As usual, autumn brings a hearty sampling of eclectic film festivals and innovative repertory programming. Here are some key titles and dates to mark on your calendar.
Brattle Theatre: A Year of Women in Cinema showcases Tilda Swinton: World’s Greatest Actress with a 35mm screening of Jim Jarmusch’s “Only Lovers Left Alive” (2013) on Sept. 23. The never-before-released debut of Mexican film director Arturo Ripstein’s “A Time to Die” (1966) screens Nov. 3-5. Other highlights include new restorations of Donna Deitch’s “Desert Hearts” (1985), Oct. 6-9, and Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Solaris” from (1972), Oct. 20-22.
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Coolidge Corner Theatre: The Coolidge partners with Mount Auburn Cemetery for Cinema Cemetery, a double feature of the 1971 cult classic “Harold and Maude” and Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” (1957). The outdoor screening takes place Sept. 26 at Mount Auburn Cemetery, at 7 p.m.. The Sounds of Silents presents Sergei Eisenstein’s “Strike” (1925) with live musical accompaniment by the Alloy Orchestra (Oct. 19). The Halloween Horror Marathon includes a 35mm print of George A. Romero’s 1968 cult favorite “Night of the Living Dead” at midnight on Oct. 29, along with other fright classics.
Harvard Film Archive: Cinema of Resistance runs Sept. 17-Nov. 13, with international films about the spirit of protest. The Vsevolod Pudovkin silent “Storm Over Asia, a.k.a. The Heir of Genghis Khan” (1928) screens in 35mm Oct. 9 with live musical accompaniment. The family-friendly Saturday Matinee offerings (Sept. 9-Nov. 18) include Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie” (2012) on Oct. 28 and William Wellman’s “Good-bye, My Lady” (1956) on Nov. 18, both in 35mm. Wellman gets his own retrospective Oct. 27-Nov. 26.
Somerville Theatre: Last year’s first-ever 70mm and Widescreen Festival was such a hit that it will return Sept. 20-Oct. 1 with a fresh slate of films, starting with the Charlton Heston epic “The Agony and the Ecstasy” (1965). Other films include “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), “Cleopatra” (1963), “Days of Thunder” (1990), “Gettysburg” (1993), “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), “The Dark Crystal” (1982), and “The Untouchables” (1987).
Emerson/Paramount Center: The Stage to Screen series showcasing filmed theater productions from renowned international stages continues with Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” from the Old Vic, starring Daniel Radcliffe (Oct. 27-29), and Anton Chekhov’s “The Black Monk,” from Stage Russia (Nov. 4-5).
Museum of Fine Arts: Costa-Gavras: Encounters With History (Sept. 21-Oct. 19) includes three of the director’s best-known films — “Missing” (1982), the Oscar-winning “Z” (1969), and “The Music Box” (1989). The series On the Fringe: American Cult Films of the 1980s continues with a 35mm showing of Robert Bierman’s “Vampire’s Kiss” (1989), starring Nicolas Cage and Jennifer Beals (Oct. 6). There’s also the 11th annual Boston Palestine Film Festival (Oct. 20-29) and An Evening of Films by Bill Morrison and Guy Maddin, with both directors in person (Nov. 9).
Arlington International Film Festival: This seventh annual showcase for shorts, documentaries, and features runs Oct. 26-29, at the Capitol Theatre, Arlington.
Boston International Kids Film Festival: The fourth annual runs Nov. 2-5 at the Somerville Theatre, with a slate of films made by kids for kids.
Boston Film Festival: The 33rd edition is Sept. 21-24 at AMC Boston Common. Guests include producer-director James Keach (“Augie,” Sept. 22). Highlights include the world premiere of Brandeis graduate Daniel Berk’s thriller, “Damascus Cover” (Sept. 23), starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Olivia Thirlby, and, in his final performance, John Hurt.
Boston Asian American Film Festival: Running Oct. 19-22 at Emerson College’s Paramount Theatre, this is billed as New England’s largest Asian-American film festival.
Boston Latino International Film Festival: The 15th annual runs Sept. 28-Oct. 1 at Emerson’s Paramount Center and other venues.
Boston Jewish Film Festival: The 29th annual runs Nov. 8-20, with a diverse slate of features and documentaries at the MFA and other venues.
Loren King can be reached at [email protected]