It’s a big year for the Belcourt Theatre. Nashville’s nonprofit film center turns 100 in May, and the cinema plans to mark the occasion by celebrating “the Belcourt’s history, the people and groups that marked its many chapters, the communities that shaped it, and the theatre’s place in Nashville’s past, present and future.” That includes sharing the results of the Hillsboro Village arthouse’s oral history project, which launched two years ago with the stated goal of compiling a comprehensive history of the local cultural landmark.
To celebrate the theater’s centennial, the art house is gathering recollections from the public
But before all that, we’ve got awards season to get through. As always, the Belcourt will host its Red Carpet Evening fundraising gala on Oscar night — Sunday, March 2. The 21-and-older event will feature the Academy Awards ceremony being broadcast on both of the Belcourt’s big screens, along with a silent auction, a cocktail buffet and loads of perks for VIP ticketholders. In the run-up to Hollywood’s Biggest Night, the Belcourt will screen the year’s Oscar-nominated short films (in animation, live-action and documentary programs) beginning on Feb. 14, with its annual Best Picture Marathon to follow Feb. 21 through March 1. (The Academy nomination announcements, originally scheduled for Jan. 17, were postponed to Jan. 23 due to the Southern California wildfires.)
Still currently screening at the Belcourt are Robert Eggers’ spellbinding Nosferatu, multiple Golden Globe winner The Brutalist and historical drama Nickel Boys, with Mike Leigh’s family drama Hard Truths opening this weekend. (See our review of that one.) Opening soon at the arthouse are: Italian World War II drama Vermiglio (Jan. 31); award-winning political thriller The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Feb. 7); Brazilian biographical drama I’m Still Here (Feb. 7); African-art-repatriation documentary Dahomey (Feb. 12); rock doc Becoming Led Zeppelin (Feb. 14); documentary No Other Land (Feb. 21), which was made by a quartet of Palestinian and Israeli activists; and absurdist Canadian comedy-drama Universal Language.
Vermiglio
Though the Belcourt’s 2024 In Tribute is winding down, a handful of films in that repertory series have still yet to screen — including Robert Altman’s Popeye (Jan. 27) and Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President (Feb. 10). Perennial series like Midnight Movies, Music City Mondays and Weekend Classics will continue as always, and the folks at the Belcourt promise a little something special in the coming weeks: Following the news of legendary auteur David Lynch’s Jan. 16 death, programming director Toby Leonard is planning a Lynch retrospective for March 7 through 19. Blue Velvet on the big screen? Lost Highway? Wild at Heart?? Sign us up. Also coming in March, says Leonard, is a series by the name of SNL Cinematic Universe!
Featuring an outstanding performance from Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Leigh’s latest opens this week at the Belcourt
Though the top of the year is a notoriously slow season for wide releases, some promising titles are soon hitting the megaplexes as well. Steven Soderbergh’s anticipated supernatural horror film Presence (featuring Lucy Liu!) opens wide this weekend, with Japanese animated feature The Colors Within opening at select Regal locations. (More on the latter in this week’s film section.) If you’ve been craving more from Everything Everywhere All at Once co-star (and Oscar winner) Ke Huy Quan, catch him Feb. 7 in action-comedy Love Hurts. Harrison Ford will make his debut as President of the United States Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross/Red Hulk in Marvel’s latest, Captain America: Brave New World, on Feb. 14. Longlegs director Osgood Perkins’ comedy-horror The Monkey will land Feb. 21, and popular indie distributor A24 is expected to release fantasy-adventure The Legend of Ochi on Feb. 28. After having its release moved numerous times, Parasite director Bong Joon-ho’s Robert Pattinson-starring sci-fi outing Mickey 17 will finally — allegedly — arrive in theaters everywhere on March 7. Soderbergh will double up this season with the release of spy thriller Black Bag, featuring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, set for March 14. Also planned for March releases are international black comedy On Becoming a Guinea Fowl and action-comedy Novocaine (no relation to the 2001 Steve Martin vehicle of the same name). All of this is of course subject to change, so keep an eye on local listings.
If you’re looking to shake things up and catch some repertory screenings in more intimate confines, Hermitage’s Full Moon Cineplex has a host of upcoming classics — including Blade Runner: The Final Cut this weekend, Purple Rain on Feb. 7, 1981’s My Bloody Valentine on Valentine’s Day, and Interview With the Vampire on Feb. 21.
A look inside Nashville Rep’s upcoming production of 'The Mountaintop,' along with previews of coming art, theater, dance, film and book events
