Blue

media release: UK | 1993 | 35mm | 76 min.

Director: Derek Jarman

Cast: Nigel Terry, Derek Jarman, Tilda Swinton

Created as he was dying of AIDS and losing his sight, Derek Jarman’s powerful final film famously consists of a single image: a screen-filling shade of blue. Blue’s visual monochrome is contrasted with a richly layered soundscape, as Jarman weaves a poetic account of his life as a gay man in London and impending mortality alongside contributions from longtime collaborators like Tilda Swinton and music by artists including Brian Eno and Coil. This singular cinematic experience will only be enhanced by screening on a 35mm print from the film’s original release. 

Admission is free, seating limited. No admission 15 minutes after scheduled start times.

The Spirit of Zeitgeist

Since 1988, New York-based distributor Zeitgeist Films has played a crucial role in the landscape of American arthouse cinema. Following the mantra “The Spirit of the Times,” Zeitgeist has introduced audiences to some of cinema’s most exciting new voices, releasing the first features of future masters Christopher Nolan, Todd Haynes, and Guy Maddin, while also championing long-running auteurs such as Abbas Kiarostami, Derek Jarman, Agnes Varda, and Peter Greenaway, as well as far-out animators like Jan Svankmajer and the Brothers Quay. Drawing on a collection donated by Zeitgeist co-founders Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo to the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research in 2024, our series showcases some of the most daring and enduring highlights from Zeitgeist’s catalog. And don’t miss Zeitgeist’s latest 2026 release, How to Divorce During the War, screening in our Premieres section.