In the past few years, Penny Lane has emerged as one of the most versatile and accomplished American nonfiction filmmakers. Her four features and seventeen shorts show incredible variety, incorporating a wide range of documentary modes, animation, and experimental techniques, always finding the approach suitable to her unique perspective on the subject. Her work moves fluidly between the personal and the political, between history and the present. Her films raise questions without being prescriptive; in many of them, she is interested in stripping away the lies and deceptions that are part of American society and politics. Her latest movie, Hail Satan?, exemplifies her open-minded approach, taking a close, empathetic look at a widely reviled group, the Satanic Temple, and finding surprising answers. Curiosity and personal expression abound in Lane’s work, and the Museum is pleased to present her first complete retrospective.

Organized by Curator-at-Large David Schwartz. Special thanks to Magnolia Pictures.

Penny Lane will be present for discussions at all of the screenings on Saturday and Sunday.