The Official Blog of Laemmle Theatres.

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The official blog of Laemmle Theatres

Filmmaker Embeth Davidtz & Executive Producer Trevor Noah in Person for DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT July 10.

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Based on Alexandra Fuller’s memoir of the same name, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight captures the childhood of eight-year-old Bobo on her family farm in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) at the end of the Zimbabwean War for Independence in 1980. Growing up in the midst of this long running war, Bobo internalizes both sides of the struggle. Conflicted by her love for people on opposing sides, she tries to make sense of her life in a magical way. Through her eight-year-old gaze we witness Rhodesia’s final days, the family’s unbreakable bond with Africa, and the deep scars that war leaves on survivors.

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight writer-director Embeth Davidtz & executive producer Trevor Noah will participate in an in-person Q&A after the July 10 early access screening at the Royal.

The regular engagement will begin the following day at the Royal, followed by an expansion to all but one of our other theaters on July 18.

“A gorgeous drama with an open, aching heart,” FAMILIAR TOUCH opens Friday at the Royal, Town Center, and Glendale.

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As we approach 2025’s midway point, we are about to open one of the year’s finest films, the locally produced Familiar Touch. A sampling of critics’ encomiums is below. Writer-director Sarah Friedland and star Kathleen Chalfant will participate in Royal Q&A’s after the 7:30 P.M. shows on June 27 & 28; at the Town Center following the 12:50 P.M. show on June 29; and at the Glendale after the 4:30 P.M. show on June 29. Lydia Storie, Director of Culture Change at Caring Across Generations, will moderate the June 27 screening. You can also catch Friedland and Chalfant’s interview on the latest episode of Inside the Arthouse.
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“Familiar Touch is a film about forgetting, but it’s also a reminder — as moving, sincere and gracefully unadorned as any I’ve seen in some time — of the actor’s art.” ~ Zachary Barnes, Wall Street Journal

“A gorgeous drama with an open, aching heart.” ~ Jourdain Searles, RogerEbert.com

“Because writer-director Sarah Friedland’s debut finds so much depth in its subjective approach to memory loss, it loses much of its stigma and discovers wonder in its place.” ~ Jacob Oller, AV Club

“Friedland’s film, as sharp as it is soft, conveys both the terror of losing the life you recognize, and the intermittent, fragmented joy of finding it again.” ~ Guy Lodge, Variety

“In the end,  Familiar Touch reveals itself to be less about the agonies of change than in the concessions we make to feel closer to our loved ones and ourselves.” ~ Beatrice Loayza, New York Times

“There is great emotional heft to a relatively simple film, and a dignity and empathy afforded to dementia patients that feels astonishingly rare on-screen, where sensationalism tends to bring the house down.” ~ Hannah Strong, Little White Lies

“Familiar Touch can be sad, without question, but it’s also salty and boundlessly tender.” ~ Alison Willmore, New York Magazine/Vulture

“What Friedland keenly understands is the power of what’s unsaid, how memories can tie themselves to sound, smell, and touch too, and how sometimes those are the last to go.” ~ Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

“Like any good coming-of-age movie, Familiar Touch never condescends. It takes its protagonist’s experience with dislocation, unrequited love and the desire to be understood quite seriously.” ~ Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter

“Friedland, who also wrote the film‘s script, is not given over to histrionics or blaring displays of emotion, instead asking us to follow Ruth and experience the world through her eyes. The impact is profound.” ~ Kate Erbland, IndieWire

“There’s a profound tenderness in Sarah Friedland’s affecting first feature and a rare empathy.” ~ Wendy Ide, Screen International

“An engrossing thriller fueled by female rage,” the Iranian-Israeli drama TATAMI opens Friday at the Royal, next week at the Laemmle Glendale and Town Center..

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This Friday we are proud to open TATAMI, the acclaimed collaboration between Iranian and Israeli filmmakers. Some plaudits from top American film critics:

“A superb example of pop cultural translation that freshens up the clichés of the sports corruption thriller and gives the actors and filmmakers a chance to flex their considerable skills.” ~ Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com

“The mounting tensions of these moving parts — and steely performances by Mandi and Amir — make for an engrossing thriller fueled by female rage.” ~ Beatrice Loayza, New York Times

“Despite its urgent political engagement, TATAMI never forgets to be a gripping watch.” ~ Catherine Bray, Variety

“Vibrantly helmed and performed, with co-director and Cannes best actress winner Zar Amir Ebrahimi playing one of the leads, the film is a win both behind and in front of the camera.” ~ Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter

A winning portrait of New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, PRIME MINISTER screens this weekend at the Laemmle Claremont, Glendale, Monica Film Center, Newhall, and Town Center.

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In August 2017, in the lead-up to national elections, Jacinda Ardern unexpectedly became New Zealand’s opposition party leader. She had just turned 37. Two frenetic months later, she was Prime Minister. Just before the final vote was in, she discovered she was pregnant. She would become only the second head of state in history to give birth while in office.

Ardern quickly became one of the most recognizable leaders in the world. She drew global attention from people craving a sensitive and compassionate approach to the critical issues of our time. In private, she struggled with being a mother and proving herself to a public skeptical of women’s leadership. A series of crises – the Christchurch massacre, pandemic lockdowns, and disinformation-fueled protests outside Parliament – would test that leadership and the feminine touch she brought to it. She resigned from office in January 2023, shocking her supporters and critics alike.

Going behind the scenes of her administration and her private life, PRIME MINISTER follows Jacinda for seven years as she is catapulted to the top of New Zealand politics, becomes a feminist political icon, resigns suddenly from office and continues to champion the fight against isolationism, fear, and the distortion of truth. Intimate home footage shot by her husband and audio interviews that Jacinda did while in office give us unparalleled access. Along with in-depth contemporaneous interviews, these form the emotional backbone of the story, giving viewers an unfiltered window into her years in power.

The world is at a perilous political crossroads. Trust in institutions, expertise, and liberal democracy itself are under dire strain. Which direction will we go? PRIME MINISTER leaves viewers wondering what the world might be like with more Jacindas at the helm.

“The qualities that endeared Ardern to the world and — for her first term, at least — to her country were a directness, intelligence, drive and unglamorous charm that PRIME MINISTER convincingly presents as entirely unmanufactured.” ~ Ty Burr, Washington Post

“In many ways, the documentary is as unprecedented as Ardern’s career.” ~ Sheila O’Malley, RogerEbert.com

“PRIME MINISTER’s portrait of Ardern is so persuasive it might make you wish you could vote for her.” ~ Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter

“World leaders have rarely been captured with as much intimacy.” ~ Siddhant Adlakha, Variety

Allison Janney & Bryan Cranston in EVERYTHING’S GOING TO BE GREAT ~ “Buy One, Get One Free” Father’s Day Screenings!

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Lions Gate Films and Laemmle Theatres are pleased to present the new comedy-drama from the writer and producer of I, Tonya, Everything’s Going to Be Great.

In honor of Father’s Day, be the first to see Everything’s Going to Be Great starring Bryan Cranston and Allison Janney on June 15 at the Monica Film Center and Town Center. The 3:20 P.M. screening in Santa Monica and the 3:00 P.M. screening in Encino are “Buy One, Get One Free” screenings. Offer good online and in person at the box offices.

ABOUT THE FILM: There’s no business like show business — for Buddy and Macy Smart (Emmy-winner Bryan Cranston and Oscar-winner Allison Janney) that means an unpredictable life in regional theater while trying to raise their radically different sons, Lester and Derrick. Through it all, Buddy pursues his unstoppable dreams, and Macy is left to pull it all together and keep the family afloat. As the family grapples with identity and belonging, they share a funny, heartfelt journey of self-discovery and learning the power of owning your spotlight, no matter what stage of life you’re in.

A new comedy that draws inspiration from the great ones of the past, BAD SHABBOS opens Friday.

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A huge hit last weekend in New York, we’re excited to open the comedy Bad Shabbos this Friday at the Royal and Town Center with expansion runs planned around L.A. County in the subsequent weeks. The film follows David and his fiancée, Meg, who are about to have their parents meet for the first time over a Shabbat dinner. Things get far more complicated because of an accidental death (or murder?). With Meg’s Catholic parents due any moment, the family dinner soon spirals into a hilarious disaster.

Bad Shabbos director Daniel Robbins is interviewed on the latest episode of Greg Laemmle and Raphael Sbarge’s video podcast Inside the Arthouse and also wrote the following about his film:

“My grandfather liked to joke that Christians will tell you they’re Christian, Muslims will tell you they’re Muslim, but Jews will tell you they’re Jew…ish.

“There’s a wide range to Judaism and the characters in this film fall in the middle of the spectrum. They’re people who take their faith seriously, but also interact with the secular world. People who, instead of planting their flag on one end of the spectrum, try to exist in between. People who try to manage the polarities of a secular life and a religious one.

“I chose to portray this segment of Judaism not just because it’s how I grew up, but because of the metaphor it presents for a family. Each family is constantly managing its own polarities. Between familial expectations and personal freedoms. Between unconditional love and constructive criticism.

“Between tradition of the old and tolerance for the new. This film is about a family trying to find its place, on a night when they’re meeting the in-laws for the first time, while there’s a dead body in their bathroom.

“It’s a fun, kinetic ride that pulls from the great comedies of the past. There are pieces stolen from Ernst Lubitsch’s blocking, Billy Wilder’s efficiency, Woody Allen’s aesthetic, Mike Nichols’s performances, and Nora Ephron and Neil Simon’s dialogue. But the greatest heist is probably from the early 2000’s comedies I grew up watching. The films Meet the Parents and My Big Fat Greek Wedding were constantly playing on my parents’ TV, broken up with whatever commercials TNT decided to include. These two films were comedies with tight scripts, big laughs, some heart, and authentic portrayals of their subcultures — Chicago Greeks and Long Island Christians. Additional influences were The Birdcage and Death at a Funeral.

The film was shot entirely on location on the Upper West Side. It was important to make it as authentic as possible and stay true to that setting – including shooting at the iconic Upper West Side staple Barney Greengrass and giving the owner Gary Greengrass a small role. The apartment was an actual apartment on 81st Street on the 16th floor, however the lobby was shot in a different building on Riverside drive, the same building they used for Tom Hanks’s lobby in You’ve Got Mail (also a favorite of ours).

Our team’s first goal with Bad Shabbos was to make a film that authentically portrays my subculture — New York Jews. My family gathered for Shabbos dinner every Friday night and, even on the more chaotic nights, there was an underlying warmth. Then our second and, perhaps, main goal was to take everything we love about the comedies of old and — like the characters in this film — try to adapt to modern times.”

From Bob Strauss’s review in the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Jews and gentiles in love have been comically upsetting their respective families for at least 103 years, since the popular stage play “Abie’s Irish Rose” debuted. Dinner parties gone awry are also a theatrical — and by extension, movie and television — staple.

“Mix them together with an inconvenient corpse, and you’ve got the recipe for Bad Shabbos. More crucial ingredients in Daniel Robbins’ New York farce include verbal dexterity and spry visuals, which give the sense of a well-done theatrical production that’s a real movie as well.

“Primarily set in an Upper West Side apartment, the film also boasts a game ensemble, each member of which knows just how to take their moments in the spotlight. Characters aren’t deep but not stick figures either; their flaws and needs become more pronounced as the pressure mounts from a sudden death  — or was it murder?

“Sure, certain roles bear unmistakable traces of stereotype, but no one is solely defined by the fact that they’re a Jewish mother or Midwestern Catholic. Everyone’s core impulses take them to surprising and darkly funny but believable places. And growth is a nice, nourishing dish on this Sabbath comedy’s table.

“Jon Bass (“Miracle Workers”) and Meghan Leathers (“For All Mankind”) are David and Meg, facing their final hurdle to getting married: her Catholic parents coming in from Wisconsin to meet his Jewish family, the Gelfands, for Friday night dinner.

“Observant but not super orthodox, David’s mom Ellen (Kyra Sedgwick) has issues with her future daughter-in-law’s not quite kosher kitchen skills (for starters), while his dad Richard (David Paymer) seems more devoted to his self-help psychology books than to the Talmud.

“Also at the Shabbat is David’s scrawny kid brother, a wannabe Israel Defense Forces commando named Adam (Theo Taplitz, who has the looks and intensity of a very young Adrien Brody), their sister Abby (Milana Vayntrub) and her crummy boyfriend Benjamin (Ashley Zukerman). They all work up believable irritations and concerns before the deadly incident hijacks everyone’s attention.

“With varying success, they attempt to carry on like nothing’s wrong when Meg’s parents, Beth (Catherine Curtin) and John (John Bedford Lloyd), arrive. Prayers and rituals get made up to keep the visitors distracted and away from the body in the kitchen. There are high degrees of cleverness and silliness to all of this.

“But top comic delivery honors go to Vayntrub (of AT&T commercials and, more recently, the Menendez brothers “Monsters” fame) as an unhappy woman who becomes both increasingly drunk and the situation’s moral center. When Ellen disapprovingly learns she drove over on the Sabbath, Abby replies, “How is this worse than murder?”

“Likewise, Lloyd is a slow-burn marvel who builds John from a subtle to a loudly aggrieved fount of micro-anti-semitisms.

“Honorable mention goes to Clifford “Method Man” Smith, who as the building’s doorman Jordan makes it his business to help the only resident family he likes. Additionally, Jordan brings a suspensefully useful ticking clock element as his shift change approaches.

“As noted, Bad Shabbos is about growth as well as laughs, and no one exemplifies that better than Leathers. Lightly touching on Meg’s resentment at having to convert while her fiancé needn’t do anything, she nonetheless gleans practical insights from her rabbinical studies and has a gift for sharing what she knows. As does writer-director Robbins, who modeled the Gelfands on his own family.

“Without making a big deal out of any of their traits, he gives us specific, authentic characters who live their traditional beliefs with modern attitudes. Neither too “oy vey” nor “Weekend at Bernie’s” but steeped in the best aspects of both Jewish and black comedy, Bad Shabbos is a treat any night of the week.”

The brilliant documentary A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY opens June 12 with in-person Q&A’s.

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Thirty years after her mother’s death, photographer Rachel Elizabeth Seed discovers her mother’s work — more than 50 hours of interviews with the greatest photographers of the 20th century, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Lisette Model, Gordon Parks, Cecil Beaton, William Albert Allard, Brian Lanker, Cornell Capa, Bruce Davidson and Eliot Porter. When Rachel threads in the audio reels and presses play, she hears her mother’s voice for the first time since she was a baby. Sheila Turner-Seed, a daring, world-traveling journalist ahead of her time, died suddenly of a brain aneurysm when Rachel was just 18 months old. Moved to uncover more of what she left behind, Rachel sets out to revisit her mom’s subjects, family and friends, revisiting the photographers she interviewed decades before. As new truths emerge, Rachel builds an unlikely relationship with her mother through the audio recordings, photographs, and films her mother made during her brief life, crafting an imagined conversation through the cinematic medium. As she discovers the shocking secrets which may have led to her mother’s untimely death, Rachel’s ability to forge her own path hinges on how these revelations affect her own life. The film draws from footage of Rachel’s visits to the photographers her mother interviewed, Sheila’s award-winning audio-visual work, Super 8 family films, still photography, audio letters and journals, weaving together personal and photo-historical media to tell a universal story — about facing mortality and loss, the construction of memory and the restoration of a legacy. Along this path, Rachel explores the question of whether it is possible to get to know someone through the things they leave behind.

We are planning several special screenings with the A Photographic Memory filmmaker and its champions:

June 12, 7:30 P.M. at the Laemmle NoHo:
This screening of A Photographic Memory is co-presented by Video Consortium with a Q&A to follow featuring filmmaker Rachel Elizabeth Seed, co-writer/editor Christopher Stoudt, and special guest, moderated by Video Consortium organizer Lauren Mahoney.
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June 14, 10:00 A.M. at the Laemmle Monica Film Center:
 
This screening of A Photographic Memory is co-presented by From the Heart Productions and Authentic Global Film Awards, with a Q&A to follow moderated by Variety film critic Carlos Aguilar, featuring director Rachel Elizabeth Seed in conversation with producer Ana Lydia Monaco and additional special guests. In this discussion, they will pull back the curtain on the visionary production of A Photographic Memory‘s recreation sequences, produced by Monaco in Los Angeles.
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June 16, 7:00 P.M. at the Laemmle Monica Film Center:
Q&A with director Rachel Elizabeth Seed + Gallerist Peter Fetterman to follow this screening. Co-presented by Peter Fetterman Gallery.

Ms. Seed wrote the following statement about her film:

“In my photography and creative work, I am driven by the desire for connection. Perhaps this is because my mother died when I was a baby; I’m always seeking to reconcile this loss in my life. It’s this drive that inspired me to make my debut feature documentary, A Photographic Memory.

“My work as an artist, photographer, photo editor, curator, writer, arts community founder, and cinematographer have greatly informed my knowledge and aesthetic sensibility in the media arts, paving the way for this film project and for my transition from photography to filmmaking. From 2004-2011 I created an audio-visual series about motherless women, interviewing and photographing 40 women and girls around the world, but it wasn’t until I turned the camera on my life in A Photographic Memory that I began to make sense of my loss. As I just turned the age my mother was when she died, it is also a personally timely project. I hope for the result to be cathartic for myself and for an audience who relates to losing someone close or being estranged from a parent. At the same time, I aim to memorialize my mother’s legacy as a woman ahead of her time who contributed to the canon of photography history. She died in her prime but left an undeniable mark through her work and great compassion for humanity. This legacy would be forgotten without this film.

“What excites me aesthetically about A Photographic Memory is the challenge of weaving the archival footage, photographs and audio along with contemporary footage together in a cohesive, artistic whole. Using my mother’s raw interviews with photographers as a thematic backbone, I draw from 100 years of our family’s Super 8 films, still photographs, contact sheets, letters, my mother’s journals, her journalistic tear sheets, and the footage I have shot of my own life and journey. My aim is for the disparate elements to transcend their individual meaning in order to tell the greater story of my search to know my mother, and through that, to make sense of life’s ephemerality. I have always been interested in the space where “real” elements are woven together to create a fabricated reality, which is both indisputable yet non-factual, representing my objective vision.

“The film plays on the tensions between remembering and forgetting, recovery and loss, and the probing of relationship and portraiture through lost archives, juxtaposition and cinematic form.”

THE LAST TWINS Q&A’s June 19-21 at the Royal and Town Center.

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Join us for The Last Twins Q&A’s at Laemmle Royal on Thursday, June 19th at 7:30 P.M. with filmmakers Perri Pelt & Matthew O’Neill, and Judith Richter, who is a participant in the film; Jonathan Jacoby will moderate; and at Laemmle Town Center on June 20th at 5:20 P.M. with the filmmakers and Judith Richter; and June 21st at 7:30 P.M. with Judith Richter and Dr. Nancy Segal moderating the discussion.