We are not alone.

Our Spielberg Summer series continues with one of the filmmaker’s most personal and awe-inspiring works: the Director’s Cut of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a Science Fiction epic that looks to the stars with wonder instead of fear.

After an inexplicable encounter with a mysterious object in the night sky, ordinary family man Roy Neary begins experiencing strange visions that consume his life and lead him toward a destiny he cannot understand. As reports of unexplained phenomena spread across the globe, Roy joins a growing search for answers that culminates in one of the most unforgettable finales in movie history.

Where many Sci Fi films imagine alien contact as a threat, Close Encounters of the Third Kind dares to imagine it as a miracle. Spielberg’s knack for groundbreaking visual effects with a deeply human sense of curiosity shine brightly here, paired, of course, with a brilliant score from the one and only John Williams. It’s a reminder of why we go to the movies in the first place.

The final film in our Starring Natalie Wood retrospective is the oft-requested The Great Race, the movie that paired her with the iconic duo of Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis for an affectionate throwback to silent-era spectacle and early Hollywood farce!

Professional daredevil and white-suited hero, The Great Leslie, convinces turn-of-the-century auto makers that a race from New York to Paris (westward across America, the Bering Straight and Russia) will help to promote automobile sales. Leslie’s arch-rival, the mustached and black-attired Professor Fate vows to beat Leslie to the finish line in a car of Fate’s own invention.

Ms. Wood leans fully into broad comedy here, delivering rapid-fire dialogue and playful physical humor, a fun contrast to some of the her more intense performances covered in this series.

This Summer, we are celebrating the unforgettable star power of Natalie Wood with a quartet of films that showcase the unique blend of charisma and emotional intensity that made her one of Hollywood’s most beloved screen icons. This series is co-presented by the amazing folks over at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton as part of their exhibit More Than Love: The Life & Art of Natalie Wood!

Join us for three talent-packed nights of unscripted comedy as we team up with OCIF to bring you the OC Improv Fest 2026!

First held in 2013, the Orange County Improv Festival was conceived to celebrate the growing and diverse improv community of Orange County, California. Despite prevailing opinions that Orange County is a homogenized wasteland devoid of culture, the OC Improv Fest seeks to expose the vibrant comedy taking place behind the “Orange Curtain.” The largest improv event in Orange County, the OC Improv Fest is committed to the celebration and elevation of improvisation, as well as forging friendships across cities and states with diverse and open-minded performers.

For the improv team line-up, workshops, and FAQs, visit: https://improvcollective.fun/ocif 

All performances are live, unscripted, and unrated. Line-ups subject to change.

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. Member discounts and comp passes do not apply. 

Our second Volunteer of the Month pick for July comes via Avalon, who has chosen chosen the hallucinatory body-horror classic Videodrome from visionary filmmaker and certified sicko David Cronenberg.

As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon “Videodrome,” a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.

Videodrome remains one of Cronenberg’s most provocative and unsettling works. Filled with unforgettable practical effects and audacious ideas, the film predicts a world consumed by screens while asking who controls the images we consume.