Movies: ‘House the Zaentz Built,’ ‘Reading Lolita,’ ‘I Want Your Sex,’ ‘Hadestown,’ ‘American Pachuco’  

“Made in Berkeley: The House That Zaentz Built,” an August-long series at Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, honors Berkeley’s Fantasy Studios building and producer Saul Zaentz — who created an editing and sound-mixing studio there — with a lineup of films, mostly documentaries, made at the site across decades. Opening films are Vivien Hillgrove’s “Vivien’s Wild Ride” (2025), about the transformative journey of film editor Vivien Hillgrove, who loses her sight, screening on Saturday, and Steven Okazaki’s “White Light / Black Rain” (2007), with stories of survivors of the atomic bombings in 1945, screening on Aug. 7. Also on tap are Philip Kaufman’s “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” (1988); Justine Shapiro, B.Z. Goldberg and Carlos Bolado’s “Promises” (2001); Vivian Kleiman’s “No Straight Lines” (2021); Marlon Riggs’ groundbreaking “Tongues Untied” (1989); and Denise Zmekhol’s “Skin of Glass” (2023). Live conversations accompany most screenings. Visit bampfa.org. 

Strong performances and winning subjects — defiant Iranian women and good books — offset a lack of depth and originality in “Reading Lolita in Tehran,” a drama based on Azar Nafisi’s memoir about teaching Western literature in a repressive country. Directed by Eran Riklis and currently in Bay Area theaters, the film follows literature professor Azar Nafisi (Golshifteh Farahani), who returns from abroad to her native Iran in the late 1970s, following the revolution. Azar has arrived to teach a class in English-language classical literature, but her reading list and independent spirit displease authorities. After she is ousted from academia for refusing to wear a hijab, Azar begins holding secret banned-book talks, discussing “Lolita,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Daisy Miller” and “Pride and Prejudice” with a few female students. The movie suggests a mix of “Women Talking” and a heroic-teacher picture during these sessions, where the young women discuss Jane Austen and connect in a supportive environment. At the same time, their participation in the book group and their rebelliousness are putting them in danger facing a brutal regime. As the repression continues, Azar and her husband Bijan (Arash Marandi) realize that they may have to leave the country they love. While film is formulaic, with surface-level storytelling by Riklis and screenwriter Marjorie David, Riklis, who also directed “Lemon Tree” and “The Syrian Bride,” finds appealing human stories and casts compelling actors. Farahani is captivating as her character navigates a world of sexism, censorship and religious extremism. The actresses playing Azar’s students — Zar Amir, Bahar Beihaghi, Mina Kavani, Isabella Nefar, Raha Rahbari, Lara Wolf — are also effective.  Everything adds up to an unextraordinary but powerful film that condemns patriarchalism and authoritarianism as well as celebrates literature and expression. 

“I Want Your Sex,” opening Friday in Bay Area theaters, is a kinky romp, a boss-from-hell comedy and a celebration of unfettered sexuality. The writer-director is Gregg Araki (“The Doom Generation”), a major figure in the New Queer Cinema movement of the 1990s. While this movie isn’t as daring or outrageous as his films of that period, his independent spirit and zany tone still shine. Cowritten by Karley Sciortino, Araki’s warped fairytale begins when 23-year-old Elliot (Cooper Hoffman), wearing pink lingerie, staggers out of a Los Angeles mansion and discovers his boss naked and facedown in a pool. Hinting at a possible murder mystery, Araki chronicles Elliot’s relationship with Erika (Olivia Wilde), the artist, provocateur and self-described “pretentious whore from hell” he works for. Elliot, whose personal life consists of an unavailable girlfriend (Charli XCX) and a repressed roommate (Chase Sui Wonders), is turned on when learning that his job entails becoming Erika’s sex muse. He relishes the pair’s S&M encounters — at least until boundaries are crossed. A running theme involves Erika’s view that Gen Z is prudish. Young people should loosen up and act on their wildest desires, she maintains. While Cooper’s naive Elliot is endearing, the film belongs to Wilde. With her unhinged Erika, who’s a flip side to Angela, the inhibited character she played in “The Invite,” Wilde is operating on Araki’s wacky wavelength and is a kick to watch. Though not all of the sexcapades are hilarious, the movie succeeds overall as a zesty thumbs-up for pleasure and liberation. Daveed Diggs, Mason Gooding, and, playing cops investigating the boss-in-the-pool incident, Johnny Knoxville and Margaret Cho costar. 

Playwright and director Luis Valdez, whose works have brought the Mexican American experience to the stage and screen, is profiled in “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez,” a joyful new documentary directed by David Alvarado. Valdez’s credits include the stage play “Zoot Suit,” its movie adaptation, and the hit film “La Bamba.” “American Pachuco” opens at the Roxie Theater Friday and expands to additional theaters Saturday.  

“Hadestown: The Movie,” a live-capture presentation of the Tony-winning stage musical, is screening for a short time in theaters. Directed by Brett Sullivan, the film was recorded over three live performances at the Lyric Theatre in London in early 2025. Its cast includes five of the original principal actors from the Broadway production. The story follows two couples from Greek mythology — Orpheus and Eurydice, and Hades and Persephone — in a postapocalyptic Depression-era American setting.  

The BLUSH San Francisco PornFilmFestival, celebrating the Bay Area’s adult-film industry, presents its 2026 edition Saturday and Sunday at the Roxie Theater. The event includes four different programs of short erotic and adult films, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. Showtimes are 6 and 9 p.m. on both days. Visit roxie.com.