Series

The Long Revolution

“We have it in our power to begin the world over again.” — Thomas Paine 

The Long Revolution is a special series for Fall 2026 that examines the intersections of art and the multifaceted stages of revolt with distinct films showcasing how revolution—as a concept, as an individual purist, as collective action, and as a commitment—has the potential to build new worlds.

The film in this series include:

The Battle of Algiers (60th anniversary screening; new 4K restoration) | A landmark in revolutionary cinema that draws from a variety of filmmaking traditions including Italian neorealism, Third Cinema, and documentary, The Battle of Algiers documents the years-long struggle of the Algerian people to overthrow the French colonial government, highlighting the strength in collectivism necessary to sustain the long work of revolution.

Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (55th anniversary screening) | A notorious example of the rage and fervor necessary to foment revolution, Marvin van Peebles’ hyperpolitical Blaxploitation classic asks how oppression and marginality can be levered to break the social, cultural, economic, and political systems designed to control and suppress.  

Grave of the Fireflies | In this pinnacle of animation from the legendary Studio Ghibli, a brother and sister left to the mercy of a war carried out in their names, but not for them, are forced to make unfathomable choices to create a new world while not falling victim to the old. Sometimes the most revolutionary thing one can do is simply survive.

Raise the Red Lantern (35th anniversary screening; new 4K restoration) | Zhang Yimou’s epic tale of love, loss, and resolve proves that revolution can—indeed, must—first begin at the individual level. A scathing indictment of the gender and power structures that seek division as a strategy of control, Zhang’s masterwork of Chinese cinema embodies the idea that the personal is political, and that the political must be revolutionary.