February is a great month to go to the movies. In addition to getting caught up on the Oscar nominees ahead of the Academy Awards on March 2, Madison’s arthouse movie series are in full swing this month bringing challenging and unusual films to the big screen.
Listen to the City Cast Madison podcast as James Kreul talks about programming the spring series at both the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and Arts + Literature Laboratory’s Mills Folly Microcinema series.
Here’s what’s coming to those and other local theaters – often for little or no cost.
The State Street museum is screening new movies every Wednesday night in February. The series kicks off Feb. 5 with “A Traveler’s Needs,” prolific South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo’s latest collaboration with French actress Isabelle Huppert. Also coming are documentaries on jazz legend Chet Baker (“Let’s Get Lost,” Feb. 26) and West Coast cult musician Swamp Dogg (“Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painting,” Feb. 12).
Since 2018, this series has brought experimental films from the Midwest and around the country to Madison. On Feb. 18, a selection from the prestigious 62nd Annual Ann Arbor Film Festival will be screening at Arts+Lit Laboratory.
Whether you’re looking for a new independent movie that wouldn’t play in Madison otherwise, or a restored classic film, this on-campus film series in Vilas Hall has you covered (and for free!). This month brings restored prints of Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” (Feb. 8), new movies like “Universal Language” (Feb. 27) and “Sujo” (Feb. 13), and three 1970s films showcasing women of color (“Claudine” on Feb. 14, “Coffy” on Feb. 21 and “Cleopatra Jones” on Feb. 28).
Programmed by UW-Madison students in the Wisconsin Union Directorate, this theater is a great place to catch up on recent cinematic hits like “Longlegs” (Feb. 7 and 8). But the students also book classic films like “Chungking Express” (Feb. 7) and “Memento” (Feb. 8), as well as the Social Cinema series of documentaries about social issues and activism, including “The Five Demands” (Feb. 6) and “Lakota Nation Vs. United States” (Feb. 13).
Madison film writer Jason Fuhrman programs this monthly free series at the library’s Central Branch, and draws from the library’s extensive resources to provide suggested readings and related film recommendations at every screen. This month’s screening on Feb. 26 is Jonathan Demme’s genre-jumping 1985 movie “Something Wild.”
