The day John Waters calls me, he has just finished writing the first draft of his next show, Let’s Take Over the World, which he will present at the Englert Theatre on Oct. 9. The writer and director of films including Pink Flamingos, Hairspray and Cry-Baby and books such as Shock Value and Role Models […]
Iowa City Film Events
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Aliens invade Des Moines, Ethan Hawke commits to the comb-over and other cinematic moments to see in local theaters this month
Hey folks, welcome back to Little Big Screen: On the Big, Big Screen, where film columnist Benjamin McElroy recommends five screenings happening at Iowa’s independent movie theaters. Keep scrolling for the full list of this month’s big screenings.
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Review: Ever dreamed of hiding in a store overnight? Documentary ‘Secret Mall Apartment’ makes space for the anarchist in all of us
I can’t speak for everyone, but if teenage me found out that there was a secret Playstation clubhouse in my local mall, with an access panel hidden over a toilet, I would have gone through the looking glass in a heartbeat. This is a proposition that 2024 documentary Secret Mall Apartment presents, with Providence, Rhode […]
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Big pictures, smaller screens: Gearing up for the 17th Annual ICDOCS online
From Thursday, April 30 to Saturday, May 2, the 17th Annual ICDOCS film festival will be presented as a free live-streamed event due to health concerns over the spread of COVID-19. Q&As with the filmmakers following the film screenings will still take place, albeit entirely online. Jurors will also still review programmed films in competition. […]
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Fact and fiction intersect to find truth in ‘Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets’
Vino Vérité returns for 2020 this weekend with Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets. Directors Bill and Turner Ross will be in attendance for a Q&A following the screening. The series, presented by FilmScene, Bread Garden Market and Little Village, presents films in the vérité tradition paired with hors d’oeuvres, wine and desserts. Tickets are $20 for […]
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Tristen Ives’s new film is an exercise in vulnerability and the inexpressible
On Sunday, March 1, at 6 p.m., Public Space One will screen PS1 Free Studio Resident Tristen Ives’ diaristic film take a pic of me and leave me here, a screening and installation that is the culmination of their four-month residency. The screening is free, and patrons should note that 225 and 229 N. Gilbert […]
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Only connect: FilmScene’s Filmmaker Spotlight showcases ‘Last Chance Tango’
On Monday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m., FilmScene at the Ped Mall will screen Sonja Strathearn’s feature film Last Chance Tango (2019) as part of their Filmmaker Spotlight series. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Strathearn. More information about the film and her work can be found at her website. A photograph. […]
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Eyes wide open: Eagerly awaiting ICDOCS
ICDOCS 2019 Various venues (schedule below) — Thursday, April 18-Saturday, April 20 Jonas Mekas, a quintessential and oft-cited experimental filmmaker, once wrote that American independent cinema exhibitions are “movies which you can’t see anywhere.” Mekas’s sentiment is equally true of the electrifying and eclectic documentary shorts being screened this week for the annual Iowa City […]
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‘At Eternity’s Gate’ is a well-worn story worth the retelling
‘At Eternity’s Gate,’ now playing at FilmScene, offers little new to the lore and legacy of van Gogh. Nonetheless, an homage to one of the very founders of modern art — as well as the idea of the modern artist — by one of its 21st century practitioners feels right, and Schnabel’s admiration for his subject informs every moment of this film.
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FilmScene at five: Celebrating a milestone with Iowa City’s iconic art house theater
FilmScene is turning five on Thanksgiving of this year, just a wee kindergartner compared to many established theaters throughout Iowa. Yet, in that short time FilmScene has proved itself integral to the larger Iowa City arts community and has developed an impressive national profile.
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‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?’ brings heart and light to FilmScene
I left this movie feeling like it was one of the most important, most beautiful and most inspiring pieces of art I had ever witnessed.
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‘Wonder Woman’ will kick off the Free Movie Series for Summer of the Arts
Nonprofit arts organization Summer of the Arts is kicking off one of their five summer programs this weekend. The Free Movie Series will begin with a showing of Wonder Woman on Saturday, June 9 at 9 p.m.
