National Theatre Live: The Fifth Step

Olivier Award-winner Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Dunkirk) is joined by Emmy and BAFTA-winner Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Responder) in the critically acclaimed and subversively funny new play by David Ireland.

After years in the 12-step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous, James becomes a sponsor to newcomer Luka. The pair bond over black coffee, trade stories and build a fragile friendship out of their shared experiences. But as Luka approaches step five – the moment of confession – dangerous truths emerge, threatening the trust on which both of their recoveries depend.

Screening as part of National Theatre Live: Fall 2025

Traffic

Cristian Mungiu (4

Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) penned this loose adaptation of the notorious

2012 art robbery, where Romanian migrants stole paintings by Monet, Gauguin,

and Picasso, among others, from a Dutch museum and later burned them to conceal

their tracks.

Much like Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind, TRAFFIC

strips the heist of all glamour; the crime is clumsy and anti-spectacular,

serving as a strangely empathetic act of revenge for their misery as invisible,

second-rate citizens. The ultimate irony of this social-realistic dramedy—the

source of the film’s absurd humor—lies in the East-West cultural clash: the

thieves, mistaking the Matisse for a “Matiz” car, realize the masterpieces are

functionally worthless to them, a paradox guaranteeing their poverty persists.

Featuring the magnetic Anamaria Vartolomei (seen this year in Mickey 17),

Romania’s Oscar submission is a tragicomic yet pointed reflection on class,

migration, and injustice.

Screening as part of Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema

Nasty: More Than Just Tennis

Thursday, December 4 at 6:30: The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with sports journalist Steve Flink

Celebrated with a

Special Screening at Cannes 2024, this adrenaline-charged portrait of legendary

tennis player Ilie Nastase is as entertaining as a match with its protagonist.

Using rare archive footage, the film pivots around his explosive 1972 season—Wimbledon

runner-up, US Open champion, and a third Davis Cup final—a watershed moment

that catapulted the Romanian from behind the Iron Curtain into the global

spotlight. Simultaneously affable and generous, he could switch to haughty and

obscene—a contradictory nature that earned him the infamous “Nasty”

nickname. A stellar cast—including luminaries like Billie Jean King, John

McEnroe, Boris Becker, Rafael Nadal, and Jimmy Connors—all acknowledge his

defiant edge and controversial behavior, yet consistently vouch for his

fundamental talent and kindness. This is a definitive smash into the essence of

the sport’s initial rebellious idol, who shattered its staid gentility with

brazen theatricality.

Screening as part of Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema

Looking for an Angel

NYC Premiere of the 4K Restoration!

Tuesday, November 25 at 7:00: Introduction by Elizabeth Purchell and KJ Shepherd

Mostly seen on the gay pink circuit and recently restored by its director to its rightful place in the Japanese arthouse canon, Akihiro Suzuki’s debut takes the death of a young gay porn performer named Takachi as its starting point. Looking for an Angel follows Shinpei and Reiko as they process their friend’s disappearance, their memories coalescing into a bold exploration of grief set against the backdrop of a nostalgic, blue-hued city shot in a variety of filmic formats. As the viewer begins to piece together Takachi’s story, laden with desire for another boy named Sorao, between the cities of Tokyo and Kochi (“where the boys look like angels”), a powerful free-associative beauty emerges from a unique work described by Suzuki himself as “neither straight, gay, queer, bisexual, asexual or pornographic, but [rather] anti-heterosexist” — a film completely free of dogma and convention.

“At the time, I felt a sense of rebellion against the heterosexual-dominated world, and wanted to portray sexuality and identity through an ambiguity that cannot be categorized,” says director Akihiro Suzuki. “I wanted to make a 35mm film like an 8mm film, mix various visual media, and include people of diverse sexualities around me in it.” — Akihiro Suzuki

The New Yorker at 100

For the first time, The New Yorker opens up its offices to Academy Award-winning director Marshall Curry, allowing unprecedented access to its newsroom at a pivotal moment for all media, offering a rare look at what it took to publish a century of intrepid journalism, generation-defining fiction, and unforgettable cartoons.

Official Selection: Telluride Film Festival

An Evening with the New York Times’ Op-Docs 2025

Tuesday, December 2 at 6:30: Q&A with the Op-Docs team after the showing

Film title: THEIR EYES
Director: Nicolas Gourault
Country: France
Synopsis: In “Their Eyes,” we’re introduced to the online gig workers who teach the A.I. in self-driving cars how to navigate the streets. While the workers are predominantly in the global south, these kinds of cars are increasingly part of the streets of the global north. “Their Eyes” is an investigation into and exploration of the invisible workers training A.I. systems how to read the world.

Film title: VIEW FROM THE FLOOR
Directors: Megan Griffiths, Mindie Lind
Country: United States
Synopsis: For as long as she can remember, Mindie Lind has been obsessed with performing onstage. Since she was born with no legs, it wasn’t long before news crews, national telethons and even the talk show host Maury Povich arrived to capture Mindie in action, always portraying her simplest activities as inspirational.
“View From the Floor” captures her journey navigating tropes, exploitation and the question of whether she’s talented or typecast, superstar or “supercrip” (a person with a disability who is seen as a superhero for doing everyday things).

Film title: AM I THE SKINNIEST PERSON YOU’VE EVER SEEN?
Director: Eisha Marjara
Country: Canada
Synopsis: For the sisters Eisha and Seema, a joint diet offered a shared sense of purpose. But their project would take a dark turn, and Eisha was eventually consumed by anorexia. In “Am I the Skinniest Person You’ve Ever Seen?” Eisha revisits her past with a tender love letter to her younger self and the battle she faced.

Film title: CRYING GLACIER
Director: Lutz Stautner
Country: Switzerland
Synopsis: When Lutz Stautner first heard the artist Ludwig Berger’s recordings of a melting glacier, he could hardly believe they were real. They reflected what Lutz had long associated with glaciers: complexity, excitement, life. By approaching the glacier through sound, by making it seem alive, Ludwig gave him a whole new perspective, not just on climate change caused by humans, but on coexistence. What can we learn by listening?

Film title: DEATH OF A FANTASTIC MACHINE
Directors: Maximilien Van Aertryck, Axel Danielson
Country: France/Sweden
Synopsis: The camera is a tool — but to do what? Images shape our daily life, yet we rarely question how they’re made or why. Here, Maximilien Van Aertryck and Axel Danielson focus on how economic forces have shaped what we see, from the earliest photography to the algorithms and A.I. of today. Some say there are an estimated 45 billion cameras on earth today, giving humankind access to perspectives far beyond our own reach. But the very tool that could help us understand the world is increasingly used to distort it. With A.I., this distortion has reached a new level. When any photo or video can be manufactured, what happens to the camera’s credibility? Can we still trust what we see? Could we ever?

Atropia

When an aspiring actress (Alia Shawkat) in a military role-playing facility falls in love with a soldier (Callum Turner) cast as an insurgent, their unsimulated emotions threaten to derail the performance.  What unfolds is an audaciously funny satire that asks: In the performance of war, who are the winners and who are the losers?

Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival

Little Trouble Girls

At her mother’s urging, introverted 16-year-old Lucija joins her Catholic school’s all-girls choir, where she befriends Ana-Marija, a popular older student. When the choir travels to a countryside convent for a weekend retreat of intensive rehearsals, Lucija navigates the unfamiliar surroundings, complex teenage social structures, and her own awakening sexuality. A series of initiations, including an eye-opening experience with a handsome construction worker, test Lucija’s friendship with Ana-Marija and the other girls, as she begins to question her beliefs and disrupt the harmony within the choir.

This stunning feature debut by award-winning Slovenian filmmaker Urška Djukic had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival and won the Best Cinematography prize at Tribeca.

The Tale of Silyan

An unlikely bond forms when farmer Nikola stumbles upon Silyan, a wounded white stork.

Official Selection: Venice International Film Festival, TIFF

Sound of Falling

A remote German farm harbors generations of secrets. Four women, separated by decades but united by trauma, uncover the truth behind its weathered walls.

Jury Prize Winner, Cannes Film Festival
Official Selection: TIFF

 One-week only awards-qualifying run Fri, Nov 14-Thu, Nov 20. Regular engagement begins Jan 16, 2026.