Wisconsin Film Festival returns April 9 through April 16
And don't forget Mills Folly Microcinema screening with filmmaker Sabine Gruffat, Wednesday, April 8, 7:00pm
Scroll down for Now Showing in Madison, April 6–13, 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.
Today is going to be a very short newsletter, because I have to get my beauty sleep for the Wisconsin Film Festival this week. It’s all about seeing and being seen, you know.
The Now Showing listing today will only be a list of titles and a few trailers. I’m intrigued by a few films in the theaters this week, particularly the Japanese animated film ChaO at Point, Exit 8, also from Japan, at AMC, and The King’s Warden from South Korea at AMC. Unfortunately, next Monday’s Now Showing list will also be somewhat bare bones, because I’m going to see 14 films or programs between Friday and Sunday, leaving very little time for Moving Image Madison.
I will, however, attempt to post Notes here through the weekend. So stay tuned for those!
Also, there will be some extra content this week! Rob Thomas (Not That Rob Thomas) and I recorded a preview of the opening weekend of the Wisconsin Film Festival that I hope to post tomorrow (Tuesday). It is “in the can” but I’m hoping to add some bells and whistles and b-roll of trailers for films that we talk about. Here’s a sneak peak snapshot:
I do want to remind you of a few other things happening this week:
On Cinema, with comedians Greg Turkington and Tim Heidecker, Tuesday, April 7, 8:00pm at the Barrymore Theater. Okay, it’s cinema-adjacent, but worth a look if you’re not familiar with it already.
Beyond Resolution: Short Films by Sabine Gruffat at Mills Folly Microcinema, Wednesday, April 8, 7:00pm, Arts + Literature Laboratory. Consult my notes in last week’s post.
Wisconsin Screenwriter’s Symposium, April 10-12 at the Pyle Center on the UW-Madison campus.
Obviously, I wish the Wisconsin Screenwriter’s Symposium was not scheduled at the same time as the Wisconsin Film Festival (they’re both programs of the Department of Communication Arts!). But if you’re a screenwriter, you should know about this, and look ahead next year to their Wisconsin’s Own Screenwriting Competition.
I have literally run out of time to write anything more at the moment. I’ll just quickly add that in addition to Mills Folly on Wednesday and my Festival experience starting on Friday, I’m also giving a talk at the West High School Equity Symposium on Thursday morning, on the topic of experimental film as social protest and personal expression. And I suppose at some point I should start working on my taxes! Wish me luck.
Now Playing In Madison: April 6-13, 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.).
Mills Folly Microcinema
VISITING FILMMAKER: SABINE GRUFFAT, Wednesday, April 8, 7:00pm.
Sabine Gruffat is a French-American artist born in Bangkok, Thailand. She co-founded and co-programs the Cosmic Rays Film Festival in Chapel Hill, NC with filmmaker Bill Brown. Her shorts film program, Beyond Resolution, These films draws 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. See notes in last week’s post.
UW Cinematheque
Wisconsin Film Festival this weekend. Regular programming resumes Friday, April 17.
Wisconsin Union Directorate Film
Spring Break. Regular programming resumes Tuesday, April 7.
Wisconsin Film Festival programs at Cinematheque start Friday, April 10.
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.
Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)
AI DOC: OR HOW I BECAME AN APOCALOPTIMIST, THE (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point.
AMC SCREAM UNSEEN: APRIL 6 at AMC.
AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: APRIL 13 at AMC.
BEAST (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point.
BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ IN GOYANG: LIVE VIEWING (2026) at Palace, Point.
CHAO (2026) at AMC, Point.
DACOIT: A LOVE STORY (2026) at AMC.
DARK CRYSTAL, THE (1982) at Flix.
DHURANDHAR: THE REVENGE (2026) at AMC.
DRAMA, THE (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
EXIT 8 (2025) at AMC.
FACES OF DEATH (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point.
FANTASY LIFE (2026) at AMC.
Read Rob Thomas’s review.
GOAT (2026) at AMC, Palace.
GREAT AWAKENING, A (2026) at AMC, Point.
HAMLET (2026) at AMC, Point.
HOPPERS (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
HUNTING MATTHEW NICHOLS (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point.
IMAX SPACE STATION 3D at AMC.
JERRY MAGUIRE 30TH ANNIVERSARY (2026) at AMC, Point.
KILLER, THE - HONG KONG CINEMA CLASSICS at AMC, Point.
Man, I don’t have time to see this tonight (Monday), and I can’t see it on Wednesday due to Mills Folly Microcinema. Oh well, I bought the 4K disc.
KING’S WARDEN, THE (2026) at AMC.
LEGENDS OF THE LOST ARK at Point.
MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE at Palace, Point.
NEWBORN (2026) at AMC.
PREMARITAL (2026) at AMC.
PROJECT HAIL MARY (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
RAAKAASAA (2026) at AMC.
READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
REMINDERS OF HIM (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
SECRET BETWEEN US, THE (2026) at AMC.
STARDUST at Flix.
SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, THE (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
THEY WILL KILL YOU (2026) at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
YETI, THE (2026) at AMC.
YOU, ME & TUSCANY (2026) at AMC, Palace, 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.
Side Room Cinematheque
Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for screening details, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.
Mills Folly Microcinema
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.