PREVIEW: Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair Arrives in Atlanta

The dark summer counterprogramming stops at the Plaza Theatre this June

The 2026 Bleak Week lineup at Plaza Theatre

The American Cinematheque, an independent, non-profit cultural organization based in Los Angeles, CA, first began “Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair” in June 2022.

The idea was spearheaded by Director of Programming Chris LeMaire as a way to encourage audiences to return to theaters following the COVID-19 pandemic.

This exigence for the importance of theatrical exhibition, combined with Bleak Week’s slate of uncompromisingly downbeat and emotionally challenging cinema, was certainly a risky gamble.

However, the gamble quickly paid off, attracting moviegoers in droves, and establishing an annual tradition. A tradition that has, four years later, expanded beyond the bounds of Los Angeles to a whopping 73 cities and 8 countries, including, for the very first time, Atlanta.

From June 5-11 at the Plaza Theatre, audiences will be able to see the following films projected:

Wall Street (35mm)

Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Mirror (2K)

The Wages of Fear

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (35mm)

Mephisto

The Zone of Interest

The Plaza’s Director of Programming, Richard Martin, was given leeway within the larger “Bleak Week” umbrella to curate his own lineup of films. The films above reflect themes surrounding “the downfalls of greed and ambition,” and are all, in and of themselves, titles that demand a proper theatrical experience.

Martin cited the sound and image quality of The Zone of Interest, for example, as being a crucial film to see in a theatrical setting.

“You just can’t watch that movie at home and get the same effect,” Martin said. “These movies are particular theater movies, whether it’s because of the sound quality, or things coded within the film, or because of the speed of the film – things you might miss if you are at home and, say, pick up your phone. The big screen is the best potential way to experience these films.”

After all, why venture to the fictional paradise of Montunui in Disney’s Moana this summer, when you can traverse the treacherous Amazon River in Aguirre, the Wrath of God? This is the logic upon which Bleak Week is based, providing an unusual slate to serve as both summer counterprogramming and to confront moviegoers with questions/experiences they are not typically provided in a mainstream theatrical context.

Martin especially believes that this programming lineup, as well as the Plaza’s overall commitment to curating challenging works all year long, remains essential to our collective movie-going diet.

“While most of these movies are a lot older, we’re still experiencing many of the same issues today,” Martin said. “As human beings we have not grown, and we may never grow, but it does feel good sometimes to see a movie that puts an ear up to the world that we’re living in. To say, ‘I am not alone in my pain and in my despair.’”

“Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair” will run from June 5-11 at the Plaza Theatre. Tickets for each screening are currently available on the Plaza website.