MUN Cinema Series returns with Winter semester programming

Letterboxd diary looking sparse for 2026 so far? Want to show off to your friends that you’re cultured and a true cinephile with impeccable taste? MUN Cinema Series returns in full swing this winter semester with another unique lineup of films set to screen at the Scotiabank Theatre in St. John’s. 

Founded by film scholar Dr. Noreen Golfman, the long-running staple of campus movie-going culture continues its 35-year tradition of making cinema accessible to students and the wider community through affordable pricing.

The non-profit initiative will continue to host bi-weekly screenings on Wednesdays at 7 p.m until the end of the winter term in April.

Student and senior admission is priced at $10, while general admission is $12. Full seven-film passes are also available for $45 for students and seniors, and $50 for general admission.

Interested attendees are advised that tickets cannot be purchased in advance, and cash is the only form of payment accepted.

Here is the remaining season schedule for the winter semester:

February 4 – Blue Moon (2025)

This dramatized biopic with a cast full of big names tells the story of Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke). Set in the 1940s and heavily inspired by Elizabeth Weiland’s (Margaret Qualley) real letters to him, the film follows Hart as he struggles with mental health and sobriety on the opening night of Oklahoma!, a new, successful musical authored by his former colleague. 

Steeped in a deep love for writing, art, and Broadway, this film dutifully portrays the pitfalls that can accompany success. Blue Moon won an impressive 7 titles during its 2025 film festival run.

February 18 – It Was Just an Accident (2025)

Considering the political unrest unfolding in Iran right now, this dark comedic drama is not only urgent but impossible to ignore.

After “accidentally” hitting a dog with his van, former political prisoner Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri) is convinced he has encountered the man who held him captive and tortured him for dissenting against the Iranian government. Impulsively, Vahid abducts his captor and rallies his fellow ex-prisoners to confirm his identity.

Having previously been imprisoned and prohibited from making films in his country, Panahi daringly blends memory, trauma and moral uncertainty in this fearless act of cinematic defiance.

*In Persian with English Subtitles

March 4 – The Choral  (2025)

Written by critically acclaimed playwright Alan Bennett and layered with an evocative performance from Ralph Fiennes, The Choral’s colossal talent lineup and British charm are sure to resonate with its wit and emotional depth.

After a small Yorkshire village’s choral society’s adult singers enlist in World War I, the controversial Dr. Henry Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes) is recruited to direct the choir’s annual production of Bach with teenagers.

However, Guthrie’s artistic choices – moving the performers away from Bach toward a lesser-known Elgar piece – quickly put him at odds with the conservative community. United by the power of song, the group must find harmony while the young singers wrestle with their impending conscription to the war.

March 28 – The Mastermind (2025)

Starring Challengers’ Josh O’Connor – which should be enough of a reason to go see this film in itself – The Mastermind is J.B. Mooney, a waning architect turned cunning art thief. 

While 1970s America is stricken by the Vietnam War, Mooney is a family man struggling to make ends meet, until he organizes an art heist along with some thieves-for-hire. This heist film has everything you could possibly want – grand theft auto, tangled lies, clumsy criminals, and a charming, albeit tortured lead.

Amidst lying to his family and struggling to stash the paintings safely, Mooney must reconcile with his transgressions as communities around him implement various anti-war collective action efforts. 

April 1 – Nouvelle vague (2025)

Filmmakers love to make movies about movies, and this one is no exception.

The second Linklater film in this semester’s programming, and another period-piece biopic, Golden Globe-nominated Nouvelle Vague chronicles the making of Breathless (1960), a landmark film defining the French New Wave cinema movement. 

Guillaume Marbeck plays Jean-Luc Godard, prolific director and effectively the father of the French film era, who, it appears, decided to become a director almost purely out of spite.

Shot in black-and-white to resemble the projects it documents, the film follows Godard as he finds his place within the film industry, cultivating creative relationships, navigating production, butting heads with other filmmakers, and developing his own directorial style. 

*In French with English Subtitles

April 15 – The President’s Cake

Genre: Drama
Director: Hasan Hadi

Set against the background of the 1990s Gulf War, the film follows nine-year-old girl Lamia and her impossible school assignment: bake a cake for Saddam Hussein’s birthday. As punishment looms over her head if she fails, Lamia frantically searches for scarce ingredients in war-stricken Iraq.

A landmark achievement as the first Iraqi film to play at Cannes, the film offers a rare and deeply affective glimpse into the life of a child living in war.

*In Arabic with English Subtitles