DIA's Detroit Film Theatre

08/28/2026

Join us for one final weekend and one final film this summer - the DFT will be on fall hiatus until a new season + schedule launch September 25! Buy your tickets online or in person at the DFT box office.

https://dia.org/events/bellissima

Bellissima
Directed by Luchino Visconti
115 minutes
Italy/1951

After learning of a Cinecittà Studios casting call for a child actor, working-class nurse Maddalena (Anna Magnani) transforms into a consummate stage mother, overhauling the life of her seven-year-old daughter (the astonishing Tina Apicella) and steamrolling everyone else to secure an audition.

But Maddalena gets more than she bargained for when an industry insider asks for money (and more) in return for bribing studio heads—a deception that opens Maddalena’s eyes to the real price she and her daughter might pay for their dream.

Magnani turns in one of the great performances of her legendary career in the rarely seen Bellissima—a newly restored masterwork by Italy’s Luchino Visconti (Death in Venice). Delivering humor, humanity, and a rare look at postwar Italy’s pursuit of movie celebrity, Bellissima is the sublime result of Magnani and Visconti discovering collaborative magic at their artistic peaks. In Italian with English subtitles.

“The great Magnani is at her most extraordinary in this satirical view of the movie-studio world… Visconti’s warmest comedy.” –Pauline Kael, 5001 Nights at the Movies

08/15/2026

This weekend at the DFT - buy your tickets in advance for these two incredible films:

https://dia.org/dft

AMORES PERROS: The 25th Anniversary Restoration

Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu
155 minutes
Mexico/2000

As three lives from disparate parts of Mexico City converge in a single moment, their fractured stories unfold – revealing they are more connected to the urban underworld around them than they seem. After 25 years, the legendary, searing debut feature from Academy Award®-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman, The Revenant) returns to the big screen in a new, complete and stunning restoration.

A visceral, jaw-dropping reflection on human chaos, ruthlessness and tenderness, Amores Perros remains as bold, affecting and disturbingly mind-blowing as ever. Powered by the mesmerizing performances of Gael García Bernal, Goya Toledo and Emilio Echeverría, Amores Perros stands a quarter-century after its debut as a gritty masterwork. Critics Week Grand Prize, 2000 Cannes Film Festival. In Spanish with English subtitles.

“Amores Perros feels like the first classic of the new decade, with sequences that will probably make their way into history.” –Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times
“An unapologetic, rocket-fueled rush of excitement.” –Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Lumière, Le Cinéma!

Directed by Thierry Frémaux
106 minutes
France

In a great historical coincidence, lumière, the French word for “light,” was also the last name of brothers Auguste and Louis, whose invention, the cinematograph, helped to inaugurate the most beloved art form of the last 130 years.

In this magnificent documentary, Institute Lumière director Thierry Frémaux guides viewers through more than one hundred restored short films—some famous, some forgotten, some never before seen—created by Lumière and company. In the process, Frémaux illuminates how the brothers employed the camera as a creative tool as they mastered framing, staging, and subject selection for motion pictures of our world of more than a century ago, as well as the first ever fictional motion pictures. The result is not only a glorious big-screen depiction of the genesis of cinema but a profound meditation on the beautiful world captured—and the magical world imagined—by the Lumières. Narration in French with English subtitles.

“A dazzling journey to the origins of cinema.” –Wes Anderson

07/21/2026

A preview of The Kidnapping of Arabella. Directed by Carolina Cavalli. Next weekend - only at the DFT!

Learn more about THE KIDNAPPING OF ARABELLA at https://arabella.osc...

07/21/2026

Next week at the DFT. Take a break from the big budget cacophony in the multiplex for a more intimate story of charm, humor and honesty with THE KIDNAPPING OF ARABELLA.

Friday, July 31 - 7 PM
Saturday, August 1 - 3 PM
Saturday, August 1 - 7 PM
Sunday, August 2 - 2 PM

Buy your tickets online or in person at the DFT box office.
https://dia.org/events/kidnapping-arabella

THE KIDNAPPING OF ARABELLA
Directed by Carolina Cavalli
Italy/2025
107 minutes

28-year-old Holly (Benedetta Porcaroli) spends day after day at her dead-end job, wondering where her life went wrong – at least so far. But after a chance encounter with Arabella (Lucrezia Guglielmino), an eight-year-old rebel hoping to run away from her self-absorbed father (a terrific Chris Pine), Holly becomes convinced their seemingly random meeting is actually some sort of cosmic sign, and that Arabella is, in fact, a younger version of herself. With charm, humor and honesty, this delightfully idiosyncratic homage to sisterhood becomes the tale of an oddly matched pair of adventurers on a most unconventional road trip, striving to make peace with their unsatisfying pasts and potentially bright futures. Best Actress Award, Benedetta Porcaroli, 2025 Venice Film Festival. In Italian with English subtitles.

“The young leads show off terrific comic timing, while an assortment of mesmerizing character actors add sparkle.” –Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter

07/06/2026

Winter at the DFT may belong to the Academy Award Nominated Short Films, but summer belongs to the....cats?!

One of the most popular summer programs at the DFT returns! The screenings also help raise money for animals in need through partnerships with local charities, animal welfare organizations and shelters.

Mark your calendars!

Friday, August 7 - 7 PM
Saturday, August 8 - 1 PM
Saturday, August 8 - 4 PM
Saturday, August 8 - 7 PM
Sunday, August 9 - 2 PM

A triumph! A spectacle! A fuzzy wuzzy cuddle puddle! CatVideoFest a...

07/06/2026

This weekend at the DFT:

Peter Asher: Everywhere Man
Directed by Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine

Friday, July 10 - 7 PM
Saturday, July 11 - 3 PM
Saturday, July 11 - 7 PM
Sunday, July 12 - 2 PM

Purchase tickets online or in person at the DFT box office.
https://dia.org/events/peter-asher-everywhere-man

Peter Asher’s global visibility began in 1964 as one half of the singing duo Peter and Gordon, whose boffo, breakthrough hit song, “A World Without Love,” was given to them by their friend Paul McCartney. Immediately ushered into the wider world of American popular music, Asher, who’d been a child actor before becoming a pop star, soon found his true calling as a manager, music producer and indispensable influence on the likes of James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Lyle Lovett, Twiggy, Natalie Merchant, Paul Shaffer, Rufus Wainwright, Steve Martin, Eric Idle, Marianne Faithfull, Jane Asher (all seen in the film) and more – seemingly the entire world of pop culture. A witty, Zelig-like character who remains a creative force to this day, Peter Asher does not deny rumors of being a real-life inspiration – visual and cultural – for Mike Myers’ Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. For a good time, don’t miss this one. 118 minutes. USA/2025.

“Exciting and unpredictable! A documentary that traces a remarkable, under-the-radar musical legacy.” – Daniel Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter

The Detroit Institute of the Arts is located in Detroit’s cultural corridor. Our address is 5200 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202.

07/03/2026

A preview of July at DFT!

07/03/2026

Beat the heat this holiday weekend - the DFT has not one, but two films on Sunday July 5th!

QUEEN MARY
Sunday July 5 - 2 PM
https://dia.org/events/queen-kelly

It should have been a dream collaboration: a glamorous, world-famous movie star (Gloria Swanson) and her financier lover (Joseph P. Kennedy) hire a celebrated director (Erich von Stroheim) to make what was to be a groundbreaking masterpiece. Instead, Queen Kelly was canceled mid-production and became the most infamous unfinished silent film in cinema history. Von Stroheim’s and obsessive drama about a mad Queen (Seena Owen) obsessed with her feckless fiancé, “Wild” Prince Wolfram (Walter Byron). But when the Prince falls for innocent convent girl Patricia Kelly (Gloria Swanson), a series of mind-boggling and visually over-the-top complications ensue in the startlingly baroque vision of the legendary filmmaker. Based on von Stroheim’s original script, the restoration uses multiple techniques in recreating Queen Kelly’s lurid narrative. Featuring a new orchestral score by Eli Denson. (105 minutes)

“A spectacular, fanatically ornamental, harrowing masterwork of erotic ecstasies and horrors.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker

ASK E. JEAN
Sunday July 5 - 5 PM
https://dia.org/events/ask-e-jean

Ivy Meeropol’s energizing new documentary reveals the story of E. Jean Carroll’s life and career, beginning with her early days as Miss Cheerleader USA to her success as a trailblazing gonzo journalist, author, beloved advice columnist and television personality. E. Jean broke barriers as the first female editor at Esquire, Pl***oy, and Outside, helping to redefine women’s roles in media with her sharp wit, fearless voice and boundless confidence. In recent years, she reignited public discourse by standing up to power through dual, successful lawsuits – both of which fueled national conversations about accountability, resilience and standing up to power. Ask E. Jean is a dynamic and richly entertaining portrait of an indomitable woman whose courage managed to prove that it’s never too late to reclaim your voice, tell your story, or perhaps even change the world. Just ask E. Jean. Official selection, Telluride and DOC NYC Film Festivals. (91 minutes)

“Enthralling and unapologetic as its subject.” –Tomris Laffley, Variety

06/24/2026

Wrapping up the month of June with a stunning debut feature from director Joel Alfonso Vargas, MAD BILLS TO PAY.

Friday, June 26 - 7 PM
Saturday, June 27 - 3 PM
Saturday, June 27 - 7 PM
Sunday, June 28 - 2 PM

In a tight knit Dominican American community in The Bronx, Rico (Juan Collado) is hustling his way through the summer, selling bootleg “nutcracker” cocktails out of a beach cooler and chasing girls without a care. Until, that is, one girlfriend (Destiny Checo) begins crashing at his place – already overloaded with family – turning the small apartment into a stage for messy young love. Writer-director Joel Alfonso Vargas makes New York the heartbeat of his debut feature, collaborating with discovery talents Collado and Checo to deliver an unvarnished look at the joys and realities of young lives in motion. Described by IndieWire as “a vibrant tableau anchored by incredible performances,” Mad Bills to Pay (Destiny, dile que no soy malo) is a memorable tale of youthful abandon encountering the unexpected. Special Jury Award, Sundance Film Festival. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. (101 minutes)

“Critic’s Pick! Exuberant, assured and crackling with energy.”

– Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

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