Coming Soon
The Brutalist
- Today, Feb 23
Director: Brady Corbet Run Time: 215 min. Release Year: 2024
Starring: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy
Adrien Brody stars in this award-winning American epic. When a visionary architect and his wife flee post-war Europe...
2025 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animation
- Today, Feb 23
- Mon, Feb 24
Run Time: 90 min. Release Year: 2025
This is your annual chance to predict the Animated Shorts winners (and have the edge in your Oscar...
2025 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary
- Today, Feb 23
- Tue, Feb 25
- Thu, Feb 27
Run Time: 165 min. Release Year: 2025 Language: English, Japanese
This is your annual chance to predict the Documentary Shorts winners (and have the edge in your Oscar...
Nickel Boys
- Today, Feb 23
Director: RaMell Ross Run Time: 140 min. Release Year: 2024
Starring: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Brandon Wilson, Ethan Herisse, Gralen Bryant Banks, Hamish Linklater
Director RaMell Ross’s visionary film based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Colson Whitehead continues to rack up...
No Other Land
- Mon, Feb 24
- Wed, Feb 26
- Thu, Feb 27
Director: Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor, Yuval Abraham Run Time: 96 min. Release Year: 2024 Language: Arabic, Hebrew, & English with English subtitles
Starring: Basel Adra, Farisa Abu Aram, Harun Abu Aram, Nasser Adra, Yuval Abraham
This film made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective shows the destruction of the occupied West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by...
2025 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Live Action
- Tue, Feb 25
- Wed, Feb 26
Run Time: 104 min. Release Year: 2025
This is your annual chance to predict the Live Action Shorts winners (and have the edge in your...
Hidden Figures – A Science on Screen Presentation
- Tue, Feb 25
Tue, Feb 25 @ 7:00 pm: Special pre-show presentation from Drake professor, Meredith Moore.
Director: Theodore Melfi Run Time: 127 min. Release Year: 2016
Starring: Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson
Science on Screen is back for a third year! A series of films paired with presentations from scientists...
Telling Our Own Story: Iowa Black History + Panther Politician – The Films of S. Torriano Berry (a.k.a. Steve Berry)
- Thu, Feb 27
Run Time: 90 min.
Join us for a captivating evening celebrating Black history and storytelling. This program features the works of acclaimed...
A Red Carpet Affair 2025
- Sun, Mar 2
Run Time: 240 min.
Enjoy the live telecast like never before, complete with fun games, surprise giveaways, and lively banter from our hosts during commercial breaks! Savor delicious bites and sip on beer or themed cocktails from our multiple bars spanning both floors of The Varsity Cinema.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 with Audience Interaction
- Tue, Mar 4
Director: Bill Condon Run Time: 115 min. Release Year: 2012
Starring: Elizabeth Reaser, Kristen Stewart, Peter Facinelli, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
The epic finale that will live forever
The Man Who Knew Too Much – An OLLI Screening
Director: Alfred Hitchcock Run Time: 76 min. Release Year: 1934
Starring: Edna Best, Frank Vosper, Hugh Wakefield, Leslie Banks, Peter Lorre
Knowledge can be a deadly thing.
The Big Lebowski – A Day of the Dude Celebration
- Thu, Mar 6
Director: Joel Coen Run Time: 117 min. Release Year: 1998
Starring: David Huddleston, Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi
Times like these call for a Big Lebowski.
Parthenope
Director: Paolo Sorrentino Run Time: 137 min. Release Year: 2024 Language: Italian
Starring: Celeste Dalla Porta, Gary Oldman, Luisa Ranieri, Silvio Orlando, Stefania Sandrelli
Is she a siren or a myth?
Mickey 17
Director: Bong Joon-ho Run Time: 137 min. Release Year: 2025
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Ackie, Robert Pattinson, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette
He's dying to save mankind.
National Theatre Live: Vanya
- Sun, Mar 9
Director: Sam Yates Run Time: 115 min. Release Year: 2024
Starring: Andrew Scott
Andrew Scott brings multiple characters to life in Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, filmed live in West End, London. Hopes,...
The Quiet Man – In Celebration of St. Patrick’s Day
- Mon, Mar 17
- Sat, Mar 22
Mon, Mar 17 @ 7:00 pm: Celebrate St. Patrick's Day at the Varsity!
Director: John Ford Run Time: 129 min. Release Year: 1952
Starring: Barry Fitzgerald, John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen, Ward Bond
An American man returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he finds love and conflict.
Demons – Presented with The Fright Zone Podcast
- Thu, Mar 20
Director: Lamberto Bava Run Time: 89 min. Release Year: 1985 Language: Italian
Starring: Fiore Argento, Karl Zinny, Natasha Hovey, Paola Cozzo, Urbano Barberini
They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be your tombs.
Ex Machina – A Science on Screen Presentation
- Tue, Mar 25
Tue, Mar 25 @ 7:00 pm: Special pre-show presentation from Drake professor, Martin Roth.
Director: Alex Garland Run Time: 108 min. Release Year: 2015
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Corey Johnson, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Sonoya Mizuno
Science on Screen is back for a third year! A series of films paired with presentations from scientists...
Eephus
Director: Carson Lund Run Time: 98 min. Release Year: 2025
Starring: Bill Lee, Cliff Blake, Frederick Wiseman, Keith William Richards, Ray Hryb
As an imminent construction project looms over their beloved small-town baseball field, a pair of New England rec-league...
The Best Years of Our Lives – An OLLI Screening
Director: William Wyler Run Time: 171 min. Release Year: 1946
Starring: Dana Andrews, Fredric March, Harold Russell, Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright
Three wonderful loves in the best picture of the year!
National Theatre Live: The Importance of Being Earnest
Director: Max Webster Run Time: 180 min. Release Year: 2025
Starring: Amanda Lawrence, Eliza Scanlen, Hugh Skinner, Ncuti Gatwa, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo
A Trivial Comedy for Serious People
Lifers: A Local H Movie with Filmmaker Conversation
- Tue, Apr 8
Director: Scott Lucas Run Time: 82 min. Release Year: 2024
Starring: Gabe Rodriguez, Radkey, Ryan Harding, Scott Lucas
Local H Frontman and Director Scott Lucas will join us to introduce the film and for a Q&A...
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed with Optional Discussion
- Wed, Apr 9
Director: Laura Poitras Run Time: 122 min. Release Year: 2022
Starring: Cookie Mueller, David Wojnarowicz, Marina Berio, Nan Goldin, Noemi Bonazzi
Presented by OLLI at Drake and Des Moines Film in observance of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. A...
Lost Boys, Stolen Trucks with Filmmaker Intro and Q&A
- Sun, Apr 13
Director: Auden Lincoln-Vogel, Philip Rabalais Run Time: 75 min.
The boys are not alright.
Point Break – A Science on Screen Presentation
- Tue, Apr 29
Tue, Apr 29 @ 7:00 pm: Special pre-show presentation from Drake professor, Terrance Pendleton.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow Run Time: 122 min. Release Year: 1991
Starring: Gary Busey, John C. McGinley, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty, Patrick Swayze
Science on Screen is back for a third year! A series of films paired with presentations from scientists...
Cinderella – An OLLI Screening
Director: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wilfred Jackson Run Time: 74 min. Release Year: 1950
Starring: Claire Du Brey, Eleanor Audley, Ilene Woods, Rhoda Williams, Verna Felton
The greatest love story ever told.
Dr. Strangelove – An OLLI Screening
Director: Stanley Kubrick Run Time: 95 min. Release Year: 1964
Starring: George C. Scott, Keenan Wynn, Peter Sellers, Slim Pickens, Sterling Hayden
The hot-line suspense comedy.
National Theatre Live: Dr. Strangelove
Director: Sean Foley Release Year: 2025
Starring: Giles Terera, John Hopkins, Oliver Alvin-Wilson, Penny Ashmore, Steve Coogan
Seven-time BAFTA Award-winner Steve Coogan plays four roles in the world premiere stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s comedy...
National Theatre Live: Hamlet
Director: Lyndsey Turner, Robin Lough Run Time: 217 min. Release Year: 2015
Starring: Anastasia Hille, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciarán Hinds, Jim Norton, Sian Brooke
As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father’s death...
Goodbye, Mr. Chips in Partnership with the Des Moines Metro Opera
- Sat, Jul 12
- Fri, Jul 18
Sat, Jul 12 @ 1:00 pm: Des Moines Metro Opera and Des Moines Film are excited to present two screenings of Goodbye, Mr. Chips, a new opera reimagined for film by Gordon Getty. Fri, Jul 18 @ 1:00 pm: Des Moines Metro Opera and Des Moines Film are excited to present two screenings of Goodbye, Mr. Chips, a new opera reimagined for film by Gordon Getty.
Run Time: 115 min. Release Year: 2021
Starring: Kevin Short, Lester Lynch, Marnie Breckenridge, Nathan Granner, Walter Brown
This event is partnership with Des Moines Moines Metro Opera and Varsity Cinema. Enjoy an exclusive filmed introduction...