Claremont 5

In August 2017, in the lead-up to national elections, Jacinda Ardern unexpectedly became New Zealand’s opposition party leader. She had just turned 37. Two frenetic months later, she was Prime Minister. Just before the final vote was in, she discovered she was pregnant. She would become only the second head of state in history to give birth while in office.Ardern quickly became one of the most recognizable leaders in the world. She drew global attention from people craving a sensitive and compassionate approach to the critical issues of our time. In private, she struggled with being a mother and proving herself to a public skeptical of women’s

Thirty years after her mother’s death, photographer Rachel Elizabeth Seed discovers her mother’s work — more than 50 hours of interviews with the greatest photographers of the 20th century, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Lisette Model, Gordon Parks, Cecil Beaton, William Albert Allard, Brian Lanker, Cornell Capa, Bruce Davidson and Eliot Porter. When Rachel threads in the audio reels and presses play, she hears her mother’s voice for the first time since she was a baby. Sheila Turner-Seed, a daring, world-traveling journalist ahead of her time, died suddenly of a brain aneurysm when Rachel was just 18 months old. Moved to uncover more of what

Laemmle Theatres' weekly series of fresh international films, Worldwide Wednesdays! Most are newer obscure films that we want to bring to a broader L.A. audience, screening in multiple venues all over L.A. County so cinephiles will not have to schlep to a single location. The films, however, come from many thousands of miles away! Screenings are Wednesday evenings with encore showings on Saturday and Sunday mornings.PERFECT ENDINGS June 4, 7 & 8. After a decade-long relationship ends, filmmaker João finds himself at a crossroads in both his personal and professional lives. While trying to break into the film industry, he ends up directing amateur

If you are in need of some escapism that piques rather than insults your intelligence, we strongly recommend the new French rom-com Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. We open it May 23 at the Royal and May 30 at all but one of our other theaters. (Its writer-director, Laura Piani, is interviewed on the latest episode of Inside the Arthouse.)Variety's Chief Film Critic Peter Debruge perfectly captures the film's charms in his review, whose subhead reads "Laura Piani’s splendid debut balances reality with the effervescent charm of vintage swooners."Debruge's review is worth quoting at length:"A diet of romantic literature is a recipe for disappointment in

Next week we're opening the latest film from veteran Danish director Bille August, best known for Pelle the Conqueror, The Best Intentions, The House of the Spirits and dozens more."He spoke to Variety about The Kiss, his enduring interest in the complexity of human beings, book-to-screen adaptations, and his belief in the big screen experience."Loosely based on Stefan Zweig’s novel Beware of Pity and transposed from an Austrian to a Danish setting, The Kiss is a romantic drama set in 1913. The helmer has reunited with A Fortunate Man’s lead Espen Smed, cast as cavalry officer trainee Anton. Introduced to Baron von Løvenskjold’s daughter Edith, a