EVENTS

AAVCLUB @ AFS Cinema

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Applicable for additional showtimes of the films listed below as well. Check AFS Cinema schedule for most updated showtimes.

From Ground Zero

Directed by Various | Palestine/France/Qatar/Jordan/United Arab Emirates,

2024, 1h 52 min, DCP, In Arabic with English subtitles

Feb. 21, 22, 23, 28 Mar. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5| Shortlisted for Best International Film at the 2025 Academy Awards®, FROM GROUND ZERO is a searing portrait of life in Gaza amidst unrelenting conflict.

Executive Produced by Michael Moore and Palestine’s Official Submission for the 2025 Academy Awards®, this extraordinary anthology brings together 22 Palestinian filmmakers—each a witness to the brutal realities of war. Ranging from three to six minutes in length, these shorts offer an intimate window into their lives, capturing moments of resilience in the face of unimaginable hardship.

Blending documentary, fiction, docu-fiction, experimental cinema, and animation, FROM GROUND ZERO transcends traditional storytelling. It is not just a film but a moving testament to the unyielding strength of the human spirit—a reminder that, even in the darkest of times, art can thrive and provide refuge. A vivid narrative of survival, hope, and creativity amid ongoing devastation.

Part I

• 1. Reema Mahmoud – SELFIE

  2. Muhammad Al Sharif – NO SIGNAL

  3. Ahmed Hassouna – SORRY CINEMA

  4. Islam Al Zeriei – FLASHBACK

  5. Mustafa Kolab – ECHO

  6. Nidal Damo – ALL IS FINE

  7. Khamis Masharawi – SOFT SKIN

  8. Bashar Al Balbisi – CHARM

  9. Tamer Nijim – THE TEACHER

  10. Ahmed Al Danaf – A SCHOOL DAY

  11. Alaa Islam Ayoub – OVERLOAD
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  Part II

  1. Karim Satoum – HELL’S HAVEN

  2. Alaa Damo – 24 HOURS

  3. Aws Al Banna – JAD AND NATALIE

  4. Rabab Khamis – RECYCLING

  5. Etimad Washah – TAXI WANISSA

  6. Mustafa Al Nabih – OFFERINGS

  7. Hana Eleiwa – NO

  8. Wissam Moussa – FARAH AND MYRIAM

  9. Basel El Maqousi – FRAGMENTS

  10. Neda’a Abu Hasna – OUT OF FRAME

  11. Mahdi Kreirah – AWAKENING

Mermaid Legend

Directed by Toshiharu Ikeda | Japan

1984, 1h 50 min, DCP, In Japanese with English subtitles

“Probably my number one discovery of the year.”
—Sean Baker 

Mar. 28, 29 | Notes of terror hit higher than a siren’s song when a pearl diver goes on a killing spree to avenge the death of her fisherman husband at the hands of ruthless businessmen hellbent on redeveloping the couple’s oceanfront sanctuary. From Toshiharu Ikeda (EVIL DEAD TRAP) and featuring a haunting score from Honda Toshiyuki (known for the anime METROPOLIS), it’s an eco-revenge thriller unlike anything before or since. Newly restored.

ghost in the shell

Directed by Mamoru Oshii | Japan

1995, 1h 23 min, DCP, In Japanese with English subtitles

“Though much pilfered by THE MATRIX — and just about every other Hollywood science-fiction blockbuster in which minds and bodies roam free from each other in spaces both actual and virtual — Oshii’s film retains its power to startle and seduce.” —Artforum

Apr. 3, 4, 6 | Cyborg agent Major Kusanagi is hot on the trail of a hacker known as “The Puppet Master.” The closer she gets, the more questions she has about the case and her existence. Director Mamoru Oshii (DALLOS, PATLABOR) questions what it means to be human in his critically acclaimed adaptation of the hit manga series.

The crazy family

Directed by Gakuryū “Sogo” Ishii | Japan

1984, 3h 26 min, DCP, In Japanese with English subtitles

Apr. 18, 19, 23 | From the original Japanese punk auteur, Gakuryu “Sogo” Ishii comes the wild story of the Kobayashi family, a suburban dream turned domestic nightmare. Much like a termite infestation, this “savage slapstick satire” (MUBI) steadily gnaws away at the idea of the “perfect family” until the foundation falls through, giving new meaning to the idea of nuclear destruction. Newly Restored.