Schedule

Romeo + Juliet

May 23rd

Shakespeare's classic play is updated to the hip, stylized suburb of Verona. The gun-toting members of the families wage a vicious war on the streets as the star-crossed lovers meet their tragic destiny in Baz Luhrmann’s bold and ambitious adaptation.
Location: Fair Ave RR Tracks

Jan Svankmajer meets the Brothers Quay at Der Wienerschnitzel

Jun 6th

A collection of short stop-motion animation films projected on the yellow roof of the abandoned and decaying Der Wienerschnitzel. Švankmajer is a Czech filmmaker whose stop-motion films are often surreal, nightmarish and yet comical at times. His movies often involve inanimate objects coming alive. Most of the Brothers Quay's films feature dolls, often partially disassembled, in a dark, moody atmosphere. 
Location: Wienerschnitzel, 800 Soquel Ave

Latcho Drom

June 20th

A story of the joys and struggles of outsiders, the migrant cultures, the people of the road. This film traces the long history and movement of the Romani peoples (Gypsies) from India through the Middle East, Eastern and eventually Western Europe. Their story is told in music, dance and sometimes powerful visuals by the Romani that still live in each region. A film imbued with mystery, music and a deep soul.
Location: Fair Ave RR Tracks

Radical Kids Night:
The Journey of Natty Gann

Saturday!
July 5th

A 12-year old tomboy takes off in search of her father after he is forced to suddenly travel west to take a job in the northwest timber industry. Along the way, she befriends a young drifter played by a very very young John Cusack. A veritable how-to for radical kids: Truancy, trainhopping, vagrancy, hobo camps, friendship, loyalty, and animal liberation. Location: Fair Ave RR Tracks

Silent Film Festival

July 18th

Come relive the Age of the Silver Screen at the tracks! Before the 1920's, most films had no synchronized recorded sound, but as we watch Keaton, Chaplin, Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy and more, you'll mourn the advent of sound technology. Location: Under Soquel Ave Bridge

Subversive Shorts Film Fest

Aug 1st

A program of rollicking and poignant Guerilla Drive-In Subversive Shorts. As you know, for years we've shown shorts before our feature film. By popular demand, we offer you an entire program of our subversive shorts. In addition, we offer you a convenient and central location that challenges the downtown police state. Location: Pacific Ave. and Cooper St., downtown Santa Cruz

Das Leben der Anderen
(Lives of Others)

Aug 15th

Challenging the laws that make public space off limits after sunset, we return to our controversial spot under the Soquel Bridge with one of our favorite films. In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives. Location: Under Soquel Ave Bridge

Surveillance Awareness Month:
The Prisoner Marathon

Aug 29th

Immediately following his resignation, a former government secret agent is abducted and held captive in "The Village" where unimaginable attempts are made at stripping him of his spirit and identity.  A dizzyingly surreal experience filled with disempowerment and panoptic surveillance. With live surveillance of locations around town. Location: Fair Ave RR Tracks

Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Sep 12th

When Melquiades Estrada is carelessly shot and killed by a border guard, his best friend, must make good on his promise to return his body to Jimenez, Mexico for burial. Perkins kidnaps the border guard, forcing him to join the dangerous and quixotic journey across the border. Location: Fair Ave RR Tracks

Punishment Park

Sep 26th

As the Vietnam War escalates, massive public protest against the conflict surges in America. To control the leftist threat, a civilian tribunal passes sentence on groups of dissidents. Made to play survival games in a remote desert while being hunted by the forces of law and order, the prisoners must fight for their lives in this searing topical pseudo-documentary. Location: Under Soquel Bridge

Double Feature:
Crumb / American Splendor

Oct 10th

Robert Crumb and Harvey Pekar remind us that comic books can be filled with so much more than idolized super heroes and fantasized worlds.  Robert Crumb is a tormented man who transcends a harrowing upbringing to produce stunningly original art. Pekar, a perfect everyman, chronicles every minutia of his life in Cleveland for more than 20 years. Location: Sentinel parking lot next to main library

The Fly vs. The Fly

Oct 24th

The 1958 Vincent Price version and the 1986 Jeff Goldblum version projected simultaneously with sound on different FM frequencies. Both films deal with scientific ambition gone horribly wrong and the intersection of the darker aspects of human emotions and behavior. Location: Dubois St, Harvey West Area.  Bring an FM Radio

Thelma & Louise (Projectionist Cut)

Nov 7th

A waitress (Susan Sarandon) and naive housewife (Geena Davis) take off for a simple weekend free of men and become outlaws blazing a cathartic trail across America. The long-lost projectionist cut.  Location: Fair Ave RR Tracks