This summer, pack your bags for 'Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair,' a global film festival coming to Digital Gym Cinema, beginning June 5, 2026 through June 11, 2026. Co-presented by the American Cinematheque, 'Bleak Week' spotlights a diverse lineup of films that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history. What began as a Los Angeles-based festival expands this year to 73 cities around the world, including San Diego's Digital Gym Cinema! Founded in 2022, 'Bleak Week' is an annual weeklong festival where audiences can celebrate and experience some of the most challenging works of arthouse cinema. Each June, ‘Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair’ spotlights a diverse lineup of films that venture into the darkest sides of humanity and the bleakest points in human history. Digital Gym Cinema is proud to be a participating cinema in the expanded fifth edition of 'Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair'. Our programming this year includes: • 'Don't Look Now' (Nicolas Roeg, 1973) • 'Meek's Cutoff' (Kelly Reichardt, 2010) • 'Europa' (Lars von Trier, 1991) • 'The Turin Horse' (Béla Tarr, 2011) • 'Pusher' (Nicolas Winding Refn, 1996) • 'Three War Films - A Generation' (Andrzej Wajda, 1955) • 'Three War Films - Kanal' (Andrzej Wajda, 1957) • 'Three War Films - Ashes and Diamonds' (Andrzej Wajda, 1958) • 'The Red and the White' (Miklós Jancsó, 1967) • 'Fires on the Plain' (Kon Ichikawa, 1959) • 'Dying at Grace' (Allan King, 2003) Showtimes and films vary each day, with most films screening twice or more throughout the week. Please visit our website for tickets and to plan your visit to these film destinations: digitalgym.org You can also book directly in person at our box office. Programmer's Statement: 2026: A year of war, and no peace. In honor of the world’s current descent into madness and self-destruction, I felt it was fitting to embrace the despairing theme of combat in our selection of films for 'Bleak Week', a curatorial opportunity to explore the many crises of humanity from various perspectives and genres. Here you will find literal warfare, from the cover-less terrain of the Volga ('The Red and the White') to the sewers of Warsaw ('Kanal') and the jungles of the Philippines ('Fires on the Plain'), and the psychological kind on the open plains of the American west ('Meek’s Cutoff') and the dark canals of Venice ('Don’t Look Now'). The cryptic and frenetic genre entries from provocateurs Lars von Trier ('Europa') and Nicolas Winding Refn ('Pusher') are equally crushing portraits of youth in free fall. But no matter how dire the world view becomes (the late Béla Tarr’s 'The Turin Horse' is especially stormy), these films all share a sense of resilience and a resistance to the loss of hope. Look no further than Allan King’s epic documentary 'Dying at Grace', one of the greatest films ever made about physical deterioration and emotional expression. But who can pick just one nightmare when there are so many to choose from? I suggest you see them all, because collectively, they serve as a reminder of how far we can fall as human beings, and how we can ultimately survive the relentlessness of it all. — Glenn Heath Jr., Artistic Director, Digital Gym Cinema. Digital Gym Cinema on Facebook / Instagram
