USA/1938—directed by Oscar Micheaux | 73 min.

An idealistic Harvard graduate returns to the segregated South to establish a grade school, and encounters opposition from both the white and Black communities. Starring Ethel Moses and a bevy of moonlighting Cotton Club dancers, Birthright was an early, brutal critique of segregation and Jim Crow laws, and was criticized for its graphic depiction of institutionalized racism.

Micheaux responded to the criticism by publishing a declaration of his intentions as a filmmaker, reflecting the ideals of his lead character:

“I have always tried to make my photoplays present the truth, to lay before the race a cross section of its own life… It is only by presenting those portions of the race portrayed in my pictures, in light and background of their true state, that we can raise our people to greater heights.”
 

Senegal/Mali/France/2024—directed by Ramata-Toulaye Sy | 87 min.

Set in northern Senegal, this extraordinary directorial feature debut tells the story of Banel and Adama, a young couple very much in love who want to live their own lives. But for the rest of their tight-knit village, duty dictates that Adama accept the role of chief. Nature intervenes: the rains do not come; the cattle succumb to illness; the men leave.

The film is a lush, lyrical fable that soars to heights of longing and descends into the realm of myth, sending its protagonists' love on a possible collision course with their community’s long-held customs.

Banel & Adama is one of the rare Senegalese films to have premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and was Senegal's official submission to the 2024 Academy Awards®. In Pulaar with English subtitles.

"A striking debut that puts Sy on the map as a purveyor of deceptively gorgeous visions, evoking our cinema’s philosophical high priest, Terence Malick.” –Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire

2024/France—directed by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach | 73 min.

Paulette feels guilty after punishing her daughter Linda, and would do anything to make it up to her. Linda demands her mother make chicken with peppers, which reminds her of the dish her father used to cook. But with a strike closing stores across town and people crowding the streets, Linda's request leads to an outrageous series of events that spiral comically out of control, as Paulette goes to all lengths to keep her promise.

Directors Malta and Laudenbach unleash a unique visual marvel of hand-painted animation and a story that blends slapstick comedy, music, and family drama, as Paulette and Linda ultimately confront the grief of a tragedy, and the meal that could bring them closer together.

In French with English subtitles. For all ages!

1999/USA—directed by Brad Bird | 96 min.

DIA Member Exclusive! Take family movie night to the next level at the DIA with a special 25th-anniversary screening of The Iron Giant in the beautiful Detroit Film Theatre Auditorium. Before the lights dim and the reels start rolling, enjoy to a tasty family dinner and set the stage for an evening of joy and laughter.

The Iron Giant is a film that resonates across generations. Follow young Hogarth and his unlikely metal companion on a brave journey of self-discovery that will touch your heart and ignite your imagination.

Dinner service begins at 5:45 p.m., film at 7 p.m.

Menu

• Choice of main: hamburger, hot dog, mac & cheese
• Choice of side: salad, potato chips, french fries
• Choice of drink: fountain pop, milk
• Dessert: ice cream float

France/1923-28 - Directed by Man Ray | 76 min.

The wildly improvisational and fragmentary Return to Reason is Man Ray's first film, where the artist explodes and reconstructs the cinematic medium as a vehicle for accessing the essence of things by rhythmic accumulation of visual details.

What emerges from this program - which combines Return to Reason with three other newly restored Ray films is set to hypnotic new music by SQURL (Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan) - is the sense of Ray as a modern artist par excellence, an experimentalist committed to delving into the space between consciousness and unconsciousness, sense and nonsense, wakefulness and dreaming.

The meticulous restoration of all four films was led by Womanray and Cinenovo, in partnership with La Cinematheque francais, the Library of Congress, and Cineeteca di Bologna.

Japan/1954—directed by Akira Kurosawa | 207 minutes, with one intermission

In 16th century Japan, a small village is regularly plundered by bandits until a group of unemployed samurai agree to train the defenseless farmers into a dedicated army of resistance. Kurosawa’s masterpiece—newly restored in high-resolution 4K for its 70th anniversary celebration—is one of the most brilliant and immersive battle epics ever filmed, and a timeless fable about responsibility, bravery, and character.

Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura head the mammoth cast, and Kurosawa’s unfailing eye brings out the distinctive traits of each character. It’s an electrifying experience, restored at last to its original visual splendor.

In Japanese with English subtitles.

“Akira Kurosawa’s epic masterpiece has been widely imitated, but no one has come near it.” —Pauline Kael, The New Yorker

2022/France—directed by Julien Chheng and Jean-Christophe Roger | 80 min.

Ernest and Celestine return in this delightful and joyous follow-up to their first Academy Award®–nominated adventure, which introduced a bear and mouse as the unlikeliest of friends.

Ernest remains an ursine troubadour dedicated to a life of music and art, and his constant grouchiness is softened by the creative whims of his mouse friend Celestine. When she accidentally breaks his beloved violin, they must take a long voyage to Ernest’s country of Gibberitia, home to the only artist who can repair it.

But when they arrive, they are shocked to discover that all forms of music have been banned in Gibberitia for many years, and a land once known across the world for its incredible musicians has fallen silent. It is up to Ernest and Celestine and their new friends, including a mysterious masked outlaw, to bring music and happiness back to the land of bears.

In French with English subtitles. For families with children 7 and up.

USA/2023—directed by Ryan Martin Brown | 78 min.

Drew (Colin Burgess) is approaching the end of his 20s and, with it, his relative youth. Anxious to make a positive change, he quits his cushy desk job to discover the way to “embrace life.” — but after cycling through friends, hobbies, and goals, Drew finds he’s confused about his newfound freedom.

Shot in just 10 days on the streets of New York and featuring an ensemble of the city's young comedy vanguard, Brown's debut feature is a sparkling and risky little comic surprise, set in the midst of America's "Great Resignation," about the search for purpose and joy in the modern world.

“Eloquent and beautifully articulated. Free Time feels like the promising beginnings of a new era in NYC indie filmmaking.”  —Jordan Raup, The Film Stage

The brand-spanking-new 2024 edition of CatVideoFest is just what the doctor ordered: a hand-selected, carefully curated collection of the most entertaining, inventive, and hilarious cat videos of the year.

An underground sensation that has packed theaters for years, CatVideoFest is a joyous communal experience that surprises and charms—a downright celebratory event on the DFT’s big screen. Tickets go quickly, and advance purchase is recommended.  In English and Feline. For all ages. (73 min.)

“When the history of this era is written, the primacy of a certain type of cat video will be recognized and celebrated ... If you don’t understand the appeal, no explanation will illuminate you.” —Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

(France/1967 — directed by Jean-Pierre Melville)

In a career-defining performance, Alain Delon plays Jef Costello, a modern contract killer with samurai instincts. After carrying out a brilliantly planned hit, Jef finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer.

Le Samouraï is both a magnificently stylized masterpiece of elegant cool, and a razor-sharp blend of suspenseful American-style gangster cinema and 1960s French pop culture, with a healthy dose of Japanese lone-warrior mythology. This stunning new 4K restoration was lovingly created from the original 35mm camera negative. In French with English subtitles. (105 min.)

“A masterpiece. Delon’s role-of-a-lifetime revolutionized the action genre.” –Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine