Adapted from Sunil Gangopadhyay’s celebrated 1968 novel, Days and Nights in the Forest is one of director Satyajit Ray’s greatest achievements, a modern search for connection that conjures the timeless resonance of a folktale.

Desperate to flee Calcutta’s rat race, four friends, Ashim (Soumitra Chatterjee), Sanjoy (Subhendu Chatterjee), Hari (Samit Bhanja), and Shekhar (Rabi Ghosh), drive to Palamu, one of India’s rural “tribal lands,” where they bribe a watchman into letting them stay at a sylvan guesthouse. Despite vowing to get away from it all, the crew soon mixes with the locals, including a woodland family: the soulful yet mischievous Aparna (Sharmila Tagore) takes to the overconfident Ashim, while her widowed sister-in-law Jaya (Kaberi Bose) grows closer to the bookish Sanjoy. At the same time, Hari, fresh off a break-up, woos a Santal girl named Duli (Simi Garewal); and Shekhar, despite his own penchant for gambling, tries to rein in his companions’ boozy hedonism.

Filled with some of Ray’s most indelible characterizations and lavish images (shot by longtime cinematographer Soumendu Roy), Days and Nights in the Forest touches on masculine vulnerabilities and Indian class divisions with the graceful complexity of a master at his peak.

Restored in 4K in 2025 by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Film Heritage Foundation in collaboration with Janus Films – The Criterion Collection at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, from the original camera and sound negatives provided by Purnima Dutta and the magnetic track preserved by BFI National Archive. Funding provided by the Golden Globe Foundation. Special thanks to Wes Anderson and Sandip Ray.

We’re getting revenge for Park Chan-Wook’s Academy Award snubs this year the only way we know how: bringing back a bona fide Frida Cinema classic–his 2016 twist-filled psychological drama The Handmaiden. 

1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sookee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.

A meticulously-crafted and lush tale of deception, The Handmaiden is the ultimate film about desire amongst shifting loyalties.

Some wars never end.

Our first Volunteer Of The Month pick comes courtesy of Nick V, as he has selected Spike Lee’s thought-provoking after-war drama Da 5 Bloods.

Four African-American Vietnam veterans return to Vietnam in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader and the promise of buried treasure. They battle forces of humanity and nature while confronted by the lasting ravages of the immorality of the Vietnam War.

Widely seen as one of his most passionate, politically urgent, and performance-driven films (specifically by Delroy Lindo, who should have been nominated for an Oscar), Da 5 Bloods is Spike Lee firing on all cylinders, delivering a deeply personal project that sparks debate and sticks with people long after the credits role. 

Your luck just ran out.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s day at The Frida Cinema with a special screening of Leprechaun, presented by our friends at Nostalgic Nebula! Arrive early for a retrospective pre-show video, Leprechaun trivia with prizes, a spooky photo op, chocolate gold coins! But beware of the Leprechaun…try as you may, try as you might, who steals his gold won’t live through the night!

As a special treat, there will be a tele-Q&A with actor Mark Holton at the start of the show, so prep those Leprechaun questions!

Dan O’Grady (Shay Duffin) steals 100 gold coins from a leprechaun (Warwick Davis) while on vacation in Ireland. The leprechaun follows him home, but Dan locks him in a crate, held at bay by a four-leaf clover. Ten years later, J.D. Redding (John Sanderford) and his daughter, Tory (Jennifer Aniston), rent O’Grady’s property for the summer. When their new neighbors accidentally release the leprechaun, he goes on a murderous rampage to reclaim his gold.

Doors open and pre-show begins at 7:00PM! Movie and Q&A starts at 7:30PM!

This program is a venue rental engagement. The views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Frida Cinema or its staff.