Current & Upcoming Film Series
Past Film Series-
Mikio Naruse: The Auteur as Salaryman
July 3–December 21, 2025Mikio Naruse: The Auteur as Salaryman offers a rare opportunity to see many of Naruse’s great films chronicling the lives of ordinary people—from his 1935 international hit Wife! Be Like a Rose! (the first Japanese talkie to screen in the United States) to his magnificent movies of the 1960s.
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Alternative Visions
September 3–November 19, 2025This year, Alternative Visions includes work from across one hundred years of cinema history—from Sergei Eisenstein’s breathtaking agitprop first feature Strike (1925) to Kahlil Joseph’s time-traveling cinematic encyclopedia BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions (2025).
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Special Screenings 2025
OngoingRecent releases, restored classics, and special guests grace the Barbro Osher Theater.
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Frederick Wiseman: America at Work
October 18, 2025–February 19, 2026With the federal government slashing staff and reneging on promised funding to local governments and grant-supported institutions, this series spotlights the labor of public employees through seven decades of documentary films from Frederick Wiseman, “an artist of extraordinary vision” (Mark Binelli, New York Times).
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Gunvor Nelson: A Life in Film
November 12–21, 2025Gunvor Nelson (1931–2025) was an acclaimed Swedish experimental filmmaker who was based in the Bay Area for nearly four decades. Nelson made personal films that explored her own life and experiences. John Sundholm of Stockholm University will speak about Nelson’s life and work, giving context to these special films.
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Marta Mateus Presents Fire of Wind and Films by Margarida Cordeiro and António Reis
November 13–16, 2025Visiting Portuguese filmmaker Marta Mateus presents her films Fire of Wind (2024) and Barbs, Wastelands (2017), along with two works by the ethnopoetic filmmakers Margarida Cordeiro and António Reis in which she found inspiration.
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Jerry Ross Barrish: A Life in Film and Art
December 6–14, 2025Inspired by BAMPFA’s recent acquisition of three of Jerry Ross Barrish’s films, this series is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the inspiring accomplishments of one of the Bay Area's local treasures.
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Akira Kurosawa: Four Recent Restorations
December 10, 2025–February 20, 2026BAMPFA showcases four classics directed by Japanese master Akira Kurosawa—from his searing portrait of modern society Ikiru, to his highly influential works The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, and High and Low, with Toshiro Mifune in the lead. These films are shown in recent 4K restorations.
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In the Mood for Love: The Films of Wong Kar Wai
January 9–February 28, 2026A retrospective of the films of influential Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai, who combines neo-Expressionist cinematography, richly textured production design, and elliptical narrative structures to explore the existential complexities of change, desire, memory, love, friendship, and self-realization.
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Swedish Silent Cinema: Victor Sjöström & Mauritz Stiller
January 16–February 28, 2026This series features a selection of the best films from the Golden Age of Swedish silent cinema, presented in 35mm archival prints and digital restorations, along with an illustrated lecture (free admission) on Victor Sjöström by Jon Wengström, Senior Curator of the Archival Collections at the Swedish Film Institute.
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Laura Truffaut on François Truffaut
January 17–February 28, 2026From his debut feature, The 400 Blows, to his final film, Confidentially Yours, this series allows us to learn about French filmmaker François Truffaut (1932–1984) through the eyes of his daughter, Laura Truffaut, who will introduce and lead post-screening discussions.
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Robert Beavers: Filmmaker in Residence
January 30–February 7, 2026Filmmaker Robert Beavers joins us for a complete retrospective of his films, including his eighteen-film cycle, My Hand Outstretched to the Winged Distance and Sightless Measure (1967–2002), plus the seven films he has released since 2007. His meticulously crafted films have a remarkable lyricism and exquisite beauty.
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Documentary Voices
February 4–April 22, 2026This February installment of Documentary Voices begins with four programs that highlight compelling approaches to documenting different kinds of labor, including the work of truck drivers, cowboys and cowgirls, models, fashion photographers, and a courageous Palestinian photo journalist and poet.
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Climate Journalism on Screen
February 7–22, 2026Following the success of last winter’s Climate Journalism on Screen series, this new installment continues the exploration of how contemporary filmmakers address the myriad issues around climate change with new subjects, environments, and documentary techniques, presented in feature, mid-length, and short film form.