The Metro Cinema will begin its 2025 to 2026 guest programmed series in October, and the roster features curation from Biboye Onanuga, the latest musician in residence for Edmonton Public Library, which pairs live jazz with documentaries on the genre's history.
What is guest programming? Metro has a longstanding tradition of inviting people to pitch series of film screenings that focus on genres, cultures, and themes. Heather Noel, Metro's programming manager, previously told Taproot that this helps the cinema better reflect Edmonton's people. Now, in the lead-up to the launch, Noel detailed how the upcoming series will explore Edmonton's connections to rivers and jazz, while also reaching into horror niches and highlighting the cinematic forebears to Lana Del Rey.
"We're always excited when people can propose a series that involves a live performance element," Noel told Taproot about the Onanuga series. "That's another way that we can support the local arts community, which is a huge part of our mandate. (Live performances work especially well) if the guest programmer has connections to that community."
Onanuga's Live on Screen series is planned for November. He is embedded in Edmonton's music scene, performing at both Edmonton's historic Yardbird Suite and in basement dance clubs, among other places. He has organized tributes to hip-hop legends at the Yardbird, and runs the New Standards night at 9910, below The Common.
Noel said Metro locks in series themes before specific titles, so there are few films ready to share just yet. One of her key roles as part of the guest series is to find out what films are available and make the deals to show them, based on the guest's wish list and some gentle input from the Metro team.
Another extremely Edmonton series is River City Reels by Scott Campbell, which will run in July 2026. Campbell described the series as a celebration of Metro's connection to the nearby North Saskatchewan River, and noted each film prominently features a river. Don't expect to see the North Saskatchewan itself on the screen, though, Noel said.
"When we put these movies together, it just really evoked the Edmonton river valley, which is funny, because none of these films have anything to do with Edmonton directly," she said. "Some of the river movies that came up were The African Queen, Deliverance, Apocalypse Now, (and) some more obscure stuff."
One imaginative series with no obvious Edmonton angle is Cinematic Songwriters: Lana Del Rey by arts and culture writer Mackenzie Mayor. She will examine themes of the GRAMMY-nominated performer's songwriting, which draws heavily from American iconography of the past.
"Complex female characters, loss of innocence, and coping with the pitfalls of the American dream are explored through the selection of films reflecting Del Rey's elevated 'sad girl' pop music," Mayor wrote in the synopsis for the series. "Experience the TikTok edits or Tumblr .gifs in their original contexts while learning more about how film and music have ongoing conversations."
The full season of guest programming runs from October 2025 through September 2026, and Metro is showing a highlight reel during a launch event on Sept. 12, when the cinema screens Charlie Chaplin's The Kid alongside live music from Edmonton Oilers organist Vince Anderson. Ahead of the season, Metro will be a host venue for the Edmonton International Film Festival, which starts on Sept. 25. The festival has shared some of its lineup, including the locally made film, Buffet Infinity.
The coming season of guest programming at the Metro Cinema will focus on live jazz, rivers, the work of librarians, and even Lana Del Rey. A launch party takes place on Sept. 12, and the season begins in October.
- October - The Wild World of Euro Horror by Lori Alex: "A cinematic tour through European genre film with a series of cult favourites from different countries, showcasing what each brought to the horror genre at large." Alex is a comedian, filmmaker and the co-creator of the Queer Horror Cult podcast.
- November - Live From the Screen by Biboye Onanuga: "This series transforms Metro Cinema into a 'listening room,' offering audiences a space to deeply engage with jazz's evolving history and its ongoing impact."
- December - Silver Screen Justice by Austin Leask: "Through humour, drama, and a touch of horror these films grapple with the rule of law, the hunt for a resolution, and whether justice truly exists in a formal legal system." Leask is a student-at-law with Reynolds Mirth Richards & Farmer.
- January - Fear the Network by Eric Kaltman: "Before network culture became the culture, relive films (from around 1995) that exposed relevant, and in retrospect, completely real fears about the coming computer society." Kaltman is a professor of media and technology studies at the University of Alberta.
- February - Shhhh: Tales from the Stacks by Lindsey Campbell: "This film series celebrates intellectual freedom, freedom to read, and the work that libraries and librarians do — playing vital roles in their communities and serving as a safe spaces to nourish freedom of expression that is necessary for a diverse and inclusive community and culture."
- March - Do I Look Like Him: Black Men on Screen by Sahal Jeilani: "Oftentimes Black men are defined through stereotypes and reduced to statistics, making it harder for them to come into their own identities. In this series of films, Black boys are haunted by the world as they look for their place in it."
- April - Head of Hollywood by Sylvia Douglas: "Edith Head, one of Hollywood's most iconic costume designers, revolutionized film fashion, blending character, narrative, and style. This film series celebrates her legacy." Douglas is a filmmaker and president of Metro's board.
- May - Cinematic Portraiture: In Their Own Words by Zane Kordich: "These documentaries give their unconventional subjects the reigns to tell their stories in their own voice."
- June - Cinematic Songwriters: Lana Del Rey: - "(This series is) a deep dive into the themes of Lana Del Rey's music through the films which inspire her songwriting."
- July - River City Reels: "Presenting these films as a series will guide viewers to see these iconic films — and the North Saskatchewan River itself — in new ways."
- August - GlitterGrunge Prophecies by Aldynne Belmont: "These lo-fi cult classics are messages from the past ... about the end of the world we're currently living through." Belmont is a writer and artist.
- September - Black Gloves and Red Lights III: Giallo Profundo by Mike Kendrick: "Black Gloves and Red Lights is a tour through Giallo — the stylish, gruesome, and psychosexual thriller genre that flourished in mid-century Italian cinema."