This November, Museum of the Moving Image welcomes boundary-pushing documentarian Lana Wilson for a career retrospective, featuring in-person appearances with screenings of Pretty Baby, Miss Americana, her latest film Look into My Eyes, and more; the six-film series Godzilla vs. MoMI, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the King of the Monsters; The Many Wonderful Lives of Argentine Animation; the conclusion of The Magic of Oz: A Frank Oz Retrospective, including a special sold-out appearance by Oz and Steve Martin with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels—and just added appearance by Oz with Bowfinger on November 9; and more.

The Museum’s annual free community celebration of Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) will take place Saturday, November 2, 4:00–6:00 p.m. and will be presented in collaboration with the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York.

Our Open Worlds initiative continues through the fall and winter, with free community access to the Museum’s first floor spaces, including the courtyard (weather-permitting) and café where Mon Amour continues their residency (Friday–Sunday).

Highlights are included below and see a calendar view of upcoming events here.

SCREENING SERIES

The Magic of Oz: A Frank Oz Retrospective
October 4–November 30
Whether behind the camera or acting in front of it, creating a character with only his voice or animating one through puppetry, Frank Oz has been one of the most versatile, eclectic, influential, and industrious moving image artists of the last half-century. The Museum’s comprehensive retrospective, The Magic of Oz, will feature all 15 films for which he served as director, plus films in which he performed, and other special events. Frank Oz will join us three times in November, with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Nov. 9, also with Steve Martin—sold out), Bowfinger (Nov. 9), and Derek DelGaudio's In and of Itself (Nov. 24, also with Derek DelGaudio).

Godzilla vs. MoMI
November 1–3
First appearing in the 1954 Toho classic Gojira, Godzilla has reigned as King of the Monsters for 70 years. This first film stood out from most contemporary Western science fiction films for the bleak tone captured in Ishiro Honda’s direction and Eiji Tsuburaya’s spectacular special effects, which would revolutionize the tokusatsu genre in Japan. After the success of Gojira, Toho would revive Godzilla for 32 sequels, over the course of which, the kaiju would evolve into a hero (and back to villain again) and fight opponents who’d become icons in their own right. To honor Godzilla’s 70th anniversary, MoMI presents screenings of six Godzilla films! Also part of the ongoing series Disreputable Cinema.

The Many Wonderful Lives of Argentine Animation
November 2–3
Since its beginnings , Argentine animation has been a hub of inventors, storytellers, and tireless alchemists of the medium. Among the pioneering filmmakers are  Quirino Cristiani, Luis Bras, Manuel García Ferré, and Juan Pablo Zaramella. Characterized by elegance, visual power, anarchic spirit, and diversity , Argentine animation stands as one of the most vibrant corners of world cinema. This series of four programs, organized by guest programmer Juan Manuel Dominguez from the collection of the Museo del Cine Pablo Ducrós Hicken (Buenos Aires), features a range of films, from early 20th-century shorts for kids to popular TV shows, commercials, and contemporary work, all ripe for discovery. The programs are also part of the Museum’s ongoing series World of Animation.

Come Alive: The Films of Lana Wilson
November 22–24
In just ten years, Lana Wilson has established herself as one of the most compelling and accomplished nonfiction filmmakers of her generation. This complete, early-career retrospective celebrates an Emmy-winning and two-time Spirit Award–nominated filmmaker of uncommon dexterity and integrity, including her patient and observant look at third-trimester abortion doctors and their patients, After Tiller (co-directed by Martha Shane); her atypically intimate, unmistakably feminist portraits of superstars Taylor Swift (Miss Americana) and Brooke Shields (Pretty Baby, pictured above); and her sui generis, impeccably crafted works of heart-swollen humanism such as The Departure and her latest, Look into My Eyes, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and was produced and distributed by A24.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS AND OTHER SCREENINGS

FREE COMMUNITY PROGRAM
Day of the Dead 2024
Saturday, November 2, 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Celebrate a vibrant Day of the Dead at Museum of the Moving Image with a performance of Aztec Mexica dance, ofrendas honoring beloved ones who have died, fun digital media activities for kids and families, and music from Indigenous dance troupe Yayauhki Tezcatlipoka. There will also be a face-painting session inspired by historical characters from Día de Muertos. All are welcome to join the festive event in the Museum’s courtyard, which will include a catrina and catrin contest hosted by artist historian Rosa Ruíz and Catrinamía. The celebration culminates in a 6:30 p.m. screening of Alejandro Amenabar’s The Others (2001; ticket purchase necessary, discount offered), featuring Nicole Kidman in one of the most elegant and devastating ghost stories of the 21st century.

Fonissa (Murderess)
Director Eva Nathena in person for a post-screening Q&A
Sunday, November 10, 3:00 p.m.
Dir. Eva Nathena. 2023, 97 mins. Greece. In Greek with English subtitles. DCP. With Karyofyllia Karabeti, Maria Protopappa, Penelope Tsilika. Based on the classic novel by Alexandros Papadiamantis. Driven to despair over women’s oppressive living conditions in her island community circa 1900, a midwife finds a violent solution to confront the evils of a male-dominated society. Seeing herself as a savior of sorts, she takes the lives of young girls to spare them from a future of hardship and servitude. Part of Always on Sunday: Greek Film Series, co-presented by the Hellenic Film Society USA.

FREE COMMUNITY PROGRAM
Undulating Patterns: On Trans Visibility in Video & Poetry
Friday, November 15, 5:30 p.m.
In honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20, MoMI presents Queens-born artist ray ferreira’s video An echo wails, whispers an undulating pattern during the weekend of November 15–17. On November 15, 5:30–8:00 p.m., in collaboration with The American LGBTQ+ Museum, we will host an opening event including poetry readings by ray ferreira and Paolo Javier, and an artists’ discussion with Imara Jones, followed by a reception and collective writing activity. Transgender Day of Remembrance celebrates queer visibility and remembers transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming persons whose lives were lost in acts of targeted violence. This event is Free with RSVP.

The Best of Frank Oz: Frank’s Favorites
Hosted by series programmer Craig Shemin, President of the Jim Henson Legacy
November 16 & 17
In 1961, Jim Henson, searching for a new puppeteer to join the Muppets, met Frank Oznowicz at a Puppeteers of America Festival in Asilomar, California. Jim was impressed by Frank’s puppetry, but young Oznowicz was still in high school, so Jim hired his performing partner Jerry Juhl instead. Two years later, Frank arrived in New York City and began his long association with the Henson organization (and was reunited with Juhl, who would become the Muppets’ head writer for many years). This all-new compilation, created in consultation with Mr. Oz, presents some of Frank’s favorite Henson moments—ranging from his first collaboration with Jim, as Rowlf’s right hand on The Jimmy Dean Show, to his own major characters on Muppet television shows, feature films, and guest appearances. Part of Jim Henson’s World and The Magic of Oz: A Frank Oz Retrospective.

Vanishing Point Forever: Revisiting a Cult Classic
Followed by discussion with Robert M. Rubin, author of Vanishing Point Forever + book signing
Sunday, November 17, 3:30 p.m.
Dir. Richard C. Sarafian. United States. 1971, 98 mins. 4K DCP. With Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, Dean Jagger. The great American car chase movie, directed by maverick Armenian-American filmmaker Richard C. Sarafian, is nominally the saga of a Vietnam vet on the lam in his Dodge Challenger, but it’s simultaneously a modern-day western, a dystopian allegory, and a love letter to the muscle car. A cult classic, adored by artists and filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino and Steven, Vanishing Point had a storied production, the lore and legends of which are now lovingly collected in Robert M. Rubin’s mythic illustrated account Vanishing Point Forever.

ON VIEW IN THE GALLERIES

Waxwing
New!
Visitors can play the unique new arcade game Waxwing, developed by Common Opera, in the Museum lobby. The game subverts the traditional light gun by reimagining it as a literal source of light, shifting the focus from violence to an exploration of aspirations and the human condition.

Recording the Ride: The Rise of Street-Style Skate Videos
September 7, 2024–January 25, 2025

Auriea Harvey: My Veins Are the Wires, My Body Is Your Keyboard
Through December 1

Museum Without Walls
Through November 21
Transforming the poem she wrote in MoMI’s Exhibition Reader for the Auriea Harvey exhibition, Sasha Stiles’s video explores the ability for deep connection cultivated through the web. A media-rich version of the poem A TO Z is available for visitors to collect for free from the Museum Without Walls station in our lobby and online, minted on Tezos. Presented in partnership with the Tezos Foundation.

The Jim Henson Exhibition
Ongoing
Find costume inspiration in the Museum’s dynamic exploration of Jim Henson’s groundbreaking work for film and television and his transformative impact on culture. The features a broad range of objects from throughout his remarkable career and reveals how Henson and his team of builders, performers, and writers brought to life the enduringly popular worlds of The Muppet Show, the Muppet movies, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth.

Behind the Screen
Ongoing
Of particular note, Horrible Sites: Makeup and Production Design for The Exorcist continues to be on view as part of the Museum’s core exhibition.