Neither Heaven nor Earth could keep them apart!
Our Art House for Families series concludes with Powell & Pressburger’s astonishing Technicolor fantasia A Matter of Life and Death!
After miraculously surviving a plane crash during World War II, British pilot Peter Carter finds himself caught between worlds when celestial authorities realize he was never meant to live. As heavenly forces attempt to correct the error, Peter fights for the right to remain on Earth alongside the woman he has fallen in love with.
Few filmmakers ever have possessed sheer cinematic imagination quite like Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Moving effortlessly between the everyday and the cosmic, A Matter of Life and Death excels at both dazzling visual invention and genuine emotional sweep. The film stands as one of the great achievements of postwar cinema, making it a perfect finale for a series dedicated to the wonder of experiencing movies together on the big screen.
Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana.
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We’re keeping French with the next installment in our Art House for Families series as we present Jean Cocteau’s sublime adaptation of Mme. Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy-tale masterpiece: La Belle et la Bête!
Drawing from the classic French fable, the film follows Belle as she enters the mysterious castle of a cursed Beast whose world seems governed by living statues and other impossible acts of magic. You probably know the rest of the story, but you’ve never seen it told quite like this.
The spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death in Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête) have become timeless icons of cinematic wonder. It remains one of the great achievements of fantasy cinema, blending handmade visual effects and poetic imagination into something genuinely timeless.
This film will be presented in its original French language, with English subtitles.
Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana.
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Jacques Demy’s transcendent musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is the next film in our Art House for Families series!
This simple romantic tragedy begins in 1957. Guy Foucher, a 20-year-old French auto mechanic, has fallen in love with 17-year-old Geneviève Emery, an employee in her widowed mother’s chic but financially embattled umbrella shop. On the evening before Guy is to leave for a two-year tour of combat in Algeria, he and Geneviève make love. She becomes pregnant and must choose between waiting for Guy’s return or accepting an offer of marriage from a wealthy diamond merchant.
Simultaneously intimate and visually overwhelming, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg remains one of the most beloved movie musicals ever made, influencing generations of filmmakers with its fusion of romantic melancholy and pure color-saturated movie magic. It’s a long-standing Frida Cinema favorite and an absolute-must for first timers on the big screen!
This film will be presented in its original French language, with English subtitles.
Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana.
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Our Staff Pick for May 2026 comes courtesy of The Frida’s Director of Memberships & Exhibition Operations, Bobby, as he has chosen Lou Ye’s 2000 romantic drama Suzhou River!
Along the banks of the Suzhou River, which winds precariously through Shanghai, Marda (Jia Hongshen) falls in love with a dramatically beautiful young woman named Moudan (Zhou Xun). When he tries to kidnap her in order to demand ransom money from her rich father, she escapes him, jumping in to the river and disappearing forever. Marda serves a three-year jail sentence for his attempted crime. Upon his release, he meets a woman that looks exactly like Moudan, named MeiMei (also played by Zhou Xun).
An exciting, action-filled mystery suspense movie, Suzhou River shares many thematic and stylistic elements with Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, and demands to be seen on the big screen in this brand new 4K restoration via our friends at Strand Releasing.
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Laugh. Cry. Share the pants.
Our Page To Screen series is back to present a 20th anniversary screening of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants!
Four best friends (Tibby, Lena, Carmen & Bridget) buy a mysterious pair of pants that fits each of them, despite their differing sizes, and makes whoever wears them feel fabulous. When faced with the prospect of spending their first summer apart, the pals decide they’ll swap the pants so that each girl in turn can enjoy the magic.
Adapted from Ann Brashares’s bestselling novels, the film became a standout of mid-2000s teen cinema by centering female friendship as the main event instead of the subplot. Starring Blake Lively, America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel, the story uses a simple magical premise to explore body image and growing up.
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Director Pete Ohs new relationship drama Erupcja is coming to The Frida Cinema, starring big screen icon Charli XCX!
While on vacation in Poland, Bethany (Charli) breaks away from a romantic itinerary planned by her doting boyfriend, Rob (Will Madden), fearing that a marriage proposal is imminent. Reuniting instead with an old friend, Nel, the two women rekindle a uniquely combustible chemistry over the course of a few days in a chaste but burning trust predicated on sapphic synchronicity and a mutual penchant for poetry.
After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, Erupcja hits our screen on May 15th. Ohs co-wrote the script with all of the movie’s lead actors, lending the film to a very untraditional and exciting approach.
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The hills are alive…with one of the most beloved movie musicals of all time!
Experience the timeless magic of The Sound of Music, coming back to The Frida with some final encores!
Julie Andrews (Julie Andrews) stars as Maria, a spirited young novice sent to care for the seven children of the строг but widowed Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer). What begins as a challenge quickly blossoms into a story of music, love, and resilience, as Maria brings warmth and song back into a regimented household…just as the looming threat of war casts a shadow over their lives.
Directed by Robert Wise and featuring unforgettable songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein, The Sound of Music is a sweeping, heart-lifting celebration of courage and the power of finding your voice. From its breathtaking alpine vistas to its iconic melodies, it remains a cinematic treasure that continues to inspire audiences of all ages.
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Amélie is back for some weekend encores, presented in a 4K restoration from our friends at Sony Picture Classics!
At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story?
Directed by visionary filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Amélie is a dazzling burst of color and offbeat charm, successfully mixing storybook visuals with the perfect dose of romance.
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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.”
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Get ready to lock, pop, and break your way down memory lane! On May 11, 2026, The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana will host a highly anticipated theatrical anniversary screening of the 1984 summer blockbuster smash hit, Breakin’!
This unforgettable evening will double as a profound tribute to the film’s legendary star, the late Adolfo “Shabba-Doo” Quiñones, taking place on what would have been his 71st birthday. The exclusive anniversary event will be hosted by Vashawn Quiñones, Adolfo’s son. Following the screening of the film, Vashawn will conduct an intimate and exclusive Q&A session. He will share personal stories, explore his father’s groundbreaking contributions to hip-hop culture, and discuss how the man who famously brought the character Orlando “Ozone” to life earned the undisputed title of “The Godfather of Street Dance.”
Released in the summer of 1984, Breakin’ was a cultural phenomenon that took the world by storm. Grossing over $38 million domestically, it catapulted breakdancing and hip-hop culture from the underground club scenes of Los Angeles into the global mainstream. At the heart of this movement was Adolfo “Shabba-Doo” Quiñones. Before lighting up the silver screen, Quiñones was a founding member of the pioneering dance group The Original Lockers, where he helped innovate and popularize the “locking” style of street dance. His unparalleled talent eventually led him to choreograph and perform for some of the biggest names in music history, including Madonna, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, and Chaka Khan. Through his explosive footwork, natural charisma, and visionary choreography, Shabba-Doo forever changed the landscape of modern dance.
“My father’s legacy is etched into every spin, pop, and lock you see in street dance today,” says Vashawn Quiñones, “Celebrating the 42nd anniversary of Breakin’ on his birthday is the perfect way to honor his memory, his artistry, and the lasting impact he left on dancers and fans all over the world.” Fans of the film, dance enthusiasts, and lovers of 80s pop culture are invited to experience the electric boogaloo magic on the big screen once again and pay homage to a true cultural icon.
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