Bleak Week, a film festival celebrating 鈥渃inema of despair,鈥� started as a contrarian response to cries for after the pandemic.
Programmers at the , a non-profit arts group that curates for several historic theaters in Los Angeles, heard the cries for comedies and thought, well, what if they did the opposite? Bleak Week, which would conveniently coincide with the city鈥檚 June Gloom, could be the art house version of .
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 know how it was going to go,鈥� said Grant Moninger, the group’s artistic director. 鈥淧eople may like this鈥r people may look at it and somehow be offended.鈥�
In 2022, he and Chris LeMaire programmed wall-to-wall selections of world cinema鈥檚 most austere offerings, from Elem Klimov鈥檚 anti-war epic 鈥淐ome and See鈥� to B茅la Tarr鈥檚 439-minute 鈥淪谩t谩ntang贸.鈥� LA-based film critic Katie Walsh was one of the early champions of the concept. When it was announced she remembered tweeting the .
鈥淚 was just like, yes, this is for me, this for the sickos,鈥� Walsh said. 鈥淲e were really enthusiastic about it online. I think that they were like, OK, great, this is like a concept that is going to translate.鈥�
From niche experiment to global footprint
Five years later, Bleak Week has gone global. Across June there will be Bleak Weeks taking place in spanning eight countries, from the United Kingdom and Canada to Puerto Rico and Latin America. In the United States, it鈥檚 not just the biggest cities either: There are versions in Columbia, Missouri (Ragtag Cinema), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Row House Cinema), Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, (Cinema Art Theatre), Brookline, Massaschusetts (Coolidge Corner Theatre) and Albuquerque, New Mexico, (Guild Cinema), to name a few.
鈥淎lthough Bleak Week sounds depressing, it鈥檚 really a celebration of the human experience,鈥� Moninger said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really what cinema is about: Empathy and understanding the world.鈥�
Ennui at the movie theater wasn’t niche after all. Those nearly seven and a half hour showings of 鈥淪谩t谩ntang贸鈥� regularly sell out. It鈥檚 not uncommon to see famous people both on the stage and in the audience ( were spotted at a screening one year of 鈥淚n a Glass Cave,鈥� about an ex-Nazi pedophile). Even Tarr, the great Hungarian filmmaker who and once said he鈥檇 never come back to the United States, made an exception and attended Bleak Week in year two. Expansion soon followed to The Paris Theatre in New York and The Prince Charles Cinema in London.
鈥淭he thing about cinema is that you get to experience all the colors of human experience,鈥� said Walsh, who has both attended and served as a moderator over the years. 鈥淏leak Week offers a chance to kind of like revel in this specific feeling in a lot of ways. I just really love it. I see stuff that I would never ever see elsewhere.鈥�
At the end of the movies, Walsh said, 鈥淚 usually have to go stare at a wall for like 30 minutes.鈥�
Over 300 movies at Bleak Week 2026
The fifth edition is already underway in Los Angeles at the Egyptian Theatre, the Aero Theatre and the Los Feliz 3. On the schedule are appearances by the likes of Isabelle Huppert, who will do Q&As for several films, including 鈥淭he Piano Teacher鈥� and 鈥淗eaven鈥檚 Gate,鈥� filmmaker , showing his director鈥檚 cut of and on behalf of his breakout film 鈥淚ncendies.鈥�
One of the most liberating aspects about the concept is that there鈥檚 no genre stranglehold on the idea of bleak cinema. It can be wartime. It can be interpersonal drama. It can be fantasy. It can even be family friendly. They鈥檝e empowered local programmers to make their own selections; This year there are over 300 movies being shown globally.
鈥淭hey know their audience. They know what films will resonate,鈥� said LeMaire. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun for us to see all the different approaches.鈥�
The Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago is focusing on animation, playing movies like Hayao Miyazaki鈥檚 鈥淧rincess Mononoke,鈥� Martin Rosen鈥檚 鈥淲atership Down鈥� and Michael Schaack鈥檚 鈥淔elidae.鈥� The Argentina program will include both local films and a retrospective of Aster鈥檚 works. At Vancouver鈥檚 historic Park Theatre, selections were made by local filmmakers and 鈥渇riends of the venue.鈥� Actor Finn Wolfhard elected 鈥淭he Celebration,鈥� 鈥淪inners鈥� cinematographer chose 鈥淭he Deer Hunter鈥� and 鈥淎nora鈥� producer Samantha Quan picked 鈥淭he Virgin Suicides.鈥�
The most programmed film this year is Isao Takahata鈥檚 animated 鈥淕rave of the Fireflies,鈥� about a boy and his sister fighting for survival in post-World War II Japan after losing their parents. One movie they make a point to show every year is 鈥淐ome and See,鈥� which Moninger said is 鈥渢he bleakest of the bleak experience.鈥�
The concept is open to interpretation, as long as it鈥檚 a narrative film. The one thing it can鈥檛 be is a documentary.
鈥淭here鈥檚 something still yet triumphant about taking horrible experiences or someone鈥檚 personal tragedy and being able to turn it into art,鈥� Moninger said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really one of our only rules is that we just don鈥檛 do docs.鈥�
When it鈥檚 all said and done, at least in Los Angeles, they make sure to close with something sweet: The three movies. It鈥檚 what they like to call a 鈥渕armalade chaser.鈥�
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