Show Times
Sunday 14, December
Monday 15, December
Wednesday 17, December
Thursday 18, December
Friday 26, December
Chinese Indie Film Festival
The first Indie Chinese Film Fest, set for NYC in early November 2025, was cancelled by organizers after the Chinese government put pressure on participating filmmakers and their families. Cinema Salem immediately contacted the fest organizer, Zhu Rikun, and offered to help. We are honored to present No Desire to Hide and The Questioning, two films by Zhu Rikun, and Tangle, by Liu Yonghong, another film that was scheduled to be shown in NYC. Zhu Rikun will attend the Salem screenings and discuss his films and the cancelled festival with those attending. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NO DESIRE TO HIDE (Documentary) Wu Haohao describes himself as a video producer. He shoots a lot of videos, mostly with sexual content. He and his girlfriend, Ge Ningning, agree to maintain an open relationship, each with their own lover. They hold different opinions on marriage, childbirth and what type of relationship to maintain with parents. Conflicts often occur. Director/Producer: Zhu Rikun Cinematography: Zhu Rikun Editor: Zhu Rikun Post-production Supervisor: Primo Mazzoni English Dialogue Translation: Paul Crook ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE QUESTIONING (Short Documentary) One summer day in 2012, some friends and I visited local activists in Xinyu, Jiangxi Province. After checking into a hotel that night, we were met with a raid by more than ten police officers. I had previously recorded the entire incident using a small camera I had placed on a nearby table. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q&A and brief intermission ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TANGLE (Drama) The story takes place in a small town of Southern China. Traffic police officer--Du Jun's wife is about to give birth but she feels that her husband does not care about her enough so that she is full of worries about the family future; Du Jun's mother, widowed for many years, converted to Christianity, in order to achieve the deceased husband's wishes, she hoped her daughter-in-law to give birth to a boy; Du Jun's ex (his secret lover currently) returns to borrow money from him and decides to end the affair. She also wants to leave the town and start a new life while she asks Du Jun to help her younger brother Yang Zhi to get a temporary job at the local traffic police station; Du Jun's younger sister is only 18 years old. She becomes pregnant accidentally with her secret boyfriend and she wants to keep the child but Du Jun insists that she needs an abortion; Du Jun's team leader Captain Ma does not mind his subordinates in abusing the police power in order to meet the fine target set by his superior authority. The film tells the story of Du Jun, the four women in his life and the sudden crisis they face as the unexpected happens both at work and at home in one day. SCREENWRITER: Liu Yonghong, Xiu Zhengyang DIRECTOR: Liu Yonghong PRODUCERS: Liu Yonghong EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Tan Tingbin Hsu Hsao Ming & Liu Ting LINE PRODUTIVER: Chowon Jang & Poong Gee Kim CAST: Qi Dao Hou Bing Zhang Yingmin Zhu Yilong Peng WenJuan Zou jian Song Haimei DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Liu Yonghong ART DIRECTOR: Tian Chong SOUND EDITOR: Liu Yang & Dong Xu COSTUME DESIGN: Yu Keyu & Yang TaoEDITOR: Fang Lei English Translators: Minggui Qu, David Stretch
Crimson Peak
RRated R for bloody violence, some sexual content and brief strong language
Join us for a new monthly series hosted by Welcome to Trivia Time, Bitch! In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds...and remembers.
Ella McCay
PG-13for strong language, some sexual material and drug content.
In 20th Century Studios’ “Ella McCay,” an idealistic young woman juggles her family and work life in a comedy about the people you love and how to survive them. Written and directed by Oscar® and Emmy Award® winner James L. Brooks (“As Good as It Gets,” “Terms of Endearment,” “Broadcast News,” “The Simpsons”), “Ella McCay” features an all-star cast including Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Lowden, Kumail Nanjiani, Ayo Edebiri, Spike Fearn, Rebecca Hall, Julie Kavner, Becky Ann Baker, Joey Brooks with Albert Brooks and Woody Harrelson. The film is produced by James L. Brooks, p.g.a., Richard Sakai, p.g.a., Julie Ansell, p.g.a., Jennifer Brooks.
Five Nights at Freddy's 2
PG-13for violent content, terror and some language.
Anyone can survive five nights. This time, there will be no second chances.
Soldiers of Song: Documentary Screening
Please join us for a screening of Soldiers of Song (2024) followed by a prerecorded Q&A with director and producer, Ryan Smith. Soldiers of Song follows the extraordinary journey of Ukrainian musicians as they unite their war-torn nation through the transformative power of music. Amidst the chaos of Russian aggression, artists like Slava Vakarchuk (Okean Elzy), Andriy Khlyvnyuk (Boombox), and Svitlana Tarabarova share their deeply personal experiences of resilience, hope, and defiance. Through intimate interviews and gripping performances, Soldiers of Song intertwines their stories, revealing music’s unparalleled ability to heal and unify. There will be a prerecorded intro and a follow-up prerecorded Q&A by Ryan Smith.
The Hudsucker Proxy
PGfor mild language and thematic elements
Night Light presents a series of classic and contemporary cult films from around the world. -------------------------------------------------------------- A naive business graduate is installed as president of a manufacturing company as part of a stock scam. Starring Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paul Newman. Written by Sam Raimi. 1994/USA/Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
V.H.Xmas
R
aka The Return! Or something. Join Cinema Salem and Salem Scare Society for this celebration of nostalgia, small business, and physical media! Get all your holiday shopping done with the physical media market starting at 1:30, then join us for a VHS screening of a holiday horror classic on the big screen!
Wed. Classics: It's a Wonderful Life
PG
Join us every Wednesday at 7:00 as we present a different film from the golden age of Hollywood, complete with classic adverts and episodic serials, all for only $5! This December, we bring you a special James Stewart themed month! George Bailey (James Stewart) sets aside his dreams of world travel to run his father’s small community bank, and protect the people of Bedford Falls from greedy businessman Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore). When a costly mistake pushes George to the brink of despair, a visit from a kindly angel (Henry Travers) will show George how the life of one good man can change the world forever.
Wed. Classics: The Man Who Knew Too Much
PG
Join us every Wednesday at 7:00 as we present a different film from the golden age of Hollywood, complete with classic adverts and episodic serials, all for only $5! This December, we bring you a special James Stewart themed month! While attending a medical conference in Paris, American physician Dr. Ben McKenna, his wife, retired musical theater actress and singer Jo McKenna née Conway, and their adolescent son Hank McKenna decide to take a side trip to among other places Marrekesh, French Morocco. With a knife plunged into his back, Frenchman Louis Bernard, who the family met earlier in their bus ride into Marrakesh and who is now masquerading as an Arab, approaches Ben, cryptically whispering into Ben's ears that there will be an attempted assassination in London of a statesman, this news whispered just before Bernard dies. Ben is reluctant to provide any information of this news to the authorities because concurrently Hank is kidnapped by British couple, Edward and Lucy Drayton, who also befriended the McKennas in Marrakesh and who probably have taken Hank out of the country back to England. Whoever the unknown people the Draytons are working for have threatened to kill Hank if Ben divulges any information ...
Wed. Classics: Vertigo
PG
Join us every Wednesday at 7:00 as we present a different film from the golden age of Hollywood, complete with classic adverts and episodic serials, all for only $5! This December, we bring you a special James Stewart themed month! A former police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with a hauntingly beautiful woman.
Wicked: For Good
PGfor action/violence, some suggestive material and thematic material.
Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. Under the instruction of Madame Morrible (Oscar® winner Michelle Yeoh), Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard. As Glinda’s stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero (Olivier award winner and Emmy and SAG nominee Jonathan Bailey) in a spectacular Ozian wedding, she is haunted by her separation from Elphaba. She attempts to broker a conciliation between Elphaba and The Wizard, but those efforts will fail, driving Elphaba and Glinda only further apart. The aftershocks will transform Boq (Tony nominee Ethan Slater) and Fiyero forever, and threaten the safety of Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode), when a girl from Kansas comes crashing into all their lives. As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.
Zootopia 2
PGfor action/violence and rude humor.
In Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Zootopia 2,” detectives Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (voiced by Jason Bateman) find themselves on the twisting trail of a mysterious reptile who arrives in Zootopia and turns the animal metropolis upside down. To crack the case, Judy and Nick must go undercover to unexpected new parts of town, where their growing partnership is tested like never before.