As Russia’s unconscionable war on Ukraine wears on, the global response to it has shifted from shock to fury to numbed despair. Two years ago, Ukrainian journalist and filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov premiered 20 Days in Mariupol, an Oscar-winning immersion into civilian panic and terror in the first weeks of the Russian invasion. Now, Chernov follows up with 2000 Meters to Andriivka — another full-tilt, you-are-there plunge into the living hell of war, this time from the perspective of Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline. (dir. Mstyslav Chernov, Ukraine, 2025, 107 min.)

Fellini’s masterpiece deals with a forty-something film director (Marcello Mastroianni) in a free-fall mid-life crisis as he begins shooting his new project. In this dream-spiked reverie of fame, romance and creative disillusionment, Sandra Milo plays the mistress and Anouk Aimee the wife, but the real star of this film is Rome, gorgeous and filled with surprises. The opening sequence of Guido escaping through the sunroof of his car while stuck in a suffocating traffic jam, then floating up into the clouds before suddenly being wrenched back to earth sets the tone for a film filled with flashbacks, fantasy sequences, and surrealist flourishes. Here’s one of the great films that begs to be savored and revisited. (dir. Federico Fellini, Italy, 1963, 138m)

This doc, which played at the Woodstock Film Festival, profiles a woman and artist deeply tested by the realities of career and motherhood, as seen through a unique mother-daughter bond with filmmaker and former architect, Yael Melamede. Ada Karmi Melamede is one of the most accomplished female architects in the world, but very little is known about her outside her home country of Israel. Despite personal sacrifices, Ada's work gave physical form to some of Israel's highest democratic ideals, most notably in the acclaimed Supreme Court building in Jerusalem and the Open University. (dir. Yael Melamede, U.S./Israel, 2024, 81 min.)

The landmark epic of indigenous filmmaking about a blood feud between two Inuit men, spurred by the intrusion of an evil shaman. With its juxtaposition of day-to-day events and epic storytelling, the movie spotlights a culture that seems both ancient and vibrantly current. (dir. Zacharias Kunuk, Canada, 2001, 172 min.)

Vincent Gallo’s eccentric directorial debut is one of a kind: a provocative comedy, alternately satirical and romantic, full of pain and humor. Deeply personal, the film follows one Billy Brown (Gallo) out of prison and back to his hometown, Buffalo, NY where he kidnaps a girl, Layla (Christina Ricci). (dir. Vincent Gallo, U.S., 1998, 112 min.)

Three teenagers enroll in a traditional “folk high school” in the wilds of northernmost Norway. Freed from technology, social media, and the noise of modern life, they have an unexpected transformation amid the dogsleds. Heidi Ewing and Saugerties native Rachel Grady chaperone us inside a transcendent experience that’s both specific and oddly universal. (dir. Rachel Grady & Heidi Ewing, U.S., 2025, 106 min.)

Nahuel Perez Biscayart is striking as an Argentinian jockey who has the opportunity to reinvent himself – a chance he grasps, repeatedly. Like its central character, this audacious film from Luis Ortega (El Angel) makes for a shape-shifting, irreverent journey that refuses to be neatly pinned down. (dir. Luis Ortega, Argentina, 2024, 96 min.)

Jared Hess’ debut film, made for under $500,000, netted more than $45 million at the U.S. box office. It’s a comic take on his small hometown of Preston, Idaho, featuring Napoleon (Jon Heder) a teenage boy so awkward, so out-of-sync, so damn wrong that he ultimately endears himself as an outlaw and fully-fledged hero. His dysfunctional family is equally bad including older brother Kip who has the worst moustache in history (dir. Jared Hess, U.S., 95 min).

One of Miyazaki’s masterworks, it’s marked by its sweeping scope and grandeur, set in a devastated future world decimated by atmospheric poisons and swarming with giant insects. Nausicaä is a young princess with a love for all living things and a passionate determination to understand the processes of nature. (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1984, 95 min.)

Iris has met her perfect guy, Isaac, and is enjoying their first romantic getaway together — what could go wrong? This clever and charmingly odd dark comedy takes on the highs and lows of modern dating and the ways it makes us all a little crazy. Directed, Written and Produced by Sophie Brooks. Produced by David Brooks, Dan Clifton, Julie Waters, Molly Gordon. With Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, John Reynolds.

A community of magical shape-shifting raccoon dogs, tanuki, struggle to prevent their forest home from being destroyed by real estate developers in this landmark Studio Ghibli film. As in the best Miyazaki films, there is no pat resolution. But the crowning act of resistance is a glorious pageant of mystical figures through the city: one last stand for endangered animals and for the pleasures of enchantment against a bloodless industrial world. (dir. Isao Takahata, Japan, 1994, 119 min.)

Something bad happened to Agnes. But life goes on… for everyone around her, at least. When a beloved friend visits on the brink of a major milestone, Agnes starts to realize just how stuck she’s been, and begins to work through how to move forward.

After two semi-retired secret agents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) disappear, their children have to don jet-packs, slide on computer specs and save the world. (dir. Robert Rodriguez, U.S., 2001, 88 min.) “Whiz-bang, techno fun, with a touch of Latino flavor.” LA Weekly

TATAMI follows Leila, an Iranian judo athlete who is put in political danger when her government tells her to fake an injury and withdraw from the world championships rather than face an Israeli rival in the final. Leila finds herself facing a life-or-death decision that could put the lives of her, her coach (an ex-competitor herself), and her family in danger. In a fight for freedom and dignity, what is she willing to give up?

A soul-stirring celebration of music legends such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker, this comedy is driven by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi playing two surly ex-cons trying to save the orphanage where they were raised. In addition to a strong dose of daft humor, it features some truly iconic musical sequences and crazed scenes of automotive chaos. (dir. John Landis, U.S., 1980, 148 min.)

Fueled by fear of aliens, a small town in Maine rallies to destroy a metal man who falls to Earth. But Hogarth, a clear-eyed boy, sets out to save this Iron Giant. An animated classic of our time, Brad Bird’s film is an exciting ride for the whole family. (dir. Brad Bird, U.S., 1999, 86m)

THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME. The story of a family and a family business. Starring: Benicio del Toro as Zsa-zsa Korda, one of the richest men in Europe; Mia Threapleton as Sister Liesl, his daughter/a nun; Michael Cera as Bjorn Lund, their tutor. With: Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Riz Ahmed, Mathieu Amalric, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Richard Ayoade, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Director David Fincher (Fight Club) and writer Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men) have made a mischievous tale about the origins of Facebook that combines the talky rigor of Sorkin’s writing with the spooky crispness of Fincher’s imagery. It reveals the early character of Facebook founder Zuckerberg, a perfect storm of social inadequacy, Ivy League exclusivity and computing genius. Fincher and Sorkin never let us forget that we’re complicit in their story (or at least three billion of us are). (dir. David Fincher, U.S., 2010, 120 min.)

Andrew Morgan's stirring doc details the devastating environmental and social effects of the increasingly pervasive "fast fashion" industry. Fashion is the second most-polluting industry in the world, second only to oil; we now consume 500% more clothing than we did two decades ago; in 1960 America produced over 95% of its own clothing, while today the figure stands at 3%. Presented by HV Sustainable Fashion Week.(dir. Andrew Morgan, U.S., 2015, 93 min.)