The Warwick Public Library will begin holding virtual movie night alongside the Boston Public Library beginning with a film directed and shot in Warwick by a Warwick native.

On Thursday, June 11 at 7 p.m., the libraries will screen the film “Donald Cried” over Kanopy, a streaming service exclusive to public libraries and colleges. They will also hold a Zoom conference in which viewers can discuss the film after watching. 

The film focuses on Peter, a Wall Street financier living in New York City who finds himself stranded in his hometown of Warwick when he returns to bury his grandmother. When he loses his wallet, Peter reluctantly gets help from his childhood friend Donald, who still lives in Warwick with his mother. Donald takes Peter on adventures throughout the city, despite Peter’s desperation to go back to New York. 

Directed, written by and starring Kris Avedisian, who is from Warwick himself, the film is described as a dark cringe-comedy drama by Wil Gregersen, community services librarian at the Warwick Public Library. The film’s themes include relationships, nostalgia and drifting apart from old friends.

“[Peter and Donald] got along at some point, but they don’t have much in common now,” Gregersen said. “But what they did have in common before wasn’t necessarily a healthy relationship.”

The Zoom conference after the film’s screening will allow viewers to discuss their thoughts on the movie. “Donald Cried” has a 92 percent critic positive rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, but a 69 percent audience positive rating. This may be due to some of the film’s darker, squirmy humor.

“I’m very interested to know what other people thought about the film, how other people took it,” Gregersen said. “For me, it left me feeling a little melancholy, because some of the scenes in the film conveyed a hard, sad truth.”

According to Gregersen, the Boston Public Library has been hosting virtual movie nights over Kanopy and Zoom since Boston put lockdowns in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Boston’s library contacted Warwick’s when they decided to screen “Donald Cried.” Gregersen said that after this week, the screenings may become an ongoing, weekly event, at least until society fully reopens.

“I’m not sure how they pick these movies, but I’m actually really looking forward to hearing from the librarians from Boston,” Gregersen said.

On June 18, the libraries will stream the film “Robot and Frank.” This film features an elderly retired jewel thief who is gifted a robotic caretaker. However, the thief decides to use the robot as an aide to restart his life of crime.

With a Warwick Library card, participants can visit the library’s website to log onto Kanopy and watch these movies, among other award-winning or educational films. Call (401) 739-5440 to see how to get a library card online. If interested in the film discussions over Zoom, email Casey Abbott from the Boston Public Library at cabbott@bpl.com for an invite.