Bleak Week film festival celebrates dark cinema

What they're saying: Why watch a bleak movie?

• In the same way that people listen to sad songs, a dark movie highlights important emotions and human experiences, Wexner Center head of film David Filipi tells Axios.
• "Sometimes, a way of navigating those feelings and coping with those feelings is to get even more in touch with your own humanity, our shared humanity," Filipi says.
• "Not everything can be a distraction. I think that causes just as many problems, when people turn to distraction over and over again to escape from or forget what's happening in the world."

🎞️ On screen: Eight classics spanning 75 years.

• Critically acclaimed headliners include Lars von Trier's "Melancholia," the extremely influential "Menace II Society" and 1985 anti-war classic "Come and See."
• Plus: Five movies will be screened on 35mm film.

The big picture: Originally a Los Angeles festival, Bleak Week has expanded to 73 cities worldwide in its fifth year.

• The festival's growth — like the increasing popularity of the Criterion Collection and Letterboxd — signals that there are still plenty of people who want to see films that push boundaries and elicit emotion, Filipi says.
• "There's a growing pool of people who want to be challenged and don't just want to see blockbusters."

🎟️ If you go: Each film plays once between June 4-10. View the schedule.

• Tickets are $6-12.