Monica Film Center

1332 2nd Street | MAP
Santa Monica, CA 90401

310-478-3836

 

The Way, My Way, which we open March 7 at our Claremont, Santa Monica, and Encino theaters, is the charming and captivating true story of a stubborn, self-centered Australian man who decides to walk the 800 kilometer-long Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route through Spain. He doesn’t know why he’s doing it… but one step at a time, it will change him and his outlook on life forever. Based on Bill Bennett’s best-selling memoir of the same name.Bennett penned the following about The Way, My Way:"I really didn't want to make this film. I didn't want to make a film about myself; about my failings and vulnerabilities, and hardships which took me right to

Our movie-loving customers have votes for their favorite films of 2024! The top ten customer-chosen films are, in order from 1 to 10: Anora Conclave The Brutalist Dune: Part Two A Complete Unknown Emilia Pérez Wicked A Real Pain Challengers The SubstanceThe lucky randomly chosen winners for free passes (soon to be mailed) are:1) Jeff W.2) Mia S.3) Riley K.Congratulations to our winners and thanks to everyone for playing!

Laemmle Theatres and Cinema Parallel are proud to present the U.S. theatrical release of Rob Tregenza’s latest feature film, The Fishing Place. The film had its North American theatrical premiere at MoMA in New York City on February 6 and will open at the Monica Film Center on March 7.*In this formally inventive historical drama, acclaimed American filmmaker Rob Tregenza explores the moral complexities of World War II and the permutations of history and its representation. Set in occupied Norway, the drama follows Anna (Ellen Dorrit Petersen), a housekeeper who arrives to work for a German priest in rural Telemark. As the priest grapples with his

The Oscar nominations are out and it was another excellent cinematic year. As always, some categories will be more unpredictable than others. Last year, most contestants 59.5% thought Lily Gladstone would win Best Actress for Killers of the Flower Moon, while only 29.7% correctly divined that Emma Stone would win for Poor Things. This year, Best Picture may be the most challenging category; there are at least six real possibilities. That's where you come in because it’s time for our Umpteenth Annual Laemmle Oscar Contest! If you, dear cinephile, can accurately predict how the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will vote in

Can you name your five favorite films released last year? Enter our contest here, use our handy-dandy drop-down menus to quickly choose five, and you'll automatically be entered into a raffle to win a gift card! Also, we'll create an overall customer top ten list from all the entries. In case you need your memory jogged, Greg Laemmle composed the following:*"I'm actually kind of glad that we are only asking for everyone's five favorite films this year. Yes, we will compile all the submissions and ultimately turn it into a Laemmle Patron Top 10 list, so maybe that's a cheat. But as I sit here looking at my top films from 2024, it's actually kind of

To honor our one-of-a-kind city and its amazing communities, we're giving you the gift of FREE MOVIES! Thanks to our amazing friends at NEON, catch any film at the Monica Film Center and Royal tonight and tomorrow absolutely free. Come take a much-deserved break and experience the joy of an arthouse film. The offer only applies in-person at the theater box offices. Take the money you would have spent on tickets and donate it to fire relief.

When is a documentary about hummingbirds more than just another educational nature documentary? In the case of Sally Aitken’s new movie Every Little Thing, we discover that small things are very big things— and you will be more than a little surprised. Hummingbirds’ wings beat fifty times per second, and with astounding high speed photography, they float like gossamer on the screen, captured like tiny, magical sprites. Terry Masear, the film's subject, runs a hummingbird rescue and she, too, is magical and surprising. These remarkable birds, no bigger than your little finger, become bigger than life as we discover Terry’s care, attention, wisdom

Monica Film CenterFri (1/03) 4pm - Los Frikis - Special Screening with Q&A with director Michael Schwartz and star Eros de la PuenteFri (1/03) 7pm - Los Frikis - Special Screening with Q&A with director Michael Schwartz and star Eros de la PuenteSat (1/04) 4pm - Los Frikis - Special Screening with Q&A with director Michael SchwartzSat (1/04) 7pm - Los Frikis - Special Screening with Q&A with director Michael Schwartz Laemmle NoHo 7Fri (1/03) 4:10 pm - Los Frikis - Special Screening followed by Q&A with director Tyler NilsonFri (1/03) 7:10 pm - Los Frikis - Special Screening followed by Q&A with director Tyler NilsonSat (1/04) 4:10 pm - Los Frikis

Acclaimed filmmakers Gregory Kershaw and Michael Dweck, three-time Sundance honorees who previously took audiences to the secret corners of the Italian countryside in search of white truffles with The Truffle Hunters, recently sat down with Inside the Arthouse hosts Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge to talk about their latest striking nonfiction work. Gaucho Gaucho paints an Argentinian western with images and sounds of operatic beauty, building on their earlier success with The Last Race, a film that explored the last stock car racetrack on Long Island.Kershaw and Dweck’s focus is now on the vast mountains of Argentina, expressed in stunning black

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

Our eclectic Culture Vulture series returns this weekend. 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 show the films on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:00 A.M. and Mondays at 7:00 P.M. Tickets are now on sale for the first nine films of the new year:*February 1-3: Art and Life: The Story of Jim Phillips ~ Embark on the epic ride of Jim Phillips, the genius behind skateboarding and rock culture's electrifying art. Drawing inspiration from his life

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