Director Nisha Burton knows the subject of her new documentary, Over the Kitchen Table, quite well. Her mother, Norma Burton, was a key figure in the origin of what was then called the “battered women’s movement” in 1970s Tulsa, Oklahoma. From a kernel of community, women talking with women in each other’s homes, grew a grassroots organization that founded some of the first shelters for victims of domestic violence and later became the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, all the while facing backlash that included violence and death threats from a patriarchal society reflexively protecting its own privilege. In the 21-minute short, which Burton and producer Jessica Daugherty plan to expand into a feature, daughter and mother mimic the setting of those early conversations as Norma relates her experiences from a time when women could still be legally prevented from getting a mortgage or even a credit card in their own name, and when marital rape was legal almost nationwide. (Even today, many states maintain different standards of proof or other loopholes that treat marital or partner rape differently than non-marital sexual assault.) These laws made it very difficult for women in abusive relationships to escape them or to seek justice against their abusers.

Tulsa may seem an odd birthplace for a movement that sought to protect and empower women, but, as Nisha Burton said during a video call with Oregon ArtsWatch, like many conservative communities, the city had “a very intersectional counterculture of people from the LGBTQIA community and the BIPOC community. Tulsa’s also where the [1921] Tulsa race massacre happened. The legacy of that was very much alive then, making Tulsa an incredibly segregated place. They made a conscious decision to place the first shelter in the black part of town to show that this space was not just for white women, that it was to protect everybody.” As Norma and her allies began opening shelters and catering to women from more affluent neighborhoods, however, they experienced increased resistance, which might seem paradoxical. But, as Nisha explained, “the persecution on a large scale really started to intensify because they were able to extract women, not only with their children, but also some of their funds, and help them get away. So, there was a high level of risk that came with helping women from wealthier backgrounds because they were the wives of people who were in extreme positions of power. That was a turning point in the movement.”

An additional hurdle for many women trapped in abusive households can be the sheer bureaucratic tangle that needs to be negotiated, especially when custody of children is at issue. Daugherty points to the new Family Peace Center of Washington County, which in January will begin serving as a one-stop destination for the variety of services to which victims need access. “You go for your appointment, and you go from office to office. They communicate with the DA’s office and the police department every day, and there’s an advocate there. While it’s still imperfect, there are experiments happening.” That connection between the efforts of Norma Burton and her contemporaries in Tulsa and across the nation a half-century ago and the continued struggle to provide women with options, even as American society takes a heel turn toward toxic masculinity, is at the core of Over the Kitchen Table. “The purpose of this film, Daugherty says, “is to fuel the people that are doing the work now and highlight the legacy that they come from. Norma explains that they called the movement ‘Peace Begins at Home,’ because if violence can be allowed to percolate there, then it can go out into our society in all sorts of different manifestations.”

Burton and Daugherty plan to continue work on the feature-length version of Over the Kitchen Table, both as a way to record the experiences of a generation of activist women who may not have decades left to tell their tales and as an exploration of how the movement they started has expanded to incorporate the growing, if horribly belated, recognition of domestic violence between same-sex partners and of systemic violence against trans and indigenous populations. “These narratives around masculinity or femininity that contribute culturally to these issues need to be addressed in a systemic way,” says Burton. “You could think this film is just for survivors of domestic abuse, or this movement is just for women and children in their homes. But really, when you see the interconnection, you see how it’s even for the abusers, because they have been taught a certain way, they’ve been acculturated into certain attitudes and behavior. Perhaps they dealt with abuse in their homes. How do we unlearn these things? How do we show that we need to involve everyone to truly make this peace begin at home?” (Saturday, Dec. 6, Tomorrow Theatre; screens with Courtney Ross’s short film Again and Again, and followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers, Norma Burton, and representatives from the Domestic Violence Resource Center and Bradley Angle.

If judging a film by its poster is like judging a book by its cover, then judging a film by its trailer is like judging a book by its jacket copy. The preview for Fackham Hall was doubly unappealing to me because (a) it leans into the comedy’s dopier slapstick gags and (b) I’ve never been an aficionado of the British manor sagas it parodies. But despite those debits, it turns out to be a highly amusing, borderline clever takedown of Downton Abbey, Gosford Park and their surely incestuous ilk. The plot is secondary, of course, but it involves the typical tale of an arranged, or at least strongly suggested, marriage between the eldest daughter of the Davenport family, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie of Leave No Trace and Last Night in Soho), and her dopey cousin Archibald (Tom Felton, the erstwhile Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter films), who happens to be the presumed heir to the titular estate. (Saying its name quickly provides the general attitude of the servants toward their aristocratic masters.)

Naturally, a salt-of-the-earth rival for Rose’s affections arrives in the form of a petty criminal (Ben Radcliffe) who stumbles into a job with the domestic staff and quickly complicates the best laid plans of Rose’s parents, Lord and Lady Davenport (Damian Lewis and Katherine Waterston, both nicely in on the gag). There’s a murder, eventually, and a pseudo-Poirot (Tom Goodman-Hill) who pops in to deal with it, but these events merely serve as a backdrop for the relentless barrage of sight gags, double-entendres, and sheer silliness that should please fans of the Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker school of sendups. (In fact, there are more laughs in Fackham Hall than in this year’s Naked Gun reboot.) J. R. R. Tolkein pops up in a few scenes, gleaning inspiration for his as-yet-unwritten The Hobbit. A character who needs a new suit ASAP pops into a shop called (wait for it) Tailor Swift. And when one noble dolt is asked regarding another, “You fought with him in the war, didn’t you?,” he answers, “Oh, no. We were on the same side.” Maybe you had to be there, but I LOL’ed.

It helps immensely that the production matches, or nearly does, that of the films and shows being spoofed. The tactility of the locations, costumes, and props grounds things in reality enough that the surreal goofiness on the margins hits ever harder and funnier. Among the five credited writers is Jimmy Carr, the British stand-up comic turned TV host, who also plays the Michael Palin-esque, tongue-tied town vicar. And director Jim O’Hanlon is a TV veteran who clearly knows his way around this stuff. Fackham Hall may not be the funniest film of the year, but it’s probably the most surprisingly entertaining. Even if you don’t know Howard’s End from his elbow. (multiple locations)

Sponsor

Cliches of another but related variety are the target of 100 Nights of Hero, a trippy, tongue-in-cheek take on fairy tale tropes with visual flair and feminist bona fides that still doesn’t quite hold together. The pressure to produce an heir, that most literally patriarchal of womanly duties, weighs on Cherry (Maika Monroe, Longlegs), the young, intelligent wife of noble Jerome (Amir El-Masry). He shows a distinct lack of interest in consummating their union, and when the couple is given a 100-day deadline to conceive, he subtly recruits handsome house guest Manfred (Nicholas Gazeltine) to stand in his stead. Meanwhile, Cherry shares a strong friendship and all her secrets with her ever-present maid Hero (Emma Corrin). The protective Hero, befitting the title’s invocation of Arabian Nights, forestalls Cherry’s seduction by spinning stories centered on female liberation from forced illiteracy. One of them features the British recording artist Charli XCX, if that’s a selling point. Director Julia Jackman conjures an inventive fantasy world for all this to plan out in, but struggles to adapt the thin graphic novel by Isabel Greenberg into a compelling narrative. (multiple locations)

Also this week

World of Henna: Morocco: The second chapter in a documentary series showcasing the culture and traditions of henna art around the world. (12/5, Tomorrow)

Preservation Pictures: “Filmed over the course of eight weeks in the Spring of 2025 in Portland, Oregon, Preservation Pictures follows a unique after-school program bringing students and elders together to connect, collaborate, and create original documentary short films.” (12/5, Tomorrow)

Deaf Santa Claus: “With an uncanny resemblance to the icon himself, Charles Graves chases his dream of becoming a professional Deaf Santa Claus. Filmmakers chronicle Charles and his family as he attends Santa school and enlists the support of others in an attempt to better provide for his loved ones.” (Salem; 12/7 & 12/8)

Restroom: Filmmaker Kevin Hanzlik will host the screening of his new short film followed by a Q&A with the cast. (12/9, Tomorrow Theater)

Also opening

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2: “Anyone can survive five nights. This time, there will be no second chances.” (multiple locations)

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution: “A veil abruptly descends over the busy Shibuya area amid the bustling Halloween crowds, trapping countless civilians inside. In the aftermath, ten colonies across Japan are transformed into dens of curses.” (multiple locations)

Sponsor

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair: Quentin Tarantino’s two-part revenge opera gets a re-release in its unified, final form, rarely screened before now. Over four and a half hours of iconic action scenes, Uma Thurman at her badassest, and every QT trademark/obsession you can throw a stick at. Yes, there’s an intermission. (multiple locations; in 70mm at Hollywood Theatre)

Merrily We Roll Along: “Spanning three decades, the turbulent relationship between a composer and his two lifelong friends, a writer and a lyricist and playwright.” Recording of the stage production starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez. (multiple locations)

Repertory

Friday 12/5

• Eyes Wide Shut [1999] (Academy; through 12/11)
• The Godfather Part II [1974] (Academy; through 12/11)
• Gremlins [1984] (Cinemagic; also 12/6 & 12/10)
• The Holiday [2006] (Academy; through 12/11)
• The Nightmare Before Christmas [1993] (Clinton)
• Perfumed Nightmare [1977] (5th Avenue, on 16mm; through 12/7)
• The Polar Express [2004] (Kiggins)
• Rushmore [1998] (Hollywood; through 12/11)
• Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 [1987] (Cinemagic; on VHS)

Saturday 12/6

• The Accidental Getaway Driver [2023] (Hollywood)
• Die Hard [1987] (Cinemagic; also 12/9)
• Hundreds of Beavers [2023] (Tomorrow)
• National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation [1989] (Cinemagic; also 12/7 & 12/11)
• The Muppet Christmas Carol [1992] (Cinemagic; also 12/7)
• The Sound of Music [1965] (Clinton)
• The Star Wars Holiday Special [1978] (Kiggins)

Sunday 12/7

• Black Christmas [1974] (Cinemagic; also 12/8)
• Carol [2015] (Tomorrow)
• The Fog [1980] (Clinton)
• Little Women [2004] (Tomorrow)
• The Psychotronic After School Christmas Special (Clinton)
• Tokyo Godfathers [2003] (Cinemagic; also 12/8 & 12/11)

Monday 12/8

• Escape from New York [1981] (Clinton)
• Home Alone [1990] (Cinemagic; through 12/10)
• Sister Mary Explains It All! [2001] (Hollywood [Thank God It’s Queer!])

Tuesday 12/9

• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest [1975] (Salem)
• The Thing [1982] (Clinton)

Wednesday 12/10

• Russian Fairy Tale Animation (Clinton; Church of Film)