Joseph Eusebio ’17: Hey Jonah [Lipton ’17], what should we talk about in this week’s column?

Jonah Lipton ’17: I was thinking we could start by announcing the grand prize of our Cinefiles Superfan Search 2017®.

JE: You don’t mean Dinner in Town?

JL: That’s right! We should let our readers know that one lucky contestant will receive Dinner in Town with the departing Cinefiles.

JE: You mean they’ll have a chance to ask us any questions they have about the Cinefiles brand?

JL: They could also ask the story of how we met (orientation 2013), inquire about our hobbies, and get the scoop on the future of the Film Board. Why limit ourselves?

JE: Speaking of the Film Board, we might as well let our readers know that the Film Board Application is coming out this week.

JL: Too true, Joseph! Who knows? A pair of lucky applicants might even find themselves writing this very column come April.

JE: Get out!

JL: That reminds me! A free preview screening of Jordan Peele’s debut feature “Get Out” is scheduled for Tuesday night at 8 p.m. in the Goldsmith Family Cinema.

JE: Isn’t that tonight? We’d better hurry over to save some seats and grab some swag. You know, with this week looking so good, we might not even have to leave the theater until Saturday night.

JL: I’d roost with everyone’s favorite Big Red Bird [the Cardinal] any day of the week!

JE: Before we go, shouldn’t we ask two questions as part of the Cinefiles Superfan Search 2017®?

JL: You read my mind, Joseph, you dog! We should also remind our readers to send their answers to cinefilesdigital@gmail.com.

JE: I’m so glad we went digital.

1. What did our readers think of us changing up the format for this week’s issue? What other sorts of spices should we throw into the classic Cinefiles recipe?
2. We’re always going on about the Film Series. It’s Film Series this, Marc’s Famous Vegetarian Chili that. Maybe it’s time to take a peek outside of the Goldsmith. Tell us about some of the movies you’ve been watching on the other side of those famous double doors.

Female Trouble

1974. USA. Dir: John Waters. With Divine, David Lochary. 97 min.

Wednesday, Feb. 15. 8 p.m. Free.

“Oh, honey, I’d be so happy if you’d turn Nellie.” When her parents fail to buy her a pair of cha-cha heels, Divine, already the Filthiest Person Alive, ups the ante with a violent bout of criminal fashion modeling. Waters’ breathtaking, hilarious transgressions will have you vomiting with delight.

A Tale of Love and Darkness

2015. Israel/USA. Dir: Natalie Portman. With Portman, Amir Tessler. 95 min.

Thursday, Feb. 16. 8 p.m. Free. With an intro by A.O. Scott, Distinguished Professor of Film Criticism.

Portman’s directorial debut adapts the memoir of Amos Oz, who spent his post-World War II youth in what was then Mandatory Palestine, a region on the cusp of partition and civil war. Young Amos reflects on his mother (Portman), a European immigrant whose grimly recounted stories signal a deepening depression.

Alien

1979. USA. Dir: Ridley Scott. With Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt. 117 min.

Friday, Feb. 17. 8 p.m. $5.

In space, no one can hear you scream…. But not to worry—the Goldsmith Cinema has great acoustics. Rest assured, between the eerie atmosphere, conniving corporate plotting, and one of the most memorable monsters to ever stalk the screen, this movie is still grade-A nightmare fodder. And let us not forget Weaver’s star turn as science fiction’s ultimate heroine.

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

1965. USSR. Dir: Sergei Parajanov. With Ivan Mykolaichuk. 97 min.

Saturday, Feb. 18. 8 p.m. Free.

This subversive Soviet-era gem weaves Ukrainian folklore into a tragic story of obsession and sorcery. Filled with haunting portraits of the rural countryside and feverish, frenetic camerawork, the film’s unique visual language was so innovative and rebellious that Parajanov found himself blacklisted from Soviet cinema.