Welcome back to Cine Club! We hope you had a great summer and we’re excited to share a wonderful new batch of films with you for our 2023-24 season.
Films on Fridays at the Randall Museum (199 Museum Way, near the Castro) start with refreshments at 6:30 and the film presentation begins at 7pm unless otherwise noted.
Online Cine Clubs can be watched at any time during the week. The zoom discussion takes place on Fridays at 8:30. Email isaiah@artandfilm.org for links to films.
SEPTEMBER
SEPT 15 RANDALL MUSEUM
STUDENT FILM FESTIVAL
Join us as we kick off our new season with films from some of the most exciting, emerging directors—you! We’ll be showing student made films from our Film Workshop and Summer Intensive.
Late Start! Doors open at 7PM / Films at 7:30!
SEPT 22 RANDALL MUSEUM
Ridley Scott BLADERUNNER (1982)
This mesmerizing thriller set in a dystopian future follows Harrison Ford as a burnt-out police detective who is forced to take one last assignment: hunting down four deadly androids who have blended in among Los Angeles’ human population. Its vision of the future is dazzling, but its exploration of what it means to be human is what makes this film a classic.
SEPT 29 RANDALL MUSEUM
Federico Fellini LA STRADA (1954)
The simple tale of a young innocent who is sold to the traveling circus by her mother and forced to work as an assistant to a brutish strongman. It's a tough life on the road, and the struggle to make a living takes its toll on both of them. Filled with compelling, vivid performances, particularly by lead actress Giulietta Masina.
OCTOBER
OCT 6 RANDALL MUSEUM
Wes Anderson GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (2014)
This wildly entertaining story about the world’s most dedicated hotel concierge is possibly the finest from indie darling Wes Anderson. Its visual style, immaculate art direction and cornucopia of stars (too many to list) will leave you in awe. A maverick artist at the height of his career!
OCT 13 RANDALL MUSEUM
François Truffaut JULES ET JIM (1962)
This jewel of the French “new wave” changed the face of film. The tale of three friends trapped in a classic love triangle whose initially carefree relationships are periled by jealousy. Presented by film mentor Maëlle Le Lingé.
OCT 20 RANDALL MUSEUM
René Laloux FANTASTIC PLANET (1973)
In a strange world, humans live in fear of the Traags, giant blue humanoid looking aliens who treat them like animals. This experimental sci-fi film forever changed the animation genre when it was released in the 70’s, and we think it’ll make for a rich discussion.
OCT 27 RANDALL MUSEUM
Don Siegel INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)
Let’s ring in the Halloween weekend with this pulp sci-fi classic! In a fictional California town, aliens quietly seek to invade the human race by growing doppelgangers to replace the town’s residents. When a local doctor notices something amiss, he and his friends vow to stop the invasion. Presented by screenwriter Sam Hamm.
NOVEMBER
NOV 3 RANDALL MUSEUM
Roy Andersson SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR (2000)
And now for something completely different! A series of the most bizarre scenes you’ll ever see, connected by brilliant visual concepts, droll humor and a fertile imagination. Come and help us make sense of this film that is as entertaining as it is puzzling. Presented by film mentor Javier Briones.
NOV 10 RANDALL MUSEUM
Sally Potter ORLANDO (1992)
A young nobleman makes a promise to Queen Elizabeth to never grow old… and he doesn’t. He lives for centuries without major incident until, after narrowly escaping death, he wakes up as a woman! A remarkable adaptation of Virginia Wolfe’s novella that questions the very nature of gender.
NOV 17 RANDALL MUSEUM
Djibril Diop Mambéty TOUKI BOUKI (1973)
Two Senegalese youths resort to theft as a means to achieve their dream of going to Paris, but it turns out it’s easier said than done. This landmark film of West African cinema received the International Critics Award when it showed at Cannes in the 70’s, and it’s been well loved ever since.
DECEMBER
DEC 1 RANDALL MUSEUM
Deniz Gamze Ergüven MUSTANG (2015)
Five sisters living in a small village in Turkey find their freedom suddenly taken away after a day at the beach ends on a sour note. Afterwards, when they are forbidden to leave the house, they turn to each other to find joy and meaning in their lives. A touching, character driven film about what it means to become a woman in a patriarchal world.
DEC 8 RANDALL MUSEUM
Lucrecia Martel THE HEADLESS WOMAN (2008)
A wealthy woman hits something with her car while driving on a remote dirt road in Argentina. Unsure if she has killed a person or an animal, she drives off, but the guilt of the incident follows her everywhere she goes. A tense psychological mystery with plenty of social commentary.
DEC 15 RANDALL MUSEUM
Joseph L. Mankiewicz ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
One Broadway star rises and another falls; turns out the silver screen is full of fangs and claws. One of the greats of Hollywood’s golden age, full of terrific performances and a grim-but-glamorous look at life in the theater.
JANUARY
JAN 12 THE CASTRO THEATER
Carl Dreyer VAMPYR (1932)
With the San Francisco Silent Film Festival we bid a fond farewell to the Castro Theater in its current state. The theater will be closed for nearly 2 years to transform it into more of a performance/event space. Before that happens SFSFF will host one last silent film in this movie palace, Dreyer’s Vampyr. One of the first vampire films made! With live music from the SF Conservatory.
“If you’ve never seen a Dreyer film and wonder why many critics regard him as possibly the greatest of all filmmakers, this chilling horror fantasy is the perfect place to begin to understand.”—Jonathan Rosenbaum
JAN 19 RANDALL MUSEUM
Wolfgang Becker GOOD BYE, LENIN! (2003)
This comedic film follows a mother and son living in East Germany in the late 1980’s. When the mother enters a months-long coma, she misses the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism. But when she wakes, her son resolves to conceal this information in fear that she’ll suffer fatal shock.
JAN 26 RANDALL MUSEUM
Oliver Hirschbiegel DOWNFALL (2004)
An illuminating, thoughtful and detailed account of Hitler's last days in his Berlin bunker as the Soviet army closes in. This film captures his paranoia, the delusion and will to destroy with chilling precision. Bruno Ganz’s performance is not to be missed.
Warning: realistic war violence
FEBRUARY
FEB 2 RANDALL MUSEUM
Amma Asante BELLE (2013)
Dido Elizabeth Belle, the mixed-race daughter of an African slave and a British admiral, is left in the care of her grandfather, a powerful judge who is now forced to confront his prejudices. Based on historical lives, this film is a fascinating look at issues of race in 18th century England and one young woman’s role in the campaign to abolish slavery.
FEB 9 555 POST ST
Billy Wilder DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
This classic film noir follows an insurance salesman who finds himself in the center of a murder plot when he falls for a femme fatale planning to kill her husband for his money. But their affair soon arouses suspicion from his colleague, who resolves to expose their crime.
Introduced by Cine Club mentor Jack Hamm and presented in partnership with the Danger & Despair Knitting Circle.
FEB 16 KANBAR FORUM at the EXPLORATORIUM
Peter Weir THE MOSQUITO COAST (1986)
Fed up with consumerist America, a bold and headstrong inventor moves his family down to the Mosquito Coast for a “simpler” way of life. When he purchases a town on a whim, he decides to create his version of a utopia, with disastrous results. Presented by Art and Film staff Amina Aineb.
FEB 23 RANDALL MUSEUM
Dee Rees PARIAH (2011)
An award winning coming of age story about a black teenager coming to terms with her identity as a butch lesbian. This semi-autobiographical film explores the complexities of coming out and learning to embrace who you are, particularly for people of color.
LATE START! Doors will open at 7PM / Film Starts at 7:30
MARCH
MAR 1 RANDALL MUSEUM
Wong Kar Wai DAYS OF BEING WILD (1990)
This film follows several young adults living in Hong Kong whose lives intersect through both romance and heartbreak. Like many of Wong’s films, this is a multi-dimensional, colorful, and candid look at human loneliness and the yearning for connection.
MAR 8 RANDALL MUSEUM
Věra Chytilová DAISIES (1966)
Two young women named Marie decide that in a world filled with entitlement, they deserve to feel entitled too. This sets them off into a series of pranks, sometimes to destructive ends. Filled with satire, decadent nihilism, and unapologetic whimsy, this film is simply a visual feast.
MAR 15 RANDALL MUSEUM
Ingmar Bergman CRIES AND WHISPERS (1972)
A historical drama about three sisters and their servant who must confront the reality of one sister’s terminal illness. This film examines faith, gender, and grief with great care and detail. One of Bergman’s finest.
MAR 22 RANDALL MUSEUM
Terrence Malick BADLANDS (1973)
The director’s first film, which began the avalanche of road films about rebellious youth who terrorize the countryside. Based on a true story it mixes horror with a cool style that only Malick could create.
MAR 29 RANDALL MUSEUM
Krzysztof Kieślowski THREE COLOURS: RED (1994)
A visionary, original love story like no other. Kieslowski’s final films suggest that we are all connected through unseen forces. In this story, coincidence becomes a major theme as two lovers live parallel lives that prepare them to finally meet.
APRIL
APR 5 THE RANDALL
Ernst Lubitsch TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932)
This off-kilter romantic comedy is about a thief and a pickpocket who team up to con the owner of a perfume company for her fortune. Regarded as one of the best films of all time, we feel this pick will win you over, too. Presented by Art & Film staff Jack Hamm.