Now Playing (Virtual) at the Cinematheque in Cleveland, OH. Tickets »

Now playing (Virtual) at Leammle's Monica in Los Angeles, CA. Closed.

Now playing (Virtual) at the Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, CA. Tickets »

Now playing (Virtual) at the Varsity Theatre in Davis, CA. Tickets »

Now playing (Virtual) at the Tallahassee Film Society in Tallahassee, FL. Closed.

Now playing (Virtual) at the Detroit Institute of Art in Detroit, MI. Tickets »

Now playing (Virtual) at Aperture in Winston-Salem, NC. Tickets »

Now playing (Virtual) at the Bijou Theatre in Lincoln City, OR. Closed.

Now playing (Virtual) at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, IL. Tickets »

Played (Virtual) at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, IL.

Now playing (Virtual) at the Downing Film Center in Newburgh, NY. Tickets »

Opens December 10, 2021 at the Ryder Film Series in Bloomington, IN.

The new feature documentary ALGREN is a journey through the gritty world, brilliant mind, and noble heart of Nelson Algren. Exploding onto the national scene in 1950 after winning the first-ever National Book Award for The Man with the Golden Arm, Algren defined post-war American urban fiction with his gritty, brilliant depiction of working class Chicago.

Hemingway declared him second only to Faulkner; Vonnegut dubbed him a literary groundbreaker. Hollywood soon came calling, immortalizing his breakout novel with none other than Frank Sinatra in the lead role. Algren even won a notorious place in both the heart and work of France’s premiere feminist, Simone de Beauvoir.

Including never-before-seen archival footage, newly uncovered audio recordings and his own rarely seen, personal photo collages, ALGREN charts the rise and fall of a man whose transgressions, compassion and thirst for justice pushed him to dedicate his life and career to giving a voice to the voiceless. Through interviews with Algren’s friends, literary experts and artists – including William Friedkin, Russell Banks, Philip Kaufman, Billy Corgan and John Sayles – the film is an intimate, witty and even antagonistic portrait of a tireless champion of America’s most marginalized.

"Enlightening for those who don't know Algren at all and thrilling for those who knew the man or his work and his life." - Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune

"A riveting, comprehensive depiction of an author that Ernest Hemingway declared second only to William Faulkner in the pantheon of U.S. writers." - Duane Byrge, The Hollywood Reporter

ALGREN
A film by Michael Caplan
85 minutes | color | In English
Optional English captions for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

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