Belgium/France/Netherlands/2024—directed by Johan Grimonprez | 150 min.

From Congo to Harlem and back again, Johan Grimonprez’s kinetic documentary delivers the politics of decolonization in jazz form, replete with virtuosic archival riffs, historical text styled as Blue Note album covers, and musical performances by jazz legends Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Nina Simone, who in the 1960s doubled as cultural ambassadors to Africa. 

Their roles as unknowing decoys in the CIA’s efforts to “remove” Congo’s prime minister Patrice Lumumba thread through this deeply researched, utterly fascinating, and densely textured tapestry, which scrambles the simplistic good guys/bad guys narrative. 

Richly illustrated by eyewitness accounts, memos, testimonies from mercenaries, speeches from Lumumba himself, and a canon of jazz icons in rare footage, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat interrogates colonial history to tell an urgent and timely story that resonates profoundly in today’s political climate. Winner of the Special Prize for Innovation, Sundance Film Festival. In English, French, Dutch, and Russian with English subtitles. 

"Critic’s Pick! A great documentary that uses every instrument cinema affords. The result, in a word, is marvelous." –Alissa Wilkinson, The New York Times

This collection of short films from the 2024 New York International Children's Film Festival highlights Black narratives that transcend national boundaries, culture, and language, with films in English, French, Zulu, and even ASL. These films celebrate the joy, determination, resilience, and complexity of being young and Black, while underscoring the vibrancy of Black storytelling.

Canada/2024—directed by Paul Schrader | 91 min.

In a raw, surprising, and mesmerizing performance, Richard Gere stars as Leonard Fife, a world-famous documentary filmmaker whose cancer leaves him with only a short time to live. 

In an unexpected turn, Fife agrees to turn the lens on himself to clarify hidden aspects of his life, placing the task of filming in the hands of his former protégé (Michael Imperioli) while insisting that his wife and former student, Emma (Uma Thurman), be on set to hear every confession as he reveals them. 

Based on a book by Russell Banks, this searing, deeply personal work from Paul Schrader—the Grand Rapids native who scripted Taxi Driver and Raging Bull and directed Blue Collar and First Reformed—is a mature and demanding achievement by a master of his art, a film that reverberates in the mind and conscience long after viewing. Featured at the Cannes, New York, and Toronto Film Festivals. 

"Paul Schrader and Richard Gere, reunited for the first time since the 1980 American Gigolo, are at the peak of their powers." –Chuck Bowen, Slant

Iran/France/Germany/2024—directed by Mohammad Rasoulof | 147 min.

Shot entirely in secret, Mohammad Rasoulof’s astonishing, award-winning thriller centers on a family thrust into the public eye when Iman (Misagh Zare) is appointed as an investigating judge in Tehran. As political unrest erupts in the streets, Iman realizes that his job is even more dangerous than expected, making him increasingly paranoid and distrustful, even of his own wife, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani), and their daughters. 

In April 2024, despite his film being invited to compete in the Cannes Film Festival (where it won the Special Jury Prize), the director was sentenced by Iranian authorities to eight years in prison, as well as flogging and confiscation of his property; he has chosen instead to live in exile abroad. 

An official selection of the Toronto, Telluride, and New York Film Festivals, The Seed of the Sacred Fig is also a submission for Best International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards®. In Farsi with English subtitles.

“A blistering, propulsive thriller.” –Justin Chang, The New Yorker

USA/2011–directed by Martin Scorsese | 147 min.

Orphaned and alone except for an uncle, Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lives within the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. Hugo's job is to oil and maintain the station's clocks, but to him, his more important task is protecting a broken automaton and a notebook left to him by his late father (Jude Law). Accompanied by the goddaughter (Chloë Grace Moretz) of an embittered toy merchant (Ben Kingsley), Hugo embarks on a quest to solve the mystery of the automaton and find a place he can call home.

Earning 11 Academy Award nominations, Hugo is a beautiful homage to early silent film and clockwork automatons.

Chassica Kirchhoff, DIA Assistant Curator of European Sculpture & Decorative Arts, will introduce this special screening with a brief presentation about The Rooster’s Crow Automaton Clock, a mechanical marvel in the DIA’s collection reminiscent of the wondrous clock in Hugo. Recommended for families with children ages 8 and up. 

“A dazzling and rapturous tribute to the magic of movies.” –Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

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

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)