HACKERS

The Internet officially became public in 1993, on the heels of the Cold War’s conclusion—it was the “New World Order.” The World Wide Web, as it was then called, promised an unprecedented level of connectedness between nodes, allowing information—if not bodies or things—to instantly cross all borders and circulate. Like many of the first movies to consider these new possibilities, HACKERS called it “hacking,” locating a grey zone of legality in which one could be hero and villain at the same time, but had the wisdom to find two deliriously fashionable, charismatic leads: Dade Murphy (Jonny Lee Miller) and Kate Libby (Angelina Jolie). That this dynamic duo triumphs over some avatar of “power” is little surprise; the joy of the film is in their inscrutable camp world and its alternative universe of customs.

Contact Zones: Cinema of Globalization, 1989–2024

Fall 2026 Lecture Series

“We might have come to the end of something,” Adam Curtis reflected recently, referring to "globalization," which began with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. But just how well do we know this world that we were, until recently, living in? Brief lectures before screenings and open discussions afterwards will cover background on local histories related to films in the series as well as theories of globalization, neoliberalism, migration, and digital culture. Presented in collaboration with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism. Lecturer: Professor Daniel R. Quiles. Select titles offered with Sunday encores; encores do not include lecture. 

The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu