DGC Screen Gems: Volume 1. A festival of Transformations. Oct. 8-11. Featuring special selections by each Digital Gym Cinema staff member.
We are so proud of the passion and knowledge our Digital Gym Cinema staff brings to their jobs every day running the last art house theater in San Diego. So like the “Staff Picks” section that populated so many indie video stores in the 1980s and 90s, we wanted a way for our dedicated team to express themselves through curation and programming. And so, DGC Screen Gems was born, a semi-annual film festival curated by the entire staff that reflects our collective love for cinema.
Our first DGC Screen Gems program focuses on the theme of Transformations, and all of the interpretations and feelings such a malleable term can conjure up.
Below our team shares a little bit about why they selected their films.
Artistic Director Glenn selects Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction | Thu. October 8, 2026 at 7:00 PM
” It’s all theory and philosophy until someone gets bit. Abel Ferrara’s art/vampire film, a dense and moody examination of fear and self-loathing in 1990s New York City, takes this credo to insane heights. In the beginning, words and ideas are modes of deflection used by characters living in an academic world where hypothetical thought rules. But their wake-up call sleeks through the night, appearing suddenly and without reproach, brutally executing a primal reckoning of faith. From here, a new language emerges written in jet-black blood, caked on the lips of sirens and streaming down the contours of swan-like necks. For me, it is the ultimate vampire movie, and a great film about how complex transformations of body, mind, and identity can be both terrifying and political.”
Exhibitions Senior Manager selects Ingmar Bergman’s Persona | Fri. October 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
“I don’t feel I’ve experienced enough to speak on Persona, but whenever things start to get a bit complicated in life, it finds its way back onto my television screen. This time, I get to share that experience with you, and in a cinema.
Don’t we all want to be seen and heard? Take the trip with me to Bergman Island.”
Cinema Associate Holly selects E. Elias Merhige’s Begotten | Fri. October 9, 2026 at 9:00 PM
“when i thought of the theme of transformations, i immediately came up with the film that has the most horrific reputation for extreme, traumatic depictions of violence and oozing guts. but when you actually watch e. elias merhige’s begotten, its grimy, degraded images seem to emerge from a primordial state. in the distance these images create from recognizable reality, i find it to be one of the most beautiful films in the history of cinema. the recording carries an experience that exceeds what its imagery can explain, renewed and brought to life each time the film is encountered.
i see begotten as an expression of the most fundamental transformation we experience as human beings on a daily basis: the living present passes into the past, leaving remains from which something emerges as material for creation in the ever-present moment. isn’t that all we really get to experience? the opening intertitle holds the line that matters most to me: here lies the incantation of matter, a language forever.”
Special Events & Technical Coordinator Lalibela selects David Cronenberg’s The Fly | Sat. October 10, 2026 at 6:30 PM
“What is man and what is fly? Buzz over to the DGC to experience the twisted and gruesome story of when these two things become one. Another tale of transformation, of man vs. nature and the contrast of logical, calculated creature to one of pure primal instinct, I am thrilled to share this film with the DGC. May it make your skin CRAWL! “
Cinema Associate Tiffany selects Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers | Sat. October 10, 2026 at 9:00 PM
“For this series of “Screen Gems” it felt impossible not to include my beloved horror-sci fi classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). More relevant by the day, this film illuminates a fascinating aspect of humanity and its innate collective anxiety over the ‘foreign’ and our contradictoring fear of a totalitarian homogeneous society. Invasion of the Body Snatchers offers an insomniatic journey navigating a world order transforming overnight, the consequences that come with succumbing to it, and yet despite the world crumbling at its feet – the willingness to fight for it anyway.
Stay awake…See you in San Francisco, 1978.”
Exhibitions & Marketing Coordinator Laurie selects Shozin Fukui’s 964 Pinocchio | Sun. October 11, 2026 at 7:00 PM
“When you wish upon a star…you might get something close to Shozin Fukui’s perverse, redefining take on the marionette’s desire to become a real boy–a real boy that can run, scream, ooze, and bleed. Erratic camerawork, guerilla street shots, twisted eroticism, and wildly visceral, kinetic performances make for a relentless assault on the senses. Fukui blends grim cyberpunk aesthetics with body horror conventions to craft a tale of degeneration of the self and the terror of a mind being pushed to its physical breaking point. Punk and convulsing with ideas, 964 Pinocchio was a no-brainer for me to select in line with our theme of ‘Transformations’.”
Cinema Associate Lucia selects House (aka Hausu) | Sun. October 11, 2026 at 9:15 PM
“For DGC’s Screen Gems series TRANSFORMATIONS, I selected cult classic Japanese horror comedy House directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi! This experimental film has always resonated with me because of the female-driven story, nightmarish practical effects, vibrant painted backdrops, and psychedelic soundtrack.
It’s both a haunting post-war tale and coming-of-age teen melodrama dream blended into one bizarre movie. Supernatural elements featured throughout Hausu perfectly fit our Halloween theme!”
Thank you to everyone who attended our first ever DGC Screen Gems! If you want to see more exciting, ambitious, and challenging films like this at Digital Gym Cinema, become a member!
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DGC Screen Gems was made possible with the generous support of MUBI. Click here for one free month of hand-picked films.
