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Upcoming Events
CTCS-467: Television Symposium
January 12, 2026 - May 4, 2026, 7:00 P.M. - 9:30 P.M.
The Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108, George Lucas Building, USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
This Spring 2025 semester, the School of Cinematic Arts will offer a very special course called CTCS-467: Television Symposium, a four-unit elective class open for enrollment to ALL USC STUDENTS OF ANY MAJOR that brings you face-to-face with the leading television writers, producers, directors and actors working today. Each week, students watch contemporary television programming selected from the best shows on the air, followed by an exclusive Q&A with the creative team behind the show. The class is taught by MARY MCNAMARA, Pulitzer Prize-winning television critic and cultural editor for the Los Angeles Times and meets in person every Monday night @ 7:00 P.M. in the Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108.
A USEFUL GHOST
January 12, 2026, 2:00 P.M.
The Michelle and Kevin Douglas IMAX Theatre, RZC 119, Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, 3131 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
March is mourning his wife Nat who has recently passed away due to dust pollution. He discovers her spirit has returned by possessing a vacuum cleaner. Disturbed by a ghost that appeared after a worker’s death shut down their factory, his family reject their unconventional human-ghost relationship. Trying to convince them of their love, Nat offers to cleanse the factory. To become a useful ghost, she must first get rid of the useless ones.
THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE
January 12, 2026, 7:00 P.M.
Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007
From award-winning writer-director Mona Fastvold (The World to Come, The Brutalist) comes the extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers. Academy Award-nominee Amanda Seyfried stars as the Shaker's irrepressible leader, who preached gender and social equality and was revered by her followers. The Testament of Ann Lee captures the ecstasy and agony of her quest to build a utopia, featuring more than a dozen traditional Shaker hymns reimagined as rapturous movements with choreography by Celia Rowlson-Hall (Vox Lux) and original songs & score by Academy Award-winner Daniel Blumberg (The Brutalist).
CTCS-469: BILLY WILDER'S HOLLYWOOD
January 13, 2026 - May 4, 2026, 10:00 A.M. - 1:50 P.M. on Tuesdays
Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007
This class will focus on the work of writer-director Billy Wilder, from the noir of Double Indemnity and Sunset Blvd. to the comedy of Some Like It Hot and One, Two, Three, the biting satire of Ace in the Hole to the melancholy romance of The Apartment. As with any auteurist class, we'll explore Wilder's biography, influences, and stylistic and thematic preoccupations, including his status as a Jewish refugee of European fascism and his formative experiences in Weimar Germany. His background informed his supposed 'cynicism' but also his empathy for those on the margins of respectability and victimized by the powerful. We will also use his career as a means to explore larger phenomenon of the Hollywood Studio System including the absorption of European refugees, Classical Hollywood style, the studio system and its decline, film noir, the rise of independent production, gender and stardom, and the breakdown of the Production Code and censorship.
CTPR-485: How They Made It - KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
January 13, 2026 - May 5, 2026, 4:00 - 6:50 P.M. on Tuesdays
SCI 106, Interactive Media Building, 3470 McClintock Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90089
This course covers how this record breaking animated film was made from pitch to creation to the ongoing developments. An exploration of the creative and business decisions, Korean cultural influences, and more. Featuring the talent and executives who made it all happen!
A WINTER'S SONG
January 13, 2026, 7:00 P.M.
Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007
A struggling musician takes a leap of faith, traveling to her father's homeland of Armenia. Immersed in its rich culture, music, and traditions, a journey of self-discovery challenges her heart and dreams, changing her life forever.
IML-499: Wanna Make Your Own DIY Music Video?
January 14, 2026 - May 6, 2026, 4:00 P.M. - 6:50 P.M. on Wednesdays
USC School of Cinematic Arts
Taught by Professors Evan Hughes and Michael Bodie. No D-Clearance Needed!
CTCS-464: CONS AND COMEDY
January 14, 2026 - May 6, 2026, 6:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M. on Wednesdays
Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Why do con stories fascinate us, and what makes them different from more pedestrian crime fictions? Why do cons work? What makes us susceptible to them, and how do they reflect the structure of our desires? How does the world of cons react to technological change, and how are certain cons made possible or impossible by specific material, technological, and media affordances? How are cons presented in films, and how has our image of the con changed in the past century? What do we find funny about them, and how have con stories been used to elicit comedy in film? Can we place the current golden age of technologically-aided cons in a longer trajectory? All these questions and more will guide our inquiry into the cinematic genre of the con and its somewhat contentious relationship with comedy.
DEAD MAN'S WIRE
January 14, 2026, 7:00 P.M.
The Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108, George Lucas Building, USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Dead Man’s Wire is the fascinating true story of the 1977 kidnapping that turned aspiring Indianapolis entrepreneur Tony Kiritsis into an eccentric outlaw folk hero, directed by Academy Award®–nominated filmmaker Gus Van Sant.
IML-460: AI and Creativity
January 15, 2026 - May 7, 2026, 10:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. on Thursdays
USC School of Cinematic Arts
This hands-on exploration of AI introduces new tools and creative techniques while also examining the myriad controversies related to this paradigm-changing technology in a theory/practice format.
CTCS-402: PRACTICUM IN FILM/TELEVISION CRITICISM
January 15, 2026 - May 7, 2026, 10:00 A.M. - 1:50 P.M. on Thursdays
SCA 316, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2211
In this course, you will expand your skills in writing about film and media, while learning about the evolving industry of media and culture journalism, with a focus on film reviews, long form analysis, and audio and visual criticism. CTCS 402 is an opportunity to hone your analytical eye, develop writing technique, and find your own personal voice within a collaborative environment. The goal of this class is not just to learn to write media criticism, but to deepen your understanding of the industrial landscape, and to engage in the current world of film criticism, and above all to learn how to think critically.
CTCS-466: Theatrical Film Symposium
January 15, 2026 - May 7, 2026, 6:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M. on Thursdays
Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007
This Spring 2026 semester, the School of Cinematic Arts will offer a very special course called CTCS-466: Theatrical Film Symposium, a four-unit elective class open for enrollment to ALL USC STUDENTS OF ANY MAJOR that brings you face-to-face with leading film directors, writers, producers, and actors working today. Throughout the semester, students will watch a wide selection of new film releases, followed by exclusive Q&As with the creative teams behind them. The class is taught by film critic LEONARD MALTIN and meets every Thursday night in Norris Cinema Theatre from 6:00 - 10:00 p.m.
PAPER FLOWERS
January 15, 2026, 7:00 P.M.
The Ray Stark Family Theatre, SCA 108, George Lucas Building, USC School of Cinematic Arts Complex, 900 W. 34th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Shalin Shah, an ambitious USC graduate, leaves behind his loving Indian American family and devoted girlfriend, Fiona, to pursue his dream of making a difference as a Peace Corps volunteer. However, his life takes a devastating turn when a check-up for a lingering cough reveals a shocking diagnosis: a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Forced to return home and undergo treatment, Shalin confronts the fundamental question: what is the true meaning of life when faced with limited time?
CTCS-409: CENSORSHIP
January 16, 2026 - May 8, 2026, 10:00 A.M. - 1:50 P.M. on Fridays
SCA 110
This course examines the history and cultural consequences of censorship in cinema from the early twentieth century to the present. Rather than treating censorship as a purely static force, the course approaches it as a dynamic process shaped by institutions, audiences, and artists. Through the study of specific films and the controversies surrounding them, we will explore how struggles over what can be shown on screen reveal broader social anxieties. By the end of the course, students will develop a critical vocabulary for understanding censorship not only as restriction but also as a revealing site where cultural values are contested and cinema’s social power becomes visible.
THE REMAINS OF THE DAY (1993)
January 30, 2026, 7:00 P.M.
Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Oscar®-winners Anthony Hopkins (1993, The Silence of the Lambs) and Emma Thompson (1992, Howards End) reunite with the acclaimed Merchant Ivory filmmaking team for this extraordinary and moving story of blind devotion and repressed love. Hopkins stars as Stevens, the perfect English butler - an ideal carried by him to fanatical lengths - as he serves his master, Lord Darlington, beautifully played by James Fox (The Servant). Darlington, like many other members of the British establishment in the 1930s, is duped by the Nazis into trying to establish a rapport between themselves and the British government. Thompson stars as the estate's housekeeper, a high-spirited, strong-minded young woman who watches the goings-on upstairs with horror. Despite her apprehensions, she and Stevens gradually fall in love, though neither will admit it, and only give vent to their charged feelings via fierce arguments. Marvelously acted by a supporting cast that includes Christopher Reeve and Hugh Grant.
A ROOM WITH A VIEW (1986)
February 1, 2026, 2:00 P.M.
Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007
A Room With a View captured the attention of the world upon its release, bringing the novel by E.M. Forster to dazzling life in the Florentine countryside and in the well-appointed homes of the English Edwardian upper classes. A comedy of manners with a quick wit and impeccable comic timing, A Room With A View is also a portrait of the quiet solitude that lies beneath Forster's characters, and of the need for human connection in a world of rigid convention. The young Englishwoman Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter), arrives in Florence on a Baedecker-style grand tour with her aunt Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith). Through a series of events involving English expatriates Miss Eleanor Lavish, an unflappable novelist (Judi Dench), and the Emersons, a free-thinking father and son (Denholm Elliot and Julian Sands), Lucy's life is changed forever under a loggia in Florence and in the Tuscan countryside.
An Evening with Academy Award-winner and SCA Alumnus James Ivory and 35mm Screening of MR. & MRS. BRIDGE (1990)
February 1, 2026, 5:00 P.M.
Norris Cinema Theatre at the Frank Sinatra Hall, 3507 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90007
Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward give "the performances of their careers" (Judith Crist) in Merchant Ivory's adaptation of Evan S. Connell's two novels Mrs. Bridge and Mr. Bridge, artfully combined into one screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Walter and India Bridge (Newman and Woodward) are a Midwestern American couple struggling to keep up with the changing world around them in 1930s America. Mr. Bridge, a stout-hearted, staunch paterfamilias, quietly lords over his children -- Ruth (Kyra Sedgwick), Carolyn (Margaret Welsh), and Douglas (Robert Sean Leonard) -- and his wife, who is warm and kind but lacks the independence to forge an identity apart from her husband. As the music, the mores, and the politics of Kansas City are transformed in front of them, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge attempt to keep up with the drama of a changing society within their own family: Ruth wants to go to New York and become an actress; Carolyn is determined to marry a man whom her father deems unsuitable; Douglas is embarrassed by his mother's attentions and rebukes her attempts at intimacy.
Social Change Film Festival - (Media Institute For Social Change)
February 12, 2026, 5pm
SCA 112
MISC Film Festival - DATE CHANGE!