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Caught by the Tides

Watch the trailer One of the world’s greatest living directors, Jia Zhangke (A Touch of Sin, Ash is Purest White) has taken his boldest approach to narrative yet with his marvelous Caught by the Tides. Assembled from footage shot over a span of 23 years—a beguiling mix of fiction and documentary, featuring a cascade of images taken from previous movies, unused scenes, and newly shot dramatic sequences—Caught by the Tides is a free-flowing work of unspoken longing, carried along more by music than dialogue as it looms around the edges of a poignant love story. The film mostly adheres to the perspective of Qiaoqiao (Jia’s muse and spouse Zhao Tao) as she wanders an increasingly unrecognizable country in search of long-lost lover Bin (Li Zhubin), who left their home city of Datong seeking new financial prospects. The always captivating Zhao carries the film with her delicate expressiveness, while Jia constantly evokes cinema’s ability to capture the passage of time and the persistence of change: of people,… Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://icymi.eventive.org/films. Categories: Films. After Five. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Captioning. Wheelchair accessible. Friday, July 18, 2025, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM.

The Monk and the Gun

Followed by a Q&A with director Pawo Choyning Dorji and a reception for all attendees! Watch the trailer Set in 2006, in the run-up to Bhutan’s first democratic elections, the plot of this wry ensemble comedy is set in motion when an elderly Buddhist monk sends an assistant out to find two guns that he needs for mysterious reasons. Meanwhile, an American gun collector is on a mission to buy the same weapons, and a put-upon election official is struggling to drum up support for a mock election in advance of the real one. A “droll political satire” (Marya E. Gates, Rogerebert.com) of crossed paths and missed connections, The Monk and the Gun is a true delight. After the screening, join a conversation with director Pawo Choyning Dorji and Bhutan Foundation Executive Director Tshewang Wangchuk, and enjoy free refreshments. (Dir.: Pawo Choyning Dorji, Bhutan/Taiwan/France/United States/Hong Kong, 2023, DCP, English and Dzongkha with English subtitles), Image Courtesy of Swank Motion Pictures. Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://icymi.eventive.org/films. Categories: Films. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Captioning. Wheelchair accessible. Sunday, July 20, 2025, 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM.

All We Imagine as Light

Watch the trailer The light, the lives, and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated by writer/director Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for her revelatory fiction feature debut. Centering on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital—head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha)—plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), Kapadia’s film alights on moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment. Prabha, while her husband from an arranged marriage is living in faraway Germany, is courted by a doctor at her hospital; Anu carries on a romance with a Muslim man, which she must keep a secret from her strict Hindu family; Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction from her apartment. Kapadia captures the bustle of the metropolis and the open-air tranquility of a seaside village with equal radiance, articulated by her superb actresses and by the camera with a lyrical nat… Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://icymi.eventive.org/films. Categories: Films. After Five. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Captioning. Wheelchair accessible. Friday, July 25, 2025, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM.

Premiere Screening: Sima's Song

In person: Roya Sadat, director; Aziz Deldar, co-writer and actor; and Helima Ahmadi, actor. DC Area Premiere! Watch the trailer Afghanistan’s most courageous and acclaimed filmmaker, Roya Sadat (A Letter to the President), brings her latest film to the National Museum of Asian Art for its area premiere. Set in 1978 Afghanistan, Sima’s Song follows two best friends: Suraya, a rising communist women’s leader, and Sima, a romantic musician devoted to traditional art. As political tensions escalate into war, their deep bond is tested by ideology, faith, and survival. The film is a poignant testament to the courage and loyalty of women in times of upheaval. Sima’s Song is a deeply personal and political narrative of love, friendship, and revolution. Praised for its poetic structure and powerful performances, the film has screened at numerous international film festivals and earned critical acclaim for its authentic portrayal of Afghan women’s resilience. Forced into exile by the return of the Taliban in 2021,… Venue: Freer Gallery of Art. Event Location: Meyer Auditorium. Cost: Free. Register in advance (recommended). Get Tickets/Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/premiere-screening-simas-song-tickets-1417519481929?aff=oddtdtcreator. Categories: Films. Accessibility: Assisted listening devices. Captioning. Wheelchair accessible. Sunday, July 27, 2025, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM.