About this Event
Film Screening Summary – Being There (1980)
Lost Origins Gallery – Mt. Pleasant, DC
Join us for an unforgettable screening of Being There (1980), a quietly profound and darkly satirical masterpiece starring the brilliant Peter Sellers in one of his final—and most celebrated—performances. Directed by visionary filmmaker Hal Ashby (Harold & Maude, Shampoo, Coming Home), this film is a razor-sharp meditation on media, politics, identity, and the strange power of simplicity.
Sellers plays Chance, a sheltered gardener whose entire understanding of the world comes from television and tending plants. When a twist of fate propels him into the upper echelons of Washington, D.C. society, his gentle observations and horticultural metaphors are mistaken for deep political wisdom. As he rises to national prominence, Being There offers a surreal and eerily prophetic reflection on how perception can outweigh substance.
Co-starring Shirley MacLaine and Melvyn Douglas (in an Oscar-winning role), Being There remains a timeless, hauntingly relevant blend of comedy, absurdism, and quiet social critique.
Come to Lost Origins and experience a film that is as funny as it is unsettling—and leaves you thinking long after the final, enigmatic frame. Stick around for the sure to be lively post-screening discussion.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Lost Origins Gallery, 3110 Mount Pleasant Street Northwest, Washington, United States
USD 0.00
