Tonight! Don't miss filmmaker Emily Pelstring at Mills Folly Microcinema
Canadian filmmaker Pelstring will present a program of her short films at Arts + Literature Laboratory tonight at 7:00pm.
Scroll down for Now Showing in Madison, June 10–June 15, 2026
Weekly posts include short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.
Once again, I’ve had a very busy week, and I’m darting around today putting finishing touches on recent projects. But here are a few short notes about what I’ve been up to and what you should put on your appointment schedule.
Tonight: Filmmaker Emily Pelstring, Mills Folly Microcinema, 7:00pm at Arts + Literature Laboratory. I mentioned this last week, but it is worth repeating one more time because it will be a fantastic show. Grant Phipps has led the charge to make this screening happen. If you want a short preview of the screening, you can see one of Pelstring’s films at Cartoon Brew, posted when A Flame the Colour of Air (2025) was selected as a Cartoon Brew Pick.
Saturday: The Signal Tower (1924) at Duck Soup Cinema, 2:00pm and 7:00pm at the Overture Center. In addition to the feature film with live accompaniment on the Grand Barton Organ, the screening will include the early American avant-garde film The Life and Death of 9413: A Hollywood Extra (1928), with live accompaniment by experimental composer and saxophonist Nick Zoulek. It should be very interesting to see how the combination of sound and image plays to the Duck Soup Cinema audience.
Monday: The Access Hour, WORT 89.9 FM, 7:00pm, host Nicholas Wootton has invited me to be one of the guests. Nicholas and I know each other from his several contributions as a filmmaker to Project Projection screenings at Mills Folly Microcinema, as well as my visits to WORT’s 8 O’Clock Buzz on Mondays, where Nicholas serves as a producer. Nicholas has invited a series of guests whom he knows, and with whom he would like to sit down and ask questions. So we’ll likely talk about flim programming and film culture in Madison, but the chat could also be more wide ranging than that. I’ll post a link to the WORT archive if you miss it live.
Announced for Thursday, June 25: Madison Jazz Festival will present a free screening of Köln 75 (2025) at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art at 7:00pm. I’ll have more to say on this in the coming weeks. In a nutshell, this narrative feature tells the story behind the concert that was recorded and released as Keith Jarrett’s album, The Köln Concert, which became the best selling solo album in jazz history.
In other MMoCA news, the opening reception and anniversary party went very well last Thursday. It was great to see filmmaker Bill Bedford enjoy the occasion. Be sure to catch Films by Bill Bedford during its run in the Video Gallery through September 6.
New Crestwood Elementary animation debuts on YouTube on Friday, 7:00pm.
One last bit of local film news: I received an email from Luke Bassuener with news about a new animated short by his Crestwood Elementary students. As many of you know, previous Crestwood shorts have been featured at the Wisconsin Film Festival and other regional and national film festivals.
Luke wrote, “This Friday June 12th at 7pm (Central), we’ll be premiering Crestwood Elementary’s newest animated short, “Arachne” for a limited time on the “Crestwood Art” YouTube channel. We’d love to have you tune in! The film is a delightfully askew adaptation of a well-known Greek myth, twisted with just the right amount of Gen Alpha weirdness. Our 4th and 5th graders have been working hard on this for months, and we’re thrilled to share it with you. We will hopefully have some of the kids on for a live chat during the screening.”
Here’s the trailer:
Now Playing In Madison: June 10–June 15, 2026
Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another valuable source that posts on Wednesdays with now playing lists is The Horizon Line Madison. When possible, I will provide links to reviews by Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas, who gets around to far more proper reviews than I do.
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.).
Mills Folly Microcinema
OUR PSYCHEDELIC NATURE: SHORT FILMS BY EMILY PELSTRING, Wednesday, June 10, 7:00pm at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 S. Livingston Street, Suite 100.
Mills Folly Microcinema welcomes Canadian artist and animator Emily Pelstring for an in-person visit and screening of her recent work.
Side Room Cinematheque
CULT FILMS: COVENS AND COVER-UPS, Thursday, June 11, 8:00pm, 1444 E. Washington Avenue. RED STATE (2011) and ROSEMARY’S BABY (1968) plus selected shorts. Program duration: 4hrs, 30min.
Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for screening details, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.
Highway 18 Outdoor Theater, Jefferson, Wisconsin
Duck Soup Cinema at Overture Center
THE SIGNAL TOWER (Clarence L. Brown, 1924), Saturday, June 13, 2:00pm and 7:00pm, Capitol Theater in the Overture Center, 201 State Street.
In an extra special bonus, experimental musician Nick Zoulek will provide live accompaniment to the early American avant-garde short, LIFE AND DEATH OF A 9413: A HOLLYWOOD EXTRA (1928), at each screening.
SOGO Film Festival, Stoughton Village Players Theater
Friday, June 12 through Sunday, June 14 at the Stoughton Village Players Theater, 225 E. Main Street, Stoughton, Wisconsin. Screening schedule at sogo.film.
WUD Film Lakeside Cinema
SPEED RACER (2008), The Terrace @ Memorial Union, Monday, 6/15, 9:00 P.M.
Lakeside Cinema, Monday nights at the Memorial Union Terrace returns with monthly themes: “Sports” (June), “Under the Lake,” (July), “Back to the 80’s” (August).
Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)
Unfortunately, this will be another bare-bones list this week due to other project commitments. But snarky comments will return at some point!
AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS: THE LAST ACT, THE at AMC, Palace, and Point.
AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: JUNE 15 at AMC.
BACKROOMS at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.
BEAUTIFUL PLANET IMAX, A at AMC.
BIRDCAGE 30TH ANNIVERSARY, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.
BREADWINNER, THE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.
BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ IN BUSAN: LIVE VIEWING at Palace and Point.
CAROLINA CAROLINE at AMC.
CHARLIE THE WONDERDOG at Palace and Point.
CRUNCHYROLL ANIME NIGHTS SNEAK PEEK at AMC and Point.
DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, THE at AMC and Point.
DISCLOSURE DAY at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.
FURIOUS, THE at AMC and Point.
GABBY’S DOLLHOUSE: THE MOVIE at Palace.
GOVERNOR: THE SILENT SAVIOUR at AMC.
HAI JAWANI TOH ISHQ HONA HAI at AMC.
HAUNTED: ECHOES OF THE PAST at AMC.
I LOVE BOOSTERS at AMC.
JACK JOHNSON: SURFILMUSIC at Point.
JINSEI at AMC.
LAST WHALE SINGER, THE at AMC, Palace, and Point.
MAIN VAAPAS AAUNGA at AMC.
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.
MICHAEL at AMC, Palace, and Point.
MILK at AMC.
OBSESSION at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.
PARIMALA AND CO at AMC.
PEDDI at AMC.
PONYO - STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2026 at AMC, Palace, and Point.
POWER BALLAD at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.
PRESSURE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.
PRINCE OF EGYPT, THE at Flix.
PROJECT HAIL MARY at AMC.
PURPLE RAIN at Flix.
ROTTEN MOVIES, FRESH BEER: HOOK at Flix.
SACRED HEART: HIS REIGN HAS NO END at Palace and Point.
SCARY MOVIE at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.
SHEEP DETECTIVES, THE at AMC and Point.
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN at AMC.
STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU at AMC, Flix, Palace, and Point.
STOP! THAT! TRAIN! at AMC and Point.
TRAINSPOTTING at Point.
TUNER at AMC and Point.
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.
Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch
MIDNIGHT COWBOY (Joh , 1993), Wednesday June 17, 6:30pm.
MMoCA Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), Thursday, June 18, 7:00pm, 227 State Street. Organized by the Teen Forum, in conjunction with the exhibition, “David R. Harper: Good Morning Sweetheart” now on display at the museum.
KÖLN 75 (2025), Thursday, June 25, 7:00pm, 227 State Street. Presented with the Madison Jazz Festival. The story behind the best-selling jazz album (Keith Jarret’s The Köln Concert) that almost never was, told through the eyes of the 18-year-old concert promoter who made the legendary live performance possible.
UW Cinematheque
UW Cinematheque will resume with “Bleak Week” from Wednesday, June 24 through Tuesday, June 30.
The remaining summer schedule is now posted at the UW-Cinematheque website.