Just added: Helena Odeh, daughter of Alex Odeh, will be joining us before the 8:30PM screening on 11/5 to introduce the film!
Who Killed Alex Odeh?, the powerful new documentary from directors Jason Osder and William Lafi Youmans, is coming to The Frida Cinema for a limited run on November 5th-10th.
In October 1985, Santa Ana, California was shaken by a brazen act of political violence when Palestinian American Alex Odeh, a beloved teacher and community leader, was killed by a tripwire bomb planted in his office. Despite substantial evidence and identified suspects, the case was never solved. Who Killed Alex Odeh? reopens the mystery, tracking a renewed investigation in real time as new leads emerge, long-buried records come to light, and the forces behind a political assassination are finally confronted.
Alex Odeh was a Palestinian-born American citizen, a father of three, a teacher, a poet, and an advocate for Arab American civil rights and peaceful coexistence.
According to Carnegie Mellon University and Grand Central Art Center, the statue of Alex that sits outside of the Santa Ana Public Library (just a ten minute walk from The Frida Cinema) is the only public monument to an Arab American in the United States.
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Join us in person for the Scars UnseenScreening at the iconic Frida Cinema on October 19th at 7:00PM! Get your tickets here or by clicking the ticket icon above!
Scars Unseen is a ‘triumph of the human spirit’ documentary following three women who have overcome domestic violence and are paying it forward. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the statistic of 1 in 4 women affected by domestic violence went up to 1 in 3 women. This inspiring documentary highlights each individual’s experience involving domestic violence, focusing not on the grim details of their trauma but rather on the tools and techniques that helped them to persevere on their healing journey.
Scars Unseen aims to illuminate the power of healing, de-stigmatize victimhood, and encourage open communication about the causes, treatment, and prevention of abuse. This documentary focuses on the resiliency of three phenomenal women and encourages us all to be more trauma-informed. Scars Unseen is changing the conversation around domestic violence.
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The rumors are true! John Wilson’s The History of Concrete is coming to The Frida Cinema!
The plot is super normal and simple: after attending a workshop on how to write and sell a Hallmark movie, filmmaker John Wilson tries to use the same formula to sell a documentary about concrete.
Don’t miss this extremely informative documentary on the big screen!
Enhanced Accessibility: this film has Closed Captioning capability!
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Please note: this screening will be projected on 35mm film. Frida Cinema comp passes do not apply.
Cameron Winter, in December 2025, after a months-long sold-out tour with his band Geese, returned to New York to play a single show at Carnegie Hall. This is the movie.
Directed and shot on 35mm and 16mm by Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another, There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights), the crew includes filmmaker and actor Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems, Good Time) and music producer Ariel Rechtshaid (Grammy winner for albums with Vampire Weekend and Adele).
GQ praised Cameron Winter’s show at Carnegie Hall as “staggeringly good,” and Nick Cave said he has a “a glorious, emotive voice with brilliant, blistering words, a racked and wondrous thing.” Winter’s solo album Heavy Metal was named one of the best of the year by Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Paste and Mojo and Geese’s last record Getting Killed was named the best album of 2025 by The New Yorker, NME, and Stereogum.
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Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Victor Garber, Paul Shaffer, and other entertainment icons got their start in a 1972 Toronto production of the musical Godspell. You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution…is the documentary that lived to tell the tale!
Featuring interviews with the surviving cast members, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mike Myers, and more, the film recounts a pivotal moment in comedy history, in hilarious, moving, and inspiring detail.
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PULP: What Do You Do For An Encore? captures PULP during their 2025 tour, combining footage from their ingenious live show with four decades of never-before-seen archival material.
Directed by longtime collaborator Garth Jennings and narrated by frontman Jarvis Cocker, the film traces the band’s circuitous journey from Sheffield outsiders to unlikely cultural icons.
One night only. Tickets are $15. Show starts at 9:00PM.
Enhanced Accessibility: this film has Closed Captioning capability!
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Paris Is Burning is coming back to The Frida Cinema as part of our Nu-Classics series, hosted by Maggie Mae Fish! And this month, her guest is Kat Blaque! Stick around after the film for a conversation between the two of them!
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City’s African American and Latinx Harlem drag ball scene. Made over seven years, Paris Is Burning offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion “houses,” from fierce contests for trophies, to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia and transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty.
Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women, including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza, Paris Is Burning brings it, celebrating the joy of movement, the force of eloquence, and the draw of community.
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Do no harm.
American Doctor is a vérité documentary following three prominent physicians: Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian friends who couldn’t be more different but are bound by the shared oath to save lives. Dr. Thaer Ahmad is measured and strategic, Dr. Mark Perlmutter is blunt and wears his heart on his sleeve, and Dr. Feroze Sidhwa is media-savvy and prolific.
Filmed in unfolding, on-the-ground scenes, the story follows them from a Gazan hospital under siege, to the halls of Congress. Together they fight to keep a promise to their Palestinian colleagues and patients, to continue the struggle where it matters most: the United States.
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Up next in our Walt Disney Studies series is a pair of remarkable documentaries from renowned director Leslie Iwerks that tell the story of Disneyland in two directions: the influence of film design professionals on the building of Disneyland, and how Disneyland has in turn impacted and influenced film professionals over seven decades.
During the interval between the features, there will a discussion moderated by Disney Historian Jeff Kurtti entitled Disneyland: Creation and Innovation, featuring authors Roland Betancourt and Thomas K. Morris, and dovetails the concepts of the two films with the viewpoints and expertise of these scholars, their careers, and their authoritative books. After the screening, Dr. Betancourt’s book, Disneyland and the Rise of Automation: How Technology Created the Happiest Place on Earth, will be available for purchase in the theatre for the author to sign.
Disneyland Handcrafted documents the exhilarating year that gave rise to The Happiest Place on Earth. Assembled entirely from rare archival footage and original audio recordings, this film reveals the extraordinary artistry, grit and pressure it took hundreds of craftspeople to build Walt Disney’s impossible dream into a reality, from groundbreaking to Opening Day.
Disney Worldbuilders goes behind-the-scenes of how movies and franchises such as Frozen, Zootopia, and more are turned into immersive worlds across the global Disney parks. James Cameron, Kevin Feige, Jon Favreau, Pete Docter, Jennifer Lee and Jared Bush are among the filmmakers who feature in the documentary.
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The experimental new music-driven documentary, This Is Buzz, is coming to The Frida Cinema! And stick around afterwards as we are joined for a special in-person Q&A with director Mark Pellington (The Mothman Prophecies, I Melt With You).
The film illustrates the tale of the seismically influential, yet somehow forgotten, MTV slice of life docuseries BUZZ, which only ran for 13 episodes in 1990. The show took an experimental approach to uncovering often undiscussed corners of global life. With fast-paced edits giving the show an avant-garde feel, the series would tackle specific subjects with each entry.
This dream-like almost subliminal feel pre-dated the media oversaturation we feel today as we are drawn to a constant conveyor belt of content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram which act to familiarize us with cultures around the world. And on top of it all, RuPaul was the show’s host!
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