Directed by Basil Twist / 2019 

Created for the theater in 1998, Twist’s now-legendary underwater puppet production Symphonie Fantastique is set to composer Hector Berlioz’s signature work and performed in a 1,000-gallon fish tank where seven unseen puppeteers manipulate hundreds of fabrics, feathers, forms, colors, and shapes into a visual extravaganza. 

All ages, but best suited for children 8 and up and adults. 90 min. 

Presented in partnership with Cinema Lamont and the Detroit Puppet Company as part of the 2023 Puppet Film Series. 

This program is supported through the generous support of the Dr. Audley M. Grossman and Paul McPharlin Puppetry Funds. 
 

Join Detroit-based painter Jide Aje for an afternoon of creative exploration and mixed-media abstract artwork. Visitors will have the chance to talk with Aje about his work and his studio practice, and explore shape, color, and form by creating their own collage.. 
  
Aje earned his degree from the University of Ife, Ile-Ife in Nigeria. His work mines and mixes a wide variety of iconography both modern and contemporary. The ancient symbols of the Akan, Dogon, and Yoruba peoples in their traditional forms, as well as the artist’s contemporary spin on them, serve as a jumping-off point for his paintings.

Directed by Hlynur Pálmason / 2022

In the late nineteenth century, a casually arrogant Danish priest Lucas (Elliott Crosset Hove) makes the perilous trek to Iceland’s sparsely populated southeastern coast with the intention of establishing a church. There, amid the magnificent landscapes and glorious nature, Lucas finds his resolve and self-control tested as he confronts harsh terrain, temptations of the flesh, and the reality of being an intruder in an unforgiving, if beautiful, place.

“Absolutely breathtaking—the camera captures the unassuming beauty of Iceland, but also does not hide its frigid nature, both terrifying and beautiful.” –Jenny Nulf, Austin Chronicle

In Icelandic and Danish with English subtitles. (2 hours 23 min) 

Directed by Laura Citarella / 2022

In her enormously enjoyable multi-part tale, Laura Citarella takes viewers on a journey set in and around the Argentinean city of Trenque Lauquen (“Round Lake”) and centered on the disappearance of Laura, a local academic. Through initial inquiries by two colleagues, we learn about her recent discoveries, including a new, unclassified species of flower and a trove of letters hidden at the local library. As anecdotes pile up, we—and the film’s investigators—begin to realize this mystery is vaster and stranger than we could have imagined. 

All 12 chapters of Trenque Lauquen will be presented at this special, one-time-only screening. Crystal Gallery Café will be open during intermission. Run time is four hours, plus intermission.

“Once you lose yourself in the thickets of Trenque Lauquen, you won’t want to be found.” –Devika Girish, The New York Times

Directed by Pierre Földes / 2022

A giant talking frog and an elusive cat help a bank employee, his wife, and a lonely accountant find meaning in their lives—and possibly save Tokyo from catastrophe—in this remarkable animated film. Composer and animator Pierre Földes weaves and layers several short stories by best-selling Japanese author Haruki Murakami into one fascinating narrative, set among characters all responding in different ways to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

“Elegantly surreal, Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is an impressive achievement, a piece of storytelling which balances whimsy against existential questions.” –Wendy Ide, Screen International

In English. 110 min.

Germany/2023—directed by Christian Petzold | 102 minutes

The neurotic Leon (Thomas Schubert) and his laidback friend Felix (Langston Uibel) are on their way to a peaceful stay at a  tranquil seaside summer house. Halfway there, the car breaks down—a sign of things to come, in this new film from director Christian Petzold. They arrive to find Nadja (Paula Beer), a surprise roommate. Personalities clash, tempers flare, resentments emerge, and forest fires in the distance turn the skies orange. The Hollywood Reporter called it “… a deceptively simple and straightforward but emotionally layered film, nicely acted by the tight ensemble.” In German with English subtitles.
 

The anticipated Detroit return of this electrifying annual gathering of black women rockers from around the country never disappoints!  Poet Jessica Care Moore and her tribe of women musicians bless the DFT Auditorium during their 19th anniversary, in honor of Betty Davis, Rosetta Tharpe, Grace Jones, Tina Turner and many more!  

Thrilled to be rocking the Concert of Colors Festival this year, the self proclaimed Daughters of Betty are trailblazers, name takers, and void fillers, and this is what rock and roll looks like.  

Follow them on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
 

Concert of Colors is metro Detroit’s free annual global music festival, an upbeat event celebrating diverse World music traditions-including the indigenous music of the Motor City. The festival also hosts the Forum on Community, Culture and Race, a series of conversations with artists, cultural and community leaders examining the role of the arts in overcoming social barriers.

For a complete schedule of Concert of Colors programs at the Detroit Institute of Arts and neighboring institutions visit the festival website.

Concert of Colors is produced through the partnership of  Culture Source, The Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, ACCESS,  University of Michigan – Detroit Center, Michigan Science Center, Detroit Historical Museum, College For Creative Studies, Hellenic Museum of Michigan, Third Man Records, Lowriders of Detroit, Science Gallery Detroit, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Midtown Inc., University of Michigan Dearborn, University of Michigan – Detroit, Arab American National Museum, WDET, The Scarab Club, International Institute of Metro Detroit and Marx Layne & Company.

Unrest tells the story of a young watchmaker, Josephine, working in a factory in 19th-century Switzerland. Her work focuses on creating the unrest, or the balance wheel that oscillates inside the heart of a mechanical watch. 

What evolves is a growing labor collective, organizing workers and raising funds for strikes where she meets Russian traveler Pyotr Kropotkin, who would eventually become an anarchist and philosopher.

Schäublin’s geometric, perfectly balanced visuals reinforce the singularly contemplative nature of his project: this is a film about time – its tyranny as well as its comforts – and how it impacts our work, our pleasures, and the processes that shape history. New York, Toronto and Berlin Film Festivals (Best Director Award). In Swiss-German, French and Russian with English subtitles.  

“Critic’s Pick! A marvelously crisp film that restores this moment of historic upheaval to immediacy.”  –Amy Nicholson, The New York Times
 

USA/2022—directed by Nancy Buirski | 101 minutes

A half century after its release, Midnight Cowboy remains one of the ground-breaking movies of the modern era. With electric performances from Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman as loners who join forces out of desperation, blacklist survivor Waldo Salt's brilliant screenplay and John Schlesinger's fearless direction, the 1969 film became the only X-rated release to ever win the Academy Award® for Best Picture. 

Its vivid yet compassionate depiction of an unsanitized New York City and its vulnerable inhabitants paved the way for a generation’s worth of gritty movies with adult themes. More than a documentary about Midnight Cowboy, Buirski’s film is a portrait of the gifted people behind a difficult masterpiece; New York in a time of cultural ferment; and the era that made a movie and the movie that made an era.

“Makes the case that the 1969 Best Picture winner is the key film of the era.” –Adam Solomons, IndieWire
 

Simon Shaheen, a Palestinian born in 1955, dazzles listeners as he deftly leaps from traditional Arab sounds to jazz and Western classical styles. His soaring technique, melodic ingenuity, and unparalleled grace have earned him international acclaim as a virtuoso on the oud and violin. Shaheen is one of the most significant Arab musicians, performers, and composers of his generation. His work incorporates and reflects a legacy of Arab music, while it forges ahead to new frontiers, bracing many different styles in the process.

This unique contribution to the world of arts was recognized in 1994 when Shaheen was honored with the prestigious National Heritage Award at the White House.  In 2022, he was honored with the Globalfest Artist Award, which acknowledges the impact Shaheen has had at home and abroad. 

Concert of Colors is metro Detroit’s free annual global music festival, an upbeat event celebrating diverse World music traditions-including the indigenous music of the Motor City. The festival also hosts the Forum on Community, Culture and Race, a series of conversations with artists, cultural and community leaders examining the role of the arts in overcoming social barriers.

For a complete schedule of Concert of Colors programs at the Detroit Institute of Arts and neighboring institutions visit the festival website.

Concert of Colors is produced through the partnership of  Culture Source, The Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, ACCESS,  University of Michigan – Detroit Center, Michigan Science Center, Detroit Historical Museum, College For Creative Studies, Hellenic Museum of Michigan, Third Man Records, Lowriders of Detroit, Science Gallery Detroit, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Midtown Inc., University of Michigan Dearborn, University of Michigan – Detroit, Arab American National Museum, WDET, The Scarab Club, International Institute of Metro Detroit and Marx Layne & Company.