June 9 – June 15, 2023

Seven Nights with Abel Ferrara: An 18-Film Retrospective With Live Scores

Series | MS. 45, THE DRILLER KILLER, 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH, BODY SNATCHERS, KING OF NEW YORK, ZEROS AND ONES, TOMMASO, SIBERIA, BAD LIEUTENANT, DANGEROUS GAME, THE ADDICTION, THE FUNERAL, CHELSEA ON THE ROCKS, GO GO TALES, NEW ROSE HOTEL, WELCOME TO NEW YORK, PADRE PIO and MARY

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The American Cinematheque is thrilled to welcome filmmaker Abel Ferrara to his first ever retrospective in Los Angeles for a week-long, 18-film residency at the Aero Theatre and Los Feliz 3, featuring rare in-person Q&As, as well as live scores and a concert performed by Ferrara and his band Flyz, featuring Joe Delia and Paul Hipp.

A native of the Bronx, Abel Ferrara was heavily inspired by his Catholic upbringing in New York City and the avant-garde influence of figures like Rosa von Praunheim at the Art Institute in San Francisco, where he attended college. After directing a series of experimental short films in the early 1970s, plus a pornographic feature debut, Ferrara achieved cult following with two independent thrillers, MS. 45 (1981) and THE DRILLER KILLER (1979), both of which feature protagonists on a murderous rampage through Ferrara’s home turf of New York.

The pinnacle of underground American cinema, Ferrara’s art largely exists on the margins of Hollywood, featuring movie stars in startlingly subversive roles. 1992’s BAD LIEUTENANT, co-written by Ferrara and Zoë Tamerlis, stars Harvey Keitel as an NYPD officer caught in a self-imposed spiral of corruption and drug abuse, and reached the top of several notable “Best Film of the 1990s” lists. THE ADDICTION (1995) and NEW ROSE HOTEL (1998), likewise, gained cult status while racking up independent filmmaking awards and accolades for stars like Lili Taylor and Willem Dafoe. Dafoe in particular has become a staple of Ferrara’s cinematic universe, appearing in international festival favorites such as 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH (2011) and TOMMASO (2019).

Lauded for his reinvention of neo-noir tropes and the gritty, dystopic imagery found throughout his filmography, Ferrara often focuses on characters relegated to the margins of society, either by their own choice or due to some grave violence or tragedy that brings them there. KING OF NEW YORK (1990), for example, centers around drug kingpin Christopher Walken and his release from prison, while titles like GO GO TALES (2007) and CHELSEA ON THE ROCKS (2008) see a cast of characters contained within a subcultural space, fictional or real. Not one to shy away from boundary-pushing, Ferrara’s explorations of religion, sex, and addiction have attracted long-time collaborators including Ethan Hawke, Forest Whitaker, Victor Argo, Matthew Modine, and many more.

Recent international co-productions like SIBERIA (2020), starring Dafoe, and ZEROS AND ONES (2021), starring Hawke, have seen Ferrara dive deeper into the psychological thriller genre, painting layered character portraits that combine external action with a more intimate exploration of mind and meaning. The trend continues in 2022’s PADRE PIO, a shot-on-location biography of the eponymous Italian priest and mystic.

Photo credit: Cormac Figgis

Read More about MS. 45 + Live Score / THE DRILLER KILLER
FRI JUN 9, 2023

7:30 PM

MS. 45 + Live Score / THE DRILLER KILLER

$20.00 (member) ; $25.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Aero Theatre | MS. 45 live score performed by composer Joe Delia

Q&A with filmmaker Abel Ferrara between films

Read More about 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH
SAT JUN 10, 2023

1:00 PM

4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH

$10.00 (member) ; $15.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Los Feliz 3 | Q&A with filmmaker Abel Ferrara

Read More about BODY SNATCHERS
SAT JUN 10, 2023

4:00 PM

BODY SNATCHERS

$10.00 (member) ; $15.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Los Feliz 3 | Q&A with filmmaker Abel Ferrara 

Read More about KING OF NEW YORK
SAT JUN 10, 2023

7:00 PM

KING OF NEW YORK

$15.00 (members-only)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Los Feliz 3 | Q&A with filmmaker Abel Ferrara 

Read More about ZEROS AND ONES
SAT JUN 10, 2023

10:00 PM

ZEROS AND ONES

$10.00 (member) ; $15.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by filmmaker Abel Ferrara 

Read More about TOMMASO / SIBERIA
SUN JUN 11, 2023

2:00 PM

TOMMASO / SIBERIA

$10.00 (member) ; $15.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Aero Theatre | Q&A with filmmaker Abel Ferrara 

Read More about BAD LIEUTENANT / DANGEROUS GAME
SUN JUN 11, 2023

7:30 PM

BAD LIEUTENANT / DANGEROUS GAME

$10.00 (member) ; $15.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Aero Theatre | Q&A with filmmaker Abel Ferrara 

Read More about Abel Ferrara's "Flyz Concert" / THE ADDICTION + Live Score / THE FUNERAL
MON JUN 12, 2023

7:30 PM

Abel Ferrara's "Flyz Concert" / THE ADDICTION + Live Score / THE FUNERAL

$20.00 (member) ; $25.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Aero Theatre | Program begins with Abel Ferrara’s Flyz concert, featuring Abel Ferrara, Joe Delia, and Paul Hipp, followed by a screening of THE ADDICTION with a live score by Delia and Hipp and THE FUNERAL

Q&A with filmmaker Abel Ferrara between the films

Read More about CHELSEA ON THE ROCKS
TUE JUN 13, 2023

7:00 PM

CHELSEA ON THE ROCKS

$10.00 (member) ; $15.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Los Feliz 3 | Q&A with filmmaker Abel Ferrara

Read More about GO GO TALES
TUE JUN 13, 2023

10:00 PM

GO GO TALES

$10.00 (member) ; $15.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by filmmaker Abel Ferrara

Read More about NEW ROSE HOTEL
WED JUN 14, 2023

7:00 PM

NEW ROSE HOTEL

$10.00 (member) ; $15.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Los Feliz 3 | Q&A with filmmaker Abel Ferrara 

25th Anniversary Screening! 

Read More about WELCOME TO NEW YORK
WED JUN 14, 2023

10:00 PM

WELCOME TO NEW YORK

$10.00 (member) ; $15.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by filmmaker Abel Ferrara 

Read More about PADRE PIO / MARY
THU JUN 15, 2023

7:30 PM

PADRE PIO / MARY

$10.00 (member) ; $15.00 (general admission)

Ticket prices include the $2.00 online booking fee.

Aero Theatre | Q&A with filmmaker Abel Ferrara