BRITISH ARROWS 2024

The ingenious “adverts” of British TV continue to dazzle and delight, earning annual recognition with the prestigious British Arrows awards (formerly the British Television Advertising Awards). The winners are curated into a celebratory compilation that has become a cult favorite in cinemas worldwide, including the DFT. These brief films, often only a minute or two long, showcase the compact storytelling that allows creators to stretch their imaginations to new heights. The result is a display of quirky inventiveness, playfulness, and a distinctive British wit that brings a sincere yet off-center charm to each product, service, or public service message.

A door-busting phenomenon for years at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, where over 20,000 attendees enjoy sold-out shows annually, the British Arrows have now become a beloved December tradition at the DIA as well. The screenings offer a satisfying blend of eccentricity and creativity, making them a standout event in the world of advertising. (approximately 80 minutes)

(India/France/Netherlands/Italy/2024—directed by Payal Kapadia)

Moving effortlessly from urban bustle to seaside tranquility, this new fiction feature is a heartfelt and exquisite film. All We Imagine As Light is the first Indian film to screen in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 30 years.

Directed by Payal Kapadia, the film is both elegant and visually sophisticated, and it transports viewers emotionally. It follows the lives of two nurses in Mumbai: one with an ex-husband and the other with a new boyfriend. As they navigate their professional and personal lives, they face turning points and private decisions filled with the potential for romance.

Starring Kani Kasruti and Divya Prabha, the film offers one of the year’s most satisfying emotional journeys. It won the Grand Prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. All We Imagine As Light is in Malayalam, Hindi, and Marathi with English subtitles. (110 minutes)

“So delicately felt and sensuously textured that it’s a cause for outright celebration.” –Justin Chang, The New Yorker

(Senegal/Benin/France/2024—directed by Mati Diop)

In November 2021, 26 treasures stolen by French colonial troops in 1892 from the African Kingdom of Dahomey were prepared for their return to the present-day Republic of Benin. These artifacts were inspected and packed in crates in Paris, marking the beginning of their journey home.

The restitution of these artworks has ignited a rich and urgent discussion among students at the University of Abomey-Calavi. They are exploring how to view the return of these stolen artifacts in a country that has evolved significantly in their absence.

Acclaimed director Mati Diop presents this dialogue through a poetic and immersive documentary, incorporating multiple perspectives, including the imagined voice of one artwork.

The film addresses themes of colonization, appropriation, self-determination, restitution, and human creativity. Winner of the Golden Bear at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival, Dahomey is both spellbinding and essential. The film is in French, Fon, and English, with English subtitles. (68 minutes)

“A superb, potent documentary… Striking, stirring and exquisite.” –Jessica Kiang, Variety

(USA/1982—directed by Les Blank)

Werner Herzog was already a legend by 1982 when Fitzcarraldo, his magnum opus, was finally released. The film tells the story of a visionary adventurer, played by Klaus Kinski, who is obsessed with bringing an opera house to the Amazon for a performance by Caruso. The film was shot on location over four years, including a dramatic scene where a 320-ton steamship is actually hauled over a mountain—one of many production challenges that drove Herzog to the brink of insanity.

Burden of Dreams is Les Blank’s classic behind-the-scenes documentary about Herzog’s monumental effort to complete Fitzcarraldo. As a portrait of unrelenting artistic obsession, this documentary's impact may surpass that of the film it chronicles. Newly restored in 4K resolution, Burden of Dreams returns to the big screen in the way it truly deserves. (95 minutes)

“One of the most candid and fascinating portraits ever made of a director at work.” –Vincent Canby, The New York Times

(Iran/1974—directed by Bahram Beyzaie)

One of the most mind-bending and muscular films of the Iranian New Wave, Bahram Beyzaie’s visionary 1974 drama was banned for decades following the Iranian Revolution. A startlingly dreamlike parable, The Stranger and the Fog begins with a man named Ayat arriving at a coastal village aboard a drifting boat, unconscious and with no memory of how he arrived. Villagers revive him and though they begin to accept him, his affection for a local widow kindles powerful tensions with her deceased husband’s family. After years of peace, still more strangers descend upon the village, turning a quiet mystery into a jaw-dropping spectacle, recalling some of the boldest action sequences of Kurosawa. This visually ravishing masterwork invents its own cinema-based mythology to examine the social conditions of pre-Revolutionary Iran.

Restored by Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation, with funding by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. In Farsi with English subtitles. (146 minutes)

(Japan/1993—directed by Shinji Somai)

When her parents separate and her father moves out of their family home, Renko (Tomoko Tabata), a bright and energetic sixth grader, is left alone with her mother, Nazuna (Junko Sakurada). As Nazuna sets out new rules for their life together, Renko, who is naturally confused yet determined to reclaim her sense of love and security, makes plans of her own, doing her best to make sure that any more changes happening in her family happen on her terms.

Since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993, Moving has been one Shinji Somai’s most beloved films worldwide, yet the mysteries of film distribution have left it unseen in the U.S. Until now. In this exquisitely poignant tale, Somai transcends the tropes of stories of children dealing with divorce, crafting instead a delicate, indelible work in which an unforgettable teenage girl encounters the unknown and refuses to succumb to it.

Winner, Best Restored Film, 2023 Venice Film Festival. In Japanese with English subtitles. (125 minutes)

“After seeing it, I had confirmation that Shinji Somai was the best filmmaker of his generation." –Hirokazu Kore-Eda, director of Shoplifters

(Spain/2023—directed by Victor Erice)

With his knockout 1973 feature The Spirit of the Beehive, Spanish director Victor Erice first burst on to the international film scene. Close Your Eyes, Erice's fourth feature film in 50 years, is a rapturously mature work of fiction that radiates the wise glow of an autobiography.

Close Your Eyes is the tale of a late-career filmmaker, Miguel, (Manolo Solo) whose creativity has stalled, and who decides to reconnect with a mysteriously disappeared actor from his past (Jose Coronado). In the process of tracking him down, Miguel must come to terms with the long arc of his life, and face the irrevocably changed techniques of his beloved art of filmmaking.

With rich performances from a cast that includes Ana Torrent (Beehive’s unforgettable child star), Close Your Eyes is a poignant, majestic work that conjures the cinema’s magical ability to touch the soul. In Spanish with English subtitles. Special Award, 2024 National Society of Film Critics. (169 minutes)

“An exquisite and elegant reckoning of cinema’s power to haunt and enchant." –Leigh Singer, Sight & Sound

Latvia/Belgium/France/2024—directed by Gints Zilbalodis | 84 minutes

A cat finds itself puzzlingly alone in an abandoned house, surrounded by untouched artworks and furniture. Venturing outside to explore, the cat encounters a variety of animals: a lemur, a golden retriever, a capybara, and an imposing stork.

By choice or circumstance, these animals soon find themselves bonding in a small boat as torrents of water rush beneath them. The water reveals and conceals the strange, vaguely familiar landscape, and the rushing waters seem to be everywhere.

This astonishing new feature animation by 29-year-old Latvian animator Gints Zilbalodis is an entrancing story for audiences of all ages and places. Its remarkable soundtrack features no dialogue; instead, the adventure unfolds entirely through images, sounds, music, and emotion. The film won the Audience Award, Jury Prize for Best Picture, and Best Original Score at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Festival. 

"Groundbreaking and transcendent. It's rare you feel like you're watching something entirely new. Flow accomplishes just that.” –Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire

(USA/2024—directed by Alexis Manya Spraic)

Songwriter and artist Allee Willis began filming her life as a child in 1950s Detroit and never stopped. Her recordings of herself, her family, and her career form the backbone of this vibrant, entertaining documentary portrait. Brilliant and tireless, Willis fed her curiosity about music by sitting outside Motown Studios on Grand Blvd and listening to recording sessions through the walls.

She soon wrote iconic songs like “September” and “Boogie Wonderland” for Earth, Wind & Fire, and the “Friends” theme “I’ll Be There for You,” all while grappling with her anxiety about fitting established gender and sexual norms. The film features friends celebrating their love for Allee, including Lily Tomlin, Paul Reubens, Mark Cuban, Cyndi Lauper, and many more. A joy from beginning to end. (97 minutes)

“A fascinating documentary honoring a creative force of nature. Energetic, colorful and invigorating.” –Jourdain Searles, The Hollywood Reporter 

USA/2024—directed by Titus Kaphar | 117 minutes

Titus Kaphar, one of the most significant contemporary painters whose work is featured at both the DIA and the Museum of Modern Art, creates images that are both multidisciplinary and rich in historical meaning. Kaphar brings this profound dynamism to his superb directorial debut, starring the extraordinary André Holland (Moonlight, Selma) as painter Tarrell Rodin.

In the film, Tarrell, a loving husband and father, faces upheaval as he prepares for a gallery show. His life is turned upside down by the unexpected return of his father (John Earl Jelks), whose past actions Tarrell cannot forgive.

As Tarrell works on his canvases, he reflects on his past, questioning if he can change the pain of his present. Kaphar's film is both provocative in its depiction of family crisis and thought-provoking about the role of Black voices in the contemporary art scene. It tackles difficult questions and avoids easy answers. The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. 

The Friday, Dec. 13 showing of Exhibiting Forgiveness will include a special in-person Q&A with Titus Kaphar following the film!

“A full experience, exceptional in its craft, with masterful performances.” –William Bibbiani, The Wrap