This July and August, Museum of the Moving Image presents its annual summer 70mm showcase, launches a new series of films featuring hip-hop artists, brings the acclaimed Pakistani film Joyland to Queens for a limited run, and continues its See It Big summer movie series. See below for highlights and schedule; additional programs will be added as they are confirmed.

See monthly schedule overview for July 2023 here and August 2023 here.

In the galleries, The Jim Henson Exhibition welcomes new puppets that were featured on Saturday Night Live’s first season, and the passenger-elevator installation Refreshing the Loop will feature the work of Pastiche Lumumba and Kate the Cursed. The major temporary exhibition Cinema of Sensations: The Never-Ending Screen of Val del Omar, exploring the innovative and influential work of the visionary Spanish artist and filmmaker José Val del Omar, continues through October 1. See all exhibitions here.

New in Exhibitions

Refreshing the Loop: Pastiche Lumumba and Kate the Cursed
JULY 28–OCTOBER 8, 2023
The second installation in the series Refreshing the Loop in the Museum’s passenger elevator will feature a pairing of work by Pastiche Lumumba and Katherina Jesek aka “Kate the Cursed.” Lumumba is a multidisciplinary artist whose work examines cultural conventions and normalized power dynamics within the contexts of masculinity and Blackness. “Kate the Cursed” is a media artist and producer whose artwork since 2021 focuses on authentic, outdated display technology and draws inspiration from cyberpunk aesthetics. Both are based in New York. Exhibition info

The Land of Gorch puppets in The Jim Henson Exhibition
BEGINNING THURSDAY, JUNE 29
Jim Henson and his company created a set of characters that appeared on the first season of Saturday Night Live (1975– ) for a recurring segment set in a swampy, vaguely extraterrestrial world called The Land of Gorch. Six puppets featured in these segments, which were scripted by SNL staff writers and featured adults-only jokes and storylines, will be on view as part of the exhibition. Exhibition info

Film Programs

See It Big: 70mm!
AUGUST 3–27
In what has become an annual summer tradition, MoMI will present a selection of classic and contemporary films in the 70mm film format. With a higher resolution and more light hitting the frame, 70mm film offers a bigger, brighter image than 35mm. It also offers richer sound, with more space on the soundtrack. It is the ideal film format for ambitious cinematic spectacles, yet with the transition to digital filmmaking, 70mm movies have become increasingly rare. Filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Jordan Peele, whose Inception and Nope are featured in this series, help to keep the tradition alive. Also screening this summer are eighties favorite Starman by John Carpenter; Spike Lee’s grand-scale epic Malcolm X; the 1970 Oscar-winning disaster melodrama Airport, paired with the spoof Airplane! (not in 70mm); and, of course, screenings of Stanley Kubrick’s cinema-shifting 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Due to the higher cost of shipping and preparing 70mm films, tickets are $20 public / $15 MoMI members. MoMI Members have an exclusive window to purchase tickets, through July 3. Tickets go on sale to the public on July 4.
Schedule & Tickets

MoMI Moviehouse: Comedies
New series launches on AUGUST 26 with Airplane!
With Moviehouse, MoMI launches a new ongoing series that highlights the enduring vitality of cinema as a communal endeavor to be shared from one generation to the next. Scheduled during matinee slots (12–2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday; 2–5 p.m. on Friday), all screenings that fall under the MoMI Moviehouse umbrella are suitable for viewers 13 and over—with most titles suitable for those even younger (as noted). Series info

LIMITED THEATRICAL ENGAGEMENT
Joyland
JULY 14–23
Writer-director Saim Sadiq's debut feature explores the many sides of love and desire in a patriarchal society. Gentle and timid, Haider (Junejo) lives with his wife Mumtaz (Farooq), his father, and his elder brother’s family in Lahore, Pakistan. When Haider lands a job at a Bollywood-style burlesque as a backup dancer, it shakes up the steadfast traditional dynamics of his household and enables Haider to break out of his shell. As he acclimates to the new job, Haider becomes infatuated with the strong-willed trans woman Biba (Khan) who runs the show—an unforeseen partnership that opens his eyes and ultimately his worldview, in ways both unexpected and intimate. Winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. An Oscilloscope release. Schedule & Tickets

See It Big: Summer Movies (’70s and ’80s Edition) 
THROUGH JULY 28
This series brings together blockbuster selections from the first two decades of the American summer movie, as well as some smaller hot-month titles released to appeal to alternative art-house crowds, from romantic comedies to adult erotic thrillers to serious social dramas. Upcoming titles include Star Wars (1977), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982, 35mm), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988, 35mm), An American Werewolf in London (1981; introduced by Griffin Dunne on July 7), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), Purple Rain (1984), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985, 35mm), Do the Right Thing (1989), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982, 35mm), Body Heat (1981, 35mm), La Bamba (1987), and Chocolat .
Schedule & Tickets

Real Rap: Hip-Hop Star Power on Screen
JULY 28–OCTOBER 21
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, this film series celebrates the insatiable beats and lyrics of hip-hop, which have proliferated throughout every borough, every corner of the United States and all over the world. By focusing on hip-hop artists who have appeared on the big screen, including Queen Latifah, Tupac, and Ice Cube, this series shows how rapper-actors’ artistry came to transform pop culture, transcending music to find brilliant expression and ultimately reshaping and redefining movie stardom. In addition to the screenings, the series will feature special guest speakers, discussions, a spoken word showcase, and a summer dance party. Co-programmed by Austin Smith and Tiffany Joy Butler.
Titles include Baby Boy (John Singleton, 2001), Just Wright (Sanaa Hamri, 2010), Poetic Justice (John Singleton, 1993), Barbershop (Tim Story, 2002), 8 Mile (Curtis Hanson, 2002), Ghosts of Mars (John Carpenter, 2001), and more.
Series info.