A Life Illuminated follows pioneering marine biologist Dr. Edith Widder’s lifelong quest to use the language of light to communicate with the most mysterious creatures in the deep sea. Now, she heads off on her greatest journey yet into the deepest depths of our ocean world to understand our biggest questions about bioluminescence and what it can tell us about the future of life on Earth.

In celebration of ADA Day, The Roxie Theater will screen two films, SIGN 504 NOW!–a 30min documentary about the occupation of the SF HHS building by disabled activists in 1977, provided by the GLBT Historical Society– and VIVIEN’S WILD RIDE, a feature-length documentary about iconic local film editor Vivien Hilgrove’s experience with macular degeneration. Between these screenings, we will convene a panel of disabled activists and artists to reflect on the films screened and their greater context.

In an Italian seaside town, young Titta gets into trouble with his friends and watches various local eccentrics as they engage in often absurd behavior. Frequently clashing with his stern father and defended by his doting mother, Titta witnesses the actions of a wide range of characters, from his extended family to Fascist loyalists to sensual women, with certain moments shifting into fantastical scenarios.

When three American doctors-Palestinian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian-enter Gaza to save lives, they find themselves caught between medicine and politics, risking everything to expose the truth.

Against political resistance and industry skepticism, Luis Valdez pushes Chicano storytelling from the fields to the film screen with Zoot Suit and La Bamba, crafting iconic works that challenge, celebrate, and expand America’s story. Acclaimed playwright and director Luis Valdez recognized early on the profound impact of seeing one’s own humanity reflected onstage and on screen. He used theater to ignite change while working alongside farmworkers and Cesar Chavez, and he made films that amplified Chicano experiences. His work expanded audiences, bringing in people who had rarely seen their stories told before. Now, director David Alvarado reveals the fuel behind his legendary career. Alvarado brings us close to Valdez, charting his career milestones and enduring cultural influence. He employs vibrant stylistic choices, using split screens, remarkable archival footage rescued from decay, and a pachuco narrator who tells it like it is by interjecting candid commentary throughout. Alvarado ensures Luis Valdez’s contributions are unmistakable and that his message — “America is Chicano” — resonates proudly, which feels especially vital for today. - Sundance Film Festival

A wealthy New York investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.

"Ceci N’est Pas Une Porn..." How do YOU define porn? Will you know it when you see it? This short film curation explores the sexual image through creative storytelling and erotic animations.

BACKROOMS: Everything Must Go Edition w/ Extra Footage

The feature debut from Bad Bunny collaborator STILLZ and featuring the first original score by Arca, BARRIO TRISTE is a generational portrait of Colombia’s forgotten youth, both personal and specific in its perspective, yet unclassifiable in its formal audacity. Accentuated by Arca’s intense, shape-shifting sonic palette, STILLZ boldly navigates the liminal spaces between despair and transcendence in “one of the year’s great debuts.” (The Film Stage)

Wrestling with writer’s block for her first film, Bouchra, a queer Moroccan jackal living in NYC, starts having difficult yet overdue phone calls with her mother in Casablanca that begin influencing the project. Balancing the precarity of working as an artist in New York, the rift in her identity between her two homes and an array of friendships and romantic interests, Bouchra’s emotional reckoning with her mother and herself becomes her path to expression. With a lived-in granularity and unmistakable visual style, BOUCHRA, the feature debut from acclaimed visual artists Meriem Bennani and Orian Barki (best known together from their 2020 web series 2 LIZARDS), is a singular portrait effortlessly towing the line between documentary, visual art and resonant family drama. Deeply felt, surprisingly sexy and formally adventurous, Bennani and Barki’s distinctive debut forges new ground that “will make it a classic of queer cinema for years to come” (Next Best Picture).

Oscilloscope Laboratories presents a compilation of the latest and best cat videos culled from countless hours of unique submissions and sourced animations, music videos, and classic internet powerhouses.

International superstar Maggie Cheung (In the Mood for Love) embodies tragic screen siren Ruan Lingyu, known as the "Greta Garbo of China," in this unconventional biopic by Hong Kong New Wave master Stanley Kwan (Rouge). Praised for her moving and emotive onscreen presence, Ruan’s private life, which was frequent fodder for the vicious Shanghai tabloids, began to mirror the melodramas which brought her fame, culminating in her suicide at age 24. Kwan and Cheung paint a kaleidoscopic yet intimate portrait of the ill-fated actress, deftly blending lush period drama, archival footage, and metatextual documentary sequences of Cheung reflecting on Ruan’s legacy. The result is, much like the films of Ruan Lingyu themselves, “tender, vivid and almost overwhelmingly moving” (Time Out). Presented by Fortune Star Media Limited, the restoration of the film was carried out from the original 35mm picture and optical soundtrack negative. The prints were repaired, cleaned and scanned in Hong Kong, then digitally restored in 4K resolution in Bologna, Italy by L'Immagine Ritrovata. Endorsed by the director, Stanley Kwan, the color correction was completed by Interface Video Production Ltd in Hong Kong.

Taking much of its inspiration from Homer’s The Odyssey, this Coen brothers comedy stars George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson as escaped convicts in Depression-era Mississippi. On a wild goose chase for loot from a previous crime, the trio encounter bluesmen, bank robbers, Bible thumpers and politicos, and become unlikely hitmakers as the “Soggy Bottom Boys” (in real life, the film’s bluegrass-filled soundtrack topped charts and won three Grammys). Costarring John Goodman. The title is taken from the social-realist film-within-a-film Joel McCrea’s character wants to make in Preston Sturges’ SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS!

Part of our series Wild, Weird, Wicked: Film From Before the Code! A woman cannot decide between two men who love her, and the trio agree to try living together in a platonic friendly relationship.

Adnan, a young art student, arrives in New York City to flat-sit for the summer. He begins interning at a gallery where an unconventional older artist he once encountered is being exhibited. As moments from his past and present begin to intertwine, a series of encounters - both artistic and erotic - open cracks in his everyday reality..

"A smorgasbord in sexual storytelling!" Experimental, explicit, funny, and just plain fun to watch, these short films span humor and creativity.

Based on the true story of Valerie Solanas who was a 60s radical preaching hatred toward men in her "Scum" manifesto. She wrote a screenplay for a film that she wanted Andy Warhol to produce, but he continued to ignore her. So she shot him.

Rewind Presents ~ Jawbreaker (1999) w/ Drag by Mary Vice! Directed by Darren Stein Join us for this high school cult classic black comedy about a birthday prank gone terribly wrong! Happy hour at Dalva at 8pm - show your ticket and get a discounted drink! “Jawbreaker (1999) is a study of the nature of power relations, a Foucauldian teen comedy that takes positions on sexuality, the criminal justice system, and body image issues. Jawbreaker may be high-key and cartoonish, but, like its namesake confection, it can be a challenge to digest. Courtney, Marcy, Julie, and Liz are the "Flawless Four," the non plus ultra of popularity at their high school. The leader, Courtney (Rose McGowan), is "like Satan in heels," while second-in-command Liz (Charlotte Ayanna), "the Princess Di of Reagan High," rules with kindness. Marcie (Julie Benz) is Courtney's loyal sycophant, while Julie (Rebecca Gayheart) has an independent streak and is critical of Courtney's leadership.” - Cosmo Bjorkenheim (Screen Slate) Follow us on instagram at rewindpresentssf for updates!

Law of Desire takes place in a feverish universe in which life is theatre, and to truly live is to overact. Almodóvar takes as his protagonist a prolific writer–director, Pablo (Eusebio Poncela) and through him explores the possibilities of utter desire — desire that is at once a possession, and the wish to possess. Pablo is obsessed with a young lover, Juan, who can't be had; but it is Antonio, a one-night stand replacement for Juan, who teaches Pablo about true obsession when he wakes up the morning after, possessed and possessive.

Part of our series Wild, Weird, Wicked: Films from Before the Code! Virtually unseen for over 90 years, in a sparkling new 4k restoration from Warner Brothers! A socialite begins a shipboard romance with a wealthy man, but is blackmailed by a former lover.

Hiroko is still in the depths of grief from losing her fiancé Itsuki Fujii in a tragic mountain-climbing accident. On the day of his two-year memorial service, Hiroko finds an old address of Itsuki’s, and sends him a letter. Shockingly, she receives a reply, from a woman who also happens to be named Itsuki Fujii. As the two women exchange letters, coincidences and memories of Hiroko’s fiancé bring them together in ways they could have never imagined. “Extremely attractive and succulently filmed” (Variety) by writer-director Shunji Iwai in his feature debut, Love Letter was a box-office phenomenon upon its initial release and has been hailed as “gloriously brilliant” and the “greatest romance story from Japan” (Asian Movie Pulse). Film Movement Classics presents the film in a new 4K restoration. 4K remastering under the supervision of Fuji Television Network, Inc., with all analog and digital processes by Imagica Entertainment Media Services, Inc. Image digitization through high-resolution 4K scanning from the original 35mm camera negative. Restoration, color correction, and final sound finishing supervised by director Shunji Iwai.

If poetry had a pop icon, Mary Oliver would be it. Celebrated best-selling poet, Pulitzer Prize-winner, lover of dogs and long walks in the woods, openly queer but intensely private, Oliver was America’s unlikely contemporary mystic, stalking the ponds and forests of Cape Cod for nearly fifty years in order to open herself – and her readers – to the known and unknowable world. From a lonely childhood to literary fame, Oliver’s life was shaped by devotion to nature, paying attention, and the long journey toward learning to love and to be loved. Her poems inspire liberals and conservatives, atheists and believers, naturalists and urbanites, speaking directly to contemporary anxieties about attention, presence, and the human relationship with the natural world – issues that feel especially pressing in an era of climate crisis, digital distraction, and social fragmentation. Featuring interviews with her close friends, including John Waters, never-before-seen personal photos, notebooks, and correspondence from her archive, and recitations of her work by Stephen Colbert, Lucy Dacus, Steve Buscemi, and Oprah Winfrey, Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World considers the poet’s long lifetime of work in context, capturing the uniqueness of her world and the natural beauty that inspired her.

The film that propelled Eric Rohmer to international acclaim remains one of the finest achievements of his career. The fourth in the Moral Tales series, it tells the story of a chaste and conservative 30-something (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who sees a woman that he believes will be his perfect match whilst attending church. But when he unwittingly spends the night at the apartment of the worldly and spirited divorcée Maud (Françoise Fabian), he finds the moral certainties of his life are suddenly thrown into question.

From the producers of MINARI and MOONLIGHT comes the next great coming-of-age journey. Fourteen-year-old Olmo and his family are struggling to make ends meet in 1979 New Mexico. Due to an illness that keeps his father Nestor confined to his bed, his mother Cecilia, his sister Ana, and even he himself must contribute to the daily caretaking responsibilities. Olmo, in the throes of selfish adolescence, would much rather hang out with his best friend Miguel and try to impress his beautiful next-door neighbor Nina than take care of his dad. And when Nina finally invites him to a party on the day that he’s been left alone with his dad, Olmo will do whatever he can to get out of his duties, embarking on a journey of mischief and chaos. In his desperate attempt to escape his home life, he will come to realize that the place of his deepest pain is also where he will find solace: with his family.

São Paulo, 1983: Women’s soccer has just been legalized in Brazil. A group of rebellious young women form the Gayvotas Football Club and begin training for their first match. But as the team quickly becomes a media sensation, its members are forced to confront the prejudices of the conservative military dictatorship that they live under. Banned shortly after its premiere at the 1983 São Paulo International Film Festival and never released outside of Brazil until now, Ícaro Martins and José Antonio Garcia’s Onda Nova: Gayvotas Football Club is a defiantly queer and gleefully anarchic sex comedy that still packs a subversive punch (or kick?) all these years later. New 4K restoration by SPAMFLIX.

From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away, and Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, comes an epic masterpiece that has dazzled audiences worldwide with its breathtaking imagination, exhilarating battles, and deep humanity. Inflicted with a deadly curse, the young warrior Ashitaka heads west in search of a cure. There, he stumbles into a bitter conflict between Lady Eboshi, the proud people of Iron Town, and the enigmatic Princess Mononoke, a young girl raised by wolves, who will stop at nothing to prevent the humans from destroying her home and the forest spirits and animal gods who live there.

"Mother married a photo of Father," says director Firouzeh Khosrovani in the opening of this deeply personal documentary. She's not speaking metaphorically though. Her mother Tayi literally married a portrait of Hossein in Teheran -he was in Switzerland studying radiology and was unable to travel back to his homeland for the wedding. The event illustrates the abyss that still exists in their marriage: Hossein is a secular progressive and Tayi a devout, traditional Muslim. But this family history is also a sort of x-ray, laying bare the conflicts of Iranian society in the run-up to, and aftermath of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Besides Khosrovani's commentary, we hear letters being read aloud and recollections of conversations between her parents. At the same time, we see photographs and videos from the family archive. These fragments of intimacy are interspersed with stylized shots of the filmmaker's parental home, its decor and furnishings subtly reflecting each new phase in her parents' marriage-and in Iranian society.

"Balancing insightful documentaries and sexy fun." Beautiful, candid, and uncensored, these short adult documentary films offer new perspectives on sexuality.

Ku Stevens wants to be an elite runner, but when the remains of Native children are found, Ku must face his family's past while attempting to run towards his future.

The death of his son causes McElwee, an autobiographical filmmaker, to look back on his life’s work. He eventually turns to his archive of home movies. To what extent did his camera affect their relationship when Adrian was alive? To what extent does it define that relationship now that he is gone? Meanwhile, an effort to adapt McElwee’s first feature, Sherman’s March, into a work of fiction lurches along, giving the filmmaker another perspective from which to meditate on movie making and mortality.

Live screening w/ a presentation by The Professors Of Urgh: Chaki & Chris Slusarenko (the hosts of A Very Opinionated Look At Urgh! podcast) The screening will feature a presentation by The Professors Of Urgh!, Chaki & Chris Slusarenko, who have amassed over 55 episodes about the wheres, whys, and hows of the epic 80s concert film, URGH! A MUSIC WAR, coming to light. Speaking with guests such as Lesley Woods of Au Pairs, Hugo Burnham of Gang Of Four, Stan Ridgway of Wall Of Voodoo & Steve Bartek of Oingo Boingo, they have gotten the history of this film and its artists firsthand. Plus, they will unlock the jaw-dropping secrets of the incredible ingontio, head-scratching band, Invisible Sex (HEAR INVISIBLE SEX SPEAK TO YOU!!!!). About URGH! A MUSIC WAR: Considered one of the most ground zero documents of the late 70s/early 80s New Music Scene, URGH! A MUSIC WAR has rarely been seen on the big screen. Featuring 34 bands ranging from the well-known (The Police, Devo, X, Joan Jett, XTC, The Go-Gos & Gary Numan) to the true underground (Dead Kennedys, Magazine, The Cramps, Pere Ubu, Au Pairs, Klaus Nomi), the film is beautifully shot and recorded, allowing each band to sound and perform completely authentically. About THE PROFESSORS OF URGH!: Chaki is a Los Angeles-based electro-funk artist, performer, and underground culture instigator blending heavy bass, synth-driven grooves, and a surreal, offbeat stage presence. He has toured with El Vez and Fishbone and opened for Parliament Funkadelic, as well as opening multiple dates on tour for Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew’s Remain in Light touring band. His latest release, From L.A. to the Bay on High Occulture Records, is a career-spanning 12" featuring classic bangers and three new cuts. Beyond music, Chaki is the creator of the Punk Rock Graveyard Tour at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, a cult-favorite experience exploring the resting places and stories of punk and underground icons. He is also a recurring guest on The Best Show with Tom Scharpling, hosted by Tom Scharpling. Chris Slusarenko is the host of the top ten Apple Music Interview podcast, Revolutions Per Movie— a guest-driven podcast about music films with guests such as Peter Buck of R.E.M., icon Paul Williams, Spiral Stairs of Pavement, Ann Magnuson & Kevin McDonald of Kids In The Hall. A lifelong musician with albums on Sub Pop & Rough Trade, he has been a member of Guided By Voices and Eyelids, and has also been an independent video store owner for over 20 years.

With her mother's diary in hand, Marina's search for official documents for university leads her to her biological family on the Atlantic coast. What starts as an administrative quest reveals long-buried family secrets.

Three decades ago, the Rose of Nevada vanished at sea, along with its crew. Now, it has returned. In a remote fishing village, its reappearance is embraced as an auspicious sign, with the local citizens convinced the luck of their economically devastated community may turn, if only the ship sails again. Joining the crew is Nick (George MacKay), desperate to provide for his young family, and Liam (Callum Turner), a mysterious drifter eager to escape his past. After a successful voyage, they return to harbour, only to find that nothing is as they remember it. Shooting on a 16mm Bolex camera and constructing all the sound in post, Mark Jenkin writes, directs, edits and scores a haunting and hallucinatory time-travel mystery that further solidifies him as one of the most distinct, singular artists working in film today. Jenkin conducts a cinematic séance, conjuring a portal into another world that forces us to confront the past and our relationship to it.

"If you think you know porn, think again!" From fantastical roleplaying to representation that matters, these short films reflect the wide range of what sex looks like on camera.

After his family is murdered by a notorious and ruthless bandit, a former police officer enlists the services of two outlaws to capture the bandit.

Charlie is a hapless San Francisco poet whose commitment aversion causes him to bottle out every time he gets a girlfriend. When he meets the girl of his dreams, he determines to overcome his fears and tie the knot. But then he begins to suspect that maybe his beloved is a Black Widow killer, a maniac who disposes of her husband every time she goes on honeymoon. Is he just being paranoid or has he really married an axe murderer?

Being connected to nature, what does it mean? Father knows and father shows. The director's father is 84. We follow in his footsteps into the mountain home. Into nature's smallest life and out to grand panoramas, where he grew up.

In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a macabre universe.

The feature debut of Jeong Jae-eun, one of the few female directors to gain a foothold in the male-dominated Korean film industry, is an affectingly naturalistic portrait of five young women navigating the uncertainties of early adulthood in the industrial city of Incheon. Exploring issues of friendship, alienation, and economic anxiety as they directly affect women, Take Care of My Cat (the title a reference to the feline that the friends collectively adopt) eloquently expresses the apprehension of coming of age at the dawn of the 21st century. The use of artfully integrated text messages, through which the women stay in touch even as they grow apart, marks this quietly revelatory work as one of the first true “millennial” films. A 2002 ND/NF selection.

Space travel has become a dirty way of life dominated by derelicts, grease monkeys, and hard-boiled interplanetary traders such as Samuel Curtis. Written, directed, and starring Cory McAbee of the legendary cult band The Billy Nayer Show, this sci-fi, musical-western uses flinty black and white photography, rugged Lo-Fi sets and the spirit of the final frontier. We follow Curtis on his Homeric journey to provide the all-female planet of Venus with a suitable male, while pursued by an enigmatic killer, Professor Hess. The film features music by The Billy Nayer Show and some of the most original rock n’ roll scenes ever committed to film.

Set in 1851, a mute Scottish woman arrives in colonial New Zealand for an arranged marriage, with her precocious young daughter and beloved piano in tow. Her practical new husband refuses to transport the piano to their home and makes a deal with his neighbor, George Baines to take the piano off his hands. Attracted to Ada, Baines agrees to return the piano in exchange for a series of piano lessons that become a series of increasingly charged sexual encounters. As pent-up emotions of rage and desire swirl around all three characters, the savage wilderness begins to consume the tiny European enclave.

When Lord Murashige (Masahiro Motoki) rises up against the tyrannical Oda (Bando Shingo), he finds himself besieged within the walls of his own castle. Isolated, he is confronted with a series of mysterious crimes that shatter the fragile order of his court, plunging the fortress into fear and suspicion. With Oda’s army closing in and a traitor hiding among his ranks, Murashige is forced into an uneasy alliance with Kanbei Kuroda (Masaki Suda), a brilliant yet dangerous strategist held prisoner in the dungeon. Helped by his wife Chiyoho (Yuriko Yoshitaka) and his most loyal generals, Murashige must uncover the truth before the castle falls.

In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if it's paid, how could they get away?

Piel, a 7 or 8 year old boy, is alone on the desert planet Perdide, only survivor of an attack by giant hornets. Calling for help, Piel's father's friend Jaffar keeps contact with the kid and hurries across space toward Perdide.

A mysterious viral outbreak pushes Korea into a state of emergency! As an unidentified virus sweeps the country, Korean government declares martial law. Those on an express train to Busan, a city that has successfully fended off the viral outbreak, must fight for their own survival. 453km from Seoul to Busan - the struggle to survive by those who have others to protect! Boasting an ensemble of Korea’s leading actors including Yoo Dong, Dong Seok-ma, Woo-sik Choi and Yi-mi Jeong, get on board an edge-of-your-seat thriller where Snowpiercer meets World War Z.

Assigned to a county-mandated drug court program, Cody Parsons embarks on the tenuous journey toward recovery amid the opioid epidemic in rural Ohio.

Watch a Banned Book! The Roxie partners with Books Not Bans to present the camp classic Valley of the Dolls. Divas! Drugs! Catfights! Join Books Not Bans for an interactive viewing party in celebration of female friendship, show business, and all the drama you can handle. With local burlesque legend Sgt. Die Weis for preshow entertainment. Fabulosa Books will be on hand to sell books! Follow Books Not Bans on Instagram at @booksnotbans

WELCOME SPACE BROTHERS tells the unbelievable yet entirely true story of the Unarius Academy of Science, an extraterrestrial-channeling spiritual school and self-healing community founded in Glendale, California, before relocating to El Cajon in the 1970s. Under the outlandish direction of its charismatic leader, Ruth E. Norman — known to followers as “Archangel Uriel” — Unarius evolved from a fringe spiritual movement into a wildly prolific public-access television phenomenon of the 1980s. Director Jodi Wille (The Source Family) brings this singularly American story to the screen with the same wide-eyed fascination its subject demands.

Marcello Mastroianni, as a lonely city transplant, and Maria Schell, as a sheltered girl haunted by a lover’s promise, meet by chance on a canal bridge and begin a tentative romance that quickly entangles them in a web of longing and self-delusion. Luchino Visconti’s WHITE NIGHTS is an exquisite adaptation of Dostoevsky’s legendary novella, transforming this romantic, shattering tale of two restless souls into a ravishing black-and-white dream.

A Eurasian Eagle-Owl named Flaco escapes from the Central Park Zoo and sets off on a magical odyssey through the island of Manhattan. Flaco overcomes his years of captivity and lack of survival skills to answer the call of the wild – and discovers he was wild inside all along.