Film

Explore Madison’s art-house screenings and the adventurous corners of local cinema.

American photographer James Hamilton is shown in a black-and-white photograph. He's in a dark long-sleeve shirt and jeans, with a dark mop of hair. He's holding a flash film camera. He's in a slight lean, with his head tipping slightly as well. His eyes remain fixed straight ahead. The photo is a still from "Uncropped."

James Hamilton’s legacy snaps into focus in “Uncropped”

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November 11, 2024

D.W. Young's documentary, which chronicles the legendary photographer and decline of journalism, premieres locally at Arts + Literature Laboratory on November 14.

Latest in Film
Dozens of beautiful moths of different sizes and colors flock to a white fabric screen illuminated by fluorescent lights.
“Nocturnes” captures a plainly studied beauty amid flickers of uncertainty
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November 4, 2024

The new nature documentary about moths of Northeastern India premieres at UW Cinematheque on November 7.

A simple image collage that features a sidewalk view of the Four Star Video Rental storefront on West Gilman Street in Madison. The neon "OPEN" sign is illuminated. To its right, co-owner Lewis Peterson writes the next title on the list for his "DIY Horror" daily theme on a whiteboard. At the bottom left, employee C Nelson-Lifson adds a title to their list of "From Beyond The Grave" to that same whiteboard the following week. The bottom right image features a wider view of the store's main counter area, and a television that is playing the movie "Born Of Fire."
Personalized variations on a theme
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Microtones
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November 1, 2024

Four Star Video Rental keeps up a long tradition of human-driven recommendations.

A colorfully neon infrared image of a demonic-looking figure at a close-up. The figure faces the camera, some facial features (long, sharp teeth) obscured by the intense red of their entire head and yellow ovals surrounding their eyes. Curled beast horns appear on either side of the head in shades of purple.
Psychedelic crime thriller “Aggro Dr1ft” saturates itself in avant-garde traditions
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October 28, 2024

Harmony Korine's alluring, infrared, video art-adjacent feature premieres locally at UW Cinematheque on Halloween night.

A pair of hands flip through a small box of photographs resting in bright-green grass. One of the 4x6 photo prints lays face up on the grass. Its faded colors show a woman holding a child on her lap.
Gabriella Cisneros’ “Impermanence” creates a lasting cinematic impression
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October 2, 2024

The Milwaukee-based filmmaker's latest short screens October 5 at the Midwest Video Poetry Fest, amid international selections and local, live collaborations.

Two people in their late teens stand outside a closed shop on the streets of 1960s San Francisco at night. The young man on the right stands with his arms at his sides, looking remorseful at the young woman on the left, who is sobbing with her arms crossed. Both are semi-formally dressed.
“Dogfight” is an unsentimental masterpiece about two souls searching
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September 16, 2024

Nancy Savoca's coming-of-age romance screens at UW Cinematheque on September 20.

A young man in a grey jumpsuit stands in a somewhat dimly lit spacecraft corridor. He has a perplexed, trepidatious expression.
Still collating: The mixed mutations of the “Alien” franchise
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September 11, 2024

Scott Gordon and Grant Phipps trade notes on "Alien: Romulus" and take stock of the series' cruel, expanding universe.

A middle-aged man in a black suit and tie stares into a camera with a serious expression. He sits at a desk with a pamphlet in front of him with a cover that reads "Inside SINA" and displays an illustration of a horse wearing pants.
Robert Downey, Sr.’s brazenly unfettered experimental satire
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August 29, 2024

The transgressive "Chafed Elbows" (1966) and "No More Excuses" (1968) both screen at MMoCA as part of Rooftop Cinema's season finale on September 5.

A woman in her late 20s stands in a darkened room peering out the window in horror at something unseen. She covers her mortified expression with her left hand while reaching for a holstered gun on her waistband with her right hand. The daylight from the window softly illuminates the room.
The short shelf life of “Longlegs”
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August 12, 2024

Edwanike Harbour and Jason Fuhrman consider the issues that define and afflict Osgood Perkins' recent horror hit.

At a medium shot, a man in a red and white cowboy outfit face away from the camera, looking away out at the rolling hills and desert valley beyond. The wind blows a black sheet off a stabled horse in a cage standing to his right.
The generational trauma of “Nope” challenges audiences to engage more intellectually with its imagery
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August 7, 2024

Jordan Peele's alien-invasion horror-mystery screens at the Memorial Union Terrace on August 12.