Thurs., April 12

Beautiful City and Fireworks Wednesday, two early efforts by Asghar Farhadi — the man responsible for this year's Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, A Separation — screen tonight at the Aero.

Fri., April 13

Speaking of Iranian cinema, the UCLA Film & Television Archive's Celebration of Iranian Cinema series begins tonight with Mourning, about a young boy on a road trip with his aunt and uncle. Director Morteza Farshbaf will be in attendance for the screening

Last week we covered LACMA's ongoing series of Alice in Wonderland films, Adventures in Wonderland. Cinefamily's complementary series begins this weekend, and — with cinematography by the incomparable Sven Nykvist and a script co-authored by Luis Buñuel's daughter-in-law — Louis Malle's Black Moon is a highlight.

Sat., April 14

Cinefamily continues its Films of Béla Tarr series with the master's first feature, Family Nest, about a family under duress during a housing shortage in Hungary, at 4:30 p.m.

For those looking for less stark hours at the theater, LACMA's Alice in Wonderland double feature includes the 1951 animated Disney version as well as Dallas Bower's rarely shown 1948 adaptation, featuring stop-motion animation by Lou Bunin. Two Alice-themed Brothers Quay shorts follow as a bonus: Are We Still Married? and The Comb.

Sun., April 15

There's another Béla Tarr tonight at Cinefamily: Damnation. A harsh landscape of rain and mud matches the interior turmoil of depressed Karrer, who seeks solace in loving a married singer at a local bar.

Mon., April 16

It is not an overstatement to say that tonight's event at REDCAT is one of the most important cinematic events of the year. Nathaniel Dorsky will be in-person to present the world premiere of his film August and After, which will play as part of a program including Pastourelle and The Return. Dorsky's films are stunningly shot odes to the natural environment, cats, cities, people, raindrops, leaves — at once the shuddering delicacy and the boldness of life. None of his films is available on DVD or online — at least, legally — making tonight's show essential viewing. —Veronika Ferdman

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