NOVEMBER 2025 PROGRAMMING PREVIEW
PRESENTED BY GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3rd
YI YI (2000)
[COMMUNITY PICK]
Set in Taiwan, the film follows the lives of the Jian family from the alternating perspectives of the three main family members: father N.J. (Nien-Jen Wu), teenage daughter Ting-Ting (Elaine Jin) and young son Yang-Yang (Issei Ogata). N.J., disgruntled with his current job, attempts to court the favor of a prominent video game company while Ting-Ting and Yang-Yang contend with the various trials of youth, all while caring for N.J.’s mother-in-law, who lies in a coma.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10th
SMOKE SIGNALS (Eyre, 1998)
[NIGHT OF NATIVE CINEMA, Presented in partnership with Anishinaabe Circle]
Arnold (Gary Farmer) rescued Thomas (Evan Adams) from a fire when he was a child. Thomas thinks of Arnold as a hero, while Arnold’s son Victor (Adam Beach) resents his father’s alcoholism, violence and abandonment of his family. Uneasy rivals and friends, Thomas and Victor spend their days killing time on a Coeur d’Alene reservation in Idaho and arguing about their cultural identities. When Arnold dies, the duo set out on a cross-country journey to Phoenix to retrieve Arnold’s ashes.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17th
HEY, VIKTOR (Lighting, 2023)
[NIGHT OF NATIVE CINEMA, Presented in partnership with Anishinaabe Circle]
Twenty-five long years after his time in the limelight, former child actor Cody Lightning tries to revive his fame with a self-produced sequel to “Smoke Signals.”
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19th
OPEN PROJECTOR NIGHT
[SUPPORT MICHIGAN INDEPENDENT FILM]
Celebrate short films with the Open Projector Night series, a recurring cinematic event presenting the work of local, regional, and national filmmakers with a Michigan connection. Enjoy a diverse range of movies from animated narratives, and commercial work, to experimental pieces. After the event, participate in a question-and-answer panel with the filmmakers and vote for your favorite short film.
Featuring:
Rachid Karim Chatti | The Bissel
Andrew Caldwell | 4950X
Ian Gilbert | End of the Line
Harrison Fobare | Cuff
Maddy Rager, Scott Crandall, Natasha Beste | Bingo
Jonney Zomberg | Single Use
Tanner Hamilton | Me, My Dad, and the Thing in the Shed
Dede Drake | I’m Not Here
Natasha Beste | Pure Magic
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20th
FILM SOCIETY ROUNDTABLE
[FREE SOCIAL EVENT]
At a Roundtable event, you split up into groups of around 10 people, one of which is a moderator. The moderator is someone from the Film Society Board that will help facilitate conversation and take notes. In your group, you will all be offered equal opportunities to talk. It is a networking event as well as a support group. Your group will have around an hour and a half to meet your fellow group members, talk about issues you are having, ideas for the community, or just share a fun story or opinion on a movie. An opportunity to connect, learn, and share - for anyone in the local film community.
Space is limited, please RSVP in advance.
Tickets for all events— and more— are available now at GRFILM.ORG
Tell your friends. We hope to see you there!
