Cinema International announces spring 2026 film series

 

MURRAY, Ky. — Murray State University’s Cinema International program is pleased to announce its spring 2026 film series in support of the University’s educational mission. Admission is free and open to the public. Films are shown on Thursday and Saturday evenings in Faculty Hall, room 208. This semester, screenings will begin at 7 p.m., 30 minutes earlier than in past semesters.

Cinema International is a longstanding tradition at Murray State, having begun when the Curris Center opened over 40 years ago. Every film has a post-screening discussion led by the faculty member who specializes in the culture of the film. These discussions are meant to encourage students and other audience members to further contemplate the culture, themes and meaning behind the film.

Departments from across campus co-sponsor films that pertain especially to their areas of study. Programs such as film studies, theatre, art, history, and the Watershed Studies Institute regularly attend screenings and continue to sponsor them throughout the years.

Dr. Ben Post, associate professor of Spanish at Murray State and co-director of Cinema International, says the spring 2026 series is built around the theme of "International America."

“As we commemorate the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which was translated and published in other languages just days after it was drafted, we're presenting a series of films by American and international directors that engage with the multilingual and global nature of U.S. culture and history,” said Post.

The series begins on Thursday, Feb. 12, and Saturday, Feb. 14, with the South Korean film Past Lives, directed by Celine Song. This semi-autobiographical drama follows a Korean woman who lives in New York City and reconnects with an old friend and potential lover. This complex, layered film follows each of the three characters as they rethink their relationships and consider how all their “past lives” have brought them to the present.

“Two of the films I'm most excited about are the highly acclaimed blockbuster Sinners, the vampire/blues movie that just set a record for most Oscar nominations, which we’ll screen on Feb.19 and 21, and a fascinating documentary called Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, which is about the role of American jazz musicians in the Congolese struggle for independence,” said Post. “That film will be shown on Feb. 26 and 28.”

Rounding out the series are the films Fight Like Hell: The Testimony of Mother Jones on March 5 and 7, Clemente on March 26 and 28, La Cocina on April 2 and 4, The Brutalist on April 9 and 11, and Rachel Carson on April 16 and 18.

For the full schedule and more information on each film, visit the Cinema International website at bit.ly/CinemaInternational, contact the series co-directors: Dr. Ben Post (bpost1@murraystate.edu) or Dr. Tamara Feinstein (tfeinstein@murraystate.edu) or follow Cinema International on Facebook and Instagram (@cinemainternationalmsu).