Film screenings to catch this month

Summer is here, and as the weather gets hotter, St. Louis is rich with great rep screenings. The Hi-Pointe Theatre has great restorations and a documentary classic on 35mm (in addition to stacked lineups for Bleak Week and QFest), Arkadin Cinema & Bar kicks off their summer-long John Waters retrospective celebrating his 80th birthday, Webster has a newly restored queer gem, and Alamo Drafthouse St. Louis looks back on the career of Brian De Palma. With that in mind, here are the screenings you should keep on your radar this month:

Tiki Tiki | June 2-4

Winifred Moore Auditorium, 470 E. Lockwood

Tiki Tiki follows the trials and tribulations of a group of animated monkeys as they attempt to make a film epic. Directed by Gerald Potterton, a Canadian filmmaker and animator who worked on Yellow Submarine and later directed the cult animated film Heavy Metal, Tiki Tiki is an equal parts psychedelic and satirical look at Hollywood in the ‘70s. The film balances animated sequences with repurposed live-action portions taken from Aybolit-66, a Russian film from the mid-’60s. Catch this gem in stunning 4K at the Webster University Film Series.

Cecil B. Demented | June 5, 7 p.m.
Arkadin Cinema & Bar, 5228 Gravois

Arkadin Cinema & Bar is kicking off its theme for the summer, “John Waters at 80: Every Filthy Film,” with Cecil B. Demented, a love letter to outsiders and weirdos picking up the camera to make movies with their equally freaky friends. The film stars Stephen Dorff as an underground filmmaker who mobilizes his cell of cinema terrorists to kidnap a beloved hollywood star, played by Melanie Griffith, and force her to star in their film. There’s no better place to start this retrospective than with Water’s deeply underrated return to underground filmmaking for the new millennium.

Trainspotting | June 8 & 9

Hi-Pointe Theatre, 1005 McCausland

Thirty years ago, director Danny Boyle made a huge splash with his adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s novel Trainspotting. The film stars Ewan McGregor as Renton, a young man whiling away his days in the Edinburgh drug scene who tries to go straight and sober up after some bad experiences, much to the chagrin of his friends, played by Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner, Kevin McKidd, and Robert Carlyle. Equal parts entertaining and intense, and drenched in the sounds of UK club music, Trainspotting endures as one of Boyle’s finest films. Don’t miss your chance to see this 4K restoration projected at the Hi-Pointe Theater.

The Serpent’s Skin | June 12, 9:15 p.m.

Arkadin Cinema & Bar, 5228 Gravois
Australian wunderkind filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay continues to be a horror voice to watch with her latest film, The Serpent’s Skin. Drawing inspiration from shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed, this erotic horror film follows a young trans woman with supernatural powers who leaves home and crosses paths with a seductive tattoo artist who shares these same powers. Mackay’s films are no stranger to the Arkadin screen, as her film T Blockers played at Hysteria Fest in 2024. This time around, she also has The People’s Joker director Vera Drew behind the scenes serving as the film’s editor. In a year that is already rife with new young horror directors hitting it big, The Serpent’s Skin is a must for any horror fan who wants to be ahead of the curve.

Miroirs No. 3 | June 12-14

Winifred Moore Auditorium, 470 E. Lockwood

Miroirs No. 3 is the latest from German filmmaker Christian Petzold. The film stars frequent Petzold collaborator Paula Beer as a young piano student who miraculously survives a car crash during a weekend trip to the countryside. She awakens in a nearby home, in the care of a local family as she recuperates. But as they grow closer, it becomes clear that they’re still haunted by the ghosts of their past.

Poison | June 14, 7 p.m.

Arkadin Cinema & Bar, 5228 Gravois

Playing as part of Arkadin’s Pride Month program highlighting queer cinema, Poison is the second feature from queer new wave director Todd Haynes. Inspired by the novels of French writer Jean Genet, Poison features three intertwining narratives that play with style and genre, including TV documentary, ‘50s B-movie, and prison romance. Controversial at the time of its release, when it earned the Grand Jury Prize win at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival, Poison endures as a classic in Haynes’ auspicious career.

By Hook or by Crook | June 20, 7:30 p.m.

Winifred Moore Auditorium, 470 E. Lockwood

As innovative as it was upon its initial release 25 years ago, By Hook or by Crook is a trans buddy film that deserves to be seen on the big screen. The film centers on Shy (Silas Howard), a trans man who leaves Kansas for San Francisco and crosses paths with Val (Harry Dodge), an adoptee searching for his birth mother. The two men connect immediately and become partners in petty crime to stay afloat while living in San Francisco. Directed by the film’s stars, the film was big on the festival circuit in the early ‘00s and even took home the audience award for Best Narrative Feature at South by Southwest in 2002. This restoration of a recent queer classic is another perfect film to catch this Pride Month.

Charade | June 25 & 27

Hi-Pointe Theatre, 1005 McCausland

Often dubbed “the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made,” director Stanley Donen’s Charade is a delightfully fun ‘60s thriller. The film stars Audrey Hepburn as Regina Lampert, who falls for Cary Grant’s Peter Joshua while on a ski trip in the French Alps. But, when Regina returns to Paris to discover her husband has been murdered, she and Peter find themselves on the run from her late husband’s shady war buddies. Catch a 4K restoration of this twisty caper on the big screen at the Hi-Pointe Theatre.

Hoop Dreams | June 28, 2 p.m.

Hi-Pointe Theatre, 1005 McCausland

Director Steve James’ Hoop Dreams is a landmark in terms of American documentary filmmaking. The film tracks the story of two young men, William Gates and Arthur Agee, as they pursue their dream of playing basketball professionally while navigating all of the social and physical challenges that shape each of their journeys. Shot over the course of five years, James’ film stands as a towering documentary epic about the American Dream. Hoop Dreams will screen on 35mm at the Hi-Pointe Theatre as part of their “Kartemquin at 60” program, highlighting the work of Kartemquin Films, put on in partnership with the Film & Media Archive at Washington University Libraries. All of these “Kartemquin at 60” screenings will be free and open to the public.

Blow Out | June 29, 6 p.m.

Alamo Drafthouse St. Louis, 3765 Foundry

Close out the month with director Brian De Palma’s deliciously tense paranoid thriller Blow Out. John Travolta delivers one of his best performances here as a sound effects man who accidentally witnesses a murder while out recording effects for his latest film. As he digs further to uncover the truth and discovers the murder’s political ties, he and an eyewitness to the crime (Nancy Allen) find themselves wrapped up in a dangerous conspiracy. Rife with intricate plotting and sound design, plus a top-notch villain performance from John Lithgow, Blow Out is a standout in De Palma’s body of work. Blow Out screens as part of Alamo Drafthouse St. Louis’ “Brian De Palma Summer” program.