Community Calendar

Experience the iconic films of visionary director Paul Verhoeven on the big screen with this special limited-time series at Emagine Birmingham 8. From sci-fi classics to boundary-pushing dramas, this lineup showcases a filmmaker who never holds back.
Dates:
April 2 – BASIC INSTINCT
April 9 – SHOWGIRLS
April 16 – STARSHIP TROOPERS
April 23 – ELLE
April 30 - BENEDETTA
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Birmingham 8 Powered by Emagine

Join us for the 11th annual DETROIT INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ANIMATION (DIFA) on Saturday, April 4th, 2026. Immerse yourself in an eclectic 93-minute mix of 19 animated shorts showcasing a vibrant selection of works from Michigan and international animators.

Set in the historic Senate Theater in Detroit, this 1920’s Art Deco gem is not only known for its visual charm but also houses the world’s 8th largest Wurlitzer pipe organ. Enjoy the classic concession stand, comfortable lounging areas, and the added convenience of secure parking.

Be sure to arrive early to catch the enchanting Wurlitzer Pipe Organ pre-show by the Detroit Theater Organ Society.

🎟️ ADVANCE TICKETS AVAILABLE 🎟️

Admission is $10 and half of all ticket sales go to support the continued preservation and operations of the Senate Theater.

Doors open at 7pm, with organ performance at 7:30pm and showtime at 8pm.

For more details and tickets, visit difestofanim.com, or follow @difestofanim on your favorite social medias.

We can't wait to see you there!

🎞️ DIFA 11
🗓️ Saturday, April 4th, 2026
🕖 Doors 7p, Pre-show 7:30p, Showtime 8p
📍 Senate Theater, 6424 Michigan Ave, Detroit, MI

Please note, parental guidance is suggested due to some mature content and language.

Join us for a special screening of Sir No Sir, by renowned director David Zeiger, and “19” by director Galileha Calvario-Zavala.

🗓️ Saturday, April 11th
⏰ 2:00pm & 2:10pm - 5pm
📍 UMMA
✨ SNACKS & GIVEAWAYS
🎟️ FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Screenings followed by a talk back with Directors Galileha Calvario-Zavala and David Zeiger, moderated by Colin Gunckel.

Come for one screening or come for all!

Film Sampler, organized in partnership with the U-M Department of Film, Television, and Media (FTVM), is offered in conjunction with the UMMA exhibition American Sampler: Activating the Archive. Curated by MacArthur Fellow Julie Ault in collaboration with the U-M Labadie Collection of political dissent, this exhibition transforms UMMA’s Vertical Gallery into a living record of activism.

Join us for a special screening of Passin’ It On by renowned Director John J. Valadez!

🗓️ Saturday, April 11th
⏰ 5pm
📍 UMMA
✨ SNACKS & GIVEAWAYS
🎟️ FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

A soulful and gritty film, Passin’ It On tells of a Black Panther Party leader, framed by the FBI for a crime he didn’t commit. Dhoruba bin Wahad emerged from the ghettoes and gangs of the South Bronx to serve breakfast to school children with one hand while wielding a gun in the other. Bristling with poetry and pain this, landmark film of an American political prisoner, speaks of a movement, not only a man.

Screenings followed by a talk-back with Director John Valadez, moderated by Colin Gunckel.

Come for one screening or come for all!

Film Sampler, organized in partnership with the U-M Department of Film, Television, and Media (FTVM), is offered in conjunction with the UMMA exhibition American Sampler: Activating the Archive. Curated by MacArthur Fellow Julie Ault in collaboration with the U-M Labadie Collection of political dissent.

After over thirty years on the concert stage, the pianist Murray Perahia has himself become a legend, one of the most sought-after pianists of our time. This film is not designed to be a conventional portrait. The documentary observes Perahia at work on the interpretation of some pieces by Chopin and Schumann at his holiday home in Switzerland. It shows him as conductor of the famous Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, follows him into the recording studio and a master class in Hanover and finally captures a concert performance at a Warsaw Chopin recital in February 2010. Interviews with Murray Perahia cast light on his approach to music, his personality and the way he has managed to cope with the personal crises that has beset him.

Films are free to the public, but seating is limited. Tickets will be available at the front desk of the museum starting at 10 am on the day of each screening, or pre-register the day of screening at kalamazoomuseum.org.

At the beginning of the eliminations, there are 160 of them. 80 enter the competition, and only twelve will advance to the final. The heroes of PIANOFORTE are the participants of the legendary International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, which takes place once every five years in Warsaw. Young musicians from all over the world have been preparing for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity since childhood. Triumphant highs, painful lows, enormous pressure – PIANOFORTE is a film rollercoaster that shows the extraordinary power of music. Director Jakub Piątek takes viewers behind the scenes of the Competition, where pianists struggle with this special experience combining passion and joy of playing with tears of exhaustion and despair. It is also an intimate story about the maturation of young musicians who try to find their way between the demands of the Competition and intensive training, and new friendships, successes, dilemmas and failures.

Films are free to the public, but seating is limited. Tickets will be available at the front desk of the museum starting at 10 am on the day of each screening, or pre-register the day of screening at kalamazoomuseum.org.

Oscar Peterson: Black + White is a ground-breaking “docu-concert” that deeply explores the life and legacy of jazz icon and composer, Oscar Peterson: his sound, stardom, and cult of virtuoso. Oscar Peterson is the one jazz figure who had, and still has, the larger-than-life quality of jazz royalty. Other jazz artists from Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole to Duke Ellington and John Coltrane became legends but Oscar, like Picasso or Mozart, had an undeniable style rooted not just in his genius but in his relentless performances and personality. The documentary delves into the seven-decade career of the musical genius: from his days as a child prodigy to the development of his signature sound on recordings with his trio, from his collaborations with huge stars to his shifts to brilliant solo performances around the world — as well as his tenacious experiences confronting racism and segregation while touring in the United States which culminated in his epic composition of Hymn to Freedom.

Films are free to the public, but seating is limited. Tickets will be available at the front desk of the museum starting at 10 am on the day of each screening, or pre-register the day of screening at kalamazoomuseum.org.

Peter Rosen walks in the footsteps of American pianist Harvey Lavan “Van” Cliburn, who—at the height of the Cold War—took first prize at the inaugural edition of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958. The 23-year-old came home to a hero’s welcome, complete with a ticker-tape parade in New York City, and embarked on an internationally renowned concert and recording career that would span decades.

The film is an archival treasure trove, including personal material provided by the Cliburn family and rarely seen performance footage. Documentarian Peter Rosen met with family and associates of the pianist, including Cliburn’s mother Rildia Bee O’Bryan Cliburn, actress Arlene Dahl, pianist Gary Graffman—a fellow first-prize winner of the prestigious, now-defunct Leventritt Competition—and announcer Martin Bookspan, who speaks about Cliburn’s stratospheric popularity in the U.S. after his victory in Moscow.

Films are free to the public, but seating is limited. Tickets will be available at the front desk of the museum starting at 10 am on the day of each screening, or pre-register the day of screening at kalamazoomuseum.org.

Experience the iconic films of visionary director Paul Verhoeven on the big screen with this special limited-time series at Emagine Birmingham 8. From sci-fi classics to boundary-pushing dramas, this lineup showcases a filmmaker who never holds back.
Dates:
April 2 – BASIC INSTINCT
April 9 – SHOWGIRLS
April 16 – STARSHIP TROOPERS
April 23 – ELLE
April 30 - BENEDETTA
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Birmingham 8 Powered by Emagine

Experience the iconic films of visionary director Paul Verhoeven on the big screen with this special limited-time series at Emagine Birmingham 8. From sci-fi classics to boundary-pushing dramas, this lineup showcases a filmmaker who never holds back.
Dates:
April 2 – BASIC INSTINCT
April 9 – SHOWGIRLS
April 16 – STARSHIP TROOPERS
April 23 – ELLE
April 30 - BENEDETTA
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Birmingham 8 Powered by Emagine