The player: Warsaw’s Artur Zmijewski, famous for his provocative films about social norms and physical suffering—such as 2001’s Na spacer (Out for a Walk), in which burly men carry around a group of paraplegics.
The piece: Them, a study of contemporary Polish society involving four different ethno-religious “teams,” which each make art that communicates their viewpoint. Tension and destruction inevitably result.
The place: Gallery TPW, April 5 to May 3.
Comparable multiplex experience: The opening weekend of anything by Mel Gibson.

The player: Sadie Benning, co-founder of feminist band Le Tigre and prolific video artist.
The piece: Play Pause, an animated installation about 24 hours in the life of a Chicago-esque city. Crazy-haired hipsters mingle with cops on the beat; androgynes hesitate in front of bathroom doors and make love on the wing of a plane.
The place: The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, March 1 to May 11.
Comparable multiplex experience: Cool tomboy trounces naysaying fanboys in the arcade.

The players: Espers—an indie psych-folk collective from Philadelphia—plus sundry musicians.
The piece: The Valerie Project—a screening of Jaromil Jires’s 1970 Czech new wave masterpiece Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (the surreal tale of a young girl’s sexual awakening) with live musical accompaniment.
The place: The Royal Theatre, April 9.
Comparable multiplex experience: Flirting, texting teenagers distract you from a viewing of Horton Hears a Who!

The player: Winnipeg’s Daniel Barrow, the Images fave known for his hand-manipulated animation on overhead projectors.
The piece: Everytime I See Your Picture I Cry, the story of a frustrated garbage man who aims to compile a phone book that chronicles the lives of his city’s inhabitants.
The place: Brigantine Room, Harbourfront Centre, April 10 to 12.
Comparable multiplex experience: Sticking around to watch the cleanup after Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds. With your 3-D glasses still on.