Bleak Week: A Festival Spotlighting Cinema’s Darkest Narratives Strikes a Chord

Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair began three years ago as a raw, emotional response from a small nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles.

The festival’s evolution since then reveals much about the cultural atmosphere in a segment of American society.

The American Cinematheque, dedicated to presenting classic art films in Los Angeles theaters, faced challenges in 2022 with declining ticket sales. Older moviegoers remained cautious due to the lingering impact of the Covid pandemic, while younger audiences increasingly turned to streaming platforms like Netflix.

At the same time, staff members at the Cinematheque grappled with growing unease about global events: the war in Ukraine, the reversal of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court, a tragic school shooting in Texas, and the rapid rollout of artificial intelligence technologies.

From this somber backdrop emerged the concept for Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair. Over seven days, the Cinematheque presented 30 films known for their unflinching exploration of humanity’s darkest themes. Among the festival’s highlights was Béla Tarr’s 1994 epic 'Satantango,' a more than seven-hour meditation on decay and despair.

“Everyone kept suggesting we screen comedies,” said Grant Moninger, the Cinematheque’s artistic director. “But we wondered, what if we went in the opposite direction? We’re not here to offer easy answers or distractions.” Moninger also reflected on his upbringing, recalling that his mother rented only two types of movies on VHS: those about the Holocaust and slavery.