Hill Center is showing one of the great political satires in cinema history on Friday night, joining with Friends of the Southeast Library to host a screening of Hal Ashby’s “Being There.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcPQ9gww_qc

Peter Sellers plays Chance the Gardener, a low-IQ gardener who through a series of mishaps becomes a close adviser to the president of the United States, played by Jack Warden.

Ashby’s 1979 film, written for the screen by Jerzy Kosinski from his own novel, is more contemporary than ever. All one needs to do is listen to a member of Congress explain how the most powerful democracy in the world should adhere to the same budget principles as a family of four to see that simplicity sells, regardless of whether there is any merit to it.

Admission is free. Hill Rag film critic Mike Canning will introduce the film and lead a discussion afterward. It all starts at 7 p.m. To register, go to hillcenterdc.org.