NEWSLETTER
Exhibitions, film programs and events; plus special guest appearances
Astoria, New York (July 1, 2024) — This summer, Museum of the Moving Image presents a centenary celebration of Soviet Armenian master filmmaker Sergei Parajanov; a screening series exploring the trans image in cinema co-programmed by Caden Mark Gardner and Willow Catelyn Maclay, authors of the new book Corpses, Fools, and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema; the ninth edition of See It Big: 70mm, New York City’s only annual 70mm film festival; the continuation of See It Big at the ’90s Multiplex; special appearances by filmmakers; and more.
Throughout the summer, the Museum is continuing its Open Worlds initiative with free access to its lobby and courtyard during operating hours and a slate of free community programs including talks by artists and entertainment industry professionals, live music, dance parties, and more.
A schedule of programs and exhibitions are included below and posted online at movingimage.org. Additional programs and schedule changes may occur; please check the website for updates.
SCREENING SERIES
See It Big at the ’90s Multiplex
Through July 21
The Museum continues to celebrate an essential decade of cinema. These are movies that worked as jumper cables for an entire generation of ecstatic cinephiles—none of them tentpoles or sequels—and each deserves to be seen on the big screen. Upcoming films: Thelma & Louise (1991), Strange Days (1995), Speed (1994), Menace II Society (1993), and Pulp Fiction (1994). Event info
View press release
100 Years of Parajanov
July 6–26
Born to Armenian parents in multicultural Tbilisi, Georgia, Sergei Parajanov was a troubadour of aesthetic finesse whose versatile genius with the moving image is distinguished through atmospheric mise-en-scène, sumptuous colors, opulent settings, and unforgettable imagery. Museum of the Moving Image celebrates Parajanov’s distinctive oeuvre on the centenary of his birth featuring four of his greatest feature films: Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964), The Color of Pomegranates (1968), Ashik Kerib (1988), The Legend of Suram Fortress (1985), and a selection of shorts. The series also features a program of two films by Parajanov’s friend and collaborator Mikhail Vartanov: the newly restored documentary Parajanov: The Last Spring (1992) and The Color of Armenian Land (1968). Programmed by Dorota Lech, who will introduce all screenings on July 6–7. Event info
From the Margins: The Trans Film Image
July 13 & 20
MoMI is pleased to present a selection of films programmed by critics Caden Mark Gardner and Willow Catelyn Maclay, authors of the new book Corpses, Fools, and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema (2024, Repeater). Drawing on themes from the book, the series features Alain Berliner’s Ma vie en rose (1997), introduced by Gardner and followed by a book-signing; director Isabel Sandoval in person with her film Lingua Franca (2019); Robert Altman’s Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982); and Rosa von Praunheim’s City of Lost Souls (1982). Event info
See It Big: 70mm!
July 18–August 18
New York City’s only annual 70mm film festival, MoMI’s See It Big: 70mm returns for its ninth edition. The series features a thrilling selection of classic and contemporary titles, opening with the East Coast premiere of a new 70mm print of John Ford’s enduring 1956 masterpiece The Searchers, followed by Jacques Tati’s unparalleled work of large-scale comedy Playtime (1967); Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); Christopher Nolan’s time-bending action thriller Tenet (2020); David Lean’s sweeping historical drama Lawrence of Arabia (1962); and Ron Howard’s grandiose and lush epic Far and Away (1992). Presenting Sponsor: MUBI. Event info
View press release
Junk Dump Film Festival
July 27 & 28
MoMI will co-present Junk Dump Magazine’s fourth annual short film festival, which features work by emerging and underrepresented filmmakers working at the intersection of video art and storytelling. The two-day program will include narrative, animated, and experimental short films made by artists using unique processes to tell singular and engaging stories. The screenings will be followed by discussions with the filmmakers. This year’s films were selected by Maya Moravec and Izzie Nadah (One & Other Productions) and Yoni Azulay and Zach Rineer (Bluestone Pictures). Junk Dump Magazine is a not-for-profit arts organization that produces a semi-annual print publication and events like Junk Dump Film Festival. The film lineup will be announced on the Museum’s website.
Philip Lopate's Affair with Art House Cinema
Saturday, August 24
Timed to the publication of his latest book of essays and reviews, My Affair with Art House Cinema (2024, Columbia University Press), Phillip Lopate joins us to present two gritty independent films from 1976, Lino Brocka’s Insiang and John Cassavetes’s The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Lopate will introduce both films and sign copies of his book. Encore screenings will take place on August 31 and September 1.
Pema Tseden
September 7–14
Born into a pastoral family in China’s western Qinghai province, director and novelist Pema Tseden (1969–2023) revolutionized Tibetan representation in Chinese cinema, creating unprecedented films that combine standardized narrative forms with Tibetan culture and language. Programmed by guest curator Shelly Kraicer, the Museum’s retrospective celebrates Pema Tseden’s legacy and features all of his films: The Silent Manistone (2002), The Grassland (2004), The Silent Holy Stones (2005), The Search (2009), Old Dog (2010), The Sacred Arrow (2014), Tharlo (2015), Jinpa (2018), Balloon (2019), and Snow Leopard (2023).
ON VIEW IN THE GALLERIES
Auriea Harvey: My Veins Are the Wires, My Body Is Your Keyboard
Extended through December 1
The pioneering net artist and sculptor Auriea Harvey is receiving her first major museum survey at MoMI. Recently selected as a Critic’s Pick in The New York Times, the exhibition features more than 40 of Harvey’s works from a career spanning nearly four decades. New: a newly created digital work Echo: Core, a fragment of her sculpture Echo (on view in the exhibition), will be available as a free open edition, minted on Tezos, for visitors to take home. More info
View press release
Museum Without Walls: MoMI x Tezos
June 28, 2024–June 29, 2025
As part of a new one-year partnership with the Tezos Foundation, the Museum will present new digital work by contemporary artists on its Schlosser Media Wall, opening with Sabato Visconti's b a r b i e ~ w o r l d ~ b r e a k d o w n (2024), the first of five artists in the installation series Easel Engine. Visit the exhibition webpage to collect a free digital fragment of the work minted on Tezos, available through July 25. Also, at a new station in the lobby, collect an open edition of Auriea Harvey's Echo: Core (2024), a fragment of the artist's monumental sculpture Echo (2024), which is featured in the major survey of her work My Veins Are the Wires, My Body Is Your Keyboard currently on view in the Museum’s third-floor changing exhibitions gallery. More info
View press release
Coin-Operated Treasures: Black-Cast Soundies from the Astoria Studio
June 29–August 4
From 1939 to 1947, the Chicago-based Mills Novelty Company built and distributed art-deco style wooden cabinets called Panorams, coin-operated devices that functioned like a jukebox but played short musical films, known as Soundies, instead of records. See a Panoram from the Museum’s collection presented alongside eight projected Soundies, featuring such performers as Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The Museum is planning to present live demonstrations of the Panoram during its installation (dates to be announced). More info
Jane Henson in Performance
June 7–August 11
Jane Henson (née Nebel) was one of her husband Jim Henson’s most significant longtime collaborators. A new compilation in the Museum’s Video Screening Amphitheater highlights some of Jane’s performances with the Muppets, featuring clips from the Today show, Sam and Friends, and television commercials. More info
Find all current MoMI exhibitions here.
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS AND OTHER SCREENINGS
ray ferreira’s An echo wails, whispers an undulating pattern
Video installation, artist talk, and reception
Friday, July 12, 7:00 p.m.
Exploring the connections between queerness, embodiment, and speculative fiction, ray ferreira’s work looks at bodies as sources of labor power, ideological constructions, and sites of possibility granted by history and indeterminate futures. Join MoMI for an artist talk with ferreira moderated by artist-writer Daniella Brito and see ferreira’s installation on the Schlosser Media Wall Lobby Wall, 8:00–10:00 p.m. with a reception featuring music by DJ Aguapanela Mami. Part of Open Worlds free community programs. Event info
Ma vie en rose
Introduced by critic/author Caden Mark Gardner; followed by book signing
Saturday, July 13, 1:00 p.m.
Dir. Alain Berliner. 1997. 35mm. A young trans child, Ludo (Georges Du Fresne), explores their gender identity and faces harsh transphobic fallout from family and community alike in wanting to express their feminine side. Winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign-Language Film, Berliner’s film saw its message and reach in the United States curbed due to an R rating. Following the screening, Gardner will sign copies of their new book, co-authored with Willow Catelyn Maclay, Corpses, Fools, and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema. Part of From the Margins: The Trans Film Image. Event info
Lingua Franca
Introduced by writer-director-star Isabel Sandoval; followed by a Q&A with Sandoval and critic/author Caden Mark Gardner
Saturday, July 13, 5:45 p.m.
Dir. Isabel Sandoval. U.S./Philippines. 2019, 89 mins. DCP. Lingua Franca contains the rarest of onscreen trans depictions: a genuine romantic melodrama in the vein of Fassbinder and Wong Kar-wai. Writer-director Isabel Sandoval stars as Olivia, a trans woman and undocumented immigrant in need of a green card and caught in the red-tape of outmoded trans documentation. Part of From the Margins: The Trans Film Image.Event info
A Celebration of Richard Hunt: Panel and Book Signing
Sunday, July 14, 1:00 p.m.
Muppet performer Richard Hunt brought many beloved characters to life, including Scooter, Janice, Statler, Beaker, Sweetums, and countless others. Jim Henson called him “the most sensational perpetual teenager in the world.” Join MoMI for a special panel discussion, with clips, celebrating his life and work, featuring Jessica Max Stein, author of the 2024 book Funny Boy: The Richard Hunt Biography; Sesame Street performer Pam Arciero; Jan Nelson, wife of Muppet performer Jerry Nelson; and Debi Spinney, wife of the legendary Sesame Street performer Caroll Spinney. Followed by a book signing. Part of Jim Henson’s World. Event info
Black Rio! Black Power!
Sunday, July 21, 1:00 p.m.
Dir. Emilio Domingos. 2023, 70 mins. This fascinating Brazilian documentary explores the transformative power of soul music in 1970s Rio de Janeiro, where dance events became crucial spaces for the political affirmation and resistance of the young black community. Part of Last Premieres, co-presented with Cinema Tropical. This program is also co-presented with Brasil Summerfest. Event info
Bambi
July 20–27
Dir. David Hand, plus sequence directors James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Arthur Davis, Clyde Geronimi, Graham Held, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Norman Wright. 1942, 70 mins. DCP. Disney’s classic tale of the circle of life is one of the most gorgeously animated hand-drawn films of all time, following the adventures of a fawn named Bambi and his young friends. Part of World of Animation. Event info
Toying with the Movies
Sunday, July 21, 3:00 p.m.
Pull back the curtain and learn the shocking secrets behind bringing toys, prop replicas, and collectibles from the big screen to your home. Industry veterans Mike Drake and Sam Furst will reveal harrowing true tales of their unique art, working with major corporations to produce licensed merchandise. Part of Open Worlds free community programs. Event info
Speed Racer
July 27 & 28
Dirs. Lilly Wachowski and Lana Wachowski. 2008, 135 mins. Sitting behind the wheel of his Mach 5, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is a young and brilliant racer and one of the track’s hottest stars. The Wachowskis’ candy-colored extravaganza is a vibrant and kinetic underrated action gem. Part of Disreputable Cinema. Event info
Buster Keaton in Sherlock Jr.
August 2–11
Dir. Buster Keaton. 1924, 45 mins. DCP. Keaton’s classic about a lovestruck projectionist who falls asleep during a show and dreams he has entered the film as a detective is a delightful and ingenious comedy. Part of Silents, Please! Event info
Golden Eighties
August 3 & 17
Dir. Chantal Akerman. 1986, 99 min. DCP. With Delphine Seyrig, Myriam Boyer. Akerman’s uniquely captivating vision of love and survival in the age of late capitalism is a singing, dancing musical with a feminist, formalist sensibility set entirely within a shopping mall. Part of MoMI Moviehouse. Event info
Effective Effects with Foley Artist Matt Rocker
August 3 & 4
Join audio engineer and Foley artist Matt Rocker for a hands-on demo of practical sound design using everyday objects. Attendees will have an opportunity create their own sound effects that lend believability to film, television, and video games. Part of Open Worlds free community programs.
Bollywood Disco: Talk + Party
Friday, August 16, 5:00–8:00 p.m.
The legendary Queens-based DJ Rekha and filmmaker Saleem Nasir Gondal will join MoMI for a discussion, with clips, about how Hindi films (aka Bollywood, the film industry in Mumbai) engage with cultural, national, and political borders, and the evolution of storytelling in Hindi cinema. Gondal’s short film Post Term (2023) will also be shown. Followed by Rekha’s Bollywood Disco dance party, featuring the DJ’s renowned remixes of classic numbers, live performances, film favorites, and disco grooves. Part of Open Worlds free community programs. Event info
We Are the Best!
August 17–23
Dir. Lukas Moodysson. 2013, 102 min. DCP. Despite having no instruments—or discernible musical talent—two 13-year-old girls in ’80s Stockholm put all their energy into forming an all-girl punk band, recruiting their shy, classical-guitar-playing schoolmate. Part of MoMI Moviehouse. Event info
The Muppet Movie—45th anniversary screening
August 24–September 1
Dir. James Frawley. 1979, 95 mins. DCP. Kermit the Frog makes his way from his humble origins in a swamp to fabled Hollywood, picking up friends as he goes, including Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, and Gonzo. Event info
Alice in the Cities
August 23 & 25
Dir. Wim Wenders. 1974, 113 min. Germany. The first of the road films that would define Wenders’ career, the magnificent Alice in the Cities is an emotionally generous and luminously shot odyssey following a journalist with a young girl in his care. Shot and set both in Germany and the United States, the film features scenes at Rockaway Beach, Willets Point, and JFK airport, which plays an iconic part in this transient tale. Part of Queens on Screen. Event info
Erich von Stroheim’s Greed
With live piano accompaniment by Makia Matsumura
Sunday, August 25, 5:30 p.m.
Dir. Erich von Stroheim. 1924, 140 mins. 35mm. With Gibson Gowland, ZaSu Pitts, Jean Hersholt. Stroheim’s film maudit, which originally ran nearly nine hours before its butchering at the hands of Irving Thalberg, nonetheless remains one of the silent era’s white-hot masterpieces, a ferociously grotesque and often Brechtian adaptation of Frank Norris’s novel McTeague. Part of Silents, Please! Event info
Additional programs will be added as they are confirmed. This schedule is subject to change; all schedule updates will appear on the Museum’s website at movingimage.org
About Museum of the Moving Image
Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) is the only institution in the United States that deals comprehensively with the art, technology, enjoyment, and social impact of film, television, and digital media. In its stunning facility in Astoria, New York, the Museum presents exhibitions; screenings; discussion programs featuring actors, directors, and creative leaders; and education programs. It houses the nation’s largest collection of moving image artifacts and screens over 500 films annually. Its exhibitions—including the core exhibition Behind the Screen and The Jim Henson Exhibition—are noted for their integration of material objects, interactive experiences, and audiovisual presentations. For more information about the MoMI, visit movingimage.org.
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Press contacts:
Tomoko Kawamoto, tkawamoto@movingimage.org, 718 777 6830
Jayna Zelman, Rubenstein, jzelman@Rubenstein.com
PRESS IMAGES
Pictured: The Legend of Suram Fortress (courtesy of the Georgian National Film Center) | Press gallery.: The Legend of Suram Fortress (courtesy of the Georgian National Film Center) | Press gallery.
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Museum of the Moving Image is housed in a building owned by the City of New York and has received significant support from the following public agencies: New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; New York City Council; New York City Economic Development Corporation; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; Institute of Museum and Library Services; National Endowment for the Humanities; National Endowment for the Arts; and Natural Heritage Trust (administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation).