Palestine's Official Submission for the 2025 Academy Awards, From Ground Zero is a powerful collection of short films by 22 Palestinian filmmakers living through war in Gaza. Through a unique blend of animation, documentary, and fiction, these stories capture the unyielding steadfastness of the human spirit and enduring creativity that thrives even in the face of relentless devastation. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has short-listed the film in its Best International Feature Film category for the 97th Academy Awards.From Ground Zero was created by filmmaker Rashid Masharawi and designed to give a voice to the people of Gaza and to
In Paul Schrader's new film Oh, Canada, which we open Friday at the Monica Film Center, NoHo, and Town Center, Richard Gere and Jacob Elordi play a man at opposite ends of his life, deciding how to live it. Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli, and Victoria Hill co-star.Schrader said this about his film:"When friend and author Russell Banks (Affliction) took ill I was weighing other story possibilities. I realized that mortality should be the subject. Russell had researched and written a book about dying when he was healthy titled, Foregone. He'd wanted to call it Oh, Canada (there was a conflict with Richard Ford’s Canada), and asked if I would use his
Laemmle Theatres is pleased to announce changes to our eclectic Culture Vulture series beginning next month. After ten years of screening filmed theater, opera, ballet/dance, gallery/art, and much more at our Town Center/Encino, Glendale, Monica Film Center/Santa Monica, and Claremont 5 theaters, we are now adding our Newhall theater. What's more, we will now screen the films Saturdays and Sundays at 10:00 A.M. and Mondays at 7:00 P.M. Tickets are now on sale for the first six films of the new year:*January 25-27: Utilizing the third act motifs of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters as a jumping off point, Dmitry Krymov’s Fragment focuses in on Olga
IndieCollect’s first-ever RescueFest — December 6-9 — features 10 glorious new Indie Cinema restorations. Q&A's with Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner (moderated by Jane Fonda), Mario Van Peebles, Chaz Ebert, Rosalind Chao, Jan Oxenberg and more. Plus “Reel Resistance” Roundtable with indie luminaries Ted Hope & Gregory Nava on Dec 8. The full schedule is here. A terrific recent Indiewire piece on the festival and its centerpiece, the Search for Intelligent Life restoration, is here. Watch the trailer!
The newest episode of Inside the Arthouse just dropped and it's a fascinating one. Hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge discuss the centenary of arthouse film with professor, historian, author and Academy Film Scholar Ross Melnick. It's a lively conversation about the amazing history of arthouse film -- Where it started, how far it's come, and where is it today. Laemmle, third generation arthouse theater owner, adds his perspective, as the trio explores the last century considers the future of arthouse.Here's a taste from the beginning of their conversation:ROSS MELNICK: The history of arthouse theaters is about a hundred years old. It really
Tomorrow we open Blitz, the latest film English filmmaker Steve McQueen (Shame, 12 Years a Slave, Occupied City), at the Claremont, Glendale, Monica Film Center, Newhall, and Town Center. Starring Saoirse Ronan, it follows the stories of a group of Londoners during the events of the British capital bombing in World War II. Top film critics have been singing its praises:"McQueen—a director who understands we can only look forward by looking back—gives us a new lens through which to examine WWII in this masterful film." ~ Emily Zemler, Observer"I’ve been to whole film festivals with less cinema than Steve McQueen packs into just two hours." ~
The latest episode of Inside the Arthouse features La Cocina filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios. The drama takes us behind the scenes at a Times Square restaurant, illuminating the lives of the people who prepare and serve our meals while chasing the American Dream. The ensemble cast, which includes two-time Academy Award-nominee Rooney Mara, delivers stunning performances in this beautifully shot film.Laemmle Theatres opens La Cocina this Friday at the Monica Film Center. Writer-director Alonso Ruizpalacios will participate in Q&A's after the 7 PM screening at the Monica Film Center on Friday, November 1st and the 4 PM screening on Saturday, November
When he accepted the Palme d'Or for his colorful, authentic, surprising, exciting, thrilling comedy Anora earlier this year at Cannes, writer-director Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project, Red Rocket) spoke eloquently about seeing movies in theaters. You can watch the whole thing online, but here's the key excerpt:"This literally has been my singular goal as a filmmaker for the past 30 years. So I’m not really sure what I’m gonna do with the rest of my life, but I do know that I will continue to fight for cinema because right now, as filmmakers, we have to fight to keep cinema alive. This means making feature films intended for theatrical
Union Q&A schedule:Royal 10/23: co-director Brett Story, producer Samantha Curley, and subject Chris Smalls;Monica Film Center 10/25, 7:20 PM show: co-directors Steve Maing and Brett Story, producer Samantha Curley, and subject Chris Smalls with Adam Conover moderating;Monica Film Center 10/26, 4:20 PM show: co-director Steve Maing, producer Samantha Curley, subject Chris Smalls, and UTLA president Cecily Myart-Cruz;Glendale 10/26, 7:20 PM show: co-director Steve Maing, producer Samantha Curley, and subject Chris Smalls;Glendale 10/27 noon show: co-director Steve Maing, producer Samantha Curley, and subject Chris Smalls.
The newest episode of Inside the Arthouse features the fantastic documentary Union. Having received a Special Jury award at Sundance, and played thirty of the most prestigious documentary film festivals around the world, it opens October 25 at Laemmle Monica Film Center and Glendale. (We'll have multiple in-person Q&A's with the filmmakers and the main subject, Chris Smalls; details here.)Through intimate cinema vérité, Union chronicles the extraordinary efforts of a group of warehouse workers as they launch a grassroots campaign to unionize an Amazon fulfillment center on Staten Island.The filmmakers document the struggle from day one against one
In Exhibiting Forgiveness, which we open on October 18 at the Laemmle Claremont, Monica Film Center, NoHo and Town Center, Tarrell (Andre Holland) plays an admired American painter who lives with his wife, singer Aisha (Andra Day), and their young son, Jermaine. Tarrell’s artwork excavates beauty from the anguish of his youth, keeping past wounds at bay. His path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, La’Ron (John Earl Jelks), a conscience-stricken man desperate to reconcile.Tarrell’s mother, Joyce (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) a pious woman with a profound and joyful spirituality, hopes that Tarrell can open his heart
Ruth Reichl—trailblazing New York Times food critic, groundbreaking Gourmet Magazine editor, best-selling memoirist, and, for decades, one of the most influential figures shaping American food culture—grows concerned about the fate of small farmers, ranchers, and chefs as they wrestle with both immediate and systemic challenges as the pandemic takes hold.In Food and Country, Reichl reaches across political and social divides to discover innovators who are risking it all to survive on the front lines. As one person leads her to the next, she follows the unfolding stories of ranchers in Kansas and Georgia; farmers in Nebraska, Ohio, and the Bronx; a
The new comedy Between the Temples, starring Jason Schwartzman as a troubled cantor who finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher (a never-better Carol Kane) re-enters his life as his adult Bat Mitzvah student, is living up to the hype and bringing audiences into theaters. Peruse this sampling of the catalyst for the film's success, critics' reviews:"A spiky, hilarious, and thoroughly unorthodox screwball comedy about a grief-stricken cantor who loses his voice, only to find that he’s surrounded by a chorus of well-intentioned people who are happy to speak for him." ~ David Ehrlich, indieWire"We get the sense that
Introducing the new video podcast Inside the Arthouse. Hosted by Greg Laemmle, President of Laemmle Theatres, and actor and Emmy award-winning director Raphael Sbarge, Inside the Arthouse is an insider’s perspective on filmmakers and the people responsible for the movies showing on arthouse screens across the U.S.Episode 101: Merchant Ivory: A Conversation with Stephen Soucy is now live everywhere you get your podcasts.Laemmle Theatres opens Merchant Ivory this Friday at the Royal/West L.A. and Town Center/Encino. In his Hollywood Reporter review, David Rooney wrote of the film, "anyone with a fondness for...what might be described as a gentlemen
Greg Laemmle, President of Laemmle Theaters, along with actor and Emmy Award-winning director Raphael Sbarge, are launching a new Video Podcast called INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE. The show is dedicated to highlighting new releases, repertory classics, filmmakers, distributors, and the key personalities who bring movies to the big screen. INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE will be filmed and recorded at the Laemmle Royal Theatre, the 100-year-old theater that has been operated by three generations of Laemmles for the past half century. Laemmle says, “My family has been dedicated to providing a home for independent, foreign and documentary film for almost a century, and
In India Donaldson’s fantastic debut film Good One, 17-year-old Sam (Lily Collias) embarks on a three-day backpacking trip in the Catskills with her dad, Chris (James Le Gros) and his oldest friend, Matt (Danny McCarthy). As the two men quickly settle into a gently quarrelsome, brotherly dynamic, airing long-held grievances, Sam, wise beyond her years, tries to mediate. But when lines are crossed and Sam’s trust is betrayed, tensions reach a fever pitch, as Sam struggles with her dad’s emotional limitations and experiences the universal moment when the parental bond is tested. Selected for both Sundance and Cannes' Directors' Fortnight, Good One
Laemmle Theatres President Greg Laemmle and his wife Tish Laemmle are being honored by the good folks at Glendale Arts "in recognition of their unparalleled legacy of dedication to independent filmmakers and the art of storytelling on the screen." Glendale Arts is an award-winning 501(c)3 non-profit organization that generates opportunities throughout greater Los Angeles to showcase, promote, encourage, and engage with the arts. From their announcement:Glendale Arts proudly announces the organization’s highly-anticipated Summer Soiree “Under A Thousand Stars” to be held on Saturday, July 27, 2024 from 7:00-10:00 P.M. at ace/121 Gallery. Tickets
I don't often step up and offer personal thoughts on new openings. After all, we are opening several films every week, and we love all our children equally. Also, those of you who have spotted me at the theatre (after ONLY IN THEATERS, I've sacrificed any anonymity I might have enjoyed) know that sometimes I'm catching up on films together with you at regular screenings. Not surprisingly, I prefer to see things in a theatre and don't like to watch things via screening links, even if offered in advance.But with THELMA, we have a film that I did get to see at an early festival showing, and I LOVED it so much that I can't help but share my enthusiasm
Actress Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby, Bottoms) returns to Laemmle screens this Friday at the Monica Film Center, NoHo 7 and Town Center 5 with I Used to Be Funny. She plays an aspiring stand-up comedian and au pair struggling with PTSD as she decides whether or not to join the search for Brooke (Olga Petsa), a missing teenage girl she used to nanny.*Click here to watch the trailer.*"Rachel Sennott has the greatest face. It cannot lie, no matter what her characters are saying. That honesty makes her ideal for films with tricky tones... And it’s essential to I Used to Be Funny." - Johanna Schneller, Globe and Mail*"In her film debut, [writer-director
Over the weekend, writer-director Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project, Red Rocket) was awarded the Palme d'Or, the top prize, at this year's Cannes Film Festival for Anora, his comedy about a sex worker. New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis called the film "a giddily ribald picaresque." In his acceptance speech, Baker spoke eloquently about seeing movies in theaters. You can watch the whole thing online, but here's the key excerpt:*"This literally has been my singular goal as a filmmaker for the past 30 years. So I’m not really sure what I’m gonna do with the rest of my life, but I do know that I will continue to fight for cinema
Palestine's Official Submission for the 2025 Academy Awards, From Ground Zero is a powerful collection of short films by 22 Palestinian filmmakers living through war in Gaza. Through a unique blend of animation, documentary, and fiction, these stories capture the unyielding steadfastness of the human spirit and enduring creativity that thrives even in the face of relentless devastation. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has short-listed the film in its Best International Feature Film category for the 97th Academy Awards.From Ground Zero was created by filmmaker Rashid Masharawi and designed to give a voice to the people of Gaza and to
In Paul Schrader's new film Oh, Canada, which we open Friday at the Monica Film Center, NoHo, and Town Center, Richard Gere and Jacob Elordi play a man at opposite ends of his life, deciding how to live it. Uma Thurman, Michael Imperioli, and Victoria Hill co-star.Schrader said this about his film:"When friend and author Russell Banks (Affliction) took ill I was weighing other story possibilities. I realized that mortality should be the subject. Russell had researched and written a book about dying when he was healthy titled, Foregone. He'd wanted to call it Oh, Canada (there was a conflict with Richard Ford’s Canada), and asked if I would use his
Laemmle Theatres is pleased to announce changes to our eclectic Culture Vulture series beginning next month. After ten years of screening filmed theater, opera, ballet/dance, gallery/art, and much more at our Town Center/Encino, Glendale, Monica Film Center/Santa Monica, and Claremont 5 theaters, we are now adding our Newhall theater. What's more, we will now screen the films Saturdays and Sundays at 10:00 A.M. and Mondays at 7:00 P.M. Tickets are now on sale for the first six films of the new year:*January 25-27: Utilizing the third act motifs of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters as a jumping off point, Dmitry Krymov’s Fragment focuses in on Olga
Tomorrow we open Blitz, the latest film English filmmaker Steve McQueen (Shame, 12 Years a Slave, Occupied City), at the Claremont, Glendale, Monica Film Center, Newhall, and Town Center. Starring Saoirse Ronan, it follows the stories of a group of Londoners during the events of the British capital bombing in World War II. Top film critics have been singing its praises:"McQueen—a director who understands we can only look forward by looking back—gives us a new lens through which to examine WWII in this masterful film." ~ Emily Zemler, Observer"I’ve been to whole film festivals with less cinema than Steve McQueen packs into just two hours." ~
The latest episode of Inside the Arthouse features La Cocina filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios. The drama takes us behind the scenes at a Times Square restaurant, illuminating the lives of the people who prepare and serve our meals while chasing the American Dream. The ensemble cast, which includes two-time Academy Award-nominee Rooney Mara, delivers stunning performances in this beautifully shot film.Laemmle Theatres opens La Cocina this Friday at the Monica Film Center. Writer-director Alonso Ruizpalacios will participate in Q&A's after the 7 PM screening at the Monica Film Center on Friday, November 1st and the 4 PM screening on Saturday, November
When he accepted the Palme d'Or for his colorful, authentic, surprising, exciting, thrilling comedy Anora earlier this year at Cannes, writer-director Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project, Red Rocket) spoke eloquently about seeing movies in theaters. You can watch the whole thing online, but here's the key excerpt:"This literally has been my singular goal as a filmmaker for the past 30 years. So I’m not really sure what I’m gonna do with the rest of my life, but I do know that I will continue to fight for cinema because right now, as filmmakers, we have to fight to keep cinema alive. This means making feature films intended for theatrical
The newest episode of Inside the Arthouse features the fantastic documentary Union. Having received a Special Jury award at Sundance, and played thirty of the most prestigious documentary film festivals around the world, it opens October 25 at Laemmle Monica Film Center and Glendale. (We'll have multiple in-person Q&A's with the filmmakers and the main subject, Chris Smalls; details here.)Through intimate cinema vérité, Union chronicles the extraordinary efforts of a group of warehouse workers as they launch a grassroots campaign to unionize an Amazon fulfillment center on Staten Island.The filmmakers document the struggle from day one against one
In Exhibiting Forgiveness, which we open on October 18 at the Laemmle Claremont, Monica Film Center, NoHo and Town Center, Tarrell (Andre Holland) plays an admired American painter who lives with his wife, singer Aisha (Andra Day), and their young son, Jermaine. Tarrell’s artwork excavates beauty from the anguish of his youth, keeping past wounds at bay. His path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, La’Ron (John Earl Jelks), a conscience-stricken man desperate to reconcile.Tarrell’s mother, Joyce (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) a pious woman with a profound and joyful spirituality, hopes that Tarrell can open his heart
Ruth Reichl—trailblazing New York Times food critic, groundbreaking Gourmet Magazine editor, best-selling memoirist, and, for decades, one of the most influential figures shaping American food culture—grows concerned about the fate of small farmers, ranchers, and chefs as they wrestle with both immediate and systemic challenges as the pandemic takes hold.In Food and Country, Reichl reaches across political and social divides to discover innovators who are risking it all to survive on the front lines. As one person leads her to the next, she follows the unfolding stories of ranchers in Kansas and Georgia; farmers in Nebraska, Ohio, and the Bronx; a
The new comedy Between the Temples, starring Jason Schwartzman as a troubled cantor who finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher (a never-better Carol Kane) re-enters his life as his adult Bat Mitzvah student, is living up to the hype and bringing audiences into theaters. Peruse this sampling of the catalyst for the film's success, critics' reviews:"A spiky, hilarious, and thoroughly unorthodox screwball comedy about a grief-stricken cantor who loses his voice, only to find that he’s surrounded by a chorus of well-intentioned people who are happy to speak for him." ~ David Ehrlich, indieWire"We get the sense that
Introducing the new video podcast Inside the Arthouse. Hosted by Greg Laemmle, President of Laemmle Theatres, and actor and Emmy award-winning director Raphael Sbarge, Inside the Arthouse is an insider’s perspective on filmmakers and the people responsible for the movies showing on arthouse screens across the U.S.Episode 101: Merchant Ivory: A Conversation with Stephen Soucy is now live everywhere you get your podcasts.Laemmle Theatres opens Merchant Ivory this Friday at the Royal/West L.A. and Town Center/Encino. In his Hollywood Reporter review, David Rooney wrote of the film, "anyone with a fondness for...what might be described as a gentlemen
Greg Laemmle, President of Laemmle Theaters, along with actor and Emmy Award-winning director Raphael Sbarge, are launching a new Video Podcast called INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE. The show is dedicated to highlighting new releases, repertory classics, filmmakers, distributors, and the key personalities who bring movies to the big screen. INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE will be filmed and recorded at the Laemmle Royal Theatre, the 100-year-old theater that has been operated by three generations of Laemmles for the past half century. Laemmle says, “My family has been dedicated to providing a home for independent, foreign and documentary film for almost a century, and
In India Donaldson’s fantastic debut film Good One, 17-year-old Sam (Lily Collias) embarks on a three-day backpacking trip in the Catskills with her dad, Chris (James Le Gros) and his oldest friend, Matt (Danny McCarthy). As the two men quickly settle into a gently quarrelsome, brotherly dynamic, airing long-held grievances, Sam, wise beyond her years, tries to mediate. But when lines are crossed and Sam’s trust is betrayed, tensions reach a fever pitch, as Sam struggles with her dad’s emotional limitations and experiences the universal moment when the parental bond is tested. Selected for both Sundance and Cannes' Directors' Fortnight, Good One
Laemmle Theatres President Greg Laemmle and his wife Tish Laemmle are being honored by the good folks at Glendale Arts "in recognition of their unparalleled legacy of dedication to independent filmmakers and the art of storytelling on the screen." Glendale Arts is an award-winning 501(c)3 non-profit organization that generates opportunities throughout greater Los Angeles to showcase, promote, encourage, and engage with the arts. From their announcement:Glendale Arts proudly announces the organization’s highly-anticipated Summer Soiree “Under A Thousand Stars” to be held on Saturday, July 27, 2024 from 7:00-10:00 P.M. at ace/121 Gallery. Tickets
I don't often step up and offer personal thoughts on new openings. After all, we are opening several films every week, and we love all our children equally. Also, those of you who have spotted me at the theatre (after ONLY IN THEATERS, I've sacrificed any anonymity I might have enjoyed) know that sometimes I'm catching up on films together with you at regular screenings. Not surprisingly, I prefer to see things in a theatre and don't like to watch things via screening links, even if offered in advance.But with THELMA, we have a film that I did get to see at an early festival showing, and I LOVED it so much that I can't help but share my enthusiasm
Actress Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby, Bottoms) returns to Laemmle screens this Friday at the Monica Film Center, NoHo 7 and Town Center 5 with I Used to Be Funny. She plays an aspiring stand-up comedian and au pair struggling with PTSD as she decides whether or not to join the search for Brooke (Olga Petsa), a missing teenage girl she used to nanny.*Click here to watch the trailer.*"Rachel Sennott has the greatest face. It cannot lie, no matter what her characters are saying. That honesty makes her ideal for films with tricky tones... And it’s essential to I Used to Be Funny." - Johanna Schneller, Globe and Mail*"In her film debut, [writer-director
Over the weekend, writer-director Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project, Red Rocket) was awarded the Palme d'Or, the top prize, at this year's Cannes Film Festival for Anora, his comedy about a sex worker. New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis called the film "a giddily ribald picaresque." In his acceptance speech, Baker spoke eloquently about seeing movies in theaters. You can watch the whole thing online, but here's the key excerpt:*"This literally has been my singular goal as a filmmaker for the past 30 years. So I’m not really sure what I’m gonna do with the rest of my life, but I do know that I will continue to fight for cinema