Released to wide acclaim, Justine Triet’s 2023 procedural thriller will have you on the edge of your seat asking “Did she do it?” and “Wait, do French courts really work that way?” Anatomy of a Fall follows the aftermath of a marital dispute when a man falls—stumbles? Is shoved?—to his death from the heights of his snowy French Alps home, and his wife, a novelist (played by the fantastic Sandra Hüller) is put on trial.
The film is a slow burn; its details minute and austere, but it will leave you up late at night Googling theories. This free screening is part of Duke’s 2025 French Film Festival—other screenings include The Animal Kingdom and The Night of the 12th, among others—and will be followed by a Q&A. Be sure to check out future Duke Screen/Society programming, too—the curation is pretty much impeccable and admission is free. —Sarah Edwards
Raleigh’s Burning Coal Theater is premiering not one, but two plays this season: The first, comedy Paint Me This House of Love, will see a U.S. stage for the first time when Jules (Ali Goins) shows up at the door of his daughter Cecelia (Monica Hoh), who has been estranged from him for over two decades.
As they embark on a home renovation project, wounds from the past inevitably surface in clever dialogue by playwright Chelsea Woolley that crisscrosses years of hurt and misunderstanding. Valentine’s Day is usually all about romantic relationships, but the process of repairing familial relationships is every bit as raw and important. Keep an eye out for Burning Coal’s regional premiere of Being Chaka, which follows Paint Me This House of Love with a March 13 opening date—and if you buy a bundle with tickets to both plays, Burning Coal is offering a steep discount. —Sarah Edwards
Before Ocean Vuong shook the literary world with his novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, he established himself with Night Sky with Exit Wounds, a poetry collection that weaves together the aftermath of the Vietnam War with themes of queerness, displacement, and generational trauma. Now, composer Bryce Dessner and theater artist Kaneza Schaal are transforming Night Sky into a multimedia piece, featuring vocals from soprano Fleur Barron as well as orchestration and visuals.
This “work-in-progress” showing, a part of the Carolina Performing Arts season, offers a window into the creative process, inviting attendees to witness the evolution of a piece that won’t premiere until 2027. Both evenings will feature a conversation between Dessner and Schaal, the latter fresh from directing the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Omar. In their hands, Vuong’s poems step beyond the page into a new realm of sound and movement. —Lena Geller
Though she may be best known for her vocals on a duet with John Prine—the chirpy, cheeky “In Spite of Ourselves”—Iris DeMent is a legend of her own accord, with a steady catalog dating back to the early 90s. Now touring with Brooklyn musician Ana Egge, the country-folk songwriter is at her best when she’s lifting her sweet, full-bodied voice in hopes of a better world, as on “Warriors of Love” from her most recent album, a song that pays tribute to both John Lewis and Rachel Corrie. There’s rich substance to DeMent’s music, as she traverses ground ranging from Chekhov to the Chicks and topics from aging to community. Listen if you like Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, or Tift Merritt. —Sarah Edwards
What’s behind a dance performance? From an audience perspective—watching someone as physically deft and joyfully in command of their craft as former Alvin Ailey dancer Hope Boykin—we know it must take a lot of work.
In States of Hope, Boykin, a Durham native, demonstrates just how much bodily work is behind the scenes, choreographing a performance of seven dancers who act out Boykins’ states of being on stage: the Determined, the Conformist, the Cynical, the Convinced, the Angry, the Daughter of Job and the Worried. The New York Times has called this Boykins’ “most vulnerable, and ambitious, work yet.” As the saying goes, we all contain multitudes. Well, here’s a chance to see those multitudes embodied in a state-of-the-art performance. —Sarah Edwards
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