May 2026 Roundup
/Today we recap screenings, events, and celebrations from May related to GME titles, artists, and colleagues. Notably, 1930s Hollywood classics by Ernst Lubitsch screened throughout the month at Film Forum, while early silent gems by Urban Gad and Carl Th. Dreyer were programmed for the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and accompanied by live musicians. Moreover, GME presented Luigi Zampa's 1947 comedy L’ONOREVOLE ANGELINA, starring Academy Award-winner Anna Magnani, in the Adrienne Mancia Streaming Room.
May 1st — Film Forum
On May 1st, Film Forum premiered a new 4K restoration of Luchino Visconti's 1951 comedy BELLISSIMA, starring Academy Award-winner Anna Magnani. On May 21st, Luigi Zampa’s 1947 comedy L’ONOREVOLE ANGELINA, also starring Magnani, was made available to view in the Adrienne Mancia Streaming Room. Mancia was a close friend and colleague to GME President Jon Gartenberg. While working with Gartenberg as Curator in the Museum of Modern Art's Film Department, Mancia was a major champion of Italian cinema, and notably organized the first American retrospective of Magnani's work at MoMA in 1988.
May 5th — Film Forum
Every Tuesday in May, Film Forum celebrated the work of director Ernst Lubitsch with the retrospective series THE LUBITSCH TOUCH. The series (which concludes on July 2nd) began on April 7th and included screenings of THE SMILING LIEUTENANT (1931) on May 5th, BLUEBEARD'S EIGHTH WIFE (1938) on May 12th, THE MERRY WIDOW (1934) on May 19th, and TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932) on May 26th, plus a special screening of SINNERS IN THE SUN (1932) on May 27th. GME distributes Lubitsch's early silent masterpiece THE LOVES OF PHARAOH (1922) as a Digital Site License, DVD, and Blu-Ray to North American universities. PHARAOH was a major work that cemented Lubitsch's status as Germany's top film director; it was also Lubitsch's last German-language film before he relocated to the United States, whereupon he began a successful career in Hollywood.
May 7th — San Francisco Silent Film Festival
On Thursday, May 7th, Urban Gad's THE ABYSS screened at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival with live music by Stephen Horne and Mas Koga and an introduction by GME friend and colleague Thomas Christensen. (Christensen has been the Curator of the Danish Film Institute since 1998 and was honored by the SFSFF in 2025 for his contributions to the fields of film preservation and exhibition). Later, on Sunday, May 10th, Carl Th. Dreyer's LOVE ONE ANOTHER (1922) screened at the festival with live music by Guenter Buchwald, Mas Koga, and Sascha Jacobsen. GME distributes THE ABYSS to North American universities on DVD in the four-film Asta Nielsen collection THE ABYSS (AFGRUNDEN) / THE BALLET DANCER (BALLETDANSERINDEN) / THE BLACK DREAM (DEN SORTE DRØM) / TOWARDS THE LIGHT (MOD LYSET). GME also distributes Dreyer's LOVE ONE ANOTHER in the two-film collection LOVE ONE ANOTHER (ELSKER HVERANDRE) & THE BRIDE OF GLOMDAL (GLOMDALSBRUDEN), available as both a Blu-Ray and DVD. The Nielsen and Dreyer publications are both published by the Danish Film Institute.
May 14th — The Museum of Modern Art
From May 14th-26th, GME friends and colleagues Francisco Algarín Navarro and Carlos Saldaña presented a career retrospective of Mexican experimental filmmaker Teo Hernández (1939-1993) at The Museum of Modern Art. In May 2024, Navarro and Saldaña presented a series of films by Nathaniel Dorsky and Jerome Hiler, who were friends and collaborators of filmmaker Warren Sonbert. Since 1995, GME has represented Sonbert's work and legacy. Navarro and Saldaña are currently working on a publication about Sonbert's life and career, which will accompany an exhibition of his films in Spain (also curated by Navarro and Saldaña).
May 21st — GME
Beginning on May 21st, GME was pleased to present Luigi Zampa’s 1947 Italian comedy L’ONOREVOLE ANGELINA (THE HONORABLE ANGELINA), starring Academy Award-winner Anna Magnani, in the Adrienne Mancia Streaming Room. Mancia was a fierce champion of Italian cinema. In 1988, she received Italy’s highest civilian honor, the Croce del la Repubblica. Mancia was also a great admirer of Magnani's, who achieved international renown in the 1950s as one of the most acclaimed screen thespians of her day. In association with Gene Lerner and the Incontri Internazionali d'Arte (Rome), Mancia and assistant curator Stephen Harvey programmed the first major American retrospective of Magnani’s work at MoMA in October and November of 1988. 1947’s L’ONOREVOLE ANGELINA (which is now in the public domain) was selected as the opening night film.
May 30th — NEWFEST
On May 30th, NEWFEST: The New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival, hosted the New York premiere of Brydie O'Connor's acclaimed documentary BARBARA FOREVER. O'Connor's doc chronicles the life and work of pioneering experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer. Hammer was a friend and colleague of GME President Jon Gartenberg and GME Fine Arts Curator David Deitch. Gartenberg routinely programmed Hammer's work; most recently, her 1981 film POOLS in the program What’s Happening? Affirmations: A Celebration of the LGBTQ+ Gaze. Curated in collaboration with Elena Rossi-Snook, this program screened at the New York Public Library on October 7th, 2025.