America Becoming

Aug 29, 2023 — Exalting Black women’s self-invention with DIY effervescence, Drylongso (1998) is a gorgeously generous study of friendship, creativity, violence, and survival. The multidisciplinary artist Cauleen Smith developed the idea for the project from her habit of taking Polaroid photographs. Shot on...

Jun 16, 2023 — The week has brought interviews with Claire Denis and Pedro Costa and essays on the work of James Baldwin and Sharon Lockhart.

May 30, 2023 — Arriving at a fulcrum moment in women’s history in the United States, Thelma & Louise stoked controversy by delivering a boldly feminist worldview in a funny, warm, and sexy package.

Apr 11, 2023 — Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Kiyoshi Kurosawa praise Somai as a major influence, and Japan Society will present the first North American retrospective.

Mar 28, 2023 — Described by director Joan Micklin Silver as “a kind of weird romantic comedy,” this defiantly ambiguous exploration of amour fou presents its obsessive antihero in all his contradictions.

Feb 27, 2023 — Among the highlights this month is a series celebrating Oscar nominee Michelle Yeoh, an international star who began her career as one of Hong Kong cinema’s fiercest action heroes.

Nov 23, 2022 — Featured in this month’s roundup: Maya Deren, Joyce Chopra, Michael Almereyda, Nabokov, Pasolini, and Miyazaki.

Sep 28, 2022 — Uday Shankar’s fantastical dance epic embodies a progressive, postcolonial Indian aesthetic that is decades ahead of its time.

Sep 16, 2022 — It’s been a week overshadowed by loss, but here are a few of the brighter highlights.

Aug 23, 2022 — Sidney Poitier’s directorial debut, a western depicting Black cowboy heroes, allowed two of the industry’s most significant Black stars to reorient themselves as artists.