(Yorgos Lanthimos, 2025, 120min, United States, R) Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. Starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, and Alicia Silverstone Directed By Yorgos Lanthimos Written By Will Tracy Based on SAVE THE GREEN PLANET! (Jang Joon-hwan, 2003, 118min, South Korea, NR)

In a forgotten patch of countryside, a woman is battling her demons: embracing exclusion yet wanting to belong, craving freedom whilst feeling trapped, yearning for family life but wanting to burn the entire house down. Given surprising leeway by her family for her increasingly erratic behavior, she nevertheless feels ever more stifled and repressed. Motherhood, womanhood, the banality of love, the terrors of desire, the brutality of another person carrying your heart forever.

CHELSEA LATE NIGHTS - HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS - NORTHWOODS CHRISTMAS (2023) (Mike Cheslik, 2022, 108min) Fri, 12/5 @ 10PM Sat, 12/6 @ 10:30AM & 10PM Sun, 12/7 @ 10:30AM The indy film sensation is back this December! Come celebrate the last week of classes and the Winter season with this frosty snow day, slapstick comedy! 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. -Fundraised and shot in Wisconsin and Michigan -Completed over 4 years -12 weeks of shooting -Filmed in subzero temperatures -1500+ effects shots

Winner - Palme d'Or - Cannes 2025 (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2025, 101min) Vahid, an unassuming mechanic, has a chance encounter with Eghbal, a man he strongly suspects to be his former sadistic jailhouse captor. Panicked, Vahid gathers several former prisoners, all abused by that same captor, to try and confirm Eghbal's identity. As the bickering group drives around Tehran with the captive, they must confront how far to take matters into their own hands with their presumed tormentor. From master filmmaker Jafar Panahi comes a searing moral thriller that engages with complex ideas about the uncertainty of the truth and the choice between revenge and mercy, as Panahi turns his personal dissonance into a profound and galvanizing work of art. Further Watching: The White Balloon (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 1995, 85min) The Mirror (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 1997, 95min) The Circle (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2000, 90min) Crimson Gold (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2003, 95min) Offside (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2006, 93min) This Is Not a Film (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2011, 76min) Closed Curtain (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2013, 106min) Taxi (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2015, 82min) 3 Faces (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2018, 100min) The Year of the Everlasting Storm (segment: "Life") (Jafar Panahi, Iran/Anthology, 2021, runtime varies by segment; Panahi’s is approx. 15min) No Bears (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2022, 107min) It Was Just an Accident (Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2025, 104min)

THE DOC IS IN... Perfect for early risers, fans of documentaries, and those just looking for an excuse to go into work late or skip class, the Chelsea Theater has given a new meaning to getting a Doc’s note and making an appointment is as easy as purchasing a ticket. Chapel Hill’s favorite nonprofit indy theater is set to play documentaries four (4) times a week as morning screenings in new film series “The Doc Is IN.” RIEFENSTAHL - (Andres Veiel, 2024, 115min) Show Dates: Sat, 12/13, Sun, 12/14, Wed, 12/17, Thu, 12/18. All shows @ 10AM Filmmaker and Nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl is considered one of the most controversial women of the 20th century. Her films Triumph of the Will and Olympia are defined by their fascist aesthetics, perfectly-staged body worship, and the celebration of all that is "superior" and victorious, simultaneously projecting contempt for the imperfect and weak. But Riefenstahl – who first broke into the German film industry as an actress – spent decades after the war denying her association with Nazi ideology, and claiming ignorance of the Holocaust. How did she become the Reich's preeminent filmmaker if she was just a hired hand? Riefenstahl examines this question using never-before-seen documents from Leni Riefenstahl's estate, including private films, photos, recordings and letters, uncovering fragments of her biography and placing them in an extended historical context. During her long life after the fall of Nazism, she remained unapologetic, managing to control and shape her legacy; in personal documents, she mourns her "murdered ideals." Meanwhile, her work would experience a renaissance, gaining esteem for its masterful technical skill. Today, Riefenstahl's aesthetics are more present than ever. Is that also true for their message? In an era where fascism is on the rise again, fake news is prevalent, and the meaning of political imagery is constantly dissected and debated, Andres Veiel's mesmerizing new film shows that Leni Reifenstahl is more relevant than ever.

CHELSEA LATE NIGHTS - THE LOVERS ON THE BRIDGE - 4K Restoration (Leos Carax, 1991, 125min) (Staff Pick: Charlie) Fri, 11/21 @ 10PM Sat, 11/22 @ 10PM Sun, 11/23 @ 10:30AM Leos Carax’s delirious saga of l’amour fou burns with an intoxicating stylistic freedom as it traces the highs and lows of the passionate relationship that develops between a homeless artist (Juliette Binoche) who is losing her sight and a troubled, alcoholic street performer (Denis Lavant) living on Paris’s famed Pont-Neuf bridge. Capturing their romantic abandon with a giddy expressionist energy—especially in a wild dance sequence set against an explosion of fireworks— this whirlwind love story is an exhilarating journey through a relationship that confirmed Carax’s status as one of the leading lights of the post–New Wave French cinema. This 4K restoration was carried out by TransPerfect Media from the original 35mm film negative and multi tracks. Color grading supervised by Caroline Champetier, sound by Thomas Guader. Project supervised by Sophie Boyer, Jean Pierre Boiget and the StudioCanal team. Digitization and restoration done with the support of the CNC and the participation of Theo Films.

THUNDERHEART (Michael Apted, 1992, 119min) (Staff Pick: Alexander) Fri, 11/28 @ 10PM Sat, 11/29 @ 10:30AM & 10PM Sun, 11/30 @ 10:30AM In honor of the great Graham Greene, 1952-2025. Michael Apted's 1992 film Thunderheart is a neo-Western crime thriller that blends investigative drama with a portrait of contemporary Native American life. The film follows FBI Agent Ray Levoi (Val Kilmer), who is sent to a South Dakota reservation to investigate a murder amid rising tensions between pro-government and traditionalist Native groups. What begins as a procedural evolves into a personal and political journey for Ray, who is forced to confront his own partial Sioux heritage and the deep-seated corruption surrounding the case. Apted, known for both his narrative and documentary work, infuses Thunderheart with an authenticity rarely seen in Hollywood renderings of Native issues. Drawing from real events, notably the Wounded Knee incident of the 1970s and Apted’s own documentary Incident at Oglala, the film skillfully navigates themes of identity, government abuse, and spiritual reckoning. Much of the film was shot on location in South Dakota, capturing both the natural beauty and socioeconomic struggles of reservation life.

(Clint Bentley, 2025, 102min, United States, PG-13) Based on the beloved novella by Denis Johnson, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier (Golden Globe-nominee Joel Edgerton), whose life unfolds during an era of unprecedented change in early 20th century America. Orphaned at a young age, Robert grows into adulthood among the towering forests of the Pacific Northwest, where he helps expand the nation’s railroad empire alongside men as unforgettable as the landscapes they inhabit. After a tender courtship, he marries Gladys (Academy Award-nominee Felicity Jones) and they build a home together, though his work often takes him far from her and their young daughter. When his life takes an unexpected turn, Robert finds beauty, brutality and newfound meaning for the forests and trees he has felled. An ode to a vanishing way of life, an ever-evolving world, and to the extraordinary possibilities that exist within even the most simple of existences, Train Dreams captures a time and place that are now long gone, and the people who built a bridge to a future they could only dream of. Directed by Academy Award-nominee Clint Bentley with a screenplay by Bentley and Academy Award-nominee Greg Kwedar, the writing team behind Sing Sing, the film also stars Academy Award-nominees William H. Macy and Kerry Condon.

THE DOC IS IN... Perfect for early risers, fans of documentaries, and those just looking for an excuse to go into work late or skip class, the Chelsea Theater has given a new meaning to getting a Doc’s note and making an appointment is as easy as purchasing a ticket. Chapel Hill’s favorite nonprofit indy theater is set to play documentaries four (4) times a week as morning screenings in new film series “The Doc Is IN.” WISDOM OF HAPPINESS - (Philip Delaquis, Barbara Miller, 2024, 90min) Show Dates: Sat, 11/29, Sun, 11/30, Wed, 12/3, Thu, 12/4. All shows @ 10AM WISDOM OF HAPPINESS is a deeply intimate and highly cinematic documentary featuring the Dalai Lama, who, at nearly 90 years old, offers practical advice for navigating the 21st century’s challenges. The film captures the Dalai Lama speaking directly to viewers, creating a sense of a private audience, and shares his timeless wisdom on achieving inner peace and happiness for everyone. WISDOM OF HAPPINESS is medicine for the moment — a survival guide for navigating our traumatic world that feels more fractured and uncertain than ever. This powerful message of hope is delivered as a personal audience with one of the greatest living thinkers, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Tenzin Gyatso, known to billions around the world as the Dalai Lama. Speaking directly to all of us as a single global community, he shares practical wisdom for finding peace, compassion, and hope in the midst of chaos. With disarming clarity and deep humanity, he invites us to imagine — and help create — a world where compassion is activated as our strongest force for change, and happiness is within reach for everyone.