Special Guests

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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! 

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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).

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.

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!

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.