Grand Illusion Cinema

06/05/2026

“Rarely has the ability of Hong Kong genre cinema to juggle wildly conflicting moods been more evident than in Tsui Hark’s PEKING OPERA BLUES. The film doesn’t so much alternate between as simultaneously embody a screwball comedy, political thriller, buddy action flick, and a melodramatic tribute to rapidly forged yet unbreakable emotional bonds. That it not only hangs together but flows cogently and provides a stellar showcase for each of its lead actresses marks the film as one of Tsui’s finest achievements.” Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

A new 4K restoration of PEKING OPERA BLUES plays Monday June 15 at 715pm, presented by us at NW Film Forum! Special live intro from local Hong Kong genre film connoisseur and one of the programmers of the , !

In the aftermath of China’s first democratic revolution, three high-spirited young women from different backgrounds cross paths on a quest for liberation. Together, their intertwined lives weave an epic tale of love, sacrifice and patriotism, as they embark on a daring journey in the midst of political chaos. Elegantly blending action, comedy and social satire into a bright and colorful production, PEKING OPERA BLUES boasts Tsui Hark’s energetic filmmaking style at the height of his powers, and remains an acclaimed classic of Hong Kong cinema.

In Cantonese with English subtitles.

https://grandillusioncinema.org/film/peking-opera-blues-new-4k-restoration/

06/05/2026

We kick off Pride Month this Monday with a presentation of Cheryl Dunye's groundbreaking film, THE WATERMELON WOMAN! Join us at NW Film Forum at 730pm!

“Funny and smart, full of biting humor and astute observations about identity and history, Cheryl Dunye’s audacious, joyous debut feature captures the process of falling hopelessly in love with the movies.” Serena Donadoni, Village Voice

“They don’t get much more groundbreaking than [this].” Andrea Thompson, Chicago Reader

Cheryl Dunye made cinematic history with THE WATERMELON WOMAN, the first American feature to be directed by a black le***an as well as an incisive, humorous critique of classic Hollywood's racist stereotypes. Dunye plays an eponymous video store employee and burgeoning filmmaker who sets out to make a documentary on the Watermelon Woman (Lisa Marie Bronson), an actress who specialized in "mammy" roles for Hollywood productions of the 30s and 40s. As Cheryl uncovers the Watermelon Woman's identity she not only learns about a secret behind-the-scenes in*******al romance but also begins one of her own with Diana (Guinevere Turner), a white woman who arouses the ire of Cheryl's best friend Tamara (Valerie Walker). A landmark of the New Q***r Cinema, THE WATERMELON WOMAN testifies to the power of excavating legacies of oppression and in the process creates a progressive legacy of its own.

Supplementary viewing: Be sure to also check out Dunye’s early filmography via Northwest Film Forum’s presentation of She Don’t Fade: The Short Films of Cheryl Dunye, playing June 3 – 10.

https://grandillusioncinema.org/film/the-watermelon-woman/

06/04/2026

We present a 35mm print of ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN for its 50th anniversary June 25 & July 1 at the SIFF Film Center!

In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward (the late, great Robert Redford) covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defense case, and the discovery of names and addresses of Republican fund organizers on the accused further arouses his suspicions. The editor of the Post is prepared to run with the story and assigns it to Woodward and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) who find the trail leading higher and higher in the Republican Party, and eventually to the White House itself.

“It provides the most observant study of working journalists we’re ever likely to see in a feature film… And it succeeds brilliantly in suggesting the mixture of exhilaration, paranoia, self-doubt, and courage that permeated the Washington Post as its two young reporters went after a presidency.” Roger Ebert

“…a legendary piece of American cinema… watching the film all these years later, its ardent message of persistence is somehow all the more powerful. If Woodward and Bernstein can climb over every wall, turn over every stone and reroute themselves at every dead end, perhaps it’s not too late for some good, old-fashioned salvation.” Coleman Spilde, Salon

https://grandillusioncinema.org/film/all-the-presidents-men-in-35mm/

06/03/2026

Straddling the line between fairytale and surrealist opera, ADOLESCENCE OF UTENA stands as a bold display of the ways social roles chain us — and demands we smash through them. We present it June 22 at 730pm at NW Film Forum!

This standalone genre classic that brings together the creative genius of director Kunihiko Ikuhara (REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA, SAILOR MOON), writer Yoji Enokido (EVANGELION franchise), and art director Shichiro Kobayashi (ANGEL’S EGG) with J.A. Seazer’s transcendent music.

Utena enrolls in the prestigious Ohtori Academy on her quest to become a prince, and stumbles into a mysterious cabal of students dueling for possession of the “Rose Bride.” The role belongs to their classmate Anthy, an enigmatic girl who equally captivates and confuses Utena. While fending off powerful rivals, Utena must uncover the secrets surrounding Anthy and her own desires. As the relationship between the girls intensifies, their thirst for freedom crescendoes into a need for revolution.

In Japanese with English subtitles.

“Utena is a towering achievement of late-90s animation… a major touchstone in q***r anime discourse, praised for the emotional intimacy and complexity at the heart of Utena and Anthy’s relationship at a time when that kind of representation remained exceedingly rare in the medium.” Ryan Epps, Polygon

https://grandillusioncinema.org/film/adolescence-of-utena/

06/02/2026

YOU GOT GOLD: A CELEBRATION OF JOHN PRINE captures a star-studded tribute to the legendary songwriter, filmed in October 2022 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. The event brought together acclaimed artists, friends, and family to share behind-the-scenes stories and perform classic songs, honoring Prine's enduring legacy.

Prine, widely celebrated as one of history's greatest songwriters, captivated millions of fans and earned the admiration of icons such as Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Tyler Childers, Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Jason Isbell, and Bob Weir (amongst many others); all of whom are featured in the film performing on the Ryman stage for this special celebration of his life and music.

Critic’s Pick! “[An] engaging concert film… Prine’s songs are full of wisdom, drama, laughs and heartache, and as such they’re the real show.” Glenn Kenny, The New York Times

See it at the SIFF Film Center on June 14 at 1130am!

Screening location: SIFF Film Center – 167 Republican St, Seattle(located within the Seattle Center, just north of Climate Pledge Arena / east of KEXP and The Vera Project)

06/01/2026

Cheryl Dunye made cinematic history with THE WATERMELON WOMAN, the first American feature to be directed by a black le***an as well as an incisive, humorous critique of classic Hollywood's racist stereotypes. Dunye plays an eponymous video store employee and burgeoning filmmaker who sets out to make a documentary on the Watermelon Woman (Lisa Marie Bronson), an actress who specialized in "mammy" roles for Hollywood productions of the 30s and 40s. As Cheryl uncovers the Watermelon Woman's identity she not only learns about a secret behind-the-scenes in*******al romance but also begins one of her own with Diana (Guinevere Turner), a white woman who arouses the ire of Cheryl's best friend Tamara (Valerie Walker). A landmark of the New Q***r Cinema, THE WATERMELON WOMAN testifies to the power of excavating legacies of oppression and in the process creates a progressive legacy of its own.

“They don’t get much more groundbreaking than [this].” Andrea Thompson, Chicago Reader

It’s the 30th anniversary of the q***r cinema landmark! We present it June 8 at 730pm at NW Film Forum.

Supplementary viewing: Be sure to also check out Dunye’s early filmography via Northwest Film Forum’s presentation of She Don’t Fade: The Short Films of Cheryl Dunye, playing June 3 – 10.

https://grandillusioncinema.org/film/the-watermelon-woman/

05/30/2026

Due to popular demand we added a show of THE HANDMAIDEN on June 17 at the SIFF Film Center.

Tomorrow’s screening will have a limited amount of tickets available on a first come first serve basis. Special intro by Hannah Baek tomorrow only!

Park Chan-wook’s twisty, kinky, divinely decadent period thriller, set in a Japanese-occupied 1930s Korea that’s imagined with baroque flourish by set designer Ryu Seong-hee, follows a hired handmaiden (Kim Tae-ri) as she enters the service of a shut-in heiress (Kim Min-hee) and her elderly, dictatorial uncle, while at the same time pursuing an underhanded agenda unknown to her new master and mistress—until, that is, the women concoct a plan of their own to take care of the men who have been manipulating and controlling them.

An ingeniously structured work whose interlocking narratives and tricky perspectival shifts, handled with apparent ease, make for an acerbic, comic, and often sultry spin on the old-dark-house mystery, taut with thrilling turnabouts and and SM restraints.

In Korean and Japanese with English subtitles.

“The Handmaiden is at once a superlative thriller and a deeply erotic character study, but it’s the intelligence, mordant wit and depth of characterisation that are the real turn-ons.” Andrew Lowry, Empire

“The Handmaiden is a nearly flawless movie. Every frame, every movement of the camera, every performance feels perfectly calibrated for maximum effect.” Emily St. James, Vox

About the guest speaker: Hannah Baek is a film programmer and educator with an academic background in Asian cinema. They currently serve as the Director of Programming at the Grand Cinema in Tacoma, as well as the Festival Director of Sea Slug Animation Festival.

https://grandillusioncinema.org/film/the-handmaiden/

05/29/2026

We present a new restoration of Tsui Hark's delirious action comedy PEKING OPERA BLUES June 15th at NW Film Forum!

Special live intro from local Hong Kong genre film connoisseur and one of the programmers of the , .

“Rarely has the ability of Hong Kong genre cinema to juggle wildly conflicting moods been more evident than in Tsui Hark’s Peking Opera Blues. The film doesn’t so much alternate between as simultaneously embody a screwball comedy, political thriller, buddy action flick, and a melodramatic tribute to rapidly forged yet unbreakable emotional bonds. That it not only hangs together but flows cogently and provides a stellar showcase for each of its lead actresses marks the film as one of Tsui’s finest achievements.” Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

In the aftermath of China’s first democratic revolution, three high-spirited young women from different backgrounds cross paths on a quest for liberation. Together, their intertwined lives weave an epic tale of love, sacrifice and patriotism, as they embark on a daring journey in the midst of political chaos. Elegantly blending action, comedy and social satire into a bright and colorful production, PEKING OPERA BLUES boasts Tsui Hark’s energetic filmmaking style at the height of his powers, and remains an acclaimed classic of Hong Kong cinema. In Cantonese with English subtitles.

https://grandillusioncinema.org/film/peking-opera-blues-new-4k-restoration/

05/29/2026

BLUE HERON plays this Sunday at the SIFF Film Center. Award-winning director Sophy Romvari’s feature debut is a lyrical and profound testament to the things we carry with us, masterfully chronicling the haze of a languid summer and the hyaline clarity of the moments that defined it.

In the late 1990s, eight-year-old Sasha and her family relocate to a new home on Vancouver Island, but their fresh start is interrupted by increasingly erratic behavior from the eldest son, Jeremy. At wit’s end, their parents are presented with a shattering choice.

In English and Hungarian with English subtitles.

“There is a pulsating ache at the heart of writer/director Sophy Romvari’s assured feature debut Blue Heron that hits with such precision, it could break you open from the inside.” Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com

“Heartbreaking barely begins to describe it, although the terms masterful and transcendent also apply.” Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

“My favorite movie of 2026 so far… an emotionally ferocious but elegant reconstruction of memory…” Sean Fennessey, The Big Picture podcast

https://grandillusioncinema.org/film/blue-heron/

05/28/2026

Hundreds of Beavers is back at Central Cinema tomorrow for its 27th encore screening!

“Steroidally swollen with gags and smarts.” Guy Maddin

https://grandillusioncinema.org/film/hundreds-of-beavers-at-central-cinema/