Filmforum 50, Program 17: Floribunda, an outdoor garden screening
Spring Songs, by Robert Todd
Los Angeles Filmforum, Arlington Garden, and Livonian Cinema present
Filmforum 50, Program 17: Floribunda, an outdoor garden screening
Saturday August 8, 2026, Doors at 7:30, screening at 8:30 pm
At Arlington Garden, 275 Arlington Dr, Pasadena, CA 91105 ((between Pasadena Ave and Orange Grove)
See below for directions, parking, access for Arlington Garden
Tickets: $15 general, $10 students/seniors/neighbors of Arlington Garden, free for Filmforum members
At https://buytickets.at/losangelesfilmforum/2321726
If you live within a block of the Garden, please email info@arlingtongardenpasadena.org for the discount code
Please bring blankets, low chairs, refreshments. Some chairs will be available on site, but probably not enough. Probably some wine will be available for purchase, and we plan to have popcorn for free. Doors at 7:30 for the screening area, but the garden will be open all day until dark, and is well worth exploring in the hour or two before the show.
gardens as places to gather
gardens as places of perceptual shifts
gardens as colonial imagination
gardens as fantasy
gardens as sites of labor and care
gardens as collections
gardens as sensory wonderlands
gardens as places of solitude and contemplation
Contemplative, whimsical, analytical, reverential, materialist, political or diaristic - the garden has been the colorful source for a bounty of cinematic approaches. A garden can be seen to parallel a film: from small moments and separate bits of life, combined with intention and labor, grows a work that invites one in, allowing distraction or absorption. The idea of a garden itself carries realms of history and meaning: the notion of taming wilderness, mixing flora that might not normally grow together, the labor involved in creating and tending, the use and consumption of natural resources, the mix of science and aesthetics, labels of native and invasive plants, colonial reach and tranquil beauty.
In this outdoor summer screening, we have chosen to share a range of contemporary short experimental films all looking closely at the life and realms of gardens. As one might expect, flowers receive a great deal of close attention, their colors and layers, cataloguing and growth, but we do not ignore the broader implications of landscapes, community, light, consumption, and the act of tending a garden.
We hope you might see this program as a garden.
Filmforum returns to Pasadena for this lovely set of films set in the beautiful space of Arlington Garden. Filmforum was started by Terry Cannon, then 21 years old, with its first full season, January-March 1976, held at the Neighborhood Church, just 1.8 miles from Arlington Garden up Orange Grove. Pasadena Filmforum used several locations in the city over the following eight years, then relocated to Los Angeles in Fall 1984.
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Arlington Garden in Pasadena is a climate appropriate habitat garden offering learning, inspiration, and enjoyment for all. Located in a residential neighborhood, it is a 2.5 acre host to climate-appropriate plants, trees, fungi, root systems, animals, birds, bees, bugs, and people. Founded over 20 years ago on land that was owned by Caltrans for the proposed 710 freeway, its vision is a transformed urban landscape where healthy gardens connect people and combat climate change. The garden is open, free of charge, during daylight hours 365 days a year. https://www.arlingtongardenpasadena.org/
The Livonian Cinema is a traveling movie theater that collaborates with artists, communities, and organizations in Southern California. https://livoniancinema.org/
Los Angeles Filmforum is the city’s longest-running organization dedicated to weekly screenings of experimental film, documentaries, video art, and experimental animation. 2026 is our 51st year. www.lafilmforum.org
Parking / General Information / Accessibility:
Getting There: The garden is in a quiet residential neighborhood with limited street parking. We encourage carpooling, public transit, rideshare, walking, and/or bike if possible. It is located a 15 minute walk or roll from the Metro Fillmore Station! Dedicated event parking is available.
Parking: Please park in a lot at the corner of Orange Grove Blvd. and State St., Pasadena, CA 91105, at Westridge School (do not use school address). The lot will be open from the start until the end of the program. It is a 9 minute walk from the lot to Arlington Garden’s main entrance. Please see the map and blue path below.
Garden Entrance: Enter the event at the west (main) entrance with the archway! There are 3 small steps and a no-step entrance to the right. Sidewalk curb cuts are adjacent to the main entrance on the west side of the garden on Arlington Drive (apartment driveway). Please note that some areas of the garden have uneven (loose) ground. Sturdy closed toe footwear is recommended. Visitors with mobility considerations may disembark in the red curb area immediately in front of the entrance. The formal outdoor Olive Allée, where the event is taking place, has a smoother ground surface and is generally accessible via a short walk or roll.
Event Start Area: A garden map is here. The event will take place in the area numbered 2.
Bathroom and Facilities: The onsite bathroom is a standard port-a-potty with one step up. The event is entirely outdoors. Bring a drinking bottle for water.