The Best Films Playing in New York and Los Angeles Repertory Theaters in April 2025
Harrison Richlin
Looking for a way to stay dry during the rainy month of April? What better place to cozy up than your local repertory cinema. For those based in New York and Los Angeles, the offerings over the next few weeks are some of the best of the year thus far, with multiple series being held on both coasts that put a light on some of cinema’s unsung heroes. Starting in the east, Film at Lincoln Center will be paying homage to UCLA’s L.A. Rebellion movement of the 1970s and ’80s. Revitalizing Black cinema after the market for Blaxploitation began to dwindle, this collective included filmmakers such as Charles Burnett, Julie Dash, Larry Clark, Zeinabu irene Davis, and many more.
On the west coast, not only will the Eagle at Vidiots be celebrating the late Gene Hackman with showings of two of his films, but American Cinematheque will also be hosting its second annual “This Is Not a Fiction” festival, this year attracting talent such as Bill Hader, Conan O’Brien, Errol Morris, Kazuo Hara, Mark Frost, and more for conversations on the subject of documentary film and non-fiction art forms. Keep reading below to find out more of our selections and make some time to go out and support your local theater in April.
NEW YORK
Nitehawk Cinema
Anyone else feeling a little revolutionary? You know, with all those freedoms being taken away? Well, Nitehawk Cinema has you covered. Screening at both their Prospect Park and Williamsburg locations, Nitehawk will be hosting a series titled “A Session on Class.” Consisting of 13 films, the focus of the series revolves around how classism and capitalism will bring about our destruction — and it couldn’t come at a better time. Featuring Luis Buñuel’s surrealist satires “The Exterminating Angel” and “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie,” Bong Joon-Ho’s Oscar-sweeping “Parasite,” and Federico Fellini’s Palme d’Or-winning “La Dolce Vita,” these films won’t only entertain, but also make you ready to storm the gates.
Rising above the crop, Juliano Dornelles and Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “Bacurau,” which screens on Saturday, April 26, feels like the perfect group viewing to experience during these times. The Brazilian western takes on a sci-fi bent as it follows a small village in the wake of the death of its matriarch. Things quickly turn strange as details about the community, like how it’s not recognized in any satellite imagery, start to come to light. Eventually the real purpose behind Bacurau becomes clear, forcing its inhabitants to fight for their right to exist. If this isn’t quite your speed, try a viewing of Jacques Tati’s delightful “Mon Oncle,” which tracks his trademark character Monsieur Hulot as he works to prevent his nephew from embracing technological modernity. The 1958 French comedy screens on Saturday, April 12.
Film at Lincoln Center
Starting April 25, Film at Lincoln Center will play host to an exciting series of films focused around the revitalization of Black cinema by a diverse group of African, Caribbean, and African American filmmakers and video artists from UCLA in the 1970s and ’80s — known collectively as the L.A. Rebellion. Though a bit late in the month and bleeding into May, we’ll make an exception for this collection of engrossing and vital cinematic explorations. In addition to commemorating the work of Charles Burnett, Julie Dash, Jamaa Fanaka, Larry Clark, Zeinabu irene Davis, and more, “L.A. Rebellion: Then and Now” will play these films opposite more recent releases to track the influence of these artists over time.
To get some context on the L.A. Rebellion movement, take in a viewing of Davis’ 2016 documentary “Spirits of Rebellion: Black Cinema at UCLA,” screening on April 24 and April 29. Categorized under “On Incarceration,” Fanaka’s unraveling of the prison system in her 1972 film “Penitentiary” captures the increasing alienation of Black life in America with vivid, brutal honesty and will be shown on May 3. On April 27, playing back-to-back as part of its section “On Jazz,” Clark’s musical crime drama “Passing Through” and Alain Gomes’ 2022 Thelonious Monk doc “Rewind & Play” both offer unique angles on how music can be both a release and a prison of one’s own making.
LOS ANGELES
The Eagle at Vidiots
In addition to hosting screenings for the Los Angeles Festival of Movies from April 3-6, as well as IndieWire’s own Pass the Remote series on April 1 and April 15, the Eagle theater at Vidiots will be offering a nice array of options throughout the month to satiate your cinematic tastes. Early on, they’ll be celebrating the work of Gene Hackman with showings of the 2001 family dramedy “The Royal Tenenbaums” and the 1972 counter-culture thriller “Cisco Pike” on Friday, April 4 and Sunday, April 6 respectively.
Co-presented by community programming partner The Cinegogue, the Eagle will be screening the 1997 Japanese neo-noir film “Cure,” led by “Perfect Days” star Koji Yakusho. The cult classic follows a troubled detective as he investigate a series of gruesome murders where the murderers are found near their victims and don’t remember committing the act at all. If the trailer for “One Battle After Another” got you hungry for more Paul Thomas Anderson, to celebrate 4/20 Vidiots will be showing the ’70s-set hallucinatory mystery “Inherent Vice” on 35mm, though toking up inside the theater is most definitely prohibited. Sure to attract quite the crowd, at the end of the month, the erotic neo-noir “Bound” will screen as well with co-director Lilly Wachowski in attendance for a Q&A.
American Cinematheque
While April from American Cinematheque is stuffed to the brim with a wide array of options at the Egyptian, the Aero, and the Los Feliz 3, the one not to miss is its “This Is Not a Fiction” festival. The celebration of documentary and non-fiction art forms runs from April 9 to April 17 and will feature conversations with comedian Conan O’Brien, documentarian Errol Morris, “Survivor” host Jeff Probst, and many more. Even within “This Is Not a Fiction,” there are too many choices to name, but we do have a few selections that stand above the rest.
In terms of new items, the fest will be debuting the Season 2 premiere of the Max travelogue series “Conan O’Brien Must Go” for its Opening Night, with O’Brien himself attending, and documentarian Rodney Acher will also be showcasing his latest feature, “Ghost Boy,” on Thursday, April 10. On Saturday, April 12, true-crime exposé “The Thin Blue Line” and Stephen Hawking bio-doc “A Brief History of Time” will shown at the Egyptian followed by a Q&A with director Errol Morris. The 4K restoration of “Winter Soldier,” which follows Vietnam veterans involved in the 1970s anti-war movement describing atrocities committed by their units, screens at the Los Feliz 3 the following day and is also worth checking out.
But the must-attend of the fest has to be its L.A. premiere for the 4K restoration of Charles Burnett’s “Killer of Sheep” on Wednesday, April 16. Set in Watts, the film is a lyrical, neo-realist snapshot of a community, family, and slaughterhouse worker all coping with the monotony and powerlessness society forces them to endure. Burnett will participate in a Q&A following the film, while archivist Jill Borders will provide an introduction ahead of the screening.
