Just added: there will be a post-screening discussion on April 4th with the Palestinian Youth Movement!
Watermelon Pictures is proud to present Palestine 36, their new humanist cinematic tour de force!
1936. As villages across Mandatory Palestine rise against British colonial rule, Yusuf drifts between his rural home and the restless energy of Jerusalem, longing for a future beyond the growing unrest. But history is relentless. With rising numbers of Jewish immigrants escaping antisemitism in Europe, and the Palestinian population uniting in the largest and longest uprising against Britain’s 30-year dominion, all sides spiral towards inevitable collision in a decisive moment for the British Empire and the future of the entire region.
One of the year’s most lauded and highly anticipated films, Palestine 36 has received universal audience and critical acclaim in its festival rollout, including a record-setting 23 minute standing ovation at TIFF, and a win for Best Film at The Tokyo International Film Festival, while holding a rating of 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Some wars never end.
Our first Volunteer Of The Month pick comes courtesy of Nick V, as he has selected Spike Lee’s thought-provoking after-war drama Da 5 Bloods.
Four African-American Vietnam veterans return to Vietnam in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader and the promise of buried treasure. They battle forces of humanity and nature while confronted by the lasting ravages of the immorality of the Vietnam War.
Widely seen as one of his most passionate, politically urgent, and performance-driven films (specifically by Delroy Lindo, who should have been nominated for an Oscar), Da 5 Bloods is Spike Lee firing on all cylinders, delivering a deeply personal project that sparks debate and sticks with people long after the credits role.
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We are celebrating the 60th anniversary of one of the most influential political films in history, The Battle of Algiers, with a Film Club Members Only screening!
The film vividly re-creates a key year in the tumultuous Algerian struggle for independence from the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés, and French soldiers resort to torture to break the will of the insurgents.
Shot on the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film is a case study in modern warfare, with its terrorist attacks and the brutal techniques used to combat them. Pontecorvo’s tour de force has astonishing relevance today.
We are inviting Film Club Members to bring a Plus One to this screening! Make sure to RSVP for your guest as well!
Not a Frida Cinema Film Club Member yet? Sign up here!
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The penultimate film in our Hong Kong Action Essentials series is Bullet In The Head, which also happens to be our final John Woo film in the series, as well. There’s no better way to end his chapter in this lineup than with his most brutal and personal film to date.
Three friends fleeing Hong Kong after a violent crime find themselves trapped in the chaos of the Vietnam War, where their loyalty and morality are tested beyond repair. What begins as a desperate bid for escape descends into a harrowing portrait of friendship under unimaginable pressure. As war strips away ideals and innocence, the bonds between the men fracture, leading to betrayals that cut deeper than any bullet.
Fueled by rage and grief Bullet in the Head trades balletic elegance for raw emotional devastation. This is heroic bloodshed turned inward, and a legendary filmmaker pushing himself into completely new territory.
Our Hong Kong Action Essentials series explores the time from the mid-’80s through the early ’90s, where Hong Kong filmmakers rewrote the grammar of action cinema forever. Directors like John Woo, Tsui Hark, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Ringo Lam, and Lau Kar-Leung fused balletic gunplay, risky stunts, martial arts virtuosity, and raw emotional intensity into a new cinematic language that would be oft-imitated but never replicated. (sorry, The Matrix, we love you too!) Join us every month in 2026 as we explore this golden age where style and emotion collided to change movies forever.
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A lethal secret arsenal was left behind in the jungle of Vietnam. Their job: find it and destroy it!
Legendary actor-director Sammo Hung delivers a bazooka blast of pure adrenaline with Eastern Condors, an exemplar of Hong Kong action cinema at its most entertaining.
Drawing inspiration from Hollywood war films like The Dirty Dozen, Eastern Condors follows a ragtag band of Asian American prisoners dropped into Vietnam on a secret suicide mission to prevent a cache of weapons from falling into the hands of the Viet Cong, who are more than ready for a fight. Propelled by a dynamic ensemble cast that includes the ever-charismatic Yuen Biao as a black-market trader and a superhuman Yuen Wah as a giggling martial-arts monster, this rip-roaring spectacle offers a nonstop barrage of turbocharged set pieces that defy gravity itself.
Our Hong Kong Action Essentials series explores the time from the mid-’80s through the early ’90s, where Hong Kong filmmakers rewrote the grammar of action cinema forever. Directors like John Woo, Tsui Hark, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Ringo Lam, and Lau Kar-Leung fused balletic gunplay, risky stunts, martial arts virtuosity, and raw emotional intensity into a new cinematic language that would be oft-imitated but never replicated. (sorry, The Matrix, we love you too!) Join us every month in 2026 as we explore this golden age where style and emotion collided to change movies forever.
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Join us for To Have and Have Not—the film that introduced the world to the electric pairing of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall!
Set in wartime Martinique, Bogart plays a tough American boat captain trying to stay neutral while Bacall arrives as a mysterious young drifter with a cigarette, a razor-sharp wit, and a look that could stop the story cold. What begins as a smoldering battle of nerves soon pulls both into a dangerous resistance plot.
Directed by Howard Hawks and written in part by William Faulkner, To Have and Have Not belongs entirely to its stars, launching one of cinema’s most iconic romances.
Make sure to get to the screening early, as our Marketing Director Bekah will be doing a very informative and entertaining presentation on the film before it starts!
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World War II meets science fiction in The Final Countdown, which has just been released by Blue Underground in a brand new 4K restoration!
Captain Matthew Yelland (Kirk Douglas) commands the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz, which is conducting routine patrols off Hawaii in 1980. A bizarre electrical storm, unlike anything seen before, temporarily knocks out the crew, and when they come to, things are strange. Very strange, including Jack Benny’s voice on the radio. That’s written off as nostalgia programming, but the crew can’t make any normal communications with the outside world…and then they spot mint condition Japanese Zero planes. As the evidence mounts, the captain and crew ultimately realize that, hard as it is to believe, they’ve gone back in time…to December 6, 1941.
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Join us for a special screening of Hal Ashby’s Coming Home! This special screening will be introduced by critic and essayist, Kristen Lopez, author of Popcorn Disabilities: The Highs and Lows of Disabled Representation in the Movies. Get there early at 6:00PM for a meet and greet with Kristen, who will be signing copies of her book in our lobby courtesy of our local book selling partner, Arvida Book Co.!
While her husband Bob (Bruce Dern) serves in Vietnam, Sally Hyde (Jane Fonda) volunteers at a VA hospital and forms a deep connection with Luke Martin (Jon Voight), a paralyzed veteran whose outlook on the war challenges everything she knows. When Bob returns home changed, all three must confront the emotional fallout of the conflict and the lives it has reshaped.
About the author: Kristen Lopez is a pop culture essayist, critic, and editor whose articles have appeared at Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, MTV, TCM, and Roger Ebert. She was previously the Film Editor for TheWrap and the TV Editor for IndieWire where she was nominated for a SoCal Journalism Award and National Journalism Award by the LA Press Club. She is the author of “But Have You Read the Book: 52 Literary Gems That Inspired Our Favorite Films.” Her first book, “But Have You Read the Book” debuted from TCM and Running Press in 2023. A California native, Kristen was raised in a small suburb near Sacramento and graduated with a Masters in English from CSU Sacramento. She is the creator of the classic film podcast, Ticklish Business.
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Coming to The Frida Cinema for one night only on December 6th, 2025! Captain America (1990): Director’s Cut is now on tour! This is the kickoff of the Captain America (1990) tour. Witness Albert Pyun’s Marvel classic like you’ve never seen it before–on the big screen! This event is presented by Yippie Video and promises to be the movie event of the year!
During World War II, a brave, patriotic American Soldier undergoes experiments to become a new supersoldier, “Captain America”. Racing to Germany to sabotage the rockets of Nazi baddie “Red Skull”, Captain America winds up frozen until the 1990s. He reawakens to find that the Red Skull has changed identities and is now planning to kidnap the President of the United States.
This is a special showing with Q&A, special guests, photo ops with a Captain America cosplayer, the official Yippie Video booth, and everyone who attends will receive a commemorative Captain America (1990) tour ticket! This is an all new cut of Captain America (1990) finally unearthed for the first time in 30 years directly from Albert Pyun’s 35mm work print of the original film. Tickets are $20 in advance or at the door. Show starts at 7:00PM.
For more information on all of the new Albert Pyun film restorations, visit: yippeekiyaymothervideo.com
This program is a venue rental engagement. The views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Frida Cinema or its staff. Membership discounts and comp passes do not apply.
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Akira Kurosawa’s Palme d’Or-winning feudal epic, Kagemusha, is screening for the first time ever at The Frida Cinema.
It’s the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.
Don’t miss this rarely-screened gem on the big screen!
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