FILM ARCHIVES

Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette
Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette
Two singers at the height of their powers—radiant soprano Nadine Sierra and tenor sensation Benjamin Bernheim—come together as the star-crossed lovers in Gounod’s sumptuous Shakespeare adaptation, with Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium to conduct one of the repertoire’s most romantic scores. Bartlett Sher’s towering staging also features baritone Will Liverman and tenor Frederick Ballentine as the archrivals Mercutio and Tybalt, mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey as the mischievous pageboy Stéphano, and bass-baritone Alfred Walker as Frère Laurent.

A La Scala Production, initially presented by the Salzburg Festival.

ABOUT DRY GRASSES
ABOUT DRY GRASSES
Nestled away in wintry East Anatolia, public-school art teacher Samet (Deniz Celiloğlu) yearns to leave the sleepy village for cosmopolitan Istanbul. Further disenchanted when he and Kenan (Musab Ekici), a colleague, come under public scrutiny, Samet fears circumstances will keep him in Anatolia and his dreams of a new life forever out of reach. A silver lining is a budding relationship with Nuray (Merve Dizdar), a fellow teacher and firebrand who forces Samet to confront what he can’t readily accept. Renowned for his nuanced, visually ravishing imagery, award-winning director Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Winter Sleep) capstones the film with one of his greatest sequences, a dazzling metacinematic climax featuring an unforgettable performance from Dizdar, who took home Best Actress at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. “Let the hypnotic, caustic beauty of About Dry Grasses consume you.” – Bilge Ebiri, New York magazine.
The Return of Old Growth Forests
The Return of Old Growth Forests
Today there is great interest in ancient, “old-growth” forests. New England, surprisingly, still has some small fragments of such old forests, although they represent less than 1% of its original forest. But a high percentage of central New England land is cloaked in second-growth forest that is recovering from the massive land clearing of former agricultural years. A significant amount of such second-growth could be set aside to eventually become old-growth once again, allowing it to regain greater biodiversity, an improved gene pool, and therefore enhanced resilience and adaptability (not to mention natural beauty). In this new one-hour film, we will learn how to recognize some of the characteristics of our remnant, northeastern old-growth forests, with scenes from several of our most beautiful. Environmental scientist Margery Winters explains “morticulture”, the role that dead, hollow, and fallen trees play in forest ecology. Ed Faison, Senior Ecologist at Highstead, discusses Nature-managed vs actively-managed forests. Atmospheric physicist Anastassia Makarieva introduces the Biotic Pump theory, which describes how forests bring fresh water to themselves; it also accounts for the little-known but vastly significant role that old forests play in the Earth's water cycle, which is far more important than CO2 in regard to our warming climate.
SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD
SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD
No story too shameful, no burden too heavy to carry when you share it with your sisterhood… The Vana-Võromaa (region in South Estonia) smoke sauna tradition known as “savvusanna kombõ” and listed in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is one of connecting family and friends to cleanse body and soul inside a place of peace and contemplation. Conflicts are left outside. In Filmmaker Anna Hints’ SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD, the history of the smoke saunas as a place of giving birth inspired them to focus on women who “come together in the protective darkness of the smoke sauna, share their deepest secrets and wash off the shame that has accumulated in their bodies”. The first documentary by an Estonian director to compete and win at Sundance, SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD is a deeply moving, intimate and breathtaking approach to issues of trauma, healing, and community. Filmed almost as if a Vermeer or Rembrandt painting, the camera is never intrusive, never mechanical. Rather, the images move as the smoke – lingering, wafting, suspended briefly before disappearing and reappearing. With an authentic voice and authority born of their own heritage, filmmaker Anna Hints has created a transformative experience of being human within a female body, showing women “as they are” with great emotional veracity and deep empathy.
FALLEN LEAVES
FALLEN LEAVES
For most Cinestudio fans of international films, Leningrad Cowboys Go America was the first film from Finland that anyone had seen. Its mix of deadpan humor, Nordic minimalism, political consciousness and a rueful belief in humanity was dazzling. So it’s no surprise that Kaurismäki is now has become a bright light in cinema, with 20 films, numerous awards, and the appreciation of both critics and moviegoers around the globe. Fallen Leaves is set in Helsinki, where people existing on the edges of the middle class find it hard to navigate daily life. Two of these many unseen people are Holappa, a construction worker with a drinking problem, and Ansa, a recently fired supermarket cashier who longs for a meaningful connection. Together, they begin a playful, tender and unpredictable path to what could be love... And yes, like many of the Finnish master’s films, it features a scruffy dog with a loyal heart…Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2023 - it’s one of the best movies of the year.” David Sims, -The Atlantic
MONSTER
MONSTER
A Queer Thursday presentation of the Japanese film directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters) that won the Best Screenplay and Queer Palm Awards at the Cannes Film Festival. After a mother (Ando Sakura) discovers that her son’s teacher Mr. Hori’s bullying - or worse - may be behind her 9-year-old son Minato’s sudden strange behavior, she storms into his school demanding an explanation. Continually left without satisfactory answers by the rigid school administration—and with an increasingly distressed child—she escalates her concerns to the school board and the parents of her son’s best friend, Yuri. However, as the story leading up to Minato’s mysterious disappearance is shown first through the perspective of the mother, then Mr. Hori, and finally Minato himself, we learn that there is much that the fear-driven adults have missed. Minato and Yuri are exploring a romantic friendship, in a tender, secretive and often confusing journey towards self-acceptance and liberation. “It’s a marvel…a profoundly compassionate chronicle of untidy contemporary lives.” – Nicholas Barber, BBC.com
CABRINI
CABRINI
Many visitors to Upper Manhattan’s Cloisters pass by the shrine (and mummified body) of Mother Cabrini knowing little about the activist immigrant who became America’s first canonized saint. From Alejandro Monteverde (Sound of Freedom) comes the powerful story of Francesca Cabrini, an Italian immigrant who arrived in New York City in 1889. Shocked by poverty, disease, crime and suffering of the immigrants she meets in Hell’s Kitchen, the fierce-willed nun sets off on a solo mission to convince the mayor and upper classes to look past their prejudices to help end the suffering of the unseen under class. With little English and poor health, Cabrini helped to bring housing, food, healthcare and orphanages to the city’s most vulnerable.  As a woman up against powerful men In New York and Rome, Italian actress Cristiana Della’Anna (HBO’s Gomorrah.) gives a remarkable performance of both fragility and uncommon strength.
Verdi’s La Forza del Destino
Verdi’s La Forza del Destino
Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Verdi’s grand tale of ill-fated love, deadly vendetta, and family strife, with stellar soprano Lise Davidsen following a string of recent Met triumphs with her role debut as the noble Leonora, one of the repertory’s most tormented—and thrilling—heroines. Director Mariusz Treliński delivers the company’s first new Forza in nearly 30 years, setting the scene in a contemporary world and making extensive use of the Met’s turntable to represent the unstoppable advance of destiny that drives the opera’s chain of calamitous events. The distinguished cast also features tenor Brian Jagde as Leonora’s forbidden beloved Don Alvaro, baritone Igor Golovatenko as her vengeful brother Don Carlo, mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk as the fortune teller Preziosilla, bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi as Fra Melitone, and bass Soloman Howard as both Leonora’s father and Padre Guardiano. For the final three performances, soprano Elena Stikhina stars as Leonora.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (2022)
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (2022)
Since 1970, Cinestudio has been an integral part of Trinity’s campus life. Part of the free and open 1823 Series, Cinestudio presents a curated series of iconic films that each represent a decade since its founding, as selected by alumni, students, faculty, and staff.
Representing the 2020’s, Everything Everywhere All at Once is a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can’t seem to finish her taxes. She travels through multiple universes to meet and sometimes battle with alternative versions of her husband (Ke Huy Quan), daughter (Stephanie Hsu), and herself—good, evil, and different.
FIORETTA
FIORETTA
History-obsessed Randy Schoenberg (memorably portrayed by Ryan Reynolds in Woman in Gold) brings his reluctant teenage son Joey along for the journey of a lifetime, through Europe and the centuries, to reclaim 500 years of their family story. Along the way, they encounter kings, mystics, and a false messiah — as well as numerous ordinary and extraordinary people who witnessed Europe's tumultuous past. And the relationship between father and son is forever changed. Randy is renowned for recovering Nazi-looted art, but his greatest achievement might just be reuniting the fractured and scattered shards of his own family. Filmed on-location across Austria, Czech Republic, and Italy, Fioretta is “a meditative and intensely visual exploration…[filmmaker] Matthew Mishory reveals what history hides.” - Film Threat
REEL ROCK 18
REEL ROCK 18
“A World of Adventure Awaits!” See the world’s best climbing films in Reel Rock 18, presented by The North Face. This amazing traveling film festival, only an ambitious dream in 2005, is now the globe’s premiere platform for award-winning climbing films. Immerse yourself in four gripping new climbing films from across the globe: Sachi Amma’s visionary first ascent on Japan’s mythical Mt. Mizugaki; a climbing community held together in war-torn Ukraine; a treacherous 20,000-foot free ascent of Jirishanca in the Peruvian Andes by alpinists Josh Wharton and Vince Anderson; and two women - Australian climber Angie Scarth-Johnson and veteran adventure climber Hazel Findlay - explore the best of Mallorca’s deep-water soloing. “No matter how sophisticated you may be, a large granite mountain cannot be denied—it speaks in silence to the very core of your being.” – Ansel Adams.
ORIGIN
ORIGIN
It is impossible to imagine another director other than Ava DuVernay (Selma, When They See Us) taking a Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller that explores a new way to understand racism through the lens of caste, and turn it into a mind-opening and profoundly moving film. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (2023’s The Color Purple) stars as author Isabel Wilkerson, who embarks on a life-changing journey into the ways that racism in the U.S. is just one example of how powerful elites keep their designated underclass down. She travels to Germany to explore chilling Nazi archives and meet with people affected by the Holocaust. In India, she explores the caste system that keeps the Dalit, once called “Untouchables” stuck at the lowest rung of society, and meets activists fighting for Dalit rights. Intertwined with her intellectual voyage are her personal losses, family, and exciting possibility of new conversations. “A dense, forceful masterwork, and, quite simply, the most radical film of DuVernay’s career.” - Robert Daniels, rogerebert.com
POOR THINGS
POOR THINGS
Don’t miss this preview of Cinestudio’ s Oscar - Palooza, our presentation of Academy Award nominated films screening March 1 -March 10! Poor Things isn’t at all afraid to break the mold of conventional narratives. It’s a wildly imaginative tale set in Victorian London with Emma Stone as Bella, a young woman who finds new life after her suicide, thanks to an eccentric surgeon (Willem Dafoe) who replaces her brain with the still healthy brain of her unborn child. As the infant within matures, Bella’s incredible curiosity about life – and her pure naivete, send her off on a fantastic series of adventures, some on her own, and some with a seductive, debauched lawyer (Mark Ruffalo). Her varied experiences from exhilarating to dangerous inspire her to seize liberation and reject the confining life of Victorian women. “The world is better having this wonderfully weird movie in it. It’s bloody marvelous!” Wenlei Ma, The West Australian. OSCAR NOMINATIONS: BEST PICTURE, BEST ACTRESS, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST  CINEMAOGRAPHER & five more.
Casablanca
Casablanca
In peacetime, Casablanca stands as one of the best love stories on film. In wartime (when it was released), or times that feel dangerously close to war, it inspires with its moral stance for democracy in the face of brutality. In an occupied North African city during World War II, an apolitical American (Humphrey Bogart) runs Rick’s Cafe. Unfazed by his motley crew of customers (partisans, Nazis, desperate emigrés, swindlers, crooked police and more), Rick’s cool is shaken when the woman who left him in Paris (a luminous Ingrid Bergman) walks back into his life. Bogart’s jaded ambivalence is a kick, but it is his emerging conscience that still stands as a response to apathy and existential despair. Academy Awards®: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay. 112 min.
Motion State Dance Film Series
Motion State Dance Film Series
The Motion State Dance Film Series is the only year-long, traveling short dance film festival in New England devoted to showcasing the diversity of contemporary creative voices exploring the medium of choreography for the camera. By taking the festival “on the road” and into non-traditional film venues, such as art galleries, music halls, performing arts theaters, and university classrooms, the Motion State Dance Film Series seeks to expose the films and filmmakers to new audiences. Every screening is followed by a public Q & A with the curators. All festival artists are invited and encouraged to take part in the conversation.
National Theatre Live: Romeo & Juliet
National Theatre Live: Romeo & Juliet
Romeo and Juliet risk everything to be together. In defiance of their feuding families, they chase a future of joy and passion as violence erupts around them. This bold film brings to life the remarkable backstage spaces of the National Theatre in which desire, dreams and destiny collide to make Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy sing in an entirely new way.
ALL OF US STRANGERS
ALL OF US STRANGERS
One night in his near-empty tower block in contemporary London, Adam (Andrew Scott) has a chance encounter with a mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), which punctures the rhythm of his everyday life. As a relationship develops between them, Adam is preoccupied with memories of the past and finds himself drawn back to the suburban town where he grew up, and the childhood home where his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), appear to be living, just as they were on the day they died, 30 years before.
CAT PERSON
CAT PERSON
Susanna Fogel (THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT, THE WILDS) directs this genre-bending thriller about the horrors of dating in the 21st Century, adapted by Michelle Ashford (MASTERS OF SEX, THE PACIFIC, OPERATION MINCEMEAT) from the acclaimed New Yorker short story by Kristen Roupenian. When Margot, a college sophomore (Emilia Jones – CODA) goes on a date with the older Robert (Nicholas Braun – SUCCESSION, ZOLA), she finds that IRL Robert doesn’t live up to the Robert she has been flirting with over texts. CAT PERSON is a razor-sharp exploration of the gender divide, the quagmire of navigating modern dating and the dangerous projections we make in our minds about the person at the other end of our phones.
PARASITE (2019)
PARASITE (2019)
Since 1970, Cinestudio has been an integral part of Trinity’s campus life. Part of the free and open 1823 Series, Cinestudio presents a curated series of iconic films that each represent a decade since its founding, as selected by alumni, students, faculty, staff, and community.
Trinity members of Gen Z picked a small South Korean movie that exploded into the mainstream, winning Bong Joon-ho an Oscar for Best Director This brilliant black comedy begins when a poor basement-dwelling family gets lucky: son Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) scores a job as a tutor to Da-hye (Jung Ziso), daughter to the cluelessly wealthy Mr. Park. Ki-Woo gets his entire family working for the Parks, leading to class warfare that isn’t completely bloodless. “Bong is in brilliant form, but he is unmistakably, roaringly furious, and it registers because the target is so deserving, so enormous, so 2019.” Jessica Kiang, a Variety Critics Pick.
THE COLOR PURPLE
THE COLOR PURPLE
Alice Walker’s novel opened the world’s eyes to the largely ignored inner lives of Black women. The powerful resonance of Walker’s story has inspired a movie adaptation, a Broadway musical, and today, an extraordinary film of the stage musical. It opens in rural Georgia of the early1900s, when Celie (Fantasia Barrino) is forced to leave her abusive childhood home, and then to marry an older, brutal widower called Mister (Colman Domingo). As Celie gains wisdom and experience, she fights to find her true self, discover her true sexuality, and embrace the sisterhood of other women who give her an unbreakable strength. The talented ensemble cast is unreal, but the star-power comes from three outrageously talented women: Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, and Danielle Brooks. “Barrino opens up her heart and her glorious voice…It’s a triumph, and it’s earned.” Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times.
GROUNDHOG DAY
GROUNDHOG DAY
Phil (Bill Murray), a weatherman, is out to cover the annual emergence of the groundhog from its hole. He gets caught in a blizzard that he didn't predict and finds himself trapped in a time warp. He is doomed to relive the same day over and over again until he gets it right.
Bizet’s Carmen
Bizet’s Carmen
The Met begins the New Year with a vital new production of one of opera’s most enduringly powerful works. Acclaimed English director Carrie Cracknell makes her Met debut, reinvigorating the classic story with a staging that moves the action to the modern day and finds at the heart of the drama issues that could not be more relevant today: gendered violence, abusive labor structures, and the desire to break through societal boundaries. Dazzling young mezzo-soprano Aigul Akhmetshina leads a powerhouse quartet of stars in the complex and volatile title role, alongside tenor Piotr Beczała as Carmen’s troubled lover Don José, soprano Angel Blue as the loyal Micaëla, and bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the swaggering Escamillo. Daniele Rustioni conducts Bizet’s heart-pounding score. Later in the season, another cast of world-class singers takes over, with mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine reprising her captivating portrayal of the title role, tenor Michael Fabiano as Don José, soprano Ailyn Pérez as Micaëla, bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as Escamillo, and Diego Matheuz making his company debut on the podium.
THE BOY AND THE HERON
THE BOY AND THE HERON
“Utterly transporting” – The Monocle. “elegant, beautiful, soaring” –  Chicago Sun-Times. “Wonderous!” – London Standard. “Triumphant” -– Boston Globe. “Alive and awake with energy” – The Atlantic Rarely are critics in such complete agreement as they are about Hayao Miyazaki’s new film, made after a 10 year “retirement.” At 83, the filmmaker of Spirited Away. My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery Service has surprised viewers with a film bursting with innovative techniques, incomparable hand-drawn animation, and a spiritual journey that transforms grief into radiant empathy. Set in wartime Japan, a 12-year-old boy named Mohiko moves to the safer countryside with his father and step-mother, after his mother is killed in a fire. Here he finds a mysterious talking heron who urges the boy to look for his mother in his Uncle’s enchanted tower. From this point on, Mohiko enters a magical world of martial parakeets, cuddly wara waras, the free-floating souls of the dead, and his missing Uncle, who urges him to pick up the mantle of changing a self-destructive world by asking him (and all of us) “how do you live?”
THE BOYS IN THE BOAT
THE BOYS IN THE BOAT
Thrilling cinematography of an 8-man rowing crew cutting through the water, Oscar-level performances, and underdogs who take on the Nazis at the 1936 Olympics – The Boys in the Boat has it all! Clooney’s new film tells the true story of a University of Washington rowing team who are forged into one incredibly connected unit by their Coach (Joel Edgerton of Loving and Master Gardener). One student (upcoming star Callum Turner), made homeless by the Great Depression, tries out for the team to make some money. Luckily, the perceptive Coach recognizes his exceptional talent and perseverance. Although some critics have carped about this “old fashioned” tale of good v. evil, Clooney’s film speaks clearly to our divisions today. Democracy and fascism are still at war, and the only way to win is to dip in our oars and pull together.
FERRARI
FERRARI

Ferrari joins Barbie, Oppenheimer, and The Boy and the Heron on the Top Ten List selected by the National Board of Review in recognition of extraordinary cinema released in 2023. Adam Driver (Marriage Story, BlacKkKlansman) gives a passionately controlled performance as Enzo Ferrari, the racecar creator who famously said: “Racing is a great mania to which one must sacrifice everything…” Michael Mann’s masterful film covers three months in 1957, when Ferrari is a symbol of Italian ingenuity and grace. Beneath the shiny surface, he is tormented by the need to win the dangerous - thrillingly filmed - Mille Miglia. At home, he must face the threats of his ex-wife and former partner (Cruz) to withdraw her shares of the company, after she discovers his mistress Lina (Shailene Woodley) and Piero, their son. "There is an unstoppable force at the center of Michael Mann’s Ferrari. One moment it has you in the throes of ecstasy; the next, fearing for your life. I’m talking, of course, about Penélope Cruz". – Rolling Stone.

Borromini and Bernini:The Challenge For Perfection
Borromini and Bernini:The Challenge For Perfection
A journey into the great beauty of Baroque Rome, when the city was the centre of western art and where every ambitious painter, sculptor and architect had to be. This is the story of the most famous artistic rivalry of all time, the one between Borromini and Bernini, but also the story of Borromini’s rivalry with himself: a genius so absorbed by his art that he turns it into a demon that devours him from the inside forcing him to choose death to reach eternity. Borromini deprived himself of everything to pursue a dream: to conquer Rome. It is the story of the architectural revolution of a solitary maestro who changed the appearance of Rome forever, by pushing himself to his limit, but also by battling conventions and prejudices, with the humility to learn from the past to invent the future, with the courage to pursue an idea despite knowing he would pay the price in the end.
THE CRIME IS MINE
THE CRIME IS MINE
Only eclectic filmmaker François Ozon (8 Women, Swimming Pool) could create a hugely popular hit with his French screwball crime/comedy, set in 1930s Paris, that he reveals “is ultimately about the sisterhood of women.” The backdrop of #MeToo animates this witty story of an aspiring actress (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) who is molested by a well-known producer – and put on trial for his murder. She needs all the cards in her favor, with her unemployed best friend as her lawyer, and her lurking suspicion that confession might be a boost for her career. A “Knives Out” mystery à la française, with glittering images of the City of Light and a scene-stealing performance by Isabelle Huppert, as a former star who claims to be the real killer. “Ozon, as ever, is not just having fun. He is also making mischief with sexual politics of the plot.”  - Anthony Lane, The New Yorker.
DOWN LOW
DOWN LOW
Down Low is an outrageous comedy about one wild night, a deeply repressed man, the twink who gives him a happy ending, and all the lives they ruin along the way.
Jack Absolute Flies Again
Jack Absolute Flies Again
A rollicking new comedy by Richard Bean (One Man, Two Guvnors) and Oliver Chris (Twelfth Night). After an aerial dog fight, Pilot Officer Jack Absolute flies home to win the heart of his old flame, Lydia Languish. Back on British soil, Jack’s advances soon turn to anarchy when the young heiress demands to be loved on her own, very particular, terms. Emily Burns directs this spectacularly entertaining new version of Sheridan’s The Rivals. Featuring a cast including Caroline Quentin, Laurie Davidson, Natalie Simpson, and Kelvin Fletcher.
Verdi’s Nabucco
Verdi’s Nabucco
Ancient Babylon comes to life in a classic Met staging of biblical proportions. Baritone George Gagnidze makes his Met role debut as the imperious king Nabucco, alongside soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska reprising her thrilling turn as his vengeful daughter Abigaille. Mezzo-soprano Maria Barakova and tenor SeokJong Baek, in his company debut, are Fenena and Ismaele, whose love transcends politics, and bass Dmitry Belosselskiy repeats his celebrated portrayal of the high priest Zaccaria. Daniele Callegari conducts Verdi’s exhilarating early masterpiece, which features the ultimate showcase for the great Met Chorus, the moving “Va, pensiero.”
WONKA
WONKA
Based on the extraordinary character at the center of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl’s most iconic children’s book and one of the best-selling children’s books of all time, “Wonka” tells the wondrous story of how the world’s greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka we know today. From Paul King, writer/director of the “Paddington” films, David Heyman, producer of “Harry Potter,” “Gravity,” “Fantastic Beasts” and “Paddington,” and producers Alexandra Derbyshire (the “Paddington” films, “Jurassic World: Dominion”) and Luke Kelly (“Roald Dahl’s The Witches”), comes an intoxicating mix of magic and music, mayhem and emotion, all told with fabulous heart and humor. Starring Timothée Chalamet in the title role, this irresistibly vivid and inventive big screen spectacle will introduce audiences to a young Willy Wonka, chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time—proving that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you’re lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible.
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
  This holiday season treat yourself and the people you care about to Capra’s timeless film about the inter-connectedness of us all.  James Stewart plays an ordinary small town guy who’s put his own dreams on hold to help others,
White Christmas
White Christmas
Singers Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) join sister act Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy Haynes (Vera-Ellen) to perform a Christmas show in rural Vermont. There, they run into Gen. Waverly (Dean Jagger), the boys' commander in World War II, who, they learn, is having financial difficulties; his quaint country inn is failing. So what's the foursome to do but plan a yuletide miracle: a fun-filled musical extravaganza that's sure to put Waverly and his business in the black!
ELF
ELF
A human baby raised as an elf. A city where no one remembers the true meaning of Christmas. Will Ferrell (Old School) stars as Buddy, a human raised in the North Pole to be an elf. After wreaking havoc in the elf community due to his size, Buddy heads to New York City to find his place in the world, and track down his father. But life in the big city is not all sugarplums and candy canes. His father is a "Scrooge" and his eight-year-old stepbrother doesn't believe in Santa. Even the snowmen aren't friendly in New York. In fact, they don't even speak. Worst of all, everyone has forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, and it's up to Buddy and his simple elf ways to win over his family, realize his destiny and, ultimately, save Christmas for New York and the world.
BOTTOMS
BOTTOMS
If you’re in the mood for a refreshingly unique & raunchy comedy, - and who isn’t? – Queer Thursdays and Cinestudio hear you loud and clear. At a high school in a football-or-die town, best friends PJ and Josie get the idea that the best way to lose their virginity to the shiny happy girls known as cheerleaders is to…start a fight club. Somehow the fight club gains traction and soon the most popular girls in school are beating each other up in the name of self-defense. Questions remain: Can PJ and Josie keep their dreams of lust a secret? Can they prevent the murder-by-pineapple-juice of an allergic football player? Most importantly, can they find, if not true love, then a hot teenage dream come true? “An incredibly silly, sapphic, gloriously weird high-school satire — it’s hilariously rewarding.’ Sophie Butcher, Empire Magazine.
Titanic The Musical
Titanic The Musical
Based on real people aboard the most legendary ship in the world, Titanic: The Musical is ‘breathtaking’ (the Guardian) and ‘magnificent’ (the Telegraph), a stunning and stirring production focusing on the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of her passengers who each boarded with stories and personal ambitions of their own. All innocently unaware of the fate awaiting them, the Third-Class immigrants dream of a better life in America, the Second Class imagine they too can join the lifestyles of the rich and famous, whilst the millionaire Barons of the First Class anticipate legacies lasting forever. With music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Peter Stone — the pair have collectively won an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, an Olivier Award and three Tony Awards. The original Broadway production of Titanic: The Musical won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. This stunning production, captured live on stage for cinema screenings, celebrates the 10th anniversary of its London premiere, where it won sweeping critical acclaim.
Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas
Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas
Sung in Spanish and inspired by the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez, Mexican composer Daniel Catán’s 1996 opera tells the enchanting story of a Brazilian opera diva who returns to her homeland to perform at the legendary opera house of Manaus—and to search for her lost lover, who has vanished into the jungle. The Met premiere stars soprano Ailyn Pérez as Florencia Grimaldi, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium to lead a spellbinding new production by Mary Zimmerman that brings the mysterious and magical realm of the Amazon to the Met stage. A distinguished ensemble of artists portray the diva’s fellow travelers on the river boat to Manaus, including soprano Gabriella Reyes as the journalist Rosalba, bass-baritone Greer Grimsley as the ship’s captain, baritone Mattia Olivieri as his enigmatic first mate, tenor Mario Chang as the captain’s nephew Arcadio, and mezzo-soprano Nancy Fabiola Herrera and baritone Michael Chioldi as the feuding couple Paula and Álvaro.
NAPOLEON
NAPOLEON
Ridley Scott’s grand historical epic is playing in cinemas, and public opinion may just spark another ferocious battle. While the French are bashing the lack of heroism in Napoléon’s incredible feats of will; the British are praising a more nuanced, human portrait of a flawed genius! The film opens as Napoléon witnesses the bloody outcome of the French Revolution, and leads French troops to repel the invading British, who have no interest in a modernized republic. Maybe not so modern, as Napoléon’s victories lead to his coronation as Emperor. Director Scott (who last directed Phoenix in Gladiator) does not ignore the complicated man’s inner life and his passionate love for Joséphine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby), before, during and even after their tumultuous marriage. It is Joaquin Phoenix’s superb, intense performance and Scott’s masterful recreation of battles from Austerlitz to Waterloo that make Napoléon one of the best films of the year. “An awe-inspiring achievement …and a reminder that no other director makes films like Scott does.” Nicholas Barber, BBC.
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005)
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005)
Since 1970, Cinestudio has been an integral part of Trinity’s campus life. Part of the free and open 1823 Series, Cinestudio presents a curated series of iconic films that each represent a decade since its founding, as selected by alumni, students, faculty, and staff.
Representing the 2000’s, Brokeback Mountain is a love story between rodeo cowboy Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and ranch hand Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) who are hired sheepherders in 1963 Wyoming. One night on Brokeback Mountain, Jack makes a drunken pass at Ennis that is eventually reciprocated. Following societal norms of the time, they both eventually marry wives (Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway) but keep a tortured and sporadic affair alive over the course of 20 years.
TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR
TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR
The cultural phenomenon continues on the big screen! Immerse yourself in this once-in-a-lifetime concert film experience with a breathtaking, cinematic view of the history-making tour.
Short Short Story Film Festival (Headtrip Program)
Short Short Story Film Festival (Headtrip Program)
SHORT SHORT STORY FILM FESTIVAL Headtrip Program (85min. NR) 16th Edition – One Day Only! This competitive international film festival includes live-action and animated films which tell a story in under six minutes.  Celebrating brevity in filmmaking, the festival includes films from across the globe. Each program, Heartstrings and Headtrip (ticketed separately), has a distinctive tone yet wide-ranging styles and topics, showcasing over a dozen films tightly sequenced in under ninety minutes. The Headtrip Program presents forays into bizarre or unsettling territory, including biting satire, chilling imagery, and absurdist tales. The festival includes audience voting for each program, as well as a separate juried component with jurors from Merging Arts’ syndicated Spoiler Alert Radio film interview radio show. More information is available at http://www.mergingarts.org.
Short Short Story Film Festival (Heartstrings Program)
Short Short Story Film Festival (Heartstrings Program)
SHORT SHORT STORY FILM FESTIVAL Heartstrings Program (85min. NR) 16th Edition – One Day Only! This competitive international film festival includes live-action and animated films which tell a story in under six minutes.  Celebrating brevity in filmmaking, the festival includes films from across the globe. Each program, Heartstrings and Headtrip (ticketed separately), has a distinctive tone yet wide-ranging styles and topics, showcasing over a dozen films tightly sequenced in under ninety minutes. The Heartstrings Program highlights films of a more emotional nature – comedic, bittersweet, or (as the name implies) tugging at the heart strings. The festival includes audience voting for each program, as well as a separate juried component with jurors from Merging Arts’ syndicated Spoiler Alert Radio film interview radio show. More information is available at http://www.mergingarts.org.
FOUR DAUGHTERS
FOUR DAUGHTERS
A riveting exploration of rebellion, memory, and sisterhood, Four Daughtersreconstructs the story of Olfa Hamrouni and her four daughters, unpacking a complex family history through intimate interviews and performance to examine how the Tunisian woman’s two eldest daughters were radicalized. Casting professional actresses as the missing eldest daughters Ghofrane and Rahma, along with acclaimed Egyptian-Tunisian actress Hend Sabri as Olfa, director Kaouther Ben Hania restages pivotal moments in the family’s life, interwoven with confessions and reflections from Olfa and younger daughters Eya and Tayssir that capture moments of joy, loss, violence, and heartache. Four Daughters is a compelling portrait of five women and a unique and ambitious work of nonfiction storytelling that questions the nature of memory, the weight of inherited trauma, and the ties that bind mother and daughter.
Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X
Anthony Davis’s groundbreaking and influential opera, which premiered in 1986, arrives at the Met at long last. Theater luminary and Tony-nominated director of Slave Play Robert O’Hara oversees a potent new staging that imagines Malcolm as an Everyman whose story transcends time and space. An exceptional cast of breakout artists and young Met stars enliven the operatic retelling of the civil rights leader’s life. Baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the Met premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, sings Malcolm X, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as his mother, Louise; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. Kazem Abdullah conducts the newly revised score, which provides a layered, jazz-inflected setting for the esteemed writer Thulani Davis’s libretto.

Music by Anthony Davis, libretto by Thulani Davis, story by Christopher Davis

WHEN HARRY MET SALLY...
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY...
In 1977, college graduates Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (Meg Ryan) share a contentious car ride from Chicago to New York, during which they argue about whether men and women can ever truly be strictly platonic friends. Ten years later, Harry and Sally meet again at a bookstore, and in the company of their respective best friends, Jess (Bruno Kirby) and Marie (Carrie Fisher), attempt to stay friends without sex becoming an issue between them.
PRISCILLA
PRISCILLA
Ever since Elvis shook up the conventional 1950s with his sexy performances and a new era of sound mixing of country and black genres of music, he has inspired a deluge of books, movies, and criticism. Writer/director Sofia Coppola is the first to shine a light on the 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu who fascinated– and later married – a worldwide celebrity. Coppola, in films like Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette, shows a rare curiosity about powerless young women trying to find their own identities. A perfectly-cast Cailee Spaeny portrays Priscilla as a high school student who lives in a teenage dream come true, moving from Germany to Graceland and obscurity to fame. After marrying the mercurial drug-abusing singer (played by the charismatic Jacob Elordi of Euphoria), Priscilla slowly begins to realize that independence, no matter how precarious, is her last option. “a transportive, heartbreaking journey into the dark heart of celebrity… Spaeny is an absolute marvel.” – Marlow Stern, Rolling Stone magazine.
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
The art of movie-making is alive and thriving! Two epic masterworks were released this year, and appreciative audiences have been flocking to see them on the big screen. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Scorsese’s tour de force go deep into America’s history, and the result is both painful and enlightening. Killers of the Flower Moon begins in the early 1920s, as war veteran Ernest Hale (DiCaprio) travels to Oklahoma to help his well-to-do uncle (De Niro) manage his ranch. Ernest is surprised by the town, where the Osage community is rich from the discovery of oil on their land. Rejecting the growing tensions, Osage member Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) and Ernest fall in love and marry. However, greedy (and racist) white settlers make a move to steal the Osage’s oil, in the little-known massacre known as the Reign of Terror. “An unsettling masterpiece…that Scorsese — with grace, sorrow and sublime filmmaking clarity — has turned into a requiem for the country.” – Manohla Dargis, New York Times.
PULP FICTION (1994)
PULP FICTION (1994)
Since 1970, Cinestudio has been an integral part of Trinity’s campus life. Part of the free and open 1823 Series, Cinestudio presents a curated series of iconic films that each represent a decade since its founding, as selected by alumni, students, faculty, and staff.
Representing the 1990s, Pulp Fiction is an ultra-hip, multi-strand crime comedy featuring Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), hitmen with a penchant for philosophical discussions. Their storyline is interwoven with those of their boss, gangster Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames); his actress wife, Mia (Uma Thurman); struggling boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis); master fixer Winston Wolfe (Harvey Keitel); and a nervous pair of armed robbers, “Pumpkin” (Tim Roth) and “Honey Bunny” (Amanda Plummer).
PASSAGES
PASSAGES
Celebrated filmmaker Ira Sachs (Love is Strange) makes a breathtaking return with a fresh, honest and brutally funny take on the twisty labyrinth of human relationships. German filmmaker Tomas (Franz Rogowski, Undine) and his husband Martin (Ben Whishaw, No Time to Die) are living an enviable, comfortable life in Paris. But Tomas is restless after finishing his latest film, and carelessly dives into a passionate affair with a sexy young Parisian schoolteacher named Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue Is the Warmest Color). Torn between his gentle husband and his earthy new lover, Tomas flails wildly, unsure of who he is and what will make him happy. A brilliant update on the cinema of the French New Wave, where love is the subject, conversation is the action, and the drama of desire plays out on the atmospheric back streets of Paris. “Generously tender….the kind of love triangle that rings true because we aspire to its sexier moments but see ourselves in its most selfish ones.” – Christian Zilko, IndieWire.
In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50
In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50
King Crimson is a band that people literally are dying to be in. In the Court of the Crimson King is a dark, comic film for anyone who wonders whether it is worth sacrificing everything for just a single moment of transcendence. For over 50 years Robert Fripp, also famous for his work with David Bowie and Brian Eno, has overseen a unique creative environment in which freedom and responsibility conspire to place extraordinary demands on the band's members -- only alleviated by the applause of an audience whose adoration threatens to make their lives even harder. It's a rewarding and perilous space in which the extraordinary is possible, nothing is certain, and not everyone survives intact.
SHE CAME TO ME
SHE CAME TO ME
Romantic comedies have been scarce since the days of Clueless, She’s Gotta Have It, and Bridesmaids. Luckily for us, Connecticut native writer/director Rebecca Lee (Maggie, Jack and Rose) has thrown her hat in the ring. In her favor: an excellent cast, and the always-iconic setting of New York City. Peter Dinklage (The Station Master) is fantastic as a seriously blocked opera composer. Anne Hathaway (Interstellar), his psychiatrist wife, advises him to spend a day wandering the streets of the Big Apple, where passions of all stripes live out in the open. In an unexpected twist, the composer finds some passion of his own after a chance meeting with a tugboat skipper, in an unforgettable performance by Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny). And while the “grown-ups” plunge into a spider’s web of misunderstandings, the psychiatrist’s daughter discovers that love really can be as uncomplicated – and fun - as a walk in the park. “Miller's film exudes a lit-from-within kind of joy, much of it emanating from Tomei's flawed and funny head case.” - Nell Minow, RobertEbert.com
PAN'S LABYRINTH
PAN'S LABYRINTH
Free with any Trinity ID! Guillermo Del Toro’s extraordinary film has the vision to treat the fairy tale fantasy of a young girl with the same degree of seriousness as it does the very real terrors of her everyday life. Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is an imaginative 11-year-old whose mother moves in with the sadistic Captain Vidal in Franco’s fascist Spain. As the Captain hunts down the last partisans hiding in the forest, Ofelia turns inward to the world of an underground labyrinth ruled by Pan, a mysterious faun-like apparition (Doug Jones of Del Toro’s Hellboy). Pan gives her three tasks to prove that she is the Princess Moanna, the ruler of this supernatural kingdom. Writer/director De Toro won the Academy Award for Cinematography. Don’t miss a rare chance to experience this surreal masterpiece on the big screen. “The beauty of Pan's Labyrinth exists for its own sake. The magic has a purpose.” Stuart Klawans, The Nation.
Titian. The Empire of Color
Titian. The Empire of Color
Winning over popes and emperors with his iconic, revolutionary works Titian succeeded in becoming one of the artists that symbolized the entire Renaissance. Titian was an extraordinary master of color and a brilliant entrepreneur, innovative both in a painting’s composition but also in how to sell it. In only a few years, Tiziano Vecellio became the official painter of Venice and the utmost artist sought after by the richest and most influential Courts in Europe. From Ferrara to Urbino, from Mantua to Rome, up to the Spain of Carlos V and his son Felipe II, Titian crossed his century illuminating it with his works of art, inspiring future generations of artists. Perfect interpreter of religion and mythology, portrayer of immediate expressive strength, he dominated his time outshining his contemporaries, always abiding by his motto: ‘Art is more powerful than Nature’.
THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE
THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE
The influential first film by Dario Argento inspired the 1960s and 70s Italian genre known as giallo, spawning hundreds of mystery/thrillers sharing essential elements. In a strange city, a man or woman witnesses a murder – but can not identify the killer. Solving the mystery is paramount, woven together with psychological horror, eroticism, and stylized scenes of violence. It opens as an American writer named Tony, who is visiting Rome watches helplessly as a murderer in a black cape brutally attacks a woman. She survives and assists Tony and his girlfriend Julie as they begin a dangerous, suspenseful search for the serial killer through the dark alleyways of Rome. The best of its kind, and how could it not be with daring cinematography by three-time Academy Award winner Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now) and the moody, alluring soundtrack by Ennio Morricone (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly). “This dazzling debut is downright scary.” - Kevin Turan, Los Angeles.
EYES OF FIRE
EYES OF FIRE
“The biggest holy grail of all folk horror films.” — Nathaniel Thompson, MONDO DIGITAL Cinestudio Fright Nights are becoming the hot place to spend Friday nights for friends, couples, and fans of horror films rarely seen on the silver screen. Before The Blair Witch Project or The Witch, there was Eyes of Fire, a surreal thriller set in the 1750 New England wilderness. A shady preacher (Will) is nearly lynched for his liaisons with a married woman (Eloise) and Leah, who may or may not be a witch. When the preacher and his odd crew of followers look for a new place to start a settlement, the Shawnee warn them not to go into a valley haunted by Indigenous spirits. Ignoring their advice, the group claims the valley, but are soon terrified by pagan visions and highly unusual deaths. In a pitched battle between the spirits of the past and the settlers, can Leah’s magical witchery rescue the innocent and send the demons (human or nor) into the inferno of Hell? “ambitious, atmospheric indie feature is an offbeat treat for horror obscurantists!” Dennis Harvey, San Francisco Bay Guardian.
LONG WEEKEND
LONG WEEKEND
“Their crime was against Nature. Nature found them guilty.” –tagline of The Long Weekend. In hopes of saving their shaky marriage, Peter and Nancy go to an idyllic beach in the North of Australia, populated only by creatures of the woods, sky, and the sea. On the way there, we witness their casual disregard for the pristine natural surroundings, as they accidentally spark a small fire, and hit a kangaroo with their car. Their inability to come together and their environmentally toxic behavior (breaking an eagle egg, shooting birds, strewing garbage everywhere) only ramps up the suspense. When Nature does fight back, it’s not with monsters, but ordinary creatures: a pissed-off badger, a mournful dugong (an over-hunted Australian sea mammal), and even Cricket, their formerly docile dog. Don’t miss this overlooked classic of 70s’ Ozploitation, terrifyingly even more relevant today.
Heggie’s Dead Man Walking
Heggie’s Dead Man Walking

Content Advisory: Dead Man Walking contains a depiction of a rape and murder, as well as other adult themes and strong language.

American composer Jake Heggie’s masterpiece, the most widely performed new opera of the last 20 years, has its highly anticipated Met premiere, in a haunting new production by Ivo van Hove. Based on Sister Helen Prejean’s memoir about her fight for the soul of a condemned murderer, Dead Man Walking matches the high drama of its subject with Heggie’s beautiful and poignant music and a brilliant libretto by Tony and Emmy Award–winner Terrence McNally. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes the podium for this landmark premiere, with mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato starring as Sister Helen. The outstanding cast also features bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as the death-row inmate Joseph De Rocher, soprano Latonia Moore as Sister Rose, and legendary mezzo-soprano Susan Graham—who sang Helen Prejean in the opera’s 2000 premiere—as De Rocher’s mother.

Music by Jake Heggie, libretto by Terrence McNally Based on the Book by Sister Helen Prejean

VAMPIRE DOLL
VAMPIRE DOLL
Cinestudio’s Fright Night invites you to enter the world of Japan’s Toho Studios. We’re not talking about their legitimate masterpieces (Seven Samurai, Ikiru, or even Gojira (aka Godzilla). For true thrills, Vampire Doll is the perfect jumping off place. The first of a trilogy about blood-sucking dwellers of the dark would inspire a new generation of horror, from Ju-On: The Grudge to Audition and Ringu. Vampire Doll begins when a young man goes missing after visiting his girlfriend’s isolated country home. His sister and her boyfriend trace him to the creepy mansion, but their curiosity turns to pure terror when they uncover a macabre family history. Best of all is the intense performance of Kayo Matsuo as the Doll, whose may just have a good reason for her unquenchable lust for blood We cannot guarantee that nightmares will not trouble your sleep.
THE WICKER MAN
THE WICKER MAN
No scary movie is as scary as when it is seen in a dark theater on a larger than life screen! Cinestudio invites the entire movie-loving community to join us ( if you dare) at the rare screening of the 4K 50th Anniversary print of the ultimate British cult favorite. After receiving an anonymous letter about a missing 12-year-old girl, devout Christian and dedicated cop Neil Howie (Woodward) travels to one of those remote, austerely beautiful Scottish islands to investigate. But the islanders are far from friendly, caring little for his badge or religion — for the imperious laird of the isle Lord Summerisle (Lee) and his fanatical followers worship only the pagan deities of the past — and those gods demand a sacrifice. Fearing the very worst, Howie is forced to do battle with the islanders’ bewildering misdirection. Can he save her – and himself – from becoming a human sacrifice to the merciless whims of Celtic deities, long-denied their place in the firmament? “A movie that'll burn its way into your unconscious and give you nightmares for many years to come.” – Jamie Russell, BBC.com
Blow Up My Life
Blow Up My Life
Join us for a Q & A with the writing and directing team of Ryan Dickie and Abigail Horton, as they introduce the Connecticut premiere of their new film! Winner of the Best Film Award at the Harlem International Film Festival, Blow Up My Life is creating quite a buzz as it plays at film festivals around the country. Political comedian Jason Selvig, two-time Tony nominee Kara Young and Broadway actor Ben Horner star in this wild comedy adventure about a disgraced pharmaceutical employee who accidentally discovers a deadly opioid vape conspiracy. He and his cousin Charlie create chaos in their wake, as they ditch their ordinary lives to go on the run and expose the ruthless criminals. Guerilla moviemaking at its best, Blow Up My Life was shot in Middletown, CT in only18 days – and with the fraction of the budget of many a mindless Hollywood blockbuster. “A strong cast, a slick production style, and a compelling story that, though fictional, is all too familiar and plausible…” – Greg Gilman, MovieMaker.com.
A COMPASSIONATE SPY
A COMPASSIONATE SPY
Directed by two-time Oscar® nominated filmmaker Steve James (HOOP DREAMS, LIFE ITSELF), A COMPASSIONATE SPY is a gripping real-life spy thriller about controversial Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall, who infamously provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, told through the perspective of his loving wife Joan, who protected his secret for decades. Recruited in 1944 as an 18-year-old Harvard undergraduate to help Robert Oppenheimer and his team create a bomb, Hall was the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project, and didn't share his colleagues' elation after the successful detonation of the world's first atomic bomb. Concerned that a U.S. post-war monopoly on such a powerful weapon could lead to nuclear catastrophe, Hall began passing key information about the bomb's construction to the Soviet Union. After the war, he met, fell in love with, and married Joan, a fellow student with whom he shared a passion for classical music and socialist causes -- and the explosive secret of his espionage. The pair raised a family while living under a cloud of suspicion and years of FBI surveillance and intimidation. A COMPASSIONATE SPY reveals the twists and turns of this real-life spy story, its profound impact on nuclear history, and the couple's remarkable love and life together during more than 50 years of marriage.
Lakota Nation v. United States
Lakota Nation v. United States
Lakota Nation vs. United States chronicles the Lakota Indians' century-long quest to reclaim the Black Hills, sacred land that was stolen in violation of treaty agreements. A searing, timely portrait of resistance, the film explores the ways America has ignored its debt to indigenous communities, and ponders what might be done today to repair the wrongs of the past.
BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)
BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)
Since 1970, Cinestudio has been an integral part of Trinity’s campus life. Part of the free and open 1823 Series, Cinestudio presents a curated series of iconic films that each represent a decade since its founding, as selected by alumni, students, faculty, and staff.
Representing the 1980s, Back to the Future is a fun sci-fi adventure featuring small-town California teen Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), who is thrown back to the ’50s when an experiment by his eccentric scientist friend, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), goes awry. Marty encounters younger versions of his parents (Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson), and must make sure that they fall in love or he’ll cease to exist. Even more dauntingly, Marty has to return to his own time and save the life of Doc Brown.
AMERIKATSI
AMERIKATSI
In 1948, decades after fleeing Armenia to the US as a child, Charlie returns in the hope of finding a connection to his roots, but what he finds instead is a country crushed under Soviet rule. After being unjustly imprisoned, Charlie falls into despair, until he discovers that he can see into a nearby apartment from his cell window -- the home of a prison guard. As his life unexpectedly becomes entwined with the man's, he begins to see that the true spirit of his homeland is alive in its passionate people. Filled with warmth and humor, Amerikatsi celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the bonds that unite us all.
KNIVES OUT
KNIVES OUT
Thanks to writer/director Rian Johnson and his superb cast for proving that intricate, witty mysteries set among the super-rich are not the sole property of the U.K. Johnson, who directed the legendary “Fly” episode on Breaking Bad (as well as Star Wars: The Last Jedi), has a feel for both suspense and a tongue-in-cheek humor that skillfully tweaks the upper class.
MANHATTAN SHORT Annual Film Festival
MANHATTAN SHORT Annual Film Festival
MANHATTAN SHORT today announced its Ten Finalists for its 26th Annual Short Film Festival, a worldwide event taking place in over 500 venues across six continents between September 28 and October 8, 2023. MANHATTAN SHORT is the only event of its kind. The Ten Finalists will screen simultaneously across the world during a one-week period, with the Best Film and Best Actor awards determined by ballots cast by audiences in each participating venue. By virtue of their selection by MANHATTAN SHORT, each short film is automatically Oscar-qualified.)
BARBIE
BARBIE
This fall, pink is the new black and Barbie is the new girl power role model! Director Greta Gerwig (Little Women) left a whole slew of summer action movies in the dust with her hilarious update of the iconic Mattel doll (Margot Robbie) and her eye-candy companion, Ken (Ryan Gosling.) Scripted by Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story) the film opens in the female paradise of Barbieland, where Barbies get to call all the shots. A paradise, unless like Sterotypical Barbie (Robbie), you start questioning everything from being part of the ruling class to the possibility that another world – messy, confusing but undeniably real – is waiting for you. Check out the brilliant ensemble cast, and the soundtrack including Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj, Lizzo, Billie Eilish, Ryan Gosling (“I’m Just Ken’) and Dua Lipa. “Demands to be seen on the big screen to take in every ounce of all the incredible craftsmanship in front of and behind the camera. In short, Barbie is a marvel. Don't miss it!” – Kristy Putchko, Mashable.
AFIRE
AFIRE
The best-known director of the Berliner Schule (Berlin School) of filmmaking, Christian Petzold champions the movement’s passion for realism and political awareness, shown through the lens of personal relationships. Petzold’s most popular film to date is set in a remote former artists’ colony on the Baltic Sea. Here, writer Leon (Thomas Schubert) with his photographer friend Felix (Langston Uibel), hopes to find the inspiration to finish his latest novel. Interrupting his self-absorbed plans is a mysterious young woman named Nadja (Paula Beer), who challenges his illusions with humor and brutal honesty. The simmering sexual tension escalates with the arrival of Leon’s editor and an attractive lifeguard winner. Caught up in their personal turmoil, the five young people find it easy to dismiss the wildfires that threaten to surround their idyllic town. Winner of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. “Exuding an enchanting mixture of delicacy and toughness, Paula Beer is as magnetic as ever.  – Nick Shager, The Daily Beast.
Red, White & Royal Blue
Red, White & Royal Blue
Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of the President of the United States (Uma Thurman), and Britain's Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine) have a lot in common: Stunning good looks, undeniable charisma, international popularity... and a total disdain for each other. Separated by an ocean, their long-running feud hasn't really been an issue, until a disastrous--and very public--altercation at a royal event becomes tabloid fodder, driving a potential wedge in U.S./British relations at the worst possible time. Going into damage-control mode, their families and handlers force the two rivals into a staged "truce." But as Alex and Henry's icy relationship unexpectedly begins to thaw into a tentative friendship, the friction that existed between them sparks something deeper than they ever expected. Based on Casey McQuiston's critically acclaimed New York Times best seller, Red, White & Royal Blue marks the feature film writing and directing debut of Tony Award-winning playwright Matthew López (The Inheritance).
THE GODFATHER (1972)
THE GODFATHER (1972)
Since 1970, Cinestudio has been an integral part of Trinity’s campus life. Part of the free and open 1823 Series, Cinestudio presents a curated series of iconic films that each represent a decade since its founding, as selected by alumni, students, faculty, and staff.
They say that if you remember the 70s, you weren’t there. That doesn’t apply to Cinestudio fans, who recall enough about The Godfather they chose it as the most iconic movie of the 70s! The birth of the American “film school directors” era gave us Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece, that explores family and immigration through the gangster genre with beauty, brutality and great artistry. The cast includes Marlon Brando as Don Corleone and his respectability-seeking son, played by Al Pacino. Academy Awards: Best Picture and Best Actor (Marlon Brando). “The Godfather is a jewel that still glows across time – and in the dark.” Desson Howe, Washington Post.
The Godfather
The Godfather
To the delight of movie fans everywhere, the 50th Anniversary release of The Godfather is a stunning 4K ultra HD restoration made from cinematographer Gordon Willis’ own print. A revelation, it captures the velvety darkness and the colors of the original (which Cinestudio screened all those years ago!) More than a classic crime story, The Godfather explores the struggle between fathers and sons, men and women, immigrants and white bread America. Academy Awards: Best Picture, Screenplay, and Actor (Marlon Brando).
Moving America's Soul on Suicide
Moving America's Soul on Suicide
Suicide doesn't just touch all of us... it can happen to any of us, and the lives of those who have come close give us a tremendous inside look. RI together with Dr. Thomas Joiner, Silouan Green and others will share stories of intolerable pain and the possibility of hope and recovery. Join Tonja Myles, who is featured in the film, for a special Q&A following the viewing. Tonja Myles is an ordained minister, author, radio personality, community activist, peer counselor, veteran, subject matter expert in mental health, untreated trauma, a faith-based approach to substance abuse recovery and sought-after counsel for community based and system approaches.
32 SOUNDS
32 SOUNDS
32 Sounds is an immersive feature documentary and profound sensory experience from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sam Green (The Weather Underground) featuring original music by JD Samson (Le Tigre, MEN). The film explores the elemental phenomenon of sound by weaving together 32 specific sound explorations into a cinematic meditation on the power of sound to bend time, cross borders, and profoundly shape our perception of the world around us. Join Oscar-nominated filmmaker Green as he takes the audience on a journey through time and space -- exploring everything from forgotten childhood memories, to the soundtrack of resistance, to subaquatic symphonies -- and experience in new ways the astonishing sounds of our everyday lives. 32 Sounds investigates the mysterious nature of perception and the subtle yet radical politics that arise from sensation and being present in one's body.
The Goonies
The Goonies
Steven Spielberg ushered in a new genre of kids’ movies rated PG-13 that showed the reality of preteen life in the 1980s: parents splitting, sneaking cigarettes, and using language (just re-watch E.T) guaranteed to shock the socks off Walt Disney.  This 80s classic (released in 4K) of kids doing it for themselves is based on a Spielberg story. A group of misfits (the Goonies) band together to stop a developer from knocking down their “worthless” homes. The quicksilver-fast adventure kicks in when they discover a Treasure Map leading to vast riches hidden in a pirate ship…if the nefarious Fratelli crime family doesn’t beat them to it. “One of the best "kid" movies ever, appealing to the part of us that always believed adventure was waiting around the next corner.” – Betsy Bozdech
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Nothing says pure summer delight more than a perfectly made action movie on the gigantic Cinestudio screen! And who is more qualified to serve it up than Tom Cruise himself, in the newest edition of Mission: Impossible? Channeling the world’s unease with the growth of artificial intelligence, Dead Reckoning Part One’s dangerous villain is a sentient AI intent on infiltrating the major defense and intelligence networks of the world. Enter Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his comrades from a secret espionage force, bidden to destroy what is now called The Entity and its human minions, by obtaining on the missing half of a cruciform key that could shut the evil AI down. Easier than it sounds, as Ethan & company chase whoever has the key through the UK Lake District, Venice, Rome, and the United Emirates. It’s Cruise’s amazing ability to do his own stunts that gets the most press, but it’s the characters and their resolve to save the world that keeps our interest. “Pure fun. Cruise has single-handedly persuaded us that the action genre has a new purpose: the box-office saviour of the live cinema experience.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian.
NOSTALGIA
NOSTALGIA
“Nostalgia is the suffering caused by an unappeased yearning to return.” – author Milan Kundera. After leaving his childhood home of Napoli to live for 40 years in Egypt, Pierfrancesco Favino returns home, having converted to Islam and married an Egyptian woman. He is welcomed back by his frail mother and explores his hard up neighborhood of Rione Sanità. But unfinished business can stir up old conflicts, as when Pierfrancisco confesses to a priest that as teens, he and his friend Oreste pulled off a robbery and Oreste killed the shop owner. The priest tells him not to reconnect with Oreste, who has become a local boss of the violent Camorra. But nostalgia drives Pierfrancisco to reconnect with his friend, no matter the consequences. Italy’s oldest film festival (The Silver Ribbon) awards celebrated director Mario Martone’s movie prizes for Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Screenplay. “ This bittersweet crime story is also a homecoming love letter to Naples.” - Peter Bradshaw, Guardian. Four stars.
ASTOLFO
ASTOLFO
Astolfo, a retired professor, moves into his family house located in a remote village, which he hasn’t been in for decades. He befriends his neighbors and comes across Stefania, who makes him realize that it’s never too late to fall in love.
EVERY BODY
EVERY BODY
EVERY BODY is a revelatory investigation of the lives of intersex people. The film tells the stories of three individuals who have moved from childhoods marked by shame, secrecy, and non-consensual surgeries to thriving adulthoods after each decided to set aside medical advice to keep their bodies a secret and instead came out as their authentic selves. Actor and screenwriter River Gallo (they/them), political consultant Alicia Roth Weigel (she/they), and Ph.D. student Sean Saifa Wall (he/him) are now leaders in a fast-growing global movement advocating for greater understanding of the intersex community and an end to unnecessary surgeries. Woven into the story is a stranger-than-fiction case of medical abuse, featuring exclusive footage from the NBC News archives, which helps explain the modern-day treatment of intersex people.
OPPENHEIMER
OPPENHEIMER
The summer’s most anticipated film (for people over 15) can now be experienced in the most-loved cinema in Hartford and beyond! Film fanatic Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Dunkirk, Inception) has made what may be his magnum opus: shot on 70mm film, using little CGI for its incredible visual effects, and with an ensemble cast of exceptional actors. Leading the cast is Cillian Murphy (Inception, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, BBC’s Peaky Blinders) as the brilliant physicist known as the “father of the nuclear bomb.” Once recruited by the government, Oppenheimer’s genius and determination to defeat Germany and Japan is shot through with ambivalence, knowing that the fearsome weapon could result in limitless destruction. “I think it is a stunning artistic achievement, and I have hopes it will stimulate a global conversation on how to live in the atomic age, what it means to be a patriot, and what is the role for a scientist to speak out.” - Kai Bird, co-author of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
THE LEAGUE
THE LEAGUE
Based on the book The Negro Baseball Leagues by Bob Motley and Byron Motley. Baseball is known as America’s pastime, but before trailblazer Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, non-white players were excluded. The essential new film by Academy Award-nominated director Sam Pollard (4 Little Girls) and musician/producer Questlove (Summer of Soul) celebrates the dynamic style of Black baseball – from screwballs to stolen bases -that defines the way the game is played today. With previously unseen archival footage, this buzz-generating documentary pays witness to the legendary Negro Leagues. Born out of segregation, the Leagues thrived from 1920-1948, creating nation-wide community and pride. Some of the greats interviewed are Satchel Paige and Buck O'Neil, as well as Hall of Famers players Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, who started out in the League. Along with great footage of some of the greatest athletes ever to play the game, The League honors Newark Eagle’s activist owner Effa Manley, the only woman admitted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. “Priceless…As Mrs. Jackie Robinson puts it so eloquently: ‘We stand on their shoulders.’” – Dwight Brown, Tribeca Film Festival.
THE BLUE CAFTAN
THE BLUE CAFTAN
Out Film’s Queer Thursday selection is always a fantastic opportunity to enjoy movies with an LGBTQ+ theme in Cinestudio’s elegant cinema – gold Austrian curtain, balcony and all! Halim and Mina run a traditional caftan store in Salé, one of Morocco's oldest medinas. In order to keep up with the commands of the demanding customers, they hire a young man named Yousef. Youssef. While Mina has lived for many years with her husband’s sexual preference under wraps, she cannot help but notice his growing attraction to Yousef – one that cannot be kept under wraps. Making her second film was a dangerous act for director Maryam Touzani, who said in an interview at Cannes Film Festival, “In Morocco, homosexuality is illegal and I don’t have words to describe how it makes me feel. As a human being, that’s something I cannot accept.” Winner of the FIPRESCI PRIZE at 2022 Cannes Film Festival, that honors emerging filmmakers, with previous winners including Claire Denis, Ingmar Bergman, Terrence Malick and Wong Kar-wai . “A nuanced portrait of unconditional love and acceptance at its most radical.” Chris Shields, Sight and Sound.
BIOSPHERE
BIOSPHERE
A mysterious and hilarious new comedy has arrived just in time to kick off the summer with a satisfying edge. The first film written and directed by Seattle’s indie celebrity Mel Eslyn is a buddy film like no other. First, Biosphere has only two characters, brilliantly performed by Sterling K. Brown (Black Panther, This Is Us) and Mark Duplass (Humpday, The Mindy Kaling Show). Secondly, the two men live in a small bio-dome after a catastrophe has annihilated the rest of humankind, where try to keep up normality by cooking, gardening, and playing Super Mario Bros. And lastly, the realization they may be the last two specimens of our species is made blindingly clear by the power of evolution and the arrival of… [the filmmaker specified no spoilers!]. “Is Nintendo a sufficient reason to extend the death throes of humanity until the fish and vegetables run out? Unlike any movie in recent memory.” - John Defore, Hollywood Reporter.
ASTEROID CITY
ASTEROID CITY
Aficionados of Wes Anderson, who gave us Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Fantastic Mr. Fox!, are to be rewarded with a new movie just in time for summer! Described at Cannes as a “comedy-science fiction-love story-drama,” Asteroid City is also a meditation on the meaning of life. It all begins in a Western desert town circa 1955, as the Junior Stargazer Convention invites five brainy student inventors and their parents for a scholastic competition. But with a in real life Alien sighting, the eclectic group is quarantined until the government sees fit. Anderson’s dazzling ensemble cast only begins with Jason Schwartzmann, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Bryan Cranston and Margot Robbie. “On our confusing planet with random causes to despair, a shy child finding their first peer or an artist searching the cosmos for a connection, simply making contact is so much more than enough.” - Charles Bramesco, The Decider.com.
THE RUNNER
THE RUNNER
Don’t miss the chance to see the revival of a masterpiece exactly where it belongs – in a cinema with a single, enormous screen! Crisply restored in 2K from the original negative, this gem of post-revolutionary Iran is both delightful and a powerful indictment of how childhood was – and continues to be – hijacked. Amiro (Madjid Niroumand) is an illiterate 11-year-old orphan living in the Iranian port city of Abadan. His daily survival depends on shining shoes, selling water, and diving for deposit bottles, while being bullied by older kids. But Amiro finds a place of comfort by dreaming about the cargo ships and airplanes that so easily slip away, leaving his city behind. In a celebration of optimism, he tries to escape an impossible situation by the liberating feeling of running – even if his destination remains unclear. “Tactile, gritty and vivid, but it is also so much fun. The joy and vibrancy of filmmaking just leaps off the screen.” - Christy Lemire, NPR Los Angeles.
WHITE BALLS ON WALLS
WHITE BALLS ON WALLS
Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art wants to become more diverse and inclusive. But how to go about that? An honest look behind the scenes into the sometimes-fraught process taking place in many public institutions.
BIG BOYS
BIG BOYS
In this delightful and fresh coming-of-age story, Jamie is a chubby, clever gay fourteen year-old who is confused about his sexuality and uncomfortable in his own body. Then along comes Dan, the charming, beefy, bear boyfriend of Jamie’s cousin, who joins the family on a family camping trip. Dan rocks Jamie’s world and helps him understand that big guys can be sexy, too.
KOKOMO CITY
KOKOMO CITY
Four Black trans sex workers from New York and Georgia talk frankly about their experiences, raising questions about belonging and identity within the Black community. Their unapologetic and cutting analysis of Black culture and society vibrates with energy, sex, challenge, and hard-earned wisdom.
BLUE JEAN
BLUE JEAN
It’s 1988 in Margaret Thatcher’s United Kingdom. Jean, a closeted physical education teacher, is leading a double life. When a new student arrives, she threatens to expose Jean’s secret, pushing Jean to extreme lengths to hold onto her job and her integrity.
STAY AWAKE
STAY AWAKE
Promising new writer/director Jaime Sisley’s first film opened at the Berlin International Film Festival, sparking an instant buzz and winning the German Art House Cinema award. Not all festival winners get a U.S. distributor, but luckily it can now be screened right here at Hartford’s Premiere Art Cinema! Stay Awake is based on Sisley’s own childhood, looking back with both sadness and humor on an all-too-typical story that is rampant in small-town America. Teenage brothers Ethan (Wyatt Oleff) and Derek (Fin Argus) deal with their mother Michelle’s relapsing addiction to opioids in different ways. Derek feels bound to his Mom (played by This Is Us star Chrissy Metz) and helping her survive, while Ethan makes plans to leave the situation and his town behind. There are no monsters in Stay Awake – except maybe the drug companies – just a family trying to hold on to their hope and humanity. "This is what art does, it opens people's minds and hearts… and hopefully the fear goes away and then there's healing." – actor Chrissy Metz.
MONICA
MONICA
June’s Queer Thursdays selection features a breakthrough performance by Trace Lysette, a trans actor and activist who got her start in the New York underground ball culture scene. Monica is an intimate portrait of a woman who, for the first time in 20 years, returns home to the Midwest to take care of her ailing mother. Through the themes of abandonment, aging, rejection, acceptance and forgiveness, we get to know Monica and her world made of pain, fear but also courage. A journey through the needs and desires of a woman who opens a cognitive look at the human condition. “ a beautifully nuanced drama that feels unique and universal, featuring what will surely go down as one of the best performances of 2023.” – Peter Sobczinsky, RobertEbert.com
Mozart's Die Zauberflöte
Mozart's Die Zauberflöte
One of opera’s most beloved works receives its first new Met staging in 19 years—a daring vision by renowned English director Simon McBurney that The Wall Street Journal declared “the best production I’ve ever witnessed of Mozart’s opera.” Nathalie Stutzmann conducts the Met Orchestra, with the pit raised to make the musicians visible to the audience and allow interaction with the cast. In his Met-debut staging, McBurney lets loose a volley of theatrical flourishes, incorporating projections, sound effects, and acrobatics to match the spectacle and drama of Mozart’s fable. The brilliant cast includes soprano Erin Morley as Pamina, tenor Lawrence Brownlee as Tamino, baritone Thomas Oliemans in his Met debut as Papageno, soprano Kathryn Lewek as the Queen of the Night, and bass Stephen Milling as Sarastro.
YOU HURT MY FEELINGS
YOU HURT MY FEELINGS
Born in NYC where many of her indie-style movies are set - movies driven by witty conversation and perceptive character studies – it’s no surprise that Nicole Holofcener’s work gets compared to Woody Allen (without the baggage.) In fact, the writer/director’s first jobs in the industry were on A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy and Hannah and Her Sisters. She is also known for inspiring great performances from her female leads, from Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand, Jennifer Aniston, to Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The former Seinfeld star plays a novelist whose marriage to her psychiatrist husband (Tobias Menzies, The Crown) stumbles when she overhears him say he dislikes her new book. Funny and sharp, You Can’t Hurt Me asks the question: In relationships, is honesty really the best policy? “The snap and sparkle of her dialogue is like neurotic champagne. It gives you a lift; the conflicts percolate around in it like humane snarky effervescence…” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety.
Exhibition On Screen: Tokyo Stories
Exhibition On Screen: Tokyo Stories

A thrilling encounter with one of the world’s great art capitals.

Based on a major exhibition at the Ashmolean in Oxford, Tokyo Stories spans 400 years of incredibly dynamic art – ranging from the delicate woodblock prints of Hokusai and Hiroshige, to Pop Art posters, contemporary photography, Manga, film, and brand-new artworks that were created on the streets.

The exhibition was a smash-hit five-star success and brought a younger and more diverse audience to the museum. The film uses the exhibition as a launchpad to travel to Tokyo itself, and explore the art and artists of the city more fully.

A beautifully illustrated and richly detailed film, looking at a city which has undergone constant destruction and renewal over its 400-year history, resulting in one of the most vibrant and interesting cities on the planet…

“Tokyo has a powerful engine that just doesn’t stop. There is an energy, a particular floating power in Tokyo. Whatever happens, this city gets rebuilt again and continues to move forwards.” Machida Kumi

MASTER GARDENER
MASTER GARDENER
In 2022 76-year-old Paul Schrader won Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Venice and Zurich Film Festivals, overdue recognition of a 50-year career including his provocative films Taxi Driver (as screenwriter), American Gigolo, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, and Affliction as writer/director. Master Gardener is the third of a loose trilogy (with First Reformed and The Card Counter that distills Schrader’s frequent subject of isolated men looking for redemption. Australian actor Joel Edgerton (The Underground Railroad) stars as brilliant master gardener Narvel Roth, who makes a paradise of Gracewood estate, owned by Mrs. Haverhill (the great Sigourney Weaver.) When Mrs. Haverhill asks Roth to take on her “wayward” biracial niece (Quintessa Swindell of Euphoria) as an apprentice, he agrees to share his deep horticultural knowledge. But as they grow closer, Roth’s despicable past comes to light, threatening their relationship and his road to redemption. “Sigourney Weaver is fascinating…there is a tenderness to “Master Gardener” that may prove its biggest surprise.” Laila Latif, IndieWire.
Mozart's Don Giovanni
Mozart's Don Giovanni
Tony Award–winning director of Broadway’s A View from the Bridge and West Side Story, Ivo van Hove makes a major Met debut with a new take on Mozart’s tragicomedy, re-setting the familiar tale of deceit and damnation in an abstract architectural landscape and shining a light into the dark corners of the story and its characters. Maestro Nathalie Stutzmann makes her Met debut conducting a star-studded cast led by baritone Peter Mattei as a magnetic Don Giovanni, alongside the Leporello of bass-baritone Adam Plachetka. Sopranos Federica Lombardi, Ana María Martínez, and Ying Fang make a superlative trio as Giovanni’s conquests—Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, and Zerlina—and tenor Ben Bliss is Don Ottavio.