Now Playing & Coming Soon

Virgilio Villoresi’s hand-crafted and entrancing take on the myth of Orpheus, Orfeo is our new release pick for Art House Theater Day 2026! Since he was a child, Orpheus has imagined stories about an abandoned villa across the street from his house. A solitary and visionary pianist, during an evening at the Polypus, the club where he plays, he meets Eura’s gaze. An unconditional love blossoms between them, but she’s concealing a secret. Then she disappears. One evening, Orpheus sees her enter a small door on Via Saterna, in front of the villa. He follows her. Before the threshold, he encounters the Green Man, an enigmatic figure who seems to know the mysteries of that passageway. Once through the door, Orpheus enters a visionary afterlife... Art House Theater Day (AHTD) is an annual program of AHC that brings audiences together to celebrate all that art house theaters, and independent film, contribute to our cultural landscape: ambitious and innovative art that provokes, challenges, entertains, and inspires.

The crown jewel in our Art House Theater Day 2026 lineup is a 50th anniversary 4K restoration of Sidney Lumet's 1976 masterpiece, Network!  When veteran anchorman Howard Beale is forced to retire his 25-year post because of his age, he announces to viewers that he will kill himself during his farewell broadcast. Network executives rethink their decision when his fanatical tirade results in a spike in ratings. Network feels less like satire and more like prophecy. Director Sidney Lumet and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky crafted a blistering critique of the commodification of outrage that remains startlingly relevant today. Powered by unforgettable performances from Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, and William Holden, the film is as entertaining as it is incisive. Art House Theater Day (AHTD) is an annual program of AHC that brings audiences together to celebrate all that art house theaters, and independent film, contribute to our cultural landscape: ambitious and innovative art that provokes, challenges, entertains, and inspires.

Celebrate Art House Theater Day 2026 with a 4K restoration of Car Wash, also celebrating 50 years since its initial release! This day-in-the-life cult comedy focuses on a group of friends working at Sully Boyar's Car Wash in the Los Angeles ghetto. The team meets dozens of eccentric customers -- including a smooth-talking preacher, a wacky cab driver and an ex-convict, while cracking politically incorrect jokes to a constant soundtrack of disco and funk. Some of the workers find romance as the day moves along, but most are just happy to get through another shift. Fueled by a stacked cast that includes standout comedic turns from Richard Pryor and George Carlin, the film moves to the rhythm of its era’s funk-infused soundtrack and loose, improvisational energy. Light on its feet but rich in character, Car Wash turns an ordinary job into a day-long portrait of exhaustion and unexpected joy. Art House Theater Day (AHTD) is an annual program of AHC that brings audiences together to celebrate all that art house theaters, and independent film, contribute to our cultural landscape: ambitious and innovative art that provokes, challenges, entertains, and inspires.

Join us for a special Art House Theater Day 2026 screening of Once Upon a Time in a Cinema with a post-screening Q&A with the director of the film, David Gleeson! Set in a small-town cinema during one eventful Friday night screening from hell, the film follows the travails of beleaguered cinema owner Earl Clancy (Colin Morgan) as he faces a myriad of disasters, any one of which could sink him. Drawing from writer/director David Gleeson’s own experience growing up in a family of cinema owners where his father’s 78-year career marked the longest in the cinema business in Ireland, if not the world, this film is a love letter to a peculiarly Irish cinema experience, which was as much about connecting with people as it was about the movie. Art House Theater Day (AHTD) is an annual program of AHC that brings audiences together to celebrate all that art house theaters, and independent film, contribute to our cultural landscape: ambitious and innovative art that provokes, challenges, entertains, and inspires.

We've added encores of the enduring coming-of-age classic The Graduate! Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman), fresh out of college and disillusioned with life, finds himself stuck between his older lover, Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), and her daughter (Katharine Ross). Both a biting satire of suburban conformity and a timeless portrait of youthful uncertainty, The Graduate captured the anxieties of a generation coming of age in a rapidly changing America. Revered for its star-making performance from Dustin Hoffman and elevated by the unforgettable music of Simon & Garfunkel, the film perfectly balances sharp comedy with genuine melancholy, a tone often imitated, but never replicated.

We are not alone. We've added some Spielberg Summer encores of the Director's Cut of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the director's epically intimate Sci-Fi masterpiece! 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.

An auteur emerges from America's underclass. From migrant farmworker to revolutionary artist, Luis Valdez changed American culture. His El Teatro Campesino performed on flatbed trucks and helped mobilize California's farm workers. His Zoot Suit was the first Chicano play on Broadway. Despite critical rejection that killed the show's New York run, he persevered, creating La Bamba, a blockbuster that brought Mexican-American life to a global audience. Now in its 60th year, El Teatro continues to be a beacon for Latino creators. American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez is the first feature documentary about this American original, narrated by Edward James Olmos reprising his legendary El Pachuco role, featuring Cheech Marin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Dolores Huerta, and Linda Ronstadt. The film weaves 4K-restored archival footage, including over 80,000 feet of deteriorating 1970s celluloid rescued and digitized for the first time, with the story of a man who proved that Chicanos have always been America.

Spielberg Summer keeps rolling on with Raiders Of The Lost Ark, the film that introduced audiences to one of cinema’s greatest heroes: Indiana Jones! When the famous archaeologist and adventurer is tasked with locating the legendary Ark of the Covenant before it falls into Nazi hands, Indiana Jones embarks on a globe-trotting quest filled with pulse-pounding action! From Peruvian jungles to Egyptian deserts, Indy must stay one step ahead of ruthless enemies in a race for an artifact said to possess unimaginable power. A loving tribute to the adventure serials of the 1930s and '40s that Spielberg and George Lucas grew up on, Raiders of the Lost Ark combines old-fashioned movie magic with some of the most inventive action filmmaking ever put on screen. More than four decades later, it remains the gold standard for cinematic adventure and proof that nobody does it quite like our guy Stevie!

The Frida Cinema is teaming up with our friends at VAALA to screen the critically acclaimed documentary Jimmy in Saigon! And stick around after the screening for a special conversation with the director of the film, Peter McDowell! Jimmy in Saigon begins as a personal exploration into the mysterious death and radical life of Jimmy McDowell, an American 24-year-old Vietnam veteran who died as a civilian in Saigon in 1972, when filmmaker Peter McDowell was only five. While investigating Jimmy’s drug use and sexuality, Peter takes us from the US Midwest to Vietnam, France and back home again. In his quest to get to know his brother, he uncovers a hidden romance, new family ties and a remarkable global love story.

One...last...plan. Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie is back for yet another late night party screening at The Frida Cinema! As the long-gestating feature expansion of the cult Canadian series Nirvanna the Band the Show, created by and starring Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol, the film continues the misadventures of the two best friends. As relentlessly delusional Toronto musicians, their main goal in life is to “play a show at the Rivoli.” When their plan goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008. Like the series, the movie blurs fiction and reality, staging elaborate public pranks with unsuspecting bystanders while escalating the characters’ schemes to increasingly absurd and self-destructive extremes. If you love comedy that feels like it might collapse at any second, or perhaps maybe even get its creators thrown in jail, boy do we have a movie for you and your friends to come see!

Another homo movie by Gregg Araki. The first chapter in the groundbreaking Teen Apocalypse Trilogy, Totally F***ed Up, is back at The Frida Cinema! Shot on grainy 16mm with the raw energy of a punk mixtape, the film follows six queer teenagers searching for connection while navigating a world that seems determined to reject them. Told through diary confessions, the film captures the exhilaration and uncertainty of growing up on the margins at the height of the AIDS crisis. An independent filmmaking landmark, Totally F**ed Up announced Gregg Araki as one of American cinema's boldest new voices. More than thirty years later, its restless spirit and unapologetic celebration of queer youth remain every bit as vital, making it the perfect place to begin our journey through one of the most singular filmographies of the last three decades.

We can see the future, and it's full of pals. On August 1st, we're celebrating National Friendship Day with a screening of Andrew DeYoung and Tim Robinson's sick and twisted tale of male friendship...Friendship!  Suburban dad Craig (Tim Robinson) falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor Austin (Paul Rudd), and his attempts to make an adult male friend threatens to ruin both of their lives. Call it what you want. Single White Female meets suburban dad comedy. Fatal Attraction but with dudes. Whatever. It's a great time at the movie theaters. Invite your buds!

We're keeping French with the next installment in our Art House for Families series as we present Jean Cocteau’s sublime adaptation of Mme. Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy-tale masterpiece: La Belle et la Bête!  Drawing from the classic French fable, the film follows Belle as she enters the mysterious castle of a cursed Beast whose world seems governed by living statues and other impossible acts of magic. You probably know the rest of the story, but you've never seen it told quite like this. The spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death in Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête) have become timeless icons of cinematic wonder. It remains one of the great achievements of fantasy cinema, blending handmade visual effects and poetic imagination into something genuinely timeless. This film will be presented in its original French language, with English subtitles. 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. 

Each holds a secret power...together they face the ultimate evil! We're harnessing the supernova star power of cinema icons Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, and Anita Mui in a gloriously unrestrained action extravaganza double feature of The Heroic Trio + Executioners! From genre maestro Johnnie To, the story follows three knife-throwing, shotgun-toting, kung-fu-fighting super-heroines who must overcome their dark pasts in order to defeat an evil, baby-snatching eunuch who is terrorizing Hong Kong. Eye-popping motorcycle stunts, brain-exploding skeletons, infant cannibals, and kinetically choreographed wire work are all part of the delirium in this unstoppably entertaining cult favorite (referenced in Cheung’s international breakthrough Irma Vep), a kick-butt showcase for three of the coolest women warriors to ever hit the screen. There will be a ten minute intermission between each film. One ticket gets you access to both movies! Our Hong Kong Action Essentials series explores the time from the mid-’80s through the early ’90s, where Hong Kong filmmakers rewrote the grammar of action cinema forever. Directors like John Woo, Tsui Hark, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Ringo Lam, and Lau Kar-Leung fused balletic gunplay, risky stunts, martial arts virtuosity, and raw emotional intensity into a new cinematic language that would be oft-imitated but never replicated. (sorry, The Matrix, we love you too!) Join us every month in 2026 as we explore this golden age where style and emotion collided to change movies forever.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 3
Original Air Date: May 21, 2017

Cooper’s attempt to navigate his strange new condition leads him through some of the most abstract and visually arresting material in the entire series, as spaces, identities, and physical laws all seem to blur. Meanwhile, the doppelgänger continues moving across the country with chilling purpose, leaving violence and confusion in his wake.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 4
Original Air Date: May 28, 2017

Back in Twin Peaks, Sheriff Frank Truman, Hawk, Andy, and Lucy begin reconnecting with unresolved threads from the town’s past, while Gordon Cole (David Lynch himself!), Albert Rosenfield, and agent Tammy Preston pursue a federal investigation with possible ties to Cooper. Meanwhile, Janey-E and young Sonny Jim are introduced to a version of Cooper who is present, but not fully himself.

Join us for a night of short films as we present a double feature of A Brief Mental Lapse with Mallory Kane and Saint Arcadia!  6:30PM - Doors open! 7:00PM - A Brief Mental Lapse With Mallory Kane directed by Andrew Frescas! 7:10PM -  Saint Arcadia directed by Domino Martinez! 7:20PM - Q&A A Brief Mental Lapse With Mallory Kane: A writer descends into chaos as she struggles to produce anything. She is on the brink of either brilliance or madness. Join her as she struggles with something every writer has experienced: the ferocious battle of writers block.  Saint Arcadia: A girl signs up to be a part of a research group. The new drug called Moss, and it only has only one side effect...hallucinations.   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.

Calling all Deadheads! We're screening the new documentary Summer Tour! Few American demographics are more easily caricatured than Deadheads, those swirling, dosing, hippy-dressed vagabonds. But in his infinitely sweet and wise documentary, director Mischa Richter offers us the Deadheads as complex, self-aware and resourceful members of a wandering commune, one that’s admirable for its kindness and care. Filmed across Dead & Company's 2023 Goodbye Tour, the film is reminiscent of a classic American road movie and paints a tender portrait of one of the country's last remaining countercultures. Following two young Deadheads as they follow the band from state to state, the film never shows the band performing but instead celebrates the fans who have kept their legacy alive for decades. 

Our Art House for Families series is headed to Ancient Greece (pretty timely, no?) for Jason and the Argonauts! Before CGI armies and digital creatures, movie monsters were crafted by hand, and few artists ever did it better than Ray Harryhausen.  Jason, a fearless sailor and explorer, returns to his home land of Thessaly after a long voyage to claim his rightful throne. He learns, however, that he must first find the magical Golden Fleece. To do so, he must embark on an epic quest fraught with fantastic monsters and terrible perils. More than sixty years later, Jason and the Argonauts still delivers the kind of tactile cinematic wonder that inspired generations of filmmakers, from blockbuster directors to lifelong fantasy fans discovering these creatures for the very first time. 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. 

Marty Isenberg’s The Way I Feel Inside blends the whimsical, offbeat charm of Wes Anderson's iconic mixtapes and cinematic language with his own personal story. It’s a soundtrack to the wonder, loneliness and nostalgia of life in the modern world. Presented as a concert that unfolds like a movie, its theatrical storytelling with Isenberg at the center of the frame. Downbeat Magazine’s glowing 4.5 star review says its "pitch perfect" and Vintage Guitar Magazine raves, “It’s a fascinating concept, executed splendidly”. This program is a venue rental engagement. Doors will open 30 minutes before the performance! Tickets are $30 for each showing. Frida Cinema comp passes and member discounts do not apply. 

Join us for a night of networking, celebrating local filmmakers, and award presentation at the Annual Abstract Milk Film Festival! Doors open at 6:30 with screening beginning at 7 PM, followed by our free networking after party (location TBD) Hope to see you there!

Our Broadway Thursdays: Segerstrom Center at The Frida kicks off with the greatest love story ever told...the original 1991 Beauty and the Beast!  When the bright and bookish Belle takes her father's place as the prisoner of a mysterious Beast, she discovers that the fearsome creature and his enchanted household are hiding a heartbreaking secret. As Belle and the Beast slowly learn to look beyond appearances, an unlikely friendship blossoms into one of Disney's most enduring love stories. A landmark in animation storytelling, Beauty and the Beast remains every bit as magical as it was upon its original release. Featuring unforgettable songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman and breathtaking hand-drawn animation, it's a timeless reminder that some fairy tales are simply meant to be experienced together in a movie theater.

Don't worry, you'll like it. Gregg Araki's long-awaited return to the big screen, I Want Your Sex, is coming to The Frida Cinema! When fresh-faced Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) lands an exciting job for renowned artist, icon and provocateur Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde), his fantasies come true as Erika taps him to become her sexual muse. But Elliot soon finds himself out of his depth as Erika takes him on a journey more profound than he ever could have imagined, into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal and murder. More than thirty years after the Teen Apocalypse Trilogy shocked independent cinema, I Want Your Sex proves Araki hasn't lost his appetite for challenging audiences, reminding us why he is one of American cinema's most fearless and singular voices.

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!

You can't run from what's already inside you. Local indie horror gem The Dead Place is coming to The Frida Cinema! And stick around after the screening for an in-person Q&A with director Michael Pickle and stars Teon Kelley and Aaron Lyons!  Troubled high school senior Isaac is plagued by visions of the dead. This causes friction in his family and makes him an outcast at school. His only friend Katharine is obsessed with the paranormal and tries desperately to help him, but a ‘New Kid’ (played by Horror icon Daid Howard Thorton) pushes him to give in to the demon trying to burrow its way inside him. As he is consumed by the evil feeding off the dead souls that haunt him, Katharine is the only one that stands between Isaac and his darker impulses. To satisfy the bloodlust of the demon that dwells within him.

In the basement of a university medical school, Dr. Jessup floats naked in total darkness. The most terrifying experiment in the history of science is out of control...and the subject is himself. It's Ken Russell Season (wink wink) around here, as we're palying a late night one-off of Altered States, one of the wildest studio films ever made. A research scientist (The late, great William Hurt) explores the boundaries and frontiers of human consciousness. Using sensory deprivation and hallucinogenic mixtures from Native American shamans, he explores these altered states of cognizance and finds that memory, time, and reality itself are states of mind. Altered States is a head-on collision between prestige science fiction, body horror, psychedelia, and New Age philosophy, making it a perfect late night cinematic experience!

Calling all vampires, werewolves, and in-betweeners! We're headed back to Forks, Washington for The Complete Twilight Saga, presenting all five films in the beloved series...in one day! Calling all vampires, werewolves, and in-betweeners! We're headed back to Forks, Washington for The Complete Twilight Saga, presenting all five films in the beloved series...in one day! Witness the beginning of eternal romance with 2008's Twilight, embark on the love triangle of 2009's New Moon and 2010's Eclipse, then wage war with the two-parter finale, Breaking Dawn: Pt. 1 & 2! GA tickets are $35, and VIP tickets are $55. VIP packages are limited and include thirty minutes early access to get your seats, a free Twilight soundtrack-inspired bumper sticker, a special merch surprise, and unlimited coffee! This schedule for the day is below: 11:00AM - VIP Doors 11:30AM - GA Doors Twilight - 12:00PM New Moon - 2:00PM Eclipse - 5:00PM Breaking Dawn: Part 1 - 7:30PM Breaking Dawn: Part 2 - 9:45PM

The new indie dramedy, Lockjaw, is coming to The Frida Cinema! And make sure to stick around after the screening as the director of the film, Sabrina Greco, joins us for an in-person Q&A! Six weeks after getting into a drunk driving accident that leaves her jaw wired shut, Rayna tries to have a fun night out with her friends. Premiering at Slamdance 2025, Lockjaw has been praised for its oddball tone and stellar leading performance from Blu Hunt. Fans of naturalistic and painfully funny hangout movies...don't miss this one! 

You have the right to remain silent...dead silent. Prepare to question everything you thought you knew about roundhouse kicks, thongs, and katana beheadings as Samurai Cop is finally coming back to The Frida Cinema! And as an extra special added bonus, stick around after the screening for an in-person Q&A with the stars of the film: Matthew Karedas, Cranston Komuro, and Gerald Okamura!  Joe (Matt Hannon, Sylvester Stallone’s one-time bodyguard) is the Samurai Cop, a rock of a man who will do literally whatever it takes to punish criminals—even if that means taking dozens of innocent lives in the process. Teamed with a truly hilarious partner (Mark Frazer), Joe embarks on a mindmelting sex-and-violence-fueled adventure against evil ninjas, drug dealers, and genre legend Robert Z’Dar (Maniac Cop)! Directed by prolific Iranian ex-pat Amir Shervan, this reckless and outrageous gem is a true treasure of the trash-action pantheon! Don't miss out! Our guests will be setting up when doors open at 5pM for a meet-and-greet signing opportunity. The film will start at 7PM. Q&A will be around 8:45PM! 

Calling all vampires, werewolves, and in-betweeners! We've added a Sunday encore to our annual The Complete Twilight Saga, presenting all five films in the beloved series...in one day! Witness the beginning of eternal romance with 2008's Twilight, embark on the love triangle of 2009's New Moon and 2010's Eclipse, then wage war with the two-parter finale, Breaking Dawn: Pt. 1 & 2! GA tickets are $35 and the schedule for the day is below: Doors - 11:30AM Twilight - 12:00PM New Moon - 2:00PM Eclipse - 5:00PM Breaking Dawn: Part 1 - 7:30PM Breaking Dawn: Part 2 - 9:45PM

Join us for a very special screening of the new indie film Winter Hymns, featuring a post-screening Q&A with its director, Nathan Deming!  Over one Winter day, a series of dying patients and their families meet with Dr. Linda Vobernik, a palliative care physician fighting for compassion in a system built for efficiency and other priorities.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 5
Original Air Date: June 4, 2017

As Dougie Jones moves awkwardly through home life and office life, those around him begin reacting to his blankness in ways that are comic, tender, and increasingly consequential. In Twin Peaks, Becky Burnett and Steven bring a younger generation’s turmoil into the story, while Red, Shelly, and others suggest that the town’s troubles have hardly disappeared with time.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 6
Original Air Date: June 11, 2017

Dougie’s strange luck continues to carry him through situations he can barely understand, while Janey-E finds herself forced to fiercely protect their household. In Twin Peaks, Richard Horne’s volatility becomes impossible to ignore, and Carl Rodd reappears as a quiet witness to the town’s pain and sadness.

Before he gave us The Lady Eve, writer-director Preston Sturges delivered one of Hollywood's great love letters to the movies with Sullivan's Travels, a hilarious and heartfelt comedy that asks one timeless question: what good are movies in difficult times? Successful movie director John L. Sullivan, convinced he won't be able to film his ambitious masterpiece until he has suffered, dons a hobo disguise and sets off on a journey, aiming to "know trouble" first-hand. When all he finds is a train ride back to Hollywood and a beautiful blonde companion, he redoubles his efforts, managing to land himself in more trouble than he bargained for when he loses his memory and ends up a prisoner on a chain gang. More than eighty years later, Sullivan's Travels' message feels as vital as ever. If you've ever wondered whether movies can change lives, this is one of the greatest arguments ever put forward! Come see this classic on the big screen!

This special film screening will be held at The Frida Cinema located in the Downtown Santa Ana Historic District. Admission includes a complimentary small popcorn 🍿, film screening, and a Q&A w/ Danny Jolles! About the Film What Happens in a Year: A Danny Jolles Special | Runtime: 1 hr 3 min On his 36th birthday, comedian Danny Jolles set out to document a year of his life and the standup it inspired. He hoped to capture a fun look at how a comedian's jokes come to be. What emerged instead was a funny--and unexpectedly wrenching--rumination on loss, family and the cost of art. Presented by Alex Edelman and created alongside Don't Tell Comedy, What Happens In A Year is a chronicle of what happens when making sense of your life onstage becomes essential to living it. After the screening, Danny Jolles will discuss the making of the special, offering exclusive insight into the filming process, followed by an audience Q&A! About Danny Jolles Danny Jolles is a versatile comedian best known for playing "George" on The CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, created by Rachel Bloom. His other comedy credits include appearances on Ramy (Hulu), Babylon (Paramount), Imperfect Woman (Apple), and the Peacock series Ted, created by Seth MacFarlane. Danny also appeared in six episodes of the penultimate season of Hacks (HBO) as Nate. A former face of the JFL in 2017, Danny released his first stand-up show, Danny Joles: Six Parts, in 2021, which was recognized as one of the best comedy shows of 2021 by The New York Times. In 2023, he followed up with the first-ever interactive stand-up show, You Choose, which garnered critical acclaim from publications such as The New York Times, Vulture, and Forbes. His third show, What Happens In A Year, is currently touring various festivals worldwide.

Directors. Dorks. Deviants. This ain't no Multiplex. It's the 10th anniversary of Out of Print, so we're bringing it back to The Frida Cinema! And make sure to stick around after the film, as we'll be joined by the director of the film, Julia Marchese, for a very special in-person Q&A! Out of Print is catnip for anyone who has ever fallen in love with a movie theater. Director Julia Marchese's affectionate documentary celebrates the dying, and now thankfully enduring, art of repertory cinema and 35mm film exhibition through the legendary New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles. Featuring interviews with filmmakers and cinephiles including Edgar Wright, Rian Johnson, Joe Dante, Patton Oswalt, Kevin Smith, and more, it's both a time capsule of a pivotal moment in film history and a passionate defense of seeing movies the way they were meant to be seen.

It's laugh-vacation time as our Art House for Families series presents Jacques Tati's gentle comic masterpiece Monsieur Hulot's Holiday! Monsieur Hulot, Jacques Tati’s endearing clown, takes a holiday at a seaside resort, where his presence provokes one catastrophe after another. Tati’s masterpiece of gentle slapstick is a series of effortlessly well-choreographed sight gags involving dogs, boats, and firecrackers; it was the first entry in the Hulot series and the film that launched its maker to international stardom. Decades later, still feels fresh in ways that modern comedies rarely do.  This film will be presented in its original French language, with English subtitles. 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. 

The second film in our Broadway Thursdays: Segerstrom Center at The Frida is Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of The Outsiders!  In 1960s Tulsa, class divisions ignite a violent rivalry between the working-class Greasers and the privileged Socs. When a deadly encounter forces two Greasers, Ponyboy and Johnny, to flee, their struggle for survival and redemption exposes the fragile innocence and enduring bonds of youth on the wrong side of town. Featuring an astonishing ensemble cast before they became Hollywood legends, including C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, and Emilio Estevez—The Outsiders remains one of the defining coming-of-age films of the 1980s.

Nu-Classics is back at The Frida Cinema, as this time around, our beloved host Maggie Mae Fish is joined by novelist and video essayist Lindsay Ellis for a very special screening celebrating thirty years since the release of Independence Day!  Strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived. Its mission: total annihilation over the Fourth of July weekend. The last hope to stop the destruction is an unlikely group of people united by fate and unimaginable circumstances. Upon its release in 1996, Independence Day became a global phenomenon, redefining what audiences expected from summer movie spectacle. Its earnest patriotism and larger-than-life action paved the way for many blockbusters that came after. Whether you're revisiting it for the hundredth time or experiencing it on the big screen for the first time, this is the kind of movie that reminds us why theaters were built to be loud! Also...come on, a movie with Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum? Lindsay Ellis is a novelist and video essayist residing in Long Beach, CA. After studying Cinema Studies from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, she earned her MFA in Film and Television Production from USC's School of Cinematic Arts with a focus in documentary and screenwriting. As a video essayist she wrote and co-hosted the fiction-focused web series It's Lit! for PBS Digital Studios. She continues to make video essay and documentary content for YouTube and the streaming service Nebula. Her novels include Apostles of Mercy, Truth of the Divine and Axiom's End, which was a New York Times best seller. Her nonfiction debut, Degenerates, a survey of how fascists and authoritarians appropriate and censor the arts, is slated for release in 2028.

The brand new 4K restoration of Luchino Visconti's White Nights is coming to The Frida Cinema starting on August 14th!  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. 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.

Silence affects everyone in the end. The Piano is back on the big on the big screen in a stunning 4K restoration supervised and approved by writer-director Jane Campion and cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh. Set in the rugged wilderness of 19th-century New Zealand, the film follows Ada McGrath, a mute Scottish pianist who is sent halfway across the world for an arranged marriage. Accompanied only by her young daughter and her beloved piano, Ada finds herself caught between duty, desire, and self-discovery in a story as emotionally overwhelming as the landscape that surrounds her. Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes and three Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Holly Hunter and Best Supporting Actress for Anna Paquin, The Piano is one of cinema's most haunting and unforgettable romances ever made.

He is afraid. He is totally alone. He is 3,000,000 light years from home. Our Spielberg Summer series phones home with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, one of the most beloved family films ever made and a landmark of modern American cinema. When a lonely young boy named Elliott discovers a stranded alien hiding near his home, the two form an unlikely friendship that changes both of their lives. As E.T. becomes part of Elliott’s family, the children must help their otherworldly companion evade government authorities and find a way back home before it’s too late. Few films capture the wonder of childhood as beautifully as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Spielberg transforms a simple story of friendship into something genuinely magical. Decades after audiences first watched that bicycle lift off against the moonlit sky, the film, like so many others from Spielberg, continues to inspire awe from audiences across the globe.

Yeon Sang-ho’s global phenomenon Train to Busan is coming back to The Frida Cinema to celebrate its 10th Anniversary! What begins as a simple birthday trip for a father and daughter turns into a high-octane fight for survival when a zombie outbreak ravages South Korea. Trapped on a speeding train, they must navigate a landscape of terror to reach safety. Experience the relentless action and heart-wrenching drama on the big screen like never before. A pure action spectacle that secretly doubles as an emotional family drama, Train to Busan succeeds because it never loses sight of the people at its center. Its breakneck pacing and inventive set pieces make it one of the great zombie films of the 21st century and one hell of a time on the big screen! 

Sex. Violence. Whatever. The explosive second chapter of Gregg Araki's Teen Apocalypse Trilogy, The Doom Generation is back on our big screens with a new 4K restoration!  After an impulsive encounter with the mysterious drifter Xavier, teenage couple Amy Blue and Jordan White are pulled into a violent cross-country odyssey filled with escalating chaos. As the trio drifts from one surreal nightmare to the next, Araki transforms the American road movie into a candy-colored vision of a society on the verge of collapse. A nihilistic fever dream that only he could dream up, The Doom Generation cemented Araki's reputation as one of independent cinema's true provocateurs. Wildly funny and shockingly violent, it remains one of the defining films of 1990s counterculture.

Our award-winning resident performance troupe K.A.O.S. returns for their celebrated all-costumed, all-choreographed, all-leg-kicking live shadowcast presentation of 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, performed on stage in front of the film! Director Jim (Don’t squeeze the…) Sharman’s cult classic stars Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon as Brad and Janet, two virginal small-town lovers whose car breaks down in the shadows of a creepy old castle, where they encounter an odd collective of “unconventional conventionalists” gathered to witness transvestite scientist’s Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s latest creation – a muscular man named Rocky. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including tap-dancing Columbia, rocking biker Eddie, and of course, the castle’s “Sweet Transvestite” himself, Frank-N-Furter! Adapted from the 1973 stage musical by Richard O’Brien, this glam cult classic is a cinematic experience unlike any other. Sing-along (and shout-along!) to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a classic that still packs houses 50 years after its initial release! Get your tickets now before it sells out! Doors open at 11:00pm  Official K.A.O.S. preshow starts at 11:30pm!  Movie at midnight! SENSORY WARNING: Flashing Lights and Fog effects may be used during the event. 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 Frida Cinema comp passes not valid.

Few classics of Indian cinema are as exhilarating as Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay. Join The Frida Cinema as we celebrate Indian Independence Day with a special presentation of the film on the 51st anniversary of its original release on August 15, 1975, presented in a stunning new 4K restoration. One of the foremost examples of the dacoit Western, the film follows two ne’er-do-wells, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), recruited by an old frenemy Thakur (Sanjeev Kumar) to rid his village of the villain Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). This genuine marvel riffs off Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns, Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and even influenced various Hong Kong action titles of the 1980s, many of which we've been playing all year long at The Frida. Restored by Film Heritage Foundation at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in association with Sippy Films. Funding provided by Sippy Films. This restoration of the film in 4K includes the original ending as well as two deleted scenes and with the original 70mm aspect ratio of 2.2:1. This film will be presented in its original Hindi language with English subtitles.

See It On 16mm and The Frida Cinema are teaming up to celebrate 30 years of Wes Craven's iconic 1996 slasher Scream! Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is a high school student in the town of Woodsboro who becomes the target of a masked killer known as Ghostface. As the killer terrorizes the town, picking off Sidney’s friends one by one, the survivors must navigate the killer's twisted game of horror movie tropes. With the help of horror movie-obsessed Randy (Jamie Kennedy), Sidney and her group try to figure out the identity of Ghostface while staying alive. As quotable as it scary, Scream revitalized and changed the slasher film genre forever by lovingly tearing it to pieces. Thirty years later, Ghostface is still terrorizing audiences, and seeing it on glorious 16mm is about as close as you can get to stepping back into a 1996 movie theater on opening weekend!

She's not "a lot". You're just underprepared. Horsegirls, an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival in 2025, is coming to The Frida Cinema! And make sure to stick around after the screening for a very special Q&A with the films writer and director, Lauren Meyering! The film stars Lillian Carrier as Margarita, a 22-year-old autistic woman navigating early adulthood, a new job, and her mother's uncertain health diagnosis. When she discovers the world of competitive hobby horsing, it becomes the unexpected lifeline that helps her find her footing and grow into her independence.

He's strong to the finish 'cause he eats his spinach! Join us for Popeye Fest, a celebration of everyone's favorite sailor man featuring a hand-picked block of the very best Popeye cartoons ever put to film! Produced by the legendary Fleischer Studios during animation's golden age, these groundbreaking shorts remain some of the funniest, most inventive cartoons ever made, and they're rarely screened on the big screen. Before the cartoons begin, we'll kick things off with a special presentation exploring the history and lasting influence of one of animation's most iconic characters. Whether you're a lifelong Popeye fan or discovering these classics for the very first time, Popeye Fest is the perfect way to experience these timeless treasures as they were meant to be seen: on the big screen with an audience!

If you think it's safe to go to sleep, think again. Wes Craven's A Nightmare On Elm Street is the first event in our Sunday Scaries lineup for August, presented by Play It By Fear! Teenagers in a small town are dropping like flies, apparently in the grip of mass hysteria causing their suicides. A cop's daughter, Nancy Thompson, traces the cause to child molester Fred Krueger, who was burned alive by angry parents many years before. Krueger has now come back in the dreams of his killers' children, claiming their lives as his revenge. Nancy and her boyfriend, Glen, must devise a plan to lure the monster out of the realm of nightmares and into the real world... Nearly four decades later, ANOES remains as unsettling and wildly entertaining as ever. Just based on its premise alone, the movie still shocks audiences on a primal level, and dare we say it's become actually a bit underrated as years have gone by. Come see one of the all time greats on the big screen with a crowd of fellow Freddy lovers! 

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 7
Original Air Date: June 18, 2017

The investigation begins to gather momentum as Gordon, Albert, and Tammy work through evidence tied to Cooper’s doppelgänger, while Sheriff Truman and Hawk continue following clues buried deep in Twin Peaks history. Ben and Beverly’s emotionally charged scenes introduce yet another complicated relationship into the mix, and several mysteries begin to hint at patterns to be resolved as, piece by piece, the larger shape of the story starts coming into view.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8
Original Air Date: June 25, 2017

One of the most audacious episodes in television history, Part 8 detours into the origins of terror, violence, and perhaps evil itself, using a dazzling blend of sound, image, and nightmare logic. The doppelgänger's fate intersects with forces that feel cosmic in scale, and the episode reaches backward into mid-century America to suggest how long these shadows have been gathering. It is both a mythic expansion of Twin Peaks, and a singular audiovisual experience we can't wait to share on the big screen.

This time the terror doesn't stop at the screen. The second film in our Sunday Scaries lineup for August is Wes Craven's New Nightmare, presented by Play It By Fear! Partially a sequel and partially a satire, New Nightmare follows Heather Langenkamp as a fictionalized version of herself as she discovers that Freddy Krueger has escaped the world of movies and entered our own. What unfolds is one of the smartest and most ambitious horror films of the 1990s about the monsters we create for ourselves. Only two years after the release of this movie, Craven would make Scream, which is where Hollywood really became obsessed with meta-horror. But New Nightmare is a much more unsettling beast that deserves to be re-discovered on the big screen!

If you run, the beast catches you. If you stay, the beast eats you. The second Volunteer Of The Month pick for August comes courtesy of Angel, who has chosen Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund's 2002 masterpiece City of God!  In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime. Few films burst onto the world cinema stage with the raw power of City of God. This electric crime epic remains one of the defining films of the 21st century, backing up its "masterpiece" designation with pure adrenaline and style.

Our first Volunteer of the Month pick for the month of August comes courtesy of Dorene, who has chosen to spotlight Pier Paolo Pasolini's Mamma Roma! Anna Magnani is Mamma Roma, a middle-aged sex worker who attempts to extricate herself from her sordid past for the sake of her son. Filmed in the great tradition of Italian neorealism, the film offers an unflinching look at the struggle for survival in postwar Italy, and highlights director Pier Paolo Pasolini’s lifelong fascination with the marginalized and dispossessed. Though banned upon its release in Italy for obscenity, today Mamma Roma remains a classic, featuring a powerhouse performance by one of cinema’s greatest actresses and offering a glimpse at a country’s most controversial director in the process of finding his style.

There's only one way to win the girl of your dreams: floor it! Our Hallucinations series for August is getting revved up as we explore the weird world of the extremely-rarely-screened 90s film Motorama! A ten year old boy gets tired of life with abusive parents and cashes in his piggy bank and steals a Mustang. He rides off into a surreal America playing "Motorama," a game sponsored by Chimera Gas Company. He has various encounters with different people, and eventually reaches the Chimera Gas Company where he finds they are not playing by the rules of the game. Praised for its loopy Americana and bizarre tone while widely derided as a punishingly dark and occasionally cruel film that isn't for everyone, look at this as more of an R-rated Pee-wee's Big Adventure than anything else! Who wouldn't wanna watch that!? 

The Order of the Angels, residing in an ominous countryside cloister, are charged with a dark and secret duty. Sister Jodie (Nora Jacobs) arrives to find the order in the midst of turmoil: the nuns are hearing strange sounds in the middle of the night and one of their number has gone missing. As the sisters begin to experience cases of demonic possession, it is up to Jodie and her new friend, Sister Salka (Katharina Maria Trenk), to discover the source of these unnatural occurrences…even if it means staring into the very face of hell. The Demoniacs is the first feature-length film from Vienna-based artist/filmmaker Scott Clifford Evans. It is a large, collaborative, "no- budget" effort where some of the best artists, musicians, performers, and technicians in Austria (and Estonia) have applied their artistic practice in everything from acting to set design, props to special effects, in order to make this absurd study of the horror genre. The result: a unique art-horror-slapstick film that combines fine art and "trash", the beautiful and the grotesque. Stick around after the screening for an in-person Q&A with the director of the film, Scott Clifford Evans!

Charlie Chaplin’s silent comic masterwork, The Gold Rush, is the next film up in our Art House for Families series! Set during the Klondike Gold Rush, the film follows Chaplin’s iconic Little Tramp as he searches for fortune in a frozen wilderness filled with comic catastrophe. Along the way come some of the most legendary moments in film history, from the famous “dance of the rolls” to a cabin teetering dangerously over the edge of a cliff. Shot partly on location in the Sierra Nevadas and featuring such timeless gags as the dance of the dinner rolls and the meal of boiled shoe leather, The Gold Rush is an indelible work of heartwarming hilarity. Our friends at Janus Films have granted us the rights to Chaplin’s definitive 1942 version, for which the director added new music and narration. 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. 

Our Classic Movie Nights series is headed out West as we present the trailblazing Gary Cooper film High Noon! Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople. High Noon holds a massive legacy as an Oscar-winning revisionist Western that redefined the genre by emphasizing tension over shoot-em-up tropes. It is famously interpreted as an allegory for McCarthy-era blacklisting, symbolizing moral courage against cowardice. The film also introduced the now-iconic cinematic trope of a real-time, high-noon showdown, which has been oft-imitated but never replicated.

We're getting real glam with the third film in our Broadway Thursdays: Segerstrom Center at The Frida series as we screen Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gasby!  An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Long Island-set novel, where Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby (Leonardo Dicaprio). Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await. Overflowing with lavish production design and a bold modern soundtrack the way only Baz can do, The Great Gatsby embraces spectacle in a way few literary adaptations ever attempt.

See It On 16mm is back at the end of August to dust off some well-loved (worn) prints of ignored exploitation, horror, and other off the radar films as we present another entry into our Secret Grindhouse series! They're gonna dig up some decaying prints and thread them up for genre fans! Most titles are either in a rights limbo, forgotten, or just need to be shown more appreciation. They'll be playing blaxploitation, vansploitation, nunsploitation, kung fu, made-for-TV terrors, and everything else between! Grab a ticket and watch as the secret movie unspools loud and proud on the big screen!

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!

The brand new Afrofuturist film Memory of Princess Mumbi is coming to The Frida Cinema! In 2093, filmmaker Kuve travels to Umata to document the aftermath of a war that revived ancient kingdoms. There, he meets Mumbi, who challenges him to make his film without the use of AI. As Kuve searches for his own voice, he begins to realize that even in a broken world, beauty can be found in the small human moments we often overlook. The film premiered at Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori) in 2025 and went on to TIFF, BFI London, Zurich Film Festival (where it won the Critics' Jury Award for Best Swiss Film), and San Francisco International Film Festival (where it received an Honorable Mention in the Global Visions category).

Our Spielberg Summer series goes a little darker with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the wildly pulpy sequel that pushed blockbuster adventure into uncharted territory. When Indiana Jones finds himself in a remote Indian village stripped of its children and sacred stones, he follows the trail to a sinister cult operating beneath an ancient palace. Joined by a skeptical nightclub singer and a brave young boy, Indy descends into a nightmare as he fights to free the enslaved children and recover the stolen Sankara stones. Stripped of the comfort and romance of its predecessor, Temple of Doom is a literal roller coaster cimeatic event. It’s Spielberg at his most unrestrained, mixing fairy-tale darkness with explosive spectacle.

Let the love feast begin. We're concluding Gregg Araki's legendary Teen Apocalypse Trilogy with Nowhere, a delirious, end-of-the-millennium fever dream that's turned up to eleven. In Los Angeles, a colorful assortment of bohemians try to make sense of their intersecting lives. The moody Dark Smith, his bisexual girlfriend, her lesbian lover and their shy gay friend plan on attending the wildest party of the year. But they'll only make it if they can survive the drug trips, suicides, trysts, mutilations and alien abductions that occur as one surreal day unfolds. The most visually audacious entry in the trilogy, Nowhere is Araki experimenting with science fiction, queer romance as a euphoric celebration of outsiders, making it the perfect culmination of one of the boldest trilogies in American independent cinema.

Hitch a ride to come and see FilmWeek’s screening of Michael Mann’s 2004 neo-noir thriller Collateral at The Frida Cinema! And stick around after the screening as host Larry Mantle welcomes special guests (TBA) to discuss the film's lasting impact!  Collateral follows a Los Angeles taxi driver, Max (Jamie Foxx), who unwittingly picks up a cold-blooded contract killer, Vincent (Tom Cruise). Over the course of a single night, Max is taken hostage and forced to drive Vincent to multiple stops to assassinate targets connected to a federal drug cartel. As the night unfolds, Max attempts to break free, ultimately turning the tables on his captor to protect the final witness. The film was a critical and box office success, reaching the top spot in its opening weekend and earning Academy Award nominations for Best Film Editing and Best Supporting Actor for Jamie Foxx’s performance as Max.

He's not Freddy, he's not Jason...he's real. HorrorBuzz continues its 2026 series with the 40th anniversary of one of the most unsettling and influential films of the 1980s: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Loosely inspired by the confessions of real-life murderer Henry Lee Lucas, the movie follows drifter Henry (played by iconic silver screen "that guy" Michael Rooker) and his volatile accomplice Otis as they navigate a bleak Chicago landscape. When Otis’s sister Becky moves in, Henry’s flat affect and unpredictable behavior begin to reveal something far darker beneath the surface. Horror Movie Night takes filmgoing to another level with a full night of entertainment, including a themed HMN Video Pres-how, Trivia, Games, Prizes, and another outstanding horror short from HorrorBuzz’s The Screaming Room Film Festival at Midsummer Scream. Doors open and video pre-show video begins promptly at 7:30 pm. Games, prizes, and short film begin at 8:00PM. Feature starts at 8:30PM. 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.

The brand new Afrofuturist film Memory of Princess Mumbi is coming to The Frida Cinema! And make sure to stick around after the movie for a special in-person Q&A with its director, Damien Hauser! In 2093, filmmaker Kuve travels to Umata to document the aftermath of a war that revived ancient kingdoms. There, he meets Mumbi, who challenges him to make his film without the use of AI. As Kuve searches for his own voice, he begins to realize that even in a broken world, beauty can be found in the small human moments we often overlook. The film premiered at Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori) in 2025 and went on to TIFF, BFI London, Zurich Film Festival (where it won the Critics' Jury Award for Best Swiss Film), and San Francisco International Film Festival (where it received an Honorable Mention in the Global Visions category).

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 9
Original Air Date: July 9, 2017

Several threads are drawn closer together as Gordon, Albert, Tammy, and Diane compare notes with the Twin Peaks sheriff’s department. Long-absent names return to the conversation, old evidence takes on new significance, and Jerry Horne wanders through the woods in a state of comic disorientation.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 10
Original Air Date: July 16, 2017

As a palpable dread hangs over the town, daily life continues in Twin Peaks, with scenes involving Richard, Becky, Steven, and others revealing just how much pain the town now grapples with. Meanwhile, Dougie’s life in Las Vegas remains oddly buoyant, with Janey-E, the Mitchum Brothers, and his coworkers all responding to him in ways that are baffled, yet increasingly affectionate.

In the underworld of 1970s Rio de Janeiro, the feared The Devil Queen rules a drug cartel from the back room of a brothel. Draped in green eyeshadow and menace, she commands loyalty with a jackknife that serves equally for shaving legs and slitting throats. Her grip on power begins to falter as rival factions--favela gangsters, drag queens, and sex workers, turn on one another in a violent struggle to claim her throne, exposing a world where those excluded from bourgeois society fight for dominance on the margins. Directed by Antônio Carlos de Fontoura during Brazil’s military dictatorship, this lurid tale is loosely inspired by the legendary 1930s gangster João Francisco dos Santos. The film reimagines the figure in a 1970s setting as an early, provocative representation of queerness. As The Devil Queen, Milton Gonçalves delivers a striking performance that destabilizes rigid notions of masculinity, dissolving the binary of macho and queen into something volatile and unforgettable.

Before Na Hong-jin returns to the big screen with his long-awaited new film Hope, revisit the modern masterpiece that cemented him as one of the most visionary filmmakers working in genre cinema. Released in 2016 to worldwide acclaim, The Wailing is an ambitious and utterly unforgettable descent into evil that continues to haunt audiences a decade later. When a mysterious stranger arrives in a remote South Korean village, a series of brutal murders and unexplained illnesses begin to spread. Tasked with investigating the increasingly bizarre events, a bumbling local policeman finds himself caught in a waking nightmare. Widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films of the 21st century, The Wailing is occult horror at its finest and most tense. Its influence can be felt throughout contemporary genre filmmaking, and its final moments remain among the most chilling ever committed to film. 

Ten states. 10,825 miles. 123 theaters. In his latest feature The Last Picture Shows, filmmaker Rustin Thompson (who will be joining us for an in-person Q&A after the movie!) journeys into the American West on a search for traces of what was once a center of small-town life: the movie theater. On the trip, he finds long abandoned and forgotten cinemas; movie houses that have fallen into disrepair; theaters recently closed, theaters struggling to hold on, and theaters that—thanks to their thoughtful caretakers—are not only surviving but thriving. Between the stops along the way, Rustin poetically intersperses excerpts from Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 classic film The Last Picture Show, as well as reflections on past and present hardships facing the film exhibition industry. The Last Picture Shows reminds viewers that even in vast cinema deserts, there are oases of community and gathering that remain, where the movie house continues to be a place of wonder.

Two of the most beloved family films ever made are up next for our Art House for Families series as we're presenting a special double feature presentation celebrating the poetic, adventurous world of filmmaker Albert Lamorisse. It's The Red Balloon and White Mane! Winner of the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film and an Academy Award for its screenplay, The Red Balloon follows a young Parisian boy who discovers a mysterious balloon with a personality all its own. Drifting through the streets of Paris with almost no dialogue, the film transforms ordinary city life into something quietly magical. And then after a ten minute intermission, it's time for White Mane, Lamorisse’s breathtaking adventure set in the marshlands of southern France, where a young boy forms an unforgettable bond with a wild horse pursued by local ranchers. Shot with extraordinary natural beauty and a sense of freedom that still feels exhilarating today, the film captures childhood adventure in an almost-mythic way. These films will be presented in their original French language, with English subtitles. Although, it should be noted the films are essentially wordless, with the exception of some sparse dialogue. 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. 

Join us August 27–30 at The Frida Cinema for four exciting days celebrating independent short films and the filmmakers who bring them to life. This year’s festival will feature a wide variety of short-film screening blocks, filmmaker Q&As, educational conversations, industry panels, networking mixers, special events, and an awards ceremony! From experimental films, animation, drama, horror, and comedy to student films, Reel Ladies, and Rainbow Reels, audiences will have opportunities to discover bold independent work and connect directly with the people behind the films.

For our final screening in our Broadway Thursdays: Segerstrom Center at The Frida series, we're dying to bring you the wickedly funny cult classic Death Becomes Her! Longtime rivals Madeline Ashton and Helen Sharp will stop at nothing to outshine one another, until a mysterious potion promises youth and beauty forever. But immortality comes with a few unexpected side effects, and their decades-long feud quickly descends into increasingly outrageous acts of revenge, all while their bewildered plastic surgeon Ernest Menville is caught in the middle. Years ahead of its time, Death Becomes Her blends razor-sharp satire with groundbreaking visual effects and gloriously camp performances from Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, Bruce Willis, and Isabella Rossellini. It's the kind of deliciously over-the-top crowd-pleaser that only gets better with age.

Our Spielberg Summer series takes a more sobering turn with Empire of the Sun, a sweeping coming-of-age epic full of chaos and loss of wartime innocence. Based on J.G. Ballard’s semi-autobiographical novel, the film follows young Jim “Jamie” Graham, a privileged British boy living in Shanghai whose life is shattered when World War II erupts and he is separated from his parents. Alone in an occupied city, he survives in a brutal internment camp while clinging to the fading grandeur of his former life. One of Spielberg’s most ambitious and emotionally complex works, Empire of the Sun transforms war into a surreal landscape of endurance and disillusionment. Anchored by a remarkable early performance from a young Christian Bale, the film reveals Spielberg expanding his visual language to capture not just wonder, but its disappearance. Rarely shown theatrically, this 80s gem demands to be seen big and loud! 

In 2026, The Invincible Czars are celebrating 100 years of the silent masterpiece Faust by performing their tastefully modern soundtrack live with the movie at theaters in the US and Canada.  Their brand new electrifying score marries new and old elements of classical music, bossa nova and even a touch of heavy metal to bring the movie to life for contemporary audiences and incorporates a mix of instruments like flute, violin and electric guitar. An elderly alchemist named Faust (Gösta Ekman) makes a pact with the demon Mephisto (Emil Jannings) to gain the power to protect his village from plague. Faust soon succumbs to temptation and asks Mephisto to restore his youth and help him acquire all the hedonistic pleasures that earth can offer. Eventually, his love affair with a young woman named Gretchen (Camilla Horn) leads to tragic and devastating consequences for them both. About the band: The Invincible Czars have made a name for themselves among horror and classic film lovers in the US and Canada with their original, tastefully modern live soundtracks for silent films which they started creating for the original Alamo Drafthouse in their hometown of Austin, TX in 2007, though they began making their whacky brand of cinematic rock in 2003.  They are great at using music and sound to transform century-old movies into immersive and engaging experiences that allow audiences to approach, appreciate, and enjoy the depth and innovation of classic silent film. Czars shows are a lot of fun with opportunities for audience participation and costumery.  

Nosferatu has been The Invincible Czars' most popular silent film score since it debuted in 2015. The show is ear and eye candy for fans of horror movies from all eras. Nosferatu is most certainly the most important horror film of the silent era and one of the first vampire movies. Directed by F. W. Murnau and released in 1922, it's an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula." The film follows Thomas Hutter as he journeys to Transylvania to sell property to the eerie Count Orlok, a vampire played by Max Schreck. Orlok travels to Germany, terrorizing the village of Wisborg and preying on its inhabitants. His obsession with Thomas' wife, young Ellen Hutter, leads to a climactic showdown as she attempts to thwart his evil plans. The film is celebrated for its atmospheric cinematography, haunting performances, and enduring influence on the horror genre. Many consider it to be the pinnacle of German Expressionist film and it has been remade by directors Werner Herzog and Robert Eggers. (Count Orlok even shows up in an episode of Spongebob Squarepants!) About the band: The Invincible Czars have made a name for themselves among horror and classic film lovers in the US and Canada with their original, tastefully modern live soundtracks for silent films which they started creating for the original Alamo Drafthouse in their hometown of Austin, TX in 2007, though they began making their whacky brand of cinematic rock in 2003.  They are great at using music and sound to transform century-old movies into immersive and engaging experiences that allow audiences to approach, appreciate, and enjoy the depth and innovation of classic silent film. Czars shows are a lot of fun with opportunities for audience participation and costumery.   Doors open at 8:45pM and the show begins at 9:15PM! Frida Cinema member discounts and comp passes do not apply!

Bust out those plastic spoons! The Room is back at The Frida Cinema! Wiseau's peerless magnum opus finds the auteur who shaped a generation taking on the arts of acting, writing, casting, directing, editing and more. What's even more remarkable: he's mastered them all. The multi-talented director stars as Johnny, a big-time banker working in gorgeously shot San Francisco. His fiancée Lisa, seemingly a happy part of a successful relationship, has wandering eyes…for Tommy's best friend Mark. Cinema has never witnessed such betrayal! An intense, sensual thriller, at least as it was intended by Wiseau, The Room is an intricately knit web of sweet secrets and bitter lies that interrogates the very form of drama itself, as well as a truly unforgettable piece of cinema.

Director Álvaro Olmos' new film, The Condor Daughter is coming to The Frida Cinema for a special Sunday matinee one-off screening! Clara is a teenager growing up in a small indigenous community high in the Andes. Her adoptive mother, a midwife who took her in as a baby, has taught her the ancient songs used to guide women through childbirth, melodies passed down for generations, believed to bring new life safely into the world. But while her voice carries on this tradition, her dreams lie elsewhere: she longs to leave the mountains behind and become a folkloric music star in the big city.

Before it became one of the most haunting and enigmatic films of the late 1960s, The Swimmer began life as a legendary short story by acclaimed American author John Cheever, making it a perfect pick for August's Page To Screen series.  Burt Lancaster stars as Ned Merrill, a charismatic suburbanite who decides to "swim home" by traversing the swimming pools of his affluent Connecticut neighbors on a beautiful summer afternoon. What begins as a whimsical journey slowly transforms into something far more mysterious as Ned's odyssey becomes a devastating exploration of the American Dream. The Swimmer is unlike any other film of its era. Anchored by one of Burt Lancaster's greatest performances, it captures the melancholy and disillusionment lurking beneath suburban prosperity with remarkable elegance and emotional power. More than fifty years later, this singular adaptation of John Cheever's timeless story remains one of cinema's most fascinating literary translations.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 11
Original Air Date: July 23, 2017

Dougie’s improbable path continues to create ripples through Las Vegas, especially as the Mitchum Brothers become convinced he may be more extraordinary than he appears. In Twin Peaks, Bobby Briggs steps further into the role of deputy, and a discovery in the woods suggests that the town’s past is still very much alive beneath the surface.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 12
Original Air Date: July 30, 2017

Conversations take center stage as characters revisit old wounds, hidden histories, and unresolved feelings, particularly in scenes involving Audrey and Charlie, Sarah Palmer, and the members of the Blue Rose task force.

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. 

The Frida Cinema is proud to present the brand new 40th anniversary 4K restoration of Michael Mann's Manhunter, which is officially titles Manhunter: The Final Cut! A retired criminal profiler (William Petersen) reluctantly returns to the FBI to help track down a serial killer of families and is forced to consult an expert—the imprisoned Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox in a subtly chilling performance). The third feature written and directed by Michael Mann is a gripping adaptation of the first of Thomas Harris's four novels featuring the iconic murderer Lecktor, and benefits from the filmmaker's typically striking visuals as well as a top-notch supporting cast, including Tom Noonan as the hunted killer and three-time Oscar nominee Joan Allen as his blind love interest. This new 4K Final Cut, overseen by Mann, enhances the film’s depth, visual clarity and sound, offering audiences the ultimate immersive version. Shot in 1986, Manhunter was on a frontier in both its subject matter and film form, initiating an impressive list of subsequent films and series. 

Our Spielberg Summer series returns to a world of pure adventure with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the heartfelt capper to one of cinema’s greatest action trilogies ever! When Indiana Jones sets out to find his missing father, Dr. Henry Jones Sr., he’s pulled into a globe-spanning race against Nazis for the Holy Grail itself. Joined by his father (Sean Connery), Indy must navigate a lifetime of unresolved tension (oh and like booby traps and stuff) as the search becomes as much about family as it is about legend. Spielberg's take on the buddy comedy, The Last Crusade is one of his most effortlessly (at least...he makes it look that way) entertaining films, balancing whip-smart humor with his knack for old school thrills. With Ford and Connery at the center of your movie, you can't really lose.

Never was a Hero needed more... Once Upon A Time In China, Writer-producer-director Tsui Hark’s sprawling vision of a changing nineteenth-century China, is coming back to The Frida Cinema! This blockbuster hit cemented Jet Li’s status as the greatest martial-arts superstar of his generation. Li displays his stunning, fast-and-fluid fighting style as the legendary martial-arts teacher and doctor Wong Fei-hung, who, with a band of disciples, battles a host of nefarious forces, foreign and local, who are threatening Chinese sovereignty as British and American imperialists encroach upon the Mainland. Once Upon a Time in China’s breathtaking blend of kung fu, comedy, romance, and melodrama climaxes in a whirlwind guns-vs-fists finale that is also a thrilling affirmation of Chinese cultural identity. Our Hong Kong Action Essentials series explores the time from the mid-’80s through the early ’90s, where Hong Kong filmmakers rewrote the grammar of action cinema forever. Directors like John Woo, Tsui Hark, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Ringo Lam, and Lau Kar-Leung fused balletic gunplay, risky stunts, martial arts virtuosity, and raw emotional intensity into a new cinematic language that would be oft-imitated but never replicated. (sorry, The Matrix, we love you too!) Join us every month in 2026 as we explore this golden age where style and emotion collided to change movies forever.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 13
Original Air Date: August 6, 2017

As several storylines begin moving more decisively, the tension around Mr. C intensifies, while Dougie continues drifting toward moments of accidental brilliance and emotional connection. In Twin Peaks, Sarah Palmer’s growing estrangement from ordinary life becomes more disturbing, and James Hurley quietly returns to the series in a way that reconnects the present to the past.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 14
Original Air Date: August 13, 2017

Old mysteries return to the foreground as Gordon Cole recounts a dream, Hawk investigates a clue left behind by Major Briggs, and several key characters begin rediscovering the hidden history of the town. Andy is drawn into an experience that is both surreal and unexpectedly moving, while the Roadhouse continues serving as a gathering place for reflection, confusion, and sorrow.

Our Spielberg Summer series flies to Neverland with Hook, the once-maligned fantasy film that time has steadily re-appraised as one of Spielberg’s most heartfelt flights of imagination!!! When grown-up lawyer Peter Banning (the former Peter Pan) returns to Neverland after Captain Hook kidnaps his children, he must rediscover the boy he forgot in order to lead the Lost Boys and face his old enemy. Along the way, he’s guided by Tinker Bell (Julia Roberts), challenged by Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman), and slowly drawn back into a world of belief. Initially met with mixed reception and criticized for its tone and excess, Hook has since been embraced by many as a deeply personal story about adulthood’s erosion of wonder and the struggle to reclaim it. Beneath the spectacle and whimsy is a film about imagination and the cost of forgetting how to play, revealing Spielberg’s enduring belief that growing up doesn’t have to mean letting go.

The Frida Zinema, in partnership with Corazón for Cuba, present their second Fundraiser for the People of Cuba! As the United States’ economic embargo continues to tighten to maximum pressure and the case for military intervention on the island nation is unjustly made, the people of Cuba are left to fend for themselves. As of July 2026, Cuba has experienced three nation-wide blackouts, leaving its people in the dark with no access to essential medical facilities and supplies. Corazón for Cuba’s mission is to deliver critical medicine and humanitarian aid to the people who need it most. Where systems have failed and where hope feels distant, they act. Join us for a fundraiser and documentary screening at The Frida Cinema on Saturday, September 12th at 1:30 PM! After the screening, President and co-founder of Corazón for Cuba, Dennis Cudd, will be joining us for an in-person discussion on the situation and how his organization helps the Cuban people. All proceeds, including auction and ticket sales, will go to Corazón for Cuba and bringing essential aid into Cuba! More info on Corazón for Cuba 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. Frida Cinema member discounts and comp passes do not apply.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 15
Original Air Date: August 20, 2017

Several long-simmering threads take darker and more emotional turns as Nadine, Ed, Norma, Steven, and others reach moments of painful recognition or change. Mr. C continues pursuing his goals with frightening determination, while the ominous phrase “the dreamer” begins to resonate more strongly throughout the narrative. The episode is full of endings, thresholds, and the uneasy sense that something irreversible is approaching.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 16
Original Air Date: August 27, 2017

A series of major turns reshapes the story’s direction as Janey-E, Sonny Jim, the Mitchum Brothers, and the FBI all find themselves pulled into events they could not have anticipated. Mr. C’s trajectory grows more perilous, and long-awaited movement in Cooper’s story brings a surge of emotion and momentum. After so much delay, uncertainty, and displacement, the episode feels electrifyingly alive.

Twin Peaks: The Complete Series, our presentation of all three seasons of David Lynch’s acclaimed television show, continues with episodes screening every Sunday night through September 20th, 2026.

An adventure 65 million years in the making. Our Spielberg Summer series is taking a trip to Jurassic Park, the groundbreaking blockbuster that made audiences believe...and then run for their lives. When a billionaire philanthropist unveils a revolutionary theme park filled with genetically resurrected dinosaurs, a small group of experts is invited to preview the island before opening day. But when the park’s security systems fail, paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), along with mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), are forced to survive a prehistoric nightmare unleashed by the follies of human ambition. A landmark in visual effects and suspense filmmaking, Jurassic Park remains one of cinema’s great “how did they do that?” experiences. Spielberg blends awe and terror in perfect balance, expanding his horizons to new themes that he would explore even more more in the second half of his career.

We're presenting the brand new 4K restoration of Letty Lynton, starring the incomparable Joan Crawford, on September 19th! And joining us for a special pre-screening introduction for the film will be Kim Luperi, the co-author of the TCM/Running Press book Pre-Code Essentials: Must-See Cinema from Hollywood’s Untamed Era, 1930-1934!  Socialite Letty Lynton is returning to New York, abandoning one-time lover Emile Renaul in South America, when she strikes up a shipboard romance with Jerry Darrow. Renault is waiting for her in New York and will not leave her alone, so she poisons him. When detectives take her to the D.A.'s office, Jerry cooks up an alibi. After a 1936 copyright lawsuit found that MGM had plagiarized the play Dishonored Lady, the studio was barred from distributing the film. Unlike most "lost" films, Letty Lynton survived physically, but it was effectively unavailable legally for about 90 years. That long absence turned it into a holy grail for classic film fans. Join us in celebration!

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 17
Original Air Date: September 3, 2017

As the series heads into its endgame, Cooper, the sheriff’s department, and the Blue Rose team all converge around long-hidden truths and immediate threats. Familiar faces from across the saga reappear as the story reaches toward resolution, and the line between supernatural conflict and personal reckoning grows increasingly thin. (Can you tell we've tried to be as spoiler-free as possible with all of our episode synopses?)

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 18
Original Air Date: September 3, 2017

All good things come to an end, and the same can be said for one of the greatest television shows ever. The final chapter follows Cooper and a surprise companion into a haunting, uncertain space where identity, memory, and reality itself become unstable. Old places return in altered form, familiar questions take on new weight, and the series abandons any expectation of a tidy farewell. Rather than fully closing the book on Twin Peaks, Part 18 leaves it echoing with mystery befitting the vision and style of its celebrated director.

Join us for the Orange County premiere of Skweezy Jibbs Makes a Movie with the man himself, Skweezy Jibbs, live in person! Be among the first people to see the movie, and stay after for an exclusive Q&A with Skweezy himself as he keeps going on his US tour. One night only! Get your tickets before they're gone! Oddball internet legend Skweezy Jibbs is making the movie of his dreams. Unfortunately for him, he's got no money, no experience, no skill, and no filmmaking talent. When his controlling mother gets involved, Skweezy is forced to confront the very essence of who he is. GA Doors open at 7:00PM and the show starts at 7:30PM! Tickets are $20 to this event. Frida Cinema comp passes and member discounts do not apply.

Something has survived. Our Spielberg Summer series ventures to The Lost World: Jurassic World, the oft-maligned sequel to the 1993 classic. When mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) is pulled back into the dinosaur project after a second island is discovered, he joins a rescue expedition that quickly becomes a fight for survival as corporate greed and apex predators collide. What begins as a mission of observation spirals into full-scale chaos when dinosaurs prove, once again, who is higher on the food chain. Darker and much more unruly than its predecessor, The Lost World: Jurassic Park explores the consequences of trying to manage wonder once it’s been unleashed. Spielberg leans into scale and spectacle, building some of the best set pieces of his career, each more intense than the last.

Join us for unique film festival that showcases themes of mental health, created and curated by a practicing therapist! Film is a force that can unite people, especially those struggling with mental health issues and those who seek to better understand these issues. "Film gives a voice to those who might not otherwise be heard" Our film festival showcases and celebrates films that address topics of mental illness and/or are written, directed, or produced by champions who struggle with mental illness. We are honored to screen these brave stories. 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. Frida Cinema member discounts and passes do not apply.

Our Hong Kong Action Essentials series is  growing larger, darker, and more operatic with each and every chapter. There's no better example of this with our special double feature of A Better Tomorrow II + A Better Tomorrow III! Directed by John Woo, A Better Tomorrow II picks up in the aftermath of betrayal and loss, following survivors pulled back into a violent underworld they can’t escape. As old wounds reopen and new alliances form, the film pushes themes of brotherhood and sacrifice to even more operatic extremes, all building toward action staged on a mythic scale. And then after a quick 10 minute intermission...Tsui Hark’s A Better Tomorrow III rewinds the clock, re-centering the saga around the rise of its most iconic figure amid political upheaval and shifting power structures. Steeped in romantic fatalism, this prequel is less about crime than about identity and the cost of survival. There will be a ten minute intermission between each film. One ticket gets you access to both movies! Our Hong Kong Action Essentials series explores the time from the mid-’80s through the early ’90s, where Hong Kong filmmakers rewrote the grammar of action cinema forever. Directors like John Woo, Tsui Hark, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Ringo Lam, and Lau Kar-Leung fused balletic gunplay, risky stunts, martial arts virtuosity, and raw emotional intensity into a new cinematic language that would be oft-imitated but never replicated. (sorry, The Matrix, we love you too!) Join us every month in 2026 as we explore this golden age where style and emotion collided to change movies forever.

After a decade of silence...the buzz came back. HorrorBuzz is slicing up our October lineup with a 40th anniversary party of unhinged insanity: Tobe Hooper’s gloriously deranged sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2! When late-night DJ Stretch accidentally records a pair of murders committed by the Sawyer clan, she teams up with the unhinged Lieutenant “Lefty” Enright (a chainsaw-wielding Dennis Hopper in one of the wildest performances of his career). Their mission: descend into the Sawyer family’s subterranean lair of meat, madness, and twinkling Christmas lights to put an end to the carnage once and for all. Horror Movie Night takes filmgoing to another level with a full night of entertainment, including a themed HMN Video Pres-how, Trivia, Games, Prizes, and another outstanding horror short from HorrorBuzz’s The Screaming Room Film Festival at Midsummer Scream. Doors open and video pre-show video begins promptly at 7:30 pm. Games, prizes, and short film begin at 8:00PM. Feature starts at 8:30PM. 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.

Our Spielberg Summer series turns its attention to one of the most powerful and influential war films ever made with Saving Private Ryan, a landmark achievement that forever changed how combat is portrayed on screen. In the aftermath of the D-Day invasion, Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) and his squad are assigned an extraordinary mission: locate Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), whose brothers have all been killed in action, and bring him home. As the soldiers journey deeper into war-torn France, the mission forces each man to confront difficult questions about the value of a single life amid unimaginable loss. Famous for its visceral opening depiction of Omaha Beach, Saving Private Ryan goes far beyond just technical brilliance. Spielberg combines staggering realism with his signature humanism, creating a film that honors both the chaos of war and the ordinary people "asked" to endure it.

Our Spielberg Summer series ventures off-path and into the Fall as we visit the future in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, a haunting Science Fiction fairy tale that stands among the director’s most ambitious and deeply misunderstood works. In a world where advanced robots live alongside humans, a young android named David (Haley Joel Osment) is programmed with the ability to love. When he is abandoned by the family he was created to join, David embarks on an extraordinary journey to become “real,” believing it is the only way to win back the affection he longs for. Originally developed by Stanley Kubrick and ultimately realized by Spielberg, A.I. is an unsettling vision of technological loneliness. Over two decades later, its questions about what it means to love feel more relevant than ever, revealing a far more profound than many audiences recognized upon its release.

The penultimate film in our Hong Kong Action Essentials series is Bullet In The Head, which also happens to be our final John Woo film in the series, as well. There's no better way to end his chapter in this lineup than with his most brutal and personal film to date. Three friends fleeing Hong Kong after a violent crime find themselves trapped in the chaos of the Vietnam War, where their loyalty and morality are tested beyond repair. What begins as a desperate bid for escape descends into a harrowing portrait of friendship under unimaginable pressure. As war strips away ideals and innocence, the bonds between the men fracture, leading to betrayals that cut deeper than any bullet. Fueled by rage and grief Bullet in the Head trades balletic elegance for raw emotional devastation. This is heroic bloodshed turned inward, and a legendary filmmaker pushing himself into completely new territory. Our Hong Kong Action Essentials series explores the time from the mid-’80s through the early ’90s, where Hong Kong filmmakers rewrote the grammar of action cinema forever. Directors like John Woo, Tsui Hark, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Ringo Lam, and Lau Kar-Leung fused balletic gunplay, risky stunts, martial arts virtuosity, and raw emotional intensity into a new cinematic language that would be oft-imitated but never replicated. (sorry, The Matrix, we love you too!) Join us every month in 2026 as we explore this golden age where style and emotion collided to change movies forever.

What would you do if were framed for a murder…you had not committed yet? The penultimate film in our Spielberg Summer series is the Tom Cruise-starrer Minority Report, a dazzling Sci Fi Thriller that imagines a world where crime can be stopped before it happens. In Washington, D.C., of 2054, police captain John Anderton (Tom Cruise) leads a revolutionary unit that uses psychic visions to arrest murderers before they commit their crimes. But when Anderton himself is identified as a future killer, he goes on the run, determined to uncover the truth behind a system he once believed was infallible. Based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, the film combines breathtaking action, Noir intrigue (something you'd think would be in more Spielberg projects), and startlingly prescient ideas about surveillance and predictive technology, making it one of smartest blockbusters of the 21st century.