Tivoli at the Nelson-Atkins
Discover exceptional storytelling, new releases, documentaries, restored classics, foreign and art films at Tivoli Cinema.
Curated by Jerry Harrington, the Nelson-Atkins is honored to be the home of the beloved theater.
Friday, dec. 20 | 7 pm
It’s A Wonderful Life
1946 | PG | 2 hrs. 10 min.
Dir. Frank Capra
Frank Capra’s feel-good classic stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a decent small-town banker who learns what life would have been like if he’d never been born. George’s unwitting involvement in a mistaken case of bank fraud threatens his spirit and tests his will to live — until a wise angel compels him to see the difference he’s made on the good people of Bedford Falls.
Friday, Jan. 10 | 7 PM
North by Northwest
1959 | PG | 2 hr. 16 min.
Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Cary Grant stars as an innocent man mistaken for a spy in one of director Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest thrillers. Ad man Roger Thornhill is pursued in a nonstop game of cat and mouse across North America by espionage agents trying to kill him – and by police who suspect him of murder.
Friday, jan. 17 | 7 pm
Sunday, jan. 19 | 2 pm
Dahomey
2024 | NR | 1 hr. 8 min.
Dir. Mati Diop
French w/ English subtitles
Blending fact and fiction, this hybrid documentary tells the story of plundered royal treasures and their journey from the West African Kingdom of Dahomey to Paris to their return to their home land. Director Diop artistically voices a new generation’s demands.
Friday, feb. 7 | 7 pm
Sunday, feb. 9 | 2 pm
Van Gogh Poets & Lovers
2024 | NR | 1 hr. 30 min.
Dir. David Bickerstaff
Focusing on his unique creative process, Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers explores the artist’s years in the south of France, where he revolutionized his style — turning the world around him into vibrant, idealized spaces and symbols. Produced in conjunction with the UK’s largest-ever Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery, this film reexamines one of history’s greatest and most misunderstood artists.
Friday, march 21 | 7 PM
Sunday, March 23 | 2 pm
Pissarro: Father of Impressionism
2022 | NR | 1 hr. 34 min.
Dir. David Bickerstaff
Without Camille Pissarro, there is no Impressionist art movement. This enthralling documentary explores the biography and significant output of an incredible artist, known today as the father of Impressionism.
Friday, April 4 | 7 pm
Gilda
1946 | NR | 1 hr. 50 min.
Dir. Charles Vidor
This classic noir follows small-time gambler Johnny Farrell, a drifter hired as the right-hand man to sinister casino owner Ballin Mundson. Tensions rise when Mundson brings home his glamorous new wife Gilda — who just so happens to be Farrell’s former lover.
Saturday, april 19 | 2 pm
Sunday, April 20 | 2 pm
Easter in Art
2020 | NR | 1 hr. 26 min.
Dir. Phil Grabsky
This beautifully crafted film explores the Easter story as depicted in art, from the time of the early Christians to the present day. Shot on location in Jerusalem, the U.S., and throughout Europe, Easter in Art uses the prism of religious tradition to explore shared cultural history.
About Tivoli
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.