The Grand Illusion

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO: The Wedding of Vera Drew and The Joker, followed by a screening of THE PEOPLE'S JOKER!

WHEN: July 24th at 7pm

WHERE: The Grand Illusion Cinema

A LOVE STORY TO BEHOLD: We invite you to join us for this heartwarming and historical one-night-only event on July 24th. Witness the bond of eternal love and the fair use defense as indie darling Vera Drew legally ties the knot with The Clown Prince of Crime himself, The Joker. As everyone knows, for the past 4 years Vera Drew and the Joker have been romantically and creatively involved, with many describing them as "the dynamic duo of love, laughter, and (parody) law." Now, the two lovebirds are ready to make it official in a house of God, and before the eyes of the world.

STRICT DRESS CODE: Dress to impress! That means...clown makeup, any form of cosplay, scantily clad outfits, pajamas, or dysphoria hoodies.

“The People’s Joker is a fearless, gloriously funny, and moving act of cinematic anarchy.” Alejandra Martinez, The Austin Chronicle

When the Marquis d’Urfé, a noble emissary of the King of France, is attacked and abandoned in the remote countryside, he finds refuge at an eerie, isolated manor. The resident family, reluctant to take him in, exhibits strange behavior as they await the imminent return of their father, Gorcha. But what begins simply as strange quickly devolves into a full-fledged nightmare when Gorcha returns, seemingly no longer himself…

Adapted from a novella that predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by over half a century and shot on Super 16mm, THE VOURDALAK is an atmospheric, unexpected, sensorial experience that will leave you reeling and giddy in equal measure.

In French with English subtitles.

“A dark, delicious fairytale fantasy brought to life with profound emotional integrity, The Vourdalak breathes new life into the far-too-often pedestrian vampire movie.” Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Alliance of Women Film Journalists

“Everything about the film manages to be forward-thinking and old-school at the same time, giving the genre a bite in the neck it might not have wanted but certainly needed.” Michael Nordine, Variety

“tOuch Kink” is an intimate look into the world of BDSM and fetishism through the eyes of four people: Grace, an all-American soccer mom, learns to “Awaken the Goddess” inside her as she makes her nervous first foray into the realm of being a Dominatrix; Mistress Evilyne, a British Dominatrix on a cultural mission, is outed to the tabloid press and harassed by the British establishment; Robin, the fearless Kinkster and good old boy from Texas, who just happens to be a slave and property of a Dominatrix; and January Seraph, the mercurial muse, guide, and inspiration behind understanding the secret power that all women possess, but few truly realize, and is revealed to those brave enough to "tOuch Kink”.

tOuch Kink aims to challenge outdated societal norms and shed light on the true beauty of kink practices, demonstrating how they can lead to deeper connections, trust, and intimacy.

PLEASE NOTE: This event is mask mandatory. Please bring a mask. There will also be masks available at the door.

*No one under 18 admitted*

“A thought-provoking and visually stunning exploration of BDSM and fetishism, offering an enlightening and empathetic view into the lives of its diverse characters.” Lilia Skopintceva, Medium

“[Director] Carey presents us with a tender documentary that in one graceful and intimate swoop empathetically debunks preconceived notions relating to the kink community, while also celebrating the community itself, jubilantly allowing for it to reveal itself at its own pace. This documentary is compassionate and curious, and ultimately deeply enamored of our bodies in the way its subjects are.” Alisha Mughal, Film Daze

A “lost” marvel of independent filmmaking, TIME OF THE HEATHEN is set in the immediate shadow of the atomic bomb, yet narrativized through the groundbreaking aesthetics and shifting racial politics of the 1960s. Directed by Peter Kass, best known for his pathbreaking work in the New York theater world, and strikingly lensed by visual artist and avant-garde filmmaker Ed Emshwiller, HEATHEN is a major discovery for even the most well-versed cinephiles.

Emerging from the void, mysterious drifter Gaunt (THE STING’s John Heffernan) wanders the upstate countryside in a daze with only his bible for company. But after happening upon the murder of a local female housekeeper at the hands of a rural deviant, Gaunt soon finds himself framed for the attack. Forced to flee deeper into the woods with the only witness to the crime — the woman’s young, deaf mute son Jesse — the pair forge a complex bond that culminates in one of cinema’s most memorable, psychedelic, and unclassifiable endings.

Restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive and Lightbox Film Center, University of the Arts.

“Time of the Heathen is a movie that was totally before its time… If this had been made only a few years later, we would have seen it taught in every film school for generations… The 4k restoration is jaw-dropping…” Michael Talbot-Haynes, Film Threat

“Heathen’s final act of grim proto-psychedelia somehow dovetails perfectly with the bone-simple, though righteous-for-1961, morality tale [director] Kass had been building for the bulk of the film. The final moments retroactively imbue everything that preceded them with a heavier apocalyptic aura that keeps the film lodged in the psyche like a splinter.” Patrick Dahl, Screen Slate

The latest feature from the mind of Tommy Wiseau, creator of THE ROOM!

Three firefighters (Georgie, Patrick, and Tim) must save New Orleans from a gigantic shark.

Can New Orleans survive?

35th anniversary!

Set on one block of Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy Do or Die neighborhood, at the height of summer, this 1989 masterpiece by Spike Lee confirmed him as a writer and filmmaker of peerless vision and passionate social engagement. Over the course of a single day, the easygoing interactions of a cast of unforgettable characters give way to heated confrontations as tensions rise along racial fault lines, ultimately exploding into violence. Punctuated by the anthemic refrain of Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” DO THE RIGHT THING is a landmark in American cinema, as politically and emotionally charged and as relevant now as when it first hit the big screen.

Part of our 20th Anniversary Celebration Series!

“Like Rear Window to Alfred Hitchcock, like Nashville to Robert Altman, like Playtime to Jacques Tati, Lee’s Do the Right Thing is an undiluted representation of its creator’s artistic command.” Eric Henderson, Slant

The ultimate Hong Kong black-comic gorefest, this live-action adaptation of the cult manga is a blood feast of entrail-wreathed splatter and literally eye-popping ultraviolence. Presented by Kung Fu Clubhouse!

After he’s sentenced to a corrupt private prison for taking revenge on the shadowy gangsters who killed his girlfriend, the seemingly indestructible Ricky Ho (Fan Siu-wong) must fight his way out past a litany of enemies and unsavory figures using his superhuman ability to punch through any object (including the human body). Channeling the kinetic, hyperstylized spirit of the manga source material, writer-director Lam Ngai Choi delivers a blast of pure cinema so outrageously over-the-top it’s nearly avant-garde.

Please note: The Friday and Sunday showings will be presented in the original Cantonese with English subtitles. The Saturday showing will be presented with the infamously silly English dub.

“The logical end-point of the 1980s Hong Kong action boom – and still one of the bloodiest films ever made – Riki-Oh is part futuristic prison movie, part chopsocky gore-fu explosion and part absurdist slapstick romp… simply a perfect Friday-night audience movie.” Tom Huddleston, Time Out

Created to commemorate the 20 years that had passed since DC-based post-hardcore band Fugazi’s last live appearance (November 4, 2002, at The Forum in London), WE ARE FUGAZI FROM WASHINGTON, DC is a 96-minute movie comprising crowd-sourced, fan-recorded live shows and rare archive footage of Fugazi, curated by Joe Gross, Joseph Pattisall, and Jeff Krulik.

Explicitly billed as a nondocumentary (tHISiSNOTaFUGAZIdOCUMENTARY.), the film pays tribute to Fugazi’s prowess as a live act — for old fans to remember and for a new generation to discover what they missed. This unique archival assemblage celebrates the fans and their cameras, as much as the band itself — a collision/collusion of the ephemeral moment on stage, and the moments captured on camera.

In the spirit of Fugazi’s commitment to donating proceeds from their hometown shows to local charities, 40% of the gross from this screening will go to Seattle Homeless Outreach, a nonprofit organization providing outreach services to those experiencing homelessness in the Seattle and Tacoma areas.

“Anyone familiar with Fugazi, then and now, will know that this footage is as frequently intense as it is spellbinding. The band’s legendary ferocity, all sweat and sinew, springs eternal as their material develops, from its earliest anthemic pummeling, to a skeletal, almost microtonal weave by the turn of the century.” The Wire

“Stunning.” Tim Stegall, Austin Chronicle

WE STILL GNAW WHAT YOU'RE DOING THIS SUMMER - 4th encore screening added!

In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.

Created by Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, the duo behind the modern cult hit LAKE MICHIGAN MONSTER (2018).

“Starts strange, gets stranger, and yet remains resolutely adorable… embraces the defiant glee of art cinema and distills it into something so thoroughly pure and sincere that it is surely hard not to fall in love with it.” Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Alliance of Women Film Journalists

“It’s sure to develop a significant cult following with its unique mix of silent-era slapstick, animation elements, theme-park-style critter costumes, and general air of inspired absurdity.” Dennis Harvey, Variety

“Steroidally swollen with gags and smarts.” Guy Maddin