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DIA's Detroit Film Theatre

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DIA's Detroit Film Theatre

The 2026 Season marks a milestone for DFT – it has been over 50 years since we opened our doors in January of 1974.
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Over the decades millions of Detroiters have gathered in our historic theater to be inspired by modern and classic world cinema. Since its inception in January of 1974, the Detroit Film Theatre has presented of thousands of first-run and classic motion pictures in the DIA’s 1,000-seat, 1927 vintage auditorium. All year long, the DFT presents a carefully curated, globe-spanning selection of excitin

g and visionary cinema by established and first-time directors, as well as themed programs shown in association with current DIA exhibitions and in partnership with other local and international institutions. The Winter 2024 Season marks a milestone for Detroit Film Theatre –it has now been fifty years since we first opened our doors. Over the decades millions of metro Detroiters have gathered in the DIA's historic Auditorium to be moved and inspired by contemporary and classic world cinema, and kept the series thriving for more than half of the museum’s lifespan. Our sincere thanks for making it all possible!

06/03/2026

June films at the DFT. Purchase your tickets at the DFT box office before the film or anytime online: https://dia.org/dft

06/02/2026

Kicking off the summer DFT season with a much buzzed about film from Festival de Cannes and TIFF! Buy your tickets in person at the DFT box office or online: https://dia.org/events/two-prosecutors

TWO PROSECUTORS
France/Germany/Netherlands/Latvia/Romania/Lithuania
Directed by Sergei Loznitsa

Friday, June 5 - 7 PM
Saturday, June 6 - 3 PM
Saturday, June 6 - 7 PM
Sunday, June 7 - 2 PM

In 1937, at the nightmarish height of Joseph Stalin’s Great Purge, an idealistic Soviet state lawyer (Alexander Kuznetsov) receives a note written in blood and smuggled out of a prisoner’s cell. The innocent young lawyer pushes past the prison's leery authorities to interview the note’s author: an elderly, broken-down Bolshevik (Aleksandr Filippenko) who has a powerful story to tell. The eager attorney, determined to expose to “higher authorities” the miscarriages of justice that befell the prisoner, soon finds the eye of the state turned on him instead, as an ever-tightening net encircles his investigation. Set at the paranoid peak of Stalin’s police state, director Sergei Loznitsa’s triumph is a chilling, Kafkaesque thriller about the impunity of power and the matter-of-fact horrors of fascism. Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals. In Russian with English subtitles. (118 min.)

“Superb! An extraordinary, meticulously constructed steel trap of a movie.” -Justin Chang, The New Yorker

04/02/2026

This weekend at the DFT.

Pompei: Below the Clouds
Directed by Gianfranco Rosi 114 min. Italy/2025

Friday, April 3 - 7 PM
Saturday, April 4 - 3 PM
Saturday, April 4 - 7 PM
Sunday, April 5 - 2 PM

With his most striking and eloquent documentary yet, Italian master Gianfranco Rosi has crafted a modern masterpiece—a visionary portrait of a region in Naples living under the shadow of Mount Vesuvius near the volcanic caldera, which today experiences frequent tremors.

In his visually extraordinary, wide-ranging look at the area, Rosi observes archaeologists reckoning with ancient artifacts and the wreckage of plunderers, modern diggers descending into abandoned tunnels, children happily attending a storefront school, and phone banks fielding late-night calls from anxious locals still mindful of the eruption that buried Pompeii in 79 A.D.

Elegantly linking modern and ancient life, Below the Clouds connects to our contemporary moment—a contemplation of the unimaginable tucked inside our daily lives.

Special Jury Prize, Venice Film Festival. In Italian, Arabic-Syrian, Japanese, Neapolitan Dialect, and English with English subtitles.

Purchase tickets here or in person at the box office: https://dia.org/events/pompei-below-clouds

03/04/2026

Only two chances remain to see the The 2026 OSCAR® NOMINATED DOC SHORTS!

Saturday March 7 at 1 pm and Thursday March 12 at 7 pm.

All five of this year’s Academy Award®-nominated shorts in the documentary category will be presented in this special program. While feature-length documentaries continue to enjoy a high profile in theaters and online, short documentaries can be just as powerful and surprising as their longer counterparts.

https://dia.org/events/2026-oscarr-nominated-short-films-documentary

02/20/2026

STARTING TONIGHT and running February 20th - March 15th at the Detroit Film Theatre.

The DFT’s most popular annual program brings together all of this year’s nominees in both the short animation and short live-action categories into one spectacularly entertaining event. Experiencing the Oscar® Shorts on the big screen is an astonishing reminder of how cinema can tell boldly imagined stories through the unbridled creativity of emerging filmmakers. Advance ticket purchase guarantees admission. Remaining seats are available at the door beginning one hour before each performance.

The Oscar® Shorts program runs approximately three hours, including a brief intermission between the animation and live-action categories.

Tickets can be purchased here: https://dia.org/events/2026-oscarr-nominated-short-films-animation-and-live-action

02/03/2026

Kicking off February with an epic new film from director Lav Diaz starring indie favorite Gael García Bernal.

From the first astonishing image to the last, everything in this monumental film from Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz carries surprising historical heft, thanks to the unique dimension that only cinema can provide. Actor Gael García Bernal (Amores Perros) reconceives his star power through Diaz’s discerning camera, disappearing into the role of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who in the 16th century navigated a crew to Southeast Asia after convincing the Spanish crown to fund his journey.

Debunking conventional colonialist histories and myths of the Age of Discovery, Diaz mounts an absorbing and visually breathtaking story of conquest and obsession, depicting Magellan’s journey to the Malayan Archipelago as an epic and relevant portrait of human vulnerability in the eternal struggle against oppression. In Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog, and French with English subtitles.

Tickets available online or in person at the DFT box office.
https://dia.org/events/magellan

01/29/2026

Ending January and kicking off February films with a one-day-only documentary (one of the best of the year)!

My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow
Directed by Julia Loktev 324 min. w/intermission
USA/2024

Sunday, February 1
1:00 pm
https://dia.org/events/my-undesirable-friends-part-i-last-air-moscow

American filmmaker Julia Loktev, born in the Soviet Union, returned to Moscow in 2021 to begin a documentary on the persistence of independent media journalism in Putin’s Russia—just months, as it turned out, before the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Loktev immerses herself with a group of young women striving to ensure the expression of dissent and outspoken criticism of the government, even as they are labeled foreign agents—soon discovering that their careers and even their lives are at risk as the country moves toward war.

Loktev’s award-winning new documentary, with climactic scenes filmed in Moscow during the first week of the invasion, offers a historic and suspenseful depiction of a moment of immense change and anxiety. It is also one of the most powerful films about the challenges and importance of independent journalism in the modern era.

In Russian with English subtitles.

01/23/2026

Not one, but two films at the Detroit Film Theatre this weekend! Stay out of the cold and cozy up at the DIA.

RESURRECTION

Directed by Bi Gan
160 min.
China/France/2025

This phantasmagoric dream from visionary Chinese director Bi Gan is an audacious, monumental love letter to a century of cinema.

Presented in five chapters filmed in a dazzling array of styles, Resurrection’s mind-blowing imagery is united by a single science fiction premise: in a world where people have surrendered their dreams in exchange for the hope of prolonging life, rogue “fantasmers” continue to tug at their imaginations.

The continually morphing protagonist (Jackson Yee) roams through a wonderland of cinematic genres, from Méliès-style fantasy to buddy picture to millennial vampire romance—the latter filmed in an astonishing single take.

By reimagining everything we’ve come to believe cinema can do, Bi Gan has created a work of staggering imagination on every level, designed for the most adventurous moviegoers. In Chinese with English subtitles.

THE GLASSWORKER

Directed by Usman Riaz
98 min.
Pakistan / 2025

In a windswept coastal town on the brink of war, Vincent (Sacha Dhawan), the son of a gentle glassblower whose art captures the fragile beauty of light, meets Alliz (Anjli Mohindra), a gifted violinist and the daughter of a stern military colonel. As their friendship blossoms into first love, familial loyalties, social divides, and the threat of conflict converge to test their bond. Rendered in lush, hand-drawn animation, this poetic anti-war fable explores love, loss, and the courage to remain true to one’s craft as the world unravels.

The Glassworker is a visually stunning animated film that marks a historic milestone as Pakistan’s first full-length animated feature. Created by acclaimed director Usman Riaz and produced by Mano Animation Studios, the film blends traditional 2D artistry with deeply rooted South Asian storytelling. Every frame is meticulously crafted, drawing inspiration from classical animation houses while presenting a uniquely Pakistani aesthetic and narrative voice.

Years in the making, The Glassworker stands as a testament to the power of independent animation, cultural expression, and artistic resilience—a groundbreaking achievement that places Pakistan firmly on the global animation map.

For ages 11 and up.

https://dia.org/dft

01/14/2026

See what all the buzz is about - this weekend the DFT presents NO OTHER CHOICE by director Park Chan-wook.

In his diabolically witty new thriller, Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) crafts a nerve-shattering tale about the savagely competitive nature of contemporary work culture. In a mesmerizing performance balanced between comedy and desperation, Lee Byung-hun (Squid Game) brings humor and high voltage to the role of Man-soo, a middle-aged husband and father who has been laid off from the company to which he devoted decades of his life.

Unwilling to accept joblessness, Man-soo finds unique ways to bolster his resumé with a potential new employer, leading to jaw-dropping shifts in the film’s trajectory, shaped by a master filmmaker in extravagant, pitch-black comic style.

Adapted from a novel by Donald E. Westlake, No Other Choice is an enthralling ride all the way to its stunning ending. People’s Choice Award, Toronto International Film Festival. In Korean with English subtitles.

Buy your tickets online or in person at the DFT box office.

https://dia.org/events/no-other-choice

Address

5200 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI
48202

Opening Hours

Tuesday	9am - 4pm
Wednesday	9am - 4pm
Thursday	9am - 4pm
Friday	9am - 9pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm
Sunday	10am - 8pm

Telephone

(313) 833-7887

Website

https://dia.org/dft

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