Drawn to cinema and already making Super 8mm movies as a child, Todd Haynes earned cinematic cult hero status with the banned but bootlegged 1987 underground hit Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. Following the 1991 release of his first feature, Poison (an ambitious reimagining of stories by Jean Genet in three distinct cinematic idioms), he was recognized as a pioneer of the New Queer Cinema. Since then, Haynes has continued to direct an impressive body of work — including original screenplays Safe, Velvet Goldmine, and Far From Heaven; adaptations Dark Waters, Wonderstruck, and Carol; and an innovative biopic, I’m Not There.
Certain themes recur throughout Haynes’s varied oeuvre, especially the nature of identity in relation to the self and society, and the power and danger of resisting or transgressing social norms. Haynes frequently tweaks narrative and genre conventions to upend or unsettle viewer expectations. Often working within specific historical times and places, he enhances his meticulous production design through his choice of media, cameras, lenses, and film stocks for each project. Beginning with four films chosen and presented by the director himself, this extensive retrospective offers viewers the exceptional opportunity to see all of Haynes’s feature films and a selection of early works.
See BAMPFA for more details and to purchase tickets.
Safe (1995)
Saturday, March 8, 2025 | 2:30 pm
Todd Haynes and Mary Ann Doane (Film & Media) in Conversation
Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Saturday, March 8, 2025 | 6:30 pm
Todd Haynes and Damon Young (French and Film & Media) in Conversation
I'm Not There (2007)
Sunday, March 9, 2025 | 2:00 pm
Todd Haynes and Damon Young (French and Film & Media) in Conversation
Far from Heaven (2002)
Sunday, March 9, 2025 | 6:30 pm
Todd Haynes and Dolores McElroy (Film & Media) in Conversation
Todd Haynes's Early Works
Thursday, March 20 | 7:00 pm
Introduced by Mary Ann Doane (Film & Media)
Dark Waters (2019)
Saturday, March 22, 2025 | 7:00 pm
Carol (2015)
Wednesday, March 26 | 7:00 pm
Introduced by Dolores McElroy (Film & Media)
Wonderstruck (2017)
Saturday, March 29 | 3:30 pm
Introduced by Theresa L. Geller (Gender & Women's Studies)
Poison (1991)
Saturday, April 5 | 6:30 pm
Introduced by Thomas DePaoli (Film & Media)
The Velvet Underground (2021)
Friday, April 11 | 7:00 pm
May December (2023)
Saturday, April 12 | 6:30 pm
Presented in partnership with BAMPFA.
