Special Guests

The new cringe-com film Situations is making its way to The Frida Cinema, thanks to our friends at Circle Collective. And make sure to stick around after the screening for a special Q&A with director/star Greg Vrotsos and producer Daniel Hartigan! Three months after a breakup, photographer Nick plunges back into L.A.’s dating scene, where party culture clashes with the search for real connection. Despite flaky friends, his ex’s obsessive spreadsheet, and slim odds, Nick’s still chasing love. Vrotsos (Orange Is The New Black, Boston Strangler), who drew inspiration from some of his own experiences, calls Situations his “love letter to Los Angeles” that pulls back the curtain on dating and relationships in a raw and relatable way.

Muzeo is back at The Frida Cinema to bring you a free screening of Never Catch Pigeons: And Eleven More Hard Lessons from Mr. Paul Van Doren! And make sure to stick around after the screening, as there will be a Q&A with special guests Steve & Cheryl Van Doren, moderated by Catherine Acosta, Vans Global Brand Archivist & Historian!  Find out how a hardscrabble shoemaker from New England defied expectations and invented the ultimate Southern California lifestyle brand: Vans. Paul Van Doren never skateboarded, surfed, snowboarded, or flipped a BMX bike, but his simple, rubber-soled sneaker from 1966 has been at the heart of the global action-sports movement for half a century. This is the candid, comedic, and occasionally tragic portrait of Paul and his company, some of the world-renowned athletes he inspired, and the hard lessons he's learned along the way, including why you must NEVER CATCH PIGEONS!

Join us for a special one-off screening of the new indie addiction drama Withdrawal. And stick around after the screening as we present an in-person Q&A with Director Aaron Strand and Cinematographer Emily Marquet, moderated by Francesca Rivera! Also, prior to the film they will be debuting a brand new teaser trailer for an upcoming film called Finding Jose, directed by local OC filmmaker Lisset Mendoza! Artistic lovers Viv and Jay are trapped in a vicious cycle of codependent heroin addiction. When Viv's wealthy parents hire an interventionist to take her to rehab, the couple decides to go it alone with nothing but a suboxone prescription and each other. All they have to do is survive one harrowing night of withdrawal. As the hours tick by, physical, mental, and emotional torments send them searching through fractured memories, trying to figure out where it all went wrong.  Raw, unflinching, and shockingly funny, Withdrawal was shot primarily on miniDV in Athens, Georgia. Winner of 12 awards on the festival circuit including Best Feature/Best Director at the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival and Best Actress at the Kanazawa Film Festival. Film Threat calls it "the best film about addiction since Requiem for a Dream." 

Paint yourself rich with the new neon-tinged slow-burn suspense film Forge! And stick around afterwards as we are joined for an in-person Q&A from the director of the film, Jing Ai Ng!  In Miami, siblings Raymond and Coco Zhang’s art forgery ring flourishes when they encounter a disgraced millionaire in need of their expertise. Meanwhile, FBI Art Crimes agent Emily Lee moves to Miami to investigate a series of mysterious paintings. Director Jing Ai Ng's debut feature premiered at SXSW to an enthusiastic audience response and positive reviews highlighting Ng's fresh spin on the caper film. The cast includes Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), TR Knight (Grey's Anatomy), Sonya Walger (Lost), and led by breakout performances by Andie Ju and Brandan Soo Hoo. 

Award-winning actor, screenwriter, and Youtuber Maggie Mae Fish joins us in person to present a new series aptly titled Nu-Classics at The Frida Cinema! This series spotlights cult films that deserve to be added to the canon, programmed and hosted by Maggie, with special appearances by her YouTube and Nebula friends. The first nu-classic is Julia Ducournau’s Palme d’Or winning-masterpiece Titane! Following the screening, Maggie will discuss the movie with Will Reese, director/co-showrunner of her Nebula series Amy's Dead-End Dreamhouse. The story follows a woman with a metal plate in her head from a childhood car accident as she embarks on a bizarre journey, bringing her into contact with a firefighter who's reunited with his missing son after 10 years. Fresh off its historic win at Cannes, the film became one of the most talked-about releases of the year 2022. Critics and audiences alike were electrified, praising Ducournau’s fearless vision. With only her second feature film, she has carved out a gnarly niche of body horror and melodrama that we absolutely adore at The Frida. Come see it on the big screen!

Join us for a special one-off screening of the new film Matador Bolero, starring Kansas Bowling and Yves Tumor (in their acting debut)! And stick around after the screening for a special Q&A with director Jonathan Rosado and producer Nicolette Wilkey!  The story follows a New York nightclub, The Matador, that becomes the site of a high-profile murder that attracts the attention of an obsessive detective, a TV news reporter, and an elusive being living outside the realms of time and space. Their stories converge with that of a new-age cult operating at the command of an ultra-intelligent supercomputer named Bolero. A love letter to 70s exploitation cinema, Matador Bolero promises a genre-mashing and psychedelic trip to the movies!

Brian Helgeland's medieval action comedy A Knight's Tale is coming back to The Frida Cinema to celebrate its 25th anniversary, and we are honored to be hosting an in-person Q&A with Shannyn Sossamon, who plays Jocelyn in the film! William Thatcher (the unforgettable Heath Ledger) is a peasant who disguises himself as a noble knight to compete in jousting tournaments across Europe. With the help of his loyal friends, including a witty writer named Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany), William rises through the ranks of the tournament circuit, all while hiding his true identity. Along the way, he falls in love with a noblewoman and faces off against the ruthless Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell), his main rival. With its energetic blend of medieval action and humor, A Knight’s Tale quickly became (and has remained) one the 21st century's most beloved cult classics!

From the Land Beyond Beyond…From The World Past Hope and Fear…The Frida Cinema is proud to present a brand new 4K restoration of the most influential fantasy adventures ever made: Ray Harryhausen’s The 7th Voyage of Sinbad! See it the way audiences did in 1958, larger than life on the big screen! This special event includes a rare on-screen video appearance by child star Richard Eyer, along with two additional George Pal Academy Award®-winning Puppetoons, celebrating the golden age of fantasy filmmaking. In this landmark stop-motion adventure, the legendary sailor Sinbad journeys to the mysterious Island of Colossa to save Princess Parisa, his fiancée, who has been magically shrunken by the evil sorcerer Sokurah. Along the way Sinbad confronts a towering Cyclops, battles a sword-wielding animated skeleton in one of the most famous duels in motion picture history, faces a giant two-headed Roc, and ultimately fights a fire-breathing dragon in a spectacular fantasy climax--adventure, monsters, and magic Featuring groundbreaking Dynamation effects by Ray Harryhausen and a thunderous, unforgettable score by Bernard Herrmann! The 7th Voyage of Sinbad became one of the top-grossing films of 1958 and helped redefine fantasy filmmaking for generations to come--a giant-screen fantasy experience that launched a thousand filmmakers. Its influence can be seen in the work of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, John Landis, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Rick Baker and many others. Hosted by producer-director Arnold Leibovit, who was inspired by the film as a child, later met and directed Ray Harryhausen in The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal, and stayed in touch with him for over 30 years. Leibovit also had the opportunity to meet George Pal and correspond with him for more than a year, and became a longtime friend of Pal’s widow, Mrs. Zsoka Pal. For decades, he has worked to restore and preserve the Puppetoons and carry forward the legacy of classic fantasy filmmaking. In 2008, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” and hailed as one of the finest fantasy films ever made, noted for its stunning color photography, imaginative creatures, and Bernard Herrmann’s thrilling score.   Doors open at 6:00PM and the show starts at 7:00PM! Tickets are $20 to this event. Frida Cinema comp passes and member discounts do not apply. 

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”. Doors open at 6:30PM and the show starts at 7:00PM! Tickets are $30 to this event. Frida Cinema comp passes and member discounts do not apply. 

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.