Los Angeles has long been the mecca of modern entertainment and the birthplace of Hollywood, with generations of filmmakers using the city and its surrounding landscapes as the backdrop for some of the world’s most influential movies and television shows.
Now, you can dig deeper into that cinematic history without spending a dime. The UCLA Film & Television Archive, one of the largest moving-image collections in the world, is bringing 26 free public programs to the big screen this fall.
What are the free UCLA film screenings?
The fall lineup runs from October 7 through December 20, 2026, with programs presented at the Billy Wilder Theater inside the Hammer Museum in Westwood. Every screening is free, and admission is first come, first served. There are no reservations, and the box office opens one hour before showtime.
The schedule spans an impressively wide slice of film and television history. The season opens October 7 with Cagney & Lacey, featuring Sharon Gless and executive producer Barney Rosenzweig in person, followed by a series of rare television programs drawn from UCLA’s enormous archive.
Film lovers can also catch newly restored classics, including the North American premieres of Man Trouble (1930) and The Man Who Came Back (1924), the latter presented with live musical accompaniment.
The calendar gets especially spooky around Halloween, when La Llorona (2019) and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Pulse (2001) screen together on October 31, followed by How to Save a Dead Friend and A Ghost Story on November 1.
Other highlights include a retrospective of Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi, a five-program celebration of Dorothy Dandridge, the 60th anniversary of The Battle of Algiers, and The Art of the Benshi, featuring live Japanese silent-film narration and the North American premiere of a restored A Page of Madness (1926).
