Des Moines Film Society

2016 DMFS Oscar Pool

Posted on February 12, 2016
by Ben Godar

Think you know who will win at the 2016 Academy Awards? Compete in the Des Moines Film Society Oscar Pool and you can win fabulous prizes.   What will those fabulous prizes be? Why, free movie tickets of course. The winner will receive two free passes to Fleur Cinema and two free passes to Varsity Theater.   Simply (and clearly) mark your ballot, predicting the winner in each category. The entrant who selects the most correct winners will be...

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Goodnight Mommy: DMFS Best of 2015

Posted on February 9, 2016
by Christian Powell

Des Moines Film Society asked some of our favorite local writers and film fanatics to pick their favorite film of 2015. You can read them all at DMFS: Best of 2015.   Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s G​oodnight Mommy i​s a film that came out of, seemingly, nowhere. I went into it cold. Hadn’t heard a thing about it, hadn’t seen a trailer. I knew it existed and, for some reason, that I had to see it....

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Mad Max: Fury Road – DMFS Best of 2015

Posted on February 3, 2016
by Nick Renkoski

Des Moines Film Society asked some of our favorite local writers and film fanatics to pick their favorite film of 2015. You can read them all at DMFS: Best of 2015.   What am I to make of the fact that George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road is the best film of the year? This is virtually the definition of a popcorn movie--a big, loud, spectacle which isn’t so much about something as it is about how...

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Iowa Filmmaker Nicolaas Bertelsen on working with James Franco and Yosemite

Posted on February 3, 2016
by Ben Godar

When Ames native and former Des Moines-based filmmaker Nicolaas Bertelsen presents Yosemite, a film he produced, Thursday night at Fleur Cinema, it will bring him full circle on a journey that began eight years ago when he left Iowa to further his filmmaking career in Los Angeles. "I didn't just go off to California to chase a dream and go broke," he said. "I mean, I did all those things, but I did this too." Bertelsen -...

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One day left to RSVP for The Great Alone documentary

Posted on February 1, 2016
by Ben Godar

The Great Alone is a documentary which follows a three-time Iditarod sled-dog racing champion, Lance Mackey, as he battles to complete the race and earn a fourth title. The film is premiering Feb. 9 at theaters across the country, including (potentially) at Southridge 12. However, each screening needs at least 31 reservations in order for the film to screen, and as of right now, the Southridge screening has only 23. If you'd like to see the...

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Phoenix: DMFS Best of 2015

Posted on January 28, 2016
by Tim Paluch

Des Moines Film Society asked some of our favorite local writers and film fanatics to pick their favorite film of 2015. You can read them all at DMFS: Best of 2015.   “I no longer exist,” Nelly, a Jewish nightclub singer shot in the head and left for dead in a Nazi concentration camp, says after seeing herself in a broken mirror amongst the rubble of her former home.   The gunshot wound left her disfigured, and despite begging...

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DesMoinesFilm.org 2.0 is here – your resource for film in Des Moines

Posted on January 25, 2016
by Ben Godar

After much hard work, we are proud to re-launch a greatly expanded version of our website, desmoinesfilm.org.   Among the new features are a Calendar, which will feature the best film special programming in Des Moines, whether presented by us or the other great theaters and art organizations in town. We want to be your indispensable spot for what's going on in the Des Moines film scene.   We are also launching a dedicated blog, which will feature the...

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The Big Short: DMFS Best of 2015

Posted on January 25, 2016
by Kevin Kretschmer

Des Moines Film Society asked some of our favorite local writers and film fanatics to pick their favorite film of 2015. You can read them all at DMFS: Best of 2015.   A few years ago, after seeing Charles Ferguson’s Oscar-winning feature documentary Inside Job, I couldn’t stop recommending it to people as a lucid, compelling explanation of the 2008 financial crisis. As a documentary, however, it proved a hard sell; not everyone is willing to watch...

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Your Guide to Star Wars (plus other movies) in Des Moines (but mostly just Star Wars)

Posted on December 22, 2015
by jill@on-pitch.com

If you're one of the millions anticipating the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens this week, the question isn't so much if you're going to see the movie, but how. In Des Moines, we are lucky enough to have three choices in format: Standard and 3D (both projected digitally), or IMAX (projected on film). The Science Center of Iowa IMAX Dome Theater is one of only seven theaters in the US screening The Force Awakens on...

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