FRIDAY NIGHT WEIRD
We believe that even the weirdest films deserve the proper theater experience.
Our weekly Friday Night Weird program provides curated access to the best in new and classic genre films from first-time filmmakers, marginalized and outsider voices, innovators of style, and provocative auteurs.
Advisory
What does it mean to be weird? Most of the time it means quirky, bizarre, whimsical, surreal or supernatural. But we also think that to be weird is confront the status quo in ways that might challenge our beliefs or even hold the potential to offend. We look for films that push boundaries, take us to the fringes, and sometimes pull us deep, dark underground – without judgement, moralizing or gatekeeping.
Films exhibited at the Dairy Arts Center may contain depictions of violence and death, assault, abuse, self-harm, addiction, acts of discrimination, white supremacy, brutality, war, mental illness, medical situations, blood, sex, sexuality and nudity of all manners, and other potentially sensitive subjects.
We acknowledge these depictions are powerful and have the potential to cause distressing emotional and psychological responses or contribute to otherwise harmful situations for some individuals; we also believe that great art comes with inherent risk, and we invite you to take an informed part in the process of deciding which artistic experiences feel appropriate for you.
Content Warnings
In certain situations, we will share potentially distressing or offensive content depicted in a film with the audience ahead of time. This will most likely appear on the film’s synopsis page of our website and/or preshow email to ticket holders.
Truthfully, not every film is prescreened start to finish by staff, especially through the lens of content analysis. This is an industry standard, often due to a mix of staff resources and media availability.
We rely on recommendations from trusted distributors, festival credentials and critical evaluations that align with our values, a community advisory committee, and guest programmers with diverse experience and expertise to guide our programming decisions. It is a point of pride that our programming is deeply human. But that also means it is subject to, well, our own subjectivity. Sometimes we don’t agree on what content is worth flagging; sometimes we rely overly on our own personal sensitivities; sometimes we have blind spots; and sometimes potentially sensitive content is so obscured in ambiguity that we miss it entirely.
We recognize this is an imperfect system and we invite you to use additional resources deciding what content is right for you.
Additional Resources
Deeper engagement makes us all better appreciators of the artistic world that surrounds us. We believe the filmgoing experience should extend beyond the screen. Programs like Talkbacks and Cinema Club seek to do just that, but we also know that some audiences need more, specific information before the film to decide if it’s right for them– and we support that whole heartedly. Here are some resources:
DoestheDogDie.com
DoestheDogDie.com is a community-driven platform, creating an extensive database of trigger warnings covering a wide range of emotional content
Common Sense Media
Since 2003, Common Sense has been the leading independent source for media recommendations and advice for families – focusing on content through the lens suitability for children and young audiences.
Critical Reviews
Critical analysis of films helps us better understand the context and subtext of a film; you can often get a sense of the themes and tone that might guide your decisions without any spoilers. And finding a critic you admire means you now have a trusted friend to recommend films professionally.
Pro tip: Most online outlets will allow you to see an archive of their contributor’s work so you can build trust through a critic’s previous reviews of films you are already familiar with.
Synopsis & Trailers
Trailers and Synopsis are mainly marketing tools to entice you without revealing too much, so take them with a grain of salt, but they do often introduce to you to the overarching story, characters, and style of a film – offering clues to the less apparent aspects of a film. They often set the tone for the world in which the film exists, reference the previous works of directors and producers for context, or use evocative language, visuals and stylistic cues like editing and score, to indicate the genre or produce an emotional response.
Trailers are their own fascinating artform within the industry. If you’re interested in a deeper dive, you can check out this video from Vice News on the way trailers can manipulate audiences or this video on the different trailer styles from Vanity Fair
Ratings
When available, we provide MPA (formerly MPAA) ratings for films – these are G, PG, R or NC-17 ratings you see at the end of our film descriptions. MPA ratings act as recognizable model for larger categories of content that may be present in a film (such as violence, strong language, and sexuality). In sharing these ratings, the Dairy Arts Center intends them to act as a shorthand, but does not enforce any official admission policy under the guidance of MPA ratings.
It is important to note that there is not much transparency surrounding the MPA decision making process; the identity of its members is not public information, and many filmmakers have alleged that some films, subjects, and identities are judged more harshly than others, impacting the marketability of a film. You may notice that many films we curate are listed as NR or Not Rated; MPA ratings are a voluntary system, with many international and independent filmmakers who are not relying on commercial theaters to reach their audience opting out of the process. An NR designation simply means the film was not submitted to the MPA for rating and has no bearing on what content may be present within a film.
When in doubt, just ask!
We are passionate about connecting the right movies with the right audiences. We don’t just want to sell you a ticket, we want to invite you into our community and connect you with meaningful artistic experiences. In order to do that, we’re happy to make a recommendation based on what kinds of films you do (and do not) want to see – or help you find the information you need to make that decision yourself. We’re not just one voice – we’re many; if a staff member is unable to help with your specific request, we’ll do our best to find someone who can!
Sometimes, we get it wrong
Sometimes, even if we take all the right steps, someone ends up seeing a film that isn’t a good fit for them. It is never our intention to create a harmful environment for any audience. If any content in a film you attend causes discomfort or distress, we invite you to the leave the theater. You are welcome to take a break in our lobby and re-enter at any time. If you are unable to attend a film due to sensitive content, we may be able to credit your account for a future film.
-
-
FeaturedQueens of the Dead | Dec 5
Boedecker Theater Walnut Street, Boulder, CO, United StatesTICKETS A zombie apocalypse breaks out in Brooklyn on the night of a giant warehouse party, where an eclectic group of drag queens, club kids, and frenemies must put aside their drama and use their unique skills to fight against the brain-thirsty, scrolling undead. Who better to breathe new life into the zombie genre than […]
$7 – $14 -
FeaturedChainsaws Were Singing | Dec 12
Boedecker Theater Walnut Street, Boulder, CO, United StatesTICKETS Maria is having one of the worst days of her life. Her parents died. Her dog, too. She was fired from her job. She was beaten by thugs in the street. But all of her troubles melt away when she locks eyes with Tom in the midst of his suicide attempt. Soon, the gobsmacked […]
$7 – $14 -
FeaturedMan Finds Tape | Dec 19
Boedecker Theater Walnut Street, Boulder, CO, United StatesTICKETS Lucas Page’s viral YouTube channel “Man Finds Tape” features a series of creepy home videos. When he reaches out to his sister, Lynn, with surveillance footage of a murder in their hometown, she reluctantly returns to help him investigate the homicide. In doing so, Lynn uncovers a disturbing secret tied to a decades-old supernatural […]
$7 – $14 -
FeaturedThe Carpenter’s Son | Dec 26
Boedecker Theater Walnut Street, Boulder, CO, United StatesTICKETS A remote village in Roman-era Egypt explodes into spiritual warfare when a carpenter, his wife and their child are targeted by supernatural forces. Joseph (Nicolas Cage), Mary (FKA twigs) and their teenage son Jesus (Noah Jupe) have lived for years under threat, clinging to their faith and traditions. But a stopover in a small […]
$7 – $14
Visit Us
- 2590 Walnut Street
- info@thedairy.org
- 303.444.7328
- 303.440.7826