The penultimate film in our Andrei Tarkovsky Retrospective is his rarely-screen film from 1983: Nostalgia.

Set in Italy, Nostalgia follows Andrei Gorchakov, a Russian poet who is researching the life of an Italian composer while grappling with deep homesickness and a sense of alienation in a foreign land. As Gorchakov reflects on his past and the world he left behind in Russia, the film explores the themes of memory, longing, and the difficulty of reconciling one’s personal history with the present. 

The film’s intimate, reflective tone, combined with its stark, beautiful cinematography, earned Nostalgia widespread acclaim. It was awarded the Best Director prize at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, a recognition of Tarkovsky’s extraordinary ability to capture the emotional and spiritual depth of his characters. As a work of exile and reflection, Nostalgia serves as both a personal meditation for Tarkovsky and a universal exploration of the human condition, making it an essential part of his cinematic legacy.

Our first Volunteer Of The Month pick is from Preston, who has chosen the pitch-black Martin McDonagh comedy In Bruges!

A darkly hilarious meditation on guilt, redemption, and very bad timing, In Bruges is a foul-mouthed fairy tale for sinners. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are two hitmen hiding out in a postcard-perfect Belgian city, waiting for orders and wrestling with their consciences.

McDonagh’s feature debut balances razor-sharp dialogue, brutal violence, and unexpected heart—walking the tightrope between tragedy and comedy with bloody precision. Beautiful, profane, and weirdly poignant.

David Cronenberg delivers an entirely new take on body horror, reinventing the game yet again with his new film The Shrouds. This dramatic sci-fi thriller is a reflective stunner that combines the maestro’s signature body horror with profound elder-statesman reflection. Entering his 80s, Cronenberg (The Fly, Dead Ringers, History of Violence) continues to find new ways to innovate what can be done with bodies in cinema, losing none of his edge while demonstrating a true sense of empathy; the result is a film that astonishes while also being his most accessible film since Eastern Promises. 

In an eerie, deceptively placid near-future, a techno-entrepreneur named Karsh (Vincent Cassel) has developed a new software that will allow the bereaved to bear witness to the gradual decay of loved ones dead and buried in the earth. While Karsh is still reeling from the loss of his wife (Diane Kruger) from cancer—and falling into a peculiar sexual relationship with his wife’s sister (also Kruger)—a spate of vandalized graves utilizing his “shroud” technology begins to put his enterprise at risk, leading him to uncover a potentially vast conspiracy.

Next up in our A24orror series is a tense, anxiety-fueled double feature featuring Green Room and It Comes at Night, two films that explore the primal fear of being trapped in life-or-death situations where trust is a luxury you can’t afford. 

In Green Room, a punk band finds themselves in a terrifying situation after witnessing a murder at a remote neo-Nazi skinhead club. Trapped in the green room with no way out, they must use all their wits and grit to survive as the situation escalates into an all-out battle for survival.

It Comes at Night is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a family hides away in an isolated house, desperately trying to avoid a mysterious, deadly threat outside. As paranoia builds between the family and their new visitors, the film asks: what happens when the monsters outside aren’t the only ones you should fear?

With the stark visuals of directors Jeremy Saulnier and Trey Edward Schults, this is a double feature is not for the faint of heart. 

Encore! Encore! The Frida Cinema is excited to present one last screening of American Football: Live In Los Angeles!

American Football: Live In Los Angeles is an intimate concert film celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band’s iconic debut album. Featuring live performances and candid interviews with the band, Ethel Cain, Yvette Young, and M.A.G.S., the film captures the legacy and unexpected staying power of a group that helped define a genre.