The Present

Nov 14, 2011 — In 1989, the Communist rule that had dominated Eastern Europe since the end of the Second World War collapsed with astonishing rapidity. If the long-term political, economic, and ideological consequences of Europe’s reunification are still unfolding, there was an immediate...

Aug 17, 2009 — Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles is Chantal Akerman’s masterpiece, a mesmerizing study of stasis and containment, time and domestic anxiety. Stretching its title character’s daily household routine in long, stark takes, Akerman’s film simultaneously allows viewers to...

Jul 15, 2025 — Much of the program upends assumptions about the postwar years as a period of relative calm and conformity.

Jul 19, 2023 — Next month, we’re celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of hip-hop and featuring collections of films by Kay Francis, Roger Corman, and Lou Ye.

Sep 16, 2025 — In response to the suffocating conservatism of the eighties, Lizzie Borden crafted a pluralistic vision of a feminist front that neither ignores difference nor lets it stand as an immovable obstacle to political solidarity.

Jul 16, 2021 — The spotlight this week is on Sara Driver, Jacques Tati, Bill Duke, Lizzie Borden, and Nobuhiko Obayashi.

Jun 1, 2021 — Valeria Sarmiento and the Chilean production company Poetastros have launched a campaign to complete Raúl Ruiz’s Socialist Realism.

Sep 9, 2019 — The jury presided over by Lucrecia Martel has surprised just about everyone.

Jul 2, 2019 — The author of a book on method acting turns her attention to the performances in Do the Right Thing and the work of Juliette Binoche.

Apr 11, 2019 — Every Friday on the newly launched Criterion Channel, we’ll be playing matchmaker, presenting a double bill of films that, for one reason or another, belong beside each other. Our Double Features will be sure to multiply your viewing pleasure, whether...