A woman starts exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking her husband for a divorce. Suspicions of infidelity soon give way to something much more sinister.

More about the film: Banned upon its original release in 1981, Andrzej Żuławski’s stunningly choreographed nightmare of a marriage unraveling is an experience unlike any other. Professional spy Mark (Sam Neill) returns to his West Berlin home to find his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani, in a role that earned her Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival) insistent on a divorce. As Anna’s frenzied behavior becomes ever more alarming, Mark discovers a truth far more sinister than his wildest suspicions. With its pulsating score, visceral imagery, and some of the most haunting performances ever captured on screen, Possession is cinematic delirium at its most intoxicating.

*Join us on August 16th following the 6:10 p.m. screening for a post-film discussion facilitated by Shannon Bauerle.

Shannon Bauerle is a public scholar, speaker, and founder of Project Enough, an educational initiative dedicated to exploring the histories, ideas, and cultural narratives often left out of traditional education. For more than 20 years, she has taught university courses in Gender Studies and American Studies, examining topics such as horror, feminism, religion, identity, and representations of gender and culture in film.

Shannon has studied Possession extensively as part of her popular course, Possession of the Femme: Body, Mind, and Spirit, where she guides audiences through the film’s historical, feminist, and cultural dimensions. Through lectures, workshops, and public events, she encourages audiences to engage with film not only as entertainment but also as a powerful lens for understanding society, culture, and ourselves.

This screening is in celebration of the life and career of Sam Neill.