“Marty Supreme” dir. Josh Safdie (2025)

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Brooklyn via A24 – Opens Dec. 25

Josh Safdie’s first feature in solo directing delivers a gritty portrait of Marty Mauser, a volatile 1950s table-tennis prodigy whose pursuit of greatness drags him through obsession, ego and self-inflicted chaos.

“A roman candle of a movie that feels like it was shot out of a cannon, despite being burdened with the gravity of an implausible dream; a totemic Jewish-American odyssey about where such dreams come from, where they might lead to, and where they’re liable to come apart at the seams along the way.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

For fans of: “Raging Bull,” New York griminess, tireless ambition

English

“The Voice of Hind Rajab” dir. Kaouther Ben Hania (2025)

Film Forum via WILLA – Opens Dec. 17

Winner of the 2025 Venice Grand Jury Prize, Ben Hania’s latest reconstructs a phone call between Red Crescent volunteers and six-year-old Hind Rajab, offering a stark and devastating look at life under siege in Gaza.

“The most vital film of the decade … an astonishing blend of dramatization and reality.” – Iana Murray, GQ

For fans of: “Four Daughters,” urgent political nonfiction

Arabic with English subtitles

“My Night at Maud’s” dir. Éric Rohmer (1969)

Metrograph via Janus Films – Dec. 12-13

This French new-wave drama follows a devout Catholic engineer whose chance evening with the captivating Maud forces him to wrestle with desire, faith and self-deception. A winter-set holiday classic of intimate conversation and quiet emotion.

“‘My Night at Maud’s’ is about love, being a Roman Catholic, body language and the games people play. It is just about the best movie I’ve seen on all four subjects.” – Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com

For fans of: Catholic guilt, “Before Sunrise,” winter melancholy, desire vs. virtue

French with English subtitles

“Father Mother Sister Brother” dir. Jim Jarmusch (2025)

Film Forum via MUBI – Opens Dec. 24

Jarmusch’s latest is a wry, contemplative ensemble drama that traces the fractures and reconnections of drifting families with his signature minimalism and melancholy.

“(A) funny, tender, astutely observed jewel of a family triptych … quietly floors you … This is a unique portrait of families and their foibles … touched by warmth and generosity of spirit.” – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

For fans of: wandering cities alone, quiet contemplation, dry humor

English

“Little Trouble Girls” dir. Urška Djukić (2025)

IFC Center via Kino Lorber – Opens Dec. 5

Djukić’s debut feature captures a teenage girl’s coming-of-age at a Catholic boarding school, where friendship, desire and shame collide during a choir retreat. A sharply observed portrait of adolescence marked by vulnerability and rebellion.

“This is a striking statement of intent from its Slovenian writer-director — there’s an airy delicacy here that invites comparisons to early Céline Sciamma, but with its own raw, restless edge.” – Guy Lodge, Variety

For fans of: revisiting adolescent diary entries, girlhood, coming-of-age

Slovenian with English Subtitles

“The Secret Agent” dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho (2025)

BAM via NEON – Opens Dec. 11 

Marcelo is on the run, trying to escape his violent past and start over in a city filled with chaos. As he navigates this unstable urban landscape, suspicion lurks around every corner. Filho explores political paranoia with his signature hypnotic, slow-burn style.

“Once in a while, you see a movie that doesn’t feel made, but extracted from a dreaming mind. It has a strong personality and visual style and moves to its own mysterious rhythms. It won’t go to you and hand over its meanings. You have to go to it. … (‘The Secret Agent’) is one of the year’s best films, and one of the most distinctive.” – Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com

For fans of: conspiracy, political thrillers, suspicious glances

Portuguese, German with English Subtitles

“All That Jazz” dir. Bob Fosse (1979)

Paris Theater via 20th Century Fox- Dec. 17

Fosse’s electrifying, semi-autobiographical musical follows a driven choreographer spiraling through work, addiction and self-destruction. A landmark of American cinema, blending backstage spectacle with raw introspection.

“This is a plausible milestone in the evolution of the Hollywood film, a quivering, pulsating, dynamic, excessive and flawed film that wears its alienation proudly where its heart should be.” – Bruce McCabe, Boston Globe

For fans of: “Cabaret,” theatrical exhaustion, choreography that could kill you if you tried it

English

“The Chronology of Water” dir. Kristen Stewart (2025)

Village East by Angelika via The Forge – Opens Dec. 5

Stewart’s debut feature adapts Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir into an impressionistic portrait of trauma, sexuality and artistic rebirth as an emotionally raw exploration of a woman shaped by the forces that nearly break her.

“What makes ‘Chronology’ such a masterful debut is Stewart’s innate understanding of how to translate this idea—of the visceral, invisible ways that our bodies keep the score—to the screen.” – Isaac Feldberg, RogertEbert.com

For fans of: “The Body Keeps the Score,” the triumphant feminine

English

“The Leopard” dir. Luchino Visconti (1963)

Metrograph via Janus Films – 35mm – Dec. 20

Set during the Risorgimento, Visconti’s epic follows Prince Salina witnessing the decline of the aristocracy with stoic resignation in this towering achievement of historical cinema.

“Two-plus hours of engrossing machinations and opulent scenery point the way to the pièce de résistance: a 45-minute gala scene that the Almighty himself would approve as a luxuriant prelude to the Rapture.” – Keith Uhlich, Time Out

For fans of: “Barry Lyndon,” lush historical epics, decadent decay

English

“The Testament of Ann Lee” dir. Mona Fastvold (2025)

East Village by Angelika via A24 – 35mm – Opens Dec. 25

An atmospheric biographical drama and haunting portrait of Ann Lee — founder of the Shakers, a millenarian restorationist Christian sect — traces her visions, leadership and the radical world she forged.

“A collision of agony and ecstasy that approaches the divine even as it reveals piousness to be an outgrowth of, and justification for, earthly suffering, it’s like nothing the genre has seen before.” – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

For fans of: feminist history, spiritual ecstasy, period pieces

English

“Charade” dir. Stanley Donen (1963)

Film Forum via Universal Pictures – New 4K Restoration – Opens Dec. 25

Donen’s Parisian thriller pairs Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant in a twisting tale of mistaken identities and crime, blending glamorous romance with sparkling suspense and flirtatious comedy.

“Often described as ‘the best Hitchcock movie Hitchcock never made,’ Charade stars Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in a sparkling thriller with overtones of screwball romantic comedy — or is it the other way around?” – Steven D. Greydanus, Decent Films

For fans of: witty banter, “North by Northwest,” intrigue, chic Parisian winterwear

English

Series and Festival Highlights:

Filmmaker Magazine Presents 25 New Faces: 2025

Metrograph – Dec. 6

“Since its debut in 1998, Filmmaker’s 25 New Faces list has annually curated a cross-section of emerging and impressive new independent film talent. Directors, writers, actors, below-the-line—these are filmmakers who have made indelible work in the past year and will go on to shape tomorrow’s film culture. With the magazine’s 29th edition of the list in its current edition, the editors have curated from their work an excitingly diverse selection of shorts spanning horror, drama, documentary, comedy, and experimental work.” – Filmmaker Editor-In-Chief Scott Macaulay

33rd Annual African Diaspora International Film Festival

Cinema Village, Lenfest Center for the Arts, Teachers College Columbia University – Nov. 28 to Dec. 14

“The 33rd African Diaspora International Film Festival returns (…) with an exciting lineup of stories from Africa, the Caribbean, and the global Black diaspora.” – (cinemavillage.com) 

Holiday Programming

Syndicated Bar & Kitchen – Dec. 7-31

Showing:  “Carol,” “Elf,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” “The Holdovers,” “The Muppet Christmas Carol,” “Tokyo Godfathers,” “When Harry Met Sally…”

IFC Center – Dec. 5-25

Showing: “It’s a Wonderful Life” with intros by lead actress Donna Reed’s daughter Mary Owen

Metrograph – Dec 19 to Jan. 1

Showing: “Gremlins,” “The Shop Around the Corner,” “McCabe & Mrs. Miller,” “Holiday Fleischer Cartoons,” “An Affair to Remember,” “Blast of Silence,” “2046,” “Ikiru,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya,” “Carol,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Phantom Thread,” “The Muppets Christmas Carol,” “Tokyo Godfathers”