Winner of an Honorary Academy Award® for lifetime achievement, Charles Burnett remains one of the nation’s most celebrated independent filmmakers. In his charming The Annihilation of Fish, Lynn Redgrave stars as Poinsettia, a former housewife with an imagined — and celebrated — lover. 

After moving into a Los Angeles boarding house run by an energetic landlady (Margot Kidder), Poinsettia meets a Jamaican widower named Fish, brilliantly portrayed by the great James Earl Jones, who valiantly and imaginatively wages daily battles against unseen demons. With empathy and gently comic grace, the pair begin to discover unexpected joys in their world, as well as the nuances of love and happiness.

Presented in a new 4K restoration by UCLA Film & Television Archive and The Film Foundation. (108 min.)

France / 2023 – directed by Benoît Chieux

Join adventurous sisters Juliette and Carmen as they discover an enchanted toy that whisks them away into the magical Kingdom of the Winds. Transformed into cats, they find themselves in a fantastical world filled with flying divas, technicolor dragons, and mind-bending creations. When Juliette causes an accident that angers the locals, the Mayor sentences her to the beautiful songstress Selma, while Carmen is forced to marry his son. The sisters must escape before the wedding bells ring, with the key to their journey home lying with the mysterious wizard Sirocco, feared for his ferocious storms.

A psychedelic fairy tale years in the making, Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds comes from the imagination of director Benoît Chieux. Bursting with captivating creatures and a vibrant, Seussian world, this kaleidoscopic fantasy adventure is full of charm and wonder.

Weekend Family Programs at the DIA are generously presented by the MSUFCU Desk Drawer Foundation.

2024—directed by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor | 96 minutes

A collective of Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers chronicle the Israeli military’s incremental expulsion of the West Bank community of Masafer Yatta — home to 20 ancient Palestinian villages — in this powerful documentary, winner of the 2025 Oscar® for Best Documentary Feature. 

Between 2019 and 2023, Masafer Yatta resident and Palestinian journalist Basel Adra recorded video of home, school and road demolitions (legalized by the area’s conversion to an IDF training zone) and the consequent protests by displaced residents. Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham — free to move about while Adra’s movements were constricted — brings the images and emotions of these confrontations to a wider platform. 

Working together, Adra and Abraham began a friendship in their hopeful efforts to resist a mass eviction. Winner, Best Documentary, New York Film Critics’ Circle, National Society of Film Critics. In Arabic, English and Hebrew with English subtitles. 

“The most powerful nonfiction film I saw this year. As an example of Palestinian-Israeli collaboration, Basel and Yuval and the vital movie they've made give us reason to hope.”

– Justin Chang, National Public Radio

Join us for Member Movie Night! Enjoy a family dinner followed by a cozy screening of Babe, the heartwarming tale of a little pig with big dreams. Bring your loved ones and settle in for this beloved classic in the Detroit Film Theatre, exclusively for our members. It’s the perfect evening of fun, food, and film!

Schedule

• 5:45 p.m. Dinner in Café DIA SOLD OUT
• 7 p.m. Film Screening

Menu

Starters:

• Pigs in a Blanket
• Farm Fresh Veggies

Choice of Main:

• Cheeseburger
• Chicken Tender
• Mac & Cheese

Choice of Side:

• Garden Salad
• French Fries

Choice of drink:

• Fountain pop
• Milk

Cupcakes for dessert

The Michigan Student Film Festival presents the best K-12 student films on the big screen. This juried festival has been the signature event of Digital Arts, Film & Television for 57 years and includes narrative films, animation, and documentaries. For families with children ages 10 and up. Free with museum admission.

Weekend Family Programs at the DIA are generously presented by the MSUFCU Desk Drawer Foundation.

The Italian Film Festival USA returns to the DFT with a selection of contemporary Italian films. Discover new filmmakers, and the variety of films they produce for Italian audiences. Films are in Italian with English subtitles. Screenings are free, visit italianfilmfests.org in March for a complete schedule.

UK/1955—directed by Alexander Mackendrick | 91 min.

In The Ladykillers, Alec Guinness plays the buck-toothed mastermind of a gang of criminals – including Herbert Lom and Peter Sellers – who plan to kill the sweet, innocent landlady, Katie Johnson, in order to silence her and secure their hideout. However, they quickly find that her unyielding British fortitude and stamina make their task far more complicated than expected. 

One of the most inventive and hilarious of the Ealing Studio comedies, The Ladykillers(remade by the Coen Brothers in 2004) has been lovingly restored to its original vibrant color design. This classic comedy was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay.

"A superbly elegant comedy! Even after 65 years, it still kills... subversive and hilarious." – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

As part of a newly restored 4K Ealing Studios collection, this darkly comic masterpiece showcases the brilliant talents of Alec Guinness, widely recognized for his portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Screening Schedule:

• Kind Hearts and Coronets – May 23 @ 7:00 pm
• The Lavender Hill Mob – May 24 @ 3:00 pm
• The Man in the White Suit – May 24 @ 7:00 pm
• The Ladykillers – May 25 @ 2:00 pm

UK/1951—directed by Alexander Mackendrick | 85 min.

In The Man in the White Suit, Alec Guinness plays a brilliant but underappreciated chemistry genius who, relegated to the role of laboratory dishwasher, secretly works on a revolutionary invention: a fabric that never wears out or gets dirty. Unaware of the social and economic implications of his discovery, he stirs up trouble in a capitalist society where eliminating “planned obsolescence” could threaten factory profits and workers’ livelihoods. 

Directed by Alexander Mackendrick, this visionary comedy is also a sharp critique of society, brilliantly foreshadowing the themes of his later film, Sweet Smell of Success. The film was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Screenplay.

“Mackendrick directs with a controlled bravado rare in British cinema, achieving miracles of timing and comedy.” – Halliwell’s Film Guide

Part of the newly restored 4K Ealing Studios series, this witty and satirical comedy is a cornerstone of British cinema, celebrating the sly genius of Alec Guinness, known worldwide for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Screening Schedule:

• Kind Hearts and Coronets – May 23 @ 7:00 pm
• The Lavender Hill Mob – May 24 @ 3:00 pm
• The Man in the White Suit – May 24 @ 7:00 pm
• The Ladykillers – May 25 @ 2:00 pm

UK/1951—directed by Charles Crichton | 81 min.

In The Lavender Hill Mob, Alec Guinness delivers a standout performance as a mild-mannered bank clerk who devises an ingenious yet outlandish plan to smuggle Bank of England gold bullion out of the country by melting it down into tacky tourist souvenirs. Assembling a small group of eccentric dreamers, his scheme becomes a worldwide sensation. 

This delightful Ealing Studio comedy not only won Britain’s BAFTA for Best British Film, but also earned an Academy Award® for screenwriter T.E.B. Clarke and a Best Actor Oscar® nomination for Guinness, cementing his international fame and propelling the success of subsequent Ealing comedies. The film also stars Stanley Holloway and Audrey Hepburn.

“Inventive, joyous, masterly... one of the most glorious gems in the Ealing crown.” – Phillip French, The Observer (UK)

Part of the Ealing Studios retrospective, the film is presented alongside three other newly restored 4K gems, showcasing the wit and brilliance of Alec Guinness in post-WWII British comedies.

Screening Schedule:

• Kind Hearts and Coronets – May 23 @ 7:00 pm
• The Lavender Hill Mob – May 24 @ 3:00 pm
• The Man in the White Suit – May 24 @ 7:00 pm
• The Ladykillers – May 25 @ 2:00 pm

UK/1949—directed by Robert Hamer | 106 min.

Dennis Price stars as a poor relation to the wealthy Dukedom of Chalfont in Kind Hearts and Coronets, a darkly witty tale of ambition and murder. Ninth in line to inherit the title, his character coldly narrates from prison the ingenious and dastardly ways he eliminates one royal D’Ascoyne after another to ascend the peerage. The unforgettable Alec Guinness plays all eight of his colorful victims, including a playboy, a general, an admiral, a reverend, and a dowager, in a tour-de-force performance.

“A merciless masterpiece! A brief prison sentence would not be too harsh a penalty for failing to see it.” – Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

Part of the Ealing Studios retrospective, this screening celebrates the post-WWII British comedies produced by Michael Balcon, including Kind Hearts and Coronets and three other newly restored 4K classics, showcasing Alec Guinness’s sly brilliance.

Screening Schedule:

• Kind Hearts and Coronets – May 23 @ 7:00 pm
• The Lavender Hill Mob – May 24 @ 3:00 pm
• The Man in the White Suit – May 24 @ 7:00 pm
• The Ladykillers – May 25 @ 2:00 pm