Bleak Week Lineup
June 3: Farewell My Concubine (1993)
June 4: Scarecrow (1973)
June 5: Planet of the Apes (1968)
Presented in partnership with the
American Cinematheque, 'Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair' is an annual film festival showcasing some of the greatest works of cinema from across the globe that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history. The fifth annual edition in June 2026 expands to nearly 100 theaters across the U.S., Canada, U.K. and South and Central America, with each venue presenting its own original curated lineup of uncompromising films defined by unpleasant truths and raw empathy.
June 3: Farewell My Concubine (1993)
Hailed as a cultural achievement and widely considered one of the most important motion pictures ever made, FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE is a gorgeous, intoxicating epic that is both visually spectacular and sumptuous in every respect.
Two boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history.
(R, 171 min.)
June 4: Scarecrow (1973)
Fresh out of prison, Max (Gene Hackman) heads to Pittsburgh to open a car wash, while sailor Lion (Al Pacino) travels to Detroit to meet the child he’s never seen. Winner of the Grand Prize at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, Scarecrow is an unforgettable road movie elevated by the moving performances of Hackman and Pacino, Jerry Schatzberg’s sensitive direction, and Vilmos Zsigmond’s glowing cinematography. Hit the road with these two. You'll find the trip unforgettable.
An ex-con drifter with a penchant for brawling is amused by a homeless ex-sailor, so they partner up as they head east together. (R, 112 min.)
June 5: Planet of the Apes (1968)
Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall star in this legendary science fiction masterpiece. Astronaut Taylor (Heston) crash lands on a distant planet ruled by apes who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport. Soon Taylor finds himself among the hunted, his life in the hands of a benevolent chimpanzee scientist (McDowall).
After being kept in hypersleep during a long expedition into deep space, an astronaut crew crash-lands in the 40th century on a planet where highly intelligent non-human ape species are dominant and humans are enslaved. (G, 110 min.)