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<rss xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" version="2.0"><channel><title>Central Cinema Upcoming productions</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/</link><description>Knoxville's Neighborhood Moviehouse</description><item><title>World of Tomorrow (and more)</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/world-of-tomorrow-and-more/</link><description><![CDATA[June 10 to June 12. A toddler named Emily is visited by a clone of her future self, kicking off a narrative that spirals outward across time, space, and the reaches of human consciousness.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17661 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/BW-World-web.jpg" alt="World ofTomorrow" width="333" height="500" />Don Hertzfeldt proved his Bleak Week bona fides with the 2012 mini-feature IT’S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY, but it was the emotionally and conceptually boundless sci-fi of his WORLD OF TOMORROW short film series that finally cemented his status as one of contemporary animation’s greatest voices. Join us for a special feature-length program (curated by Hertzfeldt himself) that pairs WORLD OF TOMORROW’s three installments with other surprises from his filmography.</strong>

<em>A toddler named Emily is visited by a clone of her future self, kicking off a narrative that spirals outward across time, space, and the reaches of human consciousness.</em>

"Don Hertzfeldt has crafted what might be the crowning achievement of modern science fiction." - The Film Stage

About Bleak Week: Presented in partnership with American Cinematheque, 'Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair' is an annual film festival showcasing some of the greatest works of cinema from across the globe that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history. The fifth annual edition in June 2026 expands to nearly 100 theaters across the U.S., Canada, U.K. and South and Central America, with each venue presenting its own original curated lineup of uncompromising films defined by unpleasant truths and raw empathy.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Happiness</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/happiness/</link><description><![CDATA[Until June 10. The Jordan sisters are going through it. Joy (Jane Adams) moves through lackluster jobs with no sense of purpose. Now employed teaching adults, she is dating a student, Russian taxi-driver Vlad (Jared Harris). Helen (Lara Flynn Boyle) is an esteemed poet who becomes amused by her perverted neighbor, Allen (Philip Seymour Hoffman). And eldest sister Trish (Cynthia Stevenson) is married to Bill (Dylan Baker), a psychiatrist with a very disturbing secret life.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17657 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/BW-happiness-web.jpg" alt="Happiness" width="333" height="500" />Todd Solondz's WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE followup found him leaning hard into his unflinching vision of suburban rot, now turned inward from teenage girlhood to (emphatically, content-warningly) adult maladjustment. Featuring a cast of 90s indie film ringers (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Dylan Baker, Joy Adams) and some of the most uncomfortable comedy you'll ever see, HAPPINESS was an early shoo-in four our Bleak Week lineup.</strong>

<em>The Jordan sisters are going through it. Joy (Jane Adams) moves through lackluster jobs with no sense of purpose. Now employed teaching adults, she is dating a student, Russian taxi-driver Vlad (Jared Harris). Helen (Lara Flynn Boyle) is an esteemed poet who becomes amused by her perverted neighbor, Allen (Philip Seymour Hoffman). And eldest sister Trish (Cynthia Stevenson) is married to Bill (Dylan Baker), a psychiatrist with a very disturbing secret life.</em>

"A caustic, beautiful, funny, tiresome, and brilliant Molotov cocktail." - Slant Magazine

About Bleak Week: Presented in partnership with American Cinematheque, 'Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair' is an annual film festival showcasing some of the greatest works of cinema from across the globe that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history. The fifth annual edition in June 2026 expands to nearly 100 theaters across the U.S., Canada, U.K. and South and Central America, with each venue presenting its own original curated lineup of uncompromising films defined by unpleasant truths and raw empathy.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Make Way For Tomorrow</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/make-way-for-tomorrow/</link><description><![CDATA[Until June 11. Retired married couple Barkley (Victor Moore) and Lucy (Beulah Bondi) struggle through the Great Depression, losing their home to foreclosure. Their five grown children have their own financial problems, and although son George (Thomas Mitchell) and daughter Nellie (Minna Gombell) can each board one of their parents, none of the children can afford to house them both.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17629 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/BW-makeway-web.jpg" alt="Make Way For Tomorrow" width="333" height="500" />Leo McCarey's domestic drama about modern life's strains on the family unit is best known for inspiring Yasujiro Ozu's 1953 masterpiece TOYKO STORY, but chomps at a timeless, culture-transcending shame with considerably sharper teeth.</strong>

<em>Retired married couple Barkley (Victor Moore) and Lucy (Beulah Bondi) struggle through the Great Depression, losing their home to foreclosure. Their five grown children have their own financial problems, and although son George (Thomas Mitchell) and daughter Nellie (Minna Gombell) can each board one of their parents, none of the children can afford to house them both.</em>

About Bleak Week: Presented in partnership with American Cinematheque, 'Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair' is an annual film festival showcasing some of the greatest works of cinema from across the globe that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history. The fifth annual edition in June 2026 expands to nearly 100 theaters across the U.S., Canada, U.K. and South and Central America, with each venue presenting its own original curated lineup of uncompromising films defined by unpleasant truths and raw empathy.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Jinsei</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/jinsei/</link><description><![CDATA[June 11 to June 17. Our hero (voiced by rapper ACE COOL), called by a different name in each chapter of his life, becomes a J-pop idol, an outcast, a leader, and an oracle in this hundred-year chronicle spanning the past, present, and future. Through a chance encounter with a transfer student, he trains to become an idol, starting his search for self-identity and a journey toward greatness beyond superstardom. Written, directed, edited and entirely hand-drawn by newcomer Ryuya Suzuki over eighteen months, JINSEI (meaning “life” in Japanese) is an anime tour-de-force that announces Suzuki to the world as a bold new talent in independent animation.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<em><img class="size-full wp-image-17579 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Jinsei-web.jpeg" alt="Jinsei" width="333" height="500" />Our hero (voiced by rapper ACE COOL), called by a different name in each chapter of his life, becomes a J-pop idol, an outcast, a leader, and an oracle in this hundred-year chronicle spanning the past, present, and future. Through a chance encounter with a transfer student, he trains to become an idol, starting his search for self-identity and a journey toward greatness beyond superstardom. Written, directed, edited and entirely hand-drawn by newcomer Ryuya Suzuki over eighteen months, JINSEI (meaning “life” in Japanese) is an anime tour-de-force that announces Suzuki to the world as a bold new talent in independent animation.</em>

<span data-sheets-root="1">"This one-man indie wonder is a work of true vision." - Japan Times</span>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_eIe3XJ-80]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The Mist (B&amp;W Edition)</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/the-mist-bw-edition/</link><description><![CDATA[June 11 to June 13. After a powerful storm damages their Maine home, David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his young son head into town to gather food and supplies. Soon afterward, a thick fog rolls in and engulfs the town, trapping the Draytons and others in the grocery store. Terror mounts as deadly creatures reveal themselves outside, but that may be nothing compared to the threat within, where a zealot (Marcia Gay Harden) calls for a sacrifice.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17665 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/BW-themist-web.jpg" alt="The Mist" width="333" height="500" />Having made his name adapting crossover-minded Stephen King material (SHAWSHANK, THE GREEN MILE), director Frank Darabont finally embraced the Master of Horror for round three. Our Bleak Week presentation of THE MIST showcases this thoughtful cosmic horror suspense piece in its director-preferred Black &amp; White cut, which readily complements both its Twilight Zone vibes and its mid-00s CGI.</strong>

<em>After a powerful storm damages their Maine home, David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his young son head into town to gather food and supplies. Soon afterward, a thick fog rolls in and engulfs the town, trapping the Draytons and others in the grocery store. Terror mounts as deadly creatures reveal themselves outside, but that may be nothing compared to the threat within, where a zealot (Marcia Gay Harden) calls for a sacrifice.</em>

"By catching his protagonists between equally oppressive horrors, Darabont successfully finds the squelchy heart of King's story, and keeps it pumping until the ugly end." - AV Club

About Bleak Week: Presented in partnership with American Cinematheque, 'Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair' is an annual film festival showcasing some of the greatest works of cinema from across the globe that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history. The fifth annual edition in June 2026 expands to nearly 100 theaters across the U.S., Canada, U.K. and South and Central America, with each venue presenting its own original curated lineup of uncompromising films defined by unpleasant truths and raw empathy.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Movies Under the Stars: A League of Their Own</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/movies-under-the-stars-a-league-of-their-own/</link><description><![CDATA[June 12. As America's stock of athletic young men is depleted during World War II, a professional all-female baseball league springs up in the Midwest, funded by publicity-hungry candy maker Walter Harvey (Garry Marshall). Competitive sisters Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and Kit Keller (Lori Petty) spar with each other, scout Ernie Capadino (Jon Lovitz) and grumpy has-been coach Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) on their way to fame. Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell co-star as two of the sisters' teammates.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17678 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/muts-league-web.jpg" alt="A League of their own" width="333" height="500" />Our 2026 Movies Under The Stars outdoor screening series continues with Penny Marshall's enduring sports dramedy... don't miss out!</strong>

<em>As America's stock of athletic young men is depleted during World War II, a professional all-female baseball league springs up in the Midwest, funded by publicity-hungry candy maker Walter Harvey (Garry Marshall). Competitive sisters Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and Kit Keller (Lori Petty) spar with <span class="yZlgBd">each other, scout Ernie Capadino (Jon Lovitz) and grumpy has-been coach Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) on their way to fame. Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell co-star as two of the sisters' teammates.</span></em>

Please note this event takes place on the lawn outside the Ijams Visitor Center, NOT at Central Cinema! Gates open at 7pm and the movie will start at sundown, giving you plenty of time to take advantage of food trucks, a beer tent and the expanse of trails &amp; exhibits that make Ijams Nature Center such a treasure. Tickets are just $12 per person; please bring a chair/blanket (and a leash for pups!) but no coolers or outside alcohol. Movies Under The Stars 2026 is sponsored by Pacifico, Nirvana Comics and Sierra Nevada.
<div class="wp_theatre_prod"></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Live: Dusty Deaton ("Junebug") with Jordan B</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/junebug/</link><description><![CDATA[June 12. Dusty Deaton hits the Central Cinema with the Mama We Tryin Tour, bringing his viral character Junebug to life on stage. With raw, relatable Southern storytelling and nonstop laughs, plus a set from Jordan B, this is one night of comedy you don't want to miss.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<img class="size-full wp-image-17592 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Deaton-web.jpeg" alt="Dusty Deaton" width="333" height="500" />Dusty Deaton hits the Central Cinema with the Mama We Tryin Tour, bringing his viral character Junebug to life on stage. With raw, relatable Southern storytelling and nonstop laughs, plus a set from Jordan B, this is one night of comedy you don't want to miss.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The Virgin Suicides</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/the-virgin-suicides/</link><description><![CDATA[June 13 to June 15. In an ordinary suburban house, on a lovely tree-lined street, in the middle of 1970s America, lived the five beautiful, dreamy Lisbon sisters, whose doomed fates indelibly marked the neighborhood boys who to this day continue to obsess over them. A story of love and repression, fantasy and terror, sex and death, memory and longing. It is at its core a mystery story: a heart-rending investigation into the impenetrable, life-altering secrets of American adolescence.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17669 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/BW-virgin-web.jpg" alt="Virgin Suicides" width="333" height="500" />The tragic story of the Lisbon sisters is told from across the street in Jeffrey Eugenides' 1993 novel, but Sofia Coppola's brilliant debut brings us in unforgettably close, daring us to help or even understand, and at the very least begging us to witness.</strong>

<em>In an ordinary suburban house, on a lovely tree-lined street, in the middle of 1970s America, lived the five beautiful, dreamy Lisbon sisters, whose doomed fates indelibly marked the neighborhood boys who to this day continue to obsess over them. A story of love and repression, fantasy and terror, sex and death, memory and longing. It is at its core a mystery story: a heart-rending investigation into the impenetrable, life-altering secrets of American adolescence.</em>

"A disarmingly poetic - and specifically female - vision of adolescence that it belongs in a category of its own." - Seattle Times

About Bleak Week: Presented in partnership with American Cinematheque, 'Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair' is an annual film festival showcasing some of the greatest works of cinema from across the globe that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history. The fifth annual edition in June 2026 expands to nearly 100 theaters across the U.S., Canada, U.K. and South and Central America, with each venue presenting its own original curated lineup of uncompromising films defined by unpleasant truths and raw empathy.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Dancer in the Dark</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/dancer-in-the-dark/</link><description><![CDATA[June 14 to June 15. Selma (Björk) is a Czech immigrant, a single mother working in a factory in rural America. Her salvation is passion for music, specifically, the all-singing, all-dancing numbers found in classic Hollywood musicals. Selma harbors a sad secret: she is losing her eyesight and her son Gene stands to suffer the same fate if she can't put away enough money to secure him an operation.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17673 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/BW-dancer-web.jpg" alt="Dancer in the Dark" width="333" height="500" />Bjork's generational talent and Lars Von Trier's cynical provocation collided on this beautiful, contentious project, in which Von Trier perverts the strictures of the "Dogme 95" movement by marrying lo-fi DV aesthetics with delirious musical setpieces... all leading to the sudden, crushing silence with which we've chosen to close out our 2026 Bleak Week</strong>.

<em>Selma (Björk) is a Czech immigrant, a single mother working in a factory in rural America. Her salvation is passion for music, specifically, the all-singing, all-dancing numbers found in classic Hollywood musicals. Selma harbors a sad secret: she is losing her eyesight and her son Gene stands to suffer the same fate if she can't put away enough money to secure him an operation.</em>

"It's great to see a movie so courageous and affecting, so committed to its own differentness." - San Francisco Chronicle

About Bleak Week: Presented in partnership with American Cinematheque, 'Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair' is an annual film festival showcasing some of the greatest works of cinema from across the globe that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history. The fifth annual edition in June 2026 expands to nearly 100 theaters across the U.S., Canada, U.K. and South and Central America, with each venue presenting its own original curated lineup of uncompromising films defined by unpleasant truths and raw empathy.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>FREE! Lucky</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/free-lucky/</link><description><![CDATA[June 16. A 90-year-old atheist (Harry Dean Stanton) has outlived and out-smoked his contemporaries, and as he comes to terms with his own mortality, he searches for ever-elusive enlightenment.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17682 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Lucky-web.jpg" alt="Lucky" width="333" height="500" />Central Cinema is pleased to be hosting a free screening of this warm, plaintive meditation on mortality – starring now-departed legends Harry Dean Stanton and David Lynch – presented by family in memory of Knoxville film enthusiast Cale Williams (2002-2025). Friends and strangers alike are invited to hear a few brief words about Cale and enjoy one of his favorite films.</strong>

<em>A 90-year-old atheist (Harry Dean Stanton) has outlived and out-smoked his contemporaries, and as he comes to terms with his own mortality, he searches for ever-elusive enlightenment.</em>

“A sobering and life-affirming meditation on the barebones truths of existence.” - Cale Williams, from his 2025 Letterboxd review of LUCKY
<blockquote>A few words about Cale from his mother Kristin:

Cale reflected on the world around him through many avenues but most often through the arts. He expressed himself through painting, drawing, creating music, playing guitar, photography and spending time journaling while out in the natural world. Over the last several years he specifically found a love for obscure films that evoked emotion or left him to ponder more existential questions. Connecting with the feeling of a film or being pushed to confront an aspect of life or the human condition he had not considered seemed to engage his mind in a way that provoked compassionate thought and empathy.

Films by director, David Lynch, represented much of what he connected with in cinema. He was drawn to the surreal subject matters with a more of a lens on imagery and sound. Lynch adeptly pushed past the boundaries of dialogue found in more traditional films. Cale spent time writing up detailed Letterboxd reviews from the eclectic films he watched and in his poetic and often philosophical summaries gave nothing short of honest critiques. LUCKY was a film that moved him greatly as evidenced by his review.

Friends repeatedly say Cale always listened intently as they worked through their own life challenges and that he had a way of bringing humor into most social gatherings. Against the backdrop of friendships and artistic endeavors, Cale quietly suffered through depression. He lost his battle with this deceptive mental illness on October 19th 2025. He left behind so much beauty in his art and writings. Those who know and love him will forever be grateful for the time that we had with him. Having time together to appreciate a film like LUCKY that speaks so much to the beauty of life and loss feels to us like a meaningful way to honor Cale.</blockquote>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>FREE! The Queen</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/free-the-queen/</link><description><![CDATA[June 17. We're pleased to be teaming up with SoKno Pride (don't miss their annual festival on Saturday June 20!) for a FREE community screening of this vital snapshot from queer cultural history.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17608 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/The-Queen-web.jpg" alt="The Queen " width="333" height="500" />We're pleased to be teaming up with <a href="https://www.soknopride.org">SoKno Pride</a> (don't miss their annual festival on Saturday June 20!) for a FREE community screening of this vital snapshot from queer cultural history.</strong>

<em>More than 40 years before RuPaul's Drag Race, this ground-breaking documentary about the 1967 Miss All-American Camp Beauty Pageant introduced audiences to the world of competitive drag. The film takes us backstage to kiki with the contestants as they rehearse, throw shade, and transform into their drag personas in the lead-up to the big event. Organized by LGBTQ icon and activist Flawless Sabrina, the competition boasted a star-studded panel of judges including Andy Warhol, Larry Rivers, and Terry Southern.. But perhaps most memorable is an epic diatribe calling out the pageant's bias delivered by Crystal LaBeija, who would go on to form the influential House of LaBeija, heavily featured in Paris Is Burning (1990). A vibrant piece of queer history, The Queen can now be seen in full resplendence thanks to a new restoration from the original camera negative.</em>

"Whether pushing the camera close to the performers or zooming in from afar to survey them intimately, Simon captures the lavish life of theatrical imagination that inspires them and makes gender itself seem like an urgent performance." - The New Yorker]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Free Series: TAMIS Presents "The Fort In The Vault"</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/tamis/</link><description><![CDATA[Until June 18. Central Cinema is pleased to team up with the Knox County Public Library's Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound for a free monthly screening event, alternating between regionally-relevant feature films and dispatches from their extensive archive of audiovisual treasures.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-15102 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/TAMIS-generic-web.jpg" alt="TAMIS Presents 2024" width="333" height="500" />Situated west of downtown Knoxville, TN, and just north of the University of Tennessee, the Fort Sanders neighborhood has primarily served as housing for college students since redevelopment in the 1970s. As the college population increased, the demand for affordable housing in the Fort skyrocketed. In 1999, a group of residents in the area criticized the redevelopment of the neighborhood with their short film GIVING UP THE GHOST, which satirizes landlord-tenant disputes through short skits and silent film parody. This film will be shown as part of THE FORT IN THE VAULT, a program of TAMIS collection items that took place in the Fort, ranging from amateur media to television news footage. The one-hour program showcases the changing neighborhood, talent fostered within the community in the 1980s to 1990s, and contemporary urban renewal efforts.
</strong>

<em>Central Cinema is pleased to team up with the Knox County Public Library's <a href="https://www.knoxcountylibrary.org/tamis">Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound</a> for a free monthly screening event, alternating between regionally-relevant feature films and dispatches from their extensive archive of audiovisual treasures.</em>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Live Comedy: Rowdy Roger</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/live-comedy-rowdy-roger/</link><description><![CDATA[June 18. Rowdy Roger is bringing his high-energy Southern comedy to Central Cinema for one night only. A Knoxville native, Rowdy Roger has opened for major acts including Ginger Billy and Darren Knight and continues to rapidly build a loyal following throughout the Southeast. He is also currently preparing for his upcoming August 2026 performance at Zanies Nashville - The Lab.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<img class="size-full wp-image-17613 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ROger-web.jpeg" alt="Rowdy Roger" width="333" height="500" />Rowdy Roger is bringing his high-energy Southern comedy to Central Cinema for one night only.

A Knoxville native, Rowdy Roger has opened for major acts including Ginger Billy and Darren Knight and continues to rapidly build a loyal following throughout the Southeast. He is also currently preparing for his upcoming August 2026 performance at Zanies Nashville - The Lab.

Known for his crowd interaction, storytelling, and viral social media presence, Roger blends stand-up comedy with audience participation and off-the-cuff moments that make every show feel unique.

This special one-night event will feature an interactive comedy experience full of real-life stories, crowd work, and the unpredictable energy that has made Rowdy Roger a rising name in Southern comedy.

18+ | $28 | Doors 7:30pm | Show 8pm
<blockquote><i>Third-Party Event Notice: this screening or performance is presented by an outside organization using Central Cinema as a venue for hire. Questions regarding content, ticketing and other event-specific information should be directed to the organizers.</i></blockquote>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Godzilla vs Gigan</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/godzilla-vs-gigan/</link><description><![CDATA[June 20 to June 21. An alien invasion prompts a tag-team battle between Godzilla and Anguirus, the planet protectors, and King Ghidorah and the new monster Gigan, a cyborg with scythe-like claws, an abdominal buzz saw, winglike back fins, and pincerlike mandibles. In this action-packed film, which veers from the sublime to the ridiculous, the cockroachlike aliens—disguised as humans—use Gigan and King Ghidorah as weapons of conquest in their plot to take over a contaminated Earth.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17695 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Godzilla-vs-Gigan-web.jpg" alt="Godzilla vs Gigan" width="333" height="500" />Our Summer of Godzilla series continues as Snake Eyes Comics and Utopia Toys &amp; Models present this 1972 battle royale, the final film to feature Godzilla "suit-actor" Haruo Nakajima in the role he'd been playing since the 1954 original.</strong>

<em>An alien invasion prompts a tag-team battle between Godzilla and Anguirus, the planet protectors, and King Ghidorah and the new monster Gigan, a cyborg with scythe-like claws, an abdominal buzz saw, winglike back fins, and pincerlike mandibles. In this action-packed film, which veers from the sublime to the ridiculous, the cockroachlike aliens—disguised as humans—use Gigan and King Ghidorah as weapons of conquest in their plot to take over a contaminated Earth.</em>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>They Live</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/they-live-2/</link><description><![CDATA[June 20 to June 23. Nada (Roddy Piper), a wanderer without meaning in his life, discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of showing the world the way it truly is. As he walks the streets of Los Angeles, Nada notices that both the media and the government are comprised of subliminal messages meant to keep the population subdued, and that most of the social elite are skull-faced aliens bent on world domination. With this shocking discovery, Nada fights to free humanity from the mind-controlling aliens.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17702 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/They-Live-web.jpg" alt="They Live" width="333" height="500" />Our June collection of alien invasion movies kicks into high gear with John Carpenter's transcendent action-horror satire of Reagan-era values, which has lost none of its relevance (or pure entertainment value) in the ensuing decades.</strong>

<em>Nada (Roddy Piper), a wanderer without meaning in his life, discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of showing the world the way it truly is. As he walks the streets of Los Angeles, Nada notices that both the media and the government are comprised of subliminal messages meant to keep the population subdued, and that most of the social elite are skull-faced aliens bent on world domination. With this shocking discovery, Nada fights to free humanity from the mind-controlling aliens.</em>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Live: Everything Is Terrible! &amp; Memory Hole present "Animals Are Over"</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/live-everything-is-terrible-memory-hole-present-animals-are-over/</link><description><![CDATA[June 21. Memory Hole is an experimental documentary series brought to you by the minds behind the art collective Everything is Terrible! and a secret, unnameable iconic American media accomplice. Memory Hole is an autopsy of our collective memory. Like time lapse footage of a decomposing animal it is always happening right before your very eyes, yet invisible until sequenced and cataloged. A terrifying multisensory experience, Memory Hole takes actual home movies, recontextualizes and splices them together to take a hard look at what this country has been doing unnoticed in the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s. The results are more unsettling than any horror film, creating a snapshot of the eerie precursor to internet fame. This is the origin story of social media, youtube reality stars, and selfies. Memory Hole is an autopsy of our collective pre-internet memory of a culture obsessed with capturing and sharing its own image.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17590 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/EITb-web.jpg" alt="Animals Are Over" width="333" height="500" />Central Cinema is pleased to welcome video scavenger collective Everything Is Terrible! for a live show presentation of the newest "horror collage" from their Memory Hole offshoot. Don't miss this one... tickets on sale now!</strong>

Everything Is Terrible!’s Memory Hole is back with a new piece of horror video collage made from thousands of real home movies that will turn the viewer’s blood into a viscous, demonic sludge of oil and microplastics. Everyone has been feeling it, but no one has been brave enough to say it outloud… Animals Are Over. It is a depressing truth that must be explored. Our current version of humanity is so shortsighted and clueless as to our own position in Kingdom Animalia that we are destroying all animals, ourselves included for the sake of cheap dopamine blasts and to bolster the profits of a few loser billionaires. You don’t believe us? After seeing this show you will.

Memory Hole is an experimental documentary series brought to you by the minds behind the art collective Everything is Terrible! and a secret, unnameable iconic American media accomplice. Memory Hole is an autopsy of our collective memory. Like time lapse footage of a decomposing animal it is always happening right before your very eyes, yet invisible until sequenced and cataloged. A terrifying multisensory experience, Memory Hole takes actual home movies, recontextualizes and splices them together to take a hard look at what this country has been doing unnoticed in the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s. The results are more unsettling than any horror film, creating a snapshot of the eerie precursor to internet fame. This is the origin story of social media, youtube reality stars, and selfies. Memory Hole is an autopsy of our collective pre-internet memory of a culture obsessed with capturing and sharing its own image.

Animals Are Over is as ephemeral as an animal’s life on earth. We will be releasing a small number of VHS and will do a limited run of live performances and screenings. Once all of the VHS tapes have been distributed we will delete the video from the internet as well as our personal hard drives.

Animals Are Over is scored by Aaron Dilloway, Alfred English, the Brainfeeder Records’ roster, Sikk Laffter and more.

Enjoy your time on earth as an animal while you still can.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Beau Travail</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/beau-travail/</link><description><![CDATA[June 22 to June 23. With her ravishingly sensual take on Herman Melville’s "Billy Budd", Claire Denis firmly established herself as one of the great visual tone poets of our time. Amid the azure waters and sunbaked desert landscapes of Djibouti, a French Foreign Legion sergeant (Denis Lavant) sows the seeds of his own ruin as his obsession with a striking young recruit (Grégoire Colin) plays out to the thunderous, operatic strains of Benjamin Britten. Denis and cinematographer Agnès Godard fold military and masculine codes of honor, colonialism’s legacy, destructive jealousy, and repressed desire into shimmering, hypnotic images that ultimately explode in one of the most startling and unforgettable endings in all of modern cinema. (Janus Films)]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17707 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Beau-Travail-web.jpg" alt="Beau Travail " width="333" height="500" />We're thrilled to finally present Claire Denis' hypnotic masterpiece of sublimated desire, currently ranked #7 on Sight and Sound's famed critics poll of the greatest films of all time.</strong>

<em>With her ravishingly sensual take on Herman Melville’s "Billy Budd", Claire Denis firmly established herself as one of the great visual tone poets of our time. Amid the azure waters and sunbaked desert landscapes of Djibouti, a French Foreign Legion sergeant (Denis Lavant) sows the seeds of his own ruin as his obsession with a striking young recruit (Grégoire Colin) plays out to the thunderous, operatic strains of Benjamin Britten. Denis and cinematographer Agnès Godard fold military and masculine codes of honor, colonialism’s legacy, destructive jealousy, and repressed desire into shimmering, hypnotic images that ultimately explode in one of the most startling and unforgettable endings in all of modern cinema. (Janus Films)</em>

"As much poem as film. It requires patience, which it rewards at every languid turn." - Dallas Morning News]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Call Me By Your Name</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/call-me-by-your-name/</link><description><![CDATA[June 24 to June 30. It's the summer of 1983, and precocious 17-year-old Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet) is spending the days with his family at their 17th-century villa in Lombardy, Italy. He soon meets Oliver (Armie Hammer), a handsome doctoral student who's working as an intern for Elio's father (Michael Stuhlbarg). Amid the sun-drenched splendor of their surroundings, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17711 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Call-Me-By-Your-Name-web.jpg" alt="Call Me By Your Name" width="333" height="500" />One of our most frequently requested movies, this sensual story of summer love rightfully launched Timothée Chalamet on to the A-list, making him the youngest Best Actor nominee since the 1930s.</strong>

<em>It's the summer of 1983, and precocious 17-year-old Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet) is spending the days with his family at their 17th-century villa in Lombardy, Italy. He soon meets Oliver (Armie Hammer), a handsome doctoral student who's working as an intern for Elio's father (Michael Stuhlbarg). Amid the sun-drenched splendor of their surroundings, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.</em>

"A spellbinding, almost ecstatically beautiful movie." - Washington Post]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Muppets From Space</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/muppets-from-space/</link><description><![CDATA[June 25 to June 29. When Gonzo’s breakfast cereal tells him that he’s the descendant of aliens from another planet, his attempts at extraterrestrial communication get him kidnapped by a secret government agency, prompting the Muppets to spring into action to rescue their friend.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17718 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Muppets-from-Space-web.jpg" alt="Muppets from Space" width="333" height="500" />June's crop of alien movies continues with this delightfully Muppety sci-fi caper, which finally turns the spotlight on Gonzo and his fan-favorite sidekick Rizzo the Rat.</strong>

<em>When Gonzo’s breakfast cereal tells him that he’s the descendant of aliens from another planet, his attempts at extraterrestrial communication get him kidnapped by a secret government agency, prompting the Muppets to spring into action to rescue their friend.</em>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Street Trash (1987) with guest Frank Farel</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/street-trash-with-guest-frank-farel/</link><description><![CDATA[June 25. A group of hobos begin melting into multicolored piles of goo after drinking sixty-year-old liquor. At the same time, the psychotic Vietnam War vet who rules the hobo camp snaps and begins killing at random. Two brothers set out to stop the liquor and the killer.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17728 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Street-Trash-web.jpg" alt="Street Trash " width="333" height="500" />Our friends at <a href="https://www.frankencontn.com">Frankencon</a> are gearing up for their annual film-forward horror culture convention at the Airport Hilton June 26-28, and we're thrilled to be helping them celebrate by bookending the weekend with special guest screenings at Central Cinema! First up: 1987's gross-out classic STREET TRASH, with associate producer (and memorable bit player) Frank Farel in attendance. </strong>

<strong>(Other Frankencon cinematic events include Amelia Kinkade presents <a href="https://centralcinema865.com/production/night-of-the-demons-with-amelia-kinkade/">NIGHT OF THE DEMONS</a> at Central Cinema Sunday 6/28, plus con-exclusives like the new FrankenFilmFest and a cast commentary screening of the original TOXIC AVENGER!) </strong>

<em>A group of hobos begin melting into multicolored piles of goo after drinking sixty-year-old liquor. At the same time, the psychotic Vietnam War vet who rules the hobo camp snaps and begins killing at random. Two brothers set out to stop the liquor and the killer.</em>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>$5 Matinee: Casper</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/5-matinee-casper/</link><description><![CDATA[June 26. Casper (voiced by Malachi Pearson) is a kind young ghost who peacefully haunts a mansion in Maine. When specialist James Harvey (Bill Pullman) arrives to communicate with Casper and his fellow spirits, he brings along his teenage daughter, Kat (Christina Ricci). Casper quickly falls in love with Kat, but their budding relationship is complicated not only by his transparent state, but also by his troublemaking apparition uncles and their mischievous antics.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17704 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Casper-web.jpg" alt="Casper" width="333" height="500" />Join us for a one-off $5 matinee screening of this ghostly family classic, presented by the Knoxville Museum of Art with FREE admission for KMA members and campers enrolled in KMA's 2026 Summer Art Academy! </strong>

<em>Casper (voiced by Malachi Pearson) is a kind young ghost who peacefully haunts a mansion in Maine. When specialist James Harvey (Bill Pullman) arrives to communicate with Casper and his fellow spirits, he brings along his teenage daughter, Kat (Christina Ricci). Casper quickly falls in love with Kat, but their budding relationship is complicated not only by his transparent state, but also by his troublemaking apparition uncles and their mischievous antics. </em>

"Playful, upbeat... full of energy and silly humor." - Minneapolis Star Tribune]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Mars Attacks!</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/mars-attacks/</link><description><![CDATA[June 26 to June 30. A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale (Jack Nicholson) receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler (Pierce Brosnan) that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17723 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Mars-Attacks-web.jpg" alt="Mars Attacks" width="333" height="500" />June's alien miniseries wraps up with this much-requested Tim Burton favorite, which adapts the famously gruesome trading cards into a star-studded invasion caper full of lively color and pitch-black sensibilities.</strong>

<em>A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale (Jack Nicholson) receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler (Pierce Brosnan) that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.</em>

"A thoroughly meanspirited big-budget movie is always a treasurable rarity." - Time Magazine]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Night of the Demons with guest Amelia Kinkade</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/night-of-the-demons-with-amelia-kinkade/</link><description><![CDATA[June 28. When partygoers at a deserted funeral home decide to have a séance on Halloween night, they awaken something evil with a thirst for blood.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-17731 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Night-of-the-Demons-web.jpg" alt="Night of the Demons" width="333" height="500" />Our friends at <a href="https://www.frankencontn.com">Frankencon</a> are gearing up for their annual film-forward horror culture convention at the Airport Hilton June 26-28, and we're thrilled to be helping them celebrate by bookending the weekend with special guest screenings at Central Cinema! Sunday's closing night presentation is 1988 cult classic NIGHT OF THE DEMONS, with franchise star Amelia Kinkade in attendance. </strong>

<strong>(Other Frankencon cinematic events include <a href="https://centralcinema865.com/production/street-trash-with-guest-frank-farel/">STREET TRASH</a> at Central Cinema Thursday 6/25, plus con-exclusives like the new FrankenFilmFest and a cast commentary screening of the original TOXIC AVENGER!) </strong>

<em>When partygoers at a deserted funeral home decide to have a séance on Halloween night, they awaken something evil with a thirst for blood.</em>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Skate Video Night</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/skate-video-night/</link><description><![CDATA[Until June 29. Our Skate Video Night series presents a monthly program of top-shelf skate videos, presented on VHS and DVD curated by our friend Chris Albiston.]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="3etmp" data-offset-key="fjp96-0-0">
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<strong><img class="size-full wp-image-8621 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/SkateVid-e1557428168252.jpg" alt="Skate Video Night" width="333" height="500" />Skate Video Night is a monthly showcase of top-shelf skate videos, presented on VHS and DVD the last Monday of the month and curated by collector Chris Albiston. Admission is just $7!</strong>

<em>Please note that this monthly series is presented in a more casual mode than other CC screenings, including increased light level in the auditorium and no discouragement of casual conversation. Come hang out!</em>

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</div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Tiny Stage presents Central Cinema Comedy Night</title><link>https://centralcinema865.com/production/tiny-stage-comedy-night/</link><description><![CDATA[Until July 7. Join us for our FREE monthly live standup engagement, showcasing the best comics from Knoxville and elsewhere, courtesy of our friends at Tiny Stage Comedy!]]></description><content:encoded><![CDATA[<img class="size-full wp-image-8855 alignleft" src="https://centralcinema865.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Tiny-Stage.jpg" alt="Tiny Stage Comedy Night" width="333" height="500" />Join us for our FREE monthly live standup engagement, showcasing Knoxville's best comics courtesy of our friends at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/tiny_stage_comedy">Tiny Stage Comedy</a>!

Doors at 7pm, comedy beginning at 7:30pm.
<blockquote><i>Third-Party Event Notice: this screening or performance is presented by an outside organization using Central Cinema as a venue for hire. Questions regarding content, ticketing and other event-specific information should be directed to the organizers.</i></blockquote>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>
