The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

FILM
Arab Film Festival

The Mizna organization and the historic Heights Theater present The Fifth Twin Cities Arab Film Festival. In American cinema, the depiction of Arab characters is peripheral at best, antagonist at worst. The authentic and varied experience of Arab culture is more accurately shown through firsthand accounts. The only Arab festival in the Upper Midwest, this event offers a voice to the Arab community through an artistic lens and the opportunity to discuss complex issues in a safe environment. The festival opens tonight with the screening of Moroccan film El Ayel: A Muslim Childhood followed by a reception open to the public. Question and answer sessions with directors and a performance by Palestinian hip-hop band DAM are a few of the special events included in the twenty-film festival which runs through Sunday. -Juleana Enright

Oct 16th-20th, Times Vary, Heights Theater, 3951 Central Avenue NE, Columbia Heights, $8 general, $5 students, Festival Passes $40 Adv $55 Door

SPECIAL EVENT
Third Thursday Polka Party

Get your polka on tonight at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts! As is the Third Thursday custom, the museum opens its doors to the public, charging the very affordable admission price of exactly zero dollars. This evening's festivities center around the MIA's German Expressionist collection, with works by masters such as Egon Schiele, Max Beckmann, and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Take a guided tour and get all the juicy details on this amazing collection and the interesting artists behind the work, or sit back and take in a screening of 1919 film classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. And what kind of polka party would it be without actual polka music? Tubby Esquire's Accordion Band will have you oompah-pahing all night long, and with a cash bar on hand, you'll have the liquid courage it takes to get on that dance floor and polka your heart out!

6pm-9pm, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2400 3rd Avenue S, Minneapolis, Free

READINGS
Larry Millett's Murder Has A Public Face at Magers & Quinn

Larry Millett, author of several notable books, many on our fair Twin Cities, will be speaking at Magers & Quinn this evening about his latest: Murder Has a Public Face. This tale follows four local, brutal murder cases in Minnesota's dark history and offers all the grim photos as accompaniment. Back in the day when Twin Cities' newspapers published actual breaking news, they also apparently published quite gory crime scene shots. Millett's words, far more than just photo captions, carefully depict the goings-on of the trials, reactions of the townsfolk, potential motives, and any other detail not visible to the naked eye. It's obvious Millett labored over his task, selecting the right tone to neither condemn nor glorify the crimes. His storytelling makes the scenes come to life. We see the perpetrators as neighbors, classmates, family members; then we flip the page to discover just what they are capable of. While some may not find a book on crime as enticing as watching the latest episode of CSI, this one is a must-read for any local history buff or simply anyone who remembers these awful events in our state's relatively recent past. If you're still in the mood to eat after the reading, head around the corner to Barbette for a decidedly more peppy atmosphere. -Jill Yablonski

7:30pm, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave S, Uptown Minneapolis, Free