Ackland Film Forum

Thelma & Louise Dir. Ridley Scott, 1991 Introduced by Kino Corner This gorgeously shot film is a rarity in Hollywood: a written-by-a-woman (Callie Khouri) action thriller/road movie with richly drawn female bonding at its center. Controversial in its day for its sensational depiction of violence, Thelma & Louise has become a cult classic with a…

Magnolia Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999 Introduced by Aspect: Journal of Film & Screen Media Everything uncannily intersects in Magnolia: the past, the present, emotional traumas, diseases, network television, crimes, false representations, family disasters, geography of the San Fernando Valley, Biblical plagues, whirling camera movements, and more. P.T. Anderson’s operatic melodrama is one of the…

JFK Dir. Oliver Stone, 1991 Introduced by Prof. Michelle Robinson, American Studies As one of the most epic conspiracy thrillers ever conceived, JFK investigates the perpetually unsolved murder of an American president. Set largely in New Orleans, this sprawling, kaleidoscopic film bombards us with all manner of facts and paranoid theories while Robert Richardson’s highly…

Misery Dir. Rob Reiner, 1990  Co-sponsored by Playmakers Repertory Company in connection with their stage production of Stephen King’s Misery, October 11-31 (https://playmakersrep.org/show/misery/) Introduced by Henry Veggian, English & Comparative Literature Adapted from Stephen King’s novel, Misery is a tongue-in-cheek psychological horror film that explores the relationship between a bestselling romance novelist (played by James…

Eve’s Bayou Dir. Kasi Lemmons, 1997 Introduced by new faculty member Prof. Daelena Tinnin-Gadson, English & Comparative Literature A Southern Gothic thriller/coming-of-age drama set in 1960s Louisiana, Kasi Lemmons’ first feature film follows a young girl (Jurnee Smollett) as she grapples with new knowledge of her charismatic father’s (Samuel L. Jackson) philandering. With its layered…

Ring Dir. Hideo Nakata, 1998 Co-sponsored by Carolina Asia Center and presented at the Nelson Mandela Auditorium, FedEx Global Education Center, 301 Pittsboro St, Chapel Hill Introduced by Chapel Hill Film Society This small, modestly budgeted Japanese film caused an international sensation and inspired countless sequels, remakes, and rip-offs. Produced before “viral video” was a…

The Double Life of Véronique Dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1991 Introduced by Prof. Gregory Flaxman, English & Comparative Literature The most visually stunning film in our series this semester, The Double Life of Véronique concerns the intersecting lives of two women who are unknown to one another: a French music teacher and a Polish singer who…

The Double Life of Véronique Dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1991 Introduced by Prof. Gregory Flaxman, English & Comparative Literature The most visually stunning film in our series this semester, The Double Life of Véronique concerns the intersecting lives of two women who are unknown to one another: a French music teacher and a Polish singer who…

The Legend of Drunken Master (also known as Drunken Master II) Dir. Lau Kar-leung, 1994 Co-sponsored by Carolina Asia Center and presented at the Nelson Mandela Auditorium, FedEx Global Education Center, 301 Pittsboro St, Chapel Hill Introduced by Prof. Rick Warner, English & Comparative Literature, Director of Film Studies Jackie Chan, the most highly skilled…

Hear from filmmaker Fox Maxy (Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians and Payómkawish) in a conversation at the Varsity Theatre and see Maxy’s film Gush (2023). Maxy is a San Diego-based artist and filmmaker whose work has screened at Sundance, MoMA, and Melbourne International Film Festival among others. Her feature film debut Gush, which premiered…