Or Nominee, Cannes Film Festival. In Mandarin with English subtitles.

"Brilliant. A generous-hearted testament from one of our greatest living filmmakers." — Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

Proportioned Orchestra began as an ensemble in June 2016. Initially, the group was comprised of drums, vocals, and double bass. Dr. Professor Leonard King — drummer, vocalist, arranger, and founder of the ensemble — gradually expanded the lineup to include four double bassists, guitar, drums, and vocals. 

This distinctive instrumentation allows the group to perform a wide range of material, including Dr. King’s original compositions as well as works by Astor Piazzolla, Jimi Hendrix, Charlie Parker, Gunther Schuller, George Duke, Buddy Ace, Jaco Pastorius, Thelonious Monk, and others. The group has performed at venues throughout Detroit and has recordings available worldwide.

Experience the highlights of the Detroit Institute of Arts on a free, guided tour with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation. 

Explore some of the museum’s most beloved works of art while learning about the stories, history, and artists behind them. 

Tours meet in the Great Hall at 1 p.m. and last approximately 45 to 60 minutes. 

Japan/1965 — directed by Akira Kurosawa | 185 min.

A magnificent testament to the resilience of human decency, Akira Kurosawa's Red Beard (Akahige) chronicles the tumultuous relationship between an arrogant young doctor and the compassionate director of a clinic for the poor in 19th-century Japan. 

Toshiro Mifune, in his final role for Kurosawa, delivers a commanding and eloquent performance as the dignified yet empathetic older physician who guides his pupil toward maturity, teaching the embittered intern to appreciate the lives of his destitute patients. 

Kurosawa’s epic tapestry of time, place, and emotion has finally received its long-deserved big-screen restoration. 

"A great film. Like Kurosawa’s masterpiece, Ikiru, it fearlessly regards the meanings of life and death." —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Japan/1962 — directed by Akira Kurosawa | 95 min.

Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Akira Kurosawa's tightly paced and elegantly designed Sanjuro. A sly companion piece to Yojimbo, the film in which Mifune’s jaded samurai character first appeared, Sanjurofollows the wily swordsman as he helps a group of idealistic young warriors weed out the corrupt influences within their clan. 

In doing so, he turns their hopelessly conservative notion of a "proper" samurai on its ear. This classic character's return delivers a delightful, action-packed adventure that stands confidently on its own. New widescreen restoration!

"Kurosawa’s funniest film, though the tone switches to a magnificent vehemence in the heart-stopping finale." —Time Out (UK)

Japan/1952 — directed by Akira Kurosawa | 143 min.

One of the greatest achievements in the brilliant career of Akira Kurosawa, Ikiru (To Live) finds the director at his most compassionate—affirming life through an intimate exploration of death. Takashi Shimura delivers an indelible performance as Kanji Watanabe, an aging bureaucrat who has spent decades behind a desk without joy or a sense of accomplishment. 

Now, faced with a diagnosis of stomach cancer, he becomes desperate to find meaning in his remaining days. Written and directed with profound humanistic clarity, Ikiru is a masterful, timeless meditation on what it means to truly live.

"Were it the only film Kurosawa ever made, his name would be rightfully engraved on film history." —Nick Pinkerton, The Village Voice

Japan/1958 — directed by Akira Kurosawa | 139 min.

A grand-scale action adventure, The Hidden Fortress stars the inimitable Toshiro Mifune as a general tasked with guarding his defeated clan’s princess while smuggling royal treasure across hostile territory. 

Accompanying them are a pair of bumbling, conniving, and squabbling peasants who may—or may not—be their friends. If the plot sounds familiar, it’s because this rip-roaring ride (one of Kurosawa’s most beloved films) was a major influence on George Lucas’s Star Wars. 

The Hidden Fortress delivers Kurosawa’s trademark blend of wry humor, breathtaking action, and compassionate humanity, more intoxicating than ever in this new 4K widescreen restoration, presented as part of the DFT’s two-weekend festival, Kurosawa Restored. 

"Marvelous, exhilarating, confident and clever." —Donald Richie, The Films of Akira Kurosawa

Japan/1961 — directed by Akira Kurosawa | 110 min.

With the opening shots of Kurosawa’s visually stunning and darkly comic Yojimbo (Bodyguard), Toshiro Mifune cemented his place as one of the world’s most beloved movie stars. 

Wandering into a town consumed by chaos due to violence between two ruthless clans of would-be warriors, masterless samurai Sanjuro (Mifune) cleverly turns the war to his advantage, agreeing to sell his deadly skills to both sides—without the other knowing, of course. 

Later remade by Sergio Leone as A Fistful of Dollars, Kurosawa’s exhilarating and subversive action epic remains one of the most influential and entertaining films of all time. 

This new 4K restoration of Yojimbo is presented as part of the DFT’s Kurosawa Restored festival, continuing through August 31.

"A glorious comedy-satire of force, explosively comic and exhilarating." —Pauline Kael, I Lost It at the Movies