Arabic

The Insult

(L’insulte)

Directed by Ziad Doueiri

(Lebanon/Belgium/Cyprus/France/U.S., 2017, 112 min.)

In today’s Beirut, an insult blown out of proportion escalates, resulting in Tony, a Lebanese Christian, and Yasser, a Palestinian refugee, facing off in court. A media circus quickly begins to grow around the high-profile case, which exacerbates the already-high tensions between the Muslim and Christian groups in Lebanon’s Arab community.

Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema

Opens Fri., Feb. 2

English

Black Panther

Directed by Ryan Coogler

(U.S., 2018)

T’Challa, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king.

Angelika Mosaic

Opens Fri., Feb. 16

Call Me By Your Name

Directed by Luca Guadagnino

(Italy/France/Brazil/U.S., 2017, 132 min.)

In Northern Italy in 1983, 17-year-old Elio begins a relationship with visiting Oliver, his father’s research assistant, with whom he bonds over his emerging sexuality, their Jewish heritage and the beguiling Italian landscape (English, Italian, French and German).

Angelika Mosaic

Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Darkest Hour

Directed by Joe Wright

(U.K., 2017, 125 min.)

During the early days of World War II, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Hitler, or fight on against incredible odds.

Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Dunkirk

Directed by Christopher Nolan

(U.K./Netherlands/France/U.S., 2017, 106 min.)

Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire and France are surrounded by the German Army, and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.

Atlantic Plumbing Cinema

Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool

Directed by Paul McGuigan

(U.K., 2017, 105 min.)

In 1978 Liverpool, eccentric actress Gloria Grahame enters into an affair with Turner, a much younger man. Quickly it grows into a deeper relationship, with Turner being the person Gloria turns to for comfort. Their passion and lust for life is tested to the limits by events beyond their control.

Angelika Mosaic

The Final Year

Directed by Greg Barker

(U.S., 2018, 89 min.)

“The Final Year” is a riveting, unique insiders’ account of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy team during their last year in office. Over the course of 2016, they travel the world attempting to solidify and “lock-in” policies that they believe will define their legacy, promote diplomacy over large-scale military action, and fundamentally alter how the U.S. government confronts questions of war and peace, as they prepare to hand over the machinery of American power to a new administration.

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

I, Tonya

Directed by Craig Gillespie

(U.S., 2017, 119 min.)

Competitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the activity is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.

Angelika Mosaic

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

The Informer

Directed by Arthur Robison

(U.K., 1929, 83 min.)

Set in the revolutionary ferment of the newly independent Ireland, among a cadre of poor political activists, this silent version captures the essence of Liam O’Flaherty’s novel, that atmosphere of a world without possible escape, very like the closed system of later film noir.

National Gallery of Art

Sun., Feb. 18, 4:30 p.m.

Loving Vincent

Directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman

(U.K./Poland, 2017, 94 min.)

In a story depicted in oil-painted animation, a young man comes to the last hometown of painter Vincent van Gogh to deliver the troubled artist’s last letter and ends up investigating his final days there.

West End Cinema

Milada

Directed by David Mrnka

(Czech Republic, 2017, 118 min.)

Set against the complex, political landscapes of post-World War II, “Milada” tells the story of a strong woman, a heroine fighting for democracy, who survived imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps only to be arrested and executed by the communists in 1950. In this character-driven film, the internationally acclaimed actress Ayelet Zurer and Czech star Aňa Geislerová take on the roles of Milada and the state prosecutor via a suspenseful plot.

The Avalon Theatre

Wed., Feb. 14, 8 p.m.

Molly’s Game

Directed by Aaron Sorkin

(China/U.S., 2018, 140 min.)

Molly Bloom, a beautiful young Olympic-class skier, ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans, and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob.

Atlantic Plumbing Cinema

Naples ’44

Directed by Francesco Patierno

(Italy, 2017, 80 min.)

Benedict Cumberbatch gives life to the words of British soldier Norman Lewis, whose remarkable memoir of post-World War II Naples form the basis for this haunting evocation of a ravaged land, and later a city of infinite charm.

Edlavitch DCJCC

The Party

Directed by Sally Potter

(U.K., 2018, 71 min.)

To celebrate her long-awaited prestigious post as a Shadow Minister for Health and, hopefully, the stepping stone to party leadership, the newly appointed British opposition politician, Janet, is throwing a party for friends at her London flat. But once the guests arrive it becomes clear that not everything is going to go down as smoothly as the red wine.

Angelika Mosaic

Opens Fri., Feb. 23

Phantom Thread

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

(U.S., 2017, 130 min.)

Set in 1950s London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a much young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover.

AFI Silver Theatre

Angelika Mosaic

Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

The Post

Directed by Steven Spielberg

(U.S., 2018, 115 min.)

A cover-up that spanned four U.S. presidents pushed the country’s first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between journalist and government.

AFI Silver Theatre

Atlantic Plumbing Cinema

Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema

The Shape of Water

Directed by Guillermo del Toro

(U.S., 2017, 123 min.)

This otherworldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962, takes place in the hidden high-security government laboratory where lonely Elisa is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda discover a secret classified experiment.

AFI Silver Theatre

Angelika Mosaic

Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Directed by Martin McDonagh

(U.K./U.S., 2017, 115 min.)

In this darkly comic drama, a mother personally challenges the local authorities to solve her daughter’s murder, when they fail to catch the culprit.

AFI Silver Theatre

Angelika Mosaic

Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Farsi

Breath

(Nafas)

Directed by Narges Abyar

(Iran, 2016, 112 min.)

Iran’s official 2018 Oscar entry is the bittersweet tale of Bahar, a book-loving girl growing up during the Iranian Revolution and the subsequent Iran-Iraq War. Set against the culturally rich Yazd region, this plucky young heroine spins the travails of her working-class family into the folktales and legends that she loves.

AFI Silver Theatre

Wed., Feb. 21, 7:15 p.m.

Disappearance

(Napadid shodan)

Directed by Ali Asgari

(Iran/Qatar, 2017, 89 min.)

Veteran short-film director Ali Asgari’s feature debut is a deftly crafted Tehran nocturne. It begins with a young woman entering a hospital, claiming to have been raped and asking to see a doctor. Soon her boyfriend appears, posing as her brother, and it becomes clear that something else is afoot. Thus begins a journey through the night, from hospital to hospital, as the young couple tries to circumvent Iran’s restrictive treatment of premarital sex and women’s health, in search of a doctor to end her unwanted pregnancy.

AFI Silver Theatre

Sat., Feb. 24, 11 a.m.

Negar

Directed by Rambod Javan

(Iran, 2017, 100 min.)

The patriarch of a moneyed family dies under mysterious circumstances following a bankruptcy. He appears to his daughter in a dream, and she resolves to find the truth. But the more she uncovers, the more dangerous her investigation becomes in this utterly unique combination of fantasy, revenge and an honest-to-goodness Iranian female action hero.

Freer Gallery of Art

Sun., Feb. 4, 2 p.m.

AFI Silver Theatre

Sun., Feb. 25, 11 a.m.

Tehran Taboo

Directed by Ali Soozandeh

(Austria/Germany, 2017, 90 min.)

Employing a rich color palette and beautiful rotoscope animation, Germany-based Iranian expatriate Ali Soozandeh conjures a vision of Tehran’s underbelly that would be impossible to achieve by more traditional means. Weaving together the stories of a prostitute, a musician, and a party girl engaged to a violent brute, Soozandeh reveals the resourcefulness with which Tehranis seek out illicit pleasures.

Freer Gallery of Art

Fri., Feb. 9, 7 p.m.

When God Sleeps

Directed by Till Schauder

(U.S./Germany, 2017, 88 min.)

“My songs didn’t make me famous. The fatwa did.” “When God Sleeps” unfolds against the backdrop of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks in the Bataclan concert venue and European right-wing backlash against Middle Eastern refugees. It deftly weaves the journey of exiled Iranian musician Shahin Najafi (“the Salman Rushdie of rap”) with historical context and intimate biographical detail. The narrative is rooted in Najafi’s immediate and unavoidable reality after the attacks, living under a fatwa issued against him by hardline Shiite clerics. Najafi juggles a personal life and budding romance in Cologne, far from loved ones, with a professional career whose high profile may cost him his life (Farsi and German).

Freer Gallery of Art

Fri., Feb. 16, 7 p.m.

French

Day for Night

(La nuit américaine)

Directed by François Truffaut

(France/Italy, 1973, 116 min.)

The routine commotion and confusion of a movie set is (ostensibly) the subject of François Truffaut’s comedy — the French equivalent for “day for night,” a term referring to the process of simulating night scenes while actually filming in broad daylight, often done to save money or to avoid a night shoot (French and English).

National Gallery of Art

Sat., Feb. 3, 4 p.m.

German

In the Fade

(Aus dem Nichts)

(Germany/France, 2017, 106 min.)

In this gritty thriller set in contemporary Hamburg, Diane Kruger stars as Katja, a grief-stricken woman who takes revenge for the death of her son and husband in a Neo-Nazi terrorist bombing. Tattooed, street-smart Katja, her ex-con Kurdish-German husband Nuri and their young bespectacled violin-playing son Rocco might seem at first glance like an atypical family, but in a few short scenes we come to understand the messy and beautiful reality of their life.

West End Cinema

Opens Fri., Feb. 2

Hebrew

Foxtrot

Directed by Samuel Maoz

(Israel, 2017, 114 min.)

A grieving father experiences the absurd circumstances around death of his son, in this latest critical reflection on military culture from Israeli filmmaker Samuel Maoz (Hebrew, German and Arabic).

Edlavitch DCJCC

Japanese

Double Suicide

Directed by Masahiro Shinoda

(Japan, 1969, 104 min.)

This striking adaptation of a famous bunraku puppet play follows a paper merchant who sacrifices everything — including his life — over his erotic obsession with a prostitute.

Freer Gallery of Art

Wed., Feb. 7, 2 p.m.

Portuguese

Vazante

Directed by

(Brazil/Portugal, 2018, 116 min.)

Forced to marry a slave trader, young Beatriz faces physical and emotional unrest beyond her years in this lyrical and nuanced historical mood piece. Upon returning from a trading expedition, Antonio discovers that his wife has died in labor. Confined to a decadent but desolate property in the company of his aging mother-in-law and numerous slaves, he marries his wife’s young niece, Beatriz. Separated from her family and left alone on the rugged farmhouse in the Brazilian mountains, Beatriz finds solace in the displaced and oppressed inhabitants around her.

Russian

The Road Movie

Directed by Dmitrii Kalashnikov

(Belarus, 2018, 67 min.)

A mosaic of asphalt adventures, landscape photography and some of the craziest stuff you’ve ever seen, “The Road Movie” is a stunning compilation of video footage shot exclusively via the deluge of dashboard cameras that populate Russian roads.

West End Cinema

Silent

24 Frames

Directed by Abbas Kiarostami

(Iran/France, 2017, 120 min.)

“I always wonder to what extent the artist aims to depict the reality of a scene,” the late Abbas Kiarostami wrote of what would be his final film, which consists of 24 shots, mostly of Kiarostami’s own photographs, that he brought to life using computer animation.

Freer Gallery of Art

Sun., Feb. 18, 2 p.m.

Once Upon a Time, Cinema

Directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf

(Iran, 1992, 90 min.)

This silent movie-inspired comedy follows a cinematographer who introduces movies to the Qajar shah. The sovereign strongly disapproves of the new medium, until he falls desperately in love with an actress he sees on-screen. (Shown with “Images from the Qajar Dynasty” (Iran, 1992, 18 min.), which combines the first film footage shot in Iran with paintings and photography from the time.)

Freer Gallery of Art

Fri., Feb. 23, 7 p.m.

Spanish

A Fantastic Woman

(Una Mujer Fantástica)

Directed by Sebastián Lelio

(Chile/Germany/Spain/U.S., 2018, 104 min.)

Daniela Vega shines in a wonderful performance as a transgender nightclub singer, Marina, in love with Orlando, a successful businessman 20 years her senior. He has left his disapproving family to be with her, and they are planning a happy future together when Orlando suddenly falls ill and dies, leaving Marina stunned and bereft. Instead of being able to mourn her lover, Marina is attacked and excluded.

Angelika Mosaic

Landmark’s E Street Cinema

Opens Fri., Feb.