Films
Now Playing
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Monuments Are Here
Directed by various directors
(USA, 2024, 90 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium TheaterSOLD OUT | Monuments Are Here is a short film written by Solange Knowles inspired by an original program produced by Saint Heron on the spiritual act of collecting.
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Ornette: Made in America
Directed by Shirley Clarke
(USA, 1985, 120 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalShirley Clarke’s portrait of Texas jazz visionary Ornette Coleman chronicles the musician’s story and captures the premiere of a new work in his hometown of Fort Worth in 1983.
- Friday, June 13, 2025
- 7 p.m.
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Mo’ Better Blues
Directed by Spike Lee
(USA, 1990, 130 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalSpike Lee’s stylish film stars Denzel Washington as a trumpet player attempting to balance craft, career, and cool while juggling relationships with two women.
- Saturday, June 14, 2025
- 7 p.m.
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Killer of Sheep
Directed by Charles Burnett
(USA, 1977, 80 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, 4K digital restorationKiller of Sheep examines life in Watts, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, in the mid-1970s through the eyes of Stan (Houston native Henry G. Sanders), a sensitive dreamer who is growing detached from the psychic toll of working at a slaughterhouse.
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Art Blakey: The Jazz Messenger
Directed by Dick Fontaine and Pat Hartley
(USA, 1988, 78 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalArt Blakey formed the Jazz Messengers in the mid-1950s, and the evolving group became a rite of passage for talented young musicians for the next 35 years. This documentary portrait of Blakey captures the legendary drummer, bandleader, and teacher in the 1980s as he leads workshops and performances in London and New York City.
- Friday, June 20, 2025
- 7 p.m.
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The Pawnbroker
Directed by Sidney Lumet
(USA, 1964, 116 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalDirector Sidney Lumet’s groundbreaking 1964 drama stars Rod Steiger as a German-Jewish immigrant who lives a bitter, lonely existence running a pawn shop in Harlem. Quincy Jones’s first Hollywood film score features musicians Dave Grusin, Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones, and Oliver Nelson.
- Saturday, June 21, 2025
- 7 p.m.
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The True Story of Tamara de Lempicka & the Art of Survival
Directed by Julie Rubio
(USA, 2024, 96 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalArt Deco artist Tamara de Lempicka took Paris, Milan, Berlin, and New York by storm in the 1920s. A century later, this fascinating film tells the story of her life, tracing Lempicka’s flight from persecution, her affairs with men and women, and her hidden Jewish heritage.
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Barry Lyndon
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
(UK, 1975, 184 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, 35mmRyan O’Neal and Marisa Berenson star in Stanley Kubrick’s lavish, Oscar-winning adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s classic 18th-century novel about the rise and fall of a sensitive and dashing rogue.
Coming Soon
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Shall We Dance?
Directed by Masayuki Suô
(Japan, 1996, 136 minutes, in Japanese with English subtitles)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digital restorationShohei Sugiyama has a high-paying job, an exquisite home, and a caring wife and daughter he loves dearly. However, he feels something is missing in his life. One day while commuting on the train he spots a beautiful woman staring wistfully out a window and eventually decides to find her. His search leads him headfirst into the world of competitive ballroom dancing.
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Mildred Pierce
Directed by Michael Curtiz
(USA, 1945, 111 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, 35mmA landmark film noir exploring complex themes of female ambition and the societal expectations of women in the post-World War II era, Mildred Pierce stars Joan Crawford as a hard-working woman raising two daughters on her own.
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Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
Directed by Shoshannah Stern
(USA, 2025, 98 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalMarlee Matlin shattered expectations as the first deaf actor to win an Academy Award for her groundbreaking performance in Children of a Lesser God (1987). Catapulted into the spotlight, 21-year-old Matlin challenged an industry unprepared for her immense talent, emerging as a trailblazer not only as a performer but also as an author and activist.
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Georgia O’Keeffe: The Brightness of Light
Directed by Paul Wagner
(USA, 2024, 118 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalShowcasing O’Keeffe’s vibrant art, observations by curators and scholars, and excerpts from 20,000 pages of letters between the artist and her husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz, the life of this remarkable artist is detailed. Claire Danes voices Georgia O’Keeffe.
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Compensation
Directed by Zeinabu irene Davis
(USA, 1999, 95 minutes, in English)
Brown Auditorium Theater, 4K digital rejuvenationA milestone of independent cinema, Zeinabu irene Davis’s first feature (presented in a 4K rejuvenation) presents parallel African American love stories between a deaf woman and a hearing man set decades apart. Inspired by a poem by legendary African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, this moving narrative depicts their struggle to overcome racism, disability, and discrimination.
- Saturday, July 26, 2025
- 7 p.m.
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Aurora Picture Show Summer Filmmaking Camp World Premiere
Directed by various directors
(USA, 2025, 100 minutes)
Brown Auditorium Theater, digitalWalk the red carpet for Aurora’s annual Summer Filmmaking Camp World Premieres event, where young filmmakers’ visions come to life on the screen! This free screening showcases a wide range of creative short films made by Houston kids and teens (ages 7–15) through Aurora’s summer youth education program.
- Saturday, August 16, 2025
- 1 p.m.
Street Address
1001 Bissonnet Street Houston, TX 77005Mailing Address
MFAH Films P.O. Box 6826 Houston, TX 77265-6826MFAH Films Information
Accessibility Questions or Requests?
If you have any questions about accessibility resources in the Museum’s auditoriums, email accessibility@mfah.org or call 713.639.7300.