Filmmaker Sabine Gruffat in-person at Mills Folly Microcinema, Wednesday, April 8, 7:00pm
Also: Midwest Video Poetry Festival this Saturday, April 4, at Arts + Literature Laboratory starting at 6:00pm
Scroll down for Now Showing in Madison, March 30–April 6, 2026
Monday posts will now feature some short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.
In terms of film programming in Madison, there often is a trend of “when it rains, it pours,” We have an abundant of riches coming up with the Wisconsin Film Festival, holds its Opening Night festivities on Thursday, April 9 (although my first screening will be in the morning on Friday, April 10). But the whole week leading up to the Festival has noteworthy film programming, including the Midwest Film and Video Poetry Festival this Saturday, April 4 (more on that below). But I also want to draw your attention to a special program next Wednesday, so you’ll have to pace yourself to maintain your film stamina through the week.
Filmmaker Sabine Gruffat will present Beyond Resolution, a program of her short films, at Mills Folly Microcinema on Wednesday, April 8 at 7:00pm. As usual, the Mills Folly program will take place at Art + Literature Laboratory, 111 S. Livingston Street, Suite 100. If you have followed Mills Folly programming over the years, you are already familiar with part of Gruffat’s experimental film efforts: She co-founded (with Bill Brown) the Cosmic Rays Film Festival in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the touring program of which has played at Mills Folly several years, most recently this past January.
Those with familiarity of film and video production in the Communication Arts Department at the UW-Madison know that Gruffat was Assistant Professor of Digital Media from 2007 to 2011 (essentially the period that I was not in Madison, when I was teaching in North Carolina). She followed that with a period at University of North Carolina (during which she co-founded Cosmic Rays). She currently lives in Marseille, France.
What brings her back to Madison? Well, she was a juror at this year’s Ann Arbor Film Festival, which just wrapped up this past weekend. In addition to presenting the Beyond Resolution program in Ann Arbor, she has also scheduled screenings in Milwaukee and Chicago. Fortunately, we were able to schedule an additional screening here in Madison.
Describing the Beyond Resolution program, Gruffat writes:
This series of films favors ambiguity and resists resolution. The nearer the gaze, the more obscure the view. Illegibility here is not an escape from politics, but a way of inhabiting it differently: as a site of tension, friction, and possibility.
These films draw from a range of genres and layered techniques. Images are processed to draw attention to the hidden logics in software, hardware, and materiality. In repurposing media, the works call attention to the histories from which meaning’s fragile frameworks emerge.
Back in November 2019, Mills Folly Microcinema screened Gruffat’s short film Take it Down, which will also be a part of the Beyond Resolution program. Take it Down (pictured at the top of this post) addresses the protest and removal of a confederate soldier statue, a topic that has different resonance now, as it seems like some people, in a backlash, are trying their hardest to put similarly problematic statues back up.
Different kinds of “statues” (or embodiments, or frameworks) appear in other recent films in the program, as a means to explore the impact of video game engines, motion capture, artificial intelligence and augmented reality. In Moving or Being Moved (2021), quotes from post-modern dance theory provide an interesting context for images generated by a woman (Gruffat) who is wearing a motion capture suit while vacuuming a living room. Souvenir Statuette (2024) explores the definition of a “souvenir” when, as Gruffat states in her program notes, “some of the quasi-objects in this video were once objects, others are non-objects or computer model imaginaries.”
The program should serve as a valuable reminder to consider the materiality of the image (whether it is film, video, or computer generated) instead of passively accepting what the image seems to offer. This should be even more valuable before watching hours of film at the Wisconsin Film Festival!
Mark your calendars now for Wednesday of next week, April 8, 7:00pm. I hope to see some of you there!
Now Playing In Madison: March 30–April 6, 2026
Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another Now Playing source that posts on Wednesdays is The Horizon Line Madison.
Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).
Midwest Video Poetry Festival at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 S. Livingston St.
Three different hour-long programs Saturday, April 4 at 6:00pm, 7:00pm, and 8:00pm.
The Midwest Video Poetry Festival, founded in 2020 by Rita Mae Reese and Genia Daniels, is a showcase for international, national, and regional short films which explore different ways to combine motion picture imagery with written or performed poetry. This year’s edition features films from the United Kingdom, Benin, the Netherlands, as well as New York, Pittsburgh, Ypsilanti, and Milwaukee. You can hear a recent 8 O’Clock Buzz interview with Rita Mae and Genia, discussing this year’s Festival as well as its history, in the WORT-FM archives. With campus film programming on pause for Spring Break, this Saturday is a particularly good time to catch one or more of this year’s programs!
UW Cinematheque
Spring Break, Regular programming resumes Friday, April 17.
Wisconsin Film Festival programs at Cinematheque start Friday, April 10.
Wisconsin Union Directorate Film
Spring Break. Regular programming resumes Tuesday, April 7.
Wisconsin Film Festival programs at Cinematheque start Friday, April 10.
Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)
AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST, THE at AMC, Point, and Palace.
New documentary feature from Daniel Roher, who won the Best Documentary Feature Oscar for Navalny in 2022, and Charlie Tyrell. This was picked up for distribution by Focus Features after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
ALPHA at AMC and Point.
Latest feature from French director Julia Ducournau, whose Titane won the Palm d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. A teen girl with a new tattoo is suspected of contracting a lethal disease.
AMC SCREAM UNSEEN: APRIL 6 at AMC.
AMC SCREAM UNSEEN: MARCH 30 at AMC.
BEN-HUR at AMC and Flix.
If I were to go to any Easter-themed programming this week, I think this would be it. Would be good to see it big and hear it loud.
BIG LEBOWSKI, THE at Flix.
BRIDE!, THE at Flix.
Christian Bale as Frankenstein and Jesse Buckley in a very different role than in Hamnet, as The Bride. Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Generally getting negative reviews, with some being particularly blunt.
DAVID at AMC.
Faith-based animated feature about the young shepherd who eventually becomes the King of Israel.
DHURANDHAR: THE REVENGE at AMC.
Indian Hindi-language crime action drama, and a sequel to the top grossing Indian feature film of 2025. I saw the first film in January, and I liked its scope and ambition, despite occasionally wallowing in some brutal violence. I had a chance to see this sequel this past weekend, and I could not see it Friday evening or Saturday morning due to sold-out (or nearly so) screenings. The sequel is again very ambitious genre filmmaking, and at times it soars. And by the time you’re finished watching this second film, you feel like you have seen something epic, if only because of the time commitment. There was some cheering in the audience at certain points during the climax, which reminded me that I should probably take some time to examine the role of nationalist ideology in this series.Very loosely based on a crackdown against organized crime in Karachi, Pakistan.
DRAMA, THE at AMC, Point, Palace, and Flix.
New feature from Kristoffer Borgli, whose Sick of Myself (2022) and Dream Scenario (with Nicholas Cage, 2023), both showcased his warped sense of humor, both of which I liked quite a bit. While he worked with Cage on Dream Scenario, working with current in-crowd stars Zendaya, Robbert Pattinson (and even Alana Haim) has set a different level of box-office expectations. These expectations may be undermined, however, by the recent resurfacing of Borgli’s 2012 essay in which he discusses dating a teenager when he was in his 20s. Drama, indeed.
DRISHYAM 3 at AMC.
Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller.
FORBIDDEN FRUITS at AMC and Palace.
Horror-comedy directed by Meredith Alloway and released by Shudder and Independent Film Company.
GOAT at AMC, Point, Palace, and Flix.
GREAT AWAKENING, A at AMC.
I guess this is a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, with an account of events placed squarely in the context of the Great Awakening religious movement.
HAPPY RAJ at AMC.
Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy about a man unlucky in love, who finds a woman who has feelings for him, but also has an eccentric father.
HOPPERS at AMC, Point, Palace, and Flix.
JESUS REVOLUTION at AMC.
Re-release of 2023 faith-based drama a pastor at a small Southern Califonia church attempts to connect with wayward youth in 1968.
KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE 4K at AMC.
KILLER - HONG KONG CINEMA CLASSICS, THE at AMC and Point.
I’ve discussed the re-release of these John Woo action films far too many times on this Substack. But this is the one you should really, really see if you haven’t seen any of them. Screening on three days, but try to see it on April 5 or 6, because if you go on April 8 you’ll miss Sabine Gruffat (see above).
LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, A at AMC.
MAGNIFICENT LIFE, A at AMC.
The latest animated feature film from Sylvain Chomet (Triplets of Belleville; The Illusionist) looks at the life and career Marcel Pagnol, playwright, novelist (Manon of the Spring) and filmmaker (Marius). This is getting just so-so reviews, including from Rob Thomas.
MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE at Point and Palace.
MUMMY RETURNS 25TH ANNIVERSARY, THE at AMC, Point, and Flix.
PANDAS at AMC.
An IMAX 3D documentary.
POUT-POUT FISH, THE at AMC, Point, and Palace.
I usually mark films like this as “this week’s sketchy mid-tier animated feature film for kids,” but this is based on a New York Times best-seller, and actually has a pretty interesting voice cast: Amy Sedaris, Nick Offerman, Miranda Otto.
PRATHICHAYA at AMC.
Indian Malayalam-language political thriller that examines the merciless corporate control of the country’s news media.
PREMARITAL at AMC.
Faith-based comedy about a pastor who tries to convert his daughter’s non-believing fiancé to the faith before the wedding.
PROJECT HAIL MARY at AMC, Point, Palace, and Flix.
It seems to be as big as people were expecting it to be, so you probably don’t need to read any more from me about it.
RAAKAASAA at AMC.
Indian Telugu-language horror film, also described as a fantasy-comedy. And based on the music and sound effects in the trailer, it seems to be more on the spectacle and entertainment end of the spectrum.
READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME at AMC, Point, Palace, and Flix.
Remember the one (in 2019) about the bride who gets hunted down by her new inlaws? I guess she survived, and is up against some more distant relatives this time.
REMINDERS OF HIM at AMC, Point, Palace, and Flix.
Adaptation of the book by Colleen Hoover. Somehow I have managed to see this trailer several times before films, which cumulatively add up to about 15 to 20 minutes more than I care to spend thinking about it. But you might like it? But how do I have so much time to see this in local theaters when I couldn’t catch a break to find time to see The Testament of Ann Lee? (A rhetorical question, please do not respond in the comments.)
SCREAM 7 at AMC, Point, and Palace.
SECRET BETWEEN US, THE at AMC.
Michael Jai White produces and stars in this romantic thriller, executive produced by Keith Sweat. On his Instagram account, Sweat describes the film as “a stirring family drama about betrayal, redemption, and the power of forgiveness,” and he concludes saying, “The movie will have you crying, so don’t forget your Kleenex.” You’ve been warned!
STAND BY ME 40TH ANNIVERSARY at Palace.
SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, THE at AMC, Point, Palace, and Flix.
THEY WILL KILL YOU at AMC, Point, Palace, and Flix.
This seems to be a variation on Ready or Not and Ready or Not 2 (see above) with a bride being hunted by her inlaws replaced by an ex-con housekeeper hunted down by Satan-worshiping residents at a NYC high-rise. But somehow this looks much, much more interesting than the Ready or Not films.
UNDERTONE at AMC, Point, Palace, and Flix.
Another horror film, this one set around a podcast that explores the supernatural and paranormal.
YOU’RE DATING A NARCISSIST! at AMC.
Comedy vehicle for Marisa Tomei, who plays a psychologist whose daughter clearly hasn’t read her books or listened to her lectures about “red flags” in men.
Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.
Looking Ahead:
Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.
Side Room Cinematheque
Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for screening details, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.
Barrymore Theatre
ON CINEMA, Tuesday, April 7, 8:00pm
Okay, not a screening, or exclusively about cinema. But if you know, you know. And if you don’t, you should probably take a moment to investigate whether you would like to attend this visit from Gregg Turkington and Tim Heidecker.
Mills Folly Microcinema
VISITING FILMMAKER: SABINE GRUFFAT, Wednesday, April 8, 7:00pm.
See notes above.
PROJECT PROJECTION: LOCAL FILM AND VIDEO, Wednesday, April 29, 7:00pm
Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch
KISS ME DEADLY (Robert Aldrich, 1955), Tuesday, April 21, 6:30pm.