A lot of good wide-release movies are coming in the next few months: “Black Mass,” “Steve Jobs,” “The Martian,” “Bridge of Spies” and “The Peanuts Movie,” among others. But sometimes you just want to watch something different, and local theaters as usual are coming through with a wide variety of alternative content — indies, foreign films, classics, concerts — from this week until the end of the year.
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 600 Main St. in Hartford, will show “Far from the Madding Crowd,” adapted from the novel by Thomas Hardy, Oct. 1-3; “Transcend,” a documentary about Kenyan runner Wesley Korir, on Oct. 8, in collaboration with the Hartford Marathon; the Israeli psychological drama “The Kindergarten Teacher” on Oct. 22, 23 and 25; the documentary “Beltracchi: The Art of a Forger” on Oct. 30-31 and Nov. 1; and the documentary “James Baldwin: The Price of a Ticket” on Nov. 7. The museum’s “Food and Film” series of movies, accompanied by meals and cocktails, includes “The Hundred-Foot Journey” on Oct. 10, “Eat Drink Man Woman” on Nov. 14 and “Lady Sings the Blues” on Nov. 29. A double feature of films about race, the New Zealand drama “White Lies” and the documentary “Little White Lie,” will be shown Oct. 15, 17 and 18. The “Art on Film” series includes “Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol” on Nov. 1, “Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe” on Nov. 12 and 15, “Iris,” a profile of fashion icon Iris Apfel, on Nov. 19, 21 and 22, and “Let the Record Show,” a story of artists and AIDS in 1980s-90s New York, on Nov. 21 and 22. thewadsworth.org.
The Manhattan Short Film Festival, an annual event in which audience members worldwide vote on the best films, is coming to six venues in the state. It will be shown at the Palace Danbury, 165 Main St., on Sept. 25; the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 600 Main St. in Hartford, on Sept. 25-27; Bethel Cinema, 269 Greenwood Ave., on Oct. 1 and 4; the Bijou Theatre, 275 Fairfield Ave. in Bridgeport, on Oct. 3; the Garde Arts Center, 325 State St. in New London, on Oct. 4; and the Bank Street Theater, 46 Bank St. in New Milford, on Oct. 4. manhattanshort.com.
Cinestudio, at Trinity College in Hartford, will show “Tomka and His Friends,” a 1977 World War II drama made in Albania, on Sept. 19, with proceeds benefiting the Albanian Cinema Project; the psychological drama “The Stanford Prison Experiment” on Sept. 20-22; the music documentary “Arcade Fire: The Reflektor Tapes” on Sept. 23; the transgender comedy “Tangerine” on Oct. 8; and the Indonesian genocide drama “The Look of Silence” Oct. 11 to 13. EROS Film Fest, the annual student-run offshoot of the Connecticut LGBT Film Festival, is expected at Cinestudio in November, with specific dates to be determined. cinestudio.org and outfilmct.org.
Real Art Ways, 56 Arbor St. in Hartford, is bringing “Homme Less,” about a New York City man-about-town who is homeless, on Sept. 30; “Meet the Patels,” a romantic comedy from India, on Oct. 2; “Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution,” a documentary about the Civil Rights-era organization, on Oct. 9; and “Peace Officer,” a drama about a former sheriff and a SWAT team, on Oct. 16.realartways.org.
The fifth annual New England Underground Film Festival will take place Oct. 3 at University of Hartford in West Hartford. Among the offerings will be “Life on the V,” a documentary on Boston’s pioneering V66 music video channel; “The Giovanni Gugliemo Story,” a documentary on blood cancer awareness; and the 1966 TV adaptation of Dylan Thomas’ “A Child’s Christmas in Wales.” newenglanduff.webs.com. Another fest, the New Haven International Film Festival, will be Nov. 11 to 14 at Gateway Community College and the University of New Haven. Among the titles are the documentary “The Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen,” made by former New Haven radio personality Jennifer Abod, and the human-trafficking drama “Sold” starring Gillian Anderson. newhavenfilmfestival.com.
Fathom Events, which presents screenings of concerts, prizefights, remastered classic films and other special releases to theaters around the country, has a full plate this fall. “Doctor Who: Dark Water / Death in Heaven” will be shown Sept. 15-16. The Christian-oriented “Just Let Go” will show on Sept. 28. The concert film “Roger Waters The Wall” is Sept. 29. “RiffTrax Live: The Miami Connection,” a riff on the 1987 cheeseball ninja movie, will be Oct. 1 and 6. A series of extended editions of all three “Hobbit” movies will play on Oct. 5 (“The Unexpected Journey”), Oct. 7 (“The Desolation of Smaug”) and Oct. 13 (“The Battle of the Five Armies”). All have introductions by director Peter Jackson. “Finding Noah,” a story of Noah’s Ark, will be Oct. 8. A double feature of the 1931 classic “Dracula” — both the Bela Lugosi version and the cult-classic Spanish-language version, which was shot on the same sets at night — will show on Oct. 25 and 28. Another RiffTrax comic event, “Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny,” the 1972 crap classic about Santa in Florida, will run Dec. 3 and 15. Venues and details: fathomevents.com.
National Theatre Live, the series of live and delayed screenings of events at National Theatre in London, will present “Hamlet” starring Benedict Cumberbatch starting Oct. 15. Venues and details: ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/.
Another theater-to-cinema series, Bolshoi Ballet in Cinemas, presents “Giselle” starting Oct. 11, “Jewels” starting on Nov. 15, “The Lady of the Camellias” starting on Dec. 6 and “The Nutcracker” starting on Dec. 20. Venues and details: bolshoiballetincinema.com/.
The granddaddy of all theater-to-cinema series, Met Live in HD, of productions from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, presents “Il Trovatore” starting Oct. 3; “Otello” starting Oct. 17; “Tannhäuser starting Oct. 31; “Lulu” starting Nov. 21; and “The Magic Flute” starting Dec. 12. Venues and details: metopera.org/Season/In-Cinemas/.
A new kid on the theater-to-cinema block, Lincoln Center at the Movies, presents a series “Great American Dance,” including “Romeo & Juliet” from San Francisco Ballet on Sept. 24; Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater’s “Chroma, Grace, Takademe and Revelations” on Oct. 22; Ballet Hispanico’s “Carmen.maquia and Club Havana” on Nov. 12; and New York City Ballet presenting George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” on Dec. 5 and 10. Venues and details: lincolncenteratthemovies.org/.
