A DATE WITH SHIRLEY

Directed by Ken Jacobs

2026 / 48min / Digital

. This colorful and cubist record of a Chinatown haircut is the final long-form work by the great avant-garde filmmaker Ken Jacobs, who died last October. As with his first film, Orchard Street (1955), made 70 years earlier, A Date with Shirley is a slice of New York City life that transforms urban energy into cinematic spectacle. Three cameras capture the action, one operated by Ken as he is having his Einstein-ian locks shorn, and the others by his children, Aza and Nisi. A loving and poignant family scene, the film is also a dazzling work of art—and a tribute to a fine barber whose phone number is offered in the credits. World premiere This screening of A Date with Shirley is part of The Whole Shebang, a monthlong citywide celebration of Ken and Flo Jacobs taking place at 14 venues from April 1–30. Preceded by The Tree (A árvore) Dir. Ana Vaz. 2022, 21 mins. Spain/Brazil. Digital. At once a diary film and a contemplative landscape study, focusing on a lone tree that sits atop a rugged seaside hill, The Tree is also a dreamlike portrait of the filmmaker’s father, Guilherme Vaz, whom she describes as “artist, musician, and mystic of the forest.” Capturing the mood of the film is audio of the father musing that “our lives are completely populated by ghosts. When we manage to sufficiently contemplate and feel the life of an image, that is when the dead are among the living.” New York premiere and Veronique Dir. Friedl vom Gröller. 2025, 4 mins. Silent. Austria. Digital. Friedl vom Groller’s intimate, unassuming films are portraits of people and places in her life; here she looks at three women who work together at a hair salon. Tickets: $17.50 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth (ages 3–17) / free for MoMI members at the Senior/Student level and above. There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership. Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission.