The Right to Read shares the stories of an NAACP activist, a teacher, and two American families who fight to provide our youngest generation with the most foundational indicator of life-long success: the ability to read.

This 80-minute documentary film is unrated.

Join AADL for a screening of the documentary Stormé: The Lady of the Jewel Box, followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Michelle Parkerson.

Stormé tells the true story of one of New York City's premier male impersonators from the 1950's and their life thereafter. This film gives us insight into the time period and cultures explored in Malinda Lo's Last Night at the Telegraph Club.

This 21 minute documentary is unrated.

Astrophotographer Adrian Bradley has been chasing dark skies — seeking out the Milky Way in particular — throughout Michigan for several years, honing his skills as a photographer. In this presentation, Adrian will share some of his photographs, give a brief overview of his process and equipment, and present tips for finding and measuring dark sky locations in Michigan.

Roll out the red carpet! It's time to announce the winners of the 2023 Tiny Film Festival.

Amateur filmmakers were invited to submit works up to 1 minute in length. Join us as we applaud the artists and present their films on the gallery screen at the Downtown Library.

See contest details and how to enter at aadl.org/tinyfilms.

Lift Like a Girl is a feature documentary by Mayye Zayed and a coming-of-age story about Zebiba, an Egyptian girl dreaming to become a world-champion weightlifter.

Join us for a screening of the documentary Mifune: the Last Samurai by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki which explores the acting career of Toshiro Mifune. Mifune was a prolific actor who starred in many Akira Kurosawa films during what is considered the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema.

This event is in partnership with the UM Center for Japanese Studies.

This 80-minute documentary is unrated.

It was the swinging 30s. The big bands of the 40s. And the crowds were packing the nation's premiere all-Chinese nightclub, Forbidden City. Settled in San Francisco's Chinatown, Forbidden City gained an international reputation with its unique showcase of Chinese American performers in eye-popping all-American extravaganzas. Join AADL for a showing of Forbidden City USA, a documentary full of archival footage and firsthand insight on what it was like to be there. This film presentation is in partnership with The Big Gay Read 2023.

Join us for a film screening and discussion of the 2022 award-winning documentary BAD AXE directed by David Siev.

The film captures a closely-knit Asian American family living in rural Michigan during the pandemic as they fight to keep their local restaurant and American dream alive. With rising racial tensions, the family uses their voice and must unite as they reckon with backlash from a divided community, white supremacists, and intergenerational trauma from Cambodia's "killing fields."

Attention all film fans! Join movie buffs Russ Collins (CEO/Executive Director of the Michigan Theater) and Martin Bandyke (longtime 107one radio host) at the State Theatre on Wednesday, March 8th at 7:00 PM as they discuss who should win and who will win Oscars at the 95th Academy Awards. This Oscars preview event will feature lots of movie clips and audience participation, plus Martin will give away limited edition '40 years in radio' coffee mugs.

Join us for a special event with filmmaker Brian Kruger, who will discuss and screen his documentary Black and Blue: The Story of Gerald Ford, Willis Ward and the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech Football Game.

It was one of the most disgraceful incidents in University of Michigan football history, and ultimately, one of the most inspiring. This film tells the long-forgotten story of the 1934 game between The University of Michigan and Georgia Tech.