Avant-garde Cinema

Directed by Federico Fellini
Italy, 1963, 2h 18min, DCP, In Italian with English subtitles

“Federico Fellini manages to accomplish with film what mostly abstract painters do – namely, to communicate emotion without ever saying or showing anything in a direct manner, without ever explaining anything, just by a sort of sheer magic.”
—David Lynch

Fellini’s surreal comedy portrait of a famous, suave director (Marcello Mastroianni) — whose creative touch eludes him as he attempts to finish a film — created a sensation and spawned a movie genre of its own.-- Write-up by the Austin Film Society

A miner and a nurse arrive in Fengjie, a town upended by the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, to search for long‑lost spouses. As the old neighborhood disappears and a new one rises in its place, both must decide what to reclaim from their pasts and what to leave behind.

-- Write-up by the Austin Film Society

Directed by Akinola Davies Jr.

Nigeria/UK, 2025, 1h 33min, DCP, n English and Yoruba with English subtitles.

“A heartbreaking reflection on father-son relationships and a nation on the cusp of change.”
—The Hollywood Reporter

“A vibrant, deeply felt love letter to Lagos, written in blood.”
—Indiewire

“With great tenderness, Davies imagines such dreams, memories, and even cinema itself as a portal through which we might resume communion and honour what could have been.”
—Sight & Sound

The BAFTA award-winning debut feature from British-Nigerian director Akinola Davies Jr. vividly melds autobiographical reminiscences with turbulent historical context as we witness a family’s journey to Lagos with the backdrop of a historic election in 1993. The story, which was written by the director’s brother Wale, shows us the events through the not-quite-comprehending eyes of two brothers, uncertain why their father is taking them on this unexpected trip. Throughout, an understanding dawns for the boys (and the viewer) of the meaning and significance of the events. Free Member Monday — free admission for all AFS members on Monday, May 11.

• write up by Austin Film Society

Directed by Kaizo Hayashi

Japan, 1993, 1h 32min, DCP, In Japanese with English subtitles.

Launching the trilogy with a mix of black-and-white noir and pop‑art swagger, THE MOST TERRIBLE TIME IN MY LIFE channels the wild energy of Seijun Suzuki and the gumshoe grit of Mickey Spillane. When Maiku Hama saves a Taiwanese immigrant, he’s dragged into a spiraling pan-Asian, brother‑against‑brother gang feud, turning Yokohama’s backstreets into a battleground of divided loyalties — in deadpan style. Featuring special appearances by Shinya Tsukamoto (dir. TETSUO, THE IRON MAN) and Joe Shishido (star of BRANDED TO KILL).

• write up by Austin Film Society

Part of the THE MAIKU HAMA TRILOGY (write up by AFS):

Emerging from the wild, genre‑bending energy of 1990s Japanese cinema, Kaizo Hayashi’s Maiku Hama Trilogy reimagines the character of the hard‑boiled detective through a distinctly pop‑art lens. Anchored by the effortless cool of Masatoshi Nagase (star of Jim Jarmusch’s MYSTERY TRAIN) as a private eye working out of a dilapidated Yokohama movie house, the films blend moody American noir, Nikkatsu‑style action, and offbeat comedy into a world where missing dogs, waterfront turf wars, and serial killers coexist — with deadpan charm. Shot in both striking black‑and‑white and bold color palettes, the trilogy stands as a cult landmark of its era, now newly restored and ready for rediscovery.