Fall 2024
9/16 Kneecap (Ireland, 2024, d.Rich Peppiat) 104 m R
When a disillusioned music teacher runs into two hip-hop obsessed low-lifes, the trio form a
rap group that will take on police, politicians, and Irish culture itself. Starring the actual
members of the band Kneecap, the film chronicles their rise in popularity as an outlier act who
mix both English and traditional Irish language into their music. “[Kneecap is] endlessly
entertaining while making articulate, thought-provoking points about youthful rebellion, the
unifying power of music and the preservation of a nation's heritage and culture.” (Terry
Staunton, Radio Times).
9/23 La Chimera (Italy etc., 2023, d. Alice Rohrracher) 130 m NR
When archeologist Arthur is released from prison after being sentenced for grave robbing, he is
quick to return to his criminal tomb-raiding under pressure to find legitimate work. The final
film in Italian director Alice Rohrwacher’s trilogy of films reflecting on the human relationship
with time and the past, La Chimera has been praised for its cinematography and for its odes to
the greats of Italian cinema. Paul Whitington of the Irish Independent called La Chimera “a
beautiful, haunting film, playful and melancholy, deliberately ragged around the
edges.”
9/30 32 Sounds (US, 2022, d. Sam Green) 95 m NR
32 Sounds is a film like no other, a documentary that might change how you listen to the world
around you. What makes sound so special - and why does it unlock memories in a way that our
other senses cannot? Filmmaker Sam Green (The Weather Underground) invites the audience
to immerse themselves in unique soundscapes from the natural world - listening with instead of
just listening to. Peter Debruge of Variety called the film “a rare and rewarding sonic journey
with the potential to enrich our lives.”
10/7 20,000 Species of Bees / 20,000 especies de abeias (Spain, 2023, d. Estibaliz Urresola
Solaguren) 128 m
When 8-year-old Coco begins to question her gender identity, the transition places a strain on
her family. But after they travel to visit beekeeping relatives in a sleepy village in the Basque
country of Spain and France, the family begins to explore their relationship with one another
and come to terms with their own identities. About 20,000 Species of Bees, writer Mark
Kermode of Sight and Sound said “[the film is a] warmly humanist and deeply empathetic first
feature… announcing the arrival of a bold new filmmaking voice.”
10/21 American Graffiti (US, 1973, d. George Lucas) 110 m PG
George Lucas’s seminal first film has been newly remastered to celebrate its 50th Anniversary.
American Graffiti follows friends who cruise around the streets of their small California town on
the final day of summer, 1962, set to the soundtrack of Wolfman Jack’s playlist of timeless rock
and roll hits. Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, and more young Hollywood
heavyweights deliver performances that are timeless.
10/28 Nosferatu (Germany, 1922, d. F. W. Murnau) with Alden Ensemble live accompaniment
94 m NR
The Andrew Alden Ensemble returns to Potsdam after nearly a decade away, bringing an
encore performance of their original score for F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu. Alden directs a modern
chamber group through music that perfectly accompanies and even reshapes how you watch
classic films. In Nosferatu, the original vampire tale, hapless Thomas Hutter attends the
Transylvanian estate of Count Orlok to close a real-estate deal. But Orlok has more mysterious
plans in store. The film is a gothic tale of the occult and changed the vampire story on screen
forever.
11/4 Babes (US, 2024, d.. Pamela Adlon) 104 m R
Lifelong friends Eden (Ilana Glazer, Broad City) and Dawn (Michelle Buteau) are at different
phases of their adult lives, yet inseparable. Dawn is raising two kids, while Eden is still single
and carefree. But when Eden becomes pregnant after a one-night stand, their relationship is
put to the test. Perfect for fans of raunchy, women-driven comedies like Bridesmaids (2011),
Babes strikes a surprising emotional chord while never letting up on its humor. Billy
Goodykoontz of the Arizona Republic offered in his review, “maybe, instead of the classes,
expectant parents should just be shown Babes instead. It answers a lot of the questions no one
asks, sparing nothing. Nothing at all.”
11/11 Evil Does Not Exist / Aku wa sonzai shinai (2023, Japan, d. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi) 106 m
NR
Featuring a cast of non-professional actors, Evil Does Not Exist is the latest from director
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, whose 2021 feature, Drive My Car was the first Japanese film to receive a
nomination for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. In it, we meet a single father living outside
Tokyo, who discovers that his small, eco-conscious community is being threatened by a
company that wishes to build a glamping resort nearby. Unnerving, sparse, and shockingly
beautiful, Evil Does Not Exist was praised by NPR film critic Justin Chang, who said that
Hamaguchi is “trying to get us to look at the natural world, human beings included, beyond the
comforting framework of good vs. evil.”
11/18 Ghostlight (US, 2024, d.Kelly O'Sullivan, Alex Thompson) 115 m R
A construction worker grieving the death of his son by suicide finds himself unexpectedly cast in
a production of Romeo and Juliet, all while struggling to raise his troubled daughter. A
meditation on loss, family, and finding comfort in the world of pretend, Ghostlight is “a hushed,
confidently devastating, and ultimately hopeful drama that never follows a traditional path,”
(Sara Michelle Fetters, MovieFreak).
12/2 Thelma (US, 2024, d. Josh Margolin) 98 m PG-13
After the titular Thelma is scammed out of $10,000 by a man pretending to be her grandson,
the 93-year-old sets off on a journey to get her money back. First time director Josh Margolin
directs stellar performances by screen veterans June Squibb (in her first leading role), Malcolm
McDowell, Parker Posey, and Richard Roundtree (in his final performance). Dulcie Pearce of The
Sun called the film “A Mission Impossible homage on mobility scooters which is often laugh out
loud funny.”