Friend Flicks:

A dose of humanity can be found on the screen of the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro during its new series, “Foreign Films Featuring Friendship.” The series, sponsored in part by the City of L.A. Cultural Affairs Department, kicks off on March 10 with “Waking Ned Devine.” Other films include “Cinema Paradiso” on April 21, “Danzon” on May 5 and “Central Station” on June 23. The lavish, Art Deco Warner Grand, originally opened in 1931, is a work of visual art unto itself. More information: (310) 833-8333 or www.warnergrand.org.

Darwin Demystified:

The life and work of one of history’s most famous and radical scientists will be the focus of an exhibition at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. “Charles Darwin: An Exhibition” provides an intimate look at Darwin and his theory of evolution and natural selection. Among the exhibition’s 50 rare items is a complete skeleton of a Galapagos tortoise and other items related to Darwin’s famed five-year voyage on the Beagle. More information: (626) 405-2100 or www.huntington.org.

August August:

German photographer August Sander captured the face of Germany during the 1920s and 1930s with his relentless portraiture. The photographer’s work is part of a new exhibition at the Getty Museum that offers a glimpse of the Weimar Republic and of an artist who was inspired by new political freedom. The exhibition opens March 5 and runs through June 24. More information: (310) 440-7360 or www.getty.edu.

Pivotal Works: Look out L.A. In an exhibition opening April 1, the Museum of Contemporary Art explores the breakthrough works of some of the most important and controversial young artists to graduate from leading international art schools in the 1990s. The exhibition examines the conditions, consequences and contexts surrounding the works of such artists as Matthew Barney, Damien Hirst, Chris Ofili, Diana Thater, Rachel Whiteread and others. More information: (213) 621-2766 or www.MOCA-LA.org.