Frida Cinema favorite Kiyoshi Kurosawa is back, yet again, with his latest epic: The Samurai and the Prisoner!

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.

A restrained samurai mystery that uses the genre to explore morality, The Samurai and the Prisoner boasts an impressive 94% on Rotten Tomatoesand was one of the major standouts at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Don’t miss your chance to see it on the big screen!

Just added: Frida Board Member/Trivia Night host Atalia Lopez (Chapman University) and Porter Gilberg (Frida Director of Development) will be joining us for the Wednesday 8/26 8:30PM show for a pre-screening presentation on slasher cinema’s “final girl” mythology and the queer horror lineage behind Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. An interactive audience discussion will immediately follow the film.

Certified Frida Favorite Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going To The World’s Fair, I Saw The TV Glow) is back with their latest mindf**k, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, starring the supernova duo of Hannah Einbender and Gillian Anderson!

After years of slapdash sequels and waning fandom, the Camp Miasma slasher franchise is handed over to an enthusiastic young director for resurrection. But when she visits the original’s star, a now-reclusive actress shrouded in mystery, the two women fall into a blood-soaked world of desire, fear, and delirium.

Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival in 2026, the early reviews for Camp Miasma were passionate, promising a wildly entertaining exploration of the slasher film, erotic pleasure, and everything in between. The words “gonzo” and “pop art” were also being thrown around, which you know we love!

Enhanced Accessibility: this film has Closed Captioning and Audio Description capability!

There’s more than one way to lose your life to a killer.

August’s Staff Pick comes courtesy of our new Box Office Manager Chris Martinez, who has chosen David Fincher’s chilling 2007 masterwork Zodiac!

Over the course of a decade, editors of the San Francisco Chronicle entice themselves in the murders of the Zodiac Killer. However, as time runs its course, interest in the case dwindles in the eyes of the professionals. The Killer stops interacting with the public. However, believing he has the answers, an amateur cartoonist from the initial sightings races against time to prevent what he believes is another murder.

Featuring extraordinary performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., and an incredible ensemble cast of, Zodiac is less interested in the killer himself than the devastating impact of obsession on everyone left searching for him. With Fincher’s signature knack for meticulous attention to detail and stunning cinematography, the film has become one of the defining thrillers of the 21st century.

Neither Heaven nor Earth could keep them apart!

Our Art House for Families series concludes with Powell & Pressburger’s astonishing Technicolor fantasia A Matter of Life and Death!

After miraculously surviving a plane crash during World War II, British pilot Peter Carter finds himself caught between worlds when celestial authorities realize he was never meant to live. As heavenly forces attempt to correct the error, Peter fights for the right to remain on Earth alongside the woman he has fallen in love with.

Few filmmakers ever have possessed sheer cinematic imagination quite like Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Moving effortlessly between the everyday and the cosmic, A Matter of Life and Death excels at both dazzling visual invention and genuine emotional sweep. The film stands as one of the great achievements of postwar cinema, making it a perfect finale for a series dedicated to the wonder of experiencing movies together on the big screen.

Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana.