Special Guests

Bust out those plastic spoons! The Room is back at The Frida Cinema in March, and the star of The Room and best-selling author of The Disaster Artist, Greg Sestero, is joining us for the fun to introduce the film in-person!  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. Doors open at 6:45PM. Greg will be signing and selling merchadise in the lobby. Movie and introduction start at 7:45PM. Frida Cinema Member discounts do not apply to this special event.

The General: Vietnam in the Age of To Lam traces the rise of Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam, who cemented his position at the top of Vietnam’s leadership in the most recent 14th Party Congress. As To Lam’s power has grown, so has the expansion of Vietnam’s security apparatus that no longer stops at national borders. Asylum seekers, activists, and even insiders who challenge the system find themselves surveilled, harassed, and silenced wherever they flee.  Through firsthand testimony and investigative reporting, the film asks what prosperity truly costs when economic growth is built on repression. In reviewing the film, human rights lawyer Dang Dinh Manh states: "I owe documentary filmmaker Laura Brickman my gratitude for telling the story of our country—an anguished cry from within, conveyed with honesty and depth."  Lawyer Manh sought asylum in the US in 2023 due to political repression from Vietnamese authorities. Many of the human rights defenders in the film were his clients. Laura Brickman is an award-winning journalist with over a decade of experience in digital media, broadcast, and print. She has worked for Politico, BBC, 60 Seconds Docs, Insider, and other media outlets. The General: Vietnam in the Age of To Lam is her directorial debut.  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.

She climbed the ladder of success...wrong by wrong! Kick off our Pre-Code Day celebration with a matinee screening of Baby Face, starring Frida Cinema favorite Barbara Stanwyck in one of her defining roles! And make sure to get their early as the co-author of Pre-Code Essentials: Must-See Cinema from Hollywood’s Untamed Era, 1930-1934, Kim Luperi, will be joining us to introduce the film and sign copies of her book in the lobby! Stanwyck plays a young woman who, after a brutal upbringing, heads to New York and deliberately sleeps her way up the corporate ladder of a bank, using sex, charm, and sharp intelligence as tools for survival. The film is startlingly frank about exploitation and capitalism, barely bothering to moralize the lead character's methods, which is exactly why censors cracked down on it soon after release!

"I just killed a rat!" Join us for our Pre-Code Day celebration of Heat Lightning, preceded by an in-person introduction by Kim Luperi, co-author of the TCM/Running Press book Pre-Code Essentials: Must-See Cinema from Hollywood’s Untamed Era, 1930-1934! Kim will also be signing and selling copies of her book in the lobby!  Set almost entirely at a desert roadside diner and gas station, the film follows two sisters running the business when a group of suspicious travelers arrives during a stormy night. What starts as a character drama about past regrets and hard-earned independence gradually turns into a pressure-cooker thriller involving crime and rekindled emotions.

Join us for the final film of our Pre-Code Day celebration as we present a brand new 4K restoration of Edgar G. Ulmer's The Black Cat! 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! Unlike the gothic fantasy tone of many early Universal horrors, The Black Cat leans into a modern, post-World War I despair. The story is steeped in trauma and betrayal, with Boris Karloff playing one of the era’s coldest villains and Bela Lugosi giving a truly haunted performance. For a 1934 studio horror, it’s shockingly dark and less of a monster movie as it is a morbid meditation on war and human corruption.

Join 18th & Grand and FanMail Cinema Club in a special event screening and the Santa Ana Premiere of 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story. The documentary delves into the history and cultural significance of an infamous downtown Los Angeles arena through first-hand accounts from attendees and stars of the Olympic’s ring, rink, and stage! The Olympic was a hub of outrageous entertainment for generations, where heroes and villains often came from the neighborhoods of the city. 18th & Grand was the closing film for Slamdance, lauded in Hyperallergic and Film Threat, and the inspiration for a major museum exhibition at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes.  Told through the distinctive voices of wrestlers, boxers, punks and skaters, 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story remembers a lost, and more interesting L.A. Featuring John Doe (X), Julio César Chávez, Carlos Palomino, Mando Guerrero, The Destroyer, Gene LeBell, Roddy Piper and more! Enjoy a post-film Q&A, meet World Champion boxer Carlos Palomino and shop from themed-vendors, including Keely’s Cake Studio, VideoHero VHS, facepainting from La Rainbow Fiesta, and take photos in our boxing-themed photo-op. Q&A to follow the film including World Champion Boxer Carlos Palomino, Boxing Historian Gene Aguilera, family of luchador Mando “Superstar” Lopez! Moderated by LA Times Columnist and Reporter Gustavo Arellano! Doors: 1:00PM Vending: 1:00PM-6:00PM Film: 2:00PM Q&A: Right after the film! 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 Frida Cinema is proud to present a special 75th Anniversary screening of The Day the Earth Stood Still, one of the most important science fiction films ever made whose message has only grown more urgent with time! Plus, get there early and see the iconic 8-Foot-Tall Gort Robot live-on-stage! Starring Michael Rennie in his unforgettable performance as Klaatu, this 20th Century Fox landmark follows an alien emissary who arrives on Earth with a message that could save humanity…or doom it! At his side the towering Gort Robot whose silent presence became a legend of science fiction design. Directed by Academy Award winner Robert Wise (West Side Story, The Sound Of Music, The Haunting, Star Trek: The Motion Feature) The Day the Earth Stood Still rejected spectacle in favor of moral urgency during a time of high-anxiety, making it evergreen filmmaking at its finest.  Bernard Herrmann’s revolutionary score, featuring eerie theremins and groundbreaking electronic instrumentation, forever changed the sound of Science Fiction cinema. Lauded worldwide and praised by critics for its intelligence and restraint, the film was selected by the National Film Registry for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic importance. Arnold Leibovit, a personal friend of Robert Wise, will host the evening and present two more of George Pal's Academy Award-winning Puppetoons he's restored: "A Hatful of Dreams" featuring a DC Comics use of Superman and "The Gay Knighties" with a mischievous Ogre.  Also: please join us for Bonus pre-screening of The Puppetoon Movie – A Legacy Revisited, at 5:00PM, a behind-the-scenes look into the making of The Puppetoon Movie with Joe Dante (Gremlins),  Floyd Norman(Walt Disney animator – Sleeping Beauty,  The Jungle Book),  Peter Lord (Aardman Animations – Chicken Run, Wallace & Gromit),  Dennis Muren (Star Wars, Jurassic Park),  Phil Tippett (Starship Troopers), Mick Garris (Critters 2), Bob Kurtz (Animation Director), Marc Caballero & Seamus Walsh (Screen Novelties Directors), Art Clokey (Gumby Creator), Dallas McKennon (Actor), Jerry Beck (animation historian) and others. Produced & Directed by Arnold Leibovit with archival narration by Paul Frees. This showing will coincide with the new restoraton Blu-ray release of The Puppetoon Movie. 4:00PM Doors Open  5:00PM A Puppetoon Movie: A Legacy Revisited documentary (introduction by Arnold Leibovit) 7:00PM Two Puppetoons shorts + The Day The Earth Stood Still (introduction by Arnold Leibovit) Tickets are $20 to this event. Frida Cinema comp passes and member discounts do not apply.