Coming Soon
A Red Carpet Affair 2026
- Sun, Mar 15
Run Time: 240 min.
About the Event Join us for a one-of-a-kind celebration of film’s biggest night. We are transforming Varsity Cinema...
Untitled Home Invasion Romance w/ Screenwriter Q&A
- Wed, Mar 18
Wed, Mar 18 @ 7:00 pm: Q&A with Des Moines based screenwriter Josh Johnson.
Director: Jason Biggs Run Time: 85 min. Release Year: 2026
Starring: Anna Konkle, Arturo Castro, Jason Biggs, Justin H. Min, Meaghan Rath
Join us after the film for a Q&A with Des Moines based screenwriter Josh Johnson. As a last-ditch...
Project Hail Mary
- Thu, Mar 19
- Fri, Mar 20
- Sat, Mar 21
- Sun, Mar 22
- Mon, Mar 23
- Tue, Mar 24
Director: Christopher Miller, Phil Lord Run Time: 156 min. Release Year: 2026
Starring: Ken Leung, Lionel Boyce, Milana Vayntrub, Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller
Believe in the Hail Mary.
The Metropolitan Opera: Tristan und Isolde – Presented with the Des Moines Metro Opera
- Sat, Mar 21
Director: Yannick Nézet-Séguin Run Time: 312 min. Release Year: 2026 Language: German
The electrifying Lise Davidsen tackles one of the ultimate roles for dramatic soprano: the Irish princess Isolde in...
Preconceived
- Tue, Mar 24
Director: Kate Dumke, Sabrine Keane Run Time: 80 min. Release Year: 2024
Starring: Angela Dwyer, Brandi Swindell, Kathaleen Pittman, Maleeha, Maria
Presented by Family Planning Council of Iowa. Where does someone turn when facing an unplanned pregnancy? Preconceived tells...
Science on Screen: Project Hail Mary
- Wed, Mar 25
Director: Christopher Miller, Phil Lord Run Time: 156 min. Release Year: 2026
Starring: Ken Leung, Lionel Boyce, Milana Vayntrub, Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller
Believe in the Hail Mary.
Pieces – Presented with The Fright Zone
- Thu, Mar 26
Thu, Mar 26 @ 10:00 pm: Presented by The Fright Zone podcast.
Director: Juan Piquer Simón Run Time: 85 min. Release Year: 1982 Language: Spanish
Starring: Christopher George, Edmund Purdom, Frank Braña, Ian Sera, Lynda Day George
You don't have to go to Texas for a chainsaw massacre!
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist
Director: Charlie Tyrell, Daniel Roher Run Time: 104 min. Release Year: 2026
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity, and explores the most...
The Music Man w/ Panel Conversation
- Sun, Mar 29
Director: Morton DaCosta Run Time: 151 min. Release Year: 1962
Starring: Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold, Robert Preston, Ron Howard, Shirley Jones
The story of that man and his 76 trombones, and the wonderful, wonderful tune he played on every heart in town!
Movie Bash: Best in Show with Audience Interaction
- Tue, Mar 31
Director: Christopher Guest Run Time: 90 min. Release Year: 2000
Starring: Bob Balaban, Christopher Guest, Jennifer Coolidge, John Michael Higgins, Michael Hitchcock
Some pets deserve a little more respect than others.
The Fault in Our Stars
- Wed, Apr 1
Director: Josh Boone Run Time: 126 min. Release Year: 2014
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern, Nat Wolff, Sam Trammell, Shailene Woodley
Life doesn't have to be perfect for love to be extraordinary.
Shane – An OLLI Screening
Director: George Stevens Run Time: 118 min. Release Year: 1953
Starring: Alan Ladd, Brandon De Wilde, Jack Palance, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin
The greatest story of the West ever filmed!
The Drama
Director: Kristoffer Borgli Run Time: 105 min. Release Year: 2026
Starring: Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Zoe Winters
You are cordially invited to…
Of Mice and Men
- Sat, Apr 18
Director: Gary Sinise Run Time: 110 min. Release Year: 1992
Starring: Casey Siemaszko, Gary Sinise, John Malkovich, Ray Walston, Sherilyn Fenn
We have a dream. Someday, we'll have a little house and a couple of acres. A place to call home.
The Metropolitan Opera: Eugene Onegin – Presented with the Des Moines Metro Opera
- Sat, May 2
Director: Timur Zangiev Run Time: 245 min. Release Year: 2026 Language: Russian
Soprano Asmik Grigorian returns to the Met as Tatiana, the lovestruck young heroine in this ardent operatic adaptation...
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – An OLLI Screening
Director: Jacques Demy Run Time: 92 min. Release Year: 1964 Language: French
Starring: Anne Vernon, Catherine Deneuve, Marc Michel, Mireille Perrey, Nino Castelnuovo
A film for all the young lovers of the world.
Rebel with a Clause w/ Filmmaker Q&A and Author Signing
Director: Brandt Johnson Run Time: 86 min. Release Year: 2025
Starring: Brandt Johnson, Ellen Jovin
We have so much in comma.
Diamond Diplomacy
Director: Yuriko Gamo Romer Run Time: 86 min. Release Year: 2025
Long considered America’s official pastime, ever since baseball was introduced to Japan in the late 19th century, the...
The Metropolitan Opera: El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego – Presented with the Des Moines Metro Opera
- Sat, May 30
Director: Deborah Colker, Yannick Nézet-Séguin Run Time: 158 min. Release Year: 2026 Language: Spanish
American composer Gabriela Lena Frank’s first opera, a magical-realist portrait of Mexico’s painterly power couple Frida Kahlo and...
The Muppet Movie – An OLLI Screening
Director: James Frawley Run Time: 95 min. Release Year: 1979
Starring: Dave Goelz, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Jim Henson, Richard Hunt
More entertaining than humanly possible!