Discover exceptional storytelling, new releases, documentaries, restored classics, foreign and art films at Tivoli.
Curated by Jerry Harrington, the Nelson-Atkins is honored to be the home of the beloved theater.
Songs of Earth
Norwegian w/ English subtitles
2023 | NR | 90 Minutes
Dir. Margreth Olin & Wim Wenders
Thursday, July 25 | 7 p.m. | Tickets
Saturday, July 27 | 2 p.m. | Tickets
Norway’s official selection for the Academy Awards, Songs of Earth is a cinematic symphony. Director Margreth Olin’s 85-year-old father guides us through Norway’s most scenic valley, where he grew up among cultures who thrive and survive within the balance of nature. The sounds of the earth harmonize in this breathtaking journey produced by Liv Ulmann and Wim Wenders.
Kansas City Dreamin’
2023 | NR | 60 Minutes
Dir. Diallo Javonne French
Thursday, Aug. 8 | 7 p.m. | Tickets
Saturday, Aug. 10 | 2 p.m. | Tickets
Screening will include an introduction and Q&A with director Diallo Javonne French.
“Jazz was born in New Orleans,” the saying goes, “but it grew up in Kansas City.” This new documentary by filmmaker Diallo Javonne French celebrates Kansas City’s African American music culture and its importance to the American genres of jazz, hip hop, rock-n-roll, and soul. The film spotlights the global influence of area artists like Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Bobby Watson, Oleta Adams, Janelle Monae, and Tech N9ne.
Le Samouraï
French w/ English subtitles
1967 | NR | 104 Minutes
Dir. Jean Pierre Melville
Thursday, Aug. 22 | 7 p.m. | Tickets
Sunday, Aug. 25 | 2 p.m. | Tickets
In a career-defining performance, Alain Delon plays Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts. After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer. An elegantly stylized — and newly remastered — masterpiece of cool, Le Samouraï is a razor-sharp cocktail of 1940s American gangster cinema, 1960s French pop culture, and Japanese lone-warrior mythology.
John Singer Sargent: Fashion & Swagger
2024 | NR | 90 Minutes
Dir. David Bickerstaff
Thursday, Sept. 5 | 7 p.m. | Tickets
Saturday, Sept. 7 | 2 p.m. | Tickets
Screening will include an introduction and Q&A with director Diallo Javonne French.
John Singer Sargent is known as the greatest portrait artist of his era. What made his ‘swagger’ portraits remarkable was his power over his sitters, what they wore, and how they were presented to the audience. Through interviews with curators, contemporary fashionistas, and style influencers, Exhibition on Screen’s film examines how Sargent’s unique practice has influenced modern art, culture, and fashion.
Tivoli under the stars
Experience films in an unparalleled setting! Join us for outdoor screenings of all your favorite films, on the lawn of the Nelson-Atkins.
About
Shortly after The Tivoli theater closed its doors in Westport, former theater owner Jerry Harrington approached the Nelson-Atkins with an innovative idea. With a little work, the museum’s beautiful and historic Atkins Auditorium could transform into an arthouse theater and become the new home for Tivoli Cinemas. Jerry himself would lend his film and audience expertise and curate a compelling programming plan.
Thanks to the visionary leadership of The Sunderland Foundation, Shirley and Barnett C. Helzberg, Jr., Neil D. Karbank, Estelle and Morton Sosland, G. Kenneth and Ann Baum, Evelyn Craft Belger and Dick Belger, Robert & Phyliss Bernstein Family Foundation, Donald J. Hall, Sara and Bill Morgan, and Mark and Lynne O’Connell Tivoli at the Nelson-Atkins was created.