Equal parts Spaghetti Western, French New Wave, and hard-boiled noir, Takashi Nomura’s A Colt Is My Passport (original Japanese title: Koruto wa ore no pasupôto) is coming back for a few encores to start off September! Joe Shishido (and those famously surgically-enhanced cheeks for which he became known) stars as a stoic gun-for-hire navigating a botched assassination, double-crosses, and a bloody standoff at the edge of town.
With stark black-and-white cinematography, stylized action, and a jazzy score, the film plays like a fusion of Jean-Pierre Melville and Sergio Leone, all filtered through the lens of late-’60s Japanese cynicism. It represents the turn in Japanese cinema from introspective postwar realism to a new wave of genre experimentation and rebellion.
Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema is a curated 12-film trip through the evolution of Japan—from the quiet post-war resilience of the 1940s all the way to the radical reinventions of the 1990s. Each Monday this July-September, we will explore a new facet of this incredible nation’s cinematic journey throughout the 20th century. All films will be presented in their original Japanese language with English subtitles, at a reduced ticket price of $8.
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Kicking off the August portion of our Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema series is Kwaidan, director Masaki Kobayashi’s fascinating meditation on memory, regret, and the delicate boundary between the living and the dead.
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning “ghost story,” this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior’s reflection in his teacup.
Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema is a curated 12-film trip through the evolution of Japan—from the quiet post-war resilience of the 1940s all the way to the radical reinventions of the 1990s. Each Monday this July-September, we will explore a new facet of this incredible nation’s cinematic journey throughout the 20th century! All films will be presented in their original Japanese language with English subtitles!
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The third film in our Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema series is Woman in the Dunes, a film about an entomologist on a casual field trip that finds himself lured into a nightmarish existence—trapped in a sand dune with a mysterious woman and forced into a Sisyphean task of survival. What begins as a bizarre circumstance becomes a harrowing philosophical inquiry into time, identity, and the illusion of freedom.
Based on the novel by Kōbō Abe, and brought to life by Hiroshi Teshigahara’s stark, surreal direction and Torū Takemitsu’s haunting score, Woman in the Dunes is a landmark of Japan’s 1960s avant-garde cinema. Nominated for two Academy Awards and winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes, it’s both a psychological thriller and a profound existential riddle.
Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema is a curated 12-film trip through the evolution of Japan—from the quiet post-war resilience of the 1940s all the way to the radical reinventions of the 1990s. Each Monday this July-September, we will explore a new facet of this incredible nation’s cinematic journey throughout the 20th century! All films will be presented in their original Japanese language with English subtitles!
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A haunting masterpiece of Japanese cinema, Ugetsu is the second film in our Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema series. Kenji Mizoguchi’s hypnotic camera work, long takes, and atmospheric composition make Ugetsu a meditative, otherworldly experience that influenced filmmakers from Kurosawa to Scorsese. Winner of the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, this is a film where myth and history blur, inviting us to reflect on the consequences of human folly.
Made just eight years after WWII, the film uses a ghostly narrative to process national memory and warn against repeating the same mistakes. Ugetsu exemplifies how Japanese filmmakers of the 1950s turned to allegory and aesthetics to navigate complex postwar identities—elevating cinema to poetry.
Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema is a curated 12-film trip through the evolution of Japan—from the quiet post-war resilience of the 1940s all the way to the radical reinventions of the 1990s. Each Monday this July-September, we will explore a new facet of this incredible nation’s cinematic journey throughout the 20th century! All films will be presented in their original Japanese language with English subtitles!
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Our Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema series starts off with Late Spring, a masterclass in subtlety and emotional restraint. The story centers on a young woman, Noriko, and her devoted father, exploring themes of duty, change, and the tension between modernity and tradition. With its minimalist camera work and tender performances, Ozu’s film is a cornerstone of Japanese cinema and the perfect introduction to the series.
Late Spring marks a turning point in postwar Japanese cinema, where filmmakers like Ozu began using film not only to entertain but to reflect and shape the nation’s healing process. It’s a time capsule, a cultural mirror, and a foundational text in the Japanese cinematic canon.
Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema is a curated 12-film trip through the evolution of Japan—from the quiet post-war resilience of the 1940s all the way to the radical reinventions of the 1990s. Each Monday this July-September, we will explore a new facet of this incredible nation’s cinematic journey throughout the 20th century! All films will be presented in their original Japanese language with English subtitles!
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XYZ Films is bringing you the new film Tatami, being described as a combination of Raging Bull and The Passion of Joan of Arc!
The first feature film co-directed by Iranian and Israeli filmmakers Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir, Tatami follows Leila, an Iranian judo athlete who is put in political danger when her government tells her to fake an injury and withdraw from the world championships rather than face an Israeli rival in the final.
Leila finds herself facing a life-or-death decision that could put the lives of her, her coach, an ex-competitor herself, and her family in danger. In a fight for freedom and dignity, what is she willing to give up.
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Ten years ago, a wildly original, and unapologetically raw movie exploded onto the indie film scene–shot entirely on an iPhone and changing the rules of what independent cinema could look and feel like. This Art House Theater Day, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Sean Baker’s Tangerine, a landmark in queer and DIY filmmaking. More details are to be announced, but the screening will also include exclusive content with Arthouse Theater Day Ambassador Sean Baker himself!
Set against the sun-soaked, neon-drenched streets of Los Angeles on Christmas Eve, Tangerine follows Sin-Dee and Alexandra–two Black trans sex workers and best friends–as they embark on a chaotic and deeply heartfelt odyssey through Hollywood in search of a little revenge. Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor give breakout performances that forever redefined representation and visibility on screen.
More than just a technical marvel or an underdog success story, Tangerine remains a vital portrait of friendship and life lived loud on the margins. On its 10th anniversary, it still feels as urgent as ever.
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Celebrate Art House Theater Day 2025 with the dazzling 4K restoration of one of cinema’s most poignant masterpieces: Nights of Cabiria, directed by the legendary Federico Fellini and starring the incomparable Giulietta Masina.
Masina delivers a career-defining performance as Cabiria, a spirited and big-hearted sex worker navigating the streets of Rome in search of love, dignity, and meaning. With each disappointment, Cabiria’s resilience and vulnerability shine brighter — a testament to the human capacity for hope in the face of heartbreak.
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Nights of Cabiria is a cornerstone of Italian neorealism infused with Fellini’s signature surrealist lyricism. This stunning new 4K restoration brings back the richness of its Roman nights, the expressive faces of its characters, and the unforgettable finale — one of the most quietly triumphant endings in film history.
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Join us in celebrating Art House Theater Day 2025 with a special screening of Céline Sciamma’s powerful coming-of-age film Tomboy–a landmark work in contemporary queer and arthouse cinema.
A luminous exploration of gender identity and childhood, Tomboy follows 10-year-old Laure, who introduces himself as Mickäel after moving to a new neighborhood during summer break. As friendships blossom and playtime gives way to self-discovery, Laure navigates a world of freedom and tension that arises from living between gender expressions in a society still learning how to respond.
On this day dedicated to the power of independent and artist-driven film, Tomboy reminds us why arthouse theaters matter: they make space for stories that are deeply human.
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Join us for a special one-off screening of indie darling Guacamole Yesterdays, and stick around after the show for an in-person Q&A with director Jordan Noel and writer/producer Hudson Phillips!
After a devastating separation, cartoonist Ames (Sophie Edwards, This World Alone) begins therapy with a specialist (Adetinpo Thomas, Hawkeye) who employs an experimental technology that enables Ames to relive and reshape the memories of her relationship with her husband, Franklin (Randy Havens, Stranger Things). As Ames revisits moments from their first date to their final goodbye, the boundaries between memory and reality start to dissolve. To avoid losing herself completely, she must confront the truth she’s been desperately avoiding.
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