KUCI: Film School: Recent Episodes
Mike Kaspar
A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, SUGARCANE, the debut feature documentary from Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning. In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves was discovered on the grounds of an Indian residential school run by the Catholic Church in Canada. After years of silence, the forced separation, assimilation and abuse many children experienced at these segregated boarding schools was brought to light, sparking a national outcry against a system designed to destroy Indigenous communities. Set amidst a groundbreaking investigation, SUGARCANE illuminates the beauty of a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding the strength to persevere. Co-directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie join us for a conversation on how their focus on the subject changed during the filming of SUGARCANE, getting know the dedicated people like Whitney Spearing and Charlene Belleau who devoted themselves to uncovering the repugnant history of St. Joseph’s Residential School, capturing the relationship between Julian and his father, Ed Archie NoiseCat and filming the disturbing meeting between the Rick Gilbert, Former First Nation Chief, and the Vatican’s Superior General Louis Lougen. For more go to: nationalgeographic.com/sugarcane
Now, 43 years after the 1980 release of historical epic CALIGULA, producer and reconstructionist Thomas Negovan has realized the creators' original vision with CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT, a version comprised of entirely never-before-seen footage shot in 1976. Shadowed by the murder of his entire family, the young, wary Caligula (Malcolm McDowell) eliminates his devious adoptive grandfather (Peter O'Toole) and seizes control of the declining Roman Empire, descending into a spiral of depravity, destruction, and madness. A treatise on the corrupting influence of power, this extensive reconstruction of the notorious 1980 spectacle, CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT restores the complete performances of Malcolm McDowell and Helen Mirren, as the promiscuous 'Caesonia', from an unprecedented amount of never before seen footage. Sumptuous set designs by two-time Oscar winner Danilo Donati. CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT aligns closely to Vidal's original script, especially with the addition of a prologue that illustrates one of Vidal's missing scenes, created by noted graphic artist Dave McKean (Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman). Nearly 100 hours of original footage was discovered by the film's re-constructionist, film historian Thomas Negovan, in the Penthouse archive, which showcases astounding performances from the film’s cast, fully realizing McDowell's complex, charismatic 'Caligula' and resurrecting Mirren's layered character arc, which now cements the film's final hour. Producer & Re-constructionist Thomas Negovan joins us to talk about his own daunting journey of reviewing the hundreds of hours of footage, his decision to use an enormous amount of never before seen footage in this final cut, seeking out many the surviving cast and crew, provide an artistic context to McDowell’s performance and to give the film a chance to be seen as flawed, but wildly ambitious cinematic journey into the heart of a darkness at the rotting core of the Roman Empire. For more go to: drafthousefilms.com/caligula
HAPPY CAMPERS chronicles the final days of a working-class summer colony in a scrappy trailer park that just happens to hold the secret to a rich life. In a waterfront campground off the coast of Virginia, residents spend their summers living spitting distance apart in rust-bitten RVs. They chuckle about the modest rent they pay for a million-dollar location, but what makes them the luckiest people in the world is more than just stunning sunsets, it’s the community they’ve created. Beneath cliched trailer park stereotypes lies an unlikely utopia where all are welcome. Neighbors help each other out, and share everything from power tools to simple pleasures. Loneliness and isolation are inconceivable. When their affordable paradise is sold to developers, the residents brace for eviction and the loss of friendships that span generations. They hold tight to their final days in the sun. The well-heeled crowd that takes their place will never be as wealthy. Director Amy Nicholson (Zipper: Coney Island’s Last Wild Ride) stops by to talk about how she discovered this magical community, gaining the confidence of the denizens, her own history vacationing there and why the loss of places like Inlet Park is undermining our connection with one another.For more go to: happycampers.film
WATER BROTHER: THE SID ABBRUZZI STORY follows the life of surf and skate core legend and cultural icon Sid Abbruzzi, and his commitment to protecting the sports’ history and culture. Through a mix of never-before-seen archival film, large format cinematic footage, and personal interviews from culture giants like Tony Hawk, Shepard Fairey, Selema Masekela and more; we are taken on a journey through surfing and skating history - from 1960s Newport to Santa Cruz, Cocoa Beach, South Africa's Jeffrey's Bay, and beyond. As Sid approaches the age of 72, the film captures the final days of his famous Water Brothers Surf & Skate shop as it is set to be demolished and the impact it had on the surf and skate community. WATER BROTHER emphasizes the importance of memory, personal history, and living in the moment, reminding us to cherish our past and preserve cultural heritage. The film is a poignant reflection on a life well-lived and a heartfelt tribute to the enduring spirit of surf culture. It celebrates the individuals and places that transcend surfing and skating from mere hobbies, showing how one man's dedication can inspire an entire community. Co-directors Charles Kinnane & Daniel Kinnane join us to talk about the impact that Sid, his family and Water Brothers Surf & Skate shop has had on them, what was it about the surf and skate lifestyle that inspired them to pick up a camera and tell this story, and the love for Sid that permeates Water Brother: The Sid Abruzzi Story.For more go to: waterbrotherfilm.com
Academy-award winning director David Marsh (Man on Wire) takes viewers on cinematic journey through the life of literary genius Samuel Beckett. DANCE FIRST highlights his lived life of many parts: Parisian bon vivant, WWII Resistance fighter, Nobel Prize-winning playwright, philandering husband, recluse. But despite all the adulation that came his, way he was a man acutely aware of his own failings. Titled after Beckett's famous ethos "Dance first, think later," The film is a sweeping account of the life of this 20th-century icon. It focuses on his relationships with the people he loved and who loved him back, but who he felt that he had wronged. Director David Marsh (The Theory of Everything) joins us for a conversation on why he chose to dive into the life of a notoriously private man, working with screenwriter Neil Forsyth, their decision to frame the various chapters of Beckett’s life from the perspective of his”mistakes”, using a black and white format in filming the story and finally assembling a terrific cast includes; Fionn O’Shea, Sandrine Bonnaire, Leonie Lojkine, Bronagh Gallagher, Grainne Good, Robert Aramayo, Maxine Peake, and Aidan Gillen as James Joyce.For more go to: magpictures.com/dancefirstTo watch go to: magpictures.com/dancefirst/watch-at-home
Director John McDermott’s Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision chronicles the creation of the groundbreaking recording studio, Electric Lady Studios. Rising from the rubble of a bankrupt Manhattan nightclub to becoming a state-of-the-art recording facility inspired by Hendrix’s desire for a permanent studio, Electric Lady Studios was the first ever artist-owned commercial recording studio. Hendrix had first envisioned creating an experiential nightclub, inspired by the short-lived Greenwich Village nightspot Cerebrum, whose patrons donned flowing robes and were inundated by flashing lights, spectral images, and swirling sound. Hendrix enjoyed the Cerebrum experience so much that he asked its architect, John Storyk, to work with him and his manager, Michael Jeffery, to transform what had once been the Generation Club into “an electric studio of participation.” Shortly after acquiring the Generation Club lease however, Hendrix was steered from building a nightclub to creating a commercial recording studio. Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision includes never-before-seen footage and photos as well as track breakdowns of Hendrix classics such as “Freedom,” “Angel” and “Dolly Dagger” by recording engineer Eddie Kramer. In addition to Kramer the film also includes appearances by John Storyk (Architect, Electric Lady Studios), Billy Cox (Band of Gypsy bassist), Mitch Mitchell (Experience drummer), Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis, Blind Faith), and Blues legend Buddy Guy. Director John McDermott joins us to talk about Jimi Hendrix’s burning desire to create music and provide a welcoming space for musicians to thrive. Electric Lady Studios has become the creative home to artists such as Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones, John Lennon, David Bowie, Beyoncé and some of the most celebrated music of all time.For more go to: ajimihendrixvision.comOr go to: abramorama.com/electric-lady-studiosTo watch, go to: ajimihendrixvision.com/showtimes
WAR GAME sweeps audiences into an elaborate future-set simulation that dramatically escalates the threat posed by the January 6, 2021 insurrection. The film follows a bipartisan group of US defense, intelligence, and elected policymakers spanning five presidential administrations as they participate in an unscripted role-play exercise. Portraying a fictional President of the United States and his advisors, they confront a political coup backed by rogue members of the US military in the wake of a contested 2024 presidential election. Like actors in a thriller, but with profound real-world stakes, the players have only six hours to save American democracy. Some of the participants included; WAR GAME co-directors Jesse Moss (Boys State, Girls State, The Overnighters) and Tony Gerber (Full Battle Rattle, Notorious Mr. Bout, Kingdom of the White Wolf, Jane) join us for a spirited conversation on how they came into this project, the importance of VET VOICE in making this possible, the very challenging logistics of capturing the intensity of the exercise and how seriously all the participants were in regard to playing their individual roles.For more go to: wargamefilm.comFor more on Vet Voice go to: vvfnd.org/campaigns/war-gameTo watch go to: wargamefilm.com/tickets
In their cheeky social satire COUP! Co-directors Austin Stark & Joseph Schuman drop us into an isolated seaside estate during the 1918 Spanish Flu. The estate belongs to a wealthy couple, an entitled journalist, Jay (Billy Magnussen) and his socialite wife, Julie (Sarah Gadon).The couple hires a mysterious grifter as a their private cook, Floyd (Peter Sarsgaard). When the plague finally descends on the island, the wily cook rouses his fellow staff to rebel and take over the mansion. Their wealthy employer suspects the cook’s coup is part of a more sinister agenda, and mind games between master and servant escalate into boisterous class warfare. With a terrific cast, stars Peter Sarsgaard (currently on Apple+ hit series Presumed Innocent), Billy Magnussen (Road House remake), and Sarah Gadon, the film also stars Skye P. Marshall, Faran Tahir, Kristine Nielsen and Fisher Stevens. Co-directors and co-writers Austin Stark and Joseph Schuman joins us to talk about the tonal challenge of presenting this satirical tale that leans into the comedy of menace while embracing the themes of the class divide and revolution, as well as bringing Peter Sarsgaard into the project to play Floyd and to be the film’s Executive Producer. For more go to: greenwichentertainment.com/film/coup
In their sophomore feature film co-directors Steven Kanter and Henry Loevner track the story of New York yuppies Amy and Max during their time in the wealthy resort town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming while on a summer vacation. Amy wants to enjoy a romantic getaway with her fiancé. But Max neglects Amy to spend the week working, leaving her to wander town alone. Amy finds a friend in Loren, a local wilderness guide who takes her fly fishing. She’s immediately drawn to this magnetic, free spirited stranger. Both lonely and lost in their own lives, Amy and Loren share an instant connection. When Max is called away on business, Amy & Loren spend the week together exploring the Tetons. As her bond with Loren grows into something more than friendship, Amy questions whether she’ll return to NYC with Max after all. Co-directors Steven Kanter and Henry Loevner (The End of Us) stop by to talk about their inspiration for making the film, working with superb cast that includes; Claudio Restrepo, Derrick Joseph DeBlasis, and Ben Coleman, and why they decided to set the film in a mountain resort town.For more go to: visitfilms.com/peak-seasonFor more: peakseasonfilm.com
SLEEP NO MORE is a Los Angeles neo noir crime thriller directed by Antonia Boganovich, and Executive Produced by Peter Bogdanovich. Warren, once a master Shakespearian actor, is now a gambling drunk. Puck-like Samuel enchants crowds on the 3rd Street Promenade, reciting Shakespeare. And brother Beckett, a master pickpocket, makes his way through the unsuspecting crowd. When Warren gets in deep with a loan shark, his sons need to find a way to escape and like Samuel’s beloved comic book hero, Phantom Halo, they must break free of the mud that traps them. There is counterfeit money, a Bentley, a beautiful woman, knives, guns and an ending that is more like a Shakespearean tragedy than a film about growing up in the urban decay of Hollywood. Featuring a cast that includes; Sebastian Roché, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Luke Kleintank, Rebecca Romijn (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, The Librarians, X-Men), Tobin Bell (The Saw series, The Flash), Ashley Hamilton (Gothic Harvest, Rules Don’t Apply) and Jordan Dunn (Read the Room). Director and co-screenwriter Antonia Bogdanovich joins us for a revealing conversation about the traumatic origin story for Sleep No More, working with her dad on the project, her decision to re-cut and re-release the film after nearly 10 years, and growing up in a household steeped in arts, literature and film. For more go to: thegmfilms.com/releases/sleep-no-more
DEVIL PUT THE COAL IN THE GROUND is a moving portrayal of resilience by the people of West Virginia that reveals – despite years of corporate greed and exploitation – how a deep love of family, community and tradition has carried them through it all. From the realities of a crumbling economy, to the ravages of the opioid epidemic, to the irreparable environmental damage and its tragic impact on human health – the film is a cautionary tale of unfettered corporate power, and an elegy to a vanishing Appalachia. Uniquely structured upon personal storytelling of West Virginians, the film draws upon their rich experiences and diverse perspectives in order to create an informal, oral “People’s History of West Virginia”. These individuals run the gamut – from recovering opioid addict, to environmental activist, to U.S. Congressional candidate, to town judge, to recovery center nurse, to corporate environmental lawyer, to struggling local business owner – all of whom, despite their differences, remain linked by the love of their home state and the challenges that threaten their survival, and way of life. DEVIL PUT THE COAL IN THE GROUND features the iconic music of Steve Earle and Iris Dement, while blending intimate first-person storytelling with rare archival photography from DOCUMERICA luminary Jack Corn. Stunning aerial footage, bespoke animation, and an original score complete this heartfelt elegy to a vanishing Appalachia. Co-directors Lucas Sabean and Peter Hutchison stop by to talk about how this film started as an entirely different project and why the humanity and emotional rawness of the film’s subjects made it clear that they deserved to have a film built around their stories. For more go to: devilputthecoalintheground.com
GETTING IT BACK: THE STORY OF CYMANDE lovingly recounts the journey of Cymande, a group of Black British musicians who all came to the U.K. from the Caribbean as children, released three brilliant albums in quick succession in the early 1970s and were embraced in the USA. But in the U.K., they faced a music business beset by prejudice against homegrown Black talent and were largely ignored. They originally split in 1975, but their music lived on, as successive generations of artists and fans found and embraced their songs. Hip Hop, House, Drum and Bass, R&B, Rare Groove, and crate-digging communities all saw something in the songs of Cymande that inspired them. Through insightful interviews with band members and influential figures including Mark Ronson, Laura Lee and Mark Speer (Khruangbin), DJ Maseo (De La Soul), Jazzie B (Soul II Soul), Cut Chemist, Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Louie Vega, and Kool DJ Red Alert, this stranger than fiction documentary explores the band's profound impact and enduring legacy. Director Tim MacKenzie-Smith stops by to talk about his own introduction to the music of Cymande, designing the look and feel of the film to seen as a big screen communal experience, how the band members kept each others hope, music and spirit alive over the years, and the joy of seeing the band and their music get the recognition it deserves. For more go to: cymandeofficial.com/film
MOUNTAIN QUEEN: THE SUMMITS OF LHAKPA SHERPA tracks Lhakpa’s storied mountaineering career in pursuit of her record-breaking 10th summit to reveal a rich personal history – from her childhood as a girl denied an education in rural Nepal, to her experience as an immigrant in America and survivor of intimate partner violence, to her fight to live as a fearless example to her teenage daughters. Through it all, Lhakpa climbs - her incredible strength and resilience inspired by her own mother goddess of the universe - Chomolungma, Mt. Everest. Lhakpa Sherpa has summited Mt. Everest more than any woman in history. The first Nepali woman to summit and descend in 2000, Lhakpa keeps climbing in pursuit of a better life for herself and her children and to champion Nepali women and girls. MOUNTAIN QUEEN: THE SUMMITS OF LHAKPA SHERPA highlights the incredible determination of mothers fighting to protect and inspire their children. Above all, Lhakpa’s story is one of a family surviving, healing, and climbing forward. Director and co-producer Lucy Walker (Bring Your Own Brigade, The Crash Reel, Waste Land, Countdown to Zero) stops by to talk how her previous documentary work brought her to tell Lhakpa’s story, capturing the steely determination of Lhakpa to follow her own path, and how her achievements have impacted her daughters, Sunny and Shiny.
Winner of the 2023 SXSW Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature Dan Covert’s GEOFF MCFETRIDGE: DRAWING A LIFE focuses on one of the most prolific artists of his time, Geoff McFetridge, an artist who has undoubtedly influenced the way the world looks. His art is everywhere—on your Apple watch, in countless galleries around the world, in title designs for films by Sofia Coppola and Spike Jonze, and in collaborations with Nike, Hermès, Warby Parker, and more. The antithesis of the archetypal artist fueled by drugs, alcohol, and chaos, what sets the prodigious McFetridge apart is his obsessive quest to balance family with a creative life. In GEOFF MCFETRIDGE: DRAWING A LIFE, director and fellow artist Dan Covert offers unprecedented access into Geoff's multifaceted world, painting an intimate portrait of a man guided by intention and authenticity. Director and Producer Dan Covert joins us for a conversation on what initially drew him to McFetridge’s work, how working with Executive Producer Spike Jonze impacted the final cut, getting to know McFetridge beyond his art, and his own background as an artist and graphic designer. For more go to: drawingalifefilm.comDrawing a Life is now available on VOD
From acclaimed director Levan Akin (AND THEN WE DANCED), CROSSING is a moving and tender tale of identity, acceptance and unlikely connection that transcends borders and generations. Lia, a retired school teacher living in the country of Georgia, hears from a young neighbor Achi that her long lost niece Tekla, a transgender woman, has crossed the border into Turkey. Hoping to bring Tekla home, Lia travels to Istanbul with the unpredictable Achi to find her. Exploring the hidden depths of the city, they cross paths with a transgender lawyer called Evrim, who helps them in their search. Humanistic and compassionate, Akin's third feature is a heartfelt portrayal of overcoming the degrees of separation that divide us. Director and writer Levan Adkin joins us for a conversation on his own connection to the setting for Crossing, Turkey, how the story lent itself to exploring the generational divide between Soviet era and Post-Soviet era attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ rights, his reaction to Crossing being selected by Sweden as their Oscar entry for 2024 Best International Feature and working with lead actor Mzia Arabuli as Lia. For more go to: mubi.com/crossing-2023-levan-akinOr go to: totem-films.com/crossing
HOLLYWOODGATE chronicles a sliver of the larger picture around the take over by the Taliban when the United States withdrew from its twenty-year old “forever war” in Afghanistan. In the time since the Taliban have re-established their control over the ravaged country, they located and pillaged an American military base loaded with weaponry - a portion of the over $7 billion in U.S. armaments still in the country. Unprecedented and audacious, HOLLYWOODGATE is the riveting result of the year director Ibrahim Nash'at spent with the Taliban in the wake of the United States withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Risking his life in the war-torn nation, Nash'at is on the ground with the Taliban when they enter an American base loaded with a portion of the billions dollars worth of U.S. armaments left behind. Driving towards an astonishing and chilling end, Nash'at tracks Taliban leaders as they attempt to transform from a fundamentalist militia into a modern military regime, employing Hollywood-style propaganda to achieve their goals. Director Ibrahim Nash’at (Under the Sky of Damascus) joins us for a conversation on how he gained the access to the Taliban leader, Mawlawi Mansour, why he decided to embark on this very dangerous project and what he hopes people will take away from his remarkable documentary, HOLLYWOODGATE. For more go to: curzon.com/hollywoodgate
SORRY/NOT SORRY charts how an open secret about comedian Louis C.K.’s sexual misconduct evolved into a front page article on The New York Times. Following the story’s publication, Louis C.K. admitted “these stories are true” and faced initial repercussions, only to return to the stage nine months later. While the story of C.K.’s rise and fall largely played out in public, this film reveals the stories of three women who spoke out over the years about C.K.’s behavior. Through candor and surprising humor, the documentary gives voice to the nuanced and complicated experiences of Jen Kirkman, Abby Schachner, and Megan Koester. It presents new details about their encounters with Louis C.K. and unveils the extent of the personal and professional consequences they faced for speaking out about it. SORRY / NOT SORRY directors Caroline Suh and Cara Mones shed new light on questions about sex and power in the workplace, who gets to take the stage, and the role the public plays in these stories at large. Featuring interviews with the reporters who broke the original story – Melena Ryzik, Cara Buckley, and Jodi Kantor – along with comedians, gatekeepers and critics including Michael Ian Black, Michael Schur, Aida Rodriguez, Andy Kindler, Noam Dworman, and Wesley Morris, the film leaves viewers contemplating: who is afforded a second chance, and who is overlooked in the process?For more go to: greenwichentertainment.com/sorry-not-sorry
Chris Skotchdopole’s feature film debut, CRUMB CATCHER At a remote estate in upstate New York, where newlyweds Leah (Ella Rae Peck) and Shane (Rigo Garay) are about celebrate their honeymoon, when the appearance of two workers from their wedding reception brings an escalating sense of dread and menace. Leah works for the publisher who will be releasing Shane’s debut novel, a lightly autobiographical examination of family trauma, alcoholism, and the immigrant experience. Tensions over family trauma would be enough kindling for a blowup, but Leah and Shane’s marriage is truly tested by the appearance of two weirdos with entrepreneurial zeal and a half-baked blackmail plot: John (John Speredakos) and Rose (Lorraine Farris). They’re looking for investors for John’s latest invention, a culinary breakthrough called the Crumb Catcher — and they won’t take no for an answer. A gonzo home invasion thriller from Larry Fessenden’s Glass Eye Pix that pummels the American Dream into just desserts, Crumb Catcher director, co-writer, co-producer and editor Chris Skotchdopole stops by to talk about how constructs and de-constructs his films, working with his collaborators, including cinematographer Adam Carboni and co-writers Rigo Garay and Larry Fessenden, and what’s next for him as a filmmaker.For more go to: musicboxfilms.com/film/crumb-catcher
Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese first encountered the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger when he was a child, sitting in front of the family TV. When their famous logo came up on screen, Scorsese says, “You knew you were in for fantasy, wonder, magic - real film magic.” In the documentary film, Made in England, The Films of Powell & Pressburger, director David Hinton, with the help of Scorses tells the story of his own lifelong love-affair with their movies, including The Life and Death Of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes and The Tales of Hoffmann. Drawing on a rich array of archive material, Hinton explores in full the collaboration between the Englishman Powell and the Hungarian Pressburger - two romantics and idealists, who thrived in the face of adversity during World War II but were eventually brought low by the film industry of the 1950’s. Scorsese celebrates their ability to create “subversive commercial movies” and describes how deeply their films have influenced his own work. Director David Hinton (Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men, Strange Fish) joins us to talk about how long it took this project to be completed, working with Scorsese and his role as the film’s guide through their work, Scorsese’s personal connection to Michael Powell and the impact their work continues to have on filmmakers. For more go to: cohenmedia.net/made-in-england-films-of-powell & pressburger
In his riveting feature documentary CHAMPIONS OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY director Ben Sturgulewski peels back the social, religious and community layers in the remote mountain villages of Bamyan, Afghanistan, to find what has created the newfound passion for skiing. This passion has attracted young athletes from rival ethnic groups who showcase their resourcefulness and skill on the slopes. Equipped with minimal gear, makeshift skis, and no chairlift, the determined ski coach Alishah Farhang organizes a ski race that unities the community in a moment of joy and camaraderie. However, when their country falls to the Taliban, many of the skiers are displaced across the globe as refugees, confronted with an uncertain future. In CHAMPIONS OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY filmmaker Ben Sturgulewski masterfully captures the thrill of a sports rivalry intertwined with the poignant narrative of a community grappling with profound change – revealing what it means to be a champion, in all its forms. Director, editor and cinematographer Ben Sturgulewski joins us to talk about his own long journey, figuratively and literally, to tell this amazing story of community, loss, rivalry, friendship, and how striving to be better can not only lift up an individual, like Alishah Farhang, Alishah Farhang, Mujtaba Hussaini, Raees Hussaini, Haji Hussaini, Mortiza Motahari and Hussain Ali Nazari, but those around them. For more go to: championsofthegoldenvalley.com
Director Tomas Gomez-Bustillo magical tale, CHRONICLES OF A WANDERING SAINT focuses on a tiny rural village in Argentina, where Rita Lopez, (Monica Villa) a pious yet insatiably competitive woman, decides that staging a miracle could be her ticket to sainthood. After discovering a lost statue in the back room of her chapel, she convinces her neglected but loving husband to help her orchestrate the grand reveal that will finally anoint her as the most admired woman in town. But before the unveiling, a jarring turn of events illuminates the hidden magic of her world, forcing her to reevaluate everything she once took for granted. Director / Screenwriter Tomas Gomez-Bustillo (Museum of Fleeting Wonders) stops by to talk about his inspiration for his delightfully off kilter, magical tale of flawed people doing very human things to and for one another, recruiting this wonderful cast of actors, led by Monica Villa, Horacio Moseinco, Dahyana Turkie, Noemi Ron and Ana Silvia Mackenzie, and his reaction to the three Spirit Award nominations in 2024. For more go to: chroniclesofawanderingsaint.comAlso: beplentygood.com
Nick August-Perna complex documentary feature TELL THEM YOU LOVE ME explores the story of Anna Stubblefield, an esteemed Rutgers University professor who becomes embroiled in a controversial affair with Derrick Johnson, a Black man with cerebral palsy, and who has been non-communicative since his earliest days. Using a highly disputed technique Anna says she unlocked Derrick’s mind from his body by teaching him to communicate using a keyboard. In addition to Anna Stubblefield, we hear from Derrick’s brother John Johnson, their mother Daisy Johnson and a variety of academics and doctors who lend their perspective on the relationship and what follows from it. The relationship eventually leads to Anna’s arrest and a high profile criminal trial that would challenge our perceptions of disability and the nature of consent. Through exclusive footage and interviews with those on both sides of the case, the film weaves a riveting and endlessly nuanced story about communications, race and sex. Director and co-writer Nick August-Perna (The Oxy-Kingpins) joins us for a conversation on going about gaining the cooperation and trust from the participants, including Anna Stubblefield and her mother, finding a balanced approach to telling the story and his joy at seeing how TELL THEM YOU LOVE ME seems to resonate with audiences at film festivals, 2023 Hamptons International Film Festival, and the 2023 Montclair Film Festival where it won the jury awards for Best Documentary Feature and now as the most popular documentary on NETFLIX. For more go to: nickaugustperna.com
Director Ilana Trachtman illuminating documentary AIN'T NO BACK TO A MERRY-GO-ROUND is the untold story of the first organized interracial civil rights protest in U.S. history. When five Howard University students sat on a Maryland carousel in 1960, the arrests made headlines. When the white community near Glen Echo Amusement Park joined the Black students in picketing, an extraordinary history-making partnership was born. The pickets attracted Nazis, Congressman, and a press avalanche. Picketing together over the sweltering summer led to partying together, and union organizers mentored student activists. Ten 1961 Freedom Riders, including Stokely Carmichael, were incubated on the Glen Echo picket line, and the carousel arrests were challenged in the Supreme Court case. With never-before seen footage, and immersive storytelling by Emmy-award winning director Ilana Trachtman (Praying with Lior, Black in Latin America, The Pursuit), four living protesters rescue this forgotten history, revealing the price, and the power, of heeding the impulse to activism. AIN'T NO BACK TO A MERRY-GO-ROUND includes voiceover by noted actors Jeffrey Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Bob Balaban, Lee Grant, Peter Gallagher, Dominique Thorne, Alysia Reiner and Tracie Thoms. For more go to: aintnoback.com
Filmmakers Rami Younis and Sarah Ema Friedland feature length, speculative documentary, LYD follows the rise and fall of a 5,000-year-old metropolis, Lyd. It was once a bustling Palestinian town until it was conquered when the State of Israel was established in 1948. As the film unfolds, a chorus of characters creates a tapestry of the Palestinian experience of this city and the trauma left by the massacre and expulsion, while vivid animations envision an alternate reality where the same characters live free from the trauma of the past and the violence of the present. Using never-before-seen archival footage of the Israeli soldiers who carried out the massacre and expulsion, the personified city explains that these events were so devastating that they fractured reality, and now there are two Lyds — one occupied and one free. As the film cuts between fantastical and documentary realities, it ultimately leaves the viewer questioning which future should prevail. Lyd dares to ask the question: what would the city be like had the Israeli occupation of Lyd never happened? Co-directors Rami Younis and Sarah Ema Friedland join us for a wide ranging conversation on the utterly fascinating and pivotal role that the city of Lyd has played in the multiple empires, ancient and modern, the establishment of the state of Israel, the forced expulsion of Palestinians during Nakba and the provocative question at the heart of the film… What if?For more go to: icarusfilms.com/if-lydFor more about the filmmakers go to: lydinexile.comFor Los Angeles area screenings go to: laemmle.com/lydAll other screenings: Go to: icarusfilms.com/playdate#lyd
Gennadiy (Gena) Chabotarev is a queer artist from a small town in Russia, dresses in otherworldly costumes made from junk and tape, and protests the government on the streets of Moscow. Born and raised on the harsh streets of Magadan, a frigid outpost of the Soviet gulag, Gena is only 21. She stages radical performances in public that become a new form of art and activism. By doing that, she wants to change people’s perception of beauty and queerness and bring attention to the harassment of the LGBTQ+ community. The performances - often dark, strange, evocative, and queer at their core - are a manifestation of Gena’s subconscious. But they come at a price. QUEENDOM boasts a top notch production team that also includes executive producers Jess Search (Citizenfour), David France ( How to Survive a Plague), Arnaud Borges (C’est tout pour moi), and James Costa (Hidden Letters). Director Agniia Galdanova and Producer Igor Myakotin join us for a conversation on the challenge that came from burrowing into the tumultuous life of Gena as she faces the very real danger from hostile Russian police, menacing citizenry and the complicated family, re: her grandfather, a relationships she lovingly navigates. For more go to: greenwichentertainment.com/queendom
Samuel Habib’s goals are pretty typical for a 21-year-old. Moving out of his family’s New Hampshire home. College. Establishing his career. Dating. Sex. Yet every rite of passage is fraught with challenges. Unexpected seizures and uncontrollable movements caused by his rare genetic disorder. Friends’ homes that are inaccessible to his wheelchair. His labored speech and use of a communication device are barriers to a social life. He craves more independence and a family of his own one day. “But no one tells you how to be an adult,” he says, “let alone an adult with a disability.” Samuel is determined to avoid the statistical realities: unemployment, isolation, institutionalization. A turning point comes when he starts talking to disabled adults, who have been through all he is going through now. And when he begins to channel their insights, a roadmap for himself, and for other young adults like him, begins to take shape. Co-director Samuel Habib and Daniel Habib join us to talk about their collaboration , getting to know the wide range of activists, artists, athletes, and stage performers, including; Bob Williams, Ali Stoker, Lydia X.Z. Brown, Keith Jones - Cerbal Palsey, Maysoon Zayid, Andrew Peterson and human rights legend Judith (Judy) Heumann, as well as the opportunity to showcase how and why we all need to be better creating and sustaining a more inclusive society for all. For more go to: rideaheadfilm.com
Straddling the line between childhood and adulthood, 14 isn’t an easy age for anyone, least of all Abby (Sierra McCormick, The Vast of Night), who’s forced to find her way in the world after her mother’s death. On the cusp of turning 15 and at a delicate moment in life, she’s forced to move in with her father (Jason Butler Harner, Ozark) and his younger girlfriend (Sabina Friedman-Seitz). Feeling alone in the world, the angry and determined teen strikes up a possibly dangerous friendship with the carefree and rebellious Caroline (Ryan Simpkins, The Fear Street Trilogy, The House), while exploring new personas, drugs and sexual experiences on the path to finding her place in life. Emily Robinson (Eighth Grade), Dominique Gayle and Nadezhda Amé co-star in the film, which also features Drew Scheid, Anthony Del Negro and Mike Manning. Co-directors, co-producers and co-writers Sophia Sobella and Pablo Feldman join us for a conversation on the process of casting the lead, Sierra McCormick, and the rest of the actors and how that allowed them focus their energy on the filmmaking process and the release of this award-winning film. For more go to: lightyearentertainment.com/edge-of-everything To watch go to: geni.us/edgeofeverything
Banel and Adama is a great romance, a West African dreamscape, a tragic fable, and a feminist paean. Young, fiery Banel loves her soft-hearted husband Adama with singular passion. She also hates to do chores with other village women, slings stones at small creatures, and fantasizes a liberated life of cattle-herding outside the village in the dunes. Adama is next in line for village chief but resists the responsibility. When a catastrophic drought hits, the curse weighs on his sense of duty, and the chasm between them drives Banel into a feverish, mystical chaos. Senegal’s official submission to the 2024 Oscars®, BANEL & ADAMA was the only debut feature in Cannes’ Official Competition in 2023, and marked Sy as just the second Black woman to compete for the Palme d’Or, after her French-Senegalese compatriot Mati Diop (Atlantics), in the festival’s 76-year history. Director and writer Ramata-Toulaye Sy joins us for a conversation on her breathtaking feature film debut.For more go to: kinolorber.com/banel-and-adama
Tayarisha Poe’s spectacular sophomore film finds Celestina, (Kiersey Clemons, DOPE, Hearts Beat Loud) on her wedding day. All that stands between this young woman and marital bliss with her soon-to-be husband, River, (singer/songwriter Leon Bridges) is surviving the chaos and expectations of family and friends, each intensifying her spiraling panic. THE YOUNG WIFE is the story of a young woman grappling with the meaning of love in the face of an uncertain world, "The Young Wife" is a a wholly new take on the wedding film as we follow Celestina over the course of her “non-wedding” day. The frenetic happenings are beautifully captured by cinematographer Jomo Fray (Selah and the Spades, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt). Boasting a superb supporting cast of award winning actors that also includes: Kelly Marie Tran, Michaela Watkins, Aya Cash, Sandy Honig, Brandon Micheal Hall, Lukita Maxwell, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Judith Light, Aida Osman, Connor Paolo, Jon Rudnitsky and Lovie Simone. Director and Writer Tayarisha Poe joins us for a lively conversation on the inspiration for the film, gathering together her fantastic cast of performers, working with Sheryl Lee Ralph and Judith Light, working with he colleagues from Selah and the Spades and geeking out about films and filmmakers. For more go to: paramountmovies.com/the-young-wife
When Eva (Kahyun Kim), the daughter, accidentally shoots her White hippie fiance, Peter (Craig Newman), dead, her parents, June (Margaret Cho), and Sam (Keong Sim) insist on getting rid of the body in order to protect Eva. As the family collides with each other on what is the right thing to do, tension and long-buried secrets about the family's journey to America begin to surface. Faced with this expanded understanding of their collective past and sacrifices, Eva eventually makes the hard decision to save her family by getting rid of her fiance's body in a way only she knows how. Director and co-screenwriter Zao Wang’s wildly inappropriate and uproariously funny narrative short film stops by to talk about the origin story behind the film, premiering at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, assembling a terrific cast that includes the incandescent Margaret Cho as June and the film’s Executive Producer.
Executive produced by Moby, ROWDY GIRL showcases the inspiring work of Renee King-Sonnen, a former Texas cattle rancher who in 2015, after a spiritual awakening, left the cruel cycle of animal agriculture. After going vegan, King-Sonnen and her husband, Tommy Sonnen, transformed her husband’s beef operation into Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, a farm animal sanctuary that seeks to rescue farm animals from factory farming. Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, located between San Antonio and Houston, in Waelder, TX, has a mission to educate the public about the cruelties of factory farming, to advocate a vegan lifestyle, and to inspire other ranchers to experience a paradigm shift and help them move from participating in the cruelty of factory farming to living with compassion towards the animals whose lives usually end in brutal death. Renee has lived on both sides of the fence, proving that there is a common ground between farmers and vegans: a shared mission of compassion and sustainability. Filmmaker Jason Goldman’s verité style documentary lovingly captures the dynamic connection between Renee, her husband Tommy and the hooved and feathered friends who inhabit Rowdy Girl Sanctuary. Director / Producer Jason Goldman stops by for a conversation on his goal in making Rowdy Girl was to work on a project that reflected his personal values and giving Renee a platform to reach a wider audience, particularly farmers who she believes can change the world by moving to more sustainable and humane care of our furry friends. For more go to: argotpictures.com/rowdy-girlAnd rowdygirlfilm.com
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Vanessa Hope’s takes full advantage of her unprecedented access to the first female president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen. Thorough, incisive and bristling with tension, INVISIBLE NATION is a living account of Tsai’s tightrope walk as she balances the hopes and dreams of her nation between the colossal geopolitical forces of the U.S. and China. Hope’s observational style captures Tsai at work in her country’s vibrant democracy at home, while seeking full international recognition of Taiwan’s right to exist. At a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated the ever-present threat of authoritarian aggression, INVISIBLE NATION brings punctual focus to the struggle of Taiwan as it fights for autonomy and freedom from fear. Director and Co-Producer Vanessa Hope (William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America) joins us for a conversation on the high-wire diplomacy facing President Tsai daily, her ability to engage her constituents and determination to provide Taiwan with a future that includes freedom and self-determination. For more go to: abramorama.com/invisible-nation
Roots So Deep (you can see the devil down there) is a 4-part documentary series all about inventive farmers and maverick scientists building a path to solving climate change with hooves, heart and soil. Can an underutilized way to graze cattle, that mimics the way bison once roamed the land, help get farmers out of debt, restore our depleted soils, rebuild wildlife habitat and draw down huge amounts of carbon? Cattle have been seen as eco-villains for a long time. What if they can help save us from catastrophic climate change? ROOTS SO DEEP is guided by director and wrangler of scientists Peter Byck as he meets farmers on both sides of the fence – the folks practicing an adaptive way to graze, and their neighbors set in their family’s generations-old method of doing things. Byck’s team of outcast scientists are measuring what’s happening on both sides of the fences – exploring if this adaptive grazing could help slow down climate change. And one question looms over the whole series: even if the science shows that the adaptive way to graze is better for the land and the farmers’ pocket books, will the old school farmers change, will they adopt a different method? Will they evolve into climate heroes? Will they save our friggin’ asses from the impending climate catastrophe?For more go to: rootssodeep.orgAlso check out: carboncowboys.org
Haley Watson directorial debut MOTORCYCLE MARY, documentary short, brings the remarkable life of Mary McGee’s to the big screen with stunning never-before-seen archival footage and photographs. McGee’s racing career spanned thirty years and saw Mary shatter gender norms while mastering multiple racing disciplines. Born in Alaska on the eve of World War II, Mary’s early life is riddled with fear but despite that she conquers her apprehensive nature and discovers the art of composure—a skill that serves her to take on the racetrack. Following in her brother’s footsteps, her remarkable racing odyssey begins in the world of cars, where she outshines her male competitors, only to later discover her greatest sense of freedom racing motorcycles. She was the first woman to race motorcycles in the United States. Confronted by sexism and personal tragedy, Mary perseveres, pushing herself to greater and greater heights—culminating in her most hair-raising challenge: Becoming the first person ever to solo the grueling Baja 500 on a motorcycle. MOTORCYCLE MARY was produced by Rachel Greenwald, executive produced by two-time Oscar® winner and founder of Breakwater Studios Ben Proudfoot, and seven-time Formula One World Champion, Lewis Hamilton. MOTORCYCLE MARY will come to the big screen at the 2024 Tribeca Festival in New York where it will make its world premiere in the shorts competition on Friday, June 7th (with additional screenings June 13 and 15). Director Haley Watson joins us for a conversation on Mary McGee’s unwavering courage and fearless spirit that continues to inspire. For more go to: tribecafilm.com/motorcycle-mary
Director Michelle Ferrari’s comprehensive documentary THE RIOT REPORT tracks a time in recent American history when Black neighborhoods in scores of cities erupted in violence during the summer of 1967. After four consecutive summers of urban violence, President Lyndon Johnson appointed the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders - informally known as the Kerner Commission, (named after its chair, Governor Otto Kerner Jr. of Illinois) - to answer three questions: What happened? Why did it happen? And what could be done to prevent it from happening again? The bi-partisan commission’s 708 page final report, issued in March of 1968, just days before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., would offer a shockingly unvarnished assessment of American race relations - a verdict so politically explosive that Johnson not only refused to acknowledge it publicly, but even to thank the commissioners for their service. THE RIOT REPORT explores this pivotal moment in the nation’s history and the fraught social dynamics that simultaneously spurred the commission’s investigation and doomed its findings to political oblivion. Directed by Michelle Ferrari, joins us for a conversation on the reasons why and how the commission members and staff were able to break away from the bureaucratic norms and get closer to the root causes and closer to breaking thru the seemingly intractable barriers to a more equitable society. THE RIOT REPORT was co-written by Ferrari and New Yorker journalist Jelani Cobb, and executive produced by Cameo George. For more go to: pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/riot-report
At the height of the Cold War, the U.S. government is determined to fight Communism with culture. The Venice Biennale, the world’s most influential art exhibition, becomes a proving ground in 1964. Alice Denney, Washington insider and friend of the Kennedys, recommends Alan Solomon, an ambitious curator making waves with trailblazing art, to organize the U.S. entry. Together with Leo Castelli, a powerful New York art dealer, they embark on a daring plan to make Robert Rauschenberg the winner of the Grand Prize. The artist is yet to be taken seriously with his combinations of junk off the street and images from pop culture, but he has the potential to dazzle. Deftly pulling off maneuvers that could have come from a Hollywood thriller, the American team leaves the international press crying foul and Rauschenberg questioning the politics of nationalism that sent him there. Director Amei Wallach (Ilya and Emilia Kabakov: Enter Here) stops by for an in-depth conversation on a time and place where the long reach of the Cold War, the internal machination’s of the Olympic’s of the art world and the ascendency of modern art’s bête noire and how they all crossed paths in this John le Carré-ish tale. For more go to: zeitgeistfilms.com/taking-venice
Based on a true story, THE KEEPER tells a sweeping story of US Army veteran George Eshleman, a man heavily impacted by his fellow veteran's suicides, he decides to help raise awareness for military member suicides by hiking the entire nearly 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. On the trek, he carries 363 name tapes from the uniforms of military members who committed suicide, given to him by their families. Along the way he is given the trail name of “The Keeper” (of the names) and finds support and comfort from fellow hikers, civilians, military and veteran hikers (Michael Maclane, Haley Babula, Andrew Ferguson, Nicholas Asad) who shadow his hike, motivate his efforts along "Hiker Universe.” Despite their support, his depression threatens to overtake his judgment as the days pass. With his darkness only a few paces from his mind as he travels the trail, George struggles to prove his mettle, conquer his depression, and focus on the mission. Co-director, Co-Producer and lead actor Angus Benfield joins us to talk about the importance of remembering those who have sacrificed and died while in and out of uniform, how he sought to honor them and the support he received from his film crew, his cast and the people he met along the Appalachian Trail, many of whom are on the trail for the same reasons he made The Keeper. For more go to: thekeepermovie.infoFor more on the filmmaker go to: angusbenfield.com
In the next decade, NASA intends to send astronauts to Mars for the first time. To succeed, crew members will have to overcome unprecedented life-threatening challenges. And while many of these hazards are physical, the most elusive are psychological. Throughout their three-year absence, crew members won’t be able to communicate with Earth in real time due to the immense distance. The psychological impact of this level of disconnectedness and isolation—both from mission control and loved ones—is impossible to predict, endangering the mission itself. Directed to mitigate this threat is Dr. Al Holland, a NASA psychologist whose job is to keep astronauts mentally stable in space. Space: The Longest Goodbye follows Holland, rookie astronauts Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer, and former astronaut Cady Coleman, among others, as they grapple with the tension between their dream of reaching new frontiers and their basic human need to stay connected to home. This conflict transcends space travel: how do humans balance the quest for progress with a deep connection to history and each other? Director Ido Mizrahy stops by for to talk about the feasibility of interstellar travel, the physical, mental and psychological adaptability of humans, and getting to know the extraordinary people willing to embark on a perilous journey into worlds unknown.For more go to: pbs.org/independentlens/the-longest-goodbye
This twisted tale of love and death begins and ends with Ray, an ordinary man who runs an ordinary business in the fictional town of LaRoy, Texas. He longs for his wife Stacy-Lynn’s affections, but Ray discovers that his wife is cheating on him and decides to end his life in a motel parking lot. Just before taking action, a stranger breaks into his car, thinking he is dealing with the killer he hired. Disconcerted by this misunderstanding, Ray ends up accepting the mission, convinced that people will finally respect him. The plan had to be simple. But very quickly Ray finds himself caught in a spiral from which he will have to get out before it is too late… LaRoy, Texas is a complex plot involving love triangles real and fake, blackmail, counter-blackmail and manslaughter duly unfolds around inadvertent detective duo Ray and Skip, who will have to solve the mystery at the heart of their community. LAROY is at once a film about friendships forged from fragile masculinity and a dark Western that probes the aftermath of the financial crisis in the US. Director and writer Shane Atkinson joins us for a conversation on his film’s blend of modern film noir, macabre humor and assembling a terrific cast that includes John Magaro, Steve Zahn, Galadriel Stineman, Dylan Baker, and Matthew Del Negro.For more go to: brainstormmedia.comt/laroy-texasWatch LaRoy, Texas at: vertigoreleasing.com/watch-at-home
The celebrated filmmaker duo of Bill Ross and Turner Ross (Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets & Contemporary Color, 45365) turn their pioneering hybrid approach to the cinematic road trip that is GASOLINE RAINBOW. This raw and deeply affecting film is an expansive portrait of the new generation as told in their own words. With high school in the rearview, five teenagers from inland Oregon embark on one last adventure together. Piling into a van with a busted tail light, they head out for a place they've never been -- the Pacific coast, five hundred miles away. The plan, in full: "Fuck it." Through desert wilderness, industrial backwaters, and city streets, they connect with outsiders on the fringes and discover their lives will be determined by the trails they blaze themselves. These are forgotten kids from a forgotten town, but they have their freedom and they have each other, hurtling toward an unknowable future -- and The Party at the End of the World. A SXSW and Venice Film Festival selection, GASOLINE RAINBOW depicts a wild and true coming-of-age. With a beating heart and an irrepressible spirit, this rhapsodic look at today's American West reminds us of the timeless joys of community. We are joined by the co-directors Turner Ross and Bill Ross to talk about the immensely challenging logistics of the shoot, working with a young cast of actors, and embracing the chaos and opportunities that made Gasoline Rainbow the remarkable cinematic experience that we see on screen. Watch at: mubi.com/gasolinerainbow beginning May 31See Gasoline Rainbow at a theatre near you
Based on real events, I AM GITMO follows the reaction the United States to the 9/11 attack and the human cost that came about from the implementation of the War on Terror. The film focuses on Gamel Sadek, a Muslim schoolteacher as he is taken from his home and delivered to Bagram Air Base, a CIA black site, where he is questioned on the whereabouts of the 9/11 mastermind, Osama Bin Laden. He is tortured when he denies knowing him. Chained and hooded, he is put on a cargo plane to Guantanamo Bay. John Anderson, a military interrogator, is brought out of retirement and assigned to Gamel’s case leaving his daughter behind in New York. Despite relentless beatings, starvation, and torture in Gitmo, Gamel maintains he has no affiliation with Al Qaeda or Bin Laden. John struggles to accept the new torture methods imposed by General Miller, newly in command of the prison, and the mandate to force a confession at any cost. As Gamel prepares for a hearing on his status as an enemy combatant, he realizes he could be held indefinitely, and that John’s testimony will be the deciding factor. Director and writer Philippe Diaz stops by to talk about his inspiration for telling this particular story, the fatally flawed planning, execution and objectives of the War on Terror, the collateral damage done to America’s standing in the world, the staggering loss of innocent human life and the failure of American leadership to acknowledge or compensate the innocent people who were swept up in the overreaction.For more go to: iamgitmo.com
In Marija Kavtaradze’s latest film, SLOW, contemporary dancer Elena meets Dovydas when he is assigned to interpret via sign language in a class she is teaching to deaf youth. Their connection is immediate, kinetic, and frictionless. As they gravitate toward each other, resisting the forces and interventions of their separate daily lives, their bond deepens from platonic to romantic. When Dovydas discloses his asexuality, the couple commits themselves to honoring their individual needs in tandem. As they continue to weave more tightly together, they struggle to negotiate sacrifice and compromise and are forced to discover the edges of their generosity toward the other. The result is an instantly recognizable dance between self and other, this one choreographed with elegance, grace, and love. The two leads, Greta Grinevičiūtė (Elena) and Kęstutis Cicėnas (Dovydas), conjure up undeniable chemistry that is heartbreakingly complicated, stubborn, and humanizing. Director and writer Marija Kavtaradze’s (Summer Survivors) sophomore feature shows off her fine tuned ability to portray intimacy and psychological exploration through dance, tense quietude, and stunningly singular examination of asexuality. Kavtaradze emphasis on the couple’s physicality and how the inherent limitations of a full physical expression plays out with own unique emotional expectations is superbly realized.For more go to: kimstim.com/slow
Director Francis Galluppi’s feature film debut, The Last Stop in Yuma County, is a rockin’ good time of genre hopping mix of Western, Noir and desert dry humor. While awaiting the arrival of the next fuel truck at a middle-of-Arizona rest stop, a traveling young knife salesman is thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation by the arrival of two similarly stranded bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty—or cold, hard steel—to protect their bloodstained, ill-begotten fortune. THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY boasts an outstanding ensemble cast of Jim Cummings (The Wolf of Snow Hollow), Jocelin Donahue (The House of the Devil), Sierra McCormick (The Vast of Night), Nicholas Logan (I Care a Lot), Michael Abbott Jr. (Killers of the Flower Moon), Connor Paolo (A Creature Was Stirring), Alexandra Essoe (The Haunting of Bly Manor), Robin Bartlett (The Fabelmans), Jon Proudstar (Reservation Dogs), Sam Huntington (Being Human), Ryan Masson (Good Girls), and Barbara Crampton (Suitable Flesh, Re-Animator), with Gene Jones (Killers of the Flower Moon), Faizon Love (Elf) and Richard Brake (Barbarian). Director / Writer / Producer / Editor Francis Galluppi joins us for a geeked out conversation on the orgin story and cinematic inspirations for this film, gathering together this terrific cast, and his personal filmmaking favorites. For more go to: wellgousa.com/last-stop-yuma-county
RESISTANCE - THEY FOUGHT BACK provides a much-needed corrective to this myth of Jewish passivity. There were uprisings in ghettos large and small, rebellions in death camps, and thousands of Jews fought Nazis in the forests. Everywhere in Eastern Europe, Jews waged campaigns of non-violent resistance against the Nazis. For decades, the world believed that Jews faced their fate passively during the Holocaust, much like sheep to the slaughter. Most people have no idea how widespread and prevalent Jewish resistance to Nazi barbarism was. This ambitious and groundbreaking film unveils a different story, shedding light on the heroic stories of Jews who actively resisted their oppressors. They engaged in over 60 armed uprisings in ghettos, 25 within concentration and slave labor camps, numbered in the thousands among partisan units in the forests of Europe, and joined in non-violent resistance campaigns against the Nazis. Co-directors Paula S. Apsell and Kirk Wolfinger traveled to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Israel, and the U.S. to illuminate the forgotten, and largely unknown, stories of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust — and honors the fighters' soulful bravery and leadership. Through interviews with historians, survivors, and their families, the film belies a long-held myth and shines a new light on a lost chapter of history.National release thru abramorama.com/resistance-they-fought-backFor more go to: theyfoughtback.comOpening May 10 - Laemmle Town Center, Encino
For many Anita Pallenberg was at various points in her life a newspaper headline: a “rock n’ roll goddess,” a “voodoo priestess,” and an “evil seductress.” She was accused of trying to break up the Rolling Stones, among other things. What is made clear in co-directors Alexis Bloom & Svetlana Zill’s compelling documentary CATCHING FIRE: THE STORY OF ANITA PALLENBERG those who loved her considered her an exciting cultural force, and a loving mother – and innocent of the accusations. The film includes never-seen-before home movies and family photographs explore life with the Rolling Stones and tell a bittersweet tale of both triumph and heartbreak. From Barbarella to the Swiss Alps, and the Lower East Side to London, Anita Pallenberg was a creative force ahead of her time. CATCHING FIRE: THE STORY OF ANITA PALLENBERG is a vital portrait of the charismatic and fierce rock ‘n’ roller, actress, muse, and mother who rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s after a chance encounter with the Rolling Stones. Scarlett Johansson voices Anita (based on the words of her unpublished memoir) and the film includes her children, Marlon and Angela Richards, and their father, Keith Richards. Co-directors Alexis Bloom & Svetlana Zill join us to talk about setting out to give voice, figuratively and literally, to a spirited woman who lived many lives in one lifetime. Working with producer and son of Anita and Keith Richards, Marlon, together they have succeeded brilliantly. For more go to: magpictures.com/catchingfire
Within hours of his funeral, Hong Kong movie studios began to produce hundreds of unauthorized biopics, spin-offs and rip-offs starring a competing roster of Bruce Lee lookalikes. Over the next decade, ‘Bruceploitation’ would become a staple of global cinema. Director David Gregory examines this fascinating phenomenon via interviews with Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Bruce Liang and Dragon Lee; martial arts legends like Angela Mao, David Chiang, Phillip Ko and Sammo Hung; and the producers, directors, distributors and experts – along with copious clips from the films themselves – that for the first time reveal the history, controversy and legacy behind one of the most bizarre genres in movie history. Director, cinema aficionado and founder of Severin Films David Gregory (Lost Souls: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau) joins us for a spirited conversation on the twisted tale of Bruce Lee’s actual career in film, the shadow careers of look-a-likes and the filmmakers willing to push the limits of credibility and propriety to satiate an audience of martial arts cinephiles. For more go to: severinfilms.com/enter-the-clones-of-bruceAvailable at: tv.apple.com/enter-the-clones-of-bruce
In this quietly powerful documentary, Little Empty Boxes a strong and independent woman, Kathy Lugavere finds herself struggling with her own memory. In a quest to find his mother the best care, 32-year-old son Max moves home to New York City and begins to consult with top health experts to investigate the origins of Dementia, a disease which now affects a staggering 55 million people globally. The deeply personal film chronicles Kathy’s experience with Dementia as Max explores methods outside of prescription medication to slow her illness down. LITTLE EMPTY BOXES presents a raw perspective of Kathy's journey, the hardships of being a caretaker, and a son willing to do anything to save his mother. Co-directors Max Lugavere (Genius Foods) and Chris Newhard (Are You Lonely, Self Tape) join us for a conversation about their loving and observant film about a woman grappling with her own mortality and a devoted son doing his best to help her navigate the relentless cruelty of dementia. For theatrical screenings and more: littleemptyboxes.comOr go to: abramorama.com/film/little-empty-boxes
James Norton (Bob Marley: One Love, Little Women) stars as John, a 35-year-old window cleaner who has dedicated his life to bringing up his 4-year-old son, Michael (Daniel Lamont), after the child’s mother left them soon after giving birth. When John is given only a few months left to live, he attempts to find a new, perfect family for Michael, determined to shield him from the terrible reality of the situation. Although initially certain of what he is looking for in the perfect family, John gradually abandons his early convictions, over- whelmed by doubts on the decision. How can he judge a family from a brief encounter? And does he know his own child well enough to make this choice for him? As John struggles to find the right answer to his impossible task, he comes to accept the help of a young social worker, opening himself to solutions he would never have considered. And he finally comes to accept his anger at the injustice of his destiny, the need to share the truth with his son, and to follow the child’s instincts on the biggest decision of their lives. Director / Producer / Writer Uberto Pasolini joins us for a conversation on bringing lead actor James Norton (John), how he found BIFA nominated actor Daniel Lamont (Michael), how they became trusted friends before and during the shoot and the story behind this unfettered and heartfelt film. For more go to: cohenmedia.net/product/nowhere-special
After the Civil War, freed African Americans settled in the floodplains along North Carolina's Tar River. This land becomes Princeville, the first town chartered by Blacks in America. FREEDOM HILL is an immersive tour of this historic site that chronicles the ongoing legacy of this community. Guided by Princeville native Marquetta Dickens, the camera captures what makes the town so special: a car caravan to celebrate the106th birthday of a beloved resident, aunties who love to tell stories, and a classic North Carolina barbecue.The town of Princeville sits atop wet, swampy land along the Tar River in North Carolina. In the 1800s this land was disregarded and deemed uninhabitable by white people. After the Civil War, this indifference left it available for newly freed enslaved Africans to settle. Before its incorporation, residents called it ‘Freedom Hill,’ gradually establishing a self-sufficient, all Black town. Resting along the floodplain of the river, Princeville and its residents are not strangers to adversity. The historical town has been inundated with flooding over the centuries. With each flood, a little more of the small town erodes. Yet these moments in Princeville are haunted by the specter of the floods that regularly brutalize the town, forcing people to rebuild their homes time and time again. Filmmaker Resita Cox exposes a history of environmental racism and why ultimately, "Black towns always exist within this larger white governance regime." By sharing the spiritual, ancestral, and political landscapes of Princeville, Freedom Hill pushes against America's historical and present legacy of racist displacement.For more go to: thefreedomhilldoc.comWatch at: worldchannel.org/afropop-freedom-hill
Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal tells the dramatic and inspiring story of the ordinary women who fought against overwhelming odds for the health and safety of their families. In the late 1970s, residents of Love Canal, a working-class neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, discovered that their homes, schools and playgrounds were built on top of a former chemical waste dump, which was now leaking toxic substances and wreaking havoc on their health. Through interviews with many of the extraordinary housewives turned activists, the film shows how they effectively challenged those in power, forced America to reckon with the human cost of unregulated industry, and created a grassroots movement that galvanized the landmark Superfund Bill. Director / Producer Jamila Ephron (Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies) joins us for a conversation on her detailed look into the incredible story of Niagara Falls, developer and con man William T. Love, hydro-electric power, Hooker Chemical, birth defects, cancer, miscarriages, Lois Gibbs, empowered woman, Griffon Manor, the taking of “hostages”, President Jimmy Carter, New York Governor Hugh Carey, establishment of the EPA and 22,000 tons of toxic chemicals under the feet of an unsuspecting community.Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal premieres Monday, April 22, 2024, 9:00–11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on American Experience on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS App.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/poisoned-ground
FINDING THE MONEY follows American economist Stephanie Kelton on a journey through Modern Money Theory or “MMT”. Kelton provocatively asserts the National Debt Clock that ticks ominously upwards in New York City is not actually a debt for us taxpayers at all, nor a burden for our grandchildren to pay back. Instead, Kelton describes the national debt as simply a historical record of the number of dollars created by the US federal government currently being held in pockets, as assets, by the rest of us. MMT bursts into the mainstream media, with journalists asking, “Have we been thinking about how the government spends money, all wrong?” But top economists and politicians from across the political spectrum condemn the theory as “voodoo economics”, “crazy” and “a crackpot theory”. FINDING THE MONEY traces the conflict all the way back to the story we tell about money, injecting new hope and empowering countries around the world to tackle the biggest challenges of the 21st century: from climate change to inequality. Filmmaker Maren Poitras tackles the fascinating linked concepts of taxation and debt by foregrounding the work of an underdog group of American economists including Stony Brook professor Stephanie Kelton. With a radical shift in thinking around a concept dubbed Modern Money Theory, Kelton provocatively asserts new hope for democracies around the world to tackle the biggest challenges of the 21st century.For more go to: findingmoneyfilm.com
BREATHE is a heart pounding thriller set in the future. After Earth is left uninhabitable due to lack of oxygen, a mother Maya ( Jennifer Hudson) and her daughter Zora (Quvenzhané Wallis) are forced to live underground, with short trips to the surface only made possible by a coveted state of the art oxygen suit made by Maya’s husband, Darius (Common), whom she presumes to be dead. When a mysterious couple arrives claiming to know Darius and his fate, Maya tentatively agrees to let them into their bunker but these visitors are not who they claim to be ensuing in mother and daughter fighting for survival. Director Stefon Bristol (See You Yesterday) joins us to talk about working with writer Doug Simon, finding the right “look” for this dystopian tale, what he learned turning his time as an assistant to Spike Lee and how he assembled a superb cast that includes; Jennifer Hudson, Milla Jovovich, Quvenzhané Wallis, Raúl Castillo, Common and Sam Worthington. For more go to: capstonepictures.com/breathe
Cooper Ganz’s (Daniel Dorr) seemingly perfect life quickly unravels when he is diagnosed with a crippling form of OCD called Pure Obsessional. This often-misunderstood illness forces him to question his identity and sanity, all while trying to keep it together for his fiancé, Emily (Hope Lauren) family, and co-workers. As he struggles to accept his disease, and the vulnerability that comes along with it, his world starts to open up. The addiction recovery clients he works with at a high-end Malibu drug rehab center return the favor and help Cooper through his darkest hour. Inspired by the filmmaker's own story, director / producer / writer / editor and songwriter Dillion Tucker joins us for a conversation on his own personal journey to tackle a litany of universal issues: grief, coming-of-age, addiction, redemption and the power of social connection.For more go to: gooddeedentertainment.com/pure-o
For 50 years, Chinese American photographer Corky Lee documented the celebrations, struggles, and daily lives of Asian American Pacific Islanders with epic focus. Determined to push mainstream media to include AAPI culture in the visual record of American history, Lee produced an astonishing archive of nearly a million compelling photographs. His work takes on new urgency with the alarming rise in anti-Asian attacks during the COVID pandemic. Jennifer Takaki’s intimate portrait reveals the triumphs and tragedies of the man behind the lens. Corky Lee was born in 1947 in New York to Chinese immigrants who owned a laundry in Queens. He majored in history at Queens College and became a community organizer in Manhattan’s Chinatown in the 1970s. Over the next five decades he photographed countless protests and cultural events in the Asian American Pacific Islander community. Lee’s photographs documented the birth and growth of the Asian American movement for social justice and he became known as “The Undisputed, Unofficial, Asian American Photographer Laureate.” His death in 2021 at the age of 73 due to COVID was mourned in the press worldwide. Director Jennifer Takaki stops by to talk about meeting Corky Lee over 20years ago, his willingness to be the subject of a documentary, his mentorship of other photo-journalist, and his legacy.For more go to: photographicjustice.com
AN AMERICAN BOMBING: THE ROAD TO APRIL 19TH looks at the surge in homegrown political violence through the story of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, showing the roots of anti-government sentiment and its reverberations today, along with the emotionally charged warnings of those who suffered tragic losses in the deadliest homegrown attack in U.S. history. The Oklahoma City bombing was the single, deadliest act of homegrown terrorism against the government in U.S. history. On April 19, 1995, American Timothy McVeigh ignited a truck bomb outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 people, including 19 children. AN AMERICAN BOMBING: THE ROAD TO APRIL 19TH parses the details of that day, the experiences of the people who were there, the manhunt for the perpetrators, and the pivotal moments of the trials. The film also goes back in time to reveal the personal trajectory of McVeigh, his struggles after serving his country in the Gulf War and his association with pro-gun, anti-government groups. AN AMERICAN BOMBING: THE ROAD TO APRIL 19TH connects McVeigh with the ideology of a larger extremist movement that was forged in the aftermaths of the farm crisis, the Gulf War, Ruby Ridge, and Waco. The film questions the lessons learned from past acts of domestic terrorism and stands as an essential wake-up call.
Zarrar Kahn’s feature film debut focuses on the lives of Mariam (Ramesha Nawal), her younger brother Bilal (Jibran Khan) and their mother, Fariha (Bakhtawar Mazhar) in a tiny apartment in Karachi. When Mariam’s maternal grandfather passes, his brother tries to manipulate them into signing over their apartment to him, a common occurrence in Pakistan, where women’s property rights are fragile. Mariam’s mother, grieving and isolated, is easy to influence. Mariam, distraught by her mother’s foolishness, finds solace in a secret romance with a fellow student, Asad. When their relationship takes an unexpected turn, Mariam becomes consumed by nightmares. Meanwhile, her mother, caught between her coercive Uncle and a murky legal system, is oblivious to her daughter’s deteriorating mental state. Mariam’s nightmares begin to bleed into reality. Mother and daughter must come together if they hope to overcome the real and phantasmal forces that threaten to engulf them. Director and writer Zarrar Kahn joins us for a conversation the inspiration for this layered and multi-genre film, assembling a superb cast of veteran and new actors, the systemic bias and barriers that women struggle to navigate in Pakistani society and the joy of being picked to represent Pakistan for the 2024 Academy Awards© in the Best International Feature Film category. For more go to: gametheoryfilms.com/in-flames
LOST ANGEL: THE GENIUS OF JUDEE SILL is an intimate documentary portrait of a one-of-a-kind singer-songwriter from 1970s LA – Judee Sill. It charts her life from a troubled adolescence of addiction, armed robbery and prison through her meteoric rise in the music world and early tragic death. In two years, Judee went from living in a car to a deal with Asylum Records and the cover of Rolling Stone. As told by David Geffen, Linda Ronstadt, JD Souther, Jackson Browne and Graham Nash -- along with Judee herself -- the film explores Judee’s unique musical style and the inspiring recent rediscovery of her singular music fostered by Shawn Colvin, Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek of Big Thief, and Weyes Blood. Co-directors Brian Lindstrom and Andy Brown join us for a conversation how they discovered this nearly forgotten artist, their search for archival material on Judee Sill, finding the “right” way to tell her story, and connecting with wide array of artist, young and older who have been inspired by Judee’s enduring work. For more go to: lost-angel-the-genius-of-judee-sillIn Theaters and On Amazon & Apple TV on April 12
BRANDY HELLVILLE & THE CULT OF FAST FASHION dives int a world where fashion is identity for teenage girls and one brand, Brandy Melville, has developed a cult-like following despite its controversial “one size fits all” tagline. Hiding behind its shiny Instagram façade is a shockingly toxic world, a reflection of the global fast fashion industry. Through a calculated social media presence and promoting an unattainable aesthetic, fueled by Instagram campaigns featuring its own employees and select “Brandy girls,” Brandy Melville conferred a sense of coolness to the teens who wore the tiny clothes that quickly exploded and today has nearly 100 stores in over 15 countries and over 80 cities worldwide. Fast fashion isn’t all glitz and glamor – it’s an exploitative business that pollutes the planet for the sake of profit. Media stories have exposed some of Brandy Melville’s unsavory practices and that’s why some call it Brandy Hell-Ville. BRANDY HELLVILLE & THE CULT OF FAST FASHION examines the far-reaching reverberations of mass-produced fast fashion by Brandy Melville and other mainstream fashion brands, as well as the consequences of the collective increase in consumption and production of cheap clothing, traveling to Accra, Ghana, a destination for discarded textiles that end up polluting landfills and waters. Director Eva Orner joins us to talk about the cult-like brand and the devastating impact that fast fashion, disposable clothing, and the pernicious culture that Brandy management has cultivated inside and outside the stores, and how prescient BRANDY HELLVILLE & THE CULT OF FAST FASHION is for exposing systemic exploitation within the global fashion industry. For more go to: hbo.com/brandy-hellville-cult-of-fast-fashion
From the award winning team of Jesse Moss (The Overnighters, The Family) and Amanda McBaine (Boys State, The Mission) comes their latest mesmerizing documentary GIRLS STATE. The film follows 500 adolescent girls from all across Missouri as they come together for a week-long immersion into a sophisticated democratic laboratory, where they organize a Supreme Court to consider the most contentious issues of the day. Among the many questions posed in this sibling follow up to their 2020 Sundance Grand Jury prize, BOYS STATE, what would American democracy look like in the hands of teenage girls? What political and social issues would they focus on? How will the concurrent BOYS STATE session, being held at the same Missouri school, be perceived by these young women? GIRLS STATE is a political coming-of-age story and a stirring re-imagination of what it means to govern, follows young female leaders — from wildly different backgrounds across Missouri — as they navigate an immersive experiment on how to build a government from the ground up. Co-directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss joins us for a spirited conversation on their plan to follow up Boys State with Girls State when the opportunity presented itself, how they decide which projects to pursue and the genuinely disappointing differences between the two STATES. Available on April 5 at: tv.apple.com/girls-stateFor more on Jesse Moss & Amanda McBaine go to: jessemoss.com
Rural hospitals around America are closing at alarming rates, leaving communities without care. Since 2005 more than 190 rural community hospitals, mostly in the South, have closed. In this documentary If Dreams Were Lightning: Rural Healthcare Crisis Oscar-and Emmy-nominated director Ramin Bahrani visits Appalachia, where American communities are left with limited or no access to healthcare. Explore the rural healthcare crisis in the South through the eyes of those struggling in it and the dedicated doctors trying to reach them. If Dreams Were Lightning: Rural Healthcare highlight the challenges faced by Rural American communities today intimately through the lens of individuals, families, and tight-knit towns, underscoring the urgent need for systemic change in the national healthcare, climate and mental health systems. If Dreams Were Lightning: Rural Healthcare Crisis capped off the 2023 Winter Season for INDEPENDENT LENS, the award-winning PBS documentary anthology series presented by ITVS. Director Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop, 99 Homes) joins us for a conversation on the existential and personal inspiration for the film, traveling around Appalachia in the Health Wagon with Dr. Teresa Tyson and Dr. Paula Hill-Collins and how the heartbreaking stories told by the people living without access to affordable healthcare has impacted his life.For more go to: pbs.org/if-dreams-were-lightningSupport affordable healthcare @thehealthwagon.org
For over 50 year’s PBS’ FRONTLINE has been the standard by which all other long form broadcast journalism is measured. Under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief and Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath FRONTLINE has won every major award in broadcast journalism, including Peabody Awards, Emmy Awards, and, in 2019, the first Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Gold Baton to be awarded in a decade. FRONTLINE’s reporting has been recognized with myriad journalism honors including Overseas Press Club Awards, Scripps Howard Awards, the Nieman Foundation’s Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism and the Peabody Institutional Award. Aronson-Rath has led an ongoing charge for transparency in journalism — including through the FRONTLINE Transparency Project, an effort to open up the source material behind FRONTLINE’s reporting. She served as the sole public media representative on the Knight Commission on Trust, Media, and Democracy. In addition to increasing FRONTLINE’s digital footprint, Aronson-Rath has spearheaded FRONTLINE’s expansion into the theatrical documentary space. During her tenure, the series won an Academy Award® for 20 Days in Mariupol (2024), and received Academy Award® nominations for Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (2018), For Sama (2020). In 2021, Aronson-Rath became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Raney Aronson-Rath joins us to talk about the surpassing importance of reliable and accurate reporting in service to a functioning democracy. For more go to: pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentariesWatch 2024 Oscar Doc winner at: frontline/20-days-in-Mariupol
Why would US military veterans take up arms against the country they swore an oath to protect? Through gripping personal perspectives from all sides of this ongoing crisis, Charlie Sadoff’s AGAINST ALL ENEMIES goes deep inside the violent extremist movement in America, alongside the Proud Boys, 3 Percenters, and with never-before-seen footage of the Oath Keepers. These groups, organized and led by highly trained military veterans, pose one of the greatest threats to the United States today. While most veterans are successful in their transition to civilian life, an increasingly radicalized element is drawn to the insurrectionist movement. We saw evidence of this during the January 6 Capitol riots, but the danger goes far beyond a single day. AGAINST ALL ENEMIES explores the historical roots of the insurrectionist cause, its powerful draw for today’s veterans, and the top-cover being provided by highly decorated former military officers and political leaders. AGAINST ALL ENEMIES is both a warning about an existential threat to our democracy, and a beacon for those hoping to combat it. Director Charlie Sadoff joins us for a conversation on why he and his production team of Kenneth Harbaugh, Dan Barkuff and Sebastian Junger decided to pull back the curtain on the extremist who have taken over much of the Republican Party, and the movements foot soldiers like Michael Flynn, Eric “General E” Braden, Stewart Rhodes, and disgraced former President Donald Trump hell bent to shatter the ideals and functionality of America’s greatest treasure, democracy. For more go to: againstallenemiesfilm.com
In 1993, Danielle Metz, a 26-year-old mother of two young children, was labeled a drug kingpin by the U.S. Government as a part of her husband’s drug ring. Sentenced to a triple life plus 20 years for nonviolent drug offenses, she was sent to Dublin Federal Correctional Institute in California, more than two thousand miles from her family in New Orleans. In 2016, after having served 23 years in prison, Metz's sentence was commuted by the President Barack Obama Administration's Clemency Initiative to address historically unfair sentencing practices during the “War on Drugs” campaign. Now back home, she is stepping into a different reality - starting life again while helping other women avoid a similar fate. COMMUTED traces Metz's journey in confronting the wounds of incarceration that linger long after parole, and to finding purpose, love and unification with her two grown children. Director Nailah Jefferson joins us to talk about how she learned about Danielle and her plight, some of the issues and hurdles that Danielle has faced and where are we, as a nation, in bringing about a more equitable system of justice to all Americans. A CO-PRESENTATION OF AFROPOP AND AMERICA REFRAMED.PREMIERING MONDAY, APRIL 1 at 8/7c STREAMING APRIL 1 on YouTube and the PBS appA Co-presentation of AfroPop and America Reframed premiering Monday April 1 at 8 PM. Streaming on April 1 on YouTube and the PBS app
Alison O’Daniel’s powerful feature THE TUBA THIEVES re-examines a tuba-stealing crime spree that took place between 2011 and 2013 and the ramifications it had on students, marching bands and the high schools from which they were stolen. The Tuba Thieves starts from these questions. It is a film about listening, but it is not tethered to the ear. It is a film about Deaf gain, hearing loss and the perception of sound in Los Angeles - by animals, plants and humans. The human protagonist of the film is Nyke Prince, a Deaf woman whose story runs parallel to Geovanny Marroquin's. Geovanny was the drum major at Centennial HS when their tubas were stolen. Their stories are connected by the omnipresence of noise pollution - helicopters, airplanes, leaf blowers, car traffic. The audience is the third protagonist - their experience making sense of the film is the film. The Tuba Thieves reverses the standard process of filmmaking so that listening and lived experiences of hearing shape the method of filmmaking. Director, screenwriter, co-producer, co-editor and co-sound designer Anita O’Daniel joins us to talk about her own experiences living on the d/Deaf spectrum, why she decided to make a film called The Tuba Thieves that did not focus on the thieves, but instead focused on the sonic experience of living and listening in Los Angeles and exploring the idea of ownership over space and air, and how sound travels.For more go to: thetubathieves.comWatch in a theatre: thetubathieves.com/screeningsFor more about ASL & Deaf identity go to: nad.org
MUCH ADO ABOUT DYING begins when the filmmaker Simon Chambers receives a call from his elderly gay uncle, David Newlyn Gale, – “I think I may be dying!” – Simon takes it as a summons. As it turns out, eccentric Uncle David, a retired actor living alone in a cluttered, mouse-infested London house, is being dramatic, sort of: For the next five years, Chambers both cares for and documents David, through all his performative exuberance (constantly acting out passages of King Lear) and anarchic charisma (swinging from boisterous humor to short temper), as various people (including a sexy young hustler) possibly take advantage of him. As their lives become encumbered by hospital visits, a house fire, and Britain's inadequate eldercare system, the younger man (also single and queer) reflects with aching honesty on what may await him in the years to come, in this moving yet hilarious film. Director Simon Chambers for a conversation on the reasons he didn’t think he had a film about his uncle until he realized that he did, the push and pull that was his own life in service to David, saving him from himself and the pure joy that made being with David brought until the very end. For more go to: Much Ado About Dying at firstrunfeatures.comMuch Ado About Dying opens in NYC at Film Forum on March 15.Director Simon Chambers and producer David Rane will appear in person at the Monica Film Center for select opening weekend screenings of MUCH ADO ABOUT DYING beginning Friday, March 22.
Ivan Sen’s latest film zeroes in on a jaded police detective Travis (Simon Baker) as he arrives in the remote Australian Outback town of Limbo to investigate the cold case murder of a local Indigenous girl 20 years ago. As truths about the crime begin to unfold, Travis gains new insight into the unsolved case from the victim’s fractured family, the surviving witnesses, and the reclusive brother of the chief suspect. Shot in starkly beautiful black and white, Limbo is a penetrating modern noir and a poignant, intimate journey into the complexities of loss. Writer-director Ivan Sen, one of Australia’s foremost Indigenous filmmakers, deftly wields the police procedural to chart the impact of the justice system on Indigenous families in Australia. Director Ivan Sen (Beneath The Clouds, Yellow Fella) joins us to talk about the inspiration his black and white, slow burn noir story, bringing Simon Baker on to the project as his lead actor and executive producer, and the importance of making the judicial, political and social disparity between the Indigenous peoples and the non-Indigenous colonizers the centerpiece of this starkly spectacular film. For more go to: musicboxfilms.com/film/limboTo watch go to: musicboxfilms.com/limbo
UNFRIENDING is a dark comedy of manners about a group of friends that includes Blake and his girlfriend, May. The dinner party is the cover story for a 'life intervention' that focuses on the outcast of the group, Isaac, where the friend group tells him all the reasons he has become a burden to them and society in general, and that he should really just kill himself already. This off-kilter comedy is brought to life by a talented cast that includes Sean Meldrum, Simone Jetsun, Michael Pearson, Jenna Vittoria, Rachelle Lauzon, Honor Spencer, Golden Madison, and Alex Stone. After years of turning the Canadian film scene on its head with their fiercely independent, trend-bucking works, Toronto's dynamic duo, The Butler Brothers (Jason & Brett), join us to talk what inspired this dark comedy, their first US theatrical release in Unfriending, and working together for the last 20 years writing, directing, producing and editing. For more go to: subprod.com/films
Indianna Bell and Josiah Allen’s feature film debut, YOU’LL NEVER FIND ME, drops us in the midst of a violent thunderstorm, where a soaking wet and seemingly shaken to her core, a young woman (Jordan Cowan), knocks at a stranger’s door in an RV park looking for shelter and comfort. Patrick (Brendan Rock), is a strange and lonely resident, lives in one of the mobile homes. At first glance, she finds help in the care and concern shown to her. But soon, that care transforms into curiosity and paranoia. And in this small RV, shaking from the raging rain and wind outside, paranoia spreads like wildfire. Both parties question the motives and desires of the other. As uncertainty and nervousness heat up and questions come thick and fast, things turn dangerous for the duo. Perceptions of what’s real and what’s not come into play, and all roads lead us to a deadly and bizarre showdown. Co-directors and co-writers Josiah Allen & Indianna Bell stop by to talk about their feature film debut, their choice once again cast Jordan Cowan and Brendan Rock as the leads, shooting the entire film in very tight quarters, the amazing sound design and how much they like exploring the cinema of horror to tell this story. To watch go to: shudder.comFor more go to: stakeoutfilms.com/ynfm
Friedrich Moser’s frightening and surprisingly hopeful documentary, HOW TO BUILD A TRUTH ENGINE, about the pervasive influence of disinformation and conspiracy theories that have reached a level unwitnessed since the turmoil of the 1930s. HOW TO BUILD A TRUTH ENGINE portrays a crack-team of investigators from the fields of technology, journalism, folklore and neuroscience who show that if you hack the information feed, you can hack somebody’s mind. Following their personal journeys they take us from the information battlefields into the inner workings of the human brain and show how, through us, a web of lies can change reality. Director / Producer / Screenwriter / Cinematographer Friedrich Moser joins us for a conversation on how his previous documentary, A Good American, provided him with an understanding of cyber tactics and cyber warfare will look in the not so distant future and how we can better arm ourselves against it. For more about Friedrich Moser go to: blueandgreen.info2024 SXSW screenings for How to Build a Truth Engine
In this hybrid political thriller and verité portrait documentary, A REVOLUTION ON CANVAS, Sara Nodjoumi, working with co-director and husband, Till Schauder, makes her directorial debut with this personal film, diving into the mystery surrounding the disappearance of more than 100 "treasonous" paintings by her father, seminal Iranian modern artist Nickzad Nodjoumi. The film follows Sara Nodjoumi as she traces a timeline of events, discovering her father's ongoing activism, his complicated relationship with her mother, artist Nahid Hagigat, and how the implications of his incendiary art impacted the trajectory of their family's future together. In 1980, Nickzad Nodjoumi (more commonly known as Nicky Nodjoumi) fled Iran in the wake of the Islamic Revolution. With his life in danger due to the controversial nature of his paintings on show at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, he joined his wife, Nahid, and daughter, Sara, in New York City, restlessly living in exile and continuing to paint. 40 years later, Sara begins an investigation to track down and reclaim her father's lost artwork from Tehran. As the investigation deepens, she unearths the emotionally charged story of her family mirrored in the political and cultural upheavals of her parents' homeland. Having participated in the pro-democracy movement to oust the Shah of Iran in the 1970s, Nicky's hope for a new Iran crumbled with the ascendance of an authoritarian regime. His provocative paintings, now depicting the new Islamic power brokers, were quickly seized, and rumored to be destroyed by radical Islamists or stowed away in the basement of the museum. As new protests ignite the streets of Iran in 2022, Sara and Nicky contact former workers at the museum determined to find someone on the ground in Tehran who can help locate the paintings but are stymied in their efforts until a contact in Tehran unexpectedly gains access to the museum's unseen basement and archival collection. Co-producers and co-directors Sara Nodjoumi and Till Schauder join us for a conversation on Sara's deeply personal inquiry into her family and the central events of her parents' life, paying tribute to their art while unveiling the complexity and longing that comes with living in exile from one's ancestral home.For more go to: hbo.com/movies/a-revolution-on-canvas
Filmmaker Mila Turajlić was born in Belgrade, and grew up singing patriotic songs extolling Yugoslav leader Josep Broz Tito. The images that populated her "Yugoslavia of the mind" came largely from government newsreels--and the most iconic of those were shot by Stevan Labudović. In NON-ALIGNED: SCENES FROM THE LABUDOVIĆ REELS, Turajlić delves into Labudović's work documenting the birth of the Non-Aligned Movement, a largely Yugoslav-led bloc including many decolonizing nations that stood apart from both East and West during the Cold War. What begins as an exploration of newsreel footage of the 1961 Non-Aligned summit in Belgrade becomes a love letter to a vanished country and its hopes for the future, a history of the early days of the Non-Aligned Movement, and a document of the affinity between two filmmakers--Turajlić, in her forties, and Labudović, nearing 90. NON-ALIGNED: SCENES FROM THE LABUDOVIĆ REELS is an illuminating look back at the politically charged era of Cold War allegiance when leaders from the second and third world sought to forge an independent path not beholden to world’s “super powers”. For more go to: icarusfilms.com/if-nonal
BREAKING THE NEWS follows the launch of The 19th, a news startup that seeks to change the white, male-dominated news industry, asking who’s been omitted from mainstream coverage and how to include them. As Donald Trump was getting sworn in as President and the Women’s March set an angry, outspoken tone for the country’s discourse, journalist Emily Ramshaw decided to meet the moment by launching The 19th. Named after the Nineteenth Amendment, The 19th became the first nonprofit, nonpartisan news agency in the United States. Its mission is to focus on the impact of national politics and policy on women. However, by the time Emily and co-founder Amanda Zamora had secured funding and officially launched The 19th’s news site, the pandemic hit — and the very fabric of society went into a tailspin. BREAKING THE NEWS immerses its audience in the lives and steadfast pursuits of the members of The 19th — women and LGBTQ+ journalists — as they struggle to launch the agency and work to gain traction for their newsroom amidst shuttered news outlets and an upended America. With spirited storytelling, the directorial trio of Heather Courtney, Princess A. Hairston, and Chelsea Hernandez provide an inquisitive and dynamic view into the inner workings of this news agency as its journalists disrupt entrenched biases, push for accountability and in the process captured the honest discussions at The 19th around race and gender equity, revealing that change doesn’t come easy, and showcases how they confront these challenges both as a workplace and in their journalism. For more go to: 19thnews.org/breaking-the-news-documentary-pbs Or: breakingthenewsfilm.comOr: 19thnews.org
In GOD SAVE TEXAS: THE PRICE OF OIL, Houston born and raised filmmaker Alex Stapleton turns her lens on her hometown to chronicle the impact of the Texas oil industry on Houston residents, specifically Black and disenfranchised communities, including the lives of her own family, who arrived in Texas in the 1830s as slaves and have stayed in the state for nearly 200 years. Tracing her personal story as a descendant of slave owners, Stapleton widens her focus to show how Black history is vital to the Texas oil boom, yet has largely been left out of the history books. Despite representing 13% of the U.S. population, Black and brown people only make up 6% of the oil and gas workforce, with few in leadership positions, and historically, their neighborhoods are more likely to suffer the encroachment of refineries and chemical plants. Residents of Pleasantville, a Houston housing community developed in 1948 for Black veterans and their families, and similar “fenceline” communities risk exposure to elevated levels of toxicity and pollution. Illustrating that environmental racism is a civil rights issue, and by giving voice to the very people who face the human cost of Texas’ biggest money-maker, GOD SAVE TEXAS: THE PRICE OF OIL is a call for a long overdue reckoning. Director Alex Stapleton joins us to talk about her family’s multi-generational relationship with Texas and in the process makes it crystal clear the degree to which the spectre of slavery, living legacy of “sundowner” towns, economic deprivation and environmental racism continue to be a part of the lived experience for people of color in the Lone Star state. For more go to: hbo.com/god-save-texas
2024 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Short “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” is a personal love letter from first generation Taiwanese-American director Sean Wang, to his grandmothers. Sean turns a camera on his grandmas (“Nǎi Nai” and “Wài Pó”), who are inseparable best friends and roommates in their 80s and 90s. The film captures their daily lives in hilarious and unexpected ways as they dance, stretch, and fart their sorrows away—eventually giving way to a poignant meditation on lives marked by both joy and pain. Together, grandmas and grandson remind us that getting older doesn’t have to mean fading away. After making its world premiere at SXSW — taking home the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award — the film went on to make the IDA shortlist and win Grand Jury Awards at AFI Fest and SIFF 2023, along with the Audience Award at The Wrap 2023 Shortlist Film Festival and Special Jury Recognition at LAAPFF 2023. Other selections include Rooftop Films Summer Series, Palm Springs ShortsFest, CAAM Fest 2023 and Aesthetica Film Festival 2023. Director / Producer / Editor Sean Wang and Producer / Cinematographer Sam Davis (Academy Award®-winning documentary short Period. End of Sentence) join us to talk about Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó’s participation, the film’s breakthrough at SXSW and what Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó will be wearing on the Red Carpet. For more go to: seanwangfilm.com/nainai-waipo
An exploration of the perils of nationalism and art’s role as a weapon of resistance and activism, KISS THE FUTURE, follows an underground community that continued to work, create and live throughout the 1990s Siege of Sarajevo. Amid the breakup of Yugoslavia, the citizens of Sarajevo wake to find the city under siege and Bosnia at war. In a far-fetched scheme inspired by local resistance, an American aid worker living in Sarajevo reached out to the world’s biggest band, U2, to see if they could help raise global awareness of the devastating conflict. The band pledges to perform in the city once the conflict was over. KISS THE FUTURE follows the story of that promise, with a post-war concert that saw U2 play to over 45,000 local fans in a liberated city, a show that lives on as a joyous collective memory for the people of Sarajevo – proof that they did not just survive the blockade, but thrived in spite of it; that amid the horrors of the darkest human impulses, music and art can be acts of rebellion. Director and co-writer Nenad Cicin-Sain (The Time Being) joins us to talk about his own connection to Yugoslavia, meeting Bill Carter, the power of music, working with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck on the project and connecting with the people who survived the darkest days and now stand as an example of hope and a better way forward. For more go to: fifthseason.com/kiss-the-future
Ella Blake is a stop-motion animator who is struggling to control her demons after the loss of her overbearing mother. Suddenly alone in the world, she embarks upon the creation of a macabre new puppet film, which soon becomes the battleground for her sanity. As Ella’s mind starts to fracture, the characters in her animated film take on a terrifying life of their own, and the unleashed power of her imagination threatens to destroy her. Anchored by a standout performance featuring actress Aisling Franciosi, the film is about a young stop-motion animator who is driven to the edge of sanity by her own creations. STOPMOTION also features Morgan’s captivating yet frightening stop-motion animation, which heightens Aisling’s performance of a grieving daughter who must grapple with her own demons. Director Robert Morgan (The Vandal, To Dust) joins us to talk about his background as an artist, his love of stop motion filmmaking and horror, working with a superb cast that includes Aisling Franciosi, Stella Gonet and newcomer Caolinn Springall, and his collaboration with co-writer Robin King. For more go to: ifcfilms.com/films/stopmotion
Director Matteo Garrone made his name with the landmark Neapolitan crime film GOMORRAH, and has since demonstrated a penchant for gothic tales tinged with dark fantasy, including TALE OF TALES, DOGMAN and PINOCCHIO. With IO CAPITANO, Italy’s official selection for the Academy Award® Best International Film category, Garrone turns his attention back to real-life subject matter, where he finds a story of bravery and heroism in the face of harrowing danger that’s equal to any classical epic or enchanting fairy tale. Musician-turned-actor Seydou Sarr gives an impressive performance as Seydou, a Senegalese teenager who lives in an over-crowded house with his mother and younger sisters. Along with his cousin Moussa (Moustapha Fall), Seydou has been working odd jobs and saving money, preparing for a move to Italy, with dreams of pursuing a music career. Along the way, they will contend with shakedowns from corrupt border guards, mistreatment from human traffickers, a dangerous and deadly crossing of the Sahara Desert, and imprisonment, abuse and modern-day slavery in Libya. Director and co-writer Matteo Garrone stops by to talk about his “reverse shot” of the immigration experience while unfurling an epic, cinematographically magnificent odyssey from West Africa to Italy and his confidence in the two young, untested actors to embody the determination, courage, and character he needed to make this film such a resounding success. For more go to: cohenmedia.net/io-capitano
Director Zayne Akyol’s even handed and insightful documentary ROJEK places the viewer face-to-face with incarcerated members of the Islamic State from all over the world, as well as their wives detained in prison-camps, who all share a common dream: establishing a caliphate. Confronted with the fundamentalist beliefs of the jihadists, the ROJEK attempts to trace the beginning, the rise and fall of the Islamic State (ISIS) through their personal stories. These conversations are the threads along which the documentary evolves, as it is intertwined with various sequences depicting current, post-war Syrian Kurdistan. ROJEK offers an intimate gaze at an unknown reality, testifying of pivotal moments experienced by the actors of this conflict. Director Zayne Akyol yeoman’s work in ROJEK brings us into the center of a dangerous and vexing question facing much of the world right now… is the ideological warfare we have all witnessed in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries, an historic anomaly or the beginning of a terrifying threat to our collective security?For more go to: icarusfilms.com/if-rojek
Director Lisa D’Apolita takes us back to a time before there was Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street, to the world of Shari Lewis and her lovable cast of puppets, including Hush Puppy, Charlie Horse, and the most beloved puppet of all time, Lamb Chop. In 1960, while still in her early 20s, NBC gave Shari her first national network show, The Shari Lewis Show, replacing The Howdy Doody Show. Lewis quickly became a pioneer in television and changed the face of children’s entertainment. She created a playful, non-judgmental world for children and adults alike, inviting us not just to 'be ourselves,' but to be the best version of ourselves we can be. She used her puppets as her voice – to say the things that women couldn’t say in mid-century America and to take control over her personal story. Over five decades, she was able to straddle two very different worlds as a performer, conquering both children’s and more mature entertainment; from her Saturday morning program to her late-night talk show performances and Las Vegas club act. Lewis also won dozens of awards – including 13 Emmys and a Peabody – published 60 children’s books, and finally found a way to achieve her dreams as a performer and managed to stay relevant with her age defuing comeback in her 60’s, endearing her to a new generation with Lamb Chop’s Play-A-Long. Shari used her renewed popularity to reinforce her commitment to children’s education. Director Lisa D’Apolito stops to talk about why she believes that Shari Lewis remains so under appreciated, delves into the unique psychology that exists between performer and puppet, and the peculiar world of ventriloquism and magic and how Shari and Lamb Chop became one of the most unique and enduring “comedy teams” in American culture.For more go to: shariandlambchopdoc.com
A McDonald’s Happy Meal shortage. A security guard escort. Guns pulled in a Target parking lot. All of these are caused by a common factor: trading cards. In 2020, a new BOOM began. For the first time, large hedge funds, celebrities like Logan Paul and Steve Aoki, nostalgic millennials, entrepreneurs like Josh Luber, and billionaires scrambled to add sports, Pokémon, and other hot item cards to their collections and portfolios. Over the next two years, the hobby exploded — even causing card grading services to shut down due to overwhelming customer service. This documentary is a character-driven feel good deep dive into the high-stakes, eccentric world of card collecting, following buyers, sellers, card shop owners, graders, online streamers, auctioneers, and more, who all participate in the hobby in their own unique ways. Directed by Morgan Jon Fox, viewers are brought directly into the highs, lows, big gains, and sometimes devastating losses of a century-old hobby that anyone can break into, and some can hit the jackpot with. The trading card industry saw a massive boom in 2020, as people began clearing out garages, storage units, closets, and more to find old trading cards - ranging from sports cards to Pokemon, to garbage-pail kids and everything in between. The hobby has now grown into a multi-million dollar industry, with its very own trading index launching to assess the value of the market. Director Morgan Jon Fox stops by to talk about the pure joy of opening a Topps pack with a Pete Rose Rookie card or finding a Pokemon Charizard Base Set, as well as the thrill of meeting people who share your passion for collectibles and memories. For more go to: morganjonfox.comAvailable on TVOD beginning February 16
Debuting to rave reviews, filmmaker Goran Stolevski’s HOUSEKEEPING FOR BEGINNERS explores the universal truths of family, encompassing both the bonds we inherit and those we create. Stolevski’s multi-layered focuses on the exploration of human behavior and the universal truths of family life. Both the ones we are born into and the ones we find for ourselves. Dita (Anamaria Marinca) never wanted to be a mother, but circumstances force her to raise her girlfriend’s two daughters, tiny troublemaker Mia (Dzada Selim) and rebellious teen Vanesa (Mia Mustafi). Toni (Vladimir Tintor) never wanted to be a father. A battle of wills ensues as they continue to butt heads and become an unlikely family that must fight to stay together. Director / Writer / Editor Goran Stolevski (You Won’t Be Alone, Of Any Age) joins us to talk about the challenges that come with a mostly non-professional cast of actors, cultivating the kinetic talent that we see in Samson Selim (Ali), how he wove together multiple, overlapping storylines into the joy that this unconventional family eventually finds in each other.For more go to: focusfeatures.com/housekeeping-for-beginners96th Academy Award® Best International Feature Official Selection Northern Macedonia.
In his beguiling second feature film, THE MONK AND THE GUN director, writer and producer Pawo Choyning Dorji captures the wonder and disruption as Bhutan becomes one of the world’s youngest democracies. Known throughout the world for its extraordinary beauty and its emphasis on Gross National Happiness, the remote Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan was the last nation to connect to the internet and television. And if that weren’t enough change, the King announced shortly afterwards that he would cede his power to the people via their vote and a new form of government: Democracy. An elderly lama (Kelsang Choejey), recognizing that extraordinary change is about to sweep through his country, is troubled by the possible outcomes. He instructs his young disciple Tashi (Tandin Wangchuk) to set forth into the kingdom and bring him two guns before the full moon to “set it right.” The young monk is perplexed by his guru’s request, and his familiarity with guns is based solely on images from the only film available on television: James Bond. His quest brings him into contact with a scheming American gun collector Ron (Harry Einhorn), leading to a most unexpected outcome. Director Pawo Choyning Dorji (Yak in the Classroom) stops by to talk about his award winning, Oscar® shortlisted latest film, his choice to mix non-professional actors with established actors, his inspiration for this gentile satire and once again showcasing his beloved country of Bhutan.For more go to: roadsideattractions.com/themonkandthegun
Andrew Cumming’s feature film debut, OUT OF DARKNESS opens with a small boat reaches the shores of a raw and desolate landscape. A group of six have struggled across the narrow sea to find a new home. They are starving, desperate, and living 45,000 years ago. First they must find shelter, and they strike out across the tundra wastes towards the distant mountains that promise the abundant caves they need to survive. But when night falls, anticipation turns to fear and doubt as they realize they are not alone. Terrifying sounds suggest something monstrous at large in this landscape, something that could kill or steal them away. As relationships in the group fracture, the determination of one young woman reveals the terrible actions taken to survive. OUT OF DARKNESS uses a language called TOLA invented by poet, historian and multi-linguist Dr. Daniel Andersson. TOLA stands for ‘The Origin Language’ and is a mix of Arabic as well as some Basque vocabulary. Director Andrew Cumming (Payback, Cold Feet) stops by to talk about the challenges of making his debut feature film in a stark location, using dialog from a made up language, working with a talented but largely unheralded cast of actors that includes Safia Oakley-Green, Chuku Modu, Arno Lüning and Kit Young and how project has given him the confidence to trust his creative instincts. For more go to: outofdarkness.movieGet Tickets: outofdarkness.movie/tickets
Set in Tokyo, Director Wim Wenders PERFECT DAYS follows Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho) a toilet cleaner with a highly structured routine. Every morning, he wakes up to the sound of a street cleaner, waters his plants, buys a coffee from the vending machine outside his apartment, and gets into his truck. His workday routine, he travels around Tokyo, cleaning the city’s public toilets. He eats lunch in the same park and takes a photo of the leaves above him while eating. After working more, he goes to the bathhouse, gets dinner at the same restaurant, reads for a bit, and goes to bed. We are joined by the award winning Director and co-scriptwriter Wim Wenders (Paris Texas, Wings of Desire, Buena Vista Social Club) and Producer and co-scriptwriter Takuma Takasaki to talk working with renown actor Kōji Yakusho to create Hirayama, making Tokyo a central character in the story, the cultural importance of the “common good”, and the meaning of the word Komorebi. Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world. For more go to: neonrated.com/films/perfect-days
Roman Vishniac was difficult and flamboyant, a shameless self-promoter, bender of the truth and master of reinvention. He was also one of the groundbreaking photographers of the last century – a brilliant artist whose body of work spans decades, continents, and the catastrophic fallout from two world wars. With help from his daughter Mara director Laura Bialis’ brilliant documentary VISHNIAC resets the misconceptions and perceptions of Vishniac into a wholly formed figure in the world of photography, art and science. Though his pioneering microscopy transformed the nature of science photography, Roman Vishniac perhaps is best known now for his iconic images of Jewish life in Eastern Europe from 1935 through 1938. Few predicted that less than a decade later, these communities would be wiped out, and Vishniac’s photographs would provide the last stunning visual records of an entire world. Now for the first time, his story comes to life as a feature documentary. A retrospective and family saga, VISHNIAC is narrated by Vishniac’s daughter Mara. She grew up in his shadow and sought to break free of his grip, only to eventually come around and embrace his legacy. Director Laura Bialis joins us for a conversation on her personal journey to bring Mara Vishniac into the heart of the project, the stories behind the fateful photographs taken Eastern European Jews, Albert Einstein, and the satisfaction of spotlighting one of the more complex figures in the history of modern photography. For screenings go to: abramorama.com/vishniacor For more go to: vishniacfilm.com
In the enormously poignant follow-up to her international breakthrough, The Chambermaid, director Lila Avilés nestles in with one family over the course of a single, meaningful day. TOTEM is told largely from the perspective of 7-year-old Sol (the marvelously naturalistic Naíma Sentíes), as her mother (Montserrat Marañón) and extended relatives prepare for the birthday party of the girl’s father, Tona (Mateo Garcia). As the hours wear on, building to an event both anticipated and dreaded, the fragile bonds and unsure future of the family become ever clearer. Avilés confirms her formidable skill at expressing the subtlest contours of her characters’ inner lives in this emotionally expansive and affecting drama. This emotionally expansive film from Lila Aviles (The Chambermaid) cements her skill at directing dynamic, ensemble performances in her stunning sophomore effort. Director, producer , writer Lila Avilés joins us to talk about casting Naíma Sentíes (Sol) and the rest of this superb troupe of performers, shooting in tight spaces, sound design, and her unbridled love for filmmaking. For more on how to watch go to: totem.filmOr: janusfilms.com/Totem
In the heartwarming short documentary, Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World, we are introduced to a remarkable young girl whose spirit and determination defy all expectations. Makayla, a black teenage girl, has spent her life grappling with a rare form of autism that rendered her essentially nonverbal. However, her parents (father, Grammy-award winning producer Needlz and business owner mother, Mañana), filled with unwavering belief in their daughter's potential, embarked on a transformative journey to discover the true depth of Makayla's inner world. Recently, through the help of Roxy Sewell, Makayla’s letterboard therapist, a groundbreaking breakthrough came into their lives in the form of letter board therapy, a method that finally provided Makayla with the means to communicate. As her voice gradually emerges, the audience is invited into a world of wonder, poetry, and brilliance that was once hidden from sight. Through the lens of the documentary, we witness Makayla's courageous steps as she unveils her thoughts, feelings, and insights. With her newfound ability to express herself, she shines as an inspiring advocate for autism, determined to show the world the power and beauty of neurodiversity. Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World is directed, written and produced by Julio Palacio, who has won several awards for his short form documentaries. The film is also produced by Sam Hanson and Sasha Levinson, editor is Jeff Jay and cinematography is by Brock Hanson.For more go to: makaylasvoice.comWinner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2024 Slamdance Film Festival
When a high-end design firm presents its plans to reimagine the gift shop at The Anne Frank House, the company’s overt appeals to Generation Z sparks a darkly comic debate about collective trauma, the Holocaust and tote bags. THE ANNE FRANK GIFT SHOP, which stars Ari Graynor and Abbott Elementary's Chris Perfetti among other notable actors, imagines a meeting between the Anne Frank House and the New York design firm they've hired to help them appeal to young people. The idea for the film grew out of a disturbing study that revealed two-thirds of young Americans couldn't tell you how many Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Eleven percent of respondents somehow believe Jews "caused" the Holocaust. The film aims to combat that with humor, disarming young people before making its emotional appeal: We have to keep telling this story again and again and again or it will happen again. Journalist turned filmmaker Mickey Rapkin joins us to talk about the thrill of making the Oscar® shortlist for Live-Action Short (in a category with the likes of Almodovar, Wes Anderson and Alfonso Cuaron), how his a dark comedy has suddenly become very timely and striking the right balance of irreverent humor and the jarring reality of Anne Frank’s actual life story.Watch: The Anne Frank Gift ShopFor more go to: rebooting.com/anne-frank-gift-shop
With support from Kate Capshaw and Steven Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation and Maimonides Fund, the Jewish Story Partners (JSP) was launched in April 2021. The objective of the Jewish Story Partners is to stimulate and support the highest caliber independent films that expand the Jewish story. Since its inception, JSP has awarded approximately $2.5 million in grants to 85 projects. Today, JSP seeks to provide critical gap in funding for independent films telling Jewish stories, as well as the paucity of and pressing need for films that reflect the full spectrum of Jewish experiences, cultures, and encounters. In addition to supporting projects financially, Jewish Story Partners offers a continuum of support—providing filmmakers with advisory services at pivotal points in their process. JSP, recently announced its new grantees, with $450,000 distributed among 18 documentary films. In light of the rise of antisemitism, particularly in the aftermath of October 7th, and in response to the persistence of Holocaust denial and the myriad Holocaust stories yet to be told, JSP renews our faith in film as an indispensable tool to build empathy and fight against ignorance and hate. JSP today announced two new funds: the Holocaust Film Fund and the Antisemitism and the Ecosystem of Hate Film Fund. The former provides funding for JSP documentaries about the Holocaust; the latter supports JSP documentaries directly exploring antisemitism as well as those that probe the connections between antisemitism and other group-based hate. The naming opportunity for both funds are currently open. Joining us is Lindsay Malin, the Manager of Film Granting and Artist Programs at JSP for a conversation on the recent announcement of its new grantees, the $450,000 distributed among 18 documentary films, other funding currently open for applications, as well as the past, present and future of Jewish Story Partners. For more go to: jewishstorypartners.org
One of the year's most acclaimed releases, FOUR DAUGHTERS by Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania uses an audacious formal conceit to tell the story of Olfa Hamrouni and her four daughters. Attempting to answer the question of how and why the Tunisian woman’s two eldest were radicalized, Ben Hania reveals a complex history. We watch as the family relives key events in their lives with help from professional actors standing in for the missing girls. Winner of the Best Documentary award at the Cannes Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature at the Gotham Awards, and Best Writing at the IDA Documentary Awards, FOUR DAUGHTERS is a compelling portrait of five women and a unique and ambitious work of nonfiction cinema that pushes against the conventional boundaries of the documentary form to explore the nature of memory, rebellion, and the ties that bind mothers and daughters. Director Kaouther Ben Hania (Beauty and the Dogs, The Man Who Sold His Skin) joins us for a conversation on what inspired her wildly creative and award winning documentary on trauma, family, displacement, love and freedom. For more go to: kinolorber.com/film/four-daughters
INSHALLAH A BOY is Jordan’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2024 Academy Awards®. It begins with the sudden death of the husband of Nawal, a young Arab woman. The tragedy leaves her and her daughter without rights or property under Islamic law—and at the mercy of male relatives. Both her own brother and brother-in-law at first show sympathy. But soon it’s clear that any whiff of assertion—I paid for half this house; I will keep my job; I will raise my daughter as I see fit—is met with the forces of patriarchy. Amjad Al Rasheed’s gripping, taut debut INSHALLAH A BOY immerses us in the tangled impossibilities for a woman who simply wants to keep her home and protect her daughter, without a husband or male heir to legitimize her. Her acts of resistance (including necessary deception) enmesh multiple players in a complex web of risk and hope – reminiscent of Asghar Farhadi’s masterpiece A SEPARATION – as we root and fear for her at every turn. Director/Co-writer Amjad Al Rasheed stops by to talk about the inspiration for his multi-faceted, finding his lead actor Mouna Hawa to play Nawal and the superb supporting cast as well as the pride tken from the wide recognition the film has received from the Cannes Film Festival and other prestigious film festivals from around the world.US Premiere Friday, January 12 at Film Forum in NYCTo watch go to: greenwichentertainment.com/inshallah-a-boy
When Danish filmmaker Lea Glob first met Apolonia Sokol in 2009, she appeared to be leading a storybook life. The talented Apolonia was born in an underground theatre in Paris and grew up in an artist community — the ultimate bohemian life. In her 20s, she studied at the Beaux-Arts de Paris, one of the most prestigious art academies in Europe. Over the years, Lea kept returning to film Apolonia as the latter sought her place in the art world, grappling with the agonies and joys of womanhood, the relationships with others and her own body and creation. The result is a fascinating portrait of the young woman’s trying voyage into the art world. Apolonia is confident in her talent, but her path is not always an easy one to tread. Life is not a storybook, and Apolonia learns that women painters have to make more sacrifices and overcome greater obstacles than their male counterparts. This also applied to the friend she lived with for a long time, Oksana Shachko, one of the founders of the feminist action group Femen. Apolonia’s resilience is put to the test. As time passes and a special bond grows between Apolonia and Lea, we witness a film being born and a painter rising to fame. 13 years on, the two women continue to reflect on each other’s paths in this mesmerizing film about art, love, motherhood, sexuality, representation, and how to succeed in a world dominated by patriarchy, capitalism and war, without losing oneself. Director Lea Glob (Olmo & the Seagull) joins us for a conversation on how and why her first meeting with Apolonia propelled them both on this complex and meaningful journey, how she navigated the line between director and subject during the 13-year long duration of the project, the impact that Oksana had on Apolonia, and where are Apolonia and Lea today.For more go to: instagram.com/apolonia_apolonia_filmTo watch: mubi.com/apolonia-apolonia
Enter the spectacle and drama of a megafire, alongside a firefighting team struggling to save anything they can while protecting each other. FIRELINE takes audiences into the firescape, to feel for the first time what those fighting these blazes face, especially as climate change makes megafires larger and more frequent. It's an intimate portrait of a system stretched to its breaking point, revealing the friendship, heartbreak, and exhilaration experienced by those who go to war against this elemental force. FIRELINE focuses on three firefighters from the Cal Fire Lassen-Modoc Unit, and their harrowing experience fighting a megafire for 36 emotional hours. The filmmakers also worked with The California Fire Foundation, which provides emotional support to families of fallen firefighters, firefighters and the communities they protect. Director Tylor Norwood joins us for a conversation on the importance of connecting to the people who can open doors for a filmmaker into an otherwise insulated world, and standing a few feet from a roaring inferno while filming the people trying to fight it. For more go to: gravitasventures.com/fireline-2023Watch FIRELINE on tv.apple.com/us/fireline
Donald Trump's longtime adviser, Roger Stone maneuvers in and out of Danish filmmaker Christoffer Guldbrandsen's grasp in this jaw-dropping portrait of a puppet master tangled in his own strings. A STORM FORETOLD - ROGER STONE AND DIE follows the revered right-wing powerbroker, his influential journey back to the era of President Nixon, a legacy inked onto his own back. In a film marked by unparalleled access, Christoffer Guldbrandsen captures the tumultuous final months of the Trump administration, centering on the heart of power and climaxing with the unprecedented storming of Congress. Guldbrandsen finds himself amidst the chaos as Trump supporters converge on Washington, witnessing firsthand Roger Stone's strategic retreat from his hotel suite as the 'Stop the Steal' campaign spirals into a riot. A STORM FORETOLD - ROGER STONE AND DIE unfolds the narrative of a once-established political party metamorphosing into an anti-democratic movement, where impassioned rhetoric evolves into tangible violence. Director Christoffer Guldbrandsen (Stealing Africa) joins us for a conversation on that amazing level of access was able to attain, getting to know the Trump movement from the ultimate insider and how he sees the future of American politics.For the latest updates go to: astormforetoldfilm.comFor screenings go to: abramorama.com/a-storm-foretold
MAN ON THE RUN follows the enigmatic Low Taek Jho—known to most as Jho Low–a mysterious businessman and playboy. Working with former Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia, Low orchestrated a scheme to exploit 1MDB, a sovereign wealth fund established in 2009 with the noble purpose of benefiting the people of Malaysia. In 2015, the intrepid journalist Clare Rewcastle-Brown receives leaked financial documents, setting off a global investigation that uncovers a staggering amount of money being funneled into international bank accounts to fuel Low's extravagant lifestyle. He now faces charges of money laundering and a slew of other offenses related to the multibillion-dollar scandal and is wanted by international authorities. Through director Cassius Michael Kim's unprecedented access to key individuals involved on both sides of the story, and gripping first-person accounts, Man On The Run exposes a complex web of greed, corruption and betrayal that shook an entire nation's financial stability. Currently jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak, 1MDB whistleblower Xavier André Justo, and journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown who broke the story, are featured in the film. Kim’s meticulous investigation lays bare the extensive repercussions of one of the most colossal financial scandals in history. Jho Low is currently on the run and believed to be hiding in China. Director Cassius Michael Kim (Stockton on My Mind) stops by to talk about the remarkable access he had in the making of this scathing expose on the way dirty money warps the world and how the world’s banking system for adjudicating financial crimes is a broken fraud of an institution.For more go to: thesmokingsection.us/Informationnetflix.com/search/Manontherun
When Daniel Northcott got a hold of his father’s video camera at the age of seven, a lifetime of documenting the world around him began. Growing up, he focused his lens on his family and close friends, and as a young man, he recorded precious moments with the people and places he encountered on his travels, striving to live a life of love and seek out universal human connection. The deeply personal and poignant HBO documentary feature DANIEL chronicles his mission to pursue an epic adventure, Daniel visits war zones to sacred sites, including a Mayan burial ground in a cave in Mexico. He would often take a keepsake from each location as a reminder of his connection to the earth. But Daniel’s world travels abruptly end when he must return home to Vancouver because of health reasons. While undergoing treatment, he is haunted by the memory of an ancient Mayan curse and goes on a quest to put things back where they belong before he runs out of time. Crafted from over 1,400 hours of vérité-style footage shot in 42 countries across four continents, DANIEL is an unflinching self-portrait of a young man with an insatiable curiosity and a boundless desire to understand the world and his place in it. Daniel’s sister, Erin Northcott joins us for a conversation on her own journey to honor his memory, beginning with her decision to become the film’s producer and then assembling an award winning team of film veterans to help her turn a mountain of images into a deeply affecting portrait of a man in search of the irreducible essence of what it means to be human. For more go to: hbo.com/movies/daniel
Filmmaker Denny Tedesco’s follow up to his excellent documentary WRECKING CREW is the equally entertaining, IMMEDIATE FAMILY. The film tracks the rise and collaborations of a group of legendary studio musicians through the 1970s and onward, chronicling their illustrious partnerships and their formidable record of hit-making. While The Wrecking Crew followed the first wave of studio musicians in the 60s, IMMEDIATE FAMILY reveals the machinery behind the booming era of the singer-songwriter, when the talents of these four musicians were in furious demand. Known for their long, illustrious careers backing up such Hall-of-Fame artists such as James Taylor, Keith Richards, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, Stevie Nicks and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, guitarists Danny Kortchmar and Waddy Wachtel, drummer Russ Kunkel, and bassist Leland Sklar have come together, along with guitarist Steve Postell, to perform their own songs as The IMMEDIATE FAMILY band that can legitimately be called a supergroup. The foundations of their enduring friendship, formed on the road and in studios, is recalled with dynamite clarity —reminisced with fondness through intimate interviews with the guys themselves, as well as the memories of some of rock’s most iconic voices. IMMEDIATE FAMILY is a backstage tour spanning multiple eras of musical history. Director Denny Tedesco (Wrecking Crew) joins us to talk about his joyous and entertaining bookend toWrecking Crew and how he initially resisted any film follow-up until he came to realize that Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, and Steve Postell were in fact today’s worthy successors to his dad and the hit-making musicians he brought to our attention in 2008. For more go to: immediatefamilyfilm.com
Elise McCave -Elise McCave has been working with documentary filmmakers since 2008. As Kickstarter’s Senior Director of Film since 2016, she’s worked with film organizations and filmmakers worldwide, providing tailored support and mentorship on fundraising and audience-building for projects in development and production. From 2008-2016 she was Deputy Director of Doc Society (formerly BRITDOC) in London and then in New York, primarily overseeing the Good Pitch program. Senior Director of Film for Kickstarter Elise McCave joins us to talk about the projects being supported on the platform, how identifying a target audience is one of the keys to getting crucial financial support and the wide spectrum distribution for a film that increases its chances of success and what the future of filmmaking and the support from Kickstarter may look like. For more go to: kickstarter.comFor more on film: kickstarter.com/film
Academy Award nominated filmmaker Katja Esson’s RAZING LIBERTY SQUARE is a character-driven verité documentary that weaves personal stories in and out of the larger social justice narrative on Climate Gentrification. The stories originate at the intersection of race, climate, and socio-economic gentrification and examines the assumptions regarding who matters—and who doesn’t—and about land and who controls it. As rising seas threaten Miami’s luxurious beachfront, wealthy property owners are pushing inland to higher ground. The historically black neighborhood of Liberty City, which has been ignored by developers and policy-makers alike, for generations is 12 feet above sea level, has now becomes more attractive to the wealthy with each rising tide. At the heart of Liberty City is the Liberty Square housing projects, the first segregated public housing project in the South. New Liberty Square: a $300 million mixed income development. The dramatic changes happening in Miami’s Liberty Square are a looking glass for contemporary issues of wide-scale significance: the affordable housing crisis, the impact of systemic racism and climate gentrification. Miami is experiencing sea level rise before the rest of the country. What is happening in Liberty Square is a prescient story of what is to come, and strategies put to the test here are being closely observed by the rest of the world. Director / Producer Katja Esson (Ferry Tales, Poetry of Resilience) joins us for a conversation on how she came to know about the history and looming fate of Liberty Square, why ringing the bell on relationship between rising sea levels, systemic racism, affordable housing and Climate Gentrification should scare the hell out of every community in here in America and beyond.For more go to: razinglibertysquare.org/thefilm
HOW I LEARNED TO FLY, beautifully recounts the story of two African-American teenage brothers who suddenly find themselves on their own after being mysteriously abandoned by their parents. Deeply haunted by the mental and physical abuse inflicted by their father (Wu-Tang Clan’s Cliff “Method Man” Smith), elder brother Daniel (Marcus Scribner, ABC’s Black-ish) is determined to keep their lives from falling apart. He maintains a daily routine, works as a dishwasher and does his best to keep a roof over their heads. Younger brother Eli (Lonnie Chavis, NBC's This Is Us) struggles to cope with the absence of his mother, leaving her voicemail messages in search of answers. Embarking on a journey of survival and self-discovery, they uncover moments of beauty, newfound meaning and enduring love that strengthen their bond despite the uncertain road ahead. HOW I LEARNED TO FLY is a poignant story of determination and resilience in the face of profound adversity. Director / Writer Simon Steuri (Vandals) stops by to talk about the challenges of making the jump from commercials and videos into his feature film debut, working with a terrific cast that includes upcoming actors like Lonnie Davis, Marcus Scribner, and Michele Selene Ang, as well as, veteran actors Clifford “Method Man” Smith, and Cedric the Entertainer For more go to: filmmovement.com/how-i-learned-to-fly
Ever wondered what it'd be like to encounter an extraterrestrial? Now, imagine experiencing this every single second. Scott Bateman’s latest mind-boggling feature film 5000 SPACE ALIENS means what it says because the viewer is going to experience the cinematic experience of “meeting’ 5000 space aliens in 5000 seconds that’s (83 minutes). The film is a wild animated film that uses computer-manipulated found footage and collage, all created by director Scott Bateman and brought to you by producer Lucas A. Ferrara. 5000 SPACE ALIENS is an entertaining non-narrative film unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. It’s a one-man tour de force: Scott Bateman not only created the animated footage, he also composed the 84-minute score! Scott Bateman spent 2-1/2 years manipulating weird public domain footage in Photoshop, Fireworks, and Premiere Pro to create the 5000 one-second portraits that make up 5000 Space Aliens. Packed with memorable visual images, let all 5000 SPACE ALIENS wash over you. Director Scott Bateman (You Your Brain & You) and Producer /Attorney Lucas A. Ferrara join us for a lively conversation on their unlikely collaboration, the joy of work on this outside-the-box film project and the very encouraging reception that 5000 Space Aliens has received from a wide variety of audiences. For more go to: 5000spacealiens.com
In Director Heidi Hutner’s thrilling feminist documentary, four indomitable women fight back against America’s powerful nuclear industry to expose one of the most consequential and egregious cover-ups in our country’s history. RADIOACTIVE: THE WOMEN OF THREE MILE ISLAND is an award-winning film about the 1979 Three Mile Island meltdown – the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history – and its aftermath. It uncovers the never-before-told stories of four intrepid homemakers who take their local community's case against the plant operator all the way to the Supreme Court – and a young female journalist who's caught in the radioactive crossfire. RADIOACTIVE features activist and actor Jane Fonda, whose film,The China Syndrome (a fictional account of a nuclear meltdown), opened 12 days before the real disaster in Pennsylvania. RADIOACTIVE also breaks the story of a radical new health study that may finally expose the truth of the meltdown. For over forty years, the nuclear industry has done everything in their power to cover up their criminal actions, claiming, as they always do, "No one was harmed and nothing significant happened.” Director, producer and writer Heidi Hutner joins us for a conversation on the devastation caused by the reactor meltdown, the cover-up and the dire consequences of the lies and malfeasance that occurred on March 28, 1979 and why it matters today and into the future. For more go to: radioactivethefilm.comLos Angeles Theatrical Run – Friday, Dec 8 - Thursday, Dec 14 at Laemmle's RoyalSTREAMING: RADIOACTIVE will drop on Apple+ and Prime on March 12, 2024.45th Anniversary of THREE MILE ISLAND meltdown (March 28, 1979)
Director Ruth Leitman’s NO ONE ASKED YOU, focuses her camera on the day-to-day health care providers who risk their own safety in service to the women seeking an abortion. As well as the powerful political and religious interests seeking to deny them access to a constitutionally guaranteed right by the Roe v. Wade decision. A civil right to privacy that had stood for 50 years, lost after the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. With the conservative movement conspiring to take away healthcare and bodily autonomy from all, “Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead brings us on the road with Abortion Access Front and her merry band of activists and comedians, that includes Sarah Silverman. Margaret Cho, Alex English, and Joyelle Johnson, as they crisscross the U.S. to support abortion clinics and providers. An urgent and humorous account of the serious work that this audacious group of activists are doing to battle misogyny and fight for reproductive rights in a divided country. Director Ruth Leitman (Lipstick & Dynomite, Hard Earned) joins us for a conversation on the challenges of filming on the road for nearly six years and getting to know the dedicated doctors, clinic workers and volunteers has given her reasons to be guardedly optimistic about the future of women’s access to the full range of reproductive health care. For more go to: nooneaskedyoudoc.com
Set in the creepily idyllic village of Leon, Spain, EVERYONE WILL BURN burrows into the tortured life of María José (Macarena Gomez). She is prepared to end her life after failing to get over the suicide of her bullied son years before. As she teeters on the brink of committing suicide, she encounters a mysterious young girl (newcomer Sofía García) caked in mud and dirt. Everything changes when Lucía appears. It is quickly revealed that the young girl has telekinetic powers and might be the harbinger of the apocalyptic prophecy that exists within town legend. Despite Lucia’s penchant for violence, María José feels an instant kinship with the girl because, like her late son, she has dwarfism — and the two of them face off against the vitriolic community who want to nip the potential hellscape in the bud. With the enigmatic girl by her side, María José faces the corrupt community, overloaded with sadistic secrets and immoral lies that triggers strange events and a series of horrific deaths among the local population. Director and writer David Hebrero (Dulcinea) joins us for a conversation about creating one of the year’s best opening scenes, as well as. how he struck the pitch perfect tone, found the right setting and orchestrated outstanding performances of his superb cast, Sofía García, Rodolfo Sancho, Ana Milán, Rubén Ochandiano, Germán Torres, Ella Kweku, Raquel Lobelos and the spectacular deranged Macarena Gomez as María José.drafthousefilms.com/everyonewillburnOpening 12/1 in LA at drafthouse.com/everyone-will-burn
This gripping and thought provoking film from Um Tae Hwa, CONCRETE Utopia, begins with a massive earthquake that reduces Seoul, Korea to rubble. Everything in the city has collapsed, except for one building. Hwang Gung Apartments remains standing, as it was before that day. When survivors from the outside hear of this, they begin to gather at Hwang Gung Apartments. However, the original residents of the building start to feel threatened. Banding together for the sake of their survival, they elect ‘Young-tak’ as their Resident Delegate. Under his leadership, they strictly ban entry by outsiders and draw up a new set of Resident Regulations. Thanks to this, in contrast to the hellish nightmare outside, Hwang Gung Apartments stands as a safe and peaceful utopia for its residents. But amidst the continual threats to their survival, unexpected conflicts begin to arise among them… Director Um Tae Hwa (Ingtoogi: The Battle of the Internet Trolls) joins us to talk about the orgin story for the film, how shaping the characters vastly different perspective is critical to the success of the film and the outstanding cast of actors who bring strong-willed resolve to this complex story.For more go to: concrete-utopia-film.com815pictures.net/concrete-utopiaSouth Korea Official Oscar Entry - Best International Feature
In this riveting and disturbing documentary GREAT PHOTO, LOVELY LIFE, Photojournalist Amanda Mustard alongside co-director and cinematographer Rachel Beth Anderson, (First to Fall, Unschooled) returns home to Pennsylvania to investigate the sexual abuse crimes committed by her grandfather. A visual whirlwind of memories from her family’s archive unravels a world of secrets through interviews, photographs, and home movies. A cinematic journey eight years in the making, GREAT PHOTO, LOVELY LIFE, chronicles a granddaughter’s attempt to disrupt a cycle of intergenerational trauma through the voices of the survivors and her grandfather himself. Secrets kept close and snapshots of joy plague almost every family. This is a film about having the courage to take the steps we must take and have the conversations we must have to disrupt the cycle of intergenerational trauma. GREAT PHOTO, LOVELY LIFE is dedicated to those carrying secrets they shouldn't have to keep and is a validation for all of the people who are suffering in silence. Amanda Mustard directorial debut alongside co-director and cinematographer Rachel Beth Anderson (First to Fall, Unschooled) join us for a conversation on Amanda’s decision to undertake this deeply personal project knowing the potential of fracturing family ties and how the collaboration with Rachel came about and their determination in pursuit of the truth and how to insure that everyone who wanted to participate would feel unfettered. For more go to: greatphotolovelylife.com
Award winning director Niels Arden Oplev’s latest film, ROSE, takes place over the course of an eventful week that focuses on the depth of the relationship between two sisters, Inger and Ellen, and how their connection will be tested on a highly anticipated coach trip to Paris. When Inger announces her struggles with mental health to the group, the sisters are faced with pity from some and downright discrimination from others. On arrival in Paris, it soon becomes clear that Inger has a hidden agenda concerning a figure from her past, ultimately involving the entire group in her hunt for answers. The film stars Sofie Gråbøl (star of the hit Danish drama series, “The Killing”) and Lena Maria Christensen. ROSE is a film about love and care for each other, in spite of our differences, as much as it is a film about not judging a book by its cover. After its release in Denmark, ROSE received a number of nominations and accolades from the Danish Film Association and Denmark’s Bodil Awards, including Best Actress at the Bodil Awards and Best Supporting Actress at both the Bodil Awards and Danish Film Association Awards. Director and writer Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl With the Dragon, We Shall Overcome) joins us for a conversation on how a personal inspiration for making ROSE helped him meet the challenge of creating an empathetic and entertaining film about mental illness, and why securing the acting duo Sofie Gråbøl (“Forbrydelsen”/”The Killing”) and Lena Maria Christensen (The Legacy) was crucial to critical and commercial success of the film. For more go to: gametheoryfilms.com/roseOpening in LA at the Laemmle Santa Monica on December 8th, 2023Available Digitally Beginning December 26th, 2023
On the eve of last year’s midterm elections, Charles M. Blow, New York Times columnist and best-selling author of “The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto,” sets off across the country on a personal journey to test his theory on Black Liberation, which involves a daring strategy for Black Americans to move to the southern states to control southern legislatures and gain greater political power. Conversing with politicians, historians, community activists, colleagues, friends, and family members, Blow challenges Black Americans to disrupt the status quo by affecting change at the polls through reverse migration and gain control over states that already have the highest percentages of Black residents. Co-directors Llewellyn M. Smith and Sam Pollard’s thought provoking feature documentary SOUTH TO BLACK POWER also takes us on a journey through Blow’s personal story, from his childhood in Louisiana to his relentless commitment to racial justice, revealing the hard-won truths that illuminate his vision for the future. As the returns from the midterm elections roll in, Blow watches, acknowledging the gains, but also reflects on the possibility that a historic political transformation in the South might not come in his lifetime. Co-directors Llewellyn M. Smith and Sam Pollard join us for a conversation on the conflicted history of The Great Migration, the lack of substantive political and economic progress for Black Americans everywhere, and how Charles Blow’s provocative proposal to re-populate a handful of Southern states with enough Black voters to propel a seismic political shift in power towards a more equitable America. For more go to: hbo.com/south-to-black-power
The first documentary by an Estonian director to compete and win at the Sundance Film Festival, SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD is a deeply moving, intimate and breathtaking approach to issues of trauma, healing, and community. Filmed almost as if a Vermeer or Rembrandt painting, the camera is never intrusive, never mechanical. Rather, the images move as the smoke – lingering, wafting, suspended briefly before disappearing and reappearing. With an authentic voice and authority born of their own heritage, inspired by her South-East Estonian culture of Võromaa and Setomaa, and the profound teachings of her Võro granny, filmmaker Anna Hints has created a transformative experience of being human within a female body, showing women “as they are” with great emotional veracity and deep empathy. In the darkness of a smoke sauna, women share their innermost secrets and intimate experiences, washing off the shame trapped in their bodies and regaining their strength through a sense of communion. Women share their innermost secrets and intimate experiences inside an Estonian smoke sauna. Cleansing their bodies and baring their souls, they embrace the healing power of sisterhood. Anna Hints’ Sundance-winning documentary celebrates the centuries-old smoke sauna tradition, recognized on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The impact of SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD on the communities represented in the film has been profound. Viewers have connected emotionally with the stories, finding solidarity and empowerment in the shared experiences of these brave women. Director Anna Hints joins us for a conversation on what brought her to documenting this sacred space where women give birth, wash the dead, and express their vulnerability, found self-acceptance, and a collective empowerment for generation upon generation..For more go to: greenwichentertainment.com/smoke-sauna-sister
The beloved 2003 documentary, THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL, has been given a 4K restoration for a new release is set in San Francisco, there are at least two flocks of largely wild parrots who flock around the city. This film focuses on the flock of cherry-headed conures (and a lonely blue-headed one named Connor) who flock around the Telegraph Hill region of the city and their closest human companion, Mark Bittner. Through his own words, we learn of his life as a frustrated, homeless musician and how he came to live in the area where he decided to explore the nature around him. That lead him to discovering the parrot flock and the individual personalities of it. In a cinematic portrait, we are introduced to his colorful companions and the relationship they share as well as the realities of urban wild life that would change Bittner's life forever. Director / Producer / Writer / Editor / Cinematographer Judy Irving’s profoundly moving story of human interaction with nature is made personal and universal by Mark Bittner boundless love for Sophie, & Picasso, Mingus, Olive & Pushkin, Tupelo and Connor. THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL is one the best documentaries of the last 20 years. For more go to: pelicanmedia.org/wild-parrots
Alan Govenar’s beautifully rendered meditation, Down in Dallas Town (From JFK to KS)2 takes us to the shifting perceptions of public memory sixty years after the murder of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Through interviews with people on the street and songs recorded to memorialize JFK in the mid-1960s, the film explores the impact of the assassination on issues in today's world, from lingering conspiracy theories to the proliferation of gun violence, homelessness, and the scourge of K2. Personal narratives are juxtaposed with the sentiments articulated in blues, gospel, norteño, and calypso recordings to haunting affect. Especially poignant is the account of Mary Ann Moorman, who returns to the assassination site fifty years later and details the making of her Polaroid photograph of the fatal head shot that killed JFK as the motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza. This resonant new film by Alan Govenar confronts ways we come to terms with the past through the power of storytelling, image-making, and a songbook that is largely unknown. Award winning filmmaker Alan Govenar (The Beat Hotel, Tattoo Uprising) joins us to talk about how the Kennedy legend continues to hold sway over people born long after his traumatizing public execution, the power of song in framing the Kennedy legacy, getting Mary Ann Moorman to participate in the making of this film and the impact of poverty and homelessness on the social fabric of a fraying society wracked by violence.
Nick Broomfield’s new documentary THE STONES & BRIAN JONES uncovers the true story and legacy of Brian Jones, the founder and creative genius of The Rolling Stones. As a schoolboy aged 14, Nick Broomfield met Brian Jones, by chance, on a train. Brian was at the height of his success, with the world at his feet, yet just six years later he would be dead. THE STONES & BRIAN JONES looks at the relationships and rivalries within The Rolling Stones in those formative years. It explores the iconoclastic freedom and exuberance of the 60s, a time of intergenerational conflict and sexual turmoil which reflects on where we are today. Featuring revealing interviews with all the main players and unseen archive released for the first time, THE STONES & BRIAN JONES explores the creative musical genius of Jones, key to the success of the band, and uncovers how the founder of what became the greatest rock & roll band in the world was left behind in the shadows of history. Director / Producer / Writer / Narrator Nick Broomfield (Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, Kurt and Courtney) joins us for a conversation on meeting Brian Jones, connecting with his middle class sensibility, telling much of the story through the women in his life, and Brian’s love of American Blues artist’s and their music. For more go to: magpictures.com/thestonesandbrianjones
The Hite Report, a groundbreaking study of the intimate experiences of women, remains one of the bestselling books of all time since its publication in 1976. Drawn from anonymous survey responses, the book challenged restrictive conceptions of sex and opened a dialogue in popular culture around women’s pleasure. Its charismatic author, Shere Hite, a feminist sex researcher and former model, became the public messenger of women’s secret confessions. With each subsequent bestseller, she engaged television titans in unforgettably explicit debates about sexuality while suffering the backlash her controversial findings provoked. But few remember Shere Hite today. What led to her erasure? Digging into exclusive archives, as well as Hite’s personal journals and the original survey responses, filmmaker Nicole Newnham (Crip Camp, The Revolutionary Optimists) transports viewers back to a time of great societal transformation around sexuality. Her revelatory portrait is a re-discovery of a pioneer who has had an unmistakable influence on current conversations about gender, sexuality, and bodily autonomy, as well as a timely, cautionary tale of what too often happens to women who dare speak out.For more go to: ifcfilms.com/the-disappearance-of-shere-hite
In most US hospitals, alongside medical responses to illness and injury, lesser-known interventions take place every day. Responding to patients, family members and hospital staff who are experiencing spiritual and emotional distress, chaplains sit at bedsides, helping people to deepen connections with themselves, one another, and a world beyond this one. A STILL SMALL VOICE follows Mati, a chaplain completing a year-long residency at New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital, as she learns to provide spiritual care to people confronting profound life changes. Following his acclaimed 2019 film MIDNIGHT FAMILY, director Luke Lorentzen digs into Mati’s spiritual work as an entry point to explore how we seek meaning in suffering, uncertainty, and grief. Through Mati’s experiences with her patients, her struggle with professional burnout, and her own spiritual questioning, we gain new perspectives on how meaningful connection can be and how painful its absence is. As Mati and her patients take stock of their lives and experiences, space opens up to reflect on our own. The award winning team of Director Luke Lorentzen (Midnight Family, Last Chance U) and Producer Kellen Quinn (In Silico, Brimstone & Glory, Time) join us for a conversation on the incredible work being done chaplains and caregivers to provide a measure of empathy, dignity and spiritual comfort to those facing profound uncertainty. For more go to: astillsmallvoicefilm.comHow to watch: astillsmallvoicefilm.com/screeningsNov. 17 - 24 at the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles
Director / writer / producer Daniel Brown’s riveting feature film debut, YOUR LUCK DAY takes viewers into the dark soul of humanity and the greedy perversion of the American Dream, winning the lottery. With Christmas cheer in the air, six strangers have converged at a convenience store: a struggling store owner, an overbearing wealthy man, a luckless criminal, an expectant couple, and a trigger happy rookie cop. Together, they witness the wealthy man discover that he is holding a lottery ticket worth $156 million dollars. At gunpoint the criminal demands the winning ticket. The cop tries to stop the robbery, he shoots first -- accidentally killing the wealthy man. In the ensuing confusion, the criminal takes out the cop. The criminal persuades the group to join him in a pact. Money for a cover-up. But they have failed to notice that the cop is still alive. The cop contacts his father, himself an ex-cop, who enlists his former partners, to help save his son and steal the winning ticket for themselves. A showdown is coming. Who will survive? And how far will all of them go to become a millionaire? Director Daniel Brown and Actor Jessica Garza Penny Dreadful: City of Angels) join us for a conversation on how this complex plot and merciless character study came together for Brown’s first feature length film. And how Garza prepared herself for her character’s wild ride through this brutishly relentless and bloody tale. For more go to: wellgousa.com/films/your-lucky-day
Award-winning filmmaker Christopher Kahunahana feature film debut, WAIKIKI, focuses on the spiraling plight of Native Hawaiian hula dancer, Kea (Danielle Zalopany). While escaping her abusive boyfriend she crashes her beat-up van into a mysterious homeless man. From there Kea finds herself flung into a surrealistic journey of self-exploration and enlightenment. Director Christopher Kahunahana’s eagerly awaited feature debut breaks down the enduring, stereotypical image of paradise we have of Waikiki to reveal a vulnerable and authentic portrait of indigeneity. Leaving behind the touristic image of paradise and island culture, WAIKIKI tackles the often-unspeakable generational trauma of postcolonial cultures through mixing of genre conventions, experimental storytelling, and perspectives. Director, writer, producer and co-editor Christopher Kahunahana stops by to talk about the history of Hawaii, from pre-colonial times to the present, the impact of American sugar interests and the path to statehood. We also discuss the challenges of making a feature film in Waikiki, the beautifully calibrated performance from his lead actor Danielle Zalopany, and the support of his entire cast and crew. For more go to: waikikithemovie.com
Award-winning filmmaker Christopher Kahunahana feature film debut, WAIKIKI, focuses on the spiraling plight of Native Hawaiian hula dancer, Kea. While escaping her abusive boyfriend she crashes her beat-up van into a mysterious homeless man. From there Kea finds herself flung into a surrealistic journey of self-exploration and enlightenment. Director Christopher Kahunahana’s eagerly awaited feature debut breaks down the enduring, stereotypical image of paradise we have of Waikiki to reveal a vulnerable and authentic portrait of indigeneity. Leaving behind the touristic image of paradise and island culture, WAIKIKI tackles the often-unspeakable generational trauma of postcolonial cultures through mixing of genre conventions, experimental storytelling, and perspectives. Director, writer, producer and co-editor Christopher Kahunahana stops by to talk about the history of Hawaii, from pre-colonial times to the present, the impact of American sugar interests and the path to statehood. We also discuss the challenges of making a feature film in Waikiki, the beautifully calibrated performance from his lead actor Danielle Zalopany, and the support of his entire cast and crew. For more go to: waikikithemovie.com
Director Molly O’Brien debut short documentary, THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA, dives into the remarkable life of her trailblazing double bassist aunt Orin O’Brien. She never wanted the spotlight, but when Leonard Bernstein hired her in 1966 as the first female musician in the New York Philarmonic, it was inevitable that she would become the focus of much interest and fascination. Now 87 years old and recently retired, Orin looks back on her remarkable life and career, insisting that a fuss should not be made, much preferring to play a supporting role to the family, students, friends, and colleagues that surround her. In the delightful short documentary, THE ONLY GIRL IN THE ORCHESTRA, filmmaker Molly O’Brien beautifully captures her aunt Orin’s prodigious contributions as a musician as well as her unique philosophy that the key to enjoying life is to play second fiddle. Director Molly O’Brien (The Disappearance of Shere Hite, joins us for a conversation on her aunt’s seamless transition into “retirement”, mentoring young musician, her cinematic love letter that captures Orin’s passion, essence and perseverance…bottling it and offering it to audiences as a visual perfume.For more go to: onlygirlintheorchestra.com
BELLA is a feature-length documentary about the life, work, influence, and impact of Los Angeles-based dancer, choreographer, and arts activist Bella Lewitzky, who was referred by dance critic Walter Terry as "one of the greatest American dancers of our age.” The film incorporates rare archival footage of Lewitzky’s performances and interviews with Lewitzky’s former students and dancers, and it demonstrates how a “uniquely Californian” artist with vision and tenacity influenced the lives of her fellow citizens. Bella Lewitzky joined Lester Horton’s multi-racial modern dance company in 1934, became his lead dancer, and helped develop the Horton Technique. She formed her own dance company in 1966 and continued to dance at the age of 62. Lewitzky was as famous off stage as on, thanks to her battles for freedom of expression against the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s and the National Endowment for the Arts in 1990. Director Bridget Murnane (Mia, a Dancer’s Journey, The Ballerina) joins us for a conversation on the indomitable spirit and powerful grace that Bella Lewitsky brought to her dancing, teaching and her life over the course of her illustrious career. BELLA had its World Premiere at the 2022 Madrid International Film Festival and screened at over fifty festivals world-wide, including the Palm Springs International Film Festival. BELLA has won seventeen awards including Best Documentary at Dance Camera West. For more go to: bellasfilm.com
What if you could rewrite your adolescence? In this high school reunion movie turned inside out, YOU WERE MY FIRST BOYFRIEND, award-winning filmmaker Cecilia Aldarondo embarks on a fantastical quest to reconcile her tortured teen years. She ‘goes back’ in more ways than one, tracking down old foes and friends while also reenacting visceral memories of youthful humiliation and desire. Oscillating between present and past, hallucination and reality, YOU WERE MY FIRST BOYFRIEND, is a hybrid documentary that explores the power of adolescent fantasy, the subtle violence of cultural assimilation, and the fun house mirror of time’s passage. Perhaps we will all learn something about growing older and making peace with what haunts us. Aldarondo is an award-winning documentary filmmaker from the Puerto Rican diaspora whose previous titles include MEMORIES OF A PENITENT HEART and LANDFALL. She takes viewers on a journey through the universal and very relatable social hierarchy of her younger years. As an outcast who always wanted to be a part of the ‘in’ crowd, she spent years pining for a boy who didn’t know she existed. With the insight that comes with age, she takes an honest look at who she was, who she was trying to be, and ultimately who she is today. YOU WERE MY FIRST BOYFRIEND is co-directed by Sarah Enid Hagey, a filmmaker, artist, performer, comedy sketch writer, and sound designer who has edited for over twenty years. The film is Sarah’s first feature length directing experience. Co-directors Cecilia Aldarondo and Sarah Enid Hagey join us for a conversation on they went about collaborating on a project that creatively explores the power of adolescent fantasy, and the subtle violence of cultural assimilation in the hope that we all can learn something about growing older and making peace with that which haunts us.For more go to: hbo.com/movies/you-were-my-first-boyfriendThe HBO original documentary film will debut on Wednesday, November 8th on HBO and available to stream on MAX
Co-directors Michele Stephenson & Joe Brewster’s insightful and entertaining Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project pushes the boundaries of biographical documentary film to reveal the enduring influence of one of America’s greatest living artists and social commentators. Combining parallel cinematic story editing with visually innovative treatments of her poetry, along with intimate vérité, rich archival footage, and Giovanni’s own captivating contemporary performances, Going to Mars recounts the story of the artist and her works of resistance through the tumultuous historical periods in which she lived—from the Civil Rights Movement, to the Black Arts Movement, to present-day Black Lives Matter. Co-directors Michele Stephenson and Joe Brewster join us for a conversation on the life and times of a poet / author / philosopher who has, over the course 50 years, articulated the brazen truth about race, sex, patriarchy, social revolution and the nature of love and their hyper-cinematic approach to telling Nikki’s story. For more go to: hbo.com/going-to-mars-the-nikki-giovanni-project
A suspenseful, riveting portrait of the lengths people will go to gain freedom, BEYOND UTOPIA follows various individuals as they attempt to flee North Korea, one of the most oppressive places on Earth, a land they grew up believing was a paradise. At the film’s core are a mother desperate to reunite with the child she was forced to leave behind; a family of five — including small children and an elderly grandmother — embarking on a treacherous journey across the Yalu River and into the hostile mountains of China; and a man of God on a mission to help these desperate souls. Leaving their homeland is fraught with danger — severe punishment if caught and possibly even execution — as well as potential exploitation by unscrupulous brokers. Family members who remain behind also may face retribution. Yet these individuals are driven to take the risk. Gripping, visceral, and urgent, BEYOND UTOPIA embeds the viewer with these family members as they attempt their perilous escape, palpably conveying life-or-death stakes. The result is a singular, illuminating, and unforgettable experience. Director / Editor Madeleine Gavin joins us for a conversation on how she was able to plug herself into the network of incredibly brave people, those willing to risk the consequences of escaping from North Korea and those willing to risk their lives helping them, putting herself in harms way and whether she fears retribution for her spectacularly compelling work. For more go to: releasing.dogwoof.com/beyond-utopiaWhere to watch, go to: beyondutopiadoc.com/find-a-theater
In their second collaboration, co-directors Ben Proudfoot & Kris Bowers’ THE LAST REPAIR SHOP introduces us to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s instrument repair facility for all of the LAUSD student musician. Led by the charming general manager, Steve Bagmanyan, the film introduces a technician from each department: Dana Atkinson, in the strings division, who takes us to his personal breaking point as a young man confronting his sexuality; Paty Moreno, in charge of brass and the sole woman in the shop, who chronicles her pursuit of the American dream as a Mexican immigrant and single mother; Duane Michaels, a quirky, self-described hillbilly who fixes the woodwind instruments and shares the rip-roaring tale of how his $20 fiddle took him on tour with Elvis; and finally Steve himself, who learned to tune pianos in America after surviving a harrowing escape from ethnic persecution in Azerbaijan in the late 1980s, a conflict again in the headlines today. THE LAST REPAIR SHOP blends the unexpectedly intimate personal histories of the repair people with emotional, firsthand accounts from the actual student musicians for whom their instruments made all the difference. Porche, 9, shares how her beloved violin helps her cope with her family’s health problems; college-bound Manuel, 18, states that his enormous sousaphone diverted him from the pitfalls of growing up as a low-income kid from Boyle Heights; Ismerai, 15, whose alto sax brought her much-needed discipline and calm; and the bookish Amanda, 17, brought to tears by her profound connection with the piano. Co-director Kris Bowers joins us to talk about the impact the LAUSD has had on his own musical journey, the joy of discovering the amazing stories told by the technicians and the students in the film and the enduring power of music to heal, empower and inspire. For more go to: breakwaterstudios.com/films/all/
FLOYD ABRAMS: SPEAKING FREELY explores America’s dedication to the foundational principles of free speech and free press through the groundbreaking work of attorney Floyd Abrams. A biopic of the First Amendment told through Abrams’ important cases, we reveal how this legal giant helped transform the First Amendment from an oft-ignored principle into a bulwark of American democracy. Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely follows the 50-year career of preeminent First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams. See how his landmark cases—from the Pentagon Papers to Citizens United to Clearview AI—helped define free speech as it is known today. Join Dan Abrams, Ari Melber, Nina Totenberg and more as they explore how Abrams' career has shaped major changes in law, public discourse and civic action since the 1960s. Political discourse in the United States is shaped by audacious ideas of what a society should be. But who are the influencers and disrupters of American political thought that have paved the way for the systems that we currently have—and those still to come? Director Yael Melamede joins us for a conversation on the many reasons why Floyd Abramis rightfully regarded as one of the most consequential advocates for this battered Anerican civil right. as well as how we came to this moment where free speech issues have never felt more complicated and urgent, and where the nation is wondering anew: what price are we willing to pay for free speech?For more about the film go to: speakingfreelyfilm.comFor more go to: pbs.org/americanmasters
Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea is a 3-D documentary film about the life and work of artist and marine H.C. (“Cliff”) Westermann. As a veteran of World War II and the Korean War who struggled with the ramifications of modern warfare, Westermann’s dramatic personal history can be traced through his beguiling, surreal artworks. Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of a Man If He Was an Idea explores the themes of Westermann’s life and work, including resiliency, hope, and humor. Westermann used art as a means of processing the trauma of war, and in spite of these horrors, he adopted an empathic and hopeful spirit that courses through his artwork and relationships, becoming an inspiration to many young artists. The film features featuring interviews with Ed Ruscha, Frank Gehry, William T. Wiley, Billy Al Bengston, and other artist-pals. The film is executive produced by the internationally acclaimed artist, KAWS, along with award-winning documentary producer Caryn Capotosto. Westermann features music by legendary artists Laurie Anderson (with the Kronos Quartet) and Terry Allen. MacArthur “Genius Grant” winner Tomeka Reid composed the original score. Director Leslie Buchbinder joins us for a conversation on enlisting Academy Award nominated actor Ed Harris to voice the writings of Westermann, the enduring influence that H.C. Westerman had on his chosen pursuit of sculptor as well as his philosophical approach to art and work ethic that continues impact other accomplished artists. For more go to: pentimentiproductions.org/hc-westermann
In 2018, a shocking event made headlines around the world: a young American missionary, John Chau, was killed by arrows while attempting to contact one of the world’s most isolated Indigenous peoples on remote North Sentinel Island. From Emmy winning directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss (“Boys State”) with Oscar winning producer Simon Chinn and Emmy-winning producer Jonathan Chinn of Lightbox, comes National Geographic Documentary Films’ THE MISSION, which uncovers the gripping story beyond the headlines. Through exclusive interviews and with unprecedented access to Chau’s secret plans, personal diaries, and video archives, THE MISSION examines the mythology of exploration that inspired him, the evangelical community that supported his quest, and reveals his own father’s heartbreak as Chau’s youthful thirst for adventure became a fatal obsession. Co-directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss (Mayor Pete, The Bandit, The Overnighters) join us for a conversation on their approach to telling a story fraught with questions regarding our collective perceptions on indigenous culture, the consequences of religious zealotry, and where does one’s selfless devotion end and a blinding messiah complex begin.For more go to: nationalgeographic.com/the-mission
PERIODICAL, Director Lina Lyte Piloplyte and Executive Producer Amanda Spain’s new feature documentary from XTR and MSNBC Films, tells the unexpected story of the human body by exploring the marvel and mystery of the menstrual cycle, from first period to last. But this is not your middle school sex-ed class. Bringing you stories from soccer champion Megan Rapinoe who reveals how members of the U.S. Soccer team track their cycles when training for the Women’s World Cup (which they won), to scientists who are discovering the power and possibilities of stem cells found in period blood, to young activists flipping the bill on period tax one state at a time, we uncover the shocking truths, challenge taboos, and celebrate the untapped potential of this special nutrient-dense blood. Through innovative mixed media storytelling, "Periodical" is for everyone who wants to know more about the menstrual cycle, and especially for those who don’t. In our era of social media-empowered feminism, after centuries of societal-enforced stigma, menstruation has finally begun to bleed out into the mainstream. We’re finally using red liquid instead of blue in period product ads, seeing beauty influencers use their period blood for facials on social media, and even the most daring period scenes are being depicted on tv — but we still know alarmingly little when it comes to menstruation. Director Lina Lyte Plioplyte and Executive Producer Amanda Spain join us to talk about the long over-do recognition that menstruation, should never be a reason for shame, discrimination or become a barrier to a full life. For more go to: happyperiod.orgBloody. Beautiful. Normal. “Periodical” airs Sunday, Nov. 19 at 10 p.m. ET on MSNBC and is streaming on Peacock.Periodical at the Los Feliz 3 - October 14, 15, & 18
From Signe Baumane, director of Rocks in My Pockets, comes a new award-winning animated feature about a spirited young woman determined to find love in the bewildering world. MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH MARRIAGE follows Zelma on her 23-year quest for perfect love and lasting marriage set against a backdrop of historic events in Eastern Europe. From an early age, songs and fairy tales convince Zelma that Love would solve all her problems as long as she abides by societal expectations of how a girl should act. But as she grows older, something doesn't seem right with this concept of love: the more she tries to conform, the more her body resists. A story of inner-female rebellion. Told from a woman’s point of view, the film blends historical, biological, societal, and emotional arcs with a lively sense of humor and musical numbers. This animated film for adults tackles the issues of love, gender norms, domestic violence, fantasies and toxic relationships to propel a woman's journey toward independence and liberation. Director Signe Baumane (Rocks in My Pockets) joins us for a lively conversation on love, identity, marriage, her unique journey to becoming an artist / animator and the joy of having artistic and commercial control over her work. For more go to: myloveaffairwithmarriagemovie.comOpening 10/12 Laemmle Royal in LA & 10/13 Laemmle Glendale Signe Baumane - film screens at Laemmle Royal on Oct 12 (she’ll be there for Q&A), and then film opens for a full week run at Laemmle Glendale on Oct 13 (Signe will do Q&A Oct 13-15).
Does the most widely used weed killer in the world cause cancer? On October 3, 2023, Film Movement and Fathom Events invite audiences to discover for themselves with a special one-night only nationwide theatrical release of INTO THE WEEDS, which follows the story of groundskeeper Lee Johnson and his fight for justice against agrichemical giant Monsanto (now Bayer, which bought the company in 2018), the manufacturer of the weed killer, Roundup. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate – the active ingredient in Roundup – as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” A year later, Johnson filed a lawsuit claiming that Ranger Pro, a commercial-grade variant of Roundup, was a substantial contributing factor in causing his Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Johnson’s was the first “bellwether case” in a mass tort against Monsanto involving tens of thousands of plaintiffs: gardeners, golfers, farmers, groundskeepers, and ordinary people, following and trusting the instructions on the label. Director Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes, Anthropocene: The Human Epoch) seamlessly blends together interviews, testimonials, trial footage, news coverage, and vérité, the film follows the progression of this groundbreaking lawsuit, while also stepping back to consider the systemic impact of glyphosate-based herbicides on human health, our food systems, and the biodiversity of our planet.For more go to: intotheweedsimpact.comCheck out: filmmovement.com/into-the-weeds
Dawn Porter’s DEADLOCKED: How America Shaped the Supreme Court is a four-part SHOWTIME documentary series traces the modern history of the Supreme Court, the people, decisions and confirmation battles that have shaped America. From our right to privacy, to access to the ballot, and all rights protected by the Constitution, the nine unelected justices of the Supreme Court have the final word on issues that shape our democracy and daily lives. The series unfolds during a profoundly consequential year, unlike any in recent memory—the historic confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson, the fallout of an unprecedented leak from inside the Court’s chambers, and a Supreme Court, remade by Donald Trump, on the brink of overturning Roe v. Wade. To understand this critical moment and how we got here, we go back to the 1950s, when the Court led by Chief Justice Earl Warren heralded an era of progressive legal decisions that set us upon the zigzagging path we are still walking today, as the Court’s role in American society has become increasingly prominent and bitterly contested. Supreme reveals how much of the country’s story is wrapped up in the Supreme Court’s deliberations, and considers what this means for America’s future. Director and producer Dawn Porter (Gideon’s Army, Spies of Mississippi, The Lady Bird Diaries, Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer) joins us for a conversation on fifty years of a methodical, calculated and concerted effort on the part of the most radical elements of the “conservative” judicial movement have wrought on the integrity and public confidence of the branch of governance that is the “last word” on what is legal and what is illegal in America. Watch at: sho.com/deadlocked-how-america-shaped-the-supreme-court
The San Quentin Prison Marathon has an unconventional route: 105 dizzying laps around a crowded prison yard. Director Christine Yoo deeply empathetic documentary, 26.2 TO LIFE, tells the story of incarcerated men who are members of the 1000 Mile Club, the prison’s long distance running club. They train all year for 26.2 mile long marathon race, all of which takes place inside the walls of the infamous San Quentin Men’s Prison mile race. For the men who take their places at the starting line on a cool, sunny November morning, completing the marathon means more than entrée into an elite group of athletes. It’s a chance to be defined by more than their crimes. Cheering them on are a small staff of volunteer coaches, veteran marathoners who train with the runners throughout the year. The bonds they forge on the track create a community that transcends prison politics and extends beyond the prison walls as members are released. 26.2 TO LIFE is a story of transformation and second chances. The film offers a rare glimpse into a world out of bounds, as the men navigating life sentences seek redemption and freedom… or something like it. Director Christine Yoo takes us inside the walls, physical and psychological of the men, who readily acknowledge the mistakes and crimes they have committed, work to define the remainder of their lives as positive and worthwhile. For more go to: sanquentinmarathon.com
Co-directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys for Life, Ms. Marvel and Batgirl) deliver their most intimate and personal film, REBEL. The film focuses on Kamal Wasaki (Aboubakr Bensaihi) an idealistic Belgian rapper who after getting busted for drugs in his home country flees to Syria to volunteer to help the victims of the war. Upon his arrival, he is left stranded in Raqqa. Soon after he is kidnapped by ISIS where he is forced to shoot their propaganda videos thanks to his experience shooting his own hip-hop videos. Then one day to prove his loyalty, he is charged to kill a US soldier in front of the camera. When this clip is played on the news his family is reluctantly brought into the story. While Kamal’s mother Leila (Lubna Azabal) struggles with what drove her eldest son down that path that has branded her an outcast in her community. She starts to notice Kamal’s younger brother Nassim (Amir El Arbi) has become the target of local ISIS recruiters who wish to use his brother and video games to lure in him. REBEL co-directors, co-writers and co-executive producers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah join us for a conversation on the atrocities of war, the path to radicalization, finding the fragmented humanity in people trapped in these conflicts and why it was so important for them as filmmakers and storytellers to intersperse music and theatre into an otherwise scathing cavalcade of inhumanity. For more go to: rebelmotionpicture.com
In snowbound Tokamachi, Japan, teenaged Akio Sakurai took refuge in his room, escaping to another world with a pair of headphones and a pile of Led Zeppelin records. Moving to Tokyo, Akio worked as a kimono salesman by day, but by night became "Mr. Jimmy," adopting the guitar chops and persona of Jimmy Page. For 30 years, Akio recreated vintage Zeppelin concerts note-for-note in small Tokyo clubs, until the real Jimmy Page stopped by one night and Akio’s life changed forever. Inspired by Mr. Page’s ovation, Akio quits his “salary man” job, leaving behind his family to move to Los Angeles and join “Led Zepagain.” Soon cultures clash, and Akio’s idyllic vision of America is met with reality. Until Jason Bonham (son of legendary Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham) calls and invites Akio to audition, and later join his ‘Led Zeppelin Evening’ tour. Director Peter Michael Dowd joins us for a lively conversation on the incredible level of dedication Akio has put into his craft, meticulously fine tuning precision of everything from the amps, frets, cables to the stitching on the “dragon” cape to faithfully replicate the Jimmy Page experience as well as my misspent youth back in 1972, for missing the chance to see the “greatest rock and roll band” at the zenith of their artistic prowess.For more go to: mrjimmymovie.com
Director, writer and lead actor, Thomas Salvador’s beguiling new film, THE MOUNTAIN, follows Pierre, a Parisian in his forties, on his emerging quest to break from his daily routine of morning coffee in a run-down apartment, his phones, his keys, and his computer on the train to work. During a business meeting to demonstrate the capability of a robot to some clients he is distracted by the sight of a mountain. Shortly after his enigmatic encounter with the natural world Pierre begins to act on an unfathomable journey into the unexplored mountainous terrain. He gears up very cautiously, gets informed and takes the cable car up to the Aiguille du Midi, in the Mont-Blanc Massif, with its spectacular view of the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. Setting up his small tent slightly below, he slowly learns about hiking on the glacier, then climbs the passes with and then without guidance. Days pass, more or less easily and comfortably, in his introspective observation of the environment. Pierre feels good, there, in his place, with the essentials and forms only one meaningful connection with the chef of the Aiguille du Midi restaurant (Louise Bourgoin). But this drastic return to nature soon takes a turn when a mountain wall collapses and attracts his attention to very strange lights… Director, writer and lead actor, Thomas Salvador (VINCENT) stops by to talk about the inherent challenges that come with shooting a feature film on a mountainside, what drew him to make this visually stunning ode to the inexorable pull of nature and how little we understand about the world we live in. For more go to: strandreleasing.com/films/the-mountainAn official selection of the Directors' Fortnight at the 75th Cannes Film Festival.
Director, producer and writer Donato Rotunno’s third feature film, IO STO BENE (I Am Fine) focuses on the life of Antonio, a man who has spent his whole life away from his home country ofItaly. Antonio is facing down his own mortality when he crosses paths with Leo, a young Italian artist who is trying to make it abroad. The old man and the young woman’s destinies mirror each other. Memories from the past are awoken and end up offering a more peaceful future to the both of them. This multi-layered film follows Antonio Spinelli growing up with Vito, his cousin of the same age, and their friend Giuseppe. At the end of the 1960s, pushed out of South Italy by a catastrophic economic situation, they decide to leave the country to work abroad. What’s initially supposed to be a short stay to make ends meet will end up determining their individual paths. While Vito works in Belgium and Giuseppe in Germany, Antonio is the only one who goes to a little country called Luxembourg. There, he meets Mady, who becomes his continued support and gives him the strength to be who he really is. Leopoldina prefers to be called Leo. She has finished her graphic design studies and dreams of an artistic career where she could mix graphic design creations and music. She wants to take her future in her own hands and make a living out of her passion. That’s why she decides to leave Italy with her boyfriend and dreams of going on tour all over Europe to perform in clubs as a visual jockey. But they break up and Leo’s boyfriend goes back to Italy, leaving Leo on her own in Luxembourg. She hasn’t told him that she is pregnant. Director and writer Donato Rotunno joins us for a conversation on his affinity for complex stories that illuminate many of the basic truths about love, family, friends and the capricious outcome of the paths we choose to follow. For more go to: mpmpremium.com/catalogue/io-sto-bene
Set amid the political violence of late-1960s Indonesia, Kamila Andini's intoxicating film BEFORE, NOW & THEN follows Raden Nana Suhani, a Sundanese woman who in the 1960s lost and father and son to the war in West Java. We find her as the beautiful wife of a wealthy plantation owner, who always looked down on her. For Nana, her inner life remains with her deceased first husband, murdered in the civil war a decade prior. A survivor, Nana values her safety and material comforts, but carries out a haunted existence, dreaming of her lost love. Forced to confront her husband's blatant infidelity, Nana makes an unusual connection with his younger mistress, Ino. The two women, sharing their secrets and desires, discover a newfound freedom and intimacy withheld from them both by the strictures of patriarchal society. Together, these two women seek hope for independence. Director and screenwriter Kamila Andini (Nusa Yang Hilang, Yuni,) joins us for a conversation on how the enveloping stranglehold of patriarchy informs every aspect of these women’s lives, drawing out sublime performances from actors Happy Salma (Nana) and Laura Basuki (Ino), capturing the subversive beauty of a land gripped by violence and upheaval. For more go to: filmmovement.com/before-now-thenSee in a theatre: filmmovement.com/before-now-then
Naomi Campbell, Kimora Lee Simmons, Tyra Banks, Tyson Beckford were dazzling, barrier-breaking supermodels of color in the ’90s. But two decades earlier, Bethann Hardison burst onto French and American runways with a defiant strut and sui generis personality. In this intimate and insightful documentary, INVISIBLE BEAUTY, fashion revolutionary and co-director Bethann Hardison looks back on her journey as a pioneering Black model, modeling agent, and activist, shining a light on an untold chapter in the fight for racial diversity. Catalyzing change requires continuous championing, and as the next generation takes the reins, Hardison reflects on her personal journey and the cost of being a pioneer, as well as the satisfaction of being the first Black woman to own a racially diverse modeling agency, Hardison called out fashion houses around the world (including Prada and Calvin Klein) for the lack of models of color in their shows and the exclusionary casting calls that had become rampant in the industry (“No Blacks, no ethnics”), while profiting from Black consumers. In tandem with Frédéric Tcheng (Halston, Dior and I), Bethann Hardison and her co-director trace her impact on fashion from runway shows in New York and Paris in the ’70s to roundtables about lack of racial diversity in the early 2000s. Interviews with industry players speak to the state of fashion, while friends and family attest to Hardison’s rebellious and ambitious spirit. INVISIBLE BEAUTY is an absorbing record of Hardison’s accomplishments and a rare contemplation on the life of a radical thinker. The co-directors Bethann Hardison and Frederic Tcheng join us for a conversation on the cinematic and personal journey that the film has taken them on. For more go to: magpictures.com/invisiblebeautyOpening 9/22 in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Royal For all other screenings around the country go to MagPictures.com
Production Designer JUDY BECKER is one of thousands of gifted artists who have made crucially important contributions to the most iconic films in cinema history. But their work often flies under the radar in large part because film critics and others don’t often lavish the attention they give to directors and stars on the work of a film’s production designer. But these production designer’s sometimes unheralded art consists of nothing less than building the world of a movie, and in the process do a great deal to create those distinct cinematic environments that one wants to visit again and again. PRODUCTION DESIGNER JUDY BECKER, recent recipient of a recent film retrospective at New York’s Metrograph Theatre, gave all the film lovers who attended an opportunity to better appreciate the painstaking research and crucial creative contribution that goes into the work of a production designer. Becker 25-year career as a lead production designer includes collaborations with Todd Haynes, David O. Russell, and Ang Lee. Production Designer Judy Becker (Carol, American Hustle, We Need to Talk About Kevin) joins us for a conversation on his introduction to the world of production design, the artist who’s work inspire her and how she approaches each new project with the same zeal and attention to detail she brought to her very first project.For more go to:instagram.com/beckerdesign2000
Nominated for the 2023 "Best Feature" Independent Spirit Award, Ellie Foumbi's elegant moral thriller and debut feature OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL ("Mon père, le diable") stars a riveting Babetida Sadjo, (Ritual), as Marie, the head chef at a retirement home in small-town France. Her easy day-to-day life spent caring for residents, hanging out with her co-worker and best friend Nadia (Jennifer Tchiakpe), and teasing a potential new romance is disrupted by the arrival of Father Patrick (former Spirit Award nominee Souleymane Sy Savané, (Goodbye Solo), an African priest whom she recognizes from a terrifying episode in her homeland. As he further endears himself to the residents and staff, Marie is forced to decide how best to deal with this reminder of her troubled past. Writer / Director Ellie Foumbi joins us for a conversation on her intense and fearless dissection of trauma, power, revenge, guilt, and the devils hiding within all of us and the Oscar-worthy performances by Babetida Sadjo and Souleymane Sy Savané, OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL is a stunning showcase for the impeccable talents of everyone involved.
2023 Spirit Award Nominee: Best Picture Tribeca Film Festival, Audience Award Winner: Best Narrative
September 1 in Los Angeles at the Laemmle
In Babak Jalali’s playfully eccentric FREMONT focuses on a beautiful and troubled 20-something Donya, an Afghan translator who used to work with the U.S. government and now has trouble sleeping. Each morning Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) leaves her tight-knit community of Afghan immigrants in Fremont, California. She crosses the Bay to work at a family-run fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Donya drifts through her routine, struggling to connect with the culture and people of her new, unfamiliar surroundings while processing complicated feelings about her past as a translator for the U.S. government in Afghanistan. Unable to sleep, she finagles her way into a regular slot with a therapist (Gregg Turkington) who grasps for prospective role models. When an unexpected promotion at work thrusts Donya into the position to write her own story, she communicates her loneliness and longing through a concise medium: the fortunes inside each cookie. Donya’s koans travel, making a humble social impact and expanding her world far beyond Fremont and her turbulent past, including an encounter with a quiet auto mechanic (Jeremy Allen White) who could stand to see his own world expanded. Tenderly sculpted and lyrically shot in black-and-white, Babak Jalali’s FREMONT is a wry, deadpan vision of the universal longing for home. Babak joins us for a conversation on the moment he knew that casting an unknown actor, Anaita Wali Zada as Donya, his instinctual decision, in collaboration with cinematographer Laura Valladao would work, the calming effect of Gregg Turkington, and the joy he derived from his time spent in the Afghan community of Fremont, California.
For more go to: musicboxfilms.com/film/fremont
A timely metaphor for failing democracy, Jiří Havelka’s THE OWNERS takes a seriocomic look at the most local form of self-governance: the co-op apartment building meeting. It includes a curious cast of characters, all of whom own apartments in the same building in Prague, as they attempt to tolerate each others’ presence long enough to try and make some important decisions about the building’s future. Mrs. Zahrádková (Teresa Ramba) wants to save the old crumbling building she shares with other apartment owners. She hopes to find supporters for her plan in young newlyweds with their idealistic enthusiasm, who have just moved in and are astonished by the co-owners’ inability to agree on anything. Mrs. Roubíčková (Klára Melíšková) vigilantly controls the proper course of the meeting, not allowing the slightest deviation from the rules; Mrs. Procházková and her proclaimed business partner Mr. Novak are looking for ways to increase the value of their property by subletting the apartment to African students; Mr. Nitranský tries to get a hold of the attic to expand his own flat; and frustrated Mr. Kubát sabotages any and all decisions. Will the neighbors reach an agreement, or will the building become the casualty of their self-centered interests? Director Jiří Havelka (Prague Orgies, Desperate People) joins us for a conversation on his personal connection to the story, pulling together a cast of terrific actors and how striking the right tone to accentuate the dramatic and comedic elements that make THE OWNERS work so beautifully.
For more go to: bigworldpictures.org/theowners
Opens 8/25/23 Laemmle's Royal, West Los Angeles, CA
Opens 8/25/23 Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago, IL
A lyrical tapestry of a place and people, KING COAL meditates on the complex history and future of the coal industry, the communities it has built, and the myths it has created. Director Elaine McMillion Sheldon reshapes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking in a spectacularly beautiful and deeply moving immersion into Central Appalachia where coal is not just a resource, but a way of life, imagining the ways a community can re-envision itself. Central Appalachia is a place of mountains and myth and Academy Award-nominated and Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon knows this well, calling those mountains home. KING COAL has had a profound influence on this community’s identity, but Sheldon dares to consider what future stories might look like out of the shadow of coal, now that relationships to coal are changing. She takes us on an alluring cinematic journey through the past, present, and future of Appalachia. Sheldon’s distinct vision remixes present-day moments of life in a coal-mining town with archival footage and atmospheric invocations of the land to alchemize something new — a rare, nuanced depiction of this community. A young girl learning the story of coal anchors the journey while Sheldon’s poetic voiceover guides us through the experience and an expressive score differentiates the reality of coal from a more imaginative world. This hybrid approach allows our guest, Elaine McMillion Sheldon to explore the act of storytelling itself and is a magical reclamation of the power of stories to shape how a region sees itself. Emerging from the long shadows of the coal mines, KING COAL untangles the pain from the beauty, and illuminates the innately human capacity for change.
Directed by Emmy-winning & Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Elaine McMIllion Sheldon. Produced by Oscar & BAFTA winners, Shane Boris and Diane Becker
For more go to: kingcoalfilm.com
Los Angeles, CA - August 25 @ Laemmle Glendale
Filmmakers Emily Mackenzie and Noah Collier’s divinely off-kilter documentary explores the world of psychedelic carpets that line our hotel hallways, casinos, and convention centers can be traced to one town: Dalton, Georgia, the “Carpet Capital of the World.” In this bastion of American manufacturing we find an interwoven set of locals who are the unsung creators and developers behind the majority of the country’s carpets, always looking at the ground for their next big break. Among them is Roderick James, a Scottish expat and freelance textile designer living his life as a modern-day cowboy with an ambitious slew of eclectic business ventures. Through Rod’s journey chasing after The American Dream and the experiences of his peers in Dalton, CARPET COWBOYS explores the tensions between personal and national identity, and the rapidly changing global economic model of the United States that too often leaves so many behind. Where does the myth of American identity begin and where does it end, and who ultimately gets to cash in? Co-directors Emily Mackenzie & Noah Collier stop by to talk about the circumstances that brought them to Dalton, Georgia, meeting Roderick James and the other very colorful array of people who call the “carpet capitol of the world” home, and why it was vital that all the people we meet in Carpet Cowboys are be seen as authentic.
For more go to: memory.is/carpet-cowboys
THE ETERNAL MEMORY tells a profound and moving love story that balances vibrant individual and collective remembrance with the longevity of an unbreakable human bond. Augusto and Paulina have been together and in love for 25 years. Eight years ago, their lives were forever changed by Augusto’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. As one of Chile’s most prominent cultural commentators and television presenters, Augusto is no stranger to building an archive of memory. Now he turns that work to his own life, trying to hold on to his identity with the help of his beloved Paulina, whose own pre-eminence as a famous actress and Chilean Minister of Culture predates her ceaselessly inventive manner of engaging with her husband. Day by day, the couple face this challenge head-on, relying on the tender affection and sense of humor shared between them that remains, remarkably, fully intact. THE ETERNAL MEMORY was the winner of the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema – Documentary in 2023. Oscar nominated director Maite Alberdi (The Mole Agent) joins us for a conversation on her first encounter with Paulina and Augusto together and how seeing the fully integrated lives they were living inspired her, watching them embrace the withering psychological, emotional and physically journey they were both on, and the connected themes of love, compassion, empathy and devotion that The Mole Agent and The Eternal Memory share.
For more go to: facebook.com/mtvdocs
Filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou step away from their wildly successful career video work via YouTube and by bringing a sharp edged sensibility to the world of horror in TALK TO ME. Conjuring spirits has become the latest local party craze, and looking for a distraction on the anniversary of her mother’s death, teenage Mia (Sophie Wilde) is determined to get a piece of the otherworldly action. When her group of friends gathers for another unruly séance with the mysterious embalmed hand that promises a direct line to the spirits, they’re unprepared for the consequences of bending the rules through prolonged contact. As the boundary between worlds collapses and disturbing supernatural visions increasingly haunt Mia, she rushes to undo the horrific damage before it’s irreversible. Filmmaking duo (and twin brothers) Danny and Michael Philippou of @RackaRacka YouTube channel fame suspend us in the foreboding and nightmarish realm of their debut feature film. Making the most of their twisted propensity for the surreal and grotesque while effortlessly blending the creepiness of a ghost tale with the modern sensibilities of a horror-thriller for the Insta-generation, TALK TO ME exposes an uncanny reality where the dead roam eerily close to the living. Co-directors Danny and Michael Philippou join us for a lively conversation on their very popular YouTube video work, why and how they have been so successful in their short form videos, and the importance of creating a completely believable world for their characters to inhabit.
For more go to: bankside-films.com/talk-to-me
For even more go to: a24films.com/films/talk-to-me
Laurel Parmet’s astute feature narrative debut, THE STARLING GIRL zeroes in on the life of seventeen-year-old Jem Starling as she struggles to define her place within her fundamentalist Christian community of rural Kentucky. Even her greatest joy of dancing with the church group is tempered by worry that her actions are sinful and she is caught between a burgeoning awareness of her own sexuality and her religious devotion. With the return of Owen, an enigmatic youth pastor, Jem soon finds herself attracted to his worldliness and charm. Slowly, he draws her into a dangerous relationship that could upend their entire community. THE STARLING GIRL centers on Jem’s agency as Scanlen and a gruffly charismatic Lewis Pullman generate a palpable chemistry, even as the film steadily reaffirms Jem’s youthful naivete and Owen’s position of authority. Writer-director Laurel Parmet delicately balances the intoxication and inappropriateness of the pair’s transgressive connection in this morally complex, sensitive coming-of-age story. A stellar Eliza Scanlen beautifully conveys the impetuous, conflicted Jem’s tentative journey toward understanding her growingly complicated ideas about herself, her family, and the faith that has always guided her life.
For more go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/the-starling-girl
Tommy Hyde’s beguiling feature documentary debut UNDERDOG follows a hardscrabble Vermont dairy farmer Doug Butler. Doug has an offbeat passion – dog mushing. A local folk hero, Doug trains his team of mutts on the family farm with a dream to compete at the world championships in Alaska. But the demands of being a small-scale family farmer in a changing world are constant. Keenly aware of the fate of the other family farms that used to dot the landscape, Doug has managed for years to play one creditor off against the next to survive another season. But with the debt now insurmountable and Doug’s thoughts plunging into depression, his dogs offer solace...and perhaps a way out. On a cold March morning Doug pulls out of his driveway in a rusted-out truck carrying 22 dogs, bound for Alaska. The journey will prepare him for what he’ll confront when he gets back: the sale of his farm and a race to craft a new destiny. Director, cinematographer, editor Tommy Hyde joins us for a conversation on how met his charismatic subject, being welcomed into Doug’s energetic world, traveling across country with Doug and working how working with UNDERDOG producer and writer, Aaron Woolf and producer Kyra Schaefer from Mosaic Films Productions made this possible.
For more go to: underdogfilm.org
Check out other great films at: First Run Features
mosaicfilmsinc.com
Don't miss the theatrical premiere of UNDERDOG at Laemmle Royal this Thursday, August 10th. Screening to be followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Tommy Hyde and Aaron Woolf, as wells as the film's unforgettable subject Doug Butler.
Directed by two-time Oscar® nominated filmmaker Steve James (HOOP DREAMS, LIFE ITSELF, ABACUS: ), A COMPASSIONATE SPY is a gripping real-life spy thriller about controversial Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall, who infamously provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, told through the perspective of his loving wife Joan, who protected his secret for decades. Recruited in 1944 as an 18-year-old Harvard undergraduate to help Robert Oppenheimer and his team create a bomb, Hall was the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project, and didn't share his colleagues' elation after the successful detonation of the world's first atomic bomb. Concerned that a U.S. post-war monopoly on such a powerful weapon could lead to nuclear catastrophe, Hall began passing key information about the bomb's construction to the Soviet Union. After the war, he met, fell in love with, and married Joan, a fellow student with whom he shared a passion for classical music and socialist causes -- and the explosive secret of his espionage. The pair raised a family while living under a cloud of suspicion and years of FBI surveillance and intimidation. A COMPASSIONATE SPY reveals the twists and turns of this real-life spy story, its profound impact on nuclear history, and the couple's remarkable love and life together during more than 50 years of marriage. Award winning filmmaker Steve James (Abacus: Small Enough To Jail, City So Real, America To Me) joins us for a conversation on the fraught political circumstances that brought Ted Hall to make such a radical decision, how Joan and Ted navigated their post war life, and why having a more nuanced understanding of the Cold War and nuclear destruction may save the world from an unimaginable conflagration.
For more go to: magpictures.com/acompassionatespy
Watch at home at: magpictures.com/acompassionatespy
In the wildly entertaining and refreshingly unfiltered documentary KOKOMO CITY, filmmaker D. Smith passes the mic to four Black transgender sex workers in Atlanta and New York City – Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, and Dominique Silver – who unapologetically break down the walls of their profession. Holding nothing back, the film vibrates with energy, sex, challenge, and hard-earned wisdom. This vital portrait, edited and shot by Smith in bold black and white, is her feature directorial debut. A two-time Grammy-nominated producer, singer, and songwriter, Smith made history as the first trans woman cast on a primetime unscripted TV show. Executive produced by Lena Waithe, KOKOMO CITY won the Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT Innovator Award and NEXT Audience Award, as well as the Berlinale’s Audience Award in the Panorama Documentary section. Director D. Smith joins us for a conversation on her own journey from the world of music to the world of filmmaking, telling a story that would appeal to people outside the LBGTQ+ community, working with Executive Producer Lena Waithe, sharing the private life of sex workers, morning the loss of a friend and why shooting in black and white was the right choice for KOKOMO CITY.
For more go to: magpictures.com/kokomocity
WINNER NEXT Innovator Award - Sundance FF 2023 NEXT Audience Award - Sundance FF 2023 Panorama Documentary Audience Award - Berlin Int'l FF 2023
BOBI WINE: THE PEOPLE’S PRESIDENT, the award-winning feature documentary debut from directors Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp and produced by Christopher Sharp, alongside two-time Academy Award winner John Battsek’s Ventureland. BOBI WINE: THE PEOPLE’S PRESIDENT The filmmakers follow Bobi Wine, a man was born in the slums of Kampala and became one of Uganda’s most popular musical talents the country has ever seen. In the midst of the violence, corruption and injustice of the ruthless regime led by Yoweri Museveni, Bobi decides to become the Ugandan opposition leader in the much-disputed 2021 presidential election. Using his music to denounce the dictatorial regime and support his life’s mission to defend the oppressed and the voiceless people of Uganda, Bobi risks his life and the lives of his wife, Barbie, and their children to take on the country’s corrupt police and military, who are not afraid to use violence and torture in a vain attempt to intimidate and silence Bobi and his supporters. Co-directors Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp join us for a conversation on the incredible level of access they have in the life of Bobi, Barbie, his family and his trusted circle of advisors as well as the extremely dangerous situations brought on by Bobi’s decision to stand against a dictatorial regime and stand up for the people in Uganda who want a better life for themselves and the beloved nation.
For more go to: nationalgeographic.com/bobi-wine
Opens LA This Friday 7/28 at the Laemmle Royal
THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY opens with young woman reeling from a devastating loss and embarking down an unknown road of discovery and renewal. Tana (Lily Gladstone) is pulled back into the world by an unexpected invitation to her cousin’s wedding. She packs up her late grandmother’s Cadillac and hits the open road, driving from her home in Minnesota to South Dakota. After reconnecting with her Oglala Lakota family, Tana sets off to retrace a surreal journey that her grandmother took decades ago, searching for the spot captured in an old family photograph. As she travels, Tana finds connection in the stories of everyday people who’ve settled down far off the main roads including Isaac (Raymond Lee), who provides a pivotal clue to understanding the lost location that could cultivate closure. A personal reverie summoned from a beguiling mix of fact and fiction, THE UNKNOWN COUNTRY is an arresting debut feature from Morrisa Maltz. Director / Producer / Writer Morrisa Maltz (Ingrid, Odyssea) joins us for a conversation on the long journey she took figuratively and literally in the making of The Unknown Country, her evolving collaboration with lead actor Lily Gladstone and film producer and actor Lainey Bearkiller, editor Vanara Taing and cinematographer Andrew Hajek, the incorporation of storylines that occurred during the cross country shoot and what it has taught her about trusting her instincts as a filmmaker.
For more, go to: musicboxfilms.com/the-unknown-country
Director Luke McManus’ rousing and sublime documentary NORTH CIRCULAR is a musical ode that travels the length of Dublin's North Circular Road, from the Phoenix Park to Dublin Port, exploring the history, music and streetscapes of a road that links some of the country's most beloved and infamous places. Told in black and white 4:3 Academy ratio, the film evokes many narratives from the history of the city and nation, from colonialism, to mental health, to the struggle for women’s liberation while also engaging with urgent issues of today, including the battle to save the legendary Cobblestone Pub, centre of Dublin’s recent folk revival, from destruction at the hands of cynical property developers. The film also includes musical performances from artists local to the North Circular, including John Francis Flynn, Séan Ó Túama, Eoghan O'Ceannabháin, Ian Lynch & Gemma Dunleavy. Director Luke McManus joins us for a conversation on the personal connection that he has to this historic roadway, how the road has played into the history of Dublin, highlighting the vital role that traditional Irish music has in the life of this community, and what makes the Cobblestone Pub the most essential venue on North Circular.
For more go to: northcircularfilm.com
Director Ivy Meeropol’s expansive documentary, After the Bite focuses on the impact that a 2018 fatal shark attack on a boogie boarder has on the town of Wellfleet, Massachusetts rocked visitors and residents in the idyllic summer community of Cape Cod, forcing them to respond to the encroachment of apex predators. With the numbers of sharks increasing every year, Ivy Meeropol’s expansive documentary AFTER THE BITE explores the repercussions for this beach community when rapid changes in the natural world begin to clash with a cherished way of life. Great white sharks have dominated headlines in recent years, as their deadly interactions with people have increased in the waters stretching from Maine to the Cape and Islands. Those charged with protecting the public have been forced to address the risk of serious injuries with stop-the-bleed kits mounted at public access beaches, warning billboards, the use of shark-tracking apps, spotter planes and new training programs and protocols for lifeguards. A portrait of an interconnected community of people and wildlife, AFTER THE BITE features a range of voices from different sides of these issues and considers the larger question of how far humans can push nature before it bites back. Director Ivy Meeropol (Bully. Coward. Victim. The Roy Cohn Story. Indian Point) joins us to talk about blending into the Cape Cod community of Wellfleet, enlisting the experts like Lisa Sette from the Center of Costal Studies; Dr. Greg Skomal and Meg Winton of the Atlantic White Shark Conservatory, to talk about the science and the lifeguards, conservationists, fishermen, journalists, paramedics, town residents, and activists to talk about the impact of the dramatic changes taking place since the tragic death of Arthur Medici.
For more go to: hbo.com/movies/after-the-bite
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HAVE YOU GOT IT YET? THE STORY OF SYD BARRETT AND PINK FLOYD asks and answers many of the perplexing questions that swirled around the life and decline of Syd Barrett, founding member, initial songwriter and leader of the world famous rock group Pink Floyd. Was he a drug casualty of the sixties? Did he walk away from the pressures of the commercial music world? Did he suffer from an undiagnosed mental illness? Pink Floyd were caught in the epicenter of the 'underground' explosion of the 60s as the psychedelic house band of the UFO club in London, with Syd Barrett its enigmatic figurehead, inspiring such musicians as David Bowie and Marc Bolan. Though he named the group, wrote the first two hit songs and was the lead vocalist and guitarist, Barrett was pushed out of the band by its members who were convinced he was having an LSD induced psychotic breakdown. After leaving the group, Barrett struggled to record two solo records but eventually dropped out of the music industry completely, living as a recluse for thirty years - while Pink Floyd went on to worldwide fame as one of the biggest selling bands of all time. Ironically, much of Pink Floyd's most noted work (Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here) examined themes of genius and madness certainly mourning their long lost friend. HAVE YOU GOT IT YET? THE STORY OF SYD BARRETT AND PINK FLOYD is at once a chronicle and a mosaic, an investigation of fame and its personal cost while also exploring the larger social context of the 60s, its hopes and failures, and a compelling story that involves us all in discovery and how one chooses a path in life, measured by the outside world or one's own inner voice. Co-director Roddy Bogawa (Storm Thorerson) joins us for a conversation on working with Thorerson, renown artist and long-time friend of David Gilmore, Nick Mason and Roger Waters, separating the truth from the mythology regarding Barrett and what made Barrett’s work with Pink Floyd and his own solo music so intriguing and influential for generations of musicians and artists.
For more go to: abramorama.com/film/have-you-got-it-yet-syd-barrett
There more here too: sydbarrettfilm.com
Davide Ferrario’s UMBERTO ECO: A LIBRARY OF THE WORLD is a documentary immersion into all things Eco. His sublimely intimate film takes us on a tour of Umberto Eco’s private library, guided by the author himself. Combining new footage with material he shot with Eco in 2015 for a video installation for the Venice Biennale, Ferrario documents this incredible collection and the man who amassed it. From the precious section of the original seventeenth-century books to the shelves dedicated to the 'literary fools' who pay to be published, passing through the mystery about Shakespeare's identity, the film retraces and illustrates the main obsessions of Umberto Eco, which underlie all his literary production, fiction and otherwise. As Eco leads us among the more than 50,000 volumes and his family reflects on his legacy, we also gain insight into the library of the mind of this vastly prolific and original thinker. UMBERTO ECO: A LIBRARY OF THE WORLD director Davide Ferrario joins us for a lively conversation on how he approached his humble and warm-hearted subject, enlisting Umberto’s family, Renate, Stefano and Carlotta, into this joyful collaboration and how important he felt it was to make Umberto’s sonorous collection of literature the other “character” in this exhilarating ode to Umberto Eco.
For more go to cinemaguild.com/umbertoeco
In this deeply personal documentary EAT YOUR CATFISH we meet the matriarch of the Arjomand family, Kathryn, now dependent on round-the-clock care, due to a harrowing diagnosis. She clings to a mordant wit while yearning to witness her daughter's wedding. Co-directors and producers Adam Isenberg, Senem Tüzen and Noah Amir Arjomand — who is Kathryn's son — deliver a brutally frank and darkly humorous portrait of a family teetering on the brink, grappling with the daily demands of disability and in-home caregiving. With her daughter Minou’s wedding day approaching, Kathryn is determined to live to see her child get married. Years with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease, have left Kathryn paralyzed and needing 24-hour care. She relies on an eye-tracking, speech-generating computer to impart her wishes, but it can be an uphill struggle to be ‘heard’. With her mind intact and having opted for mechanical breathing, she could live like this indefinitely. EAT YOUR CATFISH is draws on 930 hours of footage – all filmed without any crew present from a fixed camera and narrated by Kathryn. The result is a profoundly intimate, layered and wryly funny portrait of a family at its breaking point. Co-directors Noah Amir Arjomand & Adam Isenberg (Senem Tüzen) joins us to talk about the ways this film project came about, why they adopted the POV approach to telling the story and how seeing the world from the point-of-view Kathryn could positively impact other family’s dealing with a loved one in a comparable medical condition.
For more go to: eatyourcatfish.com
For more on the POV screening: pbs.org/pov/eatyourcatfish
“the most sacred place on earth,” the birthplace of the Lakota that has shaped thought, identity and philosophy for the Očéti Šakówiŋ since time immemorial-the life-giving land known as the Black Hills. Yet with the arrival of the first Europeans in 1492, the sacred land has been the site of conflict between the people it has nurtured, and the settler state seeking to exploit and redefine it in its own image. Lakota Nation vs. United States is a searing testament to the strength of the Oyate nation and the people. It is also a visually stunning rejoinder to the distorted imagery of a people and culture long shaped by racist mainstream films, art, books and history taught to our children. In spite of the string of broken treaties or the action of war criminal General Custer at Little Big Horn or the slaughter of millions of buffalo or forced removal of native children into government run “boarding” schools the Oglala Tetonowan Oyate have survived. Lakota Nation vs. United States is a lyrical and provocative testament to a land and a people who have survived removal, exploitation and genocide--and whose best days are yet to come. Co-directors Jesse Short Bull (Istinma) and Laura Tomaselli (MLK/FBI) join us for a conversation on the powerful familial connection that Jesse has the battle of Little Big Horn, how and why the American government ignored or violated recognized treaties before the ink was dry, and how the political, economic and cultural violence against the Oyate remain firmly embedded in the policies of the state and federal government to this day.
For more go to: ifcfilms.com/lakota-nation-vs-the-united-states
And still more go to: lakotanationvsus.movie
In a nod to Turner Classic Movies (TCM)'s "Silent Sunday Nights," hosted by Academy Museum Director and President Jacqueline Stewart, the museum is launching a series of silent film screenings. Both TCM and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures are dedicated to showcasing the films of this important period in filmmaking history as part of our cultural heritage. Film historian David Pierce has concluded that only 26% of American silent features survive in complete form. Taking place on Sundays at 2 pm, and screening at the world renown David Geffen Theatre, Silent Sundays will showcase iconic movies from the silent era as well as forgotten gems and international classics. Each screening will also feature live musical accompaniment. The opening film on July 23 is Earth (Zemlya) by director Oleksandr Dovzhenko. It is the first screening of the Earth (Zemlya) outside of Europe and accompanied by a live musical performance from Kyiv-based composer Luke Corradine. K.J. Relth-Miller, Interim Director of Film Programs at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures joins us for a conversation what went into selecting the first slate of silent film era classics, the thrill of watchinmg great films with live musical, and how many of the filmmakers from the silent era went on to become cinematic icons; Keaton, Chaplin, Hitchcock, Lang, Lubitsch, DeMille and Hawks.
For more go to: academymuseum.org/programs/silent-sundays
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI), and executive produced by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (Oscar-winning SUMMER OF SOUL), Tariq Trotter (DESCENDANT), and produced by RadicalMedia , THE LEAGUE celebrates the dynamic journey of Negro League baseball's triumphs and challenges through the first half of the twentieth century. The story is told through previously unearthed archival footage and never-before-seen interviews with legendary players like Satchel Paige and Buck O’Neil – whose early careers paved the way for the Jackie Robinson era – as well as celebrated Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron who started out in the Negro Leagues. From entrepreneurial titans Cumberland Posey and Gus Greenlee, whose intense rivalry fueled the rise of two of the best baseball teams ever to play the game, to Effa Manley, the activist owner of the Newark Eagles and the only woman ever admitted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, THE LEAGUE explores Black baseball as an economic and social pillar of Black communities and a stage for some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game, while also examining the unintended consequences of integration. Director Sam Pollard (Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power, Citizen Ashe, Tiger) joins us for a conversation on the multi-layered history of the Black ballplayer’s quest for inclusion, compensation and respect. The story begins in 1890’s Jim Crow laws forcing out the few Black players already playing with white players in the nascent professional leagues and culminates with the signing of Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson to a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers and soon after Larry Dolby to a contract with the American League’s Cleveland Indians.
Champion freediver Alessia Zecchini fell in love with the sport as a child growing up in Italy, astounding coaches with her raw talent and determination in pool swims and open water contests before she was even old enough to legally compete. Irish adventurer turned expert safety diver Stephen Keenan, meanwhile, was raised near the sea, but as a young man he set out on a quest to find himself, traveling across Africa before landing in Dahab, Egypt and establishing a dive school. Despite their very different paths, the two would meet at the pinnacle of the competitive freediving world, discovering a shared passion for pushing their limits and forming a powerful relationship that felt like fate. From director Laura McGann, this thrilling documentary takes a look inside one of the most dangerous sports in the world, using everything from raw underwater dive footage to childhood home movies to chronicle Zecchini and Keenan’s lives and careers. Director and writer Laura McGann (The 8th, Revolutions) stops by to talk about her exploration of the bond between Zecchini and Keenan that propels THE DEEPEST BREATH emotional journey into the stunning, silent depths of the ocean, a breathtaking place unseen by all but the fortunate few – where exhilarating accomplishments and the unavoidable risks that await them.
Watch at: netflix.com/The Deepest Breath
THE CRUSADES follows three friends from private all-boys high school as they receive earth-shattering news about an upcoming merger with their rival school, The bad news sets them and their friends careening towards one last epic weekend before everything changes. Leo (Rudy Pankow, Outer Banks, Uncharted) balances multiple love interests in a constant quest for popularity. Caught in the crossfire is Ryan (Ashley Nicole Williams, Motherland: Fort Salem), a hopeless romantic with a bad habit of giving unlimited second chances. Sean (Khalil Everage, Cobra Kai) struggles with his responsibilities to his cold and calculated girlfriend Jess (Indiana Massara, Hero Mode, Chicken Girls), who is always one step ahead of everyone. Jack (Ryan Ashton) repeatedly clashes with authority and the administration in a never-ending struggle to avoid all responsibility. To make matters worse, the boys unknowingly made an enemy out of Vince (Blaine Maye, Joe Bell) and The Wrecking Crew, who are hell-bent on settling their vendetta at all costs. Completely unaware that the choices made over this fateful weekend could end up impacting their lives more than any merger ever could. Director, writer and producer Leo Milano joins us for a conversation on the long and winding road that The Crusades has taken him and his dedicated crew on, how his career as an actor, Stand-in and Production Assistant on has given him the experience and the confidence to make his debut feature film, The Crusades.
For more go to: thecrusadesfilm.com
thecrusadesfilm.com/ways-to-watch
Alethea Root’s second feature film, GOOD SIDE OF BAD, tells the story of three estranged adult siblings, Sara (Jules Bruff), Peter (Alex Quijano), and Florence (Lexi Simonsen) as they are brought back together after a mental health diagnosis forces them to confront harsh future realities regarding the mental state of one of their own. GOOD SIDE OF BAD is a raw and intimate look into what it means to be a family navigating the waters of mental illness. The film dives into humanity’s dark places while illuminating the love, laughter, and light discovered when you reconnect with those closest to you. Based on the bestselling book GOOD SIDE OF BAD, this raw family drama touches on our shared human experience of psychological isolation, and how connecting to each other is ultimately the best way to help one another push through the daunting challenges that face every person. In addition to Jules Bruff, Alex Quijano and Lexi Simonsen, the film also features Myles Grier, Kim Estes and Academy Award nominated actor Tess Harper (Crimes of the Heart). Director and co-writer Alethea Root and Producer, co-writer and actor Jules Bruff join us to talk about the source and inspiration for the film, being selected as the Opening Night film for the 2023 Dances with Film festival, and the hope that the audience will come away from the film with a better appreciation of living with mental illness and the fragility of family.
For more go to: goodsideofbad.com
A warning for a future that could be, GIVE ME AN A features 17 films created by 17 female filmmakers to recount the overturning of Roe v. Wade through a multi-genre lens. The film is fully committed to address the attack on women’s rights, all proceeds from the screenings will be donated to non-profit organizations in their local markets. GIVE ME AN A is an urgent and passionate response from a group of women committed to protecting or securing their right to privacy, bodily autonomy and healthcare. From satire to horror, to dark comedy, to science fiction, these films are a unifying voice that tells the world how they feel about the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Co-director Natasha Halevi, and actors Molly C. Quinn and Jennifer Holland join us for a conversation on why they, along with all of the participating filmmakers and actors, have devoted their time and skills to this timely project, as well as, how the Dobbs decision could lead to further erosion of women’s autonomy, freedom and health.
For more go to: fractalclouds.com
Watch on: AmazonPrime and AppleTV
Marking the directorial debut of long-time Duplass brothers’ collaborator, Mel Eslyn, BIOSPHERE drops us into the confined lives of Billy (Mark Duplass) and Ray (Sterling K. Brown), lifelong best friends and the last two men on earth. Their survival is largely due to Ray, a brilliant scientist who designed a domed structure with all the systems necessary to sustain life on a planet that could no longer support it. Their custom biosphere is outfitted with basic necessities and creature comforts that make it possible to retain a sense of what life used to be like. A hydroponic garden provides fresh vegetables and a carefully managed fishpond supplies essential protein. Recently, however, fish have begun dying at an alarming rate. With a mere three fish remaining, Billy and Ray face an ominous future. But life may yet find a way. Uproarious and tender in equal measure, BIOSPHERE was a festival favorite. Director Mel Eslyn (Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off, The Lady and the Dale) joins us to talk about making the leap from producing into the director’s chair, as well as finding the credible cinematic space where humor and pathos can co-exist as well as they do in BIOSPHERE.
For more go to: ifcfilms.com/biosphere
Filmmaker Nancy Buirski (The Loving Story, The Rape of Recy Taylor, By Sidney Lumet) journey through the last 100 years of American cultural, political and artistic touchstones continues with Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy. A half century after its release, John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy remains one of the most original and groundbreaking movies of the modern era. With beguiling performances from Jon Voight (Coming Home) and Dustin Hoffman (The Graduate) as two loners who join forces out of desperation, black list survivor Waldo Salt's brilliant screenplay, and Schlesinger's fearless direction, the 1969 film became the only X- rated film to ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Its vivid and compassionate depiction of a more realistic, un-sanitized New York City and its inhabitants paved the way for a generation’s worth of gritty movies with complex characters and adult themes. But this is not a documentary about the making of Midnight Cowboy: it is about the deeply gifted and flawed people behind a dark and difficult masterpiece; New York City in a troubled time of cultural ferment; and the era that made a movie and the movie that made an era. Director and producer Nancy Buirski joins us to talk about gathering the extensive archival material and compelling new interviews, and how this one film, Midnight Cowboy captured the essence of a time and a place, reflecting a rapidly changing society with striking clarity.
For more go to: zeitgeistfilms.com/desperate-souls-dark-city-and-the-legend-of-midnight-cowboy
Set in the heart of 1942 Warsaw, where Jews and refugees from across Poland were imprisoned in a ghetto and cut off from the outside world by a towering wall, LOVE GETS A ROOM follows Stefcia and her fellow Jewish theatre actors as they fight to keep their passion for performing alive. As life in the Nazi-occupied ghetto became a fierce fight against cold, hunger, and epidemics, the actors, against all odds, embark on a daring mission to stage Jerzy Jurandot's play, risking their lives to create something beautiful in a world of chaos and destruction. Featuring a superb cast of actors led by Clara Rugaard (I Am Mother) as Stefcia, as well, Mark Ryder (City on a Hill), Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (CODA), Anastasia Hille (Snow White and the Huntsman), Magnus Krepper (A Cure for Wellness), and Henry Goodman (The New Pope). Written and directed by visionary filmmaker Rodrigo Cortés (Buried, Concursante), the film takes you on an emotional journey back to the tumultuous time of World War II. With masterful direction and outstanding performances, LOVE GETS A ROOM is a poignant exploration of the power of love, hope, and sacrifice in the face of unimaginable adversity.
For more go to: buffalo8.com/project/love-gets-a-room
Watch now on: Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu
I’LL SHOW YOU MINE tells the story of Priya Sura (Poorna Jagannathan), an author who found breakout success when she wrote a memoir about her abusive father. She has since made a career of exploring her own trauma through a feminist lens. Recently, however, she has been finding it harder and harder to have an emotional connection in her writing. So she's now mining someone else's trauma by interviewing Nic (Casey Thomas Brown), her nephew by marriage, about his history of exploitation as a gender nonconforming model and pansexual poster boy. But Nic won't engage without a quid pro quo, so to get to the most hidden parts of his story, she must dig into areas she has scrupulously managed to avoid in her own. Director Megan Griffiths (Eden, Lucky Them) joins us for a conversation on the challenges and rewards that come from a two actor film project, working with the talented duo of Poorna Jagannathan (The Night Of, Never Have I Ever) and Casey Thomas Brown (The Kominsky Method) and how finding a cinematic sweet spot for an engaging, and insightful character driven story about trauma and recognition.
For more go to: ill-show-you-mine-2023
In this compelling Netflix original seven-part series, TRANSATLANTIC, takes us back to France in 1940, where American Varian Fry has traveled to Marseille carrying three thousand dollars and a list of imperiled artists and writers he hoped to help escape from the encroaching Nazi collaboration with the Vichy government, within a few weeks. Instead, he stayed more than a year, working to procure false documents, amass emergency funds, and arrange journeys across Spain and Portugal, where the refugees would embark for safer ports. His many clients included Hannah Arendt, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, and Marc Chagall, and the race against time to save them is a tale of forbidden love, high-stakes adventure, and unimaginable courage. TRANSATLANTIC features an excellent cast of American and international actors that includes; Gillian Jacobs, Corey Stoll, Lucas Englander, Corey Michael Smith and Ralph Amoussou. TRANSATLANTIC was produced and co-written by Anna Winger (Daniel Handler), Co-directors Stephanie Chuat and Veronique Reymond (My Little Sister, join us for a conversation on the challenge of directing the first four of the seven episodes, how important it was for them to strike the appropriate tone for a “film” that moves between from life threatening to life affirming within each episodes, working with an international cast and their upcoming project, a English language reboot of their first film, The Little Bedroom.
Watch on: netflix.com/Transatlantic
Where do we draw the line between love and devotion? An intimate and haunting portrayal of a quest for love and acceptance at any cost, Q depicts the insidious influence of a secretive matriarchal religious order in Lebanon on three generations of women in the Chehab family. First-time filmmaker Jude Chehab potently documents the unspoken ties and consequences of loyalty that have bonded her mother, Hiba, grandmother, and herself to the mysterious organization. When she’s not teaching the Quran to students or taking part in poetry readings with peers, Hiba strictly obeys the detailed writings of the Anisa (the leader of the order) who instills in her followers the need to closely observe and practice full days of prayer. A masterful portrait of the toll that decades of unrequited love, lost hope, abuse, and despair takes on a person, Q is a multigenerational tale of the eternal search for meaning. A love story of a different kind, the film delicately portrays the complexities of the unseen power that intermesh the lives of those who love a woman whose heart is in the hands of someone else. Director Jude Chehab stops by to talk about her personal journey with Qubaysiat, engaging in an extended cinematic conversation with her family about the influence the group has had on them, particularly her mother, and what being a part of the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival means for Q and her own artistic trajectory.
For more go to: tribecafilm.com/films/q-2023
Georgia Oakley’s stunning directorial debut BLUE JEAN, is set in 1988 England and Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government is about to pass a law stigmatizing gays and lesbians, forcing Jean (Rosy McEwen, in a powerhouse performance), a gym teacher, to live a double life. As pressure mounts from all sides, the arrival of a new student catalyzes a crisis that will challenge Jean to her core. Something has to give, and McEwen embodies with exquisite insight the mounting strain upon a woman who has sought to keep hidden what now burns for some release or resolution. The catalyst for change is the arrival at Jean’s school of a new pupil, Lois (Lucy Halliday) – raw, vulnerable, and instinctively connected to Jean as soon as they meet. When Lois begins to frequent the lesbian bar that is Jean’s refuge, the boundaries between Jean’s worlds collapse, and she finds herself dangerously desperate to rebuild them. The BAFTA-nominated film won the Venice Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award, as well as four British Independent Film Awards. Director and writer Georgia Oakley joins us for a conversation on why a look back on laws (Section 28) “governing” the lives of the LGBTQ people provides a greater understanding of past bigotry as well as why it is vitally important to remain vigilant regarding the current threats to the human rights. BLUE JEAN features a slew of terrific performances, led by Rosy McEwen as Jean, Kerrie Hayes, Lucy Halliday and Lydia Page.
For more go to: magpictures.com/bluejean
Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite brings the viewer into the lives of the scientist / astronauts orbiting the planet aboard the International Space Station. Two crews of scientists, American and Russian, conduct research towards the betterment of humanity. Tensions flare in the near future aboard the International Space Station as the astronauts receive orders from the ground that are both horrifying and unfathomable. The cold harshness of space comes into stark reality as thriller and science fiction combine to form an engrossing look at power dynamics and the places they exist regardless of Earth and space. Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, working with Nick Shafir’s Blacklist script, brings together a stellar cast that includes Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, Pilou Asbaek, John Gallagher Jr., Costa Ronin, and Masha Mashkova, in a high-stakes thriller set entirely in the confines of the I.S.S. as astronauts are called to duty in fateful and terrifying ways.
To watch now: tribecafilm.com/films/i-s-s-2023
Five incredible women from around the world who are boldly breaking glass ceilings in the male-dominated world of orchestral conducting take center stage in MAESTRA, filmmaker Maggie Contreras’ directorial debut. These women gathered in Paris for ‘La Maestra’, the only competition in the world for female conductors, to show the world the singular talent that unites them and which, for far too long, has been considered the pursuit of only men. Mothers, daughters, rebels, leaders – over four days, each took to the stage to compete: a mother of young twins from Athens, determined to show her kids anything is possible; a Ukrainian doing all she can to focus on her art and the competition in front of her while Russia invades; a Polish student just starting out; a newlywed American grappling with the decision to start a family; and a French immigrant returning to the city that closed its doors to her many years ago. Personal stories of survival, passion and perseverance are woven together with the drama and excitement of this one-of-a-kind event. The struggles and triumphs of the gifted artists in MAESTRA offer a microcosm for the challenges faced by women in every industry and in every walk of life today, while also providing valuable insights into how we may conduct ourselves as we create a new movement for a more equitable future. Director Maggie Contreras (Gilbert, Jonathan Scott's Power Trip) stops by for a conversation on opening at the Tribeca Film Festival, watching the way that the La Maestra competion rivalry grew into unity through a common struggle and common goal, and how following these five women helps to push the boundaries of conventional storytelling by giving voice to the women who have been marginalized for generations.
For more go to: maggiecontreras.com
The themes, images, and cultural vernacular of Victor Fleming’s The Wizard of Oz continue to haunt David Lynch’s art and filmography—from his very first short, The Alphabet, to his latest series, Twin Peaks: The Return. LYNCH/OZ posits that no filmmaker has so consistently drawn inspiration—consciously or unconsciously—from a single work. Is David Lynch trapped in the land of Oz? If so, can we derive a new appreciation for Lynch’s body of work from taking a closer look at how it intersects and communicates with The Wizard of Oz? In turn, do Mulholland Drive, Lost Highway, or The Elephant Man have something to say about the enduring resonance of one of America’s most beloved classic movies? Through six distinct perspectives and narrated by some of contemporary cinema’s most exciting voices; film critic Amy Nicholson, Rodney Ascher (Room 237), John Waters (Pecker), Karyn Kusama (The Invitation), Justin Benson (The Endless), Aaron Moorhead (Something in the Dirt), David Lowery (A Ghost Story). LYNCH/OZ will take us down the proverbial rabbit hole, help us re-experience and re-interpret The Wizard of Oz by way of David Lynch, to deliver a whole new appreciation for Lynch’s symbolism through the lens of his greatest influence. Director Alexandre O. Philippe (78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene, You Can Call Me Bill) joins us for a conversation on unpacking the sometimes impenetrable world of a modern cinema wizard.
For more go to: lynchoz.official.film
For screenings: lynchoz.official.film/screening-schedule
Sean Claffey’s latest documentary AMERICONNED on the impact that the chronic and corrosive reality of income inequality in the US and its destabilizing effects on the vast majority Americans. Radical inequality has led to radicalization at every level of society, and this powerful documentary depicts what happens when America hits its tipping point by looking back through our history at similar critical moments of instability. The labor movement of the past was born in times like these. Despite an increase in productivity in recent decades, compensation for the American worker has been stagnant. In addition, 47% of American jobs are at high risk of being lost to automation and A.I. by the mid-2030s. In the United States, there has been an upward redistribution of over $50 trillion from the bottom 90% to the top 1% over the last 40 years. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have created a protection racket for the rich, and corporations are deliberately crushing unions. In this David vs. Goliath story, Chris Smalls leads a movement to unionize Amazon workers for the first time, after the corporation fired Smalls for speaking up for workers’ rights. They are inspiring legions of workers to, as the late, great Congressman John Lewis said, get into “good trouble.” AMERICONNED director Seal Claffey joins us for a spirited conversation on the success and on-going efforts to organize major American companies and industry, the public’s increasing positive regarding the value of a workforce where people are able to afford housing, healthcare, and a comfortable future for themselves and their families as seen through the organizing efforts of people like Chris Smalls.
For more go to: shinethelightfilms.com/Americonned
Vicaria is a brilliant teenager who believes death is a disease that can be cured. After the brutal and sudden murder of her brother, she embarks on a dangerous journey to bring him back to life. Writer and director Bomani J. Story makes his directorial debut, THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER, as a reimagining of Mary Shelley's classic literary horror story, Frankenstein, filmed through a modern lens. Having World Premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival, Bomani J. Story undeniably pushes boundaries while breaking down barriers in the film industry. THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER, is an essential piece of contemporary horror cinema that shows what happens when Black creators are given the space to tell their stories. Director and writer Bomani J. Story joins us to talk about casting Laya DeLeon Hayes in the leading role of Vicaria, watching her blossom in that crucial role, his use of sound and set design, finding a way to skillfully blend horror, comedy, family trauma and social commentary and putting a new spin on a very familiar tale.
For more: theangryblackgirlandhermonstermovie.com
Co-director Abbas Rezaie debut feature documentary takes the viewer inside the office of the city’s most widely read newspaper, The Etilaat Roz. The film is a gripping firsthand account of the August 2021 takeover of Kabul by the Taliban. Afghan filmmaker and Etilaat Roz staff member Abbas Rezaie relentlessly films and questions his passionate colleagues on the editorial team in the days leading up to, during, and after the takeover as they try to decide whether to stay and continue reporting - risking torture, imprisonment and death - or join thousands of others attempting to flee the country. What begins as shock at a surreal situation gradually shifts to realization of an inescapable reality at their doorstep. Tensions rise as Rezaie’s colleagues must balance their families’ safety with their dedication to providing honest reporting, while the Taliban sets its sights on curbing the free press. This dramatic account of a group of courageous journalists in their struggle for truth, freedom and life is poignantly captured by Rezaie’s camera, fully immersing the viewer in this rapidly changing environment. We are joined by the co-director and editor-in-chief of Etilaat Roz Zaki Daryabi for a conversation on the harrowing days of dread and fear that Daryabi and his colleagues endured watching their beloved country fall under the heavy hand of the Taliban, fearing for their lives and being forced to abandon the offices and the mission of Etilaat Roz.
Winner, Best First Feature, IDFA 2022
Digital screening: Available to watch at your own pace, any time between June 5 and June 11, 2023, on the festival’s digital streaming platform.
Human Rights Watch Film Festival - May 31 - June 11 Co-Presented by Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center
The astonishingly assured debut feature from French Canadian actress Charlotte Le Bon, FALCON LAKE stars Joseph Engel as Bastien, a 13-year-old Parisian who, while on a holiday with his family in rural Quebec, becomes increasingly close to Chloé (Sara Montpetit), the 16-year-old daughter of an old friend of his mother. A tender tale of first love that progresses with the disconcertingly eerie mood of a gothic horror film—the lake by the family’s rented cabin is haunted by a ghost legend—Le Bon’s ruminative, atmospheric drama subverts every coming of age cliché to create something entirely distinctive, quietly unnerving, and achingly emotional, seeking out the darkness on the fringes of a sunny summer idyll. Director, co-screenwriter, co-producer, actor, Charlotte Le Bon joins us to talk about casting Joseph Engel (Bastien) and Sara Montpetit (Chloé), their different approach to the roles, the symbolic importance of water in telling the story of young love and how she found the cinematic sweet spot between a coming of age love story and indigenous mythology.
For more go to:falconlakefilm.com
Watch in a theatre: falconlakefilm.com
For more on Charlotte Le Bon: lebonlebon.com
Director Srđan Keča’s strikingly direct new documentary, MUSEUM OF THE REVOLUTION, begins with a Serbian proverb, “The wind got up in the night and took our plans away.” It's a reference to the 1961 plan to build a grand museum in Belgrade as a tribute to Socialist Yugoslavia. Meant to “safeguard the truth” about the Yugoslav people, the plan never got beyond the construction of the basement. The derelict building now tells a very different story from the one envisioned by the initiators 60 years ago. The cavernous, damp, pitch-dark space is inhabited by the outcasts of a society reshaped by capitalism: a precocious and energetic little girl who earns cash on the street by cleaning car windows with her mother, and their friend, an older woman also living in the basement. In his award-winning, visually stunning and formally daring feature documentary debut, director and cinematographer Director and writer Srđan Keča powerfully illuminates the tender relationship between the three women – a source of refuge, community, and hope – against the backdrop of a city in transformation.
For more go to: museumoftherevolutionfilm.com
mubi.com/films/stay-awake
In Francisca Alegría’s poignant and stunning debut feature, THE COW WHO SANG A SONG INTO THE FUTURE, we are introduced to a world delicately constructed by fantasy, mystery, and magical realism. The story begins at a river in the south of Chile where fish are dying due to pollution from a nearby factory. Amid their floating bodies, long-deceased Magdalena (Mia Maestro) bubbles up to the surface gasping for air, bringing with her old wounds and a wave of family secrets. This shocking return sends her widowed husband into turmoil and prompts their daughter Cecilia (Leonor Varela) to return home to the family’s dairy farm with her own children. Magdalena’s presence reverberates among her family, instigating fits of laughter and despair in equal measure with all but Cecilia’s eldest child, who finds much-needed comfort in their grandmother’s love and unconditional understanding during a time of transition. THE COW WHO SANG A SONG INTO THE FUTURE is an ambitious proposal for acceptance and healing, suggesting that the dead return when they are most needed. Director Francisca Alegria joins us for a conversation on her ambitious undertaking and how she was able to successfully tell her story as a lyrical rumination on family, nature, renewal, and resurrection.
For more go to: kinolorber.com/film/the-cow-who-sang
THE COW WHO SANG A SONG INTO THE FUTURE opens May 19 at the Quad Cinema in New York and May 26 at the Landmark Nuart in Los Angeles and the Laemmle Glendale followed by national expansion.
Premiering Tuesday, May 23 on MAX, HOW TO CREATE A SEX SCANDAL delves into the topics of mass hysteria, coerced memories and the intense emotional journey the town went on as they were forced to reconsider everything they thought they knew. In 2005, the sleepy community of Mineola, Texas, is thrown into turmoil when local children reveal shocking stories about a pedophile sex ring that took place at a local swingers club. As arrests are made, life sentences handed down, and lives ruined, it soon becomes apparent that there is a lot more to the story than meets the eye. Now, the startling long-term repercussions of the scandal are revealed. Inspired by series of articles, “Mineola’s Swingers Club”, written by Texas Monthly reporter Michael Hall, HOW TO CREATE A SEX SCANDAL brings to life the startling and scarcely believable telling of a crime story that really is stranger than fiction. We’re joined by Director and Executive Producer Julian P. Hobbs and Executive Producer Elli Hakami for a conversation on the circumstances that drew them to this unbelievable story, gaining the confidence of the pivotable people involved in the imbroglio, their take on the social, political and judicial factors that played into the investigation and the convictions and why it matters that we all stay vigilant when it comes to the prosecution of the less powerful among us.
Watch How to Create a Sex Scandal at: max.com
HOW TO CREATE A SEX SCANDAL MIND BLOWING is a 3-part docuseries from the filmmakers behind “House of Hammer” that launches on MAX on May 23.
Rae de Leon, is a new staff reporter working at The Center for Investigative Reporting, when she discovers a surprising number of legal cases nationwide that involve women reporting sexual assault to the police, only to be accused of fabricating their allegations. These women are then charged with crimes, sometimes facing years in prison. This powerful and shocking documentary VICTIM/SUSPECT follows de Leon as she gathers firsthand accounts from numerous young women and their families and interviews police and legal experts. Simultaneously, de Leon re-examines elements of the initial police investigations, unearthing telling recordings of police interviews of women reporting their sexual assault. In her latest documentary feature, VICTIM/SUSPECT Director Nancy Schwartzman (Roll Red Roll) crafts a deeply compelling and provocative investigative documentary, sure to elicit both empathy and outrage, that stands as a powerful testament to the carefully constructed work of determined reporters like de Leon. Director / Producer Nancy Schwartzman joins us for a conversation on the multi-faceted way that VICTIM/SUSPECT illuminates how local and nationwide systemic policing policies both motivate detectives to treat victims like suspects, and directly impact not only these vulnerable women’s cases, but also their lives. Available on netflix.com beginning May 23
From Oscar®-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, WILD LIFE follows conservationist Kris Tompkins on an epic, decades-spanning love story as wild as the landscapes she dedicated her life to protecting. After falling in love in midlife, Kris and the outdoorsman and entrepreneur Doug Tompkins left behind the world of the massively successful outdoor brands they'd helped pioneer -- Patagonia, The North Face and Esprit -- and turned their attention to a visionary effort to create national parks throughout Chile and Argentina via their nonprofit Tompkins Conservation. WILD LIFE chronicles the highs and lows of their journey to affect the largest private land donation in history. Co-directors Chai Vasarhelyi (Meru, The Rescue) and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo, Return to Space) join us for a conversation on how the dedication and vision of a small group of remarkable people can become something extraordinary, their personal connection to the Tompkins, the challenges of telling a complex, decades long love story and the Tompkin’s journey culminated in the biggest private land handover in history has led to the protection almost 15 million acres of land from future degradation. For more go to: nationalgeographic.com/wild-lifeWILD LIFE will have its broadcast debut on National Geographic Channel starting May 25 and Streaming May 26 on Disney+
Allison Otto’s so unbelievable it has to be true documentary, THE THIEF COLLECTOR, follows the brazen broad daylight theft of renown artist Willem de Kooning’s landmark painting “Woman-Ochre,” in 1985. Considered to be one of the most valuable paintings of the 20th century, it vanished into the Arizona desert after being cut from its frame at the University of Arizona Museum of Art. Thirty-Two years later, the $160 million painting was found hanging in the home of Jerry and Rita Alter in rural New Mexico. THE THIEF COLLECTOR takes a deep look at how, and why, this mild-mannered couple pulled off one of the greatest art heists of a generation, exploring the complicated dynamics of family, the contours of criminality, and just how far people will go to weave their own grandiose narratives. Featuring Glenn Howerton (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Sarah Minnich (Army of the Dead) in the “heist re-enactment”. Director Allison Otto (The Love Bigs) stops by to talk about how she came to the project, following the wildly improbable story of retired school teachers and avid world travelers led her to New Mexico and a cryptic book, written by Jerry Alter that hints at multiple art heists and even more disturbing activities that the couple may have engaged in. For more go to: xtr.com/films/the-thief-collector
Director Billy Miossi latest documentary, It’s Quieter in the Twilight takes viewers on a thoroughly enjoyable look behind the scenes of a small, but resourceful group of engineers and scientist as they work tirelessly to maintain and expand the mission of America’s two oldest satellites, Voyager I and Voyager II. As these two spacecraft approach a half century of flight, they are pushing the notion of true discovery, traveling among stars propelled only by dwindling sunlight. While the world has moved on to fancier ships and splashier front men–the celestial journey of the aging spacecraft transcends earthly boundaries– from rural South Korea, the Jim Crow South and the U.S./Mexico border to cement a joint commitment to the mission which has traveled the furthest in human history as the clock winds down. Director Billy Miossi stops to talk about the low-key way that the Voyager team goes to extraordinary lengths to keep a 1970’s era spacecraft functioning, and the dedication of a crew that includes Sun Matsumoto, Enrique Medina, Fernando Peralta, Jefferson Hall, Todd Barber, Suzy Dodd, Chris Jones, Ed Stone, Andrea Angrum and Liu Yang.For more go to: itsquieterfilm.com
Jamie Sisley’s American indie debut drama, STAY AWAKE, is a fictionalized account of the filmmaker’s coming of age, as he struggles to get out from under the yoke of a prescription-drug-addicted mother in small-town Virginia. Life in the last, lame-duck months of high school, with a job at the Jolly Cow ice cream drive-in, would be cringe-inducing enough without a deeply depressed, self-destructive mother (Chrissy Metz, star of This is Us). Wyatt Oleff (City on Fire) and Fin Argus (Queer as Folk) play teenage brothers stuck in a cycle of discovering their mom passed out, dragging her to the hospital, and encouraging rehab. Despair quickly turns to hope and then boomerangs back again. Featuring three superb performances that find surprising humor and humanity amid the tragedy of parental addiction. Writer/Director Jamie Sisley (Farewell Ferris Wheel) joins us for a conversation on assembling a superb cast of actors, delivering a story of uncommon empathy that is very much of the moment, and a moving drama that subverts audience expectations about addicts.For more go to: instagram.com/stayawakethefilmOpens Friday May 19 at Film Forum in NYC andMay 26 at Laemmle Royal in LA
Filmmaker Peter Hutchinson’s latest documentary THE CURE FOR HATE: BEARING WITNESS TO AUSCHWITZ follows Tony McAleer, a former Neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier. After spent 15 years in the white supremacist and neo-Nazi movement, starting as a skinhead before rising in the ranks into leadership, McAleer shed past life to become a founding member of the anti-hate activist group Life After Hate. positions. (the film) THE CURE FOR HATE: BEARING WITNESS TO AUSCHWITZ documents Tony’s profoundly personal journey of atonement to Auschwitz/Birkenau - exploring the conditions that allowed for the rise of fascism in 1930s Europe; shedding a unique light upon how men get into, and out of, violent extremist groups; and serving as a cautionary tale for our time that underscores the dangers in allowing hate to be left unchecked. Aware and deeply ashamed of the lineage of hate he'd once promoted, Tony had long-contemplated traveling to Auschwitz in the spirit of tshuvah - to bear witness to the inconceivable ravages of the Holocaust, and deepen his personal work against the rise of extremist politics. Director Peter Hutchinson (Requiem of the American Dream) and Subject Tony McAleer join us for a conversation on the road that brought them together, the size and scope of the Auschwitz industrial killing operation, and getting to know each other. For more go to: thecureforhatefilm.com
In a remote small town, a neuro-divergent teen, Star (Sarah Walker), forms an unlikely rapport with an international student from Shanghai, An (Ziyin Zheng), volunteering at the hospital where she is a patient. Between the two, a bond forms, cemented by their candid conversations, nightly text messages, and exchange of their deepest secrets. The boundaries of their friendship quickly expand into something special, altering their inner alchemy. QUEENS OF THE QING DYNASTY is a story that breaches the absurd and poetic, the platonic and the romantic. Both intimate and intense, it explores the intrinsic beauty and innate flaws of what it is to be human, the profundity of connection, and the vortex of mental illness. The electronic music score blurs between cinema foley and sound design to create a feeling of an alternate plane. The film is an affectionate ode to women, asexuals, and neuro-diverse and gender queer individuals who exist beyond the norms of society. QUEENS OF THE QING DYNASTY is produced by Britt Kirr, Nelson MacDonald, and McKenzie, with music by Cecile Believe and Yu Su and cinematography by Scott Moore. Director and writer Ashley McKenzie (Werewolf) joins us for a conversation on the casting of film stars Sarah Walker and Ziyin Zheng, working with them to get their pitch perfect performances, and finding her own creative space outside the cinematic circles, of Toronto and Montreal, in Nova Scotia working with local artist.For more go to: hi-visfilm.ca/Queens-of-the-Qing-Dynasty
Few films have addressed the trauma of immigrating to a new country, and fewer have been as emotionally compelling as Anthony Shim’s RICEBOY SLEEPS. After losing her husband, So-young (Choi Seung-yoon) relocates to Canada in the 1990s with her young son, Dong-hyun (Dohyun Noel Hwang as a child, Ethan Hwang as a teenager) in tow. There, they must fight for acceptance and respect. Dong-hyun is brutally bullied by his classmates, and he isn’t helped by the timid, distinctly Canadian racism of his teacher and principal, who consider the family “troublesome.” At work, So-young battles loneliness and racist and sexist comments. As they negotiate with their separate circumstances, the rift between mother and son grows. Unwelcome news sparks an unplanned return to South Korea — and the in-laws So-young hasn’t spoken to in many years — but might open up the possibility of mutual understanding. Winner of the Toronto Film Critics Association’s Rogers Award for Best Canadian Film, director, writer, co-producer and editor Anthony Shim (Daughter) joins us for a conversation on the very personal inspiration for the film, getting the outstanding performances from Choi Seung-yoon, Noel Hwang and Ethan Hwang, filming in South Korea and the critical importance of Christopher Lew’s masterful cinematography.For more go to 1091.tv/riceboy-sleepsWatch at: geni.us/RiceboySleeps
From the late 1960s to mid- 1970s, David Hammons captivated the art world with his body prints, using his naked body as a printing plate in meditations on African-American existence, and later works including a snowball-selling performance in the East Village and sculptures made of hair collected from Harlem barbers — all the while sharply defying establishment categories and rules of commerce. An unconventional chronicle of Hammons’s life and work (now 79, he believes “the less they know about me the better”), THE MELT GOES ON FOREVER captures his playful, no-bullshit spirit and conceptual integrity, using archival footage and rare interviews, dynamic animation and sound art, and candid accounts by eminent artists curators and critics (Betye Saar, Suzanne Jackson, Henry Taylor, Lorna Simpson, among others). Hammons’s profound critiques of racial and social inequality illuminate and implicate simultaneously. THE MELT GOES ON FOREVER chronicles Hammons’ category-defying practice – rooted in a deep critique of American society and the elite art world – is in the words of one art critic “an invitation to confront the fissures between races” as the artist seeks to go beyond the dominant culture and his own to a new one for the 21st century. Co-directors Judd Tully (American Greed: The Art of the Steal, Driven to Abstraction) and Harold Crooks (The Price We Pay, The Corporation) stop by to talk about David Hammons has constantly defied the establishment and remains to this day a subversive voice, evocative, defiant, nuanced and relevant.For more go to: the-melt-goes-on-forever-the-art-times-of-david-hammonsScreening at Film Forum in NYC - May 5 - 11
THE ARTIFICE GIRL focuses on a team of special agents as they delve into the orgin of a revolutionary new computer program that baits and traps shockingly high percentage of online child predators. After teaming up with the program’s troubled developer, they soon find that the AI is rapidly advancing beyond its original purpose. THE ARTIFICE GIRL is directed and written by Franklin Ritch in his feature film debut. The film stars Tatum Matthews (The Waltons: Homecoming), David Girard (short “Teardrop Goodbye with Mandatory Directorial Commentary by Remy Von Trout”), Sinda Nichols (That Abandoned Place, “Bubblegum Crisis”), Franklin Ritch and Lance Henriksen (Aliens, The Quick and the Dead). Director, screenwriter, editor and actor Franklin Ritch joins us for a conversation on how he came to write the script for The Artifice Girl, his thoughts on the very complicated choices that will need to be addressed with the ascendancy of Artificial Intelligence in our lives, working with a cast of relative unknown actors, and how habits of compassion and kindness could be a by-product of everyday AI. In theatres at: xyzfilms.com/the-artific-girlFor more go to: paperstreetpictures.com/theartificegirl
ANXIOUS NATION, a new documentary that takes a deep look into the crisis of anxiety and mental health in America, especially its crippling impact on kids and families, will host a worldwide, premiere livestream event on May 3, 2023. The riveting and introspective feature documentary is directed by Academy Award© winner Vanessa Roth (Freeheld), and co-directed, written and produced by 21-time New York Times Bestselling Author and first-time filmmaker, Laura Morton. This global rally uniting people around the world will include a film screening and important conversations with leading voices and experts of the mental health movement, including Executive Producer Kathy Ireland, Roth, Morton and cast members Tim Storey and Lynn Lyons along with other special guests to be announced. ANXIOUS NATION delves into the crisis of mental health and anxiety in America, while focusing on subjects ages 11-26 and their families. This unabashedly honest and insightful film provides audiences with a raw and intimate look into the lives of families and kids grappling with anxiety and the duality of how their parents are trying to understand and help. Co-directors Laura Morton, Vanessa Roth and Executive Producer Kathy Ireland, all moms themselves, tenderly share the vulnerability of these families in an effort to help others who are currently struggling with similar issues in private.For more go to: AnxiousNation.com
Acclaimed writer/director and founder of indie production company TXL Films, Taron Lexton. Most recently, Lexton and TXL wrapped production on their most ambitious indie feature yet, NOMAD. Starring “White Lotus” Breakout Leo Woodall, the film was shot entirely on location across 26 countries with its 2 lead actors, using no sets, green screens or cinema lights and a traveling crew of just 8 people. NOMAD tells the story of a mysterious loner (Woodall) with a bizarre condition that takes him inexplicably to the ends of the earth. When he crosses paths with a stifled city girl (Sana’a Shaik), they are plunged into a fight for survival that takes them across every continent. This feature narrative encapsulates Lexton’s signature visual aesthetic and emotionally charged storytelling. Lexton founded TXL Films with the ethos to focus on unique and humanity-driven stories that connect us to each other and to the world. Since its launch in 2004, he and TXL have filmed in over 55 countries, including all 7 continents, been awarded by more than 100 film festivals, screened out of competition at Cannes, and Lexton’s personal humanitarian projects earned him the United Nations Award of Excellence. Director, producer. writer and cinematographer Taron Lexton joins us to talk about his interest in showcasing people and their stories from every corner of the world, inspiration that he has drawn from his mother’s work in protecting and expanding human rights across the globe, founding his own production company and his ambitious new project, NOMAD.For more on NOMAD go to: taronlexton.com
32 SOUNDS is an immersive feature documentary and profound sensory experience from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sam Green (The Weather Underground, A Thousand Thoughts) featuring original music by JD Samson (Le Tigre, MEN). The film explores the elemental phenomenon of sound by weaving together 32 specific sound explorations into a cinematic meditation on the power of sound to bend time, cross borders, and profoundly shape our perception of the world around us. Filmmaker Green takes the audience on a journey through time and space and into the world of experimental musician Annea Lockwood (her Piano Burning performance captured the sounds of a piano on fire) suggests -- as she records “wild” sounds from a marsh in New York — that we should be listening with the environment, rather than to it. A freewheeling exploration of how sound shapes and moves us, the film is “full to bursting with humor, emotion and curiosity...a uniquely mind-expanding plunge into a dimension of the human experience so many of us take for granted, a rare and rewarding sonic journey. 32 SOUNDS investigates the mysterious nature of perception and the subtle yet radical politics that arise from sensation and being present in one’s body. Director Sam Green known for such films as A Thousand Thoughts, and his Academy Award nominated film Weather Underground joins us for a conversation on his collaboration with electronic musician JD Samson, as well as how he went about gathering all the samples sounds, ranging from the sounds inside the womb, the mating call of a now-extinct bird, the audio effects created by a Hollywood Foley artist, the hush of snow falling in Japan, and John Cage’s famed piece, “4:33.” For more go to: abramorama.com/film/32-sounds
Award-winning filmmaker Justin Lerner’s latest work, CADEJO BLANCO, takes a deep dive into the world of Guatemala’s clicas, small disorganized gangs of young people who engage in illegal activity (robberies, drug dealing, violence) in order to survive. CADEJO BLANCO unfolds through the eyes of a Sarita, who lives with her sister Bea and mother, in a working-class neighborhood in Guatemala City. One night after a party, Bea doesn’t come home. Convinced that her disappearance has something to do with Andrés, her sister’s dangerous ex, Sarita manages to befriend him and infiltrate his gang. Narrowly avoiding death at every turn, and with an unwavering determination in the face of the men who underestimate her, Sarita becomes increasingly involved with Andrés and the ruthless, violent world of his gang. As she searches for answers about what happened to her sister, she realizes that the truth is a lot more complicated than she could have imagined. In writing the screenplay, for CADEJO BLANCO director, producer, and co-editor Justin Lerner talks about how he relied heavily on the biographies of the young people he met from the gangs of Puerto Barrios. Much of the story is based on their real experiences as they were told to Lerner: their daily conflicts, the dangers in joining a clica, losing friends to violence and crime. We also discuss his casting of Karen Martinez into the complex role of Sarita and how she was able to deliver a superb, multi-faceted performance. For more go to: filmmovement.com/cadejo-blanco
Director Jalmari Helander drops us into all the murder and mayhem of the last desperate days of WWII. It’s there that we meet a solitary prospector (Jorma Tommila) as he crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-earth retreat in northern Finland. In the northern wilderness of Lapland a Finnish veteran Aatami Korpi is digging for gold while the war rages around him. Eventually, he hits a huge lode and starts journeying south with his riches. However, he quickly runs into a platoon of Nazis led by an SS officer Bruno Helldorf, who realize what he's carrying and try to take the gold for themselves. What follows is a brutal struggle and chase across the Lapland wilderness as Aatami, himself an established commando, uses every trick he knows to keep hold of the fortune he has earned. When the Nazis steal his gold, they quickly discover that they have just tangled with no ordinary miner. While there is no direct translation for the Finnish word “sisu”, this legendary ex-commando will embody what sisu means: a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination in the face of overwhelming odds. And no matter what the Nazis throw at him, the one-man death squad will go to outrageous lengths to get his gold back – even if it means killing every last Nazi in his path. Director Jalmari Helander (Big Game) joins us to talk about the film(s) that provided the inspiration for SISU, working with Jorma Tommila, and the way in which SISU has dramatically impacted his film career.For more go to: lionsgate.com/movies/sisu
DRY GROUND BURNING follows a fearsome outlaw Chitara in Sol Nascente, Brazil, who leads an all-female gang that siphons and steals precious oil from the authoritarian, militarized government. Just released from prison, Léa (Léa Alves Silva) returns home to the Brasilia favela of Sol Nascente and joins up with her half-sister Chitara (Joana Darc Furtado), the fearless leader of an all-female gang that steals and refines oil from underground pipes and sells gasoline to a clandestine network of motorcyclists. Living in constant opposition to Jair Bolsonaro’s fiercely authoritarian and militarized government, Chitara’s women claim the streets for themselves as a declaration of radical political resistance on behalf of ex-cons and the oppressed. Inventing its’ own cinematic language as it oscillates between a hard-edged documentary realism and dramatized explosive fantasy, DRY GROUND BURNING reunites filmmakers Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós (Once There Was Brasilia) presenting their unique vision of a post-apocalyptic afro-feminist matriarchal future. Co-director, co-writer and cinematographer Joana Pimenta joins us for a conversation on the film’s complicated shooting schedule, working with a blend of professional and non-professional actors, casting two sisters in the lead roles, working in Brazil as the country began to move away from the authoritarianism of Bolsonaro toward a more democratic future and her role as the Director of Film Study Center at Harvard University. For more go to: grasshopperfilm.com/dry-ground-burning
Director Saim Sadiq’s stunning debut feature explores the many sides of love and desire in a patriarchal society. It follows the gentle and timid Haider (Ali Junejo) who lives with his wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq), his father, and his elder brother’s family in Lahore, Pakistan. Following a long period of unemployment, Haider finally lands a job at a Bollywood-style burlesque, telling his family that he is a theater manager, when he is in fact a backup dancer for a captivating and strong-willed trans woman, Biba (Alina Khan), whom he soon becomes infatuated with. As the steadfast traditional dynamics of his household are shaken up, Haider begins to break out of his shell, while his connection with Biba opens his eyes and ultimately his worldview. Director, co-writer (Maggie Briggs) and co-editor (Jasmin Tenucci) Saim Sadiq joins us for a conversation on his decision to work with professional and non-professional actors, creating the space in the telling of this family’s story where complex subjects involving forbidden love, desire, societal expectations, and patriarchy are handled with loving respect and tenderness. Opening at the NuArt on Friday, April 21For more go to: joyland.oscilloscope.net
In an extraordinarily intimate feature documentary premiering Friday April 14, on SHOWTIME, Martin Scorsese’s Personality Crisis: One Night Only reveals the many faces of David Johansen. Continuing his vibrant and invaluable documentaries about iconic American artists and musicians such as George Harrison: Living in the Material World, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, and the Fran Lebowitz portrait Public Speaking, Scorsese, with an assist from co-director David Tedeschi, turns his camera on another beloved New York institution: the singular David Johansen. Equally celebrated as the lead singer-songwriter of the androgynous ’70s glam punk groundbreakers The New York Dolls and for his complete reinvention as hepcat Buster Poindexter in the ’80s, the chameleonic Johansen has created an entire genre unto himself, combining swing, blues, and rock for something at once mischievous and deeply personal. In Personality Crisis: One Night Only, Scorsese and co-director David Tedeschi (The 50 Year Argument), with the help of cinematographer Ellen Kuras (American Utopia), luminously capture the entertainer’s January 2020 Cafe Carlyle set, where he performs as Poindexter singing the Johansen songbook, bringing downtown irreverence to this storied uptown joint. Presented alongside new and archival interviews, the concert is marvelously intimate and a testament to both a lost New York and a performer who remains as fresh and exciting as ever. Co-director David Tedeschi, Co-writer, Editor (Rolling Thunder Revue) joins us to talk about his personal recollections on the meteoric rise of the Dolls, what makes David Johansen such an compelling storyteller and performer and his 20-year long working relationship Martin Scorsese.For more go to: sho.com/personality-crisis-one-night-only
MY ARCHITECT, is a deep dive into the life and times of world-famous architect Louis Kahn. Louis Kahn’s son Nathaniel always hoped that someday his father would come and live with him and his mother, but Kahn never left his wife. In 1974 Kahn was found dead in a men's room in Penn Station when Nathaniel was only 11years old. Kahn left behind a brilliant legacy of intensely powerful and spiritual buildings – geometric compositions of brick, concrete, and light, that in the words of the Los Angeles Times “change your life.” He is considered by many architectural historians the most important architect of the second half of the 20th century. Kahn’s dramatic death laid bare a complex personal life of secrets and broken promises: he led not a double, but a triple life. In MY ARCHITECT, Nathaniel travels the world visiting his father's buildings and haunts in this film, meeting his father's contemporaries, colleagues, students, wives, and children. He sets out to reconcile his father’s life and work. I.M. Pei, Frank Gehry, and Philip Johnson speak movingly of Kahn’s accomplishments (the Salk Institute, the Exeter Library, the Kimbell Art Museum, the Capital Complex of Bangladesh) and the women and children in his life shed light on this secretive, peripatetic man—a dynamo who gave selflessly to his art – but whose relationships were left on the drawing board, only to find completion in MY ARCHITECT. Director, Producer, narrator and son, Nathaniel Kahn joins us for a conversation on his current view of his father’s life, his collaboration with MY ARCHITECT cinematographer, Bob Richman, and the opportunity to share his compelling journey with a new audience through this newly restored and remastered version of his groundbreaking documentary. For more go to: myarchitectmovie.comFor theatrical and VOD go to: abramorama.com
From the filmmaking team of Amanda Pollak and Gene Tempest comes the illuminating documentary film, THE SUN QUEEN. For nearly 50 years, chemical engineer and inventor Mária Telkes applied her prodigious intellect to harnessing the power of the sun. She designed and built the world’s first successfully solar-heated modern residence and identified a promising new chemical that, for the first time, could store solar heat like a battery. And yet, along the way, she was undercut and thwarted by her boss and colleagues — all men — at MIT. Despite these obstacles, Telkes persevered and, upon her death in 1995, held more than 20 patents. She is now recognized as a visionary pioneer in the field of sustainable energy. An unexpected and largely forgotten heroine, Telkes was remarkable in her vision and tenacity — a scientist and a woman in every way ahead of her time. Her research and innovations from the 1930s through the ‘70s continue to shape how we power our lives today. Director / Producer Amanda Pollak and Writer / Producer Gene Tempest stop by to talk abut the life and times of Maria Telkas, her scientific and engineering acumen, the battles with institutional sexism, the enthusiasm she brought to the implementation of solar technology and the immense power of the fossil fuel companies to strangle the nascent solar power movement before it could gain public acceptance.To watch: pbs.org/the-sun-queen/American ExperienceFor more go to: insigniafilms.com
Produced by The Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation, TOMORROW’S HOPE brings us into the journey of passionate educators and tenacious kids and their families on the South Side of Chicago, determined to carve out the future despite a sea of incredible challenges. The film follows three present-day high school seniors who had started out in the Educare preschool’s first-ever class, exploring how they’ve navigated foreboding realities past and present, while also delving into the lingering ripple effects from their early childhood education. Through the eyes of audacious educators (originally from the community themselves) we also learn about the school’s harrowing yet remarkable early stages as "The Beethoven Project” located within "Forgotonia” – a name the film’s Portia Kennel uses to describe the environment. At the time, the school was located directly within the largest housing project in the country, in the nation's single poorest census tract. Yet despite a dangerous and discouraging external landscape – then and now – an entirely opposite message emerges from this educational community: “you matter.” Director Thomas Morgan (Waiting for Mamu, India’s Daughter) stops by to talk about how he became a part of this uplifting project, chronicling the successes of Educare’s students, and seeing former student of Educare paying it forward with their continuing support for the school. For more go to: tomorrowshopefilm.com
Acclaimed indie filmmaker Mickey Reece (AGNES, CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER) presents a bizarre reimagining of musical icons, COUNTRY GOLD. George Jones (Ben Hall) invites an up and coming country music superstar out on the town in Nashville the night before George is to be cryogenically frozen in 1994. Featuring gut-busting gags and hilarious allusions to real-life events, this fantasy comedy becomes an emotionally stirring tribute to the legacies we leave behind. Reece stars as emerging Country music star Troyal Brux (Mickey Reece), who resembles '90s-era Garth Brooks. One wild night in Nashville, Brux has a chance meeting with fellow legend George Jones, hours before Jones is to be cryogenically frozen. Director, producer and writer Mickey Reece joins us for a conversation on the inspiration for the film, how it dove-tails with his previous work, his decision to play the lead, Troyal Brux, and working again with the great Ben Hall. To watch go to: fandor.com/details/Country-Gold
Set in the suburbs of Boulogne-Sur-Mer in northern France, THE WORST ONES captures a film within a film as it follows the production of a feature whose director turns to the local Cité Picasso housing project for casting. Eager to capture performances of gritty authenticity, the director selects four working class teenagers to act in the film to the surprise and consternation of the local community, who question the director’s choice of “the worst ones.” As the director and crew audition, rehearse, film, and interact with their hand-picked cast, jealousies are stoked, lines are crossed, and ethical questions arise, with thought-provoking and at times darkly funny results.. Co-directors / co-screenwriters Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret join us for a conversation on the inspiration for their thought-provoking, compassionate drama, how their background as casting directors has helped them in the transition into directing and how their winning the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival has impacted their future plans. For more go to: kinolorber.com/the-worst-ones
The story behind the latest documentary from award-winning and Oscar nominated director John Sheinfeld, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS has to be seen to be believed. Blood, Sweat & Tears, known for hits such as “Spinning Wheel”, “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy”, and “And When I Die”, headlined the legendary Woodstock Festival and won multiple Grammy Awards, most notably 1970’s win for Album of The Year, beating The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” and “Johnny Cash Live at San Quentin.” This is the incredible never-before-told story about a top rock band that was unknowingly embroiled in a political rat’s nest involving the U.S. State Department, the Nixon White House and a controversial concert tour of Yugoslavia, Romania and Poland, countries that were behind what was then known as the Iron Curtain. As a result, they found themselves in the crosshairs of a polarized America -as divided then as it is now – and became an early victim of cancel culture. Written, produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker John Scheinfeld (The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Chasing Trane, Who Is Harry Nilsson?, Herb Alpert Is...), and executive produced by James Sears Bryant, the film was created with the full cooperation of Blood, Sweat & Tears. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS features never-before-seen film and photos of the band, as well as present day interviews with five of the nine band members including distinctive lead singer David Clayton-Thomas, sax player and musical arranger Fred Lipsius, innovative bass player Jim Fielder, outspoken guitarist Steve Katz and drummer and band leader Bobby Colomby.For more go to: bstdoc.com
Shot on 16mm, ENYS MEN is a mind-bending Cornish folk horror story set in 1973 that unfolds on an uninhabited island off the Cornish coast. A wildlife volunteer’s (Mary Woodvine) daily observations of a rare flower take a dark turn into the strange and metaphysical, forcing both her and viewers to question what is real and what is nightmare. Evoking the feeling of discovering a reel of never-before-seen celluloid unspooling in a haunted movie palace, this provocative and masterful vision of horror puts Mark Jenkin into the conversation as one of the Britain’s most exciting and singular filmmakers. ENYS MEN director, producer, writer and cinematographer Mark Jenkin (BAIT) joins us for a conversation on working with lead actor Mary Woodvine and how using his own lo-fi approach to filmmaking he was able to weave together a haunting sound design, discordant music, and a 1970’s style cinematography combined with a stark location that gives ENYS MEN a vaguely familiar folk tale its tormenting power.For more go to: neonrated.com/enys-men
SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING drops us into a devastating battle between a diabolical giant turtle and the elite defenders of civil society, Tobacco Force After the deadly encounter Tobacco Force is sent on a mandatory week-long retreat to strengthen their decaying group cohesion. Their sojourn goes wonderfully well until Lézardin, Emperor of Evil, decides to annihilate planet Earth. A wildly inventive new comedy from Quentin Dupieux follows the misadventures of a team of five superheroes known as the Tobacco Force - Benzene (Gilles Lellouche), Nicotine (Anaïs Demoustier), Methanol (Vincent Lacoste), Mercury (Jean-Pascal Zadi), and Ammonia (Oulaya Amamra). After a devastating battle against a diabolical giant turtle, the Tobacco Force is sent on a mandatory week-long retreat to strengthen their decaying group cohesion. Their sojourn goes wonderfully well until Lézardin, Emperor of Evil, decides to annihilate planet Earth. Director and writer Quentin Dupieux (Mandibles, Deerskin, Rubber) joins us for a conversation on the inspiration for a film that latches onto a dark and very twisted version Saturday morning children programming as a vehicle to deliver a powerful punch to self-absorbed complacency and climate denial in delivering a film that has a lot more on its mind that might first meet the eye.For more go to: magnetreleasing.com/smokingcausescoughing
Maggie (Dianna Agron) arrives at a small, run-down house in the middle of nowhere to find it defaced by big orange letters reading ACIDMAN and learns that this is the locals' nickname for her reclusive father (Thomas Haden Church). After a decade apart, Maggie's offhand explanation for her visit is that she just wanted to check in on him, but this doesn't ring true considering how difficult he was to find. The two awkwardly want to get to know one another (Dad seems more comfortable talking through his dog Migo, or through Bobby, Maggie's childhood sock puppet friend), but are at the same time scared about what increasing familiarity will bring. After Dad reluctantly brings her on one of his nighttime outings, Maggie realizes that his obsession with UFOs and communicating with extraterrestrial beings has only intensified over the years. She struggles to understand him, his single-mindedness and deteriorating mental health, all the while with her own life-changing news to share. Letting their relationship ebb and flow through anger, silly jokes, tender gestures, and sadness, ACIDMAN is a beautiful meditation on the cyclical nature of parenthood and the longing for connection. Director Alex Lehman (Asperger’s Are Us, Paddleton, Blue Jay) drops by to talk about his follow up to Blue Jay, how working with gifted actors Dianna Agron and Thomas Haden Church opened up the filmmaking into a more creative and character driven story.For more go to: brainmedia.com/acidman
From Academy Award® nominated filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi (FIRE AT SEA, NOTTURNO) comes IN VIAGGIO: THE TRAVELS OF POPE FRANCIS. Rosi chronicles the travels of the head of the Catholic church, Pope Francis, as he crisscrosses the globe to meet with political, secular and religious leaders. Composed mostly of archival footage, the film grants rare access to the public life of the pontiff, from the elevated security of his pulpit and traveling through large crowds to the personal interaction with impoverished, the frail and the incarcerated. In the first nine years of his pontificate, Pope Francis made 37 trips visiting 53 countries, focusing on his most important issues: poverty, migration, the environment, solidarity and war. Intrigued by the fact that two of Francis's trips - the first to the refugees landing in Lampedusa; the second in 2021 to the Middle East - so closely mirrored the itineraries of his films Fuocoammare (Fire At Sea, 2016) and Notturno (2020), Rosi follows the Pope's Stations of the Cross. He sees what he sees, hears what he says and creates a dialogue between archival footage of Francis' travels, images taken by Rosi himself, recent history and the state of the world today. Director Gianfranco Rosi joins us for a conversation on meeting Pope Francis, his affinity for connecting with people, the spiritual and metaphysical importance of the “journey” towards a greater understanding our own humanity. For more go to: inviaggiodoc.com
Director Ben Lawrence’s fly-on-the-wall documentary, ITHAKA, weaves together historic archive and intimate behind-the-scenes footage, as it tracks WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s father, John Shipton and Assange’s wife Stella Moris as they join forces to advocate for Julian’s freedom. We witness Shipton’s European odyssey to rally a global network of supporters, advocate to politicians and cautiously step into the media’s glare for his son. With Julian facing the possibility of extradition to the US, his family members are confronting the prospect of losing Julian forever to the abyss of the US justice system. The world’s most famous political prisoner, Julian Assange, has become an emblem of an international struggle over freedom of journalism, government corruption and unpunished war crimes. In light of Julian’s health declining in a British maximum-security prison and the American government pushing for him to face trial in the America, this David-and-Goliath struggle has become deeply personal for John and Stella. Director Ben Lawrence joins us to talk about ITHAKA’s timely reminder of the global issues at stake in this case, as well as an insight into the personal toll inflicted by the arduous, often lonely task of fighting for a cause bigger than oneself.For more go to: ithaka.movie
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Stephen Talbot’s THE MOVEMENT AND THE MADMAN shows how two anti-war protests in the fall of 1969 — the largest the country had ever seen — pressured President Nixon to cancel what he called his “madman” plans for a massive escalation of the U.S. war in Vietnam, including a threat to use nuclear weapons. At the time, protestors had no idea how influential they could be and how many lives they may have saved. Told through remarkable archival footage and firsthand accounts from movement leaders, Nixon administration officials, historians, and others, the film explores how the leaders of the antiwar movement mobilized disparate groups from coast to coast to create two massive protests that changed history. Director and Producer Stephen Talbot (The Best Campaign Money Can Buy, Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders) joins us for a lively conversation on an untold, but very important chapter in American presidential history that, had it played out as the Nixon Administration wanted, would have doomed hundreds of thousands Vietnamese people to nuclear annihilation, dramatically lower the world’s threshold for the use of weapons of mass destruction and set off a catastrophic reaction in the US population, already veering towards a domestic civil war. For more: pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperienceFor more on the filmmaker go to: movementandthemadman.com
In their illuminating and infuriating documentary film, PAY OR DIE, filmmakers Scott Alexander Ruderman and Rachael Dyer, cinematically ask the question, how and why are nearly 2 million type 1 diabetic Americans are being held for ransom? Without insulin, they would all be dead in days. PAY OR DIE follows 3 families on the receiving end of these ransom notes, revealing the harrowing reality of life with chronic illness in the richest country in the world. From a mother-and-daughter struggling to rebuild their lives after losing their home when they had to spend their rent money on insulin, to a young adult diagnosed with type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic, to a Minnesota family thrust into the national spotlight when their 26-year-old son dies from rationing his insulin, PAY OR DIE lays bare the human cost of America’s insulin affordability crisis. Co-directors Scott Alexander Ruderman and Rachael Dyer join us to talk about their own personal connection to the scourge of diabetes, the misconceptions about the disease and the people who are infected by it and the film’s premiere and Grand Jury Prize nomination at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival. For more go to: payordiefilm.comYou can help at: payordiefilm.com/get-involvedFind out the facts at: payordiefilm.com/facts
ALL THE WORLD IS SLEEPING follows Chama (Melissa Barrera), who as a young girl in New Mexico, strived to be different from her mother. Now in her twenties, she’s found herself falling into a similar cycle of generational addiction. This struggle then threatens her balance as a mother to her own daughter. As Chama tries to keep it all together, a harrowing accident will spiral her out of control, causing her daughter to be taken from her custody. With nothing left, she’ll have to confront her past in order to fight for a future — one that can either guide her closer to getting her daughter back or lead her deeper into this dangerous cycle. ALL THE WORLD IS SLEEPING centers the complex role of motherhood, addresses generational cycles of addiction and beautifully highlights a community that is not often represented in films. As a filmmaker whose own life has also been scarred by addiction, Director and writer Ryan Lacen joins us to talk about focusing a unique cinematic lens while shaping these stories to create a film that would feel both singularly raw and universally connected.For more go to: alltheworldissleeping.com
Dominik Moll’s brilliant new film, THE NIGHT OF THE 12th (La Nuit Du 12) is a contemplative look into the machinations of a confounding police investigation. It is said that all the investigators have a crime that haunts them. Without always knowing why the case starts spinning in their heads to the point of obsession. THE NIGHT OF THE 12th focuses on the young and ambitious Captain Vivés has just been appointed group leader at the Grenoble Criminal Squad when Clara's murder case lands on his desk. Vivés and his team investigate Clara's complex life and relations, but what starts as a professional and methodical immersion into the victim's life soon turns into a haunting obsession. It's clear that the attack was pre-meditated, and the violent nature of the crime suggests revenge. Vivés' team methodically digs through the details of Clara's life, uncovering her secrets in hopes of weeding out the killer. Certain their suspect is a scorned ex-lover, Vivés is confronted with another, more complicated question: which one? Posing uneasy questions about the male-dominated world of law enforcement, and their ability to handle the violent crimes routinely perpetrated against women victims. Winner of six César Awards (2023) including Best Film, Best Director (Dominik Moll), Best Adapted Screenplay (Gilles Marchand & Dominik Moll), Best Supporting Actor (Bouli Lanners), Best Sound (Francois Maurel, Olivier Mortier, Luc Thomas) and Most Promising Actor (Bastien Boullion) . Director and co-screenwriter Dominik Moll and Co-screenwriter Gilles Marchand join us to talk about the challenge of adapting the work of Pauline Guéna's book 18.3, and the joy of working with an outstanding group of veteran and promising new actors.For more go to: filmmovement.com/the-night-of-the-12th
Inspired by Matthew Miller and Matt Johnson’s THE DIRTIES, teenage angst, and a certainty that last thing people remember about high school is lesson plan, Ethan Eng’s hurls itself head first into everything else that makes high school memorable in his award winning debut film, THERAPY DOGS. Ethan and his best friend Justin are students trying to make sense of their high school existence. In what will be the last chapter of their teenage lives and the beginning of adulthood and beyond, they decide to make the ultimate senior video in the search for answers. Exploring teenage suburbia in a no-brakes adventure, questions arise whether there’s more to their lives than simply growing up. Director, writer and lead actor Ethan Eng joins us for a conversation on the remarkably accomplished debut film that masterfully blends together documentary, narrative, skater punk and high school “senior project” elements to create something wholly unique and compelling, as well as how his collaboration with fellow lead actor and producer Justin Morrice and enlisting Matthew Miller and Matt Johnson (The Dirties, Operation Avalanche) to be THERAPY DOGS executive producers.For more go to: therapydogs.world
Based on an explosive true story, I GOT A MONSTER retells in highly dramatic fashion one of the nation’s biggest police corruption scandals. In 2017, Baltimore was rocked by the Federal indictment of Wayne Jenkins, a highly decorated super-cop and leader of the Baltimore Police Department’s elite Gun Trace Task Force along with six other members on racketeering charges. In a city plagued by racial tension and violence, plain-clothes detectives from the Gun Trace Task Force had been celebrated for holding the Thin Blue Line, but in fact were terrorizing Baltimore’s Black community. These dirty cops were stealing and reselling millions of dollars of drugs while brazenly planting evidence and falsifying police reports. However, they didn’t plan for a campaigning defense attorney or a secret FBI wiretap operation to end their crime spree and expose decades of criminality inside the police department. I GOT A MONSTER takes viewers around every twist and turn of a real-life cat-and-mouse game where cops are also robbers and those meant to protect our safety turn out to be the ones jeopardizing it. Director Kevin Abrams (Left at the Rio Grande, Indirect Actions) joins us for a conversation on the depth and scope of police corruption within this decorated unit, as well as the havoc that was visited upon people, mostly, people of color, guilty of nothing except being in the wrong place, the flawed rationale behind the formation of “Special” police units and the citizens who stood up to the corruption and intimidation. For more go to: greenwichentertainment.com/i-got-a-monster
Co-directors Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev (a sister-and-brother filmmaking team) are native filmmakers who document a remarkable event of global significance in their Arctic homeland in the Academy Award nominated documentary short film HAULOUT. This urgent film follows a marine biologist living in the Siberian Arctic as he chronicles the planet’s largest walrus haulout. The gathering of thousands of these marine mammals is a consequence of climate change; warming seas have forced the walruses to congregate on land, where stampedes and trampling can result in fatalities. Co-director Evgenia Arbugaeva (Maxim Arbugaev) join us for a conversation on how they met and then decided to follow marine biologist Maxim Chakilev, the challenges of living at the site where Maxim was collecting data on the walruses and the moment Evgenia and her brother Maxim found out that they were the first Yakutian filmmakers to be nominated for an Academy Award.For more go to; gonella-productions.com/hauloutWatch HAULOUT at: newyorkeryoutubesub
When Elsa Mercado (Michelle Veintimilla) is released from prison after serving 16 years for killing her father, New York City Councilwoman Sandy James (Karen Pittman) and corporate attorney Paul Jenkins (Corey Stoll) are forced to grapple with their involvement in the original crime. WHAT WE DO NEXT is a timely emotional thriller sitting at the intersection of race, class and criminal justice. WHAT WE DO NEXT features a superb cast that includes Corey Stoll (Billions, House of Cards), Karen Pittman (The Morning Show, And Just Like That), Michelle Veintimilla (The Good Wife). Director, writer, and playwright Stephen Belber joins us to talk about the challenges working on a very tight shooting schedule, staging it on Zoom before an on set production, recruiting actors with a strong stage background and bringing in a cinematographer with an extensive documentary resume.For more go to: stephenbelber.com/film
Set in rural California and Mexico’s Pacific coast, director Rodrigo Reyes' documentary, Sansón and Me, is a moving portrait of the unlikely friendship of two Mexican migrants, told within the frame of the dramatic clash between systemic forces and personal choices that envelop young, incarcerated men of color in America. Sansón’s life is defined by borders—between Mexico and the United States, between freedom and incarceration, between fact and fiction. While serving two life sentences for first-degree murder in Pelican Bay State Prison, Sansón grapples with the ways he has traversed these borders, moving from country to country, from rural California to solitary confinement, and from the truths of his life to the mythologies he’s created. A tale told through dramatic re-enactments, Sansón and Me recreates a life of multilayered border crossing as told by Sansón to his interpreter-turned-friend, filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes. Director and producer joins us to talk about his vividly portrayal of Sansón’s life from orphaned Mexican child to American prisoner, focusing on one man’s attempt at reconciling the things that have happened to him and the things he has brought on himself. For more go to:itvs.org/sanson-and-meFor more on the work of Rodrigo Reyes go to: rrcinema.com
For generations, Monopoly has been America’s favorite board game, a love letter to unbridled capitalism and — for better or worse — the impulses that make our free-market society tick. But behind the myth of the game’s creation is an untold tale of theft, obsession and corporate double-dealing. Part detective story, part sharp social commentary and part pop-culture celebration, Ruthless: Monopoly’s Secret History presents the fascinating true story behind America’s favorite game. Contrary to the folksy legend spread by Parker Brothers, Monopoly’s secret history is a surprising saga that features a radical feminist, Lizzie Magie. a community of Quakers in Atlantic City, America’s greatest game company, and an unemployed Depression-era engineer. According to the official origin story, during the Great Depression, an amateur inventor named Charles Darrow sketched out the now-famous Monopoly board on a piece of oilcloth on his kitchen table. His game became a best-seller, Darrow became a wealthy man, and Parker Brothers was saved from bankruptcy. It was a classic American success story. But it wasn’t true. The real story behind the creation of the game might never have come to light if it weren’t for the determination of an economics professor and impassioned anti-monopolist named Ralph Anspach. Director and writer Stephen Ives joins us to talk about his own journey to unlock the vault of obfuscation and corporate greed regarding the forgotten history of this distinctively American rite of passage / iconic board game. To watch go to: pbs.org/americanexperience/ruthless-monopolyWritten and directed by Stephen Ives and executive produced by Cameo George, Ruthless: Monopoly’s Secret History premieres on AMERICAN EXPERIENCE on Monday, February 20, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS App.
Robert Machoian’s latest drama, The Integrity of Joseph Chambers recounts the riveting and morally convulsive drama an an insurance salesman and family man Joseph Chambers (Clayne Craawford) wants to acquire the skills to be able to take care of his family in case of an apocalypse. He decides to go deer hunting by himself for the first time ever, despite his wife’s objections. Setting out into the mountains with a borrowed rifle, Joe roams the woods aimlessly in his search for deer. His boredom is short-lived, however, when in the blink of an eye, Joe undergoes a traumatic experience. What starts as an experiment to prove himself as a capable father and husband turns into a nightmare as Joe finds himself faced with a terrible choice that he must make. Lead actor and Executive Producer Clayne Crawford (The Killing of Two Lovers, Convergence) joins us for a conversation on the inspiration for the troubling tale, juggling the in-front-of and behind the cameras as actor and producer and collaborating again with the brilliant writer and director Robert Machoian. For more go to: gravitasventures.com/the-integrity-of-joseph-chambers
When a policewoman, Samantha Romans, (Nadine Garner, Savage River, The Doctor Blake Mysteries) fails to intervene in a shooting where her own son dies, she draws the condemnation of her colleagues and community as well as the attention of ambitious journalist, Jamie Connard (Samantha Tolj). Keen to reignite the career she put on hold to have children, Jamie ignores Romans' pleas to be left alone and pursues her relentlessly. LINE OF FIRE is one part tragic ripped-from-the-headlines shooting, part 21st century online bullying, lives may be destroyed. LINE OF FIRE is a taut, riveting thriller from Down Under. And with nothing to lose, Romans retaliates by forcing Jamie into a night of terror that threatens everything Jamie holds dear. Nominated for Best Indie Feature at the 2022 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, LINE OF FIRE is sure to have audiences questioning their allegiances in a film they’ll not soon forget. Director Scott Major stops by to talk about the inspiration for his hard-hitting tale of revenge, the AACTA nomination, his collaboration with a fine cast of actors that includes award winning Nadine Garner, Samantha Doji, Damien Walshe-Howling and his screenwriter Christopher Gist.For more about the film go to: filmthreat.com/reviews/line-of-fire
Operation Enduring Freedom Army veteran Justin McLaughlin (Jesse Gavin), lives a life of solitude on his boat in Connecticut, working a menial job and avoiding his past. When his estranged brother Charlie (Joseph Poliquin), “Project Power”), goes missing, Justin is forced from isolation and teams up with a private investigator named Frankie to track him down. Together, they discover Charlie’s been recruited by an extremist militia planning an unknown attack. Justin must decide how much of his Army past he’s willing to expose to extract Charlie from the clutches of their paramilitary leader, Billy, while reconciling his own sense of purpose and regaining his brother’s trust. Set during the Covid-19 pandemic, NORTHERN SHADE focuses on purpose and redemption in an age of heightened anxiety and isolation. Director, producer and co-writer Christopher Rucinski joins us for a conversation on the inspiration for this relevant tale of social disenchantment and fractured family, as well as the challenges of making a first feature film in the midst of a pandemic, an ambitious shooting schedule and working with a terrific cast that includes Jesse Gavin (THe Burial, Loki) and Joseph Poliquin(Greyhound). bayviewentertainment.comOpening in LA at: laemmle.com/northern-shadeVirtual cinema: eventive.org/northernshade
Filmed on the real locations where the events took placr, Argentina, 1985 is inspired by the true story of Julio Strassera, Luis Moreno Ocampo and their young legal team of unlikely heroes in their David-vs-Goliath battle to prosecute Argentina's bloodiest military dictatorship against all odds and in a race against time to bring justice to the victims of the Military Junta. In the nascent days of the Argentine Republic's newly formed government after the restoration of democracy in 1983, newly appointed federal chief prosecutor Julio César Strassera (Ricardo Darin) and his assistant, deputy prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, (Peter Lanzani) led the investigation and the trial against the brutal military dictatorship that plunged Argentina into chaos for almost ten years. And entrusted with the Herculean task of putting the country's most powerful and dangerous men behind bars, the young lawyers and their inexperienced legal team played with fire while seeking justice for the crimes committed during the Dirty War of 1976-1983. Argentina, 1985 is the 2023 winner of the Golden Globe® winner for Best Picture (Foreign Language) and an Oscar® nomination for Best International Feature. Director and screenwriter Santiago Mitre joins us for a conversation on the cinematic challenge of finding the most effective way to tell the story behind the struggle to bring a measure of justice to the authoritarian leadership that ruled his beloved country, injecting a degree of humanity and humor into the film, working with his superb cast of actors and his personal satisfaction of seeing Argentinians embrace his film. For more go to: infinityhillfilms.com/argentina-1985To watch go to:amazon.com/Argentina-1985
From writer and director, Alice Rohrwacher, and Academy Award® winning producer, Alfonso Cuarón, “Le Pupille” is a tale of innocence, greed and fantasy. This 2023 Oscar® nominated Live Action Short is about desires, pure and selfish, about freedom and devotion, and about the anarchy that is capable of flowering in the minds of girls within the confines of a strict religious boarding. Inspired by a letter Italian novelist Elsa Morante sent to her friend, LE PUPILLE is a magical fable about a group of mischievous young Catholic schoolgirls during an imaginary wartime. Unfolding over the Christmas holiday, the orphaned girls find themselves blessed with a scrumptious red cake from a generous countess and must evade Mother Superior’s (Alba Rohrwacher) watchful eye for a taste of decadence. Alice Rohrwacher with her signature whimsical touch, crafts a joyously playful tale about childhood desire, greed and freedom. Director Alice Rohrwacher (The Wonders, Heavenly Body), joins us for a conversation on the challenge of finding the right tone and cadence for this beguiling tale, casting the “right” Serafina, working with her sister and her collaboration with her gifted collaborators. Le Pupille is available at: disneyplus.com
Kartiki Gonsalves’ enthralling and beguiling 2023 Oscar nominated documentary short, THE ELEPHANT WHISPERERS, follows an indigenous couple, Bomman and Bellie, as they fall in love with Raghu, an orphaned elephant given into their care, and tirelessly work to ensure his survival. The film highlights the beauty of the wild spaces of South India, and the oldest wild elephant reserve in Asia, Theppakadu Elephant Camp, as well as the people and animals who share this space. THE ELEPHANT WHISPERERS marks the directorial debut of Kartiki Gonsalves, a prolific wildlife and social documentary photographer, photojournalist and cinematographer. Raised in the Nilgiris Mountains of southern India where was filmed. THE ELEPHANT WHISPERERS director, co-writer and cinematographer Kartiki Gonsalves stops by to talk about returning to this stunningly beautiful region, meeting and spending time with Bomman, Bellie, Raghu and Ammu as well as forging what she describes as an “unbreakable bond” with these elephants.To watch go to: netflix.com/ElephantWhisperers*2023 Academy Award® Nominee for Best Live Action Short Film
Co-directors Anne Alvergue and Debra McClutchy unexpectedly moving and insightful 2023 Oscar nominated documentary short, THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT, is an archival-based portrait of one of the most unlikely whistleblowers in the history of Washington DC. During the course of the unfolding Watergate scandal, Mitchell was expected to keep quiet, she did not. As a consequence Mitchell was a Republican cabinet wife who was gaslighted by the Nixon Administration to keep her quiet. THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT offers a female gaze on the scandal through the voice of the woman herself and shows viewers why we need to believe women whistleblowers - something that sadly hasn't improved much since Martha's time. As President Richard Nixon himself once said, "If it hadn't been for Martha, there'd have been no Watergate.” Co-directors Anne Alvergue and Debra McClutchy join us for a conversation on the life and times of Martha Mitchell in Washington DC, how the behavior of her husband and Attorney General John Mitchell dramatically impacted her life, and how the unlikely friendship between Martha Mitchell and respected journalist Helen Thomas changed the course of American political history. THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT (currently streaming on Netflix). 2023 Oscar nomination for Best Documentary ShortAlso available on MUBI the-martha-mitchell-effect
Paris, summer 1942. Irene (Rebecca Marder, nominated for a 2023 César for Best Female Newcomer for her performance), is a vibrant 19-year-old aspiring actress without a care in the world. She is honing her passion for the theater, rehearsing for the entrance exam to the coveted Conservatory, making new friends and discovering love, without realizing that time is running out in Nazi-occupied France, as her close-knit family is watching. In turns enchanting and devastating, Ms. Kiberlain’s drama, which she also wrote, is not a traditional Holocaust narrative, but a unique coming-of-age tale about the freedoms of youth amidst a changing world, anchored by a star-making performance by Ms. Marder "which more than delivers on the luminous promise of the English title" (Screen Daily). Partly inspired by Ms. Kiberlain’s own family story, the film shows the dangers of complacency in the face of fascism, as well as moments of beauty that are possible even under the hardest of circumstances. Director Sandrine Kiberlain and Actor Rebecca Marder joins us for a conversation on the relevance of a story about isms - authoritarianism, fascism, anti-semitism, collaborating as director / actor and actor and finding the right balance tonally in a story that is guardedly optimistic about the aspirations of a young women as her world comes face-to-face with genocide. For more go to: filmmovement.com/a-radiant-girl
Cameron Edwin (Jim Gaffigan), the host of a failing children's science TV show called "Above & Beyond", has always had aspirations of being an astronaut. After a satellite falls from orbit and crashes into the suburban home of a dysfunctional family in Ohio, the father seizes the opportunity to fulfill his dream of becoming an astronaut by re-building it into his own rocket ship. While his wife and daughter believe he’s experiencing a midlife crisis, his relationship with his wife (Rhea Seehorn) and daughter (Katelyn Nacon) start to strain. A series of surreal events begin unfolding around him -- a doppelgänger moving into the house next door, a car falling from the sky, and an unusual teenage boy forging a friendship with him. As Cameron slowly starts to piece these events together to ultimately reveal that there's more to his life story than he once thought and forcing him to reconsider how interconnected their lives truly are. Director and writer Colin West joins us for a conversation on the inspiration for Linoleum, pulling together a wonderful cast that included, Michael Ina Black, Amy Hargreaves, and Tony Shalhoub, how comedian / actor Jim Gaffigan became the lead in this whimsical and poignant tale about taking chances and living without regret. For more go to: linoleummovie.com
Director Daniel Roher explores the life and work of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who, after years of campaigning against corruption, has developed powerful enemies – including President Vladimir Putin. In August 2020, Navalny was secretly poisoned with a military-grade chemical nerve agent in a shockingly brazen attempt on his life. Beyond his staff and his loyal family, Navalny ends up being secretly surrounded by a small group of investigative journalists including Bulgarian Christo Grozev with Bellingcat and Russian Maria Pevchikh with the Anti-Corruption Foundation who knew that the state would not investigate the poisoning. What to do with their findings culminates with Navalny's highly publicized return to Moscow on January 17, 2021. After being transferred to Germany for medical attention, a recovering Navalny worked closely with international news organizations Bellingcat and CNN to investigate the crime, ultimately linking the poison to Russian security services, despite denials from the Kremlin. Eye-opening and revelatory, NAVALNY chronicles the politician and activist’s brave stand against the government that tried to silence him – and his never-ending fight for democracy. Director Daniel Roher (Once We Were Brothers) stops by to talk about the 2023 Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature, what he did and did not know about Navalny, Vladimir Putin, Russian politics, gaining the trust of Alexei’s inner circle, and his personal reaction to some of the mind-boggling events that unfolded in front of his camera. For news and updates go to: dogwoof.com/navalny
CHILDREN OF THE MIST focuses on a village hidden in the mist-shrouded mountains located in the Northwest Vietnamese region where an indigenous Hmong community resides. It is the home of a 12-year-old girl named Di, Di is part of the first generation of her people with access to formal education. A free spirit, Di happily recounts her experiences to Vietnamese filmmaker Diễm Hà Lệ, who planted herself within Di's family over the course of three years to document this unique coming of age. As Di grows older, her carefree childhood gives way to an impulsive and sensitive adolescence, a dangerous temperament for what will happen next; in this insular community, girls must still endure the controversial but accepted tradition of "bride kidnapping." One night, when the young girl's parents return home from celebrating the Lunar New Year, they are shocked to find their house is silent: Di has disappeared. Winner of the Best Directing award at I.D.F.A and Shortlisted for the 2023 Academy Awards for Best Feature Documentary, Diễm Hà Lệ’s documentary, CHILDREN OF THE MIST, is a tender portrait of a community on the cusp between tradition and modernity, and one girl tragically stuck in the middle.For news & screenings go to: filmmovement.com/children-of-the-mist* 2023 Academy Award for Documentary Best Feature - ShortlistFor more go to: purinpictures.org/children-of-the-mistTo watch itunes.apple.com/children-of-the-mist
Inspired by the lawsuits filed in Florida challenging the state's abortion ban on the basis of religious freedom, Director Paula Eiselt’s UNDER G-D is a documentary short film about the national Jewish response to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization U.S. Supreme Court decision woven through the lived experiences of impacted Jewish women and the various lawsuits currently being launched by rabbis, Jewish organizations and interfaith leaders to challenge the overturning of Roe v. Wade, state by state. Through the lens of maintaining the separation between church and state, these nationwide efforts are predicated on ultimately protecting religious freedom – and democracy – for all. UNDER G-D weaves together the stories of a Jewish mother and activist in Indiana, a rabbi in Florida and lawyers throughout the country who are seeking to fight abortion bans in part by placing them in the legal and cultural context of religious freedom. In an ironic twist, the very laws that might support this work are the Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRAs), which have thus far been used to allow faith believers to make an end-run around civil rights protections, as in the notorious Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. or gay wedding cake cases at the U.S. Supreme Court. UNDER G-D introduces us to characters that are now flipping the very script used so effectively by Christian nationalists. Director Paula Eiselt (Aftershock, 93Queen) joins us to talk about the gathering momentum that these recent public protests and cases, as well as the work of Jewish leaders around the country are taking to protect women, and protect democracy, by preserving the constitutionally enshrined separation of church and state. For more go to: paulaeiselt.com/under-g_d
Adapted from Sandra Schulberg’s monograph, Filmmakers for the Prosecution retraces the thrilling hunt for film evidence used to convict the Nazis at the rst Nuremberg trial. The searchers were two sons of Hollywood – brothers Budd and Stuart Schulberg – serving under the command of OSS film chief John Ford. The motion pictures they presented in the courtroom became part of the social record and shape our understanding of the Holocaust to this day. Seventy-five years after the trial, French journalist and filmmaker Jean-Christophe Klotz returns to the German salt mines where films lay burning, uncovers never-before-seen footage, and interviews key figures to unravel why the resulting film about the trial – Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today by Stuart Schulberg – was intentionally buried by the U.S. Department of War. Klotz’s riveting lm also fills in the gaps of how these groundbreaking materials were sourced, and poses still-pertinent questions about the power of lm to write history. Producer Sandra Schulberg joins us for a conversation on the historic seminal importance of the film, the wide-ranging search for archival Nazi film, and the concerted effort by members of her family, Budd and Stuart Schulberg, and film icon John Ford to produce a film that would bring a measure of justice to war criminals and Holocaust perpetrators. For more go to: kinolorber.com/filmmakers-for-the-prosecution
The remarkable life and legacy of an NBA superstar and civil rights icon is captured in the documentary Bill Russell: Legend. This two-part film from award-winning director Sam Pollard features the last interview with Bill prior to his passing in 2022 as well as access to his sprawling personal archives. On the court, Russell went on to lead each and every one of his basketball teams to championships — two back-to-back NCAA titles, a gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, and 11 championship titles in his thirteen-year career as a Boston Celtic (his last two as the first Black head coach in NBA history). Off the court Russell was a force in the fight for human rights — marching with Martin Luther King Jr., leading boycotts in the NBA over racist practices and speaking out against segregation — efforts which earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Narrated by actors Jeffrey Wright and Corey Stoll and featuring exclusive interviews with the icon’s family and friends as well as Steph Curry, Chris Paul, “Magic” Johnson, Larry Bird, Jim Brown and more, Bill Russell: Legend illuminates the ways in which Russell stood tall in every sense of the word. Director Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI, Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power) joins us for a conversation on the player, the coach, the legend and the man who was one of the most influential figures in the history of sport and American civil society.Available on netflix.com/Bill Russell Legend
ATTACHMENT is a horror romance about Maja, a has-been actress in Denmark, who falls in love with Leah, a young, Jewish academic visiting from the UK. When Leah suffers a mysterious seizure, Maja fears their whirlwind romance might be cut short and decides to follow Leah back to her home in London. There, Maja meets her new downstairs neighbour Leah’s mother, Chana. An overbearing, seemingly religious and highly secretive woman, Chana seems resistant to all of Maja’s attempts to win her over. And as Maja notices strange occurrences in the building, she begins to suspect that Chana’s secrets could be much darker than first anticipated. Written for Josephine Park, Gislason's longtime friend, and loosely inspired by stories from her life. Set in the Hasidic area of North London, where Gislason lived for years, the film draws heavily on Yiddish folklore art and literature, portraying a highly fictionalized — but deeply affectionate — rendering of the culture that originated them. Award-winning actor David Dencik (No Time to Die, Men & Chicken) Josephine Park, Ellie Kendrick, and Sofie Gråbøl. Director Gabriel Bier Gislason joins us for a conversation on writing the script with a specific actor in mind, drawing upon his own religious background in creating this gripping folkloric Danish tale of demonic possession, Jewish tradition, a mother’s love and other intimate relationships. For more go to: shudder.com
In the feature documentary, PIANOFORTE director Jakub Piątek takes a deep dive into what is considered to be one of the most prestigious competitions in classical music, the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland. Held every five years since 1927, the event has been a career launchpad for such piano virtuosos as Krystian Zimerman, Mitsuko Uchida, Kevin Kenner, and Vladimir Ashkenazy. The competition itself is a real roller coaster of a classical ride, with extremely tough qualifying rules, multiple stages, legendary jurors (Arthur Rubinstein), and a whole lot of pressure. Jakub Piątek’s fly-on-the-philharmonic-wall documentary takes us behind the scenes of this fascinating contest. We meet some of the most talented young professional piano players from all over the world and watch them navigate this fever dream of a competition, along with its intense practices, new friendships, lots of drama, and even more nerves. “Sometimes I can only groan, and suffer, and pour out my despair at the piano!” said Chopin. Pianoforte is a testament to the power of remarkable music. Nearly two centuries later, it still inspires, excites, and, yes, causes some despair and suffering, too. Director Jakub Piątek (Prime Time, 2021) stops by to talk about the intensity and commitment each of the pianist brings to their craft, how he landed on following the wide variety musicians in the film and capturing the euphoria of an artist and music transcending the notes on a page. For more go to: sundance.org/program/PianoforteNominated, Grand Jury Prize / World Cinema - 2023 Sundance Film Festival
In Colin Askey’s jarring, tough-minded documentary LOVE IN THE TIME PF FENTANYL Vancouver, Canada is ground zero of the opioid crisis in Canada with fentanyl overdose deaths at an all-time high. To save lives and support their disenfranchized community, a group of current and former drug users volunteer at the Overdose Prevention Society (OPS), a safe injection site. These renegades supervised a drug consumption site that employs active and former drug users, the crew do whatever it takes to save lives and give hope to a deeply marginalized population while demanding more radical responses to the devastation ravaging their community. LOVE IN THE TIME PF FENTANYL reaches beyond the stigma of drug use, revealing the courage and compassion of those on the frontlines of the crisis. Director Colin Askey’s debut feature documentary looks beyond the stigmatization of injection drug users and offers hope and empathic ways to approach the crisis ravaging too many communities. For more go to: loveinthetimeoffentanyl.comLove in the Time of Fentanyl’s will premiere on PBS’s Independent Lens February 13, 2023 Winner of the Colin Low Award for Best Canadian Director
A Perfect Day for Caribou tells the story of just one day in the life of Herman (Jeb Berrier), Nate (Charlie Plummer), and Ralph. Herman is an alcoholic with a depleted appetite for life. It’s early morning as Herman speaks into a tape recorder, dictating a final message to his estranged son, Nate. As he rambles on about the last Caribou herd in North America, his mobile phone rings – it’s Nate, all these years later. Nate is an anxious young father reckoning with his past so he might move further into the future. That afternoon, they meet up at a cemetery on the edge of an unknown town. Nate brings his own boy along, a six year old named Ralph, who carelessly plays and runs around in the distance as Herman and Nate stumble through ten years worth of conversation. They navigate hills and valleys, forests and open plains. All the while, in an uneven and awkward pattern, they attempt to connect with one another. A Perfect Day for Caribou tells the story of just one day in the life of Herman, Nate, and Ralph. Director, producer and writer Jeff Rutherford (My Mother is a Fish, Rainbow Pie) joins us to talk about the orgin story that inspired the film, working with the outstanding lead actors in the film, Charlie Plummer (King Jack, Lean on Pete) and Jeb Berrier (Documentary Now!, Portlandia) and choosing to go black and white. For more go to: aperfectdayforcaribou.comslamdancechannel.com/a-perfect-day-for-caribouFind out more at: slamdance.com
After years of living with mysterious symptoms, a young girl from Brooklyn and a Duke University scientist are diagnosed with a disease said to not exist: Chronic Lyme disease. The Quiet Epidemic follows their search for answers, which lands them in the middle of a vicious medical debate. What begins as a patient story evolves into an investigation into the history of Lyme disease, dating back to its discovery in 1975. A paper trail of suppressed scientific research, and buried documents reveals why ticks-and the diseases they carry-have been allowed to quietly spread around the globe. According to a new CDC estimate, 476,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease yearly in the United States alone, yet our public health agencies and policymakers remain largely unresponsive. The same small group of doctors and public health officials have continued to control the science and the narrative of denial for decades. Co-directors and Lyme disease survivors, Winslow Crane-Murdock & Lindsay Keys join us for a conversation on how their personal travails with Lyme disease has fortified their resolve to raise a greater societal awareness of this insidious and treacherous disease. Nearly as daunting as their own battle with Lyme has been getting a callous, profit over people health care system’s failure to recognize the validity of the disease and take the long overdue steps to deliver appropriate care to the hundreds of thousands people struggling to survive it. For more go to: thequietepidemic.comDistributed by: firstrunfeatures.com/quietepidemic
There has been a Laemmle in the movie business since there’s been a movie business. ONLY IN THEATERS shines a spotlight on the beloved Arthouse Cinema chain with an astonishing Hollywood legacy that includes four generations of Laemmle’s dedicated to elevating the art of filmmaking and the filmmakers who make them. Responsible for bringing foreign film to Los Angeles and popularizing countless foreign independent films and their filmmakers, the Laemmle Theatres’ impact on Hollywood and world cinema cannot be overstated. In a world of growing conglomeration, the Laemmle circuit of theatres has become even more of an anomaly: a family-owned and operated art house theatre chain. Filmed over 2 1/2 years, ONLY IN THEATERS, chronicles a family business, and their determination to survive. But in a changing world this is also a story about the future of Cinema. Interviews with Ava DuVernay, Cameron Crowe, James Ivory, Nicole Holofcener, and others. ONLY IN THEATERS, a film by actor /director Raphael Sbarge who follows one of the most dedicated members of the Laemmle clan, Greg, the intimate and moving journey have been taken by the Laemmle family, spanning nearly three years of challenges, losses, and personal triumphs. Director Raphael Sbarge (Emmy Nominated for directing “LA FOODWAYS,”) and subject Greg Laemmle joins us for a conversation on the sheer joy of getting to know world class artists, writers, producers and director, connecting with a wildly diverse community of people who support them as well as a being the preferred platform for many of the world’s most influential and talented filmmakers. For more go to: onlyintheaters.com For filmmakers: thefilmcollaborative.org/onlyintheaters
Born with a disability so rare that no reliable statistics for it existence, filmmaker Ella Glendining wonders if there is anyone who can share the experience of living in a body like hers. In her documentary feature debut, Ella poses this simple question, IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE. It’s a question which non-disabled people often take for granted. IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE leads to a journey to not only others who live like her, but to the realization that meeting them changes how she sees herself in the world. With intimate personal diaries, conversations with similarly bodied people and doctors treating her condition, and a searching and unique perspective, Is There Anybody Out There? invites the viewer to consider questions and assumptions they may have never encountered before. Are people born this way to be “fixed” by medicine? Is it ableist to see disabled people as living an undesired existence? With warmth and an infectious joy for her body and life as it is, Glendining takes you on an unforgettable experience that will change how you see others, like and unlike you. Director and writer Ella Glendining joins us to talk about her search for a similarly bodied person, traveling to America, meeting a well-known surgeon specializing in corrective surgery, her life affirming takeaway from the quest and the pride that comes with being an accomplished filmmaker. For news and updates go to: hotpropertyfilms.com
Guðmundur Arnar Gudmundsson searing drama, BEAUTIFUL BEINGS drops us into the tumultuous life of Addi, a boy raised by a clairvoyant mother, decides to adopt a bullied misfit into his gang of outsiders. Left to their own devices, the boys explore aggression and violence but also learn about loyalty and love. As their behavior escalates towards life–threatening situations, Addi begins to experience a series of dreamlike visions. Can his newfound intuition guide him and his friends back to a safer path, or will they dive irrevocably into further violence? The latest feature from Icelandic writer/director Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson following his 2016 feature debut Heartstone, which premiered at the Venice Days Competition and went on to receive over 50 international awards. Director and writer Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson joins us for a conversation on his creative inspirations and personal recollections that brought him to tell a story about friendship, the importance of role models, self-acceptance and intuition. For more go to: alteredinnocence.net/beautifulbeingsBeautiful Beings is Iceland’s submission for Best International Feature for the 2023 Academy Awards®
Angel Ellis is just trying to do her job. She’s a reporter for Mvskoke Media in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, and she wants to give her readers access to all the information relevant to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. But that’s not an easy task, given that Angel and her colleagues believe in truth and transparency and aren't afraid to challenge the integrity of some questionable tribal officials. Fast-forward to a confusing whirlwind of an emergency session at the National Council, where the 2015 Free Press Act is repealed, Mvskoke Media's independent editorial board is dissolved, and the newspaper is placed under the direction of the Secretary of the Nation and Commerce. Now the real fight begins. Co-directors Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler tell a nuanced, empowering tale of a modern Native community fighting for transparency and access to information in order to hold their government accountable. Bad Press is an energizing watch — full of humor, humanity, and numerous twists and turns. Watch Bad Press at: festival.sundance.org/program/Bad Press
Vienna, 1938: Austria is occupied by the Nazis. Dr. Josef Bartok (Oliver Masucci) is preparing to flee to America with his wife Anna when he is arrested by the Gestapo. As a former notary to the deposed Austrian aristocracy, he is told to help the local Gestapo leader gain access to their private bank accounts in order to fund the Nazi regime. Refusing to cooperate, Bartok is locked in solitary confinement. Just as his mind is beginning to crack, Bartok happens upon a book of famous chess games. To withstand the torture of isolation, Bartok disappears into the world of chess, maintaining his sanity only by memorizing every move. As the action flashes forward to a transatlantic crossing on which he is a passenger, it seems as though Bartok has finally found freedom. But recounting his story to his fellow travelers, it's clear that his encounters with both the Gestapo and with the royal game itself have not stopped haunting him. Adapted with opulent attention to period detail by filmmaker and opera director Philipp Stölzl, CHESS STORY brings Stefan Zweig's stirring final novella to life featuring an impressive ensemble cast featuring Oliver Masucci (When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Never Look Away), Albrecht Schuch (Berlin Alexanderplatz, System Crasher), Birgit Minichmayr (3 Days in Quiberon, The Goldfish) and Rolf Lassgård (A Man Called Ove).
And the king said, “what a FANTASTIC MACHINE” is a thought-provoking examination of humanity’s infatuation with itself, and with framing the world through the camera’s lens. In the process, the filmmakers also raise the question of societal consequences stemming from the image output of 45 billion cameras on the planet (total expected in 2022). Utilizing the best element of the archival genre, this often-comical documentary, FANTASTIC MACHINE, take us from the Camera Obscura to the early days of photography and the moving image, when the monetization and exploitation of image was first embraced. Moving past historical landmarks in image-creation, the Filmmakers land squarely on our modern times, when our 45 billion cameras worldwide will contribute to 500 hours of images uploaded onto the internet every minute. Award-winning Co-directors Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck bring their trademark humor, keen socio-anthropological eye, and penetrating point of view to our screens, allowing for a great deal of laughter amidst the thought provoking self-reflection and sometimes shocking self-assessment.For more go to: plattformproduktion.se
In “SEARCHING: Our Quest For Meaning In The Age Of Science,” physicist and best-selling author Alan Lightman investigates how key findings of modern science help us find our bearings in the cosmos. What do these new discoveries tell us about ourselves, and how do we find meaning in them? Throughout the highly cinematic three-part series, Alan takes viewers along on his journey of exploration – from prehistoric paintings in a French cave to a giant subatomic particle accelerator in Switzerland; from a Harvard laboratory where biologists are attempting to create living cells from scratch to the laboratories that detected the first gravitational waves; and to the quiet of a Buddhist temple. We travel from the infinity of the small to the infinity of the large, meeting with the co-discoverer of one of the most distant galaxies yet known. Across the series, Alan also interviews brain scientists, physicists, astronomers, philosophers, ethicists and faith leaders who offer contrasting perspectives on the interplay between contemporary scientific research and the humanities. Adding to the diversity of perspectives is a dynamic conversation with Bina48, the world’s most advanced humanoid robot. Series producer and host Alan Lightman joins us to talk about his journey to explore many of the vexing and eternal questions with a wide array men and women To watch: pbs.org/searching-our-quest-meaning-age-scienceFor more go to: searchingformeaning.org
From Emmy and Peabody winning directors Gédéon and Jules Naudet comes an in-depth examination of JANUARY 6TH from the unique perspective of the heroes, first responders, and survivors of the attack. JANUARY 6TH is the complete story of the attack on the Capitol told by those who witnessed the chaos first-hand. The film succeeds in telling the story of this unprecedented moment in history as a human event and without political bias. In the moments where the worst of humanity is on display, there will always be heroes who step up as shining examples of courage and selflessness in the face of tragedy. Through JANUARY 6TH Naudet brothers reveal countless acts of bravery on display that day, both big and small. It’s an apolitical story of resilience and bravery that features Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the DC Police Chief, Chief Robert J. Contee III, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, and over 50 Senators, Representatives, staffers from both sides of the aisle, and police officers as they reveal their first-hand experience of the attack. It is the only documentary for which the Capitol and Metropolitan Police Departments granted full access to their officers. Co-directors Gédéon and Jules Naudet (9/11, November 13: Attack on Paris, The Presidents ) join us for a conversation on their painstaking efforts to get the story of January 6th told from as many perspectives as possible and to take the viewer from the steps of the Capital to the House and Senate and ending with the men and women who fought to save the citadel of democracy from the seditious mob bent on unraveling our democracy. JANUARY 6th premieres Thursday, January 5, 2023 on Discovery+ For more on JANUARY 6th go to: discovery+
Andreas Fontana’s AZOR takes us to Argentina, the late 1970s as a private banker Yvan (Fabrizio Rongione) arrives from Geneva with his wife Ines (Stéphanie Cléau) to replace a colleague who has mysteriously disappeared in military-ruled Buenos Aires. Moving through the smoke-filled lounges and lush gardens of a society under intense surveillance, he finds himself untangling a sinister web of colonialism, high finance, and a nation's “Dirty War”. In his remarkably assured debut, Swiss director Andreas Fontana invites us into this seductive, moneyed world where political violence simmers just under the surface. Co-written by Argentinian filmmaker Mariano Llinás (La Flor), Azor is a riveting look at international intrigue worthy of John le Carré or Graham Greene. Yvan De Wiel, a private banker from Geneva, is going to Argentina in the midst of a dictatorship to replace his partner, the object of the most worrying rumours, who disappeared overnight. Between hushed lounges, swimming pools and gardens under surveillance, a remote duel between two bankers who, despite different methods, are the accomplices of a discreet and merciless form of colonization. AZOR’s director Andreas Fontana joins us for a conversation on the ways in which he dissects this haunting, opaque, seductive world where are little about it is as it seems and where a misstep can cost those who choose to live in it their life. For more go to: mubi.com/films/azorTo watch go to: alinafilm.com/azorFor more on the streaming service MUBI or mubi.com/youtube
This intimate documentary, HOW TO SAVE A DEAD FRIEND, explores the turbulent story of Marusya Syroechkovskaya, a suicidal 16-year-old as she falls in love with a humorous grunge kid named Kimi Morev. Fueled by drugs and music, the inseparable couple films the euphoria, anxiety and misery of their precarious existence under the shadow of their oppressive government. In the “depression Federation” (Russia), governed by leaders keen to bring forth an authoritarian dream, millennial suicides have become omnipresent – a last act of self-will among a generation denied the chance to envision a better future. Their unbreakable love story takes hold in this destructive world, and Marusya uses her camera to chronicle it all – from the rise of hope as she and Kimi get married and begin their lives together, to the ever-increasing threat from their country’s internal weapons of isolation and division. Captured over 12 years, this raw, exuberant, and moving love story, provides insight into a silenced generation of rebellious youths struggling to survive in Putin’s Russia. Marusya’s camera now becomes her last chance to save something of the fragile Kimi. Director Marusya Syroechkovaya HOW TO SAVE A DEAD FRIEND speaks the language of a disenfranchised, silenced generation fluently, as it “saves” one voice from being lost forever.For more go to: howtosaveadeadfriend.com
ART & KRIMES BY KRIMES explores the world of art and confinement and how imprisonment often work against the greater social good. The engaging documentary on an artist, Jesse Krimes, locked up for six years in federal prison. He spends a good deal of his time secretly creating a monumental work of art—including an astonishing 30-foot mural made with prison bed sheets, hair gel, and newspaper. Krimes smuggles out each panel piece-by-piece with the help of fellow artists, only seeing the mural in totality upon coming home. As Jesse’s work captures the art world’s attention, he struggles to adjust to life outside, living with the threat that any misstep will trigger a life sentence. In addition to a focus on the stunning work of Jesse Krimes, ART & KRIMES BY KRIMES also features the work of formerly incarcerated artists Russell Craig, Jared Owens and Gilberto Rivera. Director, Writer, Producer and award-winning filmmaker Alysa Nahmias joins us for a conversation on confinement, loss, creativity and how her vérité filmmaking captured the jagged life of Jesse Krimes, from broken childhood through to his triumphant gallery show. For updates and screenings go to: krimesfilm.com
HIDDEN LETTERS explores the saga of women in China as it pertains to their history of being forced into oppressive marriages as well as forbidden to read or write by their households for thousands of years. To cope, they developed and shared a secret language among themselves called Nushu. Written in poems or songs with bamboo pens on paper-folded fans and handkerchiefs, these hidden letters bonded generations of Chinese women in a clandestine support system of sisterhood, hope and survival. Spanning between past and present, from sunken rice fields and rural villages to bustling metropolitan cities, HIDDEN LETTERS follows two millennial Chinese women who are connected by their fascination with Nushu and their desire to protect its legacy. In Jiangyong, Hu Xin works as a Nushu museum guide and aspires to master the ancient script following the breakup of her marriage. In Shanghai, Simu is passionate about music and Nushu, but marital expectations threaten to end her pursuit of both. Influenced by Nushu’s legacy of female solidarity, the two women struggle to find balance as they forge their own paths in a patriarchal culture steeped in female subservience to men. Director Violet DuFeng (Please Remember Me, Dear Mother) joins us for an enlightening conversation on the history of Nushu, the pressure that was and continues to be brought down on the women who have carried the torch of this specialized language and the unbreakable bonds its usage has forged, generation upon generation. For more go to: cargofilm-releasing.com/hidden-lettersTo watch go to: hiddenlettersfilm.com
Based on the play by Kaite O’Reilly, THE ALMOND AND THE SEAHORSE is the directorial debut of both notable actor and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter Celyn Jones; and Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated cinematographer Tom Stern. Sarah (Rebel Wilson) is an archaeologist who loves her husband Joe (Celyn Jones) but after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) their love is trapped in the past. Toni (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is an architect and loves her partner Gwen (Trine Dyrholm) but after a TBI they have been imprisoned in a fifteen-year loop. Love is the only thing that keeps them all going but something has changed, and both Sarah and Toni are determined to not let it all unravel as they face their fears of being forgotten by the people they love most. Co-director, co-writer and co-star Celyn Jones (Six Minutes to Midnight, Born a King) joins us for a conversation working with his award winning, frequent Clint Eastwood collaborator, co-director and cinematographer Tom Stern, assembling a superb cast of actors and the challenge being in front of the camera and in the director’s chair for his debut feature film project. For more go to: ifcfilms.com/the-almond-and-the-seahorse
When Hurricane Katrina left more than 250,000 pets stranded, the infrastructure of a nation-wide dog rescue effort was born. Since then, millions of Southern rescue dogs have been transported to new homes thanks to the tireless efforts of a grassroots network of dog rescuers. And while the media has popularized the image of dogs climbing out of transport trucks into the arms of eager adopters, little attention has been paid to the other side of the story. FREE PUPPIES! travels across the country's political divide to explore one of the many areas where no public animal services exist, and volunteers -- many of them women -- step in. The story follows rescuers Monda Wooten, Ann Brown, and Ruth Smith, and the network of independent “rescue ladies” who patrol vast rural counties in the Tennessee Valley caring for stray and surrendered dogs. Their grassroots efforts to start up a spay-and-neuter program, rescue countless dogs from euthanasia and neglect, and place them in loving "forever homes" will pluck at the heartstrings of any dog person. Co-director Samantha Wishman (Christina Thomas) and film subject Monda Wooten joins us to talk about the national crisis of lost, abused and shelterless animals, the reasons why the South has an epidemic of unrescued dogs and the volunteers and organizations that are stepping forward so that you can have your own free puppy / kitten. For more go to: freepuppies.usFor more great films go to: firstrunfeatures.com/freepuppiesSupport the organizations featured in Free Puppies and more!Available on iTunes now!
UNVEILED: SURVIVING LA LUZ DEL MUNDO explores the horrifying, yet relatively unknown story of the Christian church La Luz del Mundo (LLDM) and the sexual abuse that scores of members, many of them minors, say they have suffered at the hands of its successive leaders, known as the “Apostles.” Told from the point of view of the survivors who met on Reddit to share their stories of abuse, the series chronicles the history of one of the most powerful religious groups not only in Mexico where it was founded, but also in the United States, while giving voice to the men and women who were brave enough to stand up and call out the heinous crimes. Under the guise of the only true church offering eternal salvation, LLDM, which claims to have congregations in over 50 countries and over five million followers, was founded in 1926 by Aarón Joaquín Gonzalez. Joaquín Gonzalez was succeeded by his son and then grandson, all three Apostles said to be appointed by “divine revelation.” Now, scores of former members have come forward to describe how the Apostles built and maintained a system to procure and groom children for abuse. The series culminates in the events leading up to the 2019 arrest of the current Apostle, Naasón Joaquín García and his present-day trial, shedding light on a story that was all but ignored by mainstream media, and illustrating the positive power of social media to unite and provide agency to the survivors. Award-winner filmmaker Jennifer Tiexiera joins us to talk about the power and reach of the “Apostles”, the church followers and their work to intimidate and undermine the credibility of the abused, the kind of high powered legal protection that money can buy and the courage of, not only the abused, but their loved ones to bring some measure of justice to the church. For more go to: hbo.com/unveiled-surviving-la-luz-del-mundo
On a cold night in February 2018, police enter a home in a Slovakian village and find a bloody crime scene. The body of Ján Kuciak, a 27-year-old investigative journalist, lies face-down near the front door. He has been shot twice in the chest. In the kitchen is his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, shot once in the head. The killings of the young couple — who had planned to soon marry — inspire the biggest protests in Slovakia since the fall of communism, and spark the fall of the Slovakian government. When a young police investigator pieces together the chain of events, he unearths a bizarre tale. The brutal murder ignited one of the biggest protests in Slovakia since the fall of communism. As colleagues and family search for answers, a source leaks a secret case file of the murder that reveals corruption at the highest level of government. Filmmaker Matt Sarnecki shapes a concise and thrilling reminder of the rising threat journalists around the world face to deliver the truth. Director Matt Sarnecki joins us for a conversation on the series of events that led him into documenting the unbelievable level of corruption in an Eastern European country, generally regarded as a major success, as well as the very real threat journalist are facing, not just in Slovakia, but around the world and how that will impact the health of teetering democracies everywhere. For updates go to: finalcutforreal.dk/the-killing-of-a-journalist
Magnus Gertten’s powerful new documentary NELLY & NADINE is the unlikely love story between two women falling in love on Christmas Eve 1944, in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. A Belgian prisoner and opera singer Nelly Mousset-Vos had been asked to sing Christmas carols in one of the French populated Ravensbrück barracks. After a couple of songs, a Chinese born woman and fellow prisoner, Nadine Hwang, calls out from the dark: ”Sing something from Madame Butterfly!”. Despite the two being separated in the last months of the war, Nelly and Nadine manage to later reunite and spend the rest of their lives together. For many years their love story was kept a secret, even to some of their closest family. Now Nelly’s granddaughter, Sylvie, has decided to open Nelly and Nadine’s unseen personal archives and uncover their remarkable story. Director Magnus Gertten (Every Face Has a Name, Harbour of Hope) stops by to talk about his enthralling exploration of Nelly & Nadine and their remarkable stories, their wartime suffering, the shared mysteries, love against all odds, the healing power of music, well kept secrets, and the complicated family stories of concentration camp survivors, and dealing with the ghosts of the past.For more go to: autoimages.se/nelly_nadineAvailable at: wolfereleasing.com/Nelly & Nadine
In his first film in seven years, legendary director Jerzy Skolimowski (Deep End, Moonlighting) directs one of his most free and visually inventive films yet, following the travels of a nomadic gray donkey named EO. After being removed from the traveling circus, which is the only life he’s ever known, EO begins a trek across the Polish and Italian countryside, experiencing cruelty and kindness in equal measure, all the while observing the follies and triumphs of humankind. During his travels, EO is both helped and hindered by a cast of characters including a young Italian priest (Lorenzo Zurzolo), a Countess (Isabelle Huppert), and a rowdy Polish soccer team. Loosely inspired by Robert Bresson’s Au hasard Balthazar, and featuring immersive, stunning cinematography by Michal Dymek coupled with Pawel Mykietyn’s resonant score, Skolimowski’s film puts the viewer in the perspective of its four-legged protagonist. EO’s journey speaks to the world around us, an equine hero boldly pointing out societal ills, and serving as warning to the dangers of neglect and inaction, all while on a quest for freedom. Director Jerzy Skolimowski and Writer Ewa Piaskowska join us for a conversation on EO’s jolting and sublime trek across the Polish and Italian countryside, as well as his collaboration with his filmmaking team, including cinematographer Michal Dymek, composer Pawel Mykietyn and writer / partner Ewa Piaskowska to burnish this heartfelt cinematic masterpiece. For more go to: eo.official.filmTo watch in a theatre go to: eo.official.film/buy-tickets
In Patty Ivins Specht’s latest documentary film, DECONSTRUCTING KAREN, follows the work of Regina Jackson and Saira Rao as they continue to challenge the pall of racism through their RACE2DINNER — a movement to inspire white women to confront themselves and to acknowledge their own racism and complicity in white supremacy. The dinners will remind you of your favorite childhood memory of playing the game Clue. The most dangerous person in the room is never the obvious suspect. What if the bible-thumping, conservative Trump voter isn’t any more racist than the liberal yoga teacher who screams “love is love” What if well-intentioned liberal white women actively play a role in upholding racism and white supremacy? In this provocative documentary, white women experience RADICAL HONESTY ABOUT RACISM…their daily role in upholding it, their conditioning to ignore it and the essential part they can play in tearing down the systems that are killing black and brown people every single day. Director, producer and writer Patty Ivins Specht joins us for a conversation on the why confronting white women is vital to breaking the stranglehold that latent and overt racism has on America, connecting with the organizers of RACE2DINNER, Regina Jackson and Saira Rao and her reaction to the spirited conversations showcased in her insightful new film, Deconstructing Karen. For more go to: deconstructingkaren.com
ONODA: 10,000 NIGHTS in the JUNGLE is based on the true story of Hiroo Onoda, the legendary Japanese soldier who spent 30 years in the Philippine jungle, refusing to surrender because he was convinced World War II had not ended. Camouflaged by leaves and bark, shooting water buffalo for sustenance, Onoda will not believe even the recordings of his brother’s voice, imploring him to give up, or the magazine articles left for him in the jungle, meant to enlighten him about a world that had changed dramatically since 1944. (His response: paranoid conspiracy theories about the enemy concocting fake news.) Was Onoda a self-deluded fanatic or a paragon of patriotism? Harari’s poignant, epic drama reveals the complexities of the man who became a modern myth – and the inspiration for Werner Herzog’s recently published novel, The Twilight World. Director Arthur Harari (Dark Illusions) joins us to talk about the first time he heard this far-fetched tale, the importance of striking a balance heroic commitment and delusional denial, and the reaction to the film in Japan.For more go to: darkstarpics.com
AS FAR AS THEY CAN RUN takes us to rural to Pakistan, where families with disabled children have few options. Some desperate parents keep their children locked up or even chained. When athletic coaches from Karachi persuade the parents of three teenagers -- Ghulam, Sana, Sajawal – to allow the kids to participate in a sports training program as part of a Special Olympics initiative, the families glimpse the hope that living with disability doesn’t have to mean that their children are "useless." But they and the coaches must confront the question of what sports can—and cannot—change. Over a one-year period, Iranian American filmmaker Tanaz Eshaghian follows three disabled children and their families as they grapple with shame and prejudice in rural Pakistan to realize new talents and a sense of belonging through sports. Intimate and unflinching, hopeful and tragic, AS FAR AS THEY CAN RUN is a fascinating look at those who are struggling to find acceptance and worth in a society that had relegated them to the margins. Director Tanaz Eshaghian joins us for a conversation on all of the daunting challenges, physical, logistically and psychologically in shooting the children and their situation, as well as the joy of seeing the benefit the program has on their lives. To watch: paramountplus.com/movies/As Far As They Can Run
ANGOLA, DO YOU HEAR US chronicles the most important performance of acclaimed Playwright Liza Jessie Peterson life: a 2020 appearance on the chapel stage of the Louisiana State Penitentiary. The prison, with its 6,000 incarcerated men and 18,000 acres of farmland, is better known as Angola, after the homeland of the enslaved people who once labored on the site of the former plantation. Peterson’s journey there, to deliver her one-woman production of “The Peculiar Patriot,” begins many years earlier when she takes a job teaching poetry to incarcerated teenagers at Rikers Island. What begins as a way to pay bills between auditions becomes inspiration, as Peterson strives to expose America’s modern-day plantation system, the prison-industrial complex that imprisons African-Americans for profit. The electrifying performance, speaking truth to power before a fired-up full house, is cut off prematurely when authorities at the prison have heard enough. But the day ends in triumph, as the audience, and an entire prison watching remotely, joins Peterson with defiantly raised fists. Cinque Northern’s film, which utilizes his own original footage and animation, captures the performance and the transformational wake of its shutdown, as told by Peterson and the incarcerated people themselves – all despite the prison’s efforts to pretend nothing ever happened.To find out more: cinquenorthern.com/apeculiarsilenceWatch at: paramountplus.com/movies/Angola: Do You Hear Us
The Documentary Short, ANASTASIA spotlights the life of Russian civil rights activist Anastasia Shevchenko as she faces the brutal repercussions of speaking out against her government. She endured house arrest for two years, and became the first person found guilty of “organizing activity of an undesirable organization” by a Russian court, for her work with the Open Russia movement. Amnesty International declared her a “prisoner of conscience.” While Anastasia was under arrest, her teenage daughter Alina was hospitalized and died alone, becoming an early example of the Russian regime’s willingness to use the separation of parents and children as a way to silence dissent. This intentional rupture of the parental bond is a denial of the elemental human right to care for our children. The spiritual and emotional burden that Anastasia carries makes her determination even more remarkable, as she continues to raise her two other children. One morning she gathers them, and her elderly mother, and takes a train across Russia to the Black Sea, a journey that this intimate story captures with poetic visual grace. Against the bright horizon, they come to terms with the family’s loss, and Anastasia realizes the only way she can continue to fight is to leave her homeland. Director Sarah McCarthy joins us for a conversation on a woman facing down an authoritarian regime, the loss of her daughter, the daunting challenge of pulling together her shattered family for a final tribute to her departed daughter.For more go to: anastasiafilm.com
I AM VANESSA GUILLEN chronicles the life and death of a young Mexican-American soldier who vanishes from a U.S. Army base. Her family leads an international movement to find her and expose ongoing corruption within the military ranks. Vanessa Guillen always dreamed of joining the U.S. Army, but after reporting being sexually harassed at Fort Hood in Texas, she disappeared. After a two-month search, her remains were found in a nearby rural area, sparking rage at Army officials – and a fight for justice. I AM VANESSA GUILLEN follows Vanessa’s sisters Lupe and Mayra as they carry her name from protests in the streets to the halls of power in Washington, D.C., and offers a behind-the-scenes look at their tenacious pursuit to change a deeply rooted, controversial military justice system. Featuring interviews with family and friends as well as elected officials like Rep. Jackie Spears and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, I AM VANESSA GUILLEN is a bracing, candid testament to what a family’s love can do, even in the face of unimaginable grief. The film was executive produced by Story Syndicate’s Dan Cogan, Liz Garbus, Jon Bardin and Nell Constantinople. Director by Christy Wegener joins us for a conversation on the under-reported incidents of sexual assault that are rife in all branches of the United States military, the steely determination of Vanessa’s family to find her, bring justice to her murder and organize a sustained effort to bring accountability to the unaccountable military chain of command. Watch at: netflix.com/IamVanessa GuillenConduit-films.com/IamVanessaGuillen
DOUBLE DOWN SOUTH is a feminist fatale noir set in the dangerous world of illegal, high-stakes keno pool gambling at the turn of the 21st century. Nick (Kim Coates, “Bad Blood”) owns a run-down plantation house in the rural South and is charmed by a smart and tough Keno ace, Diana (Lili Simmons, “Power Book IV: Force”). Diana wants to win big and Nick is determined to stake her. Little Nick (Igby Rigney,“The Midnight Club”) strikes up a friendship with Diana and coaches her to win against the odds. Diana must prove herself in a man’s world to earn a match against Beaumont DuBinion (Justin McManus, “Power Book II: Ghosts”), the undisputed world’s greatest keno pool player, who, it turns out, has a contentious and violent history with Nick. Written and directed by Academy Award© winning writer Tom Schulman (Dead Poets Society), the story is reflective of the misogyny and casual and blatant racism that still exists in our country. Schulman grew up in the South in the 50’s and 60’s and frequented pool halls where high-stakes keno was the game of choice for the regulars, a game which is so insidious from a gambling perspective that it was banned in most states. Director Tom Schulman stops by to talk about his superb cast he has assembled, finding the perfect location for this project and the joy of working in the realm of noir / Southern Gothic genre filmmaking. For more go to: doubledownsouthfilm.com
LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE drops us into the wildly imaginative internal life of Leonor (Sheila Francisco), a retired filmmaker who reads the obits and prefers to talk with her dead son Ronwaldo (Anthony Falcon), rather than her living one, Rudie (Bong Cabrera), who is on her case for not paying the electric bill. One day, however, Leonor is hit on the head by a TV that was thrown out a window and ends up in with hypnagogia — a state between sleeping and waking. She soon enters a limbo that is her unfinished screenplay "Ang Pagbabalik Kwago" ("The Return of Kwango"), a film-within-the-film, in which Ronwaldo (Rocky Salumbides) romances Majestika (Rea Molina) while trying to fend off a series of bad guys. And it is all filmed like a Z-grade action film where the fight scenes are faker than wrestling. But it provides considerable fun as Leonor wanders through the film's scenes like an absent-minded grandmother wielding a hammer in case of danger. LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE is an innovative blend of pulpy action homages, playful comedy, touching family drama, and a wonderfully imaginative tribute to the art of filmmaking. Director Martika Ramirez Escobar joins us for a conversation on the joyous and challenging eight year journey that LEONOR has taken her on, the DIY powered collaboration with her creative partners that sustained the film and the satisfaction of seeing the positive reaction to the film. For more go to: musicboxfilms.com/leonor-will-never-die
While the march from Selma to Montgomery lives in the collective memory as a high point of the Civil Rights Movement, there was something else blooming in Alabama beyond the terminus of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, just beyond the camera's eye. Stokely Carmichael—a dynamic, young organizer also from SNCC—used this moment on the sidelines to make connections in the crowd, gathering names and information. For Carmichael and the community whose stories he absorbed, this pivotal moment wasn’t a culmination, but a beginning. Nowhere was this next battle better epitomized than in Lowndes County, Alabama, a rural, impoverished county with a vicious history of racist terrorism. In a county that was 80 percent Black but had zero Black voters, laws were just paper without power. This isn’t a story of hope but of action. Through first person accounts and searing archival footage, LOWNDES COUNTY AND THE ROAD TO BLACK POWER tells the story of the local movement and young Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizers who fought not just for voting rights, but for Black Power in Lowndes County. Co-directors Geeta Gandhbir (Black and Missing,I Am Evidence) and Sam Pollard (MLK/FBI, Four Little Girls) join us for a conversation on bringing to life the activism and courage of people like Ella Baker, John Hulett, Courtland Cox, Ruby Sales, Reverend Wendell Paris and one of the most consequential Civil Rights leaders Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael). For more go to: greenwichentertainment.com/lowndes county documentary
December 11 - LOAN WOLVES - Director Blake ZeffLOAN WOLVES follows Blake Zeff, an investigative journalist and former politics editor for Salon, as he gets to the root of the student debt crisis, currently at $2,000,000,000,000 and counting. Following the stories of those most affected, Zeff ultimately zeroes in on the unexpected heart of the problem and exposes the rotten core of the country's policy making. Confronting powerful enablers and challenging lies, LOAN WOLVES is a humorous and eye-opening documentary that demystifies this national debt crisis, and the orgin story behind the obscure “carve out” in the 1998 education bill that now prevents countless Americans from reaching their full potential. LOAN WOLVES features high profile members of Congress, congressional staffers, respected economists and the people most directed impacted by this draconian law, the debtors. Director Blake Zeff joins us for a spirited conversation on the enormity of student debt, the pernicious legal entanglement that make the debt so onerous, and why allowing people to discharge the student debt or debt forgiveness is good for the people in debt, their families, and for a more prosperous economy for all. “Loan Wolves” airs Sunday, December 11th at 10pm ET on MSNBC and streaming on Peacock. msnbc-films/loan-wolves
In August 2021, the world watched as Kabul fell to the Taliban. Scenes of chaos, anxiety, and fear dominated the media. IN HER HANDS follows the 19 months of lead-up to this through the eyes of Zarifa Ghafari, appointed as the youngest female mayor of Afghanistan at age 26. Her story is interwoven with those of two other key figures: her loyal bodyguard, Massoum; and an antagonist to her ideas, a commander in the Taliban army, Musafer. The varying trajectories of their lives give perspective on the complexities of the 20-year conflict in the region. Afghan filmmaker Tamana Ayazi and Marcel Mettelsiefen use their unique access to Zarifa as she navigates multiple layers of political and personal turmoil, including a tense relationship with her father (a leader in the Afghan military) and a dilemma over working with her bodyguard — all against the constant threat of assassination. We see Zarifa making strides in her fiercely patriarchal town outside Kabul. But as the US troops prepare to withdraw, uncertainty builds and the Taliban increase attacks on political officials. It becomes clear Zarifia and her fiancé, Bashir, will be in mortal danger if they stay in the country. Zarifa’s courage has already won her attention in human-rights circles, and now IN HER HANDS will bring her powerful story to the rest of the world. Co-directors Tamana Ayazi and Marcel Mettelsiefen join us for an enlightening and impassioned conversation on the state of Afghanistan’s present and future. To watch, go to: netflix.com/In Her Hands
Alon Schwarz’s searingly straightforward feature documentary TANTURA takes a deep dive into the tape-recorded words “erase it” as those two words take on new weight in the context of history and war. When the State of Israel was established in 1948, hundreds of Palestinian villages were depopulated in its aftermath. Israelis know this as the War of Independence. Palestinians call it “Al Nakba” (the Catastrophe). In the late 1990s, graduate student Teddy Katz conducted research into a large-scale massacre that had allegedly occurred in the village of Tantura in 1948. His work later came under attack and his reputation was ruined, but 140 hours of audio testimonies remain. Director Alon Schwarz revisits former Israeli soldiers of the Alexandroni Brigade as well as Palestinian residents in an effort to re-examine what happened in Tantura and explore why the Nakba is taboo in Israeli society. The now elderly ex-soldiers recall unsettling acts of war while disquietly pausing at points they either don’t remember or won’t speak of. Audio from Katz’s 20- year-old interviews cuts through the silence of self-preservation and exposes the ways in which power, silencing, and protected narratives can sculpt history.
For more go to: reelpeakfilms.com
MY SO-CALLED HIGH SCHOOL RANK goes deep into the lives of high school students in three radically disparate communities as they navigate the pressures around college while staging a musical, until seismic events upend their dreams and expectations. Months before the college admissions scandal made headlines in 2019, students in Sacramento, CA were busy creating a new musical that drew from their own experiences as talented but very anxious students – all focused on getting into the same top schools. RANKED, the musical, premiered just weeks before Federal charges were levied against Rick Singer, the mastermind behind the college bribing scandal the FBI dubbed Varsity Blues. As word about the musical spread, schools around the country reached out to stage it with their students. The film features the “Ranked” creators Kyle Holmes and David Taylor Gomes, as well as students, parents and staff of Granite Bay High School and Cupertino High School in California, Fordham High School for the Arts in New York City, and Ripley High School in West Virginia. Co-directors New York filmmakers Ricki Stern (The Devil Came on Horseback, Surviving Jeffrey Epstein) and Annie Sundberg (Reversing Roe, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work), join us on how they went about capturing this generation’s shared, hopeful fortitude across America’s many divides.
Streaming on hbo.com starting 11/29 - My So-Called High School Rank
Is now available on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
More on the films of Ricki & Annie: breakthrufilms.org
Reed Harkness’ hauntingly emotional debut feature documentary SAM NOW poses the question, “What happens when a boy and his brother go on a road trip in search of their missing mom?” Filmed over an expanse of 25 years, two brothers go on a 2,000-mile road trip to solve a family mystery. Shooting on nearly every camera format imaginable, from hand-developed Super-8 film to Arri 4K, Sam Harkness and his older half-brother Reed use their creative world of fiction filmmaking to dive headfirst into dealing with the issue at hand: Sam’s mom is missing. Sam’s wetsuit and mask wearing alter ego, the Blue Panther, bounds into frame with youthful energy and a heroic spirit of adventure. But can the Blue Panther save the day? And are these fun-loving brothers actually ready for what lies ahead? Cracking the case of Sam's mom's disappearance is only the beginning of their story. As Sam grows up, the optimistic boy with his heart set on finding his mom becomes a man whose new hope is to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma. Director / Producer / Cinematographer Reed Harkness and Producer / Editor Jason Reid join us for a conversation on how they both became filmmakers, a friendship dating back to childhood, how and when Reed realized that his archive of family footage and film collaborations with his brother Sam became the emotional subtext in a search for their mom who walked out of their lives in order to save her own.
For more go to: samnowmovie.com
The natural world is upfront and riveting in acclaimed wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn’s MY GARDEN OF A THOUSAND BEES. Dohrn sets out to record all the bee species in his tiny urban garden in Bristol, England. Filming with one-of-a-kind lenses he forged at his kitchen table, he catalogs more than 60 different species, from Britain’s largest bumblebees to scissor bees the size of a mosquito. Over long months, Dohrn observes how differences in behavior set different species apart. He eventually gets so close to the bees he can identify individuals by sight, documenting life at their level as we have never seen it before. Among the many amazing moments captured in My Garden of a Thousand Bees, are bees laying tiny eggs preparing for the next generation, green-fanged spiders feasting on male flower bees and a female yellow-faced bee attacking a Gasteruption wasp to protect her nest. Other fascinating behavior featured in the film includes two male bees fighting each other over a female, different species of bees competing over territory and one busy bee building a nest with a shell and hundreds of sticks. Intrigued by the intelligence of one particular wood-carving leafcutter bee, Dohrn dubs her “Nicky” and sees life at her level as she leaves a lasting legacy in the garden. Director and narrator Martin Dohrn (Age of Big Cats, Tera Mater) joins us for a conversation on his own fascination with bees, what inspired into this deep dive into their world and the fundamental importance of these inspiring creatures in sustaining human life.
For more go to: mygardenofathousandbees.org
Stream MY GARDEN OF A THOUSAND BEES for free on PBS, visit mygardenofathousandbees.org.
Winner of Behavior, Editing, Producer and Director at the 2022 Golden Panda Film Festival, which honors the best international wildlife film of the year
Co-directors Sebastian Pardo and Riel Roch-Decter latest documentary, THE COMPUTER ACCENT, is a documentary following the boundary-pushing pop group YACHT as they try something terrifying and new: handing over the reins of their entire creative process to ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Working with technologists and leading AI researchers, YACHT uses cutting-edge data analysis tools, machine learning, neural networks, sci-fi instruments, and generative composition strategies to create a new kind of human-machine album—music, lyrics, artwork, videos, and all. Putting AI to the test in the name of art, YACHT are guides through the brave new world of machine intelligence. Along the way, they’ll question their own roles in a future where software anticipates, generates, and synthesizes human work. Co-directors Sebastian Pardo (ACTRESS, ALL LIGHT, EVERYWHERE, ANOTHER EVIL) and Riel Roch-Decter (RAT FILM, FRAUD, DAVID) join us to talk about working with the leading edge group of artists who make up YACHT, their willingness to embrace the possibility of failure, and exploring the benefits, pitfalls and inevitability of Artificial Intelligence in our daily lives.
For more go to: memory.is
The love of dance and glitter bonds an unlikely group of 60-plus women in Southwest Florida – the CALENDAR GIRLS. But under the veil of fake lashes and unicorn horns lurks the deeper truths of what aging women face within society. Sisterhood, love, loss – all come into play in this uplifting film about trying to age on your own terms and refusal to become invisible. Directors Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen craft a life-affirming, feel-good documentary that shakes up the outdated image of what it means to be an “old lady”. It’s a call for everyone to dance their heart out, while you still can. Directed and produced by Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen, CALENDAR GIRLS has screened at over 40 film festivals including 2022 Sundance Film Festival while bringing joy to all who watch the film. It has also won numerous awards during its festival run. Co-directors Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen stop by to talk about this lyrical look at women that are determined to face down agism, sexism and thrilled to live their lives while relishing the opportunity to entertain, young and old.
For more go to: calendargirlsfilm.com
Released through Pink Dolphin, the film will open at the Laemmle Town Center Encino in Los Angeles on Nov 18.
In THERE THERE acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Bujalski (Support the Girls, Computer Chess) explores the precarious nature of human connection in a round robin of emotional two-character vignettes in which seven people reach out and bond momentarily, setting the scene for the next encounter. A pair of new lovers, an alcoholic and her AA sponsor, a teacher and a parent, a lawyer and his client, and more move from scene to scene, revealing intimate details as they forge connections. Via a groundbreaking shooting process, Bujalski plays with ideas of isolation and perception by filming each actor individually in separate locations, only joining them to their partner’s performance in the edit. An extraordinary cast including Jason Schwartzman, Lennie James, Lili Taylor and Molly Gordon sensitively captures the humor and heartbreaking fragility of life and love in the 2020s. Director Andrew Bujalski (Beeswax, Support the Girls, Results, Funny Ha Ha) stops by for a conversation on how the daunting challenge of making a film in the age of COVID that mirrored the unstable zeitgeist of a film about seven people rattling through life trying to re-connect with a recognizable humanity.
For more go to: magpictures.com/therethere
Matthew Heineman’s RETROGRADE captures the final nine months of America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan from multiple perspectives: one of the last U.S. Special Forces units deployed there, a young Afghan general and his corps fighting to defend their homeland against all odds, and the civilians desperately attempting to flee as the country collapses and the Taliban take over. From rarely seen operational control rooms to the frontlines of battle to the chaotic Kabul airport during the final U.S. withdrawal, Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman’s latest film offers a cinematic and historic window onto the end of America’s longest war, and the costs endured for those most intimately involved. Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, City of Ghosts, The First Wave) joins us for a conversation on why he was determined to eschew the macro politics of the 20-year old war and boar in on the human cost, tribulations and vanishing compassion facing so many innocent people desperately looking for a way out of unfathomable chaos and the level of risk he and his crew the risk had to navigate.
For more go to: nationalgeographic.com/retrograde
For more on Matthew Heineman go to: Our Time Projects
Opens in Los Angeles on November 18 at AMC Sunset 5 and Laemmle NoHo
Also Streaming on: National Geographic, Thursday, December 8th - Disney+ Friday, December 9th - Hulu Sunday, December 11th
Ramin Bahrani’s debut feature documentary, 2nd Chance takes an in-depth look at a former pizzeria owner, Richard Davis, the man who invented the modern-day bulletproof vest. To prove that it worked, he shot himself — point blank — 192 times. Davis then launched Second Chance, which became one of the largest body armor companies in the world. Charming and brash, he directed sensational marketing films, earning him celebrity status among police and gun owners across the country. But the death of a police officer wearing a Second Chance vest catalyzes Davis’ fall, and reveals a man full of contradictions cultivated over decades of reckless behavior. Equally as questionable as he was captivating, Davis saved thousands of lives while endangering exponentially more. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop, 99 Homes, White Tiger) continues his fascination with the perilous pursuit of the American Dream as seen through a uniquely individual lens. The film shrewdly juxtaposes Richard Davis’ actions with those of his righteous right-hand man, Aaron Westrick. Unwilling to passively present questionable truths, Bahrani instead lays bare the complexities of one man’s supposed virtue while speaking to the nature of power and impunity in America. Director and producer Ramin Bahrani joins us for a conversation on making the leap into feature documentary, his fascination with Richard Davis and his penchant for self mythology, gun culture and the invaluable opportunity for redemption and reconciliation.
For theatrical release go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/2nd-chance
For at home release go to: showtime.com
Watch at Virtual Platform at: docnyc.net/film/2nd-chance
THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER follows Brandie Carlile and trailblazing, hell-raising country music legend Tanya Tucker, a woman who defied the standards of how a woman in country music was supposed to behave. Decades after Tanya slipped from the spotlight, rising Americana music star Brandi Carlile takes it upon herself to write an entire album for her hero based on Tanya’s extraordinary life, spurring the greatest comeback in country music history. THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER follows Tanya’s richly creative, utterly captivating, bumpy ride back to the top as Brandi encourages her to push past her fears to create a new sound and reach a new audience. The writing, the experimenting, and refining of this new music mixes with all that came before – using rare archival footage and photographs to delve into Tanya’s history, beginning in a single wide trailer in Seminole, Texas. Taking stock of the past while remaining vitally alive in the present and keeping an eye on the future, THE RETURN OF TANYA TUCKER is a rousing exploration of an unexpected friendship built on the joy of a perfectly timed creative collaboration. Director Kathlyn Horan (Breaking 2, Past Due, Religion of Sports) joins us for a conversation on the pure joy and anxiety that were intertwined throughout the remarkable journey to document the return of Americana / Country Western legend Tanya Tucker to a Brandi Carlile produced recording project and eventually a concert tour, as well as the friendship that develops between the two women and the importance of Day One in the trajectory of this magical film.
For more go to: sonyclassics.com/thereturnoftanyatucker
Award-winning filmmaker Simon Lereng Wilmont (THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS) brings his intimate and empathetic touch to a rundown halfway house in Eastern Ukraine that houses some of the country’s most vulnerable - dozens of children cramped between an unstable and chaotic home life and the over-burdened foster care system. Wilmont’s A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS documents the fast-disappearing childhoods of these vulnerable young people amidst ever-worsening political strife with adroit warmth and unfettered access. As the film records how children suffer and survive violence and abandonment, the “orphanage” becomes a metaphor for a home, a country and a world where people entrusted with leadership fail to rise up to their responsibilities. Director, producer Simon Lereng Wilmont joins us for a conversation on the trove of love and hope that he found amongst the dysfunction and despair that has pushed so many children into institutional living, the spark of youth that refuses to be extinguished and the caring staff that do the best they can in a corner of the world that is imploding.
For more go to: cinephil.com/a-house-made-of-splinters
Based on family archives and excerpts from the trilogy created by Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz - BLACK NOTEBOOKS: RONIT invites us into the intimacy of a Jewish-Arab family, a family of uprooted exiles, in an imaginary story where a brother and sister revisit the past and the present to defy an implacable future. Ronit Elkabetz was a beloved and critically acclaimed star of Israeli cinema (LATE MARRIAGE, THE BAND’S VISIT, GETT). Elkabetz’s versatility, beauty and magnetism prompted the New York Times, in 2008, to dub her “Israel’s Meryl Streep,” while other international critics compared her to an Almodovar heroine. Ronit Elkabetz co-directed three films, including GETT, with her brother, Shlomi Elkabetz. In BLACK NOTEBOOKS: RONIT, his love letter to his sister and to cinema, Shlomi chronicles the making of their film GETT, as the siblings are faced with Ronit’s illness. Determined for Ronit to stay alive they embark on a journey, traveling the world with their film and attempting to change destiny. Ronit Elkabetz died in 2016 at the age of 51. Director Shlomi Elkabetz joins us to talk about his decision to move forward with this film, Ronit’s artistry as a performer and director and the lasting impact her passing has had on the people whose lives she touched.
For news and screenings go to: panoramafilmsus.com/black-notebooks
Director Mali Elfman feature film debut, NEXT EXIT, opens with a research scientist (Karen Gillan) making national news “proving” that she can track people into the afterlife. Rose (Katie Parker) sees a way out and Teddy (Rahul Kohli) sees his chance to finally make it. These two strangers, both harboring dark secrets, race to join the doctor’s contentious study and leave this life behind. While Rose is haunted by a ghostly presence that she can’t outrun, Teddy is forced to confront his past. As the two unlikely misfits humorously quarrel their way across the country, they meet people along the way who force them to reckon with what is really driving them. In addition to Katie Parker and Rahul Kohli NEXT EXIT also features a sterling cast that includes Tongayi Chirisa, Tim Griffin, Diva Zappa, and Nico Evers-Swindell. Director / writer Mali Elfman joins us for a conversation on her inspiration for making the film, posing some of the most vexing questions about life and death, working with her brilliant lead actors and the challenges of making her first feature film a “road trip” endeavor.
For more go to: magnetreleasing.com/nextexit
To see in a theatre go to: magnetreleasing.com/nextexit/screenings
To watch at home go to: magnetreleasing.com/nextexit/watch-at-home
The latest from the creative filmmaking team behind the trippy sci-fi triumph, The Endless, comes SOMETHING IN THE DIRT. The film focuses on Levi, a man who has snagged a no-lease apartment sight unseen in the Hollywood Hills to crash at while he ties up loose ends for his exodus from Los Angeles. He quickly strikes up a rapport with his new neighbor John, swapping stories like old friends under the glowing, smoke-filled skies of the city. Soon after meeting, Levi and John witness something impossible in one of their apartments. Terrified at first, they soon realize this could change their lives and give them a purpose. With dollar signs in their eyes, these two eccentric strangers will attempt to prove the supernatural. DIY wonderkids Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson serve as co-directors, co-stars, co-editors, writer (Benson) and cinematographer (Moorhead) of this twisted, sci-fi talkie. Their odd-ball chemistry shines on screen and in the script, as these two isolated and unfulfilled individuals spur each other toward wormholes and away from reality. SOMETHING IN THE DIRT tells a tale of these paranoid times, where every answer imaginable is just a Google search away. Co-directors, co-producers, co-editors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Synchronic, The Endless) stop by for a conversation on the inspiration for Something in the Dirt, the decision to cast themselves as the lead actors, and how they landed on the right blend of science, occult, history and psychedelic atmospherics.
For more go to: xyzfilms.com/something-in-the-dirt
In Michelle Danner’s latest film a privileged teenager Aiden Albers (Edouard Philipponnat) has one last chance to get his life back on track. His lucrative side hustle dealing drugs to his classmates and his own personal addiction has forced his distraught mother to turn him over to the police. Detective Walls (Cameron Douglas) offers to save him from prosecution if he’ll pose as a drug dealer and lure his supplier, a fellow simply referred to as Local Legend (Eric Balfour), to a party where Aiden will wear a wire. Aiden’s life has been complicated by the fact that he is tormented by guilt over his responsibility for the overdose of his girlfriend Layla (Kerri Medders). As the sting operation is set in motion, Aiden falters, threatening to jeopardize the deal with the police and his very life. Director / Producer Michelle Danner joins us for a conversation on the making of her latest film thriller The Runner, as well as her life long connection to filmmaking and acting, first through her father’s career and later as one of the most sought after acting teachers in Hollywood.
For updates and screenings go to: archstoneent.com/the-runner
Why are healthcare costs so high in the United States? Filmmaker Sandra Alvarez’s illuminating documentary INHOSPITABLE follows patients and activists as they band together in an effort to stop UPMC, a multi-billion-dollar nonprofit hospital system, from making vital care unaffordable for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable patients in western Pennsylvania. Few are aware that in the past several years many nonprofit hospitals around the country have been building healthcare empires and amassing huge amounts of wealth and political power at the expense of the surrounding residents. The story of INHOSPITABLE illustrates this alarming trend and turns the lens on the seemingly un-winnable battle between the Goliath UPMC and the patients, hospital workers, community activists, labor leaders, journalists, and politicians - almost all of them women - who built a grassroots movement to literally fight for their lives. Director Sandra Alvarez (The History of Comedy, The Nineties) explores the perspectives of patients, hospital workers, advocates, and politicians to shed light on an overlooked fight for justice and how what happened in Pennsylvania can and is happening in every corner of America.
For updates and screenings go to: inhospitablefilm.com
To watch go to: inhospitablefilm.com
Before Citizen Kane and The War of the Worlds, leading Broadway actress Rose McClendon and producer John Houseman convince a gifted but untested 20-year-old Orson Welles to direct Shakespeare’s Macbeth with an all-Black cast in Harlem. Reimagined in a Haitian setting, this revolutionary 1936 production, which came to be known as “Voodoo Macbeth,” would change the world forever, but the road to opening night proves to be a difficult one. Orson and Rose – who is to play Lady Macbeth – clash over everything from scene blocking to crew hires, while Houseman contends with a congressman hell-bent on shutting down what he deems “communist propaganda.” Welles and McClendon must overcome political pressure, personal demons, and protests to realize their groundbreaking vision. Fresh of an award-winning film festival run Voodoo MacBeth is being released for a theatrical run through Lightyear Entertainment. Co-producer Jason Phillips, lead actors Inger Tudor and Jewell Wilson Bridges join us to talk about the story behind the story making a film in which ten directors, six producers and eight writers seamlessly collaborated, how the USC School of Cinematic Arts and USC Originals factor into the making of the film, re-discovering this little known chapter in the life of a filmmaking giant Orson Wells, and the importance of publicly support funding for the arts, including the Federal Theatre Project and its support for Harlem’s Negro Theatre Unit.
For more go to: voodoomacbethfilm.com
Screenings go to: voodoomacbethfilm.com/screenings
ETERNAL SPRING documents the story behind the nationwide crack down of a spiritual group and the incident that brought down the wrath of the Chinese government. In March 2002, a state TV signal in China was hijacked by members of the banned spiritual group Falun Gong. Their goal is to counter the government narrative about their practice. In the aftermath, police raids sweep Changchun City, and comic book illustrator Daxiong (Justice League, Star Wars), a Falun Gong practitioner, is forced to flee. He arrives in North America, blaming the hijacking for worsening a violent repression. But his views are challenged when he meets the lone surviving participant to have escaped China, now living in Seoul, South Korea. Combining present-day footage with 3D animation inspired by Daxiong’s art, Eternal Spring retraces the event on its 20th anniversary, and brings to life an unprecedented story of defiance, harrowing eyewitness accounts of persecution, and an exhilarating tale of determination to speak up for political and religious freedoms, no matter the cost. Director Jason Loftus (Ask Know Questions) joins us for a conversation on the history and the suppression of Falun Gong, how the group of members came together, working with Daxiong and the current political climate in China and his continuing work to uncover the repressive actions of that government through his films.
For more go to: eternalspringfilm.com
UTAMA takes us to an arid Bolivian highlands where an elderly Quechua couple, Virginio and Sisa, have been living a tranquil life for years. While Virginio takes their small herd of llamas out to graze, Sisa keeps house and walks for miles with the other local women to fetch precious water. When an uncommonly long drought threatens everything they know, the couple must decide whether to stay and maintain their traditional way of life or admit defeat and move in with family members in the city. Virginio and Sisa’s dilemma is precipitated by the arrival of their grandson Clever, who comes to visit with news. The three of them must face, each in their own way, the effects of a changing environment, the importance of tradition, and the meaning of life itself. This visually jaw-dropping debut feature by photographer-turned-filmmaker Alejandro Loayza Grisi is lensed by award-winning cinematographer Barbara Alvarez (Lucretia Martel’s The Headless Woman) and won the Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema Dramatic) at the Sundance Film Festival. Director Alejandro Loayza Grisi joins us to talk about identifying the non-professional actors to play Virginio and Sisa, working with the indigenous villagers and the striking right balance of look, pace and tone for this stark personal tale that also addresses the direct impact that the looming climate catastrophe will have on the poorest people on the planet.
For more info and screenings go to: kinomarquee.com/UTAMA
Watch in LA area starting Nov. 11: laemmle.com/film/utama
UTAMA won the Grand Jury Prize in World Cinema Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT tells the gripping story of a young German soldier on the Western Front of World War I. Paul and his comrades experience first-hand how the initial euphoria of war turns into desperation and fear as they fight for their lives, and each other, in the trenches. From German-born director Edward Berger as created a cinematically unique adaptation from a German perspective of Erich Maria Remarque's eponymous novel ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. Considered by many literary scholars to be one of the most effective and moving anti-war works of all time. The film also includes the story of the German politician, Matthias Erzberger (Daniel Brühl), known as one of the lead diplomats responsible for negotiating the armistice between the Kaiser (German) forces and the Allies. German nationalists later blamed him for the financial collapse and political instability that beset post-war Germany. That chaotic period eventually gave rise to Adolf Hitler and his fascist reign of terror. German nationalist accused Erzberger of treason and assassinated him. Director Edward Berger stops by to talk about the reasons he felt the time was right to revisit the stark and senseless slaughter of World War I and the 44 million people who died, his decision to focus the story on the young and impressionable young men who enlisted in the German infantry and to highlight the relatively unknown aspect of the war that examines the bloodless political calculations that went into negotiating an end to “the war to end all wars” which led to an even deadlier worldwide conflict 20 years later that killed nearly twice as many people.
Netflix.com/All Quiet on the Western Front
Screening on Netflix beginning October 28
LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S BLACK & BLUES offers an intimate and revealing look at the world-changing musician, presented through a lens of archival footage and never-before-heard home recordings and personal conversations. This definitive documentary, directed by Sacha Jenkins, honors Armstrong's legacy as a founding father of jazz, one of the first internationally known and beloved stars, and a cultural ambassador of the United States. LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S BLACK & BLUES shows how Armstrong’s own life spans the shift from the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement, and how he became a lightning rod figure in that turbulent era. LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S BLACK & BLUES is a project of Imagine Documentaries and Polygram Entertainment with a production team that includes Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Michele Anthony, Brian Grazer, and Ron Howard. Director and producer Sacha Jenkins joins us for a conversation on the profound impact that Louis Armstrong has had on American music, specifically jazz, his multi-hyphenated career as a singer, trumpeter, actor, bandleader, artist, ambassador of American culture, his life-long partnership with his wife, Lil, and how important it was for Jenkins to re-set the perception of this humble man with a thorough recounting of his personal, professional and musical life.
ALL THAT BREATHES takes us to one of the world’s most populated cities, where cows, rats, monkeys, frogs, and hogs jostle cheek-by-jowl with people where the “Kite Brothers,” Nadeem Shehzad and Mohammad Saud, care for thousands of these majestic black kite birds of prey that drop daily from New Delhi’s smog-choked skies. As meat-eaters, the black kites are rejected by the city’s bird hospitals. Against a backdrop of environmental toxicity and civil unrest escalate, the relationship between this family and the neglected kites forms a poetic chronicle of the city’s collapsing ecology and deepening social fault lines. ALL THAT BREATHES had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and it is the only film ever to have won both the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance and Best Documentary at the Cannes Film Festival. Director Shaunak Sen is a filmmaker and film scholar based in New Delhi, India. His first feature, CITIES OF SLEEP (2016), explored that city through the lens of sleep and was screened internationally, earning six international documentary awards.
For more info and screenings go to: hbo.com/all-that-breathes
Director Greg Barker new documentary film, WHITE COAT REBELS, is an urgent wake-up call into the corrupting influence of Big Pharma on the medical profession and the courageous young doctors and students fighting back to improve inequities in healthcare. The film revolves around the direct actions of health professionals seeking to reform a broken health care system. Many of the film participants, including UCLA medical student Neda Ashtari, belong to Universities Allied for Essential Medicine (UAEM). UAEM is a student-driven organization working to improve access to and affordability of life-saving medicines, especially those researched and developed at universities with public funding. Other health professionals featured include: Dr. Michael Fine, Rhode Island’s former Health Director, who organizes healthcare on behalf of marginalized communities; and Dr. Danielle Ofri of New York’s Bellevue Hospital. Director Greg Barker (The Final Year, The Longest War, Sergio), and Producer Harriet Fraser stop by to talk about the critically important issues surrounding the industry’s profit over people ethos and the daunting challenge millions of Americans face trying to gain access to effective, affordable health care.
Watch on fuse.tv/v/white-coat-rebels
For more go to: rocofilms.com/films/white-coat-rebels
In her latest film DESCENDANT, Award-winning documentary filmmaker Margaret Brown returns to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama to document the search for and historic discovery of the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive in the United States. DESCENDANT deftly examines more than 160 years of the complicated history, secrecy and speculation surrounding the 2019 discovery of the Clotilda and the seismic impact it has on the descendant community of Africatown. DESCENDANT presents a moving portrait of a community actively grappling with slavery’s legacy and fighting to preserve their heritage while examining what justice looks like in a country unwilling to fully acknowledge the evil and trauma wrought by the institutional bondage inflicted upon millions of human beings. Director Margaret Brown (The Order of Myths, The Great Invisible) joins us for a conversation on why she made the decision to go back to her hometown, why the story of the Clotilda still resonates with the residents of Africatown, the importance of Gudjol Lewis, the lasting impact that author Zara Neale Hurston’s Barracoon: The Story of the Last ‘Black Cargo’ has had in dispelling the racist lies while resurrecting the truth about this incredibly resilient community.
To watch go to: netflix.com/Descendant
In this eye-opening documentary, BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER, celebrated independent filmmaker Nina Menkes explores the sexual politics of cinematic shot design. Using clips from hundreds of movies we all know and love – from METROPOLIS to VERTIGO to PHANTOM THREAD – Menkes convincingly makes the argument that shot design is gendered. BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER illuminates the patriarchal narrative codes that hide within supposedly “classic” set-ups and camera angles, and demonstrates how women are frequently displayed as objects for the use, support, and pleasure of male subjects. Building on the essential work of Laura Mulvey and other feminist writers, Menkes shows how these not-so-subtle embedded messages affect and intersect with the twin epidemics of sexual abuse and assault, as well as employment discrimination against women, especially in the film industry. The film features interviews with an all-star cast of women and non-binary industry professionals including Julie Dash, Penelope Spheeris, Charlyne Yi, Joey Soloway, Catherine Hardwicke, Eliza Hittman, and Rosanna Arquette. Director Nina Menkes joins us for a conversation on how and why she crafted BRAINWASHED to be seen as a call-to-action that can fundamentally change the way you see, and watch, movies.
For more go to: kinomarquee.com/Brainwashed
UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS shines a bright spotlight on Peter, (Matthew August Jeffers) a flamboyant, misanthropic dwarf hiding from the world in his shabby New York City apartment. But an unexpected visit from his upbeat—and possibly unhinged—neighbor Winona (Sarah Jay) forces him out of his shell and onto an impromptu road trip. Their destination? What she believes to be the site of an upcoming alien visitation in the wilderness of rural Canada. On their increasingly-surreal odyssey, Peter and Winona will encounter bickering lesbian cosplayers, shroom-addled survivalists, and even extraterrestrial highway cops. But the further they go and the more their trauma comes to light, it becomes clear that the only thing more nerve-wracking than being abducted is being alone in the universe. UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS Director Juan Felipe Zuleta joins us to talk about his revelatory road trip story connecting two very different people with little in common, except a gnawing sense of not belonging. Funny, sad, poignant, and fatalistically cosmic, Zuleta creates the space for two superb performances from Matthew August Jeffers (New Amsterdam, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and Sarah Jay (Golden Globe nominee, Flesh & Bone) in his beguiling tale of finding one’s place in this world and beyond.
For updates and screenings go to: unidentifiedobjectsfilm.com
DEADSTREAM follows a disgraced internet personality, Shawn Ruddy (Joesph Winter) who attempts to win back his followers by live-streaming one night alone in a haunted house. But when he accidentally pisses off a vengeful spirit, his big comeback event becomes a real-time fight for his life. With DEADSTREAM, a rare horror comedy as frightening as it is funny, the Winters have boldly announced themselves as exciting emerging talent ready to take the genre scene by storm. The work of the filmmaking duo can next be seen in a segment from Shudder’s hotly-anticipated V/H/S/99, the latest installment in the celebrated found-footage horror series, which premieres out of TIFF’s Midnight Madness later this month. The DEADSTREAM was produced by Joseph and Vanessa Winter, alongside cinematographer Jared Cook and actress Melanie Stone, who also star in the film. Co-directors / co-producers Joseph and Vanessa Winter join us for a conversation on the story behind the making of this wildly entertaining tale laced with humor, spot on performances and genuinely scary happenings, as well as their own foray, with the help of dedicated friends, into hair-raising world of independent filmmaking.
To watch Deadstream go to: shudder.com
A brand new 4K remastering of TALES FROM THE GIMLI HOSPITAL, Guy Maddin’s highly acclaimed first feature first released in 1988 and now regarded as one of the true cult hits on the midnight movie circuit. While their mother is dying in the modern Gimli, Manitoba hospital, two young children are told a tale by their Icelandic grandmother about Einar the Lonely, his friend Gunnar, and the angelic Snjofridur in a Gimli of old. Set during a smallpox epidemic in the village of Gimli, Manitoba near the turn of the century, TALES FROM THE GIMLI HOSPITAL REDUX is a dreamlike, elliptical film which explores the jealousy and madness instilled in two men who share a hospital room “in a Gimli we no longer know.” Director, producer, writer and auteur extraordinaire Guy Maddin (Brand Upon the Brain, The Heart of the World, My Winnipeg) returns to the program to talk about the trials and tribulations of his debut feature film and all that went into pulling together a large cast of professional and non-professional actors, finding ingenious ways of building the sets and filming whenever and however he could. Updates and screenings go to: zeitgeistfilms.com/talesfromthegimlihospital
In MOMENT OF CONTACT, director James Fox (The Phenomenon), makes his way into Brazil to investigate a sensational 1996 UFO crash. Headlines around the globe exploded with tales of strange creatures reported by military and civilians in the town of Varginha. Riveting testimony from eyewitnesses who revisit the crash site and areas in the city where reported alien survivors were captured is woven together with rare archival interviews, as well as ground-breaking new revelations from former military personnel, including one who worked with the Brazilian Secret Service to transport the alleged extraterrestrials. With the help of local researchers and captivating aerial photography, viewers travel with Fox and his team as they map out the encounters, military blockades, and track down lost witnesses of the Varginha Incident, the modern-day Roswell of Brazil. Ufologist and Filmmaker James Fox (The Phenomenon, Out of the Blue, I Know What I Saw) joins us for a lively conversation on the many twists and turns this sprawling story has taken him and now able to share from the many people who were there in 1996 and now willing, some reluctantly, to talk about a case that remains one of the world’s most compelling close encounters with alien beings.
For news and screenings go to: 1091.tv/moment-of-contact
GEMMEL & TIM explores the lives and untimely passings of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean, two Black gay men who both died from meth overdoses at the home of West Hollywood politico Ed Buck. Their deaths at the now-infamous apartment sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ+ community. The ensuing media circus cooked up a spicy concoction of sex, drugs, race and politics, but had no appetite for the in-depth human stories of who these individuals truly were valued. GEMMEL & TIM looks at Gemmel and Tim’s parallel walks of life through the eyes of their extended and chosen families – memories, correspondence, and things they did and didn’t share with each other. Through intimate recollections of their lost friends, each character exposes their own personal journey in dealing with grief. Powerful and galvanizing, Gemmel & Tim simultaneously investigates the crimes and offers a cautionary tale to keep these events from repeating. Director Michiel Thomas joins us for a conversation on cultural, political, and community dynamics that hamstrung the initial investigation and the relentless pursuit of justice by friends and family that eventually brought some semblance of justice for these two young men.
For news and screenings go to: gemmelandtim.com
Directed by award-winning filmmaker Ricki Stern, “A Radical Life” takes us inside the mind of Tania Joya, a former Islamic extremist once married to the highest-ranking American in ISIS. Tania was a working-class British teenager from a Bangladeshi family when her longing for purpose and belonging following the 9/11 attacks drew her to Islamic extremism. On the other side of the Atlantic, an all-American teenager from a military family named John Georgelas was also radicalizing - casting off his Greek Orthodox heritage and embracing Islamic extremism. After Tania and John met online, they quickly got married and started raising sons who they hoped would help fulfill their shared dreams of establishing an Islamic State. But when Georgelas relocates the family to Syria at the height of civil war, Tania is forced to make an impossible choice. Set against a backdrop of an ongoing war on terror, the rise of ISIS, and the proliferation of extremism ideologies, Tania’s unique and exclusive POV takes us inside a journey fueled by blind devotion, false promises, and misguided idealism that leads to points of no return. Award-winning director, producer, writer Ricki Stern joins us for a conversation on meeting Tania Joya, deciding to making her the focus of a documentary, illuminating the larger context of jihadism and Islam and what we can learn from Joya’s story.
To watch go to: discoveryplus.com/a-radical-life-us
DEBUTS OCTOBER 13, 2022 ON DISCOVERY+
For info go to: originalproductions.com/show/a-radical-life
Filmed using iPhones and laptops during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, THE SAME STORM is an intimate look into the lives of twenty-four characters as they journey through the spring and summer of 2020. With lockdowns, the Black Lives Matter movement and the looming 2020 elections as key backdrops, the film explores the necessity of human connection, family, love and the ability to find empathy during a fraught, untenable time. Featuring an all-star cast, including Sandra Oh, Mary-Louise Parker, Elaine May, Moses Ingram, Raul Castillo, Noma Dumezweni, Sandra Oh, Mary-Louise Parker, Elaine May, Moses Ingram, Noma Dumezweni, Raúl Castillo, Rosemarie DeWitt, Ron Livingston, Alison Pill, John Gallagher Jr, Jin Ha, Judith Light, Joel de la Fuente, Raza Jaffrey, Brittany Bradford, and many more, writer/director Peter Hedges crafts a unique piece of hopeful filmmaking that demonstrates and celebrates the ability of art to connect us. Director and writer Peter Hedges joins us to talk about filming during the Covid pandemic using cell phones and laptops to capture their stories, collaborating with a superb cast, and his inspiration for this deeply humanistic, multi-layered tale.
For updates and screenings go to: thesamestorm.com
BECOMING FREDERICK DOUGLASS is the inspiring story of how a man born into slavery became one of the most prominent statesmen and influential voices for democracy in American history. Born in 1818 on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, he escaped from slavery in 1838 and went on to become the most well-known leader of the abolitionist movement. A gifted writer and powerful, charismatic orator, it is estimated that more Americans heard Douglass speak than any other 19th-century figure, Black or white. BECOMING FREDERICK DOUGLASS explores how Douglass controlled his own image and narrative, embracing photography as a tool for social justice, and the role he played in securing the right to freedom and complete equality for African Americans. Acclaimed actor Wendell Pierce is the voice of Frederick Douglass in both films. Co-director Nicole London joins us for a conversation on the heroic life and turbulent times of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman.
For more go to: becomingfrederickdouglass.org
Director and cinematographer Reid Davenport reaches out through the lens of his camera as a visibly disabled person, determined to make a film about how he sees the world, from either his wheelchair or his two feet, without having to be seen himself. The unexpected arrival of a circus tent outside his Oakland, California apartment in leads him to consider the complicated history and legacy of Phineas Taylor Barnum’s or P.T. Barnum’s Freak Show and its lingering presence in his daily life in the form of gawking, lack of access, and other forms of ableism. Informed by his position in space, lower to the ground, Davenport captures indelible images, often abstracted into shapes and patterns separate from their meaning. But the circus tent looms in the background, and is reverberated by tangible on-screen interruptions, from unsolicited offers of help to careless blocking of ramps. Personal and unflinching, I Didn't See You There forces the viewer to confront the spectacle and invisibility of disability. Director Reid Davenport joins us to offer both a perspective and stylistic approach that are rarely seen, Reid brings an urgently needed storytelling eye to filmmaking with a documentary that is powerful and emotional, thoughtful and raw, intimate and political.
For updates & screenings go to: ididntseeyoutherefilm.com
I Didn't See You There at the Laemmle Monica Film Center October 14
Directing Award U.S. Documentary – Sundance Film Festival 2022 & Grand Jury Award – Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2022
Director Carlota Pereda (Cerdita, There Will Be Monsters) debut feature film is a cinematic grenade of a tale about bulling, body shaming, sexual politics. PIGGY focuses on the life of Sara as she hides away in her parent’s butcher shop hoping to avoid the constant barrage of mockery, judgment, and abuse from the other girls in her village. A teenager whose excess weight makes her the target of incessant bullying, she flees a clique of capricious girls who torment her at the town pool, only to stumble upon them being brutally kidnapped by a stranger, who drives off with them in his van. Sara sees it all: the blood, the mud, the knife, and the van in which he has taken them. And the unknown man has seen her. A wordless pact that neither will betray. The pressure is suffocating and her guilt torments her. What if she is found out? What's happened to the girls? What if the unknown man returns? Director / screenwriter Carlota Pereda’s searing morality tale, PIGGY, poses many knotty questions around the social scourge of bullying. And in the process offers few easy options. Anchored by a confident, uncompromising performance by Laura Galán, Piggy is a psychological horror film like few others. For updates and screenings go to: magnetreleasing.com/piggy
Behind a white picket fence, on an unremarkable suburban street, we discover 92-year-old Eli Timoner, who founded Air Florida, the fastest growing airline in the world in the 1970s. During his final days, we discover his extraordinary life filled with incredible success and devastating setbacks and, most importantly, the innate goodness that won him the enduring love and support of his family. Through stunning footage recorded by his middle child, LAST FLIGHT HOME takes audiences on an unforgettable ride through Timoner’s life, illustrating a modern-day success story built on the power of human connection. Two-time winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s Documentary Grand Jury Prize (DIG!, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC), Ondi Timoner has created her most personal film yet, which intimately portrays her family’s challenging journey to find closure and invites us into a rare and honest confrontation and conversation with mortality. LAST FLIGHT HOME is not only a unique and open display of the process of death, without inhibition or sanitization, but also a humanization of the journey of a family ‘midwifing’ a patriarch through his final days. Director Ondi Timoner joins us for a conversation on her elegant verité tribute to family, how and why she decided to share the Eli Timoner’s inspiring coda with outside world.
For updates and screenings go to: interloperfilms.com/lastflighthome
Set after the collapse of the Earth's ecosystem, VESPER follows the titular headstrong 13-year-old girl (Raffiella Chapman), who uses her survival skills to subsist in the remnants of a strange and dangerous world with her ailing father, Darius (Richard Brake). When Vesper finds a mysterious woman, Camellia (Rosy McEwen), alone and disoriented after an aerial crash, she agrees to help find her missing companion in exchange for safe passage to the Citadel, – the dark central hub where oligarchs live in comfort thanks to state-of-the-art biotechnology. Vesper soon discovers that her brutal neighbor, Jonas (Eddie Marsan), is searching for Camellia, who is harboring a secret that could change all of their lives forever. Forced into a dangerous adventure, Vesper must rely on her wits and bio-hacking abilities to unlock the key to an alternate future. After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed father, meets a woman with a secret who will force her to use her wits, strengths and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of having a future. Co-directors Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper join us to talk about their beautifully rendered “future” world that seamlessly blends high-tech with ancient / indigenous lo-tech ingenuity, how they found perfectly cast Raffiella Chapman to play Vesper and how their work points to a radicalized vision for our collective future.
For info and updates go to: vespermovie.com
Where to watch at: vespermovie.com/watch-at-home
Leslie (Andrea Riseborough) is a West Texas single mother struggling to provide for her son (Owen Teague) when she wins the lottery and a chance at a good life. But a few short years later the money is gone and Leslie is on her own, living hard and fast at the bottom of a bottle as she runs from the world of heartbreak she left behind. With her charm running out and with nowhere to go, Leslie is forced to return home to her former friends Nancy and Dutch (Allison Janney, Stephen Root). Unwelcome and unwanted by those she wronged, it’s a lonely motel clerk named Sweeney (Marc Maron) who takes a chance when no one else will. With his support, Leslie comes face to face with the consequences of her actions, a life of regret, and a second chance to make a good life for her and her son. Director Michael Morris joins us for a conversation on his riveting film about a woman in free fall, love and self-loathing, working with an amazing cast, his second project with Andrea Riseborough and Owen Teague and how silence can say so much.
For info and updates go to: momentumpictures.net/to-leslie
In Theaters & On Demand October 7
From the opening shot of this striking environmental tale, TAMING THE GARDEN, captures a otherworldly vibe, embodied by a tree as tall as a 15-story building floating on a barge across the vast Black Sea. Its destination lies within a garden countless miles away, privately owned by a wealthy and anonymous man whose passion resides in the removal, and subsequent replanting, of foreign trees into his own man-made Eden. With astonishing cinematic style, TAMING THE GARDEN tracks the surreal uprooting of ancient trees from their Georgian locales. With each removal, tensions flare between workers and villagers. Some see financial incentives – new roads, handsome fees – while others angrily mourn the loss of what was assumed an immovable monolith of their town’s collective history and memory. With a steady and shrewdly observant eye, Jashi documents a single man’s power over Earth’s natural gardens: how majestic living artifacts of a country’s identity can so effortlessly become uprooted by individuals with no connection to the nature they now claim as their own. Director Salomé Jashi stops by to talk about the clash of immense wealth and political power and a rural, farming community with neither. The meditative tone of TAMING THE GARDEN allows the audience to reconcile the contrasting the people’s relationship with the powerful political class that has held sway over them for centuries.
For info and screenings go to: bigworldpictures.org/tamingthegarden
HARRIET TUBMAN: VISIONS OF FREEDOM is a rich and nuanced portrait of the woman known as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, who repeatedly risked her own life and freedom to liberate others from slavery. Born in Dorchester County, Maryland, 200 years ago — 2022 marks her bicentennial —Tubman escaped north to Philadelphia in 1849, covering more than 100 miles alone. Once there, Tubman became involved in the abolitionist movement, and through the Underground Railroad guided more than 70 enslaved people to freedom. Going beyond this well-known aspect of Tubman’s life, the doc will also recount her later exploits as a Union scout and spy during the Civil War, a leading abolitionist, and a women’s suffrage activist, as well as delving into the psychological and spiritual motivations that drove her to her extraordinary accomplishments. HARRIET TUBMAN: VISIONS OF FREEDOM goes beyond the legend of Tubman to explore what motivated her — including divine inspiration — to become one of the greatest freedom fighters in our nation’s history. HARRIET TUBMAN: VISIONS OF FREEDOM is narrated by Emmy® award-winning actor Alfre Woodard.
For more go to: harriettubmanvisionsoffreedom.org
HARRIET TUBMAN: VISIONS OF FREEDOM premieres Tuesday, October 4, 2022, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET, (check local listings) on PBS. Both films will stream on PBS.org and the PBS Video App. It will also be available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO.
An inspiring documentary from the filmmakers of School Life, YOUNG PLATO charts the dream of Elvis-loving school headmaster Kevin McArevey – a maverick who is determined to change the fortunes of an inner-city community plagued by urban decay, sectarian aggression, poverty and drugs. The all-boys primary school in post-conflict Belfast, Northern Ireland, becomes a hot house for questioning violence, as the headmaster sends his young wards home each day armed with the wisdom of the ancient Greek philosophers. The boys challenge their parents and neighbors to forsake the prejudice that has kept this low-level civil war on the boil for decades. YOUNG PLATO hums with the confidence of youth, a tribute to the power of the possible. Co-director Neasa Ni Chainian (Declan McGrath) and Subject Kevin McArevey join us for a lively conversation on why Neasa focused her attention in Holy Cross, her won relationship to the “troubles” of Belfast, where did headmaster McArevey pick up his affinity for philosophy, when did he realize it has the power to elicit the most important lesson a young mind can learn - how to think!
For updates and screenings go to: youngplato.com
Young Plato will be opening at the Laemmle Monica Film Center on Friday October 7
For all screenings go to: youngplato.com/screenings
ANVIL! THE STORY Of ANVIL follows Canadian heavy-metal band Anvil as they delivered a highly influential 1982 album Metal on Metal that would inspire the likes of Anthrax and Metallica, and then dropped off the map to begin what would become decades of toiling in obscurity. Director and former Anvil roadie Gervasi follows guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner as they stumble through a harrowing European tour and reflect on failure, friendship, resilience and the will to follow even the most impossible of dreams. ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL (2009) received widespread critical and public acclaim following its release by Abramorama and features appearances by an array of heavy metal icons, including Metallica's Lars Ulrich, Guns N' Roses' Slash, Motörhead’s Lemmy, Anthrax's Scott Ian, and Slayer's Tom Araya. The film is tied for 6th place as one of the highest rated documentaries of all time on Rotten Tomatoes with a 98% certified fresh rating, and a 90% audience score with over 5000+ votes. It was named one of 2009's best documentaries by the International Documentary Association, the Online Film Critics Society, and the National Society of Film Critics. It also made the year-end Top 10 lists in publications such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Village Voice, and many others. Director Sacha Gervasi (My Dinner with Herve, The Terminal, Hitchcock) joins us to talk about the unbelievable “making of” The Story of Anvil, as well as the remarkable journey his scrappy little film has been on for the last 13 years and all of the doors it has opened for him.
For updates and screenings go to: anvilthefilm.com
For VOD go to: anvilthefilm.com/watch-at-home
WE ARE AS GODS offers a deep dive into the many sides of Stewart Brand - creator of The Whole Earth Catalog, which Steve Jobs famously called “Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google existed.” an influential member of Ken Kesey’s “The Merry Pranksters,” and founder of the modern environmental movement. Brand’s approach to his work and life influenced many, including Steve Jobs, who have gone on to shape our modern world. Now in his 80’s, he looks to leave a legacy for the long-term future with his efforts to resurrect ecosystems through de-extinction. The man who coined the phrase “we are as gods and might as well get good at it” is now under fire from former allies who believe he’s gone too far, but Brand won’t be easily deterred from a mission he feels is necessary to save the future of the planet. Now in his ninth decade, still committed to long term thinking, he controversially advocates for a new approach to nuclear power and the bio-reengineering of keystone extinct species. Co-directors David Alvarado & Jason Sussberg join us to talk about their own paths into the worlds of Stewart Brand, their admiration for his uncanny ability to be at the center of cultural and technological shifts, as well as getting a glimpse into his life away from the spotlight.
For updates and screenings go to: greenwichentertainment.com/we-are-as-gods
For VOD: APPLE TV AMAZON DVD
Bunny King (Essie Davis, THE BABADOOK), a headstrong mother of two with a sketchy past, earns her keep by washing windows at traffic lights. Using her razor-sharp wit to charm money from gridlocked motorists, she saves every cent to get back the custody of her kids. After promising her daughter a birthday party, Bunny must fight the social services and break the rules to keep her word, but in doing so risks losing her children altogether. Accompanied by her niece Tonya (Thomasin McKenzie, LEAVE NO TRACE, LAST NIGHT IN SOHO), a fierce teenager running away from home, Bunny is in a race against the clock and headed towards an epic showdown with the authorities. With her first feature, director Gaysorn Thavat has made a deeply affecting film about a woman refusing to back down from a system that’s stacked against her. At each step of Bunny’s journey, the film grounds itself in her pain and passion, and thanks to Essie Davis’ fearless work, Bunny becomes an indomitable hero. A testament to resilience in the face of adversity, The Justice of Bunny King is served in exquisite fashion. Director and co-story writer Gaysorn Thavat joins us for a conversation on the many challenges of making their first feature film, despite the many years spent in the industry, and the joy of collaborating with two of the finest actors working today, Essie Davis and Thomasin McKenzie.
For updates and screenings go to: filmrise.com/the-justice-of-bunny-king
WE ARE AS GODS offers a deep dive into the many sides of Stewart Brand - creator of The Whole Earth Catalog, which Steve Jobs famously called “Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google existed.” an influential member of Ken Kesey’s “The Merry Pranksters,” and founder of the modern environmental movement. Brand’s approach to his work and life influenced many, including Steve Jobs, who have gone on to shape our modern world. Now in his 80’s, he looks to leave a legacy for the long-term future with his efforts to resurrect ecosystems through de-extinction. The man who coined the phrase “we are as gods and might as well get good at it” is now under fire from former allies who believe he’s gone too far, but Brand won’t be easily deterred from a mission he feels is necessary to save the future of the planet. Now in his ninth decade, still committed to long term thinking, he controversially advocates for a new approach to nuclear power and the bio-reengineering of keystone extinct species. Co-directors David Alvarado & Jason Sussberg join us to talk about their own paths into the worlds of Stewart Brand, their admiration for his uncanny ability to be at the center of cultural and technological shifts, as well as getting a glimpse into his life away from the spotlight.
For updates and screenings go to: greenwichentertainment.com/we-are-as-gods
Inspired by one of the most beloved British family films of all time, RAILWAY CHILDREN is an enchanting, moving, and heart-warming adventure for a new generation. 1944 – As life in Britain’s cities becomes increasingly perilous, three evacuee children – Lily (Beau Gadsdon), Pattie (Eden Hamilton) and Ted (Zac Cudby) Watts – are sent by their mother from Salford to the Yorkshire village of Oakworth. There to meet them on the train station platform are Bobbie Waterbury (Jenny Agutter, reprising her iconic role in the original film), her daughter, Annie (Sheridan Smith), and grandson Thomas (Austin Haynes), and with their help the evacuees are soon settling into their new life in the countryside. When the children discover injured American soldier Abe (KJ Aikens), hiding out in the railyard at Oakworth Station, they are thrust into a dangerous quest to assist their new friend who, like them, is a long way from home. Director Morgan Matthews (A Brilliant Young Mind) is our guest for a conversation on the motivation and goals that he had in mind for an updated version a classic film, working with a raw and talented young cast that includes Beau Gadson and KJ Aikens as well as established veterans actors like Jenny Agutter, Sheridan Smith, John Bradley and Tom Courtenay.
To watch go to: bluefoxentertainment.com/railway-children
A decade after The Story of Film: An Odyssey, an expansive and influential inquiry into the state of moviemaking in the 20th century, filmmaker Mark Cousins returns with an epic and hopeful tale of cinematic innovation from around the globe. In The Story of Film: A New Generation, Cousins turns his sharp, meticulously honed gaze on world cinema from 2010 to 2021, using a surprising range of works—including Frozen, The Babadook, and Cemetery of Splendour—as launchpads to explore recurring themes and emerging motifs, from the evolution of film language, to technology’s role in moviemaking today, to shifting identities in 21st-century world cinema. Touching on everything from Parasite and The Farewell to Black Panther and Lover’s Rock, Cousins seeks out films, filmmakers and communities under-represented in traditional film histories, with a particular emphasis on Asian and Middle Eastern works, as well as boundary-pushing documentaries and films that see gender in new ways. And as the recent pandemic recedes, Cousins ponders what comes next in the streaming age: how have we changed as cinephiles, and how moviegoing will continue to transform in the digital century, to our collective joy and wonder. Director Mark Cousins stops by for an optimistic conversation on the state of filmmaking in every corner of the world and how that will continue to feed our collective imagination and our eternal desire to tell our stories.
For more: musicboxfilms.com/the-story-of-film-a-new-generation
Kevin Shaw’s inside look into the politics of race, gentrification, education and community concerns is on full display in his feature documentary LET THE LITTLE LIGHT SHINE. When city planners impose unwanted changes, one person can easily feel helpless - but a group of people with a common cause just might find enough collective strength to fight the power. LET THE LITTLE LIGHT SHINE tells the story of the parents, students, administrators and students of Chicago’s National Teachers Academy, a high-performing public elementary school in an African-American neighborhood, who join forces in an effort to do just that. When the powers that be announce plans to phase out NTA’s current K-8 curriculum and transform it into a high school drawing students from other schools, the community senses gentrification at work and gets organized. Director Kevin Shaw joins us for a conversation on capturing the struggle to save NTA through all its highs and lows - introducing us to charismatic young leaders taking a stand to protect their academic futures.
For updates and screenings go to: lightshinefilm.com
Running in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat held by Mitch McConnell, Charles Booker attempts one of the biggest upsets in political history by challenging establishment-backed candidate Amy McGrath. FROM THE HOOD TO THE HOLLER follows Booker’s campaign across Kentucky, from the most urban to the most rural settings, with Booker and his team rewriting the campaign playbook. Instead of exploiting divisions, they lean into the idea that average Kentuckians have common bonds, united by their shared day-to-day fight to survive. His message is simple: Whether you are from the city “hood” — like Booker — or the Appalachian “holler,” you are not invisible. Igniting a movement known as FROM THE HOOD TO THE HOLLER, political activist Charles Booker works to unite people of all socioeconomic backgrounds while fighting against big money in politics, voter suppression, and systemic corruption. Filmmakers, director Pat McGee and producers Adam Linkenhelt, Terry Hahin, Gregory Taylor capture a young man finding his voice as a leader and his incredible journey against the odds.
For updates and screenings go to: fromthehoodtothehollerfilm.com
For more about the filmmaker: patmcgeepictures.com
In Kavery Kaul’s deeply personal documentary, THE BENGALI, Fatima Shaik embarks upon an unlikely quest when she travels from New Orleans, the city of her birth, to India, home of her grandfather Shaik Mohamed Musa. An African-American writer whose family has lived in Louisiana for four generations, she travels with Kolkata-born filmmaker Kavery Kaul to a part of India where no African-American has ever gone. Her search for the past is fraught with uncertainty, as she looks for her grandfather’s descendants, the land he claimed to own, and the truth behind the stories she grew up with. Through Fatima’s moving and inspiring personal journey, THE BENGALI, tells the untold story of ties between South Asians and African-Americans in the U.S. In the late nineteenth-century, men from India arrived in the United States and married African-American women. The men were Muslims; the women were Christian. Together, they built families in an America that held them all at arm’s length. THE BENGALI, reaches across seemingly insurmountable cultural divides to shine light on timely issues. Its boldly different story of immigration reclaims timeless themes of family. Award-winning filmmaker Kavery Kaul (Cuban Canvas, Long Way from Home) joins us for an illuminating conversation on this intriguing and little-known story of migration, trials and triumphs of mostly Bengali men who came to America searching for a better life in America
For updates and screenings go to: thebengalifilm.com
In 2010 filmmaker Noah Hutton set out to document the work of visionary, and TED Talk supernova, neuroscientist Henry Markram, as he turns his frustration with his chosen field’s vested interest in maintaining a status quo attitude. With time elapsing and millions of dollars on the line, this compelling and fascinating documentary, IN SILICO, explores an audacious 10-year quest to simulate the entire human brain on supercomputers. Along the way, IN SILICO reveals the profound beauty of tiny mistakes and bold predictions — a controversial space where scientific process meets ego, and where the lines between objectivity and ambition blur. Director, producer, writer, cinematographer, editor and composer Noah Hutton (Lapsis, Crude Independence, Deep Time) joins us for an entertaining conversation on the visionary / foolhardy project to map and replicate the most complex organism / data processor in the known universe as well as Hutton’s own personal and professional determination to chronicle the jagged trajectory of this groundbreaking enterprise.
For updates and screenings go to: insilicofilm.com
For more on the work of Noah Hutton go to: couple3films.com
MURDER AT THE COTTAGE shines a bright light on the events and investigation into the brutal killing of two days before Christmas in 1996 of French TV producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier at her holiday cottage in Schull, West Cork. In 2019, the key suspect, English journalist Ian Bailey – the first reporter on the scene – was found guilty in absentia by the French courts yet was never found guilty in Ireland, owing to a lack of reliable evidence. In the true crime docuseries, MURDER AT THE COTTAGE: THE SEARCH FOR JUSTICE FOR SOPHIE, Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Jim Sheridan takes viewers on a journey of the unsolved case that has haunted West Cork for almost 25 years. Piecing together original evidence, never-before-seen footage and interviews with those closest to the case, Sheridan tries to make sense of what happened that night. Having successfully fought repeated extradition requests from the French authorities, Bailey still resides in West Cork and maintains his innocence to this day. Six-time Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, The Boxer) joins us for a conversation on the haunting specter Sophie Toscan du Plantier’s savage murder had in motivating him to make this docuseries, the complicated “suspect” that Ian Bailey became over the last two and a half years, the international political and judicial hand grenade that the case presented for France and Ireland, and the role that the local Irish police had in bolloxing the entire investigation into the victim’s unsolved death.
Watch Murder at the Cottage at: topic.com
Addiction is an all-encompassing force, in not only of the lives of the afflicted, but also those around them. OUR AMERICAN FAMILY provides an honest, unfiltered look at a close-knit Philadelphia family dealing with generational substance abuse. Captured at a pivotal “nothing to lose” moment, for over the course of a year, five family members tired of life with addiction on center stage, each struggle to transcend their crippling histories. What will it take to shift this entrenched, wrenching pattern in their lives? Will they be able to make significant shifts to help their next generation? The members of OUR AMERICAN FAMILY - Nicole, Lynda, Bryan, Chris and Stephen - invite us into their lives to find hope and to explore what’s possible. Though they often falter, their familial loyalty is powerful, demonstrating how through love and dedication people can rise out of the deepest depths. For a touching, eye-opening look into one of America's most pressing crises, look no further. Co-directors Hallee Adelman (Writing with Fire, Us Kids, Truffle Hunters) and Sean King O’Grady (In A World, The Assistant, Dinner in America) join us for a remarkably candid look inside the internal dynamics of a family operating at the edge of viability as well as a dogged determination to not give up.
For screenings and updates go to: ouramericanfamilyfilm.com
Edward Buckles Jr’s gripping feature documentary debut KATRINA BABIES, brings focus and context the sixteen years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, and an entire generation still grappling with the lifelong impact of having their childhood redefined by tragedy. New Orleans-based filmmaker Edward Buckles Jr., was 13 years old during Katrina and its initial aftermath, spent seven years documenting the stories of his peers who survived the storm as children. In his award winning film, KATRINA BABIES, Buckles draws upon his community’s tradition of oral storytelling to open a door for healing and to capture the strength and spirit of his city. He found common cause-and shared trauma--with young people whose lives were similarly shaped by the storm. KATRINA BABIES interview subjects were between 3 and 19 years old when the storm hit: Some stayed in New Orleans, Others fled the city and the neighborhoods that held so much history for them. Director Buckles joins for a conversation on his award winning film and how he was able to capture both the unique, joyful flavor of Black culture in the Crescent City as well as the nightmarish conditions that swallowed up so many in the aftermath of Katrina.
Debuts on HBO and HBO MAX on August 24, 2022
In the engaging and illuminating documentary from director Marq Evans takes us into the world of the “Father of Claymation,” Will Vinton as he revolutionized the animation business during the 1980s and 90s, creating such iconic characters as the California Raisins and Domino’s The Noid. But after thirty years of being the unheralded king of clay, Vinton’s carefully sculpted American dream came crumbling down. Structured around interviews with this charismatic pioneer and his close collaborators, along with a treasure trove of clips of their work together, CLAYDREAM charts the rise and fall of the Oscar®- and Emmy®-winning Will Vinton Studios. Director, screenwriter and producer Marq Evans joins us for a conversation on the challenges of bringing to life the battle between art and commerce in this affectionate, insightful portrait of an artist who put so much of himself into his craft.
For news and screenings go to: claydream.oscilloscope.net
Greg MacGillivray and Jim Freeman were already celebrated for producing gold standard surf films when, in 1972, they released FIVE SUMMER STORIES. They were two young Southern California filmmakers who entered the surf-film world in the mid-‘60s. FIVE SUMMER STORIES originated as a “farewell to surfing” from the talented duo, who were being courted by Hollywood and ready leave the surf-film world for other creative work. They handpicked great sequences they hadn’t used yet, secured legendary cinematographer Bud Browne for new material, and wove all the elements together into a series of stories. They topped it off with original music from the band Honk and classic songs of the Beach Boys and suddenly you have an enduring cinema classic. From the allure of its Rick Griffin poster art to its tightly framed ultra-slow-motion camera work, this was a state-of-the-art film that authentically, and often humorously, captured the state of a sport. Since its initial release FIVE SUMMER STORIES has toured America 10 times in four successive versions that played to more than a million people, many of them surfers and many more that had never even touched a surfboard! Although very much in the surf film genre, FIVE SUMMER STORIES raised the art form to a new level and set the standard for the next two decades. Even today, it remains the standard by which all surf films are artistically measured. Co-director Greg MacGillivray joins us for a conversation on the long, strange trip that FIVE SUMMER STORIES has been for his soaring career, how it allowed him and MacGillivray / Freeman Film to become world’s leading producer and distributor of giant screen (IMAX) films.
For news and screenings go to: fivesummerstories.com
For more on their films go to: macgillivrayfreeman.com
For more go to: macgillivrayfreeman.com/five-summer-stories
A RUN FOR MORE is an intimate cinema-vérité look at Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe's brave and arduous campaign to become the first trans woman to run for city council in her hometown of San Antonio, Texas. As a corporate executive, political campaigner, military spouse, and proud Latinx daughter of immigrants, Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe is used to fighting for other people’s causes, but this time it’s personal. Filmed over the course of three years, this moving documentary follows Frankie as she embarks on her 2019 campaign, drawing on the strength she needed when recovering from a pre-transition assault. Now happily married to a loving, supportive husband and surrounded by a loyal team of volunteers and friends, Frankie takes on the fight of her life. A RUN FOR MORE follows Frankie’s political and personal journey of discovery over the course of her historic campaign, and what she uncovers about herself along the way is as eye-opening as the reactions she receives from the community she hopes to represent. Director Ray Whitehouse and Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe join us for a conversation on the mutual decision to move forward on documenting not just the public facing campaign of running for city council, but allowing Whitehouse and his crew into their home, as well as, bracing for the reaction, positive and negative, that comes when marginalized people speak up.
For updates and screenings go to: arunformore.com
THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON drops us into Austrailia in 1893 on an isolated property, where a heavily pregnant woman named Molly Johnson (Leah Purcell) and her children struggle to survive the harsh Australian landscape; her husband is gone, droving sheep in the high country. Molly then finds herself confronted by a shackled Aboriginal fugitive named Yadaka (Rob Collins). As an unlikely bond begins to form between them, secrets unravel about her true identity. Meanwhile, realizing Molly’s husband is missing, new town lawman Nate Clintoff becomes suspicious and sends his constable to investigate. The deadly encounter between Molly, Yadaka and the constable results in a tragic chain of events with Molly becoming a symbol of feminism and anti-racism. THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON is a reimagining of Leah Purcell’s acclaimed play and Henry Lawson’s classic short story. Director, producer and co-screenwriter Leah Purcell joins us for a conversation on her searing Australian revenge tale and a stark revisionist Western, and a film that offers a powerful new interrogation of Australian history and a universal story of what a mother will do to protect her children.
For updates & screenings go to: samuelgoldwynfilms.com/the-drovers-wife
In his debut feature documentary THE TERRITORY Alex Pritz provides an immersive look at the tireless fight of the Amazon’s Indigenous Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau people against the encroaching deforestation brought by farmers and illegal settlers. With awe-inspiring cinematography showcasing the titular landscape and richly textured sound design, the film takes audiences deep into the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau community and provides unprecedented access to the burning and clearing of the protected Indigenous people’s land. Partially shot by the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau people, THE TERRITORY relies on vérité footage captured over three years as the community risks their lives to set up their own news media team in the hopes of exposing the truth. Director Alex Pritz joins us for a informative conversation on the importance that he placed an even-handed approach to conveying the disparate strands of a complex story whose outcome will have a profound impact on the indigenous Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau people, the region surrounding the Amazon rainforest and planet Earth. For news and updates go to: nationalgeographic.com/the-territory
To watch: nationalgeographic.com/the-territory/watch
For more on other films: nationalgeographic.com
THREE MINUTES - A LENGTHENING explores the human stories hidden within the celluloid. This powerful and emotionally compelling documentary presents a home movie shot by David Kurtz in 1938 in a Jewish town in Poland and tries to postpone its ending. The film is a haunting essay about history and memory. As long as we are watching, history is not over yet. The three minutes of footage, mostly in color, are the only moving images left of the Jewish inhabitants of Nasielsk before the Holocaust. Those precious minutes are examined moment by moment to unravel the human stories hidden in the celluloid. Different voices enhance the images: Glenn Kurtz, grandson of David Kurtz, and Maurice Chandler, who appears in the footage as a young boy. AcademyAward winning filmmaker Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave). BAFTA Award winning actress Helena Bonham Carter narrates the film. Director Bianca Stigter joins us for a conversation on her own journey in pursuit of the people behind a providential 16mm home movie, finding an invaluable eye witness from Nasielsk, and working with the son of Glenn Kurtz, David.
For news & screenings go to: superltd.com/three-minutes-a-lengthening
Co-directors Julie Ha and Eugene Yi damning documentary begins on June 3, 1973 with the of a man was murdered in a busy intersection of San Francisco’s Chinatown as part of an ongoing gang war. Chol Soo Lee, a 20-year-old Korean immigrant, who had previous run-ins with the law, was arrested and convicted based on flimsy evidence and the eyewitness accounts of white tourists who couldn’t distinguish between Asian features. Sentenced to life in prison, Chol Soo Lee would spend years fighting to survive behind bars before journalist K.W. Lee took an interest in his case. The intrepid reporter’s investigation would galvanize a first-of-its-kind pan-Asian American grassroots movement to fight for Chol Soo Lee’s freedom, ultimately inspiring a new generation of social justice activists. Revisiting this pivotal yet largely forgotten story, filmmakers Eugene Yi and Julie Ha draw from a rich archive as well as firsthand accounts of those inspired to come to Lee’s defense. But even as Free Chol Soo Lee explores this miscarriage of justice, the film also reveals the man behind the cause, and the complex legacy — and human cost — of becoming the symbol of a movement.
For updates go to: fcsl-film.com
Where to watch go to: /mubi.com/freecholsoolee
One Man Dies a Million Times chronicles the story of two young botanists as they fall in love as the world wages war around them. A record-breaking, desperate winter sets in and the city slowly, painfully, begins to starve to death. Savagery transplants civility. Maksim and Alyssa defend the seed bank and its priceless collection of edible specimens from the starving masses of the city, the enemy, hordes of rats, and each other. Alyssa (Alyssa Lozovskaya) and Maksim (Maksim Blinov) both work at the Institute of Plant Genetic Resources in the center of the city. The Institute houses the world's first seed bank—an irreplaceable trove of living genetic diversity which holds the potential both to preserve and transform modern agriculture. Part documentary, part legend, One Man Dies a Million Times is the true story of the seed bank and the botanists who worked there throughout the Siege of Leningrad (1941–1944). Though the characters portrayed in this film actually lived, and the events they experienced actually happened, this is not a reenactment. Director Jessica Oreck (Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga) and cinematographer Sean Price Williams (Good Time, Her Smell, Frownland) artfully transplant their narrative from 1940’s Leningrad to a science fiction-inflected modern day.
For updates and screenings go to: myriapodproductions.com/oneman
In Director Anita Rocha da Silveira’s provocative new film MEDUSA, Mari and her friends broadcast their spiritual devotion through pastel pinks and catchy evangelical songs about purity and perfection, but underneath it all, they harbor a deep rage. By day they hide behind their manicured facade, and by night they form a masked, vigilante girl gang, prowling the streets in search of sinners who have deviated from the rightful path. After an attack goes wrong, leaving Mari scarred and unemployed, her view of community, religion, and her peers begin to shift. Nightmares of repressed desires and haunting visions of alluring temptation become undeniable and the urge to scream and release her paralyzing inner demons is more powerful than ever before. A neon-tinged genre-bender that gives provocative form to the overwhelming feminine fury coursing through modern life, MEDUSA dares us not to look away. Director Anita Rocha da Silveira stops by to talk about the subversive take on cultural norms and gender conformity as experienced through the prism of regressive religious doctrine, vigilante justice and a corrupt political system.
For updates and screenings go to: musicboxfilms.com/medusa
Director and son, David Siev leaves his apartment in New York City to head back to his rural hometown of Bad Axe, Michigan. His arrival comes at a time when the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is making itself felt across much of the Mid-West. In this insightful and intimate documentary, BAD AXE, Asian-American filmmaker, David Siev, documents his family's struggles to keep their restaurant open just as racialized fears surrounding the virus grow and deep generational scars dating back to his parent’s history in the Cambodian Killing Fields are unearth between the family's patriarch, Chun, and his daughter, Jaclyn surface. When the BLM movement takes center stage in America, the family uses their voice to speak out in their town where Trumpism runs deep. What unfolds is a real-time portrait of 2020 through the lens of this multicultural family’s fight to keep their American dream alive in the face of a pandemic, Neo-Nazis, and the trauma of having survived a genocide. The result is a real-time portrait of 2020 unfolds as an Asian-American family in Trump’s rural America fights to keep their restaurant and American dream alive in the face of a pandemic, Neo-Nazis, and generational scars from the Khmer Rouge era that ravaged Cambodia. Director and subject David Siev joins us to talk about his family’s resolve in the face of physical threats, balancing privacy with the importance of telling a story that ultimately reveals universal truths about the state of political discourse and community in a post-Trump world.
For updates and news go to: facebook.com/badaxefilm
Faye (Dale Dickey) is a lone traveler biding her time fishing, birding and stargazing at a rural Colorado campground as she awaits the arrival of Lito (Wes Studi), a figure from her past who is navigating his own tentative and nomadic journey across the rugged West. Like the country music that has traditionally channeled the heartbreak and resilience of Americans in search of themselves and others, A Love Song weaves a lyrical and ultimately joyful refrain out of the transformative act of being alone —and reminds us that the mysteries of love can transform us at any age. Director Max Walker-Silverman (Lefty/Righty) joins us for a conversation on how his homegrown film project became viable, his dream to get Dale Dickey (Winter’s Bone, Leave No Trace) and Wes Studi (Last of the Mohicans , Dances with Wolves) to sign on to A Love Song, and striking a delicate balance in the film between the bittersweet notion of love lost, hope, tenderness and cosmic comedy.
For updates go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/a-love-song
For screenings go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/theaters-a-love-song
MY OLD SCHOOL re-tells the unbelievable story of 16-year-old Brandon Lee. In 1993 Brandon enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. What followed over the next two years would become the stuff of legend. Brandon had been privately tutored in Canada while he accompanied his mother, an opera diva, on tour before her tragic death. The preternaturally bright student surprised teachers by blazing toward his goal of entering medical school, displaying a wealth of knowledge beyond his years. Brandon found friends despite his initial awkwardness, taking bullied students under his wing, introducing classmates to seminal retro bands, and even starring in the school's production of South Pacific. But then his unbelievable secret was revealed. Filmmaker Jono McLeod returns to his old school for a nostalgic look at the strange but true story of his former classmate, Brandon Lee. Utilizing playful, period-specific animation, a pitch-perfect soundtrack, the memories of students and teachers, and the talents of Alan Cumming to bring the tale to life, MY OLD SCHOOL offers more than one surprise along the way. With so many shocking twists and turns, MY OLD SCHOOL pushes the idea of documentary storytelling beyond a traditional lineage.
For updates and screenings go to: magpictures.com/myoldschool
Gina (Sally Phillips) is turning fifty and not feeling fabulous. When she is dismissed from her role in a liquidation company, she knows future job prospects for someone her age are slim. Gina despairs of what her future might hold. In this beguiling, sweet hearted comedy, HOW TO PLEASE A WOMAN, Gina is taken by surprise when for her fiftieth birthday a male sex worker, a gift sent by her girlfriends, offers to do anything she wants. She asks him to do for her what no one else will – she has him clean her house. Amused and delighted, her friends wish for a sexy cleaner themselves, sparking a new career for Gina who decides to employ the entire male removals team as house cleaners…with benefits. Written and directed by Renée Webster, and starring Sally Phillips (Bridget Jones's Diary, VEEP). HOW TO PLEASE A WOMAN is a precarious, often hilarious and revealing journey into the vulnerable world of what women really want and how hard it can be to get it right.
For updates and screenings go to: how-to-please-a-woman
In Nana Mensah’s beautifully realized feature film debut, QUEEN OF GLORY, Sarah Obeng (Nana Mensah), a doctoral student at Columbia University, a doctoral student at Columbia University, is weeks away from following her very married boyfriend to Ohio when her mother dies suddenly. Her inheritance? A small, but beloved, Christian bookstore in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx where she was raised in the tight-knit Ghanian immigrant community. Tasked with planning a culturally respectful funeral befitting the family matriarch, Sarah must juggle the expectations of her loving yet demanding family while navigating the reappearance of her estranged father all while grappling with what to do with the bookstore. Aided by an only-in-New York ensemble of Eastern European neighbors, feisty African aunties and a no-nonsense ex-con co-worker, Sarah faces her new responsibilities while figuring out how to remain true to herself. Director / writer / lead actor Nana Mensah joins us for a conversation on her belated decision to tackle her multi-hyphenated roles in making the film, spotlighting Ghanian culture and assembling a very talented cast of actors able to do justice to the poignant portrayals that lift Queen of Glory into the realm of something truly special. For updates and screenings go to: filmmovement.com/queen-of-glory
Director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović latest film, MURINA, is set on a remote island along Croatia’s Adriatic coast. Seventeen-year-old Julija (Gracija Filipovic) spends her days diving for eel with her domineering father Ante (Leon Lucev) and watching other teens party on a nearby yacht. Julija bristles at Ante’s heavy handed cruelty and resents her mother Nela’s (Danica Curcic) passivity. She longs for independence but is unsure how to achieve it, until the arrival of the rich and mysterious Javier seems to offer a way out. Once Ante’s employer and Nela’s lover, Javier (Cliff Curtis) flirts shamelessly with Nela and Julija, setting off a subtle battle of hyper-masculine one-upmanship that pushes Ante to humiliate and control Julija even more. Flattered by Javier’s praise and stories of traveling the world, Julija sees him as the solution to all her problems. But does his affection portend freedom, or something more sinister? Winner of the Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, lensed by award-winning cinematographer Hélène Louvart (THE LOST DAUGHTER), and Executive Produced by Martin Scorsese, MURINA features a ferocious, star-making central performance by Gracija Filipović and the most sumptuous images of the Mediterranean since THE BIG BLUE. Equal parts fiery feminist outcry and stirring coming-of-age drama, the film announces director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović as a major new talent in world cinema.
For updates and screenings go to: kinolorber.com/film/murina
MURINA will open theatrically on Friday, July 8th at Metrograph in New York, and on Friday, July 15th at Laemmle Theatres in Los Angeles with rollout to select cities.
Co-directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s latest documentary GABBY GIFFORDS WON’T BACK DOWN tells the extraordinary story of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, her relentless fight to recover following an assassination attempt in 2011, and her new life as one of the most effective activists in the battle for gun violence prevention and in promoting understanding of the language condition aphasia. Featuring extensive verité filming of Gabby and her husband, astronaut-turned-Senator Mark Kelly; interviews with President Barack Obama and other friends and colleagues; and exclusive access to stunning videos taken in the weeks following her near-death experience, this film is the story of a rising star transformed by an act of violence, and a close-up portrait of the marriage that sustains her. Co-directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West join us for a conversation on the indomitable spirit of a bright young woman who refuses to give up, the nexus of gun violence and American politics and their own commitment to using their journalism background to create compelling portraits of extraordinary people.
For screenings and updates go to: briarcliffentertainment.com
The harrowing story of the GOOD MADAM, begins with the death of her grandmother, the woman who raised her, Tsidi (Chumisa Cosa) and her daughter are forced to move in with Tsidi’s estranged mother, Mavis (Nosipho Mtebe), who has lived and worked in the wealthy suburbs of Cape Town for most of Tsidi’s life. Residues of apartheid-era domestic servitude confront legacies of colonial land theft in South African auteur Jenna Cato Bass’s daring horror-satire. Jenna Cato Bass (High Fantasy, Flatland) transforms the legacies of South Africa’s colonial land theft and Black domestic service to white bosses into a gutsy psychological thriller. Co-written with Babalwa Baartman, Mlungu Wam (Good Madam) grapples with the daily violence that haunts the nation’s most pressing political issues, long after the end of apartheid. Summoning horror-satire references from Ousmane Sembène’s Black Girl to Jordan Peele’s Get Out, Bass and Baartman’s suspenseful descent into complex, searing allegory insists on reckoning with the enduring presence of traumas deceptively labelled “history.” Director Jenny Cato Bass and co-screenwriter Babalwa Baartman join us for a conversation on the inspiration for GOOD MADAM, impact and legacy on today’s South Africa, their on-going collaboration, and the superb cast of actors who helped them realize their vision.
For more on Good Madam go to: shudder.com
Christos Nikou’s beguiling new film, APPLES, takes place during a worldwide pandemic that causes sudden amnesia in growing numbers. A middle-aged man, Aris (Aris Servetalis), finds himself in a hospital and later in a recovery program designed to help “unclaimed” patients build new identities. Prescribed daily tasks on cassette tapes so he can create new memories and document them on camera, Aris slides back into ordinary life, meeting Anna (Sofia Georgovasili), a woman who is also in recovery. Through images deadpan, strange and surreal, Greek writer-director Christos Nikou posits a beguiling reflection on memory, identity, and loss, exploring how a society might handle an irreversible epidemic through one man’s story of self-discovery. Are we the sum of the images we compile and display of ourselves, or are we something richer, and deeper?
For news and screenings go to: cohenmedia.net/apples
An official selection of the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, ENDANGERED chronicles a year in the life of four journalists living and working in three democratic countries, Mexico, Brazil and the United States, where freedom of the press has historically been considered a “given” is now a state of rapid decline. As newsrooms shutter around them, misinformation proliferates, and world leaders brazenly suppress free speech, reporters Patrícia, Carl, Sáshenka, and Oliver face harrowing circumstances more likely encountered in war zones or autocratic states than in a functional democracy. Joining us in conversation are Co-directors Rachel Grady (Boys of Baraka, One of Us) and Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp, Love Fraud) to talk about the crisis of misinformation, intimidation by law enforcement, deadly targeting by paramilitary groups, imprisonment and dwindling readership.
https://www.hbo.com/movies/endangered
Co-directors Amélie van Elmbt and Maya Duverdier illuminating documentary film DREAMING WALLS takes us inside the legendary Chelsea Hotel, an icon of 1960s counterculture and a haven for famous artists and intellectuals including Patti Smith, Janis Joplin and the superstars of Warhol's Factory. The iconic structure is undergoing an extensive renovation. Soon it will reopen to the public as one of New York's most fashionable luxury hotels. Dozens of long-term residents, most in their later years, have lived amidst the scaffolding and constant construction for close to a decade. Against this chaotic backdrop, DREAMING WALLS: INSIDE THE CHELSEA HOTEL takes us through the hotel’s storied halls, exploring its living body and the bohemian origins that contributed to its mythical stature. Its residents and the walls themselves now face a turning point in their common history. Co-directors Amélie van Elmbt and Maya Duverdier stop by to talk about their distinctive, dreamy and beautifully rendered look into the history, architecture, ambiance and denizens that have imbued the Chelsea with its power and glory.
For updates and screening go to: magpictures.com/dreamingwalls
To watch at home go to: magpictures.com/dreamingwalls
In this acerbic part teen comedy, part drama, TAHARA, a funeral becomes a battleground between best friends Carrie Lowstein (Madeline Grey DeFreece) and Hannah Rosen (Rachel Sennott, breakout star of SHIVA BABY). When their former Hebrew school classmate commits suicide, the two girls attend her funeral as well as the "Teen Talk-back" session hosted by their synagogue, designed to be an opportunity for them to understand grief through Judaism. Hannah, more interested in impressing her crush Tristan (Daniel Taveras), convinces Carrie to practice kissing with her, unlocking feelings that turn Carrie's world upside down. Emotions heightened, the scene develops into a biting depiction of unrequited crushes, toxic friendships, and wavering faith, which ComingSoon calls "one of the most original films in the coming-of-age sub-genre in a long time.” Director Olivia Peace and Screenwriter Jess Zeidman join us for an in-depth conversation on the collaboration between them, the superb cast that was assembled for this exceptionally well executed story of love, death and teen angst.
For updates and screenings go to: filmmovement.com/tahara
CLARA SOLA drops us into a remote village in Costa Rica, 40-year-old Clara (Wendy Chinchilla Araya) who endures a repressively religious and withdrawn life under the command of her mother (Flor María Vargas Chaves). Clara is believed to have a special connection to God. As a "healer", she sustains a family and a village in need of hope, while she finds solace in her relationship with the natural world. After years of being controlled by her mother’s repressive care, Clara’s sexual desires are stirred by her attraction to her niece’s new boyfriend. Tension builds within the family as Clara’s younger niece (Ana Julia Porras Espinoza) approaches her quinceañera. This newly awakened force takes Clara to unexplored territory, allowing her to cross boundaries, both physical and mystical. Empowered by her self-discovery, Clara gradually frees herself from her role as “saint” and begins to heal herself. Director and co-screenwriter Nathalie Alvarez Mesén joins us for a conversation on her enthralling and beautifully drawn character study of a complex and determined woman, finding the right setting for the story, and eliciting a slew of captivating performances, led by Wendy Chinchilla Araya as Clara.
For updates and screenings go to: clarasola.oscilloscope.net
In this smart, funny and beguiling film, MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES, Jenny Slate (Obvious Child) gives voice and life to an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family. Marcel gets his big-screen debut in this hilarious and heartwarming story about finding connection in the smallest corners. Director / co-screenwriter Dean Fleischer Camp joins us for a conversation on backstory behind Marcel, working with Isabella Rossellini, the viral explosion of Marcel more than 10 years ago and his determination to tell Marcel’s story the way he and Marcel’s extended family wanted it told.
For news and screenings go to: a24films.com/marcel-the-shell-with-shoes-on
See Marcel in a theatre: tickets.marceltheshell.movie
Katia and Maurice Krafft loved two things — each other and volcanoes. For two decades, the daring French volcanologist couple roamed the planet, chasing eruptions and documenting their discoveries. FIRE OF LOVE tells a story of primordial creation and destruction, following two bold explorers as they venture into the unknown. FIRE OF LOVE tells the extraordinary love story of intrepid French scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who died just as explosively as they lived — capturing the most spectacular imagery ever recorded of their greatest passion: volcanoes. Director Sara Dosa and the filmmaking team fashion a lyrical celebration of the intrepid scientists’ spirit of adventure, drawing from the Kraffts’ spectacular archive. Ultimately, they lost their lives in a 1991 volcanic explosion, leaving a legacy that forever enriched our knowledge of the natural world. Director Sara Dosa (Audrie & Daisy, The Last Season) joins us for a conversation on the joy of learning about the couple, sifting through the trove of archival footage of their work, exploring personal / professional partnership they shared and giving the world an opportunity to appreciate the science and the spectacle they were willing to give their lives for.
To watch at home go to: nationalgeographic.com
In theatres starting July 6: neonrated.com/fire-of-love
ACCEPTED follows four high school seniors in rural Louisiana who are students at T.M. Landry, an unconventional K - 12 school housed in a sparse warehouse made famous for sending its graduates to elite universities like Harvard, Yale, and Stanford. The students aim to meet the intense expectations of Mike Landry, the imposing founder of the school who charts a relentless course towards their college dreams. When the New York Times publishes an expose on Landry’s controversial methods, the school buckles under the scrutiny. Each senior is left to contend with uncomfortable truths about their school and the college admissions system, and decide for themselves what they are willing to do to be accepted. Accepted offers a unique and intriguing look at the world of Ivy League college admissions and the true cost of getting that first foothold into elite American society. In his first documentary feature, director Dan Chen grounds a broader look at the inequities in the American education system with unbelievable access to T.M. Landry and the deeply personal stories of four dynamic students looking to overcome countless obstacles to achieve their dreams.
greenwichentertainment.com/film/accepted
For more go to: acceptedfilm.com
HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN: A JOURNEY, A SONG is a definitive exploration of poet / singer / songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934 - 2016) as seen through the prism of his internationally renowned hymn, “Hallelujah.” This feature-length documentary weaves together three creative strands: The songwriter and his times; the song’s dramatic journey from record label reject to chart-topping hit; and moving testimonies from major recording artists for whom “Hallelujah” has become a personal touchstone. The song enjoyed a new life in 1991 after being covered by John Cale (Cohen shared over 100 unused verses with him), then Jeff Buckley on his Grace album -- and evolved through countless versions to become one of the most beloved songs of all time. Approved for production by Leonard Cohen just before his 80th birthday in 2014, HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN: A JOURNEY, A SONG accesses a wealth of never-before-seen archival materials from the Cohen Trust including Cohen’s personal notebooks, journals and photographs, performance footage, and extremely rare audio recordings and interviews. Drawing from this wealth of archival materials, directors Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine (BALLETS RUSSES) meticulously trace the career of the restless Canadian as they detail the unlikely path of his famous composition.
For updates and screenings go to: sonyclassics.com/hallelujah
Directed by Emmy®-winning filmmaker James Jones (Mosul), CHERNOBYL: THE LOST TAPES, is the powerful and at times graphic film that tells the story of the disaster and its far-reaching ripple effects entirely through extraordinary and immersive footage, shot on site in the hours, days, weeks and months following the accident. As soldiers, pilots and miners were called on to help contain the radiation at huge physical risk, the Soviet apparat continued to deny and distort the enormity of the situation. Deeply personal witness testimony contextualizes the tragedy, providing an overview of life in Chernobyl before the meltdown and harrowing details of its aftermath. Government propaganda films illustrate the Soviet Union’s pride in its nuclear program and news reports show President Gorbachev’s delayed and mendacious announcements to his trusting countrymen. Thirty-six years after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded in Soviet Ukraine, newly uncovered archival footage and recorded interviews with those who were present paint an emotional and gripping portrait of the extent and gravity of the disaster and the lengths to which the Soviet government went to cover up the incident, including the soldiers sent in to “liquidate” the damage. CHERNOBYL: THE LOST TAPES is the full, unvarnished true story of what happened in one of the least understood tragedies of the twentieth century. Director James Jones (Mosul) joins us for a conversation on why this man-made disaster holds lessons for people today regarding disinformation and its deadly consequences, the very real dangers that shadow the hundreds of nuclear power currently operating around the world and the arrogance of unchecked power and unaccountable political leadership. For news and screenings go to: hbo.com/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes
First-time feature filmmaker Rebeca "Beba" Huntt undertakes an unflinching exploration of her own identity in the remarkable coming-of-age documentary/cinematic memoir BEBA. Reflecting on her childhood and adolescence in New York City as the daughter of a Dominican father and Venezuelan mother, Huntt investigates the historical, societal, and generational trauma she's inherited and ponders how those ancient wounds have shaped her, while simultaneously considering the universal truths that connect us all as humans. Throughout BEBA, Huntt searches for a way to forge her own creative path amid a landscape of intense racial and political unrest. BEBA is a courageous, deeply human self-portrait of an Afro-Latina artist hungry for knowledge and yearning for connection. Director Rebecca Huntt joins us for a conversation on her collaboration with producer Sofia Gold and how that impacted her poetic, powerful and profound project.
For news and screenings go to: bebafilm.com
The HBO Original six-part documentary series Mind Over Murder, directed by Nanfu Wang and produced by Vox Media Studios chronicles the bizarre and psychologically complex story of six individuals who were convicted for the 1985 murder of a beloved 68- year-old grandmother, Helen Wilson, in Beatrice, Nebraska. Despite five of the individuals originally confessing to the crime, the “Beatrice Six” as they became known, were exonerated by DNA evidence in 2009, a turn of events which divided the rural town and incensed the family of Helen Wilson. As the filmmakers track the case from the murder, through investigation, trial, exoneration and two civil suits, shifting perspectives cloud the truth; a stranger-than-fiction tale emerges that raises salient questions about the reliability of confessions and memory in criminal cases. Director Nanfu Wang (Hooligan Sparrow, One Child Nation, In the Same Breath) joins us for a conversation on her own journey to gain the confidence of a community convinced they already knew the truth, uncovering the venality of local government officials, and her ideas about how storytelling can be a way to break through to people traumatized by violence and misinformation.
For updates and screenings go to: hbo.com/mind-over-murder
From Emmy-nominated Director Nadia Hallgren and producers Kenya Barris & Roger Ross Williams comes the NETFLIX documentary CIVIL/BEN CRUMP. CIVIL is an intimate vérité look at the life of maverick civil rights attorney Ben Crump and his mission to raise the value of Black life in America. CIVIL follows a year in the life of Crump as takes on the civil cases for the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Black farmers, and "Banking while Black" victims, in doing so challenging America to come to terms with what it owes his clients. Peeling back the many layers of Crump, Hallgren gives a behind-the-scenes look at his upbringing and his balance of work and family life. CIVIL also underscores other countless issues Crump is passionate about including environmental justice and banking while Black. Director / Cinematographer Nadia Hallgren joins us for a conversation on the profoundly significant role that Ben Crump has taken on, symbolically and practically for the African American community. Hallgren’s multi-layered approach to storytelling provides the viewer with a window into Mr. Crump’s world of rampant state sanctioned carnage, grief counseling and legal triage.
To watch go to: netflix.com/CIVIL
CIVIL is produced by Kenya Barris, Roger Ross Williams, Lauren Cioffi and Nadia Hallgren and executive produced by Erynn Sampson, Matthew Carnahan and Geoff Martz.
Beautifully layered and expressionistic, AFTER SHERMAN is a story about inheritance and the tension that defines our collective American history, especially Black history. Director Jon Sesrie Goff follows his father, a minister, in the aftermath of a mass shooting at his church in Charleston, South Carolina to understand how communities of descendants of enslaved Africans use their unique faith as a form of survival as they continue to fight for America to live up to its many unfulfilled promises to Black Americans. Goff’s feature documentary debut, lays out intimate accounts of the lives of the Black community in the filmmaker's Black Belt hometown, on land that has been in his family for 150 years, where they were once enslaved. Now transformed, primarily on the backs and resourcefulness of Black people, and thriving as a wedding destination, it stands as a reminder of the painful, cross-generational consequences of racism, and a validation of life's beauty. Pure cinematic poetry informed by a history still to be conclusively reckoned with, AFTER SHERMAN foregrounds the Southern Black experience while posing complicated questions about home and ownership that it isn't so presumptuous to believe it can readily answer. Director Jon Sesrie Goff joins us for a conversation on the many ways that our country’s hidden history, bigoted culture, blinding greed, deceitful religious leadership and cynically racist political system has failed an astonishingly resilient people.
For news and updates go to: aftersherman.com
Award-winning filmmaker Emmett Adler's feature documentary END OF THE LINE is a character-driven political drama about the New York City subway crisis and a long overdue reckoning on infrastructure. Establishing the vital economic importance and grandeur of New York City’s historic subway system, the film dives into its dire modern-day troubles picking up in the late 2010s when flooding, overcrowding, power failures, and derailments have become commonplace. After a particularly bad spate of disasters in the summer of 2017, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proclaims a state of emergency and hires a new international wunderkind executive named Andy Byford to save the subways. Byford, an earnest Briton with an impressive resume, enters as a charismatic would-be hero. As the political turmoil behind the subway’s decline comes into sharp focus, scenes in barbershops, bodegas, and bakeries show the frustration and devastation among business owners and residents who are caught in the middle. Director Emmett Adler seamlessly captures the hurly-burly of New York - State and City - politics, the daily miracle of moving nine million people across the five NYC burroughs, the immensity of the challenges facing anyone willing and able to “fix” the MTA and clashing politicos, bureaucrats and transportation engineers who all think they know what’s best.
For updates and screenings go to: endofthelinedoc.com
Tommy Walker and Ross Hockrow’s documentary short KAEPERNICK & AMERICA takes us back to the summer of 2016, an election year with unrest rumbling through America. There were countless triggers – the murder videos of Philando Castille and Alton Sterling, the counterpunch of Alt-Right and Fake News, Black Lives Matter, Russian meddling – a discordant national cauldron ready to boil over. It was the birth of Trumpism, but no knew it yet. Then, Colin Kaepernick took a knee and America lost its mind. Kaep’s knee touched down on the divide between America’s Black and white tectonic plates, creating an earthquake in the eternal race debate. The aftershocks of his singular gesture have already rippled through our country for years. Kaepernick himself answered any and all thoughtful questions for a time, then stopped talking. And the resulting quiet has allowed for a thoughtful examination of the man and his story. It reveals layer upon layer of surprises and contradictions. Raised in a white family, he became a Black quarterback, while in fact, he is an adopted, biracial man. Co-directors Tommy Walker and Ross Hockrow join us to talk about their deep dive into the story behind the headlines and in doing so provide us with insight into how and why this inherently shy young man became the center of attention still dealing with the scourge of racism in America.
For updates and screenings go to: tribecafilm.com/kaepernick-america
BRIAN AND CHARLES follows Brian, a lonely inventor in rural Wales, who spends his days building quirky, unconventional contraptions that seldom work. Undeterred by his lack of success, Brian decides to build a robot for company. ‘Charles’ is not only Brian’s most successful invention, but he appears to have a personality all of his own and quickly becomes Brian’s best friend, curing his loneliness and opening Brian’s eyes to a new way of living. However, Charles creates more problems than Brian bargained for, and the timid inventor has to face-up to several issues in his life; his eccentric ways, a local bully, and the woman he’s always been fond of but never had the nerve to talk to. BRIAN & CHARLES is a feel-good comedy about friendship, love, and letting go. And a 7ft tall robot that eats cabbages. Director Jim Archer joins us for a conversation on how the project came into his life, finding the right location for evoking the off-kilter ambiance of the story and capturing the mixture of quirky, funny and endearing that has allowed BRIAN AND CHARLES take hold of audiences everywhere it has been screened.
For news and screenings go to: focusfeatures.com/brian-and-charles
Emelie Mahdavian’s sweeping documentary BITTERBRUSH follows Hollyn Patterson and Colie Moline, range riders who are spending their last summer herding cattle in remote Idaho. Totally off the grid with only their dogs as companions, Hollyn and Colie brave inclement weather and perilous work conditions while pondering their futures. A portrait of friendship, life transitions, and the work of two skilled young women in the isolated and beautiful landscape of the American West, BITTERBRUSH is an intimate portrayal of a way of life rarely seen on film that takes us beyond the “oh look” stereotypes of women’s work and celebrates the excellence of their skill and expanding capacity to adapt. Director Emelie Mahdavian joins us to talk about the logistical challenges of capturing the stunningly beautiful and rugged terrain that Hollyn and Colie have to navigate, conveying the tension that comes from doing what you love in a potentially very dangerous “workplace” while highlighting the friendship and teamwork that is at the heart of this enthralling journey.
For updates and screenings go to: magpictures.com/bitterbrush
Watch at home: magpictures.com/bitterbrush
NEPTUNE FROST is a multi-hyphenate, multidisciplinary from the hearts and minds of artists Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman. They bring their unique dynamism to this Afrofuturist vision, a sci-fi punk musical that’s a visually wondrous amalgamation of themes, ideas, and songs that Williams has explored in his work, notably his 2016 album MartyrLoserKing. Co-directed with his partner, the Rwandan-born artist and cinematographer Uzeyman, NEPTUNE FROST takes place in the hilltops of Burundi, where a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective. From their camp in an otherworldly e-waste dump, they attempt a takeover of the authoritarian regime exploiting the region's natural resources – and its people. When an intersex runaway and an escaped coltan miner find each other through cosmic forces, their connection sparks glitches within the greater divine circuitry. Set between states of being – past and present, dream and waking life, colonized and free, male and female, memory and prescience, Neptune Frost co-directors Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman bring an invigorating and empowering direct download to the cerebral cortex and a call to reclaim technology for progressive political ends.
For updates and screenings go to: kinolorber.com/NeptuneFrost
Divided into two chapters, director Bogdan George Apetri's MIRACLE begins with the young, beautiful Cristina Tofan (Ioana Bugarin) sneaking away from an isolated convent. Working in the style of the Romanian New Wave, Apetri withholds key information about her motives as we follow her enigmatic journey, allowing tension to steadily build to a wavering precipice. The film's second part follows Marius Preda (Emanuel Pârvu), a determined inspector retracing Cristina's steps days after her departure. Here, the narrative opens into both gripping police thriller and devastating social commentary, as Marius gradually uncovers clues and revelations leading not only to the unfathomable truth behind Cristina’s mysterious actions, but possibly, to an actual miracle as well. Director / writer Bogdan George Apetri joins us for a conversation on the multi-part story, of which Miracle is one part, that he is in the process of telling, the decision to lean into long tracking shots, recruiting a superb cast of actors into Miracle and Unidentified and his love of cinema.
For updates and screenings go to: filmmovement.com/miracle
Stranger at the Gate - Director Joshua Seftel Joshua Seftel’s documentary short, STRANGER AT THE GATE, tells the story of U.S. Marine Richard Mac McKinney after returning home to Indiana, after 25 years of service, filled with an all-consuming rage toward the people he had been fighting against. Still fueled by his desire to fight for his country, he plans to bomb the local mosque. But when he comes face to face with the community of Afghan refugees and others of Muslim faith that he seeks to kill, his plan takes an unexpected turn. Director Joshua Seftel (Lost and Found, This American Life) joins us for a conversation on his pursuit of the people who opened their hearts to a man determined to carry out a heinous act, and came to find out that sharing their common humanity would prove to be the greatest gift that they could give to one another.
For news and screenings go to: strangeratthegate.com
From Award-winning filmmaker David Henry Gerson a documentary short, THE STORY WON’T DIE. It’s an inspiring, timely look at a young generation of Syrian artists who use their work to protest and process what is currently the world’s largest and longest ongoing displacement of people since World War II. THE STORY WON’T DIE was produced by Sundance Award-winning producer Odessa Rae (Navalny). and geature a wide variety of Syrian born artist that includes; Rapper Abu Hajar, post-Rock musician (Anas Maghrebi), members of the first all-female Syrian rock band (Bahila Hijazi and Lynn Mayya), break-dancer (Bboy Shadow), choreographer (Medhat Aldaabal), and visual artists (Tammam Azzam, Omar Imam and Diala Brisly). All of these talented artists use their art to rise in revolution and endure in exile in this new documentary reflecting on a battle for peace, justice and freedom of expression. It is an uplifting and humanizing look at what it means to be a refugee in today’s world and offers inspiring and hopeful vantages on a creative response to the chaos of war. Director David Henry Gerson stops by to talk about his exploration of artists / activists forced to flee one of the world’s most repressive regimes, away from family and loved ones, but still committed to their art, community and hope for a time when they can return to their beloved country.
For updates and screenings go to: thestorywontdie.com To watch: thestorywontdie.com/screenings
The highly entertaining multi-part real-life crime documentary series, CATCHING A KILLER, offers an unprecedented 360-degree access into a thoroughly modern murder investigation. This innovative and ratings-winning series, deemed the ‘Real life Inspector Morse’, follows major crime investigations from start to finish. Each documentary film is self-contained and follows the work of one major investigation – covering some of the most serious and challenging crimes facing this tri-county force. Beyond the blue flashing lights, how does a major crime investigation work? How do partner agencies come together to support a major investigation? And how much work really goes on behind the scenes to gain a successful outcome in court? Co-director and Executive Producer Jezza Neumann joins us for a conversation on the backstory that led to this impeccably produced five-part documentary series, gaining the confidence of law enforcement and members of the victim’s families and the stress and strain of being ready to pick up a camera on a moments notice.
To watch go to: topic.com/coming-soon-to-topic
For updates and screenings go to: topic.com
Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Khan offers a stunning cinematic view of Mongolia’s past and present. Film director and novelist Robert H. Lieberman takes us into this vast country little known by many. New York Times best-selling author Jack Weatherford opens the film, leading us through the remarkable evolution of Genghis Khan’s Mongol Empire. Intimate portraits of today’s Mongolians provide us with rare and revealing insights into the minds of these former warriors and nomads and the challenges they face in their post Soviet world. Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Khan is the third in the trilogy of films from the creative team at PhotoSynthesis Productions that includes the acclaimed Angkor Awakens and They Call It Myanmar - hailed as New York Times Critics’ Picks. Director Robert Lieberman (Angkor Awakes, They Call It Myanmar) stops by to talk about largest and most consequential empire in human history led by a man who commanded a disciplined army, deployed brilliant military tactics, elevated the status of women within the empire and created an enduring legacy that continues to inform the lives of modern Mongolian society.
For news, updates and screenings go to: echoesoftheempire.com
REBELLION is the first feature-length documentary to tell the behind-the-scenes story of Extinction Rebellion, following a group of unlikely allies as they come together to confront the climate emergency. In the decade since the Financial Crisis, action on climate change had slipped right down the political agenda. In 2018 a new group emerged, Extinction Rebellion (XR), with a bold tactic to break through the deadlock: mass civil disobedience on a scale not seen for decades. Rebellion follows the journey of XR co-founders as well as Farhana Yamin, an international environmental lawyer who played a key role in negotiating the Paris Climate Agreement, as she decides to break the law for the first time in her life. For them, climate change is not just an environmental issue but is rooted in - and reinforces - social inequalities. REBELLION crucially tells a story about the health of our own democracy, as we witness moves to restrict the power of peaceful protest - including a government bill threatening 10 year jail sentences for those causing ‘serious annoyance or inconvenience.’ REBELLION poses uncomfortable and important questions about what it means to be an active citizen. First time filmmakers Maia Kenworthy and Elena Sanchez Bellot join us for a conversation about the civil rights issues as they related to protest, the urgency that so many feel regarding the climate crisis and the pressing need for proactive, not reactive actions. We also talk about the internal dynamics that come when a group of political activists begin to experience the spotlight of success.
“18½” humorously crafts its own narrative into the notorious gap in Nixon’s Watergate scandal. Taking place in 1974, “18½” is about a fictional White House transcriber finds the only copy of the infamous 18½-minute gap in Nixon's Watergate tapes but her attempts to leak it to the press run afoul of hippies, swingers and nefarious forces. “18½” acclaimed cast is led by stars Willa Fitzgerald (Amazon’s Reacher), John Magaro (First Cow), Vondie Curtis Hall (Harriet), Catherine Curtin (Netflix’s Stranger Things), Richard Kind (Argo), Sullivan Jones (The Gilded Age), Alanna Saunders, Claire Saunders, and the legendary voices of Ted Raimi (Spider-Man) , Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), and Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead) as President Richard Nixon. Directed by Dan Mirvish, "18½" features a screenplay by Daniel Moya, story by Mirvish and Moya, with classic cinematography by Elle Schneider. Director Dan Mirvish (Between Us, Bernard and Huey) and a Slamdance Film Festival Co-founder joins us to talk about the superb cast of actors he assembled for this historically inspired story that is one part comedy, one part 1970s paranoia, and wholly entertaining.
For news and updates go to: 18andahalfmovie.com
To watch 18 1/2 go to: 18andahalfmovie.com/screenings
The story behind MIDWIVES is the story of Hla and Nyo Nyo, both living and working side-by-side in a country torn by ethnic conflict. Hla is a Buddhist and the owner of a makeshift medical clinic in western Myanmar, where the Rohingya (a Muslim minority community) are persecuted and denied basic rights. Nyo Nyo is a Muslim and an apprentice midwife who acts as an assistant and translator at the clinic. Her family has lived in the area for generations, yet they are still considered intruders. Encouraged and challenged by Hla, who risks her own safety daily by helping Muslim patients, Nyo Nyo is determined to become a steady health care provider for her community. The filmmaker’s gentle, impartial gaze grants unique access to these courageous women who unite to bring forth life. Filled with love, empathy, and hope, MIDWIVES offers a rare insight into the complex reality of Myanmar and its people. Director Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing (Burmese Butterfly) joins us for a conversation on her own journey, that included filming in Myanmar for over five turbulent years, witnessing the vilification and ostracized by the international community for their brutal treatment of the Rohingya people and gaining the trust and respect of the women who have made the clinic an integral part of the communities they serve.
For updates and screenings go to: dogwoofsales.com/midwives
Winner - World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Excellence In Verité Filmmaking - Sundance 2022
PLAGUE AT THE GOLDEN GATE takes us back over 100 years before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world. Back to a time when an outbreak of bubonic plague in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1900 unleashed a wave of fear and anti-Asian sentiment. It was the first time in history that civilization’s most feared disease — the infamous Black Death — made it to North America. Two doctors — vastly different in temperament, training and experience — used different methods to lead the seemingly impossible battle to contain the disease before it could engulf the country. In addition to overwhelming medical challenges, they faced unexpected opposition from business leaders, politicians, and even the president of the United States. Fueling the resistance would be a potent blend of political expediency, ignorance, greed, racism, and deep-rooted distrust of not only federal authority but science itself. Scapegoated as the source of the disease early on, the Chinese community fought back against unjust, discriminatory treatment. The gripping story of the desperate race against time to save San Francisco and the nation from the deadly disease, Plague at the Golden Gate is based in part on David K. Randall’s critically acclaimed book, Black Death at the Golden Gate. Director Li-Shin Yu and Producer James Q. Chan join us for a conversation on the social, political, economic and medical reasons that this little known, potentially devastating outbreak disproportionally impacted the San Francisco’s Chinese community and just how close that their callous bigotry came to unleashing a catastrophic scourge on the entire country.
For more news go to: pbs.org/americanexperience/plague-golden-gate
EMERGENCY follows college seniors Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins) and his best friend, Sean (RJ Cyler), as they ready themselves for an epic night of Spring Break parties. Sean has the whole night planned out, including every party they will hit on their “legendary tour.” Kunle is down, yet mostly concerned with finishing up his mold experiment in his lab, as his acceptance to Princeton is hinging on the results. They return to their apartment to pre-game, yet find that their roommate, Carlos (Sebastian Chacon), left the door open. As they enter with trepidation, Sean and Kunle discover a drunk, semi-conscious White female they don’t know on the floor and an oblivious Carlos, who didn’t hear her come in over the videogame blaring in his ears. The moral and practical dilemma of what these three men of color should do with the incapacitated white girl sets in motion a wildly fraught journey through the social, political and racial landscape of America in 2022. Director Carey Williams (Cherry Waves, Emergency (short)) joins us for a lively conversation on his collaboration with screenwriter KD Davila, and how he pulled together an amazingly talented cast newcomers to help him deliver a multi-layered, funny, terrifying, and thrilling cinematic ride. For updates and screenings go to amazonstudios.com/emergency
For theatre tickets go to: emergencymovie.com
For more on Carey Williams go to: cdubfilms.com
HOLD YOUR FIRE takes on a deep dive into an incident that has become a touchstone of hyper-aggressive police tactics and community relations. In 1973, four young African-American Muslim men entered a sporting goods store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to steal guns. They were soon cornered by a score of New York police. The bungled robbery triggered a response of deadly force by a then mostly-white police force and led to the longest hostage siege in NYPD history. The stand-off eventually became, could a visionary police psychologist, Harvey Schlossberg, convince his superiors to do the unthinkable – negotiate with “criminals” – and save twelve hostages from a violent bloodbath? In never-before-seen film and eye-opening interviews, HOLD YOUR FIRE is a look into a policing regime that could revolutionize the ways that American law enforcement protects the citizenry and saves lives in the process. Director Stefan Forbes, (Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story) producer Fab Five Freddy (Grass is Greener) and their team reconstruct what took place through the Rashomon-like perspectives of the robbers, hostages, and cops.
For updates and screenings go to: holdyourfirefilm.com
Ninja Thyberg’s debut feature film PLEASURE is a journey into the Los Angeles porn industry through the lens of newcomer Bella Cherry (Sofia Kappel). A strong, self-confident and determined, Bella leaves behind her small Swedish town and embarks on a mission to become the best adult performer at any cost. PLEASURE was written and directed by Ninja Thyberg and showcases a forthright and fearless performance by Kappel. PLEASURE also features an ensemble of well known adult industry actors. Director Ninja Thyberg (Pleasure (short), Catwalk) joins us for a conversation on the place porn occupies in our public and personal space, the predominance of a male perspective in commercial pornography, the power dynamics that track Bella’s journey through porn’s titular capital, the San Fernando Valley and the celebration of personal sexual pleasure.
For updates and screenings go to: neonrated.com/films/pleasure
2021 Sundance Film Festival Nominated, Grand Jury Prize World Cinema - Ninja Thyberg
2022 Independent Spirit Award Nominated, Best Director - Ninja Thyberg
Lonnie Frazier’s intimate and endearing documentary film, BOX OF RAIN, asks and answers the question… What do you do when you’re seventeen, suicidal, and believe that the only thing the world has to offer you is violence and pain? You get in your car and drive across the United States to go see the Grateful Dead, of course. At least, that’s what you do if you’re lucky. In 1985, Lonnie’s life was spiraling out of control. Through a twist of fate she found healing in an unexpected place: the Deadhead community. It all started with a road trip and free tickets to see the Grateful Dead at Red Rocks in Colorado. BOX OF RAIN is an exploration of the Deadhead family, past and present, and the qualities that make it unique. We follow Lonnie as she reconnects with the women she traveled with in her youth, and makes new friends along the way. Through wide ranging interviews, she seeks to dispel the common stereotypes about Dead-heads and document the beauty of the community. We learn how the Grateful Dead touched the lives of so many people, the healing they found through the music, and the memories they cherish most. Twenty-five years after the road trip that started it all, Lonnie returns to Red Rocks in her quest to complete this film. On this journey, she discovers healing, and the power to write her own story. Director Lonnie Frazier joins us for a conversation on the enduring power of the Grateful Dead’s music to inspire, and connect people to another for their own long, strange trip through life. For updates and screenings go to: boxofrainfilm.com
THE WILL TO SEE shadows the old-time war reporter, philosopher and writer, Bernard-Henri Lévy as he accept a dangerous and essential assignment, in the pandemic year 2020, from a consortium of newspapers that includes Paris Match, La Reppublica, The Wall Street Journal, to bear witness and report from hotspots around the world disrupted by war with the most challenging geopolitical disasters. From the trenches in Donbas, Ukraine and the resistance in the Panjshir Valley fighting the Taliban to the Kurdish fighters combating ISIS, THE WILL TO SEE is an unflinching look at the world’s most unreachable war zones and urgent humanitarian crises and has one message: pay attention and care for common humanity. Co-director Bernard-Henri Lévy (Peshmerga, The Oath of Tobruk) joins us to reflect on our collective human history of warfare and cruelty, usually visited upon the most vulnerable amongst us, as well as the state of a world being torn apart by war and violence that is seemingly unable or willing to see it.
For updates and screenings go to: the-will-to-see
For more: bernard-henri-levy.com/the-will-to-see
In Chris Sivertson’s latest film, MONSTROUS, a terrifying new horror awaits Laura (Christina Ricci) and her seven-year-old son Cody when they flee her abusive ex-husband and try to settle into a new life in an idyllic and remote lakeside farmhouse. As they begin to settle into their new life, they encounter a bigger, more terrifying horror that threatens their already fragile existence and pushes their physical and mental well-being to the limit. MONSTROUS stars Christina Ricci (Buffalo 66, Monster, The Opposite of Sex), with Colleen Camp ( Always Shine, American Hustle) Santino Bernard (Penny Dreadful), Don Balderamos and Nick Vallelonga (Green Book). MONSTROUS director Chris Sivertson (All Cheerleaders Die) joins us for a conversation on his collaboration with screenwriter Carol Chrest, working with award-winning actor Christina Ricci and striking a balanced approach between psychological thriller with an illuminating character study.
For news and updates go to: screenmediafilms.net/Monstrous
To watch Monstrous go to: monstrousmovie.net
In the riveting documentary film, THE WOBBLIES, Filmmakers Deborah Shaffer and Stewart Bird weave history, archival film footage, interviews with former workers (in their 80s and 90s during the making of the film), cartoons, original art, and classic Wobbly songs (many written by Joe Hill) to pay tribute to the legacy of these rebels who paved the way and risked their lives for the many of the rights that we still have today. “Solidarity! All for One and One for All!” Founded in Chicago in 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) took to organizing unskilled workers into one big union and changed the course of American history. This compelling documentary of the IWW (or “The Wobblies” as they were known), narrated by Roger Baldwin, one of the founders of the ACLU, tells the story of workers in factories, sawmills, wheat fields, forests, mines and on the docks as they organize and demand better wages, healthcare, overtime pay and safer working conditions. In some respects, men and women, Black and white, skilled and unskilled workers joining a union and speaking their minds seems so long ago, but in other ways, the film mirrors today’s headlines, depicting a nation torn by corporate greed. Co-directors Deborah and Stewart Bird join us for a conversation on their own journey of making THE WOBBLIES, more than 40 years ago, their reflections on the significance of that nascent labor movement, the deadly violence brought down on those men and women who dared to ask for a fair wage and a decent life and what lessons we can glean from the first labor movement that could be successful in today’s virulently anti-labor workplace.
For updates and screenings go to: kinolorber.com/film/the-wobblies
Director Maris Curran’s feature documentary, Jeannette, is a striking and intimate vérité, this portrait of competitive bodybuilder and queer single mother Jeannette Feliciano. The story unfolds as a nuanced story of balancing the relentlessness of daily existence with the realities of living through trauma. In the wake of Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub shooting, Jeannette continues to coach other survivors at the gym while raising her son. Life seems calm again, until Hurricane Maria hits Puerto Rico and Jeannette is thrown back into crisis mode. Skirting headlines to instead focus on the tenderness of healing, Maris Curran (Five Nights in Maine) delivers her feature documentary debut with the World Premiere of JEANNETTE. Director Maris Curran and the subject Jeannette Feliciano joins us for a conversation on the process of becoming comfortable with each other as Jeannette facilitates Maris’s camera and crew into every aspect of her life why it was important for both of them to give the horrifying reality of the Pulse Club mass shooting the appropriate perspective in the sweep of Jeanette’s complex and rewarding life.
For updates and screenings go to: thefilmcollaborative.org
Anthony Baxter’s Flint: Who Can You Trust? exposes the political arrogance and constant danger facing thousands of Flint, Michigan residents. Caused, in large part, by the actions of an unelected governing body, made up of unelected political hacks appointed by the governor. On April 25, 2014, for reasons that remain shrouded in mystery, Michigan governor Rick Snyder signed off on an order that switched the source of Flint water system from the Lake Heron of Great Lakes to the Flint River. That decision resulted in the poisoning Flint residents and leading to one of the worst human-caused environmental disasters in American history. Award-winning journalist / filmmaker Anthony Baxter's FLINT: WHO CAN YOU TRUST goes beyond the headlines to investigate the escalating betrayal and deceit by government officials, the breakdown in public trust and faith in official science, and ultimately, the community's enduring fight for one of our most basic rights: clean water. Director and Producer Anthony Baxter (You've Been Trumped, You've Been Trumped Too) joins us for a conversation on his searing indictment of local, state, and federal governance, merciless scammers, junk science, charlatans, systemic racism, social and political indifference that is still costing thousands innocent people their dignity, health and for too many, their lives.
For updates and screenings go to: Flintdocumentary.com
To watch go to: flintdocumentary.com/watchnow
To stop more Flints go to: flintdocumentary.com/resources
Deborah Anderson’s WOMEN OF THE WHITE BUFFALO takes a comprehensive look at the ancient, Native, and matriarchal Lakota nation, a community that has been upended by centuries of genocide and colonialism. This sustained assault has resulted in a culturally sabotaged and isolated people that are in a constant struggle to save what remains of their sacred identity. The Lakota women living on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Indian Reservations in South Dakota, are rising up against the forces that continue to suppress them. By preserving and protecting their ancestral values and wisdom, they provide a source of hope to their people. With exclusive access to the lives of 9 women, ranging in age from 10 to 98, we explore powerful testimonials of loss and survival as we gain insight into the experience of a modern day Indigenous American living on an Indian Reservation. Gripping historical accounts and startling timely statistics guide viewers down the path that has led to these present day conditions. The indelible voices of these determined women inspire us with their strength, gifting us with ancient insights that speak to our current global, environmental and cultural crises. These are the powerfully rich stories of the brave women and children living in the poorest county in the United States. Director Deborah Anderson takes us along as we listen to their stories of loss, suicide, murder and epidemic meth addiction amongst their community, mirrored by their deep ancestral roots, traditional ceremony, prayer and hope.
For news and screenings go to: womenofthewhitebuffalo.com
From first-time feature writer/director Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet (Pauline Enslaved, Joujou) comes a vibrant new French romantic-comedy ANAIS IN LOVE. The film is a sensitive portrait of a complex and impulsive young woman. Anais, beautifully portrayed by Anaïs Demoustier (Alice and the Mayor, Pauline Enslaved, Sweet Evil) is thirty and broke. She has a lover, but she’s not sure she loves him anymore. After attending a friend’s party, Anaïs meets and falls into an affair with a middle-aged publisher named Daniel, played by Denis Podalydès (The Conquest, Caché, The Da Vinci Code). As their relationship quickly begins to fall apart, Anaïs discovers and becomes enchanted by the literary work of Daniel’s wife, Emilie, played by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (Like Crazy, Human Capital, It’s Easier for a Camel…), and after a chance encounter with Emilie, Anais begins to pursue her. A lighthearted nod to classical romances, the film explores the longings of wayward hearts. ANAIS IN LOVE made its world premiere at Cannes International Film Festival Critics Week. Director Charmine Bourgeois-Tacquet joins us for a bilingual conversation on the striking the right balance of drama, comedy and calamity, working again with Anais Demoustier to create a recklessly complex character with the innate ability to charm.
For news and updates go to: magpictures.com/anaisinlove
To watch go to: magpictures.com/anaisinlove/watch-at-home
Anaïs in Love will open theatrically on April 29 and digitally and on-demand May 6.
RIDE TILL I DIE follows the man from Davie, Florida, Ricky m. Ricky comes for a troubled past. His father walked out on his family and Ricky was on his own at 15 years old, but he had already found solace in bull riding. The eight-second duel of man versus beast was his emancipation and Ricky was successful early and often. Prize money earned in the arena was adding up and a chance to make the pro circuit was in sight. But despite all his success, Ricky could never win a championship and with the rigorous schedule came a heavy price. Ricky suffered many injuries, including a horrific incident where his face was crushed in 2010 which nearly ended his career. Twenty-five years later, along with his son, Lil’ Ricky, and fellow rider Ernie Courson, Ricky continues to ride and despite warnings from his wife, mother, and his ailing body. In RIDE TILL I DIE Ricky realizes his time is running out. His body is constantly in pain as over two decades of bull riding has taken its toll. Despite all the broken bones and permanent scars, Ricky keeps riding. Ricky is determined to chase that elusive title or die trying. Director Tony Rammos joins us for a conversation on the insanely dangerous world of bull riding, cowboy culture and what makes Ricky Ringer ride.
For updates and screenings go to: ridetillidiefilm.com
MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE focuses on a teenage delinquent, Sammy, played by newcomer Miya Cech, (Always Be My Maybe) as she attempts to befriend a surly magician Margot played by Rhea Perlman, (“Cheers," Matilda) who may or may not be able to help her navigate her inner demons and dysfunctional family with sleight of hand magic. A coming-of-age comedy that touches on unlikely friendships, grief, and finding hope in the darkest moments. Director Kate Tsang joins us for a conversation on the importance of telling a story that did not talk down to a younger audience, that gave voice to the character of Sammy that embraced her volatile behavior and voice to her anger at the loss of a loved one as well as navigating a story that swings between light-hearted comedy and mournful ire and working with the great Rhea Perlman.
For more go to: filmrise.com/marvelous-and-the-black-hole
To watch go to: filmrise-screenings.com/marvelous
The story behind SALMA’S HOME eschews the usual woman in peril narrative that is often presented in today's Arabic cinema. Director and writer Hanadi Elyan, one of the few female Arab filmmaking voices, follows beautifully in the footsteps of bold voices like Nadine Labaki, Raja Amari, and Jocelyn Saab. SALMA (Juliet Awad) is a talented baker living alone in a large old house overlooking downtown Amman, her daughter FARAH (Sameera Asir) is a young working mother with marital problems. Their lives are disrupted by the death of Salma’s ex-husband- BAKRI. The funeral takes place at his current wife’s house, LAMIA (Rania Al Kurdi), an aspiring socialite who is obsessed with building her brand online. After the funeral, shocking facts come to light leading to clashes and finally forcing the three women to accept some harsh realities and take control of their lives. Director / writer / editor Hanadi Elyan (Reel Arab Productions) stops by to talk about finding the superb cast of actors who help make the film take flight, as well as the inspiration for writing and directing this beautifully told story of heartbreak, betrayal, renewal, friendship and love.
For news and updates go to: hanadielyan.com
THE WHITE FORTRESS (TABIJA) stars Pavle Čemerkić as Faruk. He is an orphan who lives with his ill grandmother in the rundown Sarajevo suburb of Alipasino Polje. Faruk and spends his days foraging for scrap metal and dabbling in petty crime. One day he meets Mona, a timid teen from a politically powerful and affluent family. As Mona dreams of escaping the overbearing toxicity of her home life, she seeks refuge and opens herself up to Faruk, a boy from a world entirely different than her own THE WHITE FORTRESS was Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Best International Feature Film selection to represent them at the 94th Academy Awards. The film is a Canada/Bosnia co-production feature that had its World Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival as part of its Generation 14 plus section. The cast also includes Jasmin Geljo, Kerim Čutuna, Alban Ukaj and Irena Mulamuhić. Director and writer Igor Drljača joins us for a conversation on the declining quality of life that has come with fewer and fewer job opportunities in his hometown of Sarajevo, working with professional and non-professional actors and striking the right storytelling balance between despair and resiliency.
To watch go to: gametheoryfilms.com/tabija
To find out more go to: igordrljaca.com
In his mesmerizing feature documentary film, ALGREN, Michael Caplan drops us into the gritty world, brilliant mind, and noble heart of writer Nelson Algren. Exploding onto the national scene in 1950 after winning the first-ever National Book Award for The Man with the Golden Arm, Algren defined post-war American urban fiction with his brilliant depiction of working class Chicago. Hemingway declared him second only to Faulkner; Vonnegut dubbed him a literary groundbreaker. Hollywood soon came calling, immortalizing his breakout novel with none other than Frank Sinatra in the lead role. Algren even won a notorious place in both the heart and work of France’s premiere feminist, Simone de Beauvoir. Including never-before-seen archival footage, newly uncovered audio recordings and his own rarely seen, personal photo collages, ALGREN charts the rise and fall of a man whose transgressions, compassion and thirst for justice pushed him to dedicate his life and career to giving a voice to the voiceless. Through interviews with Algren’s friends, literary experts and artists – including William Friedkin, Russell Banks, Philip Kaufman, Billy Corgan and John Sayles – the film is an intimate, witty and even antagonistic portrait of a tireless champion of America’s most marginalized. Director Michael Caplan (Stones from the Soil) joins us for a conversation on what inspired him to explore the world of a groundbreaking, deeply American writer who has never reached the level of recognition and acclaim of his literary brethren.
For screenings and updates go to: firstrunfeatures.com/algren
In Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes award winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger pulls back the curtain on the notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy, the one-time aspiring politician, beloved local contractor, and part-time clown-for-hire who murdered 33 young men between 1972 and 1976. The majority of his victims were found buried under his house, in the quiet northwest suburbs of Chicago. Fifty years later, DNA scientists are still trying to identify all of his victims, but thanks to 60 hours of unearthed audio between Gacy and his defense team, we have fresh perspective on the narcissistic mindset of the murderer and a deeper understanding of how he operated for so long with impunity. The second installment in an ongoing series from filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes), this three-part documentary also features new interviews with key participants – some of whom have never talked before, including gut-wrenching testimony from one of Gacy’s survivors – all in search of answers to a crucial question: How was a public figure like Gacy able to get away with murder for so long? Director Joe Berlinger (Brother’s Keeper, Crude, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) joins us to talk about what draws him to the backstories involving people like Bundy and Gacy, and the personal impact exploring them has on his own outlook on humanity.
For screenings and updates go to: netflix.com
In the legacy of their groundbreaking documentary THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN which revolutionized the way people think about childbirth, filmmakers Abby Epstein and Ricki Lake unpack the power structures surrounding the reproductive health industry complex. Sixty years after the pill revolutionized women's emancipation, THE BUSINESS OF BIRTH CONTROL examines the complex relationship between hormonal birth control and women’s health and liberation. The documentary traces the feminist movement to investigate and expose the pill's risks alongside the racist legacy of hormonal contraception and its ongoing weaponization against communities of color. Weaving together the stories of bereaved parents, body literacy activists and femtech innovators, the film reveals a new generation seeking holistic and ecological alternatives to the pill while redefining the meaning of reproductive justice. Director Abby Epstein (Weed the People, Until the Violence Stops) joins us for a conversation on the confluence of historically poor understanding of women’s health, racial and gender-biased research, industry driven mis-information, and profit driven business interest that have warped the vision for what is best for women.
For news and screenings go to: thebusinessof.life/the-business-of-birth-control
TONY HAWK: UNTIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF center around a series of intimate interviews with Tony Hawk himself. The film is an all-encompassing look at the skateboarder’s life, legendary career, and relationship with the sport with which he’s been synonymous for decades. Hawk, a pioneer of modern vertical skating who is still pushing his limits at the age of 53, remains one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. A wide-ranging, definitive look at Hawk’s life and iconic career, and his relationship with the sport with which he’s been synonymous for decades. Hawk, born in San Diego, Calif., is a pioneer of modern vertical skating and one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. TONY HAWK: UNTIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF features unprecedented access, never-before-seen footage, and interviews with Hawk, and prominent figures in the sport including Stacy Peralta, Rodney Mullen, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Neil Blender, Andy MacDonald, Duane Peters, Sean Mortimer, and Christian Hosoi. Director and Producer Sam Jones (I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, Off Camera with Sam Jones) joins us for a conversation on his own passion for skateboarding, gaining the confidence of Tony, his family and his peers, as well as peeling back the layers of a highly motivated and hyper competitive athlete who has defined what it means to be an unconventional modern day superstar.
For updates and screenings go to: hbo.com/documentaries
BULL is a revenge thriller like no other. This ferocious, audacious, and blood-soaked is the latest from BAFTA-winning writer/director Paul Andrew Williams stars Neil Maskell (Kill List, Peaky Blinders) as Bull, a vicious mob enforcer seeking revenge on the gang that double-crossed him. Ten years after he was last seen, Bull returns home to methodically track down those who betrayed him, including his ex-wife, Sharon, played by Tamzin Outhwaite (Eastenders) and find his beloved son. With the ominous warning: “I’m coming for all of them,” Bull stalks his former gang, leading up to a savage showdown between his wife and her mob boss father Norm, played by David Hayman (Sid and Nancy, Macbeth). Director and writer Paul Andrew Williams (London to Brighton, Unfinished Song, The Cottage) joins us for a conversation on his intense, brutal and perversely “logical” tale of family grievance and revenge embodied in the tenacious performances of Neil Maskell and David Heyman.
Saban Films will release the thriller BULL in Theaters on April 1st and On Demand and Digital on April 5th.
The HBO Original THE INVISIBLE PILOT, a three-part documentary series by Emmy®-winning filmmakers Phil Lott and Ari Mark, is a tale of a charismatic, daredevil husband and father who unexpectedly jumped off a bridge in 1977, despite a seemingly happy home life and a lucrative career as a pilot. His small-town Arkansas community searches for his body in vain while family and friends seek answers. Years later, a mysterious story emerges involving hypnosis, secret identities and a double life of dangerous missions and law-breaking. And that’s just the beginning… THE INVISIBLE PILOT unfolds in three chapters, each one divulging new, shocking surprises. When Gary Betzner, a father of three, unexpectedly commits suicide the mystery surrounding his death deepens and unfurls a caper-filled tale involving a clandestine world of drug smuggling, gun running, and involvement in a covert war conducted at the highest level of the U.S. government. With a wealth of colorful archival material and shaped by vibrant storytelling by Gary’s wife, ex-wife, children, friends and associates, public defenders, law officers and journalists, THE INVISIBLE PILOT is a cautionary tale of unchecked power and covert operations, centered around a small-town man with outsized dreams. Co-Directors Phil Lott and Ari Mark join us to walk us through the bare-bones description of a multi-layered story that not only defies belief, but illuminates one of the darkest and most consequential political scandals in American history.
For news and screenings go to: hbo.com/the-invisible-pilot
THE INVISIBLE PILOT debuts MONDAY, APRIL 4 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) with new episodes airing subsequent Mondays at the same time. The series will debut on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max.
7 DAYS jumps into the world of arranged marriages through a pre-arranged date set-up by their old-fashioned Indian parents, Ravi (Karan Soni) and Rita (Geraldine Viswanathan). With apparently nothing in common, their afternoon date, while pleasant enough, couldn’t be any more awkward. Ravi’s conservative and clearly nervous, while Rita’s doing her best to politely keep on smiling. But then circumstances conspire and force Ravi to spend the night at Rita’s place. Before long, he sees that she’s not the straight-laced girl she initially pretended to be—for starters, she’s quick to pound a beer for breakfast. As their time stuck together stretches towards a full week, though, Ravi and Rita develop an unlikely bond, and in the face of a heartbreaking turn of events, that bond grows into something stronger. 7 DAYS is a delightful rom-com that doubles as a showcase for its two stars, Soni and Viswanathan, both of whom carry the film with their natural charm and easygoing chemistry, and a culturally specific spin on its genre’s familiar tropes. Optimistic and full of heart, director/co-writer Roshan Sethi’s debut captures love in the time of isolation and will leave you on a feel-good high.
Official Selection: BFI London, Tribeca Film Festival 2021 Independent Spirit Award Winner for Best First Feature
YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER picks up it’s harrowing tale the week before Halloween and Char’s mother, Angela (Carolyn Branken), has inexplicably disappeared. All that remains is her abandoned car. When she returns home without explanation the following evening, it becomes clear to Char (Hazel Doupe) and her grandmother, Rita (Ingrid Craigie), that something is amiss. She might look and sound the same but Angela’s behavior has become increasingly frightening, as if she has been replaced by a malevolent force. When Halloween arrives, a night steeped in ancient myth and legend, Char realizes that she is the only one who can save her, even if it means potentially losing her forever. Director and screenwriter Kate Dolan (Catcalls) joins us for a conversation on updating the folkloric tale of the changeling and the connection to a more modern and scientific context of mental health, as well as the razor sharp examination of the mother / daughter relationship, while scaring the pants of viewers.
For updates and screenings go to: youarenotmymother.com
watch-at-home: magnetreleasing.com/youarenotmymother
Musician Peter Case has lived a life of constant change, soaring highs, and soul-crushing lows. From the frigid suburbs of Buffalo NY, to his early years living and busking on the streets of San Francisco, to formative experiences with punk band The Nerves and leading the LA power-pop legends The Plimsouls, and now his decades-long, Grammy-nominated solo career, this film walks a million miles in the shoes of one of America’s last great troubadours. brilliant, elusive, sometimes infuriating, and always fascinating Peter Case. A gifted musician who had never found the widespread acclaim they deserved, but who had still managed to find a place in the unforgiving landscape of the music business. Peter Case is a unique and compelling artist with a fascinating life story both heartbreaking and hopeful, who had spent the past four decades steadfastly answering his artistic calling. A dynamic performer, a gifted raconteur with a master storyteller’s flair, a passion for social justice, and a ripping sense of humor. Peter Case: A Million Miles Away features many of Peter’s friends and colleagues, including singer/songwriters; Ben Harper, Steve Earle, Victoria Williams, Jack Lee as well as producers; Van Dyke Parks, Mitchell Froom, Steven Soles, Hobart Taylor and Denise Sullivan. Director Fred Parnes (A Man Is Mostly Water) joins us to talk about his riveting portrait of a musician and artist who has made a career out of charting his own course.
For more on Peter Case go to: petercase.com
In his graceful feature film debut, WOOD AND WATER, German director Jonas Bak’s thoughtful explanation of a women at a spiritual crossroad moves seamlessly from the tall spires of the Black Forest to the teeming skyscrapers of Hong Kong. Newly retired from her church job, Anke dreams of spending time with her grown children—including her uncommunicative and elusive son, Max, who has been living for years in Hong Kong, and who is unable to join his mother and sister back in Germany due to the ongoing pro-democracy protests. In a daring decision, Anke, though suffering from loneliness and loss, travels to Hong Kong to find Max and perhaps also herself. The people she encounters, and her experience of the city help her to break down the inner walls she constructed years ago, and make way for a new chapter in her life. In his hushed, wholly original approach to this fish-out-of-water set-up, Bak constructs a gentle, ambiguous fable of becoming, shot on 16mm and featuring a wondrous, naturalistic performance by his own mother, Anke Bak. Director Jonas Bak joins us to talk about the casting his mother in the leading role, working the chaotic political struggle taking place in Hong Kong into a very personal story and finding a cast of actors and mostly non-actors to bring out the intuitive talent Anke possesses.
For updates and screenings go to kimstim.com/film/wood-and-water
Director Pushpendra Singh’s latest film, THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE SEVEN SONGS is a stunningly beautiful feminist fable set in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, a lush mountainous region claimed by both India and Pakistan. Based on a folktale by Rajasthani writer Vidaydan Detha as well as the life and poetry of 14th century Kashmiri mystic Lalleshwari, SHEPHERDESS follows a young bride, Laila (Navjot Randhawa, in a ferocious and unforgettable performance) who marries into a tribe of nomadic Bakarwal herders. Already harassed by local police as a minority, Laila finds herself targeted for her remarkable beauty by local officials. Her implacable and ingenious manipulation of the men who want to possess her, and the patriarchy that wants to crush her, plays out in a series of seven chapters – the Song of Regret, the Song of Playfulness – each tied into the rapturously gorgeous score by Naren Chandavarkar and Benedict Taylor. Like the mystical films of Sergei Parajanov, Singh weaves breathtaking visuals and music into a hypnotic and indelible experience. The film’s truly cosmic climax, where Laila attempts to shed the bonds of male desire and infatuation pursuing her, must be seen to be believed. Award winning director and writer Pushpendra Singh joins us for a conversation on the orgin story for The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs, casting Navjot Randhawa in the title role, and beautifully shooting the film in a way that focuses on the context of the story as a way of bringing the content to life.
For updates go to: deafcrocodile.com/shepherdess-the-seven-songs
THE LAST MOUNTAIN chronicles Tom Ballard, a British rock climber, alpinist and the son of mountaineer Alison Hargreaves, who perished on K2 in 1995. Mother and son, two of the greatest climbers of all time, died at almost the same age, in the same mountain range, both doing what they loved best. Directed by Emmy award-winner Chris Terrill and produced by BAFTA award winner Olivia Lichtenstein, THE LAST MOUNTAIN follows Kate Ballard on an emotional journey to say goodbye to her brother on Nanga Parbat. Using archive footage from 1995 and Tom's own extraordinary footage taken up until the days before his death, the film explores what made Tom continue his ascent with Italian climber Daniele Nardi after the other two members of the expedition turned back. Combining years of intimate, unseen family archive with footage of the family that director, Chris Terrill, has shot in the years since Alison’s passing, the documentary tells the unforgettable story of a family who lived - and were prepared to die - for the love of scaling the icy heights of the world’s highest peaks, and explore what it is that drives people to pit themselves against nature at its most ferocious and unforgiving. THE LAST MOUNTAIN features revealing interviews with those left behind, among them: Alison's widower, Jim Ballard, Tom's sister, Kate, Stefy, Tom's girlfriend, Karim Hayat, who left the expedition stating he 'did not want to lose [his] life there,' and Alex Txikon who led the search for Tom and Daniele and found their bodies. Director Christopher Terrell and Producer Olivia Lichtenstein join us for a moving conversation on the dynamics of a family enthralled by the mystery and the danger of the earth’s most forbidding peaks and their own personal journey chronicling the enthralling saga of a caring and loving family willing to risk everything.
THE LAST MOUNTAIN will be released in the U.S. on Digital and on Demand from March 15, 2022.
I’VE HEARD THE MERMAIDS SINGING is a charming and whimsical story about a daydreamer with artistic aspirations, Patricia Rozema’s fanciful character study follows an amateur photographer Polly (Sheila McCarthy) as she lands a temp job at a Toronto art gallery run by elegant and sophisticated Gabrielle (Paule Baillargeon), who is also a painter. Polly is impressed with Gabrielle’s paintings, but as Polly gets to know Gabrielle’s lover, Mary (Ann-Marie MacDonald), and becomes entangled in their lives, she realizes that Gabrielle isn’t exactly who she appears to be. The absent-minded temp with spiky orange hair and the polished curator with a gift for gab are like night and day, yet a strong connection builds between these two women through their shared love of art, and their genuine curiosity and need for love. Director, producer and writer Patricia Rozema stops by to talk about why I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing was such a a groundbreaking film in 1987, the casting of the pitch-perfect Sheila McCarthy in the title role of Polly, her own career post-Mermaids and the re-release of the film by the prestigious film distributor Kino Lorber.
For news and updates go to: kinolorber.com/ive-heard-the-mermaids-singing
Iuli Gerbase’s eerily prescient debut feature film, THE PINK CLOUD, drops us into a time where life changes for people all over the world when a toxic and mysterious pink cloud has appeared, forcing the world indoors immediately and indefinitely. In Brazil, Giovana (Renata de Lélis) finds herself stuck in her apartment with a man she just met, Yago (Eduardo Mendonça). But their carefree one-night stand grows into a years-long relationship complicated by a child and increasingly divergent worldviews as they try to imagine a future from the depths of a potentially never-ending lockdown. THE PINK CLOUD was written in 2017 and shot in 2019, this stunning, slow-burn sci-fi debut from writer/director luli Gerbase is both an all to familiar reflection of our recent reality and a cathartic exploration of hope and despair, love and fear, and the boundlessness and limits of our ability as humans to adapt. Director and writer Iuli Gerbase joins us to talk about the inspiration for the film, creating a palpable sense of enveloping dread in the look of the film and creating a claustrophobic space for Giovanna and Yago to experience love, death, sex, boredom, parenting, contempt, indifference, and grudging respect.
For news and updates go to: bluefoxentertainment.com/the-pink-cloud
ULTRASOUND follows Glen (Vincent Kartheiser) driving home late at night during a heavy rainstorm, Glen experiences car trouble. Near where his car gets stuck, he spots a house, knocks on the door and is greeted by an oddly friendly middle-aged man, Arthur (Bob Stephenson), and his younger wife, Cyndi, (Chelsea Lopez). The strange couple pours him a drink, and then more drinks, followed by an unexpected offer that Glen can’t refuse. Elsewhere, a young woman, Katie (Rainey Qualley), is feeling emotionally weighed down by a secret romantic arrangement that feels like a textbook case of gaslighting. And at the same time, in a nondescript research facility, medical professional Shannon (Breeda Wool) begins questioning her role in a bizarre experiment, fearing that she’s doing more harm than good. Director Rob Schroeder joins us for a conversation on his collaboration with Conor Stechschulte (Generous Bosoms) and Cinematographer Mathew Rudenberg (Sun Choke) in this mind bending story of deception, manipulation. political power and altered reality.
For news and updates go to: magnetreleasing.com/ultrasound
Watch at home at magnetreleasing.com/ultrasound
In HELLBENDER, 16-year-old Izzy (Zelda Adams) suffers from a rare illness that has kept her isolated on a mountaintop with her mother (Toby Poser) her whole life. As Izzy begins to question her sickness, she pushes back against her confinement and secretly befriends Amber (Lulu Adams), another girl living on the mountain, but her newfound happiness is derailed after she eats a live worm as part of a juvenile game and finds an insatiable and violent hunger awakened within her. To understand the hunger, Izzy must learn the dark secrets of her family's past and the ancient power in her bloodline. HELLBENDER is the latest from upstate N.Y. filmmaker family The Adams, Hellbender is written, directed, produced, scored, and edited by Toby Poser, John Adams, and Zelda Adams — who also star, alongside Lulu Adams. It’s the sixth feature from Wonder Wheel Productions, the family-run production company founded by Poser and Adams and their children, and the family also produced the music for the feature with tracks from their experimental punk band H6LLB6ND6R. Co-directors Toby Poser, John Adams, and Zelda Adams (The Deeper You Dig, Knuckle Jack) join us for a spirited conversation on sharing the on-set responsibilities of being in front of and behind the camera, making movies in the own backyard, and the importance of creating three dimensional characters that resonate with their audience beyond shock and fear.
For updates and screenings go to: yellowveilpictures.com/hellbender
An insider look into one of the largest international child sextortion cases investigated by Homeland Security and the Department of Justice on American soil, Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic begins with an investigation of the sexual extortion--or "sextortion"--of a Virginia teen and a fourteen-year-old girl from Japan. As investigators pursue the case, surprising new details emerge--including the fact that the same suspect is behind both crimes. And further forensic research reveals hundreds of similar victims across the United States. With unique, unrestricted access to government files, victim families, and investigators, Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic uncovers the hidden world of online enticement and exploitation of children. Tapping into the findings of child exploitation experts, the film spotlights the common tactics of online predators, the signs that a child is being groomed online, and a documented rise in global sextortion cases. Through interviews with families and investigators working these crimes, the filmmaking team had unique unrestricted access to all government documents for an international sextortion case unsealed for this film for the very first time. Director / Producer Maria Demeshkina Peek, and Producer Stephen Peek join us for a conversation on the explosion of this activity in the Inited States and around the world, as well as their hope is that this film will alert people to this disturbing crime. For updates, screenings and resources go to: sextortionfilm.com
PASANG: IN THE SHADOW OF EVEREST, brings to life the untold and inspiring story of Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, the first Nepali woman to summit Mt. Everest who, in her quest, awakened her country to the entrenched inequalities confronted and endured by women and in Nepal. As an uneducated, indigenous woman and a Buddhist in a Hindu kingdom, Pasang’s dream to scale the legendary mountain pit her against family, foreign climbers, her own government, and nature itself. PASANG: IN THE SHADOW OF EVEREST follows Pasang as she works tirelessly to pull together the financial and structural support to try for Everest, and the ensuing obstacles and disappointments she had to face and overcome along the way. Her determined pursuit of Everest plays out within the context of her nation’s struggle for democracy and the emergence of a booming commercial climbing industry in the Himalaya. As told by the Nepalis who knew her, by some of the world’s most notable alpinists, and by Pasang herself, PASANG: IN THE SHADOW OF EVEREST reveals the intransigence of the forces who opposed her, and the great burdens and personal costs she endured to gain her rightful chance to try for Everest. Director Nancy Svendsen joins us to talk about the cultural and religious fault lines under the surface of the worlds in which Pasang had been laboring while simultaneously illuminating the high points of her legacy-- the scores of triumphant Nepali women mountain climbers who have carried her torch and since reached Everest’s peak.
For news and updates go to: pasangmovie.com
FAMILY SQUARES drops us into the dysfunctional world of the Worths. When Grandma Mabel dies suddenly, they must set aside their differences and come together. Mayhem quickly ensues as long buried family secrets bubble to the surface with a shocking revelation. But, as they begin to find their way back to each other, they soon realize that while you can’t choose your family, you can choose to be friends with them. FAMILY SQUARES features an all-star cast the includes; Ann Dowd (Hereditary), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Judy Greer (Archer), Billy Magnussen (No Time To Die), Margo Martindale (August: Osage County), Sam Richardson (Veep), Timothy Simons (Veep), June Squibb (Nebraska), Casey Wilson (Saturday Night Live), Scott MacArthur (Halloween Kills), Zoë Chao (Love Life), Jessica Miesel (The Resident), Maclaren Laing (Eastbound & Down), and Henry Winkler (Happy Days). Director and co-writer Stephanie Laing (Veep) joins us to talk about her boisterous, poignant, funny, heartfelt, recognizable and loving look at a family mournfully undergoing a stress test during a pandemic in a Zoom-centric new world order.
For updates and screenings go to: screenmediafilms.net/Family-Squares
Dear Mr. Brody begins in January 1970 with a hippie-millionaire Michael Brody Jr., 21-year-old heir to a margarine fortune, announcing to the world that he would personally usher in a new era of peace and love by giving away his $25-million inheritance to anyone in need. In a frenzied few weeks, Brody and his young wife, Renee, ignited a psychedelic spiral of events. Instant celebrities, the Brody’s were mobbed by the public, scrutinized by the press, and overwhelmed by the crush of personal letters responding to this extraordinary offer. Fifty years later, an enormous cache of these letters are discovered—unopened. In this riveting follow-up to his acclaimed TOWER, award-winning director Keith Maitland reveals the incredible story of Michael Brody Jr.—and the countless struggling Americans who sought his help—to create a deeply moving meditation on desire, need, philanthropy, and love. Director Keith Maitland (Tower, A Song for You: The Austin City Limits Story) join’s for a conversation on this extraordinary starburst of a “happening” that revealed the pain and struggle of ordinary people who saw the Mr. Brody as hope. To find out more go to: greenwichentertainment.com/film/dear-mr-brody
HELP is the riveting story of a struggling young woman, Sarah, played by Jodie Comer (Killing Eve), who is smart, but has never fit in, not in education and not in work. Her family told her she'd never amount to anything but she unexpectedly finds her calling as a carer at Bright Sky Homes. Sarah has a special talent for connecting with the residents, including one in particular, 47-year-old Tony, played by Stephen Graham (Boiling Point). Tony's Young Onset Alzheimer's has left him living out his days in care as his mind slowly deteriorates. His illness causes periods of confusion and violent outbursts, which the other members of staff can't handle, but with Sarah he begins to build a real bond. Sarah's success at managing Tony and the other patients helps build her confidence and restore her self-belief. Then March 2020 hits and everything Sarah has achieved is thrown into doubt with the arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic. She and her colleagues tirelessly fight tooth and nail, ill-equipped, poorly prepared, and seemingly left helpless by the powers that be. A determined Sarah goes to extraordinary lengths to protect those in her care, whose conditions make their suffering and isolation all the more traumatic. But the staff's unwavering commitment, compassion and heroic efforts can only do so much, and Sarah is pushed into a dark corner and desperately looks for a way out. Director Marc Munden stops by to talk about working with the HELP writer Jack Thorne on this and other projects, enlisting a superb cast of gifted actors, led by Jodie Comer, Stephen Graham, Ian Hart and Cathy Tyson, to tell a timely and timeless story of compassion and finding the courage to face down the deadly chaos of an unfathomable pandemic and institutional neglect.
For news and updates go to: mubi.com/films/help-2021-marc-munden
To watch HELP go to: acorn.tv
TED K immerses us into the addled world of Ted Kaczynski, living a life of almost complete seclusion in a simple wooden cabin in the mountains of Montana. But then this former university professor, who despises modern society and its faith in technology, becomes radicalized. What begins with local acts of sabotage, ends with deadly bomb attacks. To the outside world, Kaczynski becomes known as the Unabomber. Based on Ted Kaczynski’s diaries and writings, and his infamous “manifesto” director Tony Stone takes the viewer on an intimate and infuriating kaleidoscopic true crime journey into the life of one of America’s most complex and eccentric killers. TED K features a tour-de-force performance from Sharlto Copley who portrays the complexity of this unique outsider, raging at the forces of both the inescapable technological society that plagues him and his own inner demons. Director, writer, producer and editor Tony Stone (Severed Ways, Peter and the Farm) joins us for a conversation on what attracted him to telling this story from the Unabomber’s point-of-view, filming on the property where Kaczynski’s infamous cabin once stood and the importance of Sharlto Copley brilliantly blending together Kaczynski’s self deluding righteousness with the arbitrary ruthlessness he directed at his hapless victims.
For news and updates go to: superltd.com/films/ted-k
To watch in a theatre go: superltd.com/films/ted-k#drive-ins
For more about Tony Stone go to: heathenfilms.com
Go to: sharltocopley.com
ICAHN: THE RESTLESS BILLIONAIRE, explores the fascinating contradictions at the heart of the famed financier, Carl Icahn. Amassing close to $20 billion dollars over the last half century and at the forefront of some of the most legendary business deals of our times, Icahn, often referred to as the “Lone Wolf of Wall Street,” is a feared negotiator and master strategist in the art of corporate takeovers and investments. A polarizing figure described as both an activist investor and a ruthless corporate raider, Icahn rose from modest beginnings in Queens to become one of the richest men in the world, embodying the American Dream, whose impact on companies, products, CEOs, stock markets, and capitalism itself is vast. Yet, he openly criticizes corporate excess and the huge wealth inequality gap. In his own words and with commentary from family members, journalists, and fellow titans of industry, ICAHN: THE RESTLESS BILLIONAIRE probes Icahn’s humble roots, his business acumen, and his obsessive drive to stay atop America’s corporate hierarchy. Director Bruce David Klein (The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened) joins us for a conversation on how one of America’s highest profile capitalist was shaped by the complex relationship he had with his parents, anti-semitism, and how his poker playing skills helped inform the way he approached the high stakes world of corporate mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, and buyouts on his way to becoming an icon of American business. For updates and screenings go to: hbo.com/icahn-the-restless-billionaire
ICAHN: THE RESTLESS BILLIONAIRE debuts TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15 (9:00-10:45 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
FANNIE LOU HAMER’S AMERICA is an illuminating and exhilarating look at one of our most compelling civil rights leaders. Through rare footage and recordings, some not seen or heard in half a century, FANNIE LOU HAMER’S AMERICA tells her story — and that of America — more than four decades after her death. The directorial debut of Joy Davenport and the brainchild of Monica Land, FANNIE LOU HAMER’S AMERICA offers photos, documents, performances and sources, some unearthed by family members, to a new generation of audiences called upon to take up the mantle of preserving American democracy. Fifteen years in the making, FANNIE LOU HAMER’S AMERICA presents the daughter of Mississippi sharecroppers’ passion and commitment to voting rights and economic justice and her rise to national prominence. The film captures Hamer’s resistance as she works to register Black voters, runs for Congress, fights for economic opportunity in her home state and more — all while government leaders, the media and even her civil rights peers tried to silence her. FANNIE LOU HAMER’S AMERICA was produced by Hamer’s great-niece Monica Land and Selena Lauterer. Director Joy Davenport joins us for a conversation on this captivating portrait of one of the civil rights era’s preeminent icons through her own speeches, interviews and songs follows Hamer’s life from the cotton fields of Mississippi to the halls of Congress.
Find out more at: fannielouhamersamerica.com
Watch Fannie Lou Hamer's Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Speech | 1964 DNC Convention
THE LONG WALK follows an old scavenger living on the fringes of a near-future society exploits a ghostly companion’s ability to traverse time, hoping to prevent his mother’s suffering from a terminal illness. A deliberately paced story that burns with intensity and human emotion, THE LONG WALK is all at once a culturally rich ghost story, a grim near-future sci-fi, and mystery with life and death stakes that spans across decades. THE LONG WALK world premiered to great acclaim at the Venice Film Festival in the Giornate degli Autori section and was followed by praise out of the Toronto International Film Festival. It’s the third feature of Lao based director Mattie Do, whose career has been recognized by the Oldenburg International Film Festival and Locarno International Film Festival for her breakthrough work as Lao’s first and only woman filmmaker, and the only filmmaker of the country to work in the horror and fantastic genres. Director and Producer Mattie Do (Chanthaly, Dearest Sister) joins us for a conversation on the collaboration with screenwriter Christopher Larsen, finding a storytelling balance between sci-fi and drama in the context of Laos’ complex relationship with the outside world and its own unsettled social and political history.
For news and updates go to: thelongwalkfilm.com
In theaters starting February 18
Digital & Home Video starting March 1
STRAWBERRY MANSION takes us to 2035, where our dreams are no longer our own--they’re infused with product placement and auditors assess unpaid taxes on our most private reveries. Beleaguered taxman James Preble (Kentucker Audley) arrives at a run-down house in the countryside for a routine audit and encounters Bella Isadora (Penny Fuller), a lifelong dreamer who remains resolutely analog, circumventing the surveillance state with VHS tapes and homemade headgear. As Preble works his way through Bella’s archive of the unconscious, he begins to fall in love with visions of her younger self (Grace Glowicki). But all is not well in dreamland as dangerous family secrets and a rogue’s gallery of blue demons and fried chicken pitchmen threaten to set the lovers’ paradise ablaze. Can Preble and Bella escape from the modern, monetized dreamscape and find refuge in Strawberry Mansion? Co-directors and co-screenwriters Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney join us to talk about their fantastical and fantastically inventive and heartfelt film that is Pee-Wee’s Playhouse by way of Charlie Kaufman, and a splash of Harold and Maude whimsy.
Updates and screenings go to: strawberrymansionmovie.com
See it in a theatre: strawberrymansionmovie.com/tickets
Distributed by musicboxfilms.com/strawberry-mansion
A BANQUET Widowed mother Holly (Sienna Guillory) is radically tested when her teenage daughter Betsey (Jessica Alexander) experiences a profound enlightenment and insists that her body is no longer her own, but in service to a higher power. But despite her refusal to eat, Betsey loses no weight and gains a growing faith in her newfound and enigmatic sense of purpose. At first, her condition is suspected to be an act of adolescent rebellion or a psychological break. As her daughter’s personality is further subsumed by this affliction, Holly finds herself confronting the boundaries of her own beliefs and the repressed traumas of her past. In an agonizing dilemma, torn between love and fear, Holly is forced to confront the boundaries of her own beliefs. Combined with stylish photography pervaded by grotesque culinary close-ups and subtle forays into nightmarish surrealism, A BANQUET is a disquieting feast with images and ideas that leave a potent and lingering aftertaste. Director Ruth Paxton (Be Still My Beating Heart, Stay Awake, Pulse) stops by to talk about A BANQUET’s literary and cinematic inspiration, the exceptional cast of actors who help make the film resonate and the satisfaction that comes with completing her debut feature film.
For updates and screenings go to: abanquetmovie.com
In theatres February 18, go to: abanquetmovie.com/tickets
THE FABULOUS FILIPINO BROTHERS consists of four vignettes that follows the lives, for better and worse of four brothers, as their Filipino American family prepares for the ultimate Filipino event, a wedding. A blue-collar family, they share the same house save one, the Golden Child. The Eldest Brother must secure his pride and position in the family by paying for the wedding, this leads him to revisiting his old life as a hustler to make ends meet. The Golden Child is stuck in The Philippines the day before the wedding and meets a lover from the past. The Youngest and most single connects with a new love... who may be his cousin, while The Middle Brother breaks out of a deep depression following the loss of a child using a dating app for the first time. Director, producer and co-writer Dante Basco stops by to talk about the joy of working with his brothers and sister as well as extended family, filming their home town of Pittsburg California and telling a universal story of love family, finding your way and connecting with one another.
For news, screenings and updates fo to: beacons.ai/fabfilipinobros
You can also visit: 1091 fabulous-filipino-brothers
BRIGHTON 4th is a beguiling portrait of parental sacrifice and the love of a father for his son, former wrestler Kakhi (played by real-life Olympic champion Levan Tediashvili) embarks on a journey from his home in the Republic of Georgia to visit his son Soso (Giorgi Tabidze) in the Russian-speaking neighborhood of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. There he finds him living in a shabby boarding house populated by a colorful group of fellow Georgian immigrants. Soso is not studying medicine, as Kakhi believed, but is working for a moving company and has accrued a $14,000 gambling debt to a local Russian mob boss. Kakhi sets his mind to helping his hapless son out of his debt, leading to situations as often comic as they are dire. Lensed by Oscar®-nominated cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (The Trial of the Chicago 7, Nebraska), Levan Koguashvili’s BRIGHTON 4TH won three major awards at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival – Best International Film, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay – and is Georgia’s official submission to the 94th Academy Awards®. Director Levan Koguashvili joins us for a conversation on the challenges and the great rewards of working with non-professional actors, exploring the ex-pat community of Brighton Beach and working with the first time actor and wrestling legend Levan Tedaishvili and Russian screen legend Kakhi Kavsadze.
Playing in Los Angeles at: laemmle.com/brighton-4th
For updates and screenings go to: kinomarquee.com/Brighton 4th
CATCH THE FAIR ONE opens with Kaylee “K.O.” Uppashaw (Kali Reis), a mixed Indigenous boxer, preparing for a championship fight. Her hands are wrapped, gloves taped shut, and face greased. She pounds the mitts with her trainer, Brick (Shelly Vincent). The room echoes with the strength of each hit. She’s preparing for the boxing match of her life. The crowd roars in the distance as the sounds crescendo into a fever pitch, Kaylee wakes up in a women’s shelter from a wishful dream of a life she once had. This is her reality. CATCH THE FAIR ONE chronicles Kaylee embarks on the fight of her life when she goes undercover in a sex trafficking operation to seek answers and revenge against the men responsible for the disappearance of her sister. Her strength and determination are tested as Kaylee fights the real fight of her life—to find Weeta and make her family whole again. Director Josef Wladyka joins us to talk about his creative collaboration with boxing champion, co-writer, and lead actor Kali Reis, the stunningly beautiful work of cinematographer Ross Giardina and the lingering impact of colonial conquest and racism on the indigenous peoples of North America.
For updates and screenings go to: ifcfilms.com/films/catch-the-fair-one
Watch at home: catchthefairone.movie
Born Marianne Joan Elliott-Said in July of 1957, Poly Styrene was the first woman of color in the UK to front a successful rock band. She introduced the world to a new sound of rebellion, using her unconventional voice to sing about identity, consumerism, postmodernism, and everything she saw unfolding in late 1970s Britain, with a rare prescience. But the late punk maverick didn’t just leave behind an immense cultural footprint. She was survived by a daughter, Celeste Bell, who became the unwitting guardian of her mother’s legacy and her mother’s demons. Misogyny, racism, and mental illness plagued Poly’s life, while their lasting trauma scarred Celeste’s childhood and the pair’s relationship. Featuring unseen archive material and rare diary entries narrated by Oscar-nominee Ruth Negga, this documentary follows Celeste as she examines her mother's unopened artistic archive and traverses three continents to better understand Poly the icon and Poly the mother. Co-directors Celeste Bell (Poly’s daughter) and Paul Sng have fashioned a clear-eyed, and utterly moving documentary about the turbulent live of X-Ray Spex’s Anglo-Somali punk musician / front woman, who went on to be a key inspiration for the 1980’s riot grrrl and Afropunk movements and who’s personal story of determination continues to inspire.
For news and updates go to: polystyrenefilm.net
THE UNMAKING OF A COLLEGE delves into the 2019 crisis at Hampshire College when students led a 75-day sit-in – the longest in American college history – at the new president's office to thwart her underhanded attempt to shut down one of the most experimenting colleges in the United States. Hampshire College was founded 50 years ago based on the seminal book “The Making Of A College" to radically reimagine liberal arts education. Inspired by this philosophy of critical thinking, a collection of dedicated and charismatic students went on a rescue mission with a coalition of undergrads, faculty, staff, and alumni to find out who was leading the threat to their college, and why. The thrilleresque unfolding of this singular story goes beyond a single school, and foretells a looming crisis in higher education at a time when many colleges are failing. If Hampshire were to close, what would that mean for colleges and universities throughout the country? This is also a story of young people moved to action, how they were changed forever by their choices and how they are becoming our future leaders. THE UNMAKING OF A COLLEGE is constructed from a mix of video captured by the students and their social media threads, traditional observational footage, press conferences, news footage, and radio broadcasts. Hampshire alum, Amy Goldstein, weaves their powerful documentation with interviews with students, professors, whistleblowers, and alumni including filmmaker Ken Burns, into a suspenseful and raucous ode to democracy in action. Director Amy Goldstein (Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl) joins us for a spirited conversation on the importance a Hampshire-like education can have on the future of students attuned to their approach, following her storytelling instincts, and the potential of all of us to collectively impact the world toward a better future.
For news and updates go to: unmaking-of-a-college
In this slow-burn character study by award winning director Juho Kuosmanen, COMPARTMENT No. 6 follows the trek of a young Finnish, Laura woman (Seidi Haarla) as she escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk in search of ancient petroglyphs. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a loutish Russian miner, Ljoha (Yuriy Borisov) the unexpected encounter leads the occupants of Compartment No. 6 to face the truth about their own yearning for human connection. The film is based on Rosa Liksom's 2011 novel of the same name. COMPARTMENT No. 6 was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival as well as the Finnish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. The film was recently shortlisted for Best International Feature Film. Director / co-writer Juho Kuosmanen (The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki) joins us for a conversation on his inspiration for this muted love story, the logistical challenges of filming in Arctic-like weather, and the stellar performances from his brilliant lead performers.
For news and updates go to sonyclassics.com/film/compartmentno6
For more go to: totem-films.com/compartment-n6
Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film.
Compartment No. 6 is short listed for the Academy Award in the International Feature Film category
In this beautifully rendered gem of a film, Lunana - A Yak in the Classroom, a young teacher in modern Bhutan, Ugyen, shirks his duties while planning to go to Australia to become a singer. As a reprimand, his superiors send him to the most remote school in the world, in a village called Lunana, to complete his service. He finds himself exiled from his Westernized comforts after an arduous 8 day trek just to get there. There he finds no electricity, no textbooks, not even a blackboard. Though poor, the villagers extend a warm welcome to their new teacher, but he faces the daunting task of teaching the village children without any supplies. He wants to quit and go home, but he begins to learn of the hardship in the lives of the beautiful children he teaches, and begins to be transformed through the amazing spiritual strength of the villagers. Director and writer Pawo Choyning Dorji stops by to talk about his home country of Bhutan and his nation's aspirational motto "Gross National Happiness", the challenges of making a film in a community with no modern utilities and the joy that comes from facilitating a spectrum of disarming performances from people who had never seen a film before his arrival.
For more go to: samuelgoldwynfilms.com/lunana-a-yak-in-the-classroom
filmsboutique.com/news/post/lunana-shortlisted-for-the-oscars
Shortlisted for the International Feature Film Academy Award, First Bhutanese Film to Submit for Oscar in 23 Years
SALT IN MY SOUL is the story of a woman, Mallory Smith, wise beyond her years who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of three. In her twenty five-year battle with the deadly disease, Mallory carved out a life that most of us don’t come close to. Based on the bestselling posthumously published memoir of the same name, SALT IN MY SOUL is a documentary and classic coming of age story about a young woman figuring out how to live while dying. Using Mallory’s posthumously published 25,000-page secret diaries, hundreds of hours of newly discovered footage, and audio recordings, the film offers Mallory as the narrator of her own extraordinary chronicle. Director Will Battersby and Mallory’s mom, Diane Shade Smith join us for a conversation on the honest approach that Salt in My Soul takes in telling Mallory’s story, the resolve of the young women to live beyond medical, social and personal expectations this disease imposed on her and the determined search by her dad for a identify a viable therapy to save her life.
For news and updates go to: saltinmysouldoc.com
FERROEQUINOLOGY follows the travels of two artists enthralled by the uncanny lure of locomotion set out on journeys across America. Andrew Cross chases freight trains through the Black Rock desert in Nevada in pursuit of a perfect landscape shot. McNair Evans travels on an Amtrak train from San Francisco to Portland, sharing stories and making portraits with fellow passengers. Desolate carriages take on an otherworldly presence and time loses its grasp in this study of photographers in motion, capturing slow travel in today’s increasingly fast-paced society. Railroad documentaries hold a significant place in film history. From Auguste and Louis Lumière’s early experiments in The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station to the iconic John Grierson narrated Night Mail or D. A. Pennebaker’s Daybreak Express - the movement, machinery, infrastructure and culture surrounding railroads has fascinated filmmakers since the birth of cinema. FERROEQUINOLOGY draws on this established tradition and brings this potent documentary theme into focus for the contemporary era. Gravitating toward collaborators with particularly artistic sensibilities, Nevill set about filming in ways that engaged directly with their creative work. Shooting in black and white helped to distance the film’s cinematography from each character’s photographic project and reflected the romanticized gaze many of these enthusiasts brought to their images as well as their often sentimental relationship with railroads. Director Alex Nevill joins us for a conversation on his own fascination with trains drew him into a further exploration of this world, meeting McNair and Andrew and the films selection for the 2022 Slamdance film festival.
For news and updates go to: ferroequinology.net
2022 slamdance.com/festival
SIMPLE AS WATER is a soft-spoken meditation on love, displacement, and fracturing familial relations from Academy Award-winner Megan Mylan. Closely-observed portraits of Syrian families filmed across five countries reveal the impact of war, separation and displacement, SIMPLE AS WATER takes us into Syrian families’ quests for normalcy and through the whirlwind of obstacles—to building life anew. As a conflict at home forces separation and movement to unfamiliar ground, Mylan’s cinematic lens finds the powerful yet everyday acts of nurturing and kinship, traveling with her protagonists as they build a new sense of belonging. From brotherly protection, motherly love, and the playful guidance of a sibling, these closely observed scenes show touching stories of resilience and reveal ties that bind families together in the face of adversity. Filmed in Turkey, Greece, Germany, Syria and US, Mylan’s sensitive camera amplifies the universal importance of family. Oscar®-winning director Megan Mylan (Lost Boys of Sudan, Smile Pinki.) joins us for a conversation on her extraordinarily intimate and empathetic multi-part story of four families looking for a semblance of humanity and relieve from implacable state run-institutions.
To watch go to: hbo.com/simple-as-water
For more about Megan Mylan go to: principeproductions.org
Simple As Water has been “Shortlisted” for Best Documentary Feature
Co-directors Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei’s insightful documentary, 3 SONGS FOR BENAZIR tell the story of Shaista, a young man who—newly married to Benazir and living in a displacement camp in Kabul—struggles to balance his dreams of being the first from his tribe to join the Afghan National Army with the responsibilities of starting a family. Gulistan and Elizabeth Mirzaei’s remarkable access sheds light on the experience of modern-day Afghans who live, love, and seek space for themselves amid constant instability. Co-director Elizabeth Mirzaei (Gulistan Mirzaei) and Producer Omar Mullick join us for a conversation on their strikingly intimate portrait of a young man in love determined to break free of his tribal bonds, defying his elders, in order to make his mark in the hyper-violent world of 21st century Afghanistan.
For more news and updates go to: threesongsforbenazir.com
Watch on Netflix
3 Songs for Benazir shortlisted for 2022 Oscar© - Documentary Short
Nominated for the 15th Annual Cinema Eye Honors
Jimmy Goldblum’s poignant documentary short A BROKEN HOUSE follows Mohamad Hafez from the time he received a single-entry visa to study architecture in the United States, and his life-altering realization that if he couldn't return home to Syria, he could make home. A skilled architectural model-maker, he spent his years in exile sculpting life-like renditions of his Damascus neighborhood. When the civil war broke out and his parents fled to the United States as refugees, Mohamad's bottled-up frustration erupted on his models. In a fit of mania, he broke his artworks, leaving them shattered, bombed-out replicas of the Syrian buildings he saw on the news. And yet, when word of his broken pieces spread, Mohamad became an inspiration to refugees and immigrants in the diaspora who dreamed of homes that only existed in memories. 'Hiraeth' is a film about loss and love, responsibility and identity -- about homesickness for the places to which we can no longer return. Director Jimmy Goldblum stops by to talk about the heartbreaking Hafez family saga as they navigate the shattering impact that the Syrian war has had on their country, community and their fracturing family.
For more go to: jimgoldblum.com/abrokenhouse
For news and screening go to: a broken.house
Also available at: pbs.org/pov/a-broken-house
Check out all of the shortlisted films at: oscars.org/94th-shortlisted
The eye-opening documentary, EXPLANT, examines the #1 cosmetic surgery in the world today - breast enlargement. Iconic media personality Michelle Visage (RuPaul’s Drag Race), who has had breast implants most of her adult life, believe they are making her sick - and she's not alone. Over the years, hundreds of thousands of women have come forward with similar beliefs, clashing the the medical establishments claim's that implants are completely safe. The EXPLANT follows Michelle Visage on her personal journey to have her implants removed. It also takes a deep dive into the stranger-than-fiction history of the breast implant. From interviews with the first-ever recipient of the modern-day implant to a confession from a whistleblower, the film shows how complications and auto-immue issues have shadowed implants for decades - and why the medical establishment is reluctant to warn patients of these risks. EXPLANT is produced by World of Wonder co-founders Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey and directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Jeremy Simmons, with executive producers Michelle Visage and David Case. Director Jeremy Simmons joins us for a conversation on the history of implants, the benefits as well as the potential medical complications, the implant manufacturers resistance to honest inquiry and obfuscation of medical research by them and the determined courage of the film’s subject, Michelle Visage, to seek out her truth regarding the impact that implants have had on her life.
For news and updates go to: worldofwonder.com/explant
EXPLANT is now available at: Paramount+.com
Collaborating as co-directors award winning filmmakers Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk bring us into the multi-faceted homelessness crisis in the documentary LEAD ME HOME. In this world tents become bedrooms; trucks become washrooms; parks become kitchens, love occurs, as does strife and violence. People make homes for themselves wherever they end up. The pair set out to depict the stories of people living on the street who, were it not for a vast set of unfortunate circumstances—addiction, mental illness, sexual abuse, homophobia, healthcare costs, disability—would be living no differently from those sleeping comfortably mere blocks or even just floors away. In the shadow of boundless real estate development proliferating in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, Kos and Shenk filmed the daily lives of more than two dozen subjects over three years to provide a slice-of-life portrayal of what it’s like to experience homelessness in America today. Conceived as a two-part visual symphony shot in distinct production periods, the film opens a window into a parallel world hiding in plain sight and challenges the audience to feel the scale, scope and diversity of unsheltered America. Lead Me Home marks the first time Emmy winners Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk have co-directed together and is a co-production of Netflix and Actual Films, produced by Bonni Cohen, Serin Marshall and Richard Berge.
Available on Netflix
For news and updates go to: leadmehomefilm.com
To learn more aboout th issue go to: leadmehomefilm.com/learn
Turn knowledge into action: leadmehomefilm.com/community-resources
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America - Co-directors Emily and Sarah Kunstler - Writer and Subject Jeffery Robinson Interweaving lecture, personal anecdotes, interviews, and shocking revelations, in Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, criminal defense/civil rights lawyer Jeffery Robinson draws a stark timeline of anti-Black racism in the United States, from slavery to the modern myth of a post-racial America. In Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, Robinson faces his largest audience, asking all of us to examine who we are, where we come from, and who we want to be. Anchored by Robinson’s Town Hall performance, the film interweaves historical and present-day archival footage, Robinson’s personal story, and vérité and interview footage capturing Robinson’s meetings with Black change-makers and eyewitnesses to history. From a hanging tree in Charleston, South Carolina, to a walking tour of the origins of slavery in colonial New York, to the site of a 1947 lynching in rural Alabama, the film brings history to life, exploring the enduring legacy of white supremacy and our collective responsibility to overcome it. Co-directors Emily and Sarah Kunstler and Producer / Subject Jeffery Robinson join us for a conversation on the why and how American social, political and economic “progress” is inextricably entangled with the 400 year long suppression of black people and the systemic racism supported by many of America’s institutions.
For in theatre and virtual go to: sonyclassics.com/film/whoweare
For news and updates go to: thewhoweareproject.org
More from the filmmakers at: off-center.com/who-we-are
The Oscar© shortlisted documentary TAKEOVER takes a long overdue look at the true history of a nearly forgotten event through the voices of the Young Lords, a collection of politically engaged young Puerto Rican men and women. On July 14, 1970, a group of Young Lords made history when they occupied Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx — known locally as the “Butcher Shop.” The activists barricaded themselves inside the facility, demanding safer and more accessible health care for the community. Originally a Chicago-based street gang, the Young Lords turned to community activism, inspired by the Black Panthers and by student movements in Puerto Rico. A Young Lords chapter in New York soon formed, agitating for community control of institutions and land, as well as self-determination for Puerto Rico. Their tactics included direct action and occupations that highlighted institutional failures. Through archival footage, re-enactments and contemporary interviews, the documentary above shines a light on the Young Lords’ resistance movement and their fight for human rights. The dramatic takeover of Lincoln Hospital produced one of the first Patient’s Bill of Rights, changing patients’ relationship with hospitals and doctors nationwide. Director Emma Francis-Synder joins us to talk her own discovery regarding the impact that the Black Panther Party had on the Young Lords, the impact that they had on New York City and the Puerto Rican community, reaching out to the surviving Young Lords and why grassroot action remains the most effective way to affect positive change.
For news and updates go to: marketroadfilms.com/takeover
Watch at: nytimes.com/TAKEOVER
DAY OF RAGE chronicles the January 6, 2020 attack on the United States Capitol, arguably the most widely documented act of political violence in history. During a six-month investigation The New York Times obtained analyzed and mapped out thousands of hours of video to provide the most complete account of the Capitol riot to date. DAY OF RAGE charts in chilling detail how the peaceful transition of power was disrupted by rioters who stormed a seemingly impenetrable seat of government. Viewers gain critical insights into the character and motivation of the rioters by experiencing the day through their cellphone videos police body cameras surveillance footage inside the Capitol and the internal radio recordings detailing how the officers responded. Co-producer Malachy Browne (David Botti) joins us to talk about the methodical way in which a large team of reporters, social media experts and investigators, from the New York Times Visual Investigations Unit, pieced together this harrowing and eye-opening account of the attack on the our national Capital and it’s intended objective, to sabotage the will of the American people by negating the results of a freely decided election through violence and lend support to the efforts of a major political party’s plan of organized sedition.
Watch at: youtube.com/Day of Rage
The New York Times Visual Investigations site
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The eye-opening documentary film from co-directors Kristy Guevara-Flanagan and Maite Zubiaurre, AGUILAS, tells the story of the Águilas del Desierto, a group of volunteers who look for migrants who go missing crossing the border—often finding only their remains. Once a month, along the scorching southern desert border in Arizona, one group of searchers, the Aguilas del Desierto, set out to recover missing loved ones. These volunteers comprised of construction workers, gardeners, domestic laborers by trade, carry out their solemn task. Águilas poetically lays bare the tragic reality of migrant death by venturing deep into the wilderness of the borderlands. Co-directors Kristy Guevara-Flanagan and Maite Zubiaurre join us for a conversation on this little known story of selfless service, the United States policy of deliberately funneling refugees into the most dangerous terrain along our shared border and thousand of people who’s remains are found and the thousands more who the desert will never give us back.
For more information go to: gonella-productions.com/aguilas
For news and updates go to: aguilasdocumentary.com
Watch now at: youtube.com/ÁGUILAS
Watch now at: newyorker.com/watch/Aquilas
AUDIBLE is a cinematic and immersive coming of age documentary following Maryland School for the Deaf high school athlete Amaree McKenstry and his close friends as they face the pressures of senior year and grappling with the realities of venturing off into the hearing world. Amaree and his teammates take out their frustrations on the football field as they battle to protect an unprecedented winning streak, while coming to terms with the tragic loss of a close friend. This is a story about kids who stand up to adversity. They face conflict, but approach the future with hope – shouting to the world that they exist and they matter. Director Matt Ogens joins us for a conversation on the project he re-visited over the course of a decade, why it was important that the film me made for the deaf as much as the hearing and the importance that sound played in the making of Audible
To watch go to: netflix.com/Audible
For more go to: mattogens.com
After two police killings, Black millennial organizers challenge a Chicago administration complicit in state violence against its Black residents. Told through the lens of Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionist leaders, UNAPOLOGETIC is a deep and insightful look into the Movement for Black Lives, from the police murder of Rekia Boyd to the election of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The release of UNAPOLOGETIC serves as a nod to Black August, an annual commemoration to remember Black freedom fights and political prisoners, highlighting Black resistance against racial oppression. Notable historical moments include the March on Washington (1963), the Haitian Revolution (1791), and Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831). The film captures tensions between a police board led by Lori Lightfoot (now Chicago Mayor) and abolitionist organizers at Chicago Police Department Headquarters. Director Ashley O’Shay joins us for a conversation on why she chose to follow Janae and Bella, her abiding commitment to a historically crucial moment in the American experiment and why the voice of Black women are uniquely qualified to play a critical role in our collective future.
For news, screenings and updates go to: unapologeticfilm.com
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ben Proudfoot’s, QUEEN OF BASKETBALL, unravels the story behind one of the all-time greatest women’s basketball players. Born to African American sharecropper parents, one of eleven children, living in poverty, in the Deep South, picking cotton with her siblings in order to keep her family afloat. She learns how to play basketball in high school and less than two years after graduating she carries a little known Mississippi college, Delta State, to three consecutive Women’s national basketball championships. She is picked to play on America’s Women’s Olympic basketball team to play in the first ever Olympic basketball tournament for women. She scores the first and second basket in women's Olympic history. Soon after she becomes the first woman drafted (Utah Jazz) to play in the NBA. But have you ever heard of Lusia (Lucy) May Harris? Director Ben Proudfoot (Concerto is a Conversation) joins us to talk about one of the most accomplished and under-appreciated athletes who’s legacy off the court as a mother, daughter, wife and activist for equality rival her amazing athletic career, enlisting Shaquille O’Neal to be the Executive Producer, as well as the happenstance that spurred Proudfoot into making this beguiling documentary.
Watch at: nytimes.com/video/the-queen-of-basketball
- Latest News - 2022 Oscar Shortlist for Best Short Documentary
World Premiere – 2021 Tribeca Film Festival
For more news and updates go to: breakwaterstudios.com
2022 Oscar© Shortlist for Best Short Documentary
In this epic story of American politics, race, and triumph against all odds, director Joe Winston chronicles the captivating rise, surprising reign, and enduring legacy of Chicago’s first African American Mayor, Harold Washington. Steeped in archival footage capturing a 1980s Chicago rife with corruption and discrimination, PUNCH 9 FOR HAROLD WASHINGTON features candid interviews with Rev. Jesse Jackson, David Axelrod, Valerie Jarrett and others on the frontlines and in the backrooms of power as it follows the charismatic politician’s shrewd maneuverings, stinging betrayals, and unlikely victories. Inspiring and compelling, Washington’s journey continues to resonate for a city and nation confronting the same enduring social issues. Director Joe Winston, along with producers Raymond Lambert and Sonya Jackson, premiere the first feature documentary to tell Washington’s story in a moment that could not be more timely. As racism in American politics has taken an ugly turn, while minorities and women are gaining political clout they’ve never had before, a showdown is inevitable. While PUNCH 9 FOR HAROLD WASHINGTON is a thrilling story with unforgettable characters, it’s also a playbook for how to restore our American democracy. Director Joe Winston (What’s the Matter with Kansas, Flannery) joins us to talk about a dynamic, committed reformer, proponent of racial equity and the politician that broke the parade of corrupt, white establishment, racist, machine political hacks.
For news and updates go to: facebook.com/Punch9HaroldWashingtonMovie
THE CANNONS is an immersive feature documentary following the day-to-day lives of Coach Neal Henderson and his team of young African American hockey players in the longest serving minority hockey program in North America, the Fort Dupont Hockey Cannons in Washington DC. The goal of the Cannons is to provide educational purpose and teach young people discipline, via sports activities, to establish self-esteem, a sense of purpose, and to offer an incentive to excel academically. THE CANNONS chronicles one pivotal hockey season, following the lives of two Black teenage hockey players and one legendary coach, in one of America’s toughest neighborhoods: Southeast, Washington DC. Part coming of age story, part social-political commentary on the Black American experience, the film chronicles the Fort Dupont Cannons, one of America's only predominately Black hockey teams, as they must overcome the challenges of life on and off the ice. THE CANNONS is a story about hope; the power of sport; and the pursuit of the American Dream. Co-directors Steven Hoffner and AJ Messier join us for a conversation on the different paths that led them into the lives of Neal Henderson and the remarkable extended family of Cannons’ players, parents, supporters and alums.
For news and screenings go to: thecannonsdocumentary.com
Skinner Myers’ debut feature film THE SLEEPING NEGRO Confronted with a series of racially charged incidents, a young black man must overcome rage, alienation, and hopelessness in order to find his own humanity. The young black man, simply identified as “Man,” must resolve the personal meaning of his blackness when his white boss orders him to commit fraud to benefit the corporation. Struggling with an overwhelming sense of shame for going through with the illegal demand, Man seeks consolation by discussing his unease with a black former friend and his white fiancé. In the aftermath of these confusing, frustrating and maddening interactions, Man realizes he’s been looking at his life through the wrong lens. Following on the footsteps of the LA Rebellion filmmakers, Charles Burnett (The Killer of Sheep) and Billy Woodberry (Bless Their Little Hearts), director Skinner Myers tells a very personal and intimate Black story in a radically non-traditional cinematic style as a means to express freely his feelings as a Black man in America. Director, co-producer, writer and lead actor Skinner Myers joins us for a conversation on the production challenges of a filming in Los Angeles on a micro-budget, juggling the responsibilities in front and behind the camera and the significance of author / provocateur James Baldwin.
For news and updates go to: thesleepingnegro.com
For more go to: skinnermyers.com
From the team behind HBO’s “If You’re Not In The Obit, Eat Breakfast” and “The Bronx, USA” HBO’s THE SUPER BOB EINSTEIN MOVIE celebrates the life and legacy of the late actor, writer and producer Bob Einstein. Written, produced, and directed by Danny Gold, THE SUPER BOB EINSTEIN MOVIE features some of Einstein’s greatest comedic contributions, including his iconic alter-ego Super Dave Osborne, his work both behind and in front of the camera on “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” and his defining role as the unforgettable Marty Funkhouser on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” THE SUPER BOB EINSTEIN MOVIE explores Einstein’s unlikely discovery and enduring career, sharing the many evolving layers of Einstein’s comedy from the people that knew him best including comedic peers, Larry David, Cheryl Hines, Susie Essman, Jimmy Kimmel, Norman Lear, David Letterman, Steve Martin, Rob Reiner, Jerry Seinfeld, and Sarah Silverman, as well as many additional friends & family members. Director and producer Danny Gold joins us to talk about one of the most revered comedic talents in the history of television and the brother of another comedic genius, Albert Brooks.
Watch at: hbo.com/movies
Wojnarowicz: Fck You F*ggot Fker is a fiery and urgent documentary portrait of downtown New York City artist, writer, photographer, and activist David Wojnarowicz. As New York City became the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, Wojnarowicz weaponized his work and waged war against art world’s indifference to the plague until his death from is in 1992 at the age of 37. Exclusive access to his breathtaking body of work - including paintings, journals, and films - reveals how Wojnarowicz emptied his life into his art and activism. Rediscovered answering machine tape recordings and intimate recollections from Fran Lebowitz, Gracie Mansion, Peter Hujar, and other friends and family help present a stirring portrait of this fiercely political, unapologetically queer artist. Director Chris McKim (Out of Iraq, Tammy Faye: Death Defying) joins us for a conversation on the life and times of artist David Wojnarowicz, why his art defied easy consumption and how his fury defined his art and challenged the straight world’s cruel ambivalence during the scourge of the AIDS epidemic.
For news and screenings go to: kinolorber.com/film/wojnarowicz
From the filmmakers who brought you CLIMATE OF A HUNTER, we are excited to share Mickey Reece’s new film AGNES, which will be open theatrically and on VOD starting December 10 this year. AGNES is the story of a nun’s disturbing behavior as it sparks rumors of demonic possession at a remote Roman Catholic Carmelite convent. When a priest in waiting and his disillusioned mentor are sent to investigate, their methods backfire, leaving a wake of terror and trauma. After attempting to exorcise the dark entity from Sister Agnes, Father Benjamin and Father Donaghue realize they’re dealing with something much darker. Anchored by an array of captivating performances from Molly C. Quinn, Ben Hall, Sean Gunn, Jake Horowitz, and Chris Browning along with Agnes’ haunting images will stay with you long after the final credits. AGNES co-writer (John Selvidge) and director Mickey Reece joins us for a conversation on his expansive perspective on faith and religious dogma and how he has brilliantly subverted traditional horror story cliches with humor and humanity, turning them into something much more compelling.
For news and updates go to: magnetreleasing.com/agnes
Theatrical screenings at: magnetreleasing.com/agnes/screenings
To watch at home: magnetreleasing.com/agnes/watch-at-home
THE MURDERS AT STARVED ROCK explores this 60-year-old murder mystery. The convicted killer, Chester Weger, maintains his innocence after sixty years in prison and seeks exoneration. Haunted by the murders in his hometown, David Raccuglia has spent the last 15 years delving into the case files, convinced that the whole truth has yet to be uncovered. As a child growing up in LaSalle, David lived in fear of Weger, who was characterized as the local “bogeyman.” Further complicating David’s search for answers is the role his own father played in the trial; Anthony Raccuglia was the determined, young prosecutor who put Weger behind bars, believing steadfastly in his guilt. With a complicated father/son relationship at its core, THE MURDERS AT STARVED ROCK traces a twisting path of inconsistencies, cover-ups and lies, unearthing new clues and potential suspects while questioning the very nature and reliability of memory. At the heart of THE MURDERS AT STARVED ROCK is David’s tension-filled interview with his late father that speaks to the divisive feelings that the case still engenders. Hard-boiled investigators, local reporters, family members and eccentric townsfolk, each with their own theories, also lend their insight to the series and a wealth of archival materials transports us back to 1960. Several interviews with Weger himself reveal a sympathetic man steadfast in his claims of innocence, but is he an unreliable narrator of his own story? Director Jody McVeigh-Schultz (McMillion$, Drunk History joins us for a conversation on the fascinating trajectory of this thoroughly engaging docu-series, the wide-ranging reaction to the murders from the people living in LaSalle, the impact that David’s film project has had on his own family and the ambiguity that continues to shadow this tragic tale.
For news and updates go to: hbo.com/murders-at-starved-rock
In Lauren Hadaway’s award-winning feature film debut, THE NOVICE, Isabelle Fuhrman plays Alex Dall, a queer college freshman who joins her university's rowing team and undertakes an obsessive physical and psychological journey to make it to the top varsity boat, no matter the cost. Intent on outperforming her teammates, Alex pushes herself to her limits—and beyond, alienating everyone around her in the name of success. Furhman’s fierce lead performance collides with Lauren Hadaway’s bold direction and dynamic editing, creating a visceral window into a cutthroat world. THE NOVICE’s stylish cinematography and a seductive soundtrack complete the experience, evoking the romance and danger of falling in love; the attraction, the drama and the fallout. This unapologetic debut from Hadaway, based on her personal experience as a competitive collegiate rower, heralds a bold new voice in storytelling. Inspired by her own experience nearly destroying herself while rowing competitively in college, THE NOVICE is a thrilling take on the coming-of-age story, starring Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Amy Forsyth (Beautiful Boy), and Dilone (Halston). At its Tribeca Film Festival premiere in June it won multiple awards including Best US Narrative, Best Actress, and Best Cinematography. Director / writer Lauren Hadaway joins us for a lively conversation on the lived experience of her own story and it’s impact on The Novice, her ambitious blending of soundtrack, sound design and kinetic visual look into a cohesive whole and the performances she pulled from her superb cast, led by Isabelle Fuhrman.
For news, screenings and updates go to: novicemovie.com
The Novice - In Theaters and On Digital, 2021
THE NOVICE will be released by IFC on December 17
In this eye-opening look into decline and the importance of small town journalism, Storm Lake follows Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Art Cullen and his family as they fight to unite and inform their Iowan farming community through their biweekly newspaper, The Storm Lake Times—come hell or pandemic. Dark clouds hang over the cornfields of Storm Lake, Iowa, which has seen its fair share of change in the 40 years since Big Agriculture came to town. Farmers blow their life savings on new equipment they hope will keep their livelihoods intact. Migrant workers flock here—welcome and not—for their slice of the American Dream. The people of Storm Lake confront a changing and precarious existence. Enter: Art Cullen and his family members who deliver local news and editorials on a shoestring budget for their 3,000 readers. This paper means a fighting chance for their beloved hometown, and by hook or by crook, they’ll make the most of it. There’s simply too much at stake. Co-directors Jerry Risius and Betty Levison join us for a conversation on the decline of local news, quantifiably and qualitatively, why it matters and why Art Cullen and his family’s business is a lynch-pin of a functioning democracy.
For news, screenings and updates go to: stormlakemovie.com
Support the stormlake.com
The Great Balloon Bomb Invasion challenges what most Americans were taught that the United States mainland was not attacked during WWII. But it was. Between 1944 and 1945, the Japanese launched more than 9000 bomb-rigged balloons across the Pacific, resulting in tragic deaths in Oregon. These lethal "Fu-Go" bombs reached as far east as Indiana and as far south as Texas…but only 300 have ever been found, leaving potentially thousands of deadly bombs scattered across the US. For the first time ever, an investigation is launched into the hidden history of this attack, with a high-tech hunt for the unexploded remnants. Executive Producer Stuart Chait, (Lost Gold, 10 Things You Don't Know About) making his feature directorial debut with The Great Balloon Bomb Invasion joins us for a conversation on how he came to know about this little know story and why a small band of dedicated bomb sleuths are actively trying to track down these very dangerous World War II “artifacts”.
The Great Balloon Bomb Invasion is now streaming on discover+
This eye-opening, revealing new documentary, THE RISE AND FALL OF LULAROE, pulls the curtain back on the multi-level marketing company through interviews with retailers, warehouse workers, designers and others. Through a partnership with BuzzFeed Studios and journalist Stephanie McNeal’s in-depth investigation, THE RISE AND FALL OF LULAROE uncovers parts of the story that haven't been heard before, including recent developments and first hand accounts from sources who are speaking out for the first time. The film shines a light on present day LuLaRoe at the company’s most recent incentive trip in Cancun, Mexico called LuLaRoe D.R.E.A.M 2021. Here, we meet LuLaRoe’s first ever retailer and see that the company is still going strong, despite the growing community of Facebook activists, including former customers and retailers, who are determined to stop at nothing to take down the organization. Experts in the documentary reflect on how LuLaRoe seduced thousands of recruits, some of whom ended up risking their homes, their bank accounts, and their relationships with close family and friends - all in an effort to be their own boss by selling LuLaRoe leggings. THE RISE AND FALL OF LULAROE explores the psychological techniques used by multi-level marketers, and how the company harnessed the full power of social media to onboard a massive pool of retailers. Senior culture writer for BuzzFeed News and consulting producer, Stephanie McNeal joins us to talk about her long-time interested in the general subject of multi-level marketing and her specific interest in LuLaRoe and the impact it has had on the lives of thousands of retailers, warehouse workers, designers and others.
For more about The Rise and Fall of Laluroe go to: discoveryplus.com
The film will world premiere December 13th on discovery+, the definitive non-fiction, real-life subscription streaming service.
THE MUSTANGS: AMERICA'S WILD HORSES takes audiences on an odyssey throughout America to places few people have seen or even know about. There are more than 80,000 wild horses on our public lands and more than 50,000 in government corrals. THE MUSTANGS also shines a spotlight on the work of Operation Wild Horse, an organization, that pairs mustangs and veterans with PTSD. Centered around the history and current situation of these American icons, the film’s soundtrack features American musical stars including Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris. The original song “Never Gonna Tame You,” is performed by Platinum-selling artist Blanco Brown and written by legendary songwriter Diane Warren, a 12-time Oscar® nominee and GRAMMY®, Emmy® and two-time Golden Globe® award winner. THE MUSTANGS: AMERICA'S WILD HORSES is an amazing story about America’s wild horses from their turbulent history to their uncertain future. Co-directors Steven Latham and Conrad Stanley join us for a conversation on these iconic American animals, how close they came to extinction, the heroic efforts of a housewife / farmer from Nevada literally changed the fate of these magnificent creatures and the amazing production team that includes Robert Redford, Patti Scialfa Springsteen and USA Olympic Equestrian Silver Medalist Jessica Springsteen.
For news and updates go to: themustangsfilm.com
Ways to watch: VUDU - Amazon Prime - Apple TV - Google Play - vimeo
From director Sonja Sohn (Baltimore Rising) star of HBO’s The Wire, comes THE SLOW HUSTLE, an American tale of how the culture of law enforcement corruption penetrates the system at every level, destroying lives, as ordinary citizens, hardworking local journalists, and a few rebellious public servants endeavor to pick up the pieces.When Baltimore police detective Sean Suiter is shot and killed on duty the day before he is scheduled to testify before a federal grand jury, a mystery unravels that raises questions about what story he was going to tell about his fellow officers. The infamously corrupt Gun Trace Task Force is the focus of an investigation that exposes members of an elite task force as a criminal gang and that proves to be one of the dirtiest police units in US history. THE SLOW HUSTLE follows Detective Suiter's widow and children as they work to uncover clues and hold the Baltimore Police Department and City Hall accountable. Meanwhile dogged journalists strive to crack the case, including D. Watkins, author of We Speak for Ourselves: How Woke Culture Prohibits Progress, and Justin Fenton, author of We Own This City: A True Story of Crime, Cops, and Corruption. At the vortex lies Detective Sean Suiter, with the conflicting theories of his death and the complexities of his life, creating a dizzying portrait of the human challenges of modern policing in the age of rising violent crime and police. Director Sonja Sohn joins us to talk about how the death of Detective Sean Suiter’s unsolved death has affected the lives of the Suiter family and the corrosive impact that the scandal has had on the Baltimore Police Department, and the standing of Baltimore’s political establishment.
To find out more go to: hbo.com/movies/the-slow-hustle
The Slow Hustle premieres on HBO December 7
The eye-opening short documentary featuring illuminating animation, Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis, co-directed by Daniel Sivan and Mor Loushy (The Devil Next Door, The Oslo Diaries) and produced by Benji and Jono Bergmann (Wirecard, Mau), focuses on the story of a top secret POW camp that was classified for over five decades. In the midst of WWII, a group of young Jewish refugees are assigned to guard a top secret POW camp near Washington D.C. The Jewish soldiers soon discover that their prisoners are no other than Hitler's top scientists - What starts out as an intelligence mission to gather information from the Nazis, soon gets a shocking twist when the Jewish soldiers are tasked with a very different mission altogether. A mission that would question their moral values - exposing a dark secret from America's past. Co-director Daniel Sivan (Mor Loushy) joins us for a conversation on this unbelievable true story of Nazi officers and scientists a few miles the the US Capital and the wildly improbable discovery of finding the survivors who were alive to tell the tale.
Watch by going to: netflix.com/Camp Confidential
THE FEAST seamlessly drops us into a family gathering at their lavish contemporary home made of glass and steel in the Welsh mountains. The matriarch is hosting a dinner party with her politician husband on behalf of a businessman hoping to buy land in the area for mineral mining. Unbeknown to them the owners of a neighboring farm are the only other guests and will be charmed into selling parcels of their farmland. The family’s two adult sons are reluctant dinner party guests. One is a London hipster struggling with addiction issues and the other is a doctor training for an ironman event. The family’s values and beliefs are challenged by the arrival of the young woman, Cadi, they have hired to act as waitress for the evening. Her presence forces the characters to face their shortcomings and question their relationship with the land they claim to belong to. Cadi’s influence grows in strength and the family’s behavior becomes increasingly extreme until they face the horror of what they represent and tragedy changes everything forever. Director Lee Haven Jones (DOCTOR WHO, THE BAY, VERA) joins us for a conversation on the inspiration for THE FEAST, the use of the native language in telling the story, the significance of Welsh folklore in connecting people to their land and culture.
For news and updates go to: fcfilms.com/films/the-feast
Don Argott’s latest documentary, KEEP SWEET explores the leakage left behind by the self-proclaimed “Prophet of the FLDS”, Warren Jeffs and how Jeffs’ demands for absolute loyalty, and the complete adherence to religion dogma, requiring strict dress codes, banishing community celebrations and casting out followers who didn’t fall in line irreparably damaged the lives of so many. His controversial reign ended with a conviction for sexual assault with underage girls, landing him in jail for life. Jeffs’ downfall sent shock waves throughout the community, with some continuing to pledge their loyalty to him, while others turned their backs on Jeff’s and the FLDS religion altogether. Ten years after his arrest, those left behind attempt to rebuild their community. KEEP SWEET is an allegory for the unsettling reality we are living through in America. Can we learn how to live with one another despite our different ideologies, or are we destined to live apart? Director Don Argott (Art of the Steal, Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time) joins us for a conversation on his own perception of the FLDS people living in Colorado City, Arizona, Warren Jeffs pernicious impact on the lives of people who trusted him and lengths that people will go to for their beliefs.
For news and updates go to: 914pictures.com
Keep Sweet premieres on Discovery+ channel November 24, 2021
For other resources go to: 44blue.com
DON’T TRY TO UNDERSTAND: A Year in the Life of Earl "DMX" Simmons is a no-holds-barred portrait of hip-hop's most tortured superstar. A deeply personal exploration of Faith, Addiction, Loyalty and Family, the film chronicles a year in the life of a man with a burning desire to reconcile decisions of the past. Fresh out yet another bid in Federal prison, 2019 finds Earl "DMX" Simmons at a crossroads. With an insurmountable debt owed to the IRS, an ever-growing family to feed, and immense pressure to return to the heights of yesteryear; the stakes couldn't be higher. DON'T TRY TO UNDERSTAND in cinéma vérité style and with unfettered access, the film bears witness to a man searching for reinvention and redemption, striving to stay true to himself while reestablishing his roles as a father, an artist and an icon.We follow Earl Simmons as he navigates this difficult circumstance: from re-acclimating to society in the midst of a grueling nationwide tour, to reuniting with his estranged first-born son. The film is an intimate glimpse into a man whose future and legacy, livelihood, and liberty, are all on the line. Director Christopher Frierson (The King, Denial, Dirty Pictures) joins us to talk about Earl Simmons “DMX” from the point of view of a man facing the unavoidable questions swirling around his own mortality, family, and faith in God.
Watch at: hbo.com/documentaries
Music Box is a collection of documentary films created by Bill Simmons exploring pivotal moments in the music world, featuring portraits of Alanis Morissette, DMX. Keeny G and Woodstock 99.
LIFE OF CRIME: 1984-2020, is the culmination of 36 years of work from multiple Emmy Award-winning producer/director Jon Alpert (HBO’s “Baghdad ER”). The third and final part of an epic documentary trilogy, LIFE OF CRIME: 1984-2020 tells the full story of three friends from Newark, New Jersey whose lives have been defined by and torn apart by their addictions. With unfettered access, LIFE OF CRIME: 1984-2020 bears witness to each of their journeys in and out of prison, rehab and in occasional jobs as they struggle to end the vicious cycles of drug use and to connect with the families they left behind. Authentic to true vérité filmmaking techniques, Alpert’s camera is observational, immersive, deeply intimate and unfiltered; the vast scope of the timeline allows for an extensive window into the tragic toll that addiction can take on substance abusers and their loved ones. LIFE OF CRIME: 1984-2020 is tightly focused on three individuals living in one of the roughest parts of Newark, New Jersey: Rob Steffy, a criminal surviving by shoplifting and robbery; Deliris Vasquez, one-time girlfriend of Rob’s and the mother of two children, whose heroin addiction leads to prostitution, prison, rehab and Freddie Rodriguez, whose petty crimes and drug use land him in and out of prison. Director and Producer Jon Alpert joins us for a conversation on how he found himself being pulled into the lives of three hopelessly lost souls desperately trying to find a way out.
Find out more about Jon Alpert's work at: dctvny.org
In the 1960s, the hippies championed the idea of a sexual revolution. They received neither Fatwas nor bodyguards. In director Nefise Ozkal Lorentzen’s latest film, SEYRAN ATES: SEX, REVOLUTION AND ISLAM we follow the work of Seyran Ateş - a Turkish-German lawyer, feminist, and one of the first female imams in Europe - is fighting for a sexual revolution within Islam. In return, she was shot, received fatwas and death threats, and now has to live under constant police protection. Seyran believes the only way to fight against radical Islam is through Islam, which is why, in her liberal mosque, there is no gender segregation or exclusion based on sexual orientation. This is the story of Seyran’s personal and ideological fight for the modernization of Islam. Her quest for change takes her on a journey around the world, meeting with different people connected through faith, from sex workers in a German brothel to Uyghur LGBTQ youth and traditional female imams in China. It is also a journey through Seyran’s life, from her humble beginnings as a Muslim girl in Turkey’s slums to a female leader daring to challenge her own religion. Seyran rebels against extremism and hate in the name of peace and love. Director Nefise Ozkal Lorentzen (Gender Me, A Balloon for Allah, Manislam) joins us for a conversation on bravery and the tenacity of Seyran Ates as well as the people who have supporter her and the incremental progress she is making.
For updates go to: integralfilm.com/seyran-ates-sex-revolution-and-islam
In this, raw, poignant, and deeply personal story, ANONYMOUS SISTER, two-time Emmy winner filmmaker Jamie Boyle turns the camera on her own family when her mother and sister become dependent on opioids. Drawing upon footage shot for over 30 years, Boyle creates a poignant and timely study of the deadliest man-made epidemic in United States history. The film is an eye-opening look at what it means to suffer, to survive, and to experience life in all of its pain and beauty. Featuring preeminent voices from Colorado’s state government, renowned healthcare organizations, community activist groups, and those directly affected, this film in intended to kick off a nationwide campaign to deepen the understanding of the opioid epidemic, reduce opioid prescribing, and strip away the harmful stigma associated with substance use disorder. Director Jamie Boyle (Take a Vote, Jackson) joins us for a conversation on the enormous scope of opioid distribution, misinformation, fraud, legalized bribery, and lack of accountability regarding of Big Pharma, generally, and Purdue Pharmaceutical / Sackler family in particular bear responsibility for a scourge that has devastated millions of people’s lives and the impact addiction has had on her family.
For news, updates and screenings go to: anonymoussister.com
For help with opioid addiction go to: anonymoussister.com/resources
In this twisted tale of a soon-to-be-married Hollywood agent receives a mysterious letter for an anonymous sexual encounter and becomes ensnared in a sinister world of lying, murder, and infidelity in this scintillating satire. Written and directed by PJ McCabe and Jim Cummings, THE BETA TEST is a dark satire thriller of Hollywood power dynamics and the vast interconnectivity of digital culture today. This winding thriller displays the problematic nature of the entertainment industry and humanity’s willingness to jeopardize our happiness in small and constant decisions. It asks the question “In the age of internet consumerism and digital tracking, does anyone truly have privacy? And can we ever truly rest without having all the answers?” Co-directors / co-writers Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe join us for a conversation on this fantastical, thrill-ride through the avaricious landscape that defines “Hollywood,” and the pursuit of power, money and sex.
For news, screenings and updates go to: ifcfilms.com/films/the-beta-test
Director Phillip Barantini’s BOILING POINT, takes deep into the internal dynamics roiling thru one of the hottest restaurants in London on the busiest night of the year. A charismatic, commanding head chef Andy Jones (Stephen Graham) balances along a knife’s edge as multiple personal and professional crises threaten to destroy everything he’s worked for. A surprise visit from a health and safety inspector sets the staff on edge as the overbooked hotspot begins to fill with guests. Jones alternately berates and cajoles his diverse staff, trying his best to diffuse tensions between management and his crew, while catering to the ridiculous demands of customers. Co-written with James Cummings (A Place for Everything), Along with Stephen Graham, BOILING POINT, stars, Vinette Robinson, Alice Feetham, Hannah Walters, Malachi Kirby, Izuka Hoyle, Taz Skyler, Lauryn Ajufo, Daniel Larkai, Lourdes Faberes, Jason Flemyng, Ray Panthaki. Nominated for 11 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography and Best Breakthrough Performance. We are joined by Director Phillip Barantini to talk about his kaleidoscopic look inside the controlled chaos of a bustling restaurant as well as all of the volatile personalities he manages to blend together in this exceptionally accomplish slice of gourmet filmmaking.
For news and updates go to: ascendantfilms.co.uk/films/boiling-point
11 British Independent Film nominations
From Emmy® Award-winner Rex Miller and Academy Award®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker Sam Pollard comes a new documentary about the first male African American, CITIZEN ASHE. The film is an exploration of the legacy of tennis great and humanitarian Arthur Ashe. Ashe, who would have turned 78 last month, died of AIDS-related complications in 1993. His storied tennis career is only surpassed in esteem by his off-court activism on behalf of civil rights, global human rights, and compassion for those afflicted by HIV. Using a blend of archival newsreel and family footage, Miller and Pollard take viewers along Ashe’s personal evolution, beginning with a youth deeply influenced by his early tennis mentor and the death of his mother. His elegant technical form helped him play at the highest of elite levels in tennis, a sport which, even today, has few non-white professional players. Contemporary interviews with Ashe’s widow, Jeanne Moutousammy-Ashe, his brother, Johnnie Ashe, as well as fellow tennis legends Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Donald Dell, and Lenny Simpson, and activist Prof. Harry Edwards, illustrate the cultural resonance of his historic Grand Slam wins, and how he managed a quiet, stoic dignity in public, despite the racism he endured throughout his life and career. He really is an inspiration who used his celebrity to focus attention on injustice in America, and beyond. Co-director Rex Miller (Sam Pollard) joins us to talk about the life and times of the country’s greatest male African-American tennis champion and a humanitarian of the highest order.
For news and screening go to: magpictures.com/citizenashe
Citizen Ashe is playing theatrically on December 3rd in NYC and December 10th in LA.
Chris Russo’s latest documentary, LADY BUDS, follows the widely praised 2016 decision to legalize cannabis in California and six courageous women who emerge from the shadows to enter the new commercial industry. As farmers, entrepreneurs and activists, these modern-day pioneers find their initial optimism is quickly replaced with uncertainty and fear as the new legislation favors deep pocketed corporations. Those who shaped the foundations of the cannabis industry for decades soon find themselves struggling to fight for their piece of the American Dream in a market they helped create. LADY BUDS features second-generation cannabis farmer Chiah Rodriques, 72-year old African-American retired Catholic school principal turned dispensary owner Sue Taylor, Latinx queer activist Felicia Carbajal, serial entrepreneur Karyn Wagner, and Humboldt elders The Bud Sisters. Their stories speak to the many opportunities and issues facing commercial cannabis today: the complicated dynamics of raising a family on a cannabis farm, the ongoing fight for those adversely affected by the War on Drugs, educating seniors citizens about the healing power of cannabis, and honoring the LGBTQ activists who fought for legalizing medical marijuana over 25 years ago. At every turn these trailblazers defy stereotypes, while revealing that cannabis is much more than a plant, it’s a community. In her feature debut, award-winning filmmaker Chris J. Russo joins us to all about her own insightful journey into the lives and work of the women who are the backbone of the cannabis culture in California. Their struggles and triumphs paint a picture of an industry in flux as it grapples with preserving its storied heritage while looking toward the future.
For news, screenings and updates go to: ladybudsmovie.com
Screening at the Laemmle Glendale 11/16 & 11/27
Available on iTunes beginning 11/26
Charlie Chaplin’s iconic Tramp character made him the most famous person in the world. But who was THE REAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN? From the award-winning creative team behind NOTES ON BLINDNESS and LISTEN TO ME, MARLON comes an innovative portrait of a complex figure whose life was as extraordinary as his art. It traces Chaplin’s journey from the slums of late-Victorian London to the bright lights of Hollywood at the dawn of cinema. Movies that transcended language brought him unparalleled fame and fortune, a studio empire to enact his obsessive creative vision, before political controversies and personal scandals threatened his ascendancy. With unprecedented access to the Chaplin archives, the film combines dramatic reconstructions with previously unheard recordings, intimate home movies and behind-the-scenes material, interwoven with his newly restored classics. It explores how - as the Little Tramp - Chaplin’s pioneering movie comedy finds new depths, replaying childhood traumas in THE KID and THE GOLD RUSH, spiraling into creative obsession in the making of CITY LIGHTS, protesting inequality in MODERN TIMES, before confronting the rise of fascism in THE GREAT DICTATOR. The film reveals a figure whose creative passion was mirrored by a turbulent personal life. And the climactic re-staging of an infamous press conference reveals how the killing of his beloved Tramp character threatens his standing with the American public, as the Hollywood press and the F.B.I. conspire to exile him from the country where he made his name. Co-directors James Spinney and Peter Middleton join us for a conversation on their revelatory and compelling look into the life and times of an immensely talented artist / comedian / writer / director / businessman who instantaneously connected with people from around the world, propelling his Tramp persona to a level of fame seldom seen.
The Real Charlie Chaplin available starting 12/11 on SHOWTIME
HBO’s LISTENING TO KENNY G, part of the Music Box series, directed by Penny Lane (“Hail Satan?”) and executive produced by Bill Simmons (HBO’s “Andre The Giant,” “Showbiz Kids”) takes a humorous but incisive look at the saxophonist Kenny G, the best-selling instrumental artist of all time, and quite possibly one of the most famous living musicians. Through several interviews with renowned jazz critics, music professors and writers, and including a new in-depth, intimate interview with the artist, LISTENING TO KENNY G is a multifaceted exploration of the two extremes between the musician’s critics and his superfans, revealing a meditation on the larger idea of artistic taste and how our musical preferences define us. Alternatively playful and probing, the documentary traces the artist’s career through pivotal moments: playing “Songbird” on The Tonight Show, his monumental record sales, his crushing reviews, his newfound fans on social media and his recent collaborations with Kanye West, The Weeknd and others. Dismissed by the media and mocked by the jazz establishment, Kenny G nevertheless embraces his detractors. Aware of how he is often perceived, he nevertheless strives to perfect his craft and to continually move forward in a changing musical landscape. What emerges in LISTENING TO KENNY G is the portrait of an obsessive musician who still practices three hours a day in an effort to rise above his critics and to satisfy his fans, while also exceling at many of his hobbies, including golfing, flying, and investing. Award-winning director Penny Lane joins us for a conversation on her own perceptions of Ken Gorelick and how they changed over the course of making his wildly entertaining profile of a perfectionist with a perceptive view of himself and a drive to be the best at whatever he sets his mind to.
To watch go to: hbo.com/movies/music-box-listening-to-kenny-g
For news and updates go to: pennylaneismyrealname.com
Long before documentary series were the trend, filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus created THE ENERGY WAR: FILIBUSTER a ground-breaking episodic look at Washington, D.C in 1977-78. Part Two of the series, FILIBUSTER is a real-life political drama, taking audiences behind-the-scenes during the fierce legislative battle and historic double filibuster over President Carter’s natural gas bill. Referred to as a “holy war,” the issue had evaded solutions for more than thirty years and six presidents. THE ENERGY WAR features combatants on all sides of the political aisle, from oil lobbyists to Senator Edward Kennedy to Secretary of Energy James R. Schlesinger. First aired on PBS in 1979, the series has scarcely been seen since. The documentary continues to resonate today as politicians struggle to fix our current energy crisis. Chris Hegedus, D. A. Pennebaker, and Pat Powell capture all of the drama and brinksmanship of a political era where senators did something nearly unimaginable today, they crossed party lines to negotiate an important and historically significant piece of legislation, the deregulation of the natural gas industry. Co-director Chris Hegedus joins us for a conversation on the why and how she and her collaborators were able to chronicle a ground floor, fly-on-the-wall view of political history.
For news and updates go to: phfilms.com/films/the-energy-war
Watch thru 11/28 at: docnyc.net/film/the-energy-war-filibuster
Boycotts have long been a tool used by Americans rallying for political change, from civil rights leaders to anti-apartheid activists. But in recent years, 33 U.S. states have introduced anti-boycott legislation or executive orders designed to penalize individuals and companies who choose to boycott Israel due to its human rights record. In BOYCOTT, director Julia Bacha (Budrus, Naila and the Uprising) looks at the cases of a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona and a speech therapist in Texas whose careers are threatened by the harsh measures of these new laws. A legal thriller with “accidental plaintiffs” at the center, the film is a bracing look at the far-reaching implications of anti-boycott legislation and an inspiring tale of everyday Americans standing up to protect our rights in an age of shifting politics and threats to freedom of speech. Director Julia Bacha stops by to talk about the intensifying efforts in the public and private sectors from around the country to criminalize free speech and freedom of association. Bacha talks about the everyday efforts of private citizens to step up and take actions to stop a perniciously undemocratic movement from spreading.
For news and ways to protect your rights go to: theboycottfilm.com
Watch Boycott virtually until 11/28 go to: docnyc.net/film/boycott
Find out more at: Boycott Divestment Sanctions
For more about the ongoing efforts, go to: justvision.org
Dean Martin epitomized cool. A founding member of the Rat Pack, Dean was a multi-talented performer who was part of the number one comedy act in America, a chart-topping singer for over half a century and one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and on TV. He was the consummate charmer on stage and off. Everybody loved him. Yet for all his celebrity, fame and adoration, no one ever truly knew him. King of Cool seeks to change this. Through the use of interviews with friends, family, those who worked with him and modern actors and musicians inspired by him, as well as never before seen archival footage including from his time with Jerry Lewis, his movies and his TV Variety Show and Roasts, viewers get an intimate and personal account of his life. The film dives deep to try and understand why he was such an enigma and even searches to find Dean's Rosebud. Featuring interviews with Alec Baldwin, RZA, Jon Hamm, George Schlatter, Norman Lear, Barbara Rush, Florence Henderson, Lainie Kazan, Deana Martin, Angie Dickinson, Tommy Tune, Peter Bogdanovich, Dick Cavett, Regis Philbin, Bob Newhart, Barry Levinson, Carol Burnett, James Woods. Director Tom Donahue joins us for a conversation about one of the most accomplished entertainers to ever grace a film set, television sound stage, recording studio or nightclub, and how he brought Dean back to life through the stories told by the family and friends who knew him best.
For news and updates go to: creativechaosvmg.com/work
PREMIERING NOV 19TH ON TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES
A kind of spiritual sequel (and cautionary counterpoint) to Hopper’s own Easy Rider, OUT OF THE BLUE chronicles the idealism of the sixties decline into the hazy nihilism of the 1980’s. Don Barnes (Dennis Hopper) is a truck driver in prison for drunkenly smashing his rig into a school bus. Linda Manz (Days of Heaven) plays Cebe, his daughter, a teen rebel obsessed with Elvis and The Sex Pistols. Her mother (Sharon Farrell) waitresses, shoots up drugs and takes refuge in the arms of other men. Cebe runs away to Vancouver’s punk scene and ends up on probation under the care of psychiatrist Raymond Burr. After Don’s release, the family struggles to re-connect before the revelation of dark secrets leads to a harrowing conclusion. The driving force behind this long overdue restoration and redemption are John Alan Simpson and Elizabeth Karr and they join us for a conversation on where OUT OF THE BLUE fits into the filmography of outlaw artist Dennis Hopper and why film lovers should be celebrating the re-release of this raw and ragged middle finger of a film from one of cinema’s great provocateurs.
For news and updates go to: outofthebluedennishopper.com
Jim Finn’s inspired real-life story of the South Korean director kidnapped in the 70's to invigorate the North Korean film industry, THE JUCHE IDEA follows Yoon Jung Lee, a young video artist invited to work at a Juche art residency on a North Korean collective farm. The story is told through the films she made at the residency as well as interviews with a Bulgarian filmmaker and even a brief sci-fi movie. Jim Finn's THE JUCHE IDEA is an uproarious and provocative deconstruction of North Korean propaganda and philosophy. Mixing together eye-popping archival footage with deadpan re-enactments, Finn has created a complex docu-fiction that is equally thought-provoking and entertaining. Translated as self-reliance, Juche (CHOO-chay) is a hybrid of Confucian and Stalinist thought that Kim Jong-il adapted from his father and applied to the entire culture. In The Juche Idea, a sympathetic South Korean filmmaker visits a North Korean artists' colony to bring Juche ideas into the 21st century. She ends up producing hilariously stilted shorts, including a nonsensical sci-fi story and the enigmatic "Dentures of Imperialism.” THE JUCHE IDEA is both sardonic satire and historical excavation, an exuberant collage that reveals the absurdity at the heart of Kim-Jong-il's regime. Director Jim Finn joins us for a free-wheeling conversation on the wildly imaginative nature of his filmmaking, Ulysses S, Grant as the most prolific killer of fascist… ever, and the importance of Juche for all comrades.
Available to watch at: OVID.TV
Available for purchase at: kinolorber.com/film/thejucheidea
The latest documentary film from director Jesse Moss, MAYOR PETE, brings viewers inside Pete Buttigieg’s campaign to be the youngest President of the United States.providing an unprecedented intimacy with the candidate, his husband Chasten, and their ambitious team. From the earliest days of the campaign, to his unlikely, triumphant victory in Iowa and beyond, this lm reveals what really goes on inside a campaign for the highest office in the land—and the myriad ways it changes the lives of those at its center. Recently appointed U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Buttigieg serves as the first openly LGBTQ Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in U.S. history. Director Jess Moss (The Overnighters, The Family, Boys State) joins us to talk about the challenges of documenting a white hot presidential campaign and the possible next leader of the free world while chronicling the relationship of the first openly gay presidential candidate and his husband.
Watch now: www.amazon.com/Mayor-Pete-Buttigieg
Co-directors Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh award-winning documentary WRITING WITH FIRE focuses on India’s social environment built to divide based on caste and gender and a fearless group of journalists maintain India’s only women-led news outlet. Amidst rising Hindu nationalism, the Dalit women of Khabar Lahariya—all from the Dalit (“untouchables” caste)—prepare to transition the newspaper from print to digital even though many of their reporters don’t have access to electricity at home. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her team of journalists confront some of India’s biggest issues—investigating cases of caste and gender violence, police corruption, environmental injustices, and more. WRITING WITH FIRE chronicles the astonishing determination of these local reporters as they empower each other and hold those responsible for injustice to account. Reaching new audiences through their growing platform, the women of Khabar Lahariya redefine what it means to be powerful. Co-directors Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh join us for a conversation on the daily lives of these incredibly brave women, at home and on the road as journalist, gaining access and the trust of their community and how their work has served to demonstrate the power of a free press to improve lives and support a democratic society.
For news, updates and screenings go to: writingwithfire.in
Watch virtually until 11/28 at docnyc.net/film/writing-with-fire
Brittney, Aaloni, and Autumn, three spirited teenage girls living in a Texas military town, meet and befriend photographers and debut filmmakers Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt in a chance encounter one evening. During a road trip across America, documenting snapshots of carefree adolescent summers, Hill and Bethencourt are inspired to film the trio, following them to bonfire parties, fast-food outings, and bedroom hangouts where discussions around agency, opportunity, sex, and consent unfold with candor. Shot in vérité style, CUSP captures authentic moments of female friendship while examining what it means to confront the dark realities of female adolescence. Though the girls’ experiences are completely unique to their upbringing, CUSP is also a strikingly universal coming-of-age tale — and true-to-life, at turns funny, tragic, complicated, and stirring. Co-directors Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt join us for a conversation on the happenstance that brought them into these young women’s life, the sparse economic and educational opportunities available to Brittney, Aaloni, and Autumn, and the specter of violence that shadows too many of their relationships.
For news, updates and screenings go to: cuspthefilm.com
With exclusive access inside one of New York’s hardest hit hospital systems during the terrifying first four months of the pandemic, Oscar®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning director Matthew Heineman’s THE FIRST WAVE spotlights the everyday heroes at the epicenter of COVID-19 as they come together to fight one of the greatest threats the world has ever encountered. Leaving a devastating trail of death and despair, this once-in-a-century pandemic changed the very fabric of our daily lives and exposed long-standing inequities in American society. Employing his signature approach of character-driven cinema vérité, Heineman embeds with a group of doctors, nurses and patients on the frontlines as they all desperately try to navigate the crisis. With each distinct storyline serving as a microcosm through which we can view the emotional and societal impacts of the pandemic, THE FIRST WAVE is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. Director Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, City of Ghosts, Tiger) joins us to talk about the harrowing situation he and his crew found as they documented the once-in-a-century pandemic testing the men and women, staff and patients, and how they channeled their filmmaking instincts into telling an emotionally charged story that illuminates what is was like to be a part of THE FIRST WAVE.
For news and updates go to: nationalgeographic.com/the-first-wave
For updates go to: neonrated.com/films/the-first-wave
Watch now through 11/28 at docnyc.net/film/the-first-wave
KURT VONNEGUT: UNSTUCK IN TIME is a dazzling, worthy tribute to Kurt Vonnegut and the first of its kind on Vonnegut - is a deep, immersive dive into the author’s upbringing and his creative output. It spans his childhood in Indianapolis, his experience as a Prisoner of War in World War II, his marriage, family, and divorce, his early careers as a publicist for General Electric and a car salesman, and his long years as a struggling writer, leading to eventual superstardom in 1969 following the publication of his lightning-bolt anti-war novel Slaughterhouse-Five. KURT VONNEGUT: UNSTUCK IN TIME began 39 years ago when young, struggling filmmaker Robert Weide (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth) wrote a letter to his literary idol proposing a documentary on Vonnegut’s life and work. Shooting began in 1988 and the resulting film reflects the friendship and bond Weide and Vonnegut formed over the decades. KURT VONNEGUT: UNSTUCK IN TIME is first and foremost a biography of a beloved American author. But it also documents a filmmaker’s odyssey as he examines the impact of a writer’s legacy on his own life, extending far beyond the printed page. Director Robert Weide joins us for a conversation on Vonnegut’s literary legacy, his family’s fascinating history and the mutual respect and kindness of friendship.
For news and updates go to: ifcfilms.com/films/kurt-vonnegut
Available through 11/19 at: docnyc.net/film/kurt-vonnegut
Against the backdrop of a culture in crisis, THE ART OF MAKING IT follows a diverse cast of young artists at defining moments in their careers to explore whether the art world ecosystem meant to nurture them is actually failing them. Are we at risk of losing the creative voices of a new generation as universities, galleries, and museums are facing cataclysmic changes? Or are we on the verge of rewriting history, expanding access, and making art more accessible for all as outdated models are being rethought? Embracing the conundrum of how artists must be in the market, but not of it, THE ART OF MAKING IT is both a cautionary tale about what America stands to lose if we don't rethink how we value artists, and a love letter to those who persevere in their artistic practice in spite of the extraordinary odds against ever achieving a sustainable career. Director Kelcey Edwards (Ghost in the Material, Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines) stops by to talk about the reasons why artists of all stripes from all corners of the world are driven to swim upstream in the most precarious and treacherous shark infest waters to bring their vision to all who are willing to engage.
For news and updates go to: theartofmakingitfilm.com
Virtually screening at: docnyc.net/film/the-art-of-making-it
AULCIE is the incredible story of Aulcie Perry, an African American basketball player who hailed from the violence-filled streets of the 1960s Newark, New Jersy. During the summer of 1976, Aulcie Perry was spotted by a scout for Maccabi Tel Aviv while playing at the Rucker courts in Harlem and was quickly signed to play for their fledgling team. The Israeli players immediately responded to Aulcie's leadership and that year they had what one Sports Illustrated writer described as "the most extraordinary season in its remarkable history" and what Perry later called "the best nine months of my life." He became an overnight sensation in Israel, beloved by the fans and by his adopted country. He converted to Judaism and became an Israeli citizen. His highly publicized relationship with Israeli supermodel Tami Ben Ami became the subject of relentless media attention, making him one of Israel’s biggest stars. But his success wasn’t enough to save him from the descent into drugs and jail time, before finally finding redemption. Director Dani Menken (On the Map, Dolphin Boy, 39 Pounds of Trouble) joins us for a conversation on the remarkable and complicated tale of a legendary athlete.
For news and updates go to: heyjudeproductions.com
AULCIE will open at Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles on November 12 in at JCC Manhattan in New York City on November 16, and will be available virtually as of November 18th.
In A COP MOVIE director Alonso Ruizpalacios takes us deep into the Mexican police force with the story of Teresa and Montoya, together known as “the love patrol.” In this thoroughly original and unpredictable documentary, Ruizpalacios thoroughly blurs with the boundaries of nonfiction and immerses the audience into the human experience of police work within a dysfunctional system. What does it take to be a cop in Mexico City? Two professional actors undergo an immersive process of “training” to become police officer, playing the role of Teresa and Montoya, in order to explore this question, while gaining a visceral understanding of an officers responses as they guide us on their journey from the ‘inside’. Director Alonso Ruizpalacios (MUSEO, GUEROS) joins us for a conversation on his mind-bending approach to policing in a city and country where the struggle for police officers is a never-ending question of ethics versus economics, law enforcement versus corruption.
In Select Theaters October 20
To watch beginning November 5 go to: netflix.com/A Cop Movie
Love, It Was Not is a tragic love story between a prisoner and a Nazi. Beautiful and full of life, Helena Citron, is taken to Auschwitz as a young woman, and soon finds unlikely solace under the protection of Franz Wunsch, a high-ranking SS officer who falls in love with her and her magnetic singing voice. Risking execution if caught, they went on with their forbidden relationship until the war ended and the camp was liberated. Thirty years later, a letter arrives from Wunsch's wife asking Helena to “return the favor”-- testify on Wunsch's behalf. Faced with an impossible decision, Helena must choose. Will she help the man who brutalized so many lives, but saved hers? Director Maya Sarfaty joins us for a conversation on one woman’s unbelievably conflicted dilemma happening in the most reviled place on earth during a monstrously evil war to exterminate her family and her people.
For news go to: greenwichentertainment.com/film/love-it-was-not
Albert Speer is an enigma. The highest-ranking Nazi in Nuremberg to be spared the death sentence, Speer was one of Hitler’s closest confidants and his chief architect, tasked with rebuilding Berlin as the capital of a global empire. As Reichsminister of Munitions, Speer was responsible for 12 million slave laborers. And yet, even now, he has the reputation of being “the good Nazi” – a myth he carefully constructed himself. SPEER GOES TO HOLLYWOOD meets its protagonist in 1971, while Speer was working on a screenplay for Paramount Pictures, based on his bestselling wartime memoir “Inside the Third Reich”. Based on months of audio cassettes, recorded by screenwriter Andrew Birkin, it features Speer’s callous attempt to whitewash his past in a feature film. The audio narrative is supplemented by rare archival footage, taken before and during World War II and later, during Speer’s retirement as a semi-reclusive country gentleman. Director Vanessa Lapa’s SPEER GOES TO HOLLYWOOD is a fitting follow up to her award-winning documentary on the life of the leader of the detested SS titled THE DECENT ONE (2014). Her latest film is a cautionary tale about Albert Speer’s 1971 attempt to whitewash his past with a Hollywood adaptation of his bestselling wartime memoir, "Inside the Third Reich”. Director Vanessa Lapa joins us for a conversation on the concerted attempt to rehabilitate the reputation and re-write the culpability of a trusted and faithful confidante of Adolf Hitler.
For news, updates and screenings go to: speergoestohollywood.com
RIVER’S END: CALIFORNIA’S LATEST WATER WAR explores the global water crisis, using California as a microcosm. It reveals how water politics that led to the draining of the Owens Valley by Los Angeles, made famous by the film CHINATOWN, continue to this day in ongoing efforts to take ever more water from Northern California's San Francisco Bay estuary. Except this time, the water grab is at the hands of industrial agriculture and its powerful corporate investors. RIVER’S END inspires viewers to learn where their water comes from so that we can save our rivers and the ecosystems and communities that depend upon them. Director Jacob Morrison joins us for a informative conversation on the byzantine, arcane and extremely powerful system of public and private water interests with a history of land grabs and violent intimidation.
For news and updates go to: riversendfilm.com
On September 5th, 1981 a group of women came together to change the world. These women marched from Wales to Berkshire to protest over nuclear weapons being kept at RAF Greenham Common. The Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp that followed, challenged world leaders, altering the course of history and went on to inspire millions as the world’s first and biggest female-only demonstration, preceded only by the suffragettes. MOTHERS OF THE REVOLUTION, a feature-length documentary that tells the story of the extraordinary women behind the Greenham Common Peace Camp, heads to the USA this Fall. Narrated by Glenda Jackson and featuring interviews with key participants including Julie Christie and Rebecca Johnson, alongside archive footage from the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, Mothers of the Revolution takes you through one of the longest protests in history, when between 1981 and 2000, thousands of women from around the world came together at Greenham Common to take a committed stand against nuclear proliferation. Forty years ago, these everyday human beings began with that first step on their march to Greenham Common and became the heroes of a movement that changed the world. Director Briar March (Coffin Club, There Once Was An Island) joins us for a conversation on just how groundbreaking and historically under-appreciated this protest movement is, the varied lives of the working class women who came together for this cause and the lessons that every one of us can and should take away from their remarkable story.
For news screenings go to: mothersoftherevolution-movie.com
FINDING KENDRICK JOHNSON is the feature documentary product of a 4-year undercover investigation into the facts of this case. From the creator of 'Stranger Fruit', this new documentary hopes to shed light on one of the most important American stories of our time. Told through the eyes of KJ's family and close friends, On January 11th, 2013, Kendrick Johnson was found dead in his high school gymnasium rolled up in a gym mat. The state of Georgia ruled his death as an accident, having died from positional asphyxia. When the family hired their own Forensic Pathologist, not only did he find KJ’s organs missing from his body during the autopsy, he determined the cause of death to be from non-accidental blunt force trauma. To this day, no one knows where KJ’s organs have gone.. So what really happened to KJ? Narrated by Hollywood legend, Jenifer Lewis. Directed by 'Stranger Fruit' creator, Jason Pollock, with an amazing team of producers including Actor Hill Harper, and Space Jam 2 director Malcolm D. Lee, FINDING KENDRICK JOHNSON shares this truly historic, heartbreaking, and unbelievable story with the world for the first time.
Foe news, updates and screenings go to: findingkendrickjohnson.com
Adventurer, filmmaker, inventor, author, unlikely celebrity and conservationist: For over four decades, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his explorations under the ocean became synonymous with a love of science and the natural world. As he learned to protect the environment, he brought the whole world with him, sounding alarms more than 50 years ago about the warming seas and our planet’s vulnerability. In BECOMING COUSTEAU, from National Geographic Documentary Films, two-time Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker LIZ GARBUS takes an inside look at Cousteau and his life, his iconic films and inventions, and the experiences that made him the 20th century’s most unique and renowned environmental voice — and the man who inspired generations to protect the Earth. Director Liz Garbus (What Happened, Miss Simone?, All In: The Fight for Democracy, The Farm: Angola, USA) joins us for a look back at one of the 20th centuries most influential and consequential figures and one of the early advocates for preserving and protecting mother ocean.
For news go to: nationalgeographic.com/becoming-cousteau
In Theaters October 22, 2021
For more go to: storysyndicate.com
FOUR HOURS AT THE CAPITOL explores the historic events of January 6, 2021, focuses on the facts of the day itself and the impact on those who were there and illuminates salient questions about the stark political divide in the United States, the culpability of those involved and the fragility of an electoral process that is fundamental to a functioning democracy. The film meticulously details how the violence quickly escalated, leaving Capitol security forces outnumbered and overwhelmed, and highlights the high-stakes standoff between police and rioters. Tightly focused and comprehensive, the documentary features never-before-seen footage and vivid first-hand accounts from lawmakers, staffers, police officers, protesters, and rioters who stormed the Capitol building where the electoral votes were being counted. FOUR HOURS AT THE CAPITOL unfolds with urgent precision and presents an unfiltered look at the insurrection, standing both as an intimate recollection as well as a stark reminder of the wider ramifications of the events of that unprecedented day, which ended with the deaths of five people and more than 140 police officers injured. FOUR HOURS AT THE CAPITOL features the personal experiences of those on the ground, building out the events of the day with exclusive interviews and footage from multiple sources, including phone videos and surveillance and body camera footage. Interviewees include Rep. Jim McGovern, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Rep. Ruben Gallego, Rep. Buddy Carter and Rep. Rosa DeLauro; senators Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin; D.C. Metropolitan police officers Mike Fanone, Jimmy Albright and Daniel Hodges; Commanders Ramey Kyle and Robert Glover; and Capitol police officers Winston Pingeon, Byron Evans and Keith Robishaw; protestors/rioters including Couy Griffin, Dominic Box, Nick Alvear, Eddie Block and Bobbie Pickles; journalists/videographers and Capitol staffers. Director Jamie Roberts joins us to talk about his access to many of the key players inside and outside the maelstrom that threatened to violently thwart the transition of the legitimately elected president at the direction of the defeated president.
For news and updates go to: hbo.com/four-hours-at-the-capitol
HBO’s FOUR HOURS AT THE CAPITOL was executive produced by Dan Reed (HBO’s “Leaving Neverland”, “3 Days of Terror: the Charlie Hebdo Attacks,” “Terror At The Mall”) and directed by Jamie Roberts. For HBO: executive producers, Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller; coordinating producer, Anna Klein. FOUR HOURS AT THE CAPITOL will debut on HBO October 20 and be available to stream on HBO Max.
FOUND is a feature documentary that follows the story of three American teenage girls—each adopted from China—who discover they are blood-related cousins on 23andMe. Their online meeting inspires the young women to confront the burning questions they have about their lost history. When they meet for the first time, they embark on a once in a lifetime journey to China in search of answers. Director Amanda Lipitz (Step) joins us to talk about the logistical, physical and emotional gauntlet that these young women signed up for in order to answer, or attempt to answer deeply personal questions about each of their lives as well as the support and love they show for one another.
To watch go to: netflix.com/FOUND
For more go to: amandalipitzproductions.com/documentary
What connects us? THE UNIVERSALITY OF IT ALL, a feature-length documentary by Andrés Bronnimann, explores this simple yet complex question with profound perspective and intimate detail. Told through the lens of the filmmaker's longtime friendship with Emad, a Yemeni refugee living in Vancouver, Bronniman examines the subject of human migration and how it relates to such varied topics as climate change, colonialism, neoliberalism, globalization, identity politics, fertility rates, wealth gaps, trade wars, terrorism, and the media. Taking viewers on a journey around the world, the film analyzes various cases of migration using both an economic and historical viewpoint, arriving at the realization of our shared interconnectedness amidst the major events of the 21st century. Armed with only a camera and computer, THE UNIVERSALITY OF IT ALL is the result of two years of passion, sacrifice, and determination by Bronnimann himself. His objective? To inspire young people across the globe to see the connections that all global and local issues have. “I believe that if more people are able to see the similarities and correlations that we all share, than perhaps we can find solutions to the pressing challenges ahead of us,” says Bronnimann. “I want to awaken the critical thinking of my generation, and this film is me doing everything I can to accomplish that.”
For news and updates go to: theuniversalityfilm.com
In this beautifully rendered tale, LUZZU, follows a hardworking Maltese fisherman, Jesmark (Jesmark Scicluna) facing an agonizing choice. He can repair his leaky luzzu – a traditional, multicolored wooden fishing boat – in the hopes of eking out a meager living at sea for his wife and newborn son, just as his father and grandfather did before him. Or he can decommission it in exchange for an EU payout and cast his lot with a sinister black-market operation that is decimating the Mediterranean fish population and the livelihoods of the local families who depend on it. LUZZU won a Sundance Jury Prize for its nonprofessional lead actor Jesmark Scicluna, a real-life Maltese fisherman, and heralds the arrival of writer-director-editor Alex Camilleri. His gripping film operates in the neorealist tradition of Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rosselini, and the Dardenne brothers and calls to mind the work of his mentor Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, The White Tiger), also a producer of the film. Director Alex Camilleri and actor Jesmark Scicluna join us for a conversation on the challenges of working with a largely non-professional cast, including Jesmark’s brother and staying true to the story of a traditional culture under pressure from global economic forces to change its ways. For news, updates and screenings go to: luzzufilm.com
For news, updates and virtual screenings go to: kinolorber.com/film/luzzu
Award: Winner: Special Jury Prize for Acting (Jesmark Scicluna) – Sundance Film Festival
Luzzu will release theatrically in New York (Oct. 15) and in Los Angeles (Oct. 22) from Kino Lorber, followed by a national rollout.
WHAT HAPPENED, BRITTANY MURPHY follows the life and tragic death of actress Brittany Murphy, The two-part series goes beyond the conspiracy theories and headlines and features new interviews and never-before-seen archival footage. Instead of sensationalizing stories, Hill relies heavily on research and takes a nuanced approach to crafting complex stories about women, victims, and contemporary issues. Post-research, she spends a great deal of time tracking down the people able to shed light on the story and works to gain their trust. This allows her to do a deeper dive during an interview and capture the story from all perspectives. In addition to WHAT HAPPENED, BRITTANY MURPHY and her previous Emmy-nominated film, PRIVATE VIOLENCE, Hill has proven to be an investigative documentary filmmaker that gives a voice to the voiceless. Emmy-nominated filmmaker Cynthia Hill joins us to talk about what drew her about Brittany Murphy’s story, navigating the twists and turns the tragic tale took and her commitment to not sensationalize an already salacious story.
The two-part series WHAT HAPPENED, BRITTANY MURPHY, premiering on HBO Max on October 14.
Viet Film Fest is the largest international Vietnamese film festival in the world, Viet Film Fest (VFF) showcases the best creative work by and about Vietnamese people. Viet Film Fest was created in 2003 with a small audience in auditoriums at University of California, Irvine and UCLA. Situated in the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam, the festival features films by persons of Vietnamese descent or productions that focus on the Vietnamese experience. Now running successfully for over a decade, Viet Film Fest (VFF) has expanded to draw an annual onsite audience of over 5,000 and a global fanbase. Viet Film Fest has drawn Academy Award nominated directors from France and Canada, as well as films from Israel, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, and Germany. Through the universal language of film, Viet Film Fest brings together multiple perspectives to expand the scope and horizons of Vietnamese cinema. The Viet Film Fest Artistic Director Eric Nong joins us for a conversation on this year’s film line-up, special events, film premieres, special guests and the growth of Vietnamese filmmaking.
The unbelievable story of Godspeed, Los Polacos! begins during the Cold War, Poland’s youth looked for any way to break away from the monotony of life under Communist rule. In the City of Krakow, a group of university students formed a kayaking club as a tool to explore their local rivers and avoid participation in Communist parades and rallies. After experiencing the thrill of Poland’s one and only class III rapid, club members Andrzej Pietowski, Piotr Chmielinski (who would go on to be the first person to paddle the Amazon river source to sea), and Jurek Majcherczyk set their sights on the impossible - leaving the Eastern Bloc to paddle whitewater. Godspeed, Los Polacos! tells the story of five university students on the edge of adulthood who skillfully pull the strings of the Soviet system, and find themselves on a kayaking expedition in the Americas with a six-wheeled military truck, homemade equipment, and little to no whitewater skills. The story follows their epic two-year journey that culminates in the record-breaking first descent of the world’s deepest canyon, and finds the kayakers in Soviet cross-hairs after they leverage their new found fame to fight for democracy in the Eastern Bloc. Director Adam Nawrot joins us for a conversation on the story behind the journey of fellow travelers who refused to accept the life they were being told by a soulless government they had to live setting out on an unbelievable trek around the world.
For news and updates go to: /sourlandstudios.com
Watch Godspeed, Los Polacos!
An epic collaboration that spans eight countries and 9 individual stories, Convergence reveals the power of compassion and community in the face of a crisis. Beginning at the onset of the pandemic, the documentary follows everyday citizens across the globe as they rise to the challenges of this upheaval in extraordinary ways — from a Syrian refugee fighting the UK government to include hospital cleaners and porters in bereavement pay to a doctor committed to serving Miami’s homeless community. But as this generation defining crisis begins to unmask deep-rooted flaws and inequities worldwide, their diverse journeys tell a more unified narrative about our common humanity and how, by coming together, great change can emerge from chaos. Featuring the work of filmmakers from around the world including; Hassan Akkad (UK), Amber Fares (US), Alexander “Lali” Houghton (Peru), Guillermo Galdos (Peru), Juhi Sharma (India), Lieven Corthouts (Belgium), Mauricio Montiero Filho (Brazil), Mohammad Reza Eyni (Iran), Sara Khaki (Iran) Wenhua Lin (China), as well as producers Don Coogan and Liz Garbus. Director Orlando von Einsiedel and Director Hassan Akkad joins us for a conversation on capturing the sweep of the pandemic on distressed public health systems from around the world while focused on the deeply humanistic stories of families and health care workers behind the infection rates and deaths.
Watch on netflix.com/Convergence: Courage in a Crisis
Devi (Krisha Fairchild, KRISHA) has been breeding legendary pot strains for decades on the remote homestead she built herself. But when cannabis is legalized, she suddenly finds herself fighting for her survival. In tour-de-force performance, Krisha Fairchild (Devi) brings the timely, real-world story of black-market growers battling to survive to the screen. Featuring a heart-breaking turn by John Craven (UPSTREAM COLOR) as an old flame from Devi’s commune days, and Frank Mosley and Lily Gladstone (CERTAIN WOMEN) as young workers adrift and bringing in the harvest, the film is full of standout performances that bring this very real community of fiercely independent characters to life. Set against the lush backdrop of the redwood forests of Northern California, Mario Furloni's breathtaking cinematography pulls us into this isolated community in Humboldt County, the mythical birthplace of weed. Co-directors Mario Furloni and Kate McLean imbue this emotional thriller with a deep and empathetic authenticity. They join us for a conversation on the challenges and rewards of embedding themselves into a notoriously closed community, bringing their experience as documentarian filmmaking into the narrative realm and working with a superb group of actors.
For news, updates and screenings go to: freelandfilm.com
Debuts In Select Theaters October 15th
On Demand Everywhere November 19th
Mesmerizing in its imagery and shot in 51 locations across the country, ASCENSION is a cinematic exploration of China’s industrial supply chain that reveals the country’s growing class divide through staggering observations of labor, consumerism and wealth. The film ascends through the levels of the capitalist structure: workers running factory production, the middle class selling to aspirational consumers, and the elites reveling in a new level of hedonistic enjoyment. In traveling up the rungs of China’s social ladder, we see how each level supports and makes possible the next while recognizing the contemporary ‘Chinese Dream’ remains an elusive fantasy for most. Producer Kira Simon-Kennedy and director / cinematographer / editor Jessica Kingdon joins us for a conversation on their collaboration and how a century old poem written by her Great Grandfather, Zheng Ze inspired her to make her illuminating and horrifying film about the massive industrialization of the world’s largest industrial power.
For news and updates go to: ascensiondocumentary.com
MTV Documentary Films and XTR present the theatrical release of ASCENSION opening on LA October 8th at the Laemmle Monica and Laemmle Playhouse in Pasadena.
Shot over three years, JACINTA begins at the Maine Correctional Center where Jacinta, 26, and her mother Rosemary, 46, are incarcerated together, both recovering from drug addiction. As a child, Jacinta became entangled in her mother's world of drugs and crime and has followed her in and out of the system since she was a teenager. This time, as Jacinta is released from prison, she hopes to maintain her sobriety and reconnect with her 10-year-old daughter, Caylynn, who lives with her paternal grandparents. Despite her desire to rebuild her life for her daughter, Jacinta continually struggles against the forces that first led to her addiction. JACINTA earned its director, Jessica Earnshaw, the award for Best New Documentary Director at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. It has continued an impressive festival run at DOCNYC, AFI Fest, IDFA, and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival where it won the Best Documentary award. With unparalleled access and a gripping vérité approach, director Jessica Earnshaw joins us to talk about her deeply intimate portrait of mothers and daughters and the effects of trauma over generations.
For news, updates and screenings go to: jacintafilm.com
The Hulu Original Documentary will premiere on Hulu on October 8
From the acclaimed director comes the deep and resonant story of the Witkins, identical twins born in Brooklyn in 1939. Painter and life-long educator Jerome and renowned photographer Joel-Peter may be brothers, but their lives, art and personalities could not be more divergent. Joel-Peter is a celebrated and highly controversial photographer whose Caravaggio and Dali–inspired arrangements, often constructed with cadavers and body parts, are transgressive and macabre. His identical twin brother, Jerome, is an equally acclaimed figurative painter, whose work explores political, social and cultural themes. Yet, for all their similarities, for much of their 80 years, the Witkins have willfully chosen to remain apart. Filmed over the course of four and a half years at five locations across the United States -- including the home where the Witkins grew up in Brooklyn, Joel’s home in Albuquerque, and Jerome’s home in Syracuse near the university, where he teaches fine art – WITKIN & WITKIN , which played such prestigious documentary festivals as Hot Docs, AFI Docs, DocFest and IDFA, chronicles the brothers’ decidedly separate paths as artists and as people, until, at their first-ever joint exhibition they encounter an unexpected change in their artistic trajectories and self-perceptions, as well as their relationships with each other. Trisha Ziff (The Man Who Saw Too Much, Chevolution) joins us to talk about her intimate and intensely human film explores the themes of love, loss and distance, while showcasing the Witkins’ fascinating bodies of work.
For updates and how to watch go to: indiepixfilms.com
For news and updates go to: 212berlin.com/project/witkin-witkin
Elvis, Princess Diana, and Pope John Paul II are undoubtedly still alive today, thanks to their devoted followers who love, admire, and consume them. Literally. THE FAITHFUL a new film by writer/director Annie Berman, powerfully explores fandom, memorabilia and the magnetic appeal of three of the most influential cultural icons of our time. THE FAITHFUL, twenty years in the making, leads viewers on an emotional journey leaving them looking inwards, reflecting on their own lives and the connections they cherish. A Pope John Paul II lollipop. An Elvis Presley shower curtain. A Princess Diana teacup. These are just some of the countless pieces of memorabilia that these pop culture icons’ most devoted fans collect and cherish… but why? Berman profiles these figures’ biggest fans and makes numerous pilgrimages to Vatican City, Graceland, and Kensington Palace. As the years go by, the film itself becomes increasingly entwined with Berman’s daily life and identity, much like how these officially-licensed knick-knacks define the fans she filmed. Director Annie Berman joins us for a conversation on what attracted her to these culturally significant figures, why are people so invested in the lives of these particular icons and how this 20-year journey has impacted he life.
For news, screenings and updates go to: the-faithful.com
Official Blog: medium.com/the-faithful-the-king-the-pope-the-princess
FRUITS OF LABOR is the latest documentary from Colombian-American director Emily Cohen Ibañez that follows Ashley Solis, a Mexican-American teenager living in an agricultural town on the central coast of California. A high school senior, Ashley dreams of graduating and going to college, but when ICE raids in her community threaten to separate her family, she is forced to become their primary breadwinner. While most of her friends are thinking about prom and graduation, Ashley finds herself working days in the strawberry fields and the night shift at a processing plant, with little time left for sleep or studies. Tracing the tensions between family bonds and the systems that work to sever them, FRUITS OF LABOR follows Ashley as she tries to hold on to her dreams while coping with obligations to her mother, who is undocumented, and three younger siblings. The family lives in a cramped house with 12 other families, and although Ashley’s mother Beatriz works seven days a week as a domestic, it’s not enough to make ends meet. Yet despite their challenges, both Ashley and Beatriz are committed to changing their lives and the lives of others in their community facing the same struggles. Director, producer, writer and cinematographer Emily Cohen Ibañez joins us for a conversation on the myriad of personal, social and economic pressure that informs most of Ashley’s personal decisions and how the political history and social institutions make Ashley’s path forward fraught with uncertainty,
For news and updates go to: fruitsoflaborfilm.com
PHARMA BRO chronicles the shooting star life and times of Martin Shkreli, the 38-year-old financial entrepreneur and pharmaceutical tycoon from Brooklyn, New York, was dubbed “the most hated man in America” by the media after he rose to infamy in 2015 for price gouging the prescription drug Daraprim by 5500% overnight depriving patients of the life-saving medication. Hodge presents a new in-depth look on the all-too familiar media tale in PHARMA BRO a concentrated year-long study of the man who defies traditional categorization. Through traveling to Shkrel, Albania to learn about his heritage and uncover his backstory; visiting hospitals and talking with Daraprim patients; watching countless hours of his live-stream; and uncovering the real story about the Wu-Tang album, Hodge is able to provide new and alternative insight from a variety of sources, who offer commentary on Shkreli and his story of promising financial savant turned pharma opportunist and the fortune he acquired at the detriment of others. Combining live streams, sit-down interviews, news footage, filmed scenes and actual encounters with Shkreli, Hodge presents a prismatic image of PHARMA BRO, the differing sides he consciously (and sometimes unconsciously) presented and a cinematic examination of the qualities that earned him his most hated status. The film features Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah, musical artist The Fridge, Journalist Christie Smythe, and Shkreli Defense Attorney Ben Brafman. Director Brent Hodge (A Brony Tale, I Am Chris Farley, Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary) joins us for a lively conversation on why he wanted to go behind the headlines to explore the how and why of the Shkreli’s life as well as his personal commitment to being even-handed in telling the whole story of “the most hated man in America.”
For news and updates go to: 1091pictures.com
From Academy Award-winning (Free Solo) filmmakers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, THE RESCUE chronicles the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand. Award-winning directors and producers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin keep viewers on the edge of their seats as they use a wealth of never-before-seen material and exclusive interviews to piece together the high stakes mission, highlighting the efforts of the Royal Thai Navy SEALs and US Special Forces and detailing the expert cave divers' audacious venture to dive the boys to safety. THE RESCUE brings alive one of the most perilous and extraordinary rescues in modern times, shining a light on the high-risk world of cave diving, the astounding courage and compassion of the rescuers, and the shared humanity of the international community that united to save the boys. Co-directors and co-producers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo, Meru) join us for a conversation on the many challenges they faced telling a story the world witnessed in real-time and how bringing in the remarkable story of a team of “weekend” cave diving specialist implemented a high risk plan that not only saved the lives 12 young boys and a soccer coach but turned the headlines into a deeply human story of courage, compassion and selflessness.
National Geographic Documentary Films is committed to bringing the world premium documentaries that cover timely, provocative and globally relevant stories from the very best documentary filmmakers in the world. films.nationalgeographic.com
For news and updates go to: films.nationalgeographic.com/the-rescue
Watch in LA area at landmarktheatres.com/los-angele /the-rescue
The year is 1970. The world-famous Italian director, Luchino Visconti is visiting Stockholm due to his new film Death in Venice, based on Thomas Mann’s 1912 novel of the same name. He is looking for a young boy to play the role of Tadzio, a young polish noble. At this point, Visconti has traveled around the whole world and filmed hundreds of boys and finally, after a number of screen tests, fifteen year old Stockholmer Björn Andresen is given the part. When the film premieres in London 1971, in the presence of Queen Elisabeth and princess Anne, Visconti declares the young Björn Andresen ”the most beautiful boy in the world”. But the moniker became an epithet that has come to haunt him for the rest of his life. He became an icon all over the world, and just like his role figure Tadzio, the object for men who desire young boys. Today, almost 50 years later, Björn is struggling with addiction and questions like why he never loved himself. He is also discovering the truth behind his mother’s disappearance and finding the clues to who his father is. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY IN THE WORLD is a deeply personal and cinematic film about a person reconciling his past and taking control of his life. But it is also a unique look behind the scenes of one of the world’s greatest film classics, Death in Venice, the structures of power and the cause of it, which recently has become known as #metoo. Co-directors Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri join us to talk about approaching Björn Andresen gaining his trust enough to once again be scrutinized by the probing eye of filmmakers, this time with very different intentions.
For news and updates go to: themostbeautifulboy.com
The Most Beautiful Boy screening at LA's NuArt Theatre 9/24 - 10/7
From writer and director David Midell comes a socially conscious drama thriller, THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN, shot in real-time, tells the true story of the final hours of the life of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. (Frankie Faison). The elderly African American veteran with bipolar disorder was killed in 2011 during a conflict with police officers who were sent to his home to check on him, when his medical alert device was mistakenly activated. Despite Chamberlain informing the officers there was a mistake and he did not have an emergency, they were recorded taunting him, ridiculing his military service, howling racial epithets at him, and finally, the officers broke his door down and shot him twice in the chest, and no charges were brought against the police in a 2012 jury trial. Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman, THE KILLING OF KENNETH CHAMBERLAIN, starring Frankie Faison (The Wire), is a multi award-winning film comes at an important time in the national conversation about how our criminal justice system treats people of color, people in low-income areas, and people living with mental health challenges, echoing recent high-profile incidents involving George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. Director David Midell (Nightlights) joins us to talk about the real life tragedy that inspired the film, hewing as closely as possible to the circumstances and reactions that led to the needless death of a man who did nothing to warrant the brutal end to his life and the challenges of filming in very close quarters.
For news and updates: kennethchamberlainmovie.com or killingofkcfilm.com
Urgent and nuanced, Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are) travels across the United States, exploring how Americans tell the story of their Civil War. Filmed from the last year of Obama’s presidency through the present, it interweaves insightful scenes and touching interviews filmed North and South, painting a uniquely crafted, multi-faceted portrait of the American psyche and the deep roots of its turbulent times. With subtlety and determination, Civil War portrays a nation in denial, haunted by an embittered past and the stories it refuses to tell. Director Rachel Boynton (Our Brand is Crisis, Big Men) joins us for a conversation on the winding journey she began in the hopes of understanding the long-held and deeply rooted “stories” we tell ourselves about the war that nearly destroyed any semblance of a United States and how we might be able to break through the mythology to reach a point where a more perfect union is possible.
Beginning October 24 Civil War will be streaming at Peacocktv.com
The genius of George Balanchine (1904-1983), the man who reinvented ballet for the 20th century, is celebrated in this homage to his nonpareil choreography, the basis of his body of work for the New York City Ballet and the technique taught at the world-renowned School of American Ballet. Some of Balanchine’s greatest stars describe the inventiveness, precision, speed, and musicality he demanded: Jacques d’Amboise (“It’s like I was a pupil of Einstein”), Merrill Ashley (“a privilege of a lifetime”), Gloria Govrin, Suki Schorer, Edward Villella, and Heather Watts (“He was some kind of mad scientist”). Balanchine instilled in each of them an abiding, obsessive love of dance and an almost religious desire to pass along his artistry and vision. The depth of Balanchine’s passion – and theirs – is dazzling, as is much of the never-before-seen footage of him in the classroom. Director Connie Hochman joins us for a conversation on the impact George Balanchine had on the trajectory of ballet in America, the dancers who’s lives he changed and his living legacy in the people who continue to teach new dancers in a manner that reflects their interpretation of the Master’s credo.
For news and updates go to: zeitgeistfilms.com/film/inbalanchinesclassroom
Opens at Laemmle Theaters in LA - September 24
In the mind expanding documentary AWARE: Glimpses of Consciousness a number of intriguing questions are What is consciousness? Is it in all living beings? What happens when we die? Why do we seem to be hardwired for mystical experience? In these times of existential crisis, there has been an explosion of research into consciousness. After four centuries of silence, scientists are confronting the “Big Questions”, cutting a window into a realm previously held tight by philosophy and religion: AWARE follows six brilliant researchers, approaching the greatest of all mysteries from radically different perspectives, from within and without: through high-tech brain research and Eastern meditation, by scientifically exploring inner space through psychedelic substances and by investigating the consciousness of plants. Scientists are arriving at new insights – some of which have been integral to Indigenous knowledge for millenia. AWARE opens as a science film but emerges well beyond the explicable, ultimately leading one on a voyage upon the ocean of consciousness, a contemplative, sensual, cinematographic meditation. The networks of consciousness are reflected in 'grand' imagery revealing the vast interconnectedness of Nature - from the smallest organisms, to the world of plants and animals and on to the cosmos. AWARE invites one to experience the awe and mystery of life as the researchers do, to dive in with them, returning to see the world anew, to review long-held beliefs and assumptions and initiate one’s own oceanic journey. Ultimately, to be aware one is aware. Joining us to talk about this beautiful film are the co-directors and co-writers of AWARE: Glimpses of Consciousness Frauke Sandig and Eric Black.
For news and updates go to: aware-film.com
For more about Frauke Sandig & Eric Black go to: umbrellafilms.org
Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11 follows the halt and gradual rebirth of comedy following the events of September 11, 2001. In the immediate aftermath, stand-up comics, broadway performers, The Onion satirical newspaper, late-night talk shows and institutions like Saturday Night Live learn how to navigate the new landscape. When the tragedy is used to justify the Iraq War, a wave of political awakening sweeps through comedy, helping to transform Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert into folk heroes. This type of biting political humor becomes more commonplace through the late Aughts as traditionally underrepresented comics dispel terrorist stereotypes. Entering the modern era, where media once asked, “Will We Ever Laugh Again?” jokes specifically addressing the attacks are now prevalent on TV shows, films, and podcasts. And if we can appreciate jokes about 9/11, we can use humor to get through anything. Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11 features interviews with David Cross, Janeane Garofalo, Marc Maron, Matthew Broderick, Aasif Mandvi, Rob Riggle, Nathan Lane, Gilbert Gottfried, Cedric the Entertainer, Chris Kattan, Lewis Black, Doug Stanhope, Jimmy Carr, Russell Peters and many more. Co-directors Nick Scown and Julie Seabaugh stop by to talk about how stand-up comedians, Broadway performers, late-night hosts, Saturday Night Live cast members, The Onion staffers and a plethora of performers managed to help their audience laugh even in the darkest of days.
For news, screenings and updates go to: TooSoonDoc.com
In a media environment dominated by increasingly concentrated corporate interests, a growing group of distribution companies who have long championed the best in independent features, documentaries, and social issue films, have joined forces to help launch an innovative subscription streaming service, OVID.tv. OVID.tv is an innovative subscription video-on-demand service launched with a collaborative effort between Docuseek, LLC and eight founding content partners. Today OVID works with thirty content partners from around the world. OVID.tv includes titles from 30 different film distribution companies, most of which you can explore on Ovid.tv's Content Partners page. Examples include Bullfrog Films, The dGenerate Films Collection, Distrib Films US, First Run Features, Grasshopper Film, Icarus Films, KimStim, The British Film Institute, and Women Make Movies. Most of the films on OVID.tv are not available on any other streaming platform, and OVID.tv will be adding even more films every week. Despite the odds and with little capital, Icarus Films, Docuseek, and our partners have decided that the time has come to step forward and build a new, independent space, dedicated to the films that we believe in and care about, and that we believe you care about, and value as well. OVID.tv co-founder Jonathan Miller joins us to talk about an affordable option for film lovers looking for the highest quality cinema experience presented by people who share your passion.
For more on the available films, subscription rates go to: OVID.tv
Although the free jazz movement of the 1960s and ‘70s was much maligned in some jazz circles, its pioneers – brilliant talents like Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, and John Coltrane – are today acknowledged as central to the evolution of jazz as America’s most innovative art form. FIRE MUSIC showcases the architects of a movement whose radical brand of improvisation pushed harmonic and rhythmic boundaries, and produced landmark albums like Coleman’s Free Jazz: A Collective Inspiration and Coltrane’s Ascension. A rich trove of archival footage conjures the 1960s jazz scene along with incisive reflections by critic Gary Giddins and a number of the movement’s key players. FIRE MUSIC tells the exciting history behind the free jazz movement. This incredible music documentary focuses on a new form of jazz that began in the late 1950s. This new jazz was separate from the happy sounding commercial jazz music that made jazz a well known music genre all over the world. This free jazz was angrier and more emotional because the music reflected the turbulent times. The musicians behind this free jazz sound were ignored by mainstream media and as a result created their own subculture. Today free jazz has the largest audience in its 50 year plus history. FIRE MUSIC will stand as the first serious attempt to capture the sights and sounds of one of the most innovative movements in music history. Director Tom Surgal joins us for a conversation on the contentious birth and begrudging acceptance that has morphed into a celebration of the musicians who pushed the boundaries of America’s greatest contribution to the world of music.
For news, screenings and updatesfiremusic.org
FAUCI delivers a rare glimpse into the long-standing professional career and personal life of the ultimate public servant, who after a lifetime of service faced his biggest test: a pandemic whose ferocity is unmatched in modern history. But that has come at a cost as he has also faced attacks from adversaries in a nation increasingly divided by political party lines — with science increasingly caught in the crosshairs. A world-renowned infectious disease specialist and the longest-serving public health leader in Washington, D.C., who has served under seven presidents, Dr. Fauci has overseen the U.S. response to 40 years’ worth of outbreaks, including HIV/AIDS, SARS and Ebola. FAUCI is a revealing and intimate portrait of the man mostly known only from appearances on the news. The film features insights from former President George W. Bush, Bill Gates, Bono, former national security advisor Susan Rice, National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins, former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Tom Frieden, journalists Laurie Garrett and The New York Times’ Apoorva Mandavilli, and key AIDS activists, among others. Dr. Fauci’s family, friends and former patients also provide more personal commentary about the man, his personality, and what makes him who he is. Co-directors by John Hoffman and Janet Tobias join us to talk about a dedicated public servant who has spent the vast majority of his life in service to a greater, and healthier good.
For news and updates go to: films.nationalgeographic.com/fauci
For more on the library of documentaries on NatGeo go to: films.nationalgeographic.com
For three pivotal years, Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X forged a brotherhood that would not only change both men but change the world. Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali tells the extraordinary story behind the friendship —and the ultimate falling out— of two of the most iconic figures of the 20th century. Few people understand the bond these men shared. In this new feature-length documentary from producer Kenya Barris, director Marcus A. Clarke offers a fresh perspective by using insider voices and never-before-seen footage to chart this most complex of friendships, tracing the near simultaneous and symbiotic rise of the charismatic and outspoken Olympic champion who charmed the nation, and the ex-con-turned intellectual revolutionary who railed against oppression. Through interviews with those closest to them — Malcolm X’s daughter Ilyasah Shabazz, Ali’s brother Rahman and daughters Maryum and Hana — and cultural luminaries such as Cornel West and Al Sharpton, the film illuminates their meeting, bonding, and eventual falling out over discord within the leadership of the Nation of Islam. Director Marcus A. Clarke joins us for a conversation about the brief but transformative relationship that developed between these two giants of the late 20th century civil rights, and anti-war movements. Clarke also talks about the powerful forces that eventually broke their bond, to the lasting regret of Muhammad Ali.
To watch: go to netflix.com/BloodBrothers
In the spring of 2019, former host of The Daily Show Jon Stewart gave an impassioned speech during his testimony to the U.S. Judicial Committee, where he criticized Congress for not providing aid to thousands of sick and dying 9/11 First Responders. Jon’s speech went viral almost immediately. However, the journey that brought him to that fateful hearing began eighteen years earlier by the most unlikely of people: a construction worker named John Feal. For nearly two decades, John Feal dedicated his life fighting for the rights of First Responders and volunteers who came to help in the 9/11 rescue and recovery operations. John wasn’t just an advocate, he was also a fellow responder who was injured working on the pile. Together, John Feal and Jon Stewart put an international spotlight on the injustices being served to the entire 9/11 community. Their relentless activism resulted in the U.S. Senate passing the Zadroga Act and Victims Compensation Fund, a health and compensation bill that gives medical and financial assistance to thousands of terminally ill 9/11 First Responders. NO RESPONDERS LEFT BEHIND follows John and Jon over the span of several years during their grassroots social advocacy campaigns. These two unsung heroes inspire and encourage a whole new generation of people to dedicate their lives to activism. John and Jon never took no for an answer. Instead, they fought tirelessly for years so that all the heroes of 9/11 were taken care of. NO RESPONDERS LEFT BEHIND shines a light on a group of grass root social activists who took on the government and won—simply because it was the right thing to do. Director Rob Lindsay stops by to talk about the protracted and insanely frustrating journey for the men and women who devoted their waking life to securing the legislation to provide appropriate medical care, as well as how the making of No Responders Left Behind changed him.
For news and updates go to: paradoxpictures.net/no-responders-left-behind
The September 11, 2001 attacks changed the world in ways that have taken decades to understand. Twenty years later, following the longest war in American history and with Afghanistan once again under Taliban control, TURNING POINT: 9/11 AND THE WAR ON TERROR answers the questions: Who attacked the U.S. and why? What breakdowns in intelligence allowed it to happen? How did decisions at the highest levels of three administrations in the war on terror bring us to this moment? The series features a wide range of interviewees including officials from multiple U.S. presidential administrations, former CIA members, and U.S. military veterans as well as Afghanistan National Army soldiers, Taliban commanders, members of the Afghan government, Afghan warlords, and Afghan civilians – many who had never spoken on camera before. It also spotlights the voices of survivors of the attacks themselves. The 5-part Netflix docu-series is a vital and illuminating chronicle of the 9/11 attacks and how those events changed the course of history. Director Brian Knappenberger joins us for an informative conversation on his sprawling, multi-part series that traverses the many twists and turns in the fight against terrorism and the impact that this protracted war and frustratingly unfocused goal of ending this deadly modern day scourge.
To watch Turning Point go to: netflix.com/TurningPoint
Anne hasn’t been the same since the jump. While skydiving for her best friend Sara’s bachelorette party, the 27-year-old felt focused, free, above it all. Back on the ground, the pressures of her daily life threaten to overwhelm her. Her coworkers at the daycare center are constantly questioning the way she connects with the children. At Sara’s wedding, she meets a nice guy named Matt, but she can’t help bringing him into ever-more-awkward social situations. ANNE AT 13,000 FT chronicles the stressful circumstances that continue to mount as Anne prepares for another jump. ANNE AT 13,000 FT pairs of two of the brightest young stars in cinema, director and writer Kazik Radwanski (Tower, How Heavy This Hammer) and rising talent Deragh Campbell (I Used to Be Darker). From the hurly-burly of the opening skydive to moments of Anne’s frenetic tantrums, ANNE AT 13,000 FT reveals a director and star in search a woman of the brink. Director and writer Kazik Radwanski and actor Deragh Campbell join us for a conversation on their collaborative efforts to capture the shattering chaos of Anne’s daily life with an unflinching rawness, and how the piercingly honest dialog and tight camera evoke the work of John Cassavetes, Sean Baker and Harmony Korine.
For news and updates go to: cinemaguild.com/anneat13000ft
In Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr’s debut feature film Wild Indian follows Makwa, a young Anishinaabie boy, looking for a way to escape his troubled life by playing with his friend Ted-O. One day Makwa shockingly murders a schoolmate, and the two boys cover it up. Now as adults, the two men must come to terms with what happened. Decades after covering up his classmate’s murder, Michael (Michael Greyeyes) has moved on from his reservation and fractured past. When a man who shares his violent secret seeks vengeance, Michael goes to great lengths to protect his new life with his wife (Kate Bosworth) and boss (Jesse Eisenberg) from the demons of his past. Director Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. joins us to talk about his debut feature film that showcases an amazing performance by Michael Greyeyes that brings to life a scathing study of trauma, anger, conciliated redemption in the context of “making it” in a colonial society.
To find out more about Wild Indian go to: Vertical Entertainment To watch Wild Indian go to: tv.apple.com/us/movie/wild-indian
Based on the acclaimed graphic novel "Samurai Shiro" by Danilo Beyruth and set in the expansive Japanese community of Sao Paulo, Brazil — the largest Japanese diaspora in the world — YAKUZA PRINCESS follows orphan Akemi, played by pop star MASUMI, who, upon turning 21, discovers that she is the heiress to half of Japan's expansive Yakuza crime syndicate. After forging an uneasy alliance with an amnesiac stranger, Shiro, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers (History Channel's The Vikings) who believes an ancient sword binds their two fates, Akemi unleashes war against the other half of the syndicate who wants her dead. Starring MASUMI, an emerging talent starring in her first film role, as well as Rhys Meyers, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Toshiji Takeshima, Eijiro Ozaki, and Charles Paraventi. Lead actor Masumi joins us to talk about this rip-roaring, violent action-thriller from director and co-writer Vicente Amorim, as well as how and why she decided to make the jump from music to movies, and how the training for the role of Akemi helped transform her into a princess.
For screenings and updates go to: yakuzaprincessfilm.com
To watch go to: magnetreleasingfilms.com/nowplaying
Bassam Tariq’s narrative feature debut, MOGUL MOWGLI is a bold, vital and electrifying exploration of heritage and identity. Coming off his historic Academy Award Best Actor nomination for SOUND OF METAL, Riz Ahmed, inhabits the character of Zed or Zaheer, a British Pakistani rapper, who, on the brink of his first international tour decides to fly home to the UK to visit the family he has not seen in two years. In the midst of his attempt to reconnect with his parents, particularly his father, he is suddenly struck down by an autoimmune disease. As his condition worsens and his big breakthrough moment is in danger of vanishing into thin air, Zed descends into a physical and emotional crisis, amplified by vivid hallucinations. MOGUL MOWGLI was recently nominated for Best British Film at the 2021 BAFTA and received six 2020 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) nominations, with Ahmed winning Best Debut Screenwriter. Ahmed won the 41st London Critics’ Circle Film Award for British/Irish Actor of the Year (for body of work) for performances including Zed in MOGUL MOWGLI. Director and writer Bassam Tariq stops by for a conversation on the challenge of navigating the multiple worlds that Zed lives in, collaborating with Riz Ahmed and incorporating the lessons learned from his work in documentary filmmaking into the world of narrative story-telling.
For screenings and updates go to: strandreleasing.com/films/mogul-mowgli
Kipchoge: The Last Milestone is a cinematic portrait of world record marathon holder Eliud Kipchoge as he prepares to break one of the last milestones in sporting history: the sub-two hour marathon. It follows his journey from his training grounds in Kenya, to the high-tech facilities in Europe, to his record attempt in Vienna. His motto: no human is limited. Kipchoge: The Last Milestone offers unprecedented access to Eliud, capturing the Kenyan marathon runner’s preparation ahead of his attempt to achieve the seemingly impossible. The film also takes a personal look at the athlete with footage from Kipchoge’s home in Kenya, interviews with those closest to him, the daily rituals of his life and the dynamics within his team and community. Director Jake Scott joins us for a conversation on working with Executive Producer Kevin Macdonald as well as the technical and logistical challenges of capturing behind-the-scenes team of specialist and the graceful choreography of the runners and the amazing Eliud Kipchoge.
Universal and the Ridley Scott Creative Group have released the first trailer for ‘Kipchoge: The Last Milestone’ ahead of the documentary’s release in August. Directed by Jake Scott, produced by the Ridley Scott Creative Group, RSA EU MD Ross Plummer, RSA Global MD Kai-Lu Hsiung, and with executive production from Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald, the film
For news and screenings go to: kipchogemovie.com/watch-at-home
The Big Scary “S” Word chronicles the history of socialism in America. Though the policy agenda of the emerging democratic socialist left may not be quite front and center in a Biden administration, its influence is clear in the polling numbers that show bipartisan majorities supporting policies like Medicare for All, and in the new administration’s emphasis on expanding democracy and alleviating economic inequality. With passage of transformative pieces of legislation like HR1 and the PRO Act uncertain given the realities of the senate filibuster, this film reminds viewers that the fight to empower workers has always been a powerful force for social and political progress in the United States. Featuring new and archival interviews with Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cornel West, and Naomi Klein, The Big Scary “S” Word explores the rich history of the American socialist movement. Weaving together hidden episodes of history and verité footage, the film shows that, contrary to popular belief, socialism is in fact deeply American and led to popular government programs such as public schools and Medicare. Activists and journalists explain how the 2008 financial crisis, the Wall Street bailout, the Occupy Movement, and the ascension of politicians like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have pushed a new generation to embrace the language of socialism. Director Yael Bridge (Saving Capitalism) stops by for a conversation on the historical rabbit hole of deceitful rhetoric, hysteria and obfuscation that has marred any reasonable understanding of socialism and why he decided to embark on a project to present a clear-eyed history of socialism’s impact on America’s success.
For news and updates go to: socialismmovie.com
For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood’s most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors has been documenting his own life and craft through film and video. He has amassed thousands of hours of footage, from 16mm home movies made with his brothers, from being the youngest student ever admitted to the drama department at Juilliard, to his time spent in iconic roles for blockbuster movies like Top Gun, The Doors, Tombstone, and Batman Forever. This raw, wildly original and unflinching documentary reveals a life lived to extremes and a heart-filled, sometimes hilarious look at what it means to be an artist and a complex man. Co-directors Ting Poo and Leo Scott stop by to talk about the voluminous amount of footage and other material documenting the life and times of Val Kilmer, as well as working with Val’s son and daughter to help them pull together a moving, warts and all, look a man looking back and looking forward as he grapples with an illness that strikes at the core of his ability to do the thing he loves.
IN THEATERS JULY 23 & ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO AUGUST 6
About the filmmaker - Leo Scott works predominantly as an editor across the various disciples of film, including commercials, music videos, documentary and feature films. In 2013 he edited Gia Coppola's debut feature Palo Alto. He has also collaborated with Harmony Korine on several films including working as editor on Trash Humpers. He first feature as producer, Gozo, a project he also edited, went on to win best UK feature at Raindance in 2016.
About the filmmaker - Ting Poo majored in film at Columbia University, after which she worked at @ radicalmedia for almost 10 years cutting both commercial and long form content. In 2008, she edited the documentary Britney: For the Record which, at its premiere, was the most highly anticipated and watched program ever to air on MTV. She has worked on both independent features, and documentary series and is interested in storytelling across all platforms. In 2015, she co-edited her first VR piece, The Displaced, which won the Entertainment Grand Prix at Cannes and earned her an Emmy nomination for New Approaches: Current News Coverage. Recently, she edited “Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405” which won an Oscar for best documentary short.
This gripping and beautifully rendered drama from filmmakers Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor, Rose Plays Julie, tells the tale of Rose, a young veterinary student who has wanted to know who her biological parents are and the facts of her true identity for as long as she can remember. Rose (Ann Skelly) decides to contact Ellen (Orla Brady), the birth mother who gave her up for adoption. But Ellen, now a successful London-based actress, doesn't want to know her. Undeterred, Rose presses forward. And curiosity leads her to discoveries that shake the fragile identity she has built for herself. With Rose Plays Julie co-directors Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor have crafted a slow-burn thriller that builds a sense of dread inside an exquisite world of immaculate architecture, rendered through an icy performance style and enveloped by a claustrophobic soundtrack. Ann Skelly and Orla Brady are both exacting and measured in their delivery, as the film takes us through longing and revenge to arrive at the dark places of power and its abuses. Joining us to talk about their meticulous work of Rose Plays Julie are co-directors Christine Malloy and Joe Lawlor. The filmmaking duo work under the moniker of Desperate Optimists, having spent years making atmospheric cinema that often wades into the deep psychology of identity, personal trauma, as they dive into the complicated and the inherently elusive nature of truth.
For news and updates go to: filmmovement.com/rose-plays-julie
For more on the film go to: samsonfilms.com/rose-plays-julie
BIX: “Ain’t None of Them Play like Him Yet” chronicles the life and music of cornetist/pianist/composer Leon “Bix” Beiderbecke (1903-1931) regarded by many as jazz's man who got away. Born in Davenport, Iowa into an upper middle-class family, Beiderbecke became a legend even in his short lifetime, bringing an amazing new energy and unprecedented maturity to the music and influencing generations of musicians. After years of battling alcoholism, Bix died in Sunnyside, Queens on August 6, 1931. The cause of death was given as lobar pneumonia. He was 28. Using archival photographs and rare footage (including the three sole momentary fragments capturing Bix on film) and interviews with friends and colleagues (including jazz greats Hoagy Carmichael, Doc Cheatham, Artie Shaw, et al.), Berman’s acclaimed documentary paints a vivid portrait of a vanished era and brings to life the only trumpeter Louis Armstrong regarded as an equal (the quotation in the film’s title was once spoken by Armstrong). Long cherished by aficionados as the greatest film ever made about a jazz musician, BIX has also been one of the most difficult to see, with few theatrical screenings, a fleeting home video release and never available via streaming. Academy Award winning director Brigette Berman (Artie Shaw: Time is All You Got, River of My Dreams) joins us to talk about the blazing comet of a musician who was fundamental to the development of America’s most vital musical genre, jazz, as well as the impact his playing had on those who played with him and those who heard him.
Visionary comic book writer/artist/filmmaker Dash Shaw’s vibrant, fantastical animated feature follows cryptozookeepers through a richly-drawn hallucinatory world as they struggle to capture a baku (a legendary dream-eating hybrid creature) and begin to wonder if they should display these rare beasts in the confines of a zoo, or if these mythical creatures should remain hidden and unknown. Featuring the voice talents of Lake Bell, Zoe Kazan, Michael Cera, Louisa Krause, Peter Stormare, Thomas Jay Ryan, Grace Zabriskie and Angeliki Papoulia, CRYPTOZOO is written and directed by Shaw, with Jane Samborski directing the stunning animation. Filmmakers Dash Shaw (director, screenwriter) and Jane Samborski (Animation Director, Producer) join us for a lively conversation on how the origin story was inspired by D&D / Pathfinder, the underground artists of the 1960s who influenced the animation style and the years of toiling with their passion project.
For screenings and updates go to: cryptozoofilm.com
Watch in theatre at: cryptozoofilm.com/tickets
Watch at home: cryptozoofilm.com/watch-at-home
In her galvanizing debut feature documentary, BIGGER THAN US, Director Flore Vassuer follows an international collection young people working to bring long term solutions to seemingly intractable social, political and economic issues. For six years, Melati Wijsen, 18, has been fighting the plastic pollution that is ravaging her country, Indonesia. Like her, a generation is rising up to fix the world. Everywhere, teenagers and young adults are fighting for human rights, the climate, freedom of expression, social justice, access to education or food. Dignity. Alone against all odds, sometimes risking their lives and safety, they protect, denounce and care for others. The earth. And they change everything. Melati goes to meet them across the globe. She wants to understand how to hold on and continue her action. From the favelas of Rio to the remote villages of Malawi, from makeshift boats off the island of Lesbos to Native American ceremonies in the mountains of Colorado, Rene, Mary, Xiu, Memory, Mohamad and Winnie reveal a magnificent world, one of courage and joy, of commitment to something bigger than oneself. At a time when everything seems to be or has been falling apart, these young people show us how to live. And what it means to be in the world today. BIGGER THAN US was produced by Marion Cotillard and Denis Carot. Director Flore Vassuer as well as film subjects and activists Melati Wijsen and Mary Finn join us for an engaging conversation on how these inspiring young people are working to bring their passion, energy and desire to work across cultural, religious and political divides to find sustainable solutions.
For news and updates go to: biggerthanus.film
Cannes Official Selection - Special Screening 2021
MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY follows two families as they arrive in Brooks County, Texas to look for their loved ones who went missing after crossing into the country from Mexico. On their search they meet vigilante ranchers, human smugglers, humanitarian activists, and Border Patrol agents, all of whom are locked in a proxy version of the national immigration debate. In order to build a portrait of everyday life in Falfurrias, Texas. In making MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY the filmmakers, co-directors Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemis immersed themselves into the heart of the story. They were present at many moments of discovery and revelation, documenting the missing as they were reported, rescued, recovered or exhumed. They rode with Sheriff's deputies and Border Patrol, with ranchers and vigilantes, filmed men and women wading across the Rio Grande at night, and filmed men and women as they surrendered to Brooks County law enforcement, dehydrated and exhausted. They documented the emotional testimony of a border crosser, his face shielded, as he described the moment he realized the teenage boy he was carrying—one of the missing individuals portrayed in the film—was no longer alive. Co-directors Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemis join us to talk about a sobering truth: the deadliest part of the journey was far from the border and their gripping portrait of a place that confronts the life-and-death consequences of a broken immigration system.
For news, screenings and updates go to: missinginbrookscounty.com
Andreas Koefoed’s THE LOST LEONARDO centers on the sale of Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World), a portrait of Christ purportedly by Leonardo da Vinci, which in 2017 was auctioned by Christie’s for $450 million, a world record for any work of art. The bizarre story of its provenance, the intrigue surrounding its multi-year restoration, and the worldwide controversy regarding its authenticity are all recounted in a non-stop narrative conflating art world drama, international politics, and high-level financial shenanigans. Art dealers, curators, FBI and CIA agents, journalists, restorers, historians, a Russian oligarch, a Saudi prince, and the director of the Louvre are drawn into this exciting and revealing documentary that exposes the frictions inherent in the sale of great art. Unravelling the hidden agendas of the richest men and most powerful art institutions in the world, THE LOST LEONARDO reveals how vested interests in the Salvator Mundi are of such tremendous power that truth becomes secondary. As its price soars, so do questions about its authenticity: is this painting really by Leonardo da Vinci? Director Andreas Koefoed (Ballroom Dancer, The Arms Drop and At Home In The World) joins us to talk about tracking down the story behind this unbelievable story and if some of the remaining mysteries explored in the documentary will ever be fully revealed or understood.
For news and updates go to: thelostleonardodocumentary.com
Using the eponymous 1978 best-selling book as its frame, THE MEANING OF HITLER is a provocative interrogation of our culture’s fascination with Hitler and Nazism set against the backdrop of the current rise of white supremacy, the normalization of anti-semitism and the weaponization of history itself. Shot in nine countries, the film traces Hitler’s movements, his rise to power and the scenes of his crimes as historians and writers, including Deborah Lipstadt, Martin Amis, Sir Richard Evans, Saul Friedlander, Yehuda Bauer, and famed Nazi hunters Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, weigh in on the lasting impact of his virulent ideology. THE MEANING OF HITLER is an intellectual inquiry with burning present-day resonance. It is also a road trip through some of the darkest chapters of European history. As fears of authoritarianism and fascism now abound, the film explores the myths and misconceptions of our understanding of the past and the difficult process of coming to terms with it at a time in our history when it seems more urgent than ever. Co-directors Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker’s dynamic documentary examines the ways we think about the Holocaust — and the ways we choose not to. As one of those interviewees, novelist Martin Amis, observes, “Our understanding of Hitler is central to our self-understanding. It’s a reckoning you have to make if you’re a serious person.
For news and updates go to: ifcfilms.com/films/the-meaning-of-hitler
A rising star in progressive politics and a new father, 32-year-old Ady Barkan’s life is upended when he is diagnosed with ALS. But after a confrontation with powerful Senator Jeff Flake on an airplane goes viral, catapulting him to national fame, Ady and a motley crew of activists ignite a once-in-a-generation political movement called “Be a Hero.” Together, they barnstorm across the country and empower people to confront their elected officials with emotional, personal stories to demand healthcare justice and Ady holds groundbreaking interviews with Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Through his journey, Ady discovers that collective action and speaking truth to power offers hope for his family and millions of others. Continuing today to motivate others to use the time they are given and speak truth to power, Barkan continues to fight for a more just world for his son to inherit. He was featured as one of TIME’s top 100 Most influential people of 2020 and has most recently been credited with pressuring President Biden to make the recent decision to waive the COVID-19 vaccine patent. Barkan is referred to as “The Most Powerful Activist in America,” because when he speaks, people listen. Director Nicholas Bruckman joins us for a conversation on the physically, emotionally and logistically demanding experience it was documenting Barkan’s life and work as well as the insider’s perspective on the power of grassroots political organizing he and his team are able to capture.
For news and updates go to: notgoingquietlyfilm.com
In the Los Angeles area: laemmle.com/film/not-going-quietly In NYC go to: angelikafilmcenter.com/nyc/film/not-going-quietly
The rePRO Film Festival is the only festival dedicated to exploring women's reproductive healthcare, awareness, advocacy and bodily integrity in America - that will be running this year from August 9-18. This year’s festival is comprised of 15 mission-aligned films (100% directed by individuals using she/her pronouns and 67% directed by BIPOC or AAPI individuals) that will be available across North America. 100% of the box office revenue will also be donated to our women-led 2021 Beneficiary Organizations: Black Women’s Health Imperative, The Lilith Fund and No More Secrets. The rePro festival has put together an incredible lineup this year and we wanted to share some details on how press will be able to access it all! rePro co-founder Lela Meadow Conner joins us for a lively and an informative update on a cutting edge film festival with a cutting edge approach to approach to serving their audience.
For news, screenings and updates go to: reprofilmfest.com
Special Events/Programming: The festival will also host rePRO’s Call-to-Action Conversations – a series of engaging discussions with filmmakers, activists, and experts around various reproductive justice topics.
SWAN SONG follows retired hairdresser and local bar performer icon Pat Pitsenbarger (Udo Kier) who has given up on life from the confines of his small-town Sandusky, Ohio nursing home. But when Pat gets word that a former client's dying wish was for him to style her final hairdo, he sets out on an epic journey across Sandusky to confront the ghosts of his past - and collect the beauty supplies necessary for the job. SWAN SONG is a comical and bittersweet journey about rediscovering oneself, and looking gorgeous while doing so. Director Todd Stephens joins us for a conversation on the personally inspired origin story of Swan Song, how the casting of Udo Kier sharpened the film’s focus and the revelatory performance of Kier’s (Pitsenbarger) rival Best in Show’s Jennifer Coolidge’s (Dee Dee Dale).
For news and updated go to: swansongfilm.com
Watch in a theatre starting 8/6: swansongfilm.com/tickets
Prior to World War I a friend writes to Virginia Woolf asking about how to prevent the coming war. She replies… by asking him about the definition of we. When we look at a series of photographs, do we see the same thing? THE VIEWING BOOTH recounts a unique encounter between a filmmaker and a viewer — exploring the way meaning is attributed to non-fiction images in today’s day and age. In a lab-like location, Maia Levy, a young Jewish American woman, watches videos portraying life in the occupied West Bank, while verbalizing her thoughts and feelings in real time. Maia is an enthusiastic supporter of Israel, and the images in the videos, depicting Palestinian life under Israeli military rule, contradict some of her deep-seated beliefs. Empathy, anger, embarrassment, innate biases, and healthy curiosity — all play out before our eyes as we watch her watch the images created by the Occupation. As Maia navigates and negotiates the images, which threaten her worldview, she also reflects on the way she sees them. Her candid and immediate reactions form a one-of-a-kind cinematic testimony to the psychology of the viewer in the digital era. THE VIEWING BOOTH is director Ra'anan Alexandrowicz (The Law In These Parts) joins us for a in-depth conversation regarding his inspiration and his motivation for creating a rigorous social / cultural / political evaluation of the way in which people take in, process and contextualize image-based information and how they see the world around them.
For news and updates go to: theviewingboothfilm.com/en/the-film
It will open at New York’s Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) on Friday, August 6. The theatrical run will be preceded by a July 30 screening at MoMI’s First Look FF and followed by streaming access on the BBC REEL platform on August 18.
What happens when an entire industry, of which you are a part, is laid off in a single day? Filmed during the height of the pandemic, Last Call : The Shutdown of NYC Bars explores the social and economic impact COVID-19 had on New York City’s hospitality industry. The film follows Jena Ellenwood, a bartender in Queens, NY, as she and her co-works and friends recount their experiences in the dawning realization that they are going to lose their jobs to a deadly new virus. Jena has just moved to New York and recently been brought on as a bartender at the Sparrow Tavern, a local Astoria watering hole. In March 2020, business-as-usual comes to a grinding halt as COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, quickly establishing Queens as the epicenter of the pandemic, not only the state of New York, but throughout the entire country. Bars and restaurants are ordered to close, leaving thousands of hospitality workers stranded without work and an uncertain future. Jena and her friends vent their frustrations and anxieties, not only surrounding the seemingly hopeless economic uncertainty, but also the deadly virus that threatens their very lives. Throughout the process of finding a foothold in this “new normal”, the anxiety and uncertainty of New York’s hospitality industry looms, as 2020 ends with COVID hospitalizations in New York continuing to rise once again. Director, producer and writer Johnny Sweet (Quiet Storm: The Ron Artest Story) joins us to talk about his own journey over the last 16 months, the serious challenges of making a film under the cloud brought on by the pandemic and why showcasing the undervalued work and contributions of the service workers is so important to a healthy community. For news, updates and screenings go to: lastcalldocumentary.com
In Los Angeles watch at: laemmle.com/film/last-call-shutdown-nyc-bars Last Call : The Shutdown of NYC Bars kicks off a virtual theatrical release on 7/16 via Laemmle theaters ahead of a wide digital release 8/13 from Global Digital Releasing.
In Matt Yoka’s sprawling debut feature, WHIRLYBIRD, he deftly mirrors the peaks and valleys of one unique American family to the city of Los Angeles, showcasing their parallel growing pains and their search for a sense of self. Flying high above Los Angeles in a whirling news helicopter, Marika Gerrard and Zoey Tur (known then as Bob) captured some of the city’s most epic breaking news stories. The two recount the salacious details of their career as a husband-and-wife journalist team doing whatever it took to catch an unfolding story. Their camera captured the extreme adrenaline of the culture of live news and, as a result, the strain it took on their relationship—and, ultimately, a major life transition for Zoey. A wholly unique take on the story of Los Angeles told through stunning aerial footage and remarkable home videos, WHIRLYBIRD reframes many of the city’s pivotal moments of the 1990s, including the O. J. Simpson pursuit and the 1992 riots. Zoey Tur revolutionized news media with her aerial reporting of Los Angeles – and in doing so, defined our recorded memory of the city. Tur's unmatched eye-in-the-sky video archive captures the spectacle of 1990s L.A. while revealing her own personal complexities. WHIRLYBIRD weaves intimate interviews with a stunning archive, illustrating a person as fascinating as the city she flew above. WHIRLYBIRD is a completely original and intricately woven tapestry that reveals the agony and the ecstasy of breaking news. Director Matt Yoka joins is for an illuminating conversation on Tur’s complex personal landscape and his search to uncover a person as fascinating as the city she flew above.
For news and updates go to: whirlybirdfilm.com
FIREBOYS is the untold story of young men incarcerated in California who are offered a way out: by fighting wildfires. Immersive and personal, this coming-of-age story examines a correctional path that is both hopeful and destructive. As these seasonal blazes rage across California, over 3,000 professional firefighters and 3,000 volunteer inmates battle the fires for many months on end, sometimes into the winter. Pine Grove firefighters have fought in all of the deadliest and largest fires in California’s recent history, including the Camp and Mendocino Complex fires of 2018. Without incarcerated firefighters, California would not be able to manage the growing intensity of fire season. The employment of inmate firefighters-- and the opportunities and challenges that await them upon their release from prison-- are at the heart of Fireboys. Co-Directors Jake Hochendoner and Drew Dickler join us for a conversation on the challenges of tracking the lives of the incarcerated in the CalFire program over a 5-year span, gaining the confidence of the prison and Pine Grove facility and how the intersection of incarceration, the personal history of the incarcerated and criminal justice reform plays out in the telling of the Fireboys.
To find out more go to: 1091.tv/fireboys
For news and updates go to: fireboysdoc.com
Director Joshua Leonard (Elliott) and Screenwriter Jess Weixler’s (Jackie) raucous and raw comedy FULLY REALIZED HUMANS they set out to blow-up the accepted wisdom that there is never a perfect time to have a baby. Jackie (Jess Weixler) and Elliott (Joshua Leonard) beg to differ. There will be a perfect time — just as soon as they've fixed all of their own issues and become the kind of people who won't screw up their own kids the way their parents screwed them up. Realizing that if they want to break their cycles of dysfunction once and for all, they'll have to confront their deepest fears and greatest shortcomings head-on. With less than a month until their due date, they embark on a madcap mission to become FULLY REALIZED HUMANS. This crusade will push them to the edge of sanity, forcing them to battle with themselves, each other, their friends, and even their families. When the smoke clears, they'll either be the world's greatest parents... or they'll be institutionalized. Director, co-writer and lead actor Joshua Leonard and co-writer and lead actor Jess Weixler join us to talk about the lightning quick turnaround for filming, working while pregnant and bringing together a talented supporting cast that includes Beth Grant, Tom Bower, Janizca Bravo, and Jennifer Lafleur.
Opens July 30 via Gravitas Ventures on VOD
For news and updates go to: fullyrealizedhumans.com
Director Kristine Stolakis’ intimate and moving documentary, Pray Away, starts with the words “I lived transgender, but I left it all to follow Jesus.” So explains self-identified ‘ex-trans’ Jeffrey, whose belief that change is possible reflects the core message of the conversion therapy movement today. Former leaders of the "pray the gay away" movement contend with the aftermath unleashed by their actions, while a survivor seeks healing and acceptance from more than a decade of trauma From there, PRAY AWAY takes us back to the 1970s, five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church started a bible study to help each other leave the "homosexual lifestyle." They quickly received over 25,000 letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus International, the largest and most controversial conversion therapy organization in the world. Julie is one of hundreds of thousands of people caught in Exodus’ wake. Former leaders of the "pray the gay away" movement contend with the aftermath unleashed by their actions, while a survivor seeks healing and acceptance from more than a decade of trauma. After years as Christian superstars in the religious right, Julie and many have come out as LGBTQ, disavowing the very movement they helped start. PRAY AWAY chronicles that movement’s rise to power, persistent influence, and the harm it causes. Director Kristine Stokalis and Producer Jessica Devaney join us to talk about the politicalization of gay rights in the 1980s by the Far Right led by Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Newt Gingrich and James Dobson, as well as the psychological, religious, cultural, and economic pressure brought to bear on people who live a non-conforming sexuality.
For news, screenings and update go to: prayawayfilm.com
Watch Pray Away on Netflix beginning on August 3
Guarded by Kurdish forces, 73,000 Daesh (ISIS) supporters are locked up in the Al-Hol Camp in northeastern Syria. Considered the most dangerous camp in the Middle East, it is situated amidst a volatile political and military reality where Daesh is still omnipresent. Five years ago, Daesh killed thousands of Yazidis in the Sinjar province of Iraq and abducted thousands of Yazidi women and girls to be held and sold as sex slaves – called sabaya. In SABAYA, Mahmud, Ziyad and other volunteers from the Yazidi Home Center rescue the sabaya, who are still being held by Daesh in the camp. Continuously phoning, smoking and sometimes bickering, Mahmud and Ziyad systematically prepare their missions and know exactly who to look for, and where. Often accompanied by female infiltrators – some of them former sabaya – and armed with nothing but an old mobile phone and a small gun, they travel to the camp in an inconspicuous van. Once there, mostly by night, they must act extremely quickly to avoid potential violence. Under the loving care of Mahmud’s wife, Siham, and his mother, Zahra, it might take a long time for the young women to heal, but perhaps one day the traumatized girls will also be strong enough to become brave female infiltrators themselves, helping to rescue even more Yazidi Sabaya from the claws of an ideology that tolerates nothing but itself. Through this observational film, directed, shot and edited by acclaimed Swedish/Kurdish director Hogir Hirori, we experience first-hand the strong contrast between the tense situation in the camp and the comfort of daily life at home. Director Hogir Hirori and Producer Antonio Merenda joins us for a conversation on the risks that all of the project’s participants, including Mahmud and Siyad, took on in order to tell the story of unfathomable cruelty and deadly violence aimed at the Yazidi people in general and the Yazidi women specifically.
For more go to: sabayathefilm.com
It opens on Friday, July 30 in New York (Film Forum) and Los Angeles (Laemmle Royal and Laemmle Pasadena Playhouse), with an expansion to theaters and virtual cinemas nationwide beginning August 6.
In early November 2018, raging wildfires killed 88 residents and destroyed tens of thousands of homes in the cities of Malibu and Paradise, two very different California communities. In her new verité documentary, two-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lucy Walker captures the heroism and horror of that unfathomable disaster. Her character-driven exposé, BRING YOUR ON BRIGADE, also answers a question humanity can no longer afford to ignore: Why are catastrophic wildfires increasing in number and severity around the world, and can anything be done to lessen the staggering death and destruction they cause? Drawing on hundreds of hours of astonishing wildfire footage and featuring interviews with survivors, firefighters and scientists, the film reveals that short of solving global warming there are numerous, often simple steps that can be taken to not only mitigate the catastrophic devastation caused by wildfires, but restore health and balance to woodlands that have been mismanaged for far too long. But does society have what it takes to put aside short-term interests and outmoded thinking to confront a crisis that’s quite literally burning our world to the ground? Director and Producer Lucy Walker (The Crash Reel, Waste Land, Countdown to Zero) to talk about her investigation into the reasons that social, political, climate, encroachment, logging, land management are just the beginning of why we should all be concerned about the coming Age of Fire.
Bring You Own Brigade opens in theaters on August 6 and streaming on CBSN and Paramount+ beginning August 20
Alvin Ailey was a trailblazing pioneer who found salvation through dance. AILEY traces the full contours of this brilliant and enigmatic man whose search for the truth in movement resulted in enduring choreography that centers on the Black American experience with grace, strength, and unparalleled beauty. Told through Ailey’s own words and featuring evocative archival footage and interviews with those who intimately knew him, director Jamila Wignot weaves together a resonant biography of an elusive visionary. Many know the name Alvin Ailey, but how many know the man? Ailey’s commitment to searching for truth in movement resulted in pioneering and enduring choreography that centers on African American experiences. Director Jamila Wignot’s resonant biography grants artful access to the elusive visionary who founded one of the world’s most renowned dance companies, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Director Jamila Wignot joins us to talk about the remarkably creative choreographer who never stopped searching for the truth and clarity of dance and how his desire to mentor and nurture others will insure an artistic legacy matched by few others.
For news, screenings and updates go to: neonrated.com/films/ailey
AILEY opens exclusively in New York and expands nationwide August 6
What if one of the best days of your life suddenly turned into one of your worst nightmares?And what if you were forced to relive that same day again and again? From Director Craig Singer comes a pulse-pounding, time-looping psychological thriller about a dream vacation gone very, very bad. Bobby Patterson (Michael Reed) is taking one last romantic shot at saving his rocky relationship with his girlfriend, Jules Rables (Augie Duke) on a weekend getaway to the picturesque island resort of Bog Grove. To their bewilderment, the sleepy beach town is curiously deserted, but they soon learn about its notorious and bloody history – one that's about to repeat itself again and again… The pair’s relationship issues are quickly cast aside in order to overcome a demented cycle of terror in which they’re seemingly trapped. And no matter what great lengths they take to avoid it, Bobby and Jules awake at 6:45 each morning to a nightmarish chain of events with no escape. Written by Robert Dean Klein (Little Fish, Strange Pond, A Good Night To Die), 6:45 stars Michael Reed (Missing William), Augie Duke (Amazon’s Red Oaks, 6 Years, 4 Months & 23 Days) and Thomas G. Waites (Savant, The Thing, The Warriors), Armen Garo (The Departed, The Sopranos) rappers Remy Ma (Queen of the South) and The 45 King (Hancock), boxing Hall of Famer Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini (The Plot Against America). Director Craig Singer (Dark Ride, Perkins 14, Animal Room) joins us for a conversation on the challenges of pulling together a film project during a pandemic, working with a talented cast and crew and how taking the time loop theme into the realm of psychological thriller / horror opened up 6:45 to the exploration of a twisted love story.
For news and updates go to: 645movie.com
- Winner of the Paris Independent Film Festival
Guilt ridden FBI agent Tony Cruz is obsessed with finding his missing sister and catching the psychopath who murdered his mother. His childhood trauma developed into nyctophobia, an irrational fear of the dark, a condition he overcame over the years… or so he thought…Armed with the relentless purpose of catching the killer and undying hope of finding his sister, Tony descends into an underworld of sex traffickers and death, where a demon from his past awaits…Director and co-writer Maria Gabriela Cardenas stops by to talk about working with her father, Oscar Cardenas (Bon Appettit, The Groom) as well as Selma Blair, Bill Bellamy and Graham Greene and the life changing experience of her first day on set as the film’s director.
For news and updates go to: adarkfoe.com
Starting July 30th, 2021 in Select Theaters and On Demand everywhere
A twenty-something couple (Segan and Baird) venturing from Hollywood to Joshua Tree in an attempt to quit smoking together, find their emotions unmasked. We see them cheating, lying and struggling valiantly to overcome their enslavement to smoking. As we share the pain and torture the couple put themselves through in the name of love and pleasure, we also learn that smoking is truly a metaphor for their equally addictive relationship. Their extreme passion (whether fighting or making up afterwards) turns out to be a measure of their love for each other. Whether they like it or not, they cannot escape destiny or the temptations that lead them there. QUIT is a relationship story about our attachment to inner needs and desires, and the awakening to what those are. Starring Noah Segan (Knives Out, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi) and the enthralling Diora Baird (Netflix’s Cobra Kai, Wedding Crashers,) as our couple, alongside Lee Arenberg (Once Upon A Time), Nathan Phillips (Snakes on a Plane, Wolf Creek,), and Don Swayze (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, The Visitation). Director and co-writer Dick Rude (Repo Man, Walker, Straight to Hell) stops by to talk about love, relationships, smoking, living life on your terms and creating art.
For news and update go to: quitfilm.com
A walk in the woods will never be the same after watching THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES. Based on his best-selling that has profoundly changed our understanding of forests, renowned forester and writer Peter Wohlleben guides us through his most enlightening ideas. Presenting his ecological, biological and academic expertise with infectious enthusiasm and candor, Wohlleben travels through Germany, Poland, Sweden, and Vancouver to illustrate the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland for decades. The result is an immersive and eye-opening look at the scientific mechanisms behind these wonders of nature. Peter Wohlleben, subject and best selling author joins us for a very engaging conversation on his reluctance to write The Hidden Life of Trees, his surprise at the reaction to the book and his own journey to better understand the magnificent complexity and awe-inspiring world of the kingdom of forests manifested by a remarkable level of dialog that take place among the thousands of it’s inhabitants.
Opens July 16 in Theaters Across the U.S. via Capelight Pictures and MPI Media Group
For news and updates go to: globalscreen.de
PHILLY D.A. is a multi-part series that details the dramatic work inside the office of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner as he and his team work to end mass incarceration and transform the criminal justice system from the inside. In 2017, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had one of the highest incarceration rates of any major city in the United States. And it’s become the epicenter of a historic experiment that could shape the future of prosecution in America for decades to come. When civil rights attorney Larry Krasner mounted a long-shot campaign to become District Attorney, he ran on a bold pledge: to end mass incarceration by changing the culture of the criminal justice system from within. He shocked the establishment by winning in a landslide. Now, the bureaucrats he spent his campaign denigrating are his co-workers; the police he alienated are his rank-and-file law enforcers. Pressure comes from all sides of a system resistant to reform. Krasner’s unapologetic promise to use the power of the D.A.’s office for sweeping change is what got him elected; now that he’s in office, that same stubbornness threatens to alienate those he needs to work with the most. From the eye of this political storm, filmmakers Ted Passon, Yoni Brook, and Nicole Salazar gained unprecedented access into Krasner’s office and behind the scenes of the criminal justice system. Over the course of eight episodes, PHILLY D.A. explores the most pressing social issues of our time—police brutality, the opioid crisis, gun violence, and mass incarceration—through the lens of an idealistic team attempting fundamental overhaul from within the system. The series debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January, with its broadcast premiere in April of 2021 on ITVS's flagship, Emmy award-winning documentary anthology series Independent Lens on PBS, followed by First Look Media’s streaming service Topic.
For more news go to: pbs.org/independentlens/philly-da
Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters is a feature documentary that traces the history and legacy of one of the most important works of art to come out of the age of AIDS - Bill T. Jones' tour de force ballet "D-Man in the Waters". In 1989, "D-Man in the Waters" gave physical manifestation to the fear, anger, grief, and hope for salvation that the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company felt as they were embattled by the AIDS pandemic. As a group of young dancers reconstructs the dance, they learn about this oft forgotten history and deepen their understanding of the power of art in a time of plague. Bill T. Jones is arguably the most socially, politically and emotionally compelling choreographer alive today. Thirty years ago, he embedded motifs of risk and sacrifice, love, loss and resurrection in the choreography for "D-Man in the Waters". Through an extraordinary series of interviews, archival material, and uniquely powerful cinematography of movement, this 90-minute, lyrical documentary uses the story of this dance to illustrate the triumph of the human spirit in art and in the community. Today, by learning the dance, a new generation reinvigorates the spirit of a community fighting to survive. Co-directors Rosalynde LeBlanc and Tom Hurwitz join us for a conversation on the history of D-Man in the Waters, why it is just as relevant today, the spirit of discovery for the student dance ensemble featured in the film and the collaboration with the visionary artist Bill T. Jones.
For news and updates go to: d-mandocumentary.com
For the theatrical / virtual release go to: kinolorber.com/can-you-bring-it
How did a group of humble factory workers become a phenomenal sports success story and the pride of an entire nation? Julian Faraut's (John McEnroe: In The Realm of Perfection) ferociously innovative and visually stunning The Witches of the Orient tells the tale of the Japanese women's volleyball team's thrilling rise, unbelievable 258 games winning streak, and eventual Olympic gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. United by their jobs in a textile factory, the Japanese women's volleyball team chased absolute perfection under the guidance of their grueling coach Hirofumi Daimatsu. Known as "the Demon,” his intense, endless practice sessions, shaped the team into a powerful force striking fear in the hearts of their competitors and earning them the racist and dismissive moniker "oriental witches.” Faraut's sparkling documentary uses fantastic manga and anime sequences, such as Attack no 1 (1968), with archival footage of blood-curdling matches, extreme training sessions (driven by rhythmic editing and great music from French musician K-Raw) with testimony from the now-octogenarian teammates. The result charts the Witches' meteoric rise and overwhelmingly vital spirit. The 'Witches' success is infectious and offers a hopeful prelude to the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Director Julien Faraut joins to talk about the players rigorous training regime, the complicated relationship they had with their coach, Hirofumi Daimatsu, and the enduring bond between the women / factory workers that has lasted for nearly 60 years.
For news and updates go to: kimstim.com/film/the-witches-of-the-orient
Through shard-like glimpses of everyday life in post-Hurricane María Puerto Rico, LANDFALL is a cautionary tale for our times. Set against the backdrop of protests that toppled the The United States colony's governor in 2019, the film offers a prismatic portrait of collective trauma and resistance. While the devastation of María attracted a great deal of media coverage, the world has paid far less attention to the storm that preceded it: a 72-billion-dollar debt crisis crippling Puerto Rico well before the winds and waters hit. LANDFALL examines the kinship of these two storms-one environmental, the other economic-juxtaposing competing utopian visions of recovery. LANDFALL explores the intertwining legacies of colonialism, exploitative industries and disaster capitalism and the barriers to recovery they create. As opportunists looking to make a profit descend upon the island, the Puerto Rican diaspora comes together to create unprecedented forms of community-led mutual aid when assistance from the federal government and traditional NGOs fails to appear. LANDFALL features intimate encounters with Puerto Ricans as well as the newcomers flooding the island, LANDFALL reflects on a question of contemporary global relevance: when the world falls apart, who do we become? Director Cecilia Aldarondo joins us for frank conversation on US colonialism, Puerto Rico as a laboratory for social experimentation and the crypto-libertarian grifters peddling economic fairy-tales about freedom and financial independence.
For news and updates go to: landfallfilm.com
On a cold February night in 1983, Wanda Lopez was stabbed to death while she worked at a Corpus Christi Texas gas station. 21 year old Carlos DeLuna was arrested, and over the next six years, through his trial and subsequent imprisonment he protested his innocence, declaring that it was another Carlos who committed the crime. The prosecution insisted that this other Carlos was a “phantom’ and didn’t exist. THE PHANTOM tells the story of one of the darkest episodes in the long history of American justice. A story of how the State of Texas knowingly sent an innocent man to his death and left a serial killer at large. A case in which -- for the first time -- it can be conclusively proven that the US courts executed a blameless man. This film uncovers the shocking truth behind a tale of murder, corruption and lies that unfolded in the dusty, desperate streets of a Texas oil town nearly thirty years ago. Through illuminating interviews with witnesses, Carlos DeLuna's family members, and legal experts the film asks, for the first time since 1983, if the judicial system executed an innocent man, examining key evidence that calls into question whether or not Carlos DeLuna was right about the other Carlos. Was he a phantom after all, or was he a brutal killer, and did a poor Hispanic young man have any chance within a justice system and a society that by its actions seemed to regard him as disposable? Director Patrick Forbes (The Widowmaker, Brexit: A Very British Coup) joins us for a conversation on a criminal justice system that spends more time obfuscating and dodging questions about their investigation and prosecution of an innocent man than reforming a system that makes a fatal mistake possible and coming clean about why Carlos DeLuna was really put to death.
For news and updates go to: the-phantom
RELEASING IN THEATERS - FRIDAY, July 2
THE LONELIEST WHALE: THE SEARCH FOR 52 is a cinematic quest to find the “52 Hertz Whale,” which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude calling out at a frequency that is different from any other whale. As the film embarks on this engrossing journey, audiences will explore what this whale’s lonely plight can teach us — not just about our changing relationship to the oceans, but to each other. This is the only film that set out in search of 52. The 52 Hertz Whale was originally discovered in 1989. Over the last 3 decades 52 has become a global sensation capturing the hearts of fans around the world. This whale’s story has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Business Insider and more. Most recently the British Indie Rock band Amber Run and the K-pop band BTS have written songs about the whale. Award winning filmmaker Joshua Zeman has been at the forefront of investigative documentaries for the past decade. His most recent work was the hit Netflix documentary series, THE SONS OF SAM: DESCENT INTO DARKNESS. His critically-acclaimed film CROPSEY, a look into the disappearance of five children, is considered to be one of most terrifying horror documentaries of all time. Director Joshua Zeman joins us for a conversation on the primordial fascination that whales exert over humans, the impact his first encounter with Blue Whale had on him, how “singing Humpbacks saved whales for being hunted into extinction and why 52’s story has captured a world-wide audience.
For news and updates go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/the-loneliest-whale
In theaters on July 9 / On Demand July 16
This riveting new documentary from the team of Director Joe Saunders and Producer Alex Greer The Penny Black, is a non-fiction investigative thriller that begins when Will, the estranged son of a conman, agrees to safeguard a mysterious million-dollar stamp collection for his unknowable Russian neighbor. After the neighbor vanishes without a trace, Will searches for the collection's true owner, confronting his fear and integrity head-on. But when some of the stamps suddenly disappear, the filmmakers are forced to reexamine Will’s capacity for honesty. Director Joe Saunders and Producer Alex Greer joins us for a rollicking conversation on the orgin story of Penny Black, meeting Will, the arduous journey of pulling together the financing and the hundreds of hours of stake outs, interviews, and looking over their shoulders that went into making this stranger -than-fiction, trust no one documentary thriller.
For news, updates and screenings go to: thepennyblackmovie.com
The Penny Black is now available on iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, Microsoft/Xbox Video, Vudu, FandangoNow, Vimeo, Claro, inDemand Movies & more.
The Price of Freedom is an unflinching look at the gun violence epidemic in America and the role the National Rifle Association, with its outsized political and cultural influence, has played over time. The NRA believes the deaths of innocent Americans are a necessary price to pay for the freedom to own firearms without restrictions. By manipulating the narrative around guns and backing politicians who commit to upholding their agenda, the NRA has cost us far more than we realize. Featuring passionate pleas from President William J. Clinton, Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA) and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT); NRA Board Member and former NRA President David Keene, and activists on all sides of the issue, The Price of Freedom presents a compelling case for those brave enough to take a stand against the NRA in defense of our communities and collective future. Director Judd Ehrlich joins us for a conversation on how the NRA has abandoned its founding principles of promoting safe and responsible gun ownership through locally-based training programs into a shameless shill for gun manufacturers and more recently into a pernicious, corrosive and ruthlessly divisive political force in American culture and governance.
For news and updates go to: thepriceoffreedommovie.com
In theatres now: thepriceoffreedommovie.com/ Find a theatre
In December 2015, the New Orleans City Council voted to remove four Confederate monuments from public grounds. A forceful group of critics protested the decision, and fearing retaliation, no work crew would agree to remove the statues. For comedian and Daily Show with Trevor Noah producer and writer CJ Hunt, these protestors’ fanatical loyalty to the losing side of a 160 year-old war seemed like ideal material for a short, satirical internet video. But as he filmed the conflict surrounding the monuments, a bigger story began to reveal itself. THE NEUTRAL GROUND confronts the Lost Cause—the Southern campaign that mythified the Confederacy—with refreshing clarity. With New Orleans as the main backdrop of the story, the film expands its scope to the country at large, bringing to light the fabricated histories born out of the Civil War and the hard truths much of America has yet to face about slavery. Throughout, Hunt’s radical openness leads to staggering, often personal conversations with advocates and opponents of Confederate monuments alike. Turning a sharp eye to the tangled thread between past and present, THE NEUTRAL GROUND targets necessary change centuries in the making that might—finally—be catching up to itself. Director / screenwriter and subject joins us for a candid conversation on America’s implacable racism, latent white violence towards historic truths about slavery, the urgent need to respond to blatant hatred, and The Neutral Ground’s premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. For news and updates go to: neutralgroundfilm.com
To watch go to: tribecafilm.com/films/neutral-ground-2021
Director D.W. Thomas’, Too Late, cozy horror comedy set in the Los Angeles indie comedy scene features Violet Fields who works a thankless job as the assistant to Bob Devore, famed comedian and host of the live variety show, Too Late. But what only Violet knows is that Bob is a monster both literally and figuratively. Resigned to her fate, Violet is caught by surprise when she meets aspiring comedian Jimmy Rhodes and sparks fly. But as her feelings for Jimmy grow and Bob starts to doubt her loyalty, she and Jimmy could end up as Bob’s next meal. TOO LATE is the debut feature film from director D.W. Thomas and writer Tom Becker. It stars Alyssa Limperis (Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun), Ron Lynch (Bob’s Burgers, Adventure Time), Will Weldon (Comedy Central’s This Isn’t Happening), Mary Lynn Rajskub (24, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Fred Armisen (SNL, Portlandia), Jenny Zigrino (Bad Santa 2, 50 Shades of Black), Jack De Sena (Avatar: The Last Airbender), and Brooks Wheelan (SNL). Director and writer D.W. Thomas joins us for a spirited conversation on comedy, fame, Hungarian Cultural Centers, Stand up, and a well-balanced diet. For news and screenings go to: toolatethemovie.com
Director Liam Le Guillou’s feature documentary debut AN UNKNOWN COMPELLING FORCE is the True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, known as Russia’s greatest unsolved mystery. In 1959 a group of student hikers were attempting a difficult winter expedition in the remote Ural Mountains of Russia when an unknown event lead to the mysterious deaths of all nine. When the team failed to report back, search parties lead by the Soviet Government and fellow students uncovered the grizzly remains of the hikers. Found a mile from their shredded tent, they seemingly fled into the freezing temperatures without their winter clothes or boots. Adding to the mystery, many of the bodies had suffered brutal and inexplicable injuries, and some even showed traces of radiation. The case was closed by investigators at the time, stating that the hikers died from “An Unknown Compelling Force.” For more than 60 years the story has been shrouded in mystery and conspiracy theories, suggesting everything from UFO’s, murder to a Soviet Government cover-up. British adventure filmmaker Liam Le Guillou travels under the radar to Russia in search of answers. Braving the dangerous conditions and hundreds of kilometers in sub-polar conditions, Director Liam Le Guillou and his team attempts to reach the very location of the incident, a place the locals call “The Dead Mountain.” To uncover the truth, the film also speaks to experts in the U.S. including a former FBI Agent and the former Marin County Coroner to finally reveal the stunning truth of The Dyatlov Pass Incident.
For news and updates go to: 1091.tv/an-unknown-compelling-force
An Unknown Compelling Force will be available digitally to purchase or rent on June 15th.
SWEET THING, centers on Billie (Lana Rockwell, Little Feet), a 15-year-old girl who fantasizes Billie Holiday as a sort of fairy godmother. Billie has to navigate the evolving challenges of her life while she plays mother to her 11-year-old brother, Nico. They meet up with another adolescent, run away from home, and together roam the area free from their parents’ watchful eye. They discover freedom and enchantment among New Bedford’s boats and railway tracks. They fantasize about a life of luxury when they break into a posh home, and are able to carry the taste of affluence into their adventures. SWEET THING celebrates their ability to make poetry and a joyful life out of hardship. The children come to represent a hope in our own resilience, as the film is an ode to that trying age when young people prepare to take their first step into adulthood. The story is an intense but ultimately uplifting, poetic rendering of childhood that captures the essence of that time in life when a day can last forever. SWEET THING, stars Rockwell’s children Lana and Nico, Karyn Parsons and Will Patton, Director and writer Alexandre Rockwell (In the Soup, Louis & Frank, 13 Moons) joins us for a conversation on his working with a superb cast that includes Lana and Nico Rockwell, Karyn Parsons, re-discovering a love for instinctive filmmaking and his embrace of storytelling that celebrates fearless youth, friendships, and family.
For news and theatrical screenings go to: filmmovement.com/sweet-thing
Using Virtual Cinema is easy!
SWEET THING winner of the Berlinale Crystal Bear in the Generation K-plus section in 2020.
In this revealing observational portrait of political courage, Brandon Kramer’s THE FIRST STEP, focuses his lens on Black progressive activist and political commentator Van Jones as he faces a polarized society head on in an effort to reform a broken criminal justice system. Jones, known for calling Donald Trump's election “a whitelash” live on primetime TV, navigates increasingly tense and isolating political and racial divides in his attempt to become a “bridge builder” during the Trump administration. Condemned by the right for his progressive beliefs, and by the left for embracing conservatives, this fraught and cinematically captured personal journey questions his integrity from all sides, forcing him to consider not only his activism but his own identity. THE FIRST STEP takes us behind the scenes of these dramatic power struggles, from internal divisions within both parties, to the lives of activists fighting on the frontlines for their communities. The First Step features Louis L. Reed, Jessica Jackson, Virgie Walker, Pete White, Tylo James. Including Jared Kushner, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Cory Booker, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Shelly Capito, Senator Rand Paul, Senator Mike Lee, Congresswoman Karen Bass, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, Patrisse Cullors, Charlemagne Tha God, Karen Hunter, and Kim Kardashian. Director Brandon Kramer joins us to talk about the daunting challenge faced by Van ones as he attempts to find the common ground of common interest and policy reforms that will benefit all Americans, while being vilified by many of the same people he is working with.
For news and updates go to: meridianhillpictures.com
Canadian-based director Jeanne LeBlanc’s searingly insightful drama, Les Nôtres takes us into the heights and depths of the French speaking, tight-knit community of Sainte-Adeline Quebec. Magalie (Émilie Bierre) appears as a normal suburban high school sophomore surrounded by friends. But this popular teenage girl is harboring a shocking secret: she’s pregnant. When Magalie refuses to identify the father, suspicions among the townsfolk come to a boiling point and the layers of a carefully maintained social varnish eventually crack. Anchored by a host of remarkable performances from a cast that includes Marianne Farley, Judith Baribeau, Paul Doucet, A. Patrice Mareau and the aforementioned Emilie Bierre. Les Nôtres director and co-screenwriter Jeanne LeBlanc (Judith Baribeau) masterfully peels back the brittle veneer of respectability and conformity in her subversive tale of class, racism, sexual assault and the community’s bourgeoisie capitulation to the heavy hand of power.
For news and updates go to: lesnotres.oscilloscope.net
Opens On Demand and in Select Theaters on June 18th from Oscilloscope Laboratories
When you look at Kenny Scharf’s surreal, colorful, pop-culture inspired art you can’t help but wonder where he gets his inspiration. This documentary about Scharf’s fascinating life—made over 11 years by the artist’s daughter, Malia Scharf, and Max Basch—answers that question. This fascinating documentary shows Scharf’s New York City arrival in the early 1980s where he quickly befriended Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. This trio, amongst the fervent creative bustle of a depressed downtown scene, would soon take the art world by storm. Featuring interviews and rare archival footage with the artist himself along with Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Ed Ruscha, Dennis Hopper and Yoko Ono, the film shows Scharf’s arrival in New York City in the early 1980s, where he quickly befriended Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat. There, amongst the fervent creative bustle of a depressed downtown scene, the trio would soon take the art world by storm. But unlike Haring and Basquiat, who both died tragically young, Scharf lived through cataclysmic shifts in the East Village as well as the ravages of AIDS and economic depression. Decades later, still obsessed with garbage, cartoons and plastic, and committed to the idea that art should be fun, Scharf’s whimsical mind continues to generate works rife with iconic images and bizarre forms. Co-directors Malia Scharf and Max Basch join us for a conversation on the New York City in the 1980s, why so many artists from multiple disciplines seized the opportunity to make art amidst the rumble of the Downtown, and the re-evaluation of Kenny Scharf’s prodigious technicolor artistic vision.
For news and updates go to:kennyscharfmovie.com
Director James Fletcher’s THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT uncovers a detailed play-by-play from all angles on how it all went down, the state of America that led to the results, what the electorate was really motivated by, and how a former reality show host with an elevated understanding of the media and entertainment was able to connect and how a former reality show host with an elevated understanding of the media and entertainment was able to connect with voters from all walks of life and stage a takeover of Washington D.C. -- whether he meant to or not. As America began to try and come to terms with the surprising (and for many voters, horrifying) results of the presidential race of 2016, the subsequent rapid-fire speed of events and jam-packed news cycles meant that nobody would ever have the opportunity to truly and properly reflect on what exactly just happened -- and how did it? Featuring an impressively diverse and balanced set of fascinating interviews from both sides of the aisle, THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT is an educated examination of the most controversial election in modern history, and one that every future campaign - most notably the one currently in play - should study with an electron microscope. Directed and produced by British filmmaker/journalist James Fletcher joins us for a conversation on the many twists and turns, happenstance, orchestrated chaos, massive campaign miscalculations and incompetence that results in the election of the most deified and nefarious president in American history.
For news and updates go to: interventionmedia.com
Director Magnus von Horn’s SWEAT chronicles the harrowing journey of the beloved fitness influencer Sylwia (Magdalena Koleśnik, in a star-making role) who has seemingly has it made: hundreds of thousands of social media followers, endorsement deals, photo spreads in magazines. But as she starts to share more and more online, the rising pressure from concerned sponsors and increasingly obsessive fans forces her to confront her deepest insecurities and the exhaustive demands of her lifestyle. Director Magnus von Horn joins us for a conversation on his feature film debut, his inspiration for a story that manages to capture a cultural zeitgeist, the transactional nature of fame and the mesmerizing performance by newcomer Magdalena Koleśnik.
For news and updates go to: mubi.com/films/sweat-2020
The breakout second feature from writer-director Magnus von Horn, SWEAT is a shocking glimpse beneath the candy-colored surface of internet celebrity. In select US theaters June 18. On MUBI in the US, India, Turkey and Latin America from July 23
About the filmmaker - Magnus von Horn was born in 1983 in Gothenburg, Sweden. He graduated from the Polish National Film School in Łódź in 2013, where he now teaches directing. His debut feature The Here After (2015) premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2015 and won two Swedish Guldbagge Awards for Best Film and Best Director. He took part in the TorinoFilmLab for his second feature, Sweat (2020).
I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK returns with a special episode directed by Elizabeth Wolff (HBO’s “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark”) and executive produced by Liz Garbus (HBO’s “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” and “Who Killed Garrett Phillips?”). The critically acclaimed six-part documentary series based on the best-selling book of the same name debuted in June 2020 and explores writer Michelle McNamara’s investigation into the dark world of the violent predator she dubbed "The Golden State Killer.” In the summer of 2020, former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo, also known as the Golden State Killer, was sentenced to life in prison for the 50 home-invasion rapes and 13 murders he committed during his reign of terror in the 1970s and ‘80s in California. Many of the survivors and victim’s family members reconvened for an emotional public sentencing hearing in August 2020, where they were given the opportunity to speak about their long-held pain and anger through victim impact statements, facing their attacker directly for the first time and bringing a sense of justice and resolution to the case. This powerful special closes one chapter in McNamara’s investigative work on cold cases, and brings to light another, the rape and murder of Kathy Lombardo in 1984 in McNamara’s hometown of Oak Park, Illinois, which sparked her life-long fascination with unsolved murders. This special episode brings shocking new revelations to light in the Lombardo case and features the late McNamara’s own research into the rape and murder, which led to her return to Oak Park in 2013 to investigate it on the ground, quickly finding inconsistencies in the police work. Featuring the late McNamara’s own archival research and voice recordings, and interviews with residents of present-day Oak Park, this special episode highlights the trauma that persists when a crime goes unsolved, with McNamara’s work standing as a stark reminder of the importance of citizen sleuths who remain dogged in their search for the truth. I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK co-producer and co-director Elizabeth Wolff joins us to talk the years-long collaboration with series director Liz Garbus and her team, the art of storytelling, defining her own personal boundaries and becoming a mom.
For news and updates go to: hbo.com/ill-be-gone-in-the-dark
This special episode debuts MONDAY, JUNE 21 (10:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
In 1921, white mobs in Tulsa terrorized and burned down the Greenwood District, known as “Negro Wall Street.” With the discovery of a mass grave, the city reckons with its painful past. In the early 20th century, racial violence erupted in dozens of cities across the United States. Hundreds were killed. Black communities fought back, rebuilt, and prospered in the face of extreme oppression and the evils of white supremacy. RISE AGAIN: TULSA AND THE RED SUMMER comes one hundred years from the two-day Tulsa Massacre in 1921 that led to the murder of hundreds of Black people and left thousands homeless and displaced. Award-winning Washington Post journalist and Oklahoma native DeNeen Brown is at the heart of the film, reporting on the search for a mass grave in her native state. Digging into the events that led to one of the worst episodes of racial violence in America's history, Brown reveals insights into racial conflict incidents that erupted in the early 20th century. Between 1917 and 1923, when Jim Crow laws were at their height and the Klu Klux Klan was resurging across the nation, scores of Black homes and businesses were razed, and hundreds of Black people were lynched and massacred with impunity. Brown's reporting highlights the revived call for justice for victims and survivors. Following a 2018 investigative report, Brown explores the current anti-racism movement in the context of the Tulsa Massacre and the Red Summer. With access to family members of those killed, city officials, archeologists, and historians, the film reveals the decades-long effort by descendants and community members to find victims' bodies and unearth truths that have been suppressed for nearly a century. RISE AGAIN: TULSA AND THE RED SUMMER also untangles the role the media played in covering events at the time in order to reveal the full extent of the nation's buried past. Director Dawn Porter joins us for a sobering conversation about the shameful abandonment of Reconstruction, the shameless racism of President Wilson, the planned, military grade assault on the Tulsa’s Black community of Greenwood and the buried, figuratively and literally, history that continues to haunt our country.
For updates and screenings go to: nationalgeographic.com/riseagain
RISE AGAIN: TULSA AND THE RED SUMMER will premiere in June on National Geographic, commemorating Juneteenth when the last enslaved Black people in Texas received news of their emancipation, and will air globally in 172 countries and 43 languages.
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Brendan J. Byrne (Bill Bulger, now 85, was State Senate President for almost 20 years in Massachusetts. His older brother James ‘Whitey’ Bulger was a Boston gangster who was murdered in prison on October 30th 2018, aged 89. MY NAME IS BULGER weaves its way through the stories of both brothers and their respective rises and falls. Featuring intimate interviews with family and an exclusive conversation with James Bulger’s girlfriend and partner, Catherine Greig, the film strips away the hysteria of daily print headlines and nightly news bulletins to unfold the story of a unique American family who crave to be judged for who they are and what they’ve done, not what their infamous relative did. Director Brendan J Byrne (Elian, 66 Days, One Million American Dreams) joins us for a conversation on the breaking through the noise and perceptions that have clouded the Bulger family legacy and how even the story about the most notorious Bulger, James “Whitey” Bulger is not what you may think it is.
Streaming Exclusively on discovery+ June 17 My Name is Bulger, Director Brendan J. Byrne
In 1921, white mobs in Tulsa terrorized and burned down the Greenwood District, known as “Negro Wall Street.” With the discovery of a mass grave, the city reckons with its painful past. In the early 20th century, racial violence erupted in dozens of cities across the United States. Hundreds were killed. Black communities fought back, rebuilt, and prospered in the face of extreme oppression and the evils of white supremacy. RISE AGAIN: TULSA AND THE RED SUMMER comes one hundred years from the two-day Tulsa Massacre in 1921 that led to the murder of hundreds of Black people and left thousands homeless and displaced. Award-winning Washington Post journalist and Oklahoma native DeNeen Brown is at the heart of the film, reporting on the search for a mass grave in her native state. Digging into the events that led to one of the worst episodes of racial violence in America's history, Brown reveals insights into racial conflict incidents that erupted in the early 20th century. Between 1917 and 1923, when Jim Crow laws were at their height and the Klu Klux Klan was resurging across the nation, scores of Black homes and businesses were razed, and hundreds of Black people were lynched and massacred with impunity. Brown's reporting highlights the revived call for justice for victims and survivors. Following a 2018 investigative report, Brown explores the current anti-racism movement in the context of the Tulsa Massacre and the Red Summer. With access to family members of those killed, city officials, archeologists, and historians, the film reveals the decades-long effort by descendants and community members to find victims' bodies and unearth truths that have been suppressed for nearly a century. RISE AGAIN: TULSA AND THE RED SUMMER also untangles the role the media played in covering events at the time in order to reveal the full extent of the nation's buried past. Director Dawn Porter joins us for a sobering conversation about the shameful abandonment of Reconstruction, the shameless racism of President Wilson, the planned, military grade assault on the Tulsa’s Black community of Greenwood and the buried, figuratively and literally, history that continues to haunt our country.
For updates and screenings go to: nationalgeographic.com/riseagain
RISE AGAIN: TULSA AND THE RED SUMMER will premiere in June on National Geographic, commemorating Juneteenth when the last enslaved Black people in Texas received news of their emancipation, and will air globally in 172 countries and 43 languages.
Winner of a Special Jury Award for Nonfiction Experimentation at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Director Theo Anthony (Rat Film, Subject to Review) ALL LIGHT, EVERYWHERE is an exploration of the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice. ALL LIGHT, EVERYWHERE plunges the viewer into world where police body cams are the hi-tech answer to questions of accountability and As surveillance technologies become a fixture in everyday life, the film interrogates the complexity of an objective point of view, probing the biases inherent in both human perception and the lens. Director Theo Anthony joins us for a wide-ranging conversation on the seemingly relentless march toward an enveloping surveillance state, the expectation of privacy, optic nerves, technological corporate fantasies, bias AI and the Black Box.
For news and updates go to: memory.is/all-light-everywhere
To watch in a theatre go to: superltd.com/films/all-light-everywhere
Winner: Sundance 2021 Special Jury Prize for Nonfiction Experimentation
Nicole Riegel’s starkly drawn feature film debut HOLLER zeroes in on a forgotten pocket of Southern Ohio where American manufacturing and opportunity are drying up, a determined young woman finds a ticket out when she is accepted to college. Alongside her older brother, Ruth Avery joins a dangerous scrap metal crew in order to pay her way. Together, they spend one brutal winter working the scrap yards during the day and stealing valuable metal from the once thriving factories by night. With her goal in sight, Ruth finds that the ultimate cost of an education for a girl like her may be more than she bargained for, and she soon finds herself torn between a promising future and the family she would leave behind. Director Nicole Riegel stops by for a conversation on the challenges of pulling together a shoe-string budget film, that has as much to say about the lack of opportunity for the millions of marginalized people as it does about the love of family, and working with a superb cast that includes Jessica Barden, Austin Amelio, Gus Halper and Pamela Adlon.
For news, updates and screening go to: ifcfilms.com/films/holler
Set in 1985, against the backdrop of social hysteria surrounding gory British video nasties. CENSOR is a psychological horror starring Niamh Algar (Raised By Wolves, The Virtues, Calm With Horses). Film censor Enid takes pride in her meticulous work, guarding unsuspecting audiences from the deleterious effects of watching the gore-filled decapitations and eye-gougings she pores over. Her sense of duty to protect is amplified by guilt over her inability to recall details of the long-ago disappearance of her sister, recently declared dead in absentia. When Enid is assigned to review a disturbing film from the archive that echoes her hazy childhood memories, she begins to unravel how this eerie work might be tied to her past. After viewing the strangely familiar video nasty at work, Enid attempts to solve the past mystery of her sister's disappearance, embarking on a quest that dissolves the line between fiction and reality. CENSOR had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2021, opening the Midnight section of the festival, and will have it's European premiere at Berlinale - Berlin International Film Festival. Director Prano Bailey-Bond stops by for a conversation on her debut feature film that flawlessly captures the frightening ambiance of the “nasties” while plumbing the depths of Enid’s defenseless psyche.
For news and updates go to: censormovie.com
Watch On Demand at: censormovie.com
Zaida Bergroth’s enthralling new film, TOVE begins in Helsinki, 1945. The end of the war brings a new sense of artistic and social freedom for painter Tove Jansson. Modern art, dizzying parties and an open relationship with a married politician: Her unconventional life puts her at odds with her sculptor father’s strict ideals. Tove’s desire for liberty is put to the test when she meets theatre director Vivica Bandler. Her love for Vivica is electric and all-consuming but Tove begins to realize that the love she truly yearns has to be reciprocated. As she struggles with her personal life, her creative endeavors take her in an unexpected direction. While focusing her artistic dreams on her painting, the work that started as a side project, the melancholic, haunting tales she told scared children in bomb shelters, rapidly takes on a life of its own. The exploits of the Moomins, infused with inspiration from her own life, bring Tove international fame and financial freedom. There’s a daily comic strip, syndicated all over the world to 120 newspapers in 40 countries, a stage play and stories that continue to delight people around the world. But as she begins to find her artistic identity she has to learn to find herself. Her unrequited love for Vivica is preventing her true liberty and only by learning to break away from her can she truly be free. Director Zaida Bergroth joins us for an engaging conversation on humanizing the creative journey of an internationally recognized artistic talent and a woman energized by her personal search for freedom, identity and desire.
For news and updates go to: tovemovie.com
TOVE was released by junofilms.com
Imprisoned by the Soviets. Orphaned by the Holocaust. Elected Prime Minister. Crowned peacemaker by the Nobel Prize Committee. Disgraced by the Lebanon War. Menachem Begin was a pillar of the State of Israel and a tireless fighter for the Jewish people. He was, at the same time, a controversial leader. Whether he was challenging the British, founding the Likud political party or fighting to end bigotry against Middle Eastern and African Jews in Israeli society, his dedication to his country and his people was boundless. Still, that unwavering commitment could bear untoward consequences. In 1948, as Israel fought for its life as a nation, his role in the tragic Altalena Affair that ended in the deaths of 19 Jews, and at Deir Yassin, where more than 100 Palestinians died, including women and children, haunted him until the day he died. As Prime Minister of Israel, he made an historic peace deal with Egypt, and he also gave the go-ahead to bomb Saddam Hussein’s Osirak nuclear reactor. His life is a nuanced and complicated canvas that tells the story of key events and currents in the history of modern Israel and its relationship to its Middle East neighbors. The recent ground-breaking peace agreements between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco make this a propitious time to look back at Begin’s achievements and consider them in a new light. Director Jonathan Gruber stops by for a conversation on one of the most consequential patriots and political leaders in the Israeli history, and a man who was also provided a moral compass for the people he led. For news and updates go to: upheavalfilm.com
Unapologetically honest, IT’S NOT A BURDEN: The Humor and Heartache of Raising Elderly Parents provides an intimate look at the multi-layered and endlessly-complex relationships between aging parents and the adult children who care for them. Emmy® nominated filmmaker Michelle Boyaner shares her very personal journey caring for her long-divorced aging parents (her larger-than-life Mother battling dementia, her Father, a hoarder) as well as weaving in a variety of other families supporting stories, including several “When Harry Met Sally” couch-style interviews. Packed with archival and vérité footage, the families of IT’S NOT A BURDEN open their homes and their hearts, sharing stories of the universal issues we face around the topic of caring for our aging parents and reminding us we are not alone. IT’S NOT A BURDEN not only explores the frustrations and fears, but also the transformative bonds that happen when familial roles are reversed, friends support friends and communities come together, exemplifying our capacity to love. Emmy®-nominated director, writer and producer Michelle Boyaner (Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson) and Producer Katie Ford (Miss Congeniality) join us for a conversation on the many challenges as well as the enriching rewards of caring for your loved ones.
For news and updates go to: itsnotaburden.com
Find out more about caring for loved ones at: itsnotaburden.com/resources
From Academy Award®-nominated and Emmy-Winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, City of Ghosts, A Private War) comes an astonishingly intimate portrait of one of the biggest international music superstars of our time. THE BOY FROM MEDELLÍN follows as he prepares for the most important concert of his career--a sold out stadium show in his hometown of Medellín, Colombia. But as the performance draws ever closer, the streets explode with growing political unrest, forcing the Latin Grammy-winning musician to wrestle with his responsibility as an artist to his country and his legions of fans around the globe. As the public pressure of the approaching concert heightens, behind the scenes, Balvin also continues to deal with the anxiety and depression that has plagued him for years. Shot entirely in the dramatic week leading up to the concert, THE BOY FROM MEDELLÍN gives us unprecedented access to the “Prince of Reggaeton,” and provides an immersive look into one of the most pivotal and emotionally charged moments of his life. Director, producer, cinematographer and editor Matthew Heineman joins us for a conversation on the insanely compressed and tumultuous week of filming, gaining the confidence and comfort of Balvin’s family and friends and capping the shoot by capturing a stadium-size concert, something he had never attempted before.
Watch at: amazonprime.com/The Boy from Medellin
For more news go to: ourtimeprojects.com/the-boy-from-medellin
Zeshawn Ali’s enthralling feature documentary debut, Two Gods follows Hanif, a Muslim casket maker and ritual body washer in Newark, New Jersey, as he takes two young men under his wing to teach them how to live better lives. He mentors two kids— Furquan, a confident 12- year-old who comes from a rough home and Naz, a 17-year -old who has been fighting through his own struggles as a young black man growing up in Newark. Hardship comes when Furquan's home life becomes more turbulent and Naz gets caught up in a serious arrest. Hanif fears he has failed as a mentor and begins to fall into a downward spiral. During each of their darkest moments, they take what they’ve learned from their pasts and from each other to pull through. And through faith, brotherhood and redemption they find their purpose. Director Zeshawn Ali joins us for a conversation on meeting subject Hanif, his exploration of this sacred Islamic body washing tradition and how his own family’s recent losses impacted the film’s storytelling trajectory.
For news, updates and screenings go to: twogodsfilm.com
DRUNK BUS follows Michael (Charlie Tahan), a recent graduate, whose post college plan was derailed when his girlfriend leaves him for a job in New York City. Stuck in Ohio without a new plan of his own, Michael finds himself caught in the endless loop of driving the "drunk bus," the debaucherous late-night campus shuttle that ferries drunk college students from parties to the dorms and back, waiting for his ex, Amy, to come back to him. When the bus service hires a security guard to watch over the night shift, Michael comes face to tattooed face with Pineapple (Pineapple Tangaroa), a larger-than-life Samoan American who challenges him with a kick in the ass to break from the loop and start living or risk driving in circles forever. Co-directors John Carlucci & Brandon LaGanke stop by for a spirited conversation on growing up in Ohio, John Hughes, the true life inspiration for Drunk Bus, meeting Pineapple Tangoroa and their love of filmmaking.
For news, screenings and updates go to drunkbusmovie.com
Watch at: drunkbusmovie.com/watch
Much of America’s rich history is being lost to time but the latest documentary from co-directors Chris Haley and Brad Bennett, UNMARKED shines a light on one of our darkest chapters. Throughout the South, vast numbers of African-American gravesites and burial grounds for enslaved persons have been lost or are disappearing through neglect and nature reclaiming the solemn tombstones and markers. In Virginia alone, stories of thousands at rest could vanish from history altogether if these locations are not restored. Recently, there has been a rise in the restoration and preservation of these forgotten sites by those who have a personal connection with the deceased or an appreciation of their historical significance. But there is much work to be done in order to preserve this part of America’s history. UNMARKED not only explores these untold stories of the past but also the efforts underway to preserve them. Co-Directors and co-producers Chris Haley and Brad Bennett stop by to talk about the sordid and blatantly racist practice of neglecting the bodies of slaves and non-slave African-American men and women, as well as the growing number of people who are working to find and protect cemeteries around the country.
For news and updates go to: unmarkedfilm.com
Watch: vimeo.com/ondemand/unmarked
Hamtramck, Michigan is a city built by immigrants. The city thrived thanks to Polish Catholic immigrants drawn to the industrial boom of America. In the late 1990's, Bangladeshi and Yemeni Muslim immigrants revitalized this post-industrial city. This multi-ethnic city prides itself on its mantra "The World in 2 Square Miles," boasts about the over 30 languages spoken in the schools and the diversity that comes with it. However, when it comes to the city's politics, the city quickly splits into factions, pitting communities against each other. From these tensions, candidates emerge, hoping to be the voice for their community in City Hall. Karen Majewski, Hamtramck’s first female mayor in the city’s 100 year lineage of Polish mayors, is seeking her fourth term as mayor. She promises to run until she "sees someone capable" of running the city. Through the election cycle, candidate's face challenges and opportunities within each community, including their own. Through the exploration of the city's rich history and this heated election, Hamtramck, USA wrestles with identity politics, power dynamics, and the immigrant experience in America. Co-directors Justin Feltman and Razi Jafri join us for a conversation on the changing political, racial and cultural landscape of America and why we should not be afraid of America’s future, but embrace it.
For news and updates go to: hamtramckdocumentary.com
KNOTS : A FORCED MARRIAGE STORY explores forced and child marriages, which are occurring legally across the United States every day. Fraidy is an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish teen in Brooklyn when she's coerced into marrying an abusive man. In Michigan, young Christian Nina's father forces her to marry a man he chose. In California, Sara is fifteen when she's kidnapped by her father and forced to marry a 28-year-old man. Each of them face an unimaginable journey. Each must find the strength to survive, and thrive. Director Kate Brewer reveals the disturbing truth about this problem in modern America through the complicated experience of three forced marriage survivors. Nina, Sara, and Fraidy share intimate details of their personal journeys of surviving, escaping and ultimately becoming powerful voices in the historic fight to end the human rights abuse of forced marriage. Director Kate Brewer joins us to talk about modern day stories of forced marriage, violent physical and psychological abuse and the human trafficking of tens of thousands of young women throughout America and the three determined and courageous women who make up the backbone of this illuminating film.
KNOTS : A FORCED MARRIAGE STORY will be released via The Laemmle both theatrically and on their digital platform on May 7th followed by a wider digital release June 4th.
For news, screenings and updates go to: knotsthefilm.com
Get involved, go to: unchainedatlast.org Laemmle Virtual/All Cities (including L.A, NYC) Laemmle L.A Physical
The DREAM HORSE tells the inspiring true story of Dream Alliance, an unlikely race horse bred by small town Welsh bartender, Jan Vokes (Academy Award® nominee Toni Collette). With very little money and no experience, Jan convinces her neighbors to chip in their meager earnings to help raise Dream Alliance in the hopes he can compete with the racing elites. The group's investment pays off as Dream rises through the ranks with grit and determination and goes on to race in the Welsh Grand National showing the heart of a true champion. Director Euros Lyn joins us for a conversation on the attraction that horses and horse racing’s has for filmmakers and film lovers, the superb cast of outstanding performances led by Toni Collette and Damian Lewis and the importance of establishing an upbeat and winning vibes that imbues every frame of DREAM HORSE.
For news and updates go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/dream-horse
Dream Horse opens in theaters on May 21
1998’s Academy Award Best Feature Documentary, THE LAST DAYS, filmed in five countries, traces the compelling experiences of five Hungarian Holocaust survivors who fell victim to Hitler’s brutal war against the Jews during the final days of WWII. Including newly discovered historical footage and a rare interview with a former Nazi doctor at Auschwitz, the film tells the remarkable story of five people – now a grandmother, a teacher, a businessman, an artist, and a United States Congressman – as they return from the United States to their hometowns and to the ghettos and concentration camps in which they were imprisoned. Through the eyes of the survivors and other witnesses, THE LAST DAYS recounts one of the most brutal chapters of this dark period in human history, when families were taken from their homes, stripped of their dignity, deported to concentration camps and ultimately murdered. Above all, THE LAST DAYS, is a potent depiction of personal strength and courage. Director James Moll joins us to talk about the film’s recent remastering and upcoming re-release, the enduring power of the five survivor’s stories and why the THE LAST DAYS continues to cast a very long and cautionary shadow over contemporary history.
For news, screenings and updates go to: thelastdays.com
Suzanne (Suzanne Lindon) is sixteen. She is bored with people her own age. From the outside, everything appears lovely in her charmed world, but the everyday monotony of school and her relationships with friends and family feels completely uninspired. Every day on her way to high school, she passes a theater. There, she meets a 35-year-old actor named Raphaël (Arnaud Valois, BPM (Beats Per Minute )). Despite their age difference they find in each other an answer to their ennui and develop a strong connection. Immersed in the world of grown-ups and adult choices, Suzanne begins questioning the pitfalls of blossoming too quickly and missing out on life – the life of a 16-year-old, which she had struggled so much to enjoy in the same way as her peers. SPRING BLOSSOM is a masterful and refreshing tale, filled with freewheeling musical numbers, of young teen’s sense of curiosity and wonderment at first-love. Director, writer and lead actor Suzanne Lindon joins us for a conversation on the personal story behind the story of SPRING BLOSSOM, the passion and confidence that propelled this project from diary to distribution and what was going through her mind on the first day the 19 year-old Suzanne step on to the set to direct her debut feature film.
For news, screenings and updates go to: kimstim.com/film/spring-blossom
The latest caper / drama / comedy from director Paul Tanter STEALING CHAPLIN was inspired by a surreal plot that took place over 40 years ago. Two Las Vegas based con men decided to dig up and steal the corpse of the legendary silent-era comedian Charlie Chaplin in order to ransom it. The bizarre plot grabs the attention of the nation and sets in motion an escalating reward offer by the family. Before long every local lowlife, criminal and dirty cop is looking to cash in on the easy money. STEALING CHAPLIN is driven forward by a slew of quirky but captivating performances that includes the film’s co-writers Simon Phillips (Age of the Living Dead, No Easy Days), Doug Phillips (Not All Who Wander, Butchers) and producer Ken Bressers (The Nights Before Christmas, Not All Who Wander). The prolific British director Paul Tanter (The Nights Before Christmas, Dystopia, and Kill Ratio) joins us to talk about the inspiration for the film, finding the right tone for a multi-genre story and the lightning fast pace he and his crew worked at to make STEALING CHAPLIN.
Ahead of North American VOD/Digital Platform & DVD on May 4
Emily @ the Edge of Chaos interweaves Emily Levine’s live performance with animation, appearances by scientists, and animated characters (John Lithgow as Sir Isaac Newton, Lily Tomlin as Ayn Rand, Leonard Nimoy as Sigmund Freud, Richard Lewis as Aristotle, Matt Groening as Aldo Leopold). Emily @ the Edge of Chaos uses physics, which explains how the universe works, to explain our metaphysics – the story of our values, our institutions, our interactions. Using her own experience and a custom blend of insight and humor, provocation and inspiration, personal story and social commentary, Emily takes her audience through its own paradigm shift: from the Fear of Change to the EDGE OF CHAOS! Emily Levine, like her film, was one-of-a-kind. She was a television writer and producer (Designing Women, Love & War and Dangerous Minds), a stand-up performer, and an out-of-the box-thinker, whose brilliant TED Talks have been watched by millions. She made this film with Wendy Apple, who produced and directed it. Wendy died in 2017 and Emily continued working on the film until she also passed away in 2019. Executive Producer Thea Kerman joins us to talk about how her friend and colleague, Emily Levine, poured her heart and should into making this film before cancer took her, and how the unexpected death of the director Wendy Apple played into Thea stepping in to guide the film to completion and distribution.
Opening Friday, May 7 nationwide in virtual cinemas through KINO MARQUEE
Featuring the voices of comic luminaries: Lily Tomlin as Ayn Rand John Lithgow as Sir Isaac Newton Leonard Nimoy as Sigmund Freud Richard Lewis as Aristotle Matt Groening as Benjamin Franklin...& more!
After a startling opening image of extreme tension, first-time solo director Robert Machoian’s stark, slow-burn drama never quite goes where you expect. An evocative and atmospheric transmission from wintry Utah, THE KILLING OF TWO LOVERS is a compact, economical portrait of a husband and father trying to keep it together while seething with rage during a trial separation from his wife. An interior drama set mostly outside, on the vast, lonely street where David (a knockout Clayne Crawford) stays with his ailing father just a few doors up from his wife Niki (Sepideh Moafi) and their four kids, Machoian’s film compassionately depicts a family in crisis, while moving at the ominous pace of a thriller. A complex, brooding soundscape from Peter Albrechtsen that seems to emanate directly from the head of its disturbed protagonist, and a claustrophobic aspect ratio contribute to the powerful emotional register of this impressive new work of American independent cinema. Director and writer Robert Machoian joins us for a conversation on the layered storylines, pulling together a superb cast and the importance of calibrating the appropriate atmospherics, such as sound and cinematography, to create a compelling film that punches way above it’s weight class.
For news and screenings go to: neonrated.com/films/the-killing-of-two-lovers
In Stephen Maxwell Johnson’s powerful new film, High Ground, a young indigenous man, Gutjuk, teams up with a World War I soldier / ex-sniper, Travis, to track down the dangerous Bayawara, a fierce warrior in the Territory, who is also his uncle. As Travis and Gutjuk journey through the outback they begin to earn each other’s trust, but when the truths of Travis’ past actions are suddenly revealed, it is he who becomes the hunted. High Ground was conceived as a story that would challenge accepted notions of the colonial settlement of Australia. High Ground is a powerful human drama, instilled with a strong sense of hope and fear, a story of treachery, heroism, sacrifice, freedom and love, misguided beliefs, an unequal struggle for power, and grief. But above all it is a story about the finding of one’s roots. Director Stephen Maxwell Johnson joins us for a conversation on the shameful treatment the indigenous peoples of Australia have suffered under, the denial of that history and why it was so important that High Ground reflect the human drama, instilled with a strong sense of hope and fear, but above all a story about the finding of one’s roots.
For news and updates go to samuelgoldwynfilms.com/high-ground
Watch now: tv.apple.com/us/movie/high-ground
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti and changed the course of millions of lives. International aid and aid workers descended on Haiti to help in any way they could. One of those people driven to help was American actor and filmmaker Sean Penn. CITIZEN PENN chronicles the moment Sean Penn and his team of volunteers landed in Haiti just days after the earthquake struck and the ten years since. For Penn, Haiti changed his life. He went there for what he thought was a two-week aid mission to drop off supplies, help doctors provide immediate medical care, and then get out … get back to his normal life. Instead, he stayed and created an organization called J/P HRO (now CORE) that took over management duties for the largest camp for displaced people in the entire country. This feature-length documentary delivers unparalleled access to one of America’s most polarizing figures. CITIZEN PENN offers viewers an intimate, honest, and self reflective look into the triumphs and challenges of a man who decided to do something. He got involved in a way few celebrity activists ever will. Director Don hardy joins us to talk about his first impressions of the devastation in Port-Au-Prince, the complicated relationship Haiti has with America and France and the dogged tenacity of Sean Penn to do the right thing.
Premiering on discovery+ on May 6th
For more on Don Hardy go to: ktffilms.com/citizen-penn
ICON - Director Tony Ahedo and Lead Actor Parker Padgett Young love's the topic of so many films, but rarely is it handled with earnest, authentic grace, as we see it in Tony Ahedo’s debut feature film ICON. This moving coming-of-age drama is anchored in the moving performances of Parker Padgett (Surviving Lunch) and Devon Hales (Teenage Bounty Hunters). When a surprise pregnancy forces Sam to facedown many brutal realities of adulthood and responsibility, things spiral rapidly out of control, as he simultaneously tries to fight to find his own truth: why his absent father hasn’t been in his life since one, fading memory and how can he reconcile his struggles with his mother (Julia Denton, The Fundamentals of Caring). ICON charts the perilous journey to adulthood for our charismatic leads Sam (Parker Padgett) and Ana (Devon Hales). Director and writer Tony Ahedo and lead actor Parker Padgett joins us to talk about the collaboration the two of them shared in crafting a complex and nuanced portrayal of young romantic love, dysfunctional family history and relationships and flawed people, young and old, striving to do the right things.
For news and updates go to: iconfeature.com
STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET takes audiences inside the minds and hearts of the “Sesame Street” creators, artists, writers, and educators who together established one of the most influential and enduring children’s programs in television history. Inspired by the activism of the late 1960s, socially conscious television executive Joan Ganz Cooney and Sesame Workshop co-founder Lloyd Morrisett conducted a revolutionary experiment: to harness the burgeoning power of television and create an educational, impactful, uplifting and entertaining show that could reach children nationwide, especially those living in urban areas. Cooney recruited trailblazing Muppets creator Jim Henson and acclaimed children’s television writer and director Jon Stone to craft the iconic and beloved world of “Sesame Street.” STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET reintroduces this visionary “gang” of mission-driven artists, writers, and educators that audaciously interpreted radical changes in society and created one of most impactful television programs in history. With more than 20 interviews with original writers, cast, and crew, and never-before-seen behind the scenes footage, STREET GANG is told from the inside with humor and emotion, weaving together personal narratives and eyewitness accounts. The film explores the original mission of the “gang” that created this cultural phenomenon, now spanning 50-plus years and reaching more than 150 countries. Director Marilyn Agrelo joins us to talk about the enduring legacy of SESAME STREET as well as the beautifully disruptive and groundbreaking approach to connecting with children and in doing so made them into collaborators and the beneficiaries of this illuminating enterprise.
News news and updates go to: screenmediafilms.net/Street Gang
Official Selection - 2021 Sundance Film Festival
Yung Chang’s intimate and harrowing latest film, WUHAN WUHAN, is an observational documentary unfolding during February and March, 2020 at the height of the pandemic in Wuhan city, where the coronavirus began. With unprecedented access at the peak of the pandemic lockdown, WUHAN WUHAN goes beyond the statistics and salacious headlines and puts a human experience into the early days of the mysterious virus as Chinese citizens and frontline healthcare workers grappled with an invisible, deadly killer. WUHAN WUHAN focuses on five heart-wrenching and endearing stories: a soft-hearted ER doctor and an unflappable ICU nurse from the COVID-19 hospital; a compassionate volunteer psychologist at a temporary hospital; a tenacious mother and son who are COVID-19 patients navigating the byzantine PRC healthcare system; and a volunteer driver for medical workers and his 9 month pregnant wife whose heartfelt story forms the backbone of this film. In a time when the world needs greater cross-cultural understanding, WUHAN WUHAN is an invaluable depiction of a metropolis joining together to overcome a crisis. Award-winning filmmaker Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze, This is Not a Movie) joins us for a conversation on the daunting challenges associated with a sprawling story with no end in sight and an unknowable trajectory.
For news and updates go to: wuhanwuhandoc.com
Watch: Wuhan Wuhan premieres at 2021 HotDocs Film Festival
Set in Los Angeles in 1998, PINK SKIES AHEAD follows Winona (Jessica Barden) who, after dropping out of college and moving back home to live with her parents, is diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Skeptical of her doctor’s opinion — she hasn’t had a panic attack after all —Winona carries on with her wild lifestyle. Only when things begin to truly unravel around her, does she reluctantly decide to see a therapist and face her truths. PINK SKIES AHEAD showcases mental health issues in a nuanced and authentic way and is a featured part of MTV’s newly-launched Mental Health is Health initiative. PINK SKIES AHEAD is Director Kelly Oxford’s feature-length directorial debut and is based on “No Real Danger,” an essay from her second book, “When You Find Out the World Is Against You.” PINK SKIES AHEAD stars Jessica Barden (End of the F***ing World, The New Romantic), Mary J. Blige (The Umbrella Academy), Devon Bostick (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River, Pollock), Michael McKean (Better Call Saul, This Is Spinal Tap), Lewis Pullman (Bad Times at the El Royale), Evan Ross Cameron (The United States vs. Billie Holiday), Odeya Rush (Goosebumps, Lady Bird), Rosa Salazar (Alita: Battle Angel) and Henry Winkler (Barry). Writer and Director Kelly Oxford joins us for a lively conversation on making the jump from novelist / essayist to filmmaker and the role that media and storytelling can play in addressing our nation’s persistent and growing mental health challenges.
PINK SKIES AHEAD, written and directed by New York Times best-selling author Kelly Oxford, will premiere, commercial-free broadcast on Saturday, May 8 at 9:00PM ET/PT on MTV with a simulcast on Pop TV.
In the late 1960s, in the aftermath of the Watts Uprising and against the backdrop of the continuing Civil Rights Movement and the escalating Vietnam War, a group of African and African-American students entered the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, as part of an Ethno-Communications initiative designed to be responsive to communities of color (also including Asian, Chicano and Native American communities). Now referred to as the "L.A. Rebellion," these mostly unheralded artists created a unique cinematic landscape, as—over the course of two decades—students arrived, mentored one another and passed the torch to the next group. Beyond the films themselves, what makes the L.A. Rebellion movement a discovery worthy of a place in film history is the vitality of its filmmakers, their utopian vision of a better society, their sensitivity to children and gender issues, their willingness to question any and all received wisdom, their identification with the liberation movements in the Third World, and their expression of Black pride and dignity. As part of the 2021 TCM (Turner Classic Movies) Film Festival is spotlighting two of the L.A. Rebellion's leading lights, Charles Burnett and Billy Woodberry in the festival's Special Collections section. Charles Burnett and Billy Woodberry join us for a conversation on their recollections the birth of the L.A. Rebellion and the inspiration for their life altering decision to become filmmakers.
Check out Special Collections at: filmfestival.tcm.com/on-hbomax
Produced and directed by filmmaker Bill Morrison, "let me come in" features a new song by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang performed by soprano Angel Blue, one of opera's brightest stars. The short film incorporates rediscovered (and heavily damaged) footage from the lost 1928 silent film Pawns of Passion to astonishing effect. Filmmaker Bill Morrison, director of the highly acclaimed films Decasia and Dawson City: Frozen Time, has long been fascinated with ancient, decayed nitrate film stock from long-forgotten films—what he describes as "goopy, sticky films deemed not worth saving." For "let me come in," he has resurrected footage from what may be the last surviving reels of the 1928 German silent romance Pawns of Passion, discovered in a Pennsylvania barn in 2012. After decades of expanding in hot summers and contracting in freezing winters, the deteriorated nitrate film stock now reveals, in Morrison's words, "imagery that seems to be pulled from a state of semi-consciousness, asleep but dreaming.” Morrison describes Lang's song as "a rumination on love and the borderline separating two souls, seemingly from the precipice of consciousness. When I heard Angel Blue’s incredible interpretation, my mind immediately recalled the ambiguous tension in this scene from Pawns of Passion. Left to rot in a barn, and then scanned and archived again for another eight years on my own personal hard drive, it has found a new life through David’s words and music, and Angel Blue’s voice. It was very exciting to see how quickly it came together and how perfectly the image, words and sound meshed.” Director Bill Morrison joins us for conversation on his inspired interpretation of hauntingly beautiful film fragments.
"let me come in" will receive its broadcast premiere as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival on May 7.
As America currently deals with a rash of anti-Asian sentiment, FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH is a deeply moving story that offers a poignant perspective on race relations, immigration and the deep roots of Chinese Americans in our national identity. The award-winning documentary follows Charles Chiu and his family (including his son, producer Baldwin Chiu, and daughter-in-law, director Larissa Lam) as they travel from California to Mississippi to find answers about Charles’ father, K.C. Lou. A retired Air Force reservist, Charles was left behind in China as a baby and is reluctant to discuss his family’s complicated past with his sons, Baldwin and Edwin. The family’s emotional journey to a place they’ve never seen leads to stunning revelations and a crash course on the surprising history of Chinese immigrants in the segregated South. Through encounters with local residents who remember K.C., as well as interviews with historians, Congresswoman Judy Chu and others, the family’s trip becomes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for discovery and healing. FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH is based off the award-winning short film, Finding Cleveland. The film presents a very personal and unique perspective on immigration, race and American identity. Director Larissa Lam and producer Baldwin Chiu join us for a conversation on how a family trip and personal film project evolved into a revelatory story and sweeping historical overview of the immigrant Chinese experience and deeply moving family saga.
For news and updates go to: Far East Deep South.com.
Jeffrey Wolf’s illuminating documentary BILL TRAYLOR: CHASING GHOSTS explores the life of a unique American artist, a man with a remarkable and unlikely biography. Bill Traylor was born into slavery in 1853 on a cotton plantation in rural Alabama. After the Civil War, Traylor continued to farm the land as a sharecropper until the late 1920s.Aging and alone, he moved to Montgomery and worked odd jobs in the thriving segregated black neighborhood. A decade later, in his late 80s, Traylor became homeless and started to draw and paint, both memories from plantation days and scenes of a radically changing urban culture. Having witnessed profound social and political change during a life spanning slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation, and the Great Migration, Traylor devised his own visual language to translate an oral culture into something original, powerful, and culturally rooted. He made well over a thousand drawings and paintings between 1939-1942. This colorful, strikingly modernist work eventually led him to be recognized as one of America’s greatest self-taught artists and the subject of a Smithsonian retrospective. Using historical and cultural context, BILL TRAYLOR: CHASING GHOSTS brings the spirit and mystery of Traylor’s incomparable art to life. Making dramatic and surprising use of tap dance and evocative period music, the film balances archival photographs and footage, insightful perspectives from his descendents, and Traylor’s striking drawings and paintings to reveal one of America’s most prominent artists to a wide audience. Director Jeffrey Wolf (James Castle: Portrait of an Artist) and Producer Sam Pollard (Eyes on the Prize, MLK/FBI) join us for a conversation on the remarkable life and the unsettling times that infused the strikingly direct and unfettered work of a deeply intuitive artist.
For news and updates go to: kinolorber.com/film/bill-traylor-chasing-ghosts
Watch Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts and other Kino Lorber films
For more news go to: billtraylorchasingghosts.com
Co-directors Casey Suchan and Tim Cawley provocative documentary MakeSHIFT explores the art and science behind the advertising industry's 20+ year evolution. We hear from many of the industries highest profile players, industry leaders, developers, designers and creative directors and founders at some of the most innovative agencies in the world, both small and large, digital and traditional. MakeSHIFT takes an inside look at how these makers and agencies have shifted and re-shifted their skillsets, creativity, and businesses, as new creative technologies emerged, declined, and were replaced by the next technology in an endless cycle of change. MakeSHIFT shines light on this beautifully frustrating pattern, and celebrates the makers that have embraced the shift and thrived. From the heyday of TV advertising, to the dawn of the Internet, to the rise of the digital experience, MakeSHIFT focuses on the industries adaptability in the face of a constantly changing digital landscape, daring to say "yes" before something is completely ready, and stretching ideas to new technological applications. Co-directors Casey Suchan (The Animal People) and Tim Cawley (Well-Founded Concerns) join us to talk about how unrelentingly competitive the world of advertising can be, the quantum leap that world has taken over the last 20 years and what the future holds for the art of persuasion.
For news and updates go to: makeshift.film
TINY TIM: KING FOR A DAY is a biographical documentary about a musician who is not only well known for hits such as TipToe Through The Tulips but for his trailblazing personae that paved the way for other rock stars such as David Bowie, Prince, Iggy Pop and Boy George. An outcast from a young age, Herbert Boudrous Khaury’s rise to stardom as Tiny Tim is the ultimate fairytale. Considered a freak by many of his peers, Tiny Tim left no one unaffected. His wedding to Miss Vicki on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson was watched by over 45 million Americans, and his queer personality has been celebrated by the likes of Bob Dylan and Lady Gaga. There were plans and hopes that Tiny Tim would be a lasting star, not only a novelty act but one man ruined these plans: Tiny Tim. The memorable archival footage, exclusive access to Tiny Tim’s intense diaries, the playful and powerful animations and the interviews with his family and friends makes this film not only a captivating portrait, but also a psychological drama, examining the borderline between insanity and geniality. TINY TIM: KING FOR A DAY includes archival footage from D.A. Pennebaker, Jonas Mekas, Andy Warhol and others. Director and Producer Johan von Sydow (Mare Kandre: I Am the Genius!, The Jussi Bjoerling Saga) joins us to talk about the rise and fall of an artist who was one of the most vulnerable, fearless and determined performers to ever stand in front of an audience. TINY TIM: KING FOR A DAY is a unique portrait of one of the oddest stars the world has ever seen.
For news, screenings and updates go to: tinytimfilm.com
Tiny Tim: King for Day will be in select theaters April 23
Emmy Award winning director Joe Gantz’s compassionate documentary The Race To Save The World is a climate change film like no other. Instead of focusing on paralyzing facts and numbers THE RACE TO SAVE THE WORLD inspiring takes a unique approach by following passionate activists, ages 15-72, who are in the trenches fighting for a livable future. These brave climate warriors put their lives on the line to push for change, regardless of the personal cost. THE RACE TO SAVE THE WORLD brings an urgent and intimate portrait of the protests, arrests, courtroom drama and family turmoil these activists endure as they single-mindedly focus their attention on the goal of creating a more sustainable world for future generations. Drawing on powerful footage and moving interviews, THE RACE TO SAVE THE WORLD is an inspiring call to action, urging each one of us to become climate warriors for a livable future. Director and producer Joe Gantz stops by to talk about the dedicated activist who are willing to push aside a comfortable life of in-action to become everyday heroes push to create a sustainable world, often risking their relationships, careers – and freedoms in the process.
For news and updates go to: theracetosavetheworld.com
Watch virtually or in-person, go to:theracetosavetheworld.com
To get in involved go to: theracetosavetheworld.com
To all people that are looking for a sustainable path forward Victor Valle’s documentary 8 BILLION ANGELS focuses on how and why humanity’s demand for resources vastly are outpacing nature’s ability to supply them. Food, water, climate and extinction emergencies are unfolding before our eyes. 8 BILLION ANGELS tells the truth about the conflict between the size of our global population and the sustainability of our planet. It dispels the misperceptions that technology can save us, that reducing consumption is the only answer, and that the blame lies solely in the developing world. 8 BILLION ANGELS enlists a wide array of experts that include; Jason Hall-Spencer, Dr, Saroj Pachauri, David Montgomery, Bill Stowe, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Stuart Pimm, William Ryerson, Zoe Weil and Brownie Wilson to lay out how the world can achieve a sustainable balance for ourselves and earth. Using breathtaking cinematography and startling emotion, the film takes the viewer on an immersive and emotional journey into the lives of farmers, fisherman and others as they witness an unfolding global crisis and inspires real solutions toward lasting sustainability and a better quality of life for all Earth's inhabitants. In 8 BILLION ANGELS Executive Producer and Executive Director of Earth Overshoot Terry Spahr joins us for a conversation on how and why facing the questions around the ever-expanding population of people is a vital and indispensable part of any plan to save humans from cataclysmic event.
For news and updates go to: 8billionangels.org
How to watch go to: 8billionangels.org/find-a-screening
Get active by going to: 8billionangels.org/take-action
Where his prior film, the acclaimed epic AQUARELA, was a reminder of the fragility of human tenure on earth, in GUNDA, master filmmaker Viktor Kossakovsky reminds us that we share our planet with billions of other animals. Through encounters with a mother sow (the eponymous Gunda), two ingenious cows, and a scene-stealing, one-legged chicken, Kossakovsky movingly recalibrates our moral universe, reminding us of the inherent value of life and the mystery of all animal consciousness, including our own. Experiential cinema in its purest form, GUNDA chronicles the unfiltered lives of a mother pig, a flock of chickens, and a herd of cows with masterful intimacy. Using stark, transcendent black and white cinematography and the farm's ambient soundtrack, Master director Victor Kossakowsky invites the audience to slow down and experience life as his subjects do, taking in their world with a magical patience and an other worldly perspective. GUNDA asks us to meditate on the mystery of animal consciousness, and reckon with the role humanity plays in it.
For news and updates go to: gunda.movie
For GUNDA theatrical release go to: neonrated.com/films/gunda
ÊXTASE explores the intersection of Clara’s personal and political life. She lives with her parents in the outskirts of São Paulo that is slowly being taken over by organized crime. As her mother becomes a congresswoman in Brasilia, her family moves to the Federal District. There as Clara feels her mother’s life is increasingly imperiled, she descends into a downward spiral of self-destruction in which suffering has a life force. In Clara’s life, the personal and political are intertwined. She lives with her parents in the outskirts of São Paulo that is slowly being taken over by organized crime. As her mother becomes a congresswoman in Brasilia, her family moves to the Federal District. There as Clara feels her mother’s life is increasingly imperiled, she descends into a downward spiral of self-destruction in which suffering has a life force. ÊXTASE is an immersive exploration of the agony and paradoxical pleasure of anorexia set against the backdrop of the chaotic political landscape of Brasil in the 1990s. Both a deeply personal journey as well as a collective story of young women and their attempts to control the brutal world around them, director Moara Passoni, co-writer and associate producer on the Oscar® nominated documentary THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY, puts fiction, delirium and reality in a conflicting symbiotic relation. Director Moara Passoni joins us for an illuminating conversation on her own personal journey and how that informed the telling of this multi-layered tale that beautifully blends narrative and documentary techniques in telling it.
For news and updates go to: extasefilme.com
Our Towns - Co-directors Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan From Academy Award nominated filmmakers Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan’s comes Our Towns. It is a moving and uplifting portrait of America and how the rise of civic and economic reinvention is transforming small cities and towns across the country. Based on the bestselling book “Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America” by journalists James and Deborah Fallows, the visually stunning feature documentary spotlights ingenious local initiatives and explores how a sense of community and common language of change can help people and towns find a different path to the future. In 2011, the Fallows created a blogpost for The Atlantic asking their readers to share compelling stories about their towns – from economic setbacks to local struggles or achievements – that have been overlooked by the national press. Within a week, they received over 1,000 responses. For the next five years, they traveled the United States exploring the changes taking place across small town America for what would become their bestselling book. In 2018, Ascher and Jordan joined them to revisit eight of those cities, including San Bernardino, CA; Sioux Falls, SD; Columbus, MS; Eastport, ME; Charleston, WV; and Bend, OR. Our Towns introduces us to a wide range of civic leaders, immigrants, educators, environmentalists, artists, students, and more, witnessing their love for their communities and the innovative ways they are improving them. The film provides an expansive perspective on America that finds unexpected connections between personal stories, community actions, and the arc of history. Although filmed before the pandemic, OUR TOWNS speaks to how the country, and by extension the world, can find a way forward.
For more on the April 13 HBO premiere go to: hbo.com/our-towns
For news and updates go to: westcityfilms.com/ourtowns
It’s the greatest literary mystery of all time; who wrote the works of Shakespeare Although the official story has held sway for centuries, questions over the authorship of the plays and poems have persisted. Mark Twain, Sigmund Freud, Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles are among the many famous figures who doubt that a grain-dealer from Stratford-upon-Avon was England’s “Star of Poets.” THE LAST WILL & TESTAMENT will transform the way you look at Shakespeare. Twin sisters & filmmakers Laura Wilson and Lisa Wilson’s intricate historical journey charts the fascinating documentary THE LAST WILL & TESTAMENT from executive producer Roland Emmerich (who’s brilliant “Anonymous” also explores Shakespeare’s identity) and featuring stage and screen icons Derek Jacobi (Gladiator, Gosford Park, Dead Again), Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies, The BFG, Dunkirk), and Vanessa Redgrave (Atonement, Howards End, Coriolanus). It’s the greatest literary mystery of all time who actually wrote the works of Shakespeare? Featuring a powerful score by Graeme Revell (The Saint, The Crow, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), the greatest mystery of an identity hidden by time and the constructs of society…The Bard himself. Co-directors Laura Wilson and Lisa Wilson join us for a conversation on their own obsessive dedication concerning the true authorship of Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, Taming of the Shrew, and many other fundamental works of Western civilization, as well as, how they were able to enlist the leading lights on this hotly contested topic.
For news and updates go to: strikebackstudios.com/last-will-testament
National Geographic’s epic, revealing and emotional Secrets of the Whales is what you get when immersed in the secretive world of whales and you see life and love from their perspectives. From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker and conservationist James Cameron, SECRETS OF THE WHALES plunges viewers deep within the epicenter of whale culture to experience the extraordinary communication skills and intricate social structures of five different whale species: orcas, humpbacks, belugas, narwhals and sperm whales. Featuring the expansive knowledge and skill of acclaimed National Geographic Explorer and Photographer Brian Skerry, the four-part Earth Day special-event series unveils new science and technology to spotlight whales as they make lifelong friendships, teach clan heritage and traditions to their young, and grieve deeply for the loss of loved ones. Filmed over three years in 24 global locations, throughout this epic journey, we learn that whales are far more complex and more like us than ever imagined. This is a personal story that very few are lucky enough to witness … until now. SECRETS OF THE WHALES is narrated by award-winning actress and conservationist Sigourney Weaver and scored by French composer Raphaelle Thibaut. Producer Brian Skerry joins us for a conversation on the challenges and rewards of this immersive and groundbreaking journey into the world of sentient beings living in the underwater world where they love and live, just like us.
For news and updates go to: nationalgeographic.com/secrets-of-the-whales
Watch: disneyplusoriginals.disney.com/secrets-of-the-whales
Tim Sutton’s menacing and hauntingly elegant film, FUNNY FACE, follows the stifling dread of a young Muslim woman, Zama (Dela Meskienyar), running away from her aunt and uncle’s house, desperate for a new life. She quickly finds that she must now navigate the peril of life on the street. A disturbed young man, Saul (Cosmo Jarvis) from Coney Island dons the menacing “Funny Face” mask, transforming himself into a makeshift superhero with a rage disorder as he seeks revenge on the Real Estate Developer, (Jonny Lee Miller) of a soulless high rise that has displaced his grandparents. Misfit avengers in a changing city, the two embark on a neighborhood odyssey that brings danger, love, and tragedy. And pickles. Director / Writer Tim Sutton (Memphis, Dark Knight, Donnybrook) joins us for a conversation on creating films that connect with viewers beyond traditional storytelling, filmmakers and films that inspire him, and how telling the story of Saul and Zama reflects his own anxiety about the hallowing out of his beloved New York City.
For news and updates go to: gravitasventures.com/funny-face
To be a moffie is to be weak, effeminate, illegal. The year is 1981 and South Africa’s white minority government is embroiled in a conflict on the southern Angolan border. Like all white boys over the age of 16, Nicholas Van der Swart (Kai Luke Brummer) must complete two years of compulsory military service. South African director Oliver Hermanus, fourth feature MOFFIE explores the life of a closeted young boy serving his mandatory military service during Apartheid in 1980s South Africa. MOFFIE is an adaptation of André-Carl van der Merwe’s iconic memoir, the film serves as a brilliant period piece exposing the psychological violence of institutionalized homophobia. Achingly raw depictions of the brutality of military training recall scenes from Kubrick’s FULL METAL JACKET while the beautifully acted love story provides a sharp contrast to the pervasive violence. Director and screenwriter Oliver Hermanus joins us for a conversation on how important it was to accurately capture to nexus of religion and the racist Apartheid regime and how the repressive culture it created made any relationship outside of it a treasonous act and how rewarding it was for him to be working with a gifted group of talented actors.
For news and updates go to: ifcfilms.com/films/moffie
IFC Films will release MOFFIE on Friday, April 9, 2021 in select theaters and on digital and VOD platforms.
As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist (Joel Fry) and park scout (Ellora Torchia) venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run. Through the night, their journey becomes a terrifying voyage through the heart of darkness, the forest coming to life around them as nature becomes a force of evil, Director, writer and editor Ben Wheatley (Down Terrace, Kill List, Fields of England) joins us for a conversation on his endlessly compelling pandemic folk tale that is begins with a walk in the woods that drops us into subversively horrifying landscape of screeching trees and bone-crushing vibrations. Golden Globe nominee composer Clint Mansell (The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream, Moon) provides a stunningly propulsive soundtrack to the film.
For news and updates go to: neonrated.com
OLYMPIA is a sublimely intimate fly-on-the-wall verité documentary that tells a poignant story of a woman finding her own voice on her own terms to assert a gigantic creative force into the world. Rebelling against her suspicious Greek mother to assert her strong sexual drive, fighting the feeling she was “too ethnic” in Boston, and starting her own theatre company in New Jersey instead of waiting for the phone to ring, Olympia Dukakis models how to live life with blazing courage. Throughout an engrossing story that seamlessly blends past and present, she opens her heart and exposes her truest self to Harry Mavromichalis' unobtrusive camera. The raw honesty with which Olympia leads us into the core of herself is what makes this film luminary. As fellow actors with whom she has shared the limelight Laura Linney, Diane Ladd, Whoopi Goldberg, and Armistead Maupin all testify, Olympia is “totally open and crazy”, which is what turns out to be the marker of her absolute sanity. OLYMPIA’s intimate portrait of a working class professional, a scholar actor of intuitive power, and a woman beloved around the world, culminates on the steps of the Dukakis’ humble ancestral home in Lesbos, Greece. Through her brutal honesty and sincerity, Olympia compels us to confront our own shortcomings and differences by letting go, and move forward with defiant conviction. Director Harry Mavromichalis takes a page from the Albert Maysles' school of fly-on-the-wall verité documentary storytelling leaving the viewer with an appreciation of an artist becoming her own woman, on her own terms, primed to share her creative insights with the world.
For news and updates go to: olympiathefilm.com
In this Oscar® nominated Best Documentary (Short ) we follow one of the last surviving members of the French Resistance, ninety-year-old Colette Marin-Catherine. As a young girl, she belonged to a family of Resistance fighters that included her 17-year-old brother Jean-Pierre. The last time Colette saw Jean-Pierre was in 1943, when he was arrested by the Gestapo and “disappeared” into the Nazi concentration camp system, never to be seen by his family again. The family was inwardly shattered, but outwardly stoic. No tears. Never permitted. For the past 74-years, Colette has never allowed herself to put one foot in Germany. But that’s all about to change when a young history student named Lucie enters her life. Lucie is researching the camp in Germany where Jean-Pierre died. Tracing the story of Jean-Pierre is, in fact, her special assignment. The film follows Colette as she travels with Lucie to what remains of the forced labor camp near Nordhausen, Germany. It’s a journey of discovery on many levels, but the film’s greatest revelation is Colette herself, who at 90, is finally ready to let go of what she has, for over seven decades, held so tightly inside. Lucie’s youth and genuine concern has pierced the armor. The ultimate discovery of the film is Colette’s to make. That some wounds can only be healed if we allow them to be re-opened. Director Anthony Giacchino and Producer Alice Doyard join us to talk about the incredible strength of Colette Marin-Catherine and why her clear-eyed admonishment that we never forget the monstrous brutality of Nazi Germany as well as the importance of vigilance and resistance.
For news and updates go to: colettedoc.com
Watch Colette at theguardian.com/world
Filmed over the course of three years, THE PLACE THAT MAKES US, is an intimate and inspiring portrait of Youngstown Ohio, a quintessential post-industrial American city, seen through the efforts of a new generation of residents who have chosen not to abandon their hometown, as so many have, but to stay, rebuild and make a life for themselves. Unlike their parents, haunted and traumatized by watching their way of life crumble around them, these young leaders and community activists grew up in the remains. Unbeholden to the memory of Youngstown’s heyday, they are able to envision a new future. Interweaving archival footage and home movies of a prosperous but forgone past, this film is a poetic testimony to the profound resilience and dedication it takes to change a community. THE PLACE THAT MAKES US, directed by Emmy-nominated producer, Karla Murthy, will be premiering on America Reframed WORLD Channel and PBS apps on March 30th. Director Karla Murthy joins us to talk about how she crafted a hopeful meditation on the meaning of the American dream today among the industrial ruins of America, and how a new generation is rebuilding their home while reconnecting with their roots. For news and updates go to: greenefortproductions.com
Host your own screening by contacting: screenings@collectiveeye.org
Sophia Nahli Allison’s A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA righteous rebuttal to the injustice surrounding the shooting death of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins at a South Central Los Angeles store that became a flashpoint for the city’s 1992 civil uprising. As the Black community expressed its profound pain in the streets, Latasha’s friends and family privately mourned the loss of a vibrant child whose full story was never in the headlines. Three decades later, A LOVE SONG FOR LATASHA removes Latasha from the context of her death and rebuilds an archive of a promising life lost. Oral history and memories from Latasha’s best friend and cousin converge in a dreamlike portrait that shows the impact one brief but brilliant life can have. Sophia Nahli Allison grew up in South Central Los Angeles and recalls experiencing the 1992 L.A. riots as a four year-old girl. Though Latasha's death was a catalyst for the riots, Sophia wanted to make a film about Latasha's life so she would be remembered beyond the trauma of a Black body, beyond a statistic, a newspaper headline, or an inaccurate Wikipedia page. Director, producer, cinematographer and editor Sophia Nahli Allison stops by to talk about how a Latasha’s legacy should not be judged in terms of longevity or her tragic end, but on the lasting impact that Latasha’s kindness, bravery and encouragement continues to have on people’s lives.
For news and updates go to: alovesongforlatasha.com
Available on netflix.com/Latasha
Jesse Noah Klein’s powerful second feature, LIKE A HOUSE ON FIRE, follows Dara (Sarah Sutherland) as she returns home to reconnect with her husband Danny (Jared Abrahamson) and her young daughter, whom she left two years earlier. When she arrives, she discovers that Therese, (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) who is seven months pregnant has taken her place. Compounding Dara’s anxiety, Isabel, (Margaux Vaillancourt) her daughter no longer recognizes her. LIKE A HOUSE ON FIRE tells the story of a woman's struggle to regain the life she left behind. Director and writer Jesse Noah Klein joins us to talk about how he used his film to take nuanced look at motherhood, trauma, mental health, marriage, identity and what it means to be a family. Under his direction a superb cast, led by Jared Abrahamson (Finding a Family) and a breakout performance by Sarah Sutherland (VEEP, Chronic) LIKE A HOUSE ON FIRE is a compelling tale of struggle and hope.
For over a decade, ShortsTV has proudly brought the Oscar© Nominated Short Films to audiences across the globe. This exclusive release features the year’s most spectacular short films and for a limited time is available to watch on the big screen. Each nominee is released in one of three distinct feature-length compilations according to their category of nomination: Live Action, Animation or Documentary. The films go into theaters around the world shortly after nominations are announced and are not released anywhere else until a few days before the Oscars©, when they are also made available via on demand platforms, including iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play and Vimeo on Demand. The release ensures the greatest number of viewers can see all the nominees before the ceremony, while providing short filmmakers with an unprecedented opportunity to commercialize their movies. Carter Pilcher founded Shorts International in 2000. Coming from a background in both investment banking and law, Carter has made Shorts International the world’s leading short movie Entertainment Company, functioning as distributor, broadcaster and producer. Carter has extensive experience in short movie production and short movie entertainment. He is a voting member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and a member of the Short Film and Feature Animation Branch of The US Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) – the guys who pick the Oscars. For the last five years Carter Pilcher has been the highlight of Oscar season here on Film School. His insight, commitment and love of the short film format and the dedicated people who create them insures a lively and informative conversation on some of the best films you will see all year.
For news and updates go to: shorts.tv/theoscarshorts
Shortlisted for the 2021 Oscar® in the Best Documentary Film - Short Form, THE SPEED CUBERS drops us into the frenetic world of Speed Cubing. Cubing is the competitive sport of solving a Rubik's Cube in mere seconds that has grown into a worldwide phenomenon in recent years. For nearly a decade in the sport, Feliks Zemdegs from Australia, has reigned unchallenged as the king of cubers, the greatest of all time. That is, until now. The cubing world was stunned when an unknown challenger named Max Park from California took home the Gold medal in 2017 and emerged onto the global stage. Since then, Max's rise to the top has been swift and steady, save for one obstacle in his way: Feliks. The two have been trading wins and world records steadily, neither one able to truly dominate while the other still competes. But rather than developing into a bitter rivalry, Feliks and Max have instead grown their competitive relationship into a tender yet complicated friendship. THE SPEED CUBERS finds Max and Feliks on the threshold of another World Championship, both driven to win but both rooting for each other's success. Director Sue Kim stops by to talk about her high-energy, and warm-hearted look into the feverishly competitive but refreshingly idyllic world of Speed Cubers.
For news and updates go to: netflix.com/thespeedcubers
In the unnerving and creeping panic that is LUCKY, life takes a sudden turn for May, a popular self-help book author, when she finds herself the target of a mysterious man with murderous intentions. Every night, without fail he comes after her, and every day the people around her barely seem to notice. With no one to turn to, May is pushed to her limits and must take matters into her own hands to survive and to regain control of her life. The sophomore feature from Iranian-American filmmaker Natasha Kermani (Imitation Girl), Lucky is written and starring Brea Grant, star of the indie darling AFTER MIDNIGHT and writer/director of the critically acclaimed dark comedy 12 HOUR SHHIFT Home invasion horror by way of a time loop mystery, LUCKY is a uniquely nightmarish, darkly funny, and timely slasher, and a thrilling addition to the Final Girl genre. Brea Grant stars alongside Dhruv Uday Singh (Good Trouble) and Kausar Mohammed (East of La Brea, What Men Want). Director Natasha Kermani and screenwriter / lead actor Brea Grant join us to talk about how they brought life to their feminist allegory on how relentless cultural and psychological duress undermines women and why injecting their perspective into a horror genre helps them deliver the appropriate mix of fear and reflection.
For news, updates and screenings go to: epic-pictures.com/lucky
DEADLY ILLUSIONS is a psychological thriller about a bestselling female novelist Mary Morrison (Kristin Davis), suffering from writer's block, hires an innocent yet beautiful caregiver Grace (Greer Grammer) to watch over her children as she dangerously indulges into the fantasies of her new best seller. Everything changes when Mary becomes spellbound by Grace who soon becomes her muse. As their relationship blossoms, the line between the life she's writing and the one she's living becomes blurred. Director and writer Anna Elizabeth James (Emma’s Chance, Destined to Ride) joins us to talk about the themes running through her latest film of female sexuality and sexual fluidity, identity and the personal satisfaction of working with a top notch cast of actors.
For news and updates go to: kissandtaleproductions.com
DEADLY ILLUSIONS was written and directed by Anna Elizabeth James (Emma’s Chance) and stars Kristin Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Greer Grammer, and Shanola Hampton. Netflix will release the film on March 18.
GROOMED is the devastatingly powerful story of filmmaker Gwen van de Pas as she returns to her hometown in search of answers about the man who sexually abused her as a child. To understand her ongoing traumas, Gwen travels to meet survivors, psychologists, and even a convicted sex offender. Produced by Gwen van de Pas, Bill Guttentag, and Dylan Nelson, GROOMED addresses a common yet little understood manipulation type called ‘grooming’, how to recognize it, and how to stop it. What begins as an exploration into grooming becomes a dramatic journey where Gwen faces unexpected revelations in her case, finally finds her anger, and boldly confronts the evil we’d rather ignore. Filmmaker and subject of Groomed, Gwen van de Pas joins us for a conversation on the setbacks and the triumphs she has experienced during the many years she has lived with the trauma of sexual abuse and why it was so important for her to make this film.
For news and updates go to: groomedthemovie.com
Groomed is available now on Discovery Plus at discoveryplus.com
Martin Edralin’s feature debut film, Islands centers on the life of Joshua (Rogelio Balagtas), a timid, middle-aged Filipino immigrant, who works as a janitor at a local school, has lived in the comfort of his parents’ home his entire life. One day he pleads with God to find him a wife for fear of being alone forever. When his mother (Vangie Alcasid) suddenly passes, Joshua quits his job to take on full-time care of his ailing and depressed father (Esteban Comilang). Inexperienced at taking care of anyone, including himself, Joshua struggles with his father’s care. Help arrives when a cousin, Marisol, (Sheila Lotuaco) visiting from abroad. Marisol’s warmth and nurturing breathes new life into the home and stirs confused emotions in him. ISLANDS director, producer and screenwriter Martin Edralin (Calvin, Emma, joins us for a conversation on his desire to explore the Filipino diaspora experience in his award-winning, and offbeat story of filial duty and adult puppy love.
ISLANDS - 2021 South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) - World Premiere
2021 SXSW Special Jury Recognition for Breakthrough Performance - Rogelio Balagtas
An exciting and innovative new voice boldly and loudly announces their arrival, with director Nicholas Woods thrilling sophomore feature ECHOES OF VIOLENCE, World Premiere at the 2021 CINEQUEST Film Festival) the story of an immigrant who travels from Sedona to Los Angeles to seek revenge against the immigration lawyer who ruined her life. Starring Michaella Russell (Netflix's Agent), Chase Cargill (Long Story Short), Heston Horwin (Rock Steady Row), Sam Anderson (ABC's Lost, FX's Justified) and Frank Oz (Star Wars, Knives Out). Director, producer and writer Nicholas Woods (The Axiom, The Good Fight) joins us to talk about his double-cross, film noir thriller, the very talented ensemble cast and how the risky creative choices he made in the heat of the Arizona desert paid off.
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instagram.com/echoesofviolence
In I BLAME SOCIETY Gillian (Gillian Wallace Horvat) is one of those many struggling filmmakers in L.A. who just can't seem to get the money for their first feature. Feeling like her friends and her partner (Keith Poulson) are losing faith in her abilities, she decides to resurrect her abandoned documentary based on a pseudo-compliment she once received that she would make a good murderer. But while she documents what makes "the perfect murder" a hitherto unseen dark side of Gillian emerges and grows. Furthermore the problem with being a successful serial killer, she discovers, is keeping the whole thing stealth, denying her the recognition that she craves... and that unhinges her even more. After accidentally-ish killing her best friend (Chase Williamson), Gillian goes on a killing spree culminating with a final bloody act that nobody would dare deny her credit for. I BLAME SOCIETY is razor-sharp satire of the pitfalls of post-#MeToo culture in Los Angeles. Director, writer and lead actor Gillian Wallace Horvat (Kiss Kiss Fingerbang) joins us to talk about her gleefully disturbing feature film debut that delves into the psyche of a young woman trying to believe in her dreams and herself... and facing the darkness that lurks inside in this macabre Cinderella story.
For news and updates go to: crankedupfilms.com/IBlameSociety
The new short subject documentary A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION tells the story of virtuoso jazz pianist and film composer Kris Bowers as he tracks his family’s lineage through his 91-year-old grandfather from Jim Crow Florida to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. In the 13-minute film A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION, Bowers traces the process of breaking into new spaces through generations of sacrifice that came before him, focusing on the story of his grandfather Horace Bowers. As a young man, he left his home in the Jim Crow South, eventually ending up in Los Angeles. Encountering discrimination at every turn, he and his wife, Alice, nevertheless made a life as business owners. Today, their legacy lives on through their family and community in South Los Angeles, where a stretch of Central Avenue was recently designated Bowers Retail Square — in case any question remained about whether it’s a place they belong. Horace Bowers tells his grandson Kris Bowers, “Never think that you’re not supposed to be there.” A CONCERTO IS A CONVERSATION, co-directors Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers join us for a conversation on their deeply personal film, primer on race in Southern California and the power of music and family to help us all see the world beyond ourselves.
For news and updates go to: breakwaterstudios.com/a-concerto-is-a-conversation
Click here to watch: A Concerto is a Conversation
A Concerto is a Conversation has been shortlisted for the 2021 Oscar® in the Best Documentary - Short Form
From 1968 to 1973, the public television variety show SOUL!, guided by the enigmatic producer and host Ellis Haizlip, offered an unfiltered, uncompromising celebration of Black literature, poetry, music, and politics—voices that had few other options for national exposure, and, as a result, found the program an improbable place to call home. The WNET-based series was among the first to provide expanded images of African Americans on television, shifting the gaze from inner-city poverty and violence to the vibrancy of the Black Arts Movement. With participants’ recollections and illuminating archival clips, Mr. SOUL! captures a critical moment in culture whose impact continues to resonate, and an unsung hero whose voice we need now more than ever to restore the SOUL of a nation. Director / Producer / Writer and the niece of Ellis Haizlip, Melissa Haizlip joins us for a lively conversation on the joy and passion that her uncle brought to all of his artistic projects but none more than this resounding response to a constipated white culture that marginalized outside voices with a joyous ode to the astounding depth and breath of Black Culture.
For news, updates and screenings go to: mrsoulmovie.com
Watch mrsoulmovie.com/screenings
Mr. Soul!’s Show Me Your Soul - 2021 Oscar® Shortlisted for the Best Song
Inspired by true experiences of grief, girlhood, and growing up, Jessie Barr’s directorial debut SOPHIE JONES provides a stirring portrait of a tumult and uncertainty in the life of a sixteen year old. Stunned by the untimely death of her mother and struggling with the myriad challenges of teendom, Sophie (played with striking immediacy by the director’s cousin Jessica Barr) tries everything she can to feel something again, while holding herself together, in this sensitive, acutely realized, and utterly relatable coming-of-age story. The genesis of SOPHIE JONES came from director’s collaboration with her co-writing cousins Jessica Barr. Exploring the grief and loss associated with losing a parent––in this case, Sophie’s mother. SOPHIE JONES director, co writer and co-producer Jessie Barr joins us for a conversation on directing her first feature with her Jessica in the title role, and how she went about drawing out of her cousin and the remarkable supporting cast the universal elements of a very personal saga, as well as working with renowned filmmaker Nicole Holofcener.
For news and updates go to: sophiejonesmovie.com
To watch go to: sophiejones/play in virtual cinema
Watch on steaming platforms at: sophiejonesmovie.com/screenings
JUMBO is the coming-of-age story of Jeanne, a shy young woman, lives at home with her uninhibited bartender mother and works the graveyard shift as a cleaner at an amusement park. Her mother wants her to meet a man, but Jeanne prefers tinkering in her bedroom with wires, light bulbs, and spare parts, creating miniature versions of theme park rides. During her late-night shifts she begins spending intimate time with the alluring new Tilt-A-Whirl ride that she decides to call JUMBO. Finding herself seduced by “his” red lights, smooth chrome, and oily hydraulics, Jeanne concludes that the thrilling new relationship she wants to pursue is with JUMBO. Director and writer Zoé Wittock (A demi-mot, Le Silence de l’Aube) joins us for a conversation on the challenging logistics of filming at amusement park, crafting a nuanced look at sexuality and social norms and the personal journey of the filmmaker in selecting the amazing Noemie Merlant for the role of Jeanne.
For news and updates go to: zoewittock.com
THE LOST SONS follows Paul Fronczak, a man who discovered headlines his parents made for grieving their kidnapped child, then celebrating two years later when he was found, he begins to investigate.Fronczak begins a decades long investigation to find out what happened. At the age of 10, while searching for Christmas presents, Paul Fronczak unearthed a hoard of newspaper clippings about his parents: images of them grieving for a kidnapped baby and then celebrating two years later over a toddler found abandoned and returned to them. Is Paul that kidnapped baby? If so, where was he for two years? The investigation launched a deeper look into a life shrouded in mystery. Decades later, as questions continue to mount, Paul embarks on a journey for answers, plunging him into the dark depths of the secrets that families keep. The story of THE LOST SONS is told through a blend of re-enactments, the testimony of close family and first-hand witnesses, news footage, and family archive. Director Ursula Macfarlane (Untouchable, One Deadly Weekend in America, Tsunami: Survivor Stories) ) joins us for a conversation on how she came to this astonishing story, getting to know Paul Fronczak, finding the right balance in telling a story with so many and complicated elements.
South by Southwest: online.sxsw.com/event/sxsw-online/The Lost Sons
Aengus James’ Award-winning documentary AFTER THE MURDER OF ALBERT LIMA tells the story of a son obsessed with capturing his father’s killer. Paul Lima has spent over a decade seeking justice for his slain father, Albert. Though convicted, Albert’s murderer has remained free in Honduras. After years of the legal system failing him, Paul takes the unorthodox step of hiring two bounty hunters to travel with him to Honduras to track down and capture his father’s killer. This riveting, and, at times, darkly comedic documentary explores both the importance of family and the dangers of taking the law into your own hands. Director Aengus James (I am Jazz, Scandalous) joins us to talk about the tragedy that has been visited upon the Lima family, the heart-stopping actions that Paul and James’ crew took in the bring this story to life and the collapse of any semblance of civil society in Honduras.
For news, and updates go to: after-the-murder-of-albert-lima
To watch go to: crackle.com/watch
Filmed over the summer festival season, UNDERPLAYED presents a portrait of the current status of the gender, ethnic, and sexual equality issues through the lens of the female pioneers, next-generation artists, and industry leaders who are championing the change, and inspiring a more diverse pool of role models for future generations. The impetus for the UNDERPLAYED came to light during the 2018 Bud Light House Party Tour, when Bud Light Canada sat down with artists from diverse backgrounds and genres to learn about the evolution of their careers, and their unique experiences in recording, touring, and performing. Key conversations with female DJs exposed a striking gender inequality in the space, and further research substantiated their experiences. Electronic music was born from the ideals of diversity, community, and inclusivity; yet in 2019 only 7% of Billboard’s Top 100 DJs were women. They make up less than 3% of production and technical roles in the music industry. For women of color, it's less than 0.3%.An official selection of both the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, UNDERPLAYED features NERVO, Rezz, TOKiMONSTA, Alison Wonderland, and Tygapaw. Director Stacey Lee stops by to talk about just how grotesquely under represented women are in a music genre that has made truckloads of music from a female fan base that is ready and willing to support a rise wave of women taking their place behind soundboards and laptops all around the world. For news, updates and screenings go to: underplayedthefilm.com
Director Maya Zinshtein and Producer Abraham (Abie) Troen’s well-balanced, insightful documentary ’TIL KINGDOM COME focuses on the millions of American Evangelicals who are praying for the State of Israel. Among them are the Binghams, a dynasty of Kentucky pastors, and their Evangelical congregants in an impoverished coal mining town. They donate sacrificially to Israel’s foremost philanthropic organization, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, because they fervently believe the Jews are crucial to Jesus’s return. ’TIL KINGDOM COME traces this unusual relationship, from rural Kentucky to the halls of government in Washington, through the moving of the American Embassy in Jerusalem and to the annexation plan of the West-Bank. With unparalleled access, the film exposes a stunning backstory of the Trump and Netanyahu administrations, where financial, political and messianic motivations intersect with the apocalyptic worldview that is insistently reshaping American foreign policy toward Israel and the Middle-East. Director Maya Zinshtein and Producer Abie Troen join us for a lively conversation on how their clear-eyed film takes us right into the heart of some of the world’s most powerful political forces and how this confluence of interests are apparently hellbent to realize a worldview where the world ends in fiery judgement for non-believers and true believers.
For news, updates and screenings go to: tilkingdomcomefilm.com
Take a trip and break out of your shell with Barb and Star. From the gals who brought you Bridesmaids (co-stars and co-writers Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo) comes BARB & STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR. Lifelong friends Barb and Star embark on the adventure of a lifetime when they decide to leave their small Midwestern town for the first time…ever. Romance, friendship and a villain’s evil plot…Hold onto your culottes, BARB & STAR is streaming now! Director Josh Greenbaum (Too Funny to Fail, Behind the Mask, Becoming Bond) joins us for a lively conversation on he became part of the Trish-a-licious inspired Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumulo’s project, and finding just the right amount of kitsch, color and culottes to make the funniest magical turtle comedy in the history of cinema.
For news, updates and screening go to: barbandstar.movie
STRAY explores what it means to live as a being without status or security, following three strays as they embark on inconspicuous journeys through Turkish society. Zeytin, fiercely independent, embarks on adventures through the city at night; Nazar, nurturing and protective, easily befriends the humans around her; while Kartal, a shy puppy living on the outskirts of a construction site, finds companions in the security guards who care for her. The strays’ disparate lives intersect when they each form intimate bonds with a group of young Syrians with whom they share the streets. Director Elizabeth Lo joins us to talk about her remarkable debut documentary film, meeting Zeytin and Nazar and how she navigated the streets and the people of Istanbul to present an illuminating observation of human civilization through the unfamiliar gaze of dogs and a sensory voyage into new ways of seeing.
For news and updates go to: straymovie.com
Watch at: straymovie.com/tickets
2021 Spirit Award nomination for the Truer Than Fiction Award
As the latest film from filmmakers Alan Adelson and Kate Taverna lays bares the dioxin-based defoliant, insecticide, Agent Orange catastrophe did not end with the Vietnam War. Today, the world over, a primary chemical of the toxic defoliant controls weeds in farming, forestry, parks, even on children’s playgrounds. Agent Orange wreaks havoc on the human genome, causing deformed births and deadly cancers. After decades of struggle and tragic personal losses, two heroic women are leading a worldwide movement to end the plague and hold the manufacturers accountable. In France, Tran To Nga is suing the American chemical industry for poisoning her in Vietnam. In America, Carol Van Strum exposes the continuing use of toxic herbicides in the Pacific Northwest. Incriminating documents disappear. Activists are threatened. A helicopter technician secretly films the contamination of reservoirs, while a massive industrial cover-up goes on. The People vs. Agent Orange co-directors Alan Adelson and Kate Taverna join us for a conversation on the journey of two women, joined together in their mutual pain, resist intimidation and threats, bringing to light the ongoing, intergenerational catastrophe of chemical warfare and toxic herbicides in the hope of bringing the manufacturers and business related perpetrators to justice.
For news and updates go to: javafilms.film/the-people-vs-agent-orange
Ripped from the pages of Guatemala’s recent wrenching history, LA LLORONA follows the story of a fictional and indignant retired general, Enrique, as he is being forced to face his murderous past at his own trial for the genocidal massacre of thousands of Mayans decades ago. As a horde of angry protestors threatens to invade their opulent home, the women of the house - his haute wife, conflicted daughter, and precocious granddaughter - weigh their responsibility to shield the erratic, senile Enrique against the devastating truths behind being publicly revealed and the increasing sense that a wrathful supernatural force is targeting them for his crimes. Meanwhile, much of the family’s domestic staff flees, leaving only loyal housekeeper Valeriana until a mysterious young indiginous maid arrives. A tale of horror and magical realism, the film reimagines the iconic Latin American fable as an urgent metaphor of Guatemala’s recent history and tears open the country’s unhealed political wounds to grieve a seldom discussed crime against humanity. LA LLORONA marks Jayro Bustamante’s third feature and demonstrates his continued efforts to highlight social inequality in his native Guatemala with deft sensitivity and visual richness. The Silver Bear-winning director, writer, producer and editor, Jayro Bustamante (Temblores, Ixcanul) joins us to talk about his tale of horror and fantasy, ripe with suspense, and an urgent metaphor of Guatemalan recent history and its unhealed political wounds
For news and updates go to: filmfactoryentertainment.com/la-llorona
In Peter Galison’s thoroughly entertaining and informative new documentary, Black Hole: The Edge of We Know poses and answers an intriguing question, What can black holes teach us about the boundaries of knowledge? These holes in spacetime are the darkest objects and the brightest—the simplest and the most complex. With unprecedented access, Black Hole: The Edge of All We Know follows two powerhouse collaborations. Stephen Hawking anchors one, striving to show that black holes do not annihilate the past. Another group, working in the world’s highest-altitude observatories, creates an earth-sized telescope to capture the first-ever image of a black hole. Interwoven with other dimensions of exploring black holes, these stories bring us to the pinnacle of humanity’s quest to understand the universe. Director Peter Galison (Secrecy) joins us to talk about the world-wide effort of scientists, mathematicians, engineers, students, teachers and physicists to reach new heights of understanding our universe and the opportunity to showcase the more personal and life-affirming side of the late physicist and deep-thinker Stephen Hawking.
For news, updates and screenings go to blackholefilm.com
In Aaron Matthews’ clear-eyed look into the life and times of a writer that has been called “the best American writer of his generation,” and our "poet laureate of war” Tim O’Brien. A Vietnam veteran, and National Book Award-winner, O’Brien is one of the great voices in modern American literature. The Library of Congress recently named his groundbreaking novel about the Vietnam War, “The Things They Carried,” one of the 65 most influential books in American history. It’s practically a cliché in the military – the book everyone carries is “The Things They Carried.” But O’Brien hasn’t put pen to paper in nearly two decades. He swore off making sentences when, at a late age, he had his first of two children. Plus, the nation was waging new wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that he couldn’t wrap his head around – wars that both reconfirmed and upended the notions of war, soldiers, and society that animated his books. Now, Tim O’Brien is trying to write again. He thinks the country is past due for a conversation about war’s impact. He thinks we’re running out of time. And, at age 70, that he is too. THE WAR AND PEACE OF TIM O”BRIEN follows O’Brien on his journey writing his next and last book. What makes wars worth fighting? How do we write about war? What are the obligations of citizens with respect to war? What are the after-effects of war on individuals and families? Director Aaron Matthews (Token Exchange, The Paper), brings us inside the lives of the O’Brien family with his intimate film about the struggles of a world-renowned war writer illuminates the everyday ties between duty, art, family, and the trauma of war.
For news, updates and screenings go to: timobrienfilm.com
Deep in the forests of Piedmont, Italy, a handful of men, seventy or eighty years young, hunt for the rare and expensive white Alba truffle—which to date has resisted all of modern science's efforts at cultivation. They're guided by a secret culture and training passed down through generations, as well as by the noses of their cherished and expertly-trained dogs. Co-directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw (The Last Race) seamlessly navigates viewers through an enigmatic world where the denizens live a simpler, slower way of life, in harmony with their loyal animals and their picture-perfect land, seemingly straight out of a fairy tale. They're untethered to cell phone screens or the Internet, opting instead to make their food and drink by hand and prioritizing in-person connections and community. The demand for white truffles increases year after year, even as the supply decreases. As a result of climate change, deforestation, and the lack of young people taking up the mantle, the truffle hunters' secrets are more coveted than ever. However, as it soon becomes clear, these aging men may just hold something much more valuable than even this prized delicacy: the secret to a rich and meaningful life. Co-directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw (The Last Race) join us to talk about their immersion into a very closed, arcane multi-tiered society that dates back hundreds of years and the impact that modernity and climate disruption is having on this enchanting corner of the world.
For news, updates and screenings go to: sonyclassics.com/thetrufflehunters
In the 2021 OSCAR® Shortlisted for Best International Feature Film, NIGHT OF THE KINGS a young man is sent to LA MACA, a prison in the middle of the Ivorian forest ruled by its inmates. As tradition goes with the rising of the red moon, he is designated by the Boss to be the new “Roman” and must tell a story to the other prisoners. Learning what fate awaits him, he begins to narrate the mystical life of the legendary outlaw named Zama King and has no choice but to make his story last until dawn. Director Philippe Lacôte (Chronicles of War in the Ivory Coast, Run) joins us to talk about his searingly dramatic film that feels like part documentary, part narrative as it tracks a story of survival, deception, mythology and the power of storytelling.
For news and updates go to: neonrated.com/films/night-of-the-kings
A character-driven, cinematic tale of deportation, migration, displacement and opportunistic capitalism, CALL CENTER BLUES follows four characters as they struggle to make sense of their lives in Tijuana. Each with a vastly different story, they are all linked by their displacement and the sole choice of call center work they have in a country that is so unfamiliar and oftentimes frightening, yet other times a ray of hope. Tijuana becomes their home, a place defined by the border but yet defiant towards it, a no man's land where everything and everyone feels transient. These characters paint a picture of love, loss and longing - for home, for an American Dream deferred, and for justice. Director Geeta Gandbhir joins us conversation on an aspect of immigration and deportation that is as relevant and heartbreaking as any immigration issue and the importance that an Oscar nomination brings to the issue and the film.
For news annd updates go to: multitudefilms.com/call-center-blues
Shortlisted for 2021 Oscar nomination for Best Documentary (Short Form)
Filmed across an entire year, DO NOT SPLIT takes us within the heart of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, capturing the determination and sacrifices of the city’s youth as their movement becomes symbolic for a generation’s rebellion against the political systems of two governments. Armed with umbrellas, gas masks, social media, and sheer determination, the protestors risk their lives, safety, and futures against the police’s tear gas, armed vehicles, and violence. Anders Hammer’s powerful film paints a nuanced and sobering picture of the challenges faced by the protestors, joining student leaders and protestors on the ground to give an expansive and first-hand portrait of the unrest that prompted a government’s backlash, the passage of the new Beijing-backed national security law, and captured the attention of the world. Director Anders Hammer joins us to talk about …
For news, screenings and updates go to andershammer.com
Filmed from inside two of the most active therapeutic feeding centers in Yemen, HUNGER WARD documents two female health care workers fighting to thwart the spread of starvation against the backdrop of a forgotten war. HUNGER WARD provides an unflinching portrait of Dr. Aida Al Sadeeq and Nurse Mekkia Mahdi as they try to save the lives of hunger-stricken children within a population on the brink of famine. HUNGER WARD is the third installment of Director Skye Fitzgerald’s Humanitarian Trilogy, focused on the global refugee crisis. The first film, 50 FEET FROM SYRIA focused on doctors working on the Syrian border and was Oscar® shortlisted. The second, LIFEBOAT documents search and rescue operations off the coast of Libya and was nominated for an Academy Award® and national Emmy®. Director Skye Fitzgerald (Lifeboat, 50 Feet from Syria, Finding Face) joins us for a conversation on the making of his 2021 Oscar® Shortlisted Hunger Ward documentary, how little American mass media has talked about the ongoing genocidal war against a defenseless civilian population - done with diplomatic, political backing by the Trump Administration, as well as, intelligence and logistical support from the US military - and what we can do to stop it.
For news and updates go to: hungerward.org
At the Philadelphia abortion helpline, counselors arrive each morning to the nonstop ring of calls from women and teens who are seeking to end a pregnancy but can’t afford to. In this short documentary we learn how economic stigma and cruel legislation determines who in America has access to abortion. Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa gives voice to women and teens affected by discriminatory policies like the Hyde Amendment. At the abortion helpline in Philadelphia, phone counselors—all called Lisa—arrive each morning to the nonstop ring of calls from people who are seeking to end a pregnancy . . . and can’t afford to. Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa shares the stories of the callers for whom getting through to the helpline in time can literally be life-changing—for them and their families. Co-directors Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater, and Mike Attie join us for a conversation on the continuing assault on the Constitutionally guaranteed right of women to seek and receive access to safe and legally appropriate health services and how important these privately funded community helplines are to women and their families.
For news and updates go to: abortionhelplinedoc.com
For news and updates go to: abortionhelplinedoc.com
To watch the film go to: vimeo.com/staffpicks
Oscar Shortlisted 2021 Best Documentary (Short Program)
THE VIGIL, the debut feature film debut of writer and director Keith Thomas is the accomplished and chilling tale steeped in ancient Jewish lore and demonology. THE VIGIL is supernatural horror film set over the course of a single evening in Brooklyn's Hasidic Borough Park neighborhood. Low on funds and having recently left his insular religious community, Yakov (Dave Davis) reluctantly accepts an offer from his former rabbi and confidante (Menashe Lustig) to take on the responsibility of an overnight "shomer," fulfilling the Jewish practice of watching over the body of a deceased community member. Shortly after arriving at the recently departed's dilapidated house to sit the vigil, Yakov begins to realize that something is very, very wrong. Director Keith Thomas joins us for a conversation on informing his horror film in the iconography and literature of ancient Jewish traditions, finding a perfect location and the importance of finding a lead actor who could embody Yakov’s vulnerabilities and strengths.
For news, updates and screenings go to: ifcfilms.com/films/the-vigil
LITTLE FISH, the fourth feature film from director Chad Hartigan, is a romance set in a near-future Seattle teetering on the brink of calamity. The film imagines a world where a pandemic has broken out, that strikes with no rhyme or reason, and causes its victims to lose their memories. This is the world that newlyweds Emma and Jude find themselves in, not long after meeting and falling in love. When Jude contracts the disease, the young couple will do anything to hold onto the memory of their love. Starring Olivia Cooke (Sound of Metal, Thoroughbreds) as Emma, Jack O’Connell (’71, Starred Up) as Jude, Soko and Raul Castillo, LITTLE FISH, opens in the midst of a global epidemic: Neuroinflammatory Affliction, a severe and rapid Alzheimer’s-like condition in which people’s memories disappear. Couple Jude Williams and Emma Ryerson are grappling with the realities of NIA, interspersed with glimpses from the past as the two meet and their relationship blooms. But as NIA’s grip on society tightens, blurring the lines between the past and the present, it becomes more and more difficult to know what’s true and what’s false. Director Chad Hartigan (Morris From America, This is Martin Bonner) joins us for a conversation on the making of his subversively sly sci-fi / love story and how the on-screen artistry of the two lead actors helped shape this prescient tale of love in an age of isolation and mistrust.
For news and updates go to: littlefish.movie
Based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel, DAYS OF THE BAGNOLD SUMMER is a funny yet sweet coming-of-age story about single motherhood and Metallica. Daniel was supposed to spend the summer with his dad and his dad’s new wife in Florida, but when his dad cancels the trip Daniel and his mom suddenly face the prospect of six long weeks together. An epic war of wills ensues in their suburban home as Daniel just wants to listen to heavy metal and start a band while his mom hopes to rekindle the fun times they used to have together. Featuring original songs by Belle and Sebastian. Director Simon Bird joins us for a conversation on his beautifully rendered tale of a sullen, insecure teen and his effervescent single mom doing her best to keep moving forward in a world that is pelting her with cheap shots and exasperating insults.
For news and updates go to: days-of-the-bagnold-summer
In 1999, filmmaker Davy Rothbart met Emmanuel Sanford-Durant and his older brother, Smurf, during a pickup basketball game in Southeast Washington, D.C. Davy began filming their lives, and soon the two brothers and other family members began to use the camera themselves. The result is 17 BLOCKS. Made in a unique collaboration with filmmaker and journalist Davy Rothbart, the film focuses on four generations of the Sanford Family, including Emmanuel, a promising student, his brother Smurf, his sister Denice, an aspiring cop, and his mother Cheryl, who must conquer her own demons for her family to prosper. Spanning two decades, 17 BLOCKS illuminates a nation's ongoing crisis through one family's raw, stirring, and deeply personal saga. Made from more than 1,000 hours of footage, it all starts on the street where they lived in 1999, 17 blocks behind the U.S. Capitol. Director Davy Rothbart joins us to talk about his profoundly moving gut punch of a film about the lives of a family fighting against the chaos and cruelty of embedded racism, broken social institutions and pervasive violence, all of it happening a little more than a stones throw from the lawmakers who step over their dead bodies on their way to “work”. God help us if you are not moved by this film.
For news, screenings and updates go to: 17blocksfilm.com
In Virtual Cinemas Starting February 19th, 2021
TEST PATTERN follows an interracial couple whose rock-solid relationship is put to the test when Renesha, a Black woman played by Brittany S. Hall, is sexually assaulted. Her white boyfriend Evan (Will Brill) insistently pursues a rape kit and is met with medical and administrative incompetence at every turn. Part psychological horror, part realist drama, TEST PATTERN unfolds against the backdrop of national discussions around inequitable health care and policing, the #MeToo movement, and race in America. The dives into the effects of the systemic factors and social conditioning women face when navigating sex and consent within the American patriarchy, along with exploring institutional racism from a Black female point of view. Director / Producer / Writer Shatara Michelle Ford joins us for a conversation on how this deeply moving personal story came to life through a collaboration with an exceptionally creative and supportive cast and crew and why TEST PATTERN is particularly relevant at a time when many of us are proclaiming Black Lives Matter.
For news and updates go to: kinomarquee.com/Test Pattern
To watch virtually go to: laemmle.com/videos/testpattern
ANATOMY OF WINGS is the direct result of an after-school film project, where ten Black middle school girls gathered each week to collaborate with their Black and white mentors on a feature-length documentary about their own coming-of-age in Baltimore City. Weeks turn into years. Then, shortly before the girls’ high school graduations, a sea of misunderstanding arises about what’s to come. This self-defined ‘second family’ is left to question if their solidarity will survive the realities of living in a world of racial inequity.WINGS mentors created a safe space for the girls to practice filmmaking and share life experiences, questions and personal moments such as proms, first time gynecologist visits and accomplishments. Their lives in Baltimore reflected their corresponding community and, once in high school, the girls began inviting their best friends to join the program. The result: we became a group of 10. What began as a videography program evolved into a powerful space of sharing for ten years, where ten girls, mentors, professors and college students at MICA created a family. The co-directors Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander and Nikiea Redmond join us for a conversation on the power of storytelling, especially for young women of color, living in a community bereft of opportunity can be a powerful and unmistakable call to arms for real social change.
For news and updates go to: anatomyofwings.com
Watch Anatomy of Wings, premiering at the 2021 Slamdance Film Festival
At a time when America is ripping apart at the seams, The REUNITED STATES is a powerful and urgent documentary that follows the unsung heroes on the difficult journey of bridging our political and racial divides. Susan Bro, who lost her daughter when a car drove through a crowd in Charlottesville, and David and Erin Leaverton, a Republican couple who travel to all fifty states in an RV to find out what divides us, are just a few of the characters profiled in the film. Each of these bridge-builders have realized that while our divides run deeper than they ever could have imagined, so does the love and hope to bring our country back together. Based on the book of the same name, REUNITED STATES urges us to consider that everyone has a role to play in reuniting the country. Director Ben Rekhi and film subject Susan Bro join us for a conversation on why so many people are failing to see our shared humanity, how we all can begin to recognize each other as real people and why it is so important that we respect each other, even if we do not always agree with each other.
For news and updates go to: reunitedstates.tv
Take the pledge at: reunitedstates.tv/pledge
The inspiring, gritty documentary, A TINY RIPPLE OF HOPE, focuses on Jahmal Cole with his My Block, My Hood, My City: an organization bringing hope and opportunity to teenagers across Chicago's segregated South and West Sides. Cole is charismatic and charming, and the beating heart of his community –because he does care so very much (his home mortgage is used to fund his organization!). This aspirational feature film documentary A TINY RIPPLE OF HOPE from award winning filmmaker Jason Polevoi will make its world premiere at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival (February 12th – 25th, 2021) as a Competition Documentary and the film follows a formative year for Jahmal as he struggles with everything he must sacrifice so that the people and the city he loves can prosper. Director Jason Polevoi joins us to talk about the complex and occasionally chaotic life and work of Jahmal Cole as well as documenting the systemic barriers that far too many people living in Chicago’s poorest zip codes are forced to navigate and the joy of watching so many, including Jahmal, forge their way towards a better future.
For news and updates go to: onecityfilms.com
To watch A Tiny Ripple of Hope go to: slamdance.com
In the mid-‘70s, filmmaker James Szalapski traveled to Texas and Tennessee to capture the radical country artists reclaiming the genre through an appreciation for its heritage in folk and bluegrass and a rejection of the mainstream Nashville machine. The hard living – and hard partying – lifestyles of outlaw country’s figureheads are played out on screen in trailer homes, prisons and even a liquor-fueled Christmas gathering. It borrowed from rock, folk and bluegrass, with an edge that was missing from mainstream Nashville country. This newly-restored documentary, HEARTWORN HIGHWAY, includes rarely-captured performances of the aforementioned musicians as they perfected this then-new style and helped change the course of country music history by artists that include Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Steve Young, David Allan Coe, and a 19-year-old Steve Earle and many others appear and perform. Musical highlights include Clark’s brilliant “Desperados Waiting For A Train'', Young's stirring “Alabama Highways” and Van Zandt’s emotional “Waiting Around To Die.” The hard living – and hard partying – lifestyles of outlaw country’s figureheads are played out on screen as we visit Van Zandt’s Austin trailer, see Coe play in Tennessee State Prison, join the gang in Nashville’s notorious Wig Wam Tavern and witness a liquor-fueled Christmas at Clark’s house. No wonder the film’s original tagline read: “The best music and the best whiskey come from the same part of the country”. Outside of a couple festival screenings, the movie remained unreleased for five years after its completion, finally hitting screens in 1981 and finding a cult audience ever since.” Heartworn Highways Producer Graham Leader joins us to talk about the groundbreaking artists he and director / writer / cinematographer James Szalapski were able to wrangle into participating as well as the long and winding road this fabled film has taken over the last 44 years.
For news and updates go to: kinolorber.com/film/heartworn-highways
For more about the films of Graham Leader go to: sealionfilms.com
THE TOXIC PIGS OF FUKUSHIMA follows a lone hunter into an isolated and changed landscape. Along the way, other citizens who still live near the reactor share their perspectives on the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 triggered a tsunami, nuclear meltdown and mass evacuations in Fukushima Prefecture. Today, as part of a Government push to encourage resettlement, local hunters have been enlisted to dispose of radiated Wild Boars that now roam the abandoned streets and buildings. THE TOXIC PIGS OF FUKUSHIMA focuses on the people who still live near the reactor share their perspectives on the aftermath. Along the way, other citizens who still live near the reactor share their perspectives on the aftermath. THE TOXIC PIGS OF FUKUSHIMA was inspired by the photographs of co-producers Toru Hanai and Yuki Iwanami. The original score was written and performed by renowned ambient artist Midori Takada. Directed by Otto Bell (The Eagle Huntress) THE TOXIC PIGS OF FUKUSHIMA has been acquired by VICE and will be featured in "The Short List with Suroosh Alvi," an upcoming series from VICE World News. The Short List is a collection of the world’s best documentaries curated by VICE founder Suroosh Alvi. Watch The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima
How to take the World's Fair Challenge: Say the words “I want to go to the World’s Fair. I want to go to the World’s Fair. I want to go to the World’s Fair.” into your computer camera. Prick your finger, draw some blood and smear it on the screen. Now press play on the video. They say that once you’ve seen it, the changes begin… In a small town, a shy and isolated teenage girl (Anna Cobb in a stunning feature debut) becomes immersed in an online role-playing game. Late on a cold night somewhere in America, teenage Casey sits alone in her attic bedroom, scrolling the internet under the glow-in-the-dark stars and black-light posters that blanket the ceiling. She has finally decided to take the World’s Fair Challenge, an online role-playing horror game, and embrace the uncertainty it promises. After the initiation, she documents the changes that may or may not be happening to her, adding her experiences to the shuffle of online clips available for the world to see. As she begins to lose herself between dream and reality, a mysterious figure reaches out, claiming to see something special in her uploads. Director Jane Schoenbrun and lead actor Anna Cobb join us for a conversation on the making of this jarring, mind bending and strangely empowering tale of a young woman determined to challenge boundaries.
For more go to: fliescollective.com/were-all-going-to-the-worlds-fair
THE FRIENDLIEST TOWN chronicles a startling tale of institutionalized racism working against the dedicated efforts of the first African American Police Chief, Kelvin Sewell in the small town of Pocomoke on Maryland's lower Eastern Shore. The national debate over policing generally misses a critical point: how embedded law enforcement is in the political power structure of this country. Historically this has situated law enforcement at a critical juncture in conflicts regarding race, equity, and politics. This complex story made national news and shines spotlight on the insidious racism often just under the surface. Since the death of George Floyd at the hands of police, calls for substantive reform of law enforcement have launched an intense national debate. But an effort by veteran African American officer, Kelvin Sewell to implement community policing in the small racially divided town of Pocomoke is a cautionary tale on limits both to reforms and how racism may be the biggest obstacle to change. THE FRIENDLIEST TOWN is the directorial debut from award winning journalist and author Stephen Janis. Produced by award winning journalists Taya Graham and Janis (hosts of TRNN's Police Accountability Report, and producers and co-creators of the award-winning podcast Truth and Reconciliation on Baltimore's NPR affiliate WYPR). Director Stephen Janis and Subject Kelvin Sewell join us to talk about the many twists and turns this saga has taken over the last 6 years and why Sewell’s particular story is a clarion call for reforming law enforcement and criminal justice at every level of government.
For more on the work of Stephen Janis and Taya Graham go to: therealnews.com/police-accountability-report
A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX ask the question, what if we are living in a simulation, and the world as we know it is not real? To tackle this mind-bending idea, acclaimed filmmaker Rodney Ascher (ROOM 237, THE NIGHTMARE) uses a noted speech from Philip K. Dick to dive down the rabbit hole of science, philosophy, and conspiracy theory. Leaving no stone unturned in exploring the unprovable, the film uses contemporary cultural touchstones like THE MATRIX, interviews with real people shrouded in digital avatars, and a wide array of voices, expert and amateur alike. If simulation theory is not science fiction but fact, and life is a video game being played by some unknowable entity, then who are we, really? A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX attempts to find out. The film introduces us to a handful of real-world testifiers who are certain that their bodies and minds are being operated by some external game-player. Ascher, as ever an inviting, curious questioner (never one who mocks), brings a wealth of cultural and intellectual context to his latest exploration, from the videotaped musings of paranoid sci-fi giant Philip K. Dick to clips of Keanu Reeves in The Matrix and a host of bespoke animated re-creations that give eerie credence to the most outré of notions. Director Rodney Ascher joins us to talk about his paranoia-inducing, exhilarating and definitive introduction to a subject that, subscribe to it or not, involves us all.
For news and updates go to: aglitchinthematrixfilm.com
The animated short film based on her own childhood experience in Wuhan China, WINDUP, tells the story of a father trying to stay connected with his unconscious daughter through music. He plays a windup music box and hopes she can hear it while fighting with his own emotions to stay strong. Meanwhile, his daughter follows the melody in her dreams and looks for a way back. WINDUP is a nine-minute animated short written and directed by an emerging female Chinese filmmaker Yibing Jiang, and Animation Director Jason Keane. Keane has a long family legacy in animation, which includes, his grandfather Bill Keane (Family Circus comics) and his uncles Jeff Keane; and Glenn Keane, (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Tarzan, and Tangled). WINDUP was also a collaboration with artists working remotely from around the world, created in real-time with Unity. At a time when we are feeling isolated, craving connection and preoccupied with the health and well-being of loved ones, the theme of the film is an uplifting and universal one that highlights the fragile nature of life, love, resiliency and the healing power of music, told through the eyes of a father and the special bond he shares with his ailing young daughter. Director Yibing Jiang and Artistic Director Jason Keane stop by to talk about their work and vision for this heartwarming and beautiful animated film.
To find out more or to watch go to: unity.com/demos/windup
In the world of Anmaere, north of the city of Whithren, wild horses run through the moorlands and up the coast. These horses are the city's most valuable export and, as a result, are hunted, trapped, sold, and shipped across the sea once a year. For those in Whithren, this trade passage creates lucrative and exciting possibilities: the chance to escape their constantly sweltering city and escape to the Western continent of Levithen, or simply to begin again. Nothing can prepare audiences for the secrets, seduction, and sights of THE WANTING MARE, an intimate, dramatic fantasy epic written and directed by renowned digital artist Nicholas Ashe Bateman (visual effects supervisor of David Lowery's upcoming The Green Knight). A technical marvel of digital world-building and independent ambition, the sprawling vistas, fantastical sights, and otherworldly tableaus of THE WANTING MARE were lensed almost entirely inside a warehouse in Paterson, New Jersey. Director, writer, and editor Nicholas Ashe Bateman joins us to talk about the five year journey of making THE WANTING MARE, the defining connection humans and horses share, the support he received from a dedicated group of friends and filmmakers, and the importance of Carl Jung.
For news, updates and screenings go to: anmaerepictures.com/thewantingmare
Tribes on the Edge follows filmmaker Céline Cousteau as she returns to the Brazilian Amazon after a fateful email from Beto of the Marúbo tribe who beckons her back to help tell his people’s story. Céline, who comes from a lineage of renowned explorers, venture s into the heart of the jungle to explore the health crises and the threats to land and human rights of the Indigenous Peoples of the Vale do Javari. From a history of invaders bringing devastating diseases, to ongoing illegal activities, to the alarming dismantling of all protection of their land and human rights by the government - these indigenous communities are fighting to protect their home, critical to the ecological balance of our planet, and as a result...they protect us. TRIBES ON THE EDGE is Céline’s first full feature documentary. The film is co-written by Joseph Kwong and Executive Produced by Bill Miller, Mercedes Zobel, James Cox and Çapkin Van Alphen. Director Celine Cousteau joins us for a lively conversation on the slow-motion genocide of indigenous people who happen to live in and steward some of the most ecologically valuable and endangered eco-system on the planet and how we can do something to stop the Brazilian government crime against humanity.
For news, updates and screenings go to: tribesontheedge.com
Make a difference, go to: tribesontheedge.com/impact-campaign
TRIBES ON THE EDGE is out on VOD on Feb 2.
Riding the Rails, Co-director Michael Uys (Lexy Lovell) RIDING THE RAILS recalls the poignant and little-known story of teen hobos during the 1930s, a time of desperation and bitter hardship. These young itinerant Americans were all searching for a better life; what they found was a mixture of freedom, camaraderie, misery, and loneliness. RIDING THE RAILS interweaves the evocative stories of ten men and women who left home in their youth. Producers Michael Uys and Lexy Lovell placed notices in national publications in search of individuals who rode the rails as teenagers. Three thousand people, now in their 70s and 80s, responded. Uys and Lovell selected a handful to tell their stories on camera. "Some hadn't spoken of their experiences in sixty years. They poured their hearts out to us," says Uys. "They were just kids then and when they look back, it's with a blend of nostalgia and pain." RIDING THE RAILS vividly combines the clear-eyed memories of witnesses with archival footage of teens riding atop speeding trains and newsreel interviews with lean-bodied kids full of bravado. The film features a rich soundtrack of American folk tunes of the time, including songs by Woody Guthrie, Elizabeth Cotten, Doc Watson, and Jimmie Rodgers. RIDING THE RAILS co-director and co-producer Michael Uys joins us to talk about a misunderstood era in our nation’s history, and his recollection on the making of a still relevant documentary classic.
For more go to: pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/rails For more about the film go to: ridingtherails-themovie.com For more about Michael Uys go to: erroluys.com
LAPSIS is a smart, funny, slyly suffocating look into a parallel present, delivery man Ray Tincelli (Dean Imperial) is struggling to support himself and his ailing younger brother. After a series of two-bit hustles and unsuccessful swindles, Ray takes a job in a strange new realm of the gig economy: trekking deep into the forest, pulling cable over miles of terrain to connect large, metal cubes that link together the new quantum trading market. As he gets pulled deeper into the zone, he encounters growing hostility and the threat of robot cablers, and must choose to either help his fellow workers or to get rich and get out. What he doesn't expect is to be pulled into a conspiracy involving hostile cablers, corporate greed, and the mysterious LAPSIS who may have previously owned his permit. Director / writer / editor Noah Hutton joins us for a conversation on his unique vision of the near future, quasi-syfy world, relationships, family and cabling.
For news and updates go to: filmmovement.com/lapsis
Filmed from 2017-2020, WOMEN IN BLUE follows Minneapolis’ first female police chief Janeé Harteau, as she works to reform the Minneapolis Police Department by getting rid of bad cops, retraining the rest, diversifying the ranks and promoting women—who statistically use less force than their male counterparts—into every rank of leadership. WOMEN IN BLUE focuses on four women in Harteau’s department, each trying to redefine what it means to protect and serve. After a high-profile, officer-involved shooting forces Chief Harteau to resign, the new, male chief selects only men as his top brass. The women left behind continue to fight to police differently and to rebuild community trust. WOMEN IN BLUE offers an unprecedented view into the inner workings of the MPD, chronicling a department—and a community—grappling with racism and a troubled history of police misconduct long before an MPD officer killed George Floyd in May of 2020. The film reveals the limitations of police reform through incremental change and asks questions that apply well beyond the city of Minneapolis. Could increased gender equity and more women —especially Black women — contribute to greater public safety? Director Deirdre Fishel joins us to talk about some of the many reason that law enforcement is at a critical juncture, how women can be agents of reform in more effective but often aren’t allowed to and the impact that the Floyd murder had on the project.
Premieres February 8 on pbs.org/independentlens/films/women-in-blue
DEAR COMRADES is based on a true story surrounding a strike by factory workers on June 1st and 2nd, 1962 in the city of Novocherkassk. The raising of food prices and the lowering of wages at the local factory led to a spontaneous uprising by thousands of area residents that eventually leading to violent reaction by local and federal officials. The events of those two days was kept secret until the nineties. DEAR COMRADES focuses on the life and family of Lyudmila (Julia Vysotskaya) a Party executive and devout communist who had fought in WWII for Stalin's ideology. Certain that her work will create a communist society, the woman detests any anti-Soviet sentiment. During a strike at the local electromotive factory, Lyudmila witnesses a laborers' piquet gunned down under orders from the government that seeks to cover up mass labor strikes in USSR. After the bloodbath, when survivors flee from the square, Lyudmila realizes her daughter has disappeared. A gaping rift opens in her worldview. Despite the blockade of the city, mass arrests, and the authorities' attempts to cover up the massacre, Lyudmila searches for her daughter. We don't know how the search will end, but realize that the woman's life won't ever be the same. Director Andrei Konchalovsky (Uncle Vanya, Siberiade, Runaway Train, The Inner Circle) and lead actor Julia Vysotskaya join us for a conversation on the importance of telling an unknown story, the role of art and storytelling and how Lyuda’s saga reflexes a broader perspective on Soviet-era repression.
For news and updates go to: neonrated.com/films/dear-comrades
Russia’s official submission to the 2021 Academy Awards® for Best International Film
Pensioners Nina (Barbara Sukowa) and Madeleine (Martine Chevallier) have hidden their deep and passionate love for many decades. From the point of view of those surrounding them, including Madeleine's meddling daughter (Léa Drucker), they are simply two neighbors sharing a hallway during their sunset years. In reality, this landing is a bridge between two worlds: one belonging to a widowed, doting grandmother, the other to a free-spirited woman who longs to spend her life with the person she loves. Clandestinely, Nina and Madeleine share a tender life, moving freely between their apartments until an unexpected event closes the portal. But their secret cannot remain hidden if they are to stay together - and their unconditional love is put to the test. Director Filippo Meneghetti joins us for a conversation on this beautifully rendered film that’s a loving
For news and updates go to: twoofusfilm.com
Watch the film at : twoofusfilm.com/watch-at-home
France’s entry for the 93rd edition of the Academy Award for Best International Film
HBO Documentary Films' THE LADY AND THE DALE, a four-part documentary series from Emmy(R)-winning producers Mark and Jay Duplass (HBO's "Room 104") and directed by Nick Cammilleri and Zackary Drucker, traces the audacious story of Elizabeth Carmichael, a larger-than-life entrepreneur who rose to prominence during the 1970s oil crisis with her promotion of a fuel-efficient, three-wheeled car known as The Dale. At a time when three big American automobile manufacturers ruled the road, Liz launched a futurist vehicle that promised to get 70 miles to the gallon. Her promotional zeal thrust her into fierce public and media scrutiny which uncovered a web of mystery and suspicion about the car's technology and her own checkered past. THE LADY AND THE DALE is a probing exploration of family and identity seen through the lens of the rise and fall of a fearless and wily innovator, an extraordinarily resilient woman and a dedicated parent. Co-director Zackary Drucker (Nick Cammilleri) joins us for a conversation on one of the more convoluted personal stories and one of the most shameless schemes in American business history.
For news and updates go to: hbo.com/documentaries/the-lady-and-the-dale
The series debuts with two back-to-back episodes SUNDAY, JANUARY 31 (9:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), with new episodes airing subsequent Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. THE LADY AND THE DALE will premiere on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max.
Lili Horvát’s PREPARATIONS TO BE TOGETHER FOR AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME is a mesmerizing psychological romance about a woman who upends her whole life to return to her home city of Budapest for a romantic rendezvous with a fellow surgeon, who then claims the two have never met. Márta Vizy (Natasa Stork) is a 39-year-old Hungarian neurosurgeon. After 20 years in the United States, she returns to Budapest for a romantic rendezvous at the Liberty Bridge with János (Viktor Bodó), a fellow doctor she met at a conference in New Jersey. Márta waits in vain, while the love of her life is nowhere to be seen. When she finally tracks him down, the bewildered man claims the two have never met. It’s unclear whether Márta’s wits are clouded by love or if other neurological factors are at play. Determined to solve the enigma, she takes a position at a hospital where she is treated as an outsider and must endure real and perceived slights, while also navigating a no man’s land separating love from madness. For her second feature, following 2015’s The Wednesday Child, writer-director Lili Horvát spins a delicate web of contrasts and silent explosions that shift the viewer’s understanding. Shot with impeccable symmetry on entrancing 35mm, it is an Orphic tale reminding us that, while the heart is an abstruse trickster, the human brain — ruling us with over 80 billion interconnected neurons — is our most complex organ. Director Lili Horvát joins us for a conversation on her Hitchcockian tale of a woman who’s certainty drives this compelling cinematic “love” story. For news, updates and screenings go to: preparationsmovie.com
To watch go to: preparationsmovie.com/tickets
Official entry of Hungary for Academy Awards - Best International Feature Film
Independent Spirit Award - Nomination for Best International Film
THE WAKE OF LIGHT tells the story of Mary, (Rome Brooks) a loving, selfless daughter who has spent her entire life caring for her widowed father after he suffered a stroke when she was a little girl. One day Mary meets Cole (Matt Bush, from TV's "The Goldbergs"), a young man passing through her small town on a cross-country road trip, who falls for Mary and asks her to join him on his journey. Now Mary must choose between her deep-felt responsibility to her father or a chance at love. THE WAKE OF LIGHT has won over 20 Film Festival Awards during its festival run. The film is written, directed, and produced by Renji Phillip and stars Rome Brooks and Matt Bush (“The Goldbergs”). Director Renji Philip (Cheesecake Casserole) joins us for a conversation on his sincere and heartfelt meditation on the choices we make, the power we have to change our destinies.
For news, screenings, and updates go to: thewakeoflightmovie.com
THE WAKE OF LIGHT will have its virtual theatrical release on January 15, 2021 by Laemmle Theaters.
THE WAKE OF LIGHT will open on digital platforms on February 15, 2021.
In her critically acclaimed debut feature film, BEGINNING, Georgian filmmaker director Dea Kulumbegashvili’s debut feature film zeroes in on Yana, a despondent woman wrestling with her crippling emotional isolation within a small community of Jehovah's Witnesses. The setting for this harrowing story is a sleepy provincial village outside of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, a predominately Orthodox Christian country. Her husband, David, is the spiritual leader of the Witness community that has recently been terrorized by the fire bombing of their makeshift church by an extremist group. In the midst of this conflict, the familiar world of Yana slowly begins to unravel. Yana's inner discontent grows as she struggles to deal with a sexual assault, an emotionally abusive husband and her own desires for a livable future. BEGINNING is Georgia’s entry for the Best Foreign Film for this year’s Academy Awards. Co-writer (Rati Oneli) and director Dea Kulumbegashvili joins us for a conversation on collaboration with Cinematographer Arseni Khachaturan, finding the right timbre for telling the story of Yana and locking in a spectacular performance by Yana’s Ia Sukhitashvili.
Fro news and screenings go to: mubi.com/films/beginning-2020
Inspired by the true historical event, BREAKING THE SILENCE tells the story of Francesca (Grace Shen), a Chinese-American nurse working for the Red Cross in Hong Kong when the St. Stephen's College massacre occurred. She survived but she and many other Asian women were captured then forced to work to "comfort" Japanese troops. Francesca finally comes to terms with her past after forty years by breaking her silence with a New York Times journalist. There are two comfort women memorials in California, one in Glendale and the other in San Francisco. The Glendale memorial was erected in Glendale Central Park in 2013, shortly after Osaka Mayor Toshio Hashimoto made the controversial argument that World War II era comfort women were “necessary” to “maintain discipline in the army." BREAKING THE SILENCE is a new live-action short film by Seayoon Jeong, starring Grace Shen ("This is Us", "Grey's Anatomy"), Rumi Oyama (RUNNING FOR GRACE) and Grace Chim (“Neighbours”). Director Seayoon Jeong joins us to talk about her deeply personal story and the desire to keep this issue in the forefront of human rights and reconciliation.
For news and updates go to: breakingthesilence2020.com
BREAKING THE SILENCE has been submitted to the Academy Awards for Best Live Action Short Film consideration.
After producing the comeback tour of The Monkees in 1986, promoter and talent agent David Fishof founded Rock' n' Roll Fantasy Camp, which has been making dream comes true for more than 25 years. Summer camp meets Spinal Tap, Rock' n' Roll Fantasy Camp brings together musicians from all walks of life for an unforgettable experience with legendary rock stars. These musicians teach, inspire, and jam with the campers over four days, concluding with a life performance at a famed venue. The experience takes music lovers from spectator to the stage, sharing the limelight with their musical heroes. Rock Camp, The Movie follows four campers (and their families) through their journeys to shred with their heroes and see how they overcome their fears and transform their lives. Rock Camp - The Movie boasts a jaw-dropping array of rock star "counselors" that include Roger Daltrey, Alice Cooper, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, Nancy Wilson, Joe Perry, Jeff Beck, Slash, and countless other rock legends. Directed and produced by Doug Blush, co-directed and edited by Renee Barron, and produced by Jeff Rowe. Rock' n' Roll Fantasy Camp founder David Fishof joins us to talk about his life as a promoter, the amazing array of talented artists he has gotten to know and the endless joy that his “Fantasy Camp” and now the “The Movie” has brought him over these many years.
For news and updates go to: rockcampthemovie.com
Long before COVID-19, another pandemic was raging across the American landscape, penetrating all age groups, races and socio-economic classes. The cause: opioids. The culprit: Purdue Pharmaceutical and the company’s deceitful approach to lure in and hook patients. COMING CLEAN, Ondi Timoner’s new documentary, examines opioid addiction through the eyes of those affected and political leaders, as they come together to bring the profiteers to justice. Timoner deeply engages us by weaving in personal stories of addicts and their families struggling to overcome this painful addiction, sometimes with success but often with devastating and heart-wrenching consequences. COMING CLEAN presents a clear case against the perpetrators, including how they incentivized physicians to overprescribe opioids. In a hopeful turn, we witness the alliances built between addicts in recovery and policymakers as they work to remove the stigmas surrounding this addiction and impact laws and industries to bring necessary change in communities. A thought-provoking film on the state of our country and the current political landscape. Director Ondi Timoner (DIG!, We Live in Public, JUNGLETOWN) joins us to talk about the corrosive impact of the opioid crisis, the devastating impact it has had on families, communities and our vital institutions and who has been most responsible for this scourge. For news and updates go to: comingcleanmovie.com
M.C. Escher: Journey To Infinity is the story of world famous Dutch graphic artist M.C Escher (1898-1972). Equal parts history, psychology, and psychedelia, Robin Lutz’s entertaining, eye-opening portrait gives us the man through his own words and images: diary musings, excerpts from lectures, correspondence and more are voiced by British actor Stephen Fry, while Escher’s woodcuts, lithographs, and other print works appear in both original and playfully altered form. Two of his sons, George (92) and Jan (80), reminisce about their parents while musician Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills & Nash) talks about Escher’s rediscovery in the 1970s. M.C. Escher: Journey To Infinity looks at Escher’s legacy: one can see tributes to his work in movies, in fiction, on posters, on tattoos, and elsewhere throughout our culture; indeed, few fine artists of the 20th century can lay claim to such popular appeal. Director Robin Lutz and Producer Marijnke de Jong stop by for a conversation on how far ahead of his contemporaries Escher was in capturing using abstract design elements to capture a provocative view of the natural world and how little he cared about being considered as an acceptable artist by the public or the art establishment.
For news and updates got to: zeitgeistfilms.com/film/mcescherjourneytoinfinity
What Would Sophia Loren Do? is a documentary short film that follows Vincenza “Nancy” Kulik, an Italian-American mother and grandmother living in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Nancy has seen her share of tragedy, but she has always been able to stay positive, inspired in part by another Italian mother, the movie star Sophia Loren. Nancy uses the question “What Would Sophia Loren Do?” as a guide to questions big and small. For example, “Would Sophia Loren eat whole wheat pasta?” Nancy thinks not. This phrase can also provide comfort and a source of strength in times of crisis. In 2016, Vincenza’s 51-year-old son died suddenly while undergoing a routine operation. Vincenza was devastated. She would seek solace in the love of her friends and family. But as she describes it, Vincenza also used the example of Sophia’s grace to help her get through the days and find the strength to persevere. For Vincenza, the words “What would Sophia Loren do?” have truly helped her to heal during some of the most difficult times of her life. Through the experiences of these two women we come to understand what it means to face life’s challenges with resilience and to age with courage, grit, and humor. The film debuts on Netflix on January 15 and is already heavily buzzed for the Oscar in the shorts category. There's particular attention on Sophia this year, given her other Oscar-buzzed performance in The Life Ahead, directed by her son, Eduardo Ponti. Academy Award winning director Ross Kauffman (Born into Brothels, Tigerland) joins us to talk about the connection he shares with Vincenza, professionally and personally, and how her indomitable presence permeates this wonderfully alive story.
Mickey Reece’s mind-bending latest film, CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER immerses us in the story of two sisters, Alma and Elizabeth, along with a dog who’s described as a “philosopher,” have come to Alma’s remote house to reconnect with Wesley after twenty years. Alma is recently divorced, Elizabeth is a workaholic in Washington, D.C., while Wesley lives in Paris dealing with a wife recently struck with a fatal disease. When the three come together for dinner it has all the makings of a lovely adult melodrama about loneliness, and the desire to connect and share our lives with someone… but we must add to the mix one otherworldly piece of information: Wesley could be a vampire. CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER stars Ginger Gilmartin, Mary Buss, Ben Hall, Danielle Evon Ploeger, Laurie Cummings, and Jacob Ryan Snovel. Director Mickey Reece (Arrows of Outrageous Fortune, Mono) joins us to talk about his shadowy slow-burn, stylized cinematic mind-f**k of a story.
For news and updates go to: darkstarpics.com
On Demand beginning January 12, 2021 on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Xbox, Vudu, Direct TV, Dish Network and all major cable providers.
BLIZZARD OF SOULS pays stark witness to the horrors and brutality of the First World War, as seen through the eyes of Arturs (Oto Brantevics), an innocent sixteen-year-old farm-boy turned soldier. Too young to fight but old enough to die, he enlists to serve on the Eastern Front with dreams of becoming a hero. Conscripted into one of Latvia’s first national battalions, Arturs soon discovers the grim reality of trench warfare. Fighting alongside his father and brother, he experiences the loss of his home and loved ones while growing up surrounded by constant danger and death on the battlefield. Adapted from the book by Aleksandrs Grins, which was banned in the USSR, the story was based on Grins’ own war experiences in a Latvian battalion, and the film is the biggest box office success in Latvia of the past 30 years. Director Dzintars Dreibergs joins us for a conversation on the tremendous impact that World War One had on the Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, particularly in terms of their relationship to Stalin’s Soviet Union and how the loss of life as well as the heroism the Latvians experienced during the war became the spark for independence from the Soviets 70 years later.
For news and updates go to: filmmovement.com/blizzard-of-souls
In this moving, yet unsentimental tale from co-directors Stephanie Chuat and Veronique Reymond brilliant playwright Lisa (Nina Hoss) no longer writes. She lives in Switzerland with her family but her heart has stayed in Berlin, beating to the rhythm of her twin brother's heart. The ties between the twins have grown stronger since Sven (Lars Eidinger) was diagnosed with an aggressive type of leukemia. He’s a famous theater actor and Lisa refuses to accept his fate, moving heaven and earth to get him back on stage. She gives her all for her soul mate, neglecting everything else, even risking her marriage. Her relationship with her husband starts to fall apart, but Lisa only has eyes for her brother, her mirror, who connects her back with her aspirations and rekindles her desire to create, to feel alive… Co-directors Stephanie Chuat and Veronique Reymond join us for a conversation on their exceptional and beautifully rendered drama on family, mortality, options and love.
For newsand updates go to: filmmovement.com/my-little-sister
To watch go to: filmmovement.com/virtual-cinema-guide
Official submission of Switzerland for the 'Best International Feature Film' category of the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021.
The Netflix limited docu-series Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer tells the spellbinding true story of how one of the most notorious serial killers in American history was hunted down and brought to justice. In the sweltering summer of 1985, a record-breaking heatwave hit Los Angeles, along with a series of murders and sexual assaults that at first seemed disconnected. The victims were men, women, and children. They ranged in age from six to 82. They came from different neighborhoods, racial backgrounds and socioeconomic levels. Never before in criminal history had a single killer been responsible for such a grisly array of crimes. Racing against the clock to stop this nocturnal monster were a young detective named Gil Carrillo from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the legendary homicide investigator Frank Salerno. As they worked tirelessly to solve the case, the media hounded their tracks, and panic gripped California. Told through harrowing first-person interviews, gripping archival footage and spectacular original photography, this four-part series represents the definitive telling of this iconic L.A. real-life horror story, painting a portrait of how it felt to live in fear at a time when absolutely anyone could be the Night Stalker’s next victim. Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer director Tiller Russell joins us to talk about his deep dive into truly terrifying chapter of Southern California history, capturing the palpable fear that gripped and connected so many communities and the people who brought Richard Ramirez to justice.
To watch go to: netflix.com/nightstalker
January 12-24 2021, Highways, the legendary Los Angeles Performance Space and Gallery presents its Second Annual Film Maudit 2.0 festival showcasing and celebrating new outré, unusual and startling films. The festival will feature over 125 works of cinema from 25 countries including films rarely if ever, seen in festivals: works addressing socio-political issues and taboo subject matter that challenges conventional artistic assumptions and sexual mores.Virtual, online screenings of 18 feature films, 21 shorts programs, specially commissioned programs, and new film scored performed by artists who reflect the diversity of Los Angeles. Included are a range of narrative, documentary and experimental films that are deliberately bold, extreme, confrontational and unusual. Film Maudit 2.0 highlights this year include the U.S. premieres of Feature Films: Mathius Marvellous Shop, a Spanish/German surrealistic satire; Kriya, a magical Indian thriller, and the Los Angeles premieres of Woman of the Photographs; a powerful Japanese film about image and reality for a beautiful model; The Columnist, a darkly comic horror film from The Netherlands; A Dark, Dark Man, the Kazakhstan/France thriller just long-listed for the Golden Globes; and Darkness (Buio) the first feature film by Donatello Award-winning director Emanuela Rossi. Other special programs include a special fundraising screening of erotic art pioneers Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens’ Water Makes Us Wet, featuring a live stream Q&A with both; new, original music scores performed live to silent films, and multiple Feature and Shorts Programs that showcase works from 25 countries in 16 uniquely curated categories from ‘Ms. Fear’ to ‘Shattering Form’ - with animated documentaries to experimental works handmade on film; extreme horror to comic surrealism. There is a special focus on works in Film Maudit’s BEHOLD section, which includes NSFW! curated by Planet Queer, Hi Kicks Entrails, curated by performance artist Ironstone, and QLX: the Performance of Queer Latinx.
For news, screenings and updates go to: filmmaudit.org
All films at the festival are free and available online January 12 through 24. Reservations are required and can be made for each program via Film Maudit 2.0’s Screening Portal: filmmaudit.org/filmmaudit
MLK/FBI is the first film to uncover the extent of the FBI's surveillance and harassment of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Based on newly discovered and declassified files, utilizing a trove of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and unsealed by the National Archives, as well as revelatory restored footage, the documentary explores the government's history of targeting Black activists, and the contested meaning behind some of our most cherished ideals. MLK/FBI is an essential expose of the surveillance and harassment of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (labeled by the FBI as the "most dangerous" Black person in America), undertaken by J. Edgar Hoover and the U.S. government. Featuring interviews with key cultural figures including former FBI Director James Comey, MLK/FBI tells this astonishing and tragic story with searing relevance to our current moment. Directed by Emmy® Award-winner and Oscar®-nominee Sam Pollard, MLK/FBI recounts a tragic story with searing relevance to our current moment. Sam Pollard joins us for a conversation on how incredibly important Dr. King work and influence continues to illuminate every aspect of race relations, criminal justice, housing, wealth inequality, education access and political leadership.
For news, screenings and updates go to: mlkfbi.com
Life-affirming and profound, BEAUTIFUL SOMETHING LEFT BEHIND beautifully captures the heartbreaking, mundane and even the funny moments in the lives of several young children who have recently lost one or both parents. The Good Grief community in New Jersey focuses on a holistic approach to mourning, where children can give in to rage in ‘the volcano room’ or say goodbye to a dying teddy bear patient in ‘the hospital room.’ Over the course of a year, we get close to Kimmy, Nicky, Peter, Nora, Nolan and Mikayla along with their constant companion: grief, as they attend their weekly group meetings at Good Grief, practice small rituals to remember their loved ones, and go about the daily work of living. Filmmaker Katrine Philp keeps the camera and the point-of-view firmly on the children and while it is sometimes deeply sad, it’s also at times humorous to experience questions about life and death through their open and curious minds. Director Katrine Philp joins us to talk about gaining the trust of the Good Grief community, the unfettered way the children interact with one another, the loss of her own father during the making of Something Beautiful and how all of it informed the making of the film.
For news and updates go to: goodcompanypictures.com/beautiful-something-left-behind
THE REASON I JUMP is an immersive cinematic exploration of neuro-diversity through the experiences of non-speaking autistic people from around the world, based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida. The film blends Higashida's revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe. Moments in the lives of each of the characters are linked by the journey of a young Japanese boy through an epic landscape; narrated passages from Naoki’s writing reflect on what his autism means to him and others, how his perception of the world differs, and why he acts in the way he does: the reason he jumps. THE REASON I JUMP distills these elements into a sensually rich tapestry that leads us to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say. Director Jerry Rothwell stops by to talk about his deeply empathetic look into the lives of people with autism from around the world, with each story broadening our perspective and understanding of what it means to be a neuro-diverse person.
For news and updates go to: the-reason-i-jump
RISING PHOENIX tells the extraordinary story of the Paralympic Games. From the rubble of World War II to the third biggest sporting event on the planet, the Paralympics sparked a global movement which continues to change the way the world thinks about disability, diversity & human potential.The film features breathtaking footage and compelling interviews with several Medal-Winning Paralympians including Tatyana McFadden (Para Athletics, United States), Bebe Vio (Wheelchair Fencing), Jean-Baptiste Alaize (Para Long Jump), Ntando Mahlangu (Para Track & Field), Matt Stutzman (Para Archery, United States), Jonnie Peacock (Para Sprint Runner), Ryley Batt (Para Wheelchair Ruby), Ellie Cole (Para Swimming), and Cui Zhe (Powerlifting). It also features an interview with Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex. RISING PHOENIX is a feature documentary directed by Peter Ettedgui and Ian Bonhôte, makers of the BAFTA nominated McQueen. The film was produced by Greg Nugent, John Battsek and Tatyana McFadden and is an HTYT Films and Passion Pictures production in association with Ventureland and Misfits Entertainment.
To watch go to: netflix.com/Rising Phoenix
Based on Richard Schinnow’s screenplay, TWO WAYS HOME compassionately follows Kathy (Tanna Frederick), a woman newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder who is released from prison on good behavior and returns to her country home in Iowa to reconnect with her estranged 12-year-old daughter (Rylie Behr) and her cantankerous elderly grandfather (Tom Bower). Her return home is turbulent and a rough, unwelcome transition in which Kathy must come to terms with her diagnosis and its implications on her identity, while also realizing that her family was happier when she was gone. As she struggles to maintain balance with her condition, complications with her daughter’s well-being and her grandfather’s health test her sense of self-worth to the limit. TWO WAYS HOME masterfully showcases Iowa’s small town beauty and sympathetically highlights the importance of mental wellness and self-discovery. Director Ron Vignone and actor / producer Tanna Frederick join us to talk about their collaboration in the making of a film that features a person dealing with a mental illness without making it the only thing we should care about in TWO WAYS HOME.
For news, screenings and updates go to: twowayshomemovie.com
HERSELF tells the story of Sandra (Clare Dunne) a single mom looking to escape her abusive partner with her two young children, only to find herself trapped in temporary accommodation. After months of struggling, she draws inspiration from one of her daughter’s bedtime stories and hits upon the idea of self-building an affordable home. She finds an architect who provides her with plans and is offered land by Peggy (Harriet Walter), a woman she cleans for. Aido (Conleth Hill), a building contractor, appears willing to help, too. In order to do so, she must escape the grip of a possessive ex-partner, circumnavigate a broken housing system, and bring together a community of friends who can support her and lend a helping hand. But as her past rears its head in the form of Gary (Ian Lloyd Anderson), her possessive ex, and as bureaucrats fight back against her independent spirit, will Sandra be able to rebuild her life from the ground up? Director Phyllida Lloyd (The Iron Lady, Mama Mia!) joins us to talk about her beautifully rendered story about a young woman who refuses to give up on her girls, her her life and her dreams.
For news, screenings and updates go to: herself.film
YELLOW ROSE features Eva Noblezada, who is joined by fellow Miss Saigon alum and Tony Award winner Lea Salonga. The film follows Rose Garcia, a 17-year-old Filipina American in Texas. When her mom is arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Rose undertakes a musical journey while facing deportation back to the Philippines. Inspired by the music of country musicians like Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Willie Nelson, the original composition accompanied by Noblezada’s captivating voice becomes the soundtrack of Rose’s wanderings akin to American westerns. YELLOW ROSE Director Diane Paragas joins us to talk about her warm-hearted tale of a young woman’s determination to fight back against the cruelty of a heartless immigration system while pursuing her own version of the American Dream deep in the heart of Texas with Austin’s music icon, Dale Watson at her side.
For news, screenings and updates go to: yellowrosefilm.com
Directed, produced, and written by Jeff Kaufman and produced by Marcia S. Ross (Terrence McNally: Every Act of Life) NASRIN is an immersive portrait of one of the world’s most courageous human rights activists and an outspoken leader of Iran's remarkably resilient women's rights movement. She is currently in the fifth week of a hunger strike and serving a long sentence in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. Millions of people from over 200 nations have called for Nasrin’s release including President-elect Joe Biden; journalist Christiane Amanpour; journalist/activist Gloria Steinem; author Margaret Atwood; Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, and many others. Secretly filmed in Iran by men and women who risked arrest, NASRIN features interviews with acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi, Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, journalist Ann Curry, and Nasrin’s husband and fellow-activist Reza Khandan. NASRIN is narrated by Oscar® winning actress Olivia Colman and also features an original song by Tony Award®-winning composers Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and performed by 4-time Grammy® winner Angélique Kidjo. In addition, Washington Post columnist and former political prisoner Jason Rezaian serves as one of the film’s Executive Producers. Director Jeff Kaufman and Producer Marcia S. Ross join us to talk about one of the world’s most courageous woman and about the daily challenges she and other civil and women’s rights activist face in one of the world’s most repressive regimes.
Update on Nasrin: As of today, Nasrin Sotoudeh has been ordered back to prison in Iran. Earlier last month, she was released from prison due to health reasons and the corona -19 virus. Then, she had just ended her 40+ day hunger strike at the end of October in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. Please join us in telling her story and amplifying her voice for her freedom. Nasrin hashtag #StandUp4NASRIN continues to grow daily.
For news, screenings and updates go to: nasrinfilm.com
THROUGH THE NIGHT is a cinema vérité portrait of three working mothers whose lives intersect at Dee’s Tots Daycare in New Rochelle, NY: a mother working the overnight shift as a pediatric nurse; another holding down three low-wage jobs to support her two girls; and Deloris “Nunu” Hogan, who for over two decades has cared for the children of parents with nowhere else to turn. A tender portrait of titanic strength, love and selflessness, THROUGH THE NIGHT showcases the multiplicity of "women’s work" – paid, underpaid and unpaid; emotional and physical; domestic and career-oriented – all while negotiating the terms of a dignified existence under the three arrows of racism, sexism and capitalism in America. Director Loira Limbal joins us for a conversation on the myriad of issues raised in this deceptively simple meditation of the why and how millions of hard working people in the home of the brave can do all the right things only to find themselves one random event away from the economic abyss that is modern American life.
For news and updates go to: throughthenightfilm.com
FINDING YINGYING follows the nightmarish story of a 26-year-old Chinese student, Yingying Zhang, who comes to the U.S. to study. In her detailed and beautiful diaries, the aspiring young scientist and teacher is full of optimism, hoping to also be married and a mother someday. Within weeks of her arrival, Yingying disappears from the campus. Through exclusive access to Yingying's family and boyfriend, Finding Yingying closely follows their journey as they search to unravel the mystery of her disappearance and seek justice for their daughter while navigating a strange, foreign country. But most of all, Finding Yingying is the story of who Yingying was: a talented young woman loved by her family and friends. Director Jiayan Jenny Shi joins us for a conversation on documenting a heartbreaking story, gaining the trust and confidence of a grieving family dealing with some very difficult truths.
For news, screenings and updates go to: findingyingying.com
To watch the film go yo: findingyingying.com/see-the-film
No Ordinary Man - Co-director Chase Joynt (Aisling Chin-Yee) In the documentary film No Ordinary Man The legacy of Billy Tipton, a 20th-century American jazz musician and trans icon, is brought to life by a diverse group of contemporary trans artists. Revered jazz musician Billy Tipton — born Dorothy Lucille Tipton — gained fame throughout the United States in the 1940s and ’50s. His trans identity was not known throughout the echelons of the jazz and pop worlds, and it wasn’t revealed publicly until after his death in 1989. For decades, Tipton was portrayed as an ambitious woman “passing” as a man in pursuit of a music career at a time when the industry was dominated by men and trans representation was virtually non-existent. Since then, he has become a foundational icon of trans-masculinity. Co-directors Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt’s examine the disgraceful media scrutiny and questions of legitimacy his family endured after his death. This thoughtful, timely documentary embraces the challenge of bringing Tipton’s words to life, reimagining his narrative through a diverse group of contemporary trans performers as they collectively paint a portrait of an unlikely hero. NO ORDINARY MAN explores the life and legacy of American jazz musician and trans icon Billy Tipton as told through the eyes of today’s leading voices in the trans community. NO ORDINARY MAN features Marquise Vilsón, Scott Turner Schofield, Susan Stryker, C. Riley Snorton, and Thomas Page McBee, among others. Co-director Chase Joynt (Aisling Chin-Yee) and Writer Amos Mac join us to talk about the life and the times of an artist, husband and father hiding in plain sight and how Billy Tipton’s story informs and imbues today’s trans community.
For news, screenings and updates go to: chasejoynt.com/no-ordinary-man
As imaginative as the creative process it documents, A DOG CALLED MONEY is a uniquely intimate journey through the inspiration, writing and recording of a PJ Harvey album, The Hope Six Demolition Project. Writer and musician Harvey and award-winning photographer Seamus Murphy, hatched a collaboration. Seeking first-hand experience of the countries she wanted to write about, Harvey accompanied Murphy on some of his worldwide reporting trips, joining him in Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Washington DC. Harvey collected words, Murphy collected images. Back home, the words become poems, songs, then an album, which is recorded in an unprecedented art experiment in Somerset House, London. In a specially constructed room behind one-way glass, the public - all cameras surrendered - are invited to watch the 5 week process as a live sound-sculpture. Murphy exclusively documents the experiment with the same forensic vision and private access as their travels. Director / photographer Seamus Murphy brilliantly captures encounters with the people and places he and Polly Jean visit, showcasing the humanity at the heart of his work, while also tracing the evolution of their shared experience into her recorded music and ultimately into their impassioned collaboration.
For news and updates go to: abramorama.com/pjharvey-adogcalledmoney
In Massoud Bakhshi’s riveting new film, Yalda - A Night for Forgiveness, Maryam is a 22-year-old woman, who has been sentenced to death for murdering her 65-year-old husband, Nasser. Iranian law allows for the victim’s family to forgive her and spare her life, so Maryam’s fate will be decided by Nasser’s daughter, Mona, 37, on the country’s most popular televised reality show. In front of millions of viewers during Yalda, the winter solstice celebration, Maryam and Mona discover that forgiveness can be difficult as they relive the past. Director and screenwriter Massoud Bakhshi brings aesthetic energy and dramatic intensity to a story that unfolds over a few hours and almost entirely within the studio. Compelled by the social complexities of contemporary Iran, Bakhshi started as a documentary filmmaker, during which time he met several women who had murdered their husbands. Their stories stayed with him as he developed this powerful exploration of women characters. Although Maryam and Mona are condemned in some way and subject to Iran’s profound patriarchy, they find agency, moral authority, and freedom within those confines. Winner of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness elucidates Iran’s vibrant, modern identity alongside its deeply traditional culture.
For news and updates go to: pyramidefilms.com/yalda-a-night-for-forgiveness
From award-winning director Susan Koch's comes new feature documentary, MUSIC GOT ME HERE. The film follows the against-all-odds, true-life journey of Forrest Allen – a story of the power of music to heal and transform lives, often in miraculous ways. A snowboard accident leaves Forrest Allen, age 18, trapped inside himself, unable to speak or walk for almost two years. Tom Sweitzer, an eccentric music therapist with a troubled childhood who credits music with saving his own life, is determined to help Forrest find his voice. He dresses up in costumes and makes up silly songs. For months, Forrest doesn’t even acknowledge him. Then, one day Forrest painstakingly types with one finger on his Dynavox: “Please help me find my voice”. Tom begins by teaching Forrest to breathe...then hum. After many months of painstaking practice, the hums turn into Forrest's first two words. Director and writer Susan Koch joins us to talk about her uplifting tale of overcoming hardship, physical, spiritual and psychological as well as underscoring the pre-cognitive connective that humans share and with it our brains can be rewired to overcome trauma.
Winner of the Best Social Impact Award at the Greenwich International Film Festival, MUSIC GOT ME HERE was filmed over the course of five years and features interviews with renowned soprano and music therapy advocate Renee Fleming and National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins. MUSIC GOT ME HERE, is currently screening at Laemmle Virtual Cinema.
For news, screenings and updates go to: musicgotmehere.com
Tandem Pictures is a leader in conceiving and implementing eco-sustainable filmmaking practices in the indie film space, with all of their productions following Environmental Media Association standards and the Producers Guild’s Green Best Practices. They’re also an advocate for how these practices – from using hybrid vehicles on set, to having the sound and camera teams use rechargeable batteries, to composting and using metal straws – can and should be adopted industry-wide. Female owned and operated, it is Tandem’s mission is to bring female talent and narratives to the forefront. They embrace female-centric storytelling, and pride themselves on the fact that the casts and crews of their films are composed of underserved and underrepresented minority groups, LGBTQIA, and women. tandempictures.com
ABOUT TANDEM PICTURES Since 2010, TANDEM PICTURES has elevated and given a platform to misrepresented and underrepresented ideas. We are filmmakers, driven by justice and representation for both people and the planet. We strive to not only tell stories, but to share learnings with the industry in order to grow positive filming practices across our community. Past films include acclaimed festival films THE SURROGATE, BLOODSTRIPE, THE EYES OF MY MOTHER, THE SLEEPWALKER, WILDLIKE, GHOST TEAM and more. tandempictures.com
THE LAST SERMON begins with a flashback to the horrific 2003 terrorist attack on a Tel Aviv blues bar called Mike’s Place. THE LAST SERMON then takes us straight into today’s headlines when filmmakers Baxter and Faudem – united for life by the tragedy of that terrible night – seek answers about the suicide bombers who almost murdered them. In the aftermath of the infamous April 2003 suicide bombing at Mike’s Place that killed three and injured dozens, including Baxter, the filmmakers made the award-winning documentary BLUES BY THE BEACH (2004). But they didn’t get to tell the entire story at that time. THE LAST SERMON started in Jerusalem. Baxter and Faudem and their film crew traveled to Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary, Germany, Czech Republic, France, then on to England. At Refugee Camps and Mosques they interviewed, interacted and challenged Muslims and non-Muslims with the last words of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH): "There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or a non-Arab over an Arab, or a White over a Black, or a Black over a White, except by righteousness and piety.” Director and subject Jack Baxter joins us for a conversation on the how the Mike’s Place bombing started him on a personal quest to confront hatred, ignorance and move those he meets to recognize our collective humanity.
For news and updates go to: thelastsermonmovie.com
On January 23rd, 2020, China locked down Wuhan, a city of 11 million, to combat the emerging COVID-19 outbreak. Set deep inside the frontlines of the crisis, 76 DAYS tells indelible human stories at the center of this pandemic—from a woman begging in vain to bid a final farewell to her father, a grandpa with dementia searching for his way home, a couple anxious to meet their newborn, to a nurse determined to return personal items to families of the deceased. These raw and intimate stories bear witness to the death and rebirth of a city under a 76-day lockdown, and to the human resilience that persists in times of profound tragedy. MTV Documentary Films is pleased to announce the release of 76 DAYS, a raw and emotional look at the struggles of the people of Wuhan, China, in the earliest days of the COVID-19 outbreak. Directed by New York filmmaker Hao Wu (People’s Republic of Desire) and two China-based journalists, Weixi Chen and “Anonymous,” who took enormous personal risks to film at four different hospitals. 76 DAYS was directed by Hao Wu, Weixi Chen and Anonymous. Director Hoa Wu joins us for a conversation on the challenges of keeping his crew focused and in-tact while charging into the epicenter of the most devastating and understood pandemic of the last 100 years.
For news, screenings and updates go to: 76daysfilm.com
Heaven's Gate: The Cult of Cults is a thorough examination of the infamous UFO cult through the eyes of its former members and loved ones. What started in 1975 with the disappearance of 20 people from a small town in Oregon, ended in 1997 with the largest suicide on US soil and changed the face of modern New Age religion forever. This HBO Max four-part docu-series uses never-before-seen footage and first-person accounts to explore the infamous UFO cult that shocked the nation with their out-of-this-world beliefs. Director and Producer Clay Tweel joins us for a rollicking conversation on one of the most sensational and compelling collection of intelligent, engaging, and spiritually inspired people to ever embrace a collection of beliefs, brought to them by former minister and natal nurse, that eventually led them to hitch a ride on an undetectable space ship heading for parts unknown.
Heaven's Gate: Cult of Cults can be seen on: hbomax.com
In Dean Kapsalis’s feature film debut, THE SWERVE, we meet Holly, (Azura Skye) woman who seemingly has it all: two kids, a nice house, a good job as a teacher, and a husband with his career on the way up. But there are troubling signs that all is not right in her world. The insomnia. The medication for the insomnia. The dreams from the medication for the insomnia. (Are they even dreams?) And then there’s the mouse that appears in her home. Upsetting her already delicate balance, it sends her spiraling out of control. Writer/director Dean Kapsalis’ emotionally raw and unsparing film, THE SWERVE, explores a week in the life of a woman on the verge in this haunting meditation on mental illness. Actor Azura Skye joins us to talk about her preparation and collaboration with director / writer Kapsalis as well as the physical challenges of playing such a demanding role.
For news, screenings and updates go to: epic-pictures.com/film/the-swerve
About the actor - Azura Skye is a Los Angeles native whose gemologist parents named her after the mineral azurite. Skye began her career in the theatre as a child and segued into film and television in her teens, where she’s since managed to garner a lengthy resume. Skye’s credits include the films 28 DAYS, BANDITS, RED DRAGON, ONE MISSED CALL, HEAVEN’S FALL and WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY. On the small screen she has appeared in numerous television shows including BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, HOUSE M.D., THE MENTALIST, AMERICAN HORROR STORY, GIRLS, and RIVERDALE. She starred in the NBC comedy WORKING THE ENGELS and in the independent feature TAKE ME TO THE RIVER, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
Award winning filmmaker Sanjay Rawal’s latest documentary, GATHER, is a powerful portrait of Indigenous Americans reclaiming sovereignty over their decimated ancestral food systems, while battling against the historical trauma brought on by centuries of genocide. The early American economy was solely based on extracting money from the land. This nascent economy needed labor, but it mainly needed land. Stolen native land fueled American capitalism while slavery drove the economy. Native bodies were impediments because they occupied land the American economy needed, thus the genocide of thousands of indigenous people. After a century of stealing land, the American government began an active program to destroy Native food systems to subjugate Natives. In doing so, they destroyed tens of thousands of years of deep knowledge of the food space. Native Americans are now fighting to re-establish their right to their lands and their food traditions - this fight for food is as important as the fight against pipelines. As the pandemic continues to disproportionately affect Indian Country (IC), the common narrative is to blame poverty. In reality, IC is ravaged due to inadequate infrastructure, lack of health systems and environmental racism - directly driven by government disregard of legal and treaty obligations. Director Sanjay Rawal (Food Chains) talks with us about how the US government continues to neglect these communities and perpetuate its long-term genocide and the efforts of the Native American people’s to fight back.
For news, updates and screenings go to: gather.film
Gather is now available to stream on iTunes (US/UK/Canada), Amazon (US/UK) and Vimeo-on-Demand (rest of the world).
Director Richard Lui’s SKY BLOSSOM is a raw, uplifting window into 24.5 million children and millennials stepping forward as frontline heroes. Caring for family with tough medical conditions, they stay at home doing things often seen only in hospitals. They are cheerleaders, work part time, and go to college - but also live double lives - quietly growing up as America's next greatest generation. The filmmaker, veteran journalist and award-winning CNN/MSNBC news anchor Richard Lui says the interviews were so honest they genuinely surprised him, as they revealed insights into the lives of young people across America. Troops used to look up and say, "Here come the Sky Blossoms"-paratroopers rushing to their aid. Today, there is a new generation answering that call. These are their stories. First-time director and MSNBC news anchor Richard Liu joins us for a conversation on the reason he began the project, the exploration of these families courage and determination and the historic and spiritual meaning behind the film’s title.
For news, screenings and updates go to: skyblossom.com
For information on resources available go to: skyblossom.com/resources
Watch during the Virtual Theatre release at: /skyblossom.com/watch-film
KING OF KNIVES tells the story of Frank and Kathy who are baby boomer parents and Sadie & Kaitlin, their millennial daughters. Frank is screaming towards a mid-life crisis. Kathy pretends she’s happy and doesn’t drink that much wine. Sadie is the good child; convinced her first and only boyfriend is the one to marry. Kaitlin is the rebel, the entertainer; the truth teller who will not filter how she’s feeling. Over three days, with much drama and humor, this crap-happy family careens and skids straight towards a fateful anniversary. On the way, they realize they are more alike than they know. KING OF KNIVES, co-written by Lindsay Joy & Gene Pope and directed by Jon Delgado, has earned critical acclaim from audiences who have been lucky enough to see the film. It has also won awards from numerous festivals including “Best Narrative Feature Film” at the Williamsburg International Film & Music Competition, “Best Feature & Lead Actress” at the Milan World Cinema Festival, and seven Platinum awards including “Winner Narrative Feature” at the International Independent Film Awards. Producer and lead actor Gene Pope joins us for a lively conversation on his own mid-life reckoning that inspired the film, his role in front of and behind the camera, what his theatre background brought to the project and working with a cast that includes Mel Harris. KING OF KNIVES is a Gravitas Ventures release that is available on VOD and Digital platforms including iTunes, Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, Fandango Now and all major cable/satellite platforms on Tuesday, December 1.
For news and updates got to: kingofknivesthemovie.com
Narrated by Woody Harrelson and directed by critically-acclaimed filmmakers Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell Tickell (Oscar® shortlisted film and Sundance Audience Award winner “Fuel,” Cannes Film Festival Official Selection “The Big Fix”), KISS THE GROUND unveils a game-changer: We can reverse global warming and the Earth’s soil is the solution. By regenerating earth, we can completely and rapidly stabilize our planet’s climate, restore lost ecosystems, and create abundant food supplies.With epic footage shot on five continents, striking visuals from NASA and NOAA, and stunning animation, KISS THE GROUND conveys this critical message through the voices of leading scientists, ecologists, and experts including Nobel Laureates in climate, members of the International Panel on Climate Change, top scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), as well as environmental activists such as Gisele Bundchen, Tom Brady, Jason Mraz, Ian Somerhalder, Patricia Arquette, and Rosario Dawson. As an urgent call to action in addressing the world’s climate crisis, KISS THE GROUND artfully illustrates an accessible, relatively simple solution to humanity’s greatest challenge. Co-directors Josh and Rebecca Tickell join us to talk about how, despite all of the dire news about the impact of climate change, there is a way forward that is basic, sustainable, scalable and immediate, regeneration of earth’s most plentiful resources, soil.
For news, screening and updates go to: kissthegroundmovie.com
To find out more about the movement go to: kisstheground.com
From director Dana Nachman (BATKID BEGINS, PICK OF THE LITTER) comes the fanciful and poignant story of Operation Santa. For more than 100 years human elves have been helping Santa respond to the thousands of letters that are written and mailed to him. Through Operation Santa, the United States Postal Service makes it possible for the public to safely adopt these letters and make children’s dreams come true. DEAR SANTA invites audiences along for the magic of this massive endeavor. Traveling the country, much like Santa does on Christmas Eve, the film focuses on select Operation Santa centers: some in metropolitan areas like the massive operation in New York City and others in small towns where the post office is the heart of the community. This is a no Christmas spoiler film and Santa himself has watched the film and can’t wait for the December 4th release! Director Dana Nachman drops down the chimney to talk about her latest, and much needed heart-warming ode to generosity, kindness, and unabashed humanity.
For news, updates and screeings go to: dearsanta.movie
Learn more about Operation Santa at: uspsoperationsanta.com
ASSASSINS documents the bizarre, international plot, ripped from the headlines story of Kim Jong-nam—the half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un assassination in the bustling departures hub of Malaysia’s international airport. The spectacularly brazen murder happened in broad daylight, filmed entirely by security cameras. Footage showed two young women approaching Jong-nam from behind, covering his eyes with their hands, and pressing VX—the most lethal nerve gas on earth—into his eyes. He stumbled away and was dead within an hour. But if the murder was extreme, the story behind what came next was even more bizarre: The two women who killed Jong-nam claimed they had simply been hired to pull a video prank and had no idea what they were really doing. The Malaysian government scoffed, arrested and imprisoned the women and put them on trial for murder, facing execution. But was their outlandish story actually the truth? And would anyone believe them? ASSASSINS the latest film from director Ryan White (Ask Dr. Ruth, The Case Against 8), travels from the sanctums of Pyongyang to the rice fields of Indonesia and Vietnam to the courtrooms of Kuala Lumpur to tell an extraordinary tale of manipulation and subterfuge in the age of social media. A masterful investigation that offers an unprecedented look at the real story of Kim Jong-nam’s murder, ASSASSINS Director Ryan White stops by to discuss the wildly improbable tale of a calculating dictator, a nefarious plot, a very public murder, and two women fighting for their lives.
For news, screenings and updates go to: assassinsdoc.com
For more on the filmmakers go to: tripod-media.com
In WANDER DARKLY filmmaker Tara Miele explores grey, fuzzy light between reality and the sub-conscious In the aftermath of a traumatic incident, Adrienne (Sienna Miller) finds herself in a disorienting state of limbo, unstuck in time and witnessing life from a distance. Forced to confront her troubled relationship with her longtime partner, Matteo (Diego Luna), and the future of their infant daughter, Adrienne must relive and renegotiate the events of the recent past—and solve the mystery of the accident. Stepping into the shadows with Matteo, Adrienne looks for clues about what went wrong between them. Gently moving between the enigmatic and the romantic, WANDER DARKLY traverses genre borders, taking us on a journey that is both uncanny and emotionally resonant. Miller gives a wonderfully layered performance, navigating the film’s demanding tonal shifts. Luna is both elusive and engaged, walking the line between the film’s ethereal and earthly planes. Writer-director Tara Miele’s joins us for a lively conversation on her highly affecting existential drama that explores how we build narratives of love and loss from the fragmented memories of our lives and how we all live in a world where navigating the overwhelming truths of or daily lives can help us discover the love that binds us to each other as we face an uncertain future.
For news and updates go to: facebook.com/WanderDarkly
The incredible story that lies at the heart of Songs of Repression begins and ends at the foot of the Andes Mountains in Chile in the picturesque German colony of Colonia Dignidad (Colony of Dignity). The beauty of the place belies a grim past. In 1961, a German preacher named Paul Schäfer and his congregation moved to Chile with the stated aim of helping the poor. They established Colonia Dignidad, which transformed into a closed sect where child abuse, collective beatings and slave-like living conditions were an ongoing reality for 45 years. Many in the colony assisted Pinochet’s dictatorship in torturing and killing political prisoners and burying them in mass graves on their own 40,000-acre land. In 2007, Schäfer was arrested and the colony opened up. During that process, the community changed its name to Villa Baviera (Bavarian Village), now a tourist resort where you can relax, eat German cuisine and listen to yodeling. It remains the home of several generations of perpetrators and victims of the cult, inexplicably coexisting without reckoning with decades of abuse. Co-directors Marianne Hougen-Moraga and Estephan Wagner join us to talk about their chilling exploration of the community through the experiences of its surviving members.
For news and updates go to: estephanwagner.com/songs-of-repression
MAYOR is a real-life political saga following Musa Hadid, the Christian mayor of Ramallah, during his second term in office. His immediate goals: repave the sidewalks, attract more tourism, and plan the city's Christmas celebrations. His ultimate mission: to end the occupation of Palestine. Rich with detailed observation and a surprising amount of humor, MAYOR offers a portrait of dignity amidst the madness and absurdity of endless occupation while posing a question: how do you run a city when you don't have a country? MAYOR, director, producer, editor, cinematographer, David Osit joins us to talk about a most remarkable public servant, who spends much of his days greeting members of his community, visiting schools, meetings with staff on branding issues for Ramallah and having lunch with a grateful, but insistent constituent.
For news, updates and screenings go to: filmmovement.com/mayor or: go to: mayorfilm.com
Directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker John Dower, THE MYSTERY OF D.B. COOPER brings to life the stories of four individuals fervently believed by their family and friends to be “D.B. Cooper,” the mystery man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle, traded the passengers’ lives for $200,000 and four parachutes, lept from the jet over some of Washington state’s roughest terrain, and was never heard from again. Almost 50 years later, the case continues to confound the FBI and inspire wild speculation as it remains the only unsolved airplane hijacking in United States history. THE MYSTERY OF D.B. COOPER draws from a combination of recreated and archival footage, as well as exclusive interviews with those most connected to the infamous case and its likeliest culprit, and explores how the heist inspired copycat hijackings around the world and elevated Cooper to “legend” status before his plane even touched back down on land. Director John Dower joins us for a lively conversation on the rabid D.B. Cooper cognoscenti who claim that they “know” what happened, the surprisingly strong bond Dower formed with the subjects he met making the film and the enduring and irresistible legend born on Thanksgiving eve, 1971.
For news, and screenings go to: hbo.com/documentaries/the-mystery-of-db-cooper
If future generations look back at what it was truly like to be both human and alive in the late 20th century, they will be hard put to find a more powerful and enlightening testament than the songs of Shane McGowan. In a world where music has become increasingly sanitized and unable to venture beneath the surface clichés of human emotion, Shane’s songs stand out in ever greater relief. A cinematic exploration of Shane MacGowan’s story, Julien Temple’s film CROCK OF GOLD details Shane’s explosive existence, from his salad days, growing up in Ireland, to time spent on the mean streets of London and embracing the punk scene. To forming the Pogues and the conquering the known universe, we discover MacGowan’s passions, his humor and deep knowledge of music, history, spirituality & popular culture. For this is Shane’s story. A vision of the world through the eyes of the great punk poet himself and an intimate cast of close friends and family members, all channeled through director Julien Temple’s inimitable and eternally vibrant lens. Director Julien Temple joins us for an enlightening conversation on MacGowan’s unusual childhood living on a farm without electricity, his collaboration with Johnny Depp and his respect and admiration for an artist that has stay faithful to his love of music and his country, no matter the cost.
For news, screenings and updates go to: crockofgoldfilm.com
THE WAY HOME is a short-form documentary series from KTF Films and Bread and Butter Films focusing on the current homelessness epidemic in California - the state with the largest population of homeless people in the USA. Through these compelling short films, you will be inspired by the solution creators and the game-changers who are making an impact in this ongoing situation. Joining us are co-directors and co-writters Camille Servan-Schreiber and Don Hardy and producer Shawn Dailey The Way Home offers is a nuanced and informative four-part series that focuses on the big picture issues that present structural impediments to people struggling to overcome poverty in Oakland, Los Angeles and Bakersfield as well as the personal stories that humanize the people who live in the shadows.
For news and updates go to: thewayhomedoc.com
For a glimpse of our episodes, click the play buttons below. The full episodes will be available on Amazon, Apple, Google, and other streaming platforms on December 4th.
Josh Duhamel (Transformers) stars in this wild and hilarious, no-holds-barred comedy. After six lifelong friends have a five year falling out, Bob (Duhamel), aka “The Bobfather”, reunites his pals for the Buddy Games, an insane competition of absurd physical and mental challenges with the chance to win a $150,000 pot. Now all bets are off, as the determined dudes fight, claw, and party for the big bucks in this star-studded bro-fest featuring Dax Shepard (CHiPs), Olivia Munn (Office Christmas Party) and Kevin Dillon (“Entourage”). Director / Producer / Co-screenwriter Josh Duhamel stops by to talk about collaborating on the script and the actual “Buddy”games with Bob Schwartz and Jude Weng, pulling together a great comedic cast and discovering a love for directing his own projects.
For news and updates go to: paramountmovies.com/movies/buddy-games
GHOSTS OF THE RÉPUBLIQUE follows Aurelien and Nicolas, who, when confronted with France’s conservative surrogacy laws (where surrogacy is illegal), decide to exhaust their last option by traveling to Las Vegas to start a family of their own through international surrogacy. Nicolas and Aurelien’s story is unique in that it is a portrayal of the same-sex experience in creating a biological family through surrogacy, a technology developed in the 1980’s becoming more and more commonplace each year. This technology is one that has not only brought hope to couples who struggle with infertility but also to couples who struggle with equality. But while it is a source of hope for many, surrogacy also raises ethical considerations with various legal implications across the globe. Through the lens of one family, this film demonstrates the extreme lengths many gay couples go to have children, while highlighting the ever-expanding and controversial surrogacy industry. GHOSTS OF THE RÉPUBLIQUE seeks to explore the complexities of the issues, and in particular, asks, what does define family in our modern age? Director Jonathan Narducci joins us for a conversation on the negative impact of uncertainty in denying people their human rights and how this project has change the lives of the people who participated.
For news and updates go to: ghostsoftherepublique.com
They say you can never escape a mother’s love... but for Chloe, that’s not a comfort — it’s a threat. Hulu’s latest high profile film project RUN opens the door on something unnatural, even sinister about the relationship between Chloe (newcomer Kiera Allen) and her mom, Diane (Sarah Paulson). Diane has raised her daughter in total isolation, controlling every move she’s made since birth, and there are secrets that Chloe's only beginning to grasp. From the visionary writers, producers and director of the breakout film Searching, comes a suspense thriller that shows that when mom gets a little too close, you need to RUN. Director Aneesh Chaganty and Producer Sev Ohanian join us for a conversation on the challenges of pulling together a high wire psychological thriller and working with a promising young actor, Kiera Allen on a brilliant film anchored by one of the finest actors working today, Sarah Paulson.
Premiering on HULU November 20
HBO Documentary Films’ MURDER ON MIDDLE BEACH, a four-part documentary series directed by first-time filmmaker Madison Hamburg, presents Hamburg’s complicated journey as a young man determined to solve an unspeakable crime and the desire to absolve the people he loves, while looking for answers within his fractured family and community. On March 3, 2010, single mother Barbara Hamburg was found violently murdered near her home in the upper middle class enclave of Madison, Connecticut. Investigators speculated her murder appeared to be a crime of passion, but without enough evidence, the case grew cold. Over the course of eight years, Barbara’s son, Madison Hamburg, interviewed his family members and many others, longing to learn more about his mother and gathering evidence in hopes of solving her murder, sending him into a deep web of buried familial secrets, connections to shadowy criminal figures, and the uncovering of years-old resentments in his deceptively serene hometown. While Madison wrestles with troubling revelations about his mother, the most unsettling conflict comes from Madison’s obligation to bring into question those inside his community and members of his own family. Director Madison Hamburg joins us to talk about this deeply personal story of loss, discovery, anxiety and reconciliation.
For news and updates go to: hbo.com/murder-on-middle-beach
MURDER ON MIDDLE BEACH debuts on November 15 on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
The feature film debut of director Darius Marder, Sound of Metal, chronicles the life of Ruben, (Riz Ahmed) an itinerant punk-metal drummer. During a series of adrenaline-fueled one-night gigs, Ruben begins to experience intermittent hearing loss. When a specialist tells him his condition will rapidly worsen, he thinks his music career — and with it his life — is over. His bandmate and girlfriend Lou (Olivia Cooke) checks the recovering heroin addict into a secluded sober house for the deaf in hopes it will prevent a relapse and help him learn to adapt to his new situation. But after being welcomed into a community that accepts him just as he is, Ruben has to choose between his equilibrium and the drive to reclaim the life he once knew. Utilizing startling, innovative sound design techniques, director Darius Marder takes audiences inside Ruben’s experience to vividly recreate his journey into a rarely examined world. Director and screenwriter Darius Marder joins us for a conversation on technical challenge of creating a cinematic language to meet the demands of telling Ruben’s complex story, creating an environment for remarkable performances from Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke and Paul Raci and his collaboration with fellow director Derek Cianfrance (The Place Beyond the Pines).
To watch go to: amazon.com/Sound of Metal
The latest documentary film from award-winning director Alexander Nanau is a verite look behind the curtain of the pervasive corruption of Romania’s Health Ministry. Collective is a scathing examination of the 2015, a fire at Bucharest's Colectiv club. A fire that leaves 27 dead and 180 injured. Soon, more burn victims begin dying in hospitals from wounds that were not life-threatening. When a doctor blows the whistle on the misuse and abuse of medical protocols and treatments at the facility specializing in burn victim recovery a team of investigative journalists jump into the fray. One revelation leads to another as the journalists start to uncover vast health care fraud. When a new health minister is appointed, he offers unprecedented access to his efforts to reform the corrupt system but also to the obstacles he faces. Following journalists, whistle-blowers, burn victims, and government officials, Collective is an uncompromising look at the impact of investigative journalism at its best. Collective Director Alexander Nanua joins us for a conversation on his remarkable access to the inner circle of the reform-minded new minister and how naked greed and corruption led to deaths of far too many innocent victims.
For news, updates and screenings go to: collectivemovie.com
In the latest documentary from Academy Award winning director Alex Gibney Crazy, Not Insane asks the question, Why do we kill? Why do some of us kill, and others resist the temptation? What makes a serial killer? Dr. Dorothy Otnow Lewis, a psychiatrist who’s worked with numerous serial killers, including Ted Bundy, Arthur Shawcross and Joel Rifkin, has been looking to answer these questions for decades. Fascinated by the human brain and its capacity for ruthlessness, she has spent her life investigating the interior lives of violent people. With each case, she came closer to developing a unified field theory of what makes a killer. Along the way – steering away from the conventional wisdom of her colleagues — she explored the world of multiple personality disorder. Producer Ophelia Harutyunyan joins us in conversation on the groundbreaking work on trauma and abuse being done by Dr. Lewis and others, as well as the question of evil and its impact on the dispensation of justice in a secular system of justice.
For news and updates go to: jigsawprods.com/crazy-not-insane
Watch at: hbo.com/documentaries/crazy-not-insane
The story begins in New York City on Thomas’ final tour in 1953 – a tour that was meant to save him from ruin. The Welsh poet's reputation for heavy drinking and philandering would soon be forgotten as eager audiences are captivated by his poetry lectures. Full of poetry, passion, and an ultimate betrayal, the poet who gave us Do not go gentle into that good night, Under Milkwood, and stories and broadcasts such as A Child’s Christmas in Wales and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog, rages, loves and fights against the gathering darkness. One day at the local White Horse Tavern, he drinks 18 double scotches, naming each one after his life experience. Soon his fantasies, his memories, and an uncertain present blend into a wild, surreal farewell to the world. Last Call stars Rhys Ifans (The Fantastic Flitcrofts) as Thomas, two-time Academy Award-nominee John Malkovich (In the Line of Fire, Places in the Heart) as Thomas’s confidant and enabler, Dr. Felton, and in supporting roles, Rodrigo Santoro (Westworld), Romola Garai (Atonement), Tony Hale (Veep) and Zosia Mamet (Girls) Last Call was written and directed by Steven Bernstein (Decoding Annie Parker).
For news, screenings and updates go to: lastcallfeature.com
Octogenarian artist Audrey Flack has always been a trailblazer. QUEEN OF HEARTS: AUDREY FLACK, a documentary from Oscar® and Emmy® Award-winning director Deborah Shaffer (The Wobblies, To Be Heard) and co-director/editor Rachel Reichman (Hitchcock/Truffaut, A Letter to Elia), is an intimate portrait of her life and work, as she returns to her canvas for the first time in decades, revealing her longtime struggles as an artist and mother to find her rightful place in the art world. At 88 years-old, Audrey Flack holds a unique place in the history of contemporary art in America. Feminist, rebel, mother, painter, sculptor and teacher, Audrey's often controversial 40-year career evolved from abstract expressionism in the 1950s to photorealism in the 1970s. One of the first women ever included in the famed Janson's History of Art, Audrey continues to create, explore, and inspire with her unique style and indomitable spirit. QUEEN OF HEARTS follows Flack as she takes her work in a brand new direction and reveals her long-term struggles as the mother of a child with autism. Flack has something deep and genuine to communicate to the world. Director Deborah Shaffer joins us for a conversation on getting to know her endlessly fascinating, multi-talented subject who is still testing, still experimenting, still searching.
For news and updates go to: audreyflackfilm.com
In 2018, 15-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg held a school strike outside her country’s Parliament building in Stockholm. At first she sat alone, handing out information and answering questions from passersby. Slowly, others began to join her—and within months she had sparked a worldwide movement. I AM GRETA offers a personal and inspiring glimpse inside Greta’s path to becoming an internationally known environmental activist. Shot in the style of cinéma vérité and with support from the Thunberg family, cameras capture Greta’s meetings with government leaders, headline-making public appearances, and global protests. But they also depict Greta’s life outside of the moments visible on news channels worldwide: laughing at home with her family, writing impassioned speeches, and trying to handle the mounting stress of nonstop travel, public scrutiny and becoming the face of the climate change cause. The film culminates with Greta’s arduous two-week journey by sailboat to the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City, where she’s greeted by crowds chanting her name. (Greta stopped flying because of the high emissions caused by air travel.) Today, her #FridaysForFuture movement has organized climate strikes on every continent except Antarctica. As she tells the UN, “The world is waking up, and change is coming whether you like it or not.” Director Nathan Grossman joins us to talk about his filmmaker instinct to document Greta Thunberg’s first days in front of the Swedish Parliament, the remarkable level of trust he had with Greta and her family as he chronicled the tale of a young woman determined to hold the most powerful people in the world accountable for their pathological abuse of Planet Earth.
For news and updates go to: iamgretafilm.com
The endlessly intriguing “what if” documentary, RED HEAVEN, pulls back the curtain on what are the practical implications for the astronauts on a mission to colonize Mars. What are the physical, mental and psychological impacts likely to be on these explorers in an isolated and unforgiving environment as they carry out their mission to colonize Mars? RED HEAVEN focuses on a group of six volunteers, Tristan Bassingthwaighte, Carmel Johnston, Sheyna Gifford, Andrzej Stewart, Christiane Heinicke, and Cyprien Verseux as they take part in the ultimate dress rehearsal, living inside a year-long NASA simulation designed to understand the effects of isolation on the human mind. RED HEAVEN asks audiences to look at their own fundamental needs as human beings, what they can and can’t live without, and pose a fundamental question about why humans seem so determined to explore and expand our boundaries. Co-directors Lauren DeFilippo and Katherine Gorringe join us to talk about how they see their film in a different light since the COVID pandemic, how they gained a new understanding for what our subjects went through – living together while separated from the rest of the world, everyday a struggle against the pressures of boredom and isolation.
For news and updates go to: redheavenfilm.com
CRUTCH takes the audience on a journey that literally spans the entire globe. The documentary features the abandoned Pittsburgh steel mills of Bill’s childhood; his diagnosis with Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, a rare, degenerative condition of the hip; the underground NYC break dance battles of his twenties; his groundbreaking performances in Sydney, Quebec, Madrid, Helsinki, Moscow, London, Paris, Tokyo, and more. CRUTCH is a global story, a powerful story, a transformational story, and one which will have you re-evaluating your own perspectives. From childhood "cripple" to international provocateur, CRUTCH is an engrossing, emotional story of an artist’s struggle to be understood and an auspicious DOC NYC debut. Two decades in the making and employing a kinetic tapestry of 8mm film from the 70’s, Hi-8 and VHS tapes from the 80’s, mini-DV tapes from the 90’s, and stunning HD footage from the 2000’s, CRUTCH documents Bill’s extraordinary life’s story: the history of Bill’s medical odyssey, his struggles with chronic pain, the evolution of his crutch dancing and skating, his rise to become a world-renowned performance artist, and his transformation from an angry skate punk to an international hero. Co-directors Sachi Cunningham and Vayabobo (Chandler Evans) join us to talk about Bill Shannon’s fierce determination to breakthrough cultural perceptions of what it is to be a dancer, skateboarder and performance artist.
For news, screenings and updates go to: crutchdoc.com
IN MY OWN TIME: A PORTRAIT OF KAREN DALTON explores Karen’s early days in Oklahoma where she experienced the harsh realities of growing up during the Great Depression and follows her through more than two decades at the margins of popular music. With two ex-husbands and two children by the time she was eighteen, she rejected the life of a housewife and set off for New York City. Constantly struggling to find her audience yet too close to her own music to compromise, Karen’s negotiations with fortune and fame were complex, but one thing is clear, she lived the music. While Karen projected a tough exterior, as a musician she was fragile and rife with insecurity. IN MY OWN TIME: A PORTRAIT OF KAREN DALTON focuses on Karen’s difficulties in pursuing success while trying to maintain a pure relationship with the creative process. Through stories from her closest friends, family and collaborators, combined with Karen’s rarely seen personal journals and poetry. We dive deep into the existential struggles she faced, and that ultimately led to her drug use and an untimely death due to AIDs related illness. Co-directors Richard Peete and Robert Yapkowitz join us to talk about an artist who eschewed the spotlight, admired by her peers, difficult to know and the creator of a body of work that will inspire others for as long as music is made.
Social Media facebook.com/karendaltondocumentary twitter.com/JULIA_HOLTER
THE LAST OUT tells the story of three talented Cuban athletes, Happy, Carlos, and Victor, leave their families and homes behind as they set off in pursuit of the ultimate dream: a contract with Major League Baseball. Cuban ballplayers are among baseball’s brightest stars but Cuban ballplayers can’t just sign out of Cuba - the US Embargo is still in place and only being strengthened under the current administration - so Cubans have to leave their homeland, often under dangerous circumstances and establish residency in a third Country like The Dominican Republic, Haiti or Costa Rica. At the rundown Estadio Antonio Escarre, they have spent the past year training long and hard, thousands of miles away from their families in Cuba. They travel to Costa Rica and train under a seedy sports agent who dangles promises while exploiting their talents. As they navigate immigration and the ulterior motives of handlers, each man finds an unexpected path forward to a better life. Set against the backdrop of the dangerous Central American migrant trail, THE LAST OUT offers a rare window into the dark side of professional sports. THE LAST OUT co-directors Sami Khan and Michael Gassert stop by to talk about their process of following the many twists and turns these young men’s lives take them on and the personal risk they and their team took in chronicling it.
Sami Khan’s most recent film, the short documentary St. Louis Superman (with Smriti Mundhra), was nominated for an Academy Award® and won a Special Jury Prize at Tribeca in 2019. Michael Gassert's documentary and archival work has been supported by IFP, the Sundance Institute, UNESCO, and the Kennedy Center.
Social Media twitter.com/samikhanfilm instagram.com/samikhanfilm millerjonathan.tumblr.com instagram.com/jonmilla instagram.com/docnycfest
Director Sian-Pierre Regis’ poignant feature documentary debut, DUTY FREE, takes us into the world of his mom, Rebecca Danigelis, a British immigrant living in Boston, who has been fired from her job as a hotel housekeeper at the age of 75. An experience that has left her financially and emotionally devastated. Her son, Sian-Pierre, is living in New York City, trying to work his way into the competitive world of TV journalism. With his mother’s reality crashing down, Sian-Pierre resolves to leave New York, and the life he expected to lead, to help his mother get back on her feet. As Sian-Pierre looks for ways to support Rebecca, he gives her an adventure spanning two continents that uncovers a surprising family saga, a story that reveals the compromises and injustices placed on single mothers, the persistence of sexism and ageism, and the difficult dance of duty and freedom where the older and younger generations come together. DUTY FREE and the impact campaign inspired by the film examines ageism, the care crisis, and economic insecurity in America. Who will care for and support our moms and dads? Our grandmothers and our grandfathers? Watch our film, raise these questions in your own community, and together let’s point to solutions that work for all generations. Director Sian-Pierre Regis joins us for a conversation about the challenges facing millions of families as they confront the impacts of aging love ones and how we navigate the challenges and embrace the opportunity to better understand a part of the human experience that awaits us all.
For news and updates go to: dutyfreefilm.com
About the filmmaker - Sian-Pierre is currently a Firelight Media Fellow 2018-2020 and a Film Independent Documentary Fellow 2019. He is also an award-winning journalist, on-camera personality, and cultural critic with an undying love for both pop-culture and social responsibility. He has been a contributor for CNN, HLN, MTV and CBS, covering stories of youth political activism and pop-culture.
Giedrė Žickytė remarkable documentary, THE JUMP, chronicles the stranger than fiction story of a man determined to free himself from the stifling clutches of a political system that destroyed the lives of millions living behind the Iron Curtain, It’s Thanksgiving Day, 1970. The US coast guard sets out to meet a Soviet vessel anchored just off the shore of Martha’s Vineyard. A one-day conference between the two nations has been set to discuss fishing rights in the Atlantic Ocean. While the talks are in full swing, Lithuanian sailor Simas Kudirka jumps across the icy water onto the American boat in a frantic bid for freedom. To his horror, and to the outcry of the world media, the Americans return him to the Soviets and he is tried for treason. The event sets off a series of protests throughout the US begging for his freedom and all hope seems lost, until new information about Simas’ citizenship surfaces. Through eye-witness reports, rare archival footage and a dramatic first-person re-enactment by now 90-year-old would-be defector Simas Kudirka, director Giedrė Žickytė takes us on a stranger-than-fiction journey that became an inspiration for people, pictures and politics, reaching all the way up to the White House. Director Giedrė Žickytė joins us to talk about why Simas Kudirka’s story, and the stories of the thousands of migrants from around the globe, both past migrants and those of the future who will be seeking freedom and a promise of a better life. are so near to her heart and to the people of her native land, Lithuania.
For news and updates go to: metfilmsales.com/the-jump
RONNIE’S is a love letter to saxophonist Ronnie Scott and the indispensable night club he and partner Peter King established in 1959. For more than 60 years music giants have walked through the door of a small basement club in London’s Soho. From the beginning of the burgeoning British modern jazz movement, he and King dreamt of opening a club modeled after the swinging jazz scene of New York’s 52nd Street. From its humble beginnings sixty years ago, Ronnie Scott’s would become the cornerstone of the UK jazz scene and one of the most famous jazz clubs in the world. Ronnie Scott was beloved by many, from the great and famous who frequented his club, to the many hard up musicians who were often helped by his warmth and generous spirit. However, Ronnie was as complex and colourful as the music played on his stage. In private Ronnie battled with depression and when his untimely death occurred in 1996 it left the jazz community bereft of a respected and favorite leader. Funny and moving, Ronnie’s features performances by some of greatest musicians of the 20th Century including…Oscar Peterson, Dizzie Gillespie, Roland Kirk, Cleo Lane and John Danforth, Buddy Rich, Sarah Vaughn, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Ella Fitzgerald, Mary Lou Williams, Van Morrison and Chet Baker, Nina Simone and Ben Webster.
For news and updates go to: olliemurray.com/portfolio/ronnies
Or go to: orofenafilms.com/Ronnies
A CRIME ON THE BAYOU is the third film in director Nancy Buirski's trilogy profiling brave individuals who fought for justice in and around the Civil Rights era, following The Loving Story and The Rape of Recy Taylor. The story begins in 1966 in Plaquemines Parish, a swampy strip of land south of New Orleans. After months of clashes, the public schools have been integrated by court order. But we are in the land of the white separatist despot, Leander Perez, who rules Plaquemines like his fiefdom, making sure that segregation sticks regardless of federal laws desegregating schools and mandating voting rights. A 19-year old Black fisherman, Gary Duncan, tries to break up a fight between white and Black teenagers outside a newly integrated school. He lays his hand on a white boy’s arm and the boy recoils, as if bitten by snake. That night, police arrest Gary Duncan for assault on a minor. With the help of a young attorney, Richard Sobol, Duncan bravely stands up to Perez. Systemic racism and pervasive anti-Semitism meet their match in decisive courtroom battles, including the U.S. Supreme Court; hate is vanquished by a powerful friendship that will last a lifetime. With the rise of white nationalism in the U.S. and abroad, there is no more important story to tell today. The roots and the mechanics of hate groups are in full display in this dramatic story of a crime on the bayou. Together this trilogy demonstrates that regular people standing up for their values are the root of human progress. Mildred Loving, Recy Taylor and Gary Duncan did not set out to change history. But they remind us that anyone can. A CRIME ON THE BAYOU Executive Producer is John Legend. Director Nancy Buirski joins us to talk about the her searing indictment of the systemic racism that is responsible for the hideously unjust incarceration of Gary Duncan and thousands of others as well as how it continues to this day.
For news and updates on A Crime in the Bayou go to: augustafilms.com
It’s 1984 and outside a small-town nightclub, a group of 8th graders gather, grappling with a spate of recent suicides, UFO sightings, their absentee parents, and each other. 18 TO PARTY spans a single evening in the lives of these kids, but manages to transport us fully to a time when waiting for something to happen felt just as significant as the thing itself. Gorgeously atmospheric, with a pulsating sense of anticipation that steadily builds, the film pulls us into the fears, wounds, and desires of each character, ultimately revealing that hope may arrive from the last place we expect. The meticulously authentic production design, killer soundtrack, and universally excellent performances recall the spirit of classic 80s teen movies like Stand By Me and The Breakfast Club. 18 TO PARTY is a spot-on love letter to Gen X, awkward teenagers, and the transcendent power of friendship. Director Jeff Roda joins us for a conversation on the universal trials and tribulations of youth, working with a very talented group of actors and the inspiration for his insightful new film.
For news and updates go to: 18topartymovie.com
Based on a non-fiction novel RECON is set in the mountains of Italy at the close of the Second World War. Adapted from the critically acclaimed New York Times best seller by famed author Richard Bausch, and based on a true event – RECON tells the story of four American soldiers in WW2, who after they witness a vicious murder of an innocent civilian at the hands of their platoon Sergeant, are sent on a reconnaissance/suicide mission lead by a local partisan, an elderly man whose indeterminate loyalties add to the terror and confusion that engulfs the Americans as they are hunted by an unseen enemy. RECON centers around young men in the midst of war. The action occurs over the course of one long day between four soldiers placed in a crucible, as they debate both their fates and that of life itself. Each has a different perspective, liberal, racist, uncertain - a metaphor for the America both of 1945 and 2018. As the soldiers fight amongst themselves they realize they are being both hunted and haunted by a mysterious sniper and the specter of a burning question - is their Italian guide, this old man from the village, a fascist sympathizer who wishes to lead them to their death? As they struggle to make it off the mountain alive, these American soldiers face the worst that war can offer men…. and through this each finds their own peace. Director Robert Port stops by for a conversation on the challenges of meeting the expectations set by an award winning novel, working with a very talented cast of young actors and capturing a tone and and look that puts you in the middle of this intense drama.
For news and updates go to: brainmedia.com/films/recon
Sacha Polak’s DIRTY GOD is a film about a young mother from London who must pick up the pieces after an acid attack leaves her with severe facial burns. Prior to the attack, with limited education and opportunities, Jade's main currency was her looks. Her face has been reconstructed, but her beauty is gone. Jade must set about rebuilding herself - and this is a gargantuan task. Cast adrift from her young daughter, Jade finds solace in the hidden world of online liaisons where she uncovers the passion and connection she's craved in an often humorous and celebratory way. However, the actions of a stranger threaten to turn her life upside down once more, and those around her are ill-equipped to halt her descent. As family life and friendships start to crumble, her lowest ebb proves the inspiration that Jade needs. Jade takes drastic action, finally finding her path back to her daughter and herself. Finalist for the 2019 Sundance Grand Jury Prize (World Cinema Dramatic) DIRTY GOD is a powerful film about motherhood, courage and self-acceptance. Director Sacha Polak joins us for a conversation on how Jade’s story resonated with lead actor Vicki Knight’s own recovery and the trust and bonding that the entire cast and crew experienced during the making of this compelling film.
For news, updates and screenings go to: modernfilms.com/dirtygod
2019 Sundance Film Festival - World Cinema Dramatic Competition 2019 Rotterdam Film Festival - World Premiere
CODED BIAS explores the fallout of MIT media lab researcher Joy Buolamwini’s startling discovery, technology based bias is real. Modern society sits at the intersection of two crucial questions: What does it mean when artificial intelligence increasingly governs our liberties? And what are the consequences for the people AI is biased against? When MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini discovers that most facial-recognition software does not accurately identify darker-skinned faces and the faces of women, she delves into an investigation of widespread bias in algorithms. As it turns out, artificial intelligence is not neutral, and women are leading the charge to ensure our civil rights are protected. Director Shalini Kantayya (Catching the Sun) joins us for a conversation on computerized racial, political, sexual, social, financial, cultural bias and how it is here now and what, if any, way that people can do anything reform it or stop it from determining our collective future.
For news, updates and screenings go to: codedbias.com
Learn more and take action go to: codedbias.com/take-action
In his follow-up to the acclaimed debut feature film, The Giant, Johannes Nyholm’s Koko-Di Koko-Da recounts the story of Elin and Tobias, a happily married couple who regularly vacation with their young daughter. The family is on a dreamy holiday when an innocuous case of food poisoning derails their plans and forever alters the course of their lives.Three years later, the once loving couple is on the road again to go camping, looking for one last chance to go back to the way things used to be. But what once was is lost, and our characters instead find themselves having to relive the same nightmarish events, as that day and the horrors it brings repeat themselves infinitely. Together, they must overcome their trauma, reconcile with their past and fight for their lives. Over, and over, and over again. Discerned through a dreamlike fabric, a story emerges about relationships in general, grief and reconciliation in particular, and love as a healing force. Director Johannes Nyholm stops by to talk about the mind-bending, Federico Fellini meets Rod Sterling mise-en-scène inhabiting this profoundly passive-aggressive tale of trauma, loss and truly terrible camping strategies.
To watch the film on-line go to: laemmle.com/film/koko-di-koko-da
Oscar winning Director Ron Howard’s gripping new documentary. Rebuilding Paradise, movingly recounts and expands on the devastating events of Nov. 8, 2018. A tragedy that began with a spark from a transmission line in Northern California, coupled with climate-impacted conditions, quickly grew into a devastating firestorm that engulfed the picturesque city of Paradise, California. By the time the Camp Fire was extinguished, it had killed 85 people, displaced 50,000 residents and destroyed 95% of local structures. It was the deadliest U.S. fire in 100 years — and the worst ever in California’s history. As residents faced the damage to their lives, to their homes and to more than 150,000 acres in and around their 141-year-old town, they did something amazing: They worked together to heal. The community members went on to forge a bond stronger than what they had before the catastrophe, even as their hope and spirit were challenged by continued adversity: relocations, financial crises, government hurdles, water poisoning, grief and PTSD. From the moment the crisis began, The Camp Fire and its overwhelming aftermath became a de facto lesson in what we all must do: protect our environment, help our neighbors, plan for future dangers and remember to preserve the traditions that unite us — just as these resilient citizens did when they began the important task of REBUILDING PARADISE. Producer Sara Bernstein joins us for a conversation on how the production team, led by Oscar-winning director Ron Howard gained the confidence and trust of families scarred by one of the most devastating fires in California as well as documenting the resiliency and character of the people rebuilding Paradise.
For news and updates go to: nationalgeographic.com/rebuilding-paradise
What started out as an inside joke amongst two self-proclaimed weirdos in Ft. Worth, Texas soon becomes much more than they bargained for when they decide to turn their conservative southern ideology on its head and invent a new religion all their own and all is chronicled in the rousing new documentary film, J.R. "Bob" Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius.The film features appearances from Church devotees Richard Linklater, Penn Jillette and Nick Offerman. The Church of the SubGenius has been called “the most aggressively preposterous theology the world has ever known!” But what is the Church? And who is J.R. "Bob" Dobbs? And why is his name always in quotes? Filmmaker Sandy K. Boone explores the underground movement that has galvanized the imaginative, the artistic, the nerdy, even the deranged – to examine the simmering dystopia in their culture, and do absolutely nothing about it... except, maybe, poke fun at it all. Director Sandy K. Boone and co-founder Dr. Philo Drummond (Reverend Ivan Stang) join us for a lively conversation on how the Church’s subversive and deliberately chaotic anti-dogma was unleashed on an unsuspecting world of pinks and normals.
For news, updates and screenings go to: subgeniusmovie.com
For more about J.R. "Bob" Dobbs and the Church go to: subgenius.com
The compelling documentary WHERE SHE LIES tells the heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting true story of an assaulted teen, Peggy Phillips, who gives birth out of wedlock in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1962. Upon giving birth, Peggy receives conflicting narratives about her infant's fate, with one doctor claiming that her baby had passed, and another claiming it was thriving. Thirty-three years later, Peggy's mother reveals on her deathbed that Peggy's baby is still alive. After a series of new attempts to uncover the truth, including exhuming her infant's alleged grave, Peggy reaches an impasse when she runs out of money. Almost two decades later, a documentarian (Zach Marion) helps Peggy uncover the truth about what happened. They become friends, as they sift through an entanglement of local hearsay, claims from a greedy former inmate, and ultimately, DNA testing. Through its investigation of false narratives, memory, and motherhood, the film explores the gas-lighting and discrimination that Peggy faced as a sexual assault survivor in the 1960’s deep south. Director Zach Marion stops by to talk about his beautifully rendered recounting of a woman determined to find where the literal truth lies.
For news and updates go to: whereshelies.com
From Kim A. Snyder, director of the Peabody Award-winning documentary Newtown, comes Us Kids, an insightful, rousing coming-of-age story of a generation of youth leaders determined to take the reins and fight for justice at a most critical time in our nation's history. Sparked by the plague of gun violence ravaging their schools, Us Kids, chronicles the March For Our Lives movement from the point of view of Emma González, David Hogg, Samantha Fuentes and the expansive coalition of teenage activists involved over the course of several years as they pull off the largest youth protest in American history and set out across the country to build an inclusive and unprecedented youth movement that addresses racial justice, a growing public health crisis, and shocks a political system into change. Director Kim A Snyder joins us for a conversation on the historic progress made by the reluctant activists who dramatically change the perception that young people should “wait there turn” in terms of affecting the course of politics in America and the world.
For news, updates and screenings go to: uskidsfilm.com
Ilana Navaro’s eye-opening new documentary Josephine Baker: The Story of An Awakening, illuminates the life of iconic artist and human rights activist Josephine Baker, the first global black superstar. World renowned performer, World War II spy, and activist are a few of the titles used to describe Josephine Baker, one of the most successful African American performers in French history. Josephine Baker: The Story of An Awakening follows Baker from being a poor little black girl from Missouri to becoming the Queen of Paris, before joining the French Resistance and finally creating her dream family “The Rainbow Tribe”, adopting twelve children from the four corners of the world. The film reveals rare and previously unseen archives that will resolve the puzzle of Josephine’s fascinating fifty-year-long “headline grabbing career.” Josephine Baker made three trips “back home” (1936, 1948, 1951), and each time she experienced everyday racism, despite her worldwide fame. Each tragic experience triggered her life-changing decisions. Gradually the battle for Civil Rights became her own, up until 1963, when she was the only woman who spoke on stage besides Martin Luther King during the famous March in Washington. Director Ilana Navaro (La Case de l’Oncle Doc, Toutes Les Télés Du Monde) stops by to talk about how a pervasive racist American society galvanized Josephine Baker’s determination to transcend the “banana dancer” sobriquet on her way to international recognition as a performer and civil rights warrior.
For news and updates go to: cinemoi.tv/josephine-baker
The Atlantic’s first feature documentary, WHITE NOISE, is the definitive inside story of the movement that has come to be known as the alt-right. With unprecedented access, WHITE NOISE tracks the rise of far-right nationalism by focusing on the lives of three of its main proponents: Mike Cernovich, a conspiracy theorist and sex blogger turned media entrepreneur; Lauren Southern, an anti-feminist, anti-immigration YouTube star; and Richard Spencer, a white-power ideologue. Directed and shot by Daniel Lombroso in his directorial debut, this film takes the viewer into the terrifying heart of the movement—explosive protests, riotous parties, and the rooms where populist and racist ideologies are refined, weaponized, and injected into the mainstream. Just as the alt-right comes to prominence, infighting tears the movement apart. Spencer and Cernovich clash over the role of white nationalism in conservative politics. Southern struggles to reconcile her leadership role with the sexism and misogyny of her peers. Lawsuits mount and internecine fights erupt, but even as the alt-right fractures, its once-marginalized ideas gain a foothold in mainstream discourse; in Republican politics; in the establishment right-wing press, especially Fox News—and on the world’s biggest social-media platforms. Director Daniel Lombroso joins us to talk about his immersive experience into the world of the white nationalist movement, an ideology that echos and trades on the tropes of fascism.
For news, updates and screenings go to: theatlantic.com/white-noise-movie
WHITE NOISE releases on October 21 in the U.S. on iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, and Google Play.
Hasan Oswald’s gripping, feature documentary debut, HIGHER LOVE takes a raw look at addiction, poverty, love, and broken promises through the life Daryl Gant a Camden, New Jersey native, father of eight, and printing press operator. Daryl was raised by a single mother and strives to be a better father than his own, who abandoned him at birth. His girlfriend, Nani, is the love of his life but her crippling crack and heroin addiction, is destroying any hope of a sustainable relationship. Nani finds herself pregnant with their new baby boy, Darnez. The pregnancy becomes Daryl's new-found purpose to forge a better future for the both of them. Despite Nani’s struggles Darnez os born healthy, but in need of specialized care. Their friend, Iman, was once a drug dealing kingpin in Camden in the 1990s. He was also a father and a mechanical engineer until he caught a dealer's habit selling dope. He embodies the spirit of many disaffected residents of Camden, taking the viewer on a tour of post-industrial American decay. His own quest to sobriety will eventually force the hand of Nani to make a change, as they forge parallel paths to recovery. Director Hasan Oswald joins us for a conversation on how immersing himself into the shattering reality of opioid users affected him and how much does poverty and the lack of economic opportunity impact the people on the business end of a needle.
For news, updates and screenings go to: higherlovefilm.com
Sarah Colt and Josh Gleason’s documentary THE DISRUPTED asked the question, what do a farmer in Kansas, a laid-off factory worker in Ohio, and an Uber driver in Florida have in common? All three are resourceful, positive thinkers who strive to adapt and thrive despite dehumanizing forces at play in the American economy. Donn is a fifth-generation farmer, struggling to hold on to 900 acres of land uncle made a full-time living raising crops and livestock. But in the last decade, corporate consolidation and free-falling commodity prices have made it impossible for small farms to achieve a profit. Cheryl didn’t plan on becoming a driver for Uber and Lyft. She spent years working her way up the ladder in the mortgage industry as a single mother raising three kids. But her career came to an abrupt halt in 2008 when the crash bankrupted her employer. For Pete the closure of the 3M sponge factory, where Pete held a union job for 12 years, is the latest chapter in the city’s decades- long deindustrialization into the Rust Belt. As the film’s heroes face these roadblocks with courage, certain ideals remain sacred: family, love, and staying strong in the face of adversity. Lush cinematography galvanizes a sense of place and, as the narrative unfolds, the intimacy with the characters results in an emotionally rich observational drama. Ultimately, THE DISRUPTED reveals a collective American experience of financial challenge, family resilience, and the quest for the purpose and dignity of work. Co-director Sarah Colt (Josh Gleason) stops by to talk about the unraveling of the American Dream and the cruel trajectory of economic deprivation and the systemic failure of any feasible path forward.
For news, updates and screenings go to: thedisruptedfilm.com
Take Action at: thedisruptedfilm.com/take-action
When it was released in 1987, The Monster Squad was deemed a failure by critics and was, according to the box office, a film no one cared about. But over the last three decades, word of mouth has turned this sleeping hit into a cultural phenomenon. Wolfman’s Got Nards explores the relationship a dedicated audience (including celebrities and filmmakers) has with The Monster Squad. This documentary takes an in-depth look into the film’s conception, response, cult status, and revival. Through interviews with the cast, crew, screenwriters, directors, academics and original reviewers as well as through never-before-seen footage, it turns the lens on an audience of self-proclaimed misfits who have kept The Monster Squad alive for more than 30 years. Director Andre Gower and Monster Squad member, Sean, joins us for a lively conversation on the unlikely saga of a box-office bomb that, like the squad, refuses to give up, and a community of fans that continues to grow.
For news, updates and screenings go to:thesquaddoc.com
In her riveting feature film debut, THE SOUNDING, Catherine Eaton also stars as Liv, a young woman who has never spoken, raised on a remote island by her grandfather Lionel (Harris Yulin, "Ozark"). When Lionel discovers he's dying, he calls the driven, privileged son (Teddy Sears, "The Flash") of his best friend to the island and asks him to protect Liv's independence, alongside Lionel's attorney (Frankie Faison, "The Wire"). That night, as Lionel is reading to Liv, his voice fails him. Liv picks up the book of Shakespeare and begins - first reading, then weaving a new language from Shakespeare's words. She is committed to a psychiatric hospital and becomes a full-blown rebel in the hospital; her increasing violence threatens to keep her locked up for life as she fights for her voice and her freedom. At a tipping point for otherness in our current climate, THE SOUNDING champions it. Director Catherine Eaton joins to talk about the origin story for THE SOUNDING, the challenges and rewards of being on both sides of the camera and the supportive cast and crew who made the film such a success.
For news, updates and screenings go to: thesoundingfilm.com
OLEANDER, (Emily Robinson)17, is the star and sole creator of her own provocative, sex-positive YouTube channel. She is also an unwilling student at a Christian abstinence program, led by the poised and charismatic Alissa, (Peri Gilpin) 50s. When Alissa demands that Oleander issue an on-camera apology for mocking her abstinence program online, a fierce battle of wills ensues. Alissa is aided by Kim, (Jennifer Lafleur) 30s, a filmmaker-for-hire who has no allegiance other than to serve her client. Oleander fights desperately for her voice and her beliefs, but will her anti slut-shaming message be able to stand up against the manipulative power of the two adults who seek to suppress her? Director Kate Hackett joins us for a conversation on her thoughtful, sharply focused look at the power of manipulation, looking for respect, trust and sexual agency.
For news, updates and screenings go to: oleandershortfilm.com
BELLY OF THE BEAST shines a white hot spotlight on the pastoral farmlands surrounding the Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF), the world’s largest women’s prison. For decades CCWF concealed the reproductive and human rights violations transpiring inside its walls. A courageous woman, Kelli Dillon, who was involuntarily sterilized at the CCWF, teams up with a radical lawyer to stop these violations. Together they spearhead investigations that uncover a series of statewide crimes, primarily targeting women of color, from inadequate access to healthcare to sexual assault to illegal sterilization. With a team of tenacious heroines, both in and out of prison, they take to the courtroom to fight for reparations. But no one believes them. As additional damning evidence is uncovered by the Center for Investigative Reporting, a media frenzy and series of hearings provide hope for some semblance of justice. Yet, doctors and prison officials contend that the procedures were in each person’s best interest and of an overall social benefit. Invoking the weight of the historic stain and legacy of eugenics, BELLY OF THE BEAST presents a decade long, infuriating contemporary legal drama. Director Erika Cohn (The Judge, When the Voices Fade) joins us for a conversation about her incredible tale that chronicles the rampant abuse of incarcerated women, being coerced by a prison-based culture of medical personnel actively subverting their basic human rights.
For news, updates and screenings go to: bellyofthebeastfilm.com
Fox Rich is a fighter. The entrepreneur, abolitionist and mother of six boys has spent the last two decades campaigning for the release of her husband, Rob G. Rich, who is serving a 60-year sentence for a robbery they both committed in the early 90’s in a moment of desperation. Combining the video diaries Fox has recorded for Rob over the years with intimate glimpses of her present-day life, TIME director Garrett Bradley paints a mesmerizing portrait of the resilience and radical love necessary to prevail over the endless separations of the country’s prison-industrial complex. Bradley won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and is the first Black woman to be awarded the prize with TIME, her documentary feature debut. Director and producer Garrett Bradley joins us to talk about her beautifully rendered look into the most intimate moments of a determined matriarch and a family grappling with a life lived under the relentless cloud of uncertainty.
To watch beginning on October 16 go to: amazon.com/TIME-Garrett-Bradley
TIME will open in select theaters on October 9 ahead of its global launch on Amazon Prime Video on October 16.
Cooper Raiff’s extraordinarily assured debut film, SHITHOUSE, follows a lonely college freshman Alex (Cooper Raiff) during his first year at college and first time away from home. Alex has closed himself off from his classmates, who all appear to have this whole "college thing" figured out. Among thousands of kids trying their best to make college work, He feels alone and depressed. Home is 1500 miles away and he's struggling to find a reason not to go back. Maggie (Dylan Gelula, First Girl I Loved), Alex's sophomore RA, has been crushing college since day one. Today though, Maggie is dealt an unexpected loss. After a party at Shithouse, Maggie wants some company and finds it in Alex. Two young people raised in very different households, Alex and Maggie challenge each other and grow up together. Desperately clinging to his social breakthrough, Alex pulls out all the stops with one more night at Shithouse, hoping to rekindle that moment of connection. Director / Producer / Writer / Editor / Actor Cooper Raiff joins us to talk about the challenge of making his debut feature film, SHITHOUSE, while taking on a multitude of roles and winning the 2020 SXSW Grand Jury Prize for his first film.
For news, updates and screenings go to: shithousemovie.com
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize (Narrative Film) at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival
The directorial debut of Sam Soko, SOFTIE is an intimate look at the life of Boniface Mwangi, a daring and audacious Kenyan photojournalist and activist who fights for Kenyan citizens to change a corrupt political system; his supportive wife Njeri stands by him and was often protesting alongside him. Now that they three small children, her priorities have shifted. Boniface on the other hand, decided to take his ideas further and run for political office. He claims he is fighting for his children and their future, but after receiving serious threats of violence, Njeri worries he is risking the safety of their entire family. Boniface is forced to face a difficult choice - which should come first, family or country? SOFTIE, the winner of the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing at the Sundance Film Festival, is now streaming as part of Hot Docs Film Festival Online. SOFTIE will have its North American broadcast premiere on October 12 as a part of the award-winning PBS documentary series POV. Director Sam Solo joins us for a conversation on his intimate, moving portrait of Boniface “Softie” Mwangi, a man willing to sacrifice everything for his country and his family.
For news, screenings and updates go to: softiethefilm.com
WINNER - Special Jury Award for Editing - 2020 Sundance Film Festival
DRIVING WHILE BLACK: RACE, SPACE AND MOBILITY IN AMERICA is a ground-breaking, two-hour documentary film by acclaimed historian Dr. Gretchen Sorin and Emmy–winning director Ric Burns. Chronicling the riveting history and personal experiences – at once liberating and challenging, harrowing and inspiring, deeply revealing and profoundly transforming – of African Americans on the road from the advent of the automobile through the seismic changes of the 1960s and beyond – DRIVING WHILE BLACK explores the deep background of a recent phrase rooted in realities that have been an indelible part of the African American experience for hundreds of years – told in large part through the stories of the men, women and children who lived through it. The documentary draws upon the wealth of recent scholarship - and based on and inspired in large part by Gretchen Sorin's recently published study of the way the automobile and highways transformed African American life across the 20th century - the film examines the history of African Americans on the road from the depths of the Depression to the height of the Civil Rights movement and beyond, exploring along the way the deeply embedded dynamics of race, space and mobility in America during one of the most turbulent and transformative periods in American history. Co-directors Gretchen Sorin and Ric Burns join us to talk about the crippling impact of systemic racism and the continuing stain of America’s original sin.
DRIVING WHILE BLACK will air on PBS on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at 9:00 p.m. (check local listings).
For more on the story and history behind the the film go to: dwbfilm.com
InterReflections explores deep social issues. In three timelines our main story takes us into the future when ecological crisis and inequality has destabilized society. John Taylor, a defected government intelligence agent turned revolutionary leader, is captured by his former colleague and nemesis, Simon Devoe. Simon leads a government spy agency, encouraging John to join him to avoid punishment. Simon humors John as they debate ideas about humanity, seeing no possibility of John's escape. But John has a secret. Our second timeline follows a woman in modern day, experiencing life as a horror show, reflecting issues such as racism and environmental destruction. Fired from her job, she sets about finding another. Her journey transforms her. Timeline three takes place 100 years forward as four academics of this future talk about the way things used to be in the early 21st century. They speak of “The Great Transition,” a dramatic global revolution that changed everything for the better. Director Peter Joseph (The Zeitgeist Movement) joins us for a conversation about his genre-shattering approach to filmmaking and what his film’s vision says about the world we live in.
For news, screenings and updates go to: interreflectionsmovie.com
InterReflections will arrive online in various VOD outlets on Oct 6th 2020. This page will be updated at that time with both access to the online services and available DVD/Blu-ray.
Fredrik Gertten’s latest documentary, PUSH, is a searing indictment of the systemic corruption that continues to drive the world’s affordable housing toward the edge of collapse. All of which is happening because many of the world’s largest financial and real estate institutions are facilitating a tidal wave of dark money from organized crime, human trafficking, illicit drugs trade and illegal tax “shelters” into the legitimate world of finance. Housing prices are skyrocketing in cities around the world. Incomes are not. PUSH sheds light on a new kind of faceless landlord, our increasingly unliveable cities and an escalating crisis that has an effect on us all. This is not gentrification, it’s a different kind of monster. PUSH follows Leilani Farha, the former UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, as she’s travels the globe, trying to understand who’s being pushed out of the city and why. Director Fredrik Gertten and film subject Leilani Farha join us for a spirited conversation on the state of the world’s housing stock and how homeownership, real estate and high finance has been such a determinate factor on our society, both past and present.
For news, screenings and updates go to: pushthefilm.com
On December 11, 1965, The Velvet Underground played their first concert (and their first paid gig) at the most unlikeliest of places: a high school auditorium in Summit, New Jersey. They opened for a popular local band called The Myddle Class, who had a top 40 hit on the AM radio. The audience was packed with Myddle Class fans, who were mostly sheltered kids from this picture-perfect town some 25 miles west of New York City -- kids who were just discovering the Beatles but who were still dancing the Lindy, the Waltz, and the Cha Cha at school dances. It was in this atmosphere that the black-leather-clad Velvets hit the stage blasting loud, droning, screeching music laced with drug-and sex-infused lyrics. On the stage for merely 20 minutes, they performed three songs, ending with “Heroin,” and the audience responded with, as one of the band recalled in 1983, a “murmur of surprise that greeted our appearance” that “increased to a roar of disbelief as we started to play” and “swelled to a mighty howl of outrage and bewilderment…” Half the audience walked out. Director Robert Pietri joins us for a lively conversation on this little known cultural event, his friendship with award-winning cinematographer, eye-witness and inspiration for the film Tony Jannelli and the creative process he used to tell this story.
For news, screenings and updates go to: cornerbarpictures.com/velvet-underground-played To watch: click on PBS POV
Yung Chang’s This is Not a Movie is a fascinating documentary portrait of world-acclaimed British born Beirut-based foreign correspondent Robert Fisk. Fisk's work is as vital as ever in an era of "fake news," politicized facts, and the rise of ethno-nationalist politics. A Middle East correspondent for The Independent, Fisk holds more international journalism awards than any other foreign correspondent. For more than 40 years, journalist Robert Fisk has reported on some of the most violent and divisive conflicts in the world. Director Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze, The Fruit Hunters) captures Fisk in relentless action—feet on the ground, notebook in hand, as he travels into landscapes devastated by war, ferreting out the facts and firing reports back home to reach an audience of millions. Director Yung Chang stops by to talk about Robert Fisk’s dedicated work ethic, stamina and desire to talk with all sides of a story and why, in a time of disinformation and deceit by the powerful, his voice, his pen and his reporting have made him one of journalism’s most reliable sources of information and truth.
For news, updates and screenings go to: kimstim.com/film/this-is-not-a-movie
For more about Yung Chang's work go to: yungfilms.com
Watch This Is Not a Movie on virtual cinema at laemmle.com/film/not-movie
In 2013, inspired by the book Wines of Lebanon by Michael Karam, filmmakers Mark Johnston and Mark Ryan set out to change the perceptions of the Middle East – and in particular the tiny nation of Lebanon – by examining an enigmatic and misunderstood part of the world with winemakers who had a story to tell. Co-directors Johnston and Ryan released their first award-winning documentary The Invisible Front, but by then, they were already in Lebanon recording stories of courage, adventure and determination. There, they met Michael Karam, and two became three. Wine and War: The Untold Story of Wine in the Middle East tells the story that starts in the 2nd BC, when the Phoenicians, the ancient Lebanese, with their awesome trading empire gave the gift of wine to the then known world. They were the first wine merchants! In doing so, the Lebanese became the masters of crisis management, a skill personified by Lebanon’s winemakers who for thousands of years have gone about their work in war, famine, occupation and the constant hum of political instability. Co-directors Mark Ryan and Mark Johnston join us to talk about the amazing resilience of the Lebanese people and how wine is such a powerful thread in their shared history.
For news, updates and screenings go to: wineandwar.com
Inspired by a New York Times No. 1 bestseller, The Way I See It is an unprecedented look behind the scenes at two of the most iconic presidents in American history, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as seen through the eyes of renowned photographer Pete Souza. As official White House photographer, Souza was an eyewitness to the unique and tremendous responsibilities of the most powerful person on Earth. Award-winning filmmaker Dawn Porter’s The Way I See It also reveals how Souza transforms from a respected photojournalist to a searing commentator on the issues we face as a country and a people. The Way I See It also traces Souza’s fearless public transformation from chronicler of history to critic of an administration he believes is destroying the legacy of empathy, honor and hope that he witnessed during his 13 years at the White House. Inspired by his two bestselling books, Obama: An Intimate Portrait and Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents, and featuring more than 400 of his photos, the film is an emotional and stirring reminder of America’s pledge of a government for and by the people. Director Dawn Porter joins us for a conversation about the personal journey of an accomplished photojournalist turned activist and when it comes to the most powerful person in the world, why judgement, perspective, honor, and empathy matter.
For news, screenings and updates go to: focusfeatures.com/the-way-i-see-it
Check out the future of voting at: headcount.org
In select theaters Friday, September 18th MSNBC Films premiere Friday, October 9th, 10:00pm EDT
The emotionally gripping documentary, OUR TIME MACHINE, focuses on 43-year-old Maleonn, one of China’s most influential conceptual artists, and his father, Ma Ke, former artistic director of the Shanghai Chinese Opera Theater. After being humiliated and forbidden from working for a decade during the Cultural Revolution, Ma Ke immersed himself in theater. The mysterious excitement of Ma Ke’s creative world inspired the young Maleonn, but his father’s absences stoked early feelings of resentment. When Ma Ke is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Maleonn pours everything into an ambitious new theater project: “Papa’s Time Machine,” a visually stunning time-travel adventure told with human-sized puppets. At the play’s heart are autobiographical scenes inspired by Maleonn’s memories with his father. He hopes this will bring them together artistically and personally. Facing his father’s painful decline, Maleonn becomes more aware of life’s complexities. There are no effortless masterpieces or simple solutions. And there’s no traveling back in time to retrieve what has been lost. OUR TIME MACHINE probes the complex relationships of a family in transition, generation to generation, filtered through the lens through art, theatre and puppeteering. Co-director S. Leo Chiang joins us to talk about his collaboration with co-director Yang Sun and subject Maleonn as well as unpack the multi-layered questions concerning memory, dreams, love, and family.
For news, screenings and updates go to: timemachinefilm.com
In his thoroughly documented and clarion call to action, Dan Partland’s latest documentary, #UNFIT: The Psychology of Donald Trump, provides a platform for a number of prominent mental health professionals to present their observations on camera as part of their ethical "Duty to Warn" the public of imminent danger presented by President Donald Trump. After years of empirical observation these leading mental health professionals, discuss DSM-5 disorders, their danger, and the doctor’s own Duty to Warn, They introduce the syndrome known as malignant narcissism and explain how it is responsible for some of history’s cruelest kinds of inhumanity. They liken it symptoms to the behavior of the most powerful human being on earth, a man with the capacity to launch several thousand nuclear weapons on his command, Donald Trump. Medical doctors and mental health professionals go on camera, on the record, for the record - it's an eye-opening discussion, analysis, and science-based examination of the behavior, psyche, condition, and stability of President Donald Trump. #UNFIT also examines Trump's effect on our citizenry, culture, and institutions. Director Dan Partland joins us for a spirited conversation on Trump’s constant perversion of truth, his appeal to tribalism, and the way he has undermined the pillars of civil society, a free press, and an independent judiciary.
For news, screenings and updates go to: unfitfilm.com
In Central America, a caravan of migrants seeking a better life heads north to the United States, as narco-traffickers — part of the cause for the caravan — move drugs and money back and forth across the same border. From Academy Award-nominated director Sebastian Junger and Emmy-winning producer Nick Quested, BLOOD ON THE WALL explores the depths of corruption plaguing Mexico and Central America and the policies of the past that have made it impossible for everyday people to find justice. Filmed in 2018 and 2019, just as the caravans made international news, BLOOD ON THE WALL is both intimate and wide-ranging as it follows a 17-year-old journeying from Honduras, a mother and daughter and their family trying to make the life-threatening trek easier for their kids, and smugglers and traffickers who reveal what set them on their own path. Using the same on-the-ground journalism and granular point of view that co-directors Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested used in Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS, Korengal, and the Oscar-nominated Restrepo, BLOOD ON THE WALL brings the humanity of the migrants to the forefront and untangles how politics, the drug trade, violence, and the desire for safety result in unbelievable anguish happening in plain sight. Co-director Nick Quested joins us to talk about the extraordinarily violent and unstable circumstance these immigrants navigate and the palpable sense of cynical betrayal that the US and Mexico deploy against them.
For news, screenings and updates go to: nationalgeographic.com/blood-on-the-wall
For more on sebastianjunger.com
With his trumpet he turned the Tijuana Brass into gold, earning 15 gold and 14 platinum records; He has won nine Grammys Awards between 1966 and 2014, and received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2012. Herb co-founded the indie label, A & M Records with his business partner, Jerry Moss, which recorded artists as varied as Carole King, Cat Stevens, The Carpenters, Janet Jackson, Peter Frampton, Joe Cocker, Quincy Jones, Sergio Mendes, and The Police. A&M would go on to become one of the most successful independent labels in history. He has shown his striking work as an abstract painter and sculptor, worldwide. And through the Herb Alpert Foundation, he has given significant philanthropic support of educational programs in the arts nationwide, from the Harlem School of the Arts and Los Angeles City College to CalArts and UCLA. John Scheinfeld’s documentary Herb Alpert is... profiles the artist, now 85, mostly from the perspective of colleagues like Questlove, Paul Williams, Sting, and Bill Moyers. In their words, the shy, unassuming trumpeter is a musical, artistic and philanthropic heavyweight. Director John Scheinfeld stops by to talk about many facets of Alpert’s personal and public life that make him the compelling and warm-hearted person he is.
For news, screenings and updates go to: herbalpertis.com For more on the work and latest news go to: herbalpert.com
Based on the best-selling novel by Bonnie Jo Campbell, ONCE UPON A RIVER is the story of Native American teenager Margo Crane (Kenadi DelaCerna) in 1970s rural Michigan who after enduring a series of traumas and tragedies, sets out on an odyssey on the Stark River in search of her estranged mother. On the water, Margo encounters friends, foes, wonders, and dangers; navigating life on her own, she comes to understand her potential, all while healing the wounds of her past. ONCE UPON A RIVER features newcomer Kenadi DelaCerna, John Ashton (Midnight Run, Gone Baby Gone), Tatanka Means (The Son, Saints & Strangers, Tiger Eyes), Ajuawak Kapashesit (Caleb, Outlander), Sam Straley (Hala,.Chicago P.D.), Coburn Goss (Man of Steel, What Women Want), Lindsay Pulsipher (True Blood, Justified, Hatfields & McCoys), Kenn E. Head (ER, Chicago Fire). Director Haroula Rose joins us for a conversation on her collaboration with author Bonnie Jo Campbell, bringing her background in music into the filmmaking world and bringing the role of Margo to life through the stellar performance of newcomer Kenadi DelaCerna.
For news, screenings and updates go to:ouarfilm.com
A lifetime of making documentaries has convinced award-winning filmmaker Kirsten Johnson of the power of the real. But now she’s ready to use every escapist movie-making trick in the book - staging inventive and fantastical ways for her 86-year-old psychiatrist father to die while hoping that cinema might help her bend time, laugh at pain and keep her father alive forever. The darkly funny and wildly imaginative DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD is a love letter from a daughter to a father, creatively blending fact and fiction to create a celebratory exploration of how movies give us the tools to grapple with life’s profundity. DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD was filmed, produced and directed by Kirsten Johnson (Cameraperson), produced by Katy Chevigny and Marilyn Ness, co-produced by Maureen A. Ryan and executive produced by Megan Ellison. Director Kirsten Johnson joins us for conversation on her approach to working along side her dad, making the personal universal and how sharing her own acquired wisdom has impacted her life.
For news, screenings and updates go to: dickjohnsonisdead.com
Watch it: netflix.com/Dick Johnson is Dead
CHASING THE PRESENT is a timely documentary following one man’s world wide journey of self inquiry as he explores the root cause of his lifelong battle with mental health issues. A materially successful young man, James Sebastiano Jr., riddled with anxiety, embarks on a world-wide journey of self-inquiry. From the streets of NY, to the stillness of the Ganges, and deep into the jungles of Peru, he immerses himself in meditation, self-inquiry, and plant medicine to find the root cause of the problem and learn how to finally find freedom from his crippling anxiety. Along the way, he finds answers to why a person who seemingly has it all can continue to suffer from debilitating panic attacks, recognizing the beauty and power that lies within each of us, if we are willing to go there. CHASING THE PRESENT features Featuring James Sebastiano Jr., Russell Brand, Alex Grey, Graham Hancock, Gary Weber, Rupert Spira, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, Matthew Watherston, Jose Sanchez, James Sebastiano Sr., Jordan Sebastiano, Zelda Hall, Josh Korda, Vijeth Kumar. CHASING THE PRESENT subject James Sebastiano joins us to talk about the physical, psychological and spiritual journey he and director Mark Waters shared over the three plus years that this passion project took them on and why their experiences and the lessons learned from people they met will resonate with all that choose to join them.
For news, screenings and updates go to: chasingthepresent.com
Claire (Lena Olin) lives a quiet domestic life in the Hamptons as the wife of celebrated artist Richard Smythson (Bruce Dern). Once a promising painter herself, Claire now lives in the shadow of her husband’s illustrious career. While preparing work for his final show, Richard’s moods become increasingly erratic, and he is diagnosed with dementia. As his memory and behavior deteriorate, she shields his condition from the art community while trying to reconnect him with his estranged daughter and grandson from a previous marriage. Challenged by the loss of her world as she knew it, Claire must now decide whether to stand with Richard on the sidelines or step into the spotlight herself. Director Tom Dolby (Call Me My Your Name, Little Men, Regarding Susan Sontag, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood) stops by to talk about his compelling, clear-eyed look at a loving couple’s faltering attempts to find a way forward.
For news, screenings and updates go to: theartistswifefilm.com
One of the most important documentaries of the year, Public Trust is a film that needs to be seen by everyone who enjoys getting out in nature. Although many of us take the 640 million acres of America’s Public Lands for granted, these lands are endangered by powerful forces that are attempting the largest land grab in modern history. By focusing on the eminent destruction of the Boundary Waters Wilderness in Minnesota, the downsizing of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, and the wholesale appropriation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, director David Garrett Byars enlists a slew of journalists, land historians, tribal leaders, and government whistleblowers to present a highly persuasive argument that is impossible to ignore and vital to hear. Above all else, as executive producer Robert Redford tells us, “Public Trust is the story of citizens who are fighting back. It’s a much-needed wake-up call for all of us who want to preserve our unique and wild cultural heritage. Director David Garrett Byars joins us to talk about the on-going schemes by the most pernicious corporate interest to steal our heritage and how a growing group of dedicated and non-partisan people from around the country are thwarting them.
For news and updates go to: patagonia.com/films/public-trust
Our public lands are under threat. Join us in the fight to protect them. Text ‘DEFEND’ to 71333.
** Public Trust will premiere on Friday September 25 on YouTube Watch it for free for the next 30 days,
In the gripping psychological thriller THE SWERVE focuses on the life on the edge. Holly seems to have it all: two kids, a nice house, a good job as a teacher, and a husband with his career on the way up. But there are troubling signs that all is not right in her world. The insomnia. The medication for the insomnia. The dreams from the medication for the insomnia. The arrival of her estranged sister and a mouse invading her home don’t help either. Add the weight of a dark secret, and her already delicate balance collapses, sending her spiraling out of control. THE SWERVE is anchored by an unforgettably riveting performance by Azura Skye as Holly. Skye masterfully crafts a portrait of a struggling mother on the edge. Writer/director Dean Kapsalis’s joins us to talk about his powerful heart-wrenching feature debut that explores a week in the life of a woman on the verge in this haunting meditation on mental illness.
For news, screenings and updates go to: epic-pictures.com/film/the-swerve
Social Media facebook.com/TheSwerveMovie twitter.com/TheSwerveMovie instagram.com/TheSwerveMovie twitter.com/dean_kapsalis twitter.com/hashtag/AzuraSkye @epic_pictures @dean_kapsalis
Greg Bassenian (“CSI: Miami”) eye-opening award-winning documentary Miracle in the Desert: The Rise and Fall of the Salton Sea, which lays bare the startling environmental disaster that is the Salton Sea in California’s coveted Coachella valley. Charting the Salton Sea’s creation in 1905 to the current devastating environmental crisis that it faces today, this harrowing journey takes the viewer into the toxic dust. As the largest lake in California begins to dry, millions of lives are in danger as clouds of toxic dust threaten the health of millions of Californians. Following in the footsteps of Al Gore’s eye opening An Inconvenient Truth, Bassenian’s new documentary carefully plots the course of economic growth that sprouted a shimmering desert riviera laden with costly construction challenges developing into the perfect storm – creating an unstable ecosystem that now lays to waste the health of the Coachella Valley’s community as both local and federal governments look to pass the cost of fixing things onto someone other than themselves. Director Greg Bassenian joins us to talk about this accidental body of water’s orgin-story, it’s moment of fleeting fame and the dire consequences for all of Southern California if measures are not taken to rescue The Salton Sea from total collapse.
facebook.com/miracleinthedesert
WE ARE MANY focuses on February 15th, 2003, when up to 30 million people, many of whom had never demonstrated before in their lives, came out in nearly 800 cities around the world to protest against the impending Iraq War. The New York Times called this movement the “Second Superpower”. How did this day come about? Who organized it? And was it, as many people claimed, a total failure? This fearless, thought-provoking documentary is the remarkable inside story behind the first ever global demonstration and its surprising and unreported legacy. WE ARE MANY features testimony from a unique cast of direct participants, including organizers, activists, high-profile figures, and of course the public, filmed in seven countries – Italy, Spain, Egypt, Sweden, Australia, UK, and the USA. Extraordinary testimony from activists in Egypt reveals how, on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, the global anti-war protests inspired those in Tahrir Square to go on to engage in the massive democratic movement that ultimately led to the Arab Spring. In the UK, the government was defeated over the proposed invasion of Syria, a historic event that might not have transpired without the legacy of those demonstrations a decade ago. The star-studded list of contributors includes Danny Glover, actor Mark Rylance, film director Ken Loach, Prof. Noam Chomsky, musicians Brian Eno and Damon Albarn, writer and Vietnam Vet Ron Kovic (author of ‘Born on the 4th of July’), Rev. Jesse Jackson, Richard Branson, and Colin Powell’s former Chief of Staff Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, amongst others. WE ARE MANY is a bold documentary by Amir Amirani charts the birth and growth of the new people power movement, now sweeping the world, taking us up to the Arab Spring and Syria, a little over 10 years after that historic day.
For news, screenings and updates go to: wearemany.com
ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY is a riveting examination of voter suppression in the United States of America. The film weaves rich archival storytelling with the personal experiences of experts, activists, and would-be voters deprived of their rights. Current activism as well as historical insight expose what corrupted our democracy from the moment it was founded. Every time we the people take a step toward a more just and equal nation — granting rights to the disenfranchised, from women’s suffrage to desegregation — new forces and obstacles emerge that require us to fight for the right to vote once again. Stacey Abrams, the former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and the first female African-American major-party gubernatorial nominee, offers an insider’s look at the patchwork of laws and barriers designed to hinder voting. Many U.S citizens remain unaware of this dangerous threat to their basic right to wield their power and raise their voices at the polls.ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY explores fundamental questions: Who gets to participate in our democracy, and who is pushed aside? How can we all fight back? Voting is the cog that makes the machinery of democracy work — and if the machinery breaks for some, it will eventually break for all. Co-directors Liz Garbus (Nothing Left Unsaid, I’lll Be Gone in the Dark, Lost Girls) and Lisa Cortes (The Apollo, The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion, The Woodsman) join us to talk about how incredibly important voting rights are in determining the outcome of our elections and out quickly they can be taken away.
ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY will open in select theaters on September 9th and will be available on Amazon Prime Video on September 18th.
First-time director Lillian LaSalle's award-winning and timely documentary MY NAME IS PEDRO explores what public education meant to South Bronx Latino maverick educator, Pedro Santana, and what he, in turn, meant to public education. MY NAME IS PEDRO is a profound story of how one person actualizes learning and positive change in children, adults, environments and communities through an 'impact' ripple effect strategy that he has effortlessly perfected. MY NAME IS PEDRO is also an essential and timely reminder of the importance of great educators that exist within the infrastructure of our country's public education system. Infectious in his optimism, Santana becomes one of the most influential public-school teachers and then administrators in the New York public school system after turning his troubled Bronx middle school, MS 391, around. He is unapologetic in his commitment to create change for kids, no matter the odds. When a glowing front-page New York Times article catapults him into the spotlight, he is recruited and then accepts a promotion to use his famed 'out of the box' and transformative practices to save a corrupt and divided suburban school district. But the political challenges there may simply be too great, even for the infallible Santana. Director Lillian LaSalle joins us to talk about her beautifully rendered story of a man determined to guide and motivate young people to be better students and better people.
For news, screenings and updates go to: mynameispedro.com
ONE HOUR OUTCALL is a sophisticated, sexy drama unraveling the complex relationship between a call girl and her client who meet every Thursday night. Esmeralda (Natalia Ochoa) is a college-aged, high-class escort, Greg (William Norrett ) a middle-aged, divorced introvert. Sexual tension and curiosity fill the air during their first rendezvous, each vying for the upper hand. As they continue their weekly explorations, however, they start to develop an intimacy that goes beyond the transactional and into the deeply personal. When his ulterior motive is revealed, their interludes force Greg to confront his relationship with Esmeralda, his family, and his own inner demons. And it forces Esmeralda to question whether or not she can truly leave her emotions at the door. ONE HOUR OUTCALL stars Natalia Ochoa (The Pastor, The Real Steal), William Norrett (Carbuncle, Elysian Gardens), Kristin Carey (Hall Pass, Criminal Minds), Shannon Leigh Godwin (Fake The Joy, Fantasy Fitness), Octavio Rodriguez (NCIS: New Orleans, Homeland”), and Will Holbrook (Ride Home, The Gunman). Director T. Arthur Cottam and Writer / Lead Actor William Norrett join us to talk about their character driven drama told in a series of flashbacks and real-time fragments that add up to a gripping story of power, control and hidden agendas.
For news, screenings and updates go to: onehouroutcall.com
Where to watch: onehouroutcall.com/where-to-watch
Starting at Zero (Reimagining Education in America) explores the power of investing in high-quality early childhood education so that all children and families have the opportunity to attain the American Dream. The film brings together the voices of policymakers, educators, academics, business leaders, pediatricians, parents, and children. Starting at Zero features five current and past governors who are champions of early childhood education: Governors Steve Bullock of Montana, Kay Ivey of Alabama, and Ralph Northam of Virginia, as well as former Governors Jim Hunt of North Carolina, and Phil Bryant of Mississippi. Starting at Zero examines the latest developmental brain science to demonstrate how essential the earliest years of learning are to maximize human potential. Key features of high-quality early childhood learning environments and experiences are outlined and then brought to life as the film delves into the evolution of Alabama’s #1 nationally ranked state Pre-K program. Director Willa Kammerer joins us to talk about the increasing awareness of early childhood education, why is it so critical to our nation's current and future success and the long-term societal benefits of a maximizing human potential
For neews, screenings and updates go to: startingatzerofilm.com
Katherine Hervey’s emotionally charged new documentary THE PRISON WITHIN exposes the devastating impact untreated trauma has on individuals and communities through the powerful stories of survivors of violent crimes and prisoners incarcerated for murder in San Quentin prison. The prisoners and survivors come together and participate in the Victim Offender Education Group (VOEG)—an innovative restorative justice program enabling prisoners to discover how the trauma they’ve experienced contributed to their criminality and to understand the impact their crimes have on their victims. Together, the prisoners and survivors confront and expose the pain, shame, and rage caused by the extreme trauma they’ve experienced throughout their lives. THE PRISON WITHIN goes beyond why and how the system is inadequate, deftly exposing the torment experienced by people on both sides of prison walls. Through personal stories illustrative of the systemic injustices that perpetuate cycles of violence and trauma, this film lays a path to heal and reconcile our notions of justice. The Prison Within is narrated by Hill Harper (The Good Doctor, Homeland, CSI:NY, Covert Affairs) and author of Letters to an Incarcerated Brother, which speaks to the current mass incarceration crisis. Director Katherin Hervey, a former Los Angeles Public Defender and volunteer prison college instructor, and Producer Erin Kenway, is the first filmmaker to gain access to chronicle these intimate and revealing sessions inside San Quentin Prison.
For news, screenings and updates go to: theprisonwithin.org
In Maite Alberdi’s The Mole Agent Sergio is a Chilean spy. Sort of. At least, Sergio is offered the role of one after a casting session organized by Detective Romulo, a private investigator who needs a credible mole to infiltrate a retirement home. Romulo’s client, the concerned daughter of a resident, suspects her mother is being abused and hires him to find out what is really happening. However, Sergio is 83, not 007, and not an easy trainee when it comes to technology and spying techniques. But he is a keen student, looking for ways to distract himself after recently losing his wife. What could be a better distraction than some undercover spy action? While gathering intelligence, Sergio grows close to several residents and realizes that the menacing truth beneath the surface is not what anyone had suspected. Director Maite Alberdi’s The Mole Agent is a stylish combination of an observational documentary and a spy movie, with sleek camerawork and wonderfully watchable characters. It’s a unique meditation on compassion and loneliness that will infiltrate your heart and never let go.
For news and updates go to: cinereach.org/films/the-mole-agent
BUOYANCY is the story of a Cambodian teenager sold into forced labor on a Thai fishing boat is a passionate testimony against social injustice and a moving coming-of-age tale about a boy whose humanity is put to the test. Spirited 14-year-old Chakra works the rice fields with his family. He yearns for independence and seeks out a local broker who can get him paid work in a Thai factory. Without telling his family, Chakra travels to Bangkok to make his fortune. But when he gets there, he and his new friend Kea realize the broker has lied to them. Along with other Cambodians and Burmese, they are sold to a fishing captain as slaves. Chakra and Kea are trapped at sea, trawling fish 22 hours a day, surviving on just a handful of cold rice a day. The captain quickly weeds out those weakened by the conditions or trying to escape, and throws them overboard. The trawler sells its catch and restocks its supplies without going to land, making escape impossible. Chakra looks to Rom Ran to understand what it will take to be free. With hope and humanity dwindling, Chakra decides to take matters into his own hands. Director Rodd Rathjen joins us to talk about shooting at sea, with a cast composed of mostly non-English speaking actor, making his first feature film.
For news, screenings and updates go to: kinolorber.com/film/buoyancy
Set in the dark underbelly of Silicon Valley, THE SOCIAL DILEMMA fuses investigative documentary with enlightening narrative drama—think An Inconvenient Truth meets The Matrix. Expert testimony from tech whistle-blowers exposes our disturbing predicament: the services Big Tech provides—search engines, networks, instant information, et cetera—are merely the candy that lures us to bite. Once we’re hooked and coming back for more, the real commodity they sell is their prowess to influence and manipulate us. Technology wizards have masterminded a new form of capitalism, and humanity is now the raw resource feeding the machine. THE SOCIAL DILEMMA focuses on the powerful, hidden artificial intelligence tasked with hijacking our attention is tearing apart social norms, jeopardizing truth and democracy, and putting civilization on a programmed path toward self-destruction. Award-winning filmmaker and environmentalist Jeff Orlowski (Chasing Ice, 2012; Chasing Coral, 2017) disrupts the disrupters by uncorking the invisible story purring from that mobile phone hidden in your pocket. Cunningly entertaining, THE SOCIAL DILEMMA sounds the alarm on surveillance capitalism in hopes of preserving the very fabric of our society before it’s too late. Director Jeff Orlowski joins us to talk about his incredibly relevant and important film.
For news, screenings and updates go to: thesocialdilemma.com
THE SOCIAL DILEMMA is screening on Netflix beginning September 9th.
In their mesmerizing new film, SPACE DOG, Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter chronicle the legacy of Laika, a stray dog picked up by the Soviet space program on the streets of Moscow, the first living being to orbit the earth when she was launched into space on Sputnik 2. Kremser and Peter trace the persistence of her memory and legacy into the present day. As the capsule containing the lifeless body of Laika re-entered Earth’s orbit and began to burn up, the narrator announces “What had been a Moscow street dog had become a ghost.”The ghost Laika lives on in the present-day strays of SPACE DOGS. Photographed at ground level with wandering, hypnotic camera movements, the strays are seen navigating the urban environs of modern Moscow. In hewing closely to the dog’s point of view, the city is rendered as a strange, alien environment. Pulsating music from buildings and unidentified passerby take on an unfamiliar quality as the dogs explore this strange new world. Archival footage of the Soviet space program is interwoven throughout the film, reveling in the bizarre tests and procedures the canines were subjected to in preparation for space travel. Co-directors Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter join us for a conversation on their fascinating project that features stunning cinematography and meditative pacing that recalls the work of Andrei Tarkovsky, and how SPACE DOGS de-centers humans in order to uncover a forgotten history.
For news, screenings and updates go to: icarusfilms.com/if-spaced
For more about the filmmakers go to: raumzeitfilm.com
In November 2016, a nasty election cycle had exposed a seismic cultural rift, and the country suddenly felt like a much different place. For underground cartoonist Matt Furie, that sensation was even more surreal. Furie’s comic creation Pepe the Frog, conceived more than a decade earlier as a laid-back humanoid amphibian, had unwittingly become a grotesque political pawn. FEELS GOOD MAN is a Frankenstein-meets-Alice in Wonderland journey of an artist battling to regain control of his creation, while confronting a disturbing cast of characters who have their own peculiar attachments to Pepe. Now, as Pepe continues to morph around the world – FEELS GOOD MAN offers a vivid, moving portrait of one man, one frog, and the very strange reality we’ve all found ourselves living in. Director Arthur Jones and Producer Giorgio Angelini stop by to talk about their mind-blowing journey into an internet / social media / 4Chan rabbit hole where a hippy-dippy cartoon character becomes an avatar and unfathomable messenger of hatred and bigoted propaganda.
For news, updates and screenings go to: feelsgoodmanfilm.com
To watch Feels Good Man go to: feelsgoodman.watch
For more on Pepe the Frog creator mattfurie.com
Andorra, a tiny, independent country situated between France and Spain in the Pyrenees mountains with a total population of 80,000 people found itself at the center of one of the most convoluted and outrageous bank robberies in modern history: on March 10, 2015, Banca Privada d'Andorra (BPA), a private bank in Andorra, was shut down by Spanish, American, and Andorran governments in Spain’s efforts to destroy the Catalonian Independence Movement thus leaving dozens of innocent civilians facing prison for money laundering crimes that never existed, and scores of innocent families have had their entire life savings stolen from them. The incentive for the Spanish government to destroy BPA was part of Spain's ongoing "Operation Catalonia"—a covert state-sponsored war-like operation meant to undermine the progress of Catalonia’s efforts to separate from Spain due to generations of humanitarian and economic repression Madrid has inflicted upon Catalonia. America's incentive was to protect Spain's interests, as they are an ally of the United States. Andorra's incentive appears to be purely economical on behalf of its leadership. Director Eric Merola, (Burzynski, Second Opinion: Laetrile at Sloan-Kettering, Burzynski: The Cancer Cure Cover-Up, and The God Cells) joins us to talk about this shocking, but true story of an international banking system, and a regulatory oversight regime that is only incidentally concerned with banking integrity or financial criminality.
For news and updates go to: andorrahustle.com
Merola Productions is proud to present the VOD release of THE ANDORRA HUSTLE, a documentary film written and directed by the award-winning filmmaker Eric Merola. The film will be available for streaming on Amazon Prime on September 4, 2020. To Watch Andorra Hustle go to: amazon.com/Andorra Hustle
GET DUKED! follows teenage pals from Glasgow Dean, Duncan and DJ Beatroot as they embark on the character-building camping trip — based on a real-life program — known as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, where foraging, teamwork and orienteering are the order of the day. Eager to cut loose and smoke weed in the Scottish Highlands, the trio find themselves paired with strait-laced Ian, a fellow camper determined to play by the rules. After veering off-path into remote farmland that’s worlds away from their urban comfort zone, the boys find themselves hunted down by a shadowy force hell-bent on extinguishing their futures. From writer-director Ninian Doff — making his feature debut after a slew of award-winning music videos and short films for artists including Run the Jewels, The Chemical Brothers, Miike Snow, Migos, and Mykki Blanco — comes an anarchic satire of generational politics, hip-hop-loving farmers and hallucinogenic rabbit droppings that pits the youth of tomorrow against the status quo of yesterday. GET DUKED! stars Eddie Izzard, Kate Dickie, Georgie Glen, James Cosmo and a breakout young cast featuring Samuel Bottomley, Viraj Juneja, Rian Gordon, and Lewis Gribben. Creator and director Ninian Doff joins us for a raucous conversation on the brilliance of Eddie Izzard, getting a chance to bring his music video chops to a feature film and why the Brits are so attuned to the power of satire.
Watch Get Duked! at amazon.com/Get-Duked!
Social media twitter.com/NinianDoff instagram.com/niniandoff @NinianDoff @procrastibot
Bigamy. Identity theft. Fraud. For the last 20 years Richard Scott Smith has used the internet and his dubious charms to prey upon unsuspecting women in search of love -- conning them out of their money and their dignity. But now his victims have banded together determined to seek sweet revenge. LOVE FRAUD is a 4-part limited documentary series that follows (in real time) a con-man who is on the loose and the dynamic women determined to put him behind bars. Oscar-nominated directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady take viewers on a bizarre, engrossing ride through the twisted mind of a criminal and the chaos he leaves in his wake. LOVE FRAUD premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on Day One, marking the first time an episodic series was programmed on opening day in festival history. Co-directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady join us for a conversation on the determination of the women who refused to be victimize by a sociopathic abuser and helped bring about some measure of justice, despite the collective ambivalence of law enforcement across several states.
Watch Love Fraud on Showtime at: sho.com/love-fraud
For more on Love Fraud go to: lokifilms.com/love-fraud
EPICENTRO, a richly textured portrait of the resilient people of Cuba directed by renowned documentarian Hubert Sauper (We Come As Friends, Oscar-nominated Darwin’s Nightmare). Winner of the 2020 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary, the film launches in virtual cinemas through Kino Marquee starting Friday, August 28. EPICENTRO is an immersive and metaphorical portrait of post-colonial, “utopian” Cuba, where the 1898 explosion of the USS Maine still resonates. This Big Bang ended Spanish colonial dominance in the Americas and ushered in the era of the American Empire. At the same time and place, a powerful tool of conquest was born: cinema as propaganda. In his latest film, Hubert Sauper explores a century of interventionism and myth-making together with the extraordinary people of Havana—who he calls “young prophets"—to interrogate time, imperialism and cinema itself.
For news, screenings and updates go to: kinolorber.com/film/epicentro
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While making a documentary about the Anglo-American coup in Iran in 1953, director Taghi Amirani and editor Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, Godfather II) discovered extraordinary, never-before-seen archival material that had been hidden for decades. The 16mm footage and documents they uncovered not only allowed them to tell the story of the overthrow of the Iranian government in unprecedented detail, but it also led to explosive revelations about dark secrets buried for 67 years. Working with Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Schindler’s List, The English Patient) to help bring the lost material to life, what begins as a historical documentary about four days in August 1953 turns into a live investigation, taking the filmmakers into uncharted cinematic waters. Ten years in the making, COUP 53 tells the story of the 1953 the Anglo-American coup d’état that overthrew Iran’s government of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh and reinstalled the Shah. The CIA/MI6 covert action was called Operation Ajax. It was all about Iran’s oil and who gets to control and benefit from it. BP was at the heart of this story. Shot in seven countries, featuring participants and first-hand witnesses, and unearthing never seen before archive material, COUP 53 is a politically explosive and cinematically innovative documentary that lifts the lid on secrets buried for over sixty-six years. Director Taghi Armirani and Editor / Writer Walter Murch join us to talk about their own journey to tell the definitive story behind one of the 20th Century’s most consequential geo-political events.
For news and updates go to:coup53.com To watch go to: coup53.com/screenings
Social Media facebook.com/coup53 twitter.com/coup53 instagram.com/coup53movie
Erik Nelson’s latest documentary Apocalypse ‘45 draws upon over 700 reels of footage from the National Archives covering the harrowing expanse of the final months of the War in the Pacific. Very little of this material has ever been screened, and none of it has ever been digitally restored, frame by frame, to 4K. Because of Apocalypse ‘45 another treasure was uncovered and restored -- astonishing new footage captured by legendary director John Ford. In essence, a “lost film” by Ford, it depicts the ruins of the Pacific Fleet, and the terrible aftermath of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Also driving the narrative of Apocalypse ‘45 are recently completed interviews with two dozen men who lived through these nightmarish events. All of these men were in their mid to late 90’s, with the oldest, B-29 pilot Thomas Vaucher, 101 years old at the time of his February 2020 interview. Apocalypse ‘45 documents events from the flag raising at Iwo Jima in February to the harrowing kamikaze attacks and vicious ground combat at Okinawa in April to the first test of the atomic bomb in the remote deserts of New Mexico on July 16th. In addition, we witness the air war over Japan in the summer of 1945, and perhaps most astonishingly, the still burning ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, when a U.S Army medical camera crew photographed the devastation to both the city and its inhabitants. Director Erik Nelson (Grizzly Man, A Gray State, Cave of Forgotten Dreams), joins us to talk about the recent discovery of “lost” film, access to hundreds of hours from the National Archive, his conversations with the men who fought in the Pacific and the fate of the American Empire.
For news and updates go to: discovery.com/shows/apocalypse-45
To watch Apocalypse '45 go to: abramorama.com/apocalypse45
Based on harrowing true events, SONG WITHOUT A NAME tells the story of Georgina, an indigenous Andean woman whose newborn baby is whisked away moments after its birth in a downtown Lima clinic - and never returned. Stonewalled by a byzantine and indifferent legal system, Georgina approaches journalist Pedro Campas, who uncovers a web of fake clinics and abductions - suggesting a rotting corruption deep within Peruvian society. Set in 1988, in a Peru wracked by political violence and turmoil, Melina León's heart-wrenching first feature renders Georgina's story in gorgeous, shadowy black-and-white cinematography. SONG WITHOUT A NAME is a Kafkaesque thriller that unflinchingly depicts real-life, stranger-than fiction tragedies with poetic beauty. A 2019 Cannes Camera d'Or nominee, SONG WITHOUT A NAME, and winner of more than 30 international awards including "Best Film" at the Lima Latin American Film Festival and "Best Film by an Emerging Director" at the Munich Film Festival, the Latin American period piece has garnered raves around the world. Director Melina León joins us to talk about her starkly beautiful film and the heart-wrenching story of loss, and love against the backdrop of political and social upheaval.
For news and updates go to: filmmovement.com/song-without-a-name
Learn more about Virtual Cinema at filmmovement.com/virtual-cinema-guide
Social Media facebook.com/cancionsinnombrefilm twitter.com/melinaneon
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ACCIDENTAL CLIMBER tells the story of Jim Geiger, a retired forest-ranger and amateur mountaineer from Sacramento, CA who at 68 years old, attempts to become the oldest American and first great grandfather to summit Mt. Everest. The world’s highest mountain is known to torture the mind, body, and soul of those who dare to do what few have ever achieved. ACCIDENTAL CLIMBER follows Jim as he embarks on a journey to transform from a weekend hiker to attempting one of the most extreme and physically demanding feats known to man. Driven by a desire to prove that age is just a number, Jim pushes his body to the limits in the quest to summit the world's tallest mountain. What ensued however, was the worst disaster in mountaineering history, leaving sixteen climbers dead in a tragic avalanche and forever changing Jim's life. Director Steven Oritt joins us to talk about getting to know Jim Geiger, working through the multiple challenges of shooting in high altitude and Jim Geiger talks about the rigors of climbing in the Himalayans and the emotionally wrenching experience he witnessed during his journey to conquer the world’s highest peak.
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In this taut psychological thriller, RAVAGE, Harper (Annabelle Dexter-Jones), a young nature photographer on assignment in the woods of the Watchatoomy Valley, captures a disturbing event of a man being brutally whipped and beaten in the woods. After reporting the incident to the local sheriff, she is quickly captured by the culprits and taken to an abandoned farm in the woods to be tortured. Due to Harper’s experience as a survivalist she is able to escape but is on the run and has to quickly outsmart capturers. Harper explains to the Police how she fought her way out of the Watchatoomy Valley, they dismiss her crazed and violent story as a meth-induced nightmare. The RAVAGE also features two-time Oscar-nominee Bruce Dern (ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, PEANUT BUTTER FALCON, NEBRASKA, COMING HOME) and Robert Longstreet (DOCTOR SLEEP, HALLOWEEN KILLS). RAVAGE Director / Writer Terry Grennan joins us to talk about his skillful blending of the sights and sounds that produce a heart-pounding story that ranges from the damsel in distress to a bad-ass warrior woman a la Ripley.
For news and updates go to: brainmedia.com/films/ravage
RAVAGE opens at select drive-ins on August 14th and August 21st via video on demand everywhere you can rent or buy movies.
In 1979, soon after Ayatollah Khomeini took power in Iran and the ousted Shah found shelter in the United States—to the great frustration of Iran’s new leaders—a group of revolutionaries attacked the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage. They were held captive there for 444 days. President Jimmy Carter announced that he wanted to resolve the situation through diplomatic channels, but later on he planned a secret military rescue mission. DESERT ONE is a fast paced as a thriller from acclaimed director Barbara Kopple. Kopple draws upon a wealth of unearthed archival sources, as well as intimate interviews with President Jimmy Carter, Vice President Walter Mondale, Ted Koppel, former hostages, journalists, and Iranian student revolutionaries who orchestrated the take-over of the American Embassy in Tehran—to meticulously reconstruct this defining period in history when U.S.-Iranian relations were on the brink of disaster. Illustrated with animations and lots of archive footage, the story focuses on the woefully unsuccessful rescue mission and the political wrangling in the background, culminating in Carter’s landslide loss to Ronald Reagan in 1980. Director and Producer Barbara Kopple, Ambassador John Limbert and Staff Sergeant Taco Sanchez joins us to talk about the roller coaster story that includes a game-changing sand storm, equipment failure, a deadly crash and a US President willing to take responsibility for a mission gone wrong. The fallout from the failed mission still hangs heavy over the fractured US-Iranian relationship.For news, updates and screenings go to: film/desert-one
Nena Erb, an ACE and Emmy®-winning editor, for her work can be seen on HBO's Emmy® nominated and Peabody award-winning series INSECURE, episode Lowkey Trying directed by Kerry Washington. As both an Asian American and person of color, she is committed to advancing the stories of others. She is thrilled to be a continuing part of the team showing the reality of life for modern women of color in America. Her work can also be seen on Apple TV’s groundbreaking Little America series. As an immigrant herself, she’s excited to help shape standout episodes for this series this season including The Son, tackling a gay man’s struggle for safety and love as he attempts a harrowing immigration to the United States and The Silence, which charts love among immigrants in a situation where sound/speaking is forbidden. Emmy nominated editor Nena Erb joins us to talk about the career decision that brought her to the editing suite and why mentoring others is her way of helping others “get into the room” where they can have a positive impact on the stories being told.
For the latest on the work of Nena Erb go to: nenaerb.com
To find out more go to: hbo.com/insecure
YUSUF HAWKINS: STORM OVER BROOKLYN, directed by Muta’Ali Muhammad (“Life’s Essentials with Ruby Dee”) and debuting on HBO Wednesday, August 12 (9:00-10:40 p.m. ET/PT), tells the story of Yusuf Hawkins, a black teenager who was murdered in 1989 by a group of young white men in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Yusuf Hawkins’ death and the official response to it sparked outrage in New York, unleashing a torrent of racial tension and spurring tireless civil rights activism that exposed deep racial prejudices and inequities which continue to plague the country today. Over 30 years later, New Yorkers, including Yusuf’s family and friends, reflect on the tragedy and the subsequent fight for justice that inspired and divided New York City. YUSUF HAWKINS: STORM OVER BROOKLYN utilizes archival footage and photos, witness statements, news footage, in addition to candid interviews with Yusuf’s mother, Diane; brothers, Freddy and Amir; cousins, Darlene and Felicia Brown; and friend Christopher Graham and the two friends with him during the attack, Luther Sylvester and Bensonhurst native Russell Gibbons. A harrowing account of an immutable part of the city’s history, and of a family coping with profound grief deepened by injustice, YUSUF HAWKINS: STORM OVER BROOKLYN details how the senseless murder that shook the foundation of the city shed light on deep racial divisions and inequity. Yusuf’s death and the demands of his family and community had political ramifications that contributed to the ousting of New York Mayor Ed Koch in favor of David Dinkins, the city’s first and only black Mayor. Director Muta’Ali Muhammad joins us to talk about how the murder of Yusuf Hawkins pulled back the curtain on the racism, both past a present can rear its head anywhere in America, even in a city thought to be a bastion of racial tolerance.
For news and screenings go to: hbo.com/yusuf-hawkins-storm-over-brooklyn
Since 1935 the American Legion has sponsored a program for teenagers to learn about democracy and civil discourse through a week-long engagement in self-governance. The sensational winner of the Grand Jury Prize for documentary at this year's Sundance Film Festival, “Boys State” is a wildly entertaining and continually revealing immersion into a week-long annual program in which a thousand Texas high school seniors gather for an elaborate mock exercise: building their own state government. Filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine closely track the escalating tensions that arise within a particularly riveting gubernatorial race, training their cameras on unforgettable teenagers like Ben, a Reagan-loving arch-conservative who brims with confidence despite personal setbacks, and Steven, a progressive-minded child of Mexican immigrants who stands by his convictions amidst the sea of red. In the process, they have created a complex portrait of contemporary American masculinity, as well as a microcosm of our often dispiriting national political divisions that nevertheless manages to plant seeds of hope. Co-directors Amanda McBain and Jesse Moss joins us for a conversation on the testosterone fueled rough and tumble
For news, and updates go to : tv.apple.com/us/movie/boys-state
The rePRO Film Festival begins its inaugural run this August 12-16. The virtual film festival is dedicated to exploring women's reproductive healthcare, awareness, advocacy and bodily integrity in America. The lineup of films includes documentaries and narratives dealing with women’s rights, endometriosis, illegal sterilization, access to abortion, and reproductive justice for women of color, among other topics. rePRO Film Festival, will host five days of features, short films and themed-conversations focused on a range of topics including healthcare access, fertility, pregnancy, sexual education, abortion, and issues related to the gender spectrum. In-festival moderated conversations will include call-to-action messaging on how people can get involved in a corresponding initiative or topic. The conversations, designed to spotlight the creators who dare to tell stories about women’s reproductive rights, and to showcase courageous advocators, will be available online for free globally. All feature films playing the rePRO Film Festival are directed by women, and all filmmakers, including shorts filmmakers, are being paid to screen their films. The pay-what-you-can film ticket proceeds for films at the festival will be converted to donations to be split evenly among five beneficiary non-profit organizations - SisterSong, Endometriosis Foundation of America, Center for Reproductive Rights, URGE and Trust Women. Tickets are on sale online at repromamafilm.org. Tickets are all pay-what-you-can ($5, $10 or $15) with a limited number of complimentary vouchers available upon request to ensure access for all. rePro Film Festival and festival sponsor mama.film founders Lela Meadow-Conner, Mallory Martin and Debby Samples join us to talk about the launch of their deep dive into the issues, challenges and stories that face 49% of the world’s population and the people who love them.
For news, screenings and updates go to: repromamafilm.org
Award-wining filmmaker Ramona S. Diaz’s latest documentary, A THOUSAND CUTS, is a blistering indictment of a free press and democracy are under attack in the Philippines. In the face of journalist Maria Ressa and founder of the on-line news site Rappler is holding the line and fighting back against President Rodrigo Duterte’s escalating threats of assignation and death. Duterte smear tactics and threats against Ressa (discredit journalists/media, spread misinformation, attacks on social media) are similar to what other authoritarian leaders are now using against the press. Duterte’s war on truth and journalism has become a blueprint for other authoritarian regimes around the world. A THOUSAND CUTS spotlights Ressa's fight for justice in the country is ongoing as she was found guilty of cyber libel last month in a blatant attempt to silence one of the most outspoken critics of the Philippine President. The alarming result is not only an attack on Democracy in the Philippines, but also a warning shot to the rest of the world. Ressa's lawyer Amal Clooney (also featured in the film) recently penned this Op-Ed last month underscoring the implications of this trial. Director, Producer, Writer and Co-editor Ramona S. Diaz (Motherland, Imelda) joins us to talk about the suffocating pressure being brought to bear on journalists, her admiration for those who remain committed to a free press and the hope she has for her beloved homeland. For news and updates go to: athousandcuts.film For screenings go to: athousandcuts.film/watch-screenings
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It is one of the most iconic images of our time: two African-American medal winners at the 1968 Olympics standing in silent protest with heads bowed and fists raised as “The Star Spangled Banner” is played. Fifty years later, that singular event remains deeply inspiring, controversial and even misunderstood as one of the most overtly political statement in the annals of sport. The Stand: How One Gesture Shook the World is a revealing exploration into the circumstances that led runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos to that historic moment at the Mexico City Games, mining the great personal risks they took and the subsequent fallout they endured. Through intimate interviews with the participants and witnesses involved in that moment, along with compelling images and archive, the film explores the 1968 Olympics human rights stand in the context of a critically important and volatile time for the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. While The Stand: How One Gesture Shook the World documents this lasting moment in American history, The Stand also remains faithful to what was, for athletes and millions of Olympic fans around the world, a riveting 200-meter footrace between the fastest runners of the day, young people in their athletic prime striving to be the best on one October day in Mexico City. The Stand: How One Gesture Shook the World also features high jumper Ralph Boston, sprinter Mel Pender, crew member Paul Hoffman and Professor Harry Edwards. Filmmakers Tom Ratcliffe and Becky Paige join us to talk about the story behind a legendary act that echoes to this day.
For news and updates go to: junofilms.com/the-stand
The 2008 financial crisis seemed to hit the American landscape out of nowhere. But in reality, it was both the inevitable conclusion to 40 years of Wall Street misconduct, and a warning for the meltdown that threatens to engulf us now. In the gripping original five-part docu-series THE CON, filmmaker Patrick Lovell investigates what happened, beginning with personal stories — including the foreclosure of his own Utah home, and the suicide of a 91-year-old African American widow in Akron, Ohio — before zooming out to examine the corrupt systems that doomed the United States to government funded bailouts that would only perpetuate a predatory system. Lovell also looks back to when the government properly functioned for the people it represented by holding banks accountable during the Great Depression and rescuing the country from the S&L Crisis of the late 1980s. Through interviews with those inside the 2008 crisis — regulators, former officials, foreclosure victims, industry whistleblowers, and journalists — Lovell and writer-director Eric Vaughan connect the dots to what America used to be, and most crucially, where we’re going in 2020, as nearly 40 million Americans are claiming unemployment by summer 2020. Amongst the many heartbreaks and horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cracks that it exposed in the fragile financial tapestry of the world’s biggest economy are more evidence that THE CON is still on. Producer Patrick Lovell joins us to talk about THE CON’s sweeping inquiry into the blatant criminality perpetrated by the country’s most powerful financial and real estate interests colluding to bilk millions of Americans out of trillions of dollars, robbing them of their most important assets, pensions and housing.
For news, screenings and updates go to: thecon.tv
The Con is being released through Abramorama.com
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THE CURRENT OCCUPANT drops us into a mysterious psychiatric ward, where a man named Henry Cameron, with no memory comes to learn that he is the President of the United States and the subject of a diabolical political conspiracy. As the asylum's soul-crushing forces bear down on him, he fights to preserve his sanity and escape so that he can return to power. THE CURRENT OCCUPANT is part of the Blumhouse anthology, INTO THE DARK, currently airing on HULU with each episode tied to the relevant holiday. The film is loosely tied to 4th of July. The story is a timely, edge-of-your-seat-until-the-very-end thriller that is part SHUTTER ISLAND meets BLACK MIRROR. THE CURRENT OCCUPANT features a number of terrific performances anchored by Barry Watson as “President” Henry Cameron, as well as Sonita Henry, Marvin Jones III, and Lilli Birdsell. Director Julius Ramsay stops by to talk about his creative process and how his background as a film editor informs his eye for filmmaking as well as the cinematic influences that echo throughout this taut thriller.
For news and updates go to: hulu.com/movie/the-current-occupant
THE CUBAN tells the story of nineteen-year-old Mina Ayoub, (Ana Golja) a pre-med student who has given up her dream of becoming a singer. Orphaned as a baby in Afghanistan, Mina’s grandfather sent her to Canada at the age of eight to live with a lone aunt, Bano (Shohreh Agdashloo). Mina longs to return to a better time when, as a child, she and her grandfather would sing and play music together. Thanks to Bano, Mina has a part-time job in a long-term care home. It’s there that Mina meets the withdrawn and enigmatic resident Luis (Louis Gossett Jr.). Luis spends his time in a wheelchair in a quiet corner of the room, retreated inside his own mind. Mina brings a record player into his room. Luis reacts, reminisces, dances, reveals his incredible life as a famous musician in Cuba, and talks about the one great love who was left behind. THE CUBAN is a celebration and exploration of the power of music to connect and reset people’s outlook on life. Director, Producer and Co-screenwriter Sergio Navarretta joins us to talk about his warm-hearted tale of people in search of place and end up on a musical journey of love, friendship and the power of imagination. For news, screenings and updates go to: thecubanmovie.com
From the team that directed the jaw-dropping, award winning documentary on the life and mayoral campaign of former congressman Anthony Wiener (Weiner) comes THE FIGHT. Only days after the 2017 inauguration of Donald Trump, furious Americans gathered at airports across the country in protest of the Muslim ban. But it was the efforts of the American Civil Liberties Union, waging the fight in federal court, that turned the tide, staying the executive order on grounds of unconstitutionality. The ACLU has never granted access to its offices, even as its battles—on the fronts of abortion rights, immigration rights, LGBT rights and voting rights —have become more timely and momentous than ever. Rousing, inspiring and slyly humorous, their THE FIGHT follows four seismically important cases and a handful of magnetic attorneys. These lawyers may not know how to charge a cell phone or operate a stand-up desk but have persuaded Supreme Court Justices, beating back serious encroachments upon our freedoms. An antidote to endless news cycles filled with tweet tantrums, THE FIGHT inspires with the story of front-line warriors in the battle for the American soul. Co-director Eli Despres (Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman) joins us to talk about this entertaining, fast-paced, and highly engaging peek behind the curtain of the self-effacing attorneys and their support team as they scramble to maintain and bolster many of the most substantive constitutional protections under constant assault.
For news and updates go to: fightthefilm.com
The Fight is available for viewing at: fightthefilm.com/watch-at-home
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TheFightMovie
Director Matias Mariani’s lyrical new film, SHINE YOUR EYES tells the story of Amadi (OC Ukeje), a musician from Lagos who travels to São Paulo to track down his missing older brother Ikenna (Chukwudi Iwuji) and bring him back home to Nigeria. Following the faint traces of Ikenna’s footsteps, he discovers that his brother was not the distinguished math professor he was supposed to be, but actually had contrived an intricate and nearly delusional series of schemes to accumulate wealth in Brazil. As the mysteries deepen, so too does Amadi’s attraction to this vibrant newfound culture—and to his brother’s Brazilian ex-lover, Emilia (Indira Nascimento). As he closes in on his sibling’s whereabouts, Amadi is faced with choosing between his faithfulness to his family and the possibility of a new life in São Paulo. Director, Producer and Co-screenwriter Matias Mariani joins us to talk about his brilliant, thoughtful mediation on family, culture, identity and self-discovery.
Shine Your Eyes premieres July 29 on Netflix.com
Winner of the first-ever Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, Elizabeth Coffman and Mark Bosco’s documentary FLANNERY is the lyrical, intimate exploration of the life and work of author Flannery O’Connor, whose distinctive style influenced a generation of artists. A devout Catholic who collected peacocks and walked with crutches (due to a diagnosis of lupus that would take her life before the age of 40), O’Connor’s provocative, award-winning fiction about Southern prophets, girls with wooden legs, and intersex “freaks” was unlike anything published before (or since). Over the course of her short-lived but prolific writing career (two novels, 32 short stories and numerous essays and lectures), O’Connor never shied away from examining timely themes of racism, religion, socio-economic disparity, and more with her characteristic wit and irony. Including conversations with those who knew her and those inspired by her (Mary Karr, Hilton Als, Tommy Lee Jones, Lucinda Williams, and more), FLANNERY employs never-before-seen archival footage, newly discovered personal letters and her own published words (read by Mary Steenburgen) alongside original animations and music to examine the life and legacy of an American literary icon. Co-director Elizabeth Coffman and Mark Bosco join us to talk about the life and work of a writer and cartoonist who’s trenchant worldview and powers of observation provided her stories with a window into the soul of subjects that resonates to this day.
For news, screenings and updates go to: flanneryfilm.com
Social Media facebook.com/flanneryfilm twitter.com/flanneryfilm instagram.com/flanneryfilm @FlanneryFilm
Set in Oakland, a city with a deep history of social justice movements, WE ARE THE RADICAL MONARCHS documents the Radical Monarchs - an alternative to the Scout movement for girls of color, aged 8-13. Its members earn badges for completing units on social justice including being an LGBTQ ally, the environment, and disability justice. The group was started by two, fierce, queer women of color, Anayvette Martinez and Marilyn Hollinquest as a way to address and center her daughter's experience as a young brown girl. Their work is anchored in the belief that adolescent girls of color need dedicated spaces and that the foundation for this innovative work must also be rooted in fierce inter-dependent sisterhood, self-love, and hope. WE ARE THE RADICAL MONARCHS follows the first troop of Radical Monarchs for over three years, until they graduate, and documents the Co-founders struggle to respond to the needs of communities across the US and grow the organization after the viral explosion of interest in the troop’s mission to create and inspire a new generation of social justice activists. Director / Producer Linda Goldstein Knowlton (Somewhere Between, Dream,Girl, Whale Rider, The Shipping News) joins us to talk about the positive role-modeling, the sense of community connection and empowerment that the Radical Monarchs has brought into the lives of these young women of color.
For news and updates go to: wearetheradicalmonarchsmovie.com
We Are the Radical Monarchs airs Monday, July 20 at 9 PM - PBS series POV
Social Media facebook.com/wearetheradicalmonarchsmovie twitter.com/RadMonarchsDoc instagram.com/RadMonarchsDoc @RadMonarchsDoc
I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK, a six-part documentary series currently airing on HBO with new episodes premiering on Sunday nights at 10:00 p.m. I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK, is based on the book of the same name and explores writer Michelle McNamara’s investigation into the dark world of a violent predator she dubbed the Golden State Killer. Terrorizing California in the 1970s and ‘80s, the Golden State Killer is responsible for 50 home-invasion rapes and 12 murders. This series gives voice to the survivors and their families, documenting an era when sex crimes were often dismissed or hidden in shame. A timely inquiry into our macabre preoccupation with true crime and a cautionary tale of the dangerous lure of addiction, the series is a riveting meditation on obsession and loss, chronicling the unrelenting path of a mysterious killer and the fierce determination of one woman to bring the case to light. Michelle McNamara lived a quiet life as a writer, mother and wife, preferring to stay on the periphery of the Hollywood world of her comedian husband Patton Oswalt. But every night, as her family slept, she indulged her obsession with unsolved cases. Delving into the world of online chat rooms and crime blogs, she became immersed in the graphic details of the Golden State Killer, (aka EAR, Original Night Stalker), case, along the way connecting with like-minded sleuths, trading facts, photos and leads. I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK co-producer and co-director Elizabeth Wolff joins us to talk about her collaboration with series director Liz Garbus and her team as they pieced together the detective story within the detective story, emerging with a sprawling story of survival, obsession, pathology, community and heart-breaking loss.
For news and updates go to: hbo.com/ill-be-gone-in-the-dark
In Director David Wnendt (Wetlands) beguiling new film, The Sunlit Night, summer is off to a terrible start for Frances (Jenny Slate). Her art school project fails, her boyfriend unceremoniously kicks her out of his Hamptons home, and, to top it all off, her younger sister reveals she’s engaged just moments before her parents announce their separation. Hoping to invigorate her work and expand her horizons Frances hastily takes an opening for an art residency in Norway and heads off to an isolated island where the sun never sets. In a remote village, among the locals, she meets a fellow New Yorker (Sharp), who has come in search of a proper Viking funeral only to find that the Chief (Galifianakis) is but a re-enactor from Cincinnati. The eclectic crew ranges from "home" to "lost," within the extreme and dazzling landscape of the Far North. Under a sun that never quite sets, and the high standards of an unforgiving mentor, Frances must navigate between ambition, desire, obligation, and risk in order to find a way forward. Author and screenwriter Rebecca Dinerstein Knight joins us to talk her collaboration with actor / producer Jenny Slate and director David Wnendt and finding the right mixture of understated drama and absurdist spirit that informs this charming gem of a film.
For news and updates go to : The Sunlit Night
Can an ancient Amazonian plant medicine help heal mankind? Farzin Toussi’s documentary THE MEDICINE reveals the hidden mysteries of one of nature’s most powerful and controversial healing remedies: Ayahuasca. Increasingly popular in the West, Ayahuasca is both a tradition in Amazonian shamanism and a promising new focus of mental health research. THE MEDICINE introduces spiritual leader Taita Juanito Guillermo Chindoy Chindoy, both a teacher and student of the sacred plant in the Colombian Amazon, where Ayahuasca is known as Yagé. Former NFL safety Kerry Rhodes and actor AnnaLynne McCord, each facing personal struggles, are introduced to Ayahuasca by Taita Juanito, guided through a true ceremonial practice, and emerge with new insights. THE MEDICINE also features leading scholars and authors exploring the cultural and scientific significance of Ayahuasca. Humanity faces an unprecedented rise in addiction, depression, and disease – can an ancient indigenous plant medicine help heal mankind? Perhaps the cure lies within the arms of Mother Nature. Director Farzin Toussi joins us to talk about his professional and personal journey into the spirit world, ancient cultures and a root and plant that has changed lives and sustained a way of life for thousands of years.
For news and updates go to: themedicinedocumentary.com
Watch The Medicine now at: Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Fandago, Vudu
For an extended look at The Medicine click here
Social Media twitter.com/farzintoussi instagram.com/themedicinedocu
In the shadows of the bright lights of Las Vegas, its last call for a beloved dive bar known as the Roaring 20s. That’s the premise, at least; the reality is as unreal as the world the regulars are escaping from. BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS is a mosaic of disparate lives, teetering between dignity and debauchery, reckoning with the past as they face an uncertain future, and singing as their ship goes down. Filmmaking duo Bill and Turner Ross return with an elegiac portrait of a tiny world fading away but still warm and beating with the comfort of community. Their beguiling approach to nonfiction storytelling makes for a foggy memory of experience lost in empty shot glasses and puffs of smoke. Bill and Turner (45365, Tchoupitoulas, Western, Contemporary Color)join us for a lively conversation on the fiction and non-fiction filmmaking expectations, the logistical and post-production challenges of making this film and the cinematic inspirations that inform Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets.
For news and updates go to: departmentofmotionpictures.com
Social Media twitter.com/rossbros instagram.com/ross_bros facebook.com/thedofmp twitter.com/thedofmp instagram.com/thedofmp
Maggie Kiley is the Executive Producer and one of the series directors for the second season of USA Network’s high profile series, DIRTY JOHN: BETTY BRODERICK. This season is special for the fact that all eight episodes were directed by women. Kiley directed four out of the eight episodes, including the season premiere and finale. DIRTY JOHN: BETTY BRODERICK follows the tumultuous relationship of Betty and Dan Broderick, played by Amanda Peet and Christian Slater, as their marriage turns into what was called one of “America’s messiest divorces” even before it ended in double homicide. DIRTY JOHN: BETTY BRODERICK tells the story of a high society woman, mother of four, driven to the edge by her husband’s lies, manipulation, and psychological abuse, that slowly escalates as his extra-marital affair is revealed, a bitter divorce ensues, and blood is shed. This is a warts-and-all depiction of the extremes of erratic behavior provoked under pressure. The creative juggernaut known as Maggie Kiley takes time out of her very busy life to talk with us about her love for storytelling, mentoring other artists and working with her beloved actors.
For news and updates go to: maggiekiley.com
Social Media twitter.com/kileygal instagram.com/maggiekiley.director
From Director Tony Dean Smith and Producer Ryan Smith comes VOLITION, a mind-bending science-fiction thriller, where the line between fate and free-will blurs. When you know your world is pre-determined, it’s hard to care about your choices. This is true for James Odin (Adrian Glynn McMorran). On a rain-soaked night in 1991, two cars collide, leaving all drivers dead on the scene, including the mother of the lone survivor — a child — James Odin. It’s a tragedy. But what’s more tragic is that seven-year-old James foresaw the accident happening two days prior. He tried to prevent it, but who’s going to believe a kid who claims to see the future? Twenty-plus years later, James is a product of the failed foster care system. Knowing that the events of his future are predestined, he’s getting by, using his ability for petty crime and cheap thrills. But when a pre-sentient vision reveals to him his own imminent murder, James must go on the run and change the fate he knows is fixed. Director /co-screenwriter Tony Dean Smith and Producer / co-screenwriter join us to talk about their consistently creative, high-wire tale of time travel, heartbreak and determining your own fate.
For news and updates go to: volitionthemovie.com
Volition is now available at Apple TV
A long-awaited follow up to Munch’s acclaimed 2011 Sundance film Letters From the Big Man, THE 11TH GREEN stars Campbell Scott (House of Cards, Roger Dodger) as a journalist who uncovers the truth behind the mythology of President Eisenhower’s long-alleged involvement in extraterrestrial events. Rife with hidden government secrets and Matrix-like mind-benders, THE 11TH GREEN is grounded in what is widely believed to be the nuts-and-bolts core story of post-war U.S. military and government involvement with UFOs. In this way, the film sketches a possible backdrop to recent revelations in the mainstream media (eg, the New York Times and Washington Post) and subsequent declassification of certain U.S. military interactions with UFOs. Thought-provoking but understated, filled with sharply drawn characters, stark desert landscapes, and leaps across the space-time continuum, THE 11TH GREEN is challenging cinema that generates questions, discussion, and debate long after the credits roll. The film’s distinguished cast also includes Agnes Bruckner (Blood and Chocolate, Blue Car), Ian Hart (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Backbeat), April Grace (Magnolia, Joker), Tom Stokes (The Railway Man, Wasted On the Young), David Clennon (Being There, The Thing), Monte Markham (Mr. Deed Goes to Town, Dallas), and Currie Graham (NYPD Blue, Project Blue Book). Groundbreaking American auteur Christopher Munch (director of The Sleepy Time Gal and the recently restored indie classic The Hours and Times) joins us to talk about his many-layered drama and the talented cast he assembled to breathe life into it.
For news and updates go to: christophermunch.com
To watch the film go to: theatricalathome.com/the-11th-green
Few people ever experience the momentum that Leader, Texas star football player Greg Kelley had going into his senior year of high school. That all changed in the summer of 2013, when Kelley was shockingly convicted of sexually assaulting a 4-year-old boy, and sentenced to 25 years in prison with no possibility for parole. OUTCRY is a searing examination of the criminal case that sent Kelley to prison and left his family and supporters searching for answers. Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker Pat Kondelis captures a community torn asunder and follows the principal participants on both sides of the appeals process as they work in pursuit of opposing truths. Over the course of three years, the series unfolds as Kelley's fate hangs in the balance and new evidence emerges amid mounting criticism of the Williamson County justice system. SHOWTIME’s five-part investigative documentary series OUTCRY, follows the gripping scandal surrounding Kelley and the quest for truth and justice that followed in the wake of his sentencing. The series captures a divided community, as a groundswell of support emerges for Kelley, calling into question the investigation, the prosecution's tactics and ultimately, the validity of the conviction, as both sides of the appeal process work in pursuit of opposing truths. OUTCRY director Pat Kondelis joins us to talk about the multiple twists and turns that Kelley saga takes and how no one knew where it would end up.
For news, updates and screenings go to: sho.com/outcry
OUTCRY premieres Sunday, July 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. New OUTCRY episodes will debut every Sunday through August 2, while the entire series will release for on-demand streaming or download on the SHOWTIME and SHOWTIME ANYTIME® apps and partner on-demand platforms July 5.
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Outcry
In the riveting new short format documentary film, BLOOD RIDERS, from director Jon Kasbe (When Lambs Become Lions, Nascent, Mipso in Japan), focus on the crippling blood shortage crisis and standstill traffic that plagues most hours of the day in Nigeria. On far too many days it can take over 24 hours to transport blood to patients in critical need. Joseph, one of the city's motorcycle "blood riders,” can deliver blood to hospitals in under an hour. For mothers in labor, particularly in the case of Deborah dealing with a difficult delivery, this is often the difference between life and death. Director Kasbe gives us an incredible sense of intimacy with his characters. BLOOD RIDERS puts us there on the motorcycle and in the delivery room with Deborah and her husband. It boggles the mind.Director Jon Kasbe joins us for a conversation about the dire situation facing the people of Nigeria, a country of inadequate infrastructure, substandard health care capacity and systemic corruption, where a few dedicated people are determined to come to the aid of the most vulnerable among them.
For news and updates go to: jonkasbe.com/#/blood-rider
Oscar nominated filmmaker Agnieszka Holland’s thriller, MR. JONES, set on the eve of WWII, sees Hitler’s rise to power and Stalin’s Soviet propaganda machine pushing their “utopia” to the Western world. Meanwhile an ambitious young journalist, Gareth Jones (James Norton) becomes famous after publishing an article about his ride on an airplane with the new Chancellor of Germany - Adolph Hitler. Jones uses his political position in the British government as a foreign affairs advisor to David Lloyd George to get privileged access to the Soviet Union. Once there he searches for his next big story, scrutinizing the political and economic situation in Russia. Jones soon learns of government-induced hunger program, known as Holodomor, imposed on the Ukrainian people. The Soviets, with the help of the British and American governments, keep the starvation of 4 to 5 million people mostly secret. Jones efforts to uncover the truth behind the propaganda and expose an international conspiracy could cost him and his informant their lives. Jones goes on a life-or-death journey to uncover the truth behind the façade that would later inspire George Orwell’s seminal book Animal Farm. Director Agnieszka Holland joins us for a lively conversation on the little known story of mass slaughter prior to the onset one World War II and the craven rationale by the Western Powers willing to look the other way as millions of innocent people perished.
For news, updates and screenings go to: samuelgoldwynfilms.com/mr-jones
When he was only eight, Guor Mading Maker (formally known as Guor Marial) ran from captivity in war-torn Sudan to eventually seek safety in the US. In his new life, Maker began running again, participating in high school track and field and eventually becoming a sensation and qualifying for the 2012 Olympics. But because the newly formed South Sudan was not recognized by the International Olympic Committee, Maker had to fight to compete independently, refusing to run for Sudan and taking a stand against its oppression. RUNNER depicts Maker’s difficult and triumphant journey from refugee to a world-renowned athlete, told in intimate interviews with gorgeously animated flashbacks of Guor’s upbringing, and culminating in a heart-wrenching reunion with his parents after a 20-year separation. His story is a distinctly inspirational one in which the indomitable human spirit emerges against all odds. Director Bill Gallagher joins us to talk about the indomitable spirit of Guor Mading Maker and how the hope he has for “the world’s newest” country and love of for his family have fueled his determination for finish his race.
For news, screenings and updates go to: runnerdoc.com
This warm-hearted documentary SEAHORSE follows Freddy, a 30 year-old gay transgender man who yearns to start a family. However for Freddy this ordinary desire comes with unique challenges. Deciding to carry his own baby took years of soul searching, but nothing could prepare him for the reality of pregnancy, as both a physical experience and one that challenges society's fundamental understanding of gender, parenthood and family. He quickly realizes that what to him feels pragmatic, to others feels deeply confusing and confronting; this was not part of his plan. Against a backdrop of increasing hostility towards trans people the world over, Freddy is forced to confront his own naivety, mine unknown depths of courage and lean on every friend and family member who will stand by him. Made with unprecedented access and collaboration over three years, the film follows Freddy from preparing to conceive right through to birth. It is an intimate, audacious and lyrical story for the cinema about conception, pregnancy, birth and what makes us who we are. SEAHORSE is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jeanie Finlay (Game of Thrones, The Last Watch, Orion: The Man Who Would Be King). Jeanie Finlay joins us for a conversation on one trans man’s pioneering quest to fulfil an age-old desire: to start his own family.
For news, screenings and updates go to: seahorsefilm.com
In this searing documentary, WELCOME TO CHECHNYA Academy Award-nominated director David France (How To Survive A Plague) brings us a terrifying real-life thriller that shadows a group of brave activists risking their lives to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ persecution in the repressive and closed Russian republic of Chechnya. In recent years, tens of thousands of LGBTQ people in the republic have suffered detention, torture and sometimes death at the hands of the authorities. But a small network of queer activists have mobilized into action, smuggling people in need out of their communities, securing visas and sheltering them in safe houses. Shot with astonishing access, largely with hidden cameras that keep rolling throughout every moment of escape, and employing a revolutionary face-swapping technique to protect the anonymity of its endangered subjects, WELCOME TO CHECHNYA exposes these underreported atrocities, while highlighting an extraordinary group of heroic people confronting a brutal system. Director David France joins us for a conversation on the remarkably effective facial technology used by France to protect the identity of the film subjects and on the Russian republic’s pogrom against defenseless people being tortured and killed because of their sexual identity.
For news and updates go to: welcometochechnya.com
Welcome to Chechnya premieres on HBO June 30
UNSETTLED is a feature-length documentary revealing the untold stories of LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers who have fled intense persecution from their home countries and who are resettling in the U.S. The film follows four new arrivals, each of whom have escaped potential peril in their native countries for being different. They’ve landed in the purported “gay mecca” of San Francisco, yet even there, building a new life in an adopted nation is a precarious undertaking. As new leadership in America continues to restrict immigrants and drastically cut the flow of refugees and asylum seekers, UNSETTLED sheds light on a group about which few people know. What are the costs persecuted immigrants pay for seeking refuge? And how are everyday Americans stepping forward to help those most in need? Director and Producer Tom Shepard joins us for a conversation on the world wide danger faced by gay and transgender people, illegal in 70 countries and punishable by death in four countries, and the daunting challenges facing refugees and asylum seekers in the land of the free.
For news, screenings and updates go to unsettled.film
Broadcast premiere June 28 on worldchannel.org and pbs.org thru July 12, 2020
Francis Ford Coppola protégé Phillip Borsos directs The Grey Fox, an elegiac, low-key tale about real-life bandit Bill Miner that has become a classic of Canadian cinema. Having been released from jail in 1901 following a 33-year prison sentence for robbing stagecoaches, Bill Miner (Richard Farnsworth) finds himself living in a society that has completely changed from the one of his youth. He tries to put his life of crime behind him and settle down in Washington state with his sister, but the quiet life does not suit him. He feels restless but uncertain as to how to proceed next. The answer comes to him when he sees Edward S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery. Soon, Miner has slipped over the border into Canada and, along with his new partner, Shorty (Wayne Robson), robs the Canadian Pacific Railway Transcontinental Express. Later, while laying low after the crime in a remote corner of British Columbia, he meets the beautiful, strong-willed photographer Kate Flynn (Jackie Burroughs). In writing this script, Borsos reportedly made heavy use of contemporary court documents and testimonies. Producer Peter O’Brian stops by to talk about his collaboration with director Phillip Boros and Richard Farnsworth and The Grey Fox 4K Restoration is being released through Kino Marquee.
Watch The Grey Fox and support local theatres - kinomarquee.com/the-grey-fox
Kino Marquee is a new initiative that creates "virtual cinemas" for temporarily closed independent theaters. Local audiences support their community's theater in these uncertain times by buying a virtual “ticket” to watch the film. Their ticket purchases directly support their local art house as all revenue is being shared between distributor and exhibitor, just as if they bought their ticket at the theater's box office. Kino Marquee currently works with over 350 art house theaters across the nation.
Watch The Grey Fox and support local theatres - kinomarquee.com/the-grey-fox
Award-winning director Damon Gameau (That Sugar Film) embarks on a journey to explore what the future could look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and shifted them rapidly into the mainstream. Structured as a visual letter to his 4-year-old daughter, Damon blends traditional documentary with dramatized sequences and high-end visual effects to create a vision board of how these solutions could regenerate the world for future generations. Director Damon Gameau joins us to talk about the how current, scalable technologies are available that can mitigate the damage being done by the scrooge of climate damage and move us toward a cleaner, sustainable life for the planet and humanity.
Get Involved “We have partnered with the curriculum experts at Cool Australia to build a comprehensive package of units of work for upper primary and secondary. These free lesson plans are learning recipes for teachers that utilise short clips from the film to support classroom learning, providing step-by-step instructions, student workshops and engaging content. We interviewed over 100 children from around the world for 2040 and asked them what their hopes and dreams were for the future. It is a world they will be inheriting from us so we have to show them that solutions exist, that there are people who care deeply about their future, and that wonderful careers await with genuine purpose and meaning.” - Damon Gameau
Visit the "Resources for Teachers" page and sign-up to our Schools Mailing list to learn more about opportunities for schools and to receive updates on when localized curriculum resources will be available in your country.
For news and updates go to: madmanfilms.com.au/2040film
CRYSTAL SWAN is set in Belarus a few years after gaining independence in 1990. This vibrant debut feature film by director Darya Zhuk follows the path of young Velya, (Alina Nasibullina) who dreams of moving to Chicago where she hopes to pursue her passion for house music. However, obtaining a US visa proves daunting. After purchasing blank letterhead and forging proof of employment, Velya realizes the American consulate plans to call the fake phone number on her application to confirm her employment. Velya’s only solution is to go to the small factory town and convince the family connected to the phone number to help her. She locates the cramped Soviet apartment on the other end of the line, overrun by a family preparing for the wedding of their son. But Velya’s presence soon upends both the family’s and the town’s order, with potentially disastrous consequences for all. Director Darya Zhuk joins us to talk about where the story behind Crystal Swan came from, casting Velya and how her debut feature film reflects a story about a woman and her country, where feelings of self and belonging are yet to be defined.
For news and updates go to: loco-films.com/crystal-swan
MY DARLING VIVIAN is the the story of Vivian Liberto, Johnny Cash's first wife and the mother of his four daughters. In 1951, Catholic schoolgirl Vivian Liberto meets handsome Air Force cadet Johnny Cash at her local San Antonio, Texas skating rink. Their whirlwind summer romance lays the foundation for a feverish three-year-long correspondence while Johnny is stationed in Germany. Thousands of letters later, the two marry upon his return in 1954. Within a year, a career blossoms and a family is started. By 1961, Johnny Cash is a household name, number one on the music charts, and perpetually on tour. Meanwhile, only two weeks postpartum, Vivian settles into their custom-built home in Casitas Springs, California with their four young daughters. Plagued by bobcats, rattlesnakes, all-hours visits from fans, and a growing resentment toward her husband's absence, Vivian is pushed to a near breaking point when she and her daughters are targeted by hate groups over her perceived race. In MY DARLING VIVIAN, we will meet the first Mrs. Cash as her daughters, Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, and Tara, share with us first hand, for the first time, the entire story of love, isolation, fear, heartbreak, and survival. Director Matt Riddlehoover and Producer Dustin Tittle joins us to talk about an unacknowledged, but crucial part of the Cash legacy and the impact it has on the lives of those who loved him.
For news, screenings and updates go to: mydarlingvivian.com
DISCLOSURE (formerly titled Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen) is an unprecedented, eye-opening look at transgender depictions in film and television, revealing how Hollywood simultaneously reflects and manufactures our deepest anxieties about gender. Leading trans thinkers and creatives, including Laverne Cox, Lilly Wachowski, Yance Ford, Jen Richards, Mj Rodriguez, Jamie Clayton, and Chaz Bono, share their reactions and resistance to some of Hollywood’s most beloved moments. Grappling with films like A Florida Enchantment (1914), Dog Day Afternoon, The Crying Game, and Boys Don’t Cry, and with shows like The Jeffersons, The L-Word, and Pose, they trace a history that is at once dehumanizing, yet also evolving, complex, and sometimes humorous. What emerges is a fascinating story of dynamic interplay between trans representation on screen, society’s beliefs, and the reality of trans lives. Reframing familiar scenes and iconic characters in a new light, director Sam Feder (Kate Bornstein is a Queer and Pleasant Danger) invites viewers to confront unexamined assumptions, and shows how what once captured the American imagination now elicit new feelings. DISCLOSURE provokes a startling revolution in how we see and understand trans people. Director Sam Feder joins us for a conversation on the prejudice and crippling stereotypes being pushed out by film and television as well as barrier breaking stories being told by filmmakers, writers and artists
For news and updates go to: disclosurethemovie.com
Watch: Disclosure premieres June 19 on Netflix
In the latest collaboration between director Carl Hunter and writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER follows a stylish tailor and wayward father, Alan, (Bill Nighy) who is has spent a big chunk of his adult life playing the word game Scrabble. At the expense of his other relationships Alan has spent years searching tirelessly for his missing son, Michael, who stormed out over a game of Scrabble. With a body to identify and his family torn apart, Alan must repair the relationship with his youngest son, Jack (Sam Riley) and identify an online player who he thinks could be Michael, so he can finally move on and reunite his family. A quirky mystery / comedy starring the BAFTA winner Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead), SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER is a story about redemption, family, and finding the right words. Director Carl Hunter joins us to talk about his on-going work with screenwriter working with Cottrell-Boyce, and the photo that convinced lead actor Bill Nighy to join the project and striking the right visual look for his thoughtful, wryly funny film.
For news, virtual screenings and updates goto: sometimes-always-never.com
About the filmmaker: Carl Hunter is a director, screenwriter and also the bass player for Liverpool band, The Farm, who had a number 1 LP, Spartacus in 1991, 3 top 10 singles and spent a total of 50 weeks in the official top 40s for both LPs and singles. He has been making films, producing and directing, since the late 1990s and in 2019 he directed his first feature film, Sometimes, Always, Never, starring Bill Nighy and produced by Hurricane Films. In 2007, Carl produced and co-wrote the feature film, 'Grow Your Own.' He's currently developing his next ideas with writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce.
BULLY. COWARD. VICTIM. THE STORY OF ROY COHN takes an unflinching look at the life and death of infamous attorney Roy Cohn. Cohn first gained prominence by prosecuting Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in what came to be known as the "atomic spies" case. The documentary draws on extensive, newly unearthed archival material to present the most revealing examination of Roy Cohn to date. Director Ivy Meeropol ("Indian Point," HBO's "Heir to an Execution") brings a unique perspective as the granddaughter of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, having spent much of her life feeling both repelled and fascinated by the man who prosecuted her grandparents, obtained their convictions in federal court, and then insisted on their executions. The documentary is a riveting profile chronicles Cohn's life from the late 1950s as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy, when he first began wielding political power, through the 1980s, when he became a darling of the Reagan White House, a rabid anti-homosexuality activist and political mentor to Donald J. Trump before meeting his death from AIDS in 1986. BULLY. COWARD. VICTIM. THE STORY OF ROY COHN includes numerous interviews, including John Waters, Cindy Adams, Alan Dershowitz, Nathan Lane and Tony Kushner, whose 2018 Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning revival of "Angels in America" featured Lane as Cohn. Lane offers insight into how devastatingly dangerous the actual Roy Cohn was and how he wielded power through invective and innuendo.Director Ivy Meeropol joins us to talk about one of the most renowned and reviled political figures of the last 60 years as well as the lasting impact he had on her own life, family and the country. BULLY. COWARD. VICTIM. THE STORY OF ROY COHN debuts on HBO Friday, June 19 and will also be available to stream on HBO GO, HBO NOW, and on HBO via HBO Max and other partners' platforms. June 19 marks the 67th Anniversary of the execution of Meeropol's grandparents, the Rosenbergs.
In her searingly insightful latest documentary, All That I Am, Director Tone Grøttjord-Glenne drops us into the life of eighteen year old Emilie Andrea. After five years in the foster system, she is returning to her family home to rebuild a fractured relationship with her mother and younger half-siblings. Over the next two years a determined Emilie begins to heal the trauma that haunts her, learns to speak her truth aloud, and takes her first steps towards a self-determined future. Now Emilie must gather the courage to reveal to her half-siblings the reason their father was imprisoned and their sister went away. Told with a commitment to emotional insight and dedication to Emilie's subjective experience, this is the story of an extraordinarily courageous young woman on the cusp of adulthood finding the voice that was long denied to her. Director Tone Grøttjord-Glenne joins us for conversation on embedding herself into the lives of Emilie and her family, how a well intentioned Norwegian justice and welfare system can sometimes to more harm than good and the reception her remarkably intimate look at trauma, struggle and healing has received in her native country of Norway and the recent North American premiere at the HotDocs film festival.
For news and updates go to: allthatiammovie.com
In URSULA VON RYDINGSVARD: INTO HER OWN filmmaker Daniel Traub nimbly illuminates the fascinating journey of Ursula von Rydingsvard – from her difficult early life in a family of nine emigrating to the US after five years in post-WWII German Displaced Persons camps, a traumatic first marriage, her arrival in 1970s New York to establish herself as an artist, and the staggering, triumphant body of work she subsequently produced. Von Rydingsvard is one of the few women in the world working in monumental sculpture. Von Rydingsvard’s work has been featured in the Venice Biennale and is held in the collections of some of the world’s great museums, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. But she may be best-known for the stunning “Scientia” at M.I.T. which evokes the power of nature and the firing of brain synapses. imposing pieces painstakingly crafted with complex surfaces. URSULA VON RYDINGSVARD: INTO HER OWN, goes behind the scenes with von Rydingsvard, as she and her collaborators – cutters, metalsmiths, and others – produce new work, including challenging commissions in copper and bronze. But the film also delves into the artist’s personal life, and how it has shaped her work. In conversations with curators, patrons, family, and fellow artists, we come to know von Rydingsvard as a driven but compassionate sculptor with a deep commitment to her art and the world around her. Director Daniel Traub joins us to talk about von Rydingsvard’s creative process and how the materials she uses to create her complex and challenging sculptures influence her artistic approach.
For news and updates go to: intoherownfilm.com
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In YOU DON’T NOMI, a chorus of film critics and fervent devotees explore the complicated afterlife of 1995’s biggest film flop, Paul Verhoeven's salacious SHOWGIRLS from disastrous release to cult adoration and extraordinary redemption 25 years later. Showgirls was met by critics and audiences with near universal derision. YOU DON’T NOMI traces the film's redemptive journey from notorious flop to cult classic, and maybe even masterpiece.The film features Adam Nayman (Vice Guide to Film), April Kidwell (I, Nomi) and Peaches Christ (Milk) as well as archive interview footage with the cast and crew of Showgirls. While SHOWGIRLS is the main subject of YOU DON’T NOMI, the documentary is also a retrospective of Verhoeven’s directing career from RoboCop, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Starship Troopers and Elle, among others. It explores the themes that unite his films, while showcasing Verhoeven as a genius and as a controversial figure all at the same time. Director Jeffrey McHale joins us to talk about his own Showgirls odyssey and how he came to document the subculture that celebrates a film that cinephiles often vilify and embrace at the same time.
For news, screenings and updates goto: youdontnomifilm.com
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FERAL tells the story of Yasmine (Annapurna Sriram), a homeless woman living in the tunnels underneath Manhattan’s West Side. Surviving on her own terms while trying to build a new life alone, she is reeling from the loss of her mother, who was deported when she was 16. Older now, Yasmine, struggles to rise from poverty as the perils of the underground fill her with despair. Along her journey, Yasmine meets a cast of characters and real New York personalities, each living in their own form of exile: a lonely piano player who’s never played his music out loud; a mother who regrets the birth of her six-year-old; a lonely grandmother nostalgic for her salsa music past and the Mission who is there to help, but only if she’s willing to play by their rules. Based on actual stories of living underground and working with former homeless individuals, FERAL peers deep into Yasmine’s emotional reality, staring this bold young woman directly in the eyes as she struggles to carry on. Lead actor Annapurna Sriram stops by to talk about her theatre background, adapting to working in a cramped, underground setting and collaborating with director and writer Andrew Wonder.
For news and updates go to: feralfilmproject.com
More about Annapurna Sriram go to: annapurnasriram.com
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FERAL tells the story of Yasmine (Annapurna Sriram), a homeless woman living in the tunnels underneath Manhattan’s West Side. Surviving on her own terms while trying to build a new life alone, she is reeling from the loss of her mother, who was deported when she was 16. Older now, Yasmine, struggles to rise from poverty as the perils of the underground fill her with despair. Along her journey, Yasmine meets a cast of characters and real New York personalities, each living in their own form of exile: a lonely piano player who’s never played his music out loud; a mother who regrets the birth of her six-year-old; a lonely grandmother nostalgic for her salsa music past and the Mission who is there to help, but only if she’s willing to play by their rules. Based on actual stories of living underground and working with former homeless individuals, FERAL peers deep into Yasmine’s emotional reality, staring this bold young woman directly in the eyes as she struggles to carry on. Director, producer, writer and cinematographer Andrew Wonder joins us for a deep dive into the inspiration for Feral, his journey as a filmmaker, working with Paul Schrader and his organic approach to making one of the year’s best films.
For news and updates go to: feralfilmproject.com
Director’s Statement Yet for as many people as the tunnels beneath New York City represent fear, there are the few who see it as freedom. FERAL is inspired by my experiences underground and living with mole people in New York. To explore this world, our story revolves around the journey of a young homeless woman, Yasmine, living in the tunnels beneath the West Side (same as the one featured in Dark Days) in the days leading up to a blizzard. Within a month our key crew of four, cast of professional and non professional actors including former homeless people as well as those who work in the system, came together to create what we want to be an exploration of invisibility and the masks we put on when we face the world. The story is told, through the lens of a homeless woman, Yasmine, who only feels safe underground. - Andrew Wonder
For news and updates go to: andrewwonder.com
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Terrence McNally, Every Act Of Life, tells the story of the groundbreaking life and work of 5-time Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally: a personal journey through 6-decades of the American theatre, the struggle for LGBT rights, triumph over addiction, the power of the arts to shape society, and finding love and inspiration at all ages.F. Murray Abraham, Audra McDonald, Christine Baranski, Edie Falco, Nathan Lane, Angela Lansbury, Rita Moreno and others weigh in on the pioneering playwright's influential career, and speak frankly of his struggles as well as his monumental successes. The voices of Dan Bucatinsky, Bryan Cranston and Meryl Streep are also featured. Intimate conversations with the late McNally complete this essential portrait of the four-time Tony winner and 2019 recipient of the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. Playwright, librettist, scriptwriter and outspoken LGBTQ activist Terrence McNally died of coronavirus complications in April 2020 at age 81. American Masters and the filmmaking team explored McNally's six-decade career through the intimate and revealing documentary. Director Jeff Kaufman and Producer Marcia Ross join us for a look back at one of the greatest play writes in American theatre.
For news and updates go to: everyactoflife.com
Terrence McNally, Every Act Of Life, will be returning to PBS Streaming on June 1st.
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The Ghost of Peter Sellers is a comic-tragic feature doc about what it takes to be a film director and survive your biggest disaster. After 43 years the wounds have barely healed for Director Peter Medak (The Ruling Class, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Romeo is Bleeding) and this is his opportunity to tell the story and finally release the weight associated with its failure. At its core lies the story of an unraveling production but also the tale of a young Director firmly on a path to greatness. Medak had made 3 back-to-back successes; most notably ‘The Ruling Class’ in 1972 with Peter O’Toole. This film changed his career forever. In September 1973 Peter Sellers embarked on the production of a 17th Century pirate comedy in Cyprus for Columbia Pictures (Ghost in the Noonday Sun). Structured around the original director Peter Medak and his journey back to the island 42 years later, The Ghost of Peter Sellers is a timeline of events supported by eye-opening and heart-felt interviews with remaining cast members, production staff, Cypriot locals and others from the world of filmmaking. From Los Angeles to New York, from London to Cyprus, Medak recaptures what it was like to work with the genius talents of Sellers and Milligan whilst explaining the saga of the Pirate film and how such a brilliant and funny idea could go so terribly wrong and become a total disaster. Director Peter Medak joins us for a candid conversation on the toll the making of his star-crossed film took on him professionally, personally and psychologically and where he is today.
For news and updates go to: theghostofpetersellers.com
Watch now on Virtual Theatre: theghostofpetersellers.com
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Inspired by the massive use of new technologies which intersect with psychopharmacology for therapeutic purposes. Algorithm: Bliss takes a look into how humanity and technology intersect and examines the unintended consequences of applications and innovations that come out of good intentions. Algorithm: Bliss explores where and how lines of morality get blurry once people are dealing with the reality of the noble aspirations for a product versus the potentially dangerous reality of implementation. It’s Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” for a digital age. Vic Beckett (Sean Faris) is a brilliant researcher, creates the ultimate App that taps into the pleasure center of the brain and transmits a feeling of nirvana to the user. Instant celebrity and unlimited commercial applications corrupt his altruistic intention and when problems arise with his creation, he justifies doing whatever is necessary to keep the app online. Algorithm: Bliss stars Sean Faris (Never Back Down), Sarah Roemer (Disturbia), Frank Deal (The Bourne Legacy), James Saito (Life Of Pi), Frank Deal (The Outsider), and Kimberley Locke (American Idol). Algorithm: Bliss is co-directed by Dena Hysell-Cornejo and Isak Borg, from a screenplay by Borg and Golan Ramraz (Iron Man).
For news and updates go to: greenappleent.com/project/algorithm-bliss
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Inspired by actual crime. Set in the streets of Las Vegas, away from the strip, PUNCHING AND STEALING is an action comedy vigilante film about Sam Bransby (Ryan Churchill), a young man that becomes jaded and uses violence to get back his dad’s stolen pension money from corporate suits under the direction of his hitman boss (Melvin Rodriguez) in their organization, “Pension Recovery Force”. As fate would have it, as he turns to the dark side (with humor) in his vigilante faction, he meets the love of his life, Jen (Jenny Vilim). As hard as he tries to keep it a secret from her, his vigilante world and love life collide. He attempts to convince her to be his wing-woman but her moral code prohibits her from joining Sam’s underground faction of “beating people until they’re unrecognizable.” A modern day indie caper taking place over 13 years both in plot and film. Co-director, co-producer and lead actor Ryan Churchill stops by to talk about a personal connection to the origin story for his oft-kilter, high-energy comedy and how he pulled together a terrific supporting cast that pushed PUNCHING AND STEALING into a higher trajectory.
For news and updates go to: PunchingAndStealingMovie.com
For more on the filmmaker go to: ryanchurchill.com
Available now on: iTunes: apple.co/2LdAs0A Amazon: tinyurl.com/yd385kfxhttps://youtu.be/9JOgvWY0T3o
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Yale graduate Jeremy Garelick started in the mailroom at the Creative Artists Agency, before going on to work as assistant to legendary writer/director, Joel Schumacher on Tigerland, Bad Company, Phone Booth, and Veronica Guerin. Jeremy made his feature screenplay debut with the Vince Vaughn vehicle The Break-Up and followed that by teaming up with Todd Phillips to pen the production draft of The Hangover, establishing himself as the go-to A-list comedy writer in Hollywood. In 2015 Jeremy directed his first feature film, The Wedding Ringer starring Kevin Hart and Josh Gad. Between writing, directing, and show running his Netflix original limited series, Best. Worst. Weekend. Ever., and executive producing his YouTube Red original, Side Swiped, Jeremy also formed his own production company, American High. Staked with a $45 million film fund, American High has shot five indie comedies in Garelick’s recently acquired school-turned-studio in Syracuse, NY, including Big Time Adolescence, starring Pete Davidson, Jon Cryer, and Sydney Sweeney, which was recently invited to compete in dramatic competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. In addition, American High Founder Jeremy Garelick is set to direct and produce a slate of three higher budget high school comedy features in 2020.
For news and updates go to: americanhigh.com
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Co-written by experimental filmmakers James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir (who, along with Paul Dallas, served as producers), The Plagiarists is at once a hilarious send-up of low-budget American indie filmmaking and a probing inquiry into race, relationships, and the social uncanny. A young novelist (Lucy Kaminsky) and her cinematographer boyfriend (Eamon Monaghan) are waylaid by a snowstorm on their way to visit a friend in upstate New York and are taken in by the kindly yet enigmatic Clip (Michael “Clip” Payne of Parliament Funkadelic), who puts them up for the night. But an accidental discovery months later recasts in an unnerving light what had seemed like an agreeable evening, stoking resentments both latent and not-so-latent. Exhilaratingly intelligent and distinctively shot on a vintage TV-news camera, The Plagiarists is a work whose provocations are inseparable from its pleasures. Screenwriters James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir join us to talk about whip-smart project, as well as their creative process, white privilege, blending together acting styles and Dogma 95.
For news and updates go to: kimstim.com/film/plagiarists
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Amy Goldstein’s wildly entertaining documentary, KATE NASH: UNDERESTIMATE THE GIRL, chronicles the meteoric rise and years-long struggle of musician / artist Kate Nash to re-establish a thriving career on her own terms. At 18, Nash reached the stratosphere of pop music, vaulting from a working-class family in North London into worldwide tours, a platinum record, and a season dominating the music charts. Fast forward to ten years later: Kate is breaking down, nearly homeless. Defrauded by her manager, she is forced to take odd jobs--like hosting a QVC show in a comic bookstore--and must sell off her clothes. After hitting bottom, she rises out of the darkness by crowd-funding her third album, using the uplifting power of online culture and her own authentic voice. From pop wonder, to riot grrrl, to TV wrestling queen, Kate's journey is an inspiring call to the creative heart in all of us: be fearless. Blending performance footage with verité style sequences, KATE NASH: UNDERESTIMATE THE GIRLis both a no-punches-pulled look at an artist in flux who manages to come out on top, and at an industry that proves its own gender bias at every opportunity. The film is structured around songs and lyrics, as they are written and performed by Kate Nash, to tell its unfolding story. Director Amy Goldstein joins us to talk about Kate Nash, her work ethic, determination, sense of humor and how that has served her over the many years of struggle.
For news and updates go to: thehoopinglife.com/kate-nash-underestimate-the-girl
KATE NASH: UNDERESTIMATE THE GIRL will be released nationally on Friday May 22 via the groundbreaking virtual cinema platform ALAMO ON DEMAND. Following the Saturday, May 23 6:00 PST / 9:00 EST there will be an interactive performance and Q&A with Kate Nash.The exclusive release will then hit a limited traditional theatrical rollout in August. Watch tonight: On Demand.drafthouse.com/film/kate-nash-underestimate-the-girl
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Set centuries apart but in the same place, OVID AND THE ART OF LOVE tells the story of the renowned Roman poet Ovid, whose comic verses and permissive lifestyle provoked the brutal Emperor Augustus’s ire. As Ovid and the emperor’s granddaughter – thrown together by fate – race to escape execution, Ovid’s story asks: In a world of unrest, is love the most radical act of all? Bringing together togas, high-tops, oration, poetry slams and hip-hop, this film tells a timely story about power, pleasure and politics. Strong women characters clamor for respect and a better place in society. All is set amongst the faded beauty of modern Detroit’s neoclassical architecture. Corbin Bleu (High School Musical) masterfully transforms into the poet Ovid, whose work has been cherished for over 2,000 years, while John Savage (The Deer Hunter) gives an electrifying performance as Augustus, Ovid’s conflicted nemesis. Tara Summers (Mercy Street, Boston Legal) plays Julia, Augustus’s tough, rebellious daughter, and Tamara Feldman (Gossip Girl, Hatchet) is the emperor’s activist granddaughter. Also starring Joseph McKenna (Shutter Island, 12 Monkeys) and Lailani Ledesma (Comedy Central’s Detroiters). Director and writer Esmé von Hoffman joins us to talk about her decision to recast this tale of a free-thinking Roman artist speaking truth to power as a modern parable.
For news and updates go to: ovidandtheartoflove.com
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OvidFilm
Inspired by a couple of true presidential corpse stories: the 1876 plot to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body, and the exhumation of Zachary Taylor in 1991, RAISING BUCHANAN took the idea of presidential corpse stealing to extraordinary lengths of dark comedy delight with terrible dead presidents. Because there’s certainly something to be learned from terrible presidents, as well as laughing at them. Finding their inspiration in the off-kilter tone of the dramatically rooted comedies of Alexander Payne, the Coen Brothers, and Hal Ashby, the RAISING BUCHANAN stars Amanda Melby (Candid Camera), René Auberjonois (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Cathy Shim (Reno 911!), Robert Ben Garant (Reno 911!), Terence Bernie Hines (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), Jennifer Pfalzgraff (21 Grams), Steve Briscoe (Covet), Lynnette ‘L.A.’ Brown (Kerry and Angie), and M. Emmet Walsh (Blade Runner). Produced by Melby and Joe Gruberman (Eleven Eleven), this award-winning feature film swept the film festival circuit racking up multiple awards, including: Best Feature, Best Dramedy, Best Actress (Melby) and Best Screenplay (Dellis), among others. Creator and lead actor Amanda Melby stops by for a lively conversation on the wryly funny and endearing work as well as working with the late, great René Auberjonois.
For news and updates go to: raisingbuchanan.com
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Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student. Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He's his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own - between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he's tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive. The Apple+TV limited drama series is a gripping, character-driven thriller based on the 2012 New York Times best selling novel of the same name by William Landay. Creator and Executive Producer Mark Bomback joins us to talk about how he and his creative team, including director Morten Tyldum, brought this complex and nuanced tale to life.
To watch Defending Jacob go to: tv.apple.com/us/show/defending-jacob
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In REWIND, Sasha Joseph Neulinger’s candid personal memoir, he revisits his childhood and the events that tore apart his seemingly-perfect world. For as long as Neulinger can remember, his father was constantly filming— from birthday parties, to hockey games, to holidays. But his camera, trained on the frequent gatherings of a tight-knit family, was also documenting a hidden secret, the revelation of which would lead to a media firestorm, a high-stakes court battle, and a generational reckoning. Drawing upon an incredibly revealing home video archive, Neulinger revisits these events 20 years later to piece together an unflinching story of the cycles and consequences of abuse, to examine what it means to heal, and to use those experiences to effect positive change in the world. REWIND probes the gap between image and reality and proves just how little, and how much, a camera can capture. Director Sasha Joseph Nuelinger joins us for a candid conversation on the psychological, physical and emotional impact of abuse and how he was able to find the appropriate balance in his role as creator and director telling a story of unspeakable horror about himself and his family.
For news and updates go to: RewindDocumentary.com For more about Rewind go to: rewinddocumentary.com
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SHADOWS OF FREEDOM recounts the untold story of the Jewish & French resistance of 1942 in Algiers, which helped change the course of WWII, yet remains largely forgotten. These 388 resistors – mostly young and inexperienced – almost haplessly ended up supporting the Allies in North Africa. In the process they paved the way for a successful invasion of Algiers by the U.S., but also helped to save the lives of over 500,000 Jews in North Africa, targeted by Hitler's Final Solution. This was all part of OPERATION TORCH the joint American/U.K. mission that was to be the Allies’ first successful strike against the Nazis. This largely forgotten military operation remains to this day as the longest invasion in the history of conflict. Co-directors and co-producers Amos Carlen and Aline Robichaud join us to talk about a little known but critically important chapter of French resistance, American and British military strategy and the courageous contributions made by Jewish resistance fighters.
For news and updates go to: shadowsfreedom.com/home
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Mossville, Louisiana is a shadow of its former self – a community rich in natural resources and history, founded by formerly enslaved people and free people of color – where neighbors lived in harmony, insulated from the horrors of Jim Crow. Today, Mossville is surrounded by 14 petrochemical plants and the future site of apartheid-born South African-based chemical company Sasol’s newest plant – proposed as a $21.2 billion project and the largest in the western hemisphere. The remaining family members of Mossville struggle to let go of their ancestral home - and at the center of it all is a man named Stacey Ryan. Stacey is 49 years old and a lifelong resident of Mossville. In the past ten years Stacey has lost much of his family to cancer and seen the neighborhood he grew up in demolished to make way for Sasol’s new multi-billion dollar project. Having promised his dying parents to fight the sprawling chemical companies, Stacey struggles to keep his word as his power, water, and sewage are all cut off, and his health continues to decline from ongoing chemical exposure. As Sasol encroaches on citizens’ property with buyout offers, Stacey and other community members have to decide whether to exist in a chemical war zone, or abandon land that has been in their families for generations.,MOSSVILLE: When Great Trees Fall Director and Editor Alexander John Glustrom joins us to talk about one man’s fight to hold on to the last patch of a historic community and the legacy of a shattered community.
For news and updates go to: mossvilleproject.com
About the filmmaker: Alexander John Glustrom - Director / Editor / Director of Photography Alexander John Glustrom's first film was the award winning documentary, "Big Charity," winner of The Jury Award and Audience Award at New Orleans Film Festival and the 2015 Documentary of the Year by Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. He was awarded "Filmmaker of the Year" at the 2015 New Orleans Millennial Awards and one of New Orleans' "40 under 40" by Gambit Magazine. He has directed, shot, produced, and edited a wide variety of film and media projects that have reached hundreds of thousands online, played at film festivals internationally and aired on major networks including HBO, CNN, Fusion, NYtimes.com, Great Big Story and Democracy Now. Daniel Bennett, Katie Mathews and Catherine Rierson are Producers, while Linda Karn and Michelle Lanier serve as Executive Producers. Lyntoria Newton is Impact Producer.
For more about Alexander John Glustrom go to: ajgmedia.com
Social Media: facebook.com/MossvilleProject twitter.com/MossvilleDoc instagram.com/mossvillefilm
THE INFILTRATORS is a docu-thriller that tells the true story of young immigrants who are detained by Border Patrol and thrown into a shadowy for-profit detention center— on purpose. Marco and Viri are members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a group of radical DREAMers who are on a mission to stop unjust deportations. And the best place to stop deportations, they believe, is in detention. However, when Marco and Viri attempt a daring reverse ‘prison break,’ things don’t go according to plan. By weaving together documentary footage of the real infiltrators with re-enactments of the events inside the detention center, THE INFILTRATORS tells an incredible and thrilling true story in a genre-defying new cinematic language. Co-directors Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera joins for a conversation on dire conditions that wait detainees , the cruelty of a system designed to frustrate people with legitimate reasons for remaining in the United States and their respect for the people who willingly put their lives and futures on the line for the sake of others.
For news and updates go to: theinfiltrators.oscilloscope.net or infiltratorsfilm.com
About the filmmakers: Alex Rivera is an award-winning filmmaker who tells visually adventurous stories. His first feature film, SLEEP DEALER, won the screenwriting award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, was screened at the Museum of Modern Art, and had a commercial release around the world. In 2015 Alex was awarded support from the Surdna Foundation and the Ford Foundation for The Infiltrators.
Cristina Ibarra has been making award-winning films that explore the U.S.-Mexico border for the past seventeen years. The New York Times calls her documentary LAS MARTHAS “a striking alternative portrait of border-town life.” Her PBS documentary collaboration, THE LAST CONQUISTADOR, The Last Conquistador, had a national broadcast on POV. In 2015 she became part of Women at Sundance.
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In December 2018, alpinists Ari Novak and Karsten Delap set out for India to explore one of the most remote valleys in the Indian Himalaya with local climber Karn Kowshik. Their goal was to meet with the indigenous population of the Spiti Valley and try to support local ice climbing. What they found was perhaps the biggest treasure trove of unclimbed ice in all the Himalaya. HIMALAYAN ICE (Adventures in India’s Most Remote Valley) tells the history-making story of their journey to put up nine first ascents and start an ice climbing movement by the local population. From their journey to the valley along the most treacherous road on earth to walking amongst Snow Leopards, the expedition was anything but expected. Co-directors Austin Schmitz and Ari Novak join us to talk the challenges of getting to India’s Spiti Valley, connecting with the people, climbers and non-climbers, and the life lessons learned during their remarkable journey.
For news and updates go to: himalayanicefilm.com Social Media twitter.com/lasportivatwitt twitter.com/hashtag/himalayanice
The quietly powerful new film from award-winning director Annie Silverstein BULL focuses on a 14-year-old Kris (Amber Havard), who, after trashing her neighbor's house in a fit of youthful defiance, seems destined to follow in her mother's footsteps to the state penitentiary. To make amends, she is forced to help Abe Turner (Rob Morgan), an ex-bull rider scraping by on the Texas rodeo circuit, with errands at home and at his work. While traveling with Abe, she discovers a passion for bull riding. Yet, as Kris sets out to learn the dangerous sport, bad influences lure her back into delinquent ways. Meanwhile, Abe struggles with the aches and pains of growing older and aging out of the only life he has ever known. Together, Kris and Abe forge an unexpected connection, helping each other see new possibilities and hope for the future before it’s too late. Director and writer Annie Silverstein stops by to talk about the inspiration for BULL and how her experience as a social worker informs her instincts as a filmmaker.
About the filmmaker - Annie Silverstein is an award winning filmmaker and media educator based in Austin, Texas. Her films have screened at international festivals including Cannes, SXSW, Silverdocs and on PBS Independent Lens. Her latest film, SKUNK, won first prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival–Cinéfondation. Before attending film school, Annie spent ten years as a youth worker and community media educator. She co-founded and served as Artistic Director at Longhouse Media, an indigenous arts organization based in Seattle. For her work there, Annie received the National Association for Media Literacy Award for outstanding contributions made in the field of media education. Annie is a lecturer at the University of Texas-Austin, where she earned her MFA in Film Production. Annie was named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine and was selected for the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs for Bull, her feature debut. Annie recently premiered Bull at the Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard.
For news, screenings and updates go to: samuelgoldwynfilms.com/bull/
For more on Annie Silverstein got to: anniesilverstein.com
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Released on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic, PLANET OF THE HUMANS takes a harsh look at how the environmental movement has lost the battle through well-meaning but disastrous choices, including the belief that solar panels and windmills would save us, and by giving in to the corporate interests of Wall Street. PLANET OF THE HUMANS is the debut movie from director Jeff Gibbs, whom Executive Producer Michael Moore calls “a brave and brilliant filmmaker whose new voice must be heard.” Gibbs is a lifelong environmentalist and longtime collaborator of Moore’s with whom he co-produced Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. Gibbs has dared to say what no one will -- that “we are losing the battle to stop climate change because we are following environmental leaders, many of whom are well-intentioned, but who’ve sold out the green movement to wealthy interests and corporate America.” This film is the wake-up call to the reality which we are afraid to face: that in the midst of a human-caused extinction event, the so-called “environmental movement’s” answer is to push for techno-fixes and band-aids. Moore and Gibbs decided that with the American public -- and much of the world – confined to their homes and suddenly having to consider the role humans and their behavior have played in our fragile ecosystem, the moment was too urgent to wait until later this year for the film’s planned release. Director / Producer / Writer / Editor and Cinematographer Jeff Gibbs joins us for a free-wheeling conversation on the hard truths we all face and the dawning realization that we have allowed ourselves to be lulled into believing the billionaire class is going to ensure a sustainable collective future.
For news and updates go to: planetofthehumans.com
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Winner of numerous international film awards STRAY, director Dustin Feneley’s feature film debut takes place in a cold and remote landscape, two strangers, Jack (Kieran Charnock) and Grace (Arta Dobroshi) struggle to repair their broken pasts. A young man is on parole after serving time for attempting to murder the man who killed his girlfriend in a hit and run. A woman is released from a psychiatric facility far from her homeland. These two damaged strangers cross paths in the mountains in winter and fall into a complex intimate relationship, putting to the test their capacity to trust and heal. A stark, complex story of people confronting their past while struggling to find their own resolve to forge a better future. Director / Producer / Writer Dustin Feneley joins us for a conversation on his own journey getting Stray financed and completed as well as crafting a beautifully rendered tale of two lost, psychologically exhausted souls.
For news, screenings and updates go to: strayfilm.com
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Somewhere in the Rust Belt of America another factory is closing down. After decades on the job, the reclusive Allery Parkes (Peter Gerety) finds himself out of work. Following his plant’s closure, Allery attempts to bide his time - same as his former, disgruntled, unemployed co-workers. However, despite the best efforts of his conciliatory wife Iola (Talia Shire), to get him to move on with his life. Allery keeps going back to his old workplace. A new morning presents a new opportunity. Allery gets dressed in his factory work clothes, he packs his lunch and, when asked by his perplexed wife where he’s off to, Allery responds, “I’m going to work.” WORKING MAN traces Allery as he sneaks into the closed factory. At first, he does this alone, but in time he gains an unexpected - and initially unwelcome ally. A charismatic neighbor, Walter Brewer (Billy Brown), soon joins Allery at the defunct factory. As their community rallies around them – and as their former corporate bosses strategize how to implode this unexpected movement – Allery learns that he might be something he never thought possible: a leader. Director and writer Robert Jury joins us to talk about his clear-eyed look at a man and a town, gave their job everything, now coming to grips with a haunting past and an uncertain future.
For news and updates go to: workingmanmovie.com
For updates on Working Man screenings go to: workingmanmovie.com/screenings
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Hilma af Klint was an abstract artist before the term existed, a visionary, trailblazing figure who, inspired by spiritualism, modern science, and the riches of the natural world around her, began in 1906 to reel out a series of huge, colorful, sensual, strange works without precedent in painting. The subject of a recent smash retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum, af Klint was for years an all-but-forgotten figure in art historical discourse, before her long-delayed rediscovery. Halina Dryschka’s dazzling, course correcting documentary describes not only the life and craft of af Klint, but also the process of her erasure and mischaracterization by both a patriarchal narrative of artistic progress and capitalistic determination of artistic value. Director Halina Dyrschka joins us to talk about her own journey in making this compelling and powerful film and the importance of shattering the art world narrative of marginalizing woman artists.
About the filmmaker - Halina Dyrschka Halina Dyrschka was born in Berlin, Germany and is active as a director and producer. After studying acting, classical singing and film production she founded the company AMBROSIA FILM in Berlin. Her first film as a director the short film “9andahalf’s Goodbye” was shown at over 40 film festivals worldwide and has won several awards. BEYOND THE VISIBLE – HILMA AF KLINT marks her directorial feature documentary debut and is the first and only film on the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint.
For news, screenings and updates go to: zeitgeistfilms.com/film/beyondthevisiblehilmaafklint
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THE AMERICAN NURSE explores some of the biggest issues facing America — aging, war, poverty, prisons — through the work and lives of five nurses. It is an examination of real people that will change how we think about nurses and how we wrestle with the challenges of healing America. Jason Short drives up a creek to reach a homebound cancer patient in Appalachia. Tonia Faust runs a prison hospice program where inmates serving life sentences care for their fellow inmates as they’re dying. Naomi Cross coaches patient Becky, an ovarian cancer survivor, through the cesarean delivery of her son. Sister Stephen runs a nursing home where she uses goats, sheep, dogs and llamas for animal therapy and the entire nursing staff comes together to sing to a dying resident. And Brian McMillion, an Army veteran and former medic, rehabilitates wounded soldiers returning from war. Director and Executive Director Carolyn Jones (Defining Hope, joins us to talk about her own journey to the making of The American Nurse and how she came to know the remarkably compassionate and professional people who have provided comfort and care to all of us.
For news and updates got to: kinolorberedu.com/film/the-american-nurse
Watch The American Nurse: kinonow.com/american-nurse
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D.W. Young’s elegant and absorbing documentary, THE BOOKSELLERS, is a lively tour of New York’s book world, populated by an assortment of obsessives, intellects, eccentrics and dreamers, past and present: from the Park Avenue Armory’s annual Antiquarian Book Fair, where original editions can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars; to the Strand and Argosy bookstores, still standing against all odds; to the beautifully crammed apartments of collectors and buyers. The film, executive produced by Parker Posey, features a range of commentators, including Fran Lebowitz, Susan Orlean, Gay Talese, and a community of dedicated book dealers and collectors who strongly believe in the wonder of the object and what it holds within. Director D.W. David Young joins us to talk about his endearing look into a vanishing institution, local bookstores, and the people who love them and the treasures they hold.
About the filmmaker - D.W. Young Director and Editor D.W. Young’s films have screened at festivals around the world including SXSW, Vancouver International Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Provincetown Film Festival, Sarasota Film Festival and many more. His features A HOLE IN A FENCE and THE HAPPY HOUSE were released by First Run Features. Most recently his short A FAVOR FOR JERRY, filmed on election night 2016, premiered at IFF Boston.
For news, screenings and updates go to: booksellersdocumentary.com
The Booksellers is being distributed through greenwichentertainment.com
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After the 2008 election, a secretive, well-funded partisan initiative poured money into state legislative races in key swing states to gain control of their redistricting processes and used high-tech analytics to dramatically skew voting maps based on demographic data. The result is one of the greatest electoral manipulations in U.S. history, one that poses a fundamental threat to our democracy and exacerbates the already polarized atmosphere in Congress and state houses across the country. Gerrymandering, the practice of redrawing electoral maps to serve the party in power, has been around for centuries. But in today’s hyper-partisan political environment it has been taken to unprecedented extremes, fueled by the elimination of corporate campaign contribution limits and the availability of vast amounts of personal information. The effects of this insidious strategy have continued to bear fruit through the 2018 midterms. But voters, fed up with cynical efforts to sidestep the will of the majority, have begun fighting back. In one example, a grassroots movement led by a young with no political experience gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures to put an anti-gerrymandering initiative on the ballot in Michigan. The new documentary SLAY THE DRAGON shines a light on this timely issue, and follows a handful of citizens’ groups, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally, as they battle party operatives and an entrenched political establishment to fix a broken system. Co-directors Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance stop by to talk about their approach to tackling a complex issue, and finding the grassroots activists who have shown that there is a way to affect real change despite the overwhelming odds.
For news, screenings and updates go to: slaythedragonfilm.com
Watch Slay the Dragon AND support local Theatres: slaythedragonfilm.com/tickets
To learn more about the filmmakers and their work go to: ark-media.net
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Flailing thirty-four-year-old Bridget (Kelly O’Sullivan) finally catches a break when she meets a nice guy and lands a much-needed job nannying six-year-old Frances (played by a scene-stealing Ramona Edith-Williams). But an unwanted pregnancy introduces an unexpected complication. To make matters worse, she clashes with the obstinate Frances and struggles to navigate a growing tension between Frances’s moms. Amidst her tempestuous personal relationships, a reluctant friendship with Frances emerges, and Bridget contends with the inevitable joys and shit-shows of becoming a part of someone else’s family. Director Alex Thompson joins us to talk about his collaboration with screenwriter / lead actor Kelly O’Sullivan, the casting of Frances and his approach to guiding this beautifully rendered story of three women and a child in search of family, love and power over their own lives.
An open letter from Saint Frances writer and lead actor, Kelly O’Sullivan When I got pregnant in my early thirties and knew immediately I would get an abortion, I had no idea what to expect. My mom got me the “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” pregnancy book one Christmas, hoping I would hurry up and give her a grandchild, but nobody proudly hands you a guidebook on what to expect with abortion. I had no idea my abortion could be induced just with pills, and I had no idea how long my post-abortion bleeding would last. Women and girls are encouraged, outrightly or subliminally, to keep abortion, postpartum depression, periods, or any other innate part of womanhood that’s considered messy, “gross,” or shameful to ourselves. That makes for lonely, confusing, and isolating experiences. When my Mom finally learned what this movie was about, she said, “Well, you’re the first one in our whole family to get an abortion!” And I clarified, “Maybe I’m just the first person you know about.” Saint Frances endeavors to normalize and destigmatize those parts of womanhood that we’re encouraged not to talk about. I wanted not only to talk about these subjects, but to show them onscreen unapologetically, realistically. This movie could be called “There Will Be Blood 2,” and a sense of humor is a vital intention of the film. Saint Frances tries to show that abortion doesn’t always have to equal trauma, periods shouldn’t equal shame, and postpartum depression shouldn’t equal isolation. This story and these characters are filled with sincerity, empathy, humor and 6 tons of love. And there’s that healthy amount of blood. Thank you for watching. I truly, truly hope you enjoy. - Kelly O’Sullivan
For news and updates go to: saintfrances.oscilloscope.net For more on the work of Director Alex Thompson go to: runawaytrainchicago.com
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SELAH AND THE SPADES tells the beautifully complex story of an insulated world at an elite Pennsylvania boarding school, Haldwell, where the student body is run by five factions. Seventeen-year-old Selah Summers (Lovie Simone) runs the most dominant group, the Spades, with unshakable poise, as they cater to the most classic of vices and supply students with coveted, illegal alcohol and pills. Tensions between the factions escalate, and when Selah’s best friend/right hand Maxxie (MOONLIGHT’s Jharrel Jerome) becomes distracted by a new love, Selah takes on a protégée, enamored sophomore Paloma (Celeste O'Connor), to whom she imparts her wisdom on ruling the school. But with graduation looming and Paloma proving an impressively quick study, Selah’s fears turn sinister as she grapples with losing the control by which she defines herself. In her feature debut, writer/director Tayarisha Poe immerses us in a heightened depiction of teenage politics. This searing character study encapsulates just how intoxicating power can be for a teenage girl who acutely feels the threat of being denied it. Exciting newcomer Lovie Simone’s performance beautifully embodies both Selah’s publicly impeccable command and the internal fears and uncertainty that drive it. Director and writer Tayarisha Poe joins us for a lively conversation on her own high school experience, The Godfather, the importance of showcasing powerful young women and the remarkably talented actors who make Selah and the Spades so riveting.
Selah and the Spades premieres April 17 on Amazon Prime
About the filmmaker: Tayarisha Poe - Director / Writer Tayarisha Poe is a storyteller from West Philadelphia who believes that all stories are inherently multi-sensory and multi-dimensional, and thus should be told that way. She was chosen as one of the 25 New Faces by Filmmaker Magazine in 2015, and in 2016 she received the Sundance Institute’s Knight Foundation Fellowship. In 2017 she was selected for the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs. Her first feature film, SELAH AND THE SPADES, premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
For more about Tayarisha Poe go to: tayarishapoe.com
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THE RESCUE LIST focuses on a hidden safe-house in the Ghanaian forest, where social workers help two children recover from a childhood enslaved to fishermen on Lake Volta - the largest man-made lake on Earth. But their story takes an unexpected turn when their rescuer embarks on another rescue mission and asks the children for help. THE RESCUE LIST charts the unfolding drama of these rescue operations alongside a stirring portrait of the boys’ recoveries as they prepare to return to their families. The film depicts a moving story of friendship and courage that transcends the trope of victimhood, exploring what it means to love and to survive. Co-directors Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink join us for an in-depth conversation on the ground truth about human trafficking in sub-Sahara Africa, gaining the access and the trust of all the people in the film and their own reflections on how witnessing these people’s stories has impacted them.
To watch The Rescue List on PBS POV go to: therescuelist.com
About the filmmakers: ALYSSA FEDELE - PRODUCER // DIRECTOR // EDITOR Alyssa Fedele is a documentary filmmaker and anthropologist based in San Francisco. In 2016, She produced and edited The Ride of Their Lives, directed by Steve James, about youth rodeo bull riding. It premiered at Sundance and is distributed by Amazon Studios in the series The New Yorker Presents. Her work has appeared on National Geographic Channel, Amazon Studios, and PBS, and screened at IDFA, SFFILM, and Big Sky Film Festival. Alyssa directed, produced, and edited The Rescue List, which screened at Full Frame and DOC NYC and won awards at BendFilm and Heartland International Film Festival.Alyssa is a former resident at SFFILM's FilmHouse and she is a recipient of the SFFILM Documentary Film Fund. She has a master's degree in visual anthropology from the University of Manchester.
ZACHARY FINK - PRODUCER // DIRECTOR // CINEMATOGRAPHER Zachary Fink is a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer. His immersive observational approach to storytelling is deeply influenced by his academic roots in cultural anthropology and visual ethnography. He recently lensed Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s SXSW opening night premiere, State Of Pride, which takes an unflinching look at the diverse expression of Pride 50 years after Stonewall. Last year he spent a month at McMurdo Station in Antarctica where he field directed and shot a forthcoming PBS NOVA series about how science is conducted on the harshest continent. In 2016, Zachary produced and filmed The Ride Of Their Lives, a short directed by Steve James about youth rodeo bull riding. It premiered at Sundance as part of the Amazon Studios series, The New Yorker Presents. His work has appeared on PBS, HBO, National Geographic Channel, and Discovery Channel, and he has produced and directed projects for Facebook, Apple, Google, and for the Harvard Film Study Center. Zachary has a master’s degree in cultural anthropology and an MFA in film production from California Institute of the Arts. Together with Alyssa Fedele, he runs the production company Collective Hunch.
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It's the end of April's (Hannah Marks, Slash) senior year of high school, when she and longtime boyfriend Nick (Dylan Sprouse, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) break up. While getting trashed at a house party, she bumps into Dylan's new squeeze, Clara (Liana Liberato, also in To the Stars), a recent transplant from Fresno. BANANA SPLIT is set against the backdrop of April’s last days before heading off to college. Her plans for her last few high school months are about to hit a snag when she becomes best friends with her ex-boyfriend’s new squeeze. Usual teen social norms mean that they have to hate each, but it turns out they have way more in common than a mutual beau. Over the summer Clara and April develop a perfect kindred-spirit friendship in ways they never thought possible, all while working overtime to keep their relationship secret from Nick. Director Benjamin Kasulke (Your Sister's Sister, Safety Not Guaranteed), stops by to talk about working with co-writer / co-star Hannah Marks, making the transition from cinematographer to director and finding the sweet spot of believability in this very entertaining teen drama / comedy.
About the filmmaker Benjamin Francis Kasulke is a director, cinematographer, and Stranger Genius Award recipient born in 1977 in Syracuse, NY. After earning degrees in film from Ithaca College and FAMU (Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts) in Prague, he worked as a negative cutter with the Image Treasury in Seattle. His cinematographer career began while working extensively with the local dance film community, which he turned into collaborations with the likes of Guy Maddin, Lynn Shelton, Megan Griffiths, and Colin Trevorrow. He became a vital component of the Pacific Northwest film community, acting as cinematographer on such films as Humpday and The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle (both SIFF 2009), The Freebie (SIFF 2010), The Off Hours (SIFF 2011), Your Sister's Sister (SIFF 2012), Safety Not Guaranteed (2012), Touchy Feely (SIFF 2013), Laggies (2014), and My Last Year With The Nuns (SIFF 2014). Banana Split marks his feature directorial debut.
For news and updates go to: facebook.com/bananasplitmov
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The Film Festival Alliance announced it will team with Theatrical-At-Home to present the inaugural Film Festival Day on Saturday, April 11. 30 FFA member film festivals will participate in a virtual screening of Gary Lundgren’s PHOENIX, OREGON, which will benefit each of the film festivals with a share of the evening’s proceeds.
Among the 30 participating film festivals are; Alexander Valley Film Festival (CA), Ashland Film Festival (OR), BendFilm (OR), Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival (IL), Buffalo International Film Festival (NY), Cambria Film Festival (CA), Cinetopia Film Festival (MI), Cucalorus Film Festival (NC), Durango Independent Film Festival (CO), Heartland Film Festival (IN), Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival (MI), Indy Film Fest (IN), Interfaith Film & Music Festival (NY), Flyway Film Festival (WI), Free State Festival (KS), Golden State Film Festival (CA), New Filmmakers Los Angeles (CA), Orcas Island Film Festival (WA), Oxford Film Festival (MS), Phoenix Film Festival (AZ), Poppy Jasper International Film Festival (CA), Sidewalk Film Festival (AL), Scottsdale International Film Festival (AZ), Skyline Indie Fest (VA), South Georgia Film Festival (GA), St. Louis International Film Festival (MO), Tallgrass Film Festival (KS), The Valley Film Festival (CA), Vermont International Film Festival (VT), and Woods Hole Film Festival (MA).
Film fans from across the country will be able to select their festival of choice when purchasing tickets and box office revenue will be generously split with that organization. All ticket purchases will receive a one-time link to watch the movie at home as well as a free digital copy upon its official release this summer. Film festivals across the nation have endured more than 175 cancellations, postponements and quick pivots in the wake of COVID-19, with an estimated economic impact of more than $1.4 million for this group of organizations alone. Of the participating festivals, which come from 19 states, they have combined audiences of more than 200,000, support more than 5,500 filmmakers and collectively screened over 3,700 films in the last year.
Gary Lundgren’s PHOENIX, OREGON is about two friends, a graphic novelist and a chef, who defy a midlife haze by seizing an unlikely opportunity to reinvent their lives by quitting their jobs to restore an old bowling alley and serve the “world's greatest pizza." The film stars an impressive lineup of indie film stalwarts and comedy favorites including James Le Gros (DRUGSTORE COWBOY, LIVING IN OBLIVION), Lisa Edelstein (“House”), Jesse Borrego (“Fame,” BLOOD IN BLOOD OUT), Reynaldo Gallegos (AMERICAN SNIPER), Diedrich Bader (NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, OFFICE SPACEN, “Veep”), and Kevin Corrigan (THE DEPARTED, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, TRUE ROMANCE). Watch the trailer for Phoenix, Oregon
To purchase tickets go to: shop.jomafilms.com/Phoenix, Oregon - Film Festival Day
ABOUT FILM FESTIVAL ALLIANCE Film Festival Alliance creates a collaborative global community for mission-driven film festivals. FFA advocates for a sustainable and inclusive environment for our industry within the cinema exhibition ecosystem and creates a powerful collective voice for film festivals and the people who run them. Founded in 2010 as a program of IFP, Film Festival Alliance (FFA) was established in 2015 as an independent non-profit networking organization, and now serves a membership of more than 180 organizations and individuals – representing a diverse array of size, geographic location and annual budget. FFA presents year-round professional development, and engagement opportunities around the country, offers valuable money-saving benefits and creates a collective community for festival professionals. FFA works year-round to celebrate and support the art of film, filmmaking and film presentation by connecting festival professionals with one another, and with other industry stakeholders including the greater filmmaking community.
CRIP CAMP explores the revolution that blossomed in a ramshackle, unorthodox summer camp for teenagers with disabilities in the early 1970s, transforming their lives and igniting a landmark movement. This joyous and exuberant documentary, co-directed by Emmy®-winning filmmaker Nicole Newnham and sound mixer (and former camper) James LeBrecht, draws from a jaw-dropping store of archival footage to show how the campers’ bonds endured as they migrated West to Berkeley, California — a promised land for a growing and diverse disability community — where they realized that by working together they might secure life-changing accessibility for millions. CRIP CAMP arrives the same year as the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, at a time when the country’s largest minority group still battles daily for the freedom to exist. Co-directors Nicole Newnham and Jim LeBrecht join us for a lively conversation on the personal and professional journey behind the making of CRIP CAMP and the remarkable people who fought and those who continue to fight for human rights.
For news and updates go to: cripcamp.com
Watch Crip Camp on Netflix right now!
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Premiering at the Pasadena International Film Festival HONESTY WEEKEND begins when their John and Ada’s therapist challenges them to be completely honest with each other for an entire weekend, a young married couple attempts to execute this advice over two days with good friends at a country house. At first amused by the couple’s newfound honesty, soon everyone is infected with the “honesty virus”. Secrets spill and desires flare to life. And when husband John’s sexy lesbian friend Delaney arrives to stir the pot, the whole thing heats up until it boils over. At the heart of this relationship comedy is a young marriage in trouble, but look deeper and you’ll see the angsty discomfort of early thirty-somethings struggling to embrace intimacy and true adulthood. In this grounded, smart, funny film writer-director Leslie Thomas exercises her distinct comedic voice and a wry understanding of our poignant and ridiculous human blind spots. HONESTY WEEKEND stars Adam Bartley (This Is Us), Sabina Gadecki (L.A.’s Finest), Dioni Michelle Collins (General Hospital), Pete Ploszek (Captain Marvel), Evan Watkins (College Humor Originals), Allan Wasserman (Big), and Susan Walters (The Vampire Diaries). Director and writer Leslie Thomas joins is for an engaging conversation on a compressed shooting schedule, holding out for the right cast of actors, as well as the challenges and rewards of being a first time director.
For news and updates go to: honestyweekend.com
Honesty Weekend screens at PIFF on Saturday, March 14 at 6:15 PM
About the filmmaker: LESLIE THOMAS produced the 2018 Emmy-winning documentary feature KEVYN AUCOIN Beauty & The Beast In Me (now on Netflix). She is the showrunner of ratings record breakers HALLOWEEN, HOLIDAY & KIDS BAKING CHAMPIONSHIPS on Food Network. She's a playwright and a California native who studied Film & TV at Loyola Marymount University. Honesty Weekend is her first feature.
For more on the work of Leslie Thomas go to: puttimedia.com
As a pioneer of integrative medicine, which combines conventional medicine with cutting edge alternative treatments, veterinarian Dr. Marty Goldstein has been called everything from "maverick" to "miracle-worker." Attracting four-legged patients from around the world, Dr. Goldstein's practice, Smith Ridge Veterinary Center, provides holistic care for animals after other vets have given up hope. In THE DOG DOC, director Cindy Meehl (BUCK), goes behind the scenes at Smith Ridge to capture the full drama of "Dr. Marty" and his colleagues' life-changing commitment to wellness and the astounding results they achieve. Filmed over a 2½ year period, Meehl's unobtrusive camera highlights the vulnerability of her subjects - canine and human - while tracking each animal's progress. THE DOG DOC joins the touching stories of families with the hard science of integrative care. By casting an intimate lens over this unique world, THE DOG DOC shows the healing powers of wellness, compassion and hope. Director Cindy Meehl joins us for a conversation of why conventional techniques and alternative medicines coupled with compassionate care make Doctor Goldstein’s approach so successful.
For news, screenings and updates go to: dogdocthefilm.com
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PHOENIX OREGON is the story of two friends, a graphic novelist and a chef, seizing an unlikely opportunity to reinvent their lives, quit their jobs to restore an old bowling alley and serve the “world's greatest pizza.” Phoenix, Oregon stars James Le Gros (Drugstore Cowboy, Living in Oblivion), Lisa Edelstein (Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, House), Jesse Borrego (Fame, Blood In Blood Out), Reynaldo Gallegos (Triple Frontier, American Sniper), Diedrich Bader (Napoleon Dynamite, Office Space, Veep), and Kevin Corrigan (The Departed, Pineapple Express, True Romance). PHOENIX OREGON takes a comedic look at the existential crisis many face when trying to find meaning and relevancy at midlife. Despite controlling bosses, dead-end jobs, and broken relationships, the two leads must awaken hibernating courage and resilience in order to take new risks and keep dreams alive. Director and writer Gary Lundgren (Calvin Marshall, Redwood Highway, Black Road) stops by to talk his own midlife angst and inspiration for this disarming gem of a film, working with a stellar cast and his love for the Pacific Northwest.
For news, screenings and updates go to: phoenixoregonmovie.com
For more about the work of Gary Lundgren go to: jomafilms.com
For information on Phoenix Oregon screenings in Southern California go to: laemmle.com/film/phoenix-oregon
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By virtually every yardstick, antisemitism in the US and Europe is rising and worsening in ways not seen since the 1930s. It comes in the forms of vandalism, social media abuse, assault and murder. Like a virus, it mutates and evolves across cultures, borders and ideologies, making it all but impossible to stop. Filmmaker Andrew Goldberg explores its infectious behavior in his film VIRAL: ANTISEMITISM IN FOUR MUTATIONS as he travels through four countries to speak firsthand with victims, witnesses, antisemites, and interviewees including Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Fareed Zakaria, George Will and Deborah Lipstadt. VIRAL: ANTISEMITISM IN FOUR MUTATIONS examines how some on the American far right have incited such acts as the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA. In Hungary, we see how the Prime Minister has launched a massive campaign against Jewish Holocaust survivor and billionaire George Soros that's reminiscent of Nazi propaganda. Moving to the far left in England, we see members of the traditionally anti-racist Labour party conflating Israel and Jews, causing tremendous pain for the Jewish community. And in France, the film illuminates the seemingly endless wave of violence against Jews by Islamists and radicals. The increasing bigotry, and at times violence, within each of these four countries paints a terrifying portrait of how global hatred disseminates and harms. As activist Maajid Nawaz says in the film, "If we don't draw a red line in the sand when it comes to antisemitism, Muslims will be next, gays will be next and everyone else who is deemed a minority will be next.” Director Andrew Goldberg joins us to talk about this particularly virulent strain of racism going back hundreds of years, continues to threaten the lives of Jews in Europe and the United States.
For news, screenings and updates go to: viralthefilm.com
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Rose, a sweet, lonely driving instructor in rural Ireland, is gifted with supernatural abilities. Rose has a love/hate relationship with her ‘talents’ & tries to ignore the constant spirit related requests from locals – to exorcise possessed rubbish bins or haunted gravel. But! Christian Winter, a washed up, one-hit-wonder rock star, has made a pact with the devil for a return to greatness! He puts a spell on a local teenager- making her levitate. Her terrified father, Martin Martin, asks Rose to help save his daughter. Rose has to overcome the fear of her supernatural gift & work with Martin to save the girl, get the guy and be home in time for a light snack…maybe a yogurt or something… Co-directors Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman join us for a conversation on the making of their oddly endearing, winning comedy about everyday apparitions, Rose, Martin Martin and Christian and reconnecting with their Talents.
For news, screenings and updates go to: crankedupfilms.com/extraordinary
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Director/Editor Pi Ware's ("Solitude," “The Act”) powerful new documentary “Skin Deep: The Battle Over Morgellons,” takes a deep dive approach into the heated controversy surrounding Morgellons disease, a skin condition that most of the medical industry considers delusional. “Skin Deep: The Battle Over Morgellons,” explores the controversy surrounding Morgellons—a disease where fibers grow from sufferers' skin, but a disease that the medical industry considers, “all in the patient's head". The film brings to light the heated debate as to who is delusional—the patients who believe or the doctors who deny-- and whether medical treatment for Morgellons should be antibiotics or anti-psychotics. The documentary follows subjects on both sides of the debate: a Texas nurse who suffers from the disease, and a skeptical dermatologist who asserts "there are no bad doctors". The film investigates new research that claims the fibers are protein-based filaments created by the body, explores historical patterns of medical arrogance, and exposes the fatal flaws in the 2012 Morgellons study by the CDC. “Skin Deep: The Battle Over Morgellons” climaxes in a showdown at the Morgellons Conference in Austin, Texas, where the skeptical dermatologist presents his controversial opinions, and where bridges between doctors and patients will either be built... or burned. Director Pi Ware stops by to talk about the embattled victims and advocates fighting for relief from a debilitating, life-altering disease.
For news and updates go to: morgellonsmovie.org
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Goldie is a star – well, not quite yet, but at least in the eyes of her little sisters Sherrie and Supreme she is. The rest of the world is bound to take note soon too. Her big break surely awaits, she’s just got to pick up that golden fur coat she’s had her eye on first. And land a role as a dancer in a hip-hop video. And keep child welfare services from separating her from Sherrie and Supreme, after their mother is locked up. Holding onto those dreams isn’t easy when fate has placed such daunting obstacles in her path. With Goldie, Dutch director Sam de Jong has delivered a real New York film: raw and glamorous, unflinchingly realistic and relentlessly optimistic, with a ton of heart and at least as much attitude. Director / writer Sam de Jong joins us to talk about his tale of dreams, expectations and reality crash together in this verite explosion.
For news and updates go to: filmmovement.com/goldie
For February 21 Los Angeles screenings go to: lumierecinemala.com/film-goldie
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When Nancy Paulikas, a vivacious woman, engineer and pilot, with early onset of Alzheimer, goes missing from a visit to a Los Angeles museum, the film takes you on a journey to show the unseen boundaries and gaps between our society and the system. It also highlights how a small number of determined people including Kirk Moody, Nancy’s husband, and LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn team up to create ‘LA Found’ program that is helping countless families. The film creates such an excellent portrait of Nancy that by the end of the movie you will know her like your close friend. Director and editor Thiago Dadalt joins us for a conversation on the heartbreaking story of love, loss and the determination of the people who cared about Nancy and their refusal to let tragedy me the end of the story.
For news and updates go to: dellenmillerproductions.com/where-is-nancy
Where is Nancy? World Premiere at the 2020 Cinequest Sunday, March 8 - 6 PM at the Hammer Theater In attendance: Kirk Moody (Nancy's husband) George and Joan Paulikas (Nancy's parents) Director Thiago Dadalt
Click here for other Where is Nancy? screenings at Cinequest
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Ken Loach, the two-time Palme d’Or-winning, 83-year-old director trains his incisive lens on the human cost of our shopping habits and changing workforce. After losing their home in a financial crisis, Ricky and Abby trade the car she uses as a visiting nurse for a van, so Ricky can work as a delivery driver. The advantages of being self-employed come with the constant pressure of meeting impossible deadlines with no margin for error, sickness, or family emergency. Loach’s compassionate, hard-hitting drama will make you rethink your expectations the next time you enjoy the convenience of overnight delivery. Director Ken Loach (KES, THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY, I, DANIEL BLAKE) joins us for a conversation on the explosion of the “gig-economy” and the insidious impact its having on work schedules, worker safety, worker health and on the emotional toll it’s taking on raising a family.
For news, screenings and updates go to: zeitgeistfilms.com/film/sorrywemissedyou
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In 1956, four years before Jane Goodall ventured into the world of chimpanzees and seven years before Dian Fossey left to work with mountain gorillas, 23-year-old biologist Anne Innis Dagg made an unprecedented solo journey to South Africa to study giraffes in the wild. In THE WOMAN WHO LOVES GIRAFFES Anne (now 86) retraces her steps, and with letters and stunning, original 16mm film footage offers an intimate window into her life as a young woman, juxtaposed with a first hand look at the devastating reality that giraffes are facing today. Both the world’s first ‘giraffologist’, whose research findings ultimately became the foundation for many scientists following in her footsteps, and the species she loves have each experienced triumphs as well as setbacks. In THE WOMAN WHO LOVES GIRAFFES Anne takes us on her first expedition back to Africa to retrace where her trail-blazing journey began more than half a century ago. By retracing her original steps, and with letters and stunning, original 16mm film footage, Anne offers an intimate window into her life as a young woman, juxtaposed with a first hand look at the devastating reality that giraffes are facing today. Both the world’s first ‘giraffologist’, whose research findings ultimately became the foundation for many scientists following in her footsteps, and the species she loves have each experienced triumphs as well as nasty battle scars. THE WOMAN WHO LOVES GIRAFFES gives us a moving perspective on both. Director Alison Reid joins us for a conversation on meeting Anne Innis Dagg and learning how this gentle soul is more than a pioneer in understanding these magnificent creatures, but just as importantly an advocate for women and science.
About the filmmaker: Alison Reid (Director, Writer, Producer) is an award-winning director who began her career as a stunt coordinator and second unit director. After accumulating 300 credits, she formed Free Spirit Films to produce projects diverse in genre but similar in their exploration of the human spirit. Reid received the 2007 Crystal Award for Emerging Director from DGC/WIFT. Her independent feature, The Baby Formula (2009), sold internationally, won the Audience Award at the Inside Out LGBT Film Festival, ‘Best LGBT Film’ at Nashville Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Zenith at the Montreal World Film Festival. Her television directing credits include Saving Hope, Heartland and Murdoch Mysteries.
For news and updates go to: zeitgeistfilms.com/film/thewomanwholovesgiraffes
To see The Woman Who Loves Giraffes in Los Angeles go to: Laemmle.com
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documentary
In a desolate stretch of the Sahara, a mysterious car accident leaves a young woman (Delfine Bafort) lost and alone. Jake, (Svetozar Cvetkovic) a reclusive architect, finds her unconscious. He drives her to the nearest doctor, to discover that she's suffering from post-traumatic amnesia. Intoxicated by the woman's beauty, Jake claims to be her husband. He names her Kitty and takes her to his remote desert home to recuperate. As Kitty struggles to come to grips with who she is, Jake invents an elaborate life they can share – the life he has always yearned for. Little by little, Kitty begins to fall in love with him. But when shreds of her past begin to surface, Jake increasingly fears losing the love of his life. Director Dimitri de Clercq joins us to talk about the twisted story of love, perception, illusion and identity that is You Go To My Head.
About the filmmaker: Dimitri de Clercq, (Director, Producer, Screenwriter) Producer turned filmmaker, Dimitri de Clercq began his producing career working with directors Mathieu Kassovitz (Café au Lait), Alain Robbe-Grillet (The Blue Villa) and Raúl Ruiz (The Golden Boat, Time Regained and Savage Souls). In 1993, he won an International Emmy Award for producing Ray Müller’s controversial documentary The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl. A native Belgian, de Clercq grew up in the Middle East before majoring in film direction and production at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. In 2002, he started his own production company, CRM-114, named in homage to maverick filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. De Clercq’s fascination with the desert led him to produce several award-winning films set in desolate environments, including Afghan writer-director Atiq Rahimi’s Earth and Ashes (2005) and Iraqi director Mohamed Al-Daradji’s Son of Babylon (2009). The sepia-hued, parched wilderness of the desert was also a key inspiration for You Go To My Head, de Clercq’s feature film directorial debut.
For news and updates go to: You Go To My Head.com
For the best in independent feature films go to: firstrunfeatures.com
See You Go to My Head at the Laemmle Glendale starting Friday, February 21
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For small-town bar owner Hank (Jeremy Gardner), his 10-year relationship with Abby (Brea Grant) has been storybook-quality. Abby, however, wants more: marriage, to be exact, which Hank doesn't seem ready to initiate anytime soon. As a result, she leaves him without so much as a note or any subsequent communication. Hank is crushed. Even worse, Abby's departure seemingly triggers the arrival of an unseen monster that claws at Hank's front door at night. As the nocturnal threat intensifies, Hank must figure out how to not only save his relationship, but also himself. Co-director Christian Stella (Jeremy Gardner) stops by to talk about the multi-layered film that is After Might (Something Else) and his creative cinematography that gives the film its lyrical power.
For news and updates go to: facebook.com/somethingelsefilm
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Joan and Tom (Academy Award® nominee Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson) have been married for many years. An everyday couple with a remarkable love, there is an ease to their relationship which only comes from spending a lifetime together. When Joan is unexpectedly diagnosed with breast cancer, the course of her treatment shines a light on their relationship as they are faced with the challenges that lie ahead and the prospect of what might happen if something were to happen to her. Co-directors Lisa Barros D’sa (Good Vibration) and Glenn Leyburn (Cherrybomb) join us to talk about their collaboration with two top tier actors, striking a balance in the tone and look for their extraordinarily empathetic look at two people who truly care about each other.
For news and updates go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/ordinary-love-film
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In the days after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 that killed 17 people and launched a nationwide student movement, filmmakers Emily Taguchi and Jake Lefferman embedded with students and families whose lives were forever transformed. They include senior David Hogg, who recorded his class during the attack and became the face of the Never Again movement; freshman Brooke Harrison, who was in the first classroom under attack; Sam Zeif, a senior who was locked down in the same building, texting with his little brother and unsure if they would ever see each other again; Andrew Pollack, the father of 18- year-old Meadow, who was killed after being shot nine times; and the loved ones of 17-year-old Joaquin Oliver, including his parents Manuel and Patricia, girlfriend Victoria Gonzalez, and best friend Dillon McCooty. The filmmakers developed trusting relationships with these students and families, who opened their doors during some of the most difficult moments of their lives, and followed their private journeys as they rose to challenge the nation to end gun violence. Weaving together candid, in-depth interviews, vérité footage, and personal videos, the film chronicles moments both intimate and defining – from the quiet hours of grief and reflection, to those of political awakening, and onto milestones on the public stage – creating a moving portrait of one community's crusade to turn tragedy into progress. Co-directors Emily Taguchi and Jake Lefferman join us to talk about developing the relationships with the students, parents and community that made their intimate, wrenching and hopeful film possible.
For news and updates go to: afterparklandmovie.com
Nationwide Day of Conversation screenings on February 12 to commemorate the second anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Over 100 cities to participate in one-night Demand Film screenings with community partners to turn tragedy into progress.
Find a screening near you: afterparklandmovie.com/screenings
AND THEN WE DANCED is a passionate tale of love and liberation set amidst the ultraconservative confines of modern Georgian society, AND THEN WE DANCED follows Merab, a devoted dancer who has been training for years with his partner Mary for a spot in the National Georgian Ensemble. The arrival of another male dancer, Irakli—gifted with perfect form and equipped with a rebellious streak—throws Merab off balance, sparking both an intense rivalry and romantic desire that may cause him to risk his future in dance as well as his relationships with Mary and his family. Director, writer and editor Levan Akin joins us to talk about is sensitive and moving account of finding love, no matter the cost and the way his film has opened a hopeful dialog in his beloved Georgia.
Director’s Statement: In Georgia there are three things that are upheld as the paragon of Georgian Tradition and National Identity: the Church, the traditional polyphonic singing, and the traditional national dance. The lead person I follow in the film actually shares the same name as me, his name is Levan and he is a dancer, I too used to dance when I was younger and I imagined being him in an alternate reality. I interviewed a lot of dancers and they all told me stories of how gender conservative and strict the Georgian Dance scene was. So I decided to set the story in this setting. The Georgian Dance would represent the “old” and the burgeoning love between two of the dancers would represent the new. With this film I find myself really going back to my roots as a filmmaker, working in an organic way, where the real lives of the people in the film and what’s going on in Georgia now affects the story. It is ever evolving. Telling the story of young LGBT+ people and their struggles on a smaller scale but also showing the history and situation of Georgia today on a larger scale. This film will not only be a very interesting look into a part of the world not so many people are familiar with but also a heartfelt movie about the importance of being free. - Levan Akin
For news and updates go to: musicboxfilms.com/film/and-then-we-danced
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Twenty-five years after the 1995 Chicago heat wave, COOKED: Survival by Zip Code examines the events that led to the deaths of 739 people, mostly Black and in the poorest neighborhoods of the city. The film arrives at a time of growing calls across the country to declare racism a public health crisis and to reinvest in communities ravaged by the long-term impact of structural racism. A recent NYU study found life expectancy differentials as wide as 20-30 years linked to racial and ethnic segregation between neighborhoods in American cities. Adapted from Eric Klinenberg’s ground-breaking book ‘HEAT WAVE: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago,’ the film is directed and produced by Peabody Award-winning director Judith Helfand (Blue Vinyl, A Healthy Baby Girl, Everything’s Cool), produced by Fenell Doremus (co-producer of Academy Award-nominated Abacus: Small Enough to Jail), and Kartemquin Films, the award-winning Chicago documentary production house behind Minding the Gap and Hoop Dreams. In COOKED, Helfand challenges herself, and ultimately all of us, to respond to the man-made disasters taking place in towns and cities across the country before the next unprecedented “natural” disaster hits. Director Judith Helfand joins us to talk about the systemic racism that makes the neighborhoods of the poorest the most likely location for
Independent Lens: COOKED: Survival by Zip Code will have its national television debut on the PBS television series Independent Lens on Monday, February 3 at 10:00 pm (check local listings), preceding coverage of the Iowa Caucuses. The film will also be available to stream at PBS.org and on the free PBS Video App throughout Black History Month.
For news and updates go to: pbs.org/independentlens
For news, screenings and updates go to: cookedthefilm.com
For more information about Cooked: Survival by Zip Code go to: independentlens/cooked
For more than a decade, ShortsTV has proudly brought the Oscar© Nominated Short Films to audiences across the globe. For over a decade, ShortsTV has proudly brought the Oscar® Nominated Short Films to audiences across the globe. This exclusive release features the year’s most spectacular short films and for a limited time is available to watch on the big screen. Each nominee is released in one of three distinct feature-length compilations according to their category of nomination: Live Action, Animation or Documentary. The films go into theaters around the world shortly after nominations are announced and are not released anywhere else until a few days before the Oscars®, when they are also made available via on demand platforms, including iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play and Vimeo on Demand. The release ensures the greatest number of viewers can see all the nominees before the ceremony, while providing short filmmakers with an unprecedented opportunity to commercialize their movies. Carter Pilcher founded Shorts International in 2000. Coming from a background in both investment banking and law, Carter has made Shorts International the world’s leading short movie Entertainment Company, functioning as distributor, broadcaster and producer. Carter has extensive experience in short movie production and short movie entertainment. He is a voting member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and a member of the Short Film and Feature Animation Branch of The US Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) – the guys who pick the Oscars. For the last six years Carter Pilcher has been the highlight of Oscar season here on Film School. His insight, commitment and love of the short film format and the dedicated people who create them insures a lively and informative conversation on some of the best films you will see all year.
For news and updates go to: shorts.tv/theoscarshorts
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A man thinks back to his childhood memories of growing up with an annoying little sister in China in the 1990s. What would his life have been like if things had gone differently?
Directors Statement - The genesis of SISTER came from a question I get asked a lot throughout my childhood: What is it like to grow up with a sibling? As a “Little Sister” myself, I was born as the second child in my family at the height of China’s One Child Policy. At that time, it’s really hard to have a second child in one family. Luckily, my parents put in a lot of effort to keep me and raise me. Otherwise, I would not have existed and lived a life. Although many other “Second Child” in my generation never had a chance to get born. Therefore most of my friends don’t have siblings. Growing up with my brother has been a privilege and a bittersweet experience for me. Throughout my childhood, the question that had been asked a lot by friends is that, what is it like to grow up with a sibling? So, I have been telling stories about me and my brother since I was a kid. And I have heard stories of my friends and cousins could not have little sisters and brothers because of the one-child policy. The narrator of this film, for example, told me that he lost a younger sister when he was four years old. He always imagines how his life would be if his sister was ever born. So, I want to make a film to tell my friends what it is like to grow up with a sibling. More importantly, I also want to tell the stories of my friends, who would’ve had a different life if their siblings were born. This film is dedicated to this group memory. - Siqi Song
Director’s Biography - Siqi Song is a Chinese writer, director and animator, currently based in Los Angeles. Her animated films have been recognized internationally by Sundance, SXSW, BAFTA, and ASIFA-Hollywood. Siqi is an alumnus of California Institute of the Arts and China Central Academy of Fine Arts. She is named a Film Independent Directing Fellow in 2018 and BAFTA Los Angeles Newcomer in 2019.
For news and updates go to: songsiqi.com/sister
Trailer for Sister: vimeo.com/260285746
Tender and empowering, HAIR LOVE is an ode to loving your natural hair - and a celebration of daddies and daughters everywhere. It’s when it’s up to Daddy to give his daughter an extra-special hair style in this story of self-confidence and the love between fathers and daughters. Zuri knows her hair is beautiful, but it has a mind of its own. It kinks, coils, and curls every which way. Mum always does Zuri's hair just the way she likes it - so when Daddy steps in to style it for an extra special occasion, he has a lot to learn. But he LOVES his Zuri, and he'll do anything to make her - and her hair - happy.
For news and updates go to: sonypicturesanimation Hair_Love
KITBULL,’ directed by Rosana Sullivan and produced by Kathryn Hendrickson, reveals an unlikely connection that sparks between two creatures: a fiercely independent stray kitten and a pit bull. together, they experience friendship for the first time.
Director’s Biography: Rosana Sullivan joined pixar animation Studios in April 2011. She worked as a story artist on THE GOOD DINOSAUR, and the academy award®-winning feature film COCO. Sullivan also directed the SparkShorts film KITBULL that debuted in February 2019. As a story artist, Sullivan provides visual storytelling to a project’s script pages, utilizing compositional staging, environment, and character blocking. Each story board aims to maximize drama and entertainment, while making the story point clear as possible. Story artists have to draw characters acting, camera moves, and very limited effects animation to sell an idea or emotion.prior to Pixar, Sullivan attended the University of San Francisco before earning an internship with Pixar University. She later attended Academy of Art University, and worked for Kabam gaming studio in San Francisco. Born in Charleston, SC, Sullivan grew up in Texas and San Francisco.
Awards:
Humanitas Award (Nominee)
In a hospital room, the Daughter recalls a childhood moment when as a little girl she tried to share her experience with an injured bird with her Father. A moment of misunderstanding and a lost embrace has stretched into many years all the way to this hospital room, until the moment when a window pane breaks under the impact of a little bird.
Director’s Biography: studies animated film at FaMU in Prague. her student films featured at many international festivals. Daria’s original to accept won the Nespresso talents 2017 film competition in Cannes. in DAUGHTER, her Bachelor’s puppet animation, Daria experiments with camera motion and explores the topic of father-daughter relationships.
Awards:
Winner – Rome Independent Film Festival 2019 – Winner Student Academy Awards 2019 The 46th Student Academy Award – Gold Medal in International Animation film category Annecy International Animated Film Festival (France) 2019 Cristal for the Best Student Film – Young Jury Award for the best Student film Melbourne International Film Festival (Australia) 2019 – City Post Award for Best Animation Short Film Fantoche International Animation Film Festival (Switzerland) 2019 – Best film of Fantoche World Festival of Animated Film Varna (Bulgaria) 2019 – Best student film Tirana International Film Festival (Albania) 2019 – Best Student film Sweaty Eyeballs Animation Festival (USA) 2019 – Best Student Animation Award Balkanima (Serbia) 2019 – Best Student film Taichun International Animation Festival TIAF (Taiwan) 2019 – Grand Prix for the best Student Film Animafilm (Azerbaijan) 2019 – Best Short Animated Film Whistler Film Festival (USA) 2019 International – ShortWork Award and many more…
In the Absence, Director Yi Sueng-Jun and Producer Gary Byung-Seok Kam When the passenger ferry MV Sewol sank off the coast of South Korea in 2014, over three hundred people lost their lives, most of them schoolchildren. Years later, the victims’ families and survivors are still demanding justice from the national authorities.
Director’s Biography: Yi Seung-Jun's work focuses on the life of unseen minorities, which has informed his signature style of filmmaking. he has directed several feature-length documentary films. CHILDREN OF GOD (2008) follows a group of siblings who eke out an existence on the sacred Bagmati River in Nepal. the feature made its rounds on the international film festival circuit, including hot Docs Festival and Jeonju Film Festival, where it won the NETPAC award. Yi received a Sundance institute grant and served as director, director of photography, and editor on his subsequent documentary, the critically lauded PLANET OF SNAIL (2011), which follows Young-chan, who has been deaf and blind since childhood, as he gently moves through life with his partner Soon-ho. PLANET OF SNAIL was a darling of the festival circuit, either receiving nominations or winning awards at Tribeca Film Festival, Amsterdam international Documentary Film Festival (Best Feature-length Documentary in 2011), Dubai international Film Festival, Silverdocs and Documenta Madrid, and others. his next film, WIND ON THE MOON (2014), which he wrote, directed, edited and served as director of photography, recounts the journey of a mother and her daughter, who was born deaf and blind, as they navigate the world. he received grants from the Sundance institute, Tribeca Institute and Korean Film council to make the film. his feature documentary film, CROSSING BEYOND was the international Olympic committee's official film of the Pyeongchang Winter Games and travelled to the Busan international Film Festival, Tokyo international Film Festival, Black Nights Film Festival (Tallinn), and more. Most recently, Yi directed SHADOW FLOWERS (2019), which premiered at international Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.
Awards: Nominee - 2020 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject Nominee - 2019 International Documentary Association Awards, Best Short Nominee - 2019 Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, Best Short Documentary Winner - 2018 DOC NYC, Short Jury Award Winner - 2019 AFI DOCS, Grand Jury Prize for Short Film Winner - 2019 World Press Photo Digital Storytelling Contest, Long Form - 1st Prize Winner - 2019 Indy Shorts, Documentary Audience Choice Award
Festivals/Screenings: DOC NYC 2018 - World Premiere International Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) 2018 - International Premiere AFI DOCS 2019 Indy Shorts 2019 Meet The Press Film Festival with AFI 2019 Pittsburgh Shorts 2019
In Afghanistan, many young girls are not able to participate in sports. cultural and religious norms, along with other factors such as safety concerns and years of warfare, have resulted in limited athletic and recreational opportunities for women and girls, especially those who come from impoverished neighborhoods. But there is a new generation of afghan girls who believe they can do anything. LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) tells the story of young afghan girls learning to read, write - and skateboard - in Kabul.
Director’s Biography: Carol Dysinger is a filmmaker, writer, artist, and educator, whose contemporary work offers a counter-narrative to traditional stories of conflict. She is in the midst of a trilogy on Afghanistan and America post 9/11. Alternating between fiction and documentary storytelling practices throughout her career, she had made a lifelong inquiry into the mechanics of story and the role storytelling plays in what we come to believe is true. She began in the theatre as an actor, moved into editing music videos for the clash in New York, and has won many awards for her short narrative work. She then moved on to write screenplays for 20th Century Fox, Disney, and HBO independent and has edited feature-length narrative and documentary films. in 2005, she traveled solo to Afghanistan with camera in hand to make her feature directorial debut, camp Victory, Afghanistan, which screened at MOMA, SXSW, human Rights Watch and at the Hague. ONE BULLET AFGHANISTAN is the second in the trilogy about the human impact of international conflict post 9/11 currently being completed in Denmark. She received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2018, a new work in multimedia installation, which draws from decades of memoirs and family history, footage shot over 15 years in Afghanistan, and brings it together to take down the veil between human experience, story, and history.
Awards: Nominee - Best British Short Film - BAFTA Awards 2020 Winner - Best Short - IDA Documentary Awards 2019 Best Documentary Short - Tribeca Film Festival 2019 Youth Vision Award - United Nations Association Film Festival 2019 Best Documentary Short - Flyway Film Festival 2019 Audience Choice Award For Best Documentary Short - Santa Fe Independent Film Festival 2019
Festivals/Screenings: DOC NYC Shorts Shortlist SFFILM Doc Stories AFI Meet The Press Film Festival Traverse City Film Festival Mill Valley Film Festival Film Independent The New Wave Screening Series Scad Savannah Film Festival Social Justice Film Festival Original Thinkers Festival Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival Santa Fe Independent Film Festival United Nations Assocation Film Festival Washington West Film Festival Hamptons Doc Fest Nevada City Film Festival Paris Surf & Skateboard Festival Chagrin Documentary Film Festival
LIFE OVERTAKES ME tells the story of traumatized children of the refugee diaspora who are in such profound despair that they withdraw into a coma-like state. in Sweden, over 400 refugee children have been afflicted with this life-threatening psychosomatic illness, and the film will accompany two of them and their families on their frightening odyssey through Resignation Syndrome.
Directors Biographies: producers/Directors John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson make documentary essays. their films have addressed such disparate subjects as tourism in Paris, the Vietnam War, and homelessness, and have screened at festivals worldwide, from Sundance and San Francisco to Leipzig, Sao Paulo, and Seoul, and have appeared on PBS and at museums including NY MOMA. their recent film Tokyo Waka premiered theatrically at Film Forum in New York. their work has been supported by artist fellowships from the Bogliasco Foundation, the Cité Internationale Des Arts in Paris, the Victoria College of Art in Melbourne, the Japan-U.S. Friendship commission, and the California Arts Council. Samuelson taught in the Documentary Film and Video M.F.A. program at Stanford University for thirty years, serving as program Director for ten years. She was nominated for an academy award for Arthur and Lillie and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Haptas is a freelance documentary editor.
Awards: Full Frame Audience Award - Short
Festivals/Screenings: Sundance Film Festival, Full Frame Film Festival
*** 2020 Oscar nomination for Best Documentary (Short)
WALK RUN CHA-CHA has been nominated for Documentary Short Subject at the 92nd Academy Awards®. Directed by Laura Nix, the film follows Paul and Millie Cao, who lost their youth to the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Forty years later, they have become successful professionals in Southern California-and are rediscovering themselves on the dance floor. WALK RUN CHA CHA is now streaming on New York Times Op-Docs.
About the Filmmaker: Director Laura Nix Laura Nix is an award-winning fiction and nonfiction filmmaker based in Los Angeles. WALK RUN CHA-CHA is adapted from a feature-length documentary in progress. It was produced by Concordia Studio for The New York Times Op-Docs and premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival. Laura’s work also includes other work includes her feature documentary INVENTING TOMORROW, about teenagers from around the globe tackling environmental issues through science, THE YES MEN ARE REVOLTING, a comedy about activism and climate change, the documentary THE LIGHT IN HER EYES, about a Syrian Qur’an school for women and she was a writer on the Emmy-nominated documentary CALIFORNIA STATE OF MIND: THE LEGACY OF PAT BROWN. In 2001, Nix co-founded the production company Automat Pictures, where she produced and/or directed over 100 presentations, including the feature documentary WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT: THE STORY OF HEDWIG, which played in over a dozen film festivals in the U.S. and worldwide. Previously she was a member of Oscar-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s production company Telling Pictures, where she was Associate Producer on THE CELLULOID CLOSET.
For news and updates go to: feltfilms.com Walk Run Cha Cha is now available at nytimes.com/Op-Docs
2020 Oscar nomination for Best Documentary (Short)
A night. A car. Alie is in trouble. To get by she must make the most important call of her life. An emergency services dispatcher must tap into all her professional skills when she receives a call from a woman in a desperate situation.
About the filmmaker: Born in the heart of the French-Canadian winter, Delphine Girard moved to Belgium a few years later. after starting her studies as an actress, she transferred to the directing department at the iNSaS in Brussels. her graduation film, MONSTRE, won several awards in Belgium and around the world. after leaving the school, she worked on several films as an assistant director, children’s coach or casting director (“Our children” by Joachim Lafosse, “Mothers’ instinct” by Olivier Masset-Depasse) while writing and directing the short film CAVERNE, adapted from a short story by the American author holly Goddard Jones. A SISTER is her second short film. She is currently working on her first feature and a fiction series.
For news and updates go to: A Sister/delphine-girard
Awards:
Jury Prize – Saguenay IFF (Canada) Grand Prize Rhode Island IFF (USA) Best International Short Film Sulmona IFF (Italy) Grand Prize Jury SPASM Festival (Canada) Best Short Film, Public Prize, Be tv Prize, University of Namur Prize – Namur Film Festival (Belgium) Public Prize & Special mention by press – BSFF (Belgium)
SARIA explores the unimaginable hardships faced by young female orphans at the Virgen de La Asuncion Safe Home in Guatemala, leading up to the tragic fire which claimed 41 of their lives in 2017. We follow the story of two inseparable orphaned sisters - Saria 12, and her sister Ximena 14, as they fight against mounting daily physical abuse at the very institution designed to protect them. In the sisters' desperation for survival, they devise a daring plan of escape for all the orphans to find freedom in America. SARIA is premiering at the 2020 Oscar Shorts.
Director’s Biography: the New York times has dubbed Oscar-Nominee Bryan Buckley the "king of the Super Bowl,” having directed over 60 commercials for the big game since 2000. in 2013, Buckley wrote and directed the short film ASAD, which received an academy award nomination for “Best live action Short Film” and was cited by archbishop Desmund Tutu in a speech as having helped stem xenophobia in his country. Buckley then followed up his short with two feature films - the 2015 Sundance Film Festival opener, THE BRONZE, and THE PIRATES OF SOMALIA, which had its world premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. A 2010 Adweek Readers Poll named Buckley the commercial Director of the Decade - he was also named one of the 50 best Creative Minds in the last 25 years by Creativity Magazine. Buckley is an esteemed recipient of the DGA award, multiple Emmys, and over 50 Cannes lions. Most recently, he won the 2019 Cannes Grand prix for his work on MARCH FOR OUR LIVES “GENERATION LOCKDOWN,” done in support of the S.42 Background Check Expansion Act.
Two young brothers come across a donkey in the desert. Strangely, the animal is wearing headphones over its ears.
Director’s Biography: Yves Piat discovered the world of cinema through his technician work as a decorator and studio manager on set. he developed the Nefta Football club story by mixing a personal experience coming from his childhood and his observations after several journeys in South Morocco. Awards:
Cinemed, Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen Montpellier - Prix du Public La Gazette - France (2018) Cinemed, Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen Montpellier - Mention Spéciale - France (2018) Bucharest Short Film Festival - Best Screenplay - Romania (2018) Un poing c’est court, Festival du Film Court Francophone de Vaulx-en-Velin - Prix des Jeunes - France (2019) Festival international du court métrage de Clermont-Ferrand - Prix du Public - France (2019) 11mm - Int. Football Film Festival Berlin - Best Short Film Award - Germany (2019) Festival Européen du Court-Métrage de Bordeaux - Prix SensCritique - France (2019) Festival Européen du Court-Métrage de Bordeaux - Prix du Jury Étudiants - France (2019) Aspen Shortsfest - Best Comedy - USA (2019) Aspen Shortsfest - Public Prize - USA (2019) Ce n’est pas la taille qui compte - Prix du Public - FRANCE (2019) Florida Film Festival - Audience Award - USA (2019) Cyprus Comic Con Film Festival - International Prize - Cyprus (2019)
Mohamed is a hardened shepherd living in rural Tunisia with his wife and two sons. Mohamed is deeply shaken when his oldest son Malik returns home after a long journey with a mysterious new wife. tension between father and son rises over three days until reaching a breaking point.
Director’s Biography: Tunisian-American writer/director Meryam Joobeur is a graduate of Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in Montréal. She is currently developing three feature films including the feature version of BROTHERHOOD and has participated in the Berlinale Talent Lab (2016) TiFF Talent Lab (2016) and the Rawi Screenwriter’s Lab (2016).
** 2020 Academy Award nominee for Best Live Action Short
BASTARDS’ ROAD tells the story of the many combat veterans, like Jon Hancock who are navigating the complicated transition back to civilian life. After years of struggling, Jon decided to take an epic journey across the country - on foot. Walking nearly 6,000 miles alone, Jon confronts the demons that had overtaken his life. Visiting his fellow 2/4 Marines - known as the The Magnificent Bastards - and families of their fallen along the way, Jon finds a mission greater than his own redemption. Veterans everywhere are struggling with PTSD. They are taking their own lives at an alarming rate - 50% higher than non-veterans. With remarkable honesty, insight and humor, Jon’s journey is uniquely positive. It’s about changing the ways one relates to traumatic memories. It’s about beginning the healing process. Director Brian Morrison joins us to talk about the raw emotions and the deep pain of men and woman who have done what their country asked them to do.
For news and updates go to: bastardsroad.com
Social Media facebook.com/bastardsroad instagram.com/bastardsroadmovie
THE NEIGHBORS’ WINDOW tells the story of Alli (Maria Dizzia), a mother of young children who has grown frustrated with her daily routine and husband (Greg eller). But her life is shaken up when two free-spirited twenty-somethings move in across the street and she discovers that she can see into their apartment. Inspired by a true story, the film was written and directed by three-time Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker, Marshall curry. Starring tony-nominated Maria Dizzia (Orange is the New Black, 13 Reasons Why, White We’re Young); Greg Keller (Law and Order); and Juliana Canfield (Succession).
About the filmmaker: Marshall Curry is a three-time academy award nominated documentary director, cinematographer, and editor. his films cover a wide range of interests and include STREET FIGHT, about cory Booker's first run for mayor of Newark, N.J.; RACING DREAMS, which tells the story of two boys and a girl who dream of becoming NaScaR drivers; IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT, which chronicles a radical environmental group; POINT AND SHOOT, about an american who leaves home to join the libyan revolution; and A NIGHT AT THE GARDEN, about a Nazi rally that filled Madison Square Garden in 1939. his films have won top honors at Sundance and tribeca, played in theaters and on television around the world, and earned two Emmy nominations and two Writers Guild of america nominations. curry also Executive produced and helped to edit MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS, a comedy documentary about the indie rock band, the National.
For news and updates go to: theneighborswindow.com For more about the work of Marshall Curry go to: marshallcurry.com Watch: The Neighbors’ Window
Social Media twitter.com/marshallcurry twitter.com/neighbrswindow
In ASK NO QUESTIONS Chinese State TV blames his faith for a fiery public suicide, Chen Ruichang is detained in a Clockwork Orange-style brainwashing facility and forced to accept the government’s account. But Chen, a former insider of the state TV himself, believes it was all a government plot. A CNN reporter smuggled out footage of the event that day, but was then muzzled by Beijing. Now, her eyewitness testimony helps untangle an intricate conspiracy, as Chinese authorities begin pressuring the filmmaker’s family and business associates. The terrifying danger of a government nefariously crafting the narrative & imprisoning its citizens who practice Falun Gong in China in the gripping feature documentary ASK NO QUESTIONS from filmmakers Jason Loftus (The Bleeding Edge, Human Harvest) and Eric Pedicelli (Black Code, Tin City Voices), which world premieres on Saturday, January 25th. In the vein of a journalistic true crime documentary, painting the scope of the crime, and the depths of the investigation. The story leads into allegations of criminal conduct at a governmental scale. Evidence is credibly presented, shocking, and thorough. Director Jason Loftus stops by for a conversation on the terrifying reach of a totalitarian state power structure and the impact it can have on those who dare challenge it.
For news and updates go to: asknoquestionsfilm.com
Social Media twitter.com/jasonloftus
Slamdance Competition Documentary Feature Film Premiere: Saturday, January 25th at 10:30m in the Gallery Screening Room
Second Screening: Wednesday, January 29th at 6pm in the Ballroom Screening Room
ISLAND OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS takes place off the coast of Indonesia, in the Australian territory of Christmas Island, inhabited by migratory crabs traveling in their millions from the jungle towards the ocean, in a movement that has been provoked by the full moon for hundreds of thousands of years. Poh Lin Lee is a “trauma therapist” who lives with her family in this seemingly idyllic paradise. Every day, she talks with the asylum seekers held indefinitely in a high-security detention centre hidden in the island’s core, attempting to support them in a situation that is as unbearable as its outcome is uncertain. As Poh Lin and her family explore the island’s beautiful yet threatening landscape, the local islanders carry out their “hungry ghost” rituals for the spirits of those who died on the island without a burial. They make offerings to appease the lost souls who are said to be wandering the jungles at night looking for home. ISLAND OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS is a hybrid documentary that moves between the natural migration and the chaotic and tragic migration of the humans, which is in constant metamorphoses by the unseen decision-making structures. Director Gabrielle Brady joins us to talk about her beautiful and quietly powerful tale of desperate people trapped in a place of pervasive uncertainty and a woman trying to help them cope.
For news, screenings and updates go to: christmasislandfilm.com
2020 Spirit Award nominee for Best Documentary
Tribeca Film Festival - Award for best documentary film Mumbai International Film Festival - Grand Jury Prize for best film IDFA - Human rights award Adelaide international Film Festival - Winner best documentary film
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In tennis, measurement – specifically, judging whether a ball is in or out – is particularly crucial. The new ESPN Films 30 for 30 Short, SUBJECT TO REVIEW takes a close look at not just the technology that’s been developed to determine the right calls with better accuracy, but the meaning and significance of that pursuit. The film, directed by Theo Anthony (“RAT FILM”) will air Sunday, Dec. 22, at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN. Tracing the history of photographic review back more than a hundred years, and chronicling controversial moments before and after the age of review in tennis, SUBJECT TO REVIEW explores the mechanisms of the cameras and computerized simulations that now serve as the final word on close calls – but also the limits of the veracity of those calls. Ultimately, it’s a story about technology in sports – but also a study of what we want from our machines, and our minds, well beyond any court of play. “’Subject to Review’ is about how some images are made and why they’re made that way,” said director Anthony. “It’s a film about the inescapable rift between the world and how we image that world. I hope that audiences can take this small exercise in critical curiosity beyond the world of tennis, giving audiences a little space to look differently at the world.” Theo Anthony joins us to talk about the complex relationship between flawed human judgement and the “certainty” of technology.
“Subject to Review” has screened at New York Film Festival, Hamptons Film Festival, Vancouver Film Festival and Mar Del Plata Film Festival.
About the Filmmaker – Theo Anthony is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker whose films have received premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival, Locarno International Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, and SXSW. His first feature, “RAT FILM,” was released by Cinema Guild in 2017 to critical acclaim. “Subject to Review” is produced by Sebastian Pardo and Riel Roch-Decter of MEMORY, an independent artist-driven studio specializing in producing and curating innovative, thought-provoking works that push the formal boundaries of their medium. Together, the duo has produced and distributed multiple award-winning fiction and non-fiction films.
SUBJECT TO REVIEW will air on ESPN beginning Sunday, December 22, at 3 p.m. (Eastern)
Social Media theoanthony.net twitter.com/ProxyTheo instagram.com/theodorejacobanthony https://vimeo.com/theoanthony
It all began when a group of cheerful, subversive filmmakers weren’t accepted into the Sundance Film Festival. Unwilling to take “no” for an answer, they instead started their own event – Slamdance: Anarchy in Utah. 26 years later, Slamdance has become a year-round organization fostering the development of unique and innovative filmmakers. The organization now consists of the Film Festival, Screenplay Competition and Slamdance Studios. It has also created Slamdance On The Road, a traveling theatrical showcase that brings popular Slamdance films to audiences that otherwise would not have the opportunity to see them. Dan Mirvish, Jon Fitzgerald, Shane Kuhn and Peter Baxter are the founding forefathers who, along with co-conspirator Paul Rachman, fought for truly independent filmmakers by giving them a voice in 1995 at the very first Slamdance Film Festival. Since then, the festival takes place every January in the breathtakingly stunning, snow-capped mountains of Park City, Utah at the exact same time as the Sundance Film Festival, to provide a more authentic representation of independent filmmaking. Up-and-coming writers, directors and producers, alongside seasoned veterans and film lovers, converge for the weeklong celebration of independent cinema, realizing that Slamdance is a great place to find those next, great, visionary films. Slamdance lives and bleeds by its mantra By Filmmakers For Filmmakers. No other film festival in the world is entirely run and organized by the creative force that can only be found in filmmakers. Slamdance adamantly supports self-governance amongst independents, and exists to deliver what filmmakers go to festivals for – a chance to show their work and a platform to launch their careers. The festival has earned a solid reputation for premiering films by first-time writers and directors working within the creative confines of limited budgets. Co-founder and President Peter Baxter joins us to talk about this year’s Slamdance, the groundbreaking films and the innovative new distribution and digital initiatives being launched by Slamdance.
For news and updates go to: slamdance.com Check out the film schedule at slamdance 2020 schedule
Slamdance Film Festival - January 24-30 at the Treasure Mountain Hotel in Park City, Utah
Social Media: facebook.com/SlamdanceFilmFestival twitter.com/Slamdance instagram.com/slamogram
Filmmaker Rosine Mbakam left Cameroon at 27 to live in Belgium. Seven years later—having studied film and married a European—she returns to make what she calls a journey into darkness—to the village of her birth, and later to the capital city of Yaoundé, where her mother now lives most of the year. In the village of Tonga, her mother, Mâ Brêh, shares memories of the horrors of the war against French colonizers, and of daily life for a Cameroonian woman in an arranged marriage—a fate Rosine herself barely escaped, leaving the family of an angry ex-fiance behind. As she spends more time with her mother and the women around her, Rosine reveals the strength of their solidarity and their ability to face adversity.
For news, screenings and updates go to: icarusfilms.com/if-bamil
Chez Jolie Coiffure and The Two Faces of a Bamileke Woman are also available at ovid.tv
Social Media twitter.com/hashtag/RosineMbakam twitter.com/IcarusFilms twitter.com/OVIDtv
LIMERENCE cleverly tips the scales on Hollywood’s approach to a romantic comedy. Women get to see themselves in female lead Rosemary—as complex, independent and real, breaking the stereotypes society has fed us. Rosemary (Tammy Minoff), an aspiring painter and free spirit, moves to Venice where she hooks up with Tom (Matthew Del Negro), a local gallery director. Their intense chemistry quickly and unexpectedly evolves into a serious relationship. This passionate romance is juxtaposed with Tom's best friends, May (Jennifer Lafleur) and Donald (Evan Arnold), dealing with the monotony of their long marriage and the possibility of starting a family. Complicating everything is Leo, Rosemary's oft inappropriate yet earnest best friend from high school Leo (Billy Aaron Brown). All their feelings about the nature of love will put their relationship choices to the test and the answers aren't always black and white. LIMERENCE world premiered at the Other Venice Film Festival, winning Best Audience Award, before going on to win Best Feature at the SOHO International Film Festival. LIMERENCE will make its global VOD/Digital & DVD release across platforms everywhere on January 7th, 2020 through Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company. Director, producer, writer and lead actor Tammy Minoff joins us for a conversation on her honest and engaging look into romance, love, expectations and walking your own path.
Social Media facebook.com/pg/limerencethemovie instagram.com/tamzersmin twitter.com/tamzers
MIDNIGHT FAMILY has won more than 25 national and international awards, played in 135 film festivals around the world. MIDNIGHT FAMILY is set in Mexico City, where the government operates fewer than 45 emergency ambulances for a population of 9 million. This has spawned an underground industry of for-profit ambulances often run by people with little or no training or certification. An exception in this ethically fraught, cutthroat industry, the Ochoa family struggles to keep their financial needs from jeopardizing the people in their care. When a crackdown by corrupt police pushes the family into greater hardship, they face increasing moral dilemmas even as they continue providing essential emergency medical services. MIDNIGHT FAMILY is an enthralling. harrowing, and intimate look at a family business of dedicated professionals who often fo more than simple transport the helping the people who end up in their ambulance. Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor Luke Lorentzen joins us to talk about his mesmerizing film and the challenges of capturing all the different facets of the Ochoa family.
Social Media facebook.com/MidnightFamilyFilm twitter.com/MidnightFamFilm instagram.com/midnightfamilyfilm
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A hallucinatory cinematic fever dream, Dawson City: Frozen Time tells the bizarre true story of some 533 silent film reels, dating from the 1910s and 20s, that accumulated at the end of a film distribution line in northwestern Canada and which were miraculously discovered some 50 years later, in 1978, buried in a sub-arctic swimming pool, deep in the Yukon permafrost. Filmmaker Bill Morrison (Decasia, The Miners’ Hymns, The Great Flood) deftly combines excerpts from this remarkable collection with historical footage, photographs, and original interviews, to explore the complicated history of Dawson City, a Canadian Gold Rush town founded across the river from a First Nation hunting camp, and then traces how the development of that town both reflected and influenced the evolution of modern Cinema. Combined with a powerful, evocative score by Alex Somers ( Captain Fantastic; Hale County This Morning, This Evening; Honey Boy), orchestrated and arranged by Ricardo Romaneiro, Dawson City: Frozen Time is a triumphant work of art that spins the life cycle of a singular film collection into a breath-taking history of the 20th century. Director, writer and editor Bill Morrison joins us to talk about his amazing re-creation of a time and place that existed in the parallel universes of a nascent film industry and crushing avarice of a gold rush that still resonates today.
billmorrisonfilm.com/dawson-city-frozen-time
Social Media facebook.com/BillMorrisonFilm twitter.com/decasia
The Disappearance of My Mother chronicles Benedetta Barzini desire to leave this world behind. An iconic fashion model in the 1960s, she became a muse to Warhol, Dali, Penn and Avedon. As a radical feminist in the 1970s, she fought for the rights and emancipation of women. But at the age of 75, she is fed up with all the roles that life has imposed upon her and decides to leave everything and everybody behind, to disappear to a place as far as possible from the world she knows. Hiding behind the camera, her son Beniamino witnesses her journey. Having filmed her since he was a child in spite of all her resistance, he now wants to make a film about her, to keep her close for as long as possible – or, at least, as long as his camera keeps running. The making of the film turns into a battle between mother son, a stubborn fight to capture the ultimate image of Benedetta – the image of her liberation. Director Beniamino Barrese joins us to talk about this remarkably intimate, raw film and his complex relationship with his muse and mother who reluctantly helping him with his “project” as she prepares for her final exit.
For news and updates go to: kinolorber.com/film/the-disappearance-of-my-mother
More about the film go to: thedisappearanceofmymother.com
Opening in Los Angeles on December 13 at Laemmle Monica Film Center
Social Media facebook.com/thedisappearanceofmymother instagram.com/thedisappearanceofmymother
Set in a brilliantly recreated 1950s Rio de Janeiro, The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao revolves around two inseparable sisters, 18 and 20 years old, living restricted lives with their conservative parents. However, each nourishes a passionate dream: Eurídice of becoming a renowned pianist; Guida of finding true love. In a shocking turn of events, they are separated and forced to live apart. Karim Aïnouz’s first film, MADAME SATÃ, a Jean Genet-inspired story of 1930’s Rio’s drag demi-monde, premiered at Film Forum in 2003. INVISIBLE LIFE shares with it this director’s commitment to immersing himself in the emotional lives of his characters, visualized through rich, inventive, and lush imagery. Based on Martha Batalha’s popular novel The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão, the film won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. INVISIBLE LIFE is nominated for Best International Film at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards and is Brazil’s official submission to the 2020 Academy Awards® for Best International Film. Director and co-screenwriter joins us to talk about his razor-sharp, wrenching story of patriarchy, fierce determination and love in a time and place where gender mattered more than family.
Michael Masarof’s drama FIRST LOVE focuses on Rebecca (Annie Heise) is a notorious Hollywood actress, holed up in a seaside hotel, in the midst of a nervous breakdown. Her twin brother Matthew (Aaron Costa Ganis) is a lapsed lawyer and failed family man, whose new career as a writer is on the verge of a major breakthrough. They haven’t seen each other in fifteen years. Matthew travels to the City of Angels, with his tell-all memoir in hand, and a plan to make it big. All he needs is his reclusive twin’s blessing. He was the only one she ever trusted, but has their mysterious twin bond stood the test of time? As Rebecca slinks further into an abyss, and Matthew wanders the city looking for a connection, they both find distractions. A naïve Jordanian hotel worker (Amin El Gamal) and a young Swedish woman (Malin Barr) seem like the perfect fix, but these newfound romances only bring Matthew and Rebecca closer to one another. As the Pacific breaks in front of them and the California sun gets ever hazier, can Rebecca and Matthew grow a new bond if the old one is severed? Director and writer Michael Masarof joins us to talk about his intimate drama about identity, family and connection.
About the Filmmaker: Michael Masarof is a writer and director born in New York and residing in Los Angeles. Michael received his MFA in Film Directing from New York University's Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film & Television’s Graduate film program at the Tisch School of The Arts, where he was the recipient of the Jane Rosenthal Scholarship and the Warner Bros. Production Grant. Michael’s short film You Should Have The Body won the first place prize at the International Munich Festival of Film Schools. It also screened as a special presentation at the Berlinale, as well as on Channel 3SAT in Germany. First Love is Michael’s debut feature.
For news, screenings and updates go to: firstlovefeature.com
Social Mediahttp://twitter.com/michaeljmasarof facebook.com/FirstLoveFeature twitter.com/michaeljmasarof instagram.com/firstlovefeature
What happened to Carolyn Harper? Part suburban nightmare, part neon-soaked teenage fever dream, this tantalizing mystery traces the wave of fear and distrust that spreads across a small Midwestern town in the wake of a high school girl’s mysterious disappearance. As the loneliness and darkness lurking beneath the veneer of everyday life gradually comes to light, a collective awakening seems to overcome the town’s teenage girls—gathering in force until it can no longer be contained. Unfolding in a hallucinatory haze of lushly surreal images, Knives and Skin is a one-of-a-kind coming-of-age noir that haunts like a half-remembered dream. Director / writer Jennifer Reeder joins us for a lively conversation on her heady melange of a film that bends multiple genres to its razor sharp will.
Director’s Statement: I tell stories about unruly women and the landscapes they transform. This is a story by a woman that proposes girlhood as a place of transcendence and transgression. I am committed to this voice and to producing unexpected narratives. I write scripts from actual experience and observation and my films are specific in mood and perspective. I am influenced by Ohio, where I grew up—all that sky and flatness. And even more so by the Midwestern people and their kind of everyday destructiveness and determination to cope. This awkward emotionality is evident in my films as scenes unfold like sticky flypaper and characters make one small mistake after another. - Jennifer Reeder
For news and updates go to: chicagofilmproject.com/knives-and-skin
Social Media facebook.com/knivesandskin twitter.com/knivesandskin
Toss It is the story of smart-skeptical Emily and obsessive-compulsive-flirt Finn – (latter-day Rosalind Russel and Cary Grant types) who can witty-banter-for-days and seem a perfect match -- then everything gets tossed. Finn wonders why he’s so fucked up, and Emily wonders why she’s so drawn to him. Toss It explores women as the real power players because women, by and large, run and nurture the fundamental unit of society: family. And via this particular family, Toss It looks at Natalie blindly following what she thinks is woman’s role, Marie seems to know nothing but by the end attains some wisdom by actively exploring female options, Adele has wisdom but in retrospect re-evaluates women’s culpability in fostering dominant men, and Emily discovers the age-old Socrates’ maxim ‘I know that I know nothing’ applies to herself – pushing her to learn what really matters. While Emily evolves, Finn seeks to discover ‘why he’s so fucked up’ - and finally, together, they toss everything they know, in this entertaining film that opens a dialogue for the audience to continue long after it ends. Director Producer / Writer / Lead Actor Michele Remsen joins us to talk about her witty and endearing “anti-romatic-comedy” and the story behind her passion project.
journeymanfeatures.com
To find out more about the filmmaker go to: micheleremsen.com
Social Media instagram.com/micheleremsen instagram.com/tossitmovie facebook.com/journeymanpictures twitter.com/JourneymanVOD instagram.com/journeymanpictures
In October of 1974 the body of Rachel Heller, a female IDF solider, is found in the sand dunes of Caesarea. She’s completely naked, except for a single sandal and a bra strap tied tightly around her neck. The investigation leads nowhere, until a young man by the name of Amos Baranes storms into a local police station, claiming he knew the victim and wants to help find the person responsible. He’s arrested and after 3 days of interrogations, he confesses to the murder. Coastal Road Killer is a riveting multi-part series examines whether a serial killer, who was never brought to justice, was behind a string of murders that occurred in Israel between the late 70s and early 80s and whether they might still be on the loose. Coastal Road Killer was created by Yotam Guendelman, Mika Timor and Ari Pines, the team behind Shadow of Truth, the story of the 2006 murder of Tair Rada, a 13-year old Israeli girl, which became one of Netflix’s most-watched true crime docs. Coastal Road Killer explores the connection between storytelling and truth. Very much like Shadow of Truth, the filmmaking is aimed at showing us how easily we can be manipulated into believing a certain narrative, only to have it completely deconstructed in the next few frames. Co-directors Yotam Guendelman and Ari Pines stop by to talk about their riveting multi-part series investigative expose that through diligent research and forensic experts uncover new, credible evidence that raises a possible serial killer who has, so far, avoided responsibility for their crimes.
In the fascinating new documentary from Matt Wolf (Teenage, Wild Combination) RECORDER: THE MARION STOKES PROJECT, follows the life of a former librarian, Marion Stokes. Her unusual “project” began when she started secretly recording American television twenty-four hours a day at the dawn of what we know today as the twenty-four hour news cycle. It started in 1979 with the Iranian Hostage Crisis, ending more than 32 years later, on December 14, 2012. Marion passed away as the Sandy Hook massacre played out on television. In between, she recorded on 70,000 VHS tapes, capturing revolutions, lies, wars, triumphs, catastrophes, bloopers, talk shows, and commercials that tell us who we were, and show how television shaped the world of today. Before the era of “fake news,” Marion was fighting to protect the truth by archiving everything that was said and shown on television. The public didn’t know it, but the networks were disposing their archives for decades into the trashcan of history. Remarkably, Marion saved it, and now the Internet Archive will digitize her tapes and we’ll be able to search them online for free. A mystery in the form of a time capsule, the film delves into the strange life of a radical Communist activist who became a fabulously wealthy recluse archivist. Marion’s work was crazy but it was also genius, and she would pay a profound price for dedicating her life to this visionary and maddening project. Director Matt Wolf joins us to talk about the librarian / activist / free thinker Marion Stokes, and how her unusual obsession has provided us with a window into an era of rapidly evolving news and infotainment platforms and the profound impact it continues to have on the present.
For news, screenings and updates go to: recorderfilm.com For more about the filmmaker: mattwolf.info
Social Media: instagram.com/mattpwolf twitter.com/mattpwolf
Annabelle Attanasio makes her directorial debut with the critically-acclaimed feature MICKEY AND THE BEAR, starring Camila Morrone and James Badge Dale. Faced with the responsibility to take care of her opioid-addicted veteran father (Dale), headstrong teen Mickey Peck (Morrone) does what she can to keep her household afloat. When she receives the opportunity to leave her home for good, she must make the impossible decision between familial obligation and personal fulfillment. Mickey and the Bear is a heartbreaking, coming-of-age story that is anchored by remarkable performances from Morrone and Dale. It has a haunting ending that will stay with you long after the credits roll. MICKEY AND THE BEAR, made its world premiere at SXSW this year, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Award; the film was also selected for Cannes International Film Festival, Deauville Film Festival, the Montclair Film Festival, where Attanasio was recognized with the Audible Storyteller Award; and the Nantucket Film Festival, where she was recognized with the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Excellence in Filmmaking Award. Director and screenwriter Attanasio was selected for this year’s Film Society of Lincoln Center’s prestigious Artist Academy program pegged to the 57th New York Film Festival, which has historically nurtured some of the most celebrated filmmakers of our time. Director Annabelle Attanasio joins us to talk about her thrilling debut feature film.
For news and updates go to: mickeyandthebear.com
Screening schedule for Mickey and the Bear
Social Media: instagram.com/annabelllllle instagram.com/mickeyandthebear
In this extraordinary documentary, WHEN LAMBS BECOME LIONS we are immersed in the Kenyan bush, as a small-time ivory dealer fights to stay on top while forces mobilize to destroy his trade. When he propositions his younger cousin, a conflicted wildlife ranger who hasn’t been paid in months, they both see a possible lifeline. The plummeting elephant population in Africa has captured the attention of the world, and as the government cracks down, both poachers and rangers face their own existential crises— what is the value of elephant life relative to human life? And can we understand these hunters who will risk death, arrest, and the moral outrage of the world to provide for their families? The photography in this film is so stunning that many people forget they’re watching a documentary, and it’s probably why WHEN LAMBS BECOME LIONS was just nominated for two 2019 IDA Documentary Awards (Best Cinematography and Best Editing). WHEN LAMBS BECOME LIONS is told in the style of “embedded” filmmaking with an intimate and strikingly honest look at elephant poaching in Kenya, told from both perspectives -- the poachers and the rangers who pursue them. At its core, WHEN LAMBS BECOME LIONS is the human side of why people do what they do given their circumstances. An angle not many people think about when they hear “elephant poaching”. WHEN LAMBS BECOME LIONS is executive produced by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land) and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and Doc NYC 40 Under 40 honoree, Jon Kasbe. Kasbe followed his subjects over a three-year period, gaining an extraordinary level of access and trust on both sides of the ideological and ethical spectrum. The result is a rare and visually arresting look at the perspectives and motives of the people at the epicenter of this conservation crisis. Director Jon Kasbe joins us to talk about the making of his riveting film, gaining the confidence of the film's subjects and navigating the many ethical questions he confronted during the making of When Lambs Become Lions.
For news, screenings and updates go to: whenlambs.oscilloscope.net
For more on Director Jon Kasbe go to: jonkasbe.com
WHEN LAMBS BECOME LIONS filmmaker Jon Kasbe will participate in Q&A's following the 7:30 pm show on Friday, 11/22 and Saturday, 11/23 and following the 1:00 pm show on Sunday, 11/24 at the Monica Film Center.
Social Media facebook.com/whenlambs twitter.com/whenlambs instagram.com/whenlambs twitter.com/jonkasbe
THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN reveals a beautifully intimate, real-time portrait that follows two Indigenous women from vastly different backgrounds whose worlds collide when one of them is fleeing a violent domestic attack. A love poem to women, THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN weaves a compellingly simple story around the complex themes of racialized female bodies, a country's failure to support its most vulnerable youth, and the continuing effects of colonial violence. THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN is the newest acquisition from Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing. Founded in 2010 by Ava DuVernay, ARRAY is a film collective dedicated to the amplification of images by people of color and women directors. Now in its ninth year, ARRAY Releasing focuses on grassroots distribution of feature narrative and documentary work by varied voices. Co-directors / co-writers Elle Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn, as well as lead actor Violet Nelson joins us to talk about the different creative elements that went into the making of this heart-bending film on violence against women, class, privilege and the limitations of compassion.
For news and updates go to: arraynow.com/ The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
For more on the work of Kathleen Hepburn go to: experimentalforest.ca/thebodyremembers
The thought-provoking and intriguing new documentary IN BRIGHT AXIOM introduces us into the world of the House of Latitude. A place where absolute discretion is demanded in exchange for entry into a mysterious social experiment in the form of an elaborate immersive experience. Drawing a community of curiosity seekers, this secret society becomes a way of life for some, putting increasing pressure on the organizers to maintain this sophisticated and fantastical parallel world. From the minds who inspired AMC's upcoming series Dispatches From Elsewhere, IN BRIGHT AXIOM weaves an intriguing cautionary tale about the unforeseen consequences of embracing the unknown. Followers of Meow Wolf, Sleep No More, Ingress and other immersive & augmented reality entertainment should take note. IN BRIGHT AXIOM also features never-before-seen discourse from the mesmerizing hip-hop polymath, RAMMELLZEE and original music by Justin Robbins, with additional songs from Isan, Tickles, and ü-Ziq. Director Spencer McCall has spent the last ten years orchestrating socio-reengineering and public hoax-prank performance art pieces. An avid fan of the Yes Men, McCall began by participating in Improv Everywhere inspired events, “plant” based roles in The Go Game, and location-based performances with Atmos-theater. In 2009, he became a co-creator of the Jejune Institute; a citywide alternate reality game in San Francisco that lasted three years and “inducted” over 10,000 unknowing participants. McCall took his experience working with Jejune and turned it into an award-winning documentary The Institute. The Institute is currently being remade into a series on a major television network. McCall also contributed to follow-up experience The Latitude Society; a faux secret society with an underground experiential labyrinth beneath San Francisco. Director Spencer McCall and House of Latitude founder and In Bright Axiom subject, Jeff Hull, join us for a fascinating conversation on the ebb and flow, as well as, the inherent contradiction that facilitated the unraveling of this remarkable enterprise.
For news, screenings and updates go to: Inbrightaxiom.com
For more on In Bright Axiom go to: nonchalance.com/AXIOM
For more on the work of Spencer McCall go to: spencersreel.com
SOCIAL MEDIA divinenonchalance.tumblr.com twitter.com/pervasiveplay instagram.com/divinenonchalance
inbrightaxiom
@DOCNYCfest #docnyc
After the patriotic themes of her first hit song launch her to stardom in Vietnam, Mai Khoi’s personal and artistic growth places her and those around her in jeopardy. A shift from pop star to activist sees Khoi run for office, advocate for women’s rights and sit down with President Barack Obama. Her aspirations to release an album with her new band, The Dissidents, are challenged by looming retaliation by the authoritarian Vietnamese regime, leading the young activist to take drastic measures. Director Joe Piscatella stops by to talk about the journey of Vietnam’s most popular leading pop star from celebrated to hunted for speaking out against an oppressive regime hell-bent to silence her.
About the filmmaker: Joe Piscatella’s second feature documentary, Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower won the Audience Award at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired as a Netflix Original. His first feature documentary, #ChicagoGirl, has been seen in more than 60 countries. He was also an executive producer on the documentary Finders Keepers, which premiered at Sundance in 2015. In 2019 he was nominated for an Emmy for his directorial work on Food Interrupted. His latest documentary, Mai Khoi & the Dissidents premiered at the 2019 DOC/NYC film festival.
Social Media: twitter.com/jpiscatella twitter.com/MaiKhoiOi
In her latest documentary, TO KID OR NOT TO KID, filmmaker Maxine Trump turns the camera on herself and her close circle of family and friends as she confronts the idea of not having kids. While exploring the cultural pressures and harsh criticism childfree women regularly experience, as well as the personal impact this decision may have on her own relationship, Maxine meets other women reckoning with their choice: Megan, who struggles to get medical permission to undergo elective sterilization, and Victoria, who lives with the backlash of publicly acknowledging that she made a mistake when she had a child. TO KID OR NOT TO KID bravely plunges into an aspect of reproductive choice often misunderstood, mischaracterized, or considered too taboo to discuss. With rising public awareness about climate change, resource scarcity and global population, this timely film asks the question "Why can't we talk about not having children?” Director Maxine Trump joins us for a lively conversation on pros and cons of parenthood, how that decision has played itself out in her life and the lives of those around her.
Foe news, screenings and updates go to: tokidornottokid.com
About the filmmaker: Maxine Trump worked for the BBC in London for seven years as a development executive for scripted comedy before emigrating to the USA, working as a TV commercial director and producer for eight years. She won BDA awards for her work on numerous commercial projects for Network TV and agency clients. She went on to direct documentaries for Sundance, TNT, BBC, TLC, Discovery etc. Her previous feature film Musicwood was a New York Times Critics pick, festival award winner and played on TV and in theaters around the world. Maxine is the author of the book "The Documentary Filmmakers Roadmap" published by Routledge, she is a Sundance advisor and teaches documentary filmmaking at the New York Film Academy. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and inquisitive cat and is always seeking new stories to tell.
Social Media: facebook.com/tokidornottokid instagram.com/maxinetrump_childfreedirector youtube.com/channel/MaxineTrump
In the entertaining and informative documentary we meet Jack Sim, MR. TOILET: The World’s #2 Man. To strangers, Jack Sim might come across as an eccentric entrepreneur who is obsessed with toilets, but to those who know him he’s “Mr. Toilet,” a crusader for global sanitation. Born in the Singapore slums, Sim knows first-hand the agonies of not having a proper loo. Sim’s is dedicating his life to a crisis no one dares talk about. Not having a place “to go” isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a problem that impacts 2.4 billion people worldwide. In India alone, 200,000 children die each year from lack of safe sanitation, while women are regularly raped because they have to defecate in public spaces. He founded the World Toilet Organization and spent the last 13 years lobbying 193 countries to raise awareness for proper sanitation. He even successfully lobbied the United Nations to create World Toilet Day (November 19) – the first International day of celebration for the toilet. Now he is plunged into his biggest challenge yet when asked to secure 6 million toilets for the “Clean India” initiative. But with few resources and no help from the government, his epic project and reputation are in jeopardy. Jack’s once supportive staff begins to doubt him; and when his family bonds start to fray over his obsessive dedication, Mr. Toilet realizes there is a price to pay for being the world's #2 man. But as a "su-poo-hero”, he can't quit. Director, producer and writer Lily Zepeda joins us to talk about a man possessed with bringing sanitation to a world that may not be ready to embrace it and how his mission has impacted the people closest to him.
For news, screenings and updates go to: mrtoiletfilm.com
Toilet Facts: Almost 40% of the world’s population does not have access to safe sanitation Almost 1 million children die every year from diarrhea due to a lack of sanitation Over the past 200 years, toilets have added 20 years to the lifespan of humans i in 5 girls in India drop out of school when they start having periods due to the lack of private toilets Jack Sim was named one of the heroes of the environment for 2008 by TIME magazine
Social Media: facebook.com/worldsnumber2man instagram.com/mrtoiletfilm instagram.com/lilyzepeda
Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, ATLANTICS marks the feature narrative debut of director Mati Diop. Along the Atlantic coast of Africa, a soon-to-be-inaugurated futuristic tower looms over a suburb of Dakar. Ada, 17, is in love with Souleimane, a young construction worker. But she has been promised to another man. One night, Souleimane and his co-workers disappear at sea. Soon after, they come back to haunt their old neighbourhood by taking possession of the girlfriends they left behind. Some of the workers have come claiming revenge and threaten to burn the tower down if the developer does not pay their wages. But Souleiman has come back for Ada, so they can be together one last time. Director and writer Mati Diop joins us for a conversation on her compelling new film, finding love, and the mythology of a ghost story.
About the filmmaker: Trained in Le Fresnoy (National Studio of Contemporary Arts – a leading and very selective French artistic institution), Mati Diop directed four shorts and a medium-length film which received the “Martin E. Segal – Emerging Artist Award” of the Lincoln Center (USA) in 2016. A THOUSAND SUNS (2013), BIG IN VIETNAM (2011), SNOW CANON (2010) and ATLANTIQUES (2009) were selected and awarded in a wide number of international festivals such as the Venice International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, the Rotterdam International Film Festival, the Viennale, The Indie Lisboa International Film Festival, and the FID Marseille. They were also programmed in the MoMA and in the Moving Image Museum (USA). As an actress, Mati Diop played in HERMIA Y HELENA by director Matias Piñeiro (2015), FORT BUCHANAN by Benjamin Crotty (2014), SIMON KILLER by Antonio Campos (2012) and 35 SHOTS OF RHUM by Claire Denis (2008).
For news, screenings and updates go to: mk2films.com/en/film/atlantics
Social Media” facebook.com/mk2films/photos/atlantics-by-mati-diop twitter.com/hashtag/atlantics twitter.com/#MatiDiop
Grand Prix Winner, Cannes Film Festival 2019 Official Selection, Toronto International Film Festival 2019 Official Selection, New York Film Festival 2019 Mati Diop, Mary Pickford Award Winner, Toronto International Film Festival 2019
Sex! Gossip! Scandal! For over 60 years, the National Enquirer has pumped out salacious, shocking stories, stretching the limits of journalism and blurring the lines between truth and fiction. Magnolia Pictures’ SCANDALOUS: The Untold Story of the National Enquirer, charts the thrilling origin story and influence of (in)famous supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer. The paper that former editor-in-chief Steve Coz called “the most perfectly placed piece of propaganda in America.” SCANDALOUS is the sensational true story of the most infamous tabloid in US history, a wild, probing look at how one newspaper’s prescient grasp of its’ readers darkest curiosities led it to massive profits and influence. From its coverage of Elvis’s death, to Monica Lewinsky and the O.J. Simpson murder trial, the National Enquirer rattled the foundations of American culture and politics, sometimes allegedly using payoffs and blackmail to get its scoops. With rare archival footage and revelations as wild as National Enquirer headlines themselves, SCANDALOUS examines our obsession with the rich, famous and powerful, and the tabloid that has fed those obsessions for generations of Americans. SCANDALOUS: The Untold Story of the National Enquirer features interviews with former Enquirer reporters and editors, including Iain Calder and Steve Coz, as well as journalists Ken Auletta, Carl Bernstein, and Maggie Haberman. Director Mark Landsman joins us to talk about the 50-plus year history of the supermarket tabloid that made UFO’s and mayhem respectable and in the process changed the way we consume all forms of media.
For news, screenings and updates go to: Scandalousfilm.com
SCANDALOUS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER panel discussion on Friday (11/15) after the 7:10 pm show with director Mark Landsman and former National Enquirer reporters Tony Brenna, Judith Regan and Barbara Sternig. Q&A after the 7:10 pm show on Saturday (11/16) with producers Aengus James and Kristen Vaurio at the Royal.
Social Media: scandalousfilm.com twitter.com/scandalousfilm instagram.com/scandalousfilm twitter.com/markolands
In the new HBO Documentary Film - ERNIE & JOE: CRISIS COPS, director Jenifer McShane dives into the lives of these incredible officers and their amazing mental health unit officers, trying and succeeding in doing good and truly making an impact. Winner of the Special Jury Award for Empathy in Craft at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival, director Jenifer McShane follows two members Ernie Stevens and Joe Smarro of the San Antonio Police Department’s 10-person Mental Health Unit who are helping to change the way police respond to mental health calls. Their jail diversion work is humane and desperately needed to improve not only the health of the mentally ill, but also of their families. The duo head the special team that looks to treat mental health calls as opposed to the traditional policing tactics. Drawing on their own experiences, each have learned that the old ways of policing and dealing with mental health issues weren’t working. The issues they face as a department are the issues every community and police department in the country faces. The two officers and their colleagues in this unique department provide hope and inspiration at a time when we need it most, and show that great ideas and inspiration can come from any corner of the country. Director Jenifer McShane and film subjects Ernie Stevens and Joe Smarro join us for a conversation on the trailblazing work being done by themselves and their colleagues as well as the withering and sometimes frustrating challenges that mental health, “crisis cops” deal with in the face of a national mental health epidemic.
For news, theatrical screenings and updates go to: ernieandjoethefilm.com For screening information go to: hbo.com/documentaries/ernie-and-joe
Social Media: facebook.com/ernieandjoethefilm twitter.com/ernieandjoe instagram.com/ernieandjoethefilm
The film: SAVING ATLANTIS
Narrated by actor and activist Peter Coyote, SAVING ATLANTIS is a feature-length documentary film by Oregon State University that covers the dramatic decline of the world's coral reefs and those who are fighting to save them. Following the Global Coral Microbiome Project, a National Science Foundation-funded effort to understand the underlying causes of coral disease, as well as other coral conservation efforts, SAVING ATLANTIS focuses on the plight of an endangered habitat and the people most dramatically impacted by its disappearance. It is an emotional exploration of some of our planet's greatest natural wonders at a tipping point in their ecological history. Co-directors Justin Smith and David Baker join us to talk about the intense research being done to save this invaluable planetary resource.
For news and updates go to: corals.oregonstate.edu/saving-atlantis
The inspiration for Parker Phillips and Graham Phillips debut feature film THE BYGONE was born from the grim effects of the recent oil boom in North Dakota. Beyond the environmental impact of the fracking itself, the boom brought a wave of lawlessness to a region not suited to respond to the flood of tens of thousands of predominantly male workers. Along with the drugs, violence and crime, this wave brought a heightened market for the sex trade, which disproportionately targeted and exploited young Native American women – our country’s most marginalized demographic, made vulnerable by centuries of disenfranchisement, discrimination and sexual victimization. It is compelling that natural resource extraction has once again led explicitly to the disruption of indigenous peoples and their culture, a narrative that echoes the gold rush and is as old as the foundations of America itself. The film explores the tension in this relationship within the modern western landscape, following a North Dakota cowboy and a Lakota girl as they attempt to survive in a land increasingly hostile to the Old West. In shedding light on the lawless shadows of our country, we learn how we have progressed as a Nation and what has remained unchanged, exploring the contemporary status of age-old relationships: East vs. West, Land vs. Industry, Cowboy vs. Indian, and ultimately the Future vs. the Bygone. The co-directors and screenwriters Parker Phillips and Graham Phillips stop by to talk about how their compelling feature film debut weaves together stories of sexual violence, human trafficking, fracking’s impact on America’s declining middle class and the historic abuse of Native Americans.
For news, screenings and updates go to: phillipspictures.com/bygone
Social Media: twitter.com/grahamphillips instagram.com/grahamphillips
COLD BROOK follows two men who live in a small college town in upstate New York. They are best friends who work the night shift as museum guards and handymen. Their lives are simple and mostly satisfying, until they are confronted with a supernatural situation. The men are then faced with a dilemma that puts their jobs, marriages, and their futures on the line. COLD BROOK is the directorial debut of William Fichtner (Armageddon, Black Hawk Down, Mom), who co-wrote the film alongside Cain DeVore. Fichtner also stars in Kim Coates (The Client, Black Hawk Down, Sons of Anarchy), and Harold Perrineau (Romeo + Juliet, 28 Weeks Later, Sons of Anarchy) Robin Weigart (Concussion, Deadwood) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (Safety Not Guaranteed, The Kings of Summer, Sunshine Cleaning). Director William Fichtner joins us to talk about making a heartwarming, genre bending film in his upstate New York hometown surrounded by many of his closest friends.
For news, screenings and updates go to: vert-ent.com
Social Media: facebook.com/VertEnt facebook.com/officialwilliamfichtner twitter.com/kimfcoates
THE ALL-AMERICANS takes us into the home to the nation’s largest Latino immigrant population, East Los Angeles, a community that sits squarely in the crossfire of debate about American identity. Yet every November, this community comes together for a distinctly American event, drawing 25,000 proud locals to one of the country’s fiercest high school football rivalry games: The East L.A. Classic. THE ALL-AMERICANS follows four students seeking glory on the field, while grappling with personal obstacles and striving to make sense of their community’s place in today’s America. Director / Producer / Editor / Writer Billy McMillin (Iraq in Fragments, West of Memphis, Mike Wallace is Here) joins us to talk about his feature documentary debut, THE ALL-AMERICANS, and it’s intimate, unvarnished look at young men, often living on the margins, in their dogged pursuit of the American dream.
For news, screenings and updates go to: allamericansfilm.com
Social Media:
facebook.com/all-americansdoc
twitter.com/allamericansdoc
instagram.com/allamericansfilm
Between 2015 and 2016, the number of homeless people in Los Angeles County rose 23% to nearly 58,000. DISCO’D is a character-driven portrait of individuals who were living on the street at the time of filming. This riveting, on-the-ground documentary film captures the moment-to-moment uncertainty and endless instability of life on the streets. Immersive and intimate, highlighting issues of displacement, affordable housing, addiction, consumerism, and sanitation, DISCO’D examines the nature and complexities of homelessness. Navigating through the streets with those who live there, DISCO’D tells a story of those affected by homelessness in Los Angeles. We have seen homeless communities sweep into all parts of the city in recent years. Director, / Producer / Editor Matthew Siretta and Producer / Sound Engineer Sam Mantell join us to talk about his unsettling film that captures the chaos and sheer hopelessness of the men and woman with no where else to go.
For news, screenings and updates go to: discodmovie.com
Social Media: facebook.com/DiscodMovie twitter.com/discodmovie instagram.com/discodmovie Sam Mantell: twitter.com/slmantell Matthew Siretta: twitter.com/MATTHEW_SIRETTA
Centered on the indomitable character of Imelda Marcos, THE KINGMAKER examines, with intimate access, the Marcos family’s improbable return to power in the Philippines. THE KINGMAKER explores the disturbing legacy of the Marcos regime and chronicles Imelda’s present-day push to help her son, Bongbong, win the vice presidency. To this end, Imelda confidently rewrites her family’s history of corruption, replacing it with a narrative of a matriarch’s extravagant love for her country. In an age when fake news manipulates elections, Imelda’s comeback story serves as a dark fairy tale. Director Lauren Greenfield (Generation Wealth, The Queen of Versailles,Thin) joins us to talk about a powerful political family, led by a single-minded matriarch, determined to return to re-capture the corrupted glory of her family’s discredited regime.
For news, theatre screening and updates go to: thekingmakerfilm.com
Social Media: facebook.com/laurengreenfield twitter.com/lgreen66 instagram.com/greenfield_lauren
The story behind RETURN TO MOUNT KENNEDY begins and ends with Bobby Kennedy becoming the first human to stand atop a lonely peak in the Canadian Yukon that had just been named to honor his assassinated brother, JFK. His climbing guide was Jim Whittaker, a mountain icon who at 28 had become the first American to summit Mt. Everest. From that solemn trek, Jim—the shy outdoorsman and eventual CEO of REI—and RFK ignited a friendship over their shared love of wilderness. In the following years their lives would intertwine, both men having a profound effect on the other. But their shared path would end with an assassin’s bullet. In June of 1968, Jim would look on as Bobby was taken off life support. 50 years later, Jim’s son Bobby Whittaker— a legend of the grunge scene— decides that he and his brother Leif must ascend the mountain. Leif, the experienced alpinist, will guide Bobby, as they test their relationship on dangerous ground. When they are joined by RFK’s son Christopher Kennedy their trio is complete. Mt. Kennedy’s long shadow has loomed in all of their lives for decades. Now, half a century after their fathers’ climb, three sons will forge their own paths and find a vantage point above the shadows. Like their fathers before them, the trio bring out the best in each other. Confronting deeply emotional memories from a tumultuous era of American history, Bobby, Chris, and Leif finally understand why they were so driven to go there and why they must continue to do good in the world. Director Eric Becker joins us to talk about the deeply personal story of a family and the unlikely bond between two men who lived lives of purpose and integrity.
For news, screenings and updates go to: mtkennedy.com
Return to Mount Kennedy screening at the Los Feliz Theatre in Los Angeles, on Tuesday November 5, followed by a Q&A with Director Eric Becker
Social Media: facebook.com/mtkennedyfilm twitter.com/mtkennedyfilm instagram.com/mtkennedyfilm
QUEEN OF HEARTS tells the story of Anne, a brilliant and dedicated lawyer specializing in children and young adults, living what appears to be the picture perfect life with her doctor-husband, Peter, and their twin daughters. When her estranged teenage stepson, Gustav, moves in with them, Anne’s escalating desire leads her down a dangerous rabbit hole which, once exposed, unleashes a sequence of events that threatens to destroy her world. Denmark’s official entry for the 2019 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, QUEEN OF HEARTS explores the making of a tragic family secret step by step, as the consequences of hubris, lust and lies conspire to create an unimaginable dilemma. With bold and astonishing vision, co-writer/director May el-Toukhy masterfully builds Anne’s world, seducing the viewer into complicity before maneuvering her protagonist onto an unsettling and shocking path. Trine Dyrholm, one of Denmark’s finest dramatic actresses, skillfully inhabits the complicated Anne. In a finely calibrated performance, Dyrholm humanizes Anne’s contradictions and unpredictable behavior, creating an even more disconcerting character. A riveting and provocative film, QUEEN OF HEARTS is a portrait of a woman who manages to lose everything and nothing at the same time. Director and co-screenwriter May el-Toukhy joins us for a lively conversation on her shattering tale of power, family and self preservation.
For news, screenings and updates go to: bgpics.com/movies/queen-of-hearts
Social Media: twitter.com/queenofhearts facebook.com/queenofhearts instagram.com/queenofhearts twitter.com/hashtag/mayeltoukhy
The documentary Gay Chorus Deep South chronicles one community’s response to a wave of discriminatory anti-LGBTQ laws in Southern states and the divisive 2016 election. The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus embarks on a tour of the American Deep South. Led by Gay Chorus conductor Dr. Tim Seelig and joined by The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, the tour brings a message of music, love, and acceptance to communities and individuals confronting intolerance. Over 300 singers travelled from Mississippi to Tennessee through the Carolinas and over the bridge in Selma. They performed in churches, community centers, and concert halls in hopes of uniting us in a time of difference. The journey also challenges Tim and other Chorus members who fled the South to confront their own fears, pain, and prejudices on a journey towards reconciliation. The conversations and connections that emerge offer a glimpse of a less divided America, where the things that divide us - faith, politics, sexual identity - are set aside by the soaring power of music and humanity. Director David Charles Rodrigues joins us to talk about the expectations and realities that comes with traveling to communities with the hope of changing hearts and minds.
For news, screenings and updates go to: gaychorusdeepsouth.com
Social Media:
facebook.com/gaychorusdeepsouth
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Bruce Franks Jr. is a 34-year-old battle rapper, Ferguson activist and state representative from St. Louis, Missouri. Known as Superman to his constituents, he is a political figure the likes of which you've never seen - full of contradictions and deep insights, who has overcome unspeakable loss to become one of the most exciting and unapologetic young leaders in the country. This short verité documentary follows Bruce at a critical juncture in his life, when he is forced to deal with the mental trauma he's been carrying for the nearly 30 years since his 9-year-old brother was shot and killed in front of him, in order to find peace and truly fulfill his destiny as a leader for his community. Co- director Smriti Mundhra (Sami Khan) join us to talk about how a dynamic and charismatic man from a traumatized community took tragedy and turned into action.
About the filmmakers: Smriti Mundhra’s A SUITABLE GIRL premiered at Tribeca in 2017 and won the Albert Maysles Award for Best New Documentary Director. KHOYA, Sami Khan's feature debut, was selected for the Tribeca Film Institute’s Tribeca All Access® fellowship.
Social Media: twitter.com/smritimundhra facebook.com/smriti.mundhra facebook.com/SamiKhan twitter.com/samikhanfilm
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound reveals the hidden power of sound in cinema . . . and our lives. Few have "ears to hear" or comprehend the emotional storytelling impact sound plays in so-called visual media. Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas have both declared "sound is 50% of the movie," with Steven Spielberg noting, "Our ears lead our eyes to where the story lives.” Through film clips, interviews and archival footage--an enlightening and nostalgic look at many of Hollywood's biggest box office hits--the film captures the history, impact and unique creative process of this overlooked art form and the artists behind it. Filled with insights from legendary directors--including George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, David Lynch, Ang Lee, Sofia Coppola and Ryan Coogler, among others--who share revealing stories about the award-winning work their sound collaborators help to create. In Making Waves, we witness the wild creativity of some of the industry's most-respected key sound designers--including Oscar winners Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now), Ben Burtt (Star Wars), Gary Rydstrom (Saving Private Ryan) and Lora Hirschberg (Inception); and Oscar-nominees Cece Hall (Top Gun), Anna Behlmer (Braveheart) and Bobbi Banks (Selma)--who, in pursuing their art and desire to push the medium, are the very people who will go down in the history of cinema as developing sound into the immersive storytelling force it is today. Audiences will discover many unsung collaborators for the key creative artists they are, in a domain that has for too long been characterized as “technical.” Director Midge Costin joins us to evangelize on the power and glory of sound and the visionaries who have pioneered a new frontier in cinema.
For news, screenings and updates go to: MakingWavesMovie.com
Social Media: facebook.com/makingwavesmovie twitter.com/makingwavesmov instagram.com/makingwavesmov
At the turn of the 1900’s, two years after a quiet murder involving an out-of-town stage actor and a local doctor’s daughter, an esteemed Opera House welcomes a progressive Vaudevillian troupe from the East for its first performances since the tragedy; and along with it, a veiled actress with a curious intent. With tensions still thick surrounding past events, this mysterious performer discovers she isn’t the only one seeking revenge: someone or something has been “haunting” the assailant already. When the two conspirers uncover each other’s secrets, they decide their dual efforts will be more successful in subduing their enemy. THE RIOT ACT is a multi-award winning independent film that deftly immerses audiences in a layered tale of a caste system on the brink of violence where humanity and love are expendable in the eyes of society in the early 1900’s. Following a wildly successful festival and theatrical run, the film will be available to audiences everywhere on October 8th, 2019. The feature film directorial debut from auteur writer / director Devon Parks (Step Into: Miss Laura’s, The Help), THE RIOT ACT stars Lauren Sweetser (True Detective, Winter’s Bone), Brett Cullen (Joker, 42, Dark Knight Rises), Connor Price (Cinderella Man), Micah Hauptman (Homeland, Rust Creek), Brandon Keener (Traffic, The Purge: Anarchy) and Travis Joe Dixon (NCIS, Blackish). Director and writer Devon Parks joins us to talk about his intriguing mystery period piece, the he orchestrates from a very talented group of actors.
For news, screenings and updates go to: riotactmovie.com
Social Media:
facebook.com/theriotactmovie
instagram.com/riotactfilm
The latest documentary film from Peabody Award-winning director Beth Aala, Made in Boise, looks at the world of modern day surrogacy. In the idyllic city of Boise, nurses, nail technicians, and stay-at-home mothers are choosing to become paid surrogates for people from around the world. Made in Boise offers a rare glimpse into this mysterious world by intimately following the lives of four surrogates, as they build relationships with the intended parents, prepare for the rigors of pregnancy, and navigate the mixed feelings of their own families, who struggle to understand their choice to risk the physical and emotional complications of carrying babies for someone else. Legal in some states and illegal in others, a number of states, including Idaho, have no laws governing surrogacy on their books at all. As the number of surrogate births surge across the country, Boise has become an epicenter of the movement, with a large population of healthy women of reproductive age and a significant number of Mormon and Catholic communities who value large families. In this "City of Trees" with a population of a little over 200,000, it is estimated that one in 15 mothers will carry a baby for a stranger at some point in her life. For couples who struggle with infertility, for gay couples, and single men, this industry — outlawed in many countries around the world — is often the last resort to biological parenthood. Director Beth Aala (Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon, Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman )joins us to talk about challenges and rewards of surrogacy for the the women who bear the children and the intended parents.
For more on Made in Boise screening on Independent Lens go to: pbs.org/made-in-boise
For more on the work of Director Beth Aala go to: pinaypictures.org
Additional resources for Made in Boise: itvs.org/films/made-in-boise
Social Media: facebook.com/madeinboise
The acclaimed PBS documentary series Independent Lens, recently honored with two Peabody Awards, a Primetime Emmy nomination and 12 News & Documentary Emmy nominations, returns for a new season on Monday, October 28.This year’s premiere is Made in Boise, an engrossing look at the complex and controversial world of gestational surrogacy told through the stories of four women carrying babies for gay men and infertile couples in the conservative heartland of Idaho — the unofficial “surrogacy capital” of the United States. Also on the fall schedule is Decade of Fire, which travels back to the 1970s when the South Bronx was burning, to showcase the dedicated citizens who outlasted the flames and saved their community; The Interpreters, a moving look at the Afghan and Iraqi interpreters who risked their lives aiding American troops and who now struggle to find safety and security for themselves and their families; Conscience Point, which unearths the deep clash of values between the Native American Shinnecock of Long Island and their affluent Hamptons neighbors; and Attla, the rousing story of Alaska Native George Attla, who with one good leg and a determined mindset went on to become a champion dogsled racer. Other highlights of the Winter/Spring 2020 slate include Always in Season, a harrowing look at the history of lynching and the 2014 case of Lennon Lacy, a North Carolina teen who died under unexplained circumstances; Bedlam, a psychiatrist’s chronicle of what mental illness means in the U.S. today, interwoven with the story of how the system tragically failed his own sister; and Rewind, a devastating, autobiographical documentary about the far-reaching consequences of multigenerational child sexual abuse. Independent Lens Executive Producer Lois Vossen joins us to talk about the fundamental principles to support filmmakers telling stories about their communities and commitment to showcase thought-provoking documentaries about the issues that divide us and the ideals and beliefs that bind us together.
For news, updates and screenings go to: pbs.org/independentlens
Social Media: facebook.com/independentlens twitter.com/independentlens instagram.com/independentlens
Fantastic Fungi, the engaging and informative documentary directed by Louie Schwartzberg, is a consciousness-shifting film that takes us on an immersive journey through time and scale into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet. Through the eyes of renowned scientists and mycologists like Paul Stamets, best-selling authors Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, Andrew Weil and others, we become aware of the beauty, intelligence and solutions the fungi kingdom offer us in response to some of our most pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges. When so many are struggling for connection, inspiration and hope, Fantastic Fungi brings us together as interconnected creators of our world. Directed by the pioneer of time-lapse photography, Louie Schwartzberg (Netflix’s “Moving Art”, Wings of Life for Disneynature, and Mysteries of the Unseen Worlds 3D Imax for Nat Geo still playing in theaters) Narrated by Academy Award-Winner Brie Larson. Director Louie Schwartzberg joins us to talk about the amazing world of fungus and the burgeoning field of scientific research into the thousands of positive, possibly planet saving benefits that can be realized from the magical spores.
For news, updates and screenings go to: fantasticfungi.com
FANTASTIC FUNGI Q&A's with director Louie Schwartzberg following the 7:40 pm show on Friday, 10/25 and Saturday, 10/26 at the Monica Film Center.
Social Media: facebook.com/FungiFilm twitter.com/FantasticFungi instagram.com/fantasticfungi
In this brilliant followup to his award-winning documentaries (SENNA, AMY) DIEGO MARADONA captures the athletic brilliance and maddening duality of a soccer player widely considered to be best player in the world from the moment he burst onto the scene in his native Argentina. And yet success proved elusive. He failed at Barcelona. He was considered a problem player, too interested in partying. Meanwhile, having never won a major tournament, the ailing Italian football giant SSC Napoli were perennial underachievers. Their fanatical support was unequalled in both passion and size. But how they ached for success… On 5th July 1984, Diego Maradona arrived in Naples for a world-record fee and for seven years all hell broke loose. The world’s most celebrated football genius and the most passionate but dangerous city in Europe were a perfect match for each other. Diego Maradona was blessed on the field and treated like a God off it; the charismatic Argentine loved a fight against the odds and led Naples to their first-ever League title. It was the stuff of dreams. But there was a price… Diego could do as he pleased while performing miracles on the pitch, but as time passed, darker days closed in. Italy turned on him. The third film from the Academy Award-winning & multi-BAFTA-winning team behind SENNA and AMY (director Asif Kapadia, producer James Gay-Rees, editor Chris King, composer Antonio Pinto), and also Paul Martin, DIEGO MARADONA was constructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from Maradona’s personal archive. DIEGO MARADONA is crafted in the style of SENNA and AMY. It is the definitive feature documentary on the charismatic enigma that is Maradona. In a city where even the devil would need bodyguards, Diego Maradona became a god. Maradona in Naples is the story of his life, the wild and unforgettable story of an unrivalled talent. He was a rebel, cheat, hero and god. This is a story of glory, despair and betrayal, a tale of corruption and, ultimately, of redemption. Director / Producer Asif Kapadia joins us to talk about the enigma of “Diego” and “Maradona.”
For news, updates and screenings go to:hbo.com/documentaries/diego-maradona
For news, updates and screenings go to: diegomaradona.movie
Oscar nominee Feras Fayyad (“Last Men in Aleppo”) delivers an unflinching story of the Syrian war with his powerful new documentary, THE CAVE. For besieged civilians, hope and safety lie underground inside the subterranean hospital known as the Cave, where pediatrician and managing physician Dr. Amani Ballor and her colleagues Samaher and Dr. Alaa have claimed their right to work as equals alongside their male counterparts, doing their jobs in a way that would be unthinkable in the oppressively patriarchal culture that exists above. Following the women as they contend with daily bombardments, chronic supply shortages and the ever-present threat of chemical attacks, THE CAVE paints a stirring portrait of courage, resilience and female solidarity. Director and writer Feras Fayyad stops by to talk about the unbelievable courage of the hospital staff led by Dr. Amani Ballor, and the volunteers as they keep an otherwise harrowing day-to-day nightmare from devolving into soul-destroying chaos.
For news, updates and screenings go to: nationalgeographic.com/films/the-cave
The Cave opens on October 18 at the Laemmle Royal Theatre in Los Angeles
SocialMedia:
facebook.com/natgeodocs
twitter.com/NatGeoDocs
instagram.com/explore/tags/thecavedocumentary
In Alexis Michalik’s rousing, re-telling of the story about France’s enduring and iconic dramatist Edmond Rostand is not yet thirty, but he already has two children and a lot of anxieties. He hasn’t written anything for two years. In desperation, he offers the great Constant Coquelin a new play, a heroic comedy, written in verse for the holidays. There is just one problem: the play hasn’t been written yet. Ignoring the whims of the actresses, the demands of his Corsican producers, his wife’s jealousy, his best friend’s relationship problems and the lack of enthusiasm of all those around him, Edmond begins to write the play that nobody believes in. For the time being, he only has the title: ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ Director Alexis Michalik joins us o talk about the recasting of this timeless tale as a peak behind the curtain of a failing playwright’s topsy-turvy effort to bring his tale of unrequited love to life and how his own attempts to bring Edward Rostand’s story to the screen eerily mirrored Cyrano’s author Edward Rostand.
For news, updates and screenings go to roadsideattractions.com/cyranomylove
Cyrano, My Love opens on October 18 at the Laemmel Royal Theatre in Los Angeles
Social Media facebook.com/RoadsideAttractionsFilms twitter.com/roadsidetweets
CyranoMyLove
instagram.com/roadsideattractionsfilms
ON THE PRESIDENT’S ORDERS tell the searing story of President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody campaign against drug dealers and addicts in the Philippines, told with unprecedented and intimate access to both sides of the war - the Manila police, and an ordinary family from the slum. Shot in the style of a thriller, this observational film combines the look and feel of a narrative feature film with a real life revelatory journalistic investigation into a campaign of killings. The film uncovers a murky world where crime, drugs and politics meet in a deathly embrace - and reveal that although the police have been publicly ordered to stop extra-judicial killings, the deaths continue. Director / Producer James Jones and Director / Cinematographer Olivier Sarbil join us for a conversation on the challenges of gaining access to the police, the victims of police violence and the draconian drug policy being enforced by a dictatorial, human-rights abusing regime.
For news, updates and screenings go to: onthepresidentsorders.com
Black babies don’t come from white people. Except this one just did. That’s what Jen (Sarah Butler) tells her husband Tom (Will McFadden). He says he believes her. But soon, amidst a constant barrage of questions from everyone, Tom’s doubts and worst fears take hold. Both new parents are scared by the thoughts entering their minds, and scared to share them with each other. Baby Liam seems to love their dear friend Ron (Jamie Hector) – but why does that make it harder for Tom? And why do people keep confusing Ron for Liam’s father? Maybe because they’re both black. By the time a twist is revealed that could explain the baby’s appearance, it may be too late. Before Tom and Jen can accept their child, they’ll have to accept themselves… or face living their lives apart. Starring Will McFadden, Sarah Butler, Jamie Hector, Rob Belushi, Zach Cregger, James Morrison, and Melora Walters. Doubting Thomas, winner of Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Audience Award, Best First Feature, will begin its theatrical run in Los Angeles on Friday, October 11th, ahead of its North American VOD / Digital release on October 15th, 2019 through Gravitas Ventures. Will McFadden’s directorial debut, DOUBTING THOMAS brings unconscious racism home in the innocence of a baby. A complex tale that touches on institutional racism and assumed privilege, the concept for the film was born from the true story of a black man killed in police custody in a racially charged incident. That man's son, Joseph Campbell, shares story by credit with McFadden. Director / Co-writer / Producer and Lead Actor Will McFadden joins us to talk about his thought provoking drama that raises a multitude of questions about the relevance of family history, trust and race.
For news, screenings and updates go to: doubtingthomasmovie.com
Social Media:
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Inspired by Lewis Hyde’s beloved classic The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World, GIFT is a richly cinematic film, interweaving character‐driven stories. On North America's Pacific Northwest Coast, a young Indigenous artist and carver undertakes the elaborate preparations for a potlatch - to make a name for himself by giving everything away. In Rome, Italy, a factory occupied by migrant families is transformed into a living museum, protected by a barricade of art : a model of resistance, and an invaluable gift. In the pirate utopia of Burning Man, a mutant bumblebee art car distributes honey in a post-apocalyptic desert landscape. Meanwhile, in Auckland, New Zealand, artist Lee Mingwei prepares to launch Sonic Blossom - a “transformative gift” of song. GIFT is a tribute to something that can’t be measured or counted, bought or sold. Exploring the parallels between artists’ work and a gift economy, it’s a reflection on the creative process, the reasons we “labour in service of our gifts”, and a celebration of the imagination. Director Robin McKenna joins us to talk about her beautifully meditative film about paying forward human connection and how communities can re-imagine the meaning of wealth and prosperity.
About the filmmaker: Robin McKenna is director, producer and writer of GIFT, a feature-length documentary and crossmedia project inspired by Lewis Hyde’s classic bestseller The Gift. She is currently making Thanadoula, a short animated documentary fairytale about a real-life “death doula”, in co-production with the National Film Board of Canada - and Medicine, a feature-length documentary over a decade in the making, about ayahuasca, medicine and healing, with Dr. Gabor Maté. She directed Genevieve Bujold: ArtVie, a short film tribute to Bujold on 16mm, for the Governor General’s Awards for the Performing Arts in 2018. Robin grew up in Montréal, and began making films with La course destination monde. Her cinematography credits include City of Borders (Berlinale, Hot Docs 2009) and The Take with Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis (AFI Best Documentary 2004).
For news, updates and screenings go to: giftitforwardproject.com/the-film
Social Media:
facebook.com/GIFTdocumentary
instagram.com/giftdocumentary
In 2015, after Hassan Fazili’s documentary Peace in Afghanistan aired on Afghan national television, the Taliban assassinated the film’s main subject and put a price on Fazili’s head. Fearing for their survival, the Fazili family fled Kabul for Tajikistan. Yet after 14 months spent submitting asylum applications that were rejected again and again, they were deported back to Afghanistan. It was at this juncture that Fazili picked up his cell phone and hit the record button and with that Midnight Traveler began to take shape. Chronicling every step from inside the action, Fazili, his filmmaker wife, and their young daughters trek across Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Serbia—scurrying through perilous landscapes, huddling in freezing forests, cramming into rattling vehicles. As they endure smugglers, gangs, and refugee camps, the camera witnesses not only the danger and desperation but also the exuberance and tenderness of this irresistible, loving family. For Fazili, framing their story becomes an assertion of control, humanity, and self-expression in a situation where none exists. With its radical subjectivity, visceral footage, and poetic form, Midnight Traveler is a migration story like no other. Producer Su Kim and Producer / writer / editor Emilie Mahdavian join us for a look at at Hassan and his remarkably resilient family as they attempt to overcome institutional and deadly political obstacles in their fight for freedom as seen through the eyes of his children, Zahra and Nargis and wife, Fatima. A fight for freedom that they have to win.
For news and updates go to: midnighttraveler.oscilloscope.net
For news and screening information go to: midnighttravelerfilm.com
Social Media:
facebook.com/oscopelabs
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COLLISIONS follows the story of a twelve-year-old girl, Itan (Izabella Alvarez), a straight-A-student in San Francisco, who comes home from school to find their family’s furniture up-ended and no trace of her mother, Yoana (Ana de la Reguera), who was detained by Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE). Child Protective Services dumps Itan and her six-year-old brother Neto (Jason Garcia) with their estranged uncle Evencio (Jesse Garcia), a big rig truck driver. Itan can't stand him. He's arrogant, unreliable, and possibly a criminal. After a desperate search, Itan locates Yoana in an immigration detention center in Arizona and convinces Evencio to take them there. They are propelled onto the road in Evencio’s truck, through the maddening labyrinth of immigration detention. Itan fights to free her mother before she is deported. But her mother keeps slipping from her grasp, as she is transferred from prison to prison. Their journey takes them through the deserts of the southern border, to sprawling truck stops, border patrol offices and secret immigration prisons. Director / Producer / Writer / Editor Richard Levien joins us for a conversation on the inspiration for COLLISIONS, his desire to humanize the tragic stories behind the headlines and the corrosive impact that cruel, politically motivated policies can have on the lives of hardworking peoples lives.
For news, screenings and updates go to: collisionsmovie.com
Opens at Laemmle Music Hall in Los Angeles - October 4
Friday, October 4 - Collisions, Director Richard Levien
A stunning sensory experience and cinematic meditation on humanity’s massive reengineering of the planet, ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH is a years-in-the-making feature documentary from the award-winning team behind Manufactured Landscapes (2006) and Watermark (2013) and narrated by Alicia Vikander. The film follows the research of an international body of scientists, the Anthropocene Working Group who, after nearly 10 years of research, argue that the Holocene Epoch gave way to the Anthropocene Epoch in the mid-twentieth century as a result of profound and lasting human changes to the Earth. From concrete seawalls in China that now cover 60% of the mainland coast, to the biggest terrestrial machines ever built in Germany, to psychedelic potash mines in Russia’s Ural Mountains, to metal festivals in the closed city of Norilsk, to the devastated Great Barrier Reef in Australia and massive marble quarries in Carrara, the filmmakers have traversed the globe using state of the art camera techniques to document the evidence and experience of human planetary domination. At the intersection of art and science, ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH witnesses a critical moment in our geological history. Co-directors Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky bring a provocative and unforgettable experience of our species's ever-expanding breadth and devastating impact.
For news, screenings and updates go to: kinolorber.com/Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
For more information on Anthropocene and filmmakers go to: theanthropocene.org/ For additional information on Jennifer Baichwal at mercuryfilms.ca
Social Media: facebook.com/mercuryfilmsinc twitter.com/mercuryfilms instagram.com/mercuryfilmsinc
The high-energy documentary DON’T BE NICE, chronicles the upstart Bowery Slam Poetry Team, made up of five African-American, Afro-Hispanic and queer poets in their 20s, preparing for the national championships. Coach Lauren Whitehead pushes them past personal boundaries to write from a painfully honest place with the credo “Don’t Be Nice.” She explains that to “be nice” is to stay on the surface of things, is to perpetuate the status quo, and is, for black people, to be what White culture demands. Her team of poets breaks down, breaks through, and ultimately writes their masterpiece—a celebration of black joy. Timely and difficult, their spoken word slays—but will their soul-searching pieces about police violence and the whitewashing of Black culture be able to compete against choreographed crowd-pleasers for the national title? Will opting to make a statement instead of a show spell their defeat? An emotional and inspiring film that gives insightful commentary on race, gender, identity and sexual politics in America today, DON’T BE NICE is both an exciting competition film and a deep dive into the wildly-popular Slam Poetry subculture, that proves once and for all that winning hearts and minds is the ultimate prize. Producer Nikhil Melnechuk joins us to talk about the phenomenally talented group of poets / writers / advocates that make up the Bowery Team and these from the heart, high-wire performances chronicled in this emotionally charged documentary.
For news, screening and updates go to: dontbenicemovie.com
Social Media:
facebook.com/dontbenicemovie
twitter.com/dontbenicemovie
instagram.com/dontbenicemovie
JIM ALLISON: BREAKTHROUGH is the astounding, true story of one warm- hearted, stubborn man’s visionary quest to find a cure for cancer. The film traces Allison’s remarkable life from his school-boy days in Friday Night Lights, Creationist Texas all the way to Stockholm where, in December of 2018, he accepted the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Director Bill Haney is an award-winning documentarian, serial inventor and entrepreneur, who has founded more than a dozen companies, two of which develop drugs to cure cancer and neurological diseases. Meeting Allison in the labs of MD Anderson, Haney was immediately captivated by Jim’s empathy and pathos as much by his scientific accomplishments. Today, Jim Allison is a name to be reckoned with throughout the scientific world — a 2018 Nobel Prize winner for discovering the immune system’s role in defeating cancer but for decades he waged a lonely struggle against the skepticism of the medical establishment and the resistance of Big Pharma. Using intimate interviews with Allison and a set of scientific leaders, paired with the use of graphics and archival material, JIM ALLISON: BREAKTHROUGH takes us into the inspiring and dramatic world of cutting-edge medicine, and into the heart of a true American pioneer, in a film that is both emotionally compelling and deeply entertaining. Director Bill Haney (The Piece of Sugar, The Last Mountain, A Life Among the Whales) stops by to talk about this highly entertaining, informative story about an innovator, free-thinker, honky-tonk musician and a true iconoclast.
For news and updates go to: breakthroughdoc.com
For Jim Allison: Breakthrough screenings go to: breakthroughdoc.com/screenings
Jim Allson: Breakthrough opens in LA on Friday 9/27 at the Laemmle Monica Film Center
Social Media: facebook.com/CancerCureDoc twitter.com/CancerCureDoc instagram.com/CancerCureDoc
Claudia Lacy wants answers. When her 17-year-old son, Lennon, was found hanging from a swing set in Bladenboro, North Carolina, the authorities quickly ruled his death a suicide. In light of suspicious details surrounding his death, and certain that her son would not take his own life, Claudia is convinced Lennon was lynched. Jacqueline Olive's unwavering debut film ALWAYS IN SEASON puts Lacy's pursuit for justice into a wider historical context, inspiring a powerful discussion about lynching across racial lines. Appalling accounts of lynchings carried out at the beginning of the twentieth century provide a necessary historical framework, while an annual lynching reenactment in Monroe, Georgia, offers insight into the enduring legacy of racial violence in America. Olive's layered exploration follows one African American family's personal experience with a justice system that has failed so many, while also hinting at the promising first steps of a nation trying to reconcile. Olive's film honors and acknowledges the injustices that have been inflicted, while emphasizing that only through the uncomfortable conversations and acceptance of our nation's history will we begin to heal together. Director / Producer Jacquelin Olive joins us for a conversation on the bitter, pernicious and deadly legacy of the Confederacy and the enslavement of human beings in service to big business interests.
About the filmmaker: Director / Producer Jacquelin Olive is an independent filmmaker and immersive media producer with fifteen years of experience in journalism and \film. Her debut feature documentary, Always in Season, premiered in competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Moral Urgency. Jackie also co-directed the award-winning hour-long film, Black to Our Roots, which broadcast on PBS in 2009. Jackie has received artist grants and industry funding from Sundance Institute, Independent Television Service, Ford Foundation, Firelight Media, and more. She was recently awarded the Emerging Filmmakers of Color Award from IDA and the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation.
For news, screenings and updates go to: alwaysinseasonfilm.com
Always in Season opens in LA on Friday, September 27 at the Laemmle Music Hall - A Q&A with Director Jacquelin Olive will follow the 7:30 PM screening
Social Media:
facebook.com/AlwaysInSeasonFilm
twitter.com/Always_InSeason
instagram.com/alwaysinseasonfilm
When he was an infant, Donnie Corker suffered from the "Spider Mites of Jesus," because his mother couldn't pronounce spinal meningitis. This caused mental challenges that resulted in his lifelong illiteracy. At 13, he began selling his body on the streets as a drag prostitute. When he was arrested, he took a dump in the back of the police car, leading the cops to give him the moniker: Dirtwoman. Since then he's run for mayor, gotten kicked out of the inauguration of America's first black governor (Douglas Wilder), posed for his own pin-up calendar (weighing in at 350 pounds), offered crabs from his crotch for a GWAR video and hosted the annual Hamaganza fundraiser that provided "Hams for the Hamless.” When he died last year at 65, it was on the front page, top-of-the-fold of the Richmond Times-Dispatch and was featured nationally on NPR. Director Jerry Williams talks about living in the same town as Donnie Corker (Dirtwoman) and the lasting impact he had on so many people and different communities within the city of Richmond.
For news, screenings and updates go to: dirtwomandoc.com
Social Media: twitter.com/tvjerry
The riveting new documentary HOMEMADE bares witness to the lives of Adam Sorensen and his family as they navigate life after combat. The film project was originally developed from the idea that the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) goes off twice; once in the field, affecting each individual differently depending on a variety of factors including proximity to the blast, physical position and past injuries. There is a second blast that goes off in each family living room as a result of the actual explosion. It’s footprint reaches our closest loved ones, the physicians treating the wounded, and extends into our communities. HOMEMADE is a six-year, cinematic and intimate journey about a marriage, invisible wounds and the effects of Post Traumatic Stress (PTS), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and addiction. It is a story of survival and resilience unveiling the scope of these challenges and begging a broader question about our cultural markers of success. Weaving between the monumental landscapes of Utah, Washington DC landmarks, cinéma vérité scenes and recorded phone calls, Through the experiences of Adam, Victoria, and their families, HOMEMADE examines our cultural markers of success, the culture of treating symptoms instead of cause, and the disconnect between medical care and true wellness. Themes addressed include continuity of care, the epidemic of over-prescription in both military and civilian care, and the stereotypes of injured combat veterans. Co-director / Producer / Editor Danielle Bernstein (Jason Maris) joins us to talk about this heartbreaking film and why Adam and Victoria’s story will close the empathy gap between civilian and military communities, start productive dialogues about the challenge of transition from active duty military to retired, and to provide audiences with an abundance of tools in order to take action.
For news, screenings and updates go to: homemadethefilm.com
Social Media:
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In AUGGIE, Felix Greystone (Richard Kind) is forced into early retirement and falls in love with an augmented reality companion, to the detriment of his relationship with his wife and daughter. At his “early retirement” party, Felix Greystone is given a pre-release version of an AUGGIE, a pair of augmented reality smart glasses that project a perfectly human companion onto his world. When Felix’s wife Anne gets a promotion and his daughter Grace gets serious with her boyfriend, Felix suddenly feels very alone. He opens up to his new companion, AUGGIE, and is recognized and appreciated by her. He feels the ache of loneliness dissipate. AUGGIE reawakens a passion in Felix, and to his own surprise, he begins to fall for her. In a world that feels too good to be true, it’s difficult for Felix to recognize his increasing addiction to the technology, losing sight of what truly matters. Director Matt Kane stops by to talk about his fascinating film about relationships, relevance in the lives of others, a near future “reality” and working with an excellent cast of actors.
For news, screenings and updates go to: samuelgoldwynfilms.com/auggie
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Adapted from the acclaimed novel NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG by Kent Nerburn the story follows a white author who gets sucked into the heart of contemporary Native American life in the sparse lands of the Dakota’s by a 95-year old Lakota elder and his side-kick. NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG takes audiences on a deeply moving road trip through contemporary Lakota life. Its humor is wry and pulls no punches, introducing deep characters and poignant vignettes that challenge the viewer to see the world differently. Neither Wolf Nor Dog was audience-financed, shot in 18-days in one of the US’s poorest region with an average crew of 2 and a 95-year-old Lakota Elder, David Bald Eagle, as the star. The Lakota actor, soldier, stuntman and musician, David Bald Eagle was left for dead during D-Day and Christopher Sweeney was awarded the Silver Star from the Gulf War. Yet it was the film’s other star, Yuchi-Muscogee Creek multi-disciplinary visual artist, poet, and actor, Richard Ray Whitman, who was never in the service, who spent the most days under fire during the 71-day occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973. Neither Wolf Nor Dog has become one of the widest released, truly self-distributed movies in years. Simpson flipped the Hollywood model upside-down by launching in small towns and it has the longest theatrical first-run of any movie in at least a decade: 131 weeks so far. Director / Producer / Writer / Editor / Cinematographer Steven Lewis Simpson joins us for a conversation on his determination to pursue own path of independent filmmaking, distribution, marketing and bringing seldom heard stories to a broader audience.
About the filmmaker: At 18 Steven Lewis Simpson was Britain’s youngest fully qualified stockbroker and trader. At 22 he moved to Los Angeles to work for the legendary Roger Corman’s Concorde Pictures. It was there Simpson shot his first feature TIES. He shot his first documentary TIMOR TIMOR in West Timor, Indonesia, produced and co-edited the award-winning surreal fairy tale, FROG which was broadcast on Canal Plus and associate produced the comedy feature, RESURRECTING BILL. His epic feature documentary A THUNDER-BEING NATION about the Oglala Lakota of Pine Ridge Reservation was released in 2016. Made over 13 years it’s the most comprehensive documentary looking at the history and contemporary life of an Indian Reservation. He capped off the trio of Native American projects with a 13 episode US TV show THE HUB about arts, culture and entertainment within Indian Country. Through this work Steven has become a well-known advocate for Native American rights and a respected figure in Indian Country. Simpson’s latest feature is an adaptation of the acclaimed Lakota Country novel NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG is being released in 2019. He is currently in post-production on the feature documentary RETURN TO TIMOR, shot in West Timor, Indonesia. For more about the filmmaker go to: stevenlewissimpson.com
For news, screenings and updates go to: neitherwolfnordogfilm.com
Building on the promise of his hallucinogenic debut GO DOWN DEATH, filmmaker Aaron Schimberg delivers another brilliantly oddball, acerbically funny foray into gonzo surrealism. In a deft tragicomic performance, Jess Weixler (TEETH) plays Mabel, a movie star “slumming it” in an outré art-horror film being shot in a semi-abandoned hospital. Cast opposite her is Rosenthal (UNDER THE SKIN' s Adam Pearson), a gentle-natured young man with a severe facial deformity. As their relationship evolves both on and offscreen, Schimberg raises provocative questions about cinematic notions of beauty, representation, and exploitation. Tod Browning crossed with Robert Altman crossed with David Lynch only begins to describe something this startlingly original and deeply felt. Director Aaron Schimberg joins us to talk about his hurly-burly, cosmically clever tale of misdirection, expectations and human connection.
Director’s Statement: As a filmmaker with a facial difference, I have never seen my experience accurately represented on screen. This film - the first, as far as I know, made by and starring disfigured people - is my humble attempt to remedy that. When disfigured characters are seen at all in films (usually played by handsome actors with disfiguring latex), they are trotted out to play monsters or objects of pity, made into vessels for the symbolic expression of cruelty, sin, villainy and other ills. “Bitter defectives,” as a character in my film says. Even when they’re portrayed sympathetically, they function only to impart inspirational lessons to the able-bodied people who encounter them. CHAINED FOR LIFE is my response to the way people with disfigurements have been portrayed in films (for instance, in FREAKS, THE ELEPHANT MAN, WONDER) throughout cinema’s history. It asks whether the sum of these portrayals has adversely affected the way we are regarded in real life. I consider it a comedy, but if you think it's a tragedy, I wouldn't argue with you. - Aaron Schimberg
For news, screenings and updates go to: kinolorber.com/film/chained-for-life or chainedforlife.com
Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins, Director Janice Engel RAISE HELL: THE LIFE & TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS tells the story of media firebrand Molly Ivins, six feet of Texas trouble who took on the Good Old Boy corruption wherever she found it. Her razor sharp wit left both sides of the aisle laughing, and craving ink in her columns. She knew the Bill of Rights was in peril, and said "Polarizing people is a good way to win an election and a good way to wreck a country." Molly's words have proved prescient. Now it's up to us to raise hell! Director Janice Engel (Ted Hawkins Amazing Grace, Jackson Browne: Going Home, Addicted and What We Carry) joins us for a lively conversation on a journalist who did not shy away from confronting and shaming the most powerful institutions, political interests and the people who protected them from her righteous anger and lacerating wit. For news, screenings and updates go to: mollyivinsfilm.com
Social Media: facebook.com/mollyivinsfilm twitter.com/mollyivinsfilm instagram.com/mollyivinsfilm
MONOS, Alejandro Landes’ awe-inspiring third feature, is a breathtaking survivalist saga set on a remote mountain in Latin America. The film tracks a young group of soldiers and rebels -- bearing names like Rambo, Smurf, Bigfoot, Wolf and Boom-Boom -- who keep watch over an American hostage, Doctora (Julianne Nicholson). The teenage commandos perform military training exercises by day and indulge in youthful hedonism by night, an unconventional family bound together under a shadowy force known only as The Organization. After an ambush drives the squadron into the jungle, both the mission and the intricate bonds between the group begin to disintegrate. Order descends into chaos and within MONOS the strong begin to prey on the weak in this vivid, cautionary fever- dream. With a rapturous score by Mica Levi (only her third, after UNDER THE SKIN and JACKIE), director Alejandro Landes examines the chaos and absurdity of war from the unique perspective of adolescence, recalling LORD OF THE FLIES and BEAU TRAVAIL in a way that feels wholly original. Landes brings together a diverse young cast of both seasoned professionals (including Hannah Montana's Moisés Arias) and untrained neophytes and thrusts them into an unforgiving, irrational and often surreal environment where anything can happen — even peace. Director Alejandro Landes talks about the grueling production challenges of shooting in a jungle, working with a young cast and how his collaboration with screenwriter Alexis Dos Santos and composer Mica Levi helped to create an intense, high-wire cinematic journey.
For news, screenings and updates go to: monos-film.com
Social Media: facebook.com/neonrated/posts/monos twitter.com/hashtag/monos twitter.com/neonrated
The gripping documentary GRIT recounts the fateful day when Dian, a 6 years old Indonesian girl, heard a deep rumble and turned to see a tsunami of mud barreling towards her village. She remembers her mother scooping her up to save her from the boiling mud. Her neighbors ran for their lives. Sixteen villages, including Dian’s, were wiped away. A decade later, nearly 60,000 people have been displaced from what was once a thriving industrial and residential area in East Java, located just 20 kilometers from Indonesia’s second largest city. Dozens of factories, schools and mosques are submerged 60 feet under a moonscape of cracked mud. The majority of international scientists believe that Lapindo, a multinational company that was drilling for natural gas in 2006, accidentally struck an underground mud volcano and unleashed a violent flow of hot sludge from the earth's depths. Ten years later, despite initial assurances to do so, Lapindo has not provided 80% of its promised reparations to the hundreds of victims of who lost everything in the mud explosion. While the survivors live in the shadow of the mudflow and wait for restitution, they live in makeshift rented homes next to levees that hold back the still flowing mud. Dian is determined to rise out of the muddy life. She and her mother, along with many neighbors, fight against the corporate powers accused of one of the largest environmental disasters in recent history. GRIT bears witness to Dian’s transformation into a politically active teenager as she questions the role of corporate power and money in the institution of democracy itself. Co-director Cynthia Wade (Sasha Friedlander) talks about the challenges of the 6 plus year journey into the world of poor Indonesian villagers struggling for justice in a country racked with corruption and antipathy.
For news, screenings and updates go to: gritdocumentary.com/
For more on co-director Cynthi Wade go to: cynthiawade.com
Grit is screening on PBS documentary film series POV on Monday September 9
Social Media: facebook.com/gritdocumentary twitter.com/GritDocumentary
The riveting new documentary BLINK OF AN EYE chronicles the star-crossed relationship between Michael Waltrip, a perennial underdog, and Dale Earnhardt, the most feared & iconic driver in NASCAR history. On the fateful running of the Daytona 500 at the inception of the 2001 season, Michael Waltrip broke his 462-race losing streak in epic, but heart-breaking fashion, in what is considered the Super Bowl of motorsports. Triumph becomes tragedy, as Michael's best friend and team owner, Dale Earnhardt, crashes in the final lap - creating a shocking debt that is paid back in spectacular and dramatic fashion on Waltrip's emotionally- charged return to Daytona, and a race to the finish with Dale's son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Director /Producer / Writer Paul Taublieb stops by to talk about a story that runs the gamut of unrivaled success, enduring friendship, frustration, perseverance, exhilarating triumph snd unbelievable tragedy.
Filmmaker Statement - Great stories are a gift, and this one has all the elements - the dramatic intersection of triumph, tragedy, the unexpected, and amazing characters. It’s a story that transcends sports, much like Free Solo (2018) or The Endless Summer (1966), bringing a human quality that anyone can relate and be engaged to, whether you are a sports fan or not. My film resonates with themes of perseverance, grit, determination and above all, the redemptive transformation of friendship, even in tragedy. - Director Paul Taublieb
For news and updates go to: blinkofaneyefilm.com
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Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice is a love song to one of the most memorably stunning voices that has ever hit the airwaves, Linda Ronstadt. She burst onto the 1960s folk rock music scene in her early twenties as the lead singer of the Stone Poneys, Ronstadt eventually branched out to begin her decades long career as a solo artist, touring the world selling out stadiums and, at one point, setting the record as the highest paid female artist in rock. Most remarkable to this day is her interest in and willingness to jump into new and challenging styles of music, including opera, jazz, and Mexican folk, excelling fantastically with each. Ronstadt has also been an outspoken political advocate for causes such as same-sex marriage and the inhumane treatment of undocumented immigrants, never shying away from fighting for what she believes both on and off the stage. Oscar-winning directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (The Times of Harvey Milk, The Celluloid Closet, Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, Howl, Lovelace and End Game) use deep-cut archival footage, and Ronstadt's own astute recollections, to celebrate an artist whose desire to do justice to the songs that touched her soul made generations of fans fall in love with her - and with the sound of her voice. Co-directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman join us to talk about a remarkable singer /artist and an even better person.
For news, screenings and updates go to: lindaronstadtmovie.com
For more on the films of Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman go to: tellingpictures.com
Social Media:
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BECOMING NOBODY represents the core arc of Ram Dass’ teachings and life: whether as Dr. Richard Alpert, the eminent Harvard psychologist, or as Ram Dass who serves as a bridge between Eastern and Western philosophies, he has defined a generation of inner explorers and seekers of truth and wisdom. Through his turns as scion of an eminent Jewish family from Boston, rock-star Harvard psychologist, counter-culture rascally adventurer, Eastern holy man, stroke survivor and compassionate caregiver, Ram Dass has worn many hats on his journey, the narrative of which is revealed in this film. His ability to entertain and his sense of humor are abundantly evident in a conversation that brings us around to address the vast question of ultimate freedom. In BECOMING NOBODY, historic clips balance an engaging conversation with director Jamie Catto. We come to understand how our old roles and disguises become increasingly burdensome. The film captures a loving man full of joy, wit, honesty and wisdom, at ease in conversation while sharing his considerable pains and pleasures. The life experiences that have freed him from the attachments of his ‘somebody-ness’ have transformed him into the radiant soul who now inspires a new generation. Producer Raghu Markus joins us to talk about the life and times of Ram Dass, his transformation from Richard Alpert and what it means to love, serve, remember.
About the Producer - Raghu Markus: Raghu Markus spent two years in India with Maharaj-ji and Ram Dass. He has been involved in music and transformational media since the early 1970s when he was program director of CKGM-FM in Montreal. In 1974 he collaborated with Ram Dass on the box set Love Serve Remember. In 1990, he launched Triloka Records and Karuna Music in Los Angeles, California. Triloka established itself as a critical leader in the development of world music and for 17 years was home to such artists as Krishna Das, Hugh Masekela, Walela, and Jai Uttal. He produced transformational media projects that featured Ram Dass, Deepak Chopra and Les Nubians. He is the executive Director of the Love Serve Remember Foundation. In 2016, he co-founded the Be Here Now Podcast Network and hosts Here & Now with Ram Dass as well as his own Mindrolling podcast.
For news, screenings and updates go to: becomingnobody.com
The documentary will open at the Rubin Museum in New York, at the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles, as well as theaters in Bay Area, on September 6. A national release will follow.
Acclaimed filmmaker and recipient of the MacArthur Program Fellow Fellowship Stanley Nelson takes us on a journey through the life of a musical giant in his latest documentary film MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL. Miles Davis was many things including a horn player, bandleader, innovator. He was elegant, intellectual, vain, callous, conflicted, controversial, and mercurial. Miles Davis was also embodiment of cool. The man with a sound so beautiful it could break your heart. The central theme of Miles Davis's life was his restless determination to break boundaries and live life on his own terms. It made him a star. For the people who loved him most, it also made him incredibly difficult to live with. Again and again, in music and in life, Miles broke with convention—and when he thought his work came to represent a new convention, he changed it again. Miles's bold disregard for tradition, his clarity of vision, his relentless drive, and constant thirst for new experiences made him an inspiring collaborator to fellow musicians and a cultural icon to generations of listeners. It made him an innovator in music—from bebop to “cool jazz,” modern quintets, orchestral music, jazz fusion, rock ’n’ roll, and even hip-hop. Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, studio outtakes, and rare photos, MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL tells the story of a truly singular talent and unpacks the man behind the horn. Director and producer Stanley Nelson joins us to talk about the life and times of a music genius and the uncompromising life he led.
For news, screenings and updates go to: milesdavismovie.com
GIVE ME LIBERTY is based on his personal experience as a medical transport driver and an immigrant, director Kirill Mikhanovsky, with writer Alice Austen, create a raw feature film about the comedy and heartbreak of people in the underprivileged communities living in a struggling American city. Medical transport driver Vic (newcomer Chis Galust) is running late, but it’s not his fault. Roads are closed for a protest, and no one else can shuttle his Russian grandfather and his emigre friends to a funeral. The new route uproots his scheduled clients, particularly Tracy (Lauren “Lolo” Spencer in a breakout performance), a vibrant young woman with ALS. As the day goes from hectic to off-the-rails, their collective ride becomes a hilarious, compassionate and intersectional portrait of American dreams and disenchantment. The characters in GIVE ME LIBERTY are drawn from the people of Milwaukee - they're magnificently diverse and their struggle to survive is desperate, contradictory, funny and moving. Director Kirill Mahanovsky joins us for a spirited conversation on working with a cast of mostly non-professional actors, drawing upon his own work history for the story behind the film and the importance of making Give Me Liberty in his adopted hometown of Milwaukee.
For news, screenings and updates go to: givemelibertyproductions.com
About the filmmaker: Russian-born Kirill Mikhanovsky grew up in Moscow where his early passion for cinema compelled him to skip school and go to the movie theatre across the street from his home where, often as the only person in the house, he watched countless films. After the Soviet Union collapsed, Mikhanovsky immigrated to Milwaukee, where he had a series of odd jobs, including driving medical transport for people with disabilities, and began making films. After graduating from NYU Film School, Mikhanovsky went on to make films in the US, Brazil, Russia, and South America. A Sundance Alum, his first feature SONHOS DE PEIXE won the Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival.
In this intimate and revelatory new documentary VISION PORTRAITS an extensive eyesight loss and the possibility of total blindness didn’t shut down queer filmmaker Rodney Evans (Brother to Brother). Instead, it inspired this profoundly personal non-fiction film, which not only documents his own genetic eye disorder, but shows how three other working artists with visual impairments—photographer John Dugdale, writer Ryan Knighton, and dancer Kayla Hamilton—have adjusted their practices around their changed capacities. An intimate study of the artistic process that contemplates the relationship between the sense of sight and artistic "vision," Evans’ film explores the quintessence of cinema: adventures in perception, subjectivity, and the imagination. Director /Producer Rodney Evans joins us for a conversation on ways in which creativity and artistic expression can manifest and how perceived limitations can be shattered.
About the filmmaker: Rodney Evans is an award-winning fiction and documentary film writer, director and producer based in New York. His debut feature film Brother To Brother won the Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize in Drama. The film had its European premiere at The Berlin International Film Festival and garnered four Independent Spirit Award nominations. His second narrative feature, The Happy Sad, played at over thirty film festivals throughout the world and had its U.S. theatrical premiere at the IFC Center in NYC and the Sundance Sunset Cinema in Los Angeles. Evans has taught at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Princeton and currently teaches at Swarthmore College.
For news, screenings and updates go to: rodneyevansfilm.com
TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID is set in an unnamed Mexican northern border town.The young 10-year-old girl Estrella (Paulo Lara) has 3 wishes: The first one, that her missing mother comes back and it happens. Her mother returns but she is dead and follows Estrella everywhere. Petrified, Estrella tries to escape from her by joining a gang orphaned by violence. Soon she realizes that dead are never left behind and when you are in the middle of brutality and violence, wishes never come true the way you want them to be. A haunting horror fairytale set against the backdrop of Mexico's devastating drug wars, TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID follows a group of orphaned children armed with three magical wishes, running from the ghosts that haunt them and the cartel that murdered their parents. Filmmaker Issa López creates a world that recalls the early films of Guillermo del Toro, imbued with her own gritty urban spin on magical realism to conjure a wholly unique experience that audiences will not soon forget. Director / writer Issa López joins us to talk about her inventive and viscerally chilling film about dreams, politics, violence against the powerless and justice.
For news, screenings and updates go to: tigersarenotafraid.com
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AMERICAN FACTORY tells the story of a Chinese billionaire opening a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant in Dayton, Ohio, hiring 2,000 blue-collar Americans still recovering from the effects of the 2008 recession. Working side-by-side with experienced Chinese workers, the locals are optimistic about the future for the first time in almost a decade. But early days of hope give way to setbacks as high-tech China collides with working-class America, and issues of language and culture become seemingly insurmountable walls between clashing factions. AMERICAN FACTORY, the new film from Academy Award®-nominated directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, documents the revitalization of one long-shuttered factory while providing a startling glimpse into a global economic realignment now playing out in towns and cities across the country — and around the world. Granted generous access to the factory, and with the in-depth participation of its employees, Bognar, Reichert and their team spent three years following Fuyao Glass America’s launch of a state-of- the-art glassmaking facility employing hundreds of Chinese and thousands of Midwestern workers in the American heartland. Capturing surprisingly candid moments of people ranging from the visionary billionaire who financed the enterprise to American and Chinese workers on the factory line, AMERICAN FACTORY presents a microcosmic view of a global phenomenon that could represent a new normal for the American working class. Co-directors Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert join us for a lively conversation on the challenges of telling a multifaceted of people desperate for a new beginning working for an employer who sees the workplace from a point of view rooted in a culture a half a world away.
DRIVEN is a fast-paced, comedic crime thriller of a bromance gone wrong between John DeLorean, played by Lee Pace (Captain Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Book of Henry), and Jim Hoffman, played by Jason Sudeikis (Colossal, Booksmart). Set in early 1980s California, the story follows the meteoric rise of the golden boy of the automotive industry, John DeLorean and his iconic DeLorean Motor Company, through the eyes of his friendship with charming, ex-con pilot turned FBI informant, Jim Hoffman. DeLorean turned to unsavory activities to save his financially troubled DeLorean Motor Company, and it was Hoffman who was all too willing to lure the car designer / engineer into a cocaine trafficking ring set up by the FBI. Isabel Arraiza is Cristina DeLorean, DeLorean’s fashion model wife, Judy Greer (Ant-Man, Jurassic World, War for the Planet of the Apes) is Ellen Hoffman, Hoffman’s direct, no nonsense wife and Corey Stoll (First Man, Ant-Man, Midnight in Paris) is ambitious FBI Special Agent Benedict Tisa. Director Nick Hamm joins us for a conversation on the challenges of re-creating the time and place where the DeLorean / Hoffman took place and establishing a comedic tone that propels this highly entertaining story.
For news, screenings and updates go to: drivenmovie.us
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Nick Hamm: twitter.com/realnickhamm
In 1961, United Nations secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld’s plane mysteriously crashed, leaving no known survivors. It’s understood that because Hammarskjöld was advocating for Congo’s independence (against the wishes of European mining companies and other powerful entities), the “crash” was an assassination. With the case still unsolved 50-plus years later, Danish journalist, filmmaker, and provocateur Mads Brügger (The Red Chapel, The Ambassador) leads us down an investigative rabbit hole to unearth the truth. Brugger, his Swedish private-investigator sidekick, Goran Bjorkdahl, and a host of co-conspirators tirelessly pursue a winding trail of clues, but they turn up more mysteries than revelations. Scores of false starts, dead ends, and elusive interviews later, they begin to sniff out something more monumental than anything they’d initially imagined. In his signature agitprop style, Brügger becomes both filmmaker and subject, challenging the very nature of truth by “performing” the role of truth-seeker. As Brügger uncovers a critical secret that could send shockwaves around the world, we realize that sometimes absurdity and irony are the emboldening ingredients needed to confront what’s truly sinister. Director Mads Brugger joins us for a spirited conversation on his fantastic and fantastical, hell-raising cinematic shot across the colonialist bow.
For news, screenings and updates go to: coldcasehammarskjold.com
JAY MYSELF documents the monumental move of renowned photographer and artist, Jay Maisel, who, in February 2015 after forty-eight years, begrudgingly sold his home-the 36,000 square-foot, 100-year-old landmark building in Manhattan known simply as "The Bank." Through the intimate lens of filmmaker and Jay's protégé, noted artist and photographer Stephen Wilkes, the viewer is taken on a remarkable journey through Jay's life as an artist, mentor, and man; a man grappling with time, life, change, and the end of an era in New York City. JAY MYSELF Director Stephen Wilkes stops by to talk about his own relationship with Maisel, as a mentor and colleague, Maisel’s razor-sharp eye for composition and color and capturing the master’s bittersweet transition from his own creative Valhalla.
About Jay Maisel: After studying painting and graphic design at Cooper Union and Yale, Maisel began his career in photography in 1954. While his portfolio includes the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Miles Davis, he is perhaps best known for capturing the light, color, and gesture found in everyday life. Some of his commercial accomplishments include five Sports Illustrated swimsuit covers, the first two covers of New York Magazine, the cover of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue (the best-selling jazz album of all time), twelve years of advertising with United Technologies, and awards from such organizations as ICP, ASMP, ADC, PPA, and Cooper Union. Since he stopped taking on commercial work in the late '90s, Jay has continued to focus on his personal work. He has developed a reputation as a giving and inspiring teacher as a result of extensive lecturing and photography workshops throughout the country. He also continues to sell prints, which can be found in private, corporate, and museum collections.
For news, screenings and updates go to: jaymyself.oscilloscope.net
Find out more about Jay Maisel at: jaymaisel.com
THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON is an adventure story set in the world of a modern Mark Twain that begins when Zak (Gottsagen), a young man with Down syndrome, runs away from a nursing home where he lives to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler and attending the wrestling school of The Salt Water Redneck. Through circumstances beyond their control Tyler (LaBeouf), a small time outlaw on the run, becomes Zak’s unlikely coach and ally. Together they wind through deltas, elude capture, drink whisky, find God, catch fish, and convince Eleanor (Johnson), a kind nursing home employee with a story of her own, to join them on their journey. THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON stars Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson, Thomas Haden Church, Bruce Dern, John Hawkes and newcomer, Zack Gottsagen, premiered back in March at SXSW and was a huge critical success, with a current score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film also won over fans, taking home the Audience Award for Narrative Spotlight. Co-directors and co-writers Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson stop by to talk about there experiences and the stacks of miracles that brought this heart-warming tale of friendship and reaching for your dreams.
For newss, screenings and updates go to: thepeanutbutterfalconmovie.com
Social Media:
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KINGS OF BEER features behind-the-scenes interviews with Budweiser’s top Brewmasters and experts, along with cameos by beer aficionados Aisha Tyler, Michael Voltaggio and Jay Chandrasekhar. KINGS OF BEER is a fun and thoughtful deep dive into the world of brewing and what it takes to really be at the top of your game. It’s depicted through the eyes of Budweiser’s most highly-skilled Brewmasters, whose job is to maintain the consistency of the American Lager, which is widely regarded as the single hardest beer to brew. While the relationship between brands and filmmakers is nothing new, this film marks a sharp (and welcome) turn because now, with a film like KINGS OF BEERS, brands are doing more than just making a sales pitch -- they’re working with filmmakers to tell stories via the feature film format and they’re letting the storytellers take the lead. Director Sean Mullin joins us for a frothy conversation on the art and science of brewing the world’s oldest adult libation.
For news, screenings and updates go to: kingsofbeer.com
We've entered a time where the power of negative partisanship has sorted us along lines of race and religion. These two factions have exploited race and religion, two of the most visceral things you can think of in terms of the human experience, and they've locked them in partisan identities.” The latest documentary from filmmakers Jeanine Butler and Catherine Lynn Butler AMERICAN HERETICS: THE GOSPEL OF POLITICS takes audiences into the buckle of Bible belt where a group of defiant ministers, congregations, and community leaders are challenging deeply rooted fundamentalist Christian doctrine in favor of a Gospel of Inclusion. Labeled as "heretics" for their beliefs and actions, they refuse to wield their faith as a sword sharpened by literal interpretations of the Bible. Especially those fundamentalist Christian interpretations that continue to justify nationalism and hack away at landmark civil rights protections for women, minorities, immigrants, and the LGBTQ communities. This poignant story challenges what we think we know about the Christian heartland by offering a rare personal glimpse into the contentious and often misunderstood history of religion, race, and politics in America. These Heretics are still interested in saving you from hell, but's the earthly one, where poverty, discrimination and nationalism oppresses "...those who are the least among us.” Director / Producer Jeanine Butler (Documenting the Face of America) and Producer Catherine Lynn Butler (Journey of the Universe) stop by to talk about their journey into America’s Bible Belt and the growing movement to embrace a more tolerant perspective of spiritual enlightenment.
For news and updates go to: americanhereticsthefilm.com
Mohammed Emwazi was a grade school student in London with a promising future ahead of him in 1995. By 2014, he had become known as “Jihadi John,” a masked ISIS terrorist in Syria who internationalized his notoriety by broadcasting his beheadings of Western hostages on the internet. UNMASKING JIHADI JOHN: ANATOMY OF A TERRORIST includes rare footage of Emwazi as a young boy in London and interviews with his schoolteachers who reveal that he lived a relatively comfortable and normal childhood. His behavior grew more disconcerting in his teenage years. Emwazi’s brutality is illustrated through harrowing, first-hand accounts from his surviving hostages, and the collaboration between the world’s leading intelligence agencies, including the CIA and Britain’s intelligence agents, who ultimately tracked him down and ended his life. UNMASKING JIHADI JOHN: ANATOMY OF A TERRORIST examines what propelled Emwazi’s journey down a violent path despite US and British authorities being aware of his extremism. It also highlights the self-declared operational failures by counter-terrorism officials as Emwazi became ISIS’s chief executioner and propagandist. Joining us on Film School Radio will be Oscar®-nominated, BAFTA and Emmy®-winning director Anthony Wonke (HBO’s “The Battle for Marjah”), and BAFTA-winning producer and investigative journalist Richard Kerbaj, UNMASKING JIHADI JOHN: ANATOMY OF A TERRORIST debuts WEDNESDAY, JULY 31 (8:00-9:40 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.
For news and updates go to: hbo.com/documentaries For more HBO / Cinemax programming go to: hbo-cinemax facebook.com/hbodocs twitter.com/HBODocs instagram.com/hbo
THE MOUNTAIN is a dark, hypnotic and surreal satire about repression and conformity set against the 1950’s “golden age” of American male domination. (Tye Sheridan, READY PLAYER ONE, MUD), whose mother was sent to an asylum years ago, is an introverted young photographer at loose ends, ignored by his father (cult actor Udo Kier). After the death of his father, Andy is befriended by renowned lobotomist Dr. Wallace Fiennes (Jeff Goldblum, THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, JURASSIC PARK) and joins him on a tour to promote the doctor’s recently-debunked procedure. As Andy increasingly identifies with the asylum’s patients, he falls in love with a rebellious young woman, Susan (Hannah Gross, “Mindhunter”), and encounters the burgeoning New Age movement of the West. Also starring Denis Lavant (HOLY MOTORS). Director and co-writer Rick Alverson (ENTERTAINMENT, THE COMEDY) joins us for a conversation on the subversive performances of Goldblum and Sheridan and the ways his harrowing, brilliant film cuts to the core of savage male brutality in the guise of “science.”
For news and updates go to: kinolorber.com/The Mountain Rick Alverson Productions
Rick Alverson's film production - madebedproductions.com
Big Data has surpassed oil as the world's most valuable asset. It's being weaponized to wage cultural and political warfare. People everywhere are in a battle for control of our most intimate personal details. From award-winning filmmakers Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim, THE GREAT HACK uncovers the dark world of data exploitation with astounding access to the personal journeys of key players on different sides of the explosive Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data scandal. Academy-Award nominees Amer and Noujaim (The Square, Control Room, Startup .com) continue their tradition of exploring the seismic ripples of social media with this riveting, complex film. THE GREAT HACK forces us to question the origin of the information we consume daily. What do we give up when we tap that phone or keyboard and share ourselves in the digital age? THE GREAT HACK is co-directed by Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim, with a production team led by Geralyn Dreyfous, Judy Korin and Pedro Kos.
For news and updates go to: thegreathack.com
Social Media: twitter.com/jehanenoujaim twitter.com/Karim_Amer33
Never before has journalism in America been so hotly debated. At a time when it seems like the hard-hitting question is fighting for its right to be asked, MIKE WALLACE IS HERE turns the tough question loose on its inventor to understand how we got here and what’s really at stake. Legendary newsman Mike Wallace unflinchingly interrogated the 20th century’s biggest figures in over fifty years on the air, and his aggressive reporting style and showmanship redefined what America came to expect from broadcasters. Unearthing decades of never-before-seen footage from the 60 Minutes vault, this documentary portrait explores what drove and plagued this restless reporter, whose storied career was entwined with the evolution of journalism itself. MIKE WALLACE IS HERE is told exclusively through archival footage, without one talking-head commentary or backward-looking interview diluting the immediacy and power of Wallace’s work. The film traces his career on the air from his invention of the “tough question” in his 1950s interview show Night Beat to his news specials of the ’60s and his extraordinary four decades on CBS’ 60 Minutes, examining how his genre-defining work changed the standards of broadcast journalism for good and for ill, while unpacking the personal qualities that made Mike tick. Director Avi Belkin takes us behind the mask of the fearless inquisitor to reveal a driven man fraught with doubt and insecurities.
For news and updates go to: mikewallaceishere.com
Social Media:
facebook.com/mikewallaceishere
twitter.com/MikeWallaceDoc
instagram.com/mikewallaceishere
FOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war. A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much. FOR SAMA took home the Best Documentary Award at this year's 2019 Cannes Film Festival, FOR SAMA had its world premiere at SXSW Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Best Documentary. Since then, it continues to gather more awards every time it screens. The growing awards list includes the aforementioned SXSW; Cannes Film Festival; and Sheffield Doc/Fest; Telluride MountainFilm; Hot Docs; Nantucket Film Festival; River Run; LA Asian Pacific Film Festival; and Newport Beach Film Festival. Co-directors Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts join us for a conversation on the courage to document the unimaginable horror of a brutal regime and what it means to believe in something so deeply that you are willing to risk everything for it.
For news, screenings and updates go to: ForSamaFilm.com
For Sama - Q&A with directors Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts and Dr. Hamza al-Kateab following the 4:30 pm show on Sunday, 7/28.
Social Media: facebook.com/forsamafilm twitter.com/forsamafilm instagram.com/forsamafilm
Winner of multiple awards at many of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, HONEYLAND tells the amazing tale of Hatidze, a woman living with her ailing mother in the mountains of Macedonia, making a living cultivating honey using ancient beekeeping traditions. When an unruly family moves in next door, what at first seems like a balm for her solitude becomes a source of tension as they, too, want to practice beekeeping, while disregarding her advice.The most awarded film at this year's Sundance Film Festival, winning the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize, a Special Jury Award for cinematography, and another Special Jury Award for Originality, HONEYLAND is an epic, visually stunning portrait of the delicate balance between nature and humanity that has something sweet for everyone. The three-time Sundance award-winning documentary film is a beautiful, heart-warming story about the last female beekeeper in Macedonia and her relationships with her beloved bees, her ailing mother, and her new neighbors. Co-director Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov join us to talk about the remarkable and endlessly endearing Hatidze, her loving commitment to her mother, a sustainable future and her tireless bees.
For news, screenings and updates go to: honeyland.earth
WINNER: GRAND JURY PRIZE - WORLD CINEMA DOCS - SUNDANCE WINNER: CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD - WORLD CINEMA DOCS - SUNDANCE WINNER: SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR IMPACT & CHANGE - SUNDANCE WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY - MONTCLAIR FILM FESTIVAL
The BlackStar Film Festival (BlackStar) returns August 1-4, 2019 with a stellar slate of black, brown and indigenous films from around the globe. The BlackStar Film Festival is an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and of global communities of color, showcasing films by black, brown and indigenous people from around the world. Continuing its legacy of discovery and excellence, audiences can expect must-see film premieres, poignant artist discussions, and discover new cinematic favorites from this year’s class of emerging filmmakers. Founded in 2012 by Maori Karmael Holmes, BlackStar has become the hottest event on the film festival calendar. With a program unlike any other, BlackStar is the destination to discover new artists voices from Black and global indigenous filmmakers. Artists including Terence Nance (An Oversimplification of Her Beauty; HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness), and Matthew A. Cherry (9 RIdes; ABC's Whiskey Cavalier), and Nijla Baseema Mu'min (Jinn) have shared their work at the festival and from BlackStar cultivated a fanbase that has grown with their careers.
BlackStar Festival Film Highlights: This year’s festival features sneak preview of Hip-Hop: The Songs That Shook America, a new documentary series directed by directed Erik Parker and One9. From Executive Producers Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter, Shawn Gee, and Alex Gibney, Fear No Gumbo, a documentary feature directed by Kimberly Rivers Roberts, about the 13 years since the deadly Category 5 Hurricane Katrina that made landfall on Florida and Louisiana and the corruption and systemic racism that still victimizes the residents that returned after Katrina. A new documentary from Emmy Award-winning director and Macarthur "genius" fellow Stanley Nelson (The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution). Boss which explores over 150 years of African American entrepreneurship, from bondage to billion dollar moguls. Academy Award-winning director, Roger Ross Williams (Music By Prudence, God Loves Uganda) will be on-hand for the debut of his latest documentary The Apollo chronicling the unique history and contemporary legacy of New York City's landmark Apollo Theater.
Panels and Awards: BlackStar will present the Luminary Award to Marcia Smith, President of Firelight Media. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of Do The Right Thing, filmmaker Spike Lee and activist Tarana Burke will discuss the possibilities of using radical storytelling to center social justice and foster narrative change.
For news and updates go to blackstarfest.org
William Neal’s documentary LONG GONE WILD focuses on the plight of captive orcas, picking up where Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s acclaimed documentary BLACKFISH left off while telling a uniquely new and different story… LONG GONE WILD centers on five primary areas: (1) The Blackfish Effect (what it did and didn't accomplish i.e., SeaWorld took a major hit to its bottom line, but the 20 orcas are still there); (2) The case against captivity (orcas are forced to live in barren concrete tanks); (3) Orcas as sentient animals (their great capacity to think, feel, communicate, and empathize); (4) The Whale Sanctuary Project and its model seaside sanctuary for retired orcas – providing a safe, permanent home in their natural habitat; and, (5) The ominous threat to orcas posed by Russia and China, triggered by the explosive growth of mega-aquariums in China. Director, producer and writer Bill Neal joins us for a conversation on the set-backs and steps being taken around the world to defend and enhance the lives of these magnificent mammals.
Directors Statement: For decades, killer whales have been performing for sold-out audiences at aquatic theme parks like SeaWorld – and for nearly as long, there have been cries to “free the orcas.” To which park executives have answered with a simple question: Where will they go? A legitimate argument. Orcas held in captivity for much or all of their lives are simply not equipped to deal with life in the wild. But all that is about to change, thanks to the “dream team” of scientists/orca experts/engineers with The Whale Sanctuary Project. Their mission: to establish a model seaside sanctuary where whales and dolphins can be rehabilitated or can live permanently in an environment that maximizes well-being and autonomy and is as close as possible to their natural habitat. We will document this ground-breaking effort through interviews with the key players along with exclusive footage of the proposed cold-water site, the most crucial piece of a very complex puzzle. In the end, it is all about restoring something we humans have taken from these highly intelligent, socially complex animals by forcing them to live in captivity for our entertainment and amusement. And by retiring them to a seaside sanctuary, we dignify not only the orcas but ourselves. - William Neal
For news, screenings and updates go to: longgonewild.com
Social Media: facebook.com/longgonewild twitter.com/longgonewild instagram.com/longgonewild
On the outskirts of Birmingham and the margins of society the Billingham family perform extreme rituals and break social taboos as they muddle through a life decided by factors beyond their control. At times shocking and laced with an unsettling humour, three episodes unfold as a powerful evocation of the experience of growing up in a Black Country council flat. Director Richard Billingham joins us for a conversation on his raw, intimate, biographical tale of dysfunctional family and fractured memories.
About the filmmaker Richard Billingham: In 1997 he was the first recipient of the Deutsche Borse Photography Prize and the following year BBC2 broadcast his film Fishtank, (47mins) produced by Artangel and filmmaker Adam Curtis. He exhibited at the Venice Biennale 2001 and was nominated for the Turner Prize, also 2001. He has made work about his immediate family, about animals in zoos around the world and about the British landscape. Recently he has written and directed his first feature film for cinema called ‘Ray & Liz’, shot on location in the Midlands where he grew up. His work is held in many collections including San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum, New York, V & A and Tate Galleries, London.
For news and updates go to: kimstim.com/film/ray_and_liz
On Oct. 24, 2011, 12-year-old Garrett Phillips was murdered in his home in Potsdam, a small town in upstate New York. Police quickly zeroed in on a suspect in this unthinkable crime: Oral "Nick" Hillary, a black man in the mostly white community, who was a soccer coach at Clarkson University and the ex-boyfriend of Garrett's mother, Tandy Cyrus. WHO KILLED GARRETT PHILLIPS? chronicles the five years following the murder, as Garrett’s family and community relentlessly seek justice for Garrett, and as Nick, who maintains his innocence, fights to clear his name and take back control of his life while raising five children. Through interviews with local police investigators, District Attorneys, defense lawyers, Phillips' family members, friends of Tandy Cyrus as well as Nick Hillary and his children, along with extensive police audio and video recordings, and courtroom footage, the film is a gripping, eye-opening look at how justice is delivered and delayed. WHO KILLED GARRETT PHILLIPS? seeks to uncover the truth behind both the tragic murder of a young boy that traumatized a town, as well as the vilification of a black man who was swept up in a quest for justice, and the enduring mysteries that remain. Directed by two-time Academy Award® nominee and Emmy® winner Liz Garbus (HBO’s A Dangerous Son and Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper, and What Happened, Miss Simone?), the captivating two-part documentary WHO KILLED GARRETT PHILLIPS? looks at the case from the initial investigation through the arrest and numerous legal twists and turns that culminated in Hillary’s trial for murder five years after the crime. Director Liz Garbus joins us to talk about how this case raises troubling questions of racial bias and issues surrounding policing and the criminal justice system.
For news and updates go to: hbo.com/documentaries/who-killed-garrett-phillips
WHO KILLED GARRETT PHILLIPS? debuts TUESDAY, JULY 23 and WEDNESDAY, JULY 24 (8:00 pm ET/PST), exclusively on HBO. The film will also be available on HBO On Demand, HBO NOW, HBO GO and partners’ streaming platforms.
For news and updates go to: moxiefirecracker.com
A rainy night. A dazed and numb young cabdriver, Luz, drags herself into the brightly lit entrance of a rundown police station. Across town in a nightspot, Nora seductively engages police psychiatrist Dr. Rossini in a conversation. Nora is possessed by a demonic entity, longing for the woman it loves - Luz. She tells the Doctor about her old schoolmate Luz’s rebellious past at a Chilean school for girls. Increasingly drunk on her story, Rossini turns into an easy prey in Nora's hands, but he’s soon called away to the police station to examine Luz. Supervised by his colleagues, the doctor puts Luz in a state of hypnosis that initiates a series of flashbacks, unfolding the events leading to her arrival. But the entity that has taken control of the doctor wants something more. Bit by bit it slips into Luz’ reenactment and makes old memories come to light. Shooting entirely on 16mm, first time feature film director Tilman Singer pays homage to horror masters David Cronenberg, Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, while infusing the genre with a fresh take of his own. Director Tilman Singer stops by to talk about his mind-bending, trip through a fevered tale of “demonic” possession, ruptured identity and menacing dread.
Director’s Statement:”LUZ is a story about identity, a lack of one, or maybe even denying one’s own. For the most part this is told by forces (archetypal characters, institutions, or personifications of moral arguments) influencing and manipulating our titular character Luz. I structured the narrative as a panic attack, of repressed memories and confusion. It is purposely open to interpretation by the viewer. LUZ is a sensuous thriller that plays with the sensory perception of the audience. Initially, I wanted to write a simple story that could only be told audio-visually. How we ended up telling it cinematically, nested within diegetic flashbacks, got a little more complicated. For example, we use an additional layer of sound that adds a past reality to a present one. Given that we are observing a moment relived under hypnosis, the credibility of both realities is questioned at all times. The viewer who attempts to answer this question of credibility has to, with sharpened senses, fully engage in image and sound.”
For news and updates go to: yellowveilpictures.com/luz
Social Media: twitter.com/tilmansinger
A looming disaster in one of the most spectacular environments on Earth sparks a rescue mission unlike any other in SEA OF SHADOWS, a riveting new documentary with the intensity of a Hollywood thriller from National Geographic Documentary Films and winner of the Sundance audience award. When Mexican drug cartels and Chinese traffickers join forces to poach the rare totoaba fish in the Sea of Cortez, their deadly methods threaten to destroy virtually all marine life in the region, including the most elusive and endangered whale species on Earth, the vaquita porpoise. SEA OF SHADOWS follows a team of dedicated scientists, high-tech conservationists, investigative journalists and courageous undercover agents as well as the Mexican Navy as they put their lives on the line to save the last remaining vaquitas and bring the vicious international crime syndicate to justice. Director Richard Ladkani talks about the monumental challenge of saving a highly intelligent mammal from a desperately poor community who see the black market totoaba and the vaquita as a way to spare their family from a life of poverty and degradation.
For news and updates go to: nationalgeographic.com/films/sea-of-shadows
For screening information go to: nationalgeographic.com/films/sea-of-shadows
Social Media:
facebook.com/seaofshadowsSOS
twitter.com/seaofshadowsSOS
instagram.com/seaofshadows
For more about the filmmaker:
malaikapictures.com
richardladkani.com
After he's attacked on the street at night by a roving motorcycle gang, timid bookkeeper Casey (Jesse Eisenberg) joins a neighborhood karate studio to learn how to protect himself. Under the watchful eye of a charismatic instructor, Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), and hardcore brown belt Anna (Imogen Poots), Casey gains a newfound sense of confidence for the first time in his life. But when he attends Sensei's mysterious night classes, he discovers a sinister world of fraternity, brutality and hyper-masculinity, presenting a journey that places him squarely in the sights of his enigmatic new mentor. Audacious and offbeat, The Art of Self-Defense is an original dark comedy that takes toxic masculinity to absurd extremes. Director Riley Stearns joins us for a lively conversation on this wildly inventive, surreal black comedy. For news and updates go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/theartofselfdefense For screening info go to: theartofselfdefense-tickets.com Social Media: facebook.com/artofselfdefensemovie twitter.com/The Art of Self Defense instagram.com/taosdfilm
Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love is renowned filmmaker Nick Broomfield’s most personal and romantic film of his career. The Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love starts on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960, where Leonard Cohen, then a struggling and unknown fiction writer, and Marianne Ihlen, a single mother with a young son, became part of community of expat artists, writers and musicians. Never-before-seen footage shot by Broomfield and legendary documentarian D.A. Pennebaker make for a unique portrait of an idyllic 1960’s bohemia. The time on Hydra left a lasting imprint on both Marianne and Leonard, whose friendship would last another fifty years before their deaths in 2016. It was on Hydra in 1968 that director Broomfield, then aged 20, first himself met Marianne. She introduced him to Cohen’s music and encouraged Nick to make his first film. As she was with so many artists, Marianne was an enormous influence on Broomfield, who went on to direct award-winning documentaries, many about iconic music legends including Whitney Houston, (Whitney Houston: Can I Be Me) Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, (Tupac and Biggie) Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love (Kurt & Courtney). Director Nick Broomfield joins us to talk about his relationship with Marianne, the undeniable talent and charisma of Cohen, and the profound impact his time on Hydra had on his personal and professional life.
For news and updates go to: marianneandleonardwordsoflove.com
Social Media for Marianne and Leonard:
facebook.com/marianneandleonardwordsoflove
Social Media for Nick Broomfield:
Directed by Academy Award nominated actor Greg Kinnear (As Good as It Gets, Little Miss Sunshine, The Matador) with an outstanding cast that includes; Emily Mortimer (Mary Poppins Returns), Luke Wilson (Bottle Rocket, Meadowland), Bradley Whitford (Get Out, West Wing), Jay Duplass (Beatriz at Dinner, Landline), Robert Forster (Jackie Brown, The Descendants), and Kurt Fuller (Midnight in Paris, Auto Focus). PHIL is the story of a depressed dentist whose life is falling apart. Phil is shocked when one of his patients, Michael Fisk (Bradley Whitford), a man who seemed to have the perfect life, kills himself. Determined to find out what would drive a man who had everything to end his life, Phil pretends to be a handyman and integrates himself in to the dead man's life, befriending his wife (Emily Mortimer) and daughter. How long can Phil keep up this double life when he is determined to end his normal one? Director, Executive Producer and lead after Greg Kinnear joins us to talk about the challenges and rewards of a first-time director, finding the humanity in a story of personal tragedy and working with an incredibly talented group of artists.
For news and updates go to: bronstudios.com/productions/phil
PHIL screens in Los Angeles July 5 - 11 at the Arena Cinelounge.
BLUE NOTE RECORDS: BEYOND THE NOTES chronicles one of the most important record labels in the history of jazz — and, by extension, that of American music. Blue Note Records has been home to such groundbreaking artists as Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Bud Powell and Art Blakey, as well as present-day luminaries like Robert Glasper, Ambrose Akinmusire and Norah Jones. Founded in New York in 1939 by German Jewish refugees Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, the history of Blue Note Records goes beyond the landmark recordings, encompassing the pursuit of musical freedom, the conflict between art and commerce and the idea of music as a transformative and revolutionary force. Through rare archival footage, current recording sessions and conversations with jazz icons Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and today’s groundbreaking Blue Note musicians, BLUE NOTE RECORDS: BEYOND THE NOTES reveals a powerful mission and illuminates the vital connections between jazz and hip hop. Filmmaker Sophie Huber gained her filmmaking experience as a member of an award winning Berlin film collective. Huber’s debut feature documentary, the critically acclaimed HARRY DEAN STANTON: PARTLY FICTION, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2012. Director Sophie Huber joins us to talk about chronicling the lives and musical journey for many of the greatest artists of the 20th Century and the German Jewish refugees who provided them with a platform in her second remarkable feature documentary BLUE NOTE RECORD: BEYOND THE NOTES.
For news and updates go to: bluenoterecords-film.com
For more about the filmmaker go to: facebook.com/sophie.huber
Social Media: facebook.com/BlueNoteRecordsFilm instagram.com/bluenoterecordsfilm twitter.com/BlueNoteFilm
ENDZEIT – EVER AFTER, is a post-apocalyptic feminist gothic fairy tale that takes place two years after zombies have overrun Earth. Two young women, Vivi (Gro Swantje Kohlhof) and Eva (Maja Lehrer), develop an unlikely friendship in order to survive. They are stranded in the no-man’s land of the Black Forest where they have to rely on each other and on nature, while in search of a more humane world. But their survival has also unleashed demons from their past that they must confront. In the end, love arises not only for each other, but also for the fantastic natural world surrounding them. According to the director Carolina Hellsgård: “ENDZEIT – EVER AFTER reflects upon our future existence, how we choose to live, and what our options will be in a world where nature strikes back. The aesthetics are inspired by the quirky and refreshing style of Olivia Vieweg’s graphic novel, which the script is based on.”
About the filmmaker: Carolina Hellsgård is a writer-director, born in Sweden and based in Berlin. She studied experimental media design at the Berlin University of Arts and film directing and screenwriting at Cal Arts in Los Angeles. Her critically acclaimed debut feature film WANJA premiered at the Berlinale 2015 and was nominated for Berlinale Best First Feature Award. It won Best Screenplay (Valletta Film Festival) and Best Feature Film Debut at the Biberacher Filmfestspiele. She is currently in post-production for the feature film project SUNBURNED.
For news and updates go to: endzeiteverafter.com
For more on upcoming screenings go to: endzeiteverafter.com
TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM offers an artful and intimate meditation on the life and works of the acclaimed novelist. From her childhood in the steel town of Lorain, Ohio to ‘70s-era book tours with Muhammad Ali, from the front lines with Angela Davis to her own riverfront writing room, Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics and colleagues on an exploration of race, America, history and the human condition as seen through the prism of her own literature. Woven together with a rich collection of art, history, literature and personality, the film includes discussions about her many critically acclaimed works, including novels “The Bluest Eye,” “Sula” and “Song of Solomon,” her role as an editor of iconic African-American literature and her time teaching at Princeton University. In addition to Ms. Morrison, the film features interviews with Hilton Als, Angela Davis, Fran Lebowitz, Walter Mosley, Sonia Sanchez and Oprah Winfrey, who turned Morrison’s novel “Beloved” into a feature film. Using Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ elegant portrait-style interviews, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am includes original music by Kathryn Bostic, a specially created opening sequence by artist Mickalene Thomas, and evocative works by other contemporary African-American artists including Kara Walker, Rashid Johnson and Kerry James Marshall. Director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders joins us for a conversation on gaining the trust and confidence of a literary icon.
For news and updates go to: tonimorrisonfilm.com
For more on upcoming screenings go to: tonimorrisonfilm.com/tickets
For more about the filmmaker go to: greenfield-sanders.com
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/ToniMorrisonFilm
https://twitter.com/tonimorrison
THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY is a cautionary tale for these times of democracy in crisis, the personal and political fuse to explore one of the most dramatic periods in Brazilian history. THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY captures the personal journey of filmmaker Petra Costa (ELENA, Olma and the Seagull) into politics watching her country fall into disarray, echoing the undoing of so many democracies around the world. Combining unprecedented access to leaders past and present, including Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva, Costa witnesses their rise and fall and the tragically polarized nation that remains. Through the stories of her mother and father, Costa documents the rebirth of a democratized Brazil following years of authoritarian rule under a military dictatorship. She traces the impeachment of Rousseff, the imprisonment of de Silva, and the rise of the far right. Was Brazil's democracy a short-lived dream? Merging the personal and the political, Costa delves to the heart of her country's unfolding identity crisis, examining widespread institutional corruption while connecting her own family's complex past to Brazil's current crisis. Capturing a unique historical moment, A NETFLIX original documentary production, THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY examines the forces at play in the global erosion of democracy. Director Petra Costa joins us for a conversation about Brazil’s past, present and future and how the political trajectory of her beloved country is increasingly relevant to our own.
The Edge of Democracy is available at: netflix.com
For more about the filmmaker go to: petracosta.com Social media: facebook.com/PetraCostaOficial/ twitter.com/petracostal instagram.com/petracostal
Routinely dismissed by film critics as a lesser genre artistically, romantic comedies aren’t simply traditionally beloved, but also a true art form which has produced some of the most classic and enduring films we know today. These films should receive the recognition they deserve along with an experience to bring together a community of film fans that flock to them. To remedy that perception, there is ROMCOM FEST. Rom Com Fest is founded by Miraya Berke, female entrepreneur – founder of Pop Productions event boutique studio and co-founder of Dessert Goals, the popular dessert festival in New York and Los Angeles. With a background in events and partnership and a personal love of romantic comedies, she is passionate about the romantic comedy genre and its legitimization in the eyes of film fans, filmmakers, and critics, in addition to the pure enjoyment of the films themselves. The first ever Rom Com Fest will take place June 20-23 in Los Angeles at Downtown Independent. In addition to a mix of new and classic rom com film screenings, we will host engaging activities and events to connect the community of rom com lovers. Highlights include a 20th anniversary screening of 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, A special screening of the classic NEVER BEEN KISSED (curated by actress Rachel Bloom), the west coast premiere of actor Joe Cross’ directorial debut SUMMER NIGHT, a late night CBD screening of HOW STELLA GOT HER GROOVE BACK, and more. Festival founder and director Miraya Berke joins us to talk about her love of film and her desire to create a unique filmgoing experience.
For news and updates go to: romcomfest.com
Rom Com Fest – June 20-23 in Los Angeles at Downtown Independent
Assia Boundaoui’s deeply personal investigative documentary THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED about the Arab-American neighborhood outside of Chicago where director she grew up. It is a community where most of her neighbors think they have been under surveillance for over a decade. While investigating their experiences, Assia uncovers tens of thousands of pages of FBI documents that prove her hometown was the subject of one of the largest counter-terrorism investigations ever conducted in the U.S. before 9/11, code-named “Operation Vulgar Betrayal.” With unprecedented access, THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED weaves the personal and the political as it follows the filmmaker’s examination of why her community fell under blanket government surveillance. Assia struggles to disrupt the government secrecy shrouding what happened and takes the FBI to federal court to compel them to make the records they collected about her community public. In the process, she confronts long-hidden truths about the FBI’s relationship to her community. THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED follows Assia as she pieces together this secret FBI operation, while grappling with the effects of a lifetime of surveillance on herself and her family. Director / Producer Assia Boundaoui talks about her own determination to hold the FBI and the government accountable, the impact the FBI surveillance has had on her family and community and the bigger question, why?
For news and updates go to: feelingofbeingwatched.com
For upcoming screenings go to: feelingofbeingwatched.com/screenings
*** Los Angeles area screening: The week of 6/21 - 6/27 at the Laemmle Music Hall - Q&A's with director Assia Boundaoui following the 7:40 pm show on Friday, 6/21, Saturday, 6/22 and Thursday 6/27 and also after the 3:10 pm show on Sunday, 6/23 at the Music Hall.
ICE ON FIRE, an eye-opening documentary that focuses on many never-before-seen solutions designed to slow down our escalating environmental crisis, goes beyond the current climate change narrative and offers hope that we can actually stave off the worst effects of global warming. Eleven years after Conners’ first collaboration with Executive Producer Leonardo DiCaprio on “The 11th Hour,”which emphasized the problems of climate change, ICE ON FIRE instead focuses on the cutting-edge research behind today’s climate science – and the innovations aimed at reducing carbon in the atmosphere, which could pave the way for a reduction in the global temperature rise and a benefit to the planet’s life systems. ICE ON FIRE emphasizes the importance of an immediate, two-pronged approach to reversing the crisis: reducing carbon emissions through traditional renewable energy sources and new ones, like tidal energy, and implementing “drawdown” measures, focusing on methods for drawing down and sequestering carbon, including direct air capture, sea farms, urban farms, biochar, marine snow, bionic leaves and others. Director Leila Conners joins us to talk about the looming catastrophe and the emerging and encouraging techniques and technologies that can provide a sustainable path forward.
For news and updates go to: www.treemedia.com
Ice on Fire is currently screening at: www.hbo.com
In Richard Miron’s surprising and empathetic FOR THE BIRDS, we follow an unusual woman named Kathy who lives with 200 pet chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. What starts as a story seemingly about Kathy’s battle with local animal advocacy groups slowly transforms into an intimate drama about her relationship with her husband Gary, and the toll the birds have taken on their marriage and her well-being. Filmed over the course of five years, this sensitive tale of one woman’s world breaking down—poignant and absorbing in equal measure—is ultimately one of hope about the possibility of regaining one’s life. Director Richard Miron stops by to talk about winning the Murphy’s confidence and trust, following his filmmaker’s instinct to stay with a story with more than its share of twists and turns and crafting a compassionate portrait of beautifully flawed people.
For news and updates go to: forthebirdsdocumentary.com
For more about the filmmaker: richardmiron.com
Underground filmmaker Barbara Rubin’s 1964 art-porn masterpiece “Christmas on Earth”, made when she was only 18 years old, shattered creative and sexist boundaries and shocked NYC's experimental film scene. Working with Jonas Mekas at the Filmmaker’s Coop, Rubin was instrumental in creating NYC's thriving underground film community and a rare female voice in a world of powerful men. A rebellious Zelig of the Sixties, she introduced Andy Warhol to the Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan to the Kabbalah. But beyond shaping the spirit of the Sixties, Barbara was seeking the deeper meaning of life. After retiring to a farm with Allen Ginsberg, she shocked everyone by becoming a Hasidic Jew. How and why did one of the 1960’s freest spirits submit to a religious life? For years, 94-year-old filmmaker Jonas Mekas has saved all of Barbara’s letters and cherished her memory. Working with Mekas’ footage and rare clips from the Andy Warhol archives, the film takes us inside the world and mind of Barbara Rubin; a woman who truly believed that film could change the world and then vanished into obscurity. Director Chuck Smith joins us for a conversation on the life and times of a gifted artistic protégé and the impact she had on the people who loved her.
For news and updates go to: barbararubinmovie.com
Every Thursday Night hundreds of women gather for a potluck celebration and the chance to throw singles at the hottest dancers in New Jersey, The Nasty Boyz - featuring Satan, Mr. Capable, Fever, Young Rider and lesbian 'dom' dancer Blaze. THIS ONE'S FOR THE LADIES isn't just about the tips or the dancing. It's a heartwarming story of friendship and the resilience that comes from community. Hilarious, eye-opening, and breathtakingly sexy, THIS ONE'S FOR THE LADIES is a virtual how to guide for letting go of your troubles and having a good time. Director Gene Graham (The Godfather of Disco) joins us to talk about the respect he has for all of the people, patrons and strippers, in his film, how the film Magic Mike and the lack of people of color in it “inspired” his nuanced, multi-layer response.
For news and updates go to: thisonesfortheladiesmovie.com
For more about the filmmaker go to: determinedpictures.com
Academy Award-winning Passion Pictures and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios present one of the most important but untold science stories of our time, THE SERENGETI RULES is a tale with profound implications for the fate of life on our planet. Beginning in the 1960s, a small band of young scientists, Bob Paine, Tony Sinclair, Mary E. Power, John Terborgh, Jim Estes, and Sean B. Carroll headed out into the wilderness, driven by an insatiable curiosity about how nature works. Immersed in some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth—from the majestic Serengeti to the Amazon jungle; from the Arctic Ocean to Pacific tide pools—they discovered a single set of rules that govern all life. Now in the twilight of their eminent careers, these five unsung heroes of modern ecology share the stories of their adventures, reveal how their pioneering work flipped our view of nature on its head, and give us a chance to reimagine the world as it could and should be. Director Nicolas Brown joins us to talk about the far-reaching implications of the groundbreaking work done by Bob Paine on the importance of “keystone” species and the tremendously important work done by his colleagues since then can lead to a restoration of the natural order and help humanity reverse an ecological catastrophe.
For news and updates go to: theserengetirules.com
THE LAVENDER SCARE is the first documentary film to tell the little-known story of an unrelenting campaign by the federal government to identify and fire all employees suspected of being homosexual. In 1953, President Eisenhower declared gay men and lesbians to be a threat to the security of the country and therefore unfit for government service. His directive triggered the longest witch hunt in American history. Over the next four decades, tens of thousands of government workers would lose their jobs for no reason other than their sexual orientation. But the actions of the government had an unintended effect. They inadvertently helped ignite the gay rights movement. In 1957, after thousands had lost their jobs, a Harvard-trained astronomer named Frank Kameny became the first person to fight his dismissal. His attempts to regain his job evolved into a lifelong fight for the rights of LGBT people. The Lavender Scare is a compelling story of one man’s fight for justice. And it is a chilling reminder of how easy it can be, during a time of fear and uncertainty, to trample the rights of an entire class of people in the name of patriotism and national security. Director Josh Howard (60 Minutes) joins us to talk about Senator Joseph McCarthy, scare tactics, blind prejudice and the willful destruction of thousands of peoples lives.
For news and updates go to: thelavenderscare.com
Money, power, politics, drugs, scandal, and fast cars. The incredible story of John DeLorean is the stuff of a Hollywood screenwriter’s dreams. But who was the real John DeLorean? To some, he was a renegade visionary who revolutionized the automobile industry. To others, he was the ultimate con man. For the first time, Framing John DeLorean recounts the extraordinary life and legend of the controversial automaker, tracing his meteoric rise through the ranks of General Motors, his obsessive quest to build a sports car that would conquer the world, and his shocking fall from grace on charges of cocaine trafficking. Interweaving a treasure trove of archival footage with dramatic vignettes starring Alec Baldwin, Framing John DeLorean is a gripping look at a man who gambled everything in his pursuit of the American Dream. Co-directors Don Argott (The Art of the Steal) and Sheena M. Joyce (The Atonic States of America) talk about the complex, brilliant and driven man behind the salacious headlines and explore with us just how far was he willing to go to realize his dreams.
For news and updates go to: ifcfilms.com/films/framing-john-delorean
ARTIFISHAL is a film about wild rivers and wild fish. It explores the high cost – ecological, financial and cultural – of our mistaken belief that engineered solutions can make up for habitat destruction. The film traces the impact of fish hatcheries and farms, and the extraordinary amount of American taxpayer dollars wasted on an industry that hinders wild fish recovery, pollutes our rivers, and contributes to the problem it claims to solve. ARTIFISHAL also dives beneath the surface of the open-water fish farm controversy, as citizens work to stop the damage done to public waters and our remaining wild salmon. Director Josh Murphy joins us for a conversation on the devastating consequences that fish hatcheries are having on the salmon and other native species, the damage being done vital eco-systems and the enormous cost of a failed system.
Call to Action:
Wild salmon and southern resident killer whales are on the brink of extinction. Now a misguided plan to feed the starving whales with hatchery salmon will push both endangered species closer to the edge, while costing taxpayers millions of dollars per year. Hatcheries and over harvest, along with net-pen fish farms and dams, are key contributors to the catastrophic decline of wild Chinook salmon and southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest. Now, Washington state’s Orca Task Force recommendations include a plan to “feed the orcas” with 60 million more hatchery salmon per year. The proposed budget requests up to $87 million dollars to fund this plan for 10 years. Science tells us this won’t work: orcas need larger wild salmon, while adding more hatchery fish further weakens the wild-salmon gene pool. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) have the power to make this change. Patagonia's petition calls on NOAA Regional Administrator Barry Thom, WDFW Director Kelly Susewind, and our elected decision makers to stop wasting money on failed plans and invest in science-based solutions: reduce hatchery production, remove dams and change how we harvest salmon.
For more on Artifishal go to: patagonia.com/artifishal
For more on Josh Murphy go to: Liarsandthieves.tv/josh-murph
In the quietly powerful documentary, THE PROPOSAL, director Jill Magid explores the life, death and profoundly moving work of Luis Barragán. Known as “the artist among architects,” Barragán is among the world’s most celebrated architects of the 20th century. Upon his death in 1988, much of his work was locked away in a Swiss bunker, hidden from the world’s view. In an attempt to resurrect Barragán’s life and art, boundary redefining artist Jill Magid creates a daring proposition that becomes a fascinating artwork in itself—a high-wire act of negotiation that explores how far an artist will go to democratize access to art.
Director’s Statement The Proposal is my first feature film and the last chapter of a larger project I began in 2013 called The Barragán Archives. The project explores the contested legacy of Luis Barragán, Mexico’s most famous architect, and how his legacy is affected by the fact that a private corporation, Vitra, owns his archives and controls the rights in his name and work. For more than twenty years, this corporation has made his work largely inaccessible to the public. The film questions whether a single actor should be exclusively in control of how the world can engage with Barragán’s work. Almost as an invitation for image-making, Barragán was known to adjust a buildings’ design so that it would photograph better. With this film, I wanted to capture the overwhelming beauty of his work while simultaneously questioning the legal challenges one faces to do so. The film is in itself a proposal: A way to elicit dialogue about access to legacy and its proprietary nature, and not simply if the proposal will be accepted. - Jill Magid.
For news and updates go to: theproposal.oscilloscope.net
For more about the director go to: jillmagid.com/film
THE PROPOSAL opens in Los Angeles on May 31st at the Monica Film Center, with national rollout over the following weeks. Director Jill Magid will participate in a Q&A following the 7:40 pm show on Friday, 5/31 and Saturday.
In the late 1980s, the Detroit Red Wings hockey team was a laughing stock, often called the “Dead Wings.” After a wealthy pizza magnate bought the failing franchise, he appointed an unorthodox General Manager to build a championship team. Throwing off conventional wisdom, the new GM looked to America’s mortal enemy in the Cold War, the Soviet Union itself. Through a plot that sounds like a spy novel, the Red Wings organization brought on one Russian after another, sneaking them out under cover of night and whisking them to the Motor City, only to find that the new players faced another problem: Integration. THE RUSSIAN FIVE follows the stories of the five Russian players that emigrated to America, took root in Detroit, Michigan, and struggled to fit in, all while training day and night to become Stanley Cup champions. The new immigrants had to learn to communicate with their teammates, assimilate into the culture, and become Americans. THE RUSSIAN FIVE is the true story of immigrants that became American heroes, teammates that became family, and a scrappy, resilient city that became Stanley Cup Champions, twice. It’s a story about hopes and dreams becoming reality, and the harsh reality of dreaming big. The names Fedorov, Larionov, Fetisov, Kozlov, and Konstantinov are legend now in the Motor City and their influence is still felt throughout the National Hockey League today. Director Jason Riehl stops by to talk about the long and winding journey of five gifted athletes who changed the course of North American hockey.
For news and updates go to: therussianfive.com
Social Media facebook.com/theRussianFive twitter.com/RussianFiveFilm instagram.com/therussianfive
America’s first superstar designer, Halston rose to international fame in the1970s, creating an empire and personifying the dramatic social and sexual revolution of the last century. Reaching beyond the glamour and glitz, acclaimed filmmakers, Director Frédéric Tcheng and Producer Roland Ballester reveal Halston’s profound impact on fashion, culture, and business. HALSTON captures the epic sweep of the life and times of the legendary designer Roy Halston Frowick, the man who set women free with his unstructured designs and strove to “dress all of America.” Framing the story as an investigation featuring actress and writer Tavi Gevinson as a young archivist diving into the Halston company records, Tcheng expertly weaves rare archival footage and intimate interviews with Halston’s family, friends and collaborators including Jacqueline Kennedy, Liza Minelli, Andy Warhol and Iman. What results is a behind-the-headlines look into the thrilling struggle between Halston’s artistic legacy and the pressures of big business. Director Frédéric Tcheng and Producer Roland Ballester join us to talk about a designer, artist and fashion mogul who drove himself as fast and as far as anyone before him.
For news and updates go to: halston.film
ECHO IN THE CANYON celebrates the explosion of popular music that came out of LA’s Laurel Canyon in the mid-60s as folk went electric and The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield and The Mamas and the Papas gave birth to the California Sound. It was a moment (1965 to 1967) when bands came to LA to emulate The Beatles and Laurel Canyon emerged as a hotbed of creativity and collaboration for a new generation of musicians who would soon put an indelible stamp on the history of American popular music. Featuring Jakob Dylan, the film explores the beginnings of the Laurel Canyon music scene. Dylan uncovers never-before-heard personal details behind the bands and their songs and how that music continues to inspire today. Echo In The Canyon contains candid conversations and performances with Brian Wilson, Ringo Starr, Michelle Phillips, Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Roger McGuinn and Jackson Browne as well as contemporary musicians they influenced such as Tom Petty (in his last film interview), Beck, Fiona Apple, Cat Power, Regina Spektor, and Norah Jones. ECHO IN THE CANYON is directed by former music journalist, record producer and label executive Andrew Slater. Andrew Slater joins us to talk about connecting the lasting impact of the “Canyon’s” rock royalty with their modern day torchbearers and his enlistment of Jakob Dylan to be a tour guide and music director.
For news and updates go to: echointhecanyon.com
Echo In The Canyon:
May 24 - Los Angeles at Arclight's Cinerama Dome and The Landmark Theatre
May 31 - New York City at the Angelika and The Landmark at 57 West
Social Media:
facebook.com/echointhecanyon
twitter.com/echointhecanyon
instagram.com/echointhecanyon
The searing new documentary from Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar, THE SILENCE OF OTHERS asks the question, “What if in the ‘60s you were sadistically tortured for your political beliefs – and the man responsible (Antonio González Pacheco, aka “Billy the Kid”) is now your neighbor?” The bloody Spanish Civil War (1936-39) was followed by the Generalissimo Francisco Franco dictatorship that ended only with his death in 1975 – after which a law granted amnesty for crimes committed throughout this period. THE SILENCE OF OTHERS tackles the legal/political questions that this enforced obliviousness has created, and equally compelling, the existential conundrum of living in a nation in which no one has been charged with the murder of hundreds of thousands, buried in more than 2000 mass graves. A new movement in Spain confronts these hard truths. With the rise of authoritarian regimes around the world – and with human rights abuses being committed on our own border – this film could not be more timely. THE SILENCE OF OTHERS won Best Documentary at the Goya Awards (Spain’s Oscar equivalent), as well as more than 30 honors from international festivals (Berlinale, IDFA, Sheffield, etc.) and was among the films shortlisted for the 2019 Best Documentary Oscar. The film has become a phenomenon in Spain, where more than a million people have seen it. Co-directors Almudsen Carracedo and Robert Bahar join us for a conversation on the decades long search for justice by the families and the victims and why it matters.
For news and updates go to: thesilenceofothers.com
Social Media: facebook.com/TheSilenceOfOthers twitter.com/SilenceofOthers instagram.com/silenceofothers
GENERAL MAGIC takes us back to the early 1990’s, as a team of former Apple employees form their own company and prepare to take Silicon Valley by storm. From the first smartphones to touchscreens, e-commerce, eBay to emoticons, the ideas that now dominate the tech industry and our day-to-day lives were born at General Magic, a 1989 Silicon Valley startup that you've never heard of. The company and the product were so ahead of their time, that it ultimately failed, and the company closed down. However, General Magic’s former employees have since gone on to found eBay, Linkedin, and Android, to developing the technology that has led to the iPhone, iPad, iPod and everything that we all use today in our daily lives. These "magicians" have become the tech innovators that now lead companies like Samsung, Apple and Facebook. GENERAL MAGIC, the film tells the story of how great vision, grave betrayal and an epic failure changed the world forever. What was once thought of as an embarrassment is now embraced as amazing. This incredibly insightful and entertaining film looks at the rise and fall of the most influential Silicon Valley company you have never heard of called GENERAL MAGIC. The film captures the spirit of those of us who dare to dream big and the life-changing consequences when we fail, fail again, and fail better. GENERAL MAGIC Co-director Matt Maude (Sarah Kerruish) and film subject Marc Porat talk abouthow this remarkable team of creatively brilliant engineers, artists and visionaries that failed and succeeded at creating a technologies that continue to have an impact on the world around us.
For news and updates go to: generalmagicthemovie.com
WRESTLE takes us inside the lives of four members of the high school wrestling team at Huntsville’s J.O. Johnson High School, a longstanding entry on Alabama’s list of failing schools. Teammates Jailen, Jamario, Teague, and Jaquan face challenges far beyond a shot at the state championship: splintered families, drug use, teenage pregnancy, mental health struggles, and run-ins with the law threaten to derail their athletic success and lock doors that might open their future. Their tough-love coach Chris Scribner isn’t off the hook, either; he must come to terms with his own past while unwittingly wading into the complexities of race, class and privilege. Director Suzannah Herbert and co-director Lauren Belfer captured over 650 hours of footage during the team’s final season to create this closely observed, deeply affecting depiction of growing up disadvantaged in America. Wrestle premieres on Independent Lens Monday, May 20, 10:00-11:30 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS and will also be available simultaneously for online streaming at pbs.org.
For news and updates go to: wrestlefilm.com
For more about Independent Lens and Wrestle schedule go to: independentlens
Written and directed by Storm Saulter (“Better Mus’ Come”), SPRINTER follows Akeem Sharp (newcomer Dale Elliott), nicknamed the Rasta Rocket for his once-in-a-generation speed, who is set to be Jamaica’s next big track-and-field sensation. Akeem hopes his rise in athletics will take him to the U.S. to reunite him with his mother, who has supported the family while living as an illegal resident for over a decade. But Akeem’s rising star is weighed down by turmoil at home: a volatile father, and an unruly older brother who insinuates himself into Akeem’s career as a means of escaping – or perhaps enhancing – his scam artist hustle. The film also stars Kadeem Wilson (Ghett’ A Life), Dennis Titus (The Mighty Quinn), Shantol Jackson (Yardie), Bryshere Y. Gray (Empire), with Lorraine Toussaint (Selma, Orange is The New Black), and David Alan Grier (In Living Color) with songs by Grammy Award winning artist NE-YO and Jamaican dancehall performer Shenseea. Director and co-writer Storm Saulter (Robert A Maylor) joins us to talk about creating a beautiful film rooted in a heartfelt drama about a Jamaican family struggling with separation and the jolt of sudden success.
For news and updates go to: sprinterthefilm.com
Social Media:
facebook.com/SprinterTheFilm
twitter.com/sprinterthefilm
instagram.com/sprinterthefilm
HARVEST SEASON delves into the lives of people who work behind the scenes of the premium California wine industry, during one of the most dramatic grape harvests in recent memory. The film follows the stories of Mexican-American winemakers and migrant workers who are essential to the wine business, yet are rarely recognized for their contributions. Their stories unfold as wildfires ignite in Napa and Sonoma counties, threatening the livelihoods of small farmers and winemakers who are already grappling with a growing labor shortage, shifting immigration policies, and the impacts of a rapidly changing climate. Director Bernardo Ruiz is a two-time Emmy® nominated documentary filmmaker and member of the Academy. He was born in Guanajuato, Mexico and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. His directorial feature debut, Reportero, about attacks on the press in Mexico. New York Magazine called it “a powerful reminder of how journalism often requires immense amounts of physical and psychological bravery.” His second feature documentary, Kingdom of Shadows premiered at SXSW in the U.S. and IDFA in Europe. “Many documentaries have chronicled the drug war in the U.S. and Mexico,” writes Slackerwood of the film, “but few have humanized it as poignantly as Kingdom of Shadows. [It] is more observant than crusading...rooted in first-rate journalism.” The New York Times called it “unforgettable.” With the release of his third film HARVEST SEASON Director Bernardo Ruiz joins us to talk about his intimate look at the lives of veteran winemaker Gustavo Brambila, Mexican migrant worker René Reyes, and wine entrepreneur Vanessa Robledo.
For news and updates go to: harvestseasonmovie.com
*** Monday May 13th at 10:00PM to watch HARVEST SEASON on PBS’s Independent Lens
More about the the director go to: bernardoruiz.com
CHARLIE SAYS, follows three women whose names have become synonymous with the murders of that shocked a nation and the man who ordered them on their deadly spree, Charles Manson. The women - Leslie Van Houten (Hannah Murray), Patricia Krenwinkel (Sosie Bacon), and Susan Atkins (Marianne Rendón) - remained under the spell of the infamous cult leader (Matt Smith) for years. Confined to an isolated cellblock in a California penitentiary, the trio seem destined to live out the rest of their lives under the delusion that their crimes were part of a cosmic plan, until empathetic graduate student Karlene Faith (Merritt Wever) is enlisted to rehabilitate them. Convinced the prisoners are not the inhuman monsters the world believes them to be, Karlene begins the arduous process of breaking down the psychological barriers erected by Manson. But are the women ready to confront the horror of what they did? In CHARLIE SAYS, boundary pushing auteur Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol) presents a provocative new perspective on one of the most notorious crimes of the 20th century. Director Mary Harron joins us to talk about how these seemingly sane, likable young woman could have committed such hideous crimes and why it drove her to tell their stories.
For news and updates go to: charliesaysmovie.com
Once the center of the New York bohemia, Greenwich Village is now home to luxe restaurants, and buzzer door clothing stores catering to the nouveau riche. But one shop in the heart of the Village remains resilient to the encroaching gentrification: Carmine Street Guitars. There, custom guitar maker Rick Kelly and his young apprentice Cindy Hulej, build handcrafted guitars out of reclaimed wood from old hotels, churches, bars and other local buildings. Nothing looks or sounds quite like a Rick Kelly guitar, which is the reason they are embraced by the likes of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Jim Jarmusch, just to name a few. Featuring a cast of prominent musicians and artists, and some virtuoso performances, the film captures five days in the life of one shop in the heart of Greenwich Village that remains resilient to an all-too-quickly vanishing way of life. Director and Producer Ron Mann stops by to talk about the guitar artisans, Rick Kelly and Cindy Hulej, their own personal journeys and the last remaining vestige of a musical community that continues to inspire musicians all over the world.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER: RON MANN - The Canadian filmmaker and producer Ron Mann is renowned for his genre-bending approach to filmmaking and documentary cinema that explores art forms and contemporary popular culture with vision and verve. From jazz (Imagine the Sound, 1981), spoken word (Poetry in Motion, 1982), comics (Comic Book Confidential, 1988), dance (Twist, 1992), marijuana (Grass, 1999), car culture (Tales of the Rat Fink, 2006), fungi (Know Your Mushrooms, 2009), and independent filmmaking (Altman, 2015) Mannʼs films invoke the ethos and spirit of his subjects in resonant and contemporary ways.
For news and updates go to: carminestreetguitarsfilm.com
The riveting new documentary by Ciara Lacy Out of State provides an inside look at the lives of two native Hawaiians sent thousands of miles away from the tropical islands to a private prison in the Arizona desert. In this unlikely setting, David and Hale find a community of other native Hawaiians and discover their indigenous traditions from a fellow inmate serving a life sentence. Hoping for a fresh start and eager to prove that the experience has changed them forever, the two men finish their terms and return to Hawai’i. But once on the outside, they struggle with life’s hurdles and wonder if it’s possible to ever go home again. Director Ciara Lacy joins us to talk about the challenges and the barriers facing two men struggling to make the best of what may be their last chance.
About the Filmmaker - Ciara Lacy
Director Ciara Lacy is a native Hawaiian filmmaker whose interest lies in crafting films that use strong characters and investigative journalism to challenge the creative and political status quo. She has produced documentary content for film and television, managed independent features, as well as coordinated product placement and clearances for various platforms. Her work has shown in theaters and has aired on PBS, ABC, TLC, Discovery, Bravo and A&E. Lacy is honored to be the inaugural Sundance Institute Merata Mita Fellow and a current Princess Grace Awards Special Project grantee. She has also benefited from fellowships with Firelight Media's Documentary Lab, the Sundance Institute, NATIVe at Berlinale, the Princess Grace Foundation, and IFP. Ciara holds a BA from Yale University, and graduated from Hawai`i's Kamehameha Schools.
For more on PBS award winning series go to: pbs.org/independentlens
For more about the film go to: outofstatefilm.com
For more about the filmmaker go to: ciaralacy.com
EATING UP EASTER, directed by native Rapanui filmmaker Sergio Mata’u Rapu, explores the dilemma his people are facing. Crafted as a story passed down to his newborn son, Sergio intertwines the authentic history of the island with the stories of four islanders. In their own voices, these Rapanui reveal the reality of modern life and the actions they are taking to preserve their culture and environment amidst rapid development. A local ecologist leads recycling efforts to tackle the mounting trash arriving with tourists and the waves of plastic washing up on shore. Two musicians struggle to build a free music school they hope will preserve cultural practices and reunite their fractured community. Sergio's father, formerly the island's first native Governor, attempts to balance traditions against the advantages of development while building a mini-mall in the island’s only town. EATING UP EASTER reveals and suggests ways forward in tackling the universal complexities of balancing growth and sustainability faced by local communities worldwide. Producer / Director Sergio Mata’u Rapu joins us for a conversation on the impacts of globalization and tourism are having on his beloved community and how the challenges facing them are the same challenges we all face.
EATING UP EASTER, directed by native Rapanui filmmaker Sergio Mata’u Rapu, explores the dilemma his people are facing. Crafted as a story passed down to his newborn son, Sergio intertwines the authentic history of the island with the stories of four islanders. In their own voices, these Rapanui reveal the reality of modern life and the actions they are taking to preserve their culture and environment amidst rapid development. A local ecologist leads recycling efforts to tackle the mounting trash arriving with tourists and the waves of plastic washing up on shore. Two musicians struggle to build a free music school they hope will preserve cultural practices and reunite their fractured community. Sergio's father, formerly the island's first native Governor, attempts to balance traditions against the advantages of development while building a mini-mall in the island’s only town. EATING UP EASTER reveals and suggests ways forward in tackling the universal complexities of balancing growth and sustainability faced by local communities worldwide. Producer / Director Sergio Mata’u Rapu joins us for a conversation on the impacts of globalization and tourism are having on his beloved community and how the challenges facing them are the same challenges we all face.
About the filmmaker: Sergio Mata'u Rapu
Visual Communications, the nation’s premier Asian Pacific American media arts center, announced its outstanding program of films and events for the upcoming 35th edition of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) running MAY 2 – MAY 10, 2018. The all encompassing annual film celebration is presented across Los Angeles in West Hollywood, Downtown LA, Little Tokyo, Koreatown, and Hollywood. Visual Communications proudly celebrates the Film Festival’s 34 years as Southern California’s largest and most prestigious film festival of its kind. LAAPFF launches the celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month through this year’s slate of over 100 films from both Asian Pacific American and Asian international artists. For over three decades, the Festival has presented nearly 5,000 films by Asian Pacific American and Asian International talent. This year’s festival will feature over 130 short films during the nine day fest from May 2 – May 10. These cinema gems from around the globe featuring stories about love, family, heartbreak, friendships, and self acceptance are all part of the exciting line up. The Festival opens May 2nd with the World Premiere of YELLOW ROSE directed by Diane Paragas and starring Broadway legend Lea Salonga and emerging star Eva Noblezada. Two acclaimed festival favorites will screen as the Centerpiece Films at the Festival; GO BACK TO CHINA directed by Emily Ting and MS. PURPLE directed by Justin Chon. The closing night film is the world premiere of EMPTY BY DESIGN directed by Andrea A. Walter premiering on Friday, May 10. LAAPFF Executive Director Francis Cullado of Visual Communications stops by to talk about the ever expanding interest in Asian filmmakers and the trailblazing artistry being done by them.
For news and updates go to: festival.vcmedia.org/2019
LEARN MORE ABOUT LAAPFF and VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS:
vcmedia.org
facebook.com/vcfilmfestival
twitter.com/vcfilmfestival
instagram.com/vcmediaorg
In Patrick Creadon’s illuminating new documentary, HESBURGH, shines a bright light on a unique public figure whom came to light during one of the country’s most divisive political and social storm. His name is Reverend Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C, president of the University of Notre Dame for more than 35 years. This revered figure worked his entire adult life to advance of peace and equal rights for all people. As the most dynamic member of the U.S. government’s Civil Rights Commission Hesburgh pushed Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson to enact legislation that culminated in the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. HESBURGH offers a unique glimpse at more than fifty years of American history. Educator, civil rights champion, advisor to presidents, envoy to popes, theologian and activist, Hesburgh was called on by countless world leaders to tackle the most challenging issues of the day. He built a reputation as a savvy political operator with a penchant for bridging the divide between bitter enemies. Through it all, he remained a man armed with a fierce intelligence, a quick wit and an unyielding moral compass -- a timeless example of bipartisan leadership that would serve us in today’s increasingly polarized times. Director Patrick Creadon (Wordplay, If You Build It , Ski Bum: The Warren Miller Story), joins us for a conversation on a man who’s life’s work harkens back to a time when compromise and cooperation were the political norms and not the exception.
For news and updates go to: hesburghfilm.com
To find a theatre near you go to: hesburghfilm.com/tickets
Social Media:
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¡Boza! follows the harrowing journey of three young sub-Saharan African immigrants: Sani, Yamal & Kone, as they leave home in their teens to embark on their years-long journey to a new life in Spain. Crossing the Sahara Desert by foot, spending months to years living in the forests of Morocco, and finally making the dangerous crossing to the Spanish mainland or territories by land or sea, these three powerfully distinct immigration stories have one thing in common: their incredible optimism in the face of inconceivable adversity. Their stories teach us the perseverance of the human spirit, something our world desperately needs to be reminded of now. The dynamic structure jumps between present day footage of life in Spain and reconstructing their migration story using animation and archival footage. Through parallel storytelling, the film compares these three inspiring stories of success to the hopes of a group of migrants living in the slums of Tangier, Morocco. ¡Boza! Director and Producer Sydney Bowie discovered her love of documentary film as an undergraduate at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Her short films have been selected to screen at festivals across the United States. In addition, Sydney has worked alongside noted documentary filmmakers, including Oscar-nominated Robert Kenner (Food Inc.) and world renowned British journalist and filmmaker Sean Langan. Sydney has received the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to work on her most recent film the New Migration Project, from which ¡Boza! was produced, documenting the lives of immigrants in Spain. Director Sydney Bowie stops by to talk about her intimate and heartfelt portrayal of people struggling to find a better life.
For news and updates go to: bozathefilm.com
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THE RIVER AND THE WALL follows five friends on an immersive adventure through the unknown wilds of the Texas borderlands as they travel from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico on horses, mountain bikes, and canoes. Conservation filmmaker Ben Masters realizes the urgency of documenting the last remaining wilderness in Texas as the threat of new border wall construction looms ahead. Masters recruits NatGeo Explorer Filipe DeAndrade, ornithologist Heather Mackey, river guide Austin Alvarado, and conservationist Jay Kleberg to join him on the two-and-a-half-month journey down 1,200 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. They set out to document the borderlands and explore the potential impacts of a border wall on the natural environment, but as the wilderness gives way to the more populated and heavily trafficked Lower Rio Grande Valley, they come face-to-face with the human side of the immigration debate and enter uncharted emotional waters. Ben Masters is best known for his UNBRANDED, a feature documentary on Netflix, in which he and three friends adopted 16 wild mustangs, trained them, and rode 3,000 miles from Mexico to Canada to inspire wild horse adoptions. Director Ben Masters join us to talk about the spectacular natural beauty of the Rio Grande Valley, the people who live along the Mexico - American border and the on-the-ground reality of a border wall.
For news and updates go to: theriverandthewall.com
For more on the filmmaker go to: benmasters.com
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BODY AT BRIGHTON ROCK is a psychological thriller about a part time summer employee, Wendy, (Karina Fontes) at a mountainous state park, takes on a rough trail assignment at the end of the season, trying to prove to her friends that she’s capable enough to do the job. When she takes a wrong turn and ends up deep in the backcountry, she stumbles upon what might be a potential crime scene. Stuck with no communication after losing her radio and with orders to guard the site, Wendy must fight the urge to run and do the harder job of staying put — spending the night deep in the wilderness, facing down her worst fears and proving to everyone - including herself - that she’s made of stronger stuff than they think she is. Director and writer Roxanne Benjamin made her directorial debut in the anthology SOUTHBOUND, which world premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. She was last in the director’s chair for "Don't Fall”, part of Magnolia Pictures’ all-women-helmed horror anthology XX, which premiered at Sundance in the Midnight section last year. Director Roxanne Benjamin stops by to talk about her slow-burn thriller and the challenges of a wilderness shoot.
For news and updates go to: bodyatbrightonrock.com
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Ollie (Tessa Thompson) is barely getting by in Little Woods, an economically depressed fracking boomtown in North Dakota. She has left her days of illegally running prescription pills over the Canadian border behind, eyeing a potential new job that would finally break her out of the small town. But when her mother dies, she is reunited with her estranged sister Deb (Lily James), who faces a mounting crisis: the combined effect of an unplanned pregnancy and a deadbeat ex (James Badge Dale). The two find they have one week to settle the mortgage on their mother’s house or face foreclosure. As both bills and pressure mount, Ollie faces a choice: whether to return to a way of life she thought she’d left behind for just one more score, or to leave it all behind. Writer-director Nia DaCosta’s debut is an emotionally charged small-town thriller that weaves themes of economic downturn and the opioid crisis into its intimate story of two sisters trying to get by. An unvarnished film anchored by an authentically drawn sibling bond, LITTLE WOODS speaks to both the biggest and smallest elements of the working-class struggle in rural America. Director and writer Nia DaCosta joins us for a conversation on her debut feature film and the crushing burden of a life without options or access to opportunity or education and the toll it takes on well intentioned people.
For news and updates go to: littlewoodsmovie.com/home
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A celebration of the transformative power of music, and the bonds that develop when artists collaborate and worlds collide, the film follows Satan & Adam, a blues duo and a fixture on Harlem’s sidewalks in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Director V. Scott Balcerek pulls together over two decades of documentary footage to chart the duo’s trajectory from busking in the streets of Harlem, where they were happened upon by U2 who were filming for their Rattle and Hum documentary, to bigger and bigger stages, depicting the challenges that both had to overcome to keep Satan & Adam and their friendship together. Playing for years with artists including James Brown, King Curtis and Big Maybelle, Sterling Magee experienced the music industry’s exploitation of black musicians firsthand. So he walked away to play on the Harlem streets for “his people.” Reborn as Satan, he spread his gospel of freedom and became a New York City legend. When a white Jewish Ivy league scholar and musician named Adam Gussow asked if he could join him one day, both their lives took a powerful turn. Adam put aside the ivory tower life to play in the streets, and Sterling's embrace of his younger apprentice forged a sound that thrust him back in the spotlight. But life on the road took its toll on the duo, and suddenly Sterling vanished without a trace. The separation would test both men’s courage, and their journey to find each other again a tale of tragedy, survival and miraculous rebirth. Director V. Scott Balacerek stops by to talk about a 23 year long journey chronicling the twists and turns of two dedicated musicians and an unlikely friendship.
For news and updates go to: satanandadamfilm.com
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché, is a documentary about the first female filmmaker, Alice Guy-Blaché, which explores the heights of fame and financial success she achieved before she was shut out from the very industry she helped create. Over the span of her career, she wrote, produced or directed 1,000 films, including 150 with synchronized sound during the ‘silent’ era. Her work includes comedies, westerns and dramas, as well as films with groundbreaking subject matter such as child abuse, immigration, Planned Parenthood, and female empowerment. She also etched a place in history by making the earliest known surviving narrative film with an all-African American cast. Pamela B. Green has dedicated more than eight years of research in order to discover the real story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873-1968) – not only highlighting her pioneering contributions to the birth of cinema but also her acclaim as a creative force and entrepreneur in the earliest years of movie-making. Green discovered rare footage of televised interviews and long archived audio interviews which can be heard for the first time in Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché, which affords Alice Guy-Blaché to tell her own story. Director Pamela B. Green joins us for a conversation on the winding journey of discovery and the exhilaration that comes from showcasing a visionary artist, producer, studio head, entrepreneur, feminist, and groundbreaking filmmaker.
For news and updates go to: Benaturalthemovie.com
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché is distributed by Zeitgeist Films
For more about the filmmaker go to: pamelabgreen.com
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Hail Satan? chronicles the extraordinary rise of one of the most colorful and controversial religious movements in American history, Hail Satan? is an inspiring and entertaining new feature documentary from acclaimed director Penny Lane. When media-savvy members of the Satanic Temple organize a series of public actions designed to advocate for religious freedom and challenge corrupt authority, they prove that with little more than a clever idea, a mischievous sense of humor, and a few rebellious friends, you can speak truth to power in some truly profound ways. As charming and funny as it is thought-provoking, Hail Satan? offers a timely look at a group of often misunderstood outsiders whose unwavering commitment to social and political justice has empowered thousands of people around the world. But with their numbers swelling and dozens of new chapters forming in cities across the globe, increased threats of violence against Satanists and disagreements within the group’s own ranks complicate the Temple’s work. As a complex and costly legal battle erupts over a similar Ten Commandments monument in Arkansas, Greaves, Blackmore, and their fellow Temple members struggle to adjust to the movement’s explosive popularity while maintaining the integrity of their core beliefs. Director Penny Lane (Nuts!, Our Nixon) once again joins us for a lively discussion on Satanic beliefs, Lucien Greaves, Jex Blackmore and the creative and subversive strategies for preserving many deeply held patriotic ideals.
For news and updates go to: hailsatanfilm.com
For more on the filmmaker go to: pennylaneismyrealname.com
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WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY tells the story of the mid-19th century poet, Emily Dickinson writing prolifically, baking gingerbread, and enjoying a passionate, lifelong romantic relationship with another woman, her friend and sister-in-law Susan...yes this is the iconic American poet, popularly thought to have been a recluse. Beloved comic and Saturday Night Live alum Molly Shannon leads in this humorous yet bold reappraisal of Dickinson, informed by her private letters. While seeking publication of some of the 1,775 poems written during her lifetime, Emily (Shannon) finds herself facing a troupe of male literary gatekeepers too confused by her genius to take her work seriously. Instead her work attracts the attention of an ambitious woman editor, who also sees Emily as a convenient cover for her own role in buttoned-up Amherst's most bizarre love triangle. A timely critique of how women's history is rewritten, WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY remains vibrant, irreverent and tender--a perhaps closer depiction of Emily Dickinson's real life than anything seen before. Director Madeleine Olnek (The Foxy Merkins, Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same) stops by to talk about her “wildly” inventive and poignant reset of the often maligned American literary giant.
For news and updates go to: wildnightswithemily.com
Greenwich Entertainment.com/film/wild-nights-with-emily/
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Fueled by an incendiary performance by Elisabeth Moss, HER SMELL follows Becky Something (Moss) is a '90s punk rock superstar who once filled arenas with her grungy all-female trio Something She. Now she plays smaller venues while grappling with motherhood, exhausted band mates, nervous record company executives, and a new generation of rising talent eager to usurp her stardom. When Becky's chaos and excesses derail a recording session and national tour, she finds herself shunned, isolated and alone. Forced to get sober, temper her demons, and reckon with the past, she retreats from the spotlight and tries to recapture the creative inspiration that led her band to success. Anchored by a towering, unflinching performance from Golden Globe and Emmy winner Moss, and supported by a stellar ensemble cast, HER SMELL examines the grit, grace and gravitas of an unforgettable fictional rock star crashing down to earth into the harsh realities of mid-life. With his deeply humane sixth feature, writer- director Alex Ross Perry (Listen Up Philip, Golden Exits) pumps up the volume and shines a light on the terrifying moment when superstardom wanes — and quiet becomes the new loud. Alex Ross Perry joins us for a lively conversation on the film’s fascinating shooting schedule, collaborating with cinematographer Sean Price Williams and working with a remarkable cast of actors.
For news and updates go to hersmellmovie.com
From acclaimed filmmaker David Sutherland, Marcos Doesn't Live Here Anymore examines the US immigration system through the eyes of two unforgettable protagonists whose lives reveal the human cost of deportation. Elizabeth Perez, a decorated US Marine veteran living in Cleveland, fights to reunite her family after her undocumented husband, Marcos, is deported. Meanwhile, Marcos is alone in Mexico, working as a soccer referee, struggling with depression and fighting the urge to cross the border illegally to see his family. With his signature raw, unfiltered intimacy, Sutherland weaves a parallel love story that takes us into a world often lived in the shadows. When Elizabeth's efforts hit a legal brick wall, she must plan for the unthinkable alternative: leaving the US with her children to live in exile in Mexico. "He is missing their entire life," Elizabeth says. Marcos Doesn't Live Here Anymore follows Elizabeth on her mission to bring back Marcos, which she pursues with the take-no-prisoners attitude of a Marine squad leader. Marcos Doesn’t Live Here Anymore tells a profoundly human story of complicated, imperfect people doing their best to cope with what life has dealt them. Director David Sutherland (Kind Hearted Woman, Country Boys, The Farmer’s Wife, Out of Sight) joins us to talk about the multi-faceted issues surrounding immigration, family separation, lost time, and the omnipresent fear of the unknown.
** April 15 - Marcos Doesn't Live Here Anymore screens on Independent Lens
For more about Marcos Doesn't Live Here Anymore
For more about the work of David Sutherland go to: davidsutherland.com
In a media environment dominated by increasingly concentrated corporate interests, eight distribution companies who have long championed the best in independent features, documentaries, and social issue films, have joined forces to help launch a new subscription streaming service, OVID.tv. Starting today, OVID.tv offers more than 350 quality documentaries and art-house films from the collections of its founding content partners: Bullfrog Films, The dGenerate Films Collection, Distrib Films US, First Run Features, Grasshopper Film, Icarus Films, KimStim, and Women Make Movies. Most of the films on OVID.tv are not available on any other streaming platform, and OVID.tv will be adding even more films every two weeks–14 fiction feature films and one 10-part documentary series are already scheduled for release. Despite the odds and with little capital, Icarus Films, Docuseek, and our partners have decided that the time has come to step forward and build a new, independent space, dedicated to the films that we believe in and care about, and that we believe you care about, and value as well. OVID.tv co-founder Jonathan Miller joins us to talk about an affordable option for film lovers looking for the highest quality cinema experience presented by people who share your passion.
For news and updates go to:ovid.tv
You can read more about OVID on the International Documentary Association website, click here.
For now OVID.tv is only available in the U.S.
In 2004, the United States’ first problem-solving court around prostitution was created in Queens County, New York. The court, presided over by the Honorable Toko Serita, attempts to redress the way women and young girls arrested for prostitution are shuffled through the criminal justice system. With unparalleled access to the workings of the court, BLOWIN’ UP captures what it feels like to go through these criminal proceedings as a female defendant. The overwhelming majority of women arrested are undocumented Asian immigrants, black, Latina and transgender youth. We hear directly from these women, in their own words, and we begin to understand the complex scenarios that bring them into the courtroom. As BLOWIN’ UP progresses, and a new administration takes over in the White House in 2016, the courtroom’s fragile ecosystem is tested and the fates of those who pass through become less certain. Director Stephanie Wang-Breal is an award-winning filmmaker and commercial director. BLOWIN’ UP is her third feature length film. Her first film, Wo Ai Ni Mommy (I Love You, Mommy), was nominated for an Emmy®, and was the recipient of three Grand Jury Best Documentary Awards at the AFI/ Discovery Silverdocs Film Festival, the Asian American International Film Festival and the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, as well as a 2011 CINE special Jury Award. The film had its national television broadcast in 2010 on the award-winning PBS series POV. Director Stephanie Wang Breal stops by for a conversation on the vicious cycle of poverty, few job prospects, lack educational resources and criminalization of sex work.
For news and updates go to: blowinupfilm.com
For more on the films of Stephanie Wang Breal.com
Never before released in the US, Franco Rosso’s incendiary BABYLON had its world premiere at Cannes in 1980 but was deemed “too controversial, and likely to incite racial tension” (Vivien Goldman, Time Out) by the New York Film Festival that same year. Raw and smoldering, it follows a young reggae DJ (Brinsley Forde, frontman of landmark British group Aswad) in Thatcher-era Brixton as he pursues his musical ambitions, while battling fiercely against the racism and xenophobia of employers, neighbors, police, and the National Front. Written by Martin Stellman (QUADROPHENIA) and shot by two-time Oscar® winner Chris Menges (THE KILLING FIELDS) with beautiful, smoky cinematography that's been compared to TAXI DRIVER, BABYLON is fearless and unsentimental, yet tempered by the hazy bliss of the dancehall set to a blistering reggae, dub, and lovers rock soundtrack featuring Aswad, Johnny Clarke, and others, anchored by Dennis Bovell’s (The Slits) atmospheric score. BABYLON is the product of outsiders: director Rosso (1941-2016) immigrated from Italy as a child, Stellman is the son of Viennese Jewish immigrants, producer Gavrik Losey is the son of blacklisted Hollywood director Joseph Losey, and composer Bovell immigrated from Barbados, and was falsely imprisoned for running a sound system—the script was partly based on his experiences. Beyond the significance of being the only feature film about London's sound system scene, BABYLON unflinchingly observes the place of marginalized people in a society resistant—to the point of violence—to multiculturalism. Writer Martin Stellman joins us to talk about the impact that Babylon had on the Caribbean diaspora living in London, the neo-realism style of the film and winding path that Babylon has taken over the last 40 years.
For news and updates go to: kinolorber.com/film/Babylon
In early 2016, when a dark wave of anti-transgender “bathroom bills” began sweeping across the nation, The Human Rights Campaign published a report identifying 2016 as the most dangerous year for transgender Americans. In Washington State six such “bathroom bills” were introduced in the State Legislature. Documentary filmmaker Vlada Knowlton captured the ensuing civil rights battle from the perspective of a small group of embattled parents as they banded together to fight a deluge of proposed laws that would strip away the rights of their young, transgender children. As one of the parents, Knowlton presents an intimate portrait of her own struggle to protect her 5-year-old transgender daughter from laws inspired by ignorance and fear. From tension-filled Senate hearings in Olympia to intimate household settings of the families involved; from thought provoking conversations with key lawmakers to elucidating facts explained by leading scientists - The Most Dangerous Year explores the transgender civil rights battle in all its richness and complexity. While the film follows the story and outcome of anti-transgender legislation in Washington, the heart of the film lies in the stories of the families who made the decision to accept and support their kids for exactly who they are. Director Vlada Knowlton joins us for a conversation on her deeply personal film about her own family’s story and the stories of other loving and caring families fighting to protect and nourish their own.
For news and updates go to: themostdangerousyear.com
Orna, (Liron Ben Shlush) is the mother of three young children with a husband struggling to start his own restaurant. To help support her family Orna returns to the workplace, landing a job with a former army superior, Benny (Menashe Noy) who is now a successful real estate developer. While Orna embraces her new position and tries to balance its demands with her home life, she begins to experience escalating sexual harassment from her boss. Her rapid rise through the ranks and her increasing financial success seem to parallel a pattern of predatory behavior which ultimately brings her career and marital relationship to the brink. This timely and devastating psychological horror story is expertly told by long time feminist filmmaker Michal Aviad (Dimona Twist, The Women Pioneers, Invisible, For My Children). She joins us for an engaging conversation on an all too familiar story of a woman, simply trying to do her job and finding out its not enough.
For news and updates go to: zeitgeistfilms.com/film/workingwoman
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The highly anticipated documentary AMAZING GRACE, captures the live recording of Aretha Franklin's album “Amazing Grace” at The New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles in January 1972. Producer Alan Elliot joins us to talk about the “making of” and the resurrection of this remarkable display of raw talent and consuming passion, the 47-year long path that Amazing Grace has taken and how its arrival in theaters fulfills Aretha Franklin’s dying wish.
The Amazing Grace backstory
In 1972 Director Sydney Pollack (Tootsie, 3 Days of the Condor, Out of Africa) was inexperienced in shooting music documentary and shot without clapper boards snapping shut at the beginning of each take to help synchronize sound and picture in post-production. As a result of this mistake, even after months of work by experts, the 20 hours of footage couldn't be synchronized with the audio tracks. The choir director from the Watts recordings was brought in to try to lip-read the reels, but after months of work, only about 150 minutes of footage had been matched with sound, none of it adding up to a complete, useable song. Deadlines passed as the "Amazing Grace" album came out in June 1972, selling millions with no synergy. In August, Warner Bros. officially wrote off and shelved the movie. Pollack never gave up on the project, but constantly had other commitments. In 2007, dying of cancer, Pollack finally handed the documentary project over to producer and music enthusiast Producer Alan Elliott.
For news and updates go to: amazing-grace-movie.com
The gripping new documentary Roll Red Roll goes behind the headlines on a story that grabbed the national attention seven years ago. At a pre-season football party in small-town Steubenville, Ohio, a heinous crime took place: the assault of a teenage girl by members of the beloved high school football team. What transpired would garner national attention and result in the sentencing of two key offenders. But it was the disturbing social media evidence uncovered online by crime blogger Alex Goddard that provoked the most powerful questions about the case, and about the collusion of teen bystanders, teachers, parents and coaches to protect the assailants and discredit the victim. As it painstakingly reconstructs the night of the crime and its aftermath, Roll Red Roll uncovers the engrained rape culture at the heart of the incident, acting as a cautionary tale about what can happen when teenage social media bullying runs rampant and adults look the other way. The film unflinchingly asks: “why didn’t anyone stop it?” Director Nancy Schwartzman joins us to talk about life in a town where high school football is king, a “boys will be boys” ethos that can easily morph into a rape culture and how a few brave women said no more.
For news and updates go to: rollredrollfilm.com
THE WIND tells the tale of an unseen evil haunts the homestead in this chilling, folkloric tale of madness, paranoia, and otherworldly terror. Lizzy (Caitlin Gerard) is a tough, resourceful frontierswoman settling a remote stretch of land on the 19th-century American frontier. Isolated from civilization in a desolate wilderness where the wind never stops howling, she begins to sense a sinister presence that seems to be borne of the land itself, an overwhelming dread that her husband (Ashley Zukerman) dismisses as superstition. When a newlywed couple arrives on a nearby homestead, their presence amplifies Lizzy’s fears, setting into motion a shocking chain of events. THW WIND masterfully blends haunting visuals with pulse-pounding sound design, while director Emma Tammi evokes a godforsaken world in which the forces of nature come alive with quivering menace. Director Emma Tammi stops by for a conversation on “Penny Sermons” and the challenges of isolated, desert shoots and framing a non-traditional western from a woman’s perspective.
For news and updates go to: ifcfilms.com/the-wind
TRE MAISON DASAN is told directly through the eyes of the children themselves, Tre Maison Dasan is a moving portrait of three unforgettable young boys struggling to grow up with a parent in prison. They face the pressure of growing up in a society that often demonizes their parents, provides little support for their families, and assumes “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Society writes them off as criminals, but in their hearts their children still see them as mom and dad. Tre is a charismatic but troubled 13-year-old who hides his emotions behind a mask of tough talk and hard edges. Maison is a funny, charming, hyper-articulate 11-year-old whose Autism Spectrum Disorder presents itself through his ever-active mind and deep love for those around him. Dasan, the youngest of the boys, is a shy and sensitive six-year-old full of curiosity and empathy. Although their parents are incarcerated for serious crimes, the strong and caring relationships they maintain with their kids shatter stereotypes about those behind bars and remind us of the plight of the over 1.7 million American children growing up with an incarcerated parent. Denali Tiller is an artist and filmmaker. Following her work directing and producing TRE MAISON DASAN, Tiller is working on a large-scale, multi-sectoral impact campaign for the film, engaging communities affected by incarceration across the US and in Europe. In 2015, Denali was named one of 10 “Filmmakers to Watch” by Variety. As a director, Tiller is passionate about exploring new perspectives on systemic issues, empowering youth and women, and how we raise boys in America. Director Denali Tiller joins us for an engaging conversation on the implications of incarceration that go far beyond a prisoners time behind bars and into the deeper impacts it has on their family, community and civil society.
For news and updates go to: pbs.org/independentlens/films/tre-maison-dasan
For more on the work of Denali Tiller go to: tremaisondasan.com
When Steve Bannon left his position as White House chief strategist less than a week after the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally in August 2017, he was already a notorious figure in Trump's inner circle, and for bringing a far-right ideology into the highest echelons of American politics. Unconstrained by an official post - though some say he still has a direct line to the White House - he became free to peddle influence as a perceived kingmaker, turning his controversial brand of nationalism into a global movement. Alison Klayman’s THE BRINK follows Bannon through the 2018 mid-term elections in the United States, shedding light on his efforts to mobilize and unify far-right parties in order to win seats in the May 2019 European Parliamentary elections. To maintain his power and influence, the former Goldman Sachs banker and media investor reinvents himself - as he has many times before - this time as the self-appointed leader of a global populist movement. Keen manipulator of the press and gifted self-promoter, Bannon continues to draw headlines and protests wherever he goes, feeding the powerful myth on which his survival relies. Director and Cinematographer Alison Klayman joins us for a conversation on gaining access and the confidence of a man who has maneuvered his way into the darkest corners of white-wing global brinksmanship.
For news and updates go to: thebrinkfilm.com
For more information on Alison Klayman go to: alisonklayman.com/the-brink
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THE BOY BAND CON: THE LOU PEARLMAN STORY is a documentary feature that tells the story of famed boy band impresario Lou Pearlman. The film tracks his life from his childhood in Queens, New York through discovering mega-bands NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, and chronicles his later life, including his perpetration of one of the largest Ponzi schemes in American history. This is the first time this story has ever been told from the perspective of the people involved: from the boy band members themselves, and the Ponzi scheme investors to Lou’s childhood friends. Interview subjects include artists Lance Bass, JC Chasez, and Chris Kirkpatrick (NSYNC); AJ McLean (Backstreet Boys); and Aaron Carter and Ashley Parker Angel (O-Town). Director, editor and cinematographer Aaron Kunkel (Charlie and the Ghost, The Moment) joins us to talk about an all-too-familiar tale of deception perpetrated by a trusted, likable and conflicted con artist.
“The Boy Band Con, The Lou Pearlman Story is a film wrought with both truth and lies, and Lance and I, and the whole team at Pilgrim, really took to heart uncovering what was real story amongst all the rumors, half-truths and full-blown falsehoods. Lou wove a tangled web. As Johnny Wright, the former manager of Backstreet and *NSYNC says, Lou was like a tabloid: there’s 10 percent of truth to what he says, and the rest is Lou taking it where he wants. We’re living in a time when truth and lies seem to blur together more and more and I wanted to examine the differences between them, while also exploring why they’re becoming - and in a lot of ways may always have been - difficult to tell apart.” - Director Aaron Kunkel
For news and updates go to: The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story
Los Angeles - Arclight Sherman Oaks from Wednesday, March 27th through Tuesday, April 2nd.
New York - AMC 34th Street 14 from Friday, March 29th through Thursday April 4th.
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AMERICAN RELAPSE tells the story of two people fighting to make a difference against the devastating heroin epidemic that’s spawning a billion-dollar treatment industry. Against the odds, in an “Us vs. the World” mentality, two recovering addicts spend their lives pulling needles out of the arms of addicts and assist in placing them in reputable treatment facilities. The film features Frankie and Allie who live and work in Delray Beach, Florida, the Rehab Capital of America, now referred to by some as the Relapse Capital of America. They allowed the film crew all access for one weekend. What transpires over 72 hours is not only captivating and raw, but a heartbreaking rollercoaster ride. Frankie is 38 and has relapsed multiple times but continues to operate his F*ck Heroin Foundation with his mother. Allie is 28 and has been clean and sober for 10 years. While they are at different points on the recovery spectrum, they both share a deep belief in the 12th step: helping others. These unlikely and imperfect heroes opened their lives for the world to see, hoping to shine a light anywhere and any way they can. In the process, they show viewers and addicts alike that despite seemingly impossible odds and devastating damage, empathy and hope can restore a little bit of humanity to those who struggle and can sometimes save their lives. Co-directors Patrick McGee (Dopesick Nation, The Deported) and Adam Linkenhelt (24 to Life) join us to talk about their raw, honest film and South Florida’s heroin epidemic and the revolving door of the for-profit rehab industry.
For news and updates go to: americanrelapse.com
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In BILLBOARD Casey Lindeweiler (John Robinson) inherits WTYT 960 from his legendary radioman father only to discover that it’s on the brink of financial collapse. To right the sinking ship, Casey pulls out the oldest trick in radio, the wacky contest. His grand plan is to host a billboard sitting contest where four people will live on a catwalk in front of a billboard for the chance of winning a mobile home and “nine-sixty thousand” dollars. Unprepared for the spotlight, Casey rises to the challenge of running a business but is faced with relentless attacks from his competition (Eric Roberts), the local authorities, the media, and mother nature herself. Casey struggles to keep his father’s legacy alive while fighting to stay independent. BILLBOARD is inspired by an actual billboard-sitting contest Zelker recalls from his youth. BILLBOARD, which stars: John Robinson (Elephant, Lords of Dogtown,), Heather Matarazzo (Welcome to the Dollhouse, The Princess Diaries), Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight, Grey’s Anatomy), Leo Fitzpatrick (Kids, Bully), Darlene Cates (What’s Eating Gilbert Grapes, Picket Fences), and Oakes Fegley (Pete’s Dragon, This is Where I Leave You). A long-time pioneer in what has been called “transmedia” entertainment, Zelker is committed to changing the face of film. The “Billboard cine•experience,” tells variations of its story in different ways per medium, which is something unique and not yet fully embraced by the mainstream movie industry. Zelker explores multiple sides of the narrative and is unafraid to push traditional boundary lines between truth and fiction; all while enabling audiences to become a part of the story. The innovative filmmaker Zeke Zelker joins us to talk about his approach to creating an entire cinematic eco-system and why it is so important for filmmakers to seek out new ways of engaging an audience. For news and updates go to: billboardmovie.com Or to keep track of WTYT 960
Social Media facebook.com/BillboardMovie instagram.com/billboardmovie
Of all the divisions in America, none is as insidious and destructive as racism. The powerful documentary THE LONG SHADOW takes a shockingly candid look at America’s original sin – slavery -- and traces the history of slavery from the country’s founding, up through its insidious ties to racism today. We witness from the moment of America’s birth, how slavery was embedded in principal structural elements of society, and yet, even as slavery ended, these systems still operate today in various forms, carrying out their original purpose - to diminish the social role of black people and keep them in a perpetual state of suffering. Director Frances Causey and Producer Sally Holst, both privileged daughters of the South, were haunted by their families’ slave-owning pasts. They grew up in a time when white superiority was rarely questioned, and challenging this norm was often met with deadly consequences. Rejecting the oft-told romanticized version of early U.S. history, they embarked on a journey of hidden truths and the untold stories of how America - driven by the South's powerful political influence - steadily, deliberately and with great stealth, established white privilege in our institutions, laws, culture and economy. From New Orleans to Virginia, Mississippi and Canada, they traveled the roads of oppression, suppression, and even hope to reveal the direct link from early slavery, Jim Crow and strong-arm Southern politics to the current racial strife and division we face today. Director and Frances Causey is an Emmy-award winning journalist and documentary filmmaker who began her career with CNN. Her 2012 documentary feature, “Heist: Who Stole the American Dream?”was a New York Times Critic’s Pick and is currently seen in over 50 countries. Causey was honored with the Women’s International Film and Television Jury Award for her work on Heist. Frances Causey joins us to talk about the stain of slavery and the legacy of racism that continues to torment the American Promise.
For news and updates go to: thelongshadowfilm.com
Host a screening at: thelongshadowfilm.com/host-a-screening
DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE tells the tale of two policemen, one an old-timer, Ridgemen, (Mel Gibson), the other his volatile younger partner, Anthony, (Vince Vaughn), who find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arm tactics become the media's cause du jour. Low on cash and with no other options, these two embittered soldiers descend into the criminal underworld to gain their just due, but instead find far more than they wanted awaiting them in the shadows. What bad things will good men do for their families? In the hardboiled world of DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE, who lives, who dies, and who gets rich is a fate written in bullets. Director S. Craig Zahler stops to talk about his stylishly brutal, modern day film noir and his determination to tell this story on his own terms.
For news and updates go to: Lionsgate.com / Dragged Across Concrete
The most awarded "dream team" of documentary talent in decades CRADLE OF CHAMPIONS captures the epic story of three young people fighting for their lives in the oldest, biggest, most important amateur boxing tournament in the world: New York’s Daily News Golden Gloves. CRADLE OF CHAMPIONS follows three extraordinary, inspiring individuals—James Wilkins, Nisa Rodriguez, and Titus Williams—on an urban odyssey through a ten-week tournament, founded in 1927, that has produced more professional world champions than the Olympic Games. Telling a compelling story of dreams, heartbreak, and redemption, the result is a unique work of art. CRADLE OF CHAMPIONS is edge-of-the-seat drama with the polish of a Hollywood feature film and the intimacy of a gritty cinéma vérité classic.CRADLE OF CHAMPIONS Director Bartle Bull is a noted author and journalist who has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Financial Times. He joins us for a conversation on his desire to document an iconic sporting event that is teetering on the edge of extinction and the community that continues to support it.
Just out of high school, at the age of 18, Miles Lagoze enlisted in the Marine Corps. Lagoze was deployed to Afghanistan where he served as Combat Camera — his unit's official videographer, tasked with shooting and editing footage for the Corps’ recruiting purposes and historical initiatives. But upon discharging, Lagoze took all the footage he and his fellow cameramen shot, and he assembled quite simply the very documentary the Corps does not want you to see. COMBAT OBSCURA is a groundbreaking look at daily life in a war zone as told by the Marines themselves. More than a mere compilation of violence, the edit ingeniously repurposes the original footage to reveal the intensity and paradoxes of an ambiguous war from an unvarnished perspective. Director Miles Lagoze joins us to talk about his deployment in America’s longest war, adapting to a whipsaw life of boredom, camaraderie and death and training to become a filmmaker via the United States Marine Corp.
For news and updates go to: combatobscura.oscilloscope.net
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Always tight on money, with a self-inflated view of his own “genius,” Bruce (Eden Marryshow “Jessica Jones”) is an egocentric, self-professed writer, director, artist and playboy who damages all of his relationships, romantic or otherwise, as he cons his way through his self-obsessed existence with a mixture of swagger and deeply insecure neuroticism. On the heels of his parents cutting him off, his free ride comes to an abrupt end after his roommate (Jason Tottenham “Quantico”) informs him he’s moving in with his fiancé (Jade Eshete “Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency”). Desperate to keep his apartment and stay afloat financially, Bruce concocts a plan to run an ad for a hot female roommate and charge her 80% of the rent. When Bruce falls for one of the applicants (Mle’ Chester “Vinyl”), he tries to turn his life around, but as the saying goes, “karma is a bitch.” Will Bruce see the error of his ways or remain irredeemably awful? Director, Producer, Writer Eden Marryshow joins us to talk about assembling a terrific supporting cast and the inspiration for his brash feature film debut.
For news and updates go to: brucethefilm.com
The story of the United California Bank Robbery is one of the greatest stories never told. Back in 1972, the leader of a small group of safecrackers from Youngstown, Ohio got a tip from Jimmy Hoffa: President Nixon was hiding up to $30 million in dirty campaign funds in a bank in Laguna Niguel. Propelled by their hatred for Nixon, the gang travelled to California to rip off the President of The United States. "Finding Steve McQueen" is an unbelievable true story about one of the most daring bank jobs of all time. But at its heart it's a story about identity. Who we are versus who we want to be -- and what happens when those worlds collide. FINDING STEVE MCQUEEN features Travis Fimmel (“Vikings,” Warcraft: The Beginning, The Experiment), Rachael Taylor (Transformers, “Jessica Jones”, Shutter,) William Fichtner (“Mom,” Black Hawk Down, Crash, Armageddon) and Forest Whitaker (Black Panther, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Last King of Scotland). The film is directed by Mark Steven Johnson (Ghost Rider, Daredevil and Grumpy Old Men) is the true story behind "Finding Steve McQueen" one of those fascinating footnotes in American History that deserves to be told. And with a crooked president in the White House and a scandal looming...it's a story that has never been more relevant. Director Mark Steven Johnson (Grumpy Old Men) stops by to talk about his beguiling stranger-than-fiction tale of politically motivated larceny and the love of a true Hollywood icon.
For news and updates go to: momentumpictures.net
The story follows rising political star Ilhan Omar, a proud hijab-wearing, one-time refugee Somali-American mother and community activist, as she seeks to unseat the long time incumbent who served in the legislature for 43 years. Also in the race is an eloquent male Somali activist who challenged but lost to Kahn in 2014. All three candidates run as progressive Democrats. Ilhan Omar’s win means she will become the first Somali-American, Muslim woman to hold state office in the United States, an especially dramatic prospect given the anti-Muslim rhetoric that brewed in the lead up to the 2016 Presidential race. Although the U.S. failed to elect its first female president, one woman still made history. Ilhan Omar’s story will present a counter narrative to the pervasive negative portrayal of both politics and Muslim immigrants and women in America. It will also raise questions about barriers to access to the political process in this country, and offer a refreshing and inspiring example of overcoming them. Director Norah Shapiro joins us for a conversation about her intimate and invigorating look into the quixotic campaign and the multi-faceted life of a Somali refugee seeking to bring a new voice and perspective into an evolving American paradigm.
For news and updates go to: timeforilhanfilm.com
Host a screening! Go to timeforilhanfilm.com/host
Tucked in the trees of Oregon's Mount Hood, an introspective young snowboarder camps alone, anticipating a winter of adventure and self-renewal. In Caitland Matlow’s latest documentary WOODSRIDER a tenacious, 19-year old Sadie Ford operates within the poetic persona of a searching pioneer. Her footsteps track over the town of Government Camp's mountain landscape, her dog Scooter her only constant companion. Deep among the Douglas firs Sadie snowshoes to build her nestled tentsite, a place she feels more at ease than anywhere with four walls. Riding sessions and house parties in town provide brief breaths of social interaction and connection, but otherwise she chooses to spend time in solitude. Sadie's simple quest for joy is tempered by melancholy when increasingly warm temperatures on the mountain cause rain to replace snow, and the winter season grows shorter. Striking a youthful yet elegiac tone, WOODSRIDER is a meditative film about identity, home, and the way that human experience echoes that of the natural world. Director Caitland Matlow joins us to talk about the immersive, intimate look into the life of a woman determined to stake out her own path.
For news and updates go to: woodsriderfilm.com
Social Media: facebook.com/woodsrider twitter.com/woodsriderfilm
Joseph Pulitzer’s New York newspaper, The World, would transform American media and make him wealthy, admired and feared. Throughout his four decades as a reporter and publisher, he created a powerful artistic vehicle that spoke to an unprecedented number of readers. Towards the end of his life, both sickly and blind, Pulitzer’s commitment to fearless reporting would tested by the most powerful person in American life. Pulitzer is an American icon who spoke of “fake news” over one hundred years ago. He fought the dangers that the suppression of news had for a democracy long before our present threats to press freedom. While he is remembered for the prizes that bear his name, his own heroic battles in the face of grave illness and Presidential ire have been forgotten as has the artistry and game changing originality he brought to newspapers. How did Joseph Pulitzer, once a penniless young Jewish immigrant from Hungary, come to challenge a popular president and fight for freedom of the press as essential to our democracy? Adam Driver narrates the film. Liev Schreiber is the voice of Pulitzer. Tim Blake Nelson is the voice of Teddy Roosevelt and Rachel Brosnahan is the voice of Nelly Bly. Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People Director and Producer Oren Rudavsky is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and several National Endowment for the Humanities and National Endowment for the Arts grants. Rudavsky produced Witness Theater a film chronicling a Self help organized workshop between holocaust survivors and high-school students which will premiere in 2019. His previous films Colliding Dreams co-directed with Joseph Dorman, and The Ruins of Lifta co-directed with Menachem Daum, were released theatrically in 2016. Colliding Dreams was broadcast on PBS in May 2018. Director Oren Rudavsky joins us for a conversation on the indispensable role Joseph Pulitzer played in the development of America’s crown jewel, freedom of the press.
For news and updates go to: Josephpulitzerfilm.com
SHARKWATER EXTINCTION is a thrilling and inspiring action packed journey that follows filmmaker Rob Stewart (Sharkwater, Revolution) as he exposes the massive illegal shark fin industry and the political corruption behind it - a conspiracy that is leading to the extinction of sharks. From West Africa, Spain, Panama, Costa Rica, France, and even in our own backyard, Stewart's third film dives into the often violent underworld of the pirate fishing trade to expose a multi-billion dollar industry. Shark finning is still rampant, shark fin soup is still being consumed on an enormous scale, and endangered sharks are now also being used to make products for human consumption. Stewart's mission is to save the sharks and oceans before it's too late. SHARKWATER EXTINCTION exposes the illegal activities isn't easy; protecting sharks has earned him some powerful enemies. Friend colleague and founder of SeaChange Agency Brock Cahill joins us to talk about working with director and sea mammal advocate Rob Stewart, the popular misconceptions about sharks and the challenge to stop the unwarranted slaughter of 150 million sharks every year by a clandestine world-wide cabal.
For news and updates go to: sharkwater.com
Social Media for Sharkwater
facebook.com/SharkWater
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instagram.com/teamsharkwater
Mining country in Appalachia has been declared The Devilʼs Playground. A close-knit group of veteran miners, all friends and family, commence what would bea normal dayʼs work -- except today a rookie, the son of one of our veterans and the god-son of the Section Leader, joins them, 18 year-old Ryan. With ever-growing safety concerns at the mine, Zeke (Section Leader and long time coal mining veteran), struggles with the correct course of action, weighing on one hand the safety of his men, and on the other, the need to earn a steady wage in an economically depressed region. Today, however, fate takes matters into its own hands when a huge methane explosion rips through the mine. Smoke engulfs the men, forcing them to rely on nothing more than, brains, brawn and faulty self-rescuers (oxygen tanks that afford them one hour of air). MINE 9 is the story of the struggle for survival against all odds; men trapped in hell as the result of exploitation, greed and circumstance. Director Edward Mensore’s intense new action/thriller MINE 9 will have its' World premiere at the 2019 Cinequest Film Festival, running March 5-17th, 2019 in San Jose, California. MINE 9 is Edward Mensore’s second feature film. Eddie Mensore joins us to talk about his rivet, harrowing film about bravery in the face of insurmountable odds and the devotion of the men and women to a way of life.
For news and updates go to: mine9movie.com
Festival screening dates at Cinequest:
3Below Friday, Mar 8 @ 7:00 PM
3Below Monday, Mar 11 @ 7:05 PM
Century 20 Redwood City #17 Tuesday, Mar 12 @ 6:15 PM
Century 20 Redwood City #2 Thursday, Mar 14 @ 5:00 PM
Social Media
facebook.com/mine9movie
twitter.com/Mine9movie
instagram.com/mine9movie
Stunningly lensed and invoking the very best of cinema vérité, director Michael Dominic (SUNSHINE HOTEL) brings his newest feature documentary CLEAN HANDS to the Cinequest Film Festival for a much anticipated world premiere. Shot over the course of seven years (2011-2018) in Nicaragua, Clean Hands is a feature-length documentary which tells the remarkable, riveting story of the Lopez family surviving against the backdrop of Central America’s largest garbage dump, La Chureca and beyond. It is about family, extreme poverty, the hope and innocence of children, rescue and salvation, and the challenges we all face. This is a slice of life that is rarely seen. Director Michael Dominic stops by for a conversation on how crushing poverty impacts multiple generations and the daunting challenges people face in breaking the poverty cycle.
For news and updates go to: cleanhandsmovie.com
Festival screening dates at Cinequest:
Century 20 Redwood City - Screen 1 Saturday, March 9 @ 3:15 PM
Century 20 Redwood City - Screen 17 Sunday, March 10 @ 4:35 PM
3Below Wednesday, March 13 @ 1:40 PM
Social Media:
facebook.com/cleanhandsmovie
twitter.com/CleanHandsFilm
instagram.com/mdominic
The war with Iraq was the largest mobilization of the Iranian population, achieved primarily by producing and promoting a culture of martyrdom based on religious themes found in Shi'a Islam. Martyrdom became state policy. Khomeini made it clear the war was a spiritual one that the people, and not a professional army, would fight. It would be a sacred defense; a war of good against evil, of spirit against military might, where a human wave of believers would form a wall of defense against the Iraqis. Over 800,000 people died. Anthropologist, writer and filmmaker Roxanne Varzi spent twelve years researching and writing about post-Revolution public culture in Iran. As an Iranian-American who was born in Iran and left shortly after the Revolution she found that even though she had missed the war with Iraq it was omnipresent. She spent a year in Iran without a film permit speaking to ideologically driven mural painters, museum curators, war vets and other cultural producers alongside the secular youth who were meant to consume the culture created by the government. The result is an experimental documentary and meditation on the aftermath of the war, and especially the mourning after. Dr. Roxanne Varzi (Tehran Tourist) for a conversation on her compelling and informative film about her homeland, martyrdom and the devastating consequences of war.
For news and updates go to: Plastic Flowers Never Die
Watch Plastic Flowers Never Die on Kanopy
From director Todd Douglas Miller (Dinosaur 13) comes APOLLO 11 a cinematic event fifty years in the making. Crafted from a newly discovered trove of 65mm footage, and more than 11,000 hours of uncatalogued audio recordings, APOLLO 11 takes us straight to the heart of NASA’s most celebrated mission—the one that first put men on the moon, and forever made Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins into household names. Immersed in the perspectives of the astronauts, the team in Mission Control, and the millions of spectators on the ground, we vividly experience those momentous days and hours in 1969 when humankind took a giant leap into the future. APOLLO 11 director Todd Douglas Miller joins us to talk about taking on the challenge of sifting through a mountain of audio and video, developing new technologies for processing and enhancing 16mm film stock and capturing the tension and triumph of an incomparable achievement in human history.
For news and updates go to: apollo11movie.com
Social Media:
Facebook.com/Apollo11Movie
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Tom Volf's MARIA BY CALLAS is the first film to tell the life story of the legendary Greek/American opera singer completely in her own words. Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs—nearly all of which have never been shown to the public—the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time. Assembling the material for the film took director Volf four years of painstaking research, which included personal outreach to dozens of Callas's closest friends and associates, who allowed him to share their personal memorabilia in the film. When recordings of Callas's voice aren't available, Joyce DiDonato, one of contemporary opera's biggest stars, reads her words. Through Volf's intimate portrait of Callas, we see that some commonly held beliefs about Callas, notably her reputation as a "tempestuous" diva, have no basis in fact. MARIA BY CALLAS revisits many of the most notable controversies of Callas's life, from the "Rome Cancellation" to her conflict with the Metropolitan Opera's Rudolf Bing, and demonstrates that, while Callas was a demanding perfectionist, she was neither capricious nor someone who made trouble for its own sake. The film also sheds new light on Callas's relationship with Aristotle Onassis, the supreme love of her life. Director Tom Volf joins us in a conversation on the story behind his illuminating look into the complex life of a music icon and his decision to tell Maria’s story using her own voice.
For news and updates go to: sonyclassics.com/mariabycallas
Social Media:
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From the Oscar nominated team behind the genre-defying Embrace of the Serpent, comes an equally audacious saga centered on the Wayúu indigenous people during a crucial period in recent Colombian history. Torn between his desire to become a powerful man and his duty to uphold his culture's values, Rapayet (José Acosta) enters the drug trafficking business in the 1970s and finds quick success despite his tribe's matriarch Ursula's (Carmiña Martínez) disapproval. Ignoring ancient omens, Rapayet and his family get caught up in a conflict where honor is the highest currency and debts are paid with blood. A sprawling epic about the erosion of tradition in pursuit of material wealth, Birds of Passage is a visually striking exploration of loyalty, greed, and the voracious nature of change. Co-directors Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego join us for a conversation on their beautifully crafted mix of drug-trade epic and intimate family saga.
For news and updates go to: birdsofpassage 2019 Sundance Film Festival Selection – Spotlight Program OSCAR® SHORTLIST – Best Foreign Language Film – Colombia
Social Media: facebook.com/birdsofpassagemovie twitter.com/birdspassage instagram.com/birdsofpassagemovie
For years, roller-skating rinks have been a constant for African-American communities across the U.S., serving as a meeting ground, a place to have fun and an incubator of iconic hip-hop talents like Queen Latifah and N.W.A. As America’s last standing roller rinks are threatened with closure, a community joins forces in a racially charged environment to save the underground African-American subculture of roller skating, which has been overlooked by the mainstream for generations – yet has given rise to some of the world's greatest musical talents. From executive producer John Legend and first-time directors Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown, the documentary UNITED SKATES highlights the dynamic world of roller skating, showcasing African-American rinks and skaters across the country as they fight to keep the culture alive and skate their hearts out. The film features interviews with hip-hop legends like Salt-N-Pepa, Coolio, Vin Rock of Naughty by Nature and World Class Wreckin’ Cru. UNITED SKATES spotlights three skaters fighting for their community: L.A. native Phelicia, a single mom who grew up in skates and hopes to keep skating alive for her children; North Carolinian Reggie, who lives hours from any rink that offers a night for black skaters and vows to launch his own; and Buddy Love, the owner of Chicago-based Rich City Skate, who struggles to keep his rink open, despite financial pressure. Co-directors Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler stop by to talk about their infectious and insightful look at a facet of African-American life in danger of fading away.
For more news and updates go to: unitedskatesfilm.com
Check out United Skates on HBO
Social Media:
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Reed (Christopher Abbott) is going on a business trip. He kisses his wife and infant son goodbye, but in lieu of a suitcase filled with clothes, he's packed a toothbrush and a murder kit. Everything is meticulously planned: check into a hotel and kill an unsuspecting victim. Only then will he rid himself of his devious impulses and continue to be a good husband and father. But Reed gets more than he bargained for with Jackie (Mia Wasikowska), an alluring call girl who arrives at his room. First, they relax and get in the mood, but when there’s an unexpected disruption, the balance of control begins to sway back and forth between the two. Is he seeing things? Who's playing whom? Before the night is over, a feverish nightmare will unfold, and Reed and Jackie will seal their bond in blood. Based on the critically acclaimed cult novel by Ryu Murakami, Director Nicolas Pesce (THE EYES OF MY MOTHER) talks about how he was able to blend psychological horror with comedy and stylish neo-noir, resulting in a sly take on the fantasy of escape and the hazards of modern romance.
For news and updates go to: piercingmovie.com
Based loosely on Scottish ghostly folklore with inspiration from Greek sirens, the tale is set in 1846 on a remote island off the west coast of Scotland, where three survivors from a mysterious sinking of their merchant ship find themselves stranded on a small misty isle. The isle’s four sole secretive residents, an old harbor man, a farmer, his niece and a young mad woman, are anything but welcoming and reluctant to aid the sailors back to the mainland. The promise of a boat never materializes leading one of the sailors to question why people had abandoned the island. Through his investigation he discovers that every year around the same date a tragedy at sea would occur and young men from the island would perish. When his two shipmates meet with fatal accidents, the myth of a ghostly siren haunting the island leads him to try and uncover the truth. Directed and co-written by British filmmaker Matthew Butler Hart (TWO DOWN), the film stars Olivier Award-winning, Tony-nominated actor Conleth Hill (HBO’s “The Game of Thrones”), Alex Hall (SUBURBICAN, BBC’s “The Miniaturist”), Fisaya Akinade (BAFTA-nominated GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS with Glenn Close and Gemma Arterton), THE ISLE co-writer and producer, Tori Butler Hart (MISS IN HER TEENS), Alix Wilton Regan (THE WIFE) and Graham Butler (Showtime’s “Penny Dreadful”). Director Matthew Butler Hart stops by to talk about his gorgeous, haunting new film.
filmfreeway.com/matthewbutlerhart
Brainmedia.com/The Isle
fizzandgingerfilms.co.uk/the-isle
facebook.com/Matthew Hart Butler
For over a decade, ShortsTV has proudly brought the Oscar© Nominated Short Films to audiences across the globe. This exclusive release features the year’s most spectacular short films and for a limited time is available to watch on the big screen. Each nominee is released in one of three distinct feature-length compilations according to their category of nomination: Live Action, Animation or Documentary. The films go into theaters around the world shortly after nominations are announced and are not released anywhere else until a few days before the Oscars©, when they are also made available via on demand platforms, including iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play and Vimeo on Demand. The release ensures the greatest number of viewers can see all the nominees before the ceremony, while providing short filmmakers with an unprecedented opportunity to commercialize their movies. Carter Pilcher founded Shorts International in 2000. Coming from a background in both investment banking and law, Carter has made Shorts International the world’s leading short movie Entertainment Company, functioning as distributor, broadcaster and producer. Carter has extensive experience in short movie production and short movie entertainment. He is a voting member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and a member of the Short Film and Feature Animation Branch of The US Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) – the guys who pick the Oscars. For the last five years Carter Pilcher has been the highlight of Oscar season here on Film School. His insight, commitment and love of the short film format and the dedicated people who create them insures a lively and informative conversation on some of the best films you will see all year.
For news and updates on the Oscar Shorts go to: shortstv - theoscarshorts
For screening information go to: theoscarshorts/theatrical release
THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT follows the epic adventures of an American legend that no one has ever heard of. Since WWII, Calvin Barr (Sam Elliott) has lived with the secret that he was responsible for the assassination of Adolf Hitler. Now, decades later, the US government has called on him again for a new top-secret mission. Bigfoot has been living deep in the Canadian wilderness and is carrying a deadly plague that is now threatening to spread to the general population. Relying on the same skills that he honed during the war, Calvin must set out to save the free world yet again. Director Robert D. Kryzkowski joins us to talk about working with two-time Academy Award nominated director John Sayles and visual effects wizard and two time Academy Award winner, Douglas Trumbull (Blade Runner and 2001: A Space Odyssey) and how he was able to fashion an endearing, bittersweet saga of a heavy hearted man driven by a profound sense of duty.
For news and updates go to: The Man Who Killed Hitler and then Bigfoot
BEHIND THE BULLET is the directorial debut from author and activist, Heidi Yewman. When her former basketball coach and teacher, Dave Sanders was killed in the Columbine High School massacre along with 12 students, she began profiling the lives of those altered by the impact of gun violence. She is a tireless advocate for gun safety, sitting on the boards of The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Women Donors Network, Stop our Shootings, and Trauma Intervention Program of Portland, OR. In BEHIND THE BULLET will make it’s world debut as a documentary competition selection at the 2019 Slamdance Film Festival, Yewman chronicles an in-depth look at four individuals who have pulled the trigger and the profound impact it’s had on their lives. Every year, almost 40,000 people are shot and killed in America. Each shooting devastates and forever changes the victim’s family and friends. BEHIND THE BULLET explores a side of gun violence that’s rarely talked about - the impact a shooting has on the shooter. Four individuals share how the pull of a trigger, changed them emotionally, physically, psychologically, and spiritually. They describe the conflicting emotions and moral injury that comes after a self-defense, accidental, or unintentional shooting, offering a new and unbiased perspective on gun violence. Director Heidi Yewman joins us to talk about the devastating impacts that guns and the profound impact they have had on four people’s lives.
For news and updates go to: behindthebulletfilm.com
In November 1940, days after the Nazis sealed 450,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, a secret band of journalists, scholars and community leaders decided to fight back. Led by historian Emanuel Ringelblum and known by the code name Oyneg Shabes, this clandestine group vowed to defeat Nazi lies and propaganda not with guns or fists but with pen and paper. Now, for the first time, their story is told as a feature documentary. Written, produced and directed by Roberta Grossman, based upon the book Who Will Write Our History? by Samuel D. Kassow, and executive produced by Nancy Spielberg, Who Will Write Our History mixes the writings of the Oyneg Shabes archive with new interviews, rarely seen footage, and stunning dramatizations (shot on location in Lodz and Warsaw, Poland) to transport us inside the Ghetto and the lives of these courageous resistance fighters. They defied their murderous enemy with the ultimate weapon – the truth – and risked everything so that their archive would survive the war, even if they did not. Featuring the voices of three-time Academy Award nominee Joan Allen and Academy Award winner Adrian Brody, the film honors the Oyneg Shabes members’ determination in creating the most important cache of eyewitness accounts to survive the war. Director / producer / writer Roberta Grossman joins us to talk about how her passion for social justice led her to Emanuel Ringelblum and what Who Will Write Our History can teaches about the world we live in today.
For news and updates go to: whowillwriteourhistory.com
Social Media
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ASHLEY CONNOR is a New York based director of photography. Her work on Josephine Decker's BUTTER ON THE LATCH and THOU WAST MILD AND LOVELY prompted New Yorker critic Richard Brody to name her, alongside Darius Khonji and Fabrice Aragno, as one of the year's best cinematographers. Her breadth of style can be seen in work as diverse as Dustin Guy Defa's PERSON TO PERSON (Sundance '17) and Adam Leon's TRAMPS (TIFF '16), as well as in popular music videos for artists including Jenny Lewis, Angel Olsen and Maggie Rogers. She had two films premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, Josephine Decker’s MADELINE’S MADELINE and Desiree Akhavan’s Grand Jury Prize winning THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST starring Chloe Moretz and Sasha Lane. Most recently she shot two pilots for A24/Hulu and has three more films coming out in 2018: Olivia Newman’s FIRST MATCH (SXSW 2018 Audience Award Winner, Netflix produced), Alex O Eaton’s MOUNTAIN REST and an Untitled Daniel Scheinert film. Ashley Connor stops by for a conversation on her work on Josephine Decker’s Madeline’s Madeline’s Madeline and her Spirit Award nomination for her cinematography.
For news and updates go to: ashleyconnor.net
Social Media: facebook.com/ashley.connor
Lois Vossen is the Executive Producer of Independent Lens and has been with the show since its inception as a primetime series on PBS. Lois is responsible for commissioning new films, programming the series and working with filmmakers on editorial and broadcast issues. Independent Lens films have received 17 Emmy Awards, 16 George Foster Peabody Awards, five Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Journalism Awards and eight Academy Award nominations. The series was honored in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 with the International Documentary Association (IDA) Award for Best Series. Before joining ITVS, Lois was the Associate Managing Director of Sundance Film Festival and Sundance Labs. Lois is a member of the Television Academy Board of Governors, representing the documentary branch. She has served on the jury at Shanghai Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, SXSW, DOC New Zealand and Palm Springs International Film Festival, among others. Under her leadership, films funded or co-produced by Independent Lens include I Am Not Your Negro, Always in Season, Bedlam, One Child Nation, Black Memorabilia, The King, People’s Republic of Desire, Won’t You Be My Neighbor, TOWER, Newtown, Best of Enemies, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, (T)ERROR, The House I Live In, The Invisible War, and The Trials of Muhammad Ali, among many others. Widely regarded as one of the most influential supporters of independent and documentary filmmaking, Lois Vossen joins us for a conversation on the role that Independent Lens /POV and Public Broadcasting has had in maintaining the highest standards for innovative storytelling in non-fiction cinema.
For news and updates go to: pbs.org/independentlens/films Social Media: facebook.com/independentlens twitter.com/independentlens instagram.com/independentlens
Acclaimed photographer RaMell Ross, recent winner of the Gotham Award for Best Documentary, has made his directorial debut with one of the most critically-acclaimed films of the year — Hale County This Morning, This Evening. An inspired and intimate portrait of a place and its people, the film looks at the lives of two young African American men from rural Alabama over the course of five years. Daniel Collins attends college in search of opportunity while Quincy Bryant becomes a father to an energetic son in this open-ended, poetic film without a traditional narrative. Distilling life to its essence, the film invites the audience to experience the mundane and the monumental, birth and death, the quotidian and the sublime. These moments combine to communicate the region’s deep culture and provide glimpses of the complex ways the African American community’s collective image is integrated into America’s visual imagination.. RaMell Ross met Quincy when he was teaching in a GED program in Greensboro, Alabama, and met Daniel when he was coaching basketball at a local high school. He shot over 1300 hours of footage over five years, which was then edited down into the final film. Director RaMell Ross stops by to talk about his meticulously assembled, ethereal ode to Black lives in Hale County, Alabama.
For news and updates go to: halecountyfilm.com
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DON’T COME BACK FROM THE MOON is a story of abandonment, when all the men in a remote California desert town walk away from their families, one by one. They leave their angry, frustrated sons and daughters behind — kids who act out, engage in acts of petty burglary and vandalism, and look for love and family connection in the aftermath of their abandonment, all the while trying to understand why their fathers have “gone to the moon,” leaving them to traverse the difficult path to adulthood alone. Director Bruce Thierry Cheung talks about the novelist Dean Bakopoulos who inspired DON’T COME BACK FROM THE MOON, his collaborations with James Franco and working with a group of talented young actors.
About: Bruce is a film director / cinematographer with a background in architecture. Before pursuing film, Bruce was an architect at Studio Daniel Libeskind where he designed several projects, including a redevelopment of downtown Seoul and a wind-powered art center in Germany. As an MFA student in Film at NYU, he served as a Department Fellow and a Teaching Assistant for Spike Lee. In 2010, he helped launch Opening Ceremony TV, an award winning fashion film company. Bruce is also a frequent collaborator of James Franco, serving as his cinematographer on numerous commercials and feature films. His short film, "Each Moment is the Universe," shot on the road in Thailand, was featured in Dazed and Confused magazine and screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Social Media:
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Bruce Thierry Cheung:
brucethierry.com
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Featuring a heartwarming performance by Molly Ringwald, ALL THESE SMALL MOMENTS tells the story of a teenage boy's infatuation with a woman he sees on the bus that further complicates his already tumultuous adolescence. ALL THESE SMALL MOMENTS is firmly rooted in the bewildering tangle of human relationships. A husband and wife who are trying to find their way back to themselves, because they’ve drifted too far and no longer recognize each other; an adult woman and a teenage boy who somehow fill a void in each other; and an almost accidental friendship that grows to be much more. ALL THESE SMALL MOMENTS is a portrait of adolescence and aims to capture a time period that, if we make it out unscathed, defines us. Director and screenwriter joins us for a conversation on the working with a cast of established actors like Molly Ringwald, Brian D’arcy James and Jemima Kirke and young actors like Brendan Meyer, Harley Quinn Smith and Sam McCarthy. Director and writer Melissa B. Miller Costanzo talks about getting her first feature film off the ground, enlisting actress Molly Ringwald to be a part of her project and channeling her own adolescent experiences into the performances of her talented cast.
Social Media for All These Small Moments:
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Social Media for Melissa B. Miller Costanzo:
twitter.com/melbmiller
Close, an adrenaline-pumping action thriller written and directed by Vicky Jewson (Born of War), is inspired by the life of the world’s leading female bodyguard, Jacquie Davis. The film stars Noomi Rapace as Sam. Sam is the world’s toughest female bodyguard, tasked with protecting high profile targets for terrorism and assassination. She fought her way to the top in a man’s world and feels more at home in the war zones of Sudan than back at her L.A. apartment. When she’s assigned to protect a VIP in Morocco, she thinks she’s in for a quick and easy job. That VIP turns out to be Zoe (Sophie Nélisse), a young and very rich heiress who’s never left her bubble of wealth and who isn’t keen on being baby sat. Sam can take a bullet for a president, but young privileged girls aren’t her specialty — especially a spoiled one. When Zoe’s bulletproof, secluded compound comes under attack in an explosive kidnapping attempt, Sam’s skills are put to the test. Accused of murder themselves, they must find a way to work together, determined to and hunt the attackers and their corrupt employers. Director Vicky Jewson joins us to talk about meeting Jacquie Davis and the impact it had on her decision to tell her story and the significance of her place in a world dominated by men.
For news and updates on Close go to: netflix.com/close
For news and updates on Vicky Jewson go to: westendfilms.com/screeners/close
Edit January 18 – Arctic, Director Joe Penna Posted on January 17, 2019 Driven by a virtuoso performance by Mads Mikkelsen ARCTIC tells the story of a man stranded in the Arctic after an airplane crash must decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his makeshift camp or to embark on a deadly trek through the unknown in hopes of making it out alive. Director Joe Penna stops by to talk about co-writing the minimalist script with Ryan Morrison, the remarkable performance by Mads Mikkelsen and the rigors of shooting in an inhospitably windy and frigid location.
For news and updates go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/arctic
For more about Joe Penna go to: mysteryguitarman.com
It all began when a group of cheerful, subversive filmmakers weren’t accepted into the Sundance Film Festival. Unwilling to take “no” for an answer, they instead started their own event – Slamdance: Anarchy in Utah. 24 years later, Slamdance has become a year-round organization fostering the development of unique and innovative filmmakers. The organization now consists of the Film Festival, Screenplay Competition and Slamdance Studios. Dan Mirvish, Jon Fitzgerald, Shane Kuhn and Peter Baxter are the founding forefathers who, along with co-conspirator Paul Rachman, fought for truly independent filmmakers by giving them a voice in 1995 at the very first Slamdance Film Festival. Since then, the festival takes place every January in the breathtakingly stunning, snow-capped mountains of Park City, Utah at the exact same time as the Sundance Film Festival, toprovide a more authentic representation of independent filmmaking. Up-and-coming writers, directors and producers, alongside seasoned veterans and film lovers, converge for the weeklong celebration of independent cinema, realizing that Slamdance is a great place to find those next, great, visionary films. Slamdance lives and bleeds by its mantra By Filmmakers For Filmmakers. No other film festival in the world is entirely run and organized by the creative force that can only be found in filmmakers. Slamdance adamantly supports self-governance amongst independents, and exists to deliver what filmmakers go to festivals for – a chance to show their work and a platform to launch their careers. The festival has earned a solid reputation for premiering films by first-time writers and directors working within the creative confines of limited budgets. Co-founder and President Peter Baxter joins us to talk about this year’s Slamdance, the groundbreaking films and the innovative new distribution being launched by Slamdance.
For news and updates go to: slamdance.com
Check out the film schedule at slamdance 2019 schedule
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, Nadine Labaki's CAPERNAUM ("Chaos") tells the story of Zain (Zain al Rafeea), a Lebanese boy who sues his parents for the "crime" of giving him life. CAPERNAUM follows Zain, a gutsy streetwise child as he flees his negligent parents, survives through his wits on the streets, takes care of Ethiopian refugee Rahil (Yordanos Shiferaw) and her baby son, Yonas (Boluwatife Treasure Bankole), being jailed for a crime, and finally, seeks justice in a courtroom. CAPERNAUM was made with a cast of non-professionals playing characters whose lives closely parallel their own. Following her script, Labaki placed her performers in scenes and asked them to react spontaneously with their own words and gestures. When the non-actors's instincts diverged from the written script, Labaki adapted the screenplay to follow them. While steeped in the quiet routines of ordinary people, CAPERNAUM is a film with an expansive palette: without warning it can ignite with emotional intensity, surprise with unexpected tenderness, and inspire with flashes of poetic imagery. Although it is set in the depths of a society's systematic inhumanity, CAPERNAUM is ultimately a hopeful film that stirs the heart as deeply as it cries out for action. Director and writer Nadine Labaki joins us for a conversation on her impassioned new film and how CAPERNAUM changed her and many of the cast and crew from this multi-award winning film.
For news and updates go to: sonyclassics.com/capernaum
In 19th Century Java, a brutal massacre and the murder of Sultan Hamza by Captain Van Trach and his Dutch soldiers force Arana, Jamar and Suwo – the sultan’s brother and infant sons – to flee the country, bringing them halfway around the world to the American Wild West. After working the railroads and learning the cowboy way of life, Arana tells the boys it’s time to return to their homeland and avenge their father’s death. Back on Indonesian soil, the hunt for their father’s killer begins. Along the way, they meet some villagers including Kiona, the rebellious and beautiful headman’s daughter who Suwo falls for, and soon find out that the treacherous Van Trach still rules the area. Their presence puts the village in danger, quickly turning their quest for revenge into a fight for freedom. With the odds stacked against them, Arana, Jamar and Suwo use the skills they learned from the wilds of America to face Van Trach and his army in a showdown for justice. Director Mike Wiluan joins us to talk about the universal themes that play out in the Western related genre and the expanding scope of Indonesian filmmaking.
samuelgoldwynfilms.com/buffalo-boys
THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS is set in Eastern Ukraine on the frontline of the war. The film follows the life of 10-year-old Ukrainian boy Oleg throughout a year, witnessing the gradual erosion of his innocence beneath the pressures of war. Oleg lives with his beloved grandmother, Alexandra, in the small village of Hnutove. Having no other place to go, Oleg and Alexandra stay and watch as others leave the village. Life becomes increasingly difficult with each passing day, and the war offers no end in sight. In this now half-deserted village where Oleg and Alexandra are the only true constants in each other’s lives, the film shows just how fragile, but crucial, close relationships are for survival. Through Oleg’s perspective, the film examines what it means to grow up in a warzone. It portrays how a child’s universal struggle to discover what the world is about grows interlaced with all the dangers and challenges the war presents. THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS unveils the consequences of war bearing down on the children in Eastern Ukraine, and by natural extension, the scars and self- taught life lessons this generation will carry with them into the future. Director Simon Lereng Wilmont and Producer Monica Hellström stop by to talk about this harrowing, intimate and loving look at Oleg and Alexandra’s claustrophobic life on the frontlines of an undeclared war.
For news and updates go to: Distant Barking of Dogs
In the endlessly clever and bittersweet documentary My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes filmmaker Charlie Tyrell Seeks to better understand his emotionally distant late-father through personal belongings he left behind… including a stack of his VHS dirty movies. Director / producer Charlie Tyrell joins us for an engaging conversation on the universality of inter-generational silence and obfuscation surrounding the backgrounds and traumas that shaped the lives of parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. And how this wall of that silence can lead to unwarranted alienation and resentment between fathers and sons.
For news and updates go to: mydeaddadspornotapes.com
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mddptfilm@gmail.com
OUT IN THE RING looks at the lives of LGBTQ professional wrestlers past and present, and the history of LGBTQ representation in professional wrestling, told through a combination of archival footage and interviews with out performers, wrestling journalists & historians, friends and allies. The crowdfunding campaign at GoGetFunding will help support the post production of the film including editing, color correction, sound mixing, score and legal expenses. The campaign includes perks and producer credit opportunities, and from wrestler Eat and Greets, special one of a kind memorabilia, wrestling tickets and much more! People will be delighted by the incredibly talented performers and experts who speak about this topic and showcase their amazing in ring skills. Alongside this is the incredibly important issues around LGBTQ representation, visibility, freedom and change. OUT IN THE RING Director / Producer Ryan Bruce Levey stops by to talk about the history of pro wrestling and LGBTQ performers and promoters as well as the steep challenging finding money to finish a documentary project.
To help with post production costs go to: gogetfunding.com/out-in-the-ring
facebook.com/OutInTheRing
Gilda Radner puts a smile on the faces of people who remember watching her as one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live, where she created and portrayed such now-classic comic characters as Roseanne Roseannadanna, Emily Litella and Lisa Loopner. LOVE, GILDA, directed by Lisa D’Apolito, is a true autobiography, told in Gilda’s words and in her own voice. Working with the Radner Estate, D’Apolito unearthed a collection of diaries and personal audio and videotapes documenting her childhood, her comedy career, her relationships and ultimately, her struggle with cancer. This never-before-seen footage and journal entries form the narrative spine of the documentary, allowing Gilda to tell her own story-- through the laughter and sometimes the tears. Incredibly, she was able to find humor in even the darkest of times. Gilda’s spirit lives on in comedy as a female trailblazer who continues to inspire many present day comedic performers, including Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Cecily Strong. Also interviewed are SNL original cast members-- Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman and Paul Shaffer-- as well as, Lorne Michaels (SNL creator and producer), Alan Zweibel (SNL writer), Stephen Schwartz (Broadway composer); Andrew Alexander (CEO of Second City) and long-time friend Martin Short. LOVE, GILDA Director Lisa D’Apolito talks about the unique window her loving film provides into the honest and whimsical world of a beloved performer whose greatest role was sharing her own story.
For news and updates go to: lovegilda.com
Social Media: facebook.com/LoveGildathefilm twitter.com/LoveGildaFilm instagram.com/LoveGildaTheFilm
Narrated by Academy Award® Winner J.K. Simmons, “DRUG$” is a feature-length documentary about the soaring price of medicines in the U.S., featuring interviews with academics, patients, advocates and political leaders, including Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Elijah Cummings. With prices as high as $1,000 per pill, many patients are now forced to choose between putting food on the table or purchasing medicine, while pharma companies pocket billions of dollars in profits. “DRUG$” breaks down the intricacies of the drug pricing system by incorporating interviews with patients, prominent policymakers and employees of major pharmaceutical and insurance companies, as well as highly respected doctors, scientists and economists. Due to misguided legislation, there are more stringent laws protecting drug patents than human lives. Drug companies use patents to perpetuate monopolies by making slight changes to existing drugs, a practice known as “evergreening,” which prevents competition and blocks the production of affordable generic drugs, ensuring perpetual price hikes on decades-old medicines. In a titanic struggle against corporate greed, see how a diverse group of concerned Americans is fighting back to keep lifesaving medicines affordable for us all. Director Jonathan Marshall Thompson stops by to talk about the scandalous and inhumane business practices by many of the most profitable businesses in the world, often at the expense of dying people in desperate need of live-saving medications that literally cost pennies on an avariciously profitable dollar to produce.
For news and updates go to: drugsthefilm.com
DRUG$ is now streaming on Amazon and You Tube
TAKE ACTION: After providing your zip code, you will be asked whether you want to be connected to your U.S. Representative and either of your two U.S. Senators. You can leave a message for all three of them. ZIPLOOK.HOUSE.GOV/HTBIN/FINDREP_HOUSE SENATE.GOV/SENATORS/CONTACT Tell them: Drug companies are price gouging patients and putting lives at risk. I am contacting you to request that you support the Medicare Negotiation and Competitive Licensing Act by voting for H.R. 6505. Support legislation: For more information on H.R. 6505, visit: CONGRESS.GOV/BILL/115TH-CONGRESS/HOUSE-BILL/6505
A Netflix original documentary, Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski takes us inside the mind of one of the last century’s great characters, offering a startling look at how history can stand in the way of true artistic genius in one generation while stepping aside to reveal it dramatically in the next. In 1968, pop culture collector Glenn Bray, who had an interest in surrealist art, happened upon an unusual book featuring the art of Stanislav Szukalski. Like most people, Bray had never heard of Szukalski, but he delighted in showing the book of drawings and photos of sculptures to his circle of friends in the underground art comic world, including Robert and Suzanne Williams and George DiCaprio, who found the forgotten Polish master’s vision far ahead of its time. It was a few years later when Bray noticed an unusual poster depicting Copernicus on the wall of a small bookstore in Tarzana – something he immediately recognized as the work of Szukalski. The bookseller informed him that the artist himself had given the poster as a gift – in fact, he lived nearby. Bray couldn’t believe it – this long-forgotten genius was still alive, and in the same area code. Featuring archival footage and dozens of interviews with Szukalski himself, Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski offers a startling look at how history can stand in the way of artistic genius in one generation while stepping aside to reveal it dramatically in the next. Director Irek Dobrowolski and Producer Stephen Cooper join us to talk about an incredible artist and incredibly complex, nearly forgotten “genius” who remained true to his inner demons.
netflix.com/Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski
SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY is a solo acoustic performance written and performed by Tony Award, Academy Award, and 20-time Grammy Award winner Bruce Springsteen. Based on his worldwide best-selling autobiography Born to Run and nothing short of the theater event of the year, SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY is a unique evening with Bruce, his guitar, a piano, and own stories—including a special appearance by Patti Scialfa. The intimate performance features personal anecdotes and songs including “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road” and “Brilliant Disguise.” SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY was filmed live for Netflix at Jujamcyn’s Walter Kerr Theatre and directed and produced by Emmy Award-winner Thom Zimny ("Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Live in New York City (2001)"). In addition to Zimny, the Netflix original special is produced by the same team that produced “Springsteen On Broadway,” including Springsteen manager Jon Landau, Springsteen tour director George Travis, and Landau Management partner Barbara Carr. Director Thom Zimny joins us for a conversation on his working relationship with one of the singular musical artist in recording history and the challenge of capturing the intimacy of a live, Broadway experience.
Springsteen on Broadway on netflix.com
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Facebook/brucespringsteen
The riveting and illuminating documentary, Islam and the Future of Tolerance follows prominent atheist philosopher Sam Harris and Islamist-turned-liberal-Muslim Maajid Nawaz, after publicly clashing in a debate over the concept of Islamic reform in the Muslim world. The two men reconnect several years later in an attempt at civil and honest dialogue. Sam and Maajid attempt to explore their real or imagined divides by clearly and rationally dissecting their disagreements. Through the course of their discussions, they tackle troubling passages from the Quran, the importance of the precision of language and terms (such as “Jihadism,” “Islamists,” and “radical,”) and the difficulty in finding helpful and honest responses in a fraught political terrain. Ultimately, this unlikely collaboration sheds light on the many confusions that afflict the public conversation about Islam and emphasizes how the virtues of open dialogue can help foster both understanding and tolerance in an increasingly polarized world.
Sam Harris entered life as a public intellectual after 9/11 and soon found himself regardedas a leading voice of the “New Atheist” movement, along with Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Daniel Dennett. He spent much of the next decade writing books such as The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation,and The Moral Landscape and publicly engaging religious scholars and apologists in highly contentious conversations.
Maajid Nawaz was arrested and thrown into an Egyptian prison, where he spent four years before beginning his slow journey out of radical Islamism. By the time he emerged, he had decided to dedicate his life’s work to reforming Islam from within. He started Quilliam, a counter-extremism organization.
Islam and the Future of Tolerance tells the story of an unlikely conversation on a topic of grave importance, and how it changed two foes into friends. Director Jay Shapiro joins us to talk about his engaging and enlightening documentary.
For news and updates go to: islamandthefutureoftolerance.com
Watch the debate featuring Maajid Nawaz on the Australian Public Affairs program: Think
AVICII: TRUE STORIES, a compelling new documentary film by Levan Tsikurishvili, reveals the unvarnished truth behind the success of Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter and artist Avicii (A.K.A. Tim Bergling). One of the world’s highest grossing live music artists whose seemingly sudden decision last year to quit doing live shows came as a complete shock to his fans and the industry. The film traces the artist/DJ’s life from his beginnings, all the way to the joy of his success, from his chart-topping global radio hits and subsequent struggles with his physical and mental health. Tsikurishvili followed Bergling for over four years, and captured fly-on-the-wall footage of his experiences and thinking. Featuring appearances by colleagues such as Chris Martin, Nile Rodgers, David Guetta, Tiësto and Wyclef Jean, AVICII: TRUE STORIES is a cautionary tale that explores the taxing nature and intensity of fame from the artist's point of view as much as it is a film for Avicii’s die-hard fans.
I wanted to do a brutally honest film about Tim as a person and not only about Avicii. Everybody knows Avicii but very few people know Tim. I think this documentary really shows Tim’s struggle and strength of character. Being a worldwide superstar artist is not as easy as it looks on Instagram. - Director Levan Tsikurishvili
For news and updates go to: aviciitruestories.com
In Director Sebastián Silva latest film. Tyrel, Tyler (Jason Mitchell) and his friend John (Christopher Abbott), two young restaurateurs from New York City, push a car along a back road high on a cold, snowy day in the Catskills Mountains. Tyler and John are on their way to a weekend getaway to celebrate the birthday of Pete (Michael Cera), one of John’s old friends, at a cabin in the woods. Tyler needs the excursion, even though he will be among mostly strangers, because the home he shares with his Puerto Rican girlfriend is packed with her visiting family – and the ailing, elderly mother to whom she is devoted. What could be better than a jocular, beer-soaked weekend in the country with a bunch of his buddy’s friends? Well, nothing … except that an empty gas tank is only the first in a series of discomforting moments Tyler encounters and engenders over the next 48 hours. Writer/director Sebastián Silva’s deploys his signature handheld style probing subtext and body language, TYREL conjures an undeniable underlying tension and it marks his most radical character exploration yet—a timely, provocative, and brilliant observation of the idea of otherness in today’s American climate. Director Sebastián Silva (The Maid, Nasty Baby, Crystal Fairy) joins is for a lively conversation on male bonding, tribalism, race, working with this outstanding cast of actors and undermining expectations.
For news and updates go to: tyrelmovie.com
John Maringouin's brilliant, darkly comedic morality tale examines a wildly ambitious Westerner who tries to get in on China's tech boom and finds that he may not be up to the task. Texan Jimmy Van Horn (David Zellner) is a cowboy huckster who arrives in the booming city of Shenzhen with a couple of bitcoins and huge ambitions of parlaying them into economic success. Lucky for Jimmy, he's got a friend holding open the back door to this "accidental Shangri-La" - Bob Grainger (Robert Longstreet) - who's gotten new teeth, a blonde wig and looks twenty years younger. He promises to do the same for Jimmy in 6 weeks. Director and writer John Maringouin (BIG RIVER MAN) develops a startling visual language in this excitingly fresh, complex perspective on China's economic growth - and the gold rush mentality it inspires. Director John Maringouin joins us for a free-wheeling conversation about his funny, surreal and enthralling tale of the wild west cowboy capitalism that China is now living through.
For news and updates go to: ghostboxcowboy.com
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The 20th anniversary of the award winning The 20th Annual Animation Show of Shows presents 15 thought-provoking, poignant, and very funny animated shorts from around the world. In a year when the best and worst of human nature has been on constant display, the works in this year’s show remind us of both the universality of shared ideals, as well as the diverse challenges we face. For 20 years, The Animation Show of Shows has been presenting new and innovative short films to appreciative audiences at animation studios, schools and, since 2015, theaters around the world. Over the years, 38 of the films showcased in The 20th Annual Animation Show of Shows went on to receive Academy Award® nominations, with 11 films winning the Oscar®. The 20th Annual Animation Show of Shows not only has something for everyone, but is a remarkable and insightful microcosm of our world. According to founder and curator Ron Diamond, “Animation is such a flexible and open-ended medium that it lends itself to exploring the innumerable aspects of what it means to be human, and this year’s program, as much as any of our past presentations, really illuminates human strengths and foibles, and the bonds that unite us across cultures and generations.” Ron Diamond joins us to talk about this year’s latest collection of wonderfully creative, insightful and entertaining animation from across the globe.
For news and updates go to: animationshowofshows.com
Social Media
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Fans, stars, creators and more come together to explore the history and evolution of TV’s save-our-show fan campaigns in Michael Sparaga’s (The Missing Ingredient) humorous and heartfelt feature documentary UNITED WE FAN. From the letter-writing and product mail-ins of yesterday to the social media and crowdfunding campaigns of today, UNITED WE FAN goes beyond the headlines to give viewers deeper insights into fandom, community and identity. For most viewers, it’s simply a disappointment when their favorite TV series is cancelled. But the fans of some series take the loss a lot harder. And they fight back. UNITED WE FAN chronicles the stories of those passionate individuals and their unique crusades to save their beloved shows. Declared “a joy to watch” by POV Magazine, UNITED WE FAN intertwines the remarkable stories of Kaily, Dorothy and the Trimbles while also taking time to delve into the inspiring campaigns to save Designing Women, Quantum Leap, Chuck, Longmire, Jericho, Veronica Mars, Roswell and the Rosetta Stone of rescued TV series Star Trek. “UNITED WE FAN is not a movie about television’s wackiest fans,” said director Michael Sparaga, “rather, it’s a love letter to the inspiring people who have formed communities and fought tirelessly against seemingly impossible odds to give viewers everywhere more seasons of some of television’s most iconic shows.” Director / Writer / Producer Michael Sparaga joins us to talk about the men and women whose embrace and affection for specific television series goes way beyond passive entertainment into the realm of a life affirming connections to the creators, performers and characters who have enriched their lives via episodic storytelling.
Social Media
facebook.com/UnitedWeFanDoc
twitter.com/unitedwefandoc
instagram.com/unitedwefandoc
In the highly entertaining and jarring documentary BOB LAZAR: AREA 51 AND FLYING SAUCERS the curtain is pulled back on Area 51, flying saucers from another world - and the program to create a fierce, new technology that could easily change everything about the world we think we know. Bob Lazar remains the singular most famous and controversial name in the world of UFOs. The reason you know about Area 51 is because Lazar came forward and told you about it. His disclosures have turned his life upside-down and he has tried to stay out of the spotlight. For this reason, he has never let any filmmaker into the private world of his daily life - that is - until now. BOB LAZAR: AREA 51 AND FLYING SAUCERS explores Lazar’s claims through the lens of thirty years - providing rare and never before revealed footage - guaranteed to alter the landscape of the debate. Director Jeremy Corbell joins us to talk about the fantastical and yet credible story of a seemingly honest and sincere messenger telling the world that we are not alone.
For news and updates go to: TheLazarStory.com
Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes deftly fuses the personal, the political and the just plain surreal as it charts the origin, rise and downfall of Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes. Variously called a bulldog, a kingmaker, and the Ernest Hemingway of campaign advisors, Ailes was the wizard of Oz. But he collected talent like dolls, and became consumed by paranoia about his own personal security. The son of a factory foreman, Ailes had a hand in political campaigns in almost every state in the country. He was a key advisor over the last half century to presidents Nixon, Reagan and George H.W. Bush. When President Obama called him “the most powerful man in media” he basked in the glow, and posed smiling alongside the Democratic president he had done everything to undermine. Ailes fashioned Fox News into a ratings powerhouse, with more viewers than all its direct competitors, combined. But he was forced out by the Murdoch family in 2016, amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment. How did a tap-dancing hemophiliac become one of the most powerful and divisive executives in American media? Director and producer Alexis Bloom (Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds) stops by to talk about one of America’s seminal figures and how he has shaped the destiny of the Republican Party and the future of American democracy.
For news and updates go to: divideandconquerfilm.com
LIFE UNDERGROUND is a groundbreaking trans-media project that invites visitors on a journey through the subways of the world and into the personal stories of their passengers. Its main component is an interactive web documentary. LIFE UNDERGROUND has also become an immersive multimedia installation for museums and public spaces (including subway stations) featuring the same content but on large screens with a multi-track soundscape. Shot in over 17 cities, across 4 continents, in over 11 languages, by director Hervé Cohen this interactive web documentary and immersive media installation takes viewers on a journey into the subways of the world through the personal stories of passengers. Hervé Cohen is an award-winning filmmaker and cinematographer and has traveled the world to capture compelling stories for international productions. He has also shot two feature narratives, in San Francisco and in Haiti (the 2017 Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film, AYITI MON AMOUR). LIFE UNDERGROUND is nominated for Best Short Form Series by the International Documentary Association. Director Hervé Cohen joins us to talk about his enlightening and humanizing look at a world where people have much more in common than not.
To watch the film go to: life-underground.com
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In an increasingly digital universe where live streamers earn as much as $200,000 a month, can virtual relationships replace real-life human connection? PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE tells the stories of two such online stars who have risen from isolation to fame and fortune on NASDAQ-listed YY, China's largest live streaming platform. Live-streaming showrooms have become virtual gathering places for hundreds of millions - from the super rich who lavish these online stars with digital gifts, to poor migrant workers who exhaust meager savings idolizing them. All of these characters are brought together in a series of bizarre online talent competitions, where they discover that happiness in their virtual world may be as elusive as in the real one. Director Hao Wu talks with us about his mind-boggling, high-energy documentary that chronicles a technical /social revolution taking place in the world’s most populous country.
For news and updates go to: desire.film
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ASTRAL is the story of a son coming to terms with the explanation of his mother's untimely death. Searching for answers, Alex turns to spiritual contact after the relationship with his father breaks down. As a student of metaphysics, Alex learns of the "scientific" premise of astral projection-the ability to project your spirit into an unseen spatial dimension. Attempting to astral project, Alex becomes plagued by shadow spirits-malevolent entities vying to enter his body to access our world. Alex soon learns that he is not the only member of his family to have been besieged by such beings, as his mother's dark past is brought to his attention. ASTRAL was co-written by Chris and Michael Mul and is Chris Mul's directorial debut. The film stars Frank Dillane (FEAR THE WALKING DEAD) and features a bright up-and-coming cast of young actors. Vertical Entertainment will release ASTRAL in a multi-city theatrical release with markets including LA and NY among others on November 23. The film will also be made available on digital platforms such as iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Xbox, Fandango Now, Direct TV, Dish Network and through local cable providers. Director and co-writer Chris Mul (Michael Mul) joins us to talk about shooting his slick and stylish psychological thriller on an insanely tight production schedule while trying to optimize the performances from talented cast of young actors.
There are 8,000 miles of roads and paths in New York City and for the past six years Matt Green has been walking them all – every street, park, cemetery, beach, and bridge. In the entertaining new documentary THE WORLD BEFORE YOUR FEET we’re taken on a bird’s eye tour through the city’s five-boroughs. It’s a journey that stretches from the barbershops of the Bronx to the forests of Staten Island, from the Statue of Liberty to Times Square, with Matt amassing a surprisingly detailed knowledge of New York's history and people along the way. Something of a modern-day Thoreau, Matt gave up his former engineering job, his apartment, and most of his possessions, sustaining his endeavor through couch-surfing, cat-sitting and a $15-per-day budget. He’s not sure exactly why he’s doing it, only knowing that there’s no other way he’d rather spend his days. Executive produced by Oscar® nominee Jesse Eisenberg, THE WORLD BEFORE YOUR FEET is a tribute to an endlessly fascinating city and the freedom to be found, wherever you live, in simply taking a walk. Jeremy Workman is known for such documentaries asMagical Universe (IFC Films),Who Is Henry Jaglom? (First Run Features), and the “One Track Mind” segment of True New York (First Run Features). Jeremy's documentaries have played at such film festivals as SXSW, Tribeca, DocNYC, Hamptons, Slamdance, Melbourne, AFI, Woodstock, Big Sky Documentary, IFFBoston, among several others. Director Jeremy Workman stops by to talk about what motivates this urban John Muir’s curiosity about the most famous city in the world.
For news and updates go to: theworldbeforeyourfeet.com
.TEAM KHAN is a fly-on-the-wall documentary about professional boxer Amir Khan, filmed between 2014 and 2016. Khan was born and raised in Bolton, Greater Manchester, to a Punjabi Rajput family. He was the WBA light-welterweight world champion from 2009 to 2012, and the IBF title in 2011. As an amateur, Khan won a silver medal in the lightweight division at the 2004 Olympics, becoming Britain's youngest boxing Olympic medallist at the age of 17. He is also one of the youngest ever British professional world champions, winning the WBA title at the age of 22. Outside of boxing, he has worked as a philanthropist and mixed martial arts promoter. TEAM KHAN follows Khan as he chases a fight with the unbeaten superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. Outside of the ring Amir must grapple with the significance of family, fame, and religion, as he grows from being boxing’s golden child into a man. Under the guidance of new trainer Virgil Hunter, Amir first puts on a stunning performance in beating former world champion Devon Alexander in Las Vegas. Buzz around a potential showdown with Mayweather grows, but he opts instead to fight Manny Pacquiao instead. Amir then goes on to defeat Chris Algieri in Brooklyn by unanimous decision. Mayweather again looks over Amir as his opponent, and then retires from boxing. TEAM KHAN follows Amir has he looks for a way to achieve the elusive goal of becoming a world champion. Co-directors Blair McDonald and Oliver Clark join us for a conversation on their first feature length documentary and this charismatic superstar, dedicated to his family and completely determined to reach the summit of his profession.
For news and updates go to: teamkhanmovie.com
Always one step ahead in signaling technology’s seismic shifts, Alex Winter has built up a body of work that documents how innovation changes the way people live their daily lives. DOWNLOADED explored the downloading revolution and how Napster and file-sharing took on the music industry, leaving musicians wondering about royalty payments and copyrights. DEEP WEB revealed a new kind of internet: decentralized, encrypted and dangerous; with particular focus on the FBI capture of the Tor hidden service Silk Road, and the judicial aftermath. In his newest documentary TRUST MACHINE: THE STORY OF BLOCKCHAIN, narrated by Rosario Dawson, Alex Winter drills down on blockchain, the decentralized technology that supports cryptocurrencies. Why are banks terrified while UNICEF Ventures embraces it to help refugee children? Winter follows tech innovators striking a raw nerve as banks and network pundits rush to condemn volatile cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. British hacktivist Lauri Love fights extradition—his computer skills perceived a threat to the US government. Through the film, Winter reveals that the proponents of the blockchain—a verified digital ledger—are already using the technology to change the world; fighting income inequality, the refugee crisis and world hunger. Director Alex Winter joins us for a conversation on a technology that has the potential to uplift and / or wreak havoc on human civilization and why we should care.
For news and updates go to: trustmachinefilm.com
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Long Island was the birthplace of American stock car racing. At its peak, there were over forty racetracks on Long Island, but today, only one remains: Riverhead Raceway. This quarter-mile track somehow managed to slip through the cracks as progress transformed Long Island from a stretch of sand with sleepy main streets and mom and pop farm stands, to a maze of highways connecting shopping malls to buy-in-bulk shopping centers. When it was built in 1949, the racetrack sat on the edge of a small country road surrounded on every side by miles of farmland. The land the track sits on is valued at well over ten million dollars, while the money that it generates in ticket sales on summer weekends is barely enough to keep the lights on. The fact that the Riverhead Raceway remains open defies the laws of capitalism, and the only thing standing in the way of the bulldozers are 87-year-old Barbara and Jim Cromarty. Barbara and Jim bought the track in 1977 and they continue to run it even as multi-million dollar offers roll in, tempting them toward a well-deserved retirement. Barbara and Jim fight to keep it open because they understand that Riverhead carries the burden of being the last bastion of stock car racing on Long Island, and when Riverhead goes, it’s all over. THE LAST RACE is a cinematic portrait of a Long Island stock car race track as its 87 year-old owners struggle to maintain an American racing tradition in the face of a real estate development boom. The film merges image and sound in a unique narrative form to bring the audience into the world of grassroots racing culture and explores a story that subtly grapples with questions of blue collar American identity that have taken on a profound relevance in the current political era. Director Michael Dweck talks about the community and the loss of a place where people have come to laugh, cheer and share in the ties that bind.
For news and updates go to: thelastracethefilm.com
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Located in mid-America, MONROVIA, INDIANA, (population 1,063) founded in 1834, is primarily a farming community. MONROVIA, INDIANA is about the day-to-day experiences living and working in Monrovia, with emphasis on community organizations and institutions, religion and daily life in this farming community. These towns were once the backbone of American life. While their number and populations have shrunk, the importance of rural America as a formative center of American politics and values was demonstrated in the 2016 presidential election. The film explores the conflicting stereotypes and illustrates how values like community service, duty, spiritual life, generosity and authenticity are formed, experienced and lived. MONROVIA, INDIANA gives a complex and nuanced view of daily life in Monrovia and provides some understanding of a rural, mid-American way of life that has always been important in America but whose influence and force have not always been recognized or understood in the big cities on the east and west coasts of America and in other countries. Since 1967, Frederick Wiseman has directed 42 documentaries — dramatic, narrative films that seek to portray ordinary human experience in a wide variety of contemporary social institutions. His films include TITICUT FOLLIES, HIGH SCHOOL, WELFARE, JUVENILE COURT, BOXING GYM, LA DANSE, BALLET, CENTRAL PARK, BALLET, LA COMEDIE FRANCAISE, BELFAST, MAINE, and EX LIBRIS – The New York Public Library. At the 2016 Academy Awards ceremony Frederick Wiseman received an Honorary Award (Governors Awards) for a lifetime of brilliant filmmaking. He joins us to talk about his latest cinematic treasure, Monrovia Indiana.
For news and updates on all of Frederick Wiseman's work go to: zipporah.com
Syrian-born filmmaker Talal Derki (Return to Homs) travels to his homeland where he gains the trust of a radical Islamist family, sharing their daily life for over two years. His camera focuses primarily on the children, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up with a father whose only dream is to establish an Islamic caliphate. Osama (13) and his brother Ayman (12) both love and admire their father and obey his words, but while Osama seems content to follow the path of Jihad, Ayman wants to go back to school. Of Fathers and Sons was shot between Summer 2014 and September 2016. During that time, Talal Derki and Director of Photography, Kahtan Hasson, spent about 300 days with Abu Osama’s family. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for World Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, Of Fathers and Sons is a work of unparalleled access that captures the chilling moment when childhood dies and jihadism is born. Director Talal Derki joins us to talk about his own personal journey through a devastated country and a troubled society, looking for answers to desperate questions about the future of his country and the future of his own family’s need to flee into exile.
For news and updates go to: offathersandsons.com
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Set against the backdrop of the physician shortage and opioid epidemic in rural America, THE PROVIDERS follows three healthcare providers - a doctor, a nurse practitioner, and a physician assistant - in northern New Mexico. They work at El Centro, a group of safety-net clinics that offer care to all who walk through the doors, regardless of ability to pay. Amidst personal struggles that reflect those of their patients, the journeys of the providers unfold as they work to reach rural Americans who would otherwise be left out of the healthcare system. With intimate access, the documentary shows the transformative power of providers’ relationships with marginalized patients. THE PROVIDERS will screen as part of DOC NYC festival on Friday, November 9.
Directors’ Statement -- Laura Green and Anna Moot-Levin: Given the political and discursive tension over the future of American health care, this film has a particular urgency at this historical juncture. New Mexico is one of the country’s poorest and most rural states and opted to expand medicaid under the ACA. However, the challenges in rural healthcare go far beyond the ameliorating effects of the ACA. THE PROVIDERS reflects the ways poor health is created at the structural level by a lack of public health resources and access to care – in 2016, there were 70,000 preventable deaths in rural areas, and on average life expectancy in rural areas is two years shorter than in urban areas. Set on the frontlines of rural healthcare under the medicaid expansion, the film takes an intimate journey with those who remain marginalized and difficult to reach within traditional healthcare delivery models. We hope the film will inspire more young people to go into rural healthcare, and we are developing an outreach campaign that will target both rural high schools and medical education institutions, including medical schools, nurse practitioner programs, and physician assistant programs.
Co-directors Laura Green and Anna Moot-Levin join us to talk about the health care crisis that is ravaging rural America.
For news and updates go to: theprovidersdoc.com
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Part One: For the Sake of Gold Forty years ago, Dorothea (Tyne Daly) and Greta (Elisabeth Henry) moved to the town of Checkford and bought an abandoned bread factory that they transformed into an arts space. Here they host movies, plays, dance, exhibits and artists. It’s where civic groups and immigrant communities can meet, where there are after school programs for children. Now a celebrity couple—performance artists from China—have come to Checkford. They’ve constructed a huge building, the FEEL Institute, down the street. It is a strange sight for a small town. Dorothea and Greta learn about a new proposal to give all the funding from the school system for their children’s arts programs to the FEEL Institute. Without this funding, the Bread Factory would not survive. They quickly rally the community to save their space. The commercial forces behind the FEEL Institute fight also, bringing a young movie star to town to help make their case. The school board meeting turns into a circus where the fate of the Bread Factory hangs in the balance.
A Bread Factory, Part Two: Walk with Me a While Checkford hasn’t been the same since the school board meeting. Mysteriously, the reporter who runs the local newspaper disappears. Bizarre tourists start to show up, then come mysterious tech start-up workers. With all the new people, real estate is booming. Amidst all these distractions, Dorothea and Greta try to continue their work. They are rehearsing a production of HECUBA by Euripides. On the day they open the play, Dorothea gets the news that the Bread Factory will lose an essential piece of their funding. The beautiful opening night performance of HECUBA plays to a tiny audience. Brokenhearted, Dorothea and Greta must decide whether to give up their work at the Bread Factory because their community and support has disappeared, or to continue in their struggle to build community through art.
Patrick Wang was born in Texas, the son of Taiwanese immigrants. He graduated from MIT with a degree in economics and music and theater arts. He has studied game theory, health policy, and income inequality at the Federal Reserve, the Harvard School for Public Health, and other organizations. He is author of the books THE MONOLOGUE PLAYS and POST SCRIPT, an interactive book about the making of THE GRIEF OF OTHERS. His first film IN THE FAMILY was released to critical acclaim in the US and France and hailed “an indie masterpiece” by Roger Ebert. He was named one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film" by Filmmaker Magazine, and the New York Times remarked, “This is a career to keep an eye on.” Director and writer Patrick Wang joins us for a conversation on his brilliant, funny, touching, humanist rumination on art, relationships and MAY RAY.
For news and updates go to: abreadfactory.com
In Matthew Atkinson’s debut feature, Room for Rent, our “hero” Mitch Baldwin is in a deep rut. He lives with his parents and has no intention of leaving. At 18, Mitch won the County Lottery, $3.5M dollars. 12 years later he’s broke, has no friends or love life, and is a laughing stock. With his dad retiring, talk of selling the house pushes tensions to a breaking point. Mitch convincingly suggests renting their spare room for extra cash. Tentative, his parents agree. Quickly, a charming, yet peculiar stranger shows up at their front door willing to pay cash – this is Carl Lemay. Mitch sets rules for Carl, but the family’s routine is instantly upset. Mitch notices mysterious details about Carl; his car’s license plates are missing, his back story is vague, and he seems set on pushing Mitch out of his comfort zone. Yet Mitch is disarmed by Carl’s charm and confides in him about some of his regrets. To Mitch’s dismay, Carl begins to use the information to undermine Mitch and expose his faults. A battle of wits breaks out and turns into all-out war involving deception, humiliation, spying and revenge. The question is how far are these two prepared to go? Writer and director Matthew Atkinson joins us for a conversation on his entertaining, quirky and funny film with a crackling good ensemble cast of new and veteran performers.
For news and updates go to: roomforrentmovie.com
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Lucha VaVOOM: Inside America’s Most Outrageous Show is the documentary that explores the fascinating cast of characters behind Lucha VaVOOM -- an enthralling combination of high-octane Mexican wrestling, retro-style burlesque dancing, and witty commentary provided by Hollywood’s most celebrated comedians. Discover how this family of wildly creative and passionate performers from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, and gender orientations come together to create a unique shared experience. As the costumes, alter egos, and flamboyant performances are put on display, these masked marvels reveal their truest selves, offering up stories of perseverance, equality, and self-acceptance. Lucha VaVOOM: Inside America’s Most Outrageous Show takes you onstage, backstage, and into the minds of the wrestlers, dancers, and producers who provide a show that is not only entertaining, but has the power to change people’s perspectives. Director Ben Churchill joins us to talk about capturing the on-stage energy of the performances and the bond between the performers and the audience.
For news and updates go to: luchavavoomfilm.com
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Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom) tells the provocative story of legendary director Orson Welles during the final 15 years of his life. No longer the “wonder boy” of Citizen Kane, Welles in 1970 was an artist in exile looking for his Hollywood comeback with a project called The Other Side of the Wind. For years, Welles worked on his project about an aging film director trying to finish his last great movie. Welles shot the picture guerrilla-style in chaotic circumstances with a devoted crew of young dreamers, all the while struggling with financiers and fate. In 1985, Welles died, leaving as his final testament the most famous unfinished film in movie history. The negative stayed in a vault for decades until now. With revelatory new insights from Welles collaborators including Peter Bogdanovich, Frank Marshall, Oja Kodar and daughter Beatrice Welles, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead is the untold final chapter of one of the greatest careers in film history: brilliant, innovative, defiant and unbowed. Director Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom, Won't You Me My Neighbor, Cool School) joins us for a conversation about his hurly-burly look at the making of a ragged masterpiece by cinema’s greatest auteur.
For news and updates go to: netflix.com
The hard-hitting new documentary Fail State explores how tens of thousands of unsuspecting students fall victim to predatory and fraudulent for-profit colleges each year. These profit-driven schools are high tuition, low-quality, often lack proper accreditation, or are so poor in reputation that employers do not recognize their credentials. What’s more, these colleges derive nearly all of their revenue—tens of billions of dollars a year—from the federal government in the form of student financial aid. Executive produced by news legend Dan Rather, Fail State investigates the dark side of American higher education, chronicling the decades of policy decisions in Washington, D.C. that have given rise to a powerful and highly-predatory for-profit college industry. With echoes of the subprime mortgage crisis, the film lays bare how for-profit colleges exploit millions of low-income and minority students, leaving them with worthless degrees and drowning in student loan debt. Director Alexander Shebanow joins us to talk about the rise, fall, and resurgence of the for-profit college industry, revealing its Wall Street Backing and the lawmakers enabling widespread fraud and abuse in American higher education.
For news and updates go to: failstatemovie.com
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An inspired labor of love for zine-making teens Sandi Tan, Jasmine Ng and Sophie Siddique, Shirkers was a Singapore-made 1992 cult classic—or it would have been, had the 16mm footage not been stolen by their enigmatic American collaborator Georges Cardona, who disappeared. More than two decades later, Tan, now a novelist in L.A., returns to the country of her youth and to the memories of a man who both enabled and thwarted her dreams. Magically, too, she returns to the film itself, revived in a way she never could have imagined. Shirkers made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018, where Sandi Tan received the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award, and went on to tour festivals all over the world, including True/False, HotDocs, CPHDOX, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Full Frame, San Francisco Intl. Film Festival, AFI Docs and more. Director Sandi Tan talks about her 25-year relationship with her friends, then and now, Exploding Cat and her thoughts on losing and then rediscovering a crucial part of her life.
For news and updates go to: shirkersfilm.com
The informative and heartwarming new documentary film, Weed the People examines why marijuana / cannabis has been off-limits to America’s doctors and researchers for the past 80 years, despite decades of science from on the plants anti-cancer properties. Armed with only these laboratory studies, desperate parents obtain cannabis oil from underground sources to save their children from childhood cancers. “Weed the People” follows these families through uncharted waters as they take their children’s survival into their own hands. Some of their miraculous outcomes beget the unsettling question at the heart of the film: If weed is truly saving lives, why doesn’t the government want people to access it? Abby Epstein has been producing and directing documentaries for over ten years with her partner, Ricki Lake. Their first collaboration was the celebrated feature documentary The Business of Being Born, which premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. The Business of Being Born enjoyed a successful theatrical release and had its broadcast premiere on Showtime. Director Abby Epstein talks about the racist, xenophobic history of marijuana in America, the draconian laws and the federal government’s resistance to allowing medical research, despite holding a number of marijuana patents and the courageous journey of parents trying to save the lives of their cancer stricken children.
For news and updates go to: weedthepeoplemovie.com
Drawn from a cache of personal video recordings from the past 22 years, director Steve Loveridge’s Sundance award winning MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. is a startlingly personal profile of the critically acclaimed artist, chronicling her remarkable journey from refugee immigrant to pop star. She began as Matangi. Daughter of the founder of Sri Lanka’s armed Tamil resistance, she hid from the government in the face of a vicious and bloody civil war. When her family fled to the UK, she became Maya, a precocious and creative immigrant teenager in London. Finally, the world met her as M.I.A. when she emerged on the global stage, having created a mashup, cut-and-paste identity that pulled from every corner of her journey along the way; a sonic sketchbook that blended Tamil politics, art school punk, hip-hop beats and the unwavering, ultra-confident voice of a burgeoning multicultural youth. Never one to compromise on her vision, Maya kept her camera rolling throughout. MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. provides unparalleled, intimate access to the artist in her battles with the music industry and mainstream media as her success and fame explodes, becoming one of the most recognizable, outspoken and provocative voices in music today. Director Steve Loveridge joins us to talk about his long-time friendship with
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On the streets of Baltimore, shooting is rampant, the murder rate is approaching an all-timehigh and the distrust of the police is at a fever pitch. With nerves frayed and neighborhoods in distress, dedicated community leaders, compassionate law-enforcement officers and a progressive young city councilman try to stem the epidemic of violence. Filmed over three tumultuous years covering the lead up to, and aftermath of, Freddie Gray's death in police custody, CHARM CITY is an intimate cinema verité portrait of those surviving in, and fighting for, the vibrant city they call home. Director and producer Marilyn Ness (Cameraperson; Trapped; E-Team), and film subject Alex Long join us to talk about the work of the Rose Street Community Center in providing the basic services; trash collection, gang mediation and his own brand of de-escalation training, and bring a sense of hope to a neighborhood known as the “Middle East.”
For news and updates go to: Charm City
John Zbikowski (Michael Kelly) is a down-on-his-luck, small town bookie having a hard time collecting on outstanding debts. After a one night stand with an ex-girlfriend (Pamela Adlon), John strikes up an unlikely friendship with her 12-year old son, Brian (Jesse Ray Sheps), and develops a plan to recoup the money owed to him by taking bets on Brian’s Youth League Baseball games. Written by Timothy Brady and directed by John Hyams, All Square features a line up of first rate actors that include; Michael Kelly (“House of Cards”), Jesse Ray Sheps (Collateral Beauty), Josh Lucas (Home Sweet Alabama), Pamela Adlon (Californication, Louie), Tom Everett Scott, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Yeardley (The Simpsons). Director John Hyams joins us to talk about his funny, messy and endearing story of a man trying hard to not wear his heart on his sleeve.
For 33 months, from 1978 to 1980, STUDIO 54 was the place to be seen in Manhattan. A haven of hedonism, tolerance, glitz and glamour, Studio was very hard to gain entrance to and impossible to ignore, with news of who was there filling the gossip columns daily. Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, two college friends from Brooklyn, succeeded in creating the ultimate escapist fantasy in the heart of the theater district. Rubell was the outgoing bon vivant who wanted to be everybody’s friend and was photographed with every celebrity du jour who entered the club and Schrager was the behind-the-scenes creative mastermind who shunned the limelight. STUDIO 54 was an instant success and a cash cow, but the drug-and-sex-fueled dream soon imploded in financial scandal and the club’s demise. With unprecedented access to Schrager, who tells the whole unvarnished story for the first time, and a treasure-trove of rare footage, director Matt Tyrnauer (Valentino: The Last Emperor, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, Citizen Jane) constructs a vivid, glorious portrait of a disco-era phenomenon, and tells the story of two friends who stuck together through an incredible series of highs and lows. A favorite at the Sundance and Tribeca film festivals, STUDIO 54 Director Matt Tyrnauer joins us to talk about his fascinating documentary look at the rise and fall of the legendary ‘70s New York nightclub.
For news and updates go to: zeitgeistfilms.com/film/studio54
For news and updates on the films of Matt Tyrnauer go to: altimeterfilms.com
Under the guidance of acclaimed South African storyteller, Gcina Mhlophe, five orphaned children from Swaziland collaborate to craft a collective fairytale drawn from their darkest memories and brightest dreams. Their fictional character, LIYANA is brought to life in innovative animated artwork as she embarks on a perilous quest to rescue her young twin brothers. The children’s real and imagined worlds begin to converge, and they must choose what kind of story they will tell - in fiction and in their own lives. This genre-defying film weaves an original animated hero's journey with poetic documentary scenes to create an inspiring tale of perseverance. LIYANA is a tribute to creativity, the strength of the human spirit, and the healing power storytelling. Critically acclaimed, and executive produced by award-winning actress, Thandie Newton, LIYANA has won more than 25 jury and audience awards and screened at more than 80 film festivals around the world including the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival and MoMA’s Doc Fortnight. Co-directors Amanda and Aaron Kopp join us for a conversation on their enchanting, inspiring and wildly creative film.
For news and updates go to: liyanathemovie.com
When Elan and Jonathan lose their beloved grandmother, Annette Ontell, they face a profound question: When a loved one dies, what do we do with the things they leave behind? Housewife, fashion designer, and beloved family member, Ontell lived seven decades in the same house—306 Hollywood Avenue in Hillside, New Jersey. Turning documentary on its head, the Bogaríns embark on a magical-realist journey to discover who their grandmother really was, transforming her cluttered New Jersey home of 71 years into a visually exquisite ruin where tchotchkes become artifacts, and the siblings become archaeologists. By turns elegiac, celebratory, and edgy, with extrapolations ranging from the Rockefellers to Rome, 306 Hollywood moves unexpectedly but inevitably, like a beautiful murmuration of birds. With help from physicists, curators and archivists—and the added inspiration of a decade of interviews with the vivacious octogenarian herself—they excavate the extraordinary universe contained in Annette’s home. 306 HOLLYWOOD playfully transforms the dusty fragments of an unassuming life into an epic metaphor for the nature of time, memory and history. Co-director and siblings Elan and Jonathan Bogarín joins us for a conversation on celebrating family, peering into the unknown, dealing with the past and how to live in the present.
For news and updates go to: 306hollywood.com
The comedy-drama MORNING, NOON & NIGHT explores a day-in-the-life of six people battling different addictions. The characters feel all-too familiar as they could be your neighbor, your family or even yourself. The film functions as a mirror examining three college students, a history teacher, a lawyer and a top executive as they struggle to make it through a single day. According to director, producer and writer Josh Becker, “Everybody struggles with something. The real question asked is how does anyone get through life? After all, reality is just a crutch for people who can’t handle drugs." Becker joins us to talk about his raw, unflinching farce about the hypocrisies and denials that are the daily “reality” of people who are living lives in a suffocating bubble.
For news and updates go to: morningnoonandnightthefilm.com
The Sentence draws from hundreds of hours of footage, filmmaker Rudy Valdez shows the aftermath of his sister Cindy’s 15-year sentence for conspiracy charges related to crimes committed by her deceased ex-boyfriend—something known, in legal terms, as “the girlfriend problem.” Valdez’s method of coping with this tragedy is to film his sister’s family for her, both the everyday details and the milestones—moments Cindy herself can no longer share in. But in the midst of this nightmare, Valdez finds his voice as both a filmmaker and activist, and he and his family begin to fight for Cindy’s release during the last months of the Obama administration’s clemency initiative. Whether their attempts will allow Cindy to break free of her draconian sentence becomes the aching question at the core of this deeply personal portrait of a family in crisis. Director Rudy Valdez stops by to talk about his intimate, and loving family saga that support each other no matter the cost.
For dates and times for The Sentence go to: hbo.com
For more on the filmmaker and brother go to: rudyvaldez.com
For four decades, the Mill Valley Film Festival (MVFF) has maintained its position as a vital showcase of the global film community, attracting iconic red-carpet talent, emerging filmmakers, passionate audiences and astutely curated premieres. A destination event for film lovers, drawn by an exciting, diverse program of mainstream studio features and independent visions from around the world, set against the stunning backdrop of Northern California, MVFF also hosts an impressive array of panels, conversations, receptions, parties and live music performances, featuring many of the most acclaimed and in-demand artists and industry professionals of our time. With a reputation for launching new films and creating awards season buzz, MVFF has a knack for spotting emerging talent as well as drawing legendary artists. Known as the filmmaker's festival, MVFF welcomes more than 200 filmmakers and guests from around the world and has hosted such luminaries as Nicole Kidman, Holly Hunter, Ang Lee, Todd Haynes, Mira Nair, Brie Larson, Costa-Gavras, Damien Chazelle, Marcel Ophuls, Amy Adams, Steve McQueen and Greta Gerwig. Mill Valley Film Festival Director of Programming Zoe Elton, joins us to talk about “the filmmaker’s festival,” and this year’s exciting line-up of documentary, foreign, animated, short and narrative films.
For news and updates go to: Mill Valley Film Festival 41 - October 4 - 14, 2018
BISBEE ’17 is a non-fiction feature film by Sundance award winning director Robert Greene set in Bisbee, Arizona, an eccentric old mining town just miles away from both Tombstone and the Mexican border. Radically combining documentary and genre elements, the film follows several members of the close knit community as they collaborate with the filmmakers to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Bisbee Deportation, where 1,200 immigrant miners were violently taken from their homes by a deputized force, shipped to the desert on cattle cars and left to die. Bisbee was once known as a White Man’s Camp, and that racist past lingers in the air. As we meet the townspeople, they begin to confront the violent past of the Deportation, a long-buried secret in the old company town. As the 100th anniversary of Bisbee’s darkest day approaches, locals dress as characters on both sides of the still-polarizing event, staging drama tic recreations of scenes from the escalating miner’s strike that lead to the Deportation. Spaces in town double as past and present; re-enactors become ghosts in the haunted streets of the old copper camp. Richard plays the sheriff in a Western, Fernando portrays a Mexican miner in a Musical, a local politician is in her own telenovela. These and other enacted fantasies mingle with very real reckonings and it all builds towards a massive re-staging of the Deportation itself on the exact day of its centennial anniversary. Director Robert Greene (Actress, Kate Plays Christine) joins us for a conversation on his latest provocative and compelling new film.
For news and updates go to: bisbee17.com
SADIE is the story of a 13-year-old girl who lives at Shady Plains Trailer Park with her mother while her father serves repeated tours in the military. Her dad has broken many promises that he will return, but Sadie (Sophia Mitri Schloss) idolizes him and believes in his cause, so she waits, preserving his place on the home-front. Less patient is her mom, Rae (Melanie Lynskey) who stopped receiving letters or calls from her husband years ago. She has been half-heartedly dating the counselor from Sadie’s school, Bradley (Tony Hale) but it isn’t until a mysterious newcomer moves in next door that she truly considers moving on. Rae’s best friend is Carla (Danielle Brooks,) who works at the local bar and has a penchant for unavailable men. Carla's son Francis (Keith L. Williams) and her retired father Deak (Tee Dennard) are Sadie’s charge and confidante, respectively. The arrival of Cyrus (John Gallagher, Jr.) disrupts the balance of life at Shady Plains. When Sadie sees a relationship developing between Cyrus and Rae, she pledges to come between them, whatever it takes. Cyrus becomes the enemy, and if she’s learned nothing else from the world she inhabits, it’s that the enemy deserves no mercy. Director and Writer Megan Griffiths joins us to talk about her gritty, heartfelt drama about class, addiction and growing up on the margins.
For news and updates go to: sadiefilm.com
Nina Geld is an up-and-coming comedian in New York City. She’s funny, smart and has worked hard to build a career for herself in the male-dominated world of stand-up. When it comes to romantic relationships though, Nina’s life is a mess. When we meet her, she has picked up a random guy in a bar and brought him home, only to find Joe, a married policeman, waiting for her against her wishes. Unable to stand-up for herself, Nina sleeps with Joe again, bringing up old issues of self-hatred. Nina decides to focus on work and later gets Larry Michaels, producer of the legendary television show, Comedy Prime, to come see Nina’s stand-up. Amazingly, he asks Nina to audition! She will need to create characters impersonations and move to LA to audition. In LA, she meets Rafe Hines, a dream-come-true, quintessential good-guy who makes all of Nina feel good. But when Joe shows up in LA unexpectedly Nina has to deal with her past. Finally confronting the truth in such a public setting has terrifying and unexpectedly liberating consequences. Director / Producer / Writer Eva Vives joins us for a conversation on her sharp-edged, drama about a woman driven by demons, trauma and a dark need to embrace her pain.
For news and updates go to: theorchard.com/filmtv
BISBEE ’17 is a non-fiction feature film by Sundance award winning director Robert Greene set in Bisbee, Arizona, an eccentric old mining town just miles away from both Tombstone and the Mexican border. Radically combining documentary and genre elements, the film follows several members of the close knit community as they collaborate with the filmmakers to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Bisbee Deportation, where 1,200 immigrant miners were violently taken from their homes by a deputized force, shipped to the desert on cattle cars and left to die. Bisbee was once known as a White Man’s Camp, and that racist past lingers in the air. As we meet the townspeople, they begin to confront the violent past of the Deportation, a long-buried secret in the old company town. As the 100th anniversary of Bisbee’s darkest day approaches, locals dress as characters on both sides of the still-polarizing event, staging dramatic recreations of scenes from the escalating miner’s strike that lead to the Deportation. Spaces in town double as past and present; re-enactors become ghosts in the haunted streets of the old copper camp. Richard plays the sheriff in a Western, Fernando portrays a Mexican miner in a Musical, a local politician is in her own telenovela. These and other enacted fantasies mingle with very real reckonings and it all builds towards a massive re-staging of the Deportation itself on the exact day of its centennial anniversary. Director Robert Greene (Actress, Kate Plays Christine) joins us for a conversation on his latest provocative and compelling new film.
For news and updates go to: bisbee17.com
The International Documentary Association (IDA) is dedicated to building and serving the needs of a thriving documentary culture. Through its programs, the IDA provides resources, creates community, and defends rights and freedoms for documentary artists, activists, and journalists. IDA is the only group advocating specifically for the documentary filmmaking community. In many ways, this makes IDA’s advocacy work the most important and relevant work we do. Documentary storytelling expands our understanding of shared human experience, fostering an informed, compassionate, and connected world. The Enterprise Documentary Fund is one of the many logistical and financial programs offered by IDA.
About the Enterprise Documentary Fund:
“In the face of an all-out assault on the press, IDA is committed to standing behind the independent storytellers and watchdogs that make up our community—in large part, through the newly created Enterprise Documentary Fund. Made possible by a generous grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the fund will disburse $1 million per year for the next four years, in the form of production grants up to $100,000 and development grants up to $15,000. The fund is intended to support primarily mid-career filmmakers producing feature-length, in-depth explorations of original, contemporary stories with a journalistic foundation or that incorporate journalistic practice into the filmmaking process. The mission of the Enterprise Documentary Fund is admittedly ambitious: It seeks to provide valuable resources and support systems (not unlike those in newsrooms) for filmmakers taking on the critical stories of our time. Originally sparked by the findings in “Dangerous Documentaries,” the fund is a response to pleas from filmmakers themselves. In interviews recently conducted by Toni Bell, IDA’s Filmmaker Services Manager, filmmakers reiterated the major findings in “Dangerous Docs”: They want access to information about digital and physical security, research databases, legal and other experts, public relations strategists and mentors. Exercising our rights to free speech and freedom of the press are critical for a healthy democracy. As I write this, these rights are clearly under assault, and we owe it to ourselves and to the public to staunchly call ourselves journalists and artists—they are not mutually exclusive.” – Carrie Lozano, Director of the Enterprise Documentary Fund
For news and updates go to: documentary.org
For updates on funding resources go to: documentary.org/funding
Making the films USA debut (it world premiered in the Acid section of Cannes this spring), We The Coyotes by first-time feature filmmakers Hanna Ladoul and Marco La Via, was inspired by the adventure and challenges of their own early days in Los Angeles. Enveloped in the love bubble a young couple, played by Morgan Saylor (Homeland) and McCaul Lombardi (Sollers Point), arrive from their cross-country trip from the midwest to stay with her aunt Betsy Brandt (Breaking Bad), where we continually see them encounter the challenges of their first day in Los Angeles. The city is as much a character in this intimate drama as this young couple, as they find their hopes often crushed under the realities of what you encounter in any major city, much less the city of dreams. Not unlike countless twenty-somethings over the decades, our westward-bound couple in We The Coyotes arrive in Los Angeles with half-formed plans and half-empty pockets, but we see how tensions bend and shape them while the will to survive drives them on. Co-directors Hanna Ladoul and Marco La Via stop by to talk about their unvarnished, thought provoking film.
Resistant to change, Todd (Jesse Rosen) finds himself at a crossroads when his girlfriend Lucy (Anna Rizzo) is offered a promotion on the other side of the country. Before he can decide whether to stay or go, Todd’s evil twin from a parallel universe arrives to take his place, and Todd must face the prospect of a world without Lucy. With the reluctant help of Lucy’s brother, Dave (Sean Carmichael), Lucy and Todd must confront the barriers to their relationship, their perception of self, and the laws of the universe itself to distinguish the wrong Todd from the right one. The Wrong Todd is a new take on a sci-fi-fi comedy drama with the added bonus of an evil twin from a parallel universe. The Wrong Todd is about championing love, accepting change, and realizing what you’ve taken for granted before it truly is too late. Inspired by the works of Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day) The Wrong Todd answer the question so many people think but never articulate “what is wrong with me?” Starring Jesse Rosen (The Art of Being Straight), Anna Rizzo (Lost in Bloom), Sean Carmichael (Trinity), Derek K. Moore (Ghostbusters), and Erin Rose. Director Rob Schulbaum (Family Guy), joins us to talk about his directorial debut.
This Teacher follows a French Muslim woman (Cesar-winner Hafsia Herzi) as she travels to New York City to visit her childhood best friend from the rough neighborhoods outside of Paris. When the reunion proves disastrous, Hafsia steals her friend's credit card and identity, and disappears to a remote cabin upstate. Deep in the woods and alone for the first time in her life, she experiences a divine revelation of an existence without borders. But when she discovers that she's not alone on the property, Hafsia's sojourn in nature gradually descends into a terrifying study of the intolerance and suspicion she encounters and reflects back to an Islamophobic America. Written and directed by Mark Jackson featuring a score composed from the Grammy nominated Dave Eggar, the film stars: Cesar-winner Hafsia Herzi (The Secret of the Grain) Sarah Kazemy (Circumstance) Lucy Walters (Power), Kevin Kane (Inside Amy Schumer), and Lev Gorn (The Americans). Jackson’s previous films have won 17 awards including an Independent Spirit Award and a Gotham Nomination. Jackson is also a Sundance, Cinereach and Skywalker Sound Fellow. Director and writer Mark Jackson joins us for a conversation on This Teachers’ premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival, intolerance and not being afraid to love.
In the days following his mother's sudden death, Socrates (Christian Malheiros), a 15-year-old living on São Paulo's margins, faces the difficulties of surviving on his own and coming to terms with his grief. SOCRATES was produced with a crew of 16-20 year-olds from the Querô Institute, a UNICEF-supported project that provides social inclusion through filmmaking to underprivileged youths in the Baixada Santista region of São Paulo, Brazil. SOCRATES was also written by Thayná Mantesso a 20 year-old Brazilian screenwriter and graduate of the Querô Institute. SOCRATES was filmed with a micro-budget of under $20,000. Alex Moratto's award-winning short films NOWHERE TO BE FOUND, THE PARTING and THE OTHER SIDE have screened at international film festivals. SOCRATES is Alex Moratto’s debut feature film. The film was produced by Ramin Bahrani (99 HOMES) and stars Christian Malheiros and Tales Ordakji. Director Alex Moratto joins us for a conversation on working with a young non-professionals, UNICEF and producing his debut feature film.
For news and updates go to: socratesfilm.com
Hailed by critics as “immensely likeable,” “brilliant and quirky” and an “ode to the teenage science geeks on whom our future depends,” and winner of the audience award at Sundance and SXSW, National Geographic Documentary Films’ SCIENCE FAIR follows nine high school students from around the globe as they navigate rivalries, setbacks and, of course, hormones, on their journey to compete at The International Science and Engineering Fair. As 1,700 of the smartest, quirkiest teens from 78 different countries face off, only one will be named Best in Fair. The film, from Fusion and Muck Media and directed by the DuPont Award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaking team Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster, offers a front seat to the victories, defeats and motivations of an incredible group of young men and women who are on a path to change their lives, and the world, through science. Co-directors Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster join us to talk about their entertaining, enlightening and heart-warming film.
For news and updates go to: sciencefairfilm.com
Chicago’s Oak Park and River Forest High School’s (OPRF) student population encompasses a racial, economic and cultural mix that reflects the nation as a whole. Located in a mostly affluent, progressive suburb, the school attracts families of all races and means, many of whom make great sacrifices to secure their children a place there. But even in this diverse and liberal community, ensuring an educational experience that equally benefits all students poses challenges for the school’s dedicated and well-meaning teachers, administrators and parents. In the multipart unscripted documentary series AMERICA TO ME, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Steve James (Hoop Dreams, The Interupters, Life Itself, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail) and his team follow a diverse selection of the school’s 3,400 students, including artists, athletes, scholars, underachievers and iconoclasts, to present an indelible account of their dreams, fears, triumphs and aspirations. Posing complex and controversial questions, the film wrestles with crucial issues, including the effects of race and privilege on education as seen through the eyes of young Americans on the precipice of adulthood. Candid and relatable portraits of 12 students who are just beginning to come into their own provide moving insights into the teenage search for personal identity in today’s world. Director Steve James joins us with his impressions on the state of secondary education, how best to facilitate better outcomes for students and the role race place in achieving success.
For news and update go to: kartemquin.com/films/america-to-me
Written and directed by internationally acclaimed filmmaker and Peabody Award winner, Leon Lee, LETTER FROM MASANJIA is an astonishing & riveting documentary follows the true story of an Oregon woman who finds a desperate SOS letter penned by a political prisoner in her Halloween decorations and the nail-biting chain of events that it sparks when she takes the letter public, exposing appalling flagrant human rights violations - that leads to sweeping labor reform in China. The impact of what those two unlikely heroes have accomplished is even more profound in today’s rapidly boiling over political climate, not just in China but around the rest of the world. LETTER FROM MASANJIA is a devastating tale of human rights violations in current day China with corporate giants across the globe receiving prisoner labor efforts for Halloween decorations, asking no questions in a price for pennies on the dollar. This is the tale of one political prisoners desperate plea to alert the world to horrors most of society sweeps under the carpet. Director and writer Leon Lee stops by to talk about the tens of thousands of people currently incarcerated in labor camps, and the millions more living in fear as well as the people resisting a totalitarian regime.
For news and updates goto: letterfrommasanjia.com
On the night of the 2016 Presidential election, Cass, (Omari Hardwick) an L.A. club promoter, takes a thrilling and emotional journey with Frida (Meagan Good), a Midwestern visitor. She challenges him to revisit his broken dreams - while he pushes her to discover hers. Director / writer / editor Qasim Basir joins us to talk about his riveting and elegant depiction of relationships, intimacy, Los Angeles, race, politics, and living the life we want instead of the life we have.
For news and updates go to: aboyagirladreamfilm.com
Social Media
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After marrying a successful Parisian writer known commonly as “Willy” (Dominic West), Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) is transplanted from her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to ghostwrite for him. She pens a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named Claudine, sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. After its success, Colette and Willy become the talk of Paris and their adventures inspire additional Claudine novels. Colette's fight over creative ownership and gender roles drives her to overcome societal constraints, revolutionizing literature, fashion and sexual expression. Director and screenwriter Wash Westmoreland stops by to talk about the story behind a remarkable trailblazing feminist, writer, performer and cultural icon whose influence has inspired artists for the last 100 years.
For news and updates go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/colette
LOST CHILD follows an army veteran, Fern, who returns home in order to look for her brother, only to discover an abandoned boy lurking in the woods behind her childhood home. After taking in the boy, she searches for clues to his identity, and discovers the local folklore about a malevolent, life-draining spirit that comes in the form of a child; the Tatterdemalion. A beautifully-crafted mystery drama from award-winning director Ramaa Mosley. LOST CHILD stars Leven Rambin, Jim Parrack, John Taylor Smith, and Landon Edwards. Director / co-screenwriter (Tim Macy) Ramaa Mosley and actor Kip Collins joins us for a conversation on PTSD, self-financing your own film, the supernatural, and bracing the people of the Ozarks.
For news and updates go to: bgpics.com/2018/lost-child
Social Media
facebook.com/BreakingGlassfilm
twitter.com/BreakingGlassPx
instagram.com/breakingglass
Streaming
Amazon
Apple iTunes
Hard headed Louisiana fisherman Thomas Gonzales doesn't know what will hit him next. After decades of hurricanes and oil spills he faces a new threat - hordes of monstrous 20 pound swamp rats. Known as "nutria", these invasive South American rodents breed faster than the roving squads of hunters can control them. And with their orange teeth and voracious appetite they are eating up the coastal wetlands that protects Thomas and his town of Delacroix Island from hurricanes. But the people who have lived here for generations are not the type of folks who will give up without a fight. Thomas and a pack of lively bounty hunters are hellbent on saving Louisiana before it dissolves beneath their feet. It is man vs. rodent. May the best mammal win. Rodents of Unusual Size is a documentary by Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer (Everyday Sunshine,The Story of Fishbone). Co-director Jeff Springer join us to talk about the other ‘beast of the Southern wild.”
For news and updates go to: rodentsofunusualsize.tv
Forty-five years after it revolutionized abortion law in America, the landmark 1973 US Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade is once again at a crossroads. In their timely new documentary REVERSING ROE, fil mmakers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg (THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK, MARATHON: THE PATRIOT'S DAY BOMBING) present a deeply illuminating look of the state of abortion and women's rights in America. The film offers candid and riveting interviews with key figures from both sides of the divide, among them doctors Colleen McNicholas and Curtis Boyd; feminist icon Gloria Steinem; Operation Rescue president Troy Newman; and National Right to Life president Carol Tobias. Intense and unflinching in its commitment to telling the whole story, REVERSING ROE provides a gripping look at what's happening on the ground in 2018. Drawing from a wealth of historical footage, it charts the period leading up to the Roe decision-and documents the opposition that has followed ever since. Regardless of where you stand on the issue of abortion, REVERSING ROE is essential viewing to understand how the country got here-and where it may be going. Co-directors Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg join us for an informed conversation on the long history and politics swirling around one of the country’s most divisive issues.
Netflix
Laemmle Music Hall Theater
9036 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills
Times:12:00, 2:30, 5:00, 7:30, 10:00pm
City of Joy follows the first class of students at a remarkable leadership center in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region often referred to as “the worst place in the world to be a woman.” These women have been through unspeakable violence spurred on by a 20 year war driven by colonialism and greed. In the film, they band together with the three founders of this center: Dr. Denis Mukwege (2016 Nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize), radical playwright and activist Eve Ensler (“The Vagina Monolgoues”) and human rights activist, Christine Schuler-Deschryver, to find a way to create meaning in their lives even when all that was meaningful to them has long been stripped away. In this ultimately uplifting film, we witness the tremendous resilience as these women transform their devastation into powerful forms of leadership for their beloved country. Director, writer and editor Madeleine Gavin stops by to talk about this beautifully told story of unspeakable cruelty, remarkable resilience and unconditional love in a desperately poor country in a region of the world renown for violence.
For news and updates go to: netflix.com/City of Joy
Although Hal Ashby directed a remarkable string of acclaimed, widely admired classics throughout the 1970s—HAROLD AND MAUDE, THE LAST DETAIL, SHAMPOO, COMING HOME, BEING THERE—he is often overlooked amid the crowd of luminaries from his generation. Amy Scott’s HAL is an exuberant portrait that explores that curious oversight, using rare archival materials, interviews, personal letters, and audio recordings to reveal a passionate, obsessive artist. Ashby was a Hollywood director who constantly clashed with Hollywood, but also a unique soul with an unprecedented insight into the human condition and an unmatched capacity for good. His films were an elusive blend of honesty, irreverence, humor, and humanity. Through the heartrending and inspiring HAL, you feel buoyedby Ashby’s love of people and of cinema, a little like walking on water. On camera interviews his many collaborators, including Oscar®-winning actors Lee Grant, Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, Louis Gossett Jr, Jeff Bridges and more recall how they were empowered by Ashby and granted them artistic freedom. Contemporary directors include Alexander Payne, Judd Apatow, Lisa Cholodenko, and David O. Russell attest to the quiet but powerful influence Ashby has had on their own filmmaking. Behind the camera colleagues Norman Jewison, Robert Towne, Haskell Wexler, and Pablo Ferro stand witness to Ashby’s brilliance as a filmmaker and the forces that led to his undoing. Director Amy Scott joins us to talk about her artistic connection to Hal Ashby, as editor and director, and her desire to correct many of the lingering misperceptions of Ashby through her riveting and loving film about a true maverick.
For news and updates go to: hal.oscilloscope.net
Directed by Chris Paine and executive produced by Paine and Tiffany Asakawa, Do You Trust This Computer? examines the promises and perils of this developing era. Science fiction has long anticipated the rise of machine intelligence. Today, a new generation of self-learning computers has begun to reshape every aspect of our lives. Incomprehensible amounts of data are being created, interpreted, and fed back to us in a tsunami of apps, personal assistants, smart devices, and targeted advertisements. Virtually every industry on earth is experiencing this transformation, from job automation, to medical diagnostics, even military operations. Do You Trust This Computer? explores the promises and perils of our new era. Will A.I. usher in an age of unprecedented potential, or prove to be our final invention? Featuring influential minds, including but not limited to: former Google Brain co-founder & director Andrew Ng, co-founder and CEO of Affectiva Rana el Kaliouby, Osaka University robotic engineer Hiroshi Ishiguro, engineer & entrepreneur Elon Musk, OpenAI director Shivon Zilis, and co- showrunner of HBO's Westworld, Jonathan Nolan. Director Chris Paine ((Who Killed The Electric Car?, Revenge of the Electric Car) joins us for a lively conversation on where we are and where we are heading with Artificial Intelligence.
For news and updates go to: doyoutrustthiscomputer.org
For information on other Chris Paine films go to: papercutfilms.com
“The Man Who Loves To Hurt Himself,” follows the turbulent musical journey of Today is the Day enigmatic legendary frontman and founder, Steve Austin. Ride along as Austin's first person account brings balance to these opposing forces, reckoning and stretching himself from the drive to create his musical vision, engaging and performing intense shows around the world, to being home with his wife and children. How one near-death experience led him to connect with the love of his life and begin the transition, fulfilling his destiny as a loving family man while completing his mission to bring relief his followers and overcome being the man who loves to hurt himself. “The Man Who Loves to Hurt Himself” is a loose but subdued methodic subtlety of the movie stands in sharp contrast to an artist known in the worldwide underground of extreme music for abrasive, loud, chaotic spectacle neo-violent imagery a slow, brooding and emotional 93-minutes that covers a year of conversations and ride-a-longs with the casual aesthetic of natural conversation supported by raw grainy fan shot footage, old pictures, personal home videos, career spanning amulets, in a self examination of the psyche of a modern-day “madman” and “master.” Director Anthony Short joins us for a conversation on connecting with a singular music savant / philosopher / survivor.
For news and updates go to: tmwlthh.com
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ACTIVE MEASURES chronicles the most successful espionage operation in Russian history, the American presidential election of 2016. Filmmaker Jack Bryan exposes a 30-year history of covert political warfare devised by Vladmir Putin to disrupt, and ultimately control world events. In the process, the filmmakers follow a trail of money, real estate, mob connections, and on the record confessions to expose an insidious plot that leads directly back to The White House. With democracy hanging in the balance, ACTIVE MEASURES is essential viewing. Unraveling the true depth and scope of "the Russia story" as we have come to know it, this film a jarring reminder that some conspiracies hide in plain sight. Director / Producer / Writer stops by to talk about his comprehensive, searing indictment of a vast, corrupting totalitarian political system determined to destroy any vestige of self-governance and democratic institutions.
For news and updates go to: activemeasures.com
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In the beautifully realized story of struggle and determination, young cowboy Brady Blackburn (Brady Jandreau), once a rising star of the rodeo circuit and an uniquely gifted horse trainer, is warned that his riding days are over after a horse badly crushed his skull at a rodeo and put him in a three-day coma. Back home on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, Brady struggles with the physical and emotional complications of the accident. He is comforted by his inimitable little sister Lilly (Lilly Jandreau), who has Asperger’s Syndrome, while tensions between him and his gambling father, Wayne (Tim Jandreau), approach a breaking point when Wayne resorts to selling Brady’s favorite horse to keep their trailer home. Brady finds himself wondering what he has to live for when he can no longer do what gives him a sense of purpose: to ride and compete. In an attempt to regain control of his fate, Brady undertakes a search for new identity and tries to redefine his idea of what it means to be a man in the heartland of America. Lead actor Brady Jandreau talks about his journey from the rodeo to his portrayal of a fictionalized version of his own brush with death, depression, and recovery, and the thrill of working with family and friends in this celebrated film debut by award-winning (Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight, Best Picture) director/writer /producer Chloe Zhao (Songs My Brother Taught Me).
For news and update go to: sonyclassics.com/therider
In Andrew Bujalski’s comedy Lisa (Regina Hall) is the last person you'd expect to find in a highway-side "sports bar with curves,"-- but as general manager at Double Whammies, she's come to love the place, and its customers. An instinctive den mother, she nurtures and protects her ‘girls’ on the staff fiercely -- but over the course of one trying day, her optimism is battered from every direction... Double Whammies sells a big, weird American fantasy, but what happens when reality pokes a bunch of holes in it?
Director Andrew Bujalski's Statement - It seems like just about the simplest business concept you could imagine -- "What if all the waitresses in this restaurant wore tight, cleavage-y halter tops?"-- but I couldn't get over how bizarre it ultimately was. No culture besides present-day America would ever produce mass-scale demand for such a place, a business that seems about 10% strip club and 90% TGI Friday's / Applebee's / Chili's / Cracker Barrel. Strippers are supposed to make men feel like badass transgressors. But these women are just supposed to make you feel normal -- the proverbial "red-blooded American male." You don't see many stories set in this slice of Americana, and with good reason. It does not lend itself to grand dramatic arcs, or, really, to gut-busting comedy. But it certainly is full of contradictions, and incredibly fertile with opportunities for subtle spiritual conflicts. I couldn't pretend to untangle these from an insider's perspective, so I dreamed up a kind of outsider character, Lisa the general manager, to walk in there with a spirit of openness and love -- and plenty of her own pathologies--to see what she might discover in there. While it is a very specific story in many ways, I hope that anyone who's ever worked for a living will relate. Most of us have to buy/sell one crazy "concept" or another to pay our bills, and some days, you're not sure if your humor and dignity will survive to the end of the shift…
Director and writer Andrew Bujalski (Beeswax, Computer Chess, Results) joins us to talk about his insightful “girl power” comedic drama with a ground-level take on masculine hurly-burly in a vanishing American paradigm.
For news and updates go to: supportthegirlsfilm.com
Us three. Us brothers. Us kings, inseparable. Three boys tear through their childhood, in the midst of their young parents’ volatile love that makes and unmakes the family many times over. While Manny and Joel grow into versions of their loving and unpredictable father, Ma seeks to shelter her youngest, Jonah, in the cocoon of home. More sensitive and conscious than his older siblings, Jonah increasingly embraces an imagined world all his own. With a screenplay by Dan Kitrosser and Jeremiah Zagar based on the celebrated Justin Torres novel, We the Animals is a visceral coming-of-age story propelled by layered performances from its astounding cast of Sheila Vand, Raul Castillo, and three talented, young first-time actors, Evan Rosado, Isaiah Kristian, Josiah Gabriel as well as stunning animated sequences which bring Jonah’s torn inner world to life. Drawing from his documentary background, director Jeremiah Zagar creates an immersive portrait of working class family life and brotherhood. Director and screenwriter Jeremiah Zagar joins us to talk about his gorgeous and ethereal tale of young boys struggling to find their own way in a tattered landscape of family and identity.
For news and updates go to: wetheanimals.film
In 2010, Taiji, a sleepy fishing town in Japan, suddenly found itself in the worldwide media spotlight. THE COVE, a documentary denouncing the town's longstanding whale and dolphin hunting traditions, won an Academy Award and almost overnight, Taiji became the go-to destination and battleground for activists from around the world. Can a proud 400-year-old whaling tradition survive a tsunami of modern animal-rights activism and colliding forces of globalism vs. localism? A WHALE OF A TALE reveals the complex story behind the ongoing debate. Told through a wide range of characters including local fishermen, international activists and an American journalist (and long time Japanese resident), this powerful documentary unearths a deep divide in eastern and western thought about nature and wildlife and cultural sensitivity in the face of global activism. In 2008, Filmmaker Megumi Sasaki directed and produced her first feature-length documentary HERB & DOROTHY, about legendary New York art collectors Herb and Dorothy Vogel. The film went on to win top honors at many international film festivals and was released theatrically nationwide and as a part of PBS’s Independent Lens series. In 2013, Megumi completed the highly anticipated follow-up HERB & DOROTHY 50X50, focusing on the next (and final) chapter in the lives of the beloved couple. Director Megumi Sasaki joins us for a frank and wide-open conversation on the why she felt that telling this story was important and critical to understanding another side of a complex issue that has implication far beyond the shores of Tajii.
For news and updates go to: awhaleofatalefilm.com
Meet the NYPD12: a group of minority whistleblower officers who risk everything to expose racially discriminatory policing practices in the NYPD and smash the blue wall of silence. Using stunning cinematography and intimate, character-drive access, CRIME + PUNISHMENT captures the story of these brave individuals right from the beginning, as several officers meet up to talk about the New York Police Department's outlawed practices of quota-driven policing and officer retaliation -- and find themselves starting a class-action suit against the city. Using secret recordings between officers and commanders, firsthand accounts, and emotional testimony, the NYPD12 detail the explosive truth when no one else will listen. In the meantime, Manuel Gomez, an ex-cop turned private investigator, collects testimony from young minorities who have been affected by these policies and targeted by officers in the name of fighting crime. Told from the rarely heard perspective of active whistleblower officers and the young men and women of color they police, CRIME + PUNISHMENT is a once-in-a-generation film that considers the complexities of police work when faced with the unjust systemic and institutional practices fueling social justice movements across America. Director / Producer / Cinematographer / Editor Stephen Maing joins us for conversation on how he came to know the brave men and women who stepped forward, and why this is not just a New York City issue.
For news and updates go to: crimeandpunishmentdoc.com
Based on the arresting true story of the Executioner of Emsland, The Captain follows a German army deserter, Willi Herold (Max Hubacher), after he finds an abandoned Nazi captain's uniform in the final weeks of World War II. Emboldened by the authority the uniform grants him, he amasses a band of stragglers who cede to his command despite the suspicions of some. Citing direct orders from the Fuhrer himself, he soon takes command of a camp holding German soldiers accused of desertion and begins to dispense harsh justice. Increasingly intoxicated by the unquestioned authority, this enigmatic imposter soon discovers that many people will blindly follow the leader, whomever that happens to be. Simultaneously a historical docudrama and sociological examination with undertones of the absurd, The Captain presents fascism as something of a game to be played by those most gullible and unscrupulous. Director Robert Schwentke stops by for a conversation on the troubling implications of this tale of myopic madness sanctioned by a governance that ceases to care.
For news and updates go to: musicboxfilms.com/The Captain
First-time filmmaker Bing Liu’s documentary Minding the Gap is a coming-of-age saga of three skateboarding friends in their Rust Belt hometown hit hard by decades of recession. In his quest to understand why he and his friends all ran away from home when they were younger, Bing follows 23-year-old Zack as he becomes a father and 17-year-old Keire as he gets his first job. As the film unfolds, Bing is thrust into the middle of Zack’s tumultuous relationship with his girlfriend and Keire’s inner struggles with racial identity and his deceased father. While navigating a complex relationship between his camera and his friends, Bing explores the gap between fathers and sons, between discipline and domestic abuse, and ultimately that precarious chasm between childhood and becoming an adult. Director Bing Liu joins us for a lively conversation on masculinity, adulthood, the joy of skateboarding and the crippling legacy of domestic violence.
For news and updates go to: mindingthegapfilm.com
Madeline (Helena Howard) has become an integral part of a prestigious physical theater troupe. When the workshop’s ambitious director (Molly Parker) pushes the teenager to weave her rich interior world and troubled history with her mother (Miranda July) into their collective art, the lines between performance and reality begin to blur. The resulting battle between imagination and appropriation rips out of the rehearsal space and through all three women’s lives. Writer/director Josephine Decker has long been an independent filmmaker to admire, utilizing a welcome expressionistic approach that imbues her subjects with a vibrant sense of urgency. Anchored by a virtuoso performance from newcomer Helena Howard, whose powerful screen presence commands attention, Decker’s film displays a rare sensitivity for capturing the messy struggles of discovering a sense of one’s self that defies easy narrative categorization. Producers Krista Parris and Elizabeth Rao joins us to talk about this immersive “psychological horror” narrative, collaboration in creative process, the casting of newcomer Helena Howard.
For news and updates go to: madelinesmadeline.oscilloscope.net
90% on Rotten Tomatoes
In contemporary rural Iceland, a wayward 9-year old girl, Sól, is sent to distant countryside relatives for a summer to work and to mature. Nature seems endless there, the animals soulful but the people harsh. All except the mysterious farmhand Jón, who - as Sól herself - likes words better than people. But the farmers' daughter Ásta has a claim on Jón as well, and soon Sól becomes entangled in a drama she hardly can grasp. This summer marks Sól's rite of passage into the murky waters of adulthood, and the wild nature in us all. Director and screenwriter Asa Hjorleifsdottir stops by for a conversation on directing a first-time actor in the lead role, returning to her own childhood community and Icelandic traditions.
For news and updates go to: facebook.com/svanurinn2016 or facebook.com/theswan
In her latest project,SNAPSHOTS, legendary actor Piper Laurie plays family matriarch Rose.. The story will resonate with every person who has lived through the complexity of family relationships, It reminds us that if we are loved no secret is too difficult to hear and accept. Or is it? Rose (Gran) is the matriarch. She has lived in this house for over fifty years. She and her deceased husband Joe raised their daughter Patty in this home. Patty, now a widow in her early 50's, lives in St. Louis. Each year Patty and her newly married daughter Allison spend a laughter filled girl’s weekend with Gran. This year will be different. Piper Laurie joins us for a conversation on the making of her latest project (Snapshots) in a legendary film career that includes three Academy Award nominated performances (The Hustler, Carrie, Children of a Lesser God) and an Emmy nomination for David Lynch’s groundbreaking television serial (Twin Peaks).
For news and updates go to: snapshotsthefilm.com
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood is the deliciously scandalous story of Scotty Bowers, a handsome ex-Marine who landed in Hollywood after World War II and became confidante, aide de camp and lover to many of Hollywood’s greatest male — and female — stars. In the 1940s and '50s, Scotty ran a gas station in the shadow of the studio lots where he would connect his friends with actors and actresses who had to hide their true sexual identities for fear of police raids at gay bars, societal shunning and career suicide. An unsung Hollywood legend, Bowers would cater to the sexual appetites of celebrities – straight and gay – for decades. In 2012, he finally spilled his secrets in the New York Times bestselling memoir “Full Service,” which revealed a dramatic, pre-Stonewall alternate history of Hollywood. While the studio PR machine were promoting their stars as wholesome and monogamous, Bowers was fulfilling the true desires of many of them. This cinema-vérité documentary tells his story, as well as presents eye-opening takes on icons from the Hollywood Golden Age including Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, Ava Gardner and many more. Director Matt Tyrnauer (Studio 54, Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, Valentino: The Last Emperor) joins us for spirited conversation on the days when the Hollywood PR machine mattered more than the lives of the artist who made it successful and the role Scotty Bowers played in breaking that stranglehold on them.
For news and updates go to: scottymovie.com
NICO, 1988 features a tour de force performance from Trine Dyrholm’s as the aging Nico (aka Christa Päffgen), interpreting rather than impersonating the famed singer-songwriter as she approaches 50. Leading a solitary existence in Manchester Nico’s life and career are on the ropes, a far cry from her glamorous days as a Warhol superstar and celebrated vocalist for The Velvet Underground. Nico’s new manager Richard (John Gordon Sinclair) convinces her to hit the road again and tour Europe to promote her latest album. Struggling with her demons and the consequences of a muddled life, she longs to rebuild a relationship with the son Ari (Sandor Funtek) she lost custody of long ago. A brave and uncompromising musician, Nico’s is the story of an artist, a mother, and the woman behind the icon. Director Susanna Nicchiarelli joins us to talk about Trine Dyrholm’s raw performance and her own unvarnished look into the post-iconic world of NICO and into the tortuous journey that Christa Päffgen took, as an artist and mother, towards the person she knew she wanted to be.
For news and updates go to: nico1988.com
40 YEARS IN THE MAKING: THE MAGIC MUSIC MOVIE chronicles how one of their greatest fans, acclaimed director (and UC Boulder alumnus) Lee Aronsohn, tracked down the original band members four decades later to tell their story. More importantly, he makes a dream come true for himself, fellow fans, and the band, by bringing them all back to Boulder for a sold-out reunion concert that preserves their legacy for posterity. Magic Music is one of the most fondly remembered bands of the Boulder Revolution of the late 60s and early 70s. Living in a makeshift camp up in the mountains, they would delight local residents and university students with their original songs, acoustic instruments, and light harmonies; their growing popularity brought them to the brink of success more than once. Unfortunately, they never signed a record deal and eventually broke up in 1975. 40 YEARS IN THE MAKING: THE MAGIC MUSIC MOVIE opens in New York August 3, and in Los Angeles August 10, with a national release to follow. Director Lee Aronsohn talks about his endearing and poignant documentary on the music that became a living soundtrack for a community and the band of musicians who became life-long friends.
For news and updates go to: magicmusicmovie.com
Jordana Spiro’s intimate, detailed feature debut drama, NIGHT COMES ON, tells the story of Angel LaMere. released from juvenile detention on the eve of her 18th birthday. Haunted by her past, Angel embarks on a journey with her 10-year-old sister to avenge her mother's death. NIGHT COMES ON won the 2018 Sundance NEXT Innovator Prize that features riveting performances by Dominque Fishback (Angel) and Tatum Marilyn Hall (Abby). Director and writer Jordana Spiro joins us for a conversation about her remarkably nuanced tale of pain, loss, empathy and revenge.
For news and updates go to: Night Comes On
Super close Mother Lyn and daughter Iona (Dafty One and Dafty Two) are excited for their new life in a new town. Determined to make a success of things after a tricky start, Iona becomes 'best friends' with Keely, Stacey and Chelsea. Used to being Iona's bestie herself, Lyn feels left out. So Lyn also makes friends with Belinda, her neighbor. As much as Lyn and Iona pretend to each other that things are going great, things aren't going great for either of them. Iona struggles with the girls, who act more like frenemies than friends, and Belinda won't give Lyn her stepladders back. Both Mother and Daughter retreat into fantasy and lies. Anchored by two remarkable performances by the film’s leads, Joanna Scanlon (Lyn) and Lily Newmark (Iona) writer / director Deborah Haywood feature film debut confidently delivers a lacerating take on bullying, cruelty and mental illness.
For news and updates go to: pincushionfilm.co.uk
DARK MONEY, a political thriller, examines one of the greatest present threats to American democracy: the influence of untraceable corporate money on our elections and elected officials. The film takes viewers to Montana—a frontline in the fight to preserve fair elections nationwide—to follow an intrepid local journalist working to expose the real-life impacts of the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. For decades, Montana had arguably the cleanest campaign laws in the U.S., precisely in reaction to a long history of political corruption. Its small population and rich natural resources like copper, had made it particularly vulnerable to private-industry bribery and extortion. Through this gripping story, DARK MONEY uncovers the shocking and vital truth of how American elections are bought and sold. This Sundance award-winning documentary is directed/produced by Kimberly Reed (PRODIGAL SONS) and produced by Katy Chevigny (E-TEAM). Kimberly joins us for a conversation on where our increasingly fragile democracy is and the very troubling place where it may be headed if dramatic measures are not taken to stop the shadowy corporate money from overwhelming our electoral process.
For news and updates go to: darkmoneyfilm.com
Netflix newest series Dark Tourist is the latest project of New Zealand journalist / filmmaker David Farrier, (Tickled), the doc that uncovered an unbelievable tickle fetish empire. In the new NETFLIX series, Farrier travels around the world trying to find the most dangerous and scariest experiences available to tourists. In the show we see a wounded Farrier going into an eerie hospital, being at the center of a war zone, a man breaking a statue on his own head, a killer named Popeye holding the gun at someone, and a woman telling Farrier to stay back because she doesn’t want him to be “possessed.” In one Los Angeles based episode Farrier is warned that he’ll be hurt, drowned, and buried. And yet nothing seems to deter this intrepid thrill seeker. Dark Tourist Director and creator David Farrier joins us to talk about the where, why and WTF of his newest adventure.
For news and updates go to: netflix.com
Born and raised in East London’s working-class Stratford neighborhood, nothing in the background of Lee Alexander McQueen hinted at his future. The youngest of six children, Lee might have been expected to become a plumber, a bricklayer or perhaps a cab driver like his father. Instead, McQueen’s fierce romanticism and punk poetry helped create 1990s-era “Cool Britannia,” a celebration of youth culture in the U.K. For perhaps the first time since the Swinging Sixties, a lad from the East End of London could — and did — become one of the most original and influential artists of his time. Filmmakers Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui capture the life and work of a unique creative talent in all his glorious anarchy in their new film, McQueen. They offer a thrilling portrait of McQueen’s life and complex persona, following him as he conquers the world of fashion with designs as ravishing as they are sinister. From his apprenticeship at an old-school Savile Row tailor and haberdasher, where he displayed a preternatural knack for pattern cutting and tailoring, to his death at only 40, the film breaks the rules of documentary storytelling with its mosaic of standalone fragments shot in different styles, which accumulate and combine to create a groundbreaking, multi-faceted portrait. Through exclusive interviews with his closest friends and family, recovered archives, exquisite visuals and music, McQUEEN is an authentic celebration and thrilling portrait of an inspired yet tortured fashion visionary. Co-director and writer Peter Ettedgui (co-director Ian Bonhote) talks about the making of a personal and intimate look into the extraordinary life career and artistry of one of the most influential fashion designers of our time.
For news and updates go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/mcqueen
For the past 25 years acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Lauren Greenfield has travelled the world, documenting with ethnographic precision and an artist’s sensitivity a vast range of cultural movements and moments. Yet, after so much seeking and searching, she realized that much of her work pointed at one uniting phenomenon: wealth culture. With her new film, Generation Wealth, she puts the pieces of her life’s work together for in an incendiary investigation into the pathologies that have created the richest society the world has ever seen. Spanning consumerism, beauty, gender, body commodification, aging and more, Greenfield has created a comprehensive cautionary tale about a culture heading straight for the cliff’s edge. Generation Wealth, simultaneously a deeply personal journey, rigorous historical essay, and raucously entertaining expose, bears witness to the global boom-bust economy, the corrupted American Dream and the human costs of capitalism, narcissism and greed. Emmy-award-winning photographer / filmmaker, Lauren Greenfield’s expansive artistry includes her monographs (Girl Culture, Fast Forward, THIN, Generation Wealth), and documentaries (THIN, kids+money, The Queen of Versailles). The Queen of Versailles won her the 2012 Best Documentary Director Award at Sundance Film Festival. Director Lauren Greenfield joins us to talk about her sweeping film and the damning indictment of a profligate world of depraved indifference, hell-bent on stockpiling pointless possessions.
For news and updates go to: generation-wealth.com
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most beloved creations. The frolicking tale of lovesick young aristocrats, energetic but inept rustics, and mischievous woodland spirits is a staple of stage and screen. In the past, filmed adaptations have emphasized the play’s traditional, Elizabethan qualities. This production however is a fresh and stylish reinvention that takes an entirely different approach.The story takes place in present day Hollywood - a place where glamorous stars, commanding moguls, starving artists and vaulting pretenders all vie to get ahead. Hollywood is sometimes called “The Dream Factory,” and like the world of Shakespeare’s Dream, it’s a place where fantasy and reality collide.In the tradition of Baz Luhrmann’s rapturous reimagining of Romeo + Juliet, this modern vision breathes new life into a classic tale. Combined with a cast of established and emerging stars, as well as a pulsing original soundtrack, the film will appeal to ardent fans of the Shakespeare as well as audiences discovering Shakespeare for the first time. Director and screenwriter Casey Wilder Mott talk with us about the challenges and rewards of re-imagining one of the Bard’s most endearing plays.
For news and updates go to: amidsummernightsdreammovie.com
PATH OF BLOOD depicts Islamist terrorism, as it has never been seen before. Drawn from a hoard of jihadi home-movie footage that was captured by Saudi security services, this is the story of Muslim terrorists targeting Muslim civilians and brought to justice by Muslim security agents. It is a stark reminder that all who are touched by terrorism are victimized by it. A powerful and sometimes shocking cinematic experience, PATH OF BLOOD reveals how brainwashed youths, fuelled by idealism and the misguided pursuit of adventure, can descend into madness and carnage. The raw, unvarnished footage, to which the filmmakers negotiated exclusive access, captures young thrill-seekers at a jihadi “boot camp” deep in the Saudi desert, having signed on to overthrow the Saudi government. They plot to detonate car bombs in downtown Riyadh, become embroiled in a game of cat-and-mouse with government forces and, as their plans unravel, resort to ever more brutal tactics. Adopting a strictly objective approach, the film doesn’t editorialize and contains no interviews or “talking heads” commentary. The home video footage was shot by the terrorists themselves, allowing viewers to see them in all their complexity, while compelling audiences to draw their own conclusions. Director / Producer Jonathan Hacker is a documentary producer and director with numerous awards under his belt including the prestigious BAFTA and RTS awards. He joins us for a conversation on his frightening look at operational level of terrorism and the people who commit these heinous crimes.
http://www.pathofbloodfilm.com/
One of the most important artists of our era, Ryuichi Sakamoto has had a prolific career spanning over four decades. From techno-pop stardom to Oscar-winning film composer, the evolution of his music has coincided with his life journeys. Following Fukushima, Sakamoto became an iconic figure in Japan’s social movement against nuclear power. As Sakamoto returns to music following a cancer diagnosis, his haunting awareness of life crises leads to a resounding new masterpiece. RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA is an intimate portrait of both the artist and the man. Director and writer Stephen Norma Schible joins us for a conversation on his own journey into the internal and external world of Ryuichi’s inspiring spiritual and musical journey.
For news and updates go to: coda.mubi.com
In the deserted hills of an Indonesian island, Marlina, a young widow, is attacked and robbed of all her livestock by a gang of seven bandits. She then defends herself, setting out on a journey to find justice, empowerment, retribution and redemption. But the road is long, especially when she begins to be haunted by the ghost of her victim. A stunning 'Scope western set to a Morricone-inspired score, this unique tale of female cinematic revenge takes no prisoners. Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, was directed by Indonesian-born Mouly Surya. This feminist revenge tale had its world premiere at Cannes' Directors' Fortnight. It opens nationwide, including Los Angeles at the Laemmle's Monica Film Center on July 6, 2018. Mouly Surya is considered one of Indonesia's most gifted filmmakers, Surya premiered her award-winning debut, Fiksi, at the Busan International FIlm Festival. Her second feature What They Don't Talk About When They Talk About Love had its world premiere at Sundance and went on to many festivals including Karlovy Vary and Rotterdam, where it received the NETPAC Award. In addition to making films, she also teaches directing. Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, is her third film. Mouly Surya joins us to talk about her elegant allegory on revenge, justice and self-determination.
For news and updates go to: kimstim.com/marlina
UNDER THE TREE is a dark comedy based on real conflicts between neighbors that can often turn violent over trees (yes trees) in Iceland. There is a scarcity of trees in Iceland (which is why they are so treasured) and also a lack of sunshine....so you can see how a conflict would arise when a tree you'd never chop down in your backyard is blocking your neighbor's sunlight. The films' director Sigurdsson said he came up with idea when examining how minor conflicts between otherwise friendly neighbors become blown out of proportion and violent. UNDER THE TREE was Iceland's Oscar entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards last year. The film was directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson (Either Way) and produced by Grimar Jonsson. Hafsteinn joins us to talk about working with actors primarily known for comedic roles, conveying the film’s escalating tension without passing judgement on the characters actions.
For news and updates go to: underthetreefilm.com
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) launched its fourth annual film challenge on Monday, June 18. The challenge is a part of the AIA’s “Blueprint for Better” campaign, an initiative that highlights the collaborative work of architects and civic leaders to solve some of the biggest issues facing cities today. The film challenge started in 2015 and every year participants have shot and submitted three to five-minute documentaries that shed a light on how civic leaders are working with architects to solve some of the most pressing issues of our time, such as infrastructure, urban issues, natural disasters and housing shortages. This year, the AIA will also be premiering its new short-documentary film alongside the film challenge titled “Caño Martin Peña: A Blueprint for Better”. The film depicts the rebuilding efforts of an architect and community leader in Puerto Rico following last year’s devastating Hurricane Maria that left more than three million people without power. Submissions for the film challenge—due by 8:59 p.m. EST on Monday, Aug. 27—will be subject to two rounds of judging. The first round of winners will be selected by a panel of jurors from the media, architecture and film industries. A second round will be open for public voting to choose the “People’s Choice Winner.” Last year’s competition garnered more than 268,000 votes. Participants will have the chance to win a $5,000 grand prize that includes distribution of the film through a multitude of channels, including screenings at the Architecture and Design Film Festival on Oct. 16 in New York in addition to travel and accommodations. The “People’s Choice Winner” will receive a screening at the Chicago Ideas Festival. Other finalists will be awarded a $500 prize. American Institute of Architects At-large Director Peter Exley stops by to talk about the great work being done around the country when there is collaboration between innovative government and a committed private sector.
For news and updates go to: aiafilmchallenge.org
Will (Ben Foster) and his teenage daughter, Tom (Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie), have lived off the grid for years in the forests of Portland, Oregon. When their idyllic life is shattered, both are put into social services. After clashing with their new surroundings, Will and Tom set off on a harrowing journey back to their wild homeland. The film is directed by Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone) from a script adapted by Granik and Anne Rosellini and based on the novel My Abandonment by Peter Rock. Director Debra Granik joins us to talk about her modern day tale of two people grappling with a sense of place, loyalty, love, and deep wounds.
For news and updates go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/leavenotrace
Forty years after the death of Elvis Presley, two-time Sundance Grand Jury winner Eugene Jarecki’s new film takes the King’s 1963 Rolls-Royce on a musical road trip across America. From Memphis to New York, Las Vegas, and beyond, the journey traces the rise and fall of Elvis as a metaphor for the country he left behind. In this groundbreaking film, Jarecki paints a visionary portrait of the state of the American dream and a penetrating look at how the hell we got here. A diverse cast of Americans, both famous and not, join the journey, including Alec Baldwin, Rosanne Cash, Chuck D, Emmylou Harris, Ethan Hawke, Van Jones, Mike Myers, and Dan Rather, among many others. To investigate these questions, THE KING traces Elvis’ rise and fall from the Deep South to New York, Las Vegas, and countless points between. Alongside this, the film examines America in parallel, from her auspicious founding to her own struggles with excess power up to the acute challenges of today. This was always Jarecki’s intent, but he could never have anticipated the election of Donald Trump, which happened in mid-production and sent a shock wave through the filmmaking process.
For news and updates go to: theking.film
Tim Wardle’s acclaimed documentary THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS is the most amazing, incredible, remarkable true story ever told. Three strangers are reunited by astonishing coincidence after being born identical triplets, separated at birth, and adopted by three different families. Their jaw-dropping, feel-good story instantly becomes a global sensation complete with fame and celebrity, however, the fairy-tale reunion sets in motion a series of events that unearth an unimaginable secret –– a secret with radical repercussions for us all. Winner of Sundance Film Festival’s Special Jury Award, THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS is an exuberant celebration of family that transforms into a thriller with colossal implications and proof that life is truly is stranger than fiction. THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS is part emotional family drama, part conspiracy thriller, and a gripping cinematic experience. Director Tim Wardle talks about gaining the confidence of the brothers, being faithful to this very complex saga and wrestling with the crucial “nature vs. nurture” question posed by their story, a question that lies at the heart of human behavior.
For news and updates go to: threeidenticalstrangers.com
HALF THE PICTURE celebrates the groundbreaking work of female film directors and investigates the systemic discrimination that has, for decades, denied opportunities to far too many talented women in Hollywood. The film consists of interviews with high profile women directors including Ava DuVernay, Jill Soloway, Lena Dunham, Catherine Hardwicke and Miranda July, among many others, who discuss their early careers, how they transitioned to studio films or television, how they balance having a demanding directing career with family, as well as challenges and joys along the way. HALF THE PICTURE also includes interviews with experts about gender inequality in Hollywood including the ACLU’s Melissa Goodman, Sundance Institute’s Caroline Libresco, Vanity Fair’s Rebecca Keegan, USC’s Dr. Stacy Smith and San Diego State University’s Dr. Martha Lauzen, who establish the magnitude of this employment discrimination issue as women are shut out, across the board, of an industry that systemically denies their expression and point of view. HALF THE PICTURE Director / Producer Amy Adrion joins us to talk about a unique time in the film industry where systemic change seems possible and whether, unlike previous efforts to address gender inequality in Hollywood, will this time be different?
For news and updates go to: halfthepicture.com
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Izzy is the textbook definition of a hot mess. She wakes up hungover from a one-night stand, puts on her stained clothes from the night before and plans to start yet another aimless day. That is, until she finds out that her ex is getting ready to celebrate his engagement to her former best friend. Izzy has to make it to the other side of town to break them up, and nothing will stand in her way. Further proving that she’s one of the most promising new actresses working today, Mackenzie Davis plays Izzy with a manic energy that is utterly electrifying. Featuring a killer supporting cast made up of Carrie Coon, Haley Joel Osment, and Alia Shawkat, Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town is a chaos-filled ride through Los Angeles, one that introduces a bold new voice in indie cinema. Director and writer Christian Papierniak talks about the making of his kinetic, off-kilter vehicle for the amazing MacKenzie Davis and working with a brilliant cast of supporting performers.
For news and updates go to: izzygetsacrosstown.com
Ronnie Coleman is one of the legendary athletes in the history of bodybuilding - holding the world record for most Mr. Olympia titles of all time with 8 wins. Now for the first time ever the world will see the true-life story of the biggest bodybuilder of our time. Known as "The King" of bodybuilding, Ronnie Coleman is a true icon in the sport of bodybuilding comparable to the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is known as one of the heaviest bodybuilders ever to compete in the IFBB as well as his aggressive heavy lifting in his training regimen. Since retirement, Ronnie Coleman has suffered a total of 6 major injuries to his spine and hips requiring rehabilitating surgery. He is now on a journey back to 100% recovery so that he can train at peak levels once again. Ronnie Coleman: The King focuses on Coleman's recent efforts to recover after his latest spinal surgery so that he can once again train with heavy weights at maximum capacity. The King takes a deep look into his past career and accomplishments - giving a never before seen look at one of the biggest (literally and figuratively) athletes in the bodybuilding industry. Director Vlad Yudin talks about what makes this gentle giant and arguably best ever bodybuilder tick and how Coleman continues to find success outside the spotlight.
For news and updates go to: generationiron.com/ronniecoleman
Punk's not dead in this cool AF drama riffing on actual events. THE ICARUS LINE MUST DIE is a dramatic narrative feature set against the backdrop of the current LA underground music scene. The film tracks Joe Cardamone, front man of notorious punk bad boys The Icarus Line as he navigates his way through the ups and downs of the modern music landscape. With a new record completed and a major label deal within sight, Joe fights to keep his band, his relationship and his life from completely falling apart. Ariel Pink, Keith Morris (Black Flag/Circle Jerks), Pearl Charles, Melissa Brooks (The Aquadolls), Justin Pearson (RETOX, The Locust), Rafael Reyes (Prayers) and Jerry Stahl (Permanent Midnight) are featured along with performances by Pink Mountaintops, Together Pangea, The Icarus Line, Retox, Obliterations and Annie Hardy of Giant Drag. The film was directed by Michael Grodner and written by Michael Grodner and Joe Cardamone. THE ICARUS LINE MUST DIE will open in LA on June 22 at the Laemmle Royal and will rollout theatrically over the summer by Dark Star Pictures. The film will also be available on digital on 7/10 (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, Fandango Now, Xbox and local Cable Providers). Director Michael Grodner joins us to talk about his collaborator and star, Joe Cardamone, the blurred lines between narrative and documentaries, his take on the LA music scene, past and present and Dirty Laundry.
Social media:
facebook.com/theicaruslinemustdie
facebook.com/pg/DirtyLaundryTV
“To A More Perfect Union: U.S. V. Windsor” shares a rich tapestry of love, marriage, and a fight for equality. The film chronicles unlikely heroes — octogenarian Edie Windsor and her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, on their quest for justice. Upon the death of her spouse Thea Spyer, Windsor was forced to pay a huge estate tax bill because the government denied federal benefits to same-sex couples. Windsor became a renowned LGBTQ civil rights advocate when she chose to sue the United States government to recognize her more than 40 year union– and won Windsor and Kaplan’s legal and personal journeys go beyond the story of this pivotal case in the marriage equality movement as Zaccaro tells the story of our journey as a culture, and as a country that promises its citizens equal rights for all. The film features interviews with notable voices in this civil rights battle, including: Roberta Kaplan (Windsor Attorney), Pam Karlan (Windsor Legal Team & Co-Director, Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic), Rosie O’Donnell (Comedian, Actor & Activist), Frank Rich (Writer-At-Large, NY Magazine), Hilary Rosen (Communications Advisor & LGBT Activist), Richard Socarides (White House Special Assistant & Advisor to President Clinton), Matt Staver (Founder & Chairman of Liberty Counsel), Jeff Toobin (CNN Legal Analyst & New Yorker Staff Writer), Nina Totenberg (Legal Affairs Correspondent for National Public Radio), Tony West (Former Associate U.S. Attorney General), Edie Windsor (Plaintiff), Evan Wolfson (Founder & President of Freedom to Marry), among others. Donna Zaccaro (“Geraldine Ferraro: Paving the Way”) joins us to talk about her intimate tale of the struggle for universal equal rights and the on-going attempts to undermine them. Director Donna Zaccaro talks about the heroic struggle by Edie Windsor and the scarring legal battles that it took to achieve this historic victory for human rights.
For news and updates go to: perfectunionfilm.com
Social Media:
Facebook: facebook.com/ToAMorePerfectUnionFilm
Instagram: @perfectunionfilm
Trapped in the hotel of her husband's various business meetings, a woman finds herself adrift between lives when she is approached by a stranger with vivid memories of an affair with her that she can't remember. She's always sitting there with her husband. He's always getting up to take a meeting. The other man always comes and sits, the stranger, who always insists on his account of their past affair, and every time he does, it's more convincing. Acclaimed Russian actress Alisa Khazanova makes her directorial feature film debut this intriguing and intimate thriller “Middleground” for a limited theatrical release and global VOD/Digital release beginning on June 8th, 2018. Director Alisa Khazonova joins us for a conversation on her Lynchian tale of a woman’s very shifting perception of reality.
For news and updates on Middleground go to: vladar.com
Screening at this year’s Dances with Films, Cowboy and Preacher comes face-to-face with the degradation of the environment as the most daunting crisis facing humankind. If that isn’t enough, many people oppose action to save the environment or deny there is even a problem. Some of the most vocal and powerful of these people are conservative Christians in the USA. Tri Robinson, a conservative evangelical pastor but also life-long environmentalist, has battled throughout his life to show that Christianity and environmentalism are not mutually exclusive. In fact, environmental stewardship is demanded by Christianity – “with dominion comes responsibility”. Most environmental films are framed for a liberal audience and preach to the converted. This film addresses “unconverted” Christians, while offering liberal non-Christians a fascinating insight into evangelical values and mindset as Tri, at work on his ranch or church, builds up a Biblical case for environmentalism emphasizing respect and responsibility that flies in the face of many on either side. This film is absolutely timely – the destruction of the environment is the most important issue facing all people, and many politicians and voters need to face it. Director Will Fraser (The Genius of Cavaillé-Coll, Martinkerk Rondeau) stops by to talk about breaking down the barriers that are keeping many from an honest conversation on the looming challenge of climate disruption and the impact Tri Robison has had on his own path to spiritual commitment.
For news and updates go to: cowboyandpreacher.com
Cowboy and Preacher Dances with Films screening info
Screening Thursday, June 14 at 2:45 PM at Chinese TCL Theatre
2018 Dances with Films website
Izzy Klein has (barely) graduated from college, broken up (sorta) with her boyfriend, and is stranded in New York City with a bad case of pre-real-world millennial-itis. Unsure of what the next step is, her movie star little sister Sabrina convinces her to move back home to Los Angeles and into her shared apartment with movie star boyfriend Sebastian, where they can keep an eye on rudderless Izzy. Emotionally unable to deal with the loss of her father, and slightly distracted by her mother Deb's newfound love affair with loopy yogi Amythyst, Izzy funnels her energy into dating a colorful bouquet of five complicated and spectacular men: Aaron, Ross, Logan, Mikey, and Charlie, over the course of the next year. Coping just barely with the help of her trusty notebook, she falls in and out of some not so romantic romances, and figures out that when it totally feels like the end of your story, it's often just the beginning. Written by Madelyn Deutch and directed by Lea Thompson (Some Kind of Wonderful, Back to the Future) The Year of Spectacular Men is a charming, beguiling observational comedy about family, relationships, and facing an uncertain future. Director Lea Thompson joins us for a lively conversation on working with her daughters, Madelyn and Zooey, independent filmmaking, and the joys of creativity.
For news and updates go to: marvista.net-The Year of Spectacular Men
Impulse follows 16-year-old Henrietta, AKA Henry, (Maddie Hasson) who discovers she has the ability to teleport. The first time she realizes this, she is in a truck with her high school's Golden Boy, who tries to rape her. She has a seizure and teleports, in the course of which she inadvertently crushes him, leaving him a paraplegic. Impulse explores Henry's need to reconcile what her assaulter tried to do with the consequence, and her feelings about discovering she can teleport with her feelings about the assault. Impulse is an American drama web television series based on the novel Impulse by Steven Gould. The ten-episode series recently premiered on YouTube Premium. The series executive producers include Lauren LeFranc, Doug Liman, David Bartis, and GeneKlein. Director and Executive Producer Doug Liman reveals how his independent filmmaking roots (Swingers, Go) continues influence his work and the advantages of long form storytelling. Actor Maddie Hasson talks about the challenge of expressing her character's deeply conflicted emotions and her desire leave it all behind.
Directed by Slamdance Film Festival co-founder Dan Mirvish (BETWEEN US) from a long-lost script by Oscar/Pulitzer-winning cartoonist and screenwriter Jules Feiffer (Mike Nichols’ CARNAL KNOWLEDGE, Robert Altman’s POPEYE) based on characters that date back to 1957, BERNARD AND HUEY is the story of roguish Huey (David Koechner, ANCHORMAN) and nebbishy Bernard (Oscar-winner Jim Rash, THE WAY WAY BACK), who are unlikely collegiate friends in late 1980s New York. Years later, a bedraggled Huey crashes at Bernard’s upscale bachelor pad. As the two reconnect, Bernard falls in love with Huey’s estranged daughter Zelda (Mae Whitman, GOOD GIRLS), an aspiring graphic novelist who’s got a seductive new creative partner, Conrad (Eka Darville, JESSICA JONES). Huey slowly gets his mojo back and tries to seduce the various women in Bernard’s life, including his off-again girlfriend Roz (Sasha Alexander, RIZZOLI & ISLES) and colleague, Mona (Nancy Travis, SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER), while reconnecting with his ex-wife (Bellamy Young, SCANDAL) and brother (Richard Kind, ARGO). As Bernard and Huey return to their old ways, at least one of them finds himself in danger of marrying a woman old enough to be his wife. An award-winning film that’s screened at over 25 festivals in 5 continents, BERNARD AND HUEY is a particularly timely story of two men behaving badly, and the smart women who rein them in. Director Dan Mirvish joins us for a conversation on getting older, acknowledging that we get older, love, romanced the genius of Jules Feiffer.
For news and updates go to: bernardandhueymovie.com
In a farmhouse basement on the Iowa countryside, eccentric collector Mike Zahs makes a remarkable discovery: the showreels of the man who brought moving pictures to America’s Heartland. Among the treasures: rare footage of President Teddy Roosevelt, the first moving images from Palestine, a lost relic from magical effects godfather Georges Méliés. These are the films that introduced movies to the world. And they didn’t end up in Iowa by accident. The old nitrate reels are just some of the artifacts that belonged to William Franklin Brinton. From thousands of trinkets, handwritten journals, receipts, posters and catalogs emerges the story of an inventive farmboy who became America’s greatest barnstorming movieman. As Mike uncovers this hidden legacy, he begins a journey to restore the Brinton name that takes us to The Library of Congress, Paris and back for a big screen extravaganza in the same small-town movie theater where Frank first turned on a projector over a century ago. By uniting community through a pride in their living history, Mike embodies a welcome antidote to the breakneck pace of our disposable society. Saving Brinton’s co-director Andrew Sherburne joins us to talk about this moving a portrait of this unlikely Midwestern folk hero, at once a meditation on living simply and a celebration of dreaming big.
For news and updates go to: brintonfilm.com
In the hip Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook, single dad and record store owner Frank played by Nick Offerman (Parks and Rec) is preparing to send his hard-working daughter Sam played by Kiersey Clemons (Dope) off to college, while being forced to close his vintage shop. Hoping to stay connected through their shared musical passions, Frank urges Sam to turn their weekly "jam sesh" into a father-daughter live act. After their first song becomes an Internet breakout, the two embark on a journey of love, growing up and musical discovery. In addition to Offerman and Clemons, Hearts Beat Loud also stars Ted Danson (Cheers), Sasha Lane (American Honey), with Blythe Danner (Meet the Parents) and Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine). Director Brett Haley sits down for a conversation on the power of music, the bond of a dad and daughter and his endearing, funny and touching film, Heart Beat Loud.
For news and updates go to: Hearts Beat Loud
In this raucous new comedy, Social Animals Zoe Crandle’s life didn’t exactly turn out the way she planned. She’s facing eviction, her business is going under and she is resigned to a life of one-night stands. Just when it seems her whole world is unraveling, she meets Paul, a fellow loveable loser, and the pair have an instant connection. There’s only one problem, Paul is married. With help from her best friend, Zoe devises a plan to save her business and salvage her love life. Social Animals is an honest, uncompromising comedy of modern relationships that stars Noël Wells, Josh Radnor, Aya Cash, Carly Chaikin, Fortune Feimster and Samira Wiley. Director and writer Theresa Bennett stops by to talk about the perils and rewards of low budget filmmaking and working with a talented cast of rising talents.
NOSSA CHAPE tracks the rebuilding of the Chapecoense football club in Brazil after a November 28, 2016 airplane crash left only three players alive. Through exclusive access to the families of the deceased, the new team and three severely injured recovering players, the documentary investigates the community's many challenges in the aftermath of tragedy. The town finds itself divided by a desire to respect the memory of those they lost while also preparing to move the club into its future. The citizens and team must find a way to unite around a common identity. From fairytale to tragedy to triumph once more. The unique story of Chapecoense -- a football club from a remote Brazilian city that miraculously qualifies for the final of the Copa Sudamericana, only to face destruction when the plane flying them to the game crashes, killing the entire team except for three players. How will those who remain alive handle the tragedy? Co-director Michael Zimbalist joins us to talk about the tragedy and the resurrection of a city, team and three Nossa Chape players' incredible story.
For news and updates go to: foxsports.com
With a title taken from the New Testament, Strangers on the Earth follows the extraordinary, almost foolishly ambitious mission of Cleveland Orchestra cellist Dane Johansen to traverse the storied paths of Europe’s famed pilgrimage trail, the Camino de Santiago. Johansen’s singular quest to walk the 600-mile trail carrying his cello on his back sets him apart from most other pilgrims. His goal: to perform and record Bach’s Cello Suites in 36 ancient churches along the way. As has likely occurred on every Camino pilgrimage since the Middle Ages, Johansen encounters a diverse array of characters: lovers whose entire relationship plays out in a matter of a few weeks; self-styled philosophers; wounded souls recovering from illness or mourning the loss of loved ones. All share the trials and tribulations of the journey along with their personal stories over goat-skins of wine. An experiential piece of filmmaking, Strangers on the Earth brings to audiences a musical artist’s personal journey set against a universal backdrop. The film reveals the shared experience of the pilgrims who walk the Camino, finding common patterns in both the multitude of bodies who move westward on the path each year (the physical) and the inner life of these same individuals who are often surrounded by other pilgrims – but are very much alone. We are joined by director Tristan Cook to talk about his thoughtful take on recognizing the importance of beauty, dreams, spirituality, art, music and humanity,
For news and updates go to: sotefilm.com
Disributed by First Run Features.com
A mother struggles to accept the man her adult son has become. Directed by Leah Patterson, Bridget and Iain is the story of a mother’s love for her adult son. Bridget, (Vivienne Powell) who tries to do everything ‘right’, learns the limits of her power to manage others. Her son Iain (Damian Sommerlad) is charming, funny, and at times kind. He’s also an addict. Worried sick, Bridget finally gets support to make the changes that need to happen. The film charts the shifting relationship between Bridget and Iain as it reaches crisis point. It’s about maturation, change, and the struggle of trying to help someone you love while possibly enabling the very behavior you see as destructive. Bridget and Iain will resonate with anyone who has experienced the impact of any form of addiction in their lives or who have family members with mental health problems, or challenging relationships. Bridget and Iain Producer Diana C. Zollicoffer brought together an all-female crew for the production. Zollicoffer has also produced the environmental/social justice documentary “Forgotten Bayou” numerous short films and web series including Schmoolie the Deathwatcher (winner of the 2015 San Antonio Film Festival). She recently directed the pilot episode of “Annny Minute Now” and assisted in developing the characters and storyline for the web series. She co-wrote “Free Agent: The Benjamin Brown Story” to be directed by Mykelti Williamson (Purge, Fences, Forest Gump), and has several projects that she is developing and two of which, with the intention to direct. Bridget and Iain recently screened at the Cannes Global Women of Color in Film Day and the Cannes Court Métrage Short Film Corner. Producer Diana C. Zollicoffer joins us to talk about her award winning new film.
To follow the film on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/bridget_and_iain/
https://www.facebook.com/BridgetAndIainTheFilm/
https://twitter.com/bridget_iain
One of the distinguished voices in American independent film, Matthew Porterfield his back with a riveting new film. Sollers Point tells the story of Keith (McCaul Lombardi), a twenty-four-year-old newly released from prison and living with his father (Jim Belushi) under house arrest in Baltimore. Keith is struggling to reestablish himself, and break free of the bonds forged behind bars, within a community scarred by unemployment, neglect, and deeply entrenched segregation. His intentions are in the right place and he possesses an aggressive desire to get back on his feet, but as he taps into all his familiar resources, he finds that he may be reverting to his old ways. Director / writer Matt Porterfield joins us for a conversation on the inherent hurdles to untangling from a criminal justice system and chronic social malaise that pulls people back into it’s stifling grasp.
For news and updates go to:sollerspoint.oscilloscope.net
More than 50,000 local interpreters helped protect U.S. troops on the ground during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, enabling soldiers to communicate with the local population. But those who took the job were often considered traitors in their own countries. From the acclaimed filmmakers of “Gaucho del Norte,” Andrés Caballero and Sofian Khan, comes the new feature documentary The Interpreters, making its World Premiere at Telluride Mountainfilm Festival on Memorial Day Weekend on Saturday, May 26 and Monday, May 28. The film tells the story of three interpreters woven together over the course of two years, following them as they struggle for safety in the aftermath of war and attempt to rebuild their lives. “The idea for The Interpreters came after meeting Phillip Morris,” said directors Andrés Caballero and Sofian Khan. “We were immediately curious about his journey from the moment he started working with U.S. forces until his arrival to the U.S. with the help of Paul Braun. But simply telling Phillip's journey would not be enough to tell the full story. We also wanted to know about the stories of the interpreters who were still in hiding, waiting for their Special Immigrant Visas, and those who had given up on the visas and left for Europe as refugees. Our goal with the film is to inform viewers about an important issue, which became even more relevant after the last U.S. election, without overshadowing the personal journeys of the characters.” Co-directors Andres Caballero and Sofian Khan stop by to talk about the challenges and imminent danger that thousands of men and women have faced by assisting US soldiers attempting to connect with local communities.
For news and updates go to: interpreterdoc.com
Social Media: facebook.com/interpreterdoc twitter.com/capitalkpics
Street Food Cinema is the ultimate outdoor movie experience! Founded in 2012 by the dynamic husband and wife team of Steve Allison & Heather Hope-Allison, Street Food Cinema has developed a strong community of entertainment and food enthusiasts across Los Angeles. Every Saturday throughout the summer, Street Food Cinema features beloved cult classic movies on a huge 50 foot screen alongside LA’s favorite food trucks like Cousins Maine Lobster, Street Kitchen LA and Churro Stix as well as emerging music artists such as Alex G., Past Action Heroes and The Urban Renewal Project: punctuated with themed audience games hosted by professional comedians to complete the interactive experience. Their Season 6 opener in 2017 was the worlds biggest La La Land screening AND the biggest Street Food Cinema to date at over 5,000 attendees. With their visionary idea to take the outdoor movie experience to fully inclusive night out –they incorporated a variety of fascinating food trucks, pre-movie live entertainment and cool interactive experiences to massive audience appeal in three major markets: Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix. Their 7th season offers so many exciting titles, beginning with the incredible 2018 Oscar nominees "Get Out" and "I, Tonya" on May 5th,"The Greatest Showman" on June 16th, "Lady Bird" on July 21st and "Coco" on October 27th. As well as anniversary screenings for beloved fan favorites "Dazed & Confused" starting our season on April 28th, "The Land Before Time" on May 19th, "The Big Lebowski" on June 9th, "Mrs. Doubtfire" on June 16th, "Stand and Deliver" on June 23rd, "The Sandlot" on June 30th, "Grease" on July 21st, "Mamma Mia!" on August 4th, "Casablanca" on August 25th, "The Wedding Singer" on September 1st, "Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist" on September 8th, "Practical Magic" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas" on September 29th and "Twilight" and the original cult classic "Halloween" on October 13th. We'll also debut our first double-feature PJ party "The Craft" & "Teen Witch" on September 15th
Season 7 Season Line-Up available at: streetfoodcinema.com/home/los-angeles
Information on other Street Food Cinema cities go to: streetfoodcinema.com
Filmworker is an observation on how legends and legendary works are created. The complex, productive and interdependent relationship between Leon Vitali and Stanley Kubrick was founded on devotion, artistic passion, sensibility, sacrifice and the grueling joy of the creative process. It’s a rare person who would give up fame and fortune to toil in obscurity for someone else’s creative vision. Yet, that’s exactly what Leon Vitali did after his acclaimed performance as ‘Lord Bullingdon” in Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. On the brink of a successful acting career, the young actor stepped back from the limelight in order to become the right-hand man to perhaps the most influential and ground-breaking filmmaker of his time, Stanley Kubrick. Vitali played a crucial part in the director's career, working tirelessly in close collaboration with Kubrick in helping to make and maintain his extraordinary legacy of work. Vitali's unique working relationship with Kubrick is explored through anecdotes about his candid, funny (and sometimes shocking) experiences with the director, enhanced with a rich variety of previously-unseen archival materials including photos, videos, letters and notebooks from Vitali's personal collection, and brought together through interviews with actors, family, and key film industry professionals who worked with both Kubrick and Vitali. Filmworker. Director Tony Zierra joins us to talk about the creative process, Stanley Kubrick and his closest and most dedicated collaborator, Leon Vitali, who once described his own occupation simply as “Filmworker.”
For news and updates go to: kinolorber.com/film/filmworker
The story of why and how more than 3 million high school students take the SAT or ACT, the college entrance exams required by most four-year colleges, is vividly dissected in THE TEST & THE ART OF THINKING. For decades there have been questions about exactly what these tests measure, what role they play in the admissions process and how predictive they are of academic success. The anxiety-provoking exams, and the multibillion-dollar test-prep industry that has grown up around them, have also become lightning rods in the ongoing national debate over equity in educational opportunity. No matter what age the child, they will have, or have had, a lot of pressure to perform well on these tests. There is also much money to be made from students and their parents in education particularly when it comes to the SAT/ACT with the not-for-profit College Board and the thousands of independent tutors reaping millions of dollars in profits. THE TEST & THE ART OF THINKING traces the history and evolution of the SAT/ACT as a major player on the pathway to higher education in America, and documents its current power in our culture. Director Michael Arlen Davis examines this controversy through interviews with students, parents, counselors, test-prep professionals and academics, to provide a fascinating look at this uniquely American rite of passage and how it reflects deeper issues in our educational system — and our society as a whole. Davis joins us for a lively conversation on how we got here and other options that may provide viable alternatives.
For news and updates go to: thetestdoc.org
The Test opens in Los Angeles on May 4 at Laemmle Music Hall in Beverly Hills.
Conveying Basquiat’s personal magnetism, eccentricity and non-stop creativity without romanticizing him, BOOM FOR REAL: THE LATE TEENAGE YEARS OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT serves as another chapter in the ongoing effort to rescue the artist from his own hype. To tell this story, Driver, who was part of the New York arts scene herself, worked closely and collaboratively with friends and other artists who emerged from that period. Drawing upon their memories and anecdotes, the film also uses period film footage, music and images to visually evoke the era, drawing a portrait of Jean-Michel and Downtown New York City-pre AIDS, President Reagan, the real estate and art booms – before anyone was motivated by money and ambition. BOOM FOR REAL: THE LATE TEENAGE YEARS OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT follows Basquiat's life pre-fame and how New York City, the times, the people and the movements surrounding him formed the artist he became. Using never-before-seen works, writings and photographs, director Sara Driver worked closely and collaboratively with friends and other artists who emerged from that period: Jim Jarmusch, James Nares, Fab Five Freddy, Glenn O’Brien, Kenny Scharf, Lee Quinones, Patricia Field, Luc Sante and many others. Sara Driver made her directorial debut with the short film YOU ARE NOT I in 1981, which she adapted from the 1948 Paul Bowles short story of the same name. The film, named as one of the best movies of the 1980s in a Cahiers du Cinéma critics’ poll, was lost for many years until its rediscovery in 2008 among Bowles’ belongings in Tangier. Director Sara Driver joins us for engaging conversation with one of the late-twentieth century’s brightest and innovative artist.
Fourteen-year-old Eleanor (ADELINA AMOSCO) is tormented at school because of the large red birthmarks across her face. Eleanor’s devoted teacher Ms. Gutierrez (KATHLEEN CHANGHO) encourages her to ignore her bullies and focus on her studies. But when things get really bad, Eleanor runs away from school to work in a restaurant run by Alex (ROD RODRIQUEZ), a grown man with whom she is having a casual affair. At home, Eleanor is raised by her grandmother (SHIRLEY CUYUGAN O’BRIEN), who dotes on her granddaughter even though she does not understand her. Eleanor prefers to be alone. At night, if she gazes at the water stains on her bedroom wall, they transform into mountains, leading into a vast, desolate landscape. In this world, Eleanor is alone and free. One day the kids start to tease Eleanor, “who’s the father?” and she discovers a baby crying alone in her dreamed landscape. When another student, Carly (VANESSA CARMONA) asks Eleanor what happened to her baby, Eleanor breaks down and attacks her. Eleanor is arrested and confined until Ms. Gutierrez is able to get her released and enrolled in a new school. Eleanor wants to succeed there, but the pressure of her impending assault trial and the increasing complexity of her life in her dreamed world may push this hope out of her reach. Director Cath Gulick joins us to talk about her haunting, lyrical portrait of a young woman searching for her own place in a hostile world.
For news and updates go to: thefeverandthefret.com
- For news and updates on the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival go to: Festival.VConline.org/2018
Visual Communications, the nation’s premier Asian Pacific American media arts center, announced its outstanding program of films and events for the upcoming 34th edition of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) running MAY 3 – MAY 12, 2018. The all encompassing annual film celebration is presented across Los Angeles in West Hollywood, Downtown LA, Little Tokyo, Koreatown, and Hollywood. Visual Communications proudly celebrates the Film Festival’s 34 years as Southern California’s largest and most prestigious film festival of its kind. LAAPFF launches the celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month through this year’s slate of over 100 films from both Asian Pacific American and Asian international artists. For over three decades, the Festival has presented nearly 5,000 films by Asian Pacific American and Asian International talent. This year, 39 feature films and 79 shorts from the over 800 submissions will be showcased during the ten-day fest. The Festival opens with the Los Angeles premiere of Aneesh Chaganty’s feature debut SEARCHING starring John Cho and Debra Messing giving audiences an early chance to see the movie that took the NEXT audience award and the Alfred P. Sloan award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Other programs include CENTERPIECE FILMS will feature two outstanding world premieres with IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC and FICTION & OTHER REALITIES. Centerpiece Films will be presented on Saturday, May 5th at the Aratani Theatre at the Japanese American Community and Cultural Center (JACCC) in Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles. The CLOSING NIGHT FILM will be the Los Angeles premiere of the acclaimed 2018 Sundance World Documentary Special Jury Award winner MATANGI/ MAYA/ M.I.A., directed by Stephen Loveridge. Inspired by her roots, M.I.A. created a mashup, cut-and-paste identity that pulled from every corner of her journey; a sonic sketchbook that blended Tamil politics, art school punk, hip-hop beats and the voice of multicultural youth. Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Co-Director David Magdael will join us to talk about this years’s exciting line up.
For news and updates on the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival go to: Festival.VConline.org/2018
Jon Kean's After Auschwitz, is a "Post-Holocaust" documentary that follows six extraordinary women after their liberation from Nazi concentration camps, capturing what it means to move from tragedy and trauma towards life. Following its North American premiere in Toronto on April 14, the film will have its U.S. theatrical premiere in New York City April 20 and then roll out to select theaters across the country, including Los Angeles and Miami. After Auschwitz, examines the question, "What happens after surviving an unspeakable horror?" with six stories of remarkable women who survived the Holocaust and went on to build lives in the United States, but never truly found a place to call home. For survivors of the Holocaust, liberation was both an incredible moment and a devastating one. It marked the beginning of a life-long struggle. Most wanted to go home, but there was no home left in devastated post-war Europe. Many came to America and wanted to tell people about their experiences, but were silenced. "You're in America now, put it behind you" is what they were told. The women Kean follows became mothers and wives with successful careers, but never fully healed from the scars of the past. Their stories show the indelible role immigrants and women played in the history of America during the second half of the 20th century, and they serve as our guides on an unbelievable journey - sometimes celebratory, sometimes heart-breaking, but always inspiring. After Auschwitz director, Producer and writer Jon Kean (Kill The Man; Swimming in Auschwitz) stops by for a conversation on the unspeakable horror of the Holocaust and the fierce determination of six remarkable women who refused to allow the genocidal massacre to ruin them.
For news and updates go to: afterauschwitz.com
When UCLA Film & Television Archive launched its annual UCLA Celebration of Iranian Cinema in 1990, it was the first showcase for new Iranian films in the U.S. It has been a platform for exciting new voices in cinema as well as a dialogue to foster cultural understanding—and in that time Iranian filmmakers have moved to the forefront of the cinematic world. It has also been a barometer of global politics. In partnership with Farhang Foundation, this year’s UCLA Celebration of Iranian Cinema offers Los Angeles the chance to see a stellar lineup of new Iranian films that includes four Los Angeles premieres and three U.S. premieres, along with the revival of a modern classic. From fraught intimate relationships to big social issues, these expertly crafted films reveal the complexities – and universalities – of contemporary Iran. The annual celebration, now entering its 28th year, showcases the best in contemporary Iranian Cinema. Paul Malcolm is the film programmer for UCLA Film & Television Archive where he began in 2007. He was an associate programmer of feature and short films for the Los Angeles Film Festival 2006-2010. As adjunct faculty at Chapman University, he has taught classes on the history and aesthetics of 3D cinema and film reviewing at Chapman University. He was also assistant film editor and film critic for the LA Weekly from 1998-2006. Malcolm graduated from USC with a BA in journalism and he received his MA in Film Studies from UCLA. He is a Sundance Institute Arts Writing Fellow (2001).
A film within a film IN THE LAST DAYS OF THE CITY, Tamer El Said’s ambitious debut feature, tells the fictional story of a filmmaker from downtown Cairo played by Khalid Abdalla (The Kite Runner, United 93, Green Zone, The Square) as he struggles to capture the soul of a city on edge while facing loss in his own life. IN THE LAST DAYS OF THE CITY is a haunting yet lyric chronicle of recent years in the Arab world, where revolutions seemed to spark hope for change and yield further instability in one stroke. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Shot in Cairo, Beirut, Baghdad and Berlin during the two years before the outbreak of revolution in Egypt. Throughout, friends send footage and stories creating a powerful, multilayered meditation on togetherness, the tactile hold of cities, and the meaning of homeland. Shot in 2008 and completed in 2016, the film explores the weight of cinematic images as record and storytelling in an ongoing time of change. IN THE LAST DAYS OF THE CITY is a multi-layered stories are a visually rich exploration of friendship, loneliness and life in cities shaped by the shadows of war and adversity. Director, producer and writer Tamer El-Said joins us for a conversation on his remarkably accomplished film debut.
For news and updates go to: inthelastdaysofthecity
Following their Lovecraftian modern cult classic SPRING, acclaimed filmmakers Moorhead and Benson return with this mind-bending thriller that follows two brothers who receive a cryptic video message inspiring them to revisit the UFO death cult they escaped a decade earlier. Hoping to find the closure that they couldn’t as young men, they’re forced to reconsider the cult’s beliefs when confronted with unexplainable phenomena surrounding the camp. As the members prepare for the coming of a mysterious event, the brothers race to unravel the seemingly impossible truth before their lives become permanently entangled with the cult. Co-director Justin Benson (Aaron Moorhead) stops by to talk about this remarkably accomplished, mind-bending cinematic journey into the unknowable.
For news and updates go to: theendless-movie.com
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96% on Rotten Tomatoes!
When she was a young lawyer, Kholoud Al-Faqih walked into the office of Palestine’s Chief Justice and announced she wanted to join the bench. He laughed at her. But just a few years later, Kholoud became the first woman judge to be appointed to the Middle East’s Shari’a (Islamic law) courts. THE JUDGE offers a unique portrait of Judge Kholoud—her brave journey as a lawyer, her tireless fight for justice for women, and her drop-in visits with clients, friends, and family. With unparalleled access to the courts, THE JUDGE presents an unfolding vérité legal drama, with rare insight into both Islamic law and gendered justice. In the process, the film illuminates some of the universal conflicts in the domestic life of Palestine—custody of children, divorce, abuse—while offering an unvarnished look at life for women and Shari’a. Director and producer Erika Cohn stops by to talk about her warm, moving portrait of a dedicated professional officer of the court determined to see that men and women receive the highest level of justice.
For News and updates go to: thejudgefilm.com
Find out where The Judge is screening
Edit Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami, Director Sophie Fiennes Posted on April 21, 2018 Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami is an electrifying journey through the public and private worlds of pop culture mega-icon Grace Jones. The documentary contrasts musical sequences with intimate personal footage, all the while brimming with Jones’s bold aesthetic. A larger-than-life entertainer, an androgynous glam-pop diva, an unpredictable media presence – Grace Jones is all these things and more. Sophie Fiennes’s documentary goes beyond the traditional music biography, offering a portrait as stylish and unconventional as its subject. Taking us home with her to Jamaica, into the studio with long-time collaborators Sly & Robbie, and backstage at gigs around the world, the film reveals Jones as lover, daughter, mother, and businesswoman. But the stage is the fixed point to which the film returns, with eye-popping performances of “Slave to the Rhythm,” “Pull Up to the Bumper,” “Love is the Drug,” and more. Jones herself has said watching the film “will be like seeing me almost naked” and, indeed, Fiennes’s treatment is every bit as definition-defying as its subject, untamed by either age or life itself. Director Sophie Fiennes joins us to talk about the dynamic in-concert performances, her access to Grace and her startling candor concerning her public and private life and the critical recognition the film has garnered.
For news and updates got to: kinolorber.com/film/gracejonesbloodlightandbami
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Made following the discovery of amateur footage shot in China in 1966 during the first and most radical stage of the Cultural Revolution, IN THE INTENSE NOW speaks to the fleeting nature of moments of great intensity. Scenes of China are set alongside archival images of the events of 1968 in France, Czechoslovakia, and, to a lesser extent, Brazil. In keeping with the tradition of the film-essay, they serve to investigate how the people who took part in those events continued onward after passions had cooled. The footage, all of it archival, not only reveals the state of mind of those filmed—joy, enchantment, fear, disappointment, dismay—but also sheds light on the relationship between a document and its political context. What can one say of Paris, Prague, Rio de Janeiro, or Beijing by looking at the images of the period? Why did each of these cities produce a specific sort of record? Narrated in first person, the film reflects on that which is revealed by four sets of images: footage of the French students' uprising in May of 1968; the images captured by amateurs during the invasion of Czechoslovakia in August of the same year, when forces led by the Soviet Union put an end to the Prague Spring; shots of the funerals of students, workers, and police officers killed during the events of 1968 in the cities of Paris, Lyon, Prague, and Rio de Janeiro; and the scenes that a tourist—the director's mother—filmed in China in 1966, the year of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Director João Moreira Salles joins us to talk about family, memories, politics, the immediacy of the moments that made up one of history’s most consequential years.
For news and updates go to: Icarusfilms.com - In the Intense Now
One Week Only! Laemmle Music Hall - 9036 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles
In Rachel Israel’s endearing feature debut Keep the Change, we meet aspiring filmmaker David (Brandon Polansky), mandated by a judge to attend a social program at the Jewish Community Center, who is sure of one thing: he doesn't belong there. But when he's assigned to visit the Brooklyn Bridge with the vivacious Sarah (Samantha Elisofon), sparks fly and his convictions are tested. Their budding relationship must weather Sarah's romantic past, David's judgmental mother (Jessica Walter), and their own pre-conceptions of what love is supposed to look like. Under the guise of an off-kilter New York romantic comedy, Keep the Change does something quite radical in offering a refreshingly honest portrait of a community seldom depicted on the big screen. Rarely has a romcom felt so deep and poignant. Thoroughly charming and quite funny, the film's warmth and candor brings growth and transformation to the characters, and ultimately, to us. Director and writer Rachel Israel stops by to talk about her friendship with lead actor Brandon Polansky, making the short film version of Keep the Change as well as the personal and artistically rewarding process of making this beguiling film.
For news and updates go to: kinolorber.com/film/keepthechange
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Best U.S. Narrative Feature – Tribeca Film Festival Best New Narrative Director – Tribeca Film Festival Special Mention, Nora Ephron Prize – Tribeca Film Festival
100% on Rotten Tomatoes
In the piercingly straightforward documentary The Heart of Nuba we meet the only surgeon within 200 miles, Dr. Tom Catena does his best to save lives in the midst of carnage and terror, treating as many as 400 patients a day at Mother of Mercy Hospital, nestled in the heart of the Nuba Mountains. The region is the latest target of Omar al-Bashir, a man wanted by the International Criminal Court for committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. Surrounded by a country at war, living under the constant shadow of aerial bombardment, Dr. Tom Catena and his mostly local staff defy Bashir’s ban on humanitarian aid, and work tirelessly to serve the Nuba people. This population of one million Muslims, Christians, Animists and Africans of traditional belief have lived together harmoniously for centuries. Now, together with ‘Dr. Tom’, they struggle to survive. His patients come to him from hundreds of miles away on foot, in carts, or often cradled in their mother’s arms. Welcome to the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, an area of the world so void of humanitarian and media attention that years of war go ignored, and cries for help go largely unheard. Here, this lone American surgeon tends with equal compassion to patients ranging from malnutrition and leprosy, to grave wounds inflicted by the indiscriminate bombings ordered by their own president, Omar al-Bashir. When a government can attack defenseless men, women and children with supersonic bombers,and it doesn’t make anyone’s newswire, something is terribly awry. Dr. Tom’ and his staff defy Bashir’s ban on humanitarian aid, work tirelessly to save the lives of the Nuba people, and bring hope to one million people who would be otherwise forgotten. Director Kenneth Carlson joins us to talk about Dr. Tom’s selfless work, the people of the region and the impact that The Heart of Nuba is having on their plight.
For news and updates go to: theheartofnuba.com
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Presenting Michelle Pfeiffer in one of the most acclaimed performances of her storied career, Andrew Dosunmu’s WHERE IS KYRA? tells the story of Kyra Johnson, a middle-aged divorcee who moves into her elderly mother's Brooklyn apartment while she looks for work and tries to get back on her feet. When her mother suddenly dies, Kyra is left without any support, both emotional and financial, and finds herself with very few options--none of them good. Despite a blossoming affair with a sympathetic neighbor (Sutherland) with struggles of his own, Kyra can’t accept that her once-tidy life has fallen apart, and she resorts to increasingly desperate measures to hold onto what little she has left. Another unique and evocative portrait of life in contemporary New York City, WHERE IS KYRA? is Dosunmu’s follow-up to his award-winning feature, Mother of George, widely considered one of the best independent films of recent years. Re-teaming with writer Darci Picoult, cinematographer Bradford Young (Academy Award-nominated for Arrival, Selma), and composer Philip Young, Dosunmu brilliantly conveys the plight of a strong-willed, capable woman who nonetheless finds herself slipping through society’s cracks, and toppling from a stable, secure life to the very edge of ruin. Director Andrew Dosunmu joins us to talk about take on the “invisible” people living at the margins of our major urban centers, a collective loss of empathy, and the impact his photo-journalism work had on the making of this starkly beautiful film.
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When a simple organ harvesting caper goes awry, a twist of fate unites three of society’s forgotten and ignored: EL MONSTRUO, a disgraced Mexican wrestler working as hired muscle for a local crime boss. CRYSTAL, a recovering addict desperate enough to arrange a black market kidney transplant to save her husband’s life. And RANDY, a loveable two-strike convict fresh out of prison, cursed with a full-face swastika tattoo and a best friend guilting him into some hair-brained kidnapping scheme. In LOWLIFE we follow the sordid lives of these small-time criminals collide, as they fight tooth and nail to save a pregnant woman from a certain, and surely gruesome, death. Director Ryan Prows joins for a lively conversation on his hard-charging, high-energy debut feature film.
For news and updates go to: lowlifethemovie.com
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The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is a nonprofit organization devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, supporting emerging filmmakers, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora. Each year the festival features a rich mix of film programs designed to build and support the growing interest in the Indian entertainment industry. This includes programming that cultivates an audience for Indian films while supporting filmmakers of Indian descent in career development as they navigate the larger studio system in Hollywood. The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, runs from Wednesday, April 11 - 15 at Regal Live in downtown Los Angeles, featuring programs that include One-on-One program where film industry professionals from major and independent production and distribution companies are invited to participate in meetings with the IFFLA filmmakers; and panel discussions with speakers from the film industry. We are joined by IFFLA’s Director of Programming Mike Dougherty to talk about the past, present and future of Indian cinema and the increasing acceptance among mainstream American film lovers.
For news, updates and screening information go to: Indianfilmfestival.org
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We aren’t dying the way we used to. We have ventilators, dialysis machines, ICUs—technologies that can “fix” us and keep our bodies alive—which have radically changed how we make medical decisions. Defining Hope takes on the topic of dying in our death-denying culture, no matter how sick we get, there is always “hope.” The will to live is a powerful force, and eventually we will all have to make individual decisions when faced with very complex choices. Filmmaker Carolyn Jones spent four years interviewing and photographing nurses for the groundbreaking American Nurse book and film, and another year of research and interviews focused on what Dying in America looks like, all of which has led her to making this new film, the culmination of a journey, called Defining Hope. Defining Hope is a story about people weighing what matters most at the most fragile junctures in life, and the nurses who guide them. It’s a documentary that follows patients with life-threatening illness as they make choices about how they want to live, how much medical technology they can accept, what they hope for and how that hope evolves when life is threatened. It is optimistic and reminds us that we have choices in how we die. Defining Hope is critical and relevant right now, with our rapidly aging population and incalculable challenges in healthcare and end-of-life care. Director Carolyn Jones (American Nurse) joins us for a conversation on her empathetic, clear-eyed look at death and living.
For news and updates go to: hope.film
King in the Wilderness chronicles the final chapters of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, revealing a conflicted leader who faced an onslaught of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. While the Black Power movement saw his nonviolence as weakness, and President Lyndon B. Johnson saw his anti-Vietnam War speeches as irresponsible, Dr. King’s unyielding belief in peaceful protest became a testing point for a nation on the brink of chaos. Dr. King’s leadership during the bus boycotts, the sit-ins and the historic Selma to Montgomery marches is now legendary, but much of what happened afterward – during the last three years of his life – is rarely discussed. It’s a time when Dr. King said his dream “turned into a nightmare.” From the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to his assassination in 1968, King remained unshakably committed to nonviolence in the face of an increasingly unstable country. The documentary debuted at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and is directed by Peter Kunhardt (HBO’s Emmy-winning Jim: The James Foley Story). Drawing on conversations with those who knew Dr. King well, including many fellow members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), King in the Wilderness reveals stirring new perspectives on Dr. King’s character, his radical doctrine of nonviolence and his internal philosophical struggles prior to his assassination in 1968. The documentary also features interviews with Andrew Young and Jesse Jackson, archival footage, behind-the-scenes video of Dr. King’s private moments, intimate archival photographs and phone conversations recorded by President Johnson, who were both ally and adversary in King’s fight for civil rights. Director Peter Kunhardt talks about his moving, insightful and illuminating film about an extraordinary human being.
For news and updates go to: hbo.com / King in the Wilderness
For more on Peter Kunhardt's remarkable filmography go to: kunhardtfilms.com
Twitter: #KunhardtFilms #HBO #HBODocs
A Suitable Girl follows three young women in India struggling to maintain their identities and follow their dreams amid intense pressure to get married. Ritu, Dipti and Amrita represent the new India. Educated, financially stable and raised with a mix of traditional and contemporary values in the urban cities of Mumbai and New Delhi, they have access to the world in ways their mothers did not. Yet their lives take a dramatic turn when the pressure to settle down and get married hits. Career aspirations become secondary to the pursuit of a husband, and the women struggle with the prospect of leaving their homes and families to become part of another. Documenting the arranged marriage and matchmaking process in vérité over four years, the film examines the women’s complex relationships with marriage, family and culture; the many nuanced ways society molds them into traditional roles; and a rarely-seen portrait of India’s urban middle class. Co-directors Sarita Khurana and Smriti Mundhra join us for a conversation on the underlying changing social, economic and cultural dynamics influencing a generation young women growing up in modern India.
For news and updates go to: asuitablegirldoc.com
Guy Maddin and collaborators Galen and Evan Johnson made this ode to VERTIGO and the city of San Francisco for the closing night world premiere gala of the 2017 San Francisco International Film Festival. The iconoclastic Winnipeg-based filmmakers, working together since 2015’s THE FORBIDDEN ROOM, set themselves the challenge and constraint to remake VERTIGO, creating what they call a “parallel-universe version.” Using Bay Area-based footage from hundreds of sources—studio classics, ’50s noir, documentary and experimental films, and ’70s prime-time TV—and employing Maddin’s mastery of assemblage technique, seen in work like MY WINNIPEG and BRAND UPON THE BRAIN, the result exerts the inexorable pull of Hitchcock’s twisted tale of erotic obsession while paying tribute to the City by the Bay and the ways it looks and feels through the medium of cinema Composed by Jacob Garchik and performed by Kronos Quartet, the film’s score nods to Bernard Hermann’s classic VERTIGO music as it collides and converses with Maddin and Johnsons’ irreverent and loving footage to create a distinctive musical extravaganza. Through 12 features and many shorts, adventurous artist Guy Maddin exhibits the rare ability to simultaneously subvert and honor the craft of filmmaking. His credits include the Emmy Award-winning ballet film Dracula: Pages From A Virgin’s Diary (2002); The Saddest Music in the World (2003); My Winnepeg (2007) and US National Society of Film Critics Best Experimental Film Prize-winners Archangel (1990) and The Heart of the World (2000). Guy Maddin talks about the “City by the Bay,” scriptwriting, storytelling and his favorite film, Vertigo.
For news and updates go to: balconyfilm.com/the-green-fog
Barbara Thorson (Madison Wolfe) is your new hero. A quick-witted, sharp- tongued middle-schooler who isn’t afraid of anything. As the only girl in school carrying an ancient Norse warhammer in her purse and killing giants for a living, why wouldn’t she be? I Kill Giants is the sweeping, bittersweet story of a young girl struggling to conquer monsters both real and imagined as her world crumbles at the feet of giants bigger than any one child can handle. Based on the best-selling graphic novel by Joe Kelly. I Kill Giants features terrific performances from Zoe Saldana and Imogen Poots. Academy Award winning director Anders Walter joins us to talk about his clever, creative and emotionally resonant feature film debut.
For news and updates go to: xyzfilms/i-kill-giants
The Peacemaker is an intimate portrait of Padraig O’Malley, an international peacemaker who helps make peace for others but struggles to find it for himself. At the heart of the world’s seminal conflicts is an international peacemaker riddled with internal strife. Padraig O’Malley has made it his life’s work to bring leaders on both sides of the most explosive conflicts to the same table. His innovative behind the-scenes work has established Padraig as a publicly unrecognized but highly influential figure in conflict resolution. Yet, these dramatic undertakings serve as a sharp contrast to the man – an alcoholic bar owner who fails to manage the most basic of personal relationships. His solitary life hangs in a delicate balance, bound together by weekly AA meetings and relentless work. As age takes its toll, he begins to lose his only source of solace and the motivation behind his life’s work comes into question. The Peacemaker plunges us into the depths of the journey of a man utterly defined by conflict. The film takes us from Padraig’s isolated life in Cambridge, Massachusetts to some of the most dangerous crisis zones on Earth – from Northern Ireland to Kosovo, Nigeria to Iraq – as he works a peacemaking model based on his recovery from addiction. We meet Padraig in the third act of his life in a race against time to find some kind of salvation for both the world and himself. Director James Demo joins us to talk about his film and the conflicted man working to resolve turmoil internally and in the world.
For news and updates go to: peacemakermovie.com
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When 'Lady' Sandra Abbott (Academy Award nominee Imelda Staunton, Maleficent, Vera Drake) discovers that her husband of forty years (John Sessions) is having an affair with her best friend (Josie Lawrence) she seeks refuge in London with her estranged, older sister Bif (Celia Imrie, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Bridget Jones' Baby). The two could not be more different - Sandra is a fish out of water next to her outspoken, serial dating, free-spirited sibling. But different is just what Sandra needs at the moment, and she reluctantly lets Bif drag her along to a community dance class, where gradually she starts finding her feet and romance as she meets her sister's friends, Charlie (Timothy Spall), Jackie (Joanna Lumley) and Ted (David Hayman). Director Richard Loncraine talks about his endearing and touching film about seconds chances and finding love.
For news and updates go to: findingyourfeetfilm.com/home
On a quiet day in 1981, disciples of an obscenely wealthy religious guru named Bhagwan Rajneesh suddenly appear in the small, conservative Oregon town of Antelope, dressed in all red and with portraits of their leader hanging from their necks. This, of course, makes the townsfolk uneasy. The Rajneesh followers spend over $125 million to build Rajneeshpuram, a 64,000-acre utopia, complete with a hospital, schools, restaurants, a shopping mall, and their own airport. The spokesperson for the movement is Ma Anand Sheela, a fearless disciple whose belief in the principles of Rajneesh are only outweighed by her feisty spirit. In order to stack the results of county elections in their favor, the Rajneesh bus thousands of homeless people onto the ranch. When these new recruits are denied voting rights by the state, Rajneesh leaders surreptitiously infect local restaurants with salmonella, resulting in the largest biochemical terrorist attack on U.S. soil. And that’s only the beginning … Directors Maclain and Chapman Way, whose debut documentary, The Battered Bastards of Baseball, premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, return with this riveting six-part docu-series that recounts the amazing true story of a fallen religious movement. They join us to talk about this amazing, riveting and unbelievable story.
For news and updates go to: netflix.com
All Black captain Richie McCaw has lived his dream with characteristic precision and calculated determination. He’s 34 and perhaps the best rugby player ever. But the dream is almost over. He is old by professional sport standards and everyone is asking when he’s going to retire. Before his career ends Richie McCaw sets his sights on a risk-all attempt to win the Rugby World Cup back to back. No team has won it a second time in a row. No captain has won it twice. He will either end his career on an impossibly high note or take a nation’s dreams down with him. Chasing Great follows the incomparable Richie McCaw through his final season as he attempts to captain the All Blacks to the first ever-back-to back World Cup win. Director and writer Michelle Walsh joins us to talk about her access to McCaw’s professional and personal McCaw, the heartache and exhilaration of competition and what it takes, physically, emotionally and psychologically to compete at an elite level.
For news and updates go to:chasinggreat.film
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Sixteen years after the release of the Rivers and Tides Thomas Riedelsheimer returnes to work with Andy Goldsworthy. LEANING INTO THE WIND—ANDY GOLDSWORTHY follows Andy on his exploration of the layers of his world and the impact of the years on himself and his art. As Goldsworthy introduces his own body into the work it becomes at the same time even more fragile and personal and also sterner and tougher, incorporating massive machinery and crews on his bigger projects. LEANING INTO THE WIND subject Andy Goldsworthy makes works of art using the materials and conditions that he encounters wherever he is. Using earth, rocks, leaves, ice, snow, rain, or sunlight, the resulting artworks exist briefly before they are altered and erased by natural processes. He also uses his own body as a medium, as with his Rain Shadows, or through actions such as spitting, throwing, climbing and walking. He has undertaken commissions in the Queensland rainforest, Australia and the New Zealand coast; in Rio de Janeiro, New York City, St Louis, Montreal and San Francisco; in the New Mexico desert, the mountains of central Spain and Haute-Provence, France, and the fells of Cumbria and Dumfriesshire. Goldsworthy has published many books throughout his career, beginning with Rain, sun, snow, mist, calm: Photoworks (1985). Director Thomas Reidelsheimer joins us for a conversation on what inspires Andy Goldsworthy to make his art, what attracts him to the work and why did he turn to work with Andy after 16 years.
For news and updates go to: leaningintothewindfilm.com
Childhood friends Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Amanda (Olivia Cooke) reconnect in suburban Connecticut after years of growing apart. Lily has turned into a polished, upper-class teenager, with a fancy boarding school on her transcript and a coveted internship on her resume; Amanda has developed a sharp wit and her own particular attitude, but all in the process of becoming a social outcast. Though they initially seem completely at odds, the pair bond over Lily's contempt for her oppressive stepfather, Mark, and as their friendship grows, they begin to bring out one another's most destructive tendencies. Their ambitions lead them to hire a local hustler, Tim, and take matters into their own hands to set their lives straight. From first-time writer-director Cory Finley comes a darkly comic psychological thriller exploring friendship, privilege and morality in a rarefied Connecticut setting of sprawling mansions, equestrian stables and elite private schools. Starring Olivia Cooke (Ready Player One, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch, Split) and Anton Yelchin (Green Room), in one of his final screen performances, Thoroughbreds takes its cues from classic film noir, locating a deadpan wickedness in the maneuvers of his dual protagonists Amanda and Lily. Director and writer Cory Finley joins us to talk about his his background as a playwright, adjusting to life on a film set and working with his stellar cast of young actors.
For news and updates go to: focusfeatures.com/thoroughbreds
With its upcoming premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes directed by Robert S. Bader tells the extraordinary story of a famous friendship played out before a captivated national audience Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes, directed by Robert S. Bader, shares the rich history of the Muhammed Ali and Dick Cavett’s relationship that spanned decades and late night TV. From his 1960’s Olympic Gold Medal win, the heavyweight championship against Sonny Liston in 1964, to joining the Nation of Islam, refusing induction into the United States Army, and his legendarily epic battles in the ring with Joe Frazier and George Foreman, Muhammad Ali remained a unique and powerful force of nature in our popular culture. More than any sports documentary, this unique film deeply delves into hotly contended political and social matters that remain equally as relevant today. Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes Director Robert S. Bader produced the acclaimed documentaries Dick Cavett’s Watergate and Dick Cavett’s Vietnam for PBS. He is the writer and producer of the Warner Bros. documentary The Dawn of Sound: How Movies Learned to Talk, and the author of Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage. Legendary television host Dick Cavett joins us to talk about his 53-year relationship with “the greatest of all time,” Muhammad Ali.
Check out the SXSW screening schedule for Ali & Cavett: Tale of the Tapes
Oh Lucy! follows Setsuko (Shinobu Terajima in an Independent Spirit Award-nominated performance), a single, emotionally unfulfilled woman, seemingly stuck with a drab, meaningless life in Tokyo. At least until she's convinced by her niece, Mika to enroll in an unorthodox English class that requires her to wear a blonde wig and take on an American alter ego named "Lucy." This new identity awakens something dormant in Setsuko, and she quickly develops romantic feelings for her American instructor, John (Josh Hartnett). When John suddenly disappears from class and Setsuko learns that he and her niece were secretly dating, Setsuko enlists the help of her sister, Ayako and the pair fly halfway across the world to the outskirts of Southern California in search of the runaway couple. In a brave new world of tattoo parlors and seedy motels, family ties and past lives are tested as Setsuko struggles to preserve the dream and promise of “Lucy.” Director Atsuko Hirayanagi (Spirit Award nominee for Best First Feature) joins us for a conversation on the challenges of making her multi-cultural comedy / drama and working with the film’s Executive Producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay.
For news and updates go to: ohlucyfilm.com
Being in a Muslim family in modern day India can sometimes be a struggle for 20-year-old Kaikasha and her two sisters. Their father wants them to wear burkas and to have arranged marriages, but these determined young women have dreams of their own. This beautiful and rousing story follows Kaikasha in her quest to be the first Muslim on the Mumbai women’s cricket team and then follows her into a corridor of uncertainty after a shocking turn of events changes the fate of her family. You’ll want to cheer for Kaikasha and her sisters as they courageously respond to the circumstances that threaten to undermine their dreams. Director Jeremy Guy joins us for a conversation on this insightful and inspiring story of female empowerment through sport, against a background of religious and cultural roadblocks.
Heroin(e) focuses on the once a bustling industrial town, Huntington, West Virginia. Huntington has become the epicenter of America’s modern opioid epidemic, with an overdose rate 10 times the national average. This flood of heroin now threatens this Appalachian city with a cycle of generational addiction, lawlessness, and poverty. But within this distressed landscape, Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Hollow) shows a different side of the fight against drugs -- one of hope. Sheldon highlights three women working to change the town’s narrative and break the devastating cycle of drug abuse one person at a time. Fire Chief Jan Rader spends the majority of her days reviving those who have overdosed; Judge Patricia Keller presides over drug court, handing down empathy along with orders; and Necia Freeman of Brown Bag Ministry feeds meals to the women selling their bodies for drugs. As America’s opioid crisis threatens to tear communities apart, the Netflix original short documentary HEROIN(E) shows how the chain of compassion holds one town together. Director Elaine McMillion Sheldon is a Peabody Award winning, Emmy nominated filmmaker and now Oscar nominated from West Virginia. HEROIN(E) was produced in association with the Berkeley-based Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), as part of a new initiative to support women filmmakers. In 2016, Chicken & Egg Pictures awarded her with the inaugural "Breakthrough Filmmaker" award. Sheldon was a 2013 Future of Storytelling Fellow, and named one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film" in 2013 by Filmmaker Magazine and one of "50 People Changing The South" in 2015 by Southern Living Magazine. She has also contributed several shorts to The New York Times Op-Docs. She joins us to talk about her clear-eyed, bracing film that shines a bright and intimate light on an epidemic that is destroying large swaths of American society.
For news and updates go to: heroinethefilm.com
- 2018 Oscar nominated Documentary Short Program
5 Doctors follows Spencer, a miserable young stand-up comedian and hypochondriac, convinced that he’s dying from a bizarre array of symptoms. After a few years trying to make it in L.A., he’s got nothing to show for his efforts except for a viral YouTube video and an indifferent agent who does most of her business via text. Out of options and armed with a binder full of WebMD printouts, Spencer takes drastic action: he flies cross-country to his quaint hometown in upstate New York to consult with his five childhood doctors in a single day, planning to take the redeye back to L.A. that night without seeing any of his friends or family. Spencer’s unwitting accomplice is Jay, who happily agrees to chauffeur him to his appointments. Tearing through town, eluding his loved ones, Spencer is prodded, dilated, and biopsied into accepting that the cause of his symptoms and his reasons for coming home may be more complicated than he thought. 5 Doctors stars: Matt Porter (“New Timers,”“Hasta La Vista”), Max Azulay (“Argyle,” “First Time”), Emily Walton (“Submission,” “Deliverance”), Bobby Moynihan (“Saturday Night Live,” CBS’ “Me, Myself & I”), Eddie Pepitone (“Old School,” “The Muppets”), Peter Friedman (“Love & Other Drugs,” “Single White Female”), Adam Dannheisser (“Down to Earth,” “Nine Minutes”), Jodi Long (“The Hot Chick,” “Splash”), Jeremy Shamos (“The Big Sick,” “Magic in the Moonlight”), Jordan Baker (“Escape from L.A.,” “Another Earth”), and Annabelle Zasowski (“The Blacklist,”“Orange is the New Black”). The co-directors Matt Porter and Max Azulay join us to talk about their funny and touching debut feature.
Follow 5 Doctors:
For news and updates go to: https://www.5doctorsfilm.com/
Twitter.com/5doctorsfilm
Facebook.com/5doctorsfilm
At the age of 26, Karl Marx (August Diehl; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, THE COUNTERFEITERS) embarks with his wife Jenny (Vicky Krieps; PHANTOM THREAD) on the road to exile. In 1844 Paris they meet young Friedrich Engels (Stefan Konarske), son of a factory owner and an astute student of the English proletariat class. Engels brings Marx the missing piece to the puzzle that composes his new vision of the world. Together, between censorship and police raids, riots and political upheavals, they will preside over the birth of the labor movement, which until then had been mostly makeshift and unorganized. This will grow into the most complete theoretical and political transformation of the world since the Renaissance – driven, against all expectations, by two brilliant, insolent and sharp-witted young men. In his first film since the Oscar®-nominated documentary I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO, celebrated Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck (LUMUMBA) paints a vivid portrait of another of history’s most influential thinkers with THE YOUNG KARL MARX. A fervently intelligent chronicling of the blood, sweat and debate that went into the creation of a manifesto and a movement, the film premiered at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival. Director Raoul Peck joins us for a lively conversation on capturing the essence of a young Marx and Engels relationship, the relevance of Marxism today and the critical reaction to his film.
For news and updates go to: theorchard.tv/the-young-karl-marx
More on Raoul Peck and his films go to: velvet-film.com
Pregnant and newly aware of her runaway husband’s crack addiction – what a fantastic start to motherhood! A young woman trapped in an impossible situation, Luba (Nicole Maroon) strives to turn her life around while juggling a floundering love-life, odd jobs, and custody with a recovering addict. As Luba tries to move forward, her past catches her off guard and pulls her back, farther than ever imaginable. Will she succumb? This powerful story about family bonds shines a bright light on the power of trust, with an unforeseen twist that will leave you speechless. Producer and lead actor Nicole Maroon stops by to talk about her compelling story of a woman running as fast as she can.
For news and updates go to: lubamovie.com
facebook.com/LubaMovie
CINEQUEST (World Premiere) - San Jose, CA
• Sat, Mar 3 4:30 PM Century 20 Redwood City, CA
You’re more likely to go to prison in the United States than any other country in the world, so in the unfortunate case it happens to you, this is the Survivors Guide to Prison. Narrated by Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon, the nonstop film chronicles the stories of two men who spent decades behind bars for murders they did not commit. With additional commentary by activist celebrities like Danny Trejo, Patricia Arquette, Jesse Williams, Ice T, RZA, Busta Rhymes, Tom Morello, Macklemore, B-Real, Deepak Chopra, Warren G and more joining forces to change this broken system, Survivors Guide exposes a failed “punishment model.” Gripping testimony from inmates, guards, staff, police, analysts, lawyers and reformers lend further credibility as documentarian Matthew Cooke examines the system cell by cell and by contrast, the dramatic programs proven to work. Director Matthew Cooke joins us for an honest conversation on a broken and brutal criminal justice system that continues to incarcerated and warehouse use millions of Americans with little to no genuine oversight.
FACEBOOK: @survivorsguidetoprison
TWITTER: @surviveprison
HASHTAGS: #survivorsguidetoprison #cut50
Cinequest has led the world in its showcase and implementation of the innovations that have revolutionized film making, exhibition and distribution. Over 100,000 attend CQFF, yet the three-block proximity of its state-of-the-art venues along with Cinequest’s renowned hospitality, makes the festival experience as warm and personal as it is electrifying. Cinequest presents over 90 World and U.S. premieres with groundbreaking innovations by 700+ participating filmmakers from over 50 countries each year. Set in the home of the world’s most influential media technology companies (Apple, Cisco, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, LinkedIn etc.) CQFF showcases premier films, renowned and emerging artists, and breakthrough technology—empowering global connectivity between creators, innovators and audiences. Michael Rabehl has been a member of the Cinequest team since 1994. As the Director of Programming he manages the film selection process for the festival and supervises the programming teams to create a world class line up of films and guests every year. In his role as the Associate Director he is directly involved with the strategic planning of the festival. Michael joins us to talk about the 2018 Conquest film and virtual reality line-up.
For news and updates go to: cinequest.org
Cinequest Film and Virtual Reality Film Festival February 27 – March 11, 2018
Days of Power tells the story of a Swiss pop star who disappears while on tour, along with her assistant, backup singer, and drummer; they find themselves kidnapped, hidden within a concealed puppy mill industry. The film, written and produced by Michel Grey (“Trinity Rising,” “Foreclosure Dogs,” and “Beyond The Bombs”), and the directorial debut from Jason Pagnoni, was inspired by actual events. The film has received incredible support from multiple rescue groups and animal rights organizations around the country including: Rescue Ohio English Bulldogs, Pacc911, Paws New England, Barcs, Faithful Friends Animal Society, and SPCA of Tennessee. Days of Power stars: Oscar®-nominee Eric Roberts (“The Dark Knight,” “Runaway Train”), Eliza Roberts (“Animal House,” “Doctor Who”), Simone Reyes (”Running Russell Simmons,” “Cemetery High”), award-winner Jenny Hutton (“Boderna Fluff,” “Forgotten Kingdom: Genesis”), award-winning musician/actors Paul Lewis (“Radio Gods,” “Foreclosure Dogs”) and Keaton Simons (“The Legends of Nethiah,” “Feast”). Writer and producer Michel Grey joins us for a conversation on modern horror filmmaking and the hidden scourge of puppy mills.
Follow Days of Power
For news and updates go to: daysofpower.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/daysofpower
Written & directed by Michele Remsen (“Juke,” "Two in the Morning”), Toss It will make it’s world premiere during the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival at the LA Live Regal Cinemas on Sunday, February 25th. Opening on the last two bitter singles at a wedding -- smart-skeptical Emily and obsessive-compulsive-flirt Finn – (latter-day Rosalind Russel and Cary Grant types) who can witty-banter-for-days and seem a perfect match -- then everything gets tossed. Finn wonders why he’s so fucked up, and Emily wonders why she’s so drawn to him. A younger couple, sophisticated parents, a wise great-uncle, and a flaky friend impact both, driving them apart until they take a leap. Then a major curve-ball hits, the curtain gets pulled-back on dearly held traditions and reveals what made them who they are. Discovering the real-deal goes down in back-hallways, Finn and Emily kick against convention to find some kind of truth of their own. Toss It explores women as the real power players because women, by and large, run and nurture the fundamental unit of society: family. Director and screenwriter joins us to talk about love, relationships, fast-paced filmmaking and writing modern day cinematic dialog.
hollywoodreelindependentfilmfestival.com
micheleremsen.com/TossIt
Get tickets to see Toss It at: HRIFF tossitthemovie.com
Twitter: @TossItMovie
Follow Michele Remsen on twitter.com/micheleremsen?lang=en
Carter Pilcher founded Shorts International in 2000. Coming from a background in both investment banking and law, Carter has made Shorts International the world's leading short movie Entertainment Company, functioning as distributor, broadcaster and producer. Carter has extensive experience in short movie production and short movie entertainment. He is a voting member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and a member of the Short Film and Feature Animation Branch of The US Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) – the guys who pick the Oscars. Carter, originally from Terre Haute, Indiana, received a B.S. from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a J.D. from Georgetown University, is a member of the New York Bar and attended the London Business School Corporate Finance Evening Program. Carter Pilcher has been and continues to be the highlight of Oscar season here on Film School. His insight, commitment and love of films and filmmaking always makes for a lively and informative conversation on some of the best films you will see all year.
shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/
shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/theatrical-release
AMERICAN FOLK tells the story of two strangers grounded on the morning of September 11, 2001. Elliott (Joe Purdy) and Joni (Amber Rubarth) are unexpectedly thrust together amidst the chaos of that historic day. With little in common but both needing to get to NYC urgently, they accept help from Joni's family friend Scottie (Krisha Fairchild) who lends the duo a rusty old 1972 Chevy Van. The shock and stress of 9/11 quickly threatens to derail their cross country journey until the pair discover what they do have in common: a love for old folk songs. Armed with a pile of guitars left in the van from Scottie’s touring days, Elliott and Joni raise their voices together (and with those they meet on the road), re-discovering the healing nature of music and bearing witness to a nation of people who, even while mourning, manage to lift each other up in the wake of tragedy. With a refreshing gentleness and beauty, AMERICAN FOLK lovingly chronicles the spaces between the suffering and fear, where music has the power to connect. Musicians Joe Purdy and Amber Rubarth give nuanced and thoughtful performances, with voices that are uplifting and achingly gorgeous. Filmed over 3,500 miles in 14 states, AMERICAN FOLK serves as a love letter to the natural beauty of America, to the style of music that has shepherded us through historically tough times and to the kindness of all of the "folk" that make America what it is. Director David Heinz and Cinematographer Devin Whetstone talk about the challenges of filming in cramped quarters, capturing the spirit of a surprisingly united people coping with a disintegrating civic society.
https://www.americanfolkmovie.com/
introducing us to the charismatic Gabriel Cordell. After hitting rock-bottom, this newly sober paraplegic attempts to save his gang-banger (and barely out of rehab) nephew's life by bringing him along on a record breaking 3,100-mile wheelchair trek across the United States. This intense trip will challenge Gabriel physically and emotionally as he becomes a vision of hope for countless strangers along his journey. Gabriel's support crew is an unlikely team, that become a family. All of them are from very different backgrounds and each dealing with their own issues – PTSD, homelessness, unemployment, family estrangement and sobriety struggles. What started out as a challenge to push an unmodified wheelchair from California to New York, morphs into a most transcendent journey that fills your heart for long after the movie ends and the screen grows dark. In an age divided, Roll With Me ignites our common humanity and urges us to find our inner hero or heroine. We can be heroes…every single day that we reach outside of ourselves. Director Lisa France joins us to talk about her own journey and the challenges involved with a cross-country trek with 9 people in a small SUV and no film making experience.
For news and updates go to: rollwithmethemovie.com
Slamdance Film Festival narrative feature “Quest,” starring: Dash Mihok (“Ray Donovan,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” and "Romeo + Juliet”), and Lou Diamond Phillips (“La Bamba,” “Courage Under Fire,” and “Young Guns”) is included in the Slamdance 2018 Special Screening section. “Quest,” a beloved audience award winner that debuted at the Mill Valley Film Festival this fall, and has continued to win award after award throughout it’s festival journey. Quest’s will debut on Monday, January 22nd, 2018, at the Slamdance Film Festival. This powerful film addresses the brutality of child abuse in a way we haven’t seen before, winning praise from the foster child community, among others who see the plight of this epidemic firsthand. Quest is a story that speaks to the power of love, and it’s ability to reach us even through the darkness and pain that surround us. Based on a true story, the film follows an uncertain friendship between a 12-year-old graffiti addict “ Mills” (Greg Kasyan, in his debut role), who faces abuse from his stepfather (Lou Diamond Phillips), and a devoted teacher & coach named Tim Moellering (Dash Mihok), who believes there is no such thing as a bad kid – only a bad situation. Based on the stories of their lives in the Bay Area of California, the first draft of Quest was written together by first time director Santiago Rizzo, and his mentor & teacher Tim Moellering (whom has sadly since passed away from Pancreatic Cancer before he could see the film made). Director, producer and writer joins us for a conversation on his debut film.
For news and updates go to: quest.film
For more on Director Santiago Rizzo's story go to: quest.film/filmmaker
HUMAN AFFAIRS is a compassionate drama about a young, successful theatre couple in New York City who meet their surrogate mother for the first time, and embark on a startling and intimate weekend of surprises and emotional revelations. Featuring powerful performances from Kerry Condon (Better Call Saul, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri) and Dominic Fusuma (13 Hours, Focus) and a standout portrayal by young French actress Julie Sokolowski (star of Bruno Dumont's Hadewijch) as Genevieve, the film also features David Harbour (Stranger Things). Writer / director / actor Charlie Birns has crafted a nuanced debut feature drama about embarking on the precarious closeness of surrogacy while bravely searching for human connection. Featuring exquisite cinematography by Sean Price Williams, (Good Time and Heaven Knows What with the Safdie Brothers, Listen Up Philip and Queen of Earth with Alex Ross Perry), the film experiments with new modes of cinematic storytelling, employing raw performance, unexpected sound design, editing, narration and the use of still photography to dazzling effect. Director Charlie Burns joins us for a conversation on the challenges and rewards of directing his first feature film and the film’s debut at the 2018 Slamdance Film Festival.
http://human-affairs.com/
A clip from Human Affairs: vimeo.com/250217517
Ivan Williams is a partner and Scenario’s executive vice president of finance. After a successful career as a senior business leader at major energy companies (ARCO and BP), he has been active starting up a media technology company, and executive producing feature films, Broadway musicals, musical recordings, theatrical plays, and Web tv shows. A member of Film Independent and the Sundance Institute, Ivan holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Oregon State University, and is a Dean’s M.B.A. Scholar at the UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business, and a veteran Naval Reserve intelligence officer. An active contributor to his alma maters, Ivan serves as a member of the board of directors for Oregon State University’s Alumni Association, and is active with the University of California Irvine as chairman of the Dean’s Arts Council of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, serving as a member of the Graduate Division’s Dean’s Leadership Council, as an entertainment industry advisory board member for the Cybersecurity Policy & Research Institute, and a founding board member of the L.A./Orange County Anteaters in the Arts organization. Ivan joins us for a conversation on the his latest projects and the exiting future of digital film and arts at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at the University of California, Irvine.
scenario-la.com
Mysterious events surround two travelers as they make their way across a remote American landscape. On the surface all seems normal, but what appears to be a simple vacation soon gives way to a dark and complex web of secrets. THE STRANG ONES had its world premiere at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival where it was awarded the Special Jury Recognition for Breakthrough Performance for James Freedson-Jackson.
Director’s Statement - “There is a line late in the film where two teenage characters are engaged in an awkward conversation that consists more of silence than words. “It’s crazy to think,” the girl says, “that you like, never really know a person. You know?” The idea of “not knowing” is at the core of The Strange Ones. As filmmakers, we are most interested in stories that leave a strong impression but somehow stop short of surrendering a tidy explanation, and in characters that have secrets that may or may not ever be fully revealed. There is something more satisfying in this for us - as if the truth, by virtue of remaining unseen, can expand upon speculation and become something larger, more profound, and more fascinating than a straightforward answer. Perhaps we find also that this is a more accurate reflection of real life - so often we believe we understand something or someone in their entirety, only to find out that we have only really glimpsed the surface; and that beneath lies a world of complexity that we might never fully know. In that regard, The Strange Ones is a story that presents a rather simple surface, as well as a more complicated and mysterious hidden dimension.” - Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff.
Official Website: www.thestrangeones.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheStrangeOnesFilm Twitter: www.twitter.com/thestrangeones
Grand Saline, Texas, a town east of Dallas, has a history of racism, a history the community doesn’t talk about. This shroud of secrecy ended when Charles Moore, an elderly white preacher, self-immolated to protest the town’s racism in 2014, shining a spotlight on the town’s dark past. MAN ON FIRE untangles the pieces of this protest and questions the racism in Grand Saline today. Overall, MAN ON FIRE encapsulates the racial climate in Grand Saline and chronicles Moore’s life and death, presenting Grand Saline and Moore as two pillars of the film’s narrative: one a disjointed man seeking truth and communal repentance and the other a community whose present is inextricably tied to their past. MAN ON FIRE was Joel Fendelman’s thesis film for the completion of his MFA program at the University of Texas in Austin. The film went into production late May of 2016 and was completed late May of 2017. The crew took seven trips to the Van Zandt County area to film and compile interviews as well as a weekend of filming in Austin and one in Dallas. The recreations were filmed over three days in Austin, Texas. Director Joel Fendelman joins us to talk about what led Reverend Charles Moore to commit such a radical act, his approach to telling this timely story and MAN ON FIRE’s upcoming debut at the 2018 Slamdance Film Festival.
Co-winner of the International Documentary Association (IDA) 2017 David L. Wolper Student Documentary Award
Man of Fire premieres at 2018 Slamdance Film Festival
For news and updates go to: manonfirefilm.com
facebook.com/joel.fendelman
twitter.com/ManOnFireFilm
Joel Fendelman’s site
Ela Thier is a critically acclaimed writer, director and actor. She is known for creating dramedies that bring laughter and tears to diverse audiences across racial and socio-economic lines, and unifies audiences across political spectra. Thier's critically acclaimed Tomorrow Ever After (2017) won numerous major festival awards. After a successful theatrical run Tomorrow Ever After is now available on numerous PPV and VOD platforms including iTunes and Amazon. Her award-winning feature, Foreign Letters, was distributed by Film Movement (2012) and shown at over 140 festivals world-wide. Thier directed over a dozen short films winning numerous Best Short awards. Her film, A Summer Rain, screened at hundreds of venues and became a YouTube sensation. Thier worked as a writer-for-hire on Puncture, starring Chris Evans. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and released by Millenium Films (2011). Thier is a recipient of the Jerome Foundation Film Production Grant (2015), was a nominee of the White House Project Emerging Artist Award (2010), and a recipient of the NYFA Fellowship Grant in Screenwriting (2008). Thier joins us to talk about the multi-platform release of Tomorrow Ever After, filmmaking and her own The Independent Film School workshops.
“My guiding principle has been to create the workshops that I would want to attend. I think back to my beginnings as a filmmaker and I design the workshops that I could have really used: ones that are packed with concrete information made easy to understand, and are super supportive and encouraging. My life would have been easier if I had gotten the encouragement that artists need.” - Ela Their on her Independent Film School workshops
For more on Ela Thier's filmmakers workshops go to: Theindependentfilmschool.com
Keep up with the latest on Ela Thier at: facebook.com/elathier
For news and updates go to: tomorroweveraftermovie.com
After ending her engagement and finding herself at a loss for inspiration actor Sadie Katz, finds herself up late at night searching the internet. In her loneliness, she keeps clicking on stories of others having magical chance encounters with her favorite actor and life guru Bill Murray. Katz shares with the audience that she finds herself at a loss as to why she needs to meet Bill Murray but, that's part of the intrigue and pleasure of knowing that secretly we all wish we had a little Murray Magic in our life...which starts both Sadie and the audience on the quest of finding the unfindable and zany Bill Murray. The directorial debut from actress Katz (“Blood Feast,” “Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort”), “The Bill Murray Experience,” is being distributed by Gravitas Ventures across VOD platforms globally on December 19th, 2017. The documentary features: Joel Murray (“Mad Men”), P.J. Soles (“Stripes”), and the legend himself. At crossroads in her life director Sadie Katz joins us to talk about her magical quest to meet comedian and legend Bill Murray.
For the latest news an updates go to:
Facebook: facebook.com/billmurrayexperiencedocumentary
Instagram: instagram.com/sadiekatz
Twitter: twitter.com/sadie_katz
On November 28th, 1953, mild-mannered military scientist Frank Olson plunged from the window of his 13th-floor New York hotel room and died. His cause of death was described as a “fall or jump” and though many questions remained about the exact circumstances, the case was left unsolved, and Olson’s wife and three young children attempted to move on. Over two decades later, in June of 1975, the Rockefeller Commission issued a comprehensive, high-profile report on myriad illegal CIA activities that featured a passing mention of a 1953 incident in which an army scientist was purposefully drugged with LSD without his knowledge and died from a fall a few days later. This revelation sends the Olson family, led by oldest son Eric, on a decades-long hunt for answers that takes them to the highest corridors of power in the U.S. government and close to some of its darkest secrets. Acclaimed storyteller Errol Morris weaves this mystery into a six-part story exploring the limits of our knowledge about the past and the lengths we’ll go in the search for the truth. Wormwood is the saga of one man’s obsessive, sixty-year quest to identify the real circumstances about his father’s death that tells a hidden history of key events of the second half of the 20th Century. Was Frank’s death an accident? Did he commit suicide after a bad drug trip? Or was he murdered for knowing too much? In Wormwood, Morris connects Frank’s story to the Korean War, mind control experiments, illegal germ warfare, brainwashing, Manchurian candidates, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and more.
For news and updates go to: netflix.com/wormwood
In this emotionally moving documentary, Edith and Eddie, Edith Hill and Eddie Harrison get married in Virginia at ages 96 and 95. Dancing at the honky-tonk and going to church, their newlywed life is filled with affection, prayer and faith. Since tying the knot, both Edith and Eddie have experienced an awakening; they have a new reason to get up in the morning. At the start of each day, he helps her put in her teeth. They enjoy exercising and relaxing by the river. They are always holding hands. However, this fairytale love story hovers in great contrast to a nightmarish reality. The couple is embroiled in a legal battle between Edith’s daughters, over Edith's estate and her rights. Edith has been diagnosed with mild dementia. Edith's daughter Rebecca is advocating for Edith's right to stay in her own home with Eddie. Rebecca’s sister Patricia, who lives in Florida, is pursuing the sale of the home and Edith's eviction. The daughters are unable to reach an agreement so a court has appointed an outside guardian for Edith, named Jessica Niesen. Stripped of her own decision making, Edith is now a ward of the state. Edith and Eddie’s marriage is in danger of being torn apart. Then things take a dramatic turn. Director Laura Chekoway joins us to talk about her partnership with executive producer Cher, the bond she formed with Edith and Eddie and the greater truth about the care of our elderly in a culture that devalues seniors but covets their assets.
For news and update go to: facebook.com/EdithEddieFilm
Beginning one year before the fatal police shooting of a Black teenager in nearby Ferguson, Missouri, For Ahkeem is the coming-of-age story of Daje Shelton, a Black 17-year-old girl in North St. Louis. She fights for her future as she is placed in an alternative high school and navigates the marginalized neighborhoods, biased criminal justice policies and economic devastation that have set up many Black youth like her to fail. After she is expelled from her public high school, a juvenile court judge sends Daje to the court-supervised Innovative Concept Academy, which offers her one last chance to earn a diploma. Over two years we watch as Daje struggles to maintain focus in school, attends the funerals of friends killed around her, falls in love with a classmate named Antonio, and navigates a loving-but-tumultuous relationship with her mother. As Antonio is drawn into the criminal justice system and events in Ferguson just four miles from her home seize the national spotlight, Daje learns she is pregnant and must contend with the reality of raising a young Black boy. Through Daje’s intimate story, For Ahkeem illuminates challenges that many Black teenagers face in America today, and witnesses the strength, resilience, and determination it takes to survive. Co-director Landon Van Soest joins us to talk about his collaboration with co-direct Jeremy S, Levine and their incredibly intimate, troubling and surprisingly hopeful tale.
For news and updates go to: forahkeemfilm.com
The Rape of Recy Taylor tells the not so-long-ago story of how a 24-year-old black mother and sharecropper, Recy Taylor, was gang raped by six white boys in 1944 Alabama. Common in the Jim Crow South, few women spoke up in fear for their lives. Not Recy Taylor, who bravely identified her rapists. The NAACP sent its chief rape investigator Rosa Parks, who rallied support and triggered an unprecedented outcry for justice. The Rape of Recy Taylor exposes a legacy of physical abuse of black women and reveals Rosa Parks’ intimate role in Recy Taylor’s story. An attempted rape against Parks was but one inspiration for her ongoing work to find justice for countless women like Taylor. The 1955 bus boycott was an end result, not a beginning. More and more women are now speaking up after rape. The Rape of Recy Taylor tells the story of black women who spoke up when danger was greatest; it was their noble efforts to take back their bodies that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and movements that followed. The 2017 Global March by Women is linked to their courage. From sexual aggression on ‘40s southern streets to today’s college campuses and to the threatened right to choose, it is control of women’s bodies that powered the movement in Recy Taylor’s day and fuels our outrage today. Director Nancy Buirski (By Sidney Lumet, Afternoon of a Faun, The Loving Story) stops by for a conversation on a remarkably prescient and moving story of courage and the struggle to overcome America’s system of institutional injustice.
For news and updates go to The Rape of Recy Taylor film
In 1943 a young British officer, Norman Lewis, entered a war-torn Naples with the American Fifth Army. Lewis began writing in his notepad everything that happened to him during his one-year stay observing the complex social cauldron of a city that contrived every day the most incredible ways of fighting to survive. These notes turned into the masterpiece NAPLES ‘44. This film adaptation imagines Lewis returning to the city that charmed and seduced him many years later. Filmmaker Francesco Patierno combines riveting archival war footage with clips from movies set in Naples from the 1950s and 60s (featuring Marcello Mastroianni, Alan Arkin, Ernest Borgnine) and the voice of Oscar-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch to portray a city that was as much a victim of the war as any individual, but that has come back to life with all the charisma of Vesuvius, its very own volcano. This visionary reminiscence is made up of flashbacks between the places of the present that Lewis revisits and the stories of the past. Cumberbatch gives life to Lewis’ words through the stories and fortunes of the people he meets, by the end of this intimate nostalgic journey we can fully share with him a deep feeling for the city. Director Francesco Patierno and Producers Francesca Barra and Davide Azzolini stop by to talk about this stunning, intimate evocation of a time and place from the not-too-distant past that has much to teach us today.
For the latest on Naples '44 go to: Naples '44 at First Run Features
According to one of many Haitian beliefs, we are born from water and so to water our souls return… but only for a year and a day, after our demise. Guetty Felin’s AYITI MON AMOUR is set in a land inhabited by spirits looking for their final resting place, mourners seeking closure and ordinary individuals engaged in a precarious dance of survival. It spins the magic neo-realist tale of Orphée an awkward teen grieving the loss of his father. One day after a freak encounter with an underwater sea creature he develops special electrifying powers, but with power comes certain responsibilities...The world seems to be changing much too rapidly for Jaurès the old fisherman. These days Jaurès is obsessed with the environmental degradation, the rising temperature of the sea and the drought that is starving his cows. But what pre-occupies Jaurès the most is his beloved wife Odessa who is bedridden and homesick. Jaurès is determined to do everything to make her well again even if it means putting his own life in peril...Lastly, there’s the beautiful mysterious Ama, part muse, part wandering soul but also the main character of a novel by an uninspired writer. After five years of waiting for him to complete his masterpiece, she decides to leave him and his story, and sets out to live her own life. With AYITI MON AMOUR the island nation of Haiti has its first ever entry in the Academy Awards category of Best Foreign Language Film. It is also the first narrative feature entirely shot in Haiti by a Haitian-born female director, Guetty Felin. She joins us to talk about her warm-hearted, humane film and its celebration of her native country.
For the latest news go to: facebook.com/AyitiMonAmourMovie or belle moon productions
When TV editor Ramsey Denison was jailed for simply reporting police brutality on the Las Vegas strip, he was inspired to investigate the Las Vegas Police Department. His investigation would lead him right up to the biggest mass shooting in American history. In this damning exposé, he reveals that the police know more than they are letting on about what really happened at the Mandalay Bay Resort, where 59 people were killed. Uncovering a long legacy of cavalier methods and dire consequences, civilian fatalities, unconstitutional arrests and embellished crime reports, this doc paints an incriminating picture of a police department where the officers are above the law.
By Director Ramsey Denison: “When I drove into Vegas a couple years ago, making a documentary about police corruption was the furthest thing from my mind; I’d come to relax. I’d just finished editing a programme about cops tracking down bad guys - the notion that cops could be the bad guys was not something I’d spent much time thinking about. That all changed when my friend Rhett Nielson and I saw police officers torturing a stranger. I called 911 and reported the incident. A couple minutes later, I got beat up, arrested, and thrown in jail by those same cops. I reported officers Mark Belanger, Kyle Frett, and Jared Casper but LVMPD’s Internal Affairs department decided to do nothing about it. Officer Cole Erskine’s police report was full of fiction, written to justify the brutality. The club where my arrest occurred told me they had no footage because their cameras weren’t recording that night. Without video, it was three police officers’ words against mine and Rhett’s. In a town where you can get beaten up, arrested, and thrown in jail simply for making a phone call to report police brutality, I couldn’t help but wonder what else the LVMPD has done. I discovered that behind the glittering lights, the real Las Vegas is a rigged game of corrupt policing and institutional cover ups.”
For news and updates go to: what-happened-in-vegas
In the haunting, intimate tale PORTO Jake (Anton Yelchin) and Mati (Lucie Lucas) are two expats who experience a brief but intimate connection in the ancient Portuguese city of Porto. He's an American loner exiled from his family. She’s a student from France embroiled in an affair with one of her professors. After spotting each other from a distance at an archeological site and then again at a train station and a café, Jake works up the courage to approach Mati and they embark on a night of carefree intimacy. This romantic encounter is viewed from years later, both characters still haunted by the powerful connection they shared. Using a mix of film stocks and art direction that evokes a bygone era of European cinema, Porto delivers a cinematic form of saudade – a Portuguese word that describes an emotional state of nostalgic longing for a person or place that one has loved. Director, writer, editor, and producer Gabe Klinger stops by to talk about his bittersweet, heartbreaking, soaring ode to romantic love.
For news and updates go to kinolorber.com/film/porto
In 2010 David Crowley, an Iraq veteran, aspiring filmmaker and charismatic up-and-coming voice in fringe politics, began production on his film "Gray State." Set in a dystopian near-future where civil liberties are trampled by an unrestrained federal government, the film’s crowd funded trailer was enthusiastically received by the burgeoning online community of libertarians, Tea Party activists as well as members of the nascent alt-right. In January of 2015, Crowley was found dead with his family in their suburban Minnesota home. Their shocking deaths quickly become a cause célèbre for conspiracy theorists who speculate that Crowley was assassinated by a shadowy government concerned about a film and filmmaker that was getting too close to the truth about their aims. Directed by "Grizzly Man" producer Erik Nelson and Executive Produced by Werner Herzog, “A Gray State” combs through Crowley’s archive of 13,000 photographs, hundreds of hours of home video, and exhaustive behind-the-scenes footage of David’s work in progress to reveal what happens when a paranoid view of the government turns inward — blurring the lines of what is real and what people want to believe. Director Erik Nelson joins us to talk about his verite-style film and the truth behind the Crowley family’s tragic deaths.
For news and updates go to: firstrunfeatures.com/agraystate
It’s a story that beggars belief—a bipolar practitioner of “candle magick” living in a dilapidated farmhouse in rural Ohio with a lifelong obsession for building violins (and covered in tattoos of master builders such as Stradivarius) convinces a world-renowned soloist via social media that he is capable of creating a perfect replica of the world’s most valuable violin, Guarneri’s Il Cannone. A quirky look into one man’s DIY enthusiasm and perseverance when facing down a self-created, impossible task, Strad Style is the feel-good doc of 2017. Stefan Avalos is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Having started his life as a classically trained violinist and knowing the obsessions that are part of the violin-world, he became intrigued with the story of Daniel Houck, while working on a broader documentary about New vs old violins. While this movie is still in process, “Strad Style” emerged as a story that became HIS obsession. Stefan joins us to talk about the making of this magical documentary.
For news and updates go to: stradstyle.com
On April 29, 1992, the streets and neighborhoods of Los Angeles, California started to burn just after the Rodney King verdict was announced where four white police officers caught on videotape brutally beating an unarmed black motorist (King) were acquitted of assault by a predominantly white Simi Valley jury. Violent protests, looting and arson lasted several days and left more than 50 people dead. Twenty-five years later, the acclaimed documentary LA 92 from Oscar® winning directors Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin (UNDEFEATED) explores the events leading to the violence, as well as the chaos and destruction that happened. LA 92 presents an incredibly immersive and affecting experience of a city in turmoil, without any talking heads or narration, which eerily resembles the same news stories we see on TV today in 2017. The filmmakers spent over a year searching and sifting through over 1700 hours of footage from news reports, journalists' stories and news archives. Told entirely only through these stunning news reports and images and rarely seen archive footage, this gripping film captures the shock, disappointment and fury felt by many Angelenos, particularly those in the African American community. In the case of the King beating, it was the first time the kind of abuse many had witnessed or experienced at the hands of LAPD officers was recorded and broadcast for the world to see, leaving some with the sense that if justice did not prevail despite such graphic evidence, it never would. Named by Variety as one of the best films of 2017, LA 92 is more than a moment in time, it’s an illuminating political, cultural and social experience that elevates our collective understanding of our history and ourselves. Co-directors T.J. Martin and Daniel Lindsay join us.
For news and updates go to: channel.nationalgeographic.com/la-92
In this biting domestic story, Jill, a lonely, unfulfilled housewife with four unruly children, paces on her dining room table with a belt around her neck, contemplating a desperate end. Her husband, Bill, focused on his identity as breadwinner and an affair with a lusty co-worker, is as oblivious to Jill’s growing terror that she will do something destructive as he is to the panic at his unraveling company. Meanwhile, dogs bark and howl through the night, as one persistent mutt continually stalks the family’s yard. When Jill’s psyche finally breaks, she takes on a vicious new canine persona. Marianna Palka writes, directs, and stars as Jill in this dark and provocative film, balancing a whip-smart, deeply unsettling take on the horrors of a crumbling nuclear family with a palpable sensitivity for her character’s plight and perfectly timed comedic flourishes. Jason Ritter delivers a beautifully tragicomic performance as Bill, who’s transformed by bizarre crisis from an indifferent hound of a man entirely untethered from his family to their unexpected emotional anchor. Director and lead actor Marianna Palka joins us in a conversation about her go-for-broke approach to the story and performance.
For news and updates go to: darkskyfilms.com/bitch
Noël Wells portrays Emily, a talented but hard-to-classify comedic performer who left behind her home and boyfriend to pursue career opportunities in L.A. When a loved one falls ill, Emily rushes back to Austin where she’s forced to stay with her ex-boyfriend (Nick Thune) and his new-and-improved girlfriend (Britt Lower), a totally together woman with a five-year plan. Though Emily is the same, everything else is different: her house has been smartly redecorated, her rocker boyfriend is training to be a real estate agent, and her old haunts show serious signs of gentrification. Holed up in her own guest room, Emily--who has no idea what she'll be doing five days from now, let alone five years-- is forced to question everyone's values: are they sell-outs or have they just figured out what makes them happy? And is she following her dreams or is she just a self-absorbed loser? Director, writer and producer Noël Wells stops by for a conversation about her funny and touching film about reconciling your past with your present.
For news and updates go to: facebook.com/PaladinFilm
Winner of the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film at the Tribeca Film Festival, The Divine Order is set in Switzerland in 1971 where, despite the worldwide social upheavals of the previous decade, women were still denied the right to vote. When unassuming and dutiful housewife Nora (Marie Leuenberger, winner of a Best Actress award at Tribeca) is forbidden by her husband to take a part-time job, her frustration leads to her becoming the poster child of her town’s suffragette movement. Her newfound celebrity brings humiliation, threats, and the potential end to her marriage, but, refusing to back down, she convinces the women in her village to go on strike...and makes a few startling discoveries about her own liberation. Uplifting and crowd-pleasing, this charming, captivating film is a time-capsule that could not be more timely. Director Petra Volpe joins us to talk about the story behind a struggle for human rights and the women who made Swiss history.
For news and updates go to: zeitgeistfilms.com/film/thedivineorder
Follow The Divine Order on facebook.com/DivineOrder
THE LIGHT OF THE MOON is the story of Bonnie, a young and successful Latina architect, sexually assaulted while walking home from an evening out with friends in Brooklyn. At first, she attempts to keep the assault a secret from her long-term boyfriend Matt, but the truth quickly emerges. Bonnie emphatically denies the impact of what has just happened to her. She fights to regain normalcy and control, but returning to her old life is more complicated than expected. Her attempt to recapture the intimacy she previously had with Matt falters and cracks begin to surface in their relationship. Another attack in the neighborhood only drives Bonnie further into denial, before an encounter with an at-risk woman forces her to face the truth and confront her own self-blame. Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Short Term 12) gives a powerful and moving performance as Bonnie, a woman who maintains her dignity and sense of humor as she deals with the aftermath of a life-altering experience. Written and directed by Emmy-nominated Australian filmmaker Jessica M. Thompson in her feature film debut, THE LIGHT OF THE MOON is a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of relationships in the face of a tragedy.
For news and updates go to: thelightofthemoonfilm.com
WHAT HAUNTS US tells the real story behind the town that remained silent but the outcome was that of suicide by the victims. This film is a cautionary tale for parents and their children and a horrifying example of what happens when one stays quiet about sexual abuse/molestation. WHAT HAUNTS US tells the story about the 1997 class of Porter Gaud High School in Charleston, South Carolina that graduated 49 boys. Within the last 35 years, six of these boys committed suicide. Filmmaker Tolmach graduated from Porter Gaud, and now she digs deep with this film in discovering the dark secrets that have lingered and haunted this community that she so loves. The six boys that committed suicide featured in the film didn't have to die if they would have spoken out and not remained quiet about what had happened to them. However, the shame associated with this nightmare often weighs more on the victims - only to keep them silent. WHAT HAUNTS US is not a new story, but it is the continuing common tale of sexual abuse, molestation, shame and a community's silence so that "no one rocks the boat" rings all too true to this day. Until, we as concerned people speak up, these crimes against innocent victims will continue. Director Paige Goldberg Tolmach joins us to talk about an all to familiar tale that haunts the lives of former students of a prestiges prep school.
For news and updates go to: whathauntsusfilm.com
facebook.com/whathauntsus
The Price is an intimate immigrant story about Seyi, a bright young Nigerian-American working on Wall Street, navigating complicated family expectations, a turbulent romantic relationship, and a system of cultural complexities caused by class and race. With a dying father, a burgeoning romance with a white girlfriend, and dangerous new business opportunities, Seyi’s life is in a delicate balance. When his ambition drives Seyi to morally dubious waters, secrets threaten to erupt and shatter his world. Seyi must confront himself and decisions he has made, facing the crimes of the past in a desperate attempt to salvage the present. Director, producer, writer Anthony Onah join us to talk about making of this heartfelt tale of family, career and modern love.
For news and updates go to: the-price
Provocative, funny, intelligent and fiercely political, audiences had better be ready to dive in for the new documentary feature MR. FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END. Directed by Pablo Bryant, will have its NYC Premiere at the DOC NYC 2017. In this documentary we discover the dangerously funny cartoonist Mr. Fish, struggling to make a living in an industry that is dying out. In a world where consumerism is king, and opportunities are few, will this uncensored artist find a way to sell his art, or be forced to sell himself out? After a rousing, standing ovation laden World premiere, comes word that director Pablo Bryant’s MR. FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END has won the 2017 Hiscox Audience Award for Best documentary at at the Austin Film Festival. Director Pablo Bryant joins us for a lively conversation on free speech, our political culture, and the artistic sensibilities of today’s most scathing and insightful political satirist.
For news and updates go to: mrfishmovie.com
Check out Mr. Fish's art at: mrfishmovie.com/gallery
A documentary as dramatic, ambiguous, and multilayered as any fiction film, A RIVER BELOW examines the efforts of two conservationists in the Amazon to bring about change by using the national media, only to discover the consequences of their actions come with a high price. A RIVER BELOW provides an eye-opening look at what happens when passion and opinion trump reason and morality. The crux of the story questions the truth in images, its manipulation to get the public’s attention and, ultimately, who pays the price for someone else’s passion for radical change.
“A RIVER BELOW explores these ideas and moral questions, but ultimately it is the story about the massacre of this incredible dolphin, the people out there trying to save them, and the ethical dilemmas we face with what must be done to achieve sudden change. There is no doubt that we are living in an extinction crisis and there is very little time left to save certain species – that is the view of the river from above. My hope is that this film will take audiences on the plunge to ask, “Who do we want out there saving in our name and at what long-term cost?” It is a mirror held up to the documentary and a journey into ourselves as we attempt to better this messy world.” - Director Mark Grieco
facebook.com/ARiverBelow
100% Rotten Tomatoes
2018 Official Oscar® Entry – FRANCE Best Foreign Language Film BPM tells the story of how a passionate group of Parisian activists goes to battle for those stricken with HIV/AIDS, taking on sluggish government agencies and major pharmaceutical companies in with bold, invasive actions. The organization is ACT UP – the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power – and its members embrace their task as a literal life-or-death mission. With more than 6,000 new diagnoses made each year in France, there is no time to waste. And yet, the officials and the corporations are not moving fast enough. “BPM” tells the story of that fight from the inside-out. Amid the rallies, fierce debates and ecstatic dance parties, intimate connections are made and vibrant life rages against death. As the activists scramble from boisterous street demonstrations and boardroom face-offs to dance floors pulsing with light and rhythm, Nathan and Sean’s relationship deepens. They confess individual memories of sexual initiation that are profoundly tied, in different ways, to the emerging AIDS crisis, and sexual intimacy itself becomes a kind of resistance. As Sean gets sicker, their passion sparks against the shadow of mortality, and the activist community of activists plots its most dramatic protest yet. Director and writer Robin Campillo joins us for a conversation on his intimate and thoughtful tale of activism and struggle in the face of intractable indifference and antipathy.
For news and updates fo to: bpm.film
The riveting documentary THE WORK, set inside a single room in Folsom Prison, follows three men from outside as they participate in a four-day group therapy retreat with level-four convicts. Over the four days, each man in the room takes his turn at delving deep into his past. The raw and revealing process that the incarcerated men undertake exceeds the expectations of the free men, ripping them out of their comfort zones and forcing them to see themselves and the prisoners in unexpected ways. THE WORK offers a powerful and rare look past the cinder block walls, steel doors and the dehumanizing tropes in our culture to reveal a movement of change and redemption that transcends what we think of as rehabilitation. Director Jairus McLeary joins us to talk about the men, inmates and outsiders, the program and the challenges of making a film about men seeking to reclaim their lives.
For news and updates go to: theworkmovie.com
For news and doing your part to continue The Work go to: insidecircle.org
Across more than 50 years of essays, novels, screenplays, and criticism, Joan Didion has been our premier chronicler of the ebb and flow of America’s cultural and political tides with observations on her personal – and our own – upheavals, downturns, life changes, and states of mind. In the intimate, extraordinary documentary JOAN DIDION: THE CENTER WILL NOT HOLD, actor and director Griffin Dunne unearths a treasure trove of archival footage and talks at length to his “Aunt Joan” about the eras she covered and the eventful life she’s lived, including partying with Janis Joplin in a house full of L.A. rockers; hanging in a recording studio with Jim Morrison; and cooking dinner for one of Charles Manson’s women for a magazine story. Didion guides us through the sleek literati scene of New York in the 1950s and early ’60s, when she wrote for Vogue; her return to her home state of California for two turbulent decades; the writing of her seminal books, including Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Play It as It Lays, A Book of Common Prayer, and The White Album; her film scripts, including The Panic in Needle Park; her view of 1980s and ’90s political personalities; and the meeting of minds that was her long marriage to writer John Gregory Dunne. She reflects on writing about her reckoning with grief after Dunne’s death, in The Year of Magical Thinking (winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction), and the death of their daughter Quintana Roo, in Blue Nights. With commentary from friends and collaborators including Vanessa Redgrave, Harrison Ford, Anna Wintour, David Hare, Calvin Trillin, Hilton Als, and Susanna Moore, the most crucial voice belongs to Didion, one of the most influential American writers alive today. Director Griffin Dunne (American Werewolf in London, After Hours) joins us for a conversation on "Aunt Joan" and her fiercely personal body of remarkable body of fiction and non-fiction.
To view Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold go to: netflix.com
In the compelling feature film debut of Francis Lee God’s Own Country Johnny Saxby works long hours in brutal isolation on his family’s remote farm in the north of England. He numbs the daily frustration of his lonely existence with nightly binge-drinking at the local pub and casual sex. When a handsome Romanian migrant worker arrives to take up temporary work on the family farm, Johnny suddenly finds himself having to deal with emotions he has never felt before. An intense relationship forms between the two which could change Johnny’s life forever. This growing chemistry between them results in an intense, instinctive sexual encounter. With both lads struggling to come to terms with what their time on the moor really meant and what they want from each other. With the future of the farm, his father’s life and his fledgling first relationship all hanging in the balance, Johnny feels more isolated and powerless than ever. Sent back to the farm on their own by Deirdre to tend to the animals, Johnny and Gheorghe slip into an unspoken domestic life. But soon Gheorghe’s contract will come to an end... Director Francis Lee joins us to talk about this simple story of struggling people living on the edge drawn into an emotionally complex tale.
For news and updates go to: samuelgoldwynfilms-Gods Own Country
International Documentary Association (IDA) is fiercely committed to protecting and defending the rights of documentary filmmakers to practice their craft, seek and reveal truth in their films, and make and sell their work freely in a fair marketplace. We strenuously uphold the principles of free speech and believe that documentary films, however provocative they may be, should never be silenced by an authority, corporation or legal system that may feel threatened by their content. Where filmmakers are under fire, and their predicament stands to set precedent for us all, the IDA brings together the weight of our community to fight for their rights in the courts, the press, congress or wherever that threat may lie. IDA is the only group advocating specifically for the documentary filmmaking community. In many ways, this makes IDA’s advocacy work the most important and relevant work we do. If documentary films better inform your world, if you believe in freedom of speech, if you are concerned that the media space grows ever smaller and cherish the diversity that independent voices bring, and if you're a fan of David (over Goliath) then you probably share our values. Documentary storytelling expands our understanding of shared human experience, fostering an informed, compassionate, and connected world. The International Documentary Association (IDA) is dedicated to building and serving the needs of a thriving documentary culture. Through its programs, the IDA provides resources, creates community, and defends rights and freedoms for documentary artists, activists, and journalists. Executive Director Simon Kilmurry joins us to talk about IDA, the screening series currently underway and the state of documentary filmmaking in 2017.
For news and updates go to: documentary.org
Watch some of the year's best film through the IDA's documentary screening series
Support Documentary filmmaking and watch great films by becoming an IDA member
GKIDS, the acclaimed producer and distributor of animation for adult and family audiences, Annecy International Animation Film Festival, the world’s leading animation Festival and Market, and Variety magazine, have announced the launch of ANIMATON IS FILM, an annual animation film festival in Los Angeles. The first edition will run October 20-22 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theater in Hollywood (Mann’s Chinese Theater) with a showcase of 20 programs including feature films in competition, special presentations, retrospectives and short film programs. ANIMATION IS FILM aims to fill a gap in the US market by establishing a world class animation festival on par with the major events in Europe and Asia – and locating it in the world capital of animated filmmaking. The Festival will be a vocal advocate in the heart of Hollywood, for excellence in animation, and for filmmakers who push the boundaries of their art to the fullest range of expression that the medium is capable of. GKIDS and Animation is Film founder Eric Beckman stops by to talk about his love of animation and the endless possibilities for enriching and entertaining filmmaking contained in it.
For information and updates go to: animationisfilm.com
Dates: The festival will be the weekend of Friday, October 20 through Sunday, October 22, 2017.
Location: Films will be screened at 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatre Multiplex on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Click here to meet the filmmakers of Animation is Film
This stirring biopic follows the life of the artist Touko Laaksonen (Pekka Strang), known to the world as Tom of Finland, whose proudly erotic drawings shaped the fantasies of a generation of gay men, influencing art and fashion before crossing over into the wider cultural consciousness. But who was the man behind the leather? After serving in the army in WWII, Touko returned to repressive Finnish society of the 1950s, haunted by traumatic experiences. Moving in with his affectionate but unenlightened sister Kaija (Jessica Grabowsky), he fell in love with her lodger, handsome dancer Veli (Lauri Tiklanen), who Kaija also fancied. Unable to express his feelings openly, Touko poured them into his drawings, creating his vision of the hypermasculine leatherman. Soon his art was famous under his secret pseudonym, but getting it published was a struggle that took Touko to California, where he and his art were finally embraced amid the sexual revolution of the 1970s. Tom’s story is one of love, courage and perseverance, mirroring the gay liberation movement for which his leather-clad studs served as a defiant emblem. Finland’s Official Selection for Best Foreign Language Film consideration at the 90th Academy Awards. Actor Pekka Strang joins us for a conversation on his nuanced and winning portrayal of an iconic artist and unexpected champion of equal rights for the LGBTQ community.
For news and updates go to kinolorber.com/film/Tom of Finland
facebook.com/tomoffinlandmovie
THE DEPARTURE, Lana Wilson’s (After Tiller) poetic and deeply moving look at a former punk-turned-Buddhist priest in Japan who has made a career out of helping suicidal people find reasons to live. One of the discoveries of the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and featured at some of the world’s top documentary festivals, THE DEPARTURE follows a 44-year-old Tokyo native, Ittetsu Nemoto loves riding his motorcycle and dancing all night in clubs. But he’s also a Rinzai Zen priest, who lives with his wife, mother and baby son at a temple in the remote countryside of Gifu prefecture, Japan. There, over the last ten years, he has become famous for his work in combating suicide. But this work has come increasingly at the cost of his own family and health, as he refuses to draw lines between the people he counsels and himself. With astonishing access and artistry, Wilson’s camera captures Nemoto at a crossroads, when his growing self-destructive tendencies lead him to confront the same question his patients ask him: what makes life worth living? Director Lana Wilson (After Tiller) joins us for a conversation about death, love, priorities and family.
For news and updates go to: thedeparturefilm.com
In their new documentary ONE OF US, acclaimed observational filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (JESUS CAMP, DETROPIA) take a deep and moving look at the lives of three individuals who have chosen to leave the hugely insular world of Hasidic Judaism. The film follows Etty, a mother of seven, as she decides to leave a violent marriage and divorce her husband; Ari, a teenager on the verge of manhood who is struggling with addiction and the effects of childhood abuse; and Luzer, an actor who, despite having found success in the secular world, still wrestles with his decision eight years earlier to leave the Hasidic community. Produced over three years, ONE OF US offers unique and intimate access to the lives of all three as they deal not only with questions of their beliefs but also with the consequences of leaving the only community they have ever known. With their trademark sensitivity and keen interest in the nature of faith, Ewing and Grady chronicle these journeys towards personal freedom that comes at a very high cost. Co-directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady join us for a conversation on their emotionally wrenching look into a world of dogmatism, ostracism and community.
Directors’ Statement - We have always been drawn to stories that put the nature/nurture debate into stark relief. Are some of us just born with an unshakable need to question the status quo, despite the consequences? The three main subjects of One of Us are jumping head first into the unknown. Their rocky journey from insular Hasidic Brooklyn out into the secular world – with its emphasis on radical individualism – is fraught with both doubt and exhilaration. These three brave people are bucking the exacting rules of their ultra-orthodox community to experience the world for the first time as true individuals. Their journey is a profoundly human one that took us by surprise. One of Us is the most thought-provoking film we’ve ever made. We are excited to hear audiences weigh in on the vexing question of what price we’re all willing to pay to forge our own identity.
One of Us is available on Netflix To find out more about the films of Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing go to: lokifilms.com
facebook.com/One-of-Us-Film
DINA, an outspoken and eccentric 49-year-old in suburban Philadelphia, invites her fiancé Scott, a Walmart door greeter, to move in with her. Having grown up neurologically diverse in a world blind to the value of their experience, the two are head-over-heels for one another, but shacking up poses a new challenge. Getting married in a few weeks and there's still so much to do. She has to move her boyfriend, Scott, from his parents' house to her apartment, and settle him in to only the second home he's ever had, all while juggling his schedule as an early morning Walmart door greeter. She has to get her dress, confirm arrangements with the venue, and make peace with her family, who remain nervous for their beloved DINA, after the death of her first husband and the string of troubled relationships that followed. Throughout it all, in the face of obstacles large and small, DINA, remains indomitable. She's overcome tragedy and found the man she wants and is bent on building the life for herself that she believes she deserves. DINA captures the cadences and candid conversations of a relationship that reexamines the notion of love on-screen. DINA is unstoppable, a force of nature, and as the star of her own life story, she's an unconventional movie protagonist the likes of which hasn't been seen before. Co-directors Antonio Santini and Dan Sickle join us to talk about their empathetic, moving and enveloping documentary.
For news and updates go to: dina.film
facebook.com/TheDinaMovie
UNA, based on David Harrower's play 'Blackbird' follows a young woman’s journey to reclaim her past. Fifteen years earlier, UNA ran away with an older man, Ray, a crime for which he was arrested and imprisoned. When she comes across a photo of him in a trade magazine, UNA tracks him down and turns up at his workplace. Her abrupt arrival threatens to destroy Ray’s new life and derail her stability. Unspoken secrets and buried memories surface as Una and Ray sift through the wreckage of the past. Their confrontation raises unanswered questions and unresolved longings. It will shake them both to the core. UNA gazes into the heart of a devastating form of love and asks if redemption is possible. Bolstered by the remarkable performances of Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelson, UNA rips at the fragile facade of two irreparably damaged people forced to reconcile entangled their past. Director Benedict Andrews talks about the making of his complex, intimate and relentlessly raw tale of abuse, and unresolved emotion.
For news and updates go to: westendfilms.com/una
Jennifer Brea is a Harvard PhD student soon to be engaged to the love of her life when she’s struck down by a mysterious fever that leaves her bedridden. She becomes progressively more ill, eventually losing the ability even to sit in a wheelchair, but doctors tell her it’s "all in her head." Unable to convey the seriousness and depth of her symptoms to her doctor, Jennifer begins a video diary on her iPhone that eventually becomes the feature documentary film Unrest. Once Jennifer is diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), commonly called chronic fatigue syndrome, she and her new husband, Omar, are left to grapple with how to live in the face of a lifelong illness. Refusing to accept the limitations of bedbound life, Jennifer goes on an inspiring virtual voyage around the world where she finds a hidden community of millions confined to their homes and bedrooms by ME. These patients use the internet, Skype and Facebook to connect to each other — and to offer support and understanding. Many ME patients have experienced uncertainty, confusion and even disbelief from the medical community and society as a whole. After all, it’s easy to ignore a disease when patients are too sick to leave their homes. In Unrest, Jennifer shares her pain and the most intimate moments of her life in order to offer hope and visibility to those who suffer alone in dark, silent rooms. Though Jennifer and Omar may have to accept that they will never live the life they originally dreamed about, together they find resilience, strength, and meaning in their community and each other. Director, subject and activist Jennifer Brea joins us to talk about her journey, illness and her determination to make things better for people living with ME.
For news and updates go to: unrest.film
Help raise awareness and take action, go to: unrest.film/time-for-unrest
Blood Stripe: A scarlet stripe that runs down the dress trousers worn by officers of the United States Marine Corps
Our Sergeant returns home after a third tour with the Marines. Unable to sleep, wracked by paranoia and anxiety, it is clear that in addition to the scars she bears on her body, Our Sergeant carries unseen wounds. When a boisterous homecoming party provokes an explosive outburst, Our Sergeant has nowhere to turn, and so she runs... deep into the North Woods. Discovering a picturesque summer camp on a lake, Our Sergeant seeks refuge and at first, finds solace. But she cannot outrun her own heart of darkness and the pristine wilderness becomes fraught with peril. Actor (Weeds, Veep) and director and writer Remy Auberjonois joins us for a conversation on his compelling and complex portrait of a returning soldier (Kate Nowlin) on the brink.
For news and updates go to: bloodstripefilm.com
The Blood Stripe opens at the Laemmle Music Hall Friday, October 13
The 1990's were the "Golden Age" of the Orange County California music scene. Bands like The Offspring, No Doubt, Sugar Ray and Social Distortion where blowing up the mainstream and selling millions of records around the world. Meanwhile, the undisputed kings of the O.C. scene, The Cadillac Tramps, were falling apart. Infighting, addiction, frustration and dysfunction would tear the band apart at the peak of their success, but their bond would prove too strong to remain broken for long. THE CADILLAC TRAMPS: LIFE ON THE EDGE is a humble, honest and entertaining look at five young men who found each other in sobriety, created a lasting musical legacy that influenced indie rock’s biggest bands, and overcame the past to support lead singer Michael "Gabby" Gaborno as he fights for his life from the ravages of Hep-C. First time filmmaker, Jamie Sims Coakley, expertly mixes a colorful combination of archival footage, insightful artist interviews and intimate vérité footage together into an arresting, heartwarming and cautionary tale of brotherhood, reflection and the power of music to heal and unite us. Director Jamie Sims Coakley joins us to talk about the music, the what ifs, and the bond that has been their musical journey.
For news and updates go to: cadillactrampsdocumentary.com
When Chinese filmmaker Nanfu Wang (Hooligan Sparrow) first came to America, Florida seemed like an exotic frontier full of theme parks, prehistoric swamp creatures, and sunburned denizens. As she travels wide-eyed from one city to another, she eventually encounters a charismatic young drifter named Dylan. Fascinated by his rejection of society's rules and unsure of his past, Nanfu follows Dylan with her camera on a journey that spans years, takes her across America, and explores the meaning of freedom. But as Nanfu delves deeper into Dylan’s world, she discovers something that calls her entire worldview into question. Director, Producer, Cinematographer & Editor Nanfu Wang is an award-winning filmmaker based in New York City. Her feature debut Hooligan Sparrow was shortlisted for the 2017 Academy Award for best documentary feature. Since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2016, Hooligan Sparrow has screened at more than 100 festivals in over 25 countries including Hot Docs, Sheffield, Full Frame, and Human Rights Watch Film Fest. It opened theatrically across North America and was later released on POV, Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes. It has won over twenty awards internationally including a Cinema Eye Honor for the Best Debut Film, the George Polk Award for the journalistic achievement, and the Truer than Fiction Award at the Independent Spirit Awards. Wang was honored by the International Documentary Association with the 2016 Emerging Filmmaker Award. Director Nanfu Wang joins us to talk about Dylan, freedom, travel and her own experience on the streets.
For news and updates go to: iamanotheryoufilm.com
facebook.com/iamanotheryoufilm
Who is the man behind the most highly controversial, intensely debated topics in modern medicine? In THE PATHOLOGICAL OPTIMIST, director Miranda Bailey brings us a character study of Dr. Andrew Wakefield, one of 13 co-authors of a notorious 1998 paper in the UK medical Journal The Lancet, but who became the very public face of what has come to be known as “The Anti-Vax Movement.” An expat from Britain who currently resides in Austin, Texas, Wakefield allowed Bailey and her team to follow him and his family for five years beginning in 2011 as he fought a defamation battle in the courts against the British Medical Journal and journalist Brian Deer. The results of that case – and the self-reflection, pronouncements, and observations of Wakefield, his legal team, wife, and his children – create a complex and incisive look at one of our era’s most fear-provoking and continuously provocative figures. THE PATHOLOGICAL OPTIMIST takes no sides, instead letting Wakefield and the battles he fought speak for themselves. Director Miranda Bailey joins us to talk about her riveting portrait of a man driven to prove his detractors wrong.
Director’s statement: “I gravitate towards provocative and discussion-making material for most of my films. When I began this journey in 2010, Andrew Wakefield was much less known in the United States than he is now. But those who did know him seemed to have very strong feelings either for or against him. I was curious as to who he was and how he could stand up to such rejection from his peers and such scrutiny in the media regarding his part in the MMR Scandal. As the style of my film evolved, I decided it was not my place to defend Andrew Wakefield, nor was it to condemn him. My interest lies in observance. I asked questions and observed. It is up to the audience to decide what they see. ”
For news and updates got to: The Pathological Optimistfilm.com
facebook.com/ThePathologicalOptimist
After a decade of stardom in Israel, American dancer Bobbi Jene decides to leave behind her prominent position at the world-famous Batsheva Dance Company, as well as the love of her life, to return to the U.S. to create her own boundary breaking art. Tracking the personal and professional challenges that await her, Elvira Lind’s film lovingly and intimately documents the dilemmas and inevitable consequences of ambition. BOBBI JENE delves into what it takes for a woman to gain her own independence in the extremely competitive world of dance and to find self-fulfillment in the process.
Bobbi Jene: Born in Centerville, Iowa. From 2005-2014 she was a member of the Batsheva Dance Company under the artistic direction of Ohad Naharin. She is an alumnus of the Juilliard School, North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Her choreography and solo work has been presented by The Batsheva Dance Company, PS122 COIL Festival, The Israel Museum, and the Luminato Festival. Bobbi is a certified GAGA teacher and has taught Ohad Naharin's repertory in schools and universities around the world.
Director Elvira Lind: Elvira Lind graduated from City Varsity - School of Media and Creative Arts in Cape Town, South Africa in 2006 majoring in documentary film. She has worked within that field since directing and shooting documentaries of various lengths for TV, cinema, and web on four different continents. Elvira now lives and works out of New York, where she also writes on various fiction projects. Elvira's first feature documentary Songs for Alexis competed at IDFA in 2014 and screened at a long list of international festivals. Director Elvira Lind stops by to talk about an amazing artist, pushing against artistic boundaries and love.
For news and updates go to: bobbijene.oscilloscope.net
facebook.com/bobbijene
Nero (Johnny Ortiz) is sent back to Mexico after failing to cross the Tijuana border. Under cover of Fourth of July fireworks, Nero makes his second attempt across a concrete trench spanning an interstate highway to the promise land. He hitches a ride with Seymour (Michael Harney), a paranoid pistol-toting veteran traveling with his daughter. Soon after, Nero runs away at a gas station when the local police question Seymour. Nero makes his way through East Los Angeles, looking for his brother, Jesus (Ian Casselberry), and lands in the plush suburbs of Beverly Hills. Jesus pretends to be a car mechanic living in a gauche Beverly Hills mansion to impress his younger brother, but the ruse won’t last forever. The young Maldonado is now half way around the world fighting for the United States Army to obtain his citizenship. Nero is manning an outpost in the middle of nowhere with his fellow soldiers and commanding officer (Rory Cochrane). The group fights back a hostile ambush after gunning down a car that failed to acknowledge the checkpoint. Nero must survive the unforgiving Middle East desert, and face the harsh reality of being a green card soldier for the United States Army. Rafi Pitts’ films have attained acclaim and awards around the globe. Pitts’ first feature, The Fifth Season (1997), premiered in the Venice Film Festival. His second, Sanam (2000) was hailed by French critics and compared to The 400 Blows (1959). In 2003, Pitts presented his controversial feature documentary, Cinéma, de notre temps: Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty (2003) in the Official Selection of the Locarno Film Festival. It’s Winter (2006) premiered in the Berlin Competition, and one year later, the Seattle International Film Festival honored Pitts with the Emerging Masters Award for his work. Director Rafi Pitts joins us to talk about his gripping tale of people in search of place, security and a new life.
For news and updates go to: soynero.com
Marrying stunning visuals with social advocacy, Rahul Jain’s debut documentary — winner of the Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival — takes audiences into the labyrinthine passages of an enormous textile factory in Gujarat, India. Jain’s camera wanders freely between pulsating machines and bubbling vats of dye to create a moving portrait of the human laborers who toil away there for 12 hours a day to eke out a meager living for their families back home. Interviews with these workers and the factory owners who employ them reveal the stark inequality and dangerous working conditions brought about by unregulated industrialization in the region. This political message is delivered amidst the unsettling beauty of the factory’s mechanical underworld and the colorful, billowing fabrics it produces. Director Rahul Jain joins us to talk about the making of his stark, mesmerizing, and unsettling film and the penetrating sense of complicity we all should feel for the men and the inhumane work conditions they find themselves in.
For news and updates go to: Machines
facebook.com/machinesmovie
MOTHERLAND takes us into the heart of the planet’s busiest maternity hospital in one of the world’s poorest and most populous countries: the Philippines. The film’s viewer, like an unseen outsider dropped unobtrusively into the hospital’s stream of activity, passes through hallways, enters rooms and listens in on conversations. At first, the surrounding people are strangers, but as the film continues, it's absorbingly intimate, rendering the women at the heart of the story increasingly familiar. In a hospital that is literally bursting with life, we witness the miracle and wonder of the human condition. Diaz, a veteran documentarian began filming in the search of a story on reproductive justice, visited the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Manila, Philippines. As the busiest maternity ward in the world, it averages 60 births a day—and at its peak, as many as 100 babies within a 24-hour period. Fabella Hospital is the final safety net for very poor pregnant women, most of whom cannot afford either contraception or the $60 delivery fee. Immersing the viewer with a fly on the wall cinema verité approach,” MOTHERLAND - winner of World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Commanding Vision at Sundance will open on September 22 in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Monica Film Center. Director Ramona Diaz stops by to talk about her immersive intimate film that finds intimacy and caring in the midst of controlled bedlam.
For news and updates go to: motherland-film.com
Winner of 16 festival awards - from Audience Choice to Best Feature/Actress/Music and Screenplay - YEAR BY THE SEA chronicles empty-nester Joan Anderson’s (Karen Allen) decision not to follow her relocated husband to Kansas. Instead, she retreats to Cape Cod to rediscover herself and redefine her life. Plagued with guilt, she questions her decision until stumbling upon a spirited mentor, Joan Erikson (Celia Imrie) - author and wife of famed psychologist Erik Erikson (Alvin Epstein), who coined the term “identity crisis.” With a support group that includes her literary agent and a host of locals, Joan learns to embrace the ebb and flow of life - ultimately discovering the balance between self and sacrifice, obligation and desire. YEAR BY THE SEA, based on the New York Times and international best-selling memoir by Joan Anderson and starring highly acclaimed screen and stage actress Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Animal House). Written, directed and composed by Alexander Janko, YEAR BY THE SEA will open at Lincoln Plaza and Landmark Sunshine in New York on September 8 and at Laemmle Royal, Town Center and Playhouse 7 in Los Angeles on September 15. Director Janko joins to talk his life-affirming tale of friendship, love and pushing against expectations.
For news and updates go to: YearByTheSea.com
This observational documentary follows a year in the lives of two inspirational teachers at Headfort, the only primary-age boarding school in Ireland. Housed in an 18th century estate, school life embraces tradition and modernity. For John, rock music is just another subject alongside Maths, Scripture and Latin, taught in a collaborative and often hilarious fashion. For his wife Amanda, the key to connecting with children is the book, and she uses all means to snare the young minds. For nearly half a century these two have shaped thousands of minds, but now the unthinkable looms: what would retirement mean? What will keep them young if they leave? Co-directors David Rane and Neasa Ni Chiandain stop by to talk about gaining the trust of a remarkably dedicated couple who have given their lives to the students and a way of life at Headfort and the joy of documenting an academic culture that celebrates and elevates young minds.
For news and updates go to: schoollifefilm.com
Strong Island chronicles the arc of a family across history, geography and tragedy - from the racial segregation of the Jim Crow South to the promise of New York City; from the presumed safety of middle class suburbs, to the maelstrom of an unexpected, violent death. It is the story of the Ford family: Barbara Dunmore, William Ford and their three children and how their lives were shaped by the enduring shadow of race in America. In April 1992, on Long Island NY, William Jr., the Ford’s eldest child, a black 24 year-old teacher, was killed by Mark Reilly, a white 19 year-old mechanic. Although Ford was unarmed, he became the prime suspect in his own murder. A deeply intimate and meditative film, Strong Island asks what one can do when the grief of loss is entwined with historical injustice, and how one grapples with the complicity of silence, which can bind a family in an imitation of life, and a nation with a false sense of justice. Director Yance Ford, who is transgender, is a recipient of the Creative Capital Award, a MacDowell Colony Fellowship, a Sundance Documentary Film Program Fellowship, and was among Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2011. For ten years Ford was privileged to work as Series Producer for the PBS showcase POV and where his curatorial work helped garner more than 16 Emmy nominations. Ford is also an architectural welder, and while at Modern Art Foundry he helped assemble the sculpture "Maman" by Louise Bourgeois—the series of three spiders exhibited at Rockefeller Center, and now on permanent display at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Director Yance Ford joins us for a conversation on grief, justice, racism, expectations, and the profound impact this 25-year long saga has had on his family.
For news and updates go to: strongislandfilm.com
Opening Friday, September 15
IFC CENTER, NEW YORK
IFC Center + Q&A with director Yance Ford - Friday 7:05 PM
LAEMMLE MONICA FILM CENTER, SANTA MONICA
Laemmle Monica Film Center, Santa Monica | California
Filmmakers Shaul Schwarz’s and Christina Clusiau’s bracingly balanced new documentary TROPHY explores the complex heart of contemporary issues of animal conservation and commodification at a time when endangered African species such as elephants, rhinos and lions march ever closer to extinction. This provocative follow-up to Schwarz’s acclaimed Narco Cultura journeys viewers across lush African forests and vast plains and into the world’s largest hunters’ convention in Las Vegas to meet breeders and hunters who passionately believe in animal conservation. A common mantra of these businesses – “if it pays, it stays” – sums up the controversial notion that if you assign monetary value to an animal, it is worth protecting. TROPHY follows Philip Glass, a Texas-based sheep breeder and life-long hunter who is on a quest to collect the “Big Five” (elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, and rhino). Philip is deeply connected to the land and animals, Chris Moore, a Zimbabwean wildlife officer whose anti-poaching campaign is partially subsidized by big-game hunters like Philip. Chris works with government authorities and communities to keep people safe from wild animals. He also protects those animals from ruthless poachers. The great irony of Chris’s work is that he goes to “extreme lengths” to protect endangered animals, only to have them killed by trophy hunters. Co-director Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz joins us for a frank conversation on the fate of these magnificent creatures and who or what will determine their uncertain future.
For news and update go to: trophy.film
100% on Rotten Tomatoes
Dolores Huerta is among the most important, yet least known, activists in American history. An equal partner in co-founding the first farm workers unions with Cesar Chavez, her enormous contributions have gone largely unrecognized. Dolores tirelessly led the fight for racial and labor justice alongside Chavez, becoming one of the most defiant feminists of the twentieth century—and she continues the fight to this day, at 87. With intimate and unprecedented access to this intensely private mother to eleven, the film reveals the raw, personal stakes involved in committing one’s life to social change. DOLORES is directed by Peter Bratt (LA MISSION) and Executive Produced by humanitarian and Grammy Award-winning musician Carlos Santana. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this year and continues to be a favorite on the festival circuit, garnering Audience Awards at the San Francisco International Film Festival, Montclair Film Festival, Houston Latino Film Festival and the Denver Women + Film Festival, as well as receiving the Golden Space Needle Best Documentary Award from the Seattle International Film Festival. Director Peter Bratt joins us for an engaging and lively conversation about a visionary leader who refuses to give into to pessimism and inaction.
For news and updates go to: doloresthemovie.com
Twitter #DOLORESHUERTA
RUMBLE: THE INDIANS WHO ROCKED THE WORLD, reveals the rousing history of American Indians in popular music, kicks off with Link Wray (Shawnee) whose raw, distorted electric guitar riff from the 1958 instrumental “Rumble” was a major influence on rock legends Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page, and Iggy Pop. RUMBLE powers through the music and life stories of artists whose Indian heritage has long been unsung: Delta blues master Charley Patton (Choctaw), “queen of swing” Mildred Bailey (Coeur D’Alene), The Band’s Robbie Robertson (Mohawk), Jimi Hendrix (Cherokee), folk icon Buffy Sainte-Marie (Cree), “guitarist to the greats” Jesse Ed Davis (Kiowa/Comanche), and others. RUMBLE collages historical footage and electrifying performances with commentary by surviving musicians. Music historians, family members and assorted luminaries (including Martin Scorsese, Quincy Jones, George Clinton, Dan Auerbach, Taj Mahal, Steven Van Zandt, Slash, Steven Tyler, Tony Bennett, and Rolling Stone’s David Fricke) weigh in on how Native American musicians shaped the sounds of our lives. The film won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Masterful Storytelling at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. RUMBLE originated with guitarist/executive producer Stevie Salas (Apache), who realized that the public was unaware of the profound contribution of Native Americans to pop music. Salas joins us for a lively conversation on the profound impact Native American’s have had on our collective history, culture and music.
For news and updates go to: rumblethemovie.com
In Justin Chon’s feature film GOOK is a dramedy about Eli and Daniel, two Korean American brothers, who own a struggling shoe store and their unique and unlikely friendship with Kamilla, an 11-year old African American girl. The film opens with Eli scoring a stash of fresh sneakers as his golden ticket to get out of debt and fix his biggest problem: keeping his dad’s shoe store open. Against her brother Keith’s warnings, Kamilla ditches school again to help out at the shoe store, her mother’s former workplace. Everything is going as planned until Kamilla accidentally reveals a gifted pair of expensive sneakers to Keith. Keith realizes Kamilla has been going to the shoe store. Out of anger towards Eli and Daniel he uses this opportunity as revenge and plans to steal all the shoes. Eli must make the ultimate decision for the future of the store and the people he loves. With the chaos of the LA Riots moving towards them, the trio are forced to defend their store against Keith while contemplating the future of their own personal dreams and the true meaning of family. Director, Writer and Executive Producer Justin Chon joins us for a conversation on his powerful, soul searching film about race, friendship, and family.
For news and updates go to: samuelgoldwynfilms.com/gook
In Klaus Härö’s beautifully rendered tale a young man, Endel Nelis, arrives in Haapsalu, Estonia, in the early 1950s. Having left Leningrad to escape the secret police, he finds work as a teacher and founds a sports club for his students. Endel becomes a father figure to his students and starts teaching them his great passion – fencing, which causes a conflict with the school’s principal. Envious, the principal starts investigating Endel’s background… Endel learns to love the children and looks after them; most are orphans as a result of the Russian occupation. Fencing becomes a form of self-expression for the children and Endel becomes a role model. The children want to participate in a national fencing tournament in Leningrad, and Endel must make a choice: risk everything to take the children to Leningrad or put his safety first and disappoint them. Director Klaus Härö (The New Man, Mother of Mine, Elina - As If I Wasn’t There) joins us to talk about his heart-wrenching, superbly crafted true story about character and resistance in a time of political repression.
For news and updates go to: thefencermovie.com
For over a thousand years, Tibetan Buddhist psychology has taught techniques for overcoming negative, afflictive emotions, such as anger, greed, jealousy, sloth and ignorance. In the film THE LAST DALAI LAMA?, His Holiness explains that Tibetan Buddhism is both a religion and a “science of the mind”; he also shares his crystallized understanding of the nature of mind, and its part in the creation and alleviation of all of our suffering. Believing that this precious wisdom belongs to the world, twenty years ago The Dalai Lama challenged a select group of world-renowned Neuroscientists and Mind/Brain researchers to look into the workings of the mind, and to prove scientifically that “Tibetan Buddhist technologies” for overcoming afflictive emotions are skills that can be learned by anyone. The Dalai Lama commissioned Dr. Paul Ekman and his daughter Dr. Eve Ekman to come up with an “Atlas of Emotions” as a way of understanding the effects of emotions on having a tranquil mind. Being able to recognize the patterns, triggers and responses to emotions is the first step in dealing with them. In a moving sequence with a high school class in British Columbia, His Holiness The Dalai Lama is able to share his passion for the subject. His urgency and dedication come through in THE LAST DALAI LAMA? as he now turns 82, and must deal with the questions of aging and death, and whether he will reincarnate as The Dalai Lama, or if he will be the last of the lineage that has existed for a millennia. Director Mickey Lemle joins us to talk about his three decade friendship with His Holiness and the profound impact he has had on politics, culture and a deeper understanding of our shared human nature.
For news and updates go to: thelastdalailamafilm.com/
In the truly audacious documentary ICARUS, director Bryan Fogel's bold gambit was this: to investigate doping in sports, Fogel (an amateur bike racer) would dope himself, observe the changes in his performance, and see if he could evade detection. In doing so, he was connected to a renegade Russian scientist, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, a pillar of his country's "anti-doping" program. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and badly administered hormone injections, Fogel and Rodchenkov grow closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia's state-sponsored Olympic doping program. When the truth is more complex than imagined, and accusations of illegalities run to Russia's highest chains of command, the two realize they hold the power to reveal the biggest international sports scandal in living memory. Exemplifying the special bond between filmmaker and subject, this is a vital portrait of the sacrifice some people will make to stand up for truth. ICARUS places you at the heart of an international game of cat and mouse, where a miscalculation can cost you your life. Director Bryan Fogel joins us to talk about his unbelievably prescient film.
Icarus opens on August 4 at the Laemmle Monica Film Center
Watch Icarus on netflix.com
SWIM TEAM is a feature documentary chronicling the rise of a competitive swim team made up of diverse teens on the autism spectrum. Based in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the cast of SWIM TEAM is largely Latino and Asian, minorities that are underrepresented in competitive swimming and underserved in autism intervention and education. SWIM TEAM follows three of the team’s star athletes, boys on the cusp of adulthood as they face a future of exclusion and dependence. But everything changes when they come together as a team with parent coaches who train them with high expectations and zero pity. As the team vies for state and national Special Olympics championships, SWIM TEAM captures a moving quest for inclusion, independence and a life that feels winning. Director Lara Stolman joins us for to talk about the struggles and triumphs of Mikey, Kelvin and Robbie and the people who love them.
For news and updates go to: swimteamthefilm.com
Coral reefs are the nursery for all life in the oceans, a remarkable ecosystem that sustains us. Yet with carbon emissions warming the seas, a phenomenon called “coral bleaching”—a sign of mass coral death—has been accelerating around the world, and the public has no idea of the scale or implication of the catastrophe silently raging underwater. Chasing Coral taps into the collective will and wisdom of an ad man, a self-proclaimed coral nerd, top-notch camera designers, and renowned marine biologists as they invent the first time-lapse camera to record bleaching events as they happen. Unfortunately, the effort is anything but simple, and the team doggedly battles technical malfunctions and the force of nature in pursuit of their golden fleece: documenting the indisputable and tragic transformation below the waves. With its breathtaking photography, nail-biting suspense, and startling emotion, Chasing Coral is a dramatic revelation that won’t have audiences sitting idle for long. Director Jeff Orlowski (Chasing Ice) joins us for a lively and hopeful discussion on what is happening to mother ocean and how we can avoid the catastrophic consequences of a world without coral reefs.
For news and updates go to: chasingcoral.com
Executive Producer Morgan Spurlock presents director Amanda Micheli's provocative documentary follows several aspiring parents who desperately want to have a baby but are struggling with infertility and the high cost of treatments. They place themselves in the hands of a Las Vegas doctor and his annual contest, which offers a prize of a free round of in-vitro fertilization—with no guarantee of success. Contestants post their video entries on YouTube, counting on the votes of strangers to make their dreams of parenthood come true. Despite the fact that 1 in 6 couples worldwide are unable to naturally conceive and carry a baby to term, for fear of judgment or heartache or both, infertility stories are largely kept secret. While exposing private pain online to win a contest is a brutal proposition, IVF is rarely covered by insurance in the U.S., so many infertile couples consider this a gamble worth taking. Through this controversial contest, VEGAS BABY navigates the complexities of America's burgeoning fertility industry and unveils the class disparity within a topic that is often clouded by judgment and stereotypes.Oscar-nominated Director Amanda Micheli joins us to talk about the universal themes of desire and loss through her intimate portrait of the diverse individuals – from a devoutly Catholic Latino couple in Texas to a lesbian Lady Gaga Impersonator in New York – determined to have a baby against all odds.
For news and updates go to: Vegas Baby
BIRTHRIGHT: A WAR STORY is a feature length documentary that examines how women are being jailed, physically violated and even put at risk of dying as a radical movement tightens its grip across America. The film tells the story of women who have become collateral damage in the aggressive campaign to take control of reproductive health care and to allow states, courts and religious doctrine to govern whether, when and how women will bear children. The documentary explores the accelerating gains of the crusade to control pregnant women and the fallout that is creating a public health crisis, turning pregnant women into criminals and challenging the constitutional protections of every woman in America. This is the real-life “Handmaid’s Tale.” Director Civia Tamarkin and Producer Luchina Fisher talk about an insidious, pernicious campaign to undermine and ultimately deny women’s control over their own body.
For news and updates go to: birthrightfilm.com
MAN IN THE CAMO JACKET is the story of iconic musician Mike Peters of the Welsh rock band The Alarm. The film traces his rise to fame, battles with cancer, and inspiring climb back as he enlists some of the world's top musicians to help save the lives of cancer patients around the globe. Ultimately though, the life he saves may be his own. Filmed over the course of eight years, the film documents Mike's journeys to the summits of the world's tallest mountains and to the depths of his regular chemotherapy treatments and features one-of-a-kind performances from legendary rock musicians. MAN IN THE CAMO JACKET won Best Music Documentary at the 2017 Arizona International Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best Music at the 2017 Newport Beach Film Festival. Mike Peters was honored with the Humanitarian Award at the 2017 American Documentary Film Festival. MAN IN THE CAMO JACKET features Mike Peters of The Alarm, Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, Billy Bragg, Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Richard Blade, Martha Quinn. Director Russ Kendall joins us to talk about his rousing, life-affirming new film.
For news and updates go to: maninthecamojacket.com
After five years of war in Syria, the remaining citizens of Aleppo are getting ready for a siege. We follow the volunteers from The White Helmets as they experience the daily life of death and struggle in the streets of the city. They fight for sanity in a place where war has become the norm. Khaled, Subhi and Mahmoud are among the first to enter the destroyed buildings, scouring through the rubble in search of bodies and signs of life. They now live more or less under siege and constant bombings, together with the remaining 350.000 civilians in Aleppo. They all struggle with the same dilemma: Should they flee and bring their families to safety, or should they stay and fight for their city? Director Feras Fayyad talks about the fearless actions of the The White Helmets and his gripping, harrowing and sobering documentary.
Filmed in Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon's signature whimsical style, LOST IN PARIS stars the filmmakers as a small-town Canadian librarian and a strangely seductive, oddly egotistical vagabond. When Fiona's (Gordon) orderly life is disrupted by a letter of distress from her 88-year-old Aunt Martha (delightfully portrayed by Oscar nominee Emmanuelle Riva) who is living in Paris, Fiona hops on the first plane she can and arrives only to discover that Martha has disappeared. In an avalanche of spectacular disasters, she encounters Dom (Abel), the affable, but annoying tramp who just won't leave her alone. Replete with the amazing antics and intricately choreographed slapstick that has come to define Abel and Gordon's work, LOST IN PARIS is a wondrously fun and hectic tale of peculiar people finding love while lost in the City of Lights. Co-directors Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon join us to talk about their warmhearted, funny and embracing ode to love.
For news and updates go to: lostinparis.oscilloscope.net
Amidst a brutally polarized debate marked by passion, suspicion and confusion, FOOD EVOLUTION, by Academy Award®-nominated director Scott Hamilton Kennedy (The Garden, Fame High, OT: Our Town), explores the controversy surrounding GMOs and food. Traveling from Hawaiian papaya groves, to banana farms in Uganda to the cornfields of Iowa, the film, narrated by esteemed science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson, wrestles with the emotions and the science driving one of the most heated arguments of our time. In the GMO debate, both pro and anti camps claim science is on their side. Who’s right? FOOD EVOLUTION shows how easily misinformation, confusion and fear can overwhelm objective analysis. How do we ensure that our food supply is safe, and that everyone has enough to eat? How do we feed the world while also protecting the planet? Has genetic engineering increased or decreased pesticide use? Are GMO foods bad for your health? And, most importantly, what data, evidence and sources are we using to approach these important questions? Enlisting experts such as Mark Lynas, Michael Pollan, Alison Van Eenennaam, Jeffrey Smith, Andrew Kimbrell, Vandana Shiva, Robert Fraley, Marion Nestle and Bill Nye, as well as farmers and scientists from around the world, this bold and necessary documentary separates the hype and emotion from the science and data to unravel the debate around food, and help audiences reach their own conclusions. In a debate in which all sides claim to be on the side of science, FOOD EVOLUTION brings a fresh perspective to one of the most critical issues facing global society today. Director Scott Hamilton Kennedy joins us for a conversation on the science of genetically modified organism and the impassioned arguments surrounding them.
For news and updates go to: Food Evolution
Nowhere to Hide follows male nurse Nori Sharif through five years of dramatic change, providing unique access into one of the world’s most dangerous and inaccessible areas – the “triangle of death” in central Iraq. Initially filming stories of survivors and the hope of a better future as American and Coalition troops retreat from Iraq in 2011, conflicts continue with Iraqi militias, and the population flees accompanied by most of the hospital staff. Nori is one of the few who remain. When ISIS advances on Jalawla in 2014 and takes over the city, he too must flee with his family at a moment’s notice, and turns the camera on himself. The film stretches over a period of five years, beginning with the hope of a better future, to witnessing the growth of ISIS (the Islamic State), and eventually the fall of Nori’s home town. As Nori keeps filming throughout this period of time, he begins to turn the camera on himself. Nori’s narrative represents persistence, hope and faith. But, in this new reality of being squeezed between two giant forces – ISIS on one side and the Iraqi militias on the other, is it possible to remain impartial and keep his family intact? Will he and his family survive, and be able to rebuild the country and the oasis that lies hidden behind the smoke and rubble? Director Zaradasht Ahmed talks with us about the utter devastation and fading hope of normality that now pervades his beloved country.
For news and updates go to Nowhere to Hide
SAMI BLOOD is the debut feature from writer/director Amanda Kernell, who based their beautifully rendered film from her own grandmother's life. Set in 1930s Sweden during the pre-Nazi Eugenics movement, SAMI BLOOD follows Elle, a young indigenous Lapland girl made to feel like an inferior species when she’s subjected to indoctrination and race biology in a Swedish boarding school. Elle escapes, and in doing so is estranged from her sister, her family and her culture. SAMI BLOOD is a unique and intimate perspective on the history of the Sami people, and tells a story of oppression that resonates across borders and generations. The film features a breakthrough performance from its young lead actress Lene Cecilia Sparrok, who has never acted before and is Sami herself. She stars in the film alongside her sister Mia Sparrok. Director and writer Amanda Kernell joins us to talk about her heart wrenching story of a young woman struggling to find a place in an increasingly hostile world.
90% on RottenTomatoes
For news and updates go to: sami-blood.synergetic.tv
facebook.com/sameblod
Los Angeles Screening: Beginning June 30, 2017 at the Laemmle Monica Film Center
Teasing apart the spectacle at the heart of finger-on-the-button global diplomacy, THE REAGAN SHOW follows Ronald Reagan's rivalry with charismatic Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, tracing how the Communicator-in-Chief uses his public relations chops to overcome Soviet mistrust, the objections of a skeptical press corps and the looming threat of WW III. Chock full of wit and political irony, and told solely through 1980s network news and videotapes created by the Reagan administration itself, the film explores Reagan’s made-for-TV approach to politics as he faced down the United States’ greatest rival. Pacho Velez’s & Sierra Pettengill’s timely film explores Ronald Reagan’s media savvy through the use of previously unseenfootage shot by White House staff. Co-director Sierra Pettengill (Pacho Velez) joins us for a conversation on this sweeping behind the scenes look at a pivotal moment in the history of US / Russian relations and the impact of an enveloping new media culture.
For news and updates go to: The Reagan Show
100% on RottenTomatoes
A smiling, effervescent teenager, Dalya is the focus of the new documentary Dalya’s Other Country, which tells the remarkable story of a family displaced by the Syrian conflict and explores a young life caught between highly politicized identities. Dalya comes across as an ordinary Southern California teenager. She takes selfies and goes to prom. She plays sports and hangs out at the mall. She is also the only student at her Catholic high school who wears a hijab. In 2012, Dalya moved to the United States from Aleppo, Syria, as her country disintegrated in the wake of a horrific civil war. Starting in 2013, the film follows Dalya and her mother through what seems at first a typical immigration experience. They adjust to unfamiliar American ways, even as they maintain the cultural and religious traditions that sustain them. However, they grow tense and anxious as the 2016 presidential campaign unfolds and candidate Donald Trump calls for restrictions on Muslim immigrants. Director Julia Meltzer stops by to talk about Dalya’s uniqueness and the commonality of human beings seeking acceptance and a chance to be themselves.
MONDAY, JUNE 26 at 9 PM PBS Television Series POV Kicks-Off 30th Season with Timely Focus on Syrian War and Global Refugee Crisis
Dalya’s Other Country is a co-presentation with the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM)
For news and updates go to: pbs.org/pov/dalyasothercountry
Also go to: dalyasothercountry.com
1965: America is in turmoil. Unprecedented introspection and questioning of societal norms roil the country. Prabhupada, an unassuming 70-year-old Swami from India, arrives in New York City alone and without support or money. He carries only the ancient scriptures he has translated, and the firm faith in his teacher’s request: “offer spiritual wisdom to the people of the world!” Suddenly thrust into the raging counterculture movement, Prabhupada speaks of the world’s real need, which is not necessarily satisfied by political or social revolutions, but by a revolution of consciousness. This divergence from the status quo successfully captures the attention of a generation of youth seeking answers to life’s existential questions. From a tiny storefront on 26th 2nd Avenue, Prabhupada shares with them the idea that the way to find real happiness, love and freedom is to search within and connect to your true self. All this, the Swami says, begins by simply chanting a rhythmic, meditative 16-word mantra – Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. This universal message resonates with more and more people, including musician George Harrison whose hit song ‘My Sweet Lord’, features the Hare Krishna chant. From there, Prabhupada’s movement explodes, and his followers – now known as the Hare Krishnas – become infamous for chanting and dancing in the streets. Co-director Lauren Ross joins us to talk about the remarkable life and time of Swami Prabhupada and his mission to teach happiness.
For news and updates: harekrishnathefilm.com
The documentary Real Boy follows the journey of trans teen Bennett as he navigates adolescence, sobriety, and the physical and emotional ramifications of his changing gender identity. Through the process, his mother Suzy makes her own transformation — traveling a difficult road toward accepting that the daughter she raised as Rachael is now her son Bennett. Filmed over the course of four years, Real Boy is a love story about a mother and son who rediscover connection with each other and find support from their communities, reminding us that families are not only given, but chosen. Produced and directed by Shaleece Haas (The Genius of Marian), Real Boy premieres on Independent Lens Monday, June 19, 2017, 10:00-11:00 PM ET on PBS. In addition to her work as a director/producer, Haas is an instructor of video storytelling at UC Berkeley’s Advanced Media Institute. She is a 2015 Film Independent Documentary Lab Fellow, a 2012 Working Films (Reel Aging) fellow and a member of the Queer Producer’s Collective. Director Shaleece Haas drops by for a conversation on this moving and intimate story of a family in transition.
For news and updates go to: realboymovie.com
Twitter: twitter.com/realboymovie
Facebook: facebook.com/RealBoyMovie
An idealistic recent film school graduate with few local professional options takes a road trip from Ohio to Los Angeles with his anxious best friend, his troubled high school sweetheart, and a hitchhiker hippie, to chase his dream of becoming a filmmaker. Your Own Road is about not letting extenuating circumstances determine your path in life. Brian (ASHTON MOIO) wants to make films but whether it’s his parents’ wishes, his geographical location, or just his self-doubt, the world seems stacked against him. Brian hits the road to break away from what is expected of him and pursue what he truly wants out of life. Along for the ride is his best friend Dan (AMIR MALAKLOU) whose whole life is structure and routine until his abusive ex-girlfriend dumps him and his plans go out the window. Brian also “accidently” invites his next-door-neighbor and hormer crush, Ally (CORTNEY PALM), who abuses prescription drugs to deal with her depression from caring for her grandmother with Alzheimer’s. Along the road they meet vibrant characters none more so than Ariel (KYM JACKSON), an Australian hitchhiker hippie who is not all that she seems, who they pick up in Colorado going in no place in particular. Each one of these characters takes the journey to California for unique reasons but they all find their inner selves traveling through such a diverse and sometimes scary country. Director and writer Brandon Buczek joins us to talk about his debut film world premiere at the 2017 Los Angeles Film Festival.
** Screening at the Los Angeles Film Festival
For news and updates go to: filmindependent.org/la-film-festival
Instagram: @yourownroadfilm
WHAT WE STARTED aims to establish itself as the defining film of the electronic music genre. Through an artfully crafted narrative and stunning visual techniques, the film delves into the highly popular world of electronic dance music, providing backdoor access to a widely misunderstood, self-driven and well-insulated industry on its way to global domination. Presently, the genre is booming at a pinnacle higher than ever before, however most do not realize that electronic dance music began as an underground movement that originated in America. The film sets out to illuminate this rich history: from its underground inception in the late 1980s in America to the musicians and fans of this genre that relentlessly fought for their rights around the world, both in the dance club and on the streets, to find a safe space to express themselves, to the development of this modern, mainstream revolution that has taken the world by storm. Specifically, and with unprecedented access, WHAT WE STARTED follows industry pioneers, like Carl Cox, who are juxtaosed by the journey of a young, superstar of today, Martin Garrix. These dichotomous journeys of past and present are carefully interwoven to illuminate all viewpoints and highlight the momentous and groundbreaking time that electronic dance music is experiencing presently, while also leaving open the question of what will happen next for this incredible genre of music. WHAT WE STARTED Co-directors Bert Marcus and Cyrus Saidi join us to talk about the history of today’s dynamic soundtrack and their film’s world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
For news and updates go to: bertmarcus.com/what-we-started/
** For news and updates go to: filmindependent.org/la-film-festival
In this compelling and compassionate documentary SKID ROW MARATHON we watch as Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, Craig Mitchell hands down sentences to convicted criminals. But at the Midnight Mission on LA’s Skid Row, Judge Mitchell trades his robes for running shoes, leading a long-distance running club that gives its members a sense of purpose and pride. A budding artist, a single mom and a former rock musician are among the members, all of whom are fighting their way out of homelessness, addiction or the prison system. Through the streets of LA and around the world, Judge Mitchell and the Skid Row Running Club truly approach each race and each day one step at a time, as they run their way toward a brighter future. With compassion and care, SKID ROW MARATHON from director Mark Hayes shares the inspiring story of people who bravely face not only the grueling physical demands of running marathons, but the relentless doubts that threaten one’s sense of self-worth, accomplishment and joy. Director Mark Hayes and Producer Gabrielle Hayes stop by to talk about finding humanity and hope among people who are often seen as having neither.
For news and updates go to: skidrowmarathon.com
RADIO DREAMS, winner of the 45th Rotterdam International Film Festival’s Tiger Award, is the newest feature film from Iranian-British director Babak Jalali (FRONTIER BLUES). RADIO DREAMS creates the bizarre yet very real world of PARS-FM - a Farsi-language radio station broadcasting from the heart of San Francisco. The story unfolds over a single day as the station’s program manager, Hamid - a brilliant, misunderstood Iranian writer (played by the “Iranian Bob Dylan” Mohsen Namjoo) - prepares for a triumphant broadcast - a live performance pairing Metallica and Kabul Dreams, Afghanistan’s first rock band. Meanwhile, Hamid must juggle a dysfunctional mix of on-air talent, station managers, and performers while fending off the owner’s plans to wrest control of the station. RADIO DREAMS brings to life the sometimes bizarre experience of immigrants pursuing dreams in the U.S.A. with the perfect mixture of honesty, art, and socio-political topicality served up in an ingenious, offbeat transmission.
For news and updates go to: radiodreamsthemovie.com
facebook.com/radiodreamsmovie
RADIO DREAMS, winner of the 45th Rotterdam International Film Festival’s Tiger Award, is the newest feature film from Iranian-British director Babak Jalali (FRONTIER BLUES). RADIO DREAMS creates the bizarre yet very real world of PARS-FM - a Farsi-language radio station broadcasting from the heart of San Francisco. The story unfolds over a single day as the station’s program manager, Hamid - a brilliant, misunderstood Iranian writer (played by the “Iranian Bob Dylan” Mohsen Namjoo) - prepares for a triumphant broadcast - a live performance pairing Metallica and Kabul Dreams, Afghanistan’s first rock band. Meanwhile, Hamid must juggle a dysfunctional mix of on-air talent, station managers, and performers while fending off the owner’s plans to wrest control of the station. RADIO DREAMS brings to life the sometimes bizarre experience of immigrants pursuing dreams in the U.S.A. with the perfect mixture of honesty, art, and socio-political topicality served up in an ingenious, offbeat transmission.
For news and updates go to: radiodreamsthemovie.com
facebook.com/radiodreamsmovie
From the celebrated filmmaker Steve James (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters, Life Itself), comes his illuminating new film, ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL. The film tells the incredible saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York. Accused of mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., Abacus becomes the only U.S. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The indictment and subsequent trial forces Thomas Sung and his formidable daughters to defend themselves—and their bank’s legacy in the Chinatown community—over the course of a five-year legal battle. Tracking the many twists and turns of the case, Oscar-nominated James creates a moving portrait of a family, a community, and a way of life. Director Steve James joins us for a conversation on his illuminating and infuriating showcase of great documentary filmmaking.
For news and updates go to:abacusmovie.com
facebook.com/abacusmovie
In 2008, a band of young Islamic militants from Pakistan lands in Mumbai, their primary target, the iconic Taj Mahal hotel. With Indian forces unable to regain control, for 4 days the guests must battle to survive as the terrorists seek to drive them from hiding. The harrowing events that follow will come to be known as India’s 9/11 and one of the most audacious terrorist attacks in history is captured in a horrifying and enlightening story of cruelty and sustaining humanity. One Less God Director Lliam Worthington joins us to talk about why it was important for him to shine a light on a tale of monsters and men. Director Lliam Worthington Statement: “I wanted to craft a story that walked the line between demonization and apologetics, and that would be a genuine movement towards greater humanism and compassion. One that might aspire to promote healthy discussion afterwards, as opposed to heighten fear and increase the polarization. I also wanted to capture the emotional authenticity of those who suffered in the attacks but counter that with a genuine exploration into the psyches of the terrorists. Then use those two conflicting yet parallel journeys as a means to evoke broader questions around man’s inhumanity to man and the nature of belief.”
For news and updates go to: newrealmsfilms.com.au
For details on the screening of One Less God go to: danceswithfilms.com/one-less-god
If You’re Not In The Obit, Eat Breakfast asks the question, “What’s the secret to living into your 90s – and loving every minute of it?” In this feature documentary, irrepressible writer-comedian Carl Reiner (who shows no signs of slowing down at 95) tracks down several celebrated nonagenarians, and a few others over 100, to show how the twilight years can truly be the happiest and most rewarding. Among those who share their insights into what it takes to be vital and productive in older age are Mel Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, Kirk Douglas, Norman Lear and Betty White. Adding spice to this inspiring documentary are admirers from the younger set, including comedian Jerry Seinfeld (who’s already reserved the stage at Caesar’s Palace for his 100th birthday show), longevity expert Dan Buettner, and Van Dyke’s much-younger wife Arlene, who’s got all she can handle keeping up with her exuberant husband on the dance floor. Directed by Danny Gold, If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast is an entertaining look at how we all can overcome our society’s fear of aging, and how anyone, with a good dose of humor, can live well into their 90s.
The story of three men who have spent longer in solitary confinement than any other prisoners in the US because of the murder of a prison guard in 1972 at Angola, the Louisiana state penitentiary. Robert King, Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox were convicted by bribed and blind eye witnesses and with no physical evidence. Targeted as members of the Black Panther party the film follows their struggle against the miscarriage of justice and their cruel and unusual treatment. Known as the 'Angola 3', their story culminated in 2016 with the release of Albert Woodfox after 43 years in solitary confinement. 'Cruel and Unusual' has been eight years in the making. But that pales into insignificance compared to the 43 years that Albert Woodfox spent in a 6 foot by 9 foot cell for a crime he did not commit. After years left forgotten in the depths of America’s bloodiest prison, their struggle against this injustice had become an international scandal; when on the 19th February last year, on his 69th birthday, Albert was finally released, it was headline news around the world. On any given day it is estimated that ten to fifteen thousand prisoners are kept in solitary in the US. Director Vadim Jean joins us in a conversation about the incredibly heartbreaking and infuriating saga of the three men subjected to unspeakable brutality.
For news and updates go to: Cruel and Unusual film
Ten years ago, Eliza Sherman was humiliated by people she thought were her friends. Now, after an unorthodox encounter, she finds herself newly endowed with special powers. So she decides to lure her old nemeses to a house in the Hollywood Hills under the guise of a birthday party for '80s heartthrob Richard Grieco. By spiking the salsa, she brings about a drug induced slumber party -- trapping everyone in the house with a good, old-fashioned forcefield. Battle lines are drawn, and relationships are put to the test. Eliza’s plans to punish her houseguests repeatedly go awry as her powers prove to be no match for fate. She must conquer her ego and stop screwing up the space-time continuum if she wants to find peace, and ultimately win the heart of her one true love. It’s twenty-four hours of mayhem, marijuana, Mexican food, and (almost) murder in this pitch-black, supernatural revenge comedy. Forgiveness is overrated. Director Gregory Fitzsimmons joins us to talk about his quirky, off-kilter time-warped comedy.
For news and updates got to: elizashermansrevenge.com
Buster’s Mal Heart is a bold thriller peppered with dark humor and interlocking mystery, an eccentric mountain man is on the run from the authorities, surviving the winter by breaking into empty vacation homes in a remote community. Regularly calling into radio talk shows — where he has acquired the nickname "Buster" — to rant about the impending Inversion at the turn of the millennium, he is haunted by visions of being lost at sea, and memories of his former life as a family man. Buster (Rami Malek) was once Jonah, a hard-working husband and father whose job as the night-shift concierge at a hotel took its toll on his psyche and, consequently, his marriage to the sensitive Marty (Kate Lyn Sheil) — until a chance encounter with a conspiracy-obsessed drifter (DJ Qualls) changed the course of their lives forever. As the solitary present-day Buster drifts from house to house, eluding the local sheriff at every turn, we gradually piece together the events that fractured his life and left him alone on top of a snowy mountain, or perhaps in a small rowboat in the middle of a vast ocean — or both, in this visceral mind bender that will provoke discussion long after it turns your world upside-down. Director and writer Sarah Adina Smith joins us to talk about her wildly entertaining tale.
For news and updates go to: bustersmalheart.com
The origin of lacrosse belongs to the Native American Haudenosaunee (pronounced “ho DEE no Show nee”) who the French called Iroquois. To this nation of 125,000 people it is more than a game. It is a profound medicine, part of Iroquois cosmology and their lifeblood. Gifted players like the Thompson brothers and Brett Bucktooth Junior provide a spiritual sense of what it’s like playing Lacrosse with a “good mind”. They belong to a pool of only 400 Iroquois players, whereas team Canada and USA draw from over 600,000. In 2010 England hosted the World Lacrosse Field Championship and the United Kingdom refused to accept Haudenosaunee passports denying the Iroquois Nationals their chance to compete on the world stage. They have waited four years for the next championships in Denver. Out of the 83 nations taking part in the games, the Iroquois win the bronze medal for the first time. The Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team is not only among the world’s best, but ambassadors for their Nation’s sovereignty and recognition. In 2015, the Iroquois hosted the World Championships on Native soil for the first time ever, in which history, politics and culture all collided on the playing field before the eyes of the world. Co-directors Peter Spirer and Peter Baxter stop by for a conversation on their nuanced documentary as well as the history, culture and spirit of the of the Haudenosaunee people.
For news and updates go to: xlratormedia.com/film/spirit-game-pride-nation
Shira Dubrovner, longtime resident of Mammoth Lakes, is a community organizer and leader, arts advocate, and film lover who followed her lifelong passion for cinema to become the founder of the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival. Shira is also the Artistic Director of this well regarded theatre company. After her experience creating a successful theatre in Mammoth (established at the Edison Theatre, which will serve as one of the key screening venues during this year’s film festival), she decided to introduce the community to her other passion – independent film – by creating the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival. This year’s Mammoth Lakes Film Festival is a five-day festival that screens independent features and shorts in the spectacular setting of Mammoth Lakes—California’s premier mountain resort, high in the Eastern Sierras from May 24 – 28, 2017, Memorial Day weekend. The 3rd Annual Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, taking place in the magnificent mountain setting of Mammoth Lakes, California, has announced its line-up of screenings, which will include premieres, festival favorites and classic films. The five-day festival will take place May 24-28, 2017, beginning on Wednesday with the Opening Night Screening of Cheech and Chong’s much-loved first feature UP IN SMOKE. Tommy Chong, one of its stars as well as its uncredited co-director, will be present for a Q&A after the screening, which is followed by the Gala Opening Night Party at the Sierra Events Center. Saturday evening will feature the SIERRA SPIRIT AWARD CENTERPIECE GALA & SCREENING: A Night with John Sayles. The evening will begin with a screening of his 1983 film BABY IT’S YOU starring Rosanna Arquette and Vincent Spano, followed by a conversation with Sayles and a presentation of the Sierra Spirit Award. Sayles’s credits include THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET, MATEWAN, EIGHT MEN OUT, LONE STAR, and THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH, amongst others. In addition to the two classic films representing the work of Chong and Sayles, an additional 18 features will be screened over the five days of the festival. Feature documentary films in competition will include EIGHT (US Premiere), FOREVER B, (World Premiere), THE ISLANDS AND THE WHALES, OLANCHO, RAT FILM, STRAD STYLE and WHAT LIES UPSTREAM. Spotlight Screening Documentaries not in competition will include THE CHALLENGE, DINA, and MACHINES. Feature narrative films in competition will include NEIGHBORHOOD FOOD DRIVE, WITHDRAWN, SPACE DETECTIVE. Foreign films in competition will include COLD BREATH, THE ERLPRINCE, THE FIXER and THE GREAT UNWASHED (U.S. Premiere). The final Narrative Feature, not in competition, will be the rave-reviewed Sundance hit MENASHE, which has been picked up by A24 for distribution. In addition to the Opening Night Gala and the Sierra Spirit Award Event, there is a Filmmakers Bash on Saturday evening at Rafters featuring the band Jelly Bread and the Awards Ceremony on Sunday, May 27 at the Sierra Events Center. Founder and Director Shira Dubrovner joins us to talk about this year’s festival highlights.
For ticket sales and updates go to: mammothlakesfilmfestival.com
irected by Raz Degan, The Last Shaman is the story of James Freeman, a young man who decides to take matters in his own hands when faced with incurable depression. He undergoes a life-changing journey in the Amazon jungle that brings him a deeper understanding and acceptance of self. Along the way, he experiences the healing properties of the tribal plant medicine Ayahuasca and the world around it. From the outside looking in, James is living the American dream. But behind closed doors, he has no desire to live and contemplates suicide. Desperate to find a way out of darkness, James travels to the Amazon rain forest with one mission: to save his own life. Without knowing any of the dangers that lie ahead, he starts searching for a Shaman who can help. James’ road to redemption isn’t easy — he faces many obstacles and even a few life-threatening experiences as he learns to acknowledge the space inside himself and understand a larger truth about how we’re all connected. After undergoing various forms of treatments from tribal plants and medicines, James is faced with the consequences of his own actions. He undergoes a life changing experience that brings him a deeper understanding and acceptance of himself, and a more profound understanding of the interconnectedness of us all. Director Raz Degan join us for a conversation on their journey into a world of spirituality, self awareness and an ancient culture.
For news and updates go to: thelastshaman.com
Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS, Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and best-selling author Sebastian Junger and his Emmy-winning producing partner, Nick Quested, chronicle Syria’s descent into the unbridled chaos that allowed the rise of the Islamic State, better known as ISIS, in Iraq and Syria. The film follows as the peaceful anti-government protests of the Arab Spring turn into an armed uprising against the despotic regime of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, opening a door to a dangerous new enemy that preys on the disenfranchisement felt by Sunni Muslims in the Middle East and around the world. In 2011, the Syrian people’s hopeful demonstrations for democratic reform were met with brutal repression by the Assad government, plunging the country into unending violence and despair. The resulting civil war has taken the lives of an estimated 400,000 people and uprooted millions more, creating a global refugee crisis. Conflict between the government, moderate rebel groups and ISIS jihadis have all but destroyed ordinary daily life in much of the country, and left the nation’s largest metropolis, the ancient city of Aleppo, in ruins. Pulling from nearly 1,000 hours of stunningly visceral footage, the filmmakers provide a comprehensive picture of the conflict. Junger and Quested, who previously collaborated on a trio of films about the war in Afghanistan (Restrepo, “The Last Patrol” and “Korengal”), capture the Syrian war’s harrowing carnage, political and social consequences, and, most important, its human toll, while painting an alarming picture of the west’s role in the creation of ISIS. Hell on Earth co-director / co-producer Nick Quested stops by to talk about a war that is destroying the social and political fabric of the entire Middle East as well as the unspeakable horror being visited upon millions of innocents.
For news and updates go to: nationalgeographic.com/hell-on-earth
In the new documentary Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story, Award-winning director Daniel Raim (The Man on Lincoln’s Nose, Something’s Gonna Live) brings to life a fascinating and moving account of the romantic and creative partnership of storyboard artist Harold Michelson and film researcher Lillian Michelson: two unsung heroes of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story spans the Golden Age of Hollywood through New Hollywood and beyond. It’s a portrait of a time, and an intimate chronicle of their epic journey of life, love, family, and making great movies. Harold and Lillian worked on hundreds of renowned films including The Ten Commandments, The Apartment, The Birds, Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Rosemary’s Baby, Fiddler On The Roof, Scarface, Full Metal Jacket and many more. Although the couple was responsible for some of Hollywood’s most iconic examples of visual storytelling, their contributions remain largely uncredited. Through an engaging mix of love letters, film clips and candid conversations with Harold and Lillian, Danny DeVito, Mel Brooks, Francis Ford Coppola and others, this deeply engaging documentary from Academy Award®-nominated director Daniel Raim (who first encountered Harold Michelson as a student at the AFI Conservatory in 1997), chronicles their remarkable marriage and extraordinary careers through six decades of movie-making history. Harold and Lillian’s story humanizes Hollywood—an industry sustained by numerous hard-working cinema artisans; master craftsmen and craftswomen who give their lives, their genius and their hearts to the movies. Beyond Harold and Lillian’s contribution to cinema, their story can’t be told without weaving in their 60-year marriage—a creative, challenging, and profoundly loving partnership. Director Daniel Raim stops by for a conversation on his loving tribute to a beguiling pair of artists, partners and lovers.
For news and updates go to: Harold and Lilian: A Hollywood Love Story
In his first feature film Belgium-based director Bas Devos (We Know, Taurus) 15-year-old Jesse's best friend, Jonas, is violently attacked at random during a routine trip to the mall. The attackers do not confront or acknowledge Jesse, and Jesse does not engage or pursue the attackers... he simply backs away. Why did this happen? Could Jesse have done more? Did he have an obligation? These are the questions posed by VIOLET, a carefully calibrated character study of the process of coping in the midst of senseless trauma. In the aftermath of Jonas shocking death Jesse has to face his family and friends from the BMX riders crew and explain the unexplainable – how he feels about it. Jesse's parents and friends all seem to have their own (often destructive) reactions to the incident, but it's the parents of the victim with whom he develops a strange connection. Shot partially on 8-perf 65mm film by acclaimed cinematographer Nicolas Karakatsanis (Bullhead, The Drop), Director and writer Bas Devos' meticulously calculated debut is constructed like a series of lush photographs. In each of the film's compositions we see a sophisticated mosaic of loss, the permanence of trauma, and the tumult of youth. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2014 Berlinale, VIOLET looks at Jesse’s inability to answer their questions gradually isolate Jesse and the growing grief prevents him from finding comfort. Director Bas Devos joins us for an thoughtful conversation on the power of cinema and the space in between exposition and observation.
For news and updates go to: neweuropefilms or alteredinnocence.net/violet
In Tomorrow Ever After Shaina is an historian who lives 600 years in the future. War, poverty, pollution, greed, exploitation, depression, loneliness: these are things that she’s read about in history books. And while she studied this dark period of history, in which money was viewed as more important than people, she has never, in the flesh, seen humans hurting other humans. Until now. While visiting a group of physicists who experiment with time travel, Shaina is accidentally stranded in the year 2015. Here she involves herself with a group of friends who are as lovable as they are flawed. As the harsh realities of their lives unfold, she learns what no history book could have taught her. Old habits, however, are hard to break, and Shaina can’t help but assume that everyone around her is honest, generous, and caring, as she works to recruit the help that she needs to get back home. While most futuristic films depict a dystopia that is even colder and more mechanical than our own, this film takes a bold departure from the sci-fi genre by exploring the possibility of a future in which caring and compassion govern our societies. What if the future of humanity and the planet turns out exactly as we would want it to be? Director and writer Ela Thier joins us for a conversation on her sweet, insightful and humorous rumination on the past, present and hopeful future
For news and updates go to: tomorroweveraftermovie.com
You may have never heard of Bert Berns, but you know the enduring songs he's written and produced: Twist & Shout, Cry to Me, Tell Him, Piece of My Heart, Cry Baby, Hang On Sloopy, I Want Candy, Everybody Needs Somebody to Love - Berns' career IS Rock and Roll. Berns sessions made legends of Solomon Burke, The Isley Brothers, The Drifters, Ben E. King, and Wilson Pickett. He helped launch the careers of Van Morrison and Neil Diamond and produced some of the greatest soul music ever made. Filmmaker and son of Bert Brett Berns brings his late father's story to the screen through interviews with those who knew him best and rare performance footage. Included in the film are interviews with Ronald Isley, Ben E. King, Solomon Burke, Van Morrison, Keith Richards and Paul McCartney. Narrated by E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt, about the life and career of Bert Berns, the most important songwriter and record producer from the sixties that you never heard of. His premature death at 38 cut short a seven-year streak of hits, rooted in his early Brill Building and 1650 Broadway days, through his tenure at Atlantic Records to the formation and success of his own labels Bang Records and Shout Records. First-time director Brett Berns joins us to talk about a father he never knew and his amazing musical legacy.
For news and updates go to: bangthebertbernsstory.com
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City is a story about our global urban future, in which nearly three-fourths of the world’s population will live in cities by the end of this century. It’s also a story about America’s recent urban past, in which bureaucratic, “top down” approaches to building cities have dramatically clashed with grassroots, “bottom up” approaches. The film brings us back mid-century, on the eve of the battles for the heart and soul of American cities, about to be routed by cataclysmically destructive Urban Renewal and highway projects. The film details the revolutionary thinking of Jane Jacobs, and the origins of her magisterial 1961 treatise The Death and Life of Great American Cities, in which she singlehandedly undercuts her era’s orthodox model of city planning, exemplified by the massive Urban Renewal projects of New York’s “Master Builder,” Robert Moses. Jacobs and Moses figure centrally in our story as archetypes of the “bottom up” and the “top down” vision for cities. They also figure as two larger-than-life personalities: Jacobs—a journalist with provincial origins, no formal training in city planning, and scarce institutional authority—seems at first glance to share little in common with Robert Moses, the upper class, high prince of government and urban theory fully ensconced in New York’s halls of power and privilege. Citizen Jane: Battle for the City gives audiences a front row seat to this battle, and shows how two opposing visions of urban greatness continue to ripple across the world stage. In perilous times for the city and for civil rights, Citizen Jane offers a playbook, courtesy of Jane Jacobs, for organizing communities and speaking the truth to entrenched and seemingly insurmountable powers. Director Matt Tyrnauer joins us to talk about a citizen activist whose vision and principals resonate to this day.
For news and updates go to: Citizen Jane: Battle for the City
In the Jewish religion, a week of sitting Shiva (or mourning the deceased) is called for after a funeral. However, for Eyal and Vicky, a week is hardly enough time to properly mourn the loss of their 25-year-old son Ronnie. A married couple edging into the back half of middle age, the two find themselves reacting to the end of Shiva in markedly different ways. A return to routine seems to be in order for Vicky, a teacher, as she finds herself back at school trying to abruptly kick out the substitute assigned in her stead. Meanwhile, shopkeeper Eyal opts for a total abdication of routine, as he steals his dead son's bag of medical marijuana, and proceeds to get high, play ping-pong and judge air guitar routines with his neighbor's stoner son Zooler. As the world refuses to accommodate Vicky and Eyal's sensitivities during their time of bereavement -- taxi drivers are still difficult, neighbors are still obnoxious, and grave diggers are just as indifferent as anyone else in the service industry -- the two grieving parents find themselves acting out in outlandish ways as they attempt to regain a sense of control over their lives. Asaph Polonsky's debut feature ONE WEEK AND A DAY juxtaposes the grieving process against the immutable fact that, despite the most painful losses imaginable, the world stops for no one's mourning. With endearing performances from Shai Avivi and Evgenia Dodina as Eyal and Vicky, and Tomer Kapon as Zooler, ONE WEEK AND A DAY provides a nuanced perspective on loss that's as funny as it is insightful. Director Asaph Polonsky joins us to talk about his thoughtful and nuanced film of loss, grieve and resilience.
For news and updates go to: oneweekandaday.oscilloscope.net
TAKE MY NOSE PLEASE is a seriously funny and wickedly subversive look at the role comedy has played in exposing the pressures on women to be attractive and society’s desire/shame relationship with plastic surgery. More than 15 million cosmetic procedures were performed in the US in 2014. And 90% of them on were done on women. Yet, for those who elect to tinker with Mother Nature, especially for high-profile women, plastic surgery is still a very dark secret. Funny women, though, are the exception. From Phyllis Diller and Joan Rivers to Roseanne Barr and Kathy Griffin, comedians have been unashamed to talk about their perceived flaws, and the steps taken to remedy them. TAKE MY NOSE PLEASE follows two comedians as they deliberate about going under the knife. Emily Askin, an up-and coming improv performer, has always wanted her nose refined. Jackie Hoffman, a seasoned headliner on Broadway and on TV, considers herself ugly and regrets not having the nose job offered in her teens. And maybe she’d like a face-lift, as well. As we follow their surprisingly emotional stories, we meet other who have taken the leap - or held out. Putting it all in perspective are psychologists, sociologists, the medical community and cultural critics. And for comic relief and the profundity only comedians can supply. The film includes commentary from Roseanne Barr, Phyllis Diller, the late Joan Rivers,Judy Gold, Julie Halston, Lisa Lampanelli, Giulia Rozzi, Bill Scheft, and Adrianne Tolsch. Director Joan Kroc joins us to talk her engaging. lively, funny and enlightening debut film.
For news and updates go to: takemynoseplease.com
In this chilling, intimate and evocative documentary, KARL MARX CITY filmmaker Petra Epperlein returns to the proletarian Oz of her childhood, twenty-five years after the collapse of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), to find the truth about her late father’s suicide and his rumored Stasi past. The Stasi, the GDR’s Ministry for State Security, was the “shield and sword” of a ruling party that was well aware of the illegitimate nature of its power. This was, after all, a country living on one side of a wall erected—officially—not to keep the people in, but to keep the fascists out. Under the guise of combating reactionary forces, the apparatus implemented a policy of total surveillance. Much like her GDR hometown, Karl Marx City, which was redacted from public memory after German reunification, Petra Epperlein’s father erased himself. Right after the new year in 1999, he cleaned his car, burned all of his photographs and letters, and then took his own life near the house where she was raised. Had he been an informant for the secret police? Was her childhood an elaborate fiction? As she looks for answers in the Stasi’s extensive archives, she pulls back the curtain of her own ostalgia and enters the parallel world of the security state, seeing her former life through the lens of the oppressor. KARL MARX CITY Reconstructs everyday GDR life through declassified Stasi surveillance footage, the past plays like dystopian science fiction, providing a chilling backdrop to interrogate the apparatus of control and the meaning of truth in a society where every action and thought was suspect. Co-directorS Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker (Gunner Palace, The Prisoner Or How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair) join us for a conversation on going home, what it means to live in a surveillance state and facing down a difficult family history.
For news and updates go to: karlmarxcity.com
FINDING OSCAR is the feature-length documentary about the search for justice in the case of the Dos Erres massacre in Guatemala in 1982. That search leads to the trail of two little boys, Oscar and Ramiro, who were abducted during the slaughter and raised by some of the very soldiers who had murdered their families. These boys offer the only living evidence that ties the Guatemalan government to the massacre. FINDING OSCAR follows the men and women who have spent nearly two decades looking for answers—from the human-rights worker who first heard the story to the forensic anthropologists trying to identify victims and contact families. The film profiles the young Guatemalan prosecutor who took on her own government, and the U.S. immigration agents who began rounding up war criminals found living in the States. In a country built on impunity, it will take this dedicated team to find justice more than thirty years later, and uncover a truth more significant than anyone could have imagined. Filmmaker Ryan Suffern is producer and director of FINDING OSCAR, with Frank Marshall as producer and Steven Spielberg as Executive Producer. Director Ryan Suffern joins us to talk about the victims, the families, the impact that these massacres continue to have on the people of Guatemala and the continuing search of justice.
For news and updates go to: filmrise.com/finding-oscar
Jacob Garchik, multi-instrumentalist and composer, was born in San Francisco and lived in New York since 1994. At home in a wide variety of styles and musical roles, he is a vital part of the Downtown and Brooklyn scene, playing trombone with the Lee Konitz Nonet, Ohad Talmor/Steve Swallow Sextet, Mary Halvorson Octet, and the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble. He has released 4 albums as a leader including “The Heavens: the Atheist Gospel Trombone Album”. He co-leads Brooklyn’s premiere Mexican brass band, Banda de los Muertos. Since 2006 Jacob has contributed dozens of arrangements and transcriptions for Kronos Quartet of music from all over the world. He composed the score for Kronos for the documentary “The Campaign” (2013), and “The Green Fog” (2017) directed by Guy Maddin. He has created arrangements for vocalists Anne Sofie von Otter, Angelique Kidjo, Laurie Anderson, Rhiannon Giddens, kd lang, Natalie Merchant, Tanya Tagaq, and Alim Qasimov. Garchik returns to San Francisco Sunday, April 16 for a live performance during the 60th San Francisco International Film Festival’s closing night screening of The Green Fog – A San Francisco Fantasia. Commissioned by the San Francisco Film Society, that reimagines one of the most iconic San Francisco films of all time, Vertigo, as a visual collage by award-winning filmmaker and cultural iconoclast Guy Maddin. The Green Fog will screen at the historic Castro Theatre on Sunday, April 16 at 7:00 pm, followed by the Closing Night Party at Mezzanine. Jacob Garchik joins us for a conversation on collaborating with director Guy Maddin and his own musical journey.
For news and updates go to: jacobgarchik.com
For news and updates on the 2017 San Francisco International Film Festival go to: sffilm.org/festival
CHASING TRANE: THE JOHN COLTRANE DOCUMENTARY is a thought-provoking, uplifting, powerful and passionate film about an outside-the-box thinker whose boundary-shattering music continues to impact and influence people around the world. This rich, textured and compelling portrait of a remarkable artist reveals the critical events, passions, experiences and challenges that shaped the life of John Coltrane and his revolutionary sounds. It is a story of demons and darkness, of persistence and redemption. But, above all else, it is the incredible journey of a spiritual warrior who found himself, found God, and in the process, created an extraordinary body of work that transcends all barriers of race, religion, age and geography. It is a film for anyone who appreciates the power of music to entertain, inspire and transform. The beauty, poignancy, energy, pain, joy and inspiration heard in nearly 50 Coltrane recordings from throughout his career brings alive the artist and the times in which he lived. Even those familiar with his music will be able to hear and appreciate the music of John Coltrane in a new and exciting way. Although Coltrane never participated in any television interviews (and only a handful for radio) during his lifetime, he has an active and vibrant presence in the film through his print interviews. These words -- spoken by Academy Award winner Denzel Washington – illuminate what John Coltrane was thinking and feeling at critical moments throughout his life and career. CHASING TRANE: THE JOHN COLTRANE DOCUMENTARY was written and directed by critically-acclaimed documentary filmmaker John Scheinfeld (The U.S. vs. John Lennon and Who Is Harry Nilsson…?). He joins us to talk about his moving, insightful portrait of a music icon whose music and philosophy continues to inspire.
For news and updates go to: coltranefilm.com
Set in the legendary Sea Islands off the South Carolina/Georgia coast in 1902, Julie Dash’s DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST (1991) follows a Gullah family (descendants of West African slaves) on the eve of its migration to the North. Led by a group of women who carry with them ancient African traditions, the extended family readies itself to leave behind friends, loved ones and their insulated way of life. Can these women hold fast to their sacred religious beliefs and customs, or will their world be swept away in the course of a new century? This richly costumed drama, structured in tableaux to reflect the art and icons of African tradition, testifies movingly to the secret celebrations and packed-away sorrows of African-American women. These vital images were introduced to a new generation on a massive scale earlier this year, when the film was heavily referenced in Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade. DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST became the first film by an African-American woman ever to receive widespread theatrical release. Enriched by John Barnes’s eclectic score and Arthur Jafa’s Sundance Film Festival-prize-winning cinematography, listed in the National Film Registry DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST was hailed as one of the most visually and sonically ravishing in American independent cinema. Director Julie Dash joins us for a conversation on her sweeping, absorbing and poetic homage to African culture.
For news and updates go to: daughters-of-the-dust
It's the summer before 6th grade, and Clark (Armani Jackson) is the new biracial kid in a very white town. Discovering that to be cool he needs to act 'more black', he fumbles to meet expectations. Meanwhile, his urban intellectual parents Mack (Nelsan Ellis) and Gina (Melanie Lynskey) try to adjust to small-town living. Accustomed to life in New York, the tight-knit family is ill-prepared for the drastically different set of obstacles that their new community presents. They soon find themselves struggling to understand themselves and each other in this new context. Based on a true story, LITTLE BOXES is a poignant comedy about understanding identity, featuring a cast that also includes, Oona Laurence, Janeane Garofalo and Christine Taylor. Director Rob Meyer joins us to talk about his funny, insightful and complex film.
TICKLING GIANTS is a great story about the power of political satire in the face of oppression. In the midst of the Egyptian Arab Spring, Bassem Youssef makes a decision that’s every mother’s worst nightmare… He leaves his job as a heart surgeon to become a full-time comedian. Dubbed, “The Egyptian Jon Stewart,” Bassem creates the satirical show, Al Bernameg. The weekly program quickly becomes the most viewed television program in the Middle East, with 30 million viewers per episode. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart averaged two million viewers. In a country where free speech is not settled law, Bassem’s show becomes as controversial as it popular. He and his staff must endure physical threats, protests, and legal action, all because of jokes. As Bassem attempts to remain on the air, keep his staff safe, and not get arrested, he continues to let those in power know they’re being held accountable. Despite increasing danger, the team at Al Bernameg employ comedy, not violence, to comment on hypocrisy in media, politics, and religion. Directed by Sara Taksler TICKLING GIANTS follows the team of Al Bernameg as they discover democracy is not easily won. The young women and men working on Bassem’s show are fearless revolutionaries, who just happen to be really, really funny. The subject of Tickling Giants, Bassem Youssef joins us for a conversation on the cost and consequences of speaking out.
For news and updates go to: ticklinggiants.com
Audience Awards is a company started by filmmakers for filmmakers, we have a deep desire to do what we can to introduce you to real opportunity and connection. Submit quality content for our creative and brand contests and grab your chance to win cash, prizes and screenings at some of the most amazing film festivals on the circuit. It’s not the norm to play up a film festival as your first, but Audience Awards isn’t the norm and this isn’t your normal film festival. With an online community of over 150,000 filmmakers and film lovers, AudFest is our filmmaker family reunion! We’ve known many of you for years online and now we get to meet face-to-face. We’ve planned some amazing things for you in preparation. With a focus on innovation and diversity in short-form filmmaking, this four-day fest hosts panels and workshops with the top tier in this industry on branded content, Super 8 film, festival strategy, social impact of filmmaking and more. A company started by filmmakers for filmmakers, we have a deep desire to do what we can to introduce you to real opportunity and connection. Attendees will have access to representatives from Women In Film, SAG-AFTRA, SAGIndie, Paramount, Filmmakers Alliance and VICE, to name a very few. Audience Awards CEO and Founder Paige Williams stops by for a conversation on the quality and diversity of short films being produced and the support that Audience Awards is providing to that filmmaking community.
For news and updates go to: theaudienceawards.com and theaudienceawards.com/audfest
The time is 1939. The place is Poland, homeland of Antonina (two-time Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain) and her husband, Dr. Jan Żabiński (Johan Heldenbergh). Devoted to each other, the couple thrive as personal and professional partners; the Warsaw Zoo flourishes until the entrance is slammed shut and the zoo is crippled in an attack as the entire country is invaded by the Germans. The couple is forced to report to the Reich’s newly appointed chief zoologist, Lutz Heck (Daniel Brühl, Captain America: Civil War). Heck envisions a new, selective breeding program for the zoo. Antonina and Jan fight back on their own terms, and covertly begin working with the Resistance – realizing that their zoo’s abandoned animal cages and underground tunnels, originally designed to safeguard animal life, can now secretly safeguard human life. As the couple puts into action plans to save lives out of what has become the Warsaw Ghetto, Antonina places herself and even her children at great risk. Director Niki Caro (Whale Rider, North Country) directs the movie from a screenplay by Angela Workman, adapted from Diane Ackerman’s nonfiction book of the same name and based on Antonina’s diaries. Director Niki Caro joins us for a conversation on her beautiful and moving historic drama.
For news and updates go to: focusfeatures.com/thezookeeperswife
God Knows Where I Am is the story of Linda Bishop, a well-educated New Hampshire mother who suffered from severe bipolar disorder with psychosis, who was intermittently incarcerated and homeless, inevitably being committed for three years to a state psychiatric facility. Successfully fighting her sister’s protective attempts to be named her legal guardian, Linda was able to refuse treatment and medication, and eventually procured an early, unconditional release, despite the lack of post release planning. Upon her release, she wandered ten miles down the road from the hospital, broke into an abandoned farmhouse and lived off of rainwater and apples picked from a nearby orchard for the next four months, through one of the coldest winters on record. For nearly four months, Linda Bishop, a prisoner of her own mind, survived on apples and rain water, waiting for God to save her, during one of the coldest winters on record. Unable to leave the house, she became its prisoner, and remained there, a prisoner of her own mind, eventually starving to death. Her body was discovered several months later and with it a diary that Linda kept documenting her journey. The diary, given voice by actress Lori Singer, is poignant, beautiful, funny, spiritual, and deeply disturbing. As her story unfolds from different perspectives, including her own, we learn about our systemic failure to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Over the last 16 years co-directors Jedd and Todd Wider have produced many of the most critically and commercially successful feature documentary films including, King's Point (2012) nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short, the multiple Primetime Emmy and Peabody Award winning Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012) directed by Alex Gibney, the Emmy Award nominated Semper Fi: Always Faithful (2011) directed by Rachel Libert and Tony Hardmon, the multiple Emmy Award nominated Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010) directed by Alex Gibney Peabody Award and 2008 Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary and 2009 Emmy Award Winner for Best Documentary, Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) also directed by Alex Gibney, and many more. In 2011, Todd Wider and Jedd Wider were each nominated by the Producers Guild of America for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures. Co-director Jedd and Todd Wider join us to talk about their haunting new documentary.
For news and updates go to: godknowswhereiam.com
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On a snowy night in February 1972, legendary jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan was shot dead by his common-law wife, Helen, during a gig at a club in New York City. The murder sent shockwaves through the jazz community, and the memory of the event still haunts the people who knew the Morgans. Helen served time for the crime and, following her release, retreated into obscurity. Over 20 years later, a chance encounter led her to give a remarkable interview. Helen’s revealing audio “testimony" acts as a refrain throughout the film, which draws together a wealth of archival photographs and footage, interviews with friends and bandmates and incredible jazz music to tell the ill-fated pair’s story. Part true crime tale, part love story, and an all-out musical treat, I CALLED HIM MORGAN is a chronicle of the dramatic destinies of two unique personalities and the music that brought them together. Swedish filmmaker Kasper Collin’s I CALLED HIM MORGAN is also a love letter to two unique personalities and the music that brought them together. A film about love, jazz and America with cinematography by Bradford Young (DOP, Selma).
For news and updates go to: icalledhimmorgan.com
In Adam Curtis’s acclaimed BBC documentary, HyperNormalisation, he employs masterfully edited found footage to investigate how, at a time of confusing and inexplicable world events, politicians and other power brokers construct new, slippery realities. Curtis tells a story that begins in 1975 in New York and Damascus, and ends with today’s world.
Adam Curtis on his work and HyperNormalisation: ”Those in power in society – the politicians, the journalists, the experts – maintain their power by telling us stories about the world. Those stories tell us what is true and what is false, what is right and wrong, and what is real – and what is illusion. But there come times when these stories begin to break down. And people start to distrust those in power – and their definition of what is real and what is fake. At that point you enter the Zone. The film Hypernormalisation tells the story of how we got to this place. It is also about the new systems of power that we cannot see – because we are trapped inside the Zone.”
Adam Curtis is an award-winning widely influential documentary filmmaker and journalist. He works for BBC television in London. His acclaimed films include The Century of the Self (2002), The Power of Nightmares (2004), All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (2011), Bitter Lake (2015) – and most recently HyperNormalisation.. His films go back into the recent past to tell dramatic stories that lead the viewer to look again at the present day – and help them make sense of it. They try to show how power really flows in today’s complex society, not just through politics – but through science, public relations and advertising, psychology, computer networks and finance. Curtis has also done live shows with the immersive theatre group Punchdrunk and the band Massive Attack. His films have been shown at the Cannes film festival and have won awards – including 6 BAFTAs. Curtis joins us to talk about power, journalism, the world as is understood today and his work.
For news and updates go to: bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis
CRIES FROM SYRIA will take the audience on a unique, five-year journey, from Syria to Turkey, through Jordan, Lebanon and into Europe. They will see the situation from the inside out, through the eyes of those trapped in-between – many of them children – and experience their suffering, bravery, struggle, survival and hope. In March 2011, the Syrian people, inspired by events in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, rose up against the authoritarian rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Public protests sparked by the arrest and torture of children who had been detained after writing anti-regime graffiti led to violent crackdowns. As what would become a long civil war intensified, the Islamic State and other groups began seizing Syrian territory and imposing brutally oppressive conditions of their own. Stranded between the opposing forces in the conflict, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed, seven million have been internally displaced and more than five million have desperately tried to survive by fleeing the country. Two-thirds of those who have fled to date are women and children. CRIES FROM SYRIA is a searing, comprehensive account of the Syrian war from the inside out. The film draws on hundreds of hours of war footage from Syrian activists and citizen journalists, as well as testimony from child protestors, revolution leaders, human rights defenders, ordinary citizens and high-ranking army generals who have defected from the government. Their collective stories are a cry for attention and help from a world that little understands their reality or agrees on what to do about it. Oscar®-nominated Director Evgeny Afineevsky (Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom) joins us to talk about his unflinching look inside our own heart of darkness.
For news and updates go to: criesfromsyria.com
This thrilling investigation uncovers the high-level corruption behind California’s long-standing water crisis. Sweeping cinematography of California’s harsh, dry landscape asks us to visualize a fight for water in what feels like a modern day Chinatown. Emmy award-winning filmmaker Marina Zenovich (“Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired”) peels back the layers of California’s convoluted water structure—wealthy water barons show their guilty hand in exploiting the state’s resource, while small farmers and neighboring towns endure debilitating drought. We see luxury crops, like almonds, on the rise and groundwater contamination increasing tenfold, pitting backroom business dealings against human and environmental costs. Water & Power: A California Heist, is a National Geographic documentary film executive produced by Academy Award winner Alex Gibney and produced by Jigsaw Productions. California has the sixth-largest economy in the world. It is home to the global entertainment and technology capitals, one of the most productive farm belts mankind has ever known and nearly 39 million residents. But the state’s continued survival is dependent on a consistent supply of fresh water, a dwindling public resource with a long history of mismanagement. Water & Power: A California Heist dives deep into the past, present and future of California’s endangered lifeblood. This natural resource is only growing more valuable as the new war for water is already upon us. This daring and extremely timely documentary asks us to question who has control of our access to our water. Director Marina Zenovich joins us to talk about the looming disaster that awaits California residents.
For news and updates go to: nationalgeographic.com
In 1964 author Samuel Beckett set out on one of the strangest ventures in cinematic history: his embattled collaboration with silent era genius Buster Keaton on the production of a short, titleless avant-garde film. Beckett was nearing the peak of his fame, which would culminate in his receiving a Nobel Prize five years later. Keaton, in his waning years, never lived to see Beckett’s canonization. The film they made along with director Alan Schneider, renegade publisher Barney Rosset, and Academy Award-winning cinematographer Boris Kaufman, has been the subject of praise, condemnation, and controversy for decades. Yet the eclectic participants are just one part of a story that stretches to the very birth of cinema, and spreads out to our understanding of human consciousness itself. NOTFILM is the feature-length movie on FILM’s production and its philosophical implications, utilizing additional outtakes, never before heard audio recordings of the production meetings, and other rare archival elements. Director, writer, producer and narrator Ross Lipman stops by to talk about his exhilarating and illuminating film showcasing two disparate geniuses at opposite ends of their remarkable and storied lives.
For news and updates go to: milestonefilms.com/notfilm
Jack (Owen Campbell) is a high school student who lives with his single mother Karen (Mary Stuart Masterson) in a nondescript suburban town. Considered a social outcast and loner, Jack is friendless until Karen’s new boyfriend Tom (Scott Cohen) moves in and brings his son Mark (Charlie Heaton) into their lives. The two outsiders quickly bond and form a tight friendship and, after a chance encounter at a diner, bring fellow student Sarah (Amandla Stenberg) into their group. The three teens become each other’s saving grace until changing relationships and emerging secrets force them to look at themselves and see how far they are willing to go live the lives they choose.
Directors statement: “I love movies, but I've always struggled with the "coming of age" genre. I think there is something inherently condescending about it. Obviously this doesn't span across the whole genre; but I think a lot of times when these stories are told by "adults," there can be this sort of romanticization of youth which misses the things I think are so important about that age, namely the intensity and stakes that every action carries. There isn't nostalgia in youth, it is immediate and hard. That was really why I wanted to tell this story now, I wanted to make this kind of film while I was still young enough to not miss it." ~ Director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte
For news and updates go to: asyouare.movie
A haunting, artfully understated critique of American gun culture, Tim Sutton’s third feature is loosely based around the 2012 massacre in Aurora, Colorado that took place during a multiplex screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.” Employing a documentary-style technique and a cast of non- professional actors, DARK NIGHT follows the activities of six strangers over the course of one day, the shooter among them. Shot by veteran French DP Helene Louvart (PINA), DARK NIGHT is essential viewing, not only for art-house filmgoers, but for anyone invested in the debate over gun violence in America as well. Helene Louvart has served as cinematographer on more than 65 feature films, 50 short feature films, documentaries, and television projects, including French director Agnès Varda “The Beaches of Agnès (French: Les plages d’Agnès) She won The César Award for Best Documentary Film in 2009. Also, she worked with Alice Rohrwacher, and shot the italian drama “The Wonders” (Italian: Le meraviglie) It was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded with the Grand Prix. “Dark Night” was her first collaboration with Tim Sutton. Tim Sutton is the writer and director of two critically acclaimed feature films. PAVILION was a New York Times Critic’s Pick in 2013 and MEMPHIS was the winner of the inaugural Ven- ice Biennale College-Cinema grant in 2013, had its world premiere at the 70th Venice Film Festival, and international premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. MEMPHIS was also selected as one of The New Yorker Magazine’s Top 10 Films of 2014. Director Tim Sutton joins us to talk about his hauntingly poignant meditation on American gun culture and the vulnerability of life.
For news and updates go to: cineliciouspics.com/dark-night
The explosion of information in the digital age left government agencies like the NSA struggling with bureaucracy and technology to keep up with the changing times. Responding to the challenge, NSA technical director Bill Binney and a small team of codebreakers develop ThinThread, an astonishingly effective data collecting and sorting program that also protects privacy. Despite its success, ThinThread is discontinued just weeks before September 11, 2001. After Binney and fellow intelligence officials challenge this decision, they find their world upended. The deeply disturbing journalistic docu-thriller about the system that could have prevented 9/11, but was stopped by lies and corruption at the NSA. The mass surveillance revealed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden was not the first scandal in the history of the American intelligence agency NSA. Friedrich Moser’s eye-openingA Good American soberly unfolds the deeply disturbing story of how corruption, lies and personal ambitions led to the closure of a cheap and effective monitoring system that demonstrably could have stopped the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The mind behind the ingenious system was former intelligence agent Bill Binney, whom Moser gives the opportunity to tell the whole story of how his brilliant system was abandoned in favour of an expensive, useless intelligence programme that in turn had the advantage of creating hundreds of jobs at the intelligence agency - and handsomely rewarded a number of former NSA employees. A Good American is a chilling docu-thriller of the most dizzying kind. and may well prove to be one of the year's most important films. Director Friedrich Moser join us to talk about his compelling, frightening and essential documentary film.
For news and updates go to: agoodamerican.org
facebook.com/agoodamerican
twitter.com/AGAmovie
It all began when a group of cheerful, subversive filmmakers weren’t accepted into the Sundance Film Festival. Unwilling to take “no” for an answer, they instead started their own event - Slamdance: Anarchy in Utah. 22 years later, Slamdance has become a year-round organization fostering the development of unique and innovative filmmakers. The organization now consists of the Film Festival, Screenplay Competition and Slamdance Studios. It has also created Slamdance On The Road, a traveling theatrical showcase that brings popular Slamdance films to audiences that otherwise would not have the opportunity to see them. Dan Mirvish, Jon Fitzgerald, Shane Kuhn and Peter Baxter are the founding forefathers who, along with co-conspirator Paul Rachman, fought for truly peter-baxter-slamdanceindependent filmmakers by giving them a voice in 1995 at the very first Slamdance Film Festival. Since then, the festival takes place every January in the breathtakingly stunning, snow-capped mountains of Park City, Utah at the exact same time as the Sundance Film Festival, to provide a more authentic representation of independent filmmaking. Up-and-coming writers, directors and producers, alongside seasoned veterans and film lovers, converge for the weeklong celebration of independent cinema, realizing that Slamdance is a great place to find those next, great, visionary films. Slamdance lives and bleeds by its mantra By Filmmakers For Filmmakers. No other film festival in the world is entirely run and organized by the creative force that can only be found in filmmakers. Slamdance adamantly supports self-governance amongst independents, and exists to deliver what filmmakers go to festivals for – a chance to show their work and a platform to launch their careers. The festival has earned a solid reputation for premiering films by first-time writers and directors working within the creative confines of limited budgets. Co-founder and President Peter Baxter joins us to talk about this year’s Slamdance, the groundbreaking films and the innovative new distribution and digital initiatives being launched by Slamdance.
For news and updates on 2017 Slamdance Film Festival go to: slamdance.com/
TRESPASS AGAINST US is set across three generations of the Cutler family who live as outlaws in their own anarchic corner of Britain's richest countryside. Chad Cutler (Michael Fassbender) is heir apparent to his bruising criminal father, Colby (Brendan Gleeson) and has been groomed to spend his life hunting, thieving and tormenting the police. But with his own son, Tyson (Georgie Smith) coming of age, Chad soon finds himself locked in a battle with his father for the future of his young family. When Colby learns of Chad's dreams for another life he sets out to tie his son and grandson into the archaic order that has bound the Cutler family for generations. He engineers a spectacular piece of criminal business involving a heist, a high-speed car chase and a manhunt, which leaves Chad bruised and bloodied and with his very freedom at stake. With the law cracking down and his father tightening his grip, Chad is forced into increasingly desperate measures. Featuring incredible performances - and an astonishing score by The Chemical Brothers - TRESPASS AGAINST US is at once an exhilarating crime thriller and a profoundly moving story about love and family. TRESPASS AGAINST US director ADAM SMITH (Director) is an award-winning film, television drama, documentary and music-video director. Smith is best known for his long-term collaboration with the Chemical Brothers, and the critically acclaimed concert film Chemical Brothers: Don’t Think he directed. Director Adam Smith joins us to talk about his feature film debut and the riveting performances turned in by his three lead performers.
For news and updates go to: trespass-against-us
Eight-year-old Yousef and his deaf mother Sahar are the last Palestinian residents of an otherwise deserted building in the Israeli part of the city of Hebron. Their island within the Jewish quarter is called “The Mute’s House” by Israeli soldiers, even though Sahar isn’t mute at all. Travel agencies have included the property in their tours. Yousef makes good use of his privilege to cross the border when he goes to school. Through the tour guides’ explanations, we learn the story of Yousef and Sahar, who bravely withstand all the threats and bullying. None of Yousef’s Palestinian classmates can come to his house, and filmmaker Tamar Kay isn’t allowed to cross the border to film the Palestinian quarter with Yousef. Despite his disability – Yousef was born with one arm – he amuses himself with the chickens, goats and rabbits that forage among the ruined neighboring houses, and he plays the guitar and video games. The Mute’s House is an intimate portrait that elegantly illustrates the absurdity of the endless conflict. Director Tamar Kay was born in Jerusalem and graduated The Jerusalem Sam Spiegel Film & Television School in 2015, stops by to talk about her moving and heartbreaking portrait of life on the edge of chaos and isolation.
In 1969, filmmaker Lisanne Skyler’s parents bought an Andy Warhol Brillo Box for $1,000. A budding collector, her father was drawn to the work of the young, emerging artists of the time—Pop artists, Abstract Expressionists and Photorealists—and saw it as an investment. Unlike critics of the era, who panned Warhol’s consumer-themed sculptures, her mother considered it a delightful addition to the family’s Manhattan living room. Eventually the piece was traded away, largely forgotten except in family artifacts like a snapshot of baby Lisanne perched on top of the yellow cube. The filmmaker often wondered what happened to the now-iconic work that had briefly decorated her childhood. Forty years later, in 2010, the sameandy-warhol sculpture sold for $3 million at a record-breaking Christie’s auction. Fascinated by this eyebrow-raising turn of events, Skyler wondered about all of the personal decisions that shaped this object’s journey. What was the role it played in other lives, and what secrets did it hold about her own family? Colorfully blending Pop Art history with personal narrative, BRILLO BOX (3¢ OFF) follows this Warhol sculpture as it makes its way from a family home to the global art market, exploring the ephemeral nature of art and value, and the decisions that shape family history. Director and daughter Lisanne Skyler to talk about a sweeping and insightful look into the world of POP art and her own intimate family tale.
BRILLO BOX (3¢ OFF) will air exclusively on HBO in June of 2017
For news and updates go to: brilloboxmovie.com
Kyriakos Papadopoulos is a 41-year old local captain of the Greek Coast Guard. He has two wonderful young daughters Vivi and Melissa, and before the refugee crisis exploded in 2014, he had a “normal” life. Lesbos was a small peaceful island and is job involved routine border patrols. Him, like the rest of the crew isn’t trained to do CPR. His boat is not equipped with thermal cameras or other instruments that would help deal with such an emergency. Often times, the captain had to disobey orders and despite rough weather he would continue to go out in the sea to save as many lives as possible. There have been plenty of times that he could turn his back. But he’s choosing to do the opposite: to respond. Director Daphne Matziaraki joins to talk about her work as a photojournalist and filmmaker in Europe, Africa and the US as well as her compelling, compassionate and humanizing film on the refugee crisis gripping Europe.
For news and updates go to:4point1miles.com
Neil (Michael Johnston) is an introverted, questioning high school freshman. Lacking any friends IRL, his main social outlet is the steamy fan fiction he writes about Vanguard, the brawny, galaxy-hopping hero of a popular sci-fi franchise. When his stories are exposed in class Neil is mortified, but the slightly older, effortlessly cool Julia (Hannah Marks) comes to his defense. An erotic fan fic writer herself, Julia pushes Neil to publish his stories to an online “adult” forum, where they quickly grab the attention of the site moderator, Denis (Michael Ian Black). When Neil is invited to present his work at a comic con live-read event, he has to face the fact that Denis’ interest in him may be more than simply professional… perhaps like his own feelings for Julia. Director Clay Liford stops by to talk about his endearing, beautifully rendered story of angst, creativity and self discovery.
For news and updates go to: slashthemovie.comSlash /
HARRY BENSON: SHOOT FIRST charts the illustrious career of the renowned photographer who initially rose to fame alongside The Beatles, having been assigned to cover their inaugural trip to the United States in 1964. With unprecedented “behind the scenes” access, Benson captured some of the most vibrant and intimate portraits ever taken of the most popular band in history. His extensive portfolio includes iconic images of Winston Churchill, Bobby Fischer, Muhammad Ali, Greta Garbo, Michael Jackson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Robert F. Kennedy assassination, and his work has appeared in publications including Life, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. Now 86, workaholic Benson has no intention of stopping. Co-director Justin Bare (SCATTER MY ASHES AT BERGDOF’s), joins us for a lively conversation on this charismatic and remarkable artist.
For news and updates go to: magpictures.com/harrybenson
DISTURBING THE PEACE follows a group of former enemy combatants – Israeli soldiers from the most elite units, and Palestinian fighters, many of whom served years in prison – who have come together to challenge the status quo and say “enough.” The film traces their transformational journeys from soldiers committed to armed battle to non-violent peace activists and their founding of Combatants for Peace. The Combatants for Peace, a group of Palestinians and Israelis working together to promote human rights and peace for all, are the only bi-partisan, non-violent activist group of enemy combatants working together in an ongoing armed conflict in the world today. They are an inspiring modern day example of the importance of using nonviolent solutions to our conflicts. Their personal stories tell an inspiring story of the human potential that is unleashed when people have the courage to follow the power of their own consciences. Co-directors Stephen Apkon and Andrew Young joins us to talk about just how far cooperation and rapprochement between Israelis and Palestinians has come and how much further it needs to go before there is justice in this troubled region.
For news and updates go to: disturbingthepeacefilm.com
In this new documentary from filmmakers Menachem Daum and Oren Rudavsky (Hiding and Seeking, A Life Apart), audiences will travel to Lifta—the only Palestinian village abandoned during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that has not been destroyed or repopulated by Jews. Lifta, at the western entrance to Jerusalem, is rarely a destination on any tourist map despite its significant history. The village is now threatened by an Israeli development plan that would convert it into an upscale Jewish neighborhood and forever change its character. With the support of the Palestinian and Jewish Coalition to Save Lifta, Lifta has become a battleground between developers, the Israeli Land authority, and its defenders. Lifta's unique history and architectural treasures have made it a candidate to become a UNESCO World Heritage site, pending far from certain Israeli government approval. Oren Rudavsky (director, co-producer and director of photography) was co-producer and co-director of HIDING AND SEEKING and A LIFE APART. Rudavsky is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and has received awards and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the New York State Council for the Arts and more. His most recently completed film COLLIDING DREAMS is a feature length documentary that was supported by a media grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Director Oren Rudavsky stops by to talk about his remarkable film and the chance for some form of reconciliation in this troubled land.
For news and updates go to: firstrunfeatures.com/ruinsoflifta
An investigative reporter works to solve the mystery behind a mysterious man who has been buying houses where tragedies have occurred. Set in a world where it always feels like night, even in daylight hours, real estate reporter Julia Talben’s (Jessica Lowndes) life is turned upside down when her family is brutally murdered. It is believed to be an open and close case, but Julia quickly realizes there is much more to this story when she returns to the crime scene to find the murder room deconstructed and physically removed from her sister’s home. This ignites an investigative pursuit that eventually leads her and ex-lover Detective Declan Grady (Joe Anderson) to the town of New English where they find the enigmatic Jebediah Crone and the Abattoir - a monstrous house stitched together with unending rooms of death and the damned. Julia comes to realize that her sister’s soul is trapped inside, but the Abattoir isn’t just a house - it’s a door to something more evil than anyone could have ever imagined. Julia and Grady are ultimately faced with the question: How do you build a haunted house? One room at a time. Director Darren Lynn Bousman (Repo! The Genetic Opera, Saw II, Saw III) joins us to talk about this sophisticated and complex cross genre story.
For News and updates go to: abattoir.info
In the riveting story THE EYES OF MY MOTHER Francisca has been unfazed by death from an early age—her mother, formerly a surgeon in Portugal, imbued her with a thorough understanding of the human anatomy. When tragedy shatters her family’s idyllic life in the countryside, her deep trauma gradually awakens some unique curiosities. Driven by a mesmerizing performance by Kika Magalhaes Francisca’s desire to connect with the world around her takes a distinctly dark form. Shot in crisp black and white, the haunting visual compositions of THE EYES OF MY MOTHER evoke its protagonist’s isolation and illuminate her deeply unbalanced worldview. Genre-inflected but so strikingly unique as to defy categorization, writer/director Nicolas Pesce’s stunning feature debut allows us only an elliptical presence in Francisca’s world, guiding our imaginations to follow her into peculiar, secret places. Lead actress Kika Magalhaes joins us to talk about the challenges presented by this deeply troubled character and her eerily compelling performance.
For news and updates go to: magnetreleasing.com/theeyesofmymother/
When David Wilson’s young wife falls victim to cancer, he is left a single working dad with the sole responsibility of caring for his autistic son. Patrick (Julian Feder), who prefers to be called Po, is a gifted but challenged child who was very close to his mother and unable to communicate his own sense of loss. As father and son struggle to deal with life after mom, they each begin to withdraw. David (Christopher Gorham) is consumed by the high-pressure job he’s close to losing, and Po copes with the bullying in his sixth-grade classroom by escaping into his magical fantasy world, the Land of Color, where he’s just a typical carefree boy with a rich cast of companions. The challenge of serving as the single parent of a special-needs child creates a growing divide between father and son, threatening to separate David and Po permanently. Based on a true story, the bonds of love between a grieving father and son are tested in the most real way in PO. Director / Producer John Asher joins us to talk about this deeply personal story of struggle and renewal.
Po opens in in the Los Angeles area on November 25, 2016 at Laemmle's Music Hall 3 in Beverly Hills. There will be Q&As opening weekend with director John Asher and star Julian Feder on Friday, November 25 and Saturday, November 26 following the 7:30pm shows and on Sunday, November 27 following the 2:30pm show.
For news and updates go to: facebook.com/ThemoviePo
BLUE JAY is the story of former high school sweethearts Jim (Mark Duplass) and Amanda (Sarah Paulson) who have been out of touch for more than 20 years — but by sheer coincidence, they run into each other at a grocery store back in their alpine hometown of Crestline, California. Jim’s mother has died and he’s here to put her house on the market. Amanda is visiting her pregnant sister. They get to talking, first over coffee, then over beer and jellybeans. Before they know it they’re at Jim’s mother’s house, where everything sends them spiraling back into the past. Jim and Amanda’s lives have taken different directions, yet here they are, reconnecting like nothing has changed. This is one of 2016’s best films.
For news on Blue Jay go to: blue-jay
aspergers-are-us-film-posterASPERGER’S ARE US is the story of the members of the comedy troupe “Asperger’s Are Us,” whose “condition” make it easier to associate with a faceless audience than with their own families. No matter who the crowd, best friends Noah, New Michael, Jack and Ethan have one simple mantra: “We would much rather the audience appreciate us as comedians than people who have overcome adversity.” In this coming-of-age heartfelt documentary, this band of brothers finds themselves at a crossroad. With real life pulling them apart, they decide to plan one ambitious farewell show before they all go their separate ways. People with Asperger’s don’t deal well with uncertainty, and this is the most uncertain time in their lives.
For news on Asperger’s Are Us go to: facebook.com/aspergersareus/
alex-lehmannDirector / cinematographer Alex Lehmann was born in France and studied film at Emerson College in Boston. ASPERGER’S ARE US is his first documentary feature, it premiered this year at SXSW and was the first Netflix acquisition of the festival. Alex most recently released BLUE JAY starring Mark Duplass and Sarah Paulson which marked his second collaboration (ASPERGER’S ARE US) with the Duplass Brothers. Alex has mostly worked in the industry as a cinematographer, most recently having shot the upcoming Katherine Keener political drama Little Pink House. He and Mark Duplass met on the set of “The League”, where Alex served as a camera operator. Alex stops by for a lively conversation on is collaboration with Mark and Jay Duplass and the on-set challenges / rewards of shooting and directing and bonding with a troupe of four very funny performers.
For more on Alex Lehmann go to: facebook.com/mralexlehmann
n the late 1930s China is in dire straits. The country will collapse under Japan’s military juggernaut if it doesn’t get outside help. bhinese American firebrand Li Ling-Ai jolts Americans into action with a new medium — 16mm Kodachrome color film. She hires photo-journalist Rey Scott to travel to China and capture a citizen’s perspective of the war-torn country, including the massive bombing of the wartime capital Chungking (now Chongqing). Their landmark film KUKAN screens for President Franklin Roosevelt at the White House, is called “awesome” by the New York Times, and receives one of the first kukan-film-posterAcademy Awards for a feature documentary in 1942. Why have we never heard of Li Ling-Ai? And why have all copies of KUKAN disappeared? FINDING KUKAN uses rare and unseen archival footage to create an unforgettable portrait of a female filmmaking pioneer, and sheds light on the long history of racial and gender discrimination behind the camera, which continues to reverberate in Hollywood today. Director / Producer Robin Lung stops by to talk about the 7-year quest to find the answers to a multitude of questions.
Based on the Emmy Award-winning short film of the same name, Notes on Blindness is the debut feature from Writer-Directors Peter Middleton & James Spinney. In 1983, after decades of steady deterioration, writer and theologian John Hull became totally blind. To help him make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began documenting his experiences on audio cassette. Drawing on John’s original audio recordings, Notes on Blindness is a poetic and intimate story of loss, rebirth and transformation, charting his extraordinary journey into ‘a world beyond sight’. To compliment this archive material, the filmmakers recorded over twenty hours of audio interviews with John and his wife Marilyn. These audio interviews are interwoven throughout the film’s soundtrack, forming a lyrical narration, with the couple reflecting on events from a distance of thirty years. This wealth of documentary audio material is embedded within cinematic interpretations, in which actors play John and his family, lip-synching to this documentary audio. This innovative creative approach liberates the scope of the film to explore the interior aspects of John’s journey into blindness – John’s dream life, his memories and flights of imagination. Writer-Directors Peter Middleton & James Spinney join us for a conversation on the their innovative approach to conveying the experience of blindness and the challenges of telling this deeply personal story of love and triumph.
Story of film subject John Hull: John M. Hull taught for 30 years at the University of Birmingham until his retirement in 2002. He was the first professor of Religious Education in the UK and recipient of the prestigious William Rainey Harper award from the Religious Education Association of the US and Canada. This award is only held by 12 international scholars, and is presented to ‘outstanding leaders whose work in other fields has had a profound impact upon religious education’, including luminaries such as Marshall McLuhan, Margaret Mead and Paolo Freire.
For news and updates go to: notesonblindness.arte.tv/en/
How would you react if you discovered that your child – who is often lost in their own thoughts and disconnected from other children – is actually one of the greatest minds of their time? As a young boy, Magnus Carlsen was very different from his peers. Bullied by the other children, he usually sat by himself, lost in thought. But when a strong interest in numbers led him to the game of chess at the age of 5, he quickly started to climb the ranks of the chess world. At 13, he decided that he would become the World Chess Champion. Magnus is now known as the “Mozart of Chess” – combing the skill and intellect of chess with unrivaled originality and instinct. Through an extensive amount of archival footage and home movies, filmmaker Benjamin Ree follows Magnus’s meteoric rise to the top in this unique coming-of-age story. The film invites audiences to not only experience the fascinating world of competitive chess, but also peek into the mind of a modern genius. Director Benjamin Ree joins us to talk about the international culture of chess and the fascinating story of a prodigy with a talent for understanding numbers, patterns and following his remarkable instincts.
For news and updates go to: trustnordisk.com/film/2015-magnus
Opening in Los Angeles on November 25
Exclusively at Laemmle Music Hall- 9036 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Available on VOD NOVEMBER 25 on all platforms
Opening New York on November 18 at Village East Cinema - 181-189 2nd Ave. NY, NY 10003
The Anthropologist tells the story of Katie Yegorov-Crate, a thirteen-year-old girl from Fairfax, Virginia. She is carted around the globe by her mother, noted environmental anthropologist Susie Crate. Susie studies the effects of climate change on centuries-old indigenous communities. Famed anthropologist Margaret Mead also analyzed how communities confront change, but that which results from war and modernity. Mead’s daughter Mary Catherine Bateson, now 76 and a cultural anthropologist in her own right, provides extraordinary insight into what Susie and Katie discover. Filmed over the course of five years, The Anthropologist is a meditation on change, both individual and societal. Susie and Katie work with people in Siberia, the South Pacific, the Andes, and the nearby Chesapeake Bay, who struggle to reconfigure how and where they live. In Siberia, where Susie met Katie’s father while doing research, Katie’s relatives can no longer farm on land they’ve occupied for generations. Katie’s roots are also threatened by the inhospitable soil. Uniquely revealed from their daughters’ perspectives, Mead and Crate demonstrate a fascination with how societies are forced to negotiate the disruption of their traditional ways of life, whether through encounters with the outside world or the unprecedented change wrought by melting permafrost, receding glaciers and rising tides. Co-director Jeremy Newberger stops by to talk about the rapid climate changes occurring around the world and the increasing human cost.
For news and updates go to: ironboundfilms.com/the anthropologist
facebook.com/TheAnthropologistDocumentary/
THE ANTHROPOLOGIST will have a one-week engagement beginning November 18 at Laemmle’s Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, CA 90021, 310-478-3836. Go to: laemmle.com/films/41178
National Bird is an investigative political documentary that explores the complex issue of drone warfare from a human perspective. National Bird follows the dramatic journey of three whistleblowers who are determined to break the silence around one of the most controversial current affairs issues of our time: the secret U.S. drone war. At the center of the film are three U.S. military veterans. Plagued by guilt over participating in the killing of faceless people in foreign countries, they decide to speak out publicly, despite the possible consequences. Their stories take dramatic turns, leading one of the protagonists to Afghanistan where she learns about a horrendous incident. But her journey also gives hope for peace and redemption. National Bird gives rare insight into the U.S. drone program through the eyes of veterans and survivors, connecting their stories as never seen before in a documentary. Like previous advancements in military technology, combat drones have transformed warfare, outpacing the ability of legal and moral frameworks to adapt and address these developments. Director / producer and journalist Sonia Kennebeck joins us for a conversation on the immediate consequences, long term ramifications and potential for abuse of a technology that has not received an appropriate level of public discourse. For news and updates go to: nationalbirdfilm.com
In Tony Stone’s latest film, Peter and the Farm, Peter Dunning is the proud proprietor of Mile Hill Farm, which sits on 187 acres in Vermont. The land's 38 harvests have seen the arrivals and departures of three wives and four children, leaving Peter with only animals and memories. The arrival of a film crew causes him to confront his history and his legacy, passing along hard-won agricultural wisdom even as he doubts the meaning of the work he is fated to perform until death. Haunted by alcoholism and regret, Peter veers between elation and despair, often suggesting to the filmmakers his own suicide as a narrative device. He is a tragedian on a stage it has taken him most of his life to build, and which now threatens to collapse from under him. Peter and The Farm sifts through the potential energy of a human life, that which is used and that which is squandered. Imbued with an aching tenderness, Tony Stone’s Peter and The Farm is both a mosaic of its singular subject’s transitory memories and reflections—however funny, tragic, or angry they may be. Director Tony Stone (Severed Ways, Out of Our Minds) joins us to talk about his beautiful, haunting and heartbreaking, film.
For news and updates go to: magpictures.com/peterandthefarm
Watch on demand magpictures.com/peterandthefarm/watch-at-home
Starring Nicolas Cage and Willian DaFoe, Dog Eat Dog is the story of when three desperate ex cons are offered a job by a Mexican mob boss, they know they should refuse, but the payoff's too rich to turn down. It's enough to buy their way out of the Life and start over. All they have to do is kidnap the kid of a colleague who's ripping the mob boss off. But the abduction goes awry when the kidnappers are forced to kill an unexpected intruder who turns out to be the child's father -- the very man the mob boss intended to extort. Now unwelcome in the underworld and on the run for murder, the ex cons find themselves as the most wanted fugitives in the City of Angels. And each vows that none of them will ever go back to prison. No matter what the cost. Director, screenwriter Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Cat People, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Auto Focus, Light Sleeper) joins us totally about his latest film as well as his remarkable career in filmmaking.
For news and updates go to: facebook.com/dogeatdogfilm
Elaine, a beautiful young witch, is determined to find a man to love her. In her gothic Victorian apartment she makes spells and potions, and then picks up men and seduces them. However, her spells work too well, leaving her with a string of hapless victims. When she finally meets the man of her dreams, her desperation to be loved will drive her to the brink of insanity and murder. With a visual style that pays tribute to Technicolor thrillers of the ‘60s, THE LOVE WITCH explores female fantasy and the repercussions of pathological narcissism. Director, writer, producer, editor,, production and sound designer Anna Biller’s 35mm cult feature VIVA and her 16mm art-film shorts have screened at major film festivals and art spaces around the world, and her work has been discussed in academic cinema journals. She is known for her use of classic and outdated film genres to talk about female roles within culture, coding feminist ideas within cinematic aesthetics and visual pleasure. She joins us to talk about her latest film THE LOVE WITCH, and discuss why she made it using only traditional film processes and her interest in emulating the look and feel of classic cinema.
For news and updates go to: thelovewitch.oscilloscope.net
Director Anna Biller Productions
From Oscar and Emmy winning Sound Designer Richard L. Anderson (RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, Amazing Stories) and Shen Haofang comes the documentary BEHIND BAYONETS AND BARBED WIRE, Anderson’s directorial debut on the story of American POWs in World War II, who were surrendered after their heroic and hard fought defense of the Philippines. They were sent to the city of Mukden (today called Shenyang) in Chinese Manchuria by the Japanese Army, where they were condemned to spend the rest of their lives working as slave laborers in factories to produce war materials for their enemy. This is the story of these men’s fight to survive the brutal winters, disease, and even more brutal guards, while secretly resisting in any way possible. As General Jonathan Wainwright put it, they were “men locked away behind the bayonets and barbed wire of cruel jailers.” Co-director Richard L. Anderson joins us to talk about the bravery and ingenuity of American soldiers under the most dire circumstances.
http://www.behind-bayonets-and-barbed-wire.com/
ALL GOVERNMENTS LIE: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone is a timely documentary for audiences who are increasingly seeking alternatives to news media owned by large corporations. News events and journalistic trailblazers stretching over many decades are linked together to tell this important story. This film will resonate with audiences in the US and worldwide, as news media ownership increasingly falls into the hands of a few giant corporations. During this year’s election coverage, US viewers continue to get daily doses of the ever increasing corporate owned journalism passing as “breaking news.” ALL GOVERNMENTS LIE explores the legacy of I.F. Stone, widely held as the conscience of investigative journalism, whose groundbreaking reporting filled his tiny 4-page newsletter, I.F. Stone’s Weekly, from 1953 to 1971. Stone inspired many of our current reporters who are changing the face of journalism today. These brilliant journalists are featured in the film, including groundbreaking producer, host and author Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!), Glenn Greenwald (The Intercept), Jeremy Scahill (Dirty Wars/The Intercept), Matt Taibbi (Rolling Stone), David Corn (Mother Jones), filmmaker Michael Moore (Fahrenheit 9/11), The Young Turks founder and host Cenk Uygur, along with notable opinion leaders Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, Chris Hedges, and Carl Bernstein. Director Fred Peabody joins us for a lively conversation on the state of today’s journalism, both the good and the vapid.
https://www.allgovernmentslie.com/film
Film legend Sidney Lumet tells his own story in a never-before-seen interview shot in 2008. With candor, humor and grace, Lumet reveals what matters to him as an artist and as a human being. The documentary features clips from Lumet’s films – 44 films made in 50 years – including Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, 12 Angry Men, Network and Before the Devil Knows Your Dead. Peabody and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Nancy Buirski (Afternoon of a Faun, The Loving Story) combines these elements to create a portrait of one of the most accomplished, influential and socially conscious directors in the history of cinema. By Sidney Lumet reveals the network-film-posterspiritual and ethical lessons at the core of his work. First and foremost a storyteller, Lumet’s strongly moral tales capture the dilemmas and concerns of a society struggling with essentials: how does one behave to others and to oneself? By Sidney Lumet director and producer Nancy Buirski joins us for a lively conversation on Lumet’s complex and fascinating life, the relentless honesty of his work and the horrifying incident that impacted his perception of our collective humanity.
For news and updates go to: facebook.com/BySidneyLumet
News and updates for Director Nancy Buirski go to: facebook.com/nancy.buirski
Fire at Sea is the first documentary to ever win the top award at the Berlin International Film Festival. It is the story of a twelve year old boy, Samuele living on an island in the Mediterranean, far away from the mainland. Like all boys of his age, he does not always enjoy going to school. He would much rather climb the rocks by the shore, play with his slingshot or mooch around the port. But his home is not like other islands. For years, it has been the destination of men, women and children trying to make the crossing from Africa in boats that are far too small and decrepit. The island is Lampedusa, which has become ground zero for the flight of refugees to Europe and a symbol of the hope and fate of hundreds of thousands of emigrants fleeing dire living conditions. These people long for peace, freedom and happiness, and yet so often only their dead bodies are pulled out of the water. Thus, every day the inhabitants of Lampedusa are bearing witness to the greatest humanitarian tragedy of our times. With tenderness and a nocturnal grandeur, Director Gianfranco Rosi creates a remarkable narrative that jolts us into a new understanding of what is really happening in the Mediterranean today as well as bear witness to the resiliency at the core of our humanity.
For news and updates go to: kinolorber.com/Fire at Sea
Directors Michele Mitchell and Nick Louvel’s THE UNCONDEMNED is a riveting documentary about an underdog group of lawyers and activists who defied the odds to do what had never been done: prosecute rape as an international war crime. In 1997, the young men and women at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found themselves inexplicably in charge of the first case of genocide in history. Underfunded, understaffed and overwhelmed, they faced incredible hurdles as they pursued their first case against a small town mayor. Crimes of war and against humanity had not been prosecuted since 1946, and surviving witnesses feared for their lives. And then, based on a last minute revelation, the prosecuting team amended the charge to include rape. Three heroic women would overcome their fears and shame to speak for all those who could not. Secret memos, witness assassinations, setbacks and barriers – THE UNCONDEMNED captures the untold, remarkable story that changed the course of international judicial history. Co-director and producer Michele Mitchell joins us for a conversation on the Rwandan genocide, an unprecedented prosecution, and remarkable courage by remarkable women.
For news and updates go to: theuncondemned.com
facebook.com/theuncondemned
theuncondemned.com/screenings
50 years ago on August 1st, 1966, a sniper rode the elevator to the top floor of the University of Texas, Austin, Tower, and opened fire at 11:48am, holding the campus hostage for 96 minutes. When the gunshots finally ceased, the toll included 16 dead, three dozen wounded, and a shaken nation left trying to understand. In Keith Maitland’s critically acclaimed documentary TOWER, the film’s subject, 18-year-old freshman, Claire Wilson was the first person shot from the Tower. Claire, who was eight months pregnant, was walking with her boyfriend Tom, who reached down to help her; he was struck down as well. For over an hour of the siege, Claire remained exposed to the shooter, conscious and steadily losing blood, while knowing that her boyfriend had been killed and that she lost her baby. TOWER combines archival footage with rotoscopic animation of the dramatic day, based entirely on first person testimonies from witnesses, heroes and survivors of America’s first documented mass school shooting, in a seamless and suspenseful retelling of the unfolding tragedy. The film highlights the fear, confusion, and visceral realities that changed the lives of those present, and the rest of us, forever - a day when the worst in one man brought out the best in so many others. Director Keith Maitland joins us to talk about the mayhem and the courage that marked a day of infamy and prescience that echoes today.
For news and updates go to: towerdocumentary.com
Also check out facebook.com/TowerDocumentary
In Minneapolis’ large Somali refugee community, Adan (Barkhad Abdirahman) has nowhere to go. His mom kicked him out, and his friends are tired of his headstrong ways. As a last resort, he moves into the mosque, praying for a little help. Surprisingly, God seems to answer. Adan quickly lands a good job, devout friends, and a newfound faith. When Adan nearly hits a stray dog on the job, he’s forced to take it in for a night. But one of his new mosque friends considers the dog impure, and he throws Adan out. With Adan back on the streets, surrounded by his old crew, ex-girlfriends, prying FBI agents, and his estranged family, the dog may be his only friend asmusa-syeed-director-photo he tries to keep his faith and get through the night. Filmmaker Musa Syeed’s first narrative feature VALLEY OF SAINTS won the World Cinema Audience Award at Sundance and was a New York Times Critics Pick. The result of an immersive research process similar to A STRAY, the film was shot during a military curfew in Kashmir, employing a community of boat people as cast and crew. His previous documentaries, also produced with cinematographer Yoni Brook, include BRONX PRINCESS (Berlinale, POV) and A SON’S SACRIFICE (Tribeca Best Short Doc, Independent Lens). Director and writer Musa Syeed stops by for a conversation on the challenges and rewards of making an intimate and moving portrait of a stranger in a strange land.
For news and updates go to: musasyeed.com
DO NOT RESIST is an urgent and powerful exploration of the rapid militarization of our police force in the United States. The Tribeca Film Festival BEST DOCUMENTARY WINNER puts viewers in the center of the action – Starting on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, as the community grapples with the death of Michael Brown; to the all too familiar sight of law enforcement in full riot gear and armored tanks driving through peaceful protests; to a ride-along with a South Carolina SWAT team; to a front row seat inside a police training seminar that teaches the importance of “righteous violence”; to the floor of a congressional hearing on the proliferation of military equipment in small-town police departments – before exploring where technology could lead the field next. DO NOT RESIST offers an unflinching look at the current state of law enforcement in America and a glimpse into the future. Director Craig Atkinson joins us to talk about a documentary film that is literally ripped from today’s headlines painting a startling picture of the direction our local law enforcement are headed.
For news and updates go to:donotresistfilm.com
WINNER BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE 2016 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
There are no easy answers in NEWTOWN - no words of compassion or reassurance that can bring back the 20 children and six educators who lost their lives during the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Instead, Director Kim Snyder gives us exclusive access into the lives and homes of those who lost loved ones, and others in the community who have been indelibly changed by the events. Each person, be it a parent, school nurse, or state police officer, tries in their own way to make sense of their loss, as well as confront our nation's inability to quell gun violence in even the most peaceful of communities. NEWTOWN bears witness to their profound grief and allows it to reverberate within our collective conscience - exploring what happens to a community after it becomes the epicenter of a national discussion, and what is still left to cope with after the cameras leave. Filmed over the course of nearly three years, the film uses unique access and never-before heard testimonies to tell a story of the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting of schoolchildren in American history. The film premiered at Sundance this year, before playing at SXSW, BAMcinemaFest and - the week of the Orlando shootings last month - at the White House. Director Kim A. Snyder stops by to talk about her touching, haunting and hopeful film.
For news and updates go to: newtownfilm.com
Charismatic cleric Abdul Aziz Ghazi, an ISIS supporter and Taliban ally, is waging jihad against the Pakistani state. His dream is to impose a strict version of Shariah law throughout the country, as a model for the world. A flashpoint in Aziz's holy war took place in 2007, when the government leveled his flagship mosque to the ground, killing his mother, brother, only son and 150 students. With unprecedented access, Among the Believers follows Aziz on his very personal quest to create an Islamic utopia, during the bloodiest period in Pakistan's modern history. The film also follows the lives of two teenage students who have attended madrassahs (Islamic seminaries) run by Aziz's Red Mosque network. Throughout the film, their paths diverge: Talha, 12, detaches from his moderate Muslim family and decides to become a jihadi preacher. Zarina, also 12, escapes her madrassah and joins a regular school. Over the next few years, Zarina's education is threatened by frequent Taliban attacks on schools like her own. Intimate and shocking, Among the Believers offers rare insights into the ideological battles shaping Pakistan and the Muslim world. The co-directors of Among the Believers, Hemal Trivedi (Producer) and Mohammed Ali Naqvi join us for a conversation on their beautifully balanced film.
For news and updates go to: amongthebelieversfilm.com
What does it mean to tell somebody else's story? In this ingenious blend of documentary and psychological thriller, Robert Greene (ACTRESS) follows Kate Lyn Sheil (House of Cards, LISTEN UP PHILIP) through her creative process as she prepares for her next, tragic role: Christine Chubbuck, the Florida newscaster who committed suicide live on-air in 1974. As Kate investigates (and ultimately becomes obsessed with) Chubbuck's story, she discovers that little is actually known about the real woman (despite the urban myth that her story was the inspiration for the classic Hollywood film NETWORK). Through their collaboration, Robert, Kate and cinematographer Sean Price Williams (HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT) raise questions surrounding the sometimes unstable boundaries between performance, the authentic self and the storytelling impulse. Winner of a Special Jury Prize at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, KATE PLAYS CHRISTINE is as much about unraveling a mystery as it is a document of the creative process. Director Robert Greene joins us for a conversation on blurring the line between documentaries and narrative films, just what did he learn about Christine Chubbuck’s life and how has making KATE PLAYS CHRISTINE changed his approach to storytelling.
For news and updates go to: kateplayschristine.com
Also check out Kate Plays Christin edistributor grasshopperfilm.com
DANNY SAYS is a documentary on the life and times of Danny Fields. Since 1966, Danny Fields has played a pivotal role in music and “culture” of the late 20th century: working for the Doors, Lou Reed, Nico, Judy Collins and managing groundbreaking artists like the Stooges, the MC5 and the Ramones. DANNY SAYS follows Fields from Harvard Law dropout, to the Warhol Silver Factory, to Director of Publicity at Elektra Records, to “punk pioneer” and beyond. Danny’s taste and opinion, once deemed defiant and radical, has turned out to have been prescient. DANNY SAYS is a story of marginal turning mainstream, avant-garde turning prophetic, as Fields looks to the next generation. DANNY SAYS is lead by Fields voice and is largely crafted from over 250 hours of present-day interviews and items from Danny Fields’ immense archive (thousands of photographs, audio cassettes, ephemera). Director Brendan Toller joins us for a conversation on the wild, hedonistic, boundary pushing times when Danny Fields was the first and last word on music that changed American culture.
For news and updates go to: magpictures.com/dannysays
Also... dannysaysfilm.com
The award winning acclaimed SOUTHWEST OF SALEM: THE STORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO FOUR chronicles the nightmarish persecution of Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez - four Latina lesbians wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls in San Antonio, Texas over 20 years ago during the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s-1990s. Despite flawed medical evidence and convictions based solely on the testimony of two young children, the women always maintained their innocence—and have waged an ongoing fight for exoneration. Documentary filmmaker Deborah S. Esquenazi weaves together emotional interviews with the women (labeled the San Antonio Four) and their families with actual news footage and home videos, equally showcasing the injustice of the situation and the families that were torn apart as a result. Unique to the San Antonio Four case, none of the four women ever took a plea bargain or even considered it, despite serving their time in separate prisons. While the state offered deferred adjudication, requiring no time in prison but probation for ten years, the women turned down the offer, maintaining their innocence and faith in truth and justice. Esquenazi follows the work of attorneys from the Innocence Project of Texas, who played a pivotal role in securing an on-camera recantation by one of the victims, now 25 years old—and their ultimate release from prison in 2013. Director Deborah S. Esquenazi and film subject Anna Vasquez stop by to talk about the journey, heartbreak and triumph of a 22-year nightmare.
For news and updates go to: southwestofsalem.com
On the evening of September 18, 1980, Airmen David F. Powell and Jeffrey L. Plumb were performing routine maintenance at the Titan II silo in Damascus, Arkansas. At the age of 21, Powell was considered a highly experienced missile technician; Plumb, who had just turned 19, was still in training. As the two stood on a platform near the top of the Titan II, a socket fell from Powell’s wrench, plummeted 70 feet and, shockingly, punctured the missile. A stream of highly explosive rocket fuel began pouring into the silo of the most powerful nuclear warhead ever built by the United States. A chilling, Dr. Strangelovian nightmare plays out at a Titan II missile complex in Arkansas in September, 1980. A deadly accident leads Air Force personnel, weapon designers, and first responders to work feverishly to prevent a catastrophic explosion. Directed by Robert Kenner (FOOD, INC.) and based on the critically-acclaimed book by Eric Schlosser (FAST FOOD NATION), COMMAND AND CONTROL is a minute-by-minute account of this long-hidden story – much of it based on recently declassified documents that expose other freak accidents and near-misses. How do you manage weapons of mass destruction without being destroyed by them? COMMAND AND CONTROL chronicles nine hours of terror that prevented an explosion 600 times more powerful than Hiroshima. Director Robert Kenner joins us for a lively conversation on impact nuclear weapons have on our lives and the horrifying 36-year old apocalyptic tale that is just now being told.
For news and updates go to: commandandcontrolfilm.com
LANDFILL HARMONIC chronicles the incredible journey of Paraguay's Recycled Orchestra of Cateura. Orchestra Founder Favio Chavez had hopes of sharing music with the children of Cateura, a poverty stricken slum next to the capital's largest landfill. Since expensive musical instruments were not within attainable for families in Cateura, Favio, along with carpenter and trash picker Nicolas "Cola" Gomez, began to craft instruments from materials found in the landfill to provide children with the opportunity to play. They journey exceeds all expectations as they find themselves playing for audiences around the world, even accompanying artists such as Stevie Wonder, Metallica and Megadeth. They've also played for Pope Francis, and recently performed at The United Nations in NYC. Winner of the Audience Award at the South By Southwest Film Festival, AFI DOCS Festival, Vancouver Film Festival; official selection at the Sheffield Film Festival and winner of the Documentary Award for The Humanitas Prize. Co-director Brad Allgood joins us for a conversation on this uplifting and captivating film.
For news and updates go to: landfillharmonicmovie.com/
On January 9, 2006 the New York Times sent shockwaves through the literary world when it unmasked "it boy" wunderkind JT LeRoy, whose tough prose about his sordid childhood had captivated icons and luminaries internationally. It turned out LeRoy didn't actually exist. He was dreamed up by 40-year-old San Francisco punk rocker and phone sex operator, Laura Albert. Director Jeff Feuerzeig’s AUTHOR: THE JT LEROY STORY takes us down the infinitely fascinating rabbit hole of how Laura Albert - like a Cyrano de Bergerac on steroids - breathed not only words, but life, into her avatar for a decade. Albert's epic and entertaining account plunges us into a glittery world of rock shows, fashion events, and the Cannes red carpet where LeRoy becomes a mysterious sensation. As she recounts this astonishing odyssey, Albert also reveals the intricate web spun by irrepressible creative forces within her. Her extended and layered JT LeRoy performance still infuriates many; but for Albert, channeling her brilliant fiction through another identity was the only possible path to self-expression. Director Jeff Feuerzeig join us for a lively conversation on how Laura’s life, her traumas and innate brilliance made JT Leroy such a hugely fascinating saga, on and off the screen.
For news and updates go to: jtleroydocumentary.com
Author: JT Leroy Story Distributor Magnolia Pictures
With the current coverage of the North Dakota Pipeline Protest, we are shown how the sacred lands of Native Americans in the United States are constantly being destroyed for capital and economic gain with the government failing to protect these tribal lands. In the new documentary 100 YEARS, we see another similar story come to the forefront when Elouise Cobell from the Blackfeet tribe in Montana discovers that the United States government has been mismanaging funds and the lands and exploiting the Blackfeet reservation. Many of the Blackfeet tribe members could see the oil being pumped out from their land on a daily basis. But they saw barely a few dollars from the millions that was being made from their land’s natural resources. It was with the fierceness and dedication that Elouise Cobell embarked on a 30 year fight with the U.S. government that lead her to file the largest class action lawsuit in the history of the United States Government. 100 YEARS is her story! Below is more information on the theatrical release of this important film and event in our own American history. Director Melinda Jenko joins for a conversation on the indignities and the injustice that Native Americans continue to suffer under an oppressive and unethical federal government.
For news and updates go to:100yearsthemovie.com
What does it mean to film another person? How does it affect that person - and what does it do to the one who films? A boxing match in Brooklyn; life in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina; the daily routine of a Nigerian midwife; an intimate family moment at home: these scenes and others are woven into Cameraperson, a tapestry of footage captured over the twenty-five-year career of documentary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson. Through a series of episodic juxtapositions, Johnson explores the relationships between image makers and their subjects, the tension between the objectivity and intervention of the camera, and the complex interaction of unfiltered reality and crafted narrative. A work that combines documentary, autobiography, and ethical inquiry, Cameraperson is both a moving glimpse into one filmmaker’s personal journey and a thoughtful examination of what it means to train a camera on the world. Director and subject Kirsten Johnson stops by to talk about her career, what inspires her, the power of the image and often conflicting realities of documentary filmmaking.
For news and updates go to: camerapersonfilm.com
When 13-year-old Jake's (Theo Taplitz) grandfather dies, his family moves from Manhattan back into his father's old Brooklyn home. There, Jake befriends the charismatic Tony (Michael Barbieri), whose single mother Leonor (Paulina Garcia, Gloria), a dressmaker from Chile, runs the shop downstairs. Soon, Jake's parents Brian (Greg Kinnear) and Kathy (Jennifer Ehle) -- one, a struggling actor, the other, a psychotherapist -- ask Leonor to sign a new, steeper lease on her store. For Leonor, the proposed new rent is untenable, and a feud ignites between the adults. At first, Jake and Tony don't seem to notice; the two boys, so different on the surface, begin to develop a formative kinship as they discover the pleasures of being young in Brooklyn. Jake aspires to be an artist, while Tony wants to be an actor, and they have dreams of going to the same prestigious arts high school together. But the children can't avoid the problems of their parents forever, and soon enough, the adult conflict intrudes upon the borders of their friendship. Director and co-writer Ira Sachs (Love is Strange, Keep the Lights On, Forty Shades of Blue) with his trademark humanism and insight, Little Men highlights the New York City landscape with a story of life-defining friendships in the midst of familial turmoil. He joins us for a conversation on his latest cinematic gem.
For news and updates go to:littlemenfilm.com
1967: the height of the Cold War, Tte CIA suspects there is a Russian mole inside of NASA, sabotaging the Apollo program. They send two young agents on a mission to go undercover, posing as documentary filmmakers to capture NASA’s race to the moon. The real mission – use their access and technology to hunt down the leak. But what they discover is far more shocking than soviet spies… Their government may be hiding a secret about Apollo that could define the decade, and the White House will stop at nothing to silence anyone who learns it. Operation Avalanche, Director Matt Johnson’s follow-up to the widely-acclaimed The Dirties, is another fake documentary film starring Johnson and collaborator Owen Williams, once again as young would-be filmmakers. This time, though, the DV cameras and school-shooting plot are swapped out for 16mm and the faking of the moon landing. Director Matt Johnson and Producer Matthew Miller join us for a conversation on the inspiration for Operation Avalanche , striking the right tone and the wide variety of reactions of filmgoers to the “conspiracy.”
For news and updates go to: operation-avalanche
In this tense and immersive tour de force film, When Two Worlds Collide, audiences are taken directly into the line of fire between powerful, opposing Peruvian leaders who will stop at nothing to keep their respective goals intact. On the one side is President Alan Garcia, who, eager to enter the world stage, begins aggressively extracting oil, minerals, and gas from untouched indigenous Amazonian land. He is quickly met with fierce opposition from indigenous leader Alberto Pizango, whose impassioned speeches against Garcia’s destructive actions prove a powerful rallying cry to throngs of his supporters. When Garcia continues to ignore their pleas, a tense war of words erupts into deadly violence. Co-director Heidi Brandenburg (Mathew Orzel) joins us to talk about the physically arduous and personally dangerous challenges they faced in making this dynamic and compelling film.
For news and updates go to: whentwoworldscollide.com
Opening Friday, September 16th at the Laemmle Monica Film Center
n 2008, Seattle police detective Kim Bogucki walked through the gates of the Washington Corrections Center for Women, intent on asking a group of mothers for permission to work with their school-aged daughters in a Girl Scouts Beyond Bars troop for girls with incarcerated parents. On that day, Bogucki asked the mothers a critical question: “If there was something someone could have said or done that would have changed the path that led you here, what would it have been?” For one of the inmates in particular, this question struck a chord; Renata Abramson, a repeat offender serving a nine-year sentence. In the days that followed, Renata took it upon herself to answer that question inthe-if-project-kim-and-renata writing, and invited her fellow prisoners to do the same. When Bogucki returned to prison a month later, Renata handed her a stack of raw and poignant essays and The IF Project was born. In the United States, there are over 6.8 million people in prison, jail, on probation or parole. That is 1 in every 35 adults. Perhaps even more alarming is that women are the fastest growing segment of the incarcerated population, increasing at nearly double the rate of men since 1985. Director Kathlyn Horan joins us for a conversation on the challenges, the disappointments and the rewards that have been part of the 8-year odyssey behind the making of The If Project.
BROADCAST PREMIERE: Premiering on Logo on Wednesday, September 14 at 8pm ET/PT,
For news and updates go to: theifprojectmovie.com
The War On Cancer, launched in the early 1970s, set the stage for a massive influx of new ideas in fighting the disease of cancer. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, America�s leading cancer research center at the time, was assigned the task of testing an unconventional therapy called �Laetrile� in an effort to curb the public�s �false hope� in the alleged �quack� therapy. Ralph W. Moss PhD, a young and eager science writer, was hired by Sloan-Kettering�s public relations department in 1974 to help brief the American public on the center�s contribution to the War On Cancer. One of his first assignments was to write a biography about Dr. Kanematsu Sugiura, one of the Center�s oldest and leading research scientists as well as the original co-inventor of chemotherapy. While meeting with this iconic scientist to pen a biography on his 60-year career at Sloan-Kettering, Moss discovered that Sugiura had been studying this �quack remedy� in laboratory mice, and with unexpectedly positive results. Director Eric Merola stops by Film School to talk about what happens when money, power and idealism converge.
Director Eric Merola will participate in Q&A's after the 6 and 8 PM screenings on Friday and Saturday, September 5 and 6, and after the 4:05 and 6 PM screenings on Sunday, September 7 at the Laemmle Music Hall 3 in Los Angeles.
Richard Linklater: Dream is Destiny takes the viewer from the Academy Awards for the acclaimed, Boyhood, and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Linklater’s latest film, Everybody Wants Some. Throughout the film, Richard Linklater himself addresses his own life at mid-career point, at times while embarrassed and shy. He tells of the influential array of filmmakers, playwrights and criminals that continue to form his own independent work, and the philosophical modalities which have guided the path; all in conversation with Louis Black, an Austin-based journalist who has known him since the 1980’s. Other interviews include Ethan Hawke, Jack Black, Jonathan Demme, Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Adair and Julie Delpy, members of the Linklater family, Clark Walker and more. Richard Linklater: Dream is Destiny was produced for PBS’ American Masters series is an unusual look at a fiercely independent style of filmmaking that arose from Austin, Texas in the 1980s/ early 90’s. It is an unconventional look at how Linklater’s films of that period, Slacker, Dazed and Confused and Before Sunrise, sparked a low budget, in your own backyard movement in this country and around the world. Co-directors and co-producers Louis Black and Karen Bernstein joins us for a spirited conversation on what makes Richard run, the early days of the Austin film scene and how Linklater has influenced and mentored many of the independent film world’s brightest talents.
For news and updates go to: linklaterdoc.com
In 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade recognized the right of every woman in the United States to have an abortion. Since 2011, over half the states in the nation have significantly restricted access to abortions. In 2016, abortion remains one of the most divisive issues in America, especially in Missouri, where only one abortion clinic remains open, patients and their doctors must navigate a 72-hour waiting period, and each year sees more restrictions. Awarding-winning director and Missouri native Tracy Droz Tragos sheds new light on the contentious issue with a focus not tracy-droz-tragoson the debate, but rather on the women themselves – those struggling with unplanned pregnancies, the providers who show up at clinics to give medical care, as well as the activists on both sides of the issue hoping to sway decisions and lives. Tragos’ illuminating documentary Abortion: Stories Women Tell offers an intimate window into the lives of these women through their personal stories. Some are heartbreaking and tender some are bleak and frightening; some women, on both sides of the issue, find the choice easy to make due to their own circumstances and beliefs, while others simply inform us of the strength and capacity of women to overcome and persevere through complicated and unexpected circumstances. Director and producer Tracy Droz Tragos joins us for a conversation on one of the most contentious and intractable issues facing women and her beautifully balanced, heart wrenching and moving documentary.
For news and updates go to: storieswomentell.com
Two-time Academy Award-Winner® Barbara Kopple (Harlan County USA, American Dream) follows Grammy-nominated R&B dynamo Sharon Jones during the most courageous year of her life. Often compared to the legendary James Brown because of her powerful and energetic performances, Sharon Jones is no stranger to challenge. For years her music career struggled as she was kept in the wings by a music industry that branded her “too short, too black, too fat.” After decades of working odd jobs, from abarbara-kopple-photo corrections officer to a wedding singer, Sharon had a middle-aged breakthrough after joining forces with Brooklyn R&B outfit The Dap-Kings. In 2013, on the eve of the release of the much-anticipated album Give the People What They Want, Sharon was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Miss Sharon Jones! is a triumphant crowd-pleaser that captures an irrepressible human spirit as she battles back to where she belongs; center stage. Director / Producer Barbara Kopple joins us to talk about the daunting personal and career challenges Miss Sharon Jones has faced and her inexhaustible energy to create and carry on.
For news and updates go to:cabincreekfilms.com
GLEASON is the powerful, inspiring story of Steve Gleason and his mission - after being diagnosed with ALS - to leave a legacy for his son and make the world a better place for all people with neurological disorders. At the age of 34, Gleason, a former NFL defensive back and New Orleans hero, was diagnosed with ALS and given a life expectancy of two to five years. Weeks later, Steve and his wife Michel discovered that Michel was pregnant with their first child. Director Clay Tweel's GLEASON masterfully assembles roughly four years of footage, including personal and surprisingly humorous video journals shot by Gleason himself for his then-unborn son Rivers, and the athlete's globe-trotting adventures undertaken as part of his mission to live his life to the fullest. What emerges from this incredibly intimate portrait is not only a showcase of an astonishing assertion of the human spirit, but, more importantly, a powerful and inspirational look at life, love and family, and the intense bonds between husbands and wives and fathers and sons, in sickness and in health. GLEASON premiered to standing ovations and widespread critical acclaim at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival before garnering an audience award at the recent SXSW Film Festival. Director Clay Tweel (Finders Keepers, Print the Legend) joins us to talk about getting to know Steve and Michel, witnessing the day-to-day challenges that come with the devastating impacts of ALS and the process of editing down over 1,300 hours of video.
For news and updates go to gleasonmovie.com
From executive producers Terrence Malick, Natalie Portman, and Chris Eyre comes this haunting and unflinching debut feature, THE SEVENTH FIRE, directed by Jack Pettibone Riccobono. When gang leader Rob Brown is sentenced to prison for a fifth time, he must confront his role in bringing violent drug culture into his beloved American Indian community in northern Minnesota. As Rob reckons with his past, his seventeen-year-old protégé, Kevin, dreams of the future: becoming the most powerful and feared Native gangster on the reservation. Director, Producer, Writer, and Director of Photography Jack Pettibone Riccobono has produced and directed a wide range of work across the five boroughs of his native New York City and around the world, from Moscow to Shanghai to Freetown. His narrative short KILLER premiered at New Directors / New Films and won Best Short at the Nantucket Film Festival. His short documentary THE SACRED FOOD, shot on the same reservation as THE SEVENTH FIRE, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. Riccobono joins us for a conversation on the chronic unemployment and sense of desperation that permeates Native American reservations like Pine Point as well as the sliver of hope that may point to a brighter future.
For news and updates go to: theseventhfire.com
Netflix is the definitive media company of the 21st century. It was among the first to parlay new Internet technologies into a successful business model, and in the process it changed how consumers access film and television. It is now one of the leading providers of digitally delivered media content and is continually expanding access across a host of platforms and mobile devices. Despite its transformative role, however, Netflix has drawn very little critical attention-far less than competitors such as YouTube, Apple, Amazon, Comcast, and HBO. The Netflix Effect, Technology and Entertainment in the 21st Century addresses this gap, as the essays are designed to critically explore the breadth and diversity of Netflix's effect from a variety of different scholarly perspectives, a necessary approach considering the hybrid nature of Netflix; its inextricable links to new models of media production and distribution, to new modes of viewer engagement and consumer behavior, its relationship to existing media conglomerates and consumer electronics, to its capabilities as a web-based service provider and data network, and to its reliance on a broader technological infrastructure. Marking the first scholarly work to address its significance. Co-author and editor Kevin P. McDonald talks about how The Netflix Effect provides a critical framework for understanding the company's specific strategies as well as its broader social, economic, and cultural impact. McDonald teaches at the Communication Studies Department at Cal State Northridge, USA. His research focuses on film theory, contemporary Hollywood, and media industries. His work has appeared in Jump-Cut, Velvet Light Trap, and Alphaville.
For more on Netflix Effect go to: bloomsbury.com/us/the-netflix-effect
Men’s style has changed dramatically over the past few years. MAKING THE AMERICAN MAN will grant viewers access into the creative minds of the artisans and entrepreneurs who are leading this movement. Some of these “makers” are tried-and-true, rediscovered heritage American brands, dedicated to an unwavering tradition of union-made quality. Others are young entrepreneurs who mourn the transition to disposable, imported clothing—and so were inspired to make menswear that equaled the artisanal quality products that their parents and grandparents took for granted. MAKING THE AMERICAN MAN draws its power from intimate conversations with over 35 cult-cool designers and tastemakers who have defined what classic masculinity looks like today, and how they feel it must be produced. From Los Angeles to New York and everywhere in between, these cultural trendsetters shed light on the modern age of American men’s style, the value of American-made goods—and how one cannot exist without the other. MAKING THE AMERICAN MAN Director Gregory Caruso joins us to talk about the present and future of American manufacturing, craftsmanship and modern masculinity.
Now available on Netflix
For news and updates go to: makingtheamericanman.com
The latest documentary from the renowned filmmaking team of Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker (The War Room), UNLOCKING THE CAGE follows trailblazing animal rights lawyer Steven Wise in his challenge to break down the legal wall that separates animals from humans. UNLOCKING THE CAGE premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Given that the Supreme Court has ruled that corporations are people, why not chimps? Attorney Steven Wise and his legal team, the Nonhuman Rights Project, are making history by filing the first lawsuits that seek to transform an animal from a “thing” with no rights to a “person” with legal protections. Supported by affidavits from primatologists around the world, Wise maintains that, based on scientific evidence, cognitively complex animals such as chimpanzees, whales, dolphins and elephants have the capacity for limited personhood rights that would protect them from abuse. The filmmakers capture Wise’s progress: from the halls of academia to animal sanctuaries and zoos, and finally into the courtrooms where he makes a compelling case on behalf of four captive chimpanzees in New York State. UNLOCKING THE CAGE captures a monumental shift in our culture, as the public and judicial system show increasing receptiveness to Wise’s impassioned arguments. It is a provocative and intimate look at a lawsuit that could forever transform our legal system, and one man’s lifelong quest to protect “nonhuman” animals. Among the most renowned and recognized documentary filmmakers, co-directors Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker join us to talk about their latest groundbreaking film.
For news and updates go to: unlockingthecage
Get involved: nonhumanrightsproject.org and unlockingthecagethefilm.com/sanctuaries
Riding at night through streets deemed dangerous in Eastside Los Angeles, the Ovarian Psycos use their bicycles to confront the violence in their lives. At the helm of the crew is founder Xela de la X, a single mother and poet M.C. dedicated to recruiting an unapologetic, misfit crew of women of color. The film intimately chronicles Xela as she struggles to strike a balance between her activism and nine year old daughter Yoli; street artist Andi who is estranged from her family and journeys to become a leader within the crew; and bright eyed recruit Evie, who despite poverty, and the concerns of her protective Salvadoran mother, discovers a Kate and Joanna Picnewfound confidence. Co-directors Joanna Sokolowski & Kate Trumbull-LaValle stop by to talk about the boldness of Ovas’ politics, their brazen approach to feminism, and unapologetic aesthetic: a hybrid mix of Chicana, Riot Grrrl, Zapatista and militant-punk cultural markers and the individual personalities that make Ovarian Psycos such a compelling watch.
For news and updates go to:sylviafrancesfilms.com/
Travis (Matt McGorry), a young struggling musician, crosses paths with Ellen (Amy Hargreaves), an older married yoga teacher who is trying to adopt a child with her husband. Travis and Ellen begin an affair that slowly deepens into something more intimate and profound. As their encounters continue, Ellen is confronted with her failing marriage while Travis must face the consequences of his actions. Written and directed by Marc Meyers (HARVEST) and stars Matt McGorry (Orange is the New Black), Amy Hargreaves (Homeland, BLUE RUIN), Britne Oldford (American Horror Story) and veteran film and theatre actor Mark Blum (Mozart in the Jungle). Director Marc Meyers joins us for a conversation on managing the responsibilities of writing, producing and directing his own unforgettably intimate film.
For news and updates go to: howhefellinlove.com
Inventive and wildly fun, NUTS! recounts the unbelievable true story of John Romulus Brinkley, a Kansas doctor who in 1917 discovered that he could cure impotence by transplanting goat testicles into men. From there, the story only gets more bizarre. Mixing hand-drawn animated reenactments, interviews, archival footage, and a very unreliable narrator, NUTS! traces Brinkley’s rise from poverty and obscurity to the heights of celebrity, wealth, and influence. Along the way, he transplants thousands of goat testicles, amasses an enormous fortune, is (sort of) elected Governor of Kansas, invents junk mail and the infomercial, builds the world’s most powerful radio station, and generally annoys the heck out of the establishment. Filmmaker Penny Lane has skillfully borrowed a page from her subject - charming viewers into believing the unbelievable, building their trust and excitement, until the final chapter bares the painful truth and reveals the doctor for what he truly was. NUTS! reminds us that our love of (and need for) compelling narratives is exactly what makes us so endlessly susceptible to being conned. Director Penny Lane stops by for a conversation on Brinkley, our collective need to believe in something and any contemporary parallels to be drawn from this bizarre story.
For news and updates go to: nutsthefilm.com
NUTS! had it's World Premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing.
Audience Award at the San Francisco Film Festival, Winner of the Audience Award at Full Frame Film Festival and the Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival, Life, Animated, from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Roger Ross Williams (“Music by Prudence”), is the inspirational story of Owen Suskind, a young man who was unable to speak as a child until he and his family discovered a unique way to communicate by immersing themselves in the world of classic Disney animated films. This emotional coming-of-age documentary follows Owen as he graduates to adulthood and takes his first steps toward independence. The subject of his father Ron Suskind’s New York Times bestseller, Owen was a thriving three-year-old who suddenly and inexplicably went silent—and for years after remained unable to connect with other people or to convey his thoughts, feelings or desires. Over time, through repeated viewings of Disney classics like The Little Mermaid and The Lion King, Owen found useful tools to help him to understand complex social cues and to re-connect with the world around him. Life, Animated evocatively interweaves classic Disney sequences with vérité scenes from Owen’s life in order to explore how his identification and empathy for characters like Simba, Jafar and Ariel gave him a means to understand his feelings and allowed him to interpret reality. Director and Producer Roger Ross Williams (God Love Uganda) joins us to talk about the challenge of presenting a balanced portrait of Owen Suskind and his family.
For news and updates go to: lifeanimateddoc.com/
NDIAN POINT takes an unblinking look at the dramatic debate over nuclear power by going inside the aging plant that looms just 35 miles from New York City. With over 50 million people living in close proximity to the facility, it has stoked a great deal of controversy in the surrounding community, including a vocal anti-nuclear contingent concerned that the kind of disaster that happened at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant could happen here. At the same time, its continued operation has the support of the plant’s operators and the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) as they campaign to relicense Indian Point for another 20 years of operation. INDIAN POINT presents a complex story through the people who are most invested in the nuclear industry—the owners of the plant, the workers at the plant and the activists who want to shut it down. The debate at the center of INDIAN POINT is more timely now than ever. In February of 2016, news broke that the groundwater below Indian Point had been contaminated with radioactive material, prompting a state investigation. Director and producer Ivy Meeropol takes full advantage of her unprecedented access to the plant at the center of the most contentious relicensing process in the history of the industry. Her even-handed approach to the history and issues surrounding nuclear energy in general and INDIAN POINT specifically makes the film compelling filmmaking and indispensable viewing for anyone who cares about our energy future.
For news and updates go to: firstrunfeatures.com/indianpoint
MARCH OF THE LIVING tells the story of the last generation of Holocaust survivors traveling to Poland with thousands of teenagers from around the world to revisit the sites of the Holocaust and retrace the Death March from Auschwitz to Birkenau, in a journey of remembrance. Filmed in Brazil, Germany, Poland, Israel and the US, the film tells the moving story of the survivors’ hope of passing down their history and memory of the Holocaust to the next generation. MARCH OF THE LIVING follows survivors and teens from Sao Paulo, Los Angeles and Berlin on an emotional journey as they confront the enormity of the past and the possibility of hope in a visit to Israel on its 60th anniversary. A contemporary and unique look at the Holocaust, the film features striking cinematography of the concentration camps today and images and artifacts never seen. MARCH OF THE LIVING raises questions about Holocaust memory as it relates to genocides worldwide today, and about what will happen when the remaining survivors, now in their 80’s and 90’s, will be gone. MARCH OF THE LIVING director and writer Jessica Sanders joins us to talk about the desire of Holocaust survivors to share their memories and the hope that the world will say once and for all never again to racism, indifference, anti-semitism and injustice.
For news and updates on Jessica Sanders go to: jessicasandersfilm.com
For news and updates on March of the Living go to: www.visitfilms.com
WIENER-DOG is a dark, starkly funny story of a single dog and the many different people she touches over her short lifetime. Man’s best friend starts out teaching a young boy some contorted life lessons before being taken in by a compassionate vet tech named Dawn Wiener. Dawn reunites with someone from her past and sets off on a road trip. After leaving Dawn, Wiener-Dog encounters a floundering film professor, as well as an embittered elderly woman and her needy granddaughter—all longing for something more. Solondz’s perversely dark comedy offers an appallingly honest look at the American experience, brought to life by its all-star cast. As to be expected, WIENER-DOG has all the characteristics of the Solondz oeuvre — quick wit, dark tragedy, familiar characters, and an incredible ensemble cast—but the film’s brainchild also found inspiration in classic films. As Solandz says, “The touchstones were movies like AU HASARD BALTHAZAR and BENJI. In between those two is where I think this film lies.” Solandz joins us to talk about the making of Wiener Dog and the state of independent filmmaking in 2016.
For news and updates go to: ifcfilms.com/films/wiener-dog
HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE is a zany tale of a defiant city kid, Ricky, raised on hip-hop and foster care, gets a fresh start in the New Zealand countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: the loving Aunt Bella, the cantankerous Uncle Hec, and dog Tupac. When a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go on the run in the bush. As a national manhunt ensues, the newly branded outlaws must face their options: go out in a blaze of glory or overcome their differences and survive as a family. Equal parts road comedy and rousing adventure story, director Taika Waititi (WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, upcoming THOR: RAGNORAK) masterfully weaves lively humor with emotionally honest performances by Sam Neill, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House and Julian Dennison. A hilarious, touching crowd-pleaser, HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE reminds us about the journey that growing up is (at any age) and those who help us along the way. Producer Carthew Neal (Tickled, A Band Called Hook Ups) joins us to talk about how Barry Crump’s classic book, Wild Pork and Watercress found its way into the hands of the talented director and writer Taika Waititi and onto the screen.
For news and updates go to: wilderpeople.film
In a madcap art world obsessed with money, fame and hype, how does an artist driven by justice, defiance and his own singular style thrive? ART BASTARD is the rousing tale of a rebel who never fit into today’s art world… yet has become one of its most provocative, rabble-rousing characters nevertheless. At once a portrait of the artist as a young troublemaker, an alternate history of modern art and a quintessential New York story, ART BASTARD is as energetic, humorous and unapologetically honest as the uncompromising man at its center: Robert Cenedella. Cenedella was a contemporary of Andy Warhol. But he has essentially served as the anti-Warhol. His noisy, raucous, color-splashed paintings of city scenes approach the world with a sincerity that defies the irony, frivolity and controversy-for-the-sake-of-controversy that have become the cultural currency since the 60s. In a fast-moving series of riveting interviews with family members, art critics, museum directors, New York power brokers, art students and Cenedella himself, director Victor Kanefsky candidly presents Cenedella’s personal journey – and reveals the creation of a modern art career that ignored all the modern art rules. What ART BASTARD shows, in stunning cinematic detail, are the living, breathing, storytelling canvases that Cenedella has created for six decades. The result is a visceral art documentary that also has the sweeping impact of a feature film – at once an investigation of a man’s identity, an inquiry into what art is and who it’s for and a feisty portrait of the ups and downs of a life lived on one’s own terms. The artist and subject of ART BASTARD, Robert Cenedella joins us for a spirit discussion of love, life and art.
For news and updates go to: artbastard.com
One of the most talked-about films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, TICKLED begins with reporter David Farrier stumbling upon a bizarre “competitive endurance tickling” video online, wherein young men are paid to be tied up and tickled, and reaching out to request a story from the company. But the reply he receives is shocking—the sender mocks Farrier's sexual orientation and threatens extreme legal action should he dig any deeper. So, like any good journalist confronted by a bully, he does just the opposite: he travels to the hidden tickling facilities in Los Angeles and uncovers a vast empire, known for harassing and harming the lives of those who protest their involvement in these films. The more he investigates, the stranger it gets, discovering secret identities and criminal activity. Discovering the truth becomes Farrier’s obsession, despite increasingly sinister threats and warnings. With humor and determination, Farrier and co-director Dylan Reeve summon up every resource available to get to the bottom of this tickling worm-hole. Reeve joins us for a conversation on the world of competitive tickling, the competitors and promoters involved in tickling as well as the litigious and threatening environment that making TICKLED has engendered.
For news and updates go to: tickledmovie.com
Fifty years ago, the name "Kitty Genovese" became synonymous with urban apathy after 38 eyewitnesses did nothing while an attacker stabbed her to death on a street in New York City. “For more than half an hour,” The New York Times report began, “38 respectable, law-abiding citizens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks.” Forty years later, her brother Bill, who was 16 at the time of his sister’s death, decides to re-examine the details of the crime. THE WITNESS is a probing and deeply personal investigation into one of the most iconic crimes in New York history, featuring interviews with those closest to the murder including the surviving witnesses to Kitty’s death. It offers an illuminating look into the way stories take form and their rippling effects on the lives they touch. THE WITNESS, a gripping and emotional documentary look at the mythic death and little-known life of Kitty Genovese, is the directorial debut of New York screenwriter ("The Conspirator") James Solomon. James sits down to talk about Kitty’s brother and his personal story and how Kitty’s tragic story came to condemn a city and define an era.
For news and updates go to: thewitness-film.com
In his feature film debut crime heist thriller, MISFORTUNE, director-writer-producer-lead actor Desmond Devenish takes us through a world of intrigue, family secrets and double crosses. Mallick, after his prison release, hunts down his ex-partner's son, Boyd, an out of work mechanic, whom he believes could lead the way to the missing, stolen diamonds, which landed him in lockup years earlier. With the threat of death and chance at a potential small fortune, Boyd, his girlfriend Sloan and best friend Russell, a small time crook, set out on a rugged search through the treacherous Arizona desert. As events spiral out of control, the prospects of a criminal fugitive lifestyle become an inevitable reality. In addition to Devenish MISFORTUNE also stars co-screenwriter Xander Bailey, Jenna Kanell, Kevin Gage, Steve Earle and Nick Mancuso. Director-writer-producer-lead actor Desmond Devenish joins us to talk about the challenges and rewards that come with taking on the heavy responsibilities of the multi-hyphens he takes on for MISFORTUNE while staying true to his original vision.
For news and updates go to:facebook.com/MisfortuneFilm
KING JACK is the story of a scrappy fifteen year-old kid, Jack, stuck in a run-down small town. Trapped in a violent feud with a cruel older bully and facing another bout of summer school, Jack’s got all the problems he can handle. So when Jack’s aunt falls ill and his runty younger cousin must stay with him for the weekend the last thing Jack wants to do is look after him. Unfortunately no one really cares what Jack wants. Set over a hazy summer weekend, KING JACK is a tough and tender coming of age story about friendship and finding happiness in rough surroundings. It feature a terrific ensemble cast of young actors headed up by an beautifully realized performance from Charlie Plummer, as Jack. Director Felix Thompson previous short films have been in competition at festivals such as SXSW, Tribeca and the BFI’s London Film Festival. His first short film “Bedford Park Boulevard” was awarded a grant from the National Board of Review and also picked up the top prizes at NYU’s First Run Film Festival in 2010. KING JACK is his first feature film and was selected for the Sundance Creative Producing Labs along with producer Gabrielle Nadig. Director Felix Thompson joins us to talk about his honest, gritty, award winning feature film debut.
For news and updates go to: kingjackmovie.com
THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS: YO-YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE follows an ever-changing lineup of performers drawn from the ensemble’s more than 50 instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they gather in locations across the world, exploring the ways art can both preserve traditions and shape cultural evolution. Over the past 16 years, an extraordinary group of musicians has come together to celebrate the universal power of music. Named for the ancient trade route linking Asia, Africa and Europe, The Silk Road Ensemble, an international collective created by acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma, exemplifies music’s ability to blur geographical boundaries, blend disparate cultures and inspire hope for both artists and audiences. Blending performance footage, personal interviews and archival film, Academy Award winning director of 20 FEET FROM STARDOM Morgan Neville (Cool School, Beauty is Embarrassing, Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story, Best of Enemies) and producer Caitrin Rogers focus on the journeys of a small group of Silk Road Ensemble mainstays from across the globe to create an intensely personal chronicle of passion, talent and sacrifice.
For news and update go to:themusicofstrangers.film
irector Eric Merola’s THE GOD CELLS explores one of the most controversial and polarizing subjects facing mankind today: the harvesting of stem cells from aborted fetuses to be used for therapeutic use. Currently, the clinical practice fetal stem cell therapy is illegal in the United States, but research toward seeking FDA-approval has been underway for more than a decade. Stem Cell research and therapy have been growing at a rapid rate over the past 15 years. Scientific advances coupled with consumer demand has proven that stem cell therapy is the wave of the future, and is poised to change the face of medicine. THE GOD CELLS takes the audience on a journey by following those who are seeking fetal stem cell therapy abroad—while avoiding these seemingly insurmountable roadblocks at home. THE GOD CELLS follows patients from all walks of life who sought fetal stem cells for a variety of reasons: including Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Lupus and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Also included are interviews with some of the patients’ doctors, who were once highly skeptical, but now stand baffled by the full remissions their patients have achieved due to fetal stem cells. In addition to THE GOD CELLS Merola’s other documentaries, Burzynski (2010-2013), and Second Opinion have received rave reviews by the mainstream press with the New York Daily News saying: “Though a documentary, it’s dramatic enough to be reminiscent of ‘The Insider,’ the whistleblowing thriller about Big Tobacco.” Director Merola stops by to talk about many of the religious, scientific, cultural, financial and political this very promising therapy will have to overcome to become a viable option for people in need.
For news and updates go to: stemcellsmovie.com
THE HOUSE ON COCO ROAD is the personal and intimate account of filmmaker Damani Baker’s mother – Fannie Haughton – and her role and participation in American history. Over the years she has been active as a student, teacher, writer, scholar, and activist/organizer. In this family portrait of nationalism and freedom, Baker draws on poignant archival footage and insights from well-respected activists, including Angela Davis offering historical and emotional truths through the journey of one family striving for a better society. In the midst of the racial violence sparked by President Reagan’s war on drugs, leading a normal life had become unfeasible for many citizens of Oakland, California. In a moment of inspiration, activist and teacher Fannie Haughton decided to show her children a different way of life. She and her children moved to the island nation of Grenada to participate in an Afro-centric revolution with the goal of realizing a utopian, socialist society. But in Grenada, a U.S. military invasion threatened their safety and dreams. THE HOUSE ON COCO ROAD director Damani Baker joins to talk about his family’s remarkable journey through the worlds of racism, activism and international politics.
THE HOUSE ON COCO ROAD will have it’s WORLD PREMIERE at the LA FILM FESTIVAL
facebook.com/The-House-on-Coco-Road
damanibaker.com/grenada-a-dream-deferred
THEY CALL US MONSTERS takes viewers behind the walls of the Compound, the facility where Los Angeles houses its most violent juvenile criminals. To their advocates, they’re kids. To the system, they’re adults. To their victims, they’re monsters. Three such young offenders sign up to take a screenwriting class to write a movie while they await their respective trials: Jarad, who was arrested at 16 and faces 200-years to life for four attempted murders; Juan, who was arrested at 16 and faces 90-to life for first-degree murder; and Antonio, who was arrested at 14 and faces 90-to life for two attempted murders. Halfway through the class, Antonio returns to juvenile court and gets released with time served. Once back in his neighborhood, he quickly falls victim to the same environment and patterns that led to his incarceration in the first place. Meanwhile, the realities of Jarad and Juan’s crimes and pending trials set in. Ultimately, the film asks how should the system deal with offenders like these young boys. Do they have a capacity to change and return to society one day? Does society have a responsibility to these kids? Or to their victims? Do they deserve a second chance? Director Ben Lear stops by to talk about all of the social, political and cultural issues that have made children “irredeemable” and vilified when it comes to crime and punishment.
For news and updates go to: theycallusmonsters.com
In 2004 Dr. William Hurwitz was convicted of over 50 counts of narcotics distribution and handed a 25-year prison sentence. Eve Marson’s documentary, DR. FEELGOOD, traces Dr. Hurwitz’s trial and eventual appeal, detailing the events that lead to his arrest. Testimonies from the witnesses in Dr. Hurwitz’s case contradict one another – some revere him, while others condemn him. Taken together, their accounts reveal a profile of a compassionate yet flawed doctor. DR. FEELGOOD, in telling his story, underscores the tension between every patient’s right to pain relief and the lawful need for drug control. In 2016, statistics of drug abuse are skyrocketing nationwide and doctors continue to be targeted by the DEA. The federal government recently issued its first national guidelines to control opioid prescriptions. There could not be a more critical time to spark a discussion on this topic and call for careful thought and action. Director Eve Marson has worked on a wide variety of documentary projects, including television programming for PBS, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet and independent feature films such as Fed Up (released with Radius-TWC May 2014) and Craigslist Joe (released with Gravitas Ventures, August 2012). Marson has also created a large library of nonfiction video work in collaboration with GOOD Inc. and other social-action organizations. evemarson.com. Director / Producer Marson join us for a conversation on her balanced and thought provoking portrait of a doctor who’s life and practice embodies the best and the worst in modern medicine.
For news and updates go to: drfeelgoodfilm.com
Inspired by real-life stories from the perspective of youth street gang members in Los Angeles and by Los Angeles filmmaker Charles Burnett's KILLER OF SHEEP, I AM GANGSTER brings a realistic non-judgmental portrait of life on the street set in the contemporary City of Angels. First time feature director Rechenberg has assembled a spectacular cast of talented individuals who show us the hurt and love that these characters go through in dealing with street gangs and the challenges of daily survival. Newcomers Rick Mancia (EAST LOS HIGH), Gilberto Ortiz (LADY DYNAMITE) and impressive first timer Abraham Bobadilla lead the cast with explosive and touching performances that will leave audiences wanting to see more of them on screen in the future. Director Moritz Rechenberg stops by for a conversation on his electrifying feature film debut.
For news and updates go to: reflektivfilms.com/iamgangster or iamgangsterfilm.com
ALMOST HOLY follows Pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko as he attempts to rescue homeless and drug-addicted Ukrainian youth, utilizing highly controversial "tough love" methods in which he forcibly abducts street kids. A powerful portrait of a unorthodox folk hero, the film serves as a eye-opening look into Ukraine's rapidly evolving social and political reality. The critically acclaimed sophomore feature documentary from director Steve Hoover (Sundance Grand Jury and Audience Award winner Blood Brother) is executive produced by Terrence Malick and features a score by Atticus Ross (Gone Girl, The Social Network). The film premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. Director Steve Hoover stops by to talk about a courageous man on a crusade to impact the live and the surroundings of the most vulnerable.
For news and updates go to: almostholyfilm.com
In Margarita with a Straw Indian writer/director Shonali Bose beautifully portrays the story of a luminous Indian teenager with cerebral palsy who leaves her homeland to study in New York, falls in love with a young blind woman, and begins a remarkable journey to self-discovery and independence. Bose was inspired to write this humane story by her cousin's experience with cerebral palsy. Margarita with a Straw features award-winning performances from some of India's most acclaimed actors, including Kalki Koechlin as Laila in a remarkable and life affirming portrayal. Margarita with a Straw is told with insight and humor. Director Sonali Bose joins us for a conversation on censorship, changing perceptions within her home country of India on same sex relations and how her own life experience inspired the making of this warm hearted film.
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Anthony Weiner was a young congressman with one of the most promising careers in Washington when a sexting scandal forced a humiliating resignation. Made with unprecedented access as he mounts his New York City mayoral campaign, WEINER is a thrilling look inside his impending political meltdown. What begins as an unexpected comeback takes a sharp turn once Weiner is forced to admit to new sexting allegations. As the media descends and dissects his every move, Weiner desperately tries to forge ahead, but the increasing pressure and crippling 24-hour news coverage halt his political aspirations dead in their tracks. WEINER teeters between political farce and personal tragedy. Filmmakers Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg stop by for a conversation on how gaining the trust and confidence of Huma Abedin and Anthony Weiner has given us a remarkably complex and nuance window into one of the highest profile and most tragic political scandals of the last 20 years.
For news and updates go to: ifcfilms.com/films/weiner
Shot over 7 years, Dogtown Redemption follows the lives of three street recyclers in an area of West Oakland, California nicknamed �Dogtown�: Jason Witt, the Olympic champion of recycling, who often hauls a shopping cart that weighs over a ton; Landon Goodwin, a former minister who struggles with his own fall from grace; and Miss Hayok Kay, the daughter of a prominent Korean family and drummer for a 1980s punk band, now at the mercy of the elements and predators. Each survives by redeeming bottles, cans, and assorted other recyclables at Alliance Metals, the neighborhood recycling company which functions as both a financial hub and community center. The poignant personal stories of Jason, Landon and Miss Kay reveal the art, science, economics and politics of recycling: what it offers, how it touches the poor, and why it matters to all of us. Filmmakers Amir Soltani and Chihiro Wimbush wanted to provide a different perspective on the homeless. The film reveals them to be hard-working, entrepreneurial individuals, who -- despite the many daunting challenges facing them � work incredibly hard to make their own way in the world. Dogtown Redemption premieres on Independent Lens Monday, May 16, 2016, 10:00-11:00 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS.
For news and updates go to: dogtownredemption.com/
MARINONI: The Fire in the Frame tells the story of cycling icon Giuseppe Marinoni, who found his calling when he transitioned from champion racer to master bike craftsman.? Born in Italy in 1937, Marinoni was a champion cyclist as a young man. In 1965, he was invited to Canada to participate in a race, and after meeting the love of his life, decided to stay in Canada for good, where he dominated competitive cycling for years.??When his racing career came to a natural end, Marinoni started tailoring fine steel bicycle frames from his shop in Montreal, Canada, where he has been perfecting his craft for over 40 years, earning him cult status in the world of cycling. ??After years hunched over toxic fumes, Marinoni's passion for building bikes almost killed him. Upon doctor's orders, Marinoni has gotten back into peak physical shape, now averaging 250 miles a week on his bike. At age 75, once again feeling his competitive spirit, he attempts to beat the world hour record for his age group, all on a bike he built with his own hands almost 40 years ago. MARINONI: The Fire in the Frame, a new film by Canadian filmmaker Tony Girardin was a Top 10 favorite at Hot Docs, North America's largest documentary festival, and has been touring non-stop as part of an ongoing, record-breaking run for a Canadian documentary. Director Girardin joins us to talk about gaining the confidence and trust of Giuseppe and his family for this entertaining and heart-warming film.
For news and updates go to: marinonimovie.com
Written, produced and directed by Tommy Oliver, inspired by his life growing up in Philadelphia, "1982" depicts the lengths one man will go to save his family. Tim Brown is a devoted family man who has worked hard to provide a good life for his wife Shenae and daughter Maya. But all is threatened when Shenae�s old boyfriend returns from prison and lures her back into a dangerous lifestyle. Though his wife has abandoned him, Tim refuses to give up hope, fighting against impossible odds to bring his family back together in this powerful drama. An official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival, �1982� features an all-star cast including, Hill Harper (�Concussion," "Limitless") Sharon Leal (�Dreamgirls�), Bokeem Woodbine (FX�s �Fargo�), La La Anthony (�Power�), Quinton Aaron (�The Blind Side�), introducing Troi Zee, with Wayne Brady and the Oscar� nominated Ruby Dee (Best Supporting Actress, �American Gangster,�) in the final performance of her legendary career. �1982� awards include the Best Film/Audience Awards at the Austin Film Festival and the Pan African Film Festival; Best Ensemble Acting and Best Director Award, Dallas Film Festival; Best Actor, Hill Harper, Santa Barbara Film Festival and First Time Fest NYC; Special Jury Award, First Time Fest, among others. Director Oliver joins us for a conversation on his very personal story and vivid depiction of a man trying desperately to hold on to those he holds dear.
Lionsgate and Codeblack Films will release �1982� on DVD, Digital and On Demand r on March 1, 2016. For more news and updates go to: lionsgateshop.com/
In the remarkable documentary Finders Keepers Shannon Whisnant has a nose for a bargain. But when he bought a used grill at a North Carolina auction, the severed human foot he found among its ashes was not part of the deal. Soon the gruesome discovery becomes the toast of the infotainment world, and the new owner spies a golden opportunity to cash in on the media frenzy, until struggling addict and amputee John Wood recognizes his missing member and demands his own foot back. This astonishing, stranger-than-fiction tale defies definition because it uniquely traverses the quirks of a small town in the midst of a media phenomenon, while it examines manifold human paradoxes such as greed, ego, familial dysfunction, and that most elusive of all human conditions, redemption. Co-directors Bryan Carberry and Clay Tweel joins us for a conversation on their wildly entertaining, and surprisingly touching film.
For news and updates go to: facebook.com/finderskeepersdocumentary/
When four outsiders saw what the big banks, media and government refused to, the global collapse of the economy, they had an idea: The Big Short. Their bold investment leads them into the dark underbelly of modern banking where they must question everyone and everything. The Big Short is being talked about as the best picture of the year. Its script, adapted by director Adam McKay (The Other Guys) and writer Charles Randolph (Love & Other Drugs) from Michael Lewis's bestselling 2009 book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, is considered one the frontrunners for the best adapted screenplay 2016 Academy Award. Randolph is an American screenwriter and producer for film and television. Randolph has written screenplays for several films and TV movies including The Life of David Gale (2003), The Interpreter (2005), and Love & Other Drugs (2010). Randolph received nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay and BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and an Academy Award nomination for co-writing The Big Short. Randolph joins us to talk about the challenges of write a script on a complex subject that is informative, intelligent and entertaining.
For news and updates go to: thebigshortmovie.com
Based on the personal life of the films director Deniz Gamze Ergoven personal life Mustang tells the story of five free-spirited teenage sisters living in a village in Northern Turkey. As the sisters splash about on the beach with their male classmate their innocent fun a neighbor reports what she considers to be illicit behavior to the girls family. The family overreacts, removing all instruments of corruption, like cell phones and computers, and essentially imprisoning the girls, subjecting them to endless lessons in housework in preparation for them to become brides. As the eldest sisters are married off, the younger ones bond together to avoid the same fate. The fierce love between them empowers them to rebel and chase a future where they can determine their own lives in Deniz Gamze Ergoven's debut, a powerful portrait of female empowerment. Mustang was selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, making the December shortlist of nine films. The film was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Director Ergoven's joins us for a conversation on her beautifully rendered story of five young women who refuse to be shackled by a repressive social system.
For a fifth consecutive December, a heartbroken Noel returns to New York City to work the night shift at a sidewalk Christmas tree lot. Devoid of any holiday spirit, he struggles to stay awake during the long, chilly nights in his trailer, while the daytime traffic keeps him from getting any real rest. As he slowly spirals into despair, he comes to the aid of a mysterious young woman in the park. Her warming presence, matched with some colorful customers, help rescue him from self-destruction. Director, writer and producer Charles Poekel stops by for a conversation on his lyrical, redemptive film about a man finding a unique take on a holiday tale.
For news and updates go to: factorytwentyfive.com/christmas-again/
Or the official Christmas Again website at: xmasagain.com
2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominee - John Cassavetes Award
Su Rynard�s wide-ranging and contemplative documentary THE MESSENGER explores our deep-seated connection to birds and warns that the uncertain fate of songbirds might mirror our own. Moving from the northern reaches of the Boreal Forest to the base of Mount Ararat in Turkey to the streets of New York, THE MESSENGER brings us face-to-face with a remarkable variety of human-made perils that have devastated thrushes, warblers, orioles, tanagers, grosbeaks and many other airborne music-makers. On one level, THE MESSENGER is an engaging, visually stunning, emotional journey, one that mixes its elegiac message with hopeful notes and unique glances into the influence of songbirds on our own expressions of the soul. On another level, THE MESSENGER is the artful story about the mass depletion of songbirds on multiple continents, and about those who are working to turn the tide. In ancient times humans looked to the flight and songs of birds to protect the future. Today once again, birds have something to tell us. Director Su Rynard joins us to talk about her loving ode to nature�s minstrels.
For news and updates on The Messenger go to: songbirdsos.com/
When Katelyn (Kate Lyn Sheil, "House of Cards") travels to Los Angeles in hopes of wresting control of a clothing company from her ex, Eugene (Eugene Kotlyarenko), she quickly realizes he has more than just business in mind. Unable to deny their emotional past, the pair spend the weekend trying to determine once and for all whether they have a future in store. Set in an LA full of eccentrics, this raw romantic comedy finds a former off-screen couple energetically playing out their real-world baggage in front of the camera, for laughs and tears. Director / writer Eugene Kotlyarenko joins us to talk about his subversively entertaining film.
A critical favorite at this year's Cannes Film Festival, where it took the Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard, this wickedly funny and precisely observed psychodrama tells the story of a model Swedish family-handsome businessman Tomas, his willowy wife Ebba and their two blond children - on a skiing holiday in the French Alps. The sun is shining and the slopes are spectacular but, during a lunch at a mountainside restaurant, an avalanche suddenly bears down on the happy diners. With people fleeing in all directions and his wife and children in a state of panic, Tomas makes a decision that will shake his marriage to its core and leave him struggling to reclaim his role as family patriarch. Director / Writer Ruben Ostlund joins us to talk about the exploration of gender roles, cultural perceptions and the idea of every man for himself.
In the hazy aftermath of an unimaginable loss, Sarah and David deal with the unthinkable in the wake of their son's disappearance. David, a New York City policeman, attempts a more traditional form of healing, only to lose his moral compass. Sarah goes down an unexpected path towards acceptance as she places herself in increasingly dangerous situations. From cinematographer Reed Morano in her directorial debut, Meadowland presents powerful performances by Olivia Wilde and Luke Wilson alongside Giovanni Ribisi, Elisabeth Moss, John Leguizamo, Kevin Corrigan, Merritt Wever and Juno Temple. Director Reed Morano joins us to talk about this wrenching story, grief, relationships under stress and her work with an outstanding ensemble of actors.
For news and updates go to: meadowland
Douglas Tirola's outrageous documentary DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD: THE STORY OF THE NATIONAL LAMPOON, is an inside look at the rise and fall of the legendary humor magazine that launched dozens of careers and broke thousands of taboos. From the 1970s thru the 1990s, there was no hipper, no more outrageous comedy in print than The National Lampoon, the groundbreaking humor magazine that pushed the limits of taste and acceptability - and then pushed them even harder. Parodying everything from politics, religion, entertainment and the whole of American lifestyle, the Lampoon eventually went on to branch into successful radio shows, record albums, live stage revues and movies, including ANIMAL HOUSE and NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION, launching dozens of huge careers on the way, including John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Christopher Guest, Richard Belzer, Gilda Radner, Brian Doyle-Murray, Bill Murray, Joe Flaherty, Harold Ramis, Michael O'Donoghue, Doug Kenney, Henry Beard, George W. S. Trow, Chris Miller, P. J. O'Rourke, Michael O'Donoghue, Chris Rush, Sean Kelly, Tony Hendra, Brian McConnachie, Gerald Sussman, Ellis Weiner, Danny Abelson, Ted Mann, Chris Cluess, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, Jeff Greenfield, and John Hughes. As well as cartoonists, photographers and illustrators appeared in the magazine's pages, including Neal Adams, Gahan Wilson, Michael Sullivan, Ron Barrett, Peter Bramley, Vaughn Bode, Bruce McCall, Rick Meyerowitz, M. K. Brown, Shary Flenniken, Bobby London, Edward Gorey, Jeff Jones, Joe Orlando, Arnold Roth, Rich Grote, Ed Subitzky, Mara McAfee, Sam Gross, Charles Rodrigues, Buddy Hickerson, B. K. Taylor, Birney Lettick, Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, Marvin Mattelson, Stan Mack, Chris Callis, John E. Barrett, Raymond Kursar and Andy Lackow. Director Tirola tells the story of its rise and fall through fresh, candid interviews with its key staff, and illustrated with hundreds of outrageous images from the magazine itself (along with never-seen interview footage from the magazine's prime). Director Tirola stops by to talk about the supernova of comedic satire that was The Lampoon and its influential legacy.
For news and updates go to: magpictures.com/nationallampoon
BRAND: A Second Coming chronicles actor / comedian / activist Russell Brand on his journey from addict, self-proclaimed narcissist and Hollywood star living in the fast-lane to his current, and unexpected, role as political disruptor & newfound hero to the underserved. Criticized for egomaniacal self-interest, Brand injects his madness in to the world and calls for revolution. He stays the course with an irreverent courage that inspires a new generation of activists to rise up against the ever-increasing world engorged in consumerism. Can Brand rise against the roar of criticism from the very system that built him? Does he have the fortitude, resilience and commitment to keep up the fight? Will he find true happiness which has eluded him since childhood? BRAND: A Second Coming takes audiences behind the scenes of this wildly complex man for an intimate look at what drives Russell Brand as he continues to be the consummate disruptor. BRAND: A Second Coming produced, written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner (DIG!, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC) joins us to talk about getting close to this kinetic, fascinating force of nature.
For news and updates go to: brandthefilm.com
UNBRANDED reveals the true interdependence of man, animal and nature -- their 3000-mile gauntlet through five states that is indescribable and unforgiving. Sixteen mustangs, four men, one dream: to ride border to border, Mexico to Canada, up the spine of the American West. The documentary, UNBRANDED, tracks four fresh-out-of-college buddies as they take on wild mustangs to be their trusted mounts, and set out on the adventure of a lifetime. Their wildness of spirit, in both man and horse, is quickly dwarfed by the wilderness they must navigate: a 3000-mile gauntlet through five states that is equally indescribable and unforgiving. This story of rugged independence reveals the true interdependence of man, animal and nature. As we see first-hand, Ben Masters, Jonny Fitzsimons, Thomas Glover and Ben Thamer, relied upon the incredible strength and energy of mustangs - these wild horses - who had been chosen and trained for this purpose. The group set out to inspire adoptions of the 50,000 wild horses living in holding pens in the American West and to bring attention to the fragile ecosystem and this last uninterrupted vertical stretch of public land in the West. Along the way, the support they receive from others, including a veteran horseman and cowboy poet whose life has been deeply connected to horses and the backcountry, creates a meaningful bond among the men and the animals. Director and co-cinematographer Phillip Baribeau stops by to talk about his visually stunning, emotionally charged plea for the lives of thousands of wild mustangs currently held in stifling captivity.
For news and updates on Unbranded go to: unbrandedthefilm.com
With unprecedented access, CARTEL LAND is a riveting, on-the-ground look at the journeys of two modern-day vigilante groups and their shared enemy � the murderous Mexican drug cartels. In the Mexican state of Michoac�n, Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as "El Doctor," leads the Autodefensas, a citizen uprising against the violent Knights Templar drug cartel that has wreaked havoc on the region for years. Meanwhile, in Arizona's Altar Valley � a narrow, 52-mile-long desert corridor known as Cocaine Alley � Tim "Nailer" Foley, an American veteran, heads a small paramilitary group called Arizona Border Recon, whose goal is to stop Mexico�s drug wars from seeping across our border. Filmmaker Matthew Heineman embeds himself in the heart of darkness as Nailer, El Doctor, and the cartel each vie to bring their own brand of justice to a society where institutions have failed. CARTEL LAND, winner of the Directing Award and the Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, is a chilling, visceral meditation on the breakdown of order and the blurry line between good and evil. Heineman talks about the unprecedented access he was able to gain among all the divergent factions in this multi-dimensional tale.
For news and screenings go to: cartellandmovie.com
Winner of the Directing Award and the Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival
During the 60's and early 70's as the war in Vietnam threatened its borders, a new music scene emerged in Cambodia that took Western rock and roll and stood it on its head - creating a sound like no other. Cambodian musicians crafted this sound from the various rock music styles sweeping, America, England and France, adding the unique melodies and hypnotic rhythms of their traditional music. The beautiful singing of their renowned female vocalists became the final touch that made this mix so enticing. DON'T THINK I'VE FORGOTTEN: CAMBODIA'S LOST ROCK AND ROLL tracks the twists and turns of Cambodian music as it morphs into rock and roll, blossoms, and is nearly destroyed along with the rest of the country. DON'T THINK I'VE FORGOTTEN provides a new perspective on a country usually associated with only war and genocide. The film is a celebration of the incredible music that came from Cambodia and explores how important it is to Cambodian society both past and present. Director Pirozzi joins us for a conversation on Cambodia's rich cultural heritage and the phenomenal courage and conviction of the artists who remained true to their vision even when faced with horrific repercussions.
For news and updates go to: dtifcambodia.com/
The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, held in the scenic and majestic setting of Mammoth Lakes, California, has announced its line-up of screenings for the festival's inaugural year. The five-day festival will take place May 27-31, 2015, and will open with acclaimed Academy Award winning filmmaker Alex Gibney's new documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine. The festival will present sixteen films in Narrative and Documentary Competition, as well as special events and screenings, and an industry panel discussion on women in the filmmaking world, with producer Allison Amon (The Queen of Versailles), actress Kristanna Loken actress (Terminator 3) and other guests. Taking place five hours north of Los Angeles by car and thirty minutes south of the entrance to Yosemite National Park, the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival will deliver an intimate and unique Shira Dubrovner MMFF founder experience for festival goers, filmmakers, and industry guests, with the opportunity to experience screenings and events in a beautiful mountain setting. The festival will present a diverse collection of feature films - from world premieres to film festival favorites, short film screenings and Q&As over five days. The festival will also include nightly gala events that celebrate the excitement and discovery of visionary filmmaking. Mammoth Lakes Film Festival Founder Shira Dubrovner joins us for a lively conversation on the exciting and inspiring new addition to the film festival lineup.
Based on the wildly successful web-series of the same name, KTOWN COWBOYS is a bro-mantic dramedy that follows a group of ball-busting, hard-partying friends wrestling with their evolution into adulthood. As their individual struggles come to light, the group of friends band together in Koreatown and through late nights at seedy after-hour soju bars, karaoke drinking girls and even a stint in jail, each emerges as a better version of himself. Fresh of its successful premiere at SXSW, KTOWN Cowboys just won the Best Ensemble Award at the 2015 Asian Pacific Film Festival. Director / writer Daniel Park stops by to talk about the journey turning the popular web series into a feature length film, the future of the series and the cast members.
In a small town south of San Francisco, Sheriff Paul Del Moral (Pepe Serna) is driving home through the fog when he accidentally strikes a pedestrian, a lone Japanese man. However, before an investigation can take place the man disappears from the hospital without a trace. At the same time, Japanese mystery author Aki Akahori (Ayako Fujitani) takes a trip to San Francisco in order to escape the press tour for her latest book--a potboiler in her world famous "Inspector Takabe" series. Feeling lonely and vulnerable, she begins a romantic affair with a mysterious Japanese traveler from Reno (Kazuki Kitamura). Her new lover is charismatic and charming but abruptly disappears from the hotel, leaving behind his suitcase and a trail of questions. Director Dave Boyle joins us to talk about his beautifully crafted noir-ish, bilingual thriller.
For news and updates on Man From Reno go to: manfromrenomovie.com
Having left town as a child after the death of his father, young music prodigy, JACOB HECKUM, returns to his desolate hometown after years only to discover that BUDDY, the child-like elder brother he left behind, now works for a notorious drug gang. The gang's ruthless boss has twisted Buddy's simple mind and manipulated him into a killer...asurrogate son who blindly does as he is told. Jacob is unable to convince Buddy to leave his new fraternity. Drowned in guilt for having abandoned him, Jacob realizes the only way to save Buddy is from the inside out. Set in the shadows of the turbulent American-Mexican border Broken Horses is a gritty, epic thriller about bonds of brotherhood, laws of loyalty and the futility of violence. Director Vinod Chopra talks about the difference directing a film for Hollywood and Bollywood and why he wanted to make a western-style tale of love and loyalty.
January 2010: In the buckle of the Bible Belt, 10 churches burn to the ground in just over a month igniting the largest criminal investigation in East Texas history. No stone is left unturned and even Satan himself is considered a suspect in this gripping investigation of a community terrorized from the inside-out. Families are torn apart and communities of faith struggle with forgiveness and justice in this incredible true story. Director Theo Love stops by for a conversation on the culture of East Texas and the unbending drive of the people in the area to find the perpetrators, and the unlikely culprits.
In India, a group of boys dream of becoming Chess Masters, driven by a man with a vision. But this is no ordinary chess and these are no ordinary players. Algorithms is a documentary on the thriving but little known world of Blind Chess in India. Filmed over three years, Algorithms travels with three talented boys and a totally blind player turned pioneer to competitive national and world championships and visits them in their home milieu where they reveal their struggles, anxieties and hopes. Going beyond sight and story, this observational sport doc with a difference moves through the algorithms of the blind chess world challenging the sighted of what it means to see. It allows for the tactile and thoughtful journey that explores foresight, sight and vision to continue long after the moving image ends. Writer / Editor / Director Ian McDonald talks about traveling the world to capture the struggles, anxieties and hopes of the chess players Anant, SaiKrishna, Darpan and their mentor / teacher Charudatta.
ndependent film veteran and Executive Director of the International Documentary Association (IDA) Michael Lumpkin joins us to talk about the IDA sponsored Getting Real Conference and the supportive role IDA plays in the work of documentary filmmakers.
Unlike any other event on the documentary calendar, GETTING REAL is a unique gathering of filmmakers and industry professionals that will ignite what is desperately needed in the documentary community: a frank public conversation about the state of our industry that will lead to action and change. Produced by the International Documentary Association and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, GETTING REAL is an unprecedented 3-day national conference for documentary filmmakers that will take place in Los Angeles from September 30 - October 2, 2014.
Founded in 1982, the International Documentary Association (IDA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Our major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmmaker Services, Education, and Public Programs and Events. Through its programs, IDA provides resources, creates community, and defends rights and freedoms for documentary artists, activists, and journalists. As an advocate for filmmakers, IDA has been in the forefront important issues confronting our industry: Net Neutrality, Fair Use, and Lobbying for the Arts
Lumpkin is an experienced executive leader with over 20 years at the mlumpkin_photohelm of Frameline, an international media arts organization that presents the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, operates Frameline Distribution, and runs other important programs providing funding and training to filmmakers. Michael was also co-producer of the landmark documentary The Celluloid Closet.
Smiling Through The Apocalypse: Esquire in the 60s is the story of maverick editor Harold Hayes, who, from 1963-1973, made Esquire magazine a galvanizing force in American culture, and the voice of a turbulent era that brought sweeping social and political changes to the nation. He encouraged unprecedented journalistic freedom, nurturing the most talented artists and writers of the time including Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, Nora Ephron, Peter Bogdanovich, Gore Vidal, Diane Arbus, Norman Mailer, and George Lois. In this sea change, Hayes was the chief architect. Stressed by long lead times against a turbo charged culture, Hayes overcame hindrance through audacity and innovation, bringing together a unique group of writers in the golden age of magazine journalism. Forging its pop-cultural capital with provocative covers and journalism, Esquire became the social curator and reflection of the American zeitgeist. Director and son of Harold Hayes, TomHayes joins us to talk about his 5-year personal journey to better understand the impact and ingenuity of a father who became a driving force in the transformation of contemporary American culture.
During the chaotic final days of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon as South Vietnamese resistance crumbles. The United States has only a skeleton crew of diplomats and military operatives still in the country. As Communist victory becomes inevitable and the U.S. readies to withdraw, some Americans begin to consider the certain imprisonment and possible death of their South Vietnamese allies, co-workers, and friends. Meanwhile, the prospect of an official evacuation of South Vietnamese becomes terminally delayed by Congressional gridlock and the inexplicably optimistic U.S. Ambassador. With the clock ticking and the city under fire, a number of heroic Americans take matters into their own hands, engaging in unsanctioned and often makeshift operations in a desperate effort to save as many South Vietnamese lives as possible. Director Rory Kennedy joins us to talk about the desperate attempt to rescue thousands of Vietnamese people and the consequences the operation had on them and the ones left behind.
When Portland, Oregon, lost its longtime minor-league affiliate, Bing Russell-who briefly played ball professionally before enjoying a successful Hollywood acting career-bought the territory and formed a single-A team to operate outside the confines of major-league baseball. When they took the field in 1973, the Mavericks-the only independent team in America-started with two strikes against them. What did Deputy Clem from Bonanza know about baseball? Or Portland, for that matter? The only thing uniting his players, recruited at open tryouts, was that no other team wanted them. Skeptics agreed that it could never work. But Bing understood a ballplayer's dreams, and he understood an audience. His quirky, unkempt castoffs won games, and they won fans, shattering minor-league attendance records. Their spirit was contagious, and during their short reign, the Mavericks-a restaurant owner turned manager, left-handed catcher, and blackballed pitcher among them-brought independence back to baseball and embodied what it was all about: the love of the game. Co-directors Chapman and Maclain Way stop by for a lively conversation about their grandfather and his love for the misfits and dreamers.
Korengal picks up where Restrepo left off; the same men, the same valley, the same commanders, but a very different look at the experience of war. Korengal explains how war works, what it feels like and what it does to the young men who fight it. As one soldier cheers when he kills an enemy fighter, another looks into the camera and asks if God will ever forgive him for all of the killing he has done. As one soldier grieves the loss of his friend in combat, another explains why he misses the war now that his deployment has ended, and admits he would go back to the front line in a heartbeat. Director Sebastian Junger joins us for a conversation on what went into the decision to revisit the men and the story that began during his year long collaboration with journalist and co-director of Restrepo, Tim Hetherington.
At age 70, LA painter and one-man-band musician Llyn Foulkes struggles to be remembered. As he finishes two paintings, one that cost him his marriage, he feverishly works to create deep, three-dimensional 'pictures' layering real objects and shadows. When no one attends his NY show, he blames himself. With commentary from Dennis Hopper, we learn Llyn was kicked out of the Ferus Gallery for insulting another artist's work, setting the tone for the next fifty years of his refusal to sell out. Twenty years after performing on the Tonight Show, he plays 'The Machine' alone, a one-man band in both music and art. Part Clint Eastwood, part political anarchist, this intimate portrait of Llyn Foulkes follows his obsessive craft and process for eight years. Director Tamar Halpern stops by for a conversation on capturing the essence of a modern iconoclast.
Reeling from withdrawal effects after a pharmaceutical drug trial, a reclusive aspiring illustrator sets out to form a relationship with an outgoing gal despite his continuous efforts at solitude and isolation in director Matt Mercer's quirky relationship comedy. Parker (Chris Bouffard) is uncertain if he suffers from anxiety, but as the medication leaves his system he can barely perform daily tasks. His insistent neighbor Sean (Charley Koontz) manages to summon him from reclusion, thrusting Parker back into the fearsome outside world of Los Angeles. Overwhelmed by the awkward realities of interacting with the opposite sex in his altered state, Parker retreats back into his isolated world, until his level-headed best bud Ralph (Mercer), and Ralph's loving girlfriend (Celia Finkelstein), introduce him to an eccentric friend, Teresa (Katie Wallack). As he attempts to distance himself from the anxiety medication by gravitating closer to the seemingly stable Teresa, Parker learns that appearances and relationships are not always what they seem. Director / Actor Matt Mercer and Producer / Writer / Editor/ Actor Chris Bouffard join us to talk about the challenges of multi-tasking filmmaking.
- The audio at the start of this interview is a bit sketchy, but it does get better. Please be patient.
Ivan Locke (Hardy) has worked diligently to craft the life he has envisioned, dedicating himself to the job that he loves and the family he adores. On the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, Ivan receives a phone call that sets in motion a series of events that will unravel his family, job, and soul. All taking place over the course of one absolutely riveting car ride, LOCKE is an exploration of how one decision can lead to the complete collapse of a life. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Steven Knight (EASTERN PROMISES, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS) and driven by an unforgettable performance by Tom Hardy, LOCKE is a thrillingly unique cinematic experience of a man fighting to salvage all that is important to him. Director Knight joins us to talk about pulling together the cinematic high-wire act of doing an entire film with one actor and one setting. And the satisfaction that come with getting it right.
For news and updates on Locke go to: http://locke-movie.com/
The M Word follows the personal changes at a local TV station that is threatened by economic downturn, possible in-house theft and massive job loss. They decide to subvert all of this by taking on an ill-advised documentary about Menopause. In the midst of impending lay-offs, Moxie (Tanna Frederick) suddenly finds herself leading an extraordinary band of rebelling women better treatment and a more secure future. Director Henry Jaglon (Irene in Time, Festival in Cannes, Always, Can She Bake a Cherry Pie, Eating) and actress Tanna Frederick (Just 45 Minutes to Broadway, Queen of the Lot, Irene in Time, Hollywood Dreams) stop by for a free-wheeling conversation on filmmaking, comedy, acting, love, life and the shockingly taboo subject of menopause.
Of all the great ballerinas, Tanaquil Le Clercq may have been the most transcendent. With a body unlike any before hers, she mesmerized viewers and choreographers alike. With her elongated, race-horse physique, she became the new prototype for the great George Balanchine. Because of her extraordinary movement and unique personality on stage, she became a muse to two of the greatest choreographers in dance, George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. She eventually married Balanchine and Robbins created his famous version of Afternoon of a Faun for her. She had love, fame, adoration, and was the foremost dancer of her day until it suddenly all stopped at the age of 27. The ballet world has been haunted by her story ever since. Director Nancy Buirski joins us to talk about an iconic artist with an indomitable spirit.
Hailed by Michael Moore as "one of the best documentaries about a band that I've ever seen" and by Pitchfork as "the funniest, most meta music movie since SPINAL TAP," MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS is a truly hilarious, unusual, and moving film about two brothers, Matt and Tom Berninger. Matt, the lead singer of the critically acclaimed rock band The National, finally finds himself flush with success. His younger brother, Tom, is a loveable slacker - a filmmaker and metal-head still living with his parents in Cincinnati. On the eve of The National's biggest tour to date, Matt invites Tom to work for the band as a roadie, unaware of Tom's plan to film the entire adventure. What starts as a rock documentary soon becomes a surprisingly honest portrait of a charged relationship between two brothers, and the frustration of unfulfilled creative ambitions. Tom and Matt join us to talk about the pursuit of artistic aspirations, family and expectations.
Particle Fever follows six brilliant scientists during the launch of the Large Hadron Collider, marking the start-up of the biggest and most expensive experiment in the history of the planet, pushing the edge of human innovation. As they seek to unravel the mysteries of the universe, 10,000 scientists from over 100 countries joined forces in pursuit of a single goal: to recreate conditions that existed just moments after the Big Bang and find the Higgs boson, potentially explaining the origin of all matter. But our heroes confront an even bigger challenge: have we reached our limit in understanding why we exist? Director Mark Levinson, a physicist turned filmmaker, joins us to talk about the celebration of discovery and the revealing stories behind this epic machine.
Love has no borders and therein lies the premise of the charming, new Iranian-American romantic comedy "Shirin in Love." Nazanin Boniadi plays Shirin, an absent-minded, young Iranian-American living in "Tehrangeles" (the large Iranian community in Los Angeles) with her overbearing mother and empathetic father. Despite being engaged for years to a successful Iranian plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, Shirin finds herself breaking loyalty and tradition when she falls in love with a mysterious young man who lives in a lighthouse in northern California. As her secret unravels and cultures clash, Shirin discovers what it ultimately means to be true to herself. Director Ramin Niami joins us to talk about his cross-culture dramedy on love and family.
Carter Pilcher founder of Shorts International comes from a background in both investment banking and law. Since 2000 Carter has made Shorts International the world's leading short movie Entertainment Company, functioning as distributor, broadcaster and producer. Carter has extensive experience in short movie production and short movie entertainment. He is a voting member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and a member of the Short Film and Feature Animation Branch of The US Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) - the guys who pick the Oscars. Carter talks to us about the ten wonderful films nominated for the Live Action and Animated Short Film awards.
Cavemen follows LA playboy Dean (Skylar Astin) who is fed up with one-night-stands and empty relationships and realizes that he wants something more out of life than just a party. With a little inspiration from his nine-year-old nephew and his best friend Tess (Camilla Belle), Dean decides to try his hand at finding true love for the first time - which proves to be much more difficult than he thought in modern-day Los Angeles. First-time director Herschel Faber stops to talk about his breezy comedy and being able to give a low budget film a high end look.
THIS IS MARTIN BONNER is a warm and perceptive meditation on friendship, human connection and getting a second chance at life. Fifty-something Martin Bonner (Paul Eenhorn) leaves his old life behind and relocates to Reno, where he finds work helping released prisoners transition to life on the outside, while trying his hand at speed dating and passing time as a soccer referee on weekends. Meanwhile, Travis Holloway (Richmond Arquette) has just been released from prison after serving 12 years. Surprising both of them, Travis and Martin form an unlikely friendship that offers them reciprocal support and understanding. Director Hartigan stops by to talk about the challenges and rewards of micro-budget and introspective storytelling.
From the director of WORDPLAY and I.O.U.S.A. comes a captivating look at a radically innovative approach to education. IF YOU BUILD IT follows designer activists Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller to rural Bertie County, the poorest in North Carolina, where they work with local high school students to help transform both their community and their lives. Living on credit and grant money and fighting a change-resistant school board, Pilloton and Miller lead their students through a year-long, full-scale design and build project that does much more than just teach basic construction skills: it shows ten teenagers the power of design thinking to re-invent not just their town but their own sense of what's possible. Director Patrick Creadon joins us for a conversation on the universal power of creativity.
A ten-year old boy named Ahlo is believed to bring bad luck and is blamed for a string of disasters. When his family loses their home and are forced to move, Ahlo meets the spirited orphan Kia (9) and her eccentric uncle Purple: an ex-soldier with a purple suit, a rice-wine habit and a fetish for James Brown. Struggling to hang on to his father's trust, Ahlo leads his family, Purple and Kia through a land scarred by war in search of a new home. With remarkable access to real rituals and festivities in the mountains of Laos, the film is a unique view into a world never seen on film before. Featuring an extraordinary leading performance from gutsy former street kid Sitthiphon Disamoe as Ahlo, the film also stars veteran actor and comedian Thep Phongam as a damaged but humorous ex-soldier who becomes a mentor to our young protagonist. Director Kim Mordaunt joins us to talk about the challenges filming in a country with virtually no film industry and the international political issues that inform this remarkable film.
BANSHEE CHAPTER follows investigative journalist, ANNA, researching a missing friend who ingested an undocumented research chemical once tested on civilians by CIA MK-Ultra experiments. The labyrinthine trail of evidence leads her into the disturbing world of black ops chemical tests, unexplained radio transmissions and disfigured entities in the blackness of night. Anna will do anything to uncover what lies behind her friend's disappearance but to her horror the entities are coming after her. Suspense-thriller based on true events shot in stereoscopic 3D starring Katia Winter and Ted Levine. Director and writer Blair Erickson joins us to talk about the challenges of successfully mixing history and horror into a convincing and frightening film.
Film School interview - Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of the punk band Bikini Kill and dance-punk trio Le Tigre, rose to national attention as the reluctant but never shy voice of the riot grrrl movement. She became one of the most famously outspoken feminist icons, a cultural lightning rod. Her critics wished she would just shut-up, and her fans hoped she never would. So in 2005, when Hanna stopped shouting, many wondered why. Through 20 years of archival footage* and intimate interviews with Hanna, THE PUNK SINGER takes viewers on a fascinating tour of contemporary music and offers a never-before-seen view into the life of this fearless leader. Director Sini Anderson joins us for a conversation on the life and times of a galvanizing artist.
Film School interview - As the film 12 Years a Slave opens, we see a group of slaves toiling away in the field, and we hear perfectly synchronized to their chopping, the chorus... When I was young, I saw the sun, Too hot for me, Too late for me, Live or die, Lay down and cry, Hey boys!, I'm tired, My Lord Sunrise ... That is the first stanza of the original song "My Lord Sunshine (Sunrise), played against such imagery, sets the tone for the film and is written by songwriter Nicholas Britell for director Steve McQueen's gripping cinematic recounting of the memoir of Solomon Northup, who as a free New York state black violinist was abducted and sold into slavery. In composing and arranging such spiritual work songs like "My Lord Sunshine (Sunrise)" and "Roll Jordan Roll" as well as three traditional fiddle tunes on the 12 Years a Slave soundtrack, Britell painstakingly researched this lost form of music, which was never recorded and in many cases never written out, in an effort to bring the most accurate musical representation to this landmark story. The songwriter joins us for a conversation on the challenges and rewards of recreating musical history.
PAD YATRA: A Green Odyssey is the adventure of 700 people trekking across the Himalayas with a call to save the planet's "3rd Pole," a glacial region now devastated by the climate chaos associated with global warming. Battling the most treacherous terrain on the planet, the trekkers spread their message of ecological compassion through human's most basic means - by walking on foot, village to village, and showing by example. Surviving harrowing injuries, illness, and starvation, they emerge with nearly half a ton of plastic litter strapped to their backs, triggering an historic green revolution across the rooftop of the world. Wendy J. N. Lee drops by to talk about the harrowing journey, figuratively and literally, she took in making this remarkable documentary.
Before he was convicted of murdering a policeman in 1981 and sentenced to die, Mumia Abu-Jamal was a gifted journalist and brilliant writer. Now after more than 30 years in prison and despite attempts to silence him, Mumia is not only still alive but continuing to report, educate, provoke and inspire. Stephen Vittoria's new feature documentary is an inspiring portrait of a man whom many consider America's most famous political prisoner - a man whose existence tests our beliefs about freedom of expression. Through prison interviews, archival footage, and dramatic readings, and aided by a potent chorus of voices including Cornel West, Alice Walker, Dick Gregory, Angela Davis, Amy Goodman and others, this riveting film explores Mumia's life before, during and after Death Row - revealing, in the words of Angela Davis, "the most eloquent and most powerful opponent of the death penalty in the world...the 21st Century Frederick Douglass." Director Vittoria stops by for a conversation on this polarizing American radical.
THE SQUARE is an immersive experience, transporting the viewer deeply into the intense emotional drama and personal stories behind the news. Centered on the activity around the landmark TAHRIR SQUARE, this film is the inspirational story of young people claiming their rights, struggling through multiple forces: from a brutal army dictatorship willing to crush protesters with military tanks, to a corrupt Muslim Brotherhood using mosques to manipulate voters. It screened at Sundance where it won the WORLD DOCUMENTARY AUDIENCE AWARD. It also won the AUDIENCE AWARD for BEST DOC., at the 2013 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. Diector Jehane Noujaim joins us for a conversation on the making of this phenomenal film and what lies ahead for the people of Egypt.
Five days in the life of an American couple immediately following the accidental death of their child. An every day story of tragedy, loss, acceptance, hope and renewal. 'Morning' follows the divergent paths of Mark (Leland Orser) and Alice Munroe (Jeanne Tripplehorn) as they circle each other in a heart-breaking pas-de-deux of grief before finally coming to grips with their shared loss. Writer / director / actor Leland Orser stops by for a conversation on the challenges and rewards of telling a story of horrifying tragedy and profound love.
http://www.morningthemovie.com/
HARRY DEAN STANTON: PARTLY FICTION is a mesmerizing, impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his own heart-breaking renditions of American folk songs. Stunningly lensed in color and b/w by Seamus McGarvey, the film explores the actor's enigmatic outlook on his life, his unexploited talents as a musician, and includes candid scenes with David Lynch, Wim Wenders, Sam Shepard, Kris Kristofferson and Debbie Harry. The fragile soul of an actor emerges from the poignant collage. We are joined by Director Sophie Huber for a conversation on the challenges of getting inside the closely guarded world of Harry Dean Stanton and his famous friends.
In the Kunsthistorisches Art Museum in Vienna, Johann is a security guard who finds a special quiet magic at the institution. One day, a Canadian woman arrives on a compassionate visit to the city, and the two strike up a friendship through their appreciation of art. That relationship helps put all the other goings on at the museum and in the city in perspective as Johann observes and participates in them in a world where art can say so much more than a casual visitor might know. Director / Writer / Producer / Cinematographer / Editor, Jem Cohen (Chain, Benjamin Smoke, Instrument, and Evening's Civil Twilight in Empires of Tin) joins us for a discussion on love, friendship, life and art.
Once a rising star in the '70's New York art scene, 80-year-old "boxing" painter Ushio Shinohara is prepping for his latest show, hoping to reinvigorate his career. His wife and de facto assistant, Noriko, seeks her own recognition through her "Cutie" illustrations, which depict their chaotic 40-year marriage. CUTIE AND THE BOXER captures two lives united by a dedication to art-making for a touching meditation on the eternal themes of love and sacrifice. Director Zachary Heinzerling joins us for to talk about his touching film about a relationship that defies an easy explanation.
Anwar Congo and his friends have been dancing their way through musical numbers, twisting arms in film noir gangster scenes, and galloping across prairies as yodelling cowboys. Their foray into filmmaking is being celebrated in the media and debated on television, even though Anwar Congo and his friends are mass murderers. The Act of Killing is a journey into the memories and imaginations of the perpetrators, offering insight into the minds of mass killers. And The Act of Killing is a nightmarish vision of a frighteningly banal culture of impunity in which killers can joke about crimes against humanity on television chat shows, and celebrate moral disaster with the ease and grace of a soft shoe dance number. Director Joshua Oppenheimer joins us to talk about how the making of this remarkable documentary has changed his life.
Mo is a young boy growing up in a traditional Egyptian household, but beyond the front door of the family's modest London flat is a completely different world - the streets of Hackney. The impressionable Mo idolizes his handsome older brother Rashid and wants to follow is his footsteps. However, Rashid, a charismatic and shrewd member of a local gang, wants a different life for his little brother and deals drugs hoping to put Mo through college. One eventful summer, Rashid's sexual awakening forces Mo to confront his own fears and phobias and threatens to tear the brothers apart. Director Sally El Hosaini stops by to talk about her beautifully rendered feature film debut.
FOURPLAY is four tales of sexual triumph and travail set in four American cities. In Skokie, a closeted lesbian woman's infatuation with her minister's wife is sublimated during a weekend of dog sitting; in Austin, a young couple struggle with opposing desires about conception and arrive at a startling compromise; in Tampa, a young gay Latino man plagued with self-doubt finds a surreal nirvana in a public mall restroom; and in San Francisco, a cross-dressing sex-worker faces a challenging assignment with a quadriplegic man, arranged by the man's wife. Director Kyle Henry stops by Film School to talk about the challenges of making four films in three years and the joy of sex.
A story of love and understanding set amidst the tensions and uncertainties of the days immediately following the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II. On the staff of General Douglas MacArthur (Jones), the de facto ruler of Japan as Supreme Commander of the occupying forces, a leading Japanese expert, General Bonner Fellers (Fox) is charged with reaching a decision of historical importance: should Emperor Hirohito be tried and hanged as a war criminal? Interwoven is the story of Fellers' love affair with Aya, a Japanese exchange student he had met years previously in the U.S. Memories of Aya and his quest to find her in the ravaged post-war landscape help Fellers to discover both his wisdom and his humanity and enable him to come to the momentous decision that changed the course of history and the future of two nations. Director Peter Webber (Girl with the Pearl Earring) stops by to talk about his multi-layered film on this crucial chapter of World War II history.
King: A Filmed Record...from Montgomery to Memphis is the landmark documentary that chronicles the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement in Montgomery, Alabama, and culminating with his assassination in Memphis in 1968. Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz and Sidney Lumet the film originally screened in theaters for only a single night in 1970, King: A Filmed Record combines dramatic readings by Harry Belafonte, James Earl Jones and Paul Newman, among others, with newsreel and archival footage to create a powerful and comprehensive record of Dr. King's legacy and the American Civil Rights movement. The original Associate Producer Richard Kaplan stops by to talk about this pivotal chapter in the life of Dr. King and the story behind this remarkable documentary.
"Tchoupitoulas" is a story of the New Orleans night. It is a visually exhilarating and aurally immersive record of one night in the many lives of a thriving nocturnal populace. Three young boys act as our wide-eyed conduits to a parade of entertainers and revelers as they dance through the lamp lit streets and doorways of the Crescent City. From dusk to dawn, from Rampart to the river, we explore the lives and locales of one of the world's most unique cities. In moments, vignettes, performances, and exchanges, "Tchoupitoulas" is a kaleidoscopic odyssey into another side of New Orleans. Bill Ross (45365) join us for a conversation on the joys of childhood, filmmaking and New Orleans nightlife.
THE LAW IN THESE PARTS explores the four-decade-old Israeli military legal system in the Occupied Territories. Since Israel conquered the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 War, the military has imposed thousand of orders and laws, established military courts, sentenced hundreds of thousand of Palestinians, enabled half a million Israeli "settlers" to move to the Occupied Territories and developed a system of long-term jurisdiction by an occupying army that is unique in the world. The film explores the unprecedented and little-known story through testimonies of the military legal professionals who were the architects of the system and helped run it in its formative years. Director Ra'anan Alexandrovicz sits down for an interview on the challenges of bringing this layered and complex story to the screen.
King Kelly (LOUISA KRAUSE) is an aspiring Internet star who performs webcam stripteases. When Kelly's car - filled with illegal narcotics that she must deliver - is stolen by her bitter ex-boyfriend Ryan (WILL BRILL) on the 4th of July, Kelly and her best friend Jordan (LIBBY WOODBRIDGE) embark on an epic whirlwind of drugs, sex, violence, and mischief-making as Kelly tries to reclaim what is hers. Kelly's biggest online fan, a wayward State Trooper (RODERICK HILL), joins the journey as the night spirals into chaos. Made entirely from camera-phone footage, King Kelly is a sensational journey through hedonistic American youth culture and the YouTube generation. Director Andrew Neel (Alice Neel, The Feature and New World Order) stops by to talk about this South by Southwest Film Festival favorite and wild ride through a changing American landscape.
What happens when love takes you places you never thought you would go? As Ruby (Emayatzy Corinealdi) rides a bus through the inner city streets, she wills herself to push away memories that crowd her. Four years earlier, she was a vibrant medical student married to the love of her life, Derek (Omari Hardwick). Now, she makes her way to the maximum security prison on the outskirts of town. This is where her love now resides. Behind coiled razor wire and forty foot concrete walls. As the couple stares into the hallow end of an eight-year prison sentence, Ruby must learn to live another life, one marked by shame and separation. But through a chance encounter with hard-working bus driver Brian (David Oyelowo) and a stunning betrayal that shakes her to the core, she is soon propelled in new and often frightening directions of self-discovery. As we chronicle her turbulent yet transformative journey, we witness the emergence of a broken woman made whole. Director Ava DuVernay joins us to talk about her remarkable film.
Based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, is a magical adventure story centering on Pi Patel, the precocious son of a zoo keeper. Dwellers in Pondicherry, India, the family decides to move to Canada, hitching a ride on a huge freighter. After a shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a 26-foot lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, all fighting for survival. Writer David Magee talks about the challenges and rewards of adapting a sprawling, best seller into a powerful three-dimensional drama.
Starlet explores the unlikely friendship between 21 year-old aspiring actress Jane (Dree Hemingway) and elderly widow Sadie (Besedka Johnson) after their worlds collide in California's San Fernando Valley. Jane spends her time getting high with her dysfunctional roommates and taking care of her chihuahua Starlet, while Sadie passes her days alone, tending to her garden. After a confrontation at a yard sale, Jane finds something unexpected in a relic from Sadie's past. Her curiosity piqued, she tries to befriend the caustic older woman. Secrets emerge as their relationship grows, revealing that nothing is ever as it seems. Featuring exceptional debut performances by Dree Hemingway (great granddaughter of Ernest and daughter of Mariel) and 85 year-old Besedka Johnson, who received a Special Jury Recognition at SxSW. Director Sean Baker stops by to talk about his provocative, haunting, unpredictable, and surprisingly sweet film.
HIT AND RUN is a comedy about a young couple (Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard) that risks it all when they leave their small town life and embark on a road trip that may lead them towards the opportunity of a lifetime. Their fast-paced road trip grows awkwardly complicated and hilarious when they are chased by a friend from the past (Bradley Cooper), a federal marshal (Tom Arnold) and a band of misfits. Co-director David Palmer joins us to talk about the making of this fuel-injected comedy.
Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? reveals how American corporations orchestrated the dismantling of middle-class prosperity through rampant deregulation, the outsourcing of jobs, and tax policies favoring businesses and the wealthy. The collapse of the U.S. economy is the result of conscious choices made over thirty five years by a small group: leaders of corporations and their elected allies, and the biggest lobbying interest in Washington, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. To these individuals, the collapse is not a catastrophe, but rather the planned outcome of their long, patient work. For the rest of the country, it is merely the biggest heist in American history. Heist co-director Donald Goldmacher joins us to talk about how it happened and what we can do in the pursuit of a more just society.
Ai Weiwei is China's most famous international artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. Against a backdrop of strict censorship and an unresponsive legal system, Ai expresses himself and organizes people through art and social media. In response, Chinese authorities have shut down his blog, beat him up, bulldozed his newly built studio, and held him in secret detention.
AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY is the inside story of a dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and blurs the boundaries of art and politics. First-time director Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to Ai while working as a journalist in China. Her detailed portrait provides a nuanced exploration of contemporary China and one of its most compelling public figures.
Mike Kaspar interviews Patrick Wang about his new film In the Family on Film School Radio
An interview with NASH EDGERTON the director of THE SQUARE . Escaping the monotony of a loveless marriage, Raymond Yale becomes entangled in an affair with the beautiful and troubled Carla. Ray's moral limits are tested when Carla presents him with the proceeds of her controlling husband's latest crime. This is their chance: Take the money and run. . . If only it were that simple. Edgerton's filmmaking career began at the age of 18 as a stunt performer. Since that time he has earned over 100 film and television credits on productions including THE MATRIX TRILOGY, STAR WARS II and III, THIN RED LINE and SUPERMAN RETURNS. He also produced and edited the acclaimed film THE MAGICIAN.
An interview with ROBERTA GROSSMAN the director of BLESSED IS THE MATCH the story of poet and diarist Hannah Senesh. She was only 22 years old when she parachuted into Nazi-occupied Europe in an effort to save the Jews of Hungary. But when poet and diarist Senesh was executed by the Nazis a year later, the modern-day Joan of Arc had already left behind a body of work and a legacy of bravery that would inspire generations to come. Grossman is an award-winning filmmaker with a passion for history and social justice. She has written and produced more than 40 hours of documentary television. She was the series producer and co-writer of 500 Nations, the eight-hour CBS miniseries on Native Americans hosted by Kevin Costner. Grossman's feature documentary Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action, premiered in February 2005, and has screened and won awards at more than 40 festivals worldwide.
An interview with TOMM MOORE the director of THE SECRET OF KELLS, the animated story of the boy behind the famed Book of Kells. The Book of Kells is a stunningly beautiful manuscript containing the Four Gospels. It is Ireland's most precious medieval artifact, and is generally considered the finest surviving illuminated manuscript to have been produced in medieval Europe. Our hero, young Brendan lives in a remote medieval outpost under siege from barbarian raids. But a new life of adventure beckons when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying an ancient but unfinished book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarians closing in, will Brendan's determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against evil? Moore is co-Founder and company director of Cartoon Saloon. He has worked on almost every Cartoon Saloon production in various capacities including directing and designing commercials for clients including Cadburys and the Irish Independent, illustrating graphic novels and children's books and working as animation artist on several tv series and feature film productions.
An interview with Academy Award-nominated screenwriter/director NOAH BAUMBACH about his latest feature GREENBERG the funny, touching and poignant story of two souls adrift in Los Angeles, trying to forge a connection. Baumbach's films as a writer and director include Kicking and Screaming, The Squid and the Whale, and Margot at the Wedding. Baumbach received an Academy Award nomination for his original screenplay The Squid and the Whale. The film was on over 150 Top Ten lists, including AFI's 10 Best of the Year. The Squid and the Whale received three Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Picture (Musical/Comedy); and six Independent Spirit Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and for actors Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, and Jesse Eisenberg. Baumbach co-wrote The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox (the latter adapted from the novel by Roald Dahl).
An interview with NIELS ARDEN OPLEV the director of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO - a mystery thriller based on Stieg Larsson's international best selling novel about a disgraced journalist and a troubled young female computer hacker who investigate the mysterious disappearance of an industrialist's niece. Oplev graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 1989. His first feature film Portland (1996) was selected for the main competition in Berlin and his second feature Chop Chop (2001) received both National Danish Film Awards Bodil and Robert. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is the Winner of the Guldbagge Award (Sweden's Oscar Equivalent) for Best Film.
An interview with KIMBERLY REED the director of PRODIGAL SONS. Returning home to a small town in Montana for her high school reunion, filmmaker Kimberly Reed hopes for reconciliation with her long-estranged adopted brother, Marc. But along the way she uncovers stunning revelations, including a surprise relationship to Hollywood Royalty, intense sibling rivalries and unforeseeable twists of plot and gender that force them to face challenges no one could imagine. Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, Best Documentary Jury Prize at NewFest, and Special Jury Prizes for Fearless Filmmaking at the Florida Film Festival and Bravery in Storytelling at the Nashville Film Festival, Prodigal Sons is a raw and provocative examination of one family's struggle to come to terms with its past and present.
An interview with DON ARGOTT the director of THE ART OF THE STEAL, a documentary that chronicles the long and dramatic struggle for control of the Barnes Foundation, a private collection of Post-Impressionist and early Modern art valued at more than $25 billion. In 1922, Dr. Albert C. Barnes formed a remarkable educational institution around his priceless collection of art, located just five miles outside of Philadelphia. Now, more than 50 years after Barnes' death, a powerful group of moneyed interests have gone to court for control of the art, and intend to bring it to a new museum in Philadelphia. Standing in their way is a group of Barnes' former students and his will, which contains strict instructions stating the Foundation should always be an educational institution, and that the paintings may never be removed.
An interview with HENRIK RUBEN GENZ director of TERRIBLY HAPPY, a narrative that focuses on Robert, a Copenhagen police officer who, following a nervous breakdown, is transferred to a small provincial town to take on the mysteriously vacated Marshall position and is subsequently entangled with a married femme fatale. Robert's big city temperament makes it impossible for him to fit in, or understand the uncivilized, bizarre behavior displayed by the townspeople. Quickly spiraling downward into an intense fable reminiscent of the Coen Brothers' BLOOD SIMPLE and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, TERRIBLY HAPPY displays a unique, often macabre vision of the darkest depths to which people will go to achieve a sense of security and belonging. Genz's short fiction film TEIS & NICO (1998), was a festival hit worldwide and received the Crystal Bear in Berlin and an Academy Award nomination. His feature film debut, SOMEONE LIKE HODDER (2003) received awards in Buenos Aires, Chicago, London, and Zlin, among others.
An interview with PHILIPP STOLZL the director of NORTH FACE. Based on a true story, North Face is a suspenseful adventure film about a competition to climb the most dangerous rock face in the Alps. Set in 1936, as Nazi propaganda urges the nation's Alpinists to conquer the unclimbed north face of the Swiss massif - the Eiger - two reluctant German climbers begin their daring ascent. With NORTH FACE, director and scriptwriter Philipp Stolzl - a multi-talented and sought after opera, music video, commercial and feature-film director - has succeeded in redefining pre-WW II German Berg (mountain) Film and transposing it to the 21st century.
An interview with DENNIS DOROS of MILESTONE FILMS and ROSS LIPMAN film preservationist at the UCLA FILM AND TELEVISION ARCHIVE. Milestone Films is an independent company, founded in 1990 in the United States by Dennis Doros and Amy Heller, dedicated to researching and distributing quality cinematographic material from around the world, including silent movies, films of the postwar foreign film renaissance, to contemporary American independent features, documentaries and foreign films. Some of the films that Milestone has distributed are by Alfred Hitchcock, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Luchino Visconti, Pier Paolo Pasolini, F.W. Murnau, Orson Welles, Mikhail Kalatozov and Luis Bunuel. Among the modern day films are works by Takeshi Kitano, Jane Campion, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Alan Berliner and Philip Haas. Lipman has restored and preserved some landmark works of independent cinema including The Times of Harvey Milk, some of Kenneth Anger's most prominent titles, and Milestone's Killer of Sheep and The Exiles. He is the winner of the National Society of Film Critics Special Film Heritage Award.
An interview with cinematographer ERIC DAARSTAD of THE EXILES - the groundbreaking film made between 1958 - 1961 that chronicles one night in the lives of young Native American men and women living in the Bunker Hill district of Los Angeles. Based entirely on interviews with the participants and their friends, the film follows a group of exiles - transplants from Southwest reservations - as they flirt, drink, party, fight, and dance. Filmmaker Kent Mackenzie first conceived of The Exiles during the making of his short film Bunker Hill - 1956 while a student at the University of Southern California. The Exiles was photographed by Daarstad and a group of young filmmakers - Mackenzie's college mates, fellow employees, and friends holding down a variety of day-to-day jobs in the motion picture industry. Much of the picture was shot on "short ends," the leftovers of 1,000 - foot rolls (varying from 100 to 300 feet of stock) discarded by major film producers. Milestone, in cooperation with USC's film archivist Valarie Schwan, brought the film to preservationist Ross Lipman and the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
An interview with MICHAEL PALMIERI and DONAL MOSHER the directors of OCTOBER COUNTRY - a beautifully rendered portrait of an American family struggling for stability while haunted by the ghosts of war, teen pregnancy, foster care and child abuse. A collaboration between filmmaker Michael Palmieri and photographer and family member Donal Mosher, this vibrant and penetrating documentary examines the forces that unsettle the working poor and the violence that lurks beneath the surface of American life. Combining the access only available to a family member with an intimate visual style of a filmmaker encountering the family's dynamics for the first time, the film gives a deeply personal voice to the national issues of economic instability, domestic abuse, war trauma, and sexual molestation. As the Moshers do their best to confront their ghosts, we confront the broader issues that haunt us all in the continued struggle for the American Dream. October Country is the Winner of the Sterling Grand Jury Prize at 2009 SILVERDOCS, 2009 Starz/Denver Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentary, an Independent Spirit Awards Nomination for Best Documentary and five Cinema Eye Honors nominations, including Best Documentary. Palmieri's previous work includes his music video collaborations with artists such as Beck, The Strokes, Belle and Sebastian and the New Pornographers.
An interview with JOSH GOLDIN the director of WONDERFUL WORLD - a bittersweet comedy about families, friends and a frivolous fight against corporate institutions. It stars Matthew Broderick, Michael Kenneth Williams, Sanaa Lathan, Jodelle Ferland, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ally Walker, and Philip Baker Hall and features original music, with a cameo performance, by acclaimed musician Dan Zanes, the noted father of the modern independent kids' music movement.Wonderful World is the story of Ben Singer, a failed children's folk singer, and an every-other-weekend dad to his young daughter (Jodelle Ferland) who is struggling with all aspects of his life. Ben's finds comforts in smoking marijuana alone and regular chess games with his smart and opinionated Senegalese roommate Ibou (Michael Kenneth Williams, "The Wire," THE ROAD). After Ibou is suddenly struck ill, Ben's life takes a turn with the arrival of Ibou's beautiful and sexy sister Khadi (Sanaa Lathan, The Family That Preys).
An interview with PETE McCORMACK the director of FACING ALI. Three-time World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali defeated almost every top fighter of the golden age of boxing and symbolized the sport for generations of fans. Now, ten of his acclaimed rivals pay tribute to perhaps the world's most beloved and inspiring athlete in FACING ALI, a riveting documentary from director Pete McCormack (Uganda Rising) and producer Derik Murray (Legends of Hockey). From the moment he captured the gold at the 1960 Summer Olympics, the fighter who first came to prominence as Cassius Clay electrified the world and transformed the art of boxing. Articulate, handsome, charismatic and outspoken, he became an icon of the burgeoning civil rights movement and a hero to millions around the globe. A master showman and a brilliant strategist, Ali won as much by getting inside his opponents' heads as by his astounding physical talents. With exclusive interviews and vintage footage from the champ's unmatched career, FACING ALI recreates his most unforgettable rivalries, and recounts his triumphs, tragedies and unstoppable spirit.
An interview with SO YONG KIM the director of TREELESS MOUNTAIN. When their mother needs to leave in order to find their estranged father, seven-year-old Jin and her younger siste, Bin, are left to live with their Big Aunt for the summer. With only a small piggy bank and their mother's promise to return when it is full, the two young girls are forced to acclimate to changes in their family life. Counting the days, and the coins, the two bright-eyed young girls eagerly anticipate their mother's homecoming. But when the bank fills up, and with their mother still not back, Big Aunt decides that she can no longer tend to the children. Taken to live on their grandparent's farm, it is here that Jin comes to learn the importance of familybonds in this beautiful, meditative, and thought-provoking second feature from So Yong Kim, the acclaimed director of IN BETWEEN DAYS.
An interview with ANDY BICHLBAUM co-director and co-writer of THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD. Along with co-Yes Man Mike Bonanno, Andy Bichlbaum has an unusual hobby: posing as top executives of corporations he hates. Armed with nothing but thrift-store suits, the Yes Men lie their way into business conferences and parody their corporate targets in ever more extreme ways - basically doing everything that they can to wake up their audiences to the danger of letting greed run our world. At conference after conference, the Yes Men try to wake up their corporate audiences to this frightening prospect, in the process taking on some of the world's biggest and baddest corporations. Just one example: as Exxon, Andy and Mike demonstrate a new biofuel made from climate-change victims. It's a gut-busting laugh riot - one of several in the film - to see the unsuspecting audience learn that the lit candles they hold are made out of dead people. On their journey, the Yes Men act as gonzo journalists, delving deep into the question of why we have given the market more power than any other institution to determine our direction as a society. They visit the twisted (and accidentally hilarious) underworld of the free-market think tanks, where they figure out a way to defeat the logic that's destroying our planet. And as they appear on the BBC before 300 million viewers, or before 1000 New Orleans contractors alongside Mayor Ray Nagin, the layers of lies are peeled back to reveal the raw heart of truth - a truth that brings with it hope.
An interview with the head of Press & Public Relations for the American Film Institute JOHN WILDMAN and programmer LANE KNEEDLER about the AFI FEST in Los Angeles running from October 30 thru November 7. AFI FEST presents a survey of the year's most significant films each fall. Featuring international work from emerging filmmakers, global showcases of films from the great masters and red-carpet gala premieres, AFI FEST brings world cinema to the heart of Hollywood. Since 2000, the consumer audience at AFI FEST has tripled to over 65,000 attendees. In 2008, over 600 press representatives secured accreditation to the Festival, with combined media impressions in excess of 1.6 billion worldwide. AFI FEST is the only film festival in the United States to hold the prestigious FIAPF accreditation, assuring a high standard of quality and reliability for the international film community. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for the Short Films category of the annual Academy Awards.
An interview with TONY STONE the director of SEVERED WAYS. In the year 1007, an expedition of Vikings arrives on the shores of the New World and travels south in search of a fabled Vinland. When their party is attacked by "Skraelings" and must flee to safety, two men who had gone ahead to explore the interior are left behind, assumed dead. Very much alive but stranded on the rocky shore, the two move north in hopes of reuniting with their countrymen. Haunted by memories and visions of the Old World, the Norsemen face the challenges of an unfamiliar landscape in very different ways. And though the terrain seems dense and deserted, they are not the only people in the woods: both Indians and Irish Monks factor in their epic adventure in the Americas. SEVERED WAYS will screen at the Laemmle Sunset 5 beginning Friday, July 17.
An interview with CYRUS NOWRASTEH the director of THE STONING OF SORAYA M. - a classic fable of good vs. evil and an inspiring tribute to courageous women fighting against violence all around the world. In a world of corruption and injustice, a single courageous voice can tell a story that changes everything. This is what lies at the heart of this emotionally charged film. Based on a true story, this tale of a village's persecution of an innocent woman becomes both a daring act of witness and a parable about how people react when someone in their community is turned into a scapegoat: who will join forces with the plot, who will surrender to the mob, and who will dare to stand up for what's right. THE STONING OF SORAYA M. is inspired by French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam's acclaimed international best-seller of the same name which first brought global attention to the real Soraya, who in 1986 was stoned to death by her fellow villagers, in the presence of her children.
An Interview with SAM ANDERSON the screen writer of MUNYURANGABO. After stealing a machete from a market in Kigali, Munyurangabo and his friend, Sangwa, leave the city on a journey tied to their pasts. Munyurangabo wants justice for his parents who were killed in the genocide, and Sangwa wants to visit the home he deserted years ago. Though they plan to visit Sangwa's home for just a few hours, the boys stay for several days. From two separate tribes, their friendship is tested when Sangwa's wary parents disapprove of Munyurangabo, warning that "Hutus and Tutsis are supposed to be enemies." A son of Korean immigrants, Chung grew up on a small farm in rural Arkansas and then attended Yale University to study Biology. At Yale, with new exposure to art cinema in his senior year, Chung dropped his plans for medical school and turned to filmmaking. Munyurangabo, his first feature film, premiered in the Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes Film Festival.
An Interview with JON HART and MATTHEW KAUFMAN co-directors of AMERICAN SWING a documentary on the rise and fall of 1970s New York City nightclub Plato's Retreat. In 1977, New York City was scorched by stifling heat waves, enervated by energy crunches and inflation and hurtling toward social unrest. But its citizens partied on. Nightlife flourished, disco and cocaine ruled at the exclusive Studio 54 and punks smashed guitars at CBGB. Meanwhile, a raging orgy was underway at Plato's Retreat. Chronicling the rise and fall of this notorious sex club and its quixotic owner Larry Levenson, American Swing captures the glorious last gasp of the (mostly hetero) sexual revolution that had been birthed in the sixties. AMERICAN SWING opens Friday April 3 in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Sunset 5.
An interview with MORGAN DEWS the director of MUST READ AFTER MY DEATH. Dews was very close to his grandmother Allis, but it wasnit until after her death in 2001 that he became aware of an astounding archive shed amassed throughout the 1960s. Filled with startlingly intimate and candid audio recordings detailing her family's increasingly turbulent lives, the collection also contained hundreds of silent home movies, photographs and written journals. Using only these found materials, Dews has fashioned a searing family portrait documentary that affords fly-on-the-wall access to one family's struggles amid an America on the verge of dramatic transformation. An accomplished writer, Dews has published numerous articles, stories and poetry. Dews' short film, Elke's Visit, was an official selection of the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. MUST READ AFTER MY DEATH is his first feature.
An interview with STEFAN FORBES writer and director of BOOGIE MAN: THE LEE ATWATER STORY - a gripping political thriller about Lee Atwater, a blues-playing rogue whose rambunctious rise from the South to Chairman of the GOP made him a political rock star. He mentored George W. Bush and Karl Rove while leading the Republican party to historic victories, helping make liberal a dirty word, and transforming the way America elects our Presidents. In eye-opening interviews with elite Republicans and friends of Atwater, Boogie Man sheds new light on his crucial role in America's shift to the right. To Democrats offended by the 1988 Willie Horton controversy, Atwater was a remorseless political assassin aptly dubbed by one Congresswoman "the most evil man in America." But he remains a hero to many Republicans for his irreverent sense of humor, his deep understanding of the American heartland, and his unapologetic vision of politics as war. This film builds to a moving portrait of a cynic's desperate deathbed search for meaning.
An interview with RANDALL MILLER the director of BOTTLE SHOCK - the story of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as "Judgment of Paris". Shot on location in the Northern California wine country, Bottle Shock focuses on the contentious relationship between headstrong perfectionist Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman), a former attorney, and his free-spirited son Bo (Chris Pine). For all their differences, the two share a dream of producing a great Chardonnay at the Chateau Montelena vineyard Jim founded in Calistoga in the early 1970s. Miller began his career at the American Film Institute with the short film Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School. The film won numerous awards and began Miller's professional career as a director. Off the heat of the short, Randall directed numerous episodic series such as "thirtysomething," "Northern Exposure," "Popular" and "Jack & Jill." His feature career took off with the films Houseguest and The Sixth Man. Looking to get back to his roots in independent filmmaking, Miller and his wife, Jody Savin, set out to start anew. Ironically, their new start took them back to the short with which it all began. Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School is now realized as a full-length feature. The team subsequently completed another labor of love, Nobel Son (2007), starring Alan Rickman as a Nobel Prize winner you hate to love.
An interview with MAKOTO SASA, the producer and director of FIRE UNDER THE SNOW - a look at the life of Tibetan monk Palden Gyatso, who spent 33 years in prison as his nation was seized by China. Palden Gyatso, a Buddhist monk since childhood, was arrested by the Chinese Communist Army in 1959. He was tortured, starved and sentenced to hard labor. He watched his nation and culture destroyed, his teachers, friends and family displaced, jailed or killed under Chinese occupation. Fire Under the Snow reaches back to Palden's birth in 1933 and follows him through the Orwellian nightmare that began with the Chinese invasion. The film investigates the basis of Palden's resilience. He claims that faith in Buddhism helped him survive the 33 years of his imprisonment. While imprisoned, the mere existence of the Dalai Lama was a beacon of hope to Palden and fellow prisoners-of-conscience. They dreamed of being released from their torment and delivered into his open arms. Today, the Dalai Lama and his supporters advance the idea of a "mutually beneficial" autonomy within China, an idea generated from Buddhist philosophy. Makoto Sasa has made several short documentaries, worked as assistant editor for the 35mm features Going Under (2004) starring Roger Rees, and LOVE (2005). Recently, she has been directing and editing several documentaries for SONY Japan's broadband streaming video website World Event Village.
An interview with MORGAN NEVILLE the director THE COOL SCHOOL - a documentary about the Ferus Gallery which from 1957 to 1966 was the catalyst of modern art in Los Angeles. Operating out of a small storefront, the gallery hosted debut exhibitions and served as a general launching point for Ed Kienholz, Ed Ruscha, Craig Kauffman, Wallace Berman, Ed Moses and Robert Irwin, among many other artists. By the time it closed in 1966, the gallery had also played a role in solidifying the careers of many of New York's brightest talents, including Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Donald Judd, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns building an art scene from scratch and transforming the cultural climate of the West Coast. Neville is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who specializes in history and cultural subjects. Through a series of films on important music subjects (including The Brill Building, Sam Phillips and Sun Records, Nat King Cole, Brian Wilson, Leiber & Stoller, The Highwaymen and Burt Bacharach), Neville has documented stories of songwriters and producers who helped shape 20th-century music, including the Grammy-nominated Muddy Waters Can't Be Satisfied and the Emmy-winning Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues, both of which aired on PBS's American Masters series as well as Channel 4/UK and the BBC's Arena series. The Cool School will air on KCET Independent Lens Wednesday, June 11, at 8:00pm.
An interview with HARMONY KORINE the director of MISTER LONELY the story of a young American in Paris who works as a Michael Jackson lookalike. Michael Jackson meets meets Marilyn Monroe, who invites him to her commune in Scotland, where she lives with Charlie Chaplin and her daughter, Shirley Temple. In 1995, at the age of 19, Korine wrote the critically acclaimed screenplay Kids for director Larry Clark. Following his fame with Kids, Korine directed the beautifully jarring unconventional films Gummo (1997) starring Werner Herzog followed by Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) which was based on the experiences of Korine's schizophrenic uncle. Christened "the future of American cinema" by Herzog, Korine is the son of documentary filmmaker Sol Korine.
An interview with TOM STERN, director, co-writer, and producer of THIS IS A BUSINESS - an indie feature in the truest sense. Made on a modest budget and completely outside established studio channels, THIS IS A BUSINESS is an Ionesco-esque comedy about a shipping clerk named Turtletaub who starts his own business knowing only that he intends either to create a product or to provide a service, and whichever one it is, he pledges, it will be good... for everyone. Turtletaub hires an awkward, kind day laborer (Ernesto) as his assistant and a confident yet conflicted salesman (Baltimore) as his sales force. Now all that Turtletaub needs is to figure out what it is that his business will do. But there is constant noise streaming through the vent in the ceiling of Turtletaub's unit, and the landlord keeps giving Turtletaub the run around, and his salesman has somehow started bringing in investment money even though they do not know what it is that their business does, and Turtletaub is not sure what it is, exactly, that he owes these investors. As the pressure builds and things start to move, Turtletaub seems farther and farther away from having his idea. Until one night, it hits... and it's great... Stern has also directed, produced, and written six short films and a number of plays. His short films - BLUE ME and THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF TOM STERN, CHAPTER SIX: THE NEW SCIENCE - have been programmed in festivals on both coasts (Imagefest, LA Shorts, Independent Exposure 2007), and his stage production of FEIFFER'S PEOPLE was performed at The International Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.
An interview with Neil Mandt the director and writer of Last Stop for Paul. Cliff and Charlie live boring lives in LA. In an effort to spice up their existence, Charlie suggests they go to the famous Full Moon Party in Thailand. Cliff agrees to go on the condition that they purchase around the world tickets and see the globe first. Along they way he wants to sprinkle the ashes of his recently deceased childhood friend, Paul. Together, Charlie, Cliff and the remains of Paul, embark on a trip of a lifetime as they travel to the Caribbean, South America, Europe and Asia. Shot in over 20 countries, Cliff and Charlie have unbelievable adventures in every location and their lives are changed forever. Winner of 45 film festival awards, Last Stop for Paul is the "Most Award Winning Independent Film of 2007."
An interview with Dan Klores the director of Crazy Love a documentary about the obsessive roller-coaster relationship of Burt and Linda Pugach, which shocked the nation during the summer of 1959. Burt, a 32 year-old married attorney and Linda, a beautiful, single 20 year-old girl living in the Bronx had a whirlwind romance, which culminated in a violent and psychologically complex set of actions that landed the pair's saga on the cover of endless newspapers and magazines. With the cooperation of the principles, Burt, now 79, and Linda, 68, Klores examines the human psyche and the concepts of love, obsession, insanity, hope and forgiveness. Crazy Love had its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, earned the Best Documentary award at the 2007 Santa Barbara Film Festival and is a nominee for Best Documentary at this year's Independent Spirit Awards.
An interview with Diana Zahn-Storey the producer of the Film Independent Spirit Awards show which will take place on Saturday, February 23, 2008 telecasting uncut on IFC with an edited re-broadcast on AMC. The Awards are presented by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. Nominations for the 2008 Spirit Awards include Crazy Love, Manufactured Landscapes, Fire in the Lake, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, I'm Not There, Juno, A Mighty Heart, Paranoid Park (trailer above) Ramin Bahrani, director of Chop Shop, Lee Isaac Chung, director of Munyurangabo and Ronnie Bronstein director of Frownland.
An interview with Bill Haney, director, producer and screenwriter of The Price of Sugar. In the Dominican Republic, a tropical island-nation, tourists flock to pristine beaches unaware that a few miles away thousands of dispossessed Haitians are toiling under armed-guard on plantations harvesting sugarcane, much of which ends up in U.S. kitchens. They work grueling hours and frequently lack decent housing, clean water, electricity, education or healthcare. Narrated by Paul Newman, "The Price of Sugar" follows Father Christopher Hartley, a charismatic Spanish priest, as he organizes some of this hemisphere's poorest people to fight for their basic human rights. This film raises key questions about where the products we consume originate and at what human cost they are produced.
An interview with Guy Moshe the director of Holly. Shot on location in Cambodia, including many scenes in actual brothels in the notorious red light district of Phnom Penh, Holly is a captivating, touching and emotional experience. Patrick (Ron Livingston), an American card shark and dealer of stolen artifacts, has been 'comfortably numb' in Cambodia for years, when he encounters Holly (Thuy Nguyen), a 12-year-old Vietnamese girl, in the K11 red light village. The girl has been sold by her impoverished family and smuggled across the border to work as a prostitute. Holly's virginity makes her a lucrative prize, and when she is sold to a child trafficker, Patrick embarks on a frantic search through both the beautiful and sordid faces of the country, in an attempt to bring her to safety. Harsh, yet poetic, this feature forms part of the K-11 Project, dedicated to raising awareness of the epidemic of child trafficking and the sex slavery trade through several film projects. The film's producers endured substantial hardships in order to be able to shoot in Cambodia and have also founded the RedLight Children Campaign, which is a worldwide grassroots initiative generating conscious concern and inspiring immediate action against child sexploitation.
An interview with Rob VanAlkemade the director of What Would Jesus Buy? and Savitri Durkee the Director of the Church of Stop Shopping (as well as the artist-wife of Reverend Billy. What Would Jesus Buy? follows Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir as they go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt. Bill Talen (aka Reverend Billy) was a lost idealist who hitchhiked to New York City only to find that Times Square was becoming a mall. Spurred on by the loss of his neighborhood and inspired by the sidewalk preachers around him, Bill bought a collar to match his white caterer's jacket, bleached his hair and became the Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping. Since 1999, Reverend Billy has gone from being a lone preacher with a portable pulpit preaching on subways, to the leader of a congregation and a movement whose numbers are well into the thousands.
An interview with Steven Sawalich the director of Music Within, the true story of Richard Pimentel, a brilliant public speaker with a troubled past, who returns from Vietnam severely hearing-impaired and finds a new purpose in his landmark efforts on the behalf of Americans With Disabilities. Guided through the journey by Pimentel's (Ron Livingston) acerbic sense of humor, we see a world that through other eyes would appear devastatingly tragic. Instead, Richard uses it to fuel his plight for the underdog. Music Within won the Audience Award for Narrative Feature Film (Steven Sawalich) at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival.
An interview with Monty Lapica director of Self Medicated. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Lapica moved to Los Angeles after his high school graduation to pursue a lifelong goal of becoming a filmmaker. During his time at Loyola Marymount University's School of Film and Television, Lapica began outlining what would later become his first feature film, Self Medicated, which he wrote, produced, directed and acted in. Based on true events, Self Medicated takes place on the edges of Las Vegas, where a 17-year-old's life is spiraling out of control, descending into a world of drugs and violence. It is the most award-winning independent film of the year, garnering 39 international film awards
An interview with Bruce Broder director of Chops, the story of a group of kids, born with extraordinary musical ability, who learn to make the most of their gifts in an acclaimed public school jazz program in Jacksonville, Florida. From their early, squeaky scales to their soaring improvisational solos, we have a front-row seat for their fascinating transformation. The film culminates at the Essentially Ellington Festival, the annual competition of high school jazz bands from across the country hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center and its artistic director Wynton Marsalis. Chops will screen at The International Documentary Association's DocuWeek in Los Angeles August 17-23.
An interview with writer / director Mike Akel from the film Chalk. In the comedic style of The Office and the films of Christopher Guest, Chalk is a portrait of life in the trenches of that most honorable and frustrating profession... teaching. Akel provides a rare and realistic teacher's perspective into their absurd, provocative and occasionally volatile world, in a country where 50% of teachers quit within the first three years.
An interview with director Tony Stone whose film Severed Ways will have its world premier June 22, 2007 at Film Independent's Los Angeles Film Festival. Shot independently at the site of actual Viking settlements in Newfoundland, Severed Ways follows Vikings, Indians and Irish monks as they collide on the shores of North America in the name of personal glory and religious dominance in the 11th century. Two stranded Vikings wade through a primeval landscape as they struggle for survival while still in the grip of their Norse ways.
An interview with co-director Ricki Stern whose documentary, The Devil Came on Horseback exposes the violence and tragedy of the genocide in Darfur as seen through the eyes of a lone American witness. Using thousands of uncompromising and exclusive photographs taken by former US Marine Captain Brian Steidle during his role as a military observer with the African Union,the film leads you through the tragic impact of an Arab government bent on destroying its black African citizens. Stern past documentaries include The Trials of Darryl Hunt, In My Corner, and Neglect Not The Children.
An interview with Socheata Poeuv the director and subject of the documentary "New Year Baby." Born on Cambodian New Year in a Thai refugee camp, Socheata never knew how she got there. After her birth, the family left the past behind and became American. Her parents hid the story of surviving the Khmer Rouge genocide. In the film, she journeys to Cambodia and discovers the truth about her family. "New Year Baby" won the highest human rights cinema honor, the Amnesty International 'Movies That Matter' Award, at its premiere at the 2006 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam.
An interview with screenwriter Court Crandall of the film A Lobster Tale. A movie tinged with magical realism, A Lobster Tale won for its screenplay at the Austin Film Festival and was given the Sundance Channel Audience Award. Shot in Halifax, Canada, the film takes place in a small Maine fishing town, where a struggling lobster fisherman discovers a mysterious healing sea moss in one of his traps. Tension in his already fragile family erupts when the true supernatural quality of the moss is revealed and becomes sought after by everyone in town.
An interview with Sarah Polley director of "Away From Her," a screenplay adaptation of celebrated author Alice Munro's short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain." Starring Julie Christie, "Away From Her" explores the dilemma of a man coping with the institutionalization of his wife because of Alzheimer's disease. Polley is a director, writer and actress renowned in her native Canada for her peace and justice political activism. From child star to director, her career ranges from the TV series "The Road to Avonlea" to Atom Egoyan's "The Sweet Hereafter," from Terry Gilliiam's "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" to Isabel Coixet's "The Secret Life of Words."
An interview with Gregg Schwenk, executive director of the Newport Beach Film Festival. In 2007, the Festival will spotlight over 350 films from around the world including features, shorts, documentaries, and animation that will compete for a series of awards including Jury Awards and Audience Awards. In addition to film screenings, the Festival will host several premiere galas, yacht parties, and question and answer sessions with filmmakers. The Festival runs from April 19th through April 29th, 2007 and is expected to attract more than 35,000 film devotees.
Filmmakers in the indie, experimental, foreign, avant-garde and documentary fields desperately need critics. Lacking money for a promotional campaign and forced to rely on word-of-mouth, these filmmakers have found no better friend over the past 40-plus years than Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times. Thomas, one of the few people in Hollywood to befriend the legendary Fritz Lang, will share his personal rememberances of the director who brought us Metropolis, M, Die Nibelungen, The Big Heat and The Blue Gardenia.
An interview with co-directors and co-producers Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein of the documentary The Prisoner Or: How I Planned To Kill Tony Blair.
Baghdad, September 2003: In a middle class house on a quiet street in Baghdad, a family is fast asleep. Without warning, the front door is crashed and American soldiers storm the house looking for weapons and bomb-making material. Cameraman Michael Tucker documents the event as the men in the house are cuffed and forced to kneel in the garden. Combining Tucker's embedded footage, Yunis' home movies, testimony from former guard Benjamin Thompson and original comic book art, Tucker and Epperlein trace the moving story of an ordinary man trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare.
An interview with Micha X. Peled director of China Blue. Like no other film before, China Blue is a powerful and poignant journey into the harsh world of sweatshop workers. Shot clandestinely, this is a deep-access account of what both China and the international retailers don't want us to see: how the clothes we buy are actually made. Following a pair of denim jeans from birth to sale, China Blue links the power of the U.S. consumer market to the daily lives of a Chinese factory owner and two teenaged female factory workers. Filmed both in the factory and in the workers' faraway village, this documentary provides a rare, human glimpse at China's rapid transformation into a free market society. China Blue will air on PBS's Independent Lens Series on Tuesday, April 3 at 10:30 pm.
An interview with director and screenwriter So Yong Kim and screenwriter Bradley Rust Gray directors of In Between Days. Winner of Los Angeles Film Critics Association Independent / Experimental Film and Video Award and Independent Spirit Someone to Watch Award, In Between Days follows a Korean immigrant as she falls in love with her best friend while navigating her way through the challenges of living in a new country.
An interview with Julie Lynn, the producer of 10 Items or Less. Starring Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega, 10 Items or Less follows a Hollywood icon who was once the center of attention. Now, he's forced to consider a role in a small independent movie. While researching for the role, he stumbles into Scarlet, a spitfire check out clerk at a Latino community market. The world famous actor must rely on Scarlet to lead him back to his side of the tracks. This trek through Los Angeles features richly unexpected situations, chance encounters, and personal revelation that neither character could ever have anticipated. Lynn was nominated for an Independent Spirit Axium Producers Award.
An interview with Keven McAlester director of "You're Gonna Miss Me." "Crumb" meets "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" in "You're Gonna Miss Me," which tells the story of counter-culture icon Roky Erickson, whose struggles with LSD, schizophrenia, and the Texas police have made him one of music's legendary tragic figures. He now collects junk mail by the stack and is kept under lock and key by his mother, Evelyn, who refuses him any treatment beyond love, prayer, and a view of psychiatry gleaned from the television show Frasier. In "You're Gonna Miss Me," Erickson becomes the centerpiece of a surreal family struggle and the blank screen onto which those around him project their hopeful futures.
An interview with Greg MacGillivray, director of the film "Hurricane on the Bayou" which was in production when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Told mostly through teenage Cajun Fiddle Artist Amanda Shaw and Cajun guitarist Tab Benoit, this IMAX film tells the story of the environmental damage to the area created by the Mississippi river as it empties into the gulf. Greg MacGillivray began his film career by shooting 8mm black-and-white movies on the campus of Newport Harbor High School. That led to self-employment as the creator of some of the best surfing films of the 60s, includng "Five Summer Stories."
FILMMAKER MAGAZINE / JASON GUERRASIO / SUNDANCE Filmmaker Magazine Managing Editor Jason Guerrasio discusses the surprises at last week's Sundance Film Festival. Sundance ranks alongside the Cannes, Moscow, Venice, Berlin, and Toronto festivals as one of the most prestigious in the world. Held annually in Park City, Utah, it is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S. and the premiere showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The festival comprises competitive sections for American and independent dramatic and documentary films, and a group of non-competitive showcase sections, including the Sundance Online Film Festival. Controversially so, the festival has also become the premiere showcase for sponsors and "swag giveaways".
Composer Philip Glass discusses his Academy Award-nominated score to Notes on a Scandal. Glass is considered one of the most influential composers of the late-20th century. In 1976, his landmark opera Einstein on the Beach was staged by Robert Wilson to a baffling variety of reviews. At the time, his compositions were so avant-garde that he had to form the Philip Glass Ensemble to give them a venue for performance. Although called a minimalist by the Western classical mainstream, he denies this categorization. His major works include opera, theater pieces, dance, and song. Notes on a Scandal is his latest of over 80 film scores.
Mad Dash director Morgan Swift discusses this yearly campus film competition where, from concept to print, teams of 1-8 have 24-hours to make a short movie. The UCI Computerstore has the equipment donated by Apple, Canon, and the School of the Arts, and YOU have the talent. Bigger teams, MONSTROUS prizes, and a great opportunity to show your stuff.
Maria Maggenti discusses her new film Puccini for Beginners. Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, Puccini for Beginners with Justin Kirk, Gretchen Mol and Julianne Nicholson is a screwball comedy romance set in New York City. Maggenti is best known for her 1995 indie hit The Incredibly True Adventures of 2 Girls in Love, starring Laurel Holloman and Nicole Ari Parker. She also wrote the screenplay for 1999 movie The Love Letter (co-starring Ellen Degeneres) and writes for the CBS drama Without a Trace.
An interview with Katharina Otto-Bernstein, director of the documentary Absolute Wilson. As a collaborator with America's underground icons, Philip Glass, Tom Waits and Williams S. Burroughs, Robert Wilson wowed the theater world with innovative spectacles that sometimes lasted as long as a week. His choreographic work and revolutionary approach to visual story-telling include the theatrical sensations Einstein on the Beach, Deafman Glance and The CIVIL WarS. Katharina Otto-Bernstein spent five years following Wilson around the world with her camera. She has a distinguished career as a filmaker with credits that include Coming Home, a documentary she made in Berlin about reuniting families, The Second Greatest Story Ever Told, a comedy with Miro Sorvino and Malcolm McDowell, The Need for Speed, the story of hard-core bicycle messengers in New York City, and When Night Falls Over Moscow, a German television production about the illegal arms trade. Otto-Bernstein's Beautopia: The Dark Side of Modeling was was the hit of the 1998 Chicago and Sundance Film Festivals.
THE NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL An interview with Gregg Schwenk, executive director of the Newport Beach Film Festival. In 2007, the Festival will spotlight over 350 films from around the world including features, shorts, documentaries, and animation that will compete for a series of awards including Jury Awards and Audience Awards. In addition to film screenings, the Festival will host several premiere galas, yacht parties, and question and answer sessions with filmmakers. The Festival runs from April 19th through April 29th, 2007. The event is expected to attract more than 35,000 film devotees.
Bob Balaban talks about his work with Christopher Guest in the new film For Your Consideration, as well as his work with director Robert Altman. Playing a succession of bespectacled, soft-spoken, yet vaguely superior characters, Balaban starred in many films including Clockwatchers, Pie in the Sky, Best in Show, Altered States and Catch-22. In 2001. Balaban scored a major critical success helping create, produce and playing one of the main characters in Altman's murder-mystery Gosford Park.
Professor Simon Leung discusses the series of six short videos he organized for UCI's Film and Video Center Fall Film Series under the title The Look of Law. Chosen from contemporary videos made mostly by visual artists who have a peripheral relationship with the current video/film world, these videos address the affective ramifications of state and political power using hybrid forms of verbal and textual narration that owe as much to the history of video art in galleries as they do to experimental cinema and video. Included among the contemporary works is a rarely-seen mid-70s work by Ron Clark, which eerily foreshadows the tone of the American psyche in a post 9-11 age of homeland (in)security.
An interview with Amy Berg, director of the documentary "Deliver Us From Evil." Moving from one parish to another in Northern California during the 1970s, Father Oliver O'Grady quickly won each congregation's trust and respect. Unbeknownst to them, O'Grady was a dangerously active pedophile that Church hierarchy, aware of his predilection, had harbored for over 30 years, allowing him to abuse countless children. In "Deliver Us From Evil," filmmaker Amy Berg exposes the deep corruption of the Catholic Church and the troubled mind of the man they sheltered.
"Man Push Cart" director Ramin Bahrani discusses his film's look at a month in the life of a former Pakistani rock star who now sells coffee from his push cart on the streets of Manhattan.
Patricia Foulkrod discusses, "The Ground Truth," her documentary about patriotic young Americans who heeded the call for military service in Iraq. The conflict in Iraq, depicted with ferocious honesty in the film, is a prelude for the even more challenging battles fought by the soldiers returning home.
An interview with Sandra Ruch, Executive Director of the International Documentary Association.
An interview with director Michael Kang and producer Gina Kwon of the film "The Motel" sandwiched between Henry Miller, George W. Bush, Peppe Michael, Bromo Seltzer, William Burroughs, Billy Collins, Samuel Beckett, Adachi Tomomi and Arvo Part.