Real Art Ways | Independent Cinema | Contemporary Art | Live Art

“Shows the optimism and self-awareness that can come from creativity.” – NY Times

“True Art” – Los Angeles Times

Synopsis:

LIYANA is a genre-defying documentary that tells the story of five children in the Kingdom of Eswatini who turn past trauma into an original tale about a girl named Liyana who embarks on a perilous quest to save her young twin brothers. The film weaves her animated journey together with poetic documentary scenes to create an inspiring story of perseverance and hope.

LIYANA has played at festivals around the world, including the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival and MoMA’s Doc Fortnight, and has won more than 35 jury and audience awards so far.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

Kubo and the Two Strings

97% on Rotten Tomatoes

“Kubo offers visceral thrills and visual splendor, but it also champions the importance of kindness, forgiveness, and embracing humanity’s many imperfections.” – The Atlantic

Synopsis:

Young Kubo’s (Art Parkinson) peaceful existence comes crashing down when he accidentally summons a vengeful spirit from the past. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) to unlock a secret legacy. Armed with a magical instrument, Kubo must battle the Moon King (Ralph Fiennes) and other gods and monsters to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

Wolfwalkers

99% on Rotten Tomatoes

“Irresistible” – TIME Magazine

“It’s glorious, gorgeous, and more than a little profound.” – New York Magazine

Synopsis:

In a time of superstition and magic, a young apprentice hunter, Robyn Goodfellowe, journeys to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last wolf pack. While exploring the forbidden lands outside the city walls, Robyn befriends a free-spirited girl, Mebh, a member of a mysterious tribe rumored to have the ability to transform into wolves by night.

As they search for Mebh’s missing mother, Robyn uncovers a secret that draws her further into the enchanted world of the “Wolfwalkers” and risks turning into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

Chicken Run

“Even without Wallace and Gromit, most of the trademark joys are here: the compound of squashy creatures and heavy machinery, the wide, open-ended rictus of a toothy smile, and the great Parkian gulp.” – Anthony Lane, New Yorker

Synopsis:

This engaging stop-motion, claymation adventure tells the story of an American rooster who falls in love with a gorgeous hen on a British farm. The couple decides to run away from the farm, but they must first contend with the evil farmer who is intent on keeping them under her control. The chickens decide to attempt an escape so they don’t get turned into chicken pot pies.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

The Courier

“It’s very compelling, and all the more so because it actually happened.” –NPR

“One of the most remarkable espionage stories of the 20th century.” –New York Magazine/Vulture

Synopsis:

THE COURIER is a true-life spy thriller, the story of an unassuming British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) recruited into one of the greatest international conflicts in history. At the behest of the UK’s MI-6 and a CIA operative (Rachel Brosnahan), he forms a covert, dangerous partnership with Soviet officer Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) in an effort to provide crucial intelligence needed to prevent a nuclear confrontation and defuse the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

My Life as a Zucchini

2017 Academy Award Nominee, Best Animated Feature, and Best Foreign Language Film

“An example of the kind of movie magic that’s always hard to find.” – Los Angeles Times

“A bittersweet celebration of friendship and empathy.” – NY Times

Synopsis:

“Zucchini” is befriended by a police officer, Raymond, who accompanies him to his new foster home.

At first, Zucchini struggles to find his place in this strange environment. But with Raymond’s help and his newfound friends, he eventually learns to trust and love, as he searches for a new family of his own.

Brought to life through memorable character designs and expressive stop-motion animation, the story soars with laughter, sorrow, and joy. It stands as a testament to the resilience of the human heart.

Voiced by Will Forte, Nick Offerman, Elliot Page, and Amy Sedaris.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

Spider-Man:
Into the Spider Verse

“The greatest Spider-Man epic of them all-and the coolest.” – Rolling Stone

“Two hours of thoroughgoing delight. Take the kids. Better yet, take the kid in yourself.” – Boston Globe

Synopsis:

Bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales suddenly develops mysterious powers that transform him into the one and only Spider-Man. When he meets Peter Parker, he soon realizes that there are many others who share his special, high-flying talents. Miles must now use his newfound skills to battle the evil Kingpin, a hulking madman who can open portals to other universes and pull different versions of Spider-Man into our world.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

No Ordinary Man

“It’s moving and empowering, a reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we have to go.” –RogerEbert.com

Synopsis:

American jazz musician Billy Tipton developed a reputable touring and recording career in the mid-twentieth century, along with his band The Billy Tipton Trio. After his death in the late 80s, it was revealed that Tipton was assigned female at birth, and his life was swiftly reframed as the story of an ambitious woman passing as a man in pursuit of a music career.

The genre-defying documentary NO ORDINARY MAN seeks to correct that misrepresentation by collaborating with trans artists. As they collectively celebrate Tipton’s story as a musician living his life according to his own terms, they paint a portrait of a trans culture icon. NO ORDINARY MAN features leading voices and breakout stars in the trans community, including Marquise Vilsón, Scott Turner Schofield, Susan Stryker, C. Riley Snorton, and Thomas Page McBee, among others.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

The Hidden Life of Trees

NY Times Critics Pick

100% on Rotten Tomatoes

“Jörg Adolph uses the sensorial capacities of cinema to thrillingly visualize a German forester’s contention that trees are social, sentient beings.” – NY Times

Synopsis:

Based on the best-selling book, renowned forester and author Peter Wohlleben discusses the life, death, and regeneration of trees.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

All the Streets Are Silent: The Convergence of Hip Hop and Skateboarding (1987-1997)

Synopsis

In the late 80s and early 90s, the streets of downtown Manhattan were the site of a collision between two vibrant subcultures: skateboarding and hip hop. Narrated by Zoo York co-founder Eli Gesner with an original score by legendary hip-hop producer Large Professor (Nas, A Tribe Called Quest), All the Streets Are Silent brings to life the magic of the time period and the convergence that created a style and visual language that would have an outsized and enduring cultural effect.

From the DJ booths and dance floors of the Mars nightclub to the founding of brands like Supreme, this convergence would lay the foundation for modern street style. Paris Is Burning meets Larry Clark’s KIDS, All the Streets Are Silent is a love letter to New York—examining race, society, fashion, and street culture.

Featuring never-before-seen archival footage from the era and interviews with celebrated characters from both worlds and figures from the downtown scene including Rosario Dawson, Harold Hunter, Justin Pierce, Keith Hufnagel, Darryl McDaniels (Run-D.M.C.), Jefferson Pang, Bobbito Garcia, Stretch Armstrong, Kool Keith, Leo Fitzpatrick, Mike Hernandez, DJ Clark Kent, Kid Capri, Mike Carroll, Moby, Fab 5 Freddy, Peter Bici, Yuki Watanabe, Clayton Patterson, Beatrice Domond, Tyshawn Jones, and more.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

The Green Knight

Starring Dev Patel

An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur’s reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger, and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom by facing the ultimate challenger. From visionary filmmaker David Lowery comes a fresh and bold spin on a classic tale from the knights of the round table.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain

NY Times Critic’s Pick

92% on Rotten Tomatoes

“Portrait of how Bourdain evolved as a person during the years of his celebrity.” –Variety

Synopsis:

Anthony Bourdain traveled the world showing us beauty in food, people and culture. He exposed the precariousness of our virtues and the strength of our vulnerabilities, the illusiveness of success and the fragility of happiness. Bourdain lived as a Romantic — diving into human expression while seeking out uncharted frontiers. He was the best friend we never really knew.

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?) comes this unflinching look at Bourdain.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It

97% on Rotten Tomatoes

NY Times Critic’s Pick

“This 89-year-old stage and screen legend has refreshingly few qualms about saying exactly what she thinks” –Los Angeles Times

“Shares Moreno’s power as an activist and an EGOT-winning performer who continues to break barriers as an 87-year-old…”-Chicago Reader

“It’s almost hard to believe that the radiant Moreno we see in the film – who at 89 continues to epitomize that ineffable and rare quality we call star power – was ever restrained.”-NY Times

“It makes you feel both the highs and lows of being such a trailblazer in Hollywood.” –RogerEbert.com

Synopsis:

Over a 70+ year career, Rita Moreno defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become a celebrated and beloved actor, one of the rare EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) Award Winners of our time. Born into poverty on a Puerto Rican farm, Moreno and her seamstress mother immigrated to New York City when Moreno was five years old. After studying dance and performing on Broadway, Moreno was cast as any ethnic minority the Hollywood studios needed filled, be it Polynesian, Native American, or Egyptian. Despite becoming the first Latina actress to win an Academy Award for her role as Anita in “West Side Story” (1961), the studios continued to offer Moreno lesser roles as stereotypical ethnic minorities, ignoring her proven talent.

RITA MORENO: JUST A GIRL WHO DECIDED TO GO FOR IT illuminates the humor and the grace of Moreno, as well as lesser-known struggles faced on her path to stardom, including pernicious Hollywood sexism and abuse, a toxic relationship with Marlon Brando, and serious depression a year before she emerged an Oscar winner. Moreno’s talent and resilience triumphed over adversity, as she broke barriers, fought for representation and forged the path for new generations of artists.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

Two Gods

100% on Rotten Tomatoes

“With depth of feeling and warm black-and-white photography, Zeshawn Ali’s humble documentary “Two Gods” fully acknowledges how death is a part of life.” –NY Times

“A masterpiece just waiting to be discovered.” –Criterion Cast

Synopsis:

An intimate documentary about faith, renewal, and healing, Two Gods follows a Muslim casket maker and ritual body washer in New Jersey, as he takes two young men under his wing to teach them how to live better lives.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

The Man in the Hat

100% on Rotten Tomatoes

“Sustains a whimsical tone beautifully throughout…” –RogerEbert.com

“The Man in the Hat with its French setting, minimal dialogue, picaresque plot line and obsession with a couple of unique, if also economical, vintage automobiles, is a throwback to Jacques Tati’s 1971 classic Trafic. ” –Boston Herald

Synopsis:

The Man In The Hat sets off from Marseilles in a small Fiat 500. On the seat beside him is a framed photograph of an unknown woman. Behind him is a 2CV into which is squeezed Five Bald Men. Why are they chasing him? And how can he shake them off? As he travels North through France, he encounters razeteurs, women with stories to tell, bullfights, plenty of delicious food, a damp man, mechanics, nuns, a convention of Chrystallographers and much more. And always, on his tail, the Five Bald Men.

As the Fiat 500 wends its way across the mountains, gorges and bridges of France, the 2CV hard behind him, the Thin Man (Ciaran Hinds) comes face to face with the vivid eccentricities of an old country on an old continent.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

2022 Academy Awards: Best Documentary Feature.

The concert experience is back. The revolution returns.

“It’s an extraordinary event not just of musical history. It’s a mind-blowing moment of American history.” –NY Times

“It’s a music documentary like no other, because while it’s a joyful, cataclysmic, and soulfully seductive concert movie, what it’s really about is a key turning point in Black life in America” – Variety.

“A joyous piece of filmmaking, something that I could have watched for literal hours, and contains quite simply some of the best concert footage ever put on film.” – RogerEbert.com

Synopsis:

In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary-part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion.

Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was never seen and largely forgotten–until now. SUMMER OF SOUL shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past and present. The feature includes never-before-seen concert performances by Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly & the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Ray Baretto, Abbey Lincoln & Max Roach and more.

A concert film still from Summer of Soul

A still from Summer Of Soul. Photograph: Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Mass Distraction Media

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

In The Heights

98% on Rotten Tomatoes

“As a big, energizing summertime songfest, In the Heights delivers with verve.” – Vanity Fair

“In the Heights captures the bustling, changing multicultural Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan with a dizzying array of song and dance styles, from hip-hop to Latin influences.” – USA Today

“A brash and invigorating entertainment, a movie of tender, delicate moments that nonetheless revels unabashedly in its own size and scale.’ – Los Angeles Times

Synopsis:

In the Heights fuses Lin-Manuel Miranda’s (Hamilton) kinetic music and lyrics with director Jon M. Chu’s (Crazy Rich Asians) lively and authentic eye for storytelling to capture a world very much of its place, but universal in its experience.

In the Heights lights up on Washington Heights… The scent of a cafecito caliente hangs in the air just outside of the 181st Street subway stop, where a kaleidoscope of dreams rallies this vibrant and tight-knit community. At the intersection of it all is the likable, magnetic bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), who saves every penny from his daily grind as he hopes, imagines and sings about a better life.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

Madan Sara

**We invite you to a one-night virtual screening of Madan Sara followed by a post-film discussion with director Etant Dupain.**

Grand’Anse Health and Development Association (GAHDA) is happy to be working with Real Art Ways to show this important film about the women who play a central role in the Haitian economy and supporting local communities.

“Madan Sara is a film about the power of Black women in a global economy and their contributions that too often go unacknowledged.” – Ms. Magazine

Event Details:

-Buy your ticket online anytime before the event.

-Tickets are $10 (with 50% of the profits benefiting Madan Sara and an additional donation to GAHDA)

-On Wed, June 9 you will receive an email with a link to the virtual screening room and a link to the post-film discussion on Zoom.

-Log in to watch Madan Sara at 6:45 PM (runtime 50 min.)

-At 8 pm log into the Zoom room for the post-film discussion and Q&A with director Etant Dupain.

More about the film:

The women known as Madan Sara in Haiti work tirelessly to buy, distribute, and sell food and other essentials in markets through the country. Despite the obstacles faced by the women working in a sector that lacks investment, infrastructure and state assistance, the Madan Sara continue to be one of the most critical parts of the Haitian economy and of who we are as a country.

The Madan Sara documentary tells the stories of these indefatigable women who work at the margins to make Haiti’s economy run. Despite facing intense hardship and social stigma, the hard work of the Madan Sara puts their children through school, houses their families, and helps to ensure a better life for generations to come. This film amplifies the calls of the Madan Sara as they speak directly to society to share their dreams for a more just Haiti.

Post-Film Talk | 8 PM:

Madan Sara director Etant Dupain will be in conversation with and answer questions from the audience. The discussion will be moderated by Judy Lewis, Professor of Public Health Sciences at UCONN Health.

About the Panelists:

Etant Dupain is a journalist, filmmaker, and community organizer. For over a decade, he has worked as a producer on documentaries and for international news media outlets including Al Jazeera, TeleSur, BBC, CNN, Netflix, PBS, and Vice. Etant founded an alternative media project in Haiti to enable citizen journalists to provide access to information in Haitian Creole for and about internally-displaced people, aid accountability, and politics. Now, moved by the strength of his mother and the women known as the Madan Sara who make Haiti’s economy run, he’s making his first personal film.

Judy Lewis is a public health sociologist and Professor Emeritus of Public Health Sciences and Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut Medical School. She is President of the Grand’Anse Health & Development Association Board; founding member and Board Chair of Women and Health Together for the Future, and has served in leadership positions of many global health organizations including the World Federation of Public Health Association, American Public Health Association and CORE Group. Prof. Lewis has worked to improve community health in rural Haiti for over 30 years. She is senior author of “The Health of Women/Mothers and Children,” in Understanding Global Medicine and Health, and has written many articles about maternal and child health and other public health issues in Haiti, Ecuador and Sri Lanka. She has conducted research, program evaluation and training in over 50 countries. She received the 2018 Carl E. Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Health Section, American Public Health Association, honoring the visionaries and leaders in international health.

Another Round

Academy Award Winner Best International Feature Film

93% on Rotten Tomatoes

Starrring Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale)

“Mikkelsen elevates what could have been another traditional message movie about living life to the fullest even after you think you’ve had your final drink.” – RogerEbert

Synopsis:

Four high school teachers consume alcohol on a daily basis to see how it affects their social and professional lives.

Mads Mikkelsen lifting a glass in a cheering crowd in Another Round

Mads Mikkelsen – Another Round

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE

Nomadland

Academy Award Winner Best Director, Best Picture & Best Actress

Starring Oscar winner Frances McDormand

Winner Golden Lion Best Film, 2020 Venice Film Festival

Winner People’s Choice Award, 2020 Toronto International Film Festival

NY Times Critic’s Pick

96% on Rotten Tomatoes

“Frances McDormand wows (again) in the earthbound yet expansive ‘Nomadland’” – Washington Post

“It suggests that the road less traveled can yield joy as well as sorrow and that it can fulfill a person’s need for both solitude and community.” – NPR

Synopsis:

Following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. The third feature film from director Chloé Zhao, NOMADLAND features real nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells as Fern’s mentors and comrades in her exploration through the vast landscape of the American West.

Safety In Our Cinema:

As you return to our physical space, your health and safety is our top priority. To learn about all the steps we have taken to prepare and our new procedures visit our Welcoming You Back page.

Real Art Ways Cinema is designated Cinema Safe. Learn more about Cinema Safe HERE