Films
Now Playing
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Mildred Pierce
Directed by Michael Curtiz
(USA, 1945, 111 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, 35mmA landmark film noir exploring complex themes of female ambition and the societal expectations of women in the post-World War II era, Mildred Pierce stars Joan Crawford as a hard-working woman raising two daughters on her own.
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Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
Directed by Shoshannah Stern
(USA, 2025, 98 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalMarlee Matlin shattered expectations as the first deaf actor to win an Academy Award for her groundbreaking performance in Children of a Lesser God (1987). Catapulted into the spotlight, 21-year-old Matlin challenged an industry unprepared for her immense talent, emerging as a trailblazer not only as a performer but also as an author and activist.
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Georgia O’Keeffe: The Brightness of Light
Directed by Paul Wagner
(USA, 2024, 118 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalShowcasing O’Keeffe’s vibrant art, observations by curators and scholars, and excerpts from 20,000 pages of letters between the artist and her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, the life of this remarkable artist is detailed. Claire Danes voices Georgia O’Keeffe.
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Compensation
Directed by Zeinabu irene Davis
(USA, 1999, 95 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, 4K digital rejuvenationThis milestone of independent cinema, presented in a 4K rejuvenation, follows parallel African American love stories between a deaf woman and a hearing man set decades apart. Inspired by the work of legendary African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, the moving narrative depicts the struggle to overcome racism, disability, and discrimination.
- Saturday, July 26, 2025
- 7 p.m.
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Stray Dog (Noru Inu)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
(Japan, 1949, 122 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalStray Dog goes beyond a crime thriller, probing the squalid world of postwar Japan, and the nature of the criminal mind.
- Friday, August 1, 2025
- 7 p.m.
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The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Directed by Philip Kaufman
(USA, 1988, 171 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalIn translating Milan Kundera’s supposedly “unfilmable” novel to the big screen, Philip Kaufman achieves a delicate, erotic balance by focusing on three central characters.
- Saturday, August 2, 2025
- 5 p.m.
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The People’s Joker
Directed by Vera Drew
(USA, 2022, 92 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, 35mmA hilarious reimagining of the classic coming-of-age story follows an unconfident, closeted trans girl as she moves to Gotham City to make it big by joining the cast of a government-sanctioned, late-night sketch show in a world where comedy has been outlawed.
- Friday, August 8, 2025
- 7 p.m.
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The Hidden Fortress (Kakushi-Toride No San-Akunin)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
(Japan, 1958, 139 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalToshiro Mifune is a general charged with guarding his defeated clan’s princess as the two smuggle royal treasure across hostile territory.
- Saturday, August 9, 2025
- 7 p.m.
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Yojimbo (Yôjinbô)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
(Japan, 1961, 110 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalTo rid a terror-stricken village of corruption, wily, masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage.
- Sunday, August 10, 2025
- 5 p.m.
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A Portrait of a Postman
Directed by Christopher Charles Scott
(USA, 2025, 97 minutes, in English)
Lynn Wyatt TheaterThis fascinating new documentary—winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Texas Feature at the 2025 Dallas International Film Festival—profiles Texas artist Kermit Oliver.
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Aurora Picture Show Summer Filmmaking Camp World Premiere
Directed by various directors
(USA, 2025, 100 minutes)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalWalk the red carpet for Aurora’s annual Summer Filmmaking Camp World Premieres event, where young filmmakers’ visions come to life on the screen! This free screening showcases a wide range of creative short films made by Houston kids and teens (ages 7–15) through Aurora’s summer youth education program.
- Saturday, August 16, 2025
- 1 p.m.
Coming Soon
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Sanjuro (Tsubaki Sanjûrô)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
(Japan, 1962, 95 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalIn this sly companion piece to Yojimbo, jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan’s evil influences, and in the process turns their image of a “proper” samurai on its ear.
- Friday, August 22, 2025
- 7 p.m.
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High and Low (Tengoku to jigoku)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
(Japan, 1963, 143 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalToshiro Mifune is a wealthy industrialist whose family becomes the target of a cold-blooded kidnapper in Kurosawa’s highly influential domestic drama and police procedural.
- Sunday, August 24, 2025
- 5 p.m.
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Sundance Film Festival | Short Film Tour
Directed by Various directors
(Various countries, 2025, 100 minutes)
Lynn Wyatt Theater, digitalThe 2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour features new short films from this year’s festival.
Street Address
1001 Bissonnet Street Houston, TX 77005Mailing Address
MFAH Films P.O. Box 6826 Houston, TX 77265-6826MFAH Films Information
Accessibility Questions or Requests?
If you have any questions about accessibility resources in the Museum’s auditoriums, email accessibility@mfah.org or call 713.639.7300.