Milestones of the Last Quarter Century

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As we conclude a year of programs, seminars and special events dedicated Belcourt 100, our centennial as Nashville’s oldest neighborhood cinema, it seemed appropriate to look back specifically at our last quarter century — a turning point (starting in 2000) when our building was saved, a new 501(c) was formed, and the Belcourt Theatre earned the moniker we hold today as Nashville’s Nonprofit Film Center. To do so, we have gathered this unique collection of films, each its own kind of milestone in our last quarter century and tied to a particular moment. (Film synopses and context compiled by Toby Leonard)

This series made possible with generous support from the Manzlers and Webbs.

Upcoming Screenings

Fri, May 15 at 7:00pm | Mon, May 18 at 1:15pm, 5:30pm

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

As the Belcourt simultaneously wraps our 26th year as a nonprofit and the building’s 100th, our look back at this past quarter-century kicks off with a beacon of sorts. Morgan Neville’s inspiring portrait of Mister Rogers, America's favorite neighbor, took us beyond the zip-up cardigans and the land of make-believe. It was and remains the most successful run of our tenure — but more importantly, an anecdote from the not-too-distant past to the weight of our current time.

Sat, May 16 at 11:45am, 9:45pm | Tue, May 19 at 1:00pm, 6:05pm

MOONRISE KINGDOM

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, MOONRISE KINGDOM tells the story of two 12-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. It was also at the center of a positively scorching Nashville summer and a possibly childbirth-inducing opening weekend.

Sat, May 16 at 1:50pm | Tue, May 19 at 3:10pm, 8:10pm

I AM CUBA

Director Mikhail Kalatozov’s delirious 1964 masterpiece unfolds in four stunning vignettes that paint a portrait of pre-revolutionary Cuba — its culture and the people who call the island home. Shot soon after the Cuban Missile Crisis, this wildly offbeat but influential work represents an early effort to keep abreast of the ongoing and crucial work of film preservation — even if our means of exhibition left much to be desired at the time.

Sun, May 17 at 12:00pm, 5:00pm | Wed, May 20 at 1:55pm, 6:50pm

AU HASARD BALTHAZAR

Widely considered to be Robert Bresson’s masterpiece, AU HASARD BALTHAZAR charts the adverse lives of a donkey named Balthazar and Marie, the young girl who named him.

Sun, May 17 at 2:10pm, 7:10pm | Wed, May 20 at 4:00pm

THE TREE OF LIFE

As the Nashville Scene’s dearly departed editor and film critic Jim Ridley noted at the top of his review of THE TREE OF LIFE: “Nothing makes people hate Terrence Malick's movies more than someone describing Terrence Malick's movies.” At its core, THE TREE OF LIFE is the story of a family in Waco, TX circa mid-1950s. Among others, it stars Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain and Tye Sheridan in his feature debut. Sundays at the Belcourt can hold a special place.

Mon, May 18 at 3:40pm, 8:00pm

ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL

Lifelong friends and Torontonians Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner founded Anvil in 1978, bridging the era of 70s hard rock and 80s metal. As bands they’d influenced rose to icon status, Anvil struggled in relative obscurity and yet their dedication to their craft and to each other never once wavered. Documented in the ensuing decades by their friend and roadie, this documentary was born, the band toured with it and brought it here for one night only.

Sat, May 23 at 12:00pm | Sun, May 24 at 12:00pm, 7:45pm

THE WILD BUNCH (35mm)

A master work of the Revisionist Western subgenre and a personal fave of our dear, recently passed H.G. Webb, Sam Peckinpah’s classic THE WILD BUNCH tells the tale of a band of aging outlaws forced to contend with the inevitable death of their chosen lifestyle and the Old West as they once knew it.

Sat, May 23 at 3:10pm | Mon, May 25 at 4:35pm

BOYHOOD

Richard Linklater's groundbreaking film is seen through the eyes of a child (Ellar Coltrane), who literally grows up on screen before our eyes, and stars Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette as Mason's parents. It was filmed incrementally over 12 years, and it’s now been 12 years since most people have seen it.

Sun, May 24 at 3:00pm | Tue, May 26 at 6:15pm

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO

Beyond its relevance as a great documentary in a time of change, I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO unwittingly marked a crucial entry point into in a golden era of documentaries that really turned folks out — as much and even more than narrative features at the time. Raoul Peck’s modern classic remains essential.

Mon, May 25 at 2:30pm, 8:00pm, 10:05pm

STOP MAKING SENSE

Of the Talking Heads’ 1984 concert film, Jim Ridley wrote, “The first concert I ever saw was the Talking Heads’ Speaking in Tongues tour at Municipal Auditorium in 1983; it made me a concertgoer for life, but I’m not sure I got as much out of it live as I did reliving it through Jonathan Demme’s peerless performance film.” STOP MAKING SENSE screens in Jim’s honor.

Tue, May 26 at 3:30pm, 8:20pm | Fri, May 29 at 9:10pm

PARASITE

Bong Joon Ho’s Palme d’Or winning black comedy holds the honor of our longest run — playing on our screens for nearly 5 months (and ending just a few weeks after winning the Oscar for Best Picture). By turns darkly hilarious and heart-wrenching, PARASITE showcases a modern master at the top of his game.

Thu, May 28 at 7:20pm | Sat, May 30 at 9:55pm

HOUSE (35mm)

The path of Nobuhiko Obayashi’s journey from relative obscurity to a rediscovered candy-coated midnight classic ran right through the Belcourt. To wit, a VHS tape rescued and fan-subtitled to an underground website went above board, found one of its first legit screenings in the Belcourt’s Midnight Movies program — for which a hand-designed screenprint was printed and sold as a bonus, its design picked up by Janus Films/Criterion Collection for its ensuing theatrical and BluRay releases — and HOUSE was reborn.

Sat, May 30 at 11:00am

Seminar: How the Belcourt Was Saved

How the Belcourt Was Saved traces how grassroots organizers, staff, artists, and audiences helped transform the theater after 1999 into Nashville’s nonprofit film center and a leading American arthouse. This seminar explores the theater’s recovery, mission, and place in the city’s cultural and cinematic history.

Sat, May 30 at 12:00pm | Mon, Jun 1 at 1:00pm, 5:30pm

WILD RIVER

Set in the post-Depression Tennessee Valley and concerning an idealistic young TVA administrator sent to clear land to be flooded by a new dam, Elia Kazan's film is a masterful recreation of a unique period in Tennessee history. WILD RIVER opened our Visions of the South series in 2011 — which we called “a survey of 20th century film depicting life in the southeastern United States from the inside and out” — and the first such mega-series of its kind.

Sun, May 31 at 12:00pm

SÁTÁNTANGÓ

“What’s black and white, speaks Hungarian, and is 37,204 feet long? Don’t look now, Nashville, but it will soon be in your midst. It is a phantom, a behemoth that only a comparative few have ever glimpsed. People have driven hours to see it and emerged half a day later from its company, changed. Some compare its effect to a drug. Others say it has the power to stop time. The harder it has been to see, the more its legend has grown. Spoken aloud, its name practically arrives in a clap of thunder: SÁTÁNTANGÓ!” —Jim Ridley, Nashville Scene (Dec 2006)

Mon, Jun 1 at 3:25pm, 8:00pm

FIRST COW

On Sunday, March 15, 2020, the emergence of a worldwide pandemic forced the long-term closure of the Belcourt for the foreseeable future. The film that we were scheduled to open on the following Friday was Kelly Reichardt’s FIRST COW. Evoking an authentically hardscrabble early 19th century way of life, two westward travellers in the Oregon Territory start a successful business selling “oily cakes” (scones), but its longevity is reliant upon the clandestine participation of a nearby wealthy landowner’s prized milking cow.

Tue, Jun 2 at 7:00pm

CROUPIER (35mm)

On June 3, 2000, our organization reopened the Belcourt after a year and a half of uncertainty. With this screening on the evening of June 2, 2026, CROUPIER finally returns to bookend our organization’s first 26 years. Taking a job as a casino croupier just to make ends meet, aspiring writer Jack finds himself seduced by the high stakes world of luck and chance. His attention is caught by a down-on-her-luck gambler with designs to recruit Jack for an inside job. Starring a little-known Clive Owen, directed by Mike Hodges (GET CARTER).

Sat, Jun 6 at 10:00am

MUD ON THE STARS: STORIES FROM ELIA KAZAN’S WILD RIVER

In the 57-minute documentary MUD ON THE STARS: STORIES FROM ELIA KAZAN'S WILD RIVER, residents of Bradley County, Tennessee, celebrate the 50th anniversary of Elia Kazan’s film that put them on the big screen.

Milestones of the Last Quarter Century

Upcoming Screenings

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

MOONRISE KINGDOM

I AM CUBA

AU HASARD BALTHAZAR

THE TREE OF LIFE

ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL

THE WILD BUNCH (35mm)

BOYHOOD

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO

STOP MAKING SENSE

PARASITE

HOUSE (35mm)

Seminar: How the Belcourt Was Saved

WILD RIVER

SÁTÁNTANGÓ

FIRST COW

CROUPIER (35mm)

MUD ON THE STARS: STORIES FROM ELIA KAZAN’S WILD RIVER

In Theatre

Today

Saturday, May 9

Sunday, May 10

Monday, May 11

Tuesday, May 12

Wednesday, May 13

Thursday, May 14

Friday, May 15